Roetheshy's Log

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
1

Yeah, so the originality of the title sucks. Oh well. :smiley:

I’ve been a member of the site for a while now. Mostly lurk in the SAMA forum for the entertainment value. But I have been interested in lifting for a long time now, hence why I joined the site in the first place. My fiance is buying me a gym membership for a wedding present and I hope to start next week. I have to do the orientation at the gym first before they let me play with their toys. I don’t have a plan yet obviously so this is just a introductory kind of post.

I am 24 yo, 5’7 and 265 lbs. Down from 330. Lord, please don’t ask how I ever got that heavy. I was never a big eater, but the value of what I was eating was poor. Food education has come late to me. I consider myself to be a strong woman, especially for never having trained before. My coworkers call me She-ra because I routinely cart around 80lbs bags of ice or raw chicken. (I work in a grocery store Deli) That’s about the most I can lift off the floor. I can carry more if someone helps me to lift it. Maybe I just work with a bunch of old women who can’t lift more than 20lbs without straining themselves and I;m just average strength. I don’t know.

On a side note most people tell me I do not look 265lbs. I wear a size 20, but at my biggest was a 26. My last measurements were bust 49". waist 46", and hips 53". I suppose I’ll include a pic of myself I took for a thread in SAMA the other day. If you’ve read this far I am sorry if I bored you and you can feel free to ignore me. I generally talk to myself anyway. :wink:

2

Hey there. Welcome to this side. It looks like you’ve come a long way already. I still like the picture.

Do you have an idea for the direction you would like to go in? Besides weight loss? Will you have someone put together a program or research one on your own? I mostly started on my own. There’s a lot of good resources here.

o

3

That’s awesome! Good for you losing so much weight! How did you do it?

4

Near as I can figure I lost it all because I started having sex. Sounds weird, but whatever. I met my fiance and he became my FWB after that it kinda vanished over a period of about 4 months.

5

LOL good for you, now I get it frequently, why doesn’t that work for me?
Tell them at your gym that you want a free weight circuit program. Don’t let them talk you into machine work only. Big compound lifts, sensible diet and interval cardio work.
That and the sex, it’ll melt right off ya!
good luck!

6

So I got my gym membership today and my fiance and I worked out together. My biceps are fatigued right now. I forgot to write it down, but I think this was how it went.

Machine Bench Press
3x6 @ 80
3x6 @ 70

Preacher Curls
6x6 @ 85

Overhand Lat pulldown
5x6 @ 85

Sit-ups (I am horrible at these)
3x10, lol.

Widegrip Pulldown
6x6 @ 70

Machine Rows
6x6 @ 70

Underhand Lat pulldown
5x6 @ 85

I’m probably doing it all wrong, but at least I am doing it.

7

Just to prove how horribly out of shape I am I decided to do some cardio today. I hopped on an elliptical machine for 20 minutes and tried to keep my HR between 154 and 160. I think I averaged going only 3 mph.

I would like to go longer on the elliptical but unfortunately I could barely walk as it was. The treadmills, stationary bikes, and ellipticals are all set on this stadium rise thing so everyone can see the TVs. Trying to walk down the ramp without falling was a major feat.

Then I went swimming at a friends house and had to fall into the pool because my legs refused to hold me up down the stairs. Every once in a while my legs would just give out on me and I would almost fall while I was working. All that and I am sore from yesterday.

My self-esteem is pretty low atm. Tomorrow I am gonna work my lower body. Try the squats and a couple other things. Hopefully the next couple of days will improve my mindset. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad being sore if I wasn’t having to literally crawl to get out of a pool.

And O, to answer you: I am just piecing it together myself. I do want to build up some muscle, I just love being strong, but weight loss is also a factor. I think my ideal weight for my height and body style is about 175-180. Not sure though because I have never been anything but big.

Now to get some needed sleep! :smiley:

8

Hey Roe!

Congrats to you and glad to see you putting in some thought to what you are doing.

As you have been here for a bit, have you thought about checking out the logs in the muscle sorority? See what they started doing? I would think a great one for you to read would be Trish’s Transformation Challenge and also B3’s log, The Shut Up Experiment (in Powerful Women forum). Both of those logs would give you a good idea on how to plan out your week.

to get your toes wet in the gym, and because you are going to be very sore, I think you should wait at least 3 days before pushing the same body part. A lot of the folks on here do their body parts only once a week, but that is because they are moving some heavy weight. You are most likely sore just due to the newness of it all.

