Iron in the Blood

Training
81

[quote]CBear84 wrote:
looks like your weights are coming up nicely! congrats![/quote]

Thanks Cbear-your Avi is distracting-lol loving it though.

I am definitly regaining my strenght back faster than I would have guessed. It’s encouraging to see that the few years of working out a while back were not in vain - this should give hope to anyone going through a similar situation. Also I am more informed about nutrition, supps., recovery, lifting programs and such. Although education is ongoing I am starting with a better package. When I first started lifting I would push weights around for 45 mins and then do 30-45 minutes of intense cardio. My gains were really slow, now I’m eating plenty of good food and keeping cardio to a min. I do push the weights at a pretty intense pace - enough to increase my heart rate and build up a good sweat.

82

[quote]talenaah wrote:
nlmain wrote:

Cal Jones wrote:
You might also consider some ZMA before bed as these minerals are usually deficient in women and ZMA also helps you sleep better.

Cal: looked into your ZMA suggestion and found the following info:

The proportion of ingredients generally used in products is 20-30 mg zinc, 400-500 mg magnesium and ~10mg B6.

My current multi contains 15mg of Zinc, 40mg of B6 and 63 mg of magnesium. Not too bad but I would need to increase my magnesium and take it all before bed.

I’ll start with adding the fish oils for a few weeks and see how I feel. Disclainer: found the ZMA info on Wiki (I know, bad girl) so if this is bull please do not hesitate to hit me with a barbell and tell me to get a proper education.

Good Night!
N

hi nlmain! i haven’t had a chance to pop in and say hi, so i’m doing so now. this is awesome to see you getting right back into the swing of things so quickly. your training is looking great.

i’m a big fan of EFAs (from fish oil and other sources) i swear that they have helped some of my joint issues and likely helped keep my cholesterol levels at absurdly “good” levels-they actually improved since my last cholesterol test 5 years ago. i know that some people take some fairly high doses, i was wondering if the 750 mg you are taking will be sufficient to reap some of the benefits.

i don’t know all the answers to this, as i have done some reading on it, but maybe some others could fill us in. i’ve heard of alternating your sources and including the omega 3 sources (flax, borage oil, walnuts, etc) with your fish oils. you also have to consider how your fish oils are processed (heat=bad) and possible heavy metal contamination. (i take a combo of 2 products which have all of them + CLA. yes, i’m aware of Flameout, but it’s kinda pricey and mine has about the same ratios)

here is a link that provides a nice overview, if you are interested.

i’m enjoying your log-keep up the great work! [/quote]

Nice of you to drop by and say hello talenaah! My fish oil supp is liquid NutraSea- anyone heard anything good or bad about it? A friend who works in natural heath supps recommended the product. I can’t seem to find much info on their web site pertaining to the processing of the product - I’ll read up on your article though and see what tips I can pluck from it.

Cheers
N

83

OK before I continue reading up on your logs and articles I need to post tonight’s workout:

c&p
tried for 85 lbs - failed twice but I KNEW I could do this.

65 lbs 1x plus 5 presses
75 lbs 1x plus 5 presses
80 lbs 1x plus 5 presses - added little weights - they looked “liftable” to my stubborn mind
So I tricked myself and added a couple more dinky weights and…
85 lbs 1x plus 3 presses each - goes to show sometimes your brain is what stands between you and the weight - not your muscle. Knowing I could move those 85 lbs around I switch to bar + 4 x 10lbs plates and…
85 lbs 2x plus 2 presses each - the exact combination I had failed to lift 20 mins before.

Lesson of the day: there is more than 1 road to victory.

GoodMornings
55 lbs - added 10 lbs
3 x 12 - this felt light but I will truly know the impact on my lower back tommorow. I’d rather increase this one slowly rather than be out of the game for weeks due to a back injury.

Squats
95 lbs - 1 x 12
115 lbs 3 x 8 - increased reps - tried a wider stance than usual to go low, the wider stance made it feel easier. I need to experiment with stance in the future.

Hamstring Curls
70 lbs
3 x 8 - increased reps

20 mins of easy treadmill cardio.

Very happy with my pogress so far but some of these are becoming really challenging. I can honestly see my first true challenges coming up in a few weeks. I’ll climb that hill when I get there I suppose.

Cheerios.
N

84

Tate (maybe Wendler?) said in an article that he never does good mornings with more than 135. so yeah, add the weight slowly. dont pee in your own cheerios.

85

Im happy for you too! I take a wider than probably ‘normal,’ stance for squats…

Definitely takes experimenting!

