Nipple disaster!!

After having a fun yet sweaty Spin class, and in spite of wearing two thick-ish sports bras, the mirrored walls of the weight room showed my beams on high. Damn I hate that. It's one thing to be the only woman using barbells to workout but that was just unnecessary. Then, the plates left a rusty mark across the white sports top, adding insult to injury. I did, however, train anyway.

So, performed squats first per the program- and am getting better at them! My feet weren't turned out as much as suggested and doing that helped me get into a lower position and helped my balance too. It may also be that I am getting better at them in general. Then, standing military presses and I won't lie, I used the little 35 lb bar. I am bold, but falling backwards or dropping the bar while having boob issues was to much to think about, and it was the first time attempting them. Got four sets of those in and should be able to use the regular barbell next time.

Finished it off with barbell rows; enjoyable for the hard-core look of them- I'm probably ready to go heavier on those next time too. So in spite of appearing a mess it was a good session. Tomorrow is off day for lifting, deciding on Spin or Interval Training class, hell maybe I'll do both. In totally unrelated but awesome news- got the package pamphlet from the little ski place I'm visiting this winter. Whoo-hoo! The season pass is teasing, but I'll be practical and go for the ten-day pass with four group lessons included. I cannot freakin wait!

Nothing is happening! Oh yes it is.

Hey, well I know there are physical differences being brought about by consistent training but some people who know what I am doing are unimpressed by my progress. If the gadget on the infomercial caused those ladies to lose 10 pounds and 12 inches in one week why don't I get one of those instead of all this weightlifting and cardio. First of all, that infomercial is bullshit. Secondly, this. Stuff is happening, more dramatic stuff then the less fat arms and more pronounced collarbone, not that both of those things aren't awesome. So don't worry about me, I'm having a blast and getting truly healthier by the day. I love that Advanced Spin Class is now what my 'easy' work-out day consists of :-)
Back to the weights next week and the new program is going to consist of three major compound lifts (four or five sets) per session. That squat rack better be ready.

4am blog post

Sleeping through the night seemed like a strong possibility earlier but it didn't happen. It is raining alot which is nice (being inside and all) and the little cat is sleeping on the floor here keeping me company. Deload week has started! I didn't work out at all this past weekend, and in the boot-camp class today, instead of being pleasantly rested and stronger then ever, I was dragging. That is okay tho, gave it the best I had. Progressing to real push-ups is on the list, today one of the class members had her gym bag on the floor in such a way that I didn't have room to stretch out fully to even try to full-length push-ups, and when I relocated to where there was space we were done by the time I started. She is such a sour-puss too, ugh. So that class begins with 12 high intensity intervals interspersed by explosive movements and push-ups, and the second half is circuit training. My quads were shot out after the first half and I suspect running on an incline is to blame but hopefully they are recovering to be stronger.
In my quest for uninterupted sleep, I put cat-food in each bowl right before going to bed (the first time). Just before I began writing this Spooky stretched and wandered out of the room. How much do I want to bet that he is currently eating all of that food and both cats are going to wake me up at 5am to feed them again anyway?

Makeup Remover Wars!

Running out of your favorite face cleanser is never a good thing, especially if you are like me and tend to get little white bumps on your skin (milia?) with lots of products. The one that doesn't do that is the Estee Lauder in the blue or pink tube. Luckily, it is Gift With Purchase time, and when your face soap in $20 for a tube of it, getting free stuff helps. So I ran over to Dillards to restock and included in the gift is Take It Away makeup remover. Just like cleanser, I've gone round and round looking for a good remover, even trying olive oil. The olive oil works but it's messy and got in my eyes so not ideal. It is also something I forget I need until late at night when an eyeful of water-proof mascara is heavy on the lashes and bugging me. So, finding the remover in the gift was awesome, and it is okay. Truly, the best I've used is Lancome's, it takes every bit of makeup off quickly and rinses completely clean. However, $23 for makeup remover? When they have GWP and I'm out of the Estee then it is on the list, unless someone has another suggestion.