A good plan to start is 2 days lifting in a row, than 1 off, 1 day cardio,2 days lifing, 1 day off. If you can, you should get in some low intensity, steady state cardio after your lifting. Try for at least 15-minutes on the treadmill at an incline. The treadmill will probably be a little easier to keep your heart rate steady. The incline will work your BUTT!

So give it a try, upper body, lower body, off, cardio, upper body, lower body, off. See how that schedule works.

A good diet tip is try eating some celery, broccoli, asparagus, or kale with each meal. Gets in your fiber, fills you up, and gets some nutrients in your system.

I see you are using the machines. If you are going to go that route how about giving the cables a try? It will introduce a little more challenge in that it isn’t a stable frame you are pulling, you will have to work more muscles to pull the cable smoothly and straight.

I don’t want to overwhelm you.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing your progress.

Please be sure to post any questions, you’ve got a lot of women here who are happy to help.

9

The way I am working it atm is upper body, cardio, lower body, off. I do plan to move to the cables and free weights but for right now I am using the machines to get the movements correct. The elliptical machines can incline and I like them because they are low-impact. Or rather my knees like them. I did some lower body today. Was interesting. The squat bar is on a track.

Can’t-remember-what-they-are-called “leg curls”
6x6 @ 55 for each leg.

Squats
1x10 @ 50
3x10 @ 60
2x10 @ 70
Trying to figure out what I should be lifting on this one. Testing the waters so to speak.

10

Hey Roe!!

So glad to see you out here deary!!

Give yourself a few weeks on the machines if that’s what you need to do to get started and become acquainted with the gym. After that, hit the weight room like you own it!!! Dont be afraid or intimidated to ask someone to spot you or check out your form. Trust me, the more frequently you are there the more you’ll become a familiar face. The hardcore folks will be giddy to help you out.

Congrats on the engagement!!

Robin

11

[quote]BodyBldgBabe wrote:
Hey Roe!!

So glad to see you out here deary!!

Give yourself a few weeks on the machines if that’s what you need to do to get started and become acquainted with the gym. After that, hit the weight room like you own it!!! Dont be afraid or intimidated to ask someone to spot you or check out your form. Trust me, the more frequently you are there the more you’ll become a familiar face. The hardcore folks will be giddy to help you out.

Congrats on the engagement!!

Robin [/quote]

3B has a real name?! :smiley: Yeah, it’s still my first week, so I’m learning the ropes… I was so incredibly self-conscious the day I did lower body because I was alone for the first time in there (as in my fiance wasn’t with me) and it being 6pm there was at least 50 people in there. Most of them on the treads and stationaries. I was the only chick on the weight floor and I was trying to teach myself to do squats! But I still did it!

Today I did pretty much the same as my first day of upper-body, but I had to drop the weight on the preacher curls to 70. My heart does something weird when I raise the bar and my whole chest contracts. Usually it only happens when I have caffeine. (Which is why I can’t take most supplements.) Dropping the weight seemed to help.

On another note, my fiance bought some whey protein powder with amino acids and stuff. When I drink it it makes me feel kind of drunk and unfocused. I’ve only had it twice and refuse to try again. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

12

Hi Roe,

I am concerned about the protein drink. You should not be getting that reaction.

I don’t know your finances, but if you can, Grow! Whey from Biotest is very good.

If you choose not to supplement, you can get all you need from whole foods.

Good job girly.

Celeste

13

[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:

Hi Roe,

I am concerned about the protein drink. You should not be getting that reaction.

I don’t know your finances, but if you can, Grow! Whey from Biotest is very good.

If you choose not to supplement, you can get all you need from whole foods.

Good job girly.

Celeste[/quote]

OMG! Everyone has real names! Anyways, my finances were bad to start with and I’m getting married in July so they are even worse. What first lead me to this site was a commercial for Fahrenheit, but if I remember correctly it has caffeine so it’s a no-go for me.

I’m horrible at figuring out good healthy foods. Right now I drink a quart of low fat milk and eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole-grain bread for lunch. I got a nine-year old to feed too. And nobody in my house is on the same meal schedule. My fiance works 3am-noonish most days so he is usually asleep by 4:30.