86

Tonight’s workout:

bench 95 lbs - increased weight
2 x 8
2 x 5

lunge with 60 lbs BB
3 x 8 reps for each leg

row 60 lbs
3 x 10 - increased reps

abs:
V crunch with 3kg medecine ball throw
4 x 25

military shoulder press
25 lbs DB
2 x 10 - incresed reps
1 x 8

superset with bicep curl
1 x 8 - added reps
1 x 5
1 x 3 - totally ran out of gas

cardio: 20 min easy pace treadmill.
Soundtrack: Three Days Grace

Supper: rainbow trout filet, steamed veggies on top of kamut rotini pasta with tapenade pesto

87

just curious what kind of row you did. good job on your increased weight on the bench!

yum yum dinner…that’s my kind of grub. i read you enjoy your wine and food too much to be too concerned about abs… (or something close to that?) that’s my kind of thinking…however, that’s just because i’m more concerned about my fat arms than mah belly…

88

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[quote]talenaah wrote:
just curious what kind of row you did. good job on your increased weight on the bench!

yum yum dinner…that’s my kind of grub. i read you enjoy your wine and food too much to be too concerned about abs… (or something close to that?) that’s my kind of thinking…however, that’s just because i’m more concerned about my fat arms than mah belly… [/quote]

rows: seated rows using the machine with close grip handles, I’m planning to switch to BB rows once my 6 week is up which would be… ummm wednesday the 9th! yeah for me.

I must say that I acheived my very first goal: Just going to the gym 3-4 times a week for 6 weeks non stop. I started the first two weeks with 3 times and since moved up to 4 and haven’t slacked down.

Now that I’ve found somewhat of a balance between all my wants I will create a more concrete goal to attain for the next 6 weeks. My bench has been moving up rather well in numbers so I will use that as my first goal. Initially I wanted to bench 100lbs but that will be done next week therefor for the next six weeks I will try a program that really targets by bench numbers and bring that up to 140-145 lbs (which is my weight) Let’s see how that one flies.

Note to self: creating lifting goals is a good way to motivate and drive myself. Not reaching them will NOT make me a failure. NOT trying definitly will.

PS: it’s not that I drink wine and good/richfood every single day but when I do (usually weekends) I feel no guilt about it, I eat/drink some - not to excess and I feel like I’m enjoying one of life’s greatest pleasures. If I was meant to eat eggwhites and protein shakes my whole life I would not have any tastebuds - on the other hand my good food is not McDonalds or any similar fast food- more like home cooked lamb stew, local quebec cheeses ect… Now I’m making myself hungry thinking about it- lol.

89

Disclaimer: This is not my picture. Love her arms though :slight_smile:

90

Tonight’s workout:

machine assisted pullups
50lbs counterweight
3 x 8 - added reps

overhead squats with 25 lbs plate
3 x 12 - did those for the first time - tough

stiff leg dead lift
75 lbs - added weight
3 x 8

Dumbell Bench Press - same as last week.
30 lbs
1 x 10
2 x 8

cardio: 20 mins easy pace treadmill

soundtrack: Them Crooked Vultures.

As the weights get heavier and the workouts more intense I find I have trouble increasing anything for the last exercise on my list.

Night everyone
N

91

yeah, i’d snatch those arms off her! i love this below:

[quote]
nlmain wrote:
PS: it’s not that I drink wine and good/richfood every single day but when I do (usually weekends) I feel no guilt about it, I eat/drink some - not to excess and I feel like I’m enjoying one of life’s greatest pleasures. If I was meant to eat eggwhites and protein shakes my whole life I would not have any tastebuds - on the other hand my good food is not McDonalds or any similar fast food- more like home cooked lamb stew, local quebec cheeses ect… Now I’m making myself hungry thinking about it- lol.[/quote]

awesome. i just would like to get my maintenance level so that small doses of weekend food like that doesn’t set me back. i’ll get there (i keep telling myself) i’ve improved so much over the years in regards to not eating HUGE plates of food, so that helps. a factor of age and changed career forced me to downsize portions. i still eat a ton in comparison to the GP…i just need to cut it a bit more.

oh-sorry to hijack your journal…back to you- this is also AWESOME:

[quote]
nlmain wrote
I must say that I acheived my very first goal: Just going to the gym 3-4 times a week for 6 weeks non stop. I started the first two weeks with 3 times and since moved up to 4 and haven’t slacked down.[/quote]

congrats on reaching your first goal!! keep it up. :slight_smile:

92

Echoing the congrats! Just getting a lifting routine in place is the first step. 90% of success is just showing up. Now for the next 10%. (cue ominous music).

93

Nice work on the OH squats - those are damn tough indeed.

94

[quote]nlmain wrote:

overhead squats with 25 lbs plate
3 x 12 - did those for the first time - tough

N[/quote]

If by this you mean that you held a 25# plate overhead and did squats, I am absolutely LOVING that idea. I am not yet strong enough to hold the empty oly bar overhead for squats, but I’ll bet that I could hold a plate and do them.

Congrats on meeting your initial goals in the gym! That must feel great.

