CG Max day 31/50 - lower volume, heavier weights: arnold press, static lunge, alternating chest press, bridge, rotational row - with 1.1 mile snowy, 6°f hike warmup.
This felt fantastic! And I’m ready to move back to splits and start my bulk. I just have to decide whether to jump off this program before the end or finish it. We’ll see. Either way, it’s good.
You know, it might not be a bad idea to have some brochures handy in case anyone inquires.
I actually think I’m learning the art of some, which seems to work better than all or none for me. I hope I can sustain it.
CG Max day 32/50 - heel elevated squats, upright rows, stability ball rollouts, pullovers, bulgarian lunges, diagonal raises - with 5 minute cardio warmup.
Great workout. I’ve been going ahead and working out fasted, and enjoying it, though it’s 100% discouraged for women my age. I just can’t seem to organize myself around eating something I don’t want and then waiting for it to hit my system before starting. This feels so much happier, so I guess let the cortisol do its worst.
I’ll do a walk later as well, I imagine.
I’m less an anxious mess, definitely. The worries remain. How about you?
Great workout. I’ve been going ahead and working out fasted, and enjoying it, though it’s 100% discouraged for women my age. I just can’t seem to organize myself around eating something I don’t want and then waiting for it to hit my system before starting. This feels so much happier, so I guess let the cortisol do its worst.
Ya know, something to take into consideration when it comes to what is/is not recommended in general is the fact that general rules are meant to apply to the general population.
And then, we take a step back and realize that the general population is, honestly, in very poor health. It’s a little confusing, because you’d think “the average person has average health”, but we have to understand that “average health” today is POOR health.
In which case, yeah, it probably IS a bad idea for the average woman to train fasted, because the average woman is most likely suffering from some manner of metabolic syndrome and a bubbling font of cortisol. PLUS, so many are such persistent “overdieters” from years of poorly designed restriction diets that their metabolisms are absolutely crashed and fasted training is just adding even MORE stress to the system.
But maybe the rules apply DIFFERENTLY to a different population. You’re different from the norm: you engage in regular exercise and mindful eating. Your system is in a much better state. Fasted training to the average woman is treated like an assault to the system, but to your body it says “Oh yes: this is natural. This is fine. I know how to respond appropriately to this stimulus”, and off it goes.
It’s similar to the idea of how, for the majority population, sugar can be problematic, and especially so for a diabetic, but for an athlete with a healthy metabolism, sugar is an excellent fast fuel source for short intense workouts.
I’m in a similar situation. I’m on a slow burn worry status. Probably not great, but better than a full blown all alert. I’m a tiny bit of a mess in my personal world. It’s a mixed bag. My parents are a disaster which is of constant concern but the bigger mental issue I am having is my children. I’m in the weird place of being so proud and excited for them becoming men but also miserable because I’m kind of losing my purpose. You know what I mean? My whole world has revolved around raising my kids for the last 19 years. The finish line is in sight. I know I will always play a role, but I went from star of the stage to some weirdo stagehand who is barely necessary but is kept around in case someone calls in sick. Lol. With all of that, the state of the world is too much, so it’s been put on the back burner.
Two mile hike in powdery groomed snow. It was maybe 15°, but the sun was out and it wasn’t windy and it felt great.
That IS a nice way to look at it! I’ll adopt the perspective as I continue doing it anyway!
@BethB it’s hard with sons. And daughters, too, of course, but sons sometimes more thoroughly launch away into their own lives. Hugs to you. None of it is easy.
Two mile walk, our first before-work dog walk in a couple of weeks due to the extreme cold. Today it was 15° at 6 am, which now feels warm, sort of. Aside from the cold hands and face (I was overly optimistic regarding the gear needed, e.g. face protection) it felt really good.
Two mile walk. It was 5° out and I need to figure out a face covering that doesn’t fog my glasses. Because it’s really enough to walk in the cold and dark on icy roads without either losing my sight completely or getting a frostbit face.
I’ve ordered a Skida bandana shaped thing, which I’m hopeful about. I saw someone wearing one last weekend, and tried a regular bandana on one of our hikes to see how it would go. It helped - there was a lot more opening for the glasses-fogging breath to escape, but was super difficult to manage because there was so much cloth. I can try destroying the under-helmet thing I have to make the mouth area more open (it has holes), but am hoping the Skida thing will work.
There are bazillions of ski shops where I live, so if it’s not my dream come true, I’ll go in and try stuff on. Good idea, thanks!
Girls with glasses do get passes I’ve found, but there are other downsides.
CG Max day 33/50 - staggered toe elevated RDL, flies, banded hip thrust, rear delt row - with 15 minute/1 mile cardio and KB swing warmup, and 2 mile walk with the dog.
This was fantastic altogether, but the walk in particular was enjoyable. I really love framing walks as “recovery,” as it takes all the pressure off to somehow “make it count.” So today when Louie wanted to gaze longingly up the driveway of Coco and Kia I let him take his time, and same thing with the interesting tracks (deer? moose?) leading off into a field. Music was good, 15° felt pretty pleasant (it was almost sunny and very calm).
If I’m being honest the dedication is more to the dog than my own fitness or physique. He has a lot of energy, and leaving him home alone for 9 hours of work doesn’t seem right. So if it’s at all doable, I try to do the whole 2 miles. I’m not sure what I wouldn’t do for this guy. (Unless it’s to walk more than absolutely necessary in sub -zero. )
And that is so dang relatable. I just mentioned this very thing in someone else’s thread where they were talking about walking. I wouldn’t do it in the winter at all if it weren’t for having a dog.
But you’ve inspired me to go longer! So, Kipper sends sends a big thank you!
I typically only go about one mile and then walk him for about half that in the afternoon/evening. But I’m being a sissy about the cold because we take longer hikes/walks in the summer.
@Dani_Shugart I was thinking on the way to work that another thing that helps me embrace the cold is the cold exposure trend of the past several years. I’m never going to deliberately submerge myself in icy water, but the walks serve the same purpose. I’ve read that cold-climate people carry less fat on average than warm-climate people, and one of the reasons for this is the metabolic advantage that cold confers.
Knowing that things I’m doing confer specific advantages tends to be much more motivating to me than vague “good for you” messages. The suburban rucking trend had the same impact - I no longer try to make my hiking pack as light as possible, because I’m building strong bones and improving skeletal muscle. Now I cheerfully throw as much water in as the dog and I could possibly want, and if it’s that sort of day a can or two of beer for the halfway point break. I don’t begrudge the weight.
)