And the worst part: I HATE COOKING. I prepare food all day for other people the last thing I want to do when I get home is make more. Can you actually absorb fat through your pores? I work with deep fryers on a regular basis and I can feel the oil-steam on my skin. God I need to take a shower just thinking about it. Enough babbling. Got to get up early to get the kiddo off on her field trip to Sea World. Big yippee! ;-D

Amanda

14

The first thing you should fix about your diet is to simply try to eat protein with every meal. Cottage cheese, eggs, beef, chicken, fish, beef jerky, tuna etc.

You don’t have to cook if you want to be creative. You can always get roasted chickens and debone them. You can buy pre-cooked and frozen Tyson chicken breasts. Just thaw and eat. Tuna fish in a can doesn’t need to be cooked.

What I do is thaw out 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken at time and grill, stirfry, or roast it. Then I can just pull it out of the fridge and re-heat it for a couple of days. Sure I have to invest that initial 45 minutes to cook it all. But once that is done I don’t have to cook again for a few days.

Is your improved health more important than your dislike of cooking?

The thing about protein powder: it’s always affordable. I mean, for me it is a meal supplement. If I weren’t eating/drinking the protein powder, I would be eating something more expensive. I use the 5lb tubs of unflavored whey that Biotest sells. For roughly 0.70 cents I get 20 g of protein. That’s cheaper than beef, chicken, or tuna.

15

Hey Amanda!!

Yes, I guess we all have real names - Just dont tell anyone mine! Shhhh…

Food is my down fall. I hate to cook and I love eating crap. The only thing that keeps me focused and healthy is when I cook all 36 meals in one day. It takes roughly 4 hours from start to finish but once it’s done, it’s done.

Everything is in the freezer just waiting to hit the microwave.

Ive never experienced the reaction you are having with the protein. Are you sure it’s straight protein? Not a fat burner, NO-type product combined?

16

sic, The reason I am avoiding the PP is because it causes me to react weird.

Robin (shhh!) The stuff my fiance got he bought at Wal-mart. It’s by Body Fortress and it says “Super Advanced Whey Protein, Scientifically Designed with: -100% Premium Whey Protein -Over 7 grams of BCAA’s (per 2 scoops) -Crsytalline Taurine -Lean Mass Activators -Glutamine *NOTICE: Do not use for weight reduction”

17

Try a plain old whey protein powder without all that other crap in there. It’s quite possible you are reacting to something else. Perhaps I’m wrong, but if you don’t have any dairy allergies or issues, you shouldn’t have any issues with plain whey.

18

Woo! Did 20 minutes on the elliptical today! Felt good. Didn’t get all fall-down weak this time.

I went to scratch an itch on my side and realized I have these weird new depressions in my belly fat. I’m all: “Why the hell am I losing fat only there?!” They are just under my rib cage under each boob. What a weird place for the fat to start coming off. I hopped on the scale today and even with the fat loss I gained 2lbs. I hate that. Course I have been hitting the weights so I guess that means I gained muscle?

19

The 2lbs is gone again. Weird.

I know I didn’t post is, but for my squats I was doing sets like this:
2x6@70
2x6@60
2x6@50
And it was really hard to get those last couple. But yesterday I made myself all proud by doing all 6 sets at 70. Small steps I know. On the bright side I can squat more than my fiance. Or at least for more reps. Trying to get him to work his legs too and not just upper body and cardio. He’s trying to get me to do cardio on days I lift and I just can’t do it. He wants me to workout like this:
Day 1-Upperbody, abs, cardio.
(3 kinds of lat pulldowns, cable row, preacher curls, chest press, sit-ups, roman chair"? and 20 mins on elliptical)
Day 2-Cardio
(20 mins on elliptical)
Day 3-Lowerbody, cardio
(Squats, leg curls, 20 minutes elliptical)
Day 4-Cardio
(20 minutes elliptical)
Day 5-Rest

I thinks it’s horribly unbalanced. My current schedule is:
1-Upperbody
(2 kinds of lat pulldowns, row, curls, press)
2-Cardio
(You get the picture)
3-Lower body, abs
(Squats, leg curls, sit-ups, “roman chair”)
4-Rest (with an option for cardio if I feel like it. I did last week.)

Any thoughts?

And is that damn thing called a roman chair? I can never remember. The thing like a throne with no seat you dangle from to torture yourself on?

20

Did you put your workout together or did you get a program from somewhere?