95

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:

if by this you mean that you held a 25# plate overhead and did squats, I am absolutely LOVING that idea. I am not yet strong enough to hold the empty oly bar overhead for squats, but I’ll bet that I could hold a plate and do them.
[/quote]

yup- and somehow the way my arms were extended and my hands were place neutrally? naturally? around the plate for normal and comfortable. Plus you can be badass with this move too- imagine a 45lbs plate overhead squat-ggrrrr.! Ok I need to try that for 1-2 reps today just to see what I look like- I know I’m a geek what can I say. Atleast saturday mornings are usually empty at the gymn so no one will see if I fail miserably-lol.

96

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice work on the OH squats - those are damn tough indeed.[/quote]

I think I never grunted so much or saw my face screw up so much as when I tried these for a change.

97

[quote]talenaah wrote:
awesome. i just would like to get my maintenance level so that small doses of weekend food like that doesn’t set me back. i’ll get there (i keep telling myself) i’ve improved so much over the years in regards to not eating HUGE plates of food, so that helps. a factor of age and changed career forced me to downsize portions. i still eat a ton in comparison to the GP…i just need to cut it a bit more.

[quote]

  • Thanks for the congrats T! Had a nice meal with my husband friday night at a neat place in my neighborhood. Had a pint of beer, lentil soup, pulled pork with bakes beans and sweet potatoe fries. Portion control was key- I know they serve big there so I just make myself eat half of everything. Shared the soup and chips with the hubby, ate half the pork and beans but I must say I drank my full pint of red head ale. I don’t share my red heads:). I will add that it was a half hour walk to get there and a half hour to get back. No guilt, all fun.

As for reaching your maintenace: keep working on it but make sure that goal is reasonable. For the longest time I felt “fat” because I couldn’t diet down back to 125lbs which had been my weight through late teens-early 20’s. It got even harder while lifting. Now that I’m in my 30’s with a decent amount of muscle (I can flex a good looking bicep) my maintenace hovers around 140lbs. That’s 20 lbs difference that I had to wrap my head around. However as I’ve said I work out 4 nights- 5 hours a week. I eat mostly good whole home prepared meals and I can stick to this for a long time.

I must say I’m not perfect - I have moment of doubt and worry. This week I felt that despite all my work I wasn’t seeing much results around my lower belly, thighs and butt. I know what it takes to see muscle definition in those areas- and even if I cut for weeks and see results, I cannot happily stay on a diet forever (can’t lift, sleep ect). Hence a pint to my big ass because when I’m 95 these are the days I will think back at with joy. Plus the husband likes it - what’s to complain about?

Cheers and I’ll pee in my Cheerios if I damn well want to - I’m sure it will make the a great post workout meal.
N

98

Saturday Morning workout:

Barbell bicep curl
60 lbs - increased weight (the 50 lbs was in use)
1 x 5
1 x 2
40 lbs
2 x 12

squat
115lbs
1 x 12
135 lbs - increased weight
2 x 5
115lbs
1 x 8

calf raises
135 lbs - increaed weight
1 x 10
2 x 8

lever leg extensions - increased weight
75 lbs
1 x 10
1 x 8
1 x 10

leg press
205 lbs - increased weight
3 x 8

abs
reverse crunch with 5 kg medecine ball between the knees.

20 min easy pace treadmill.

99

Someday I too will put the 45s on the bar and squat it. Nice job!

100

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Someday I too will put the 45s on the bar and squat it. Nice job![/quote]

-Thanks Kimba!

Monday night’s workout:

clean&press
started with 85 lbs - no go.
65 lbs - dropped the weight as warm up and mental prep.
1x + 10 presses - increased presses
75 lbs
1x + 5 presses
85 lbs - got the initial no go up in the up with ease.
1x + 5 presses
90 lbs - increased weight - this made me smile for the rest of the evening - and still today I must say :slight_smile:
1x + 2 presses
1x - only the initial lift no added presses.
75 lbs 1x + 5 presses

  • for this move I have hit my first plateau. I will need to add presses before I can safely handle more weight. But still close to 100 lbs - not bad.

good mornings
60lbs
3 x 10 - added weight, used preloaded bars which felt awkward - will keep same weight next week and work on form as a safety.

hamstring curl
70 lbs
3 x 8 - same as last week. legs starting to get tired by this point and I suspect my hammies are my legs’ weak link. In the weeks to come I will hit this exercise first thing on my list to make sure my legs develope evenly.

overhead squats
35 lbs plate
3 x 10 -grunting like a cavewoman throughout the exercise. I can lock my arms pretty well to hold the plate stable but my abs and legs feel this as though I were dealing with twice the weight.

30 mins of moderate EFX.

overall very happy with my developments. After the workout, I spent the evening sifting through the flurry of taxes we received all at once. We moved into our first property this past June so we are learning about all kinds of fun new things.

Cheers
N