Drinker with a Gym Problem

Training
741

thanks Kimba! yeah, we here in CA are pretty lucky in regards to the fruits and veggies, Nlmain.

a word on why i’m off the anabolic diet. i ran that for about 3 months. i saw some progress but nothing to get excited about. it’s possible i need to run it longer, but i’m not willing to. i certainly could feel the lack of energy by end of week and i haven’t been doing cardio for months. i need to incorporate some cardio/metabolic work in and i need some good carbs to do that stuff consistently. i’m bored with it and i need a new workout routine since i can’t really progress on 5/3/1 or a strength based approach right now, aaand of course, i still am chasing that elusive physique i want.

i’m going to run that Metabolic Surge program. in a nutshell, it combines several principles of training with macro nutrient rotation. every workout is different. your body keeps guessing what the heck is going on for 36 days…it worked for me before. my coworker last year lost only ONE pound on the scale but 2 pant sizes (from a 6 to a 2…FFs!!!)

it’s 3 rounds, with each round consisting of 3 phases
phase 1: 5 days low carb-fat loss circuit style training.
phase 2: 2 days of nutrient isolation<<<here’s where i may get some shit from peeps. one day almost all protein, next day all fruit (i will explain the rationale when i get there) :wink:
phase 3: 5 days low fat-muscle building workouts

repeat that for 3 phases. you get a cheat meal on day 12 (last day of low-fat eating)

there is a Berardi meal plan included, which, quite frankly is pretty freakin strict for me. of course, the calories are based on 3 categories of weight for women and men, suggested cals for a 145 lb female varies each day, from 1375-1405 which is on the extreme low end for me. i didn’t follow it before and had results. i will track my food this time around but likely i need a minimum of 1500-1700 to stay sane.

why do i like this? it’s only 36 days-with 10 day recovery (think reload) for me, i can see the “end” because it’s so time specific. not endless sticking to eating pattern til i “get lean.” shit-that could take me forever.
you probably have heard of SMART goals? i use this in my training classes at work, but it applies to so much more in life…

S=specific
M=measureable
A=attainable
R=realistic
T=time bound

and that’s what this program is for me. i can’t, atm, be like the majority of you power lifting women. several small injuries keep me stalled. as much as i admire and envy those heavy numbers so many of you lift, i’m currently training to get that balance of a physique i’ve always wanted and the strength to last into my 80’s! i really wanna be the little old lady out mowing the lawn and such at 80+

hopefully y’all will still follow along on this leg of the journey…

742

I hope your poor little (big) kitty is feeling better! My cat is a trouble-maker, and likes to roam, and defends his ever-expanding territory viciously - he’s come home with lots of battle-wounds. I think he likes the attention he gets from them though - epsom salt compresses, and antibiotic cream, he purrs right through it all.

That juice sounds deeeelicious!

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
That is great that you are feeling good enough to start squatting again. Nice work![/quote]

Ditto! Solid workout.

Edit: Missed your last post somehow, T. I will definitely still follow along! Your new plan sounds interesting, I look forward to seeing how it works for you.

743

I’m in T - curious to see the results of your new plan and the thinking behind the protein and fruit day.

744

Poor kitty!! Don’t worry, outdoor cats are scrappy. She’ll be all good in no time.

First of all, shit mama, you’re back on the band wagon for sure. Awesome! I think your reasoning is totally spot on and the new programs sounds like its going to be a lot of fun. I won’t be surprised if you lean out more with this than with anabolic - i’m a big advocate of metabolic stuff (and you know i do my ardico), plus MiM’s been getting some good results with all her circuits and complexes.

At any rate, it’ll be a challenge for sure - have fun!

745

thanks for the gato well-wishes! although my babies aren’t classified as outside cats. they come in every night to sleep and only hang out on my patio…i was told today that those Tom cats (or male bullies) don’t mess with fixed females…i don’t know what this particular little bastard’s problem is messing with my girls. :frowning:

yeah-i was feeling pretty good about 2 solid days of lifting. so yesterday was a planned day off-too much work yesterday to get to participate in our company’s annual Community Partnership Day (where we go out do yard work and repairs for seniors and such) i was very bummed1

13 hours today and a bit of a stress headache have me partaking of a glass of vino instead of hitting the gym at this hour of the night.

hope to report some workout stuffs tomorrow! i should mention that the one day of squatting had my hip SO jacked up…apparently didn’t stretch enough after wards??? i foam rolled it last night and that helped…

at the risk of asking a stupid question; does anyone have any insight as to why my hips are so stupidly tight and painful?