Heidi Klum was confused on Project Runway

First, she introduced the models who were all wearing insane cococtions on their heads as wearing hats. Hmmm, looked more like flying saucers had landed on their heads and it was going to be the Sci-Fi Challenge, which maybe it secretly was. Then she said that famous hat designer Phillip Treacy designed hats worn by the most beautiful women in the world, such as, wait for it... Sarah Jessica Parker and Lady Gaga. Huh? SJP and Gaga are famous, and good at what they do, and fashionably quirky but included among the most beautiful women in the world? Please Heidi, I don't even include you on that list. This sort of thing is very subjective; when there is an actual beautiful person near you, you know it because it is as if they are some completely different awesome species. Selma Hayek and Iman come to mind. The show wasn't a complete bust however, at least Evil Gretchen landed right in the middle- ha-ha!

Who let all these cats in here?

Having two doesn't qualify as cat lady status- and they do match the interior design but damn. I'm starting to think that all this tuna and cottage cheese I've been eating has made them see me as another one of them. I was moody as hell yesterday, summer doldrums have hit and all I need now is the Hurricane show on for a week or two. for those of you who don't live on the coast, the hurricane show is when there is activity in the tropics and all day and night the news stations show footage of past storms interspersed with dire warnings about the one approaching and encouraging everyone to get their butts to the grocery stores, Lowe's, and the gas stations to fill er up. It's sorta a back-to-school ritual around these parts. At least Project Runway is on tonight, maybe Bitchface Gretchen will design something awful like that dorky jumpsuit and get kicked off. Ooh, then who will I hate? Hmmm

Wait, that is tomorrow night, can't keep these shows straight.

Week Four

Starting the last week in my first cycle of lifting like a guy. So far, absolutely no bulky muscles. My arms have leaned out a bit, still bigger then I would like but the roundness to them is gone which is good. Posture is better, and my legs, which had some weird sagginess happening above my knees, are back to looking normal and toned. My lower back is stronger too, now I can Spin with perfect form throughout the whole class- meaning all legs no hips bouncing. It's hard to explain if you haven't done it. Also, I ran an interval at 8 miles per hour Saturday in the Ultimate Fitness class- personal best!

I'm looking forward to the deload week. That is very little lifting, just the weights in the Ultimate Challenge class, and lots of cardio. Then I'm going to pick a different program of lifting, so far it is between Rippetoes Starting Strength or the one laid out in the New Rules of Lifting. I have two weeks to decide on that. This week I am focusing on improving my form on bench presses and squats with the goal of a 95 lb deadlift to top off the week.

Tropical Rainy Season

All day on and off, and I prefer it when the rain is coming down because it becomes cool enough to go outside and actually breathe. So I'm taking advantage of this while looking forward to a sudden long 'cold' spell that so many Floridians were complaining about last year like fools. Yes- like fools! Is it that much trouble to buy a jacket and shoes that cover your toes? Nope, the stores are filled with Fall stuff already that if we ever do need it, it won't be until January- unless we get lucky! Well-fitting jeans make legs look miles long, pair those with cute boots and a jacket and ahhhhh. In the meantime I will enjoy the storms :-)

70% chance of rain

Good thing I have a movie! No gym today, and it is the start of week three of the Great Weightlifting Experiment. This was going to be the beginning of a cardio-cycle but I changed that to happen on week five, so two more weeks of straight up lifting with cardio on off days, and sometimes also on lifting days (what?). I don't recall if I mentioned this, but Friday I took an interval running class on the treadmill that was challenging and fun. Best part- the runner's high that hit me on the way home. I was actually loopy and floaty feeling (driving too, but pretty sure running before driving is still legal in Florida). So, that was awesome and is going to be my new Friday class. One cannot live by Spinning alone. Plan for today: touch-up hair color which desperately needs it. Monday will be chest and upper body lift day, see what I can lift on the bench in the morning. Then probably take the late Spin class.

So far, no bulky Arnold muscles- in spite of recently discovered news that my family is Austrian haha. I digress, ok, results: Arms looks less flabbo, collarbone area looks fabulous, posture is better, tummy less like Homer Simpson and more like a normal person, rear-end is like Whoa! in a good way, legs look more toned and yeah, so far so good.
.

Breaking the rules!

Yep, I did what is warned about repeatedly on the bodybuilder forum. I 'tweaked' my routine. The routine I selected is a basic four day split, two upper body and two lower. The thing is, two of the routines could be combined to make a full-body without sacrificing exercises, making it a three day a week split, which is easier to manage. So, instead of splitting up deadlift and pull-up days, I'm doing them in the same workout. Speaking of pull-ups, they are hard! With the assist machine I am pulling up between 65 and 70 pounds, which is a lot less then my weight. On the other hand, that is also what I am deadlifting, so maybe I'm not as unbalanced as it seems. So, the tweaked day starts with the biggest muscle groups, deadlifts, leg press, then pull-ups and dips, then abs and lower back. More good deadlift news- no back issues!

Went to the mall today and happily discovered the various versions of Pink fragrance are on sale for $20.00. I found on not too flowery one, Hope, and now have a pretty brand new perfume on. I also hit Dillards for a new pair of Crocs, but the newer ones don't seem to be as well-made as they were before, so passed on those and visited Rack Room shoes. Here I found a pair of Adidas flip-flops that fit well and look good, $19.00 so sold to the lady in blue.

Getting toned and no soreness today!

Last week when I did squats and straight-legged deadlifts w/ the barbell I was sore as hell for days afterward, which did not make me all eager to repeat the experience. Hang out on the bodybuilder forums long enough and you will read how vital squats and deads are to overall strength, and my desire to become stronger combined with that of not spending all day in the gym working every isolated muscle and there I was again, in the squat rack. Careful with form and using light weights, today my hamstrings feel strong but no pain, so yay! Today I am taking a break day from lifting and taking an interval treadmill class which will be challenging as running is not my thing. High intensity interval training is the way to go from what I read, so there I will be.

Enough with the exercise, lets talk food. Last week or so I re-discovered resealable bags of frozen salmon and scallops at the store and picked up one of each. Best purchase ever! I shoved the scallops in the back of the freezer, not sure what to do with them, and used the salmon fillets as an alternative protein source whenever I just couldn't face another can of tune. Scallops, I discovered, are great for breakfast. I have added a half-cup to an omelet and today, faced with a pretty bare refrigerator, found the last of the bag of scallops, cooked them in a saute pan with some already-cooked bacon (another great thing) and the last of a bag of spinach. I cut a plum tomato and put half a slice of chedder cheese in half of a whole-wheat pita along with the sauteed scallops, bacon and spinach- and damn that was a yummy breakfast.

Week two of lifting weights

Today I deadlifted and discovered that I am not very strong. I put 50 lbs on the barbell at first thinking that 95 lbs should be an easy lift, umm no, did that about two poorly formed times and went down in weights each set after that. The right side of my lower back feels like, hmm something is different here, but not too drastically bad. Here is hoping it stays that way or better, this evening I plan to take the late Spin class to rev up my circulation and also because it's been a while and the instructor is good. My other fav instructor teaches at 6am tomorrow so plan to take that one too and see how it goes as far as lifting. My biceps are feeling pumped today so tomorrow may be an off day as far as lifting goes. Another decision as far as the schedule goes, is instead of doing two weeks focusing on weights and two on cardio is now the plan calls for four weights focusing on weights and one on cardio. This is based on information I've read on muscle growth and the time it actually takes. Also, since I like cardio it isn't hard for me to want to do it on my off days or later in the day after lifting.

So, at the beginning of week 2 lifting, this wek and two more to go then cardio week- that will feel like a vacation! Look what I found on Youtube, ok now I have to get strong.