746

Girl, are you doing mobility stuff in the warm up for your hips? Theres one stretch I love that works to open up the hips, I feel like its helped a ton. I’ll find a demo for you.

Why do you think your hips are tight?

747

prolly cause i do not stretch enough? over 35?

i was hit by a car a long, long time ago. i was outside my car, and a family friend was drunk and tried to back out his truck alongside my car. he swiped me, right along the hips/side, as i tried to jump out of the way towards my car. so i had my lower body twisted opposite of the top as he passed by. he proceeded to hit the back end of my car and rip the bumper off.

my BRAND new '93 honda civic coupe…btw.

had hip/low back problems pretty serious for a couple years after that. i thought they were gone…but i think i’m still dealing with the side effects. compensation on the other side and such…

748

sounds nasty T- do the stretching and mobility for sure. Maybe even a little ART and a correctional lifting program?

749

I’m trying to get that physique as well,you are not alone!! But I am STILL attempting to get stronger…I wanna prove to the women folk in my gym that you can be hot AND lift heavy :wink:

of course we’d still follow along!! Have you already started? Is it a pain to eat differently on different days? I think I would get annoyed, but like you said it’s only for awhile…what are your plans for when this thing is done?

750

My hips are like concrete (well, aside from the big that jiggles. But uh…irrelevant). So I’m interested in this stretch as well.
I know mine are tight because of the amount of sitting I do. Desk job plus severe computer game habit. I get ART but it still hurts like hell whenever I go. Fortunately I’ve had no bad accidents but when I finally knuckled down to some serious squatting a few months back, my hips were woefully inadequate and the result was bad lower back pain. It’s annoying as I’d like to not be a pussy and squat properly, but I’m too fucked up right now.
You foam roll, right?

751

yep, Nlmain-that’s probably where i should be headed. i have the assess and correct manual but i have not spent enough time reading it…:frowning:

MIM! i like the 5 day stretches-that way i know things will get to change soon. i definitely want to lift heavy and get stronger. not feeling sorry for mahself, but sometimes it’s hard for me to post my lifts when i compare with most of what y’all are putting up. at least i lift heavy for my particular gym and i can feel good about that. i’m not comparing to you guys or anyone else, but i just sometimes feel like my workouts are silly and probably elicit a chuckle or two from the crowd. but the beauty is i’m still getting the support from you guys and i appreciate that tons!

Cal-concrete…that’s what my MT said about my hips and my glutes. i’m sure it has to do with weakness in whatever areas as well. yep- i foam roll but i not enough or consistently. bad girl. better fix that or keep suffering.

only 11 hours of work today-was kinda tired but it got worse when i hit the crowded gym tonight

DL:
115 x10
135 x10
155 x6
135 x10
135 x10
115 x 6

for some reason-i had a big head game with this tonight. i was thinking about pulling the bar Blue style (bruise the shins…ha ha) i was thinking whether or not i was pulling sumo or conventional. i was thinking “dude get out of the way so i can look in the g-d mirror!” i was thinking “am i pulling more RDL or regular?”

you see the issue-too much thinking.
how lame is this to say i don’t know which i’m pulling in regards to sumo or conventional. i just take a fairly wide stance and try to do all the other things i’ve seen done right.

narrow grip pull-downs:
2 sets of 75 x 10
at this point my stupid wrist (with the ganglion cyst thing) was hurting bad. i called it a night for the weights and attempted a little cardio. haa ha another joke. 5 min on the stair-master. wrist hurt even holding the steering wheel on the way home and still bugging me. (this happens periodically-one of my various little injuries that keep me from trying to move up with the big girl weights.

rough night…i know those happen sometimes. just hope the wrist settles down and i find my mo-jo again, hopefully when i start that program up next week.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE:
i’m hoping to hit the slopes on sunday. one of the last resorts open (Squaw Valley) had almost 3 feet this week. it’s going to be beautiful and sunny. despite my tail bone still being bruised, i’m dying to try my new board and get one last run in since i did so well last trip (only my 3rd time ever) :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

752

oh yeah!! :slight_smile: juiced after workout, in order of main ingredients:

2 oranges, 5 strawberries, celery stalk, carrots, red beet, spinach, lime…sooooooooooo good!

753

Sounds like work and your bum hip are stressing you out a bit, T. Hope that glass (or two) of vino helps!

Weird that you mention your hip issues, mine were aching for no apparent reason at work today. Maybe my mom was right and all this heavy lifting is giving me arthritis? LOL.

Speaking of my mom, she saw that vid of me flipping the tire, and asked me, in a hushed voice: “Rachelle, you’re not - you’re not taking… steroids? Right??”

LMAO!

Edit:

Sorry to hear you were overthinking the deads, and that your wrist was acting up. Hope it feels better soon!

10 rep deads seem pretty high-rep to me - would it help the overthinking if you did fewer reps per set, maybe?

Oh, and deadlift bruises FTW. :wink:

754

that is heeee-larious about your mom asking if you were on the other juice!

i agree 10 is high. the weight is usually very manageable for me and so i consider it ‘lighter’ so i go for the high reps. when i did my short try at 5/3/1 (mind you i’d never done real DLs until Jan this year) i did play around to pull my 1RM at 185 one night.

but the wrist, hips and elbow tendonitis put the kabash on that. that’s why i need a structured program asap. i’m just farting around and that makes it hard to track progress and get the mental accomplishment.

yep-your bruises take the cake!

755

I can honestly say that I’ve never chuckled at your workouts, T. The beauty of the sport is that we can all have our own individual goals and face our own challenges. It’s truly a personal quest.

Sumo vs. conventional. Are your arms inside or outside of your legs? If they’re outside, you’re pulling conventional. If inside, sumo. If one is inside and one is outside, you’re screwed.

RBLue, regarding the “mom” thing. My mother has never been in favor of me doing this sport. For starters, it’s not lady-like. Secondly, she worries about me getting hurt. So . . . in telling her about my shoulder and upcoming surgery, her response was that she hopes I’m done with powerlifting and thinks I could find equal fulfillment in philanthropic endeavors. She just doesn’t get me.

756

I’ve never laughed or chuckled at you or anyone else here…I don’t think strength is relative. Besides, you are doing what you can when you can…

Having a solid program like you said, to measure progress sounds like a good thing!

757

[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I can honestly say that I’ve never chuckled at your workouts, T. The beauty of the sport is that we can all have our own individual goals and face our own challenges. It’s truly a personal quest.
[/quote]

Yes!! Thanks for saying this, its a great reminder for me too!!

OMG! That’s so hilarious about your moms. My mother also thinks that weight lifting requires the use of steroids. So silly.

T, your DL numbers look awesome! And I hate to say it, but if your concerned about form etc. there’s always the tried and true videoing…(no pressure!)

Also, about that cyst, can’t you just get that shiz removed? I got mine removed when I was 17 or so. I had it since I was 10 from a falling on the wrist playing soccer, and I remember that it was very painful at times.

small hijack So when I went to get the cycst removed, the doc basically took a syringe and sucked out the cycst juice which looked like a clear gel. As a brooding 17 yr old I asked the dr. what the gel was made of and he replied, sugar and water (or something like that). So of course, curious, I asked “can i taste it?”. The doc gave a chuckle and said sure. He squeezed some of it onto my finger and I ate it. Sure enough, that shit was sweet! Meanwhile, my mom who was in there with me was just staring in horror and you could see that she was thinking “what the fuck is wrong with my child”. Ahh…youth.

Oh and I just want to add, the cyct kind of came back - still have it now. But its much smaller and doesn’t hurt at all.

758

I got the same thing from my mom – “You’re not planning to use steroids, are you?” And “Don’t compete or anything.” My dad was all worried I would lose my delicate figure. Silly parents.

Your deadlift workout looks serious: that’s a lot of volume.

759

T, I am actually especially interested in hearing about physique building workouts. I always try to incorporate some of that into my own training.

I think the PW crowd is interested in hearing about EFFORT. Regardless of what the goal is or the weight is. We want to see some passion and drive. Recognizing obstacles and overcoming them. Or failing, re-grouping and trying again.

CliffsNotes: sandy vagina = not interesting. Avoid this, and you’ve got an audience, darlin’.

760

[quote]AlisaV wrote:
I got the same thing from my mom – “You’re not planning to use steroids, are you?” And “Don’t compete or anything.” My dad was all worried I would lose my delicate figure.[/quote]

Yep. My mom said to me last summer: “Do you want your arms to look like that?” Now, I must say, I have rockin’ shoulders and arms for my size. I used to weigh next to nothing and have anorexic Vogue model arms. I’m proud of their definition now. Apparently, my mom doesn’t agree.