FemHawke

Thanks, CR! Was not feeling particularly gym-y on Friday, it's been a long week, but I went anyway. It was dead lift daaaaaaay! I started off with 1x5 with two 25lb plates (so, 95lbs if the bar is 45), then added another 10lbs, 105 for another 1x5, and then added another 10lbs for 115lbs x5 (if the bar is 45, and not 55). I'm about 20lbs off from bodyweight! Again, I could feel my muscles working, but I still had gas in the tank after I was done. So, I could probably add another 10-15lbs next week. After DLs, I did 3x10 rows, weight set at 45lbs. Then 3x10 hyper back extensions; I could feel that my back muscles were tired after the added DL weight. Then, cool down and stretch. Meals weren't as good as last week, a C on that: two meals were not homemade (and not planned as such) Thursday's lunch (training all day, went out for lunch when I learned food was not provided) and Friday's breakfast (I ran out of eggs and didn't pick more up Thursday night). I had lunch out on Friday, but that was planned, and will be having dinner out tonight with DH - also planned. Still working on the diss. Didn't do any last night, spent time with the DH instead, which is also important. Went grocery shopping early this morning, so I have the rest of the AM to work away. -- Starting Monday, basically until the end of the challenge, it's going to be even more challenging for me: I have French classes after work, on my normal gym days (M/W. No class on Friday, so that's good), which means I can either go to the gym before work on M/W, or, after my French class. I'm leaning towards starting the day off at the gym, so I'll be rolling out of bed around 5:45am to get to the gym with enough time to workout, shower, and then get to work. Downside is I will be buying breakfast on those days (I eat eggs and whatnot for breakfast, oatmeal or cereal isn't enough, otherwise I'd make oatmeal at work or something). It will make getting to the gym early easier by having breakfast afterward, and I can see it being easier to get out of bed after the alarm goes off than finishing class around 7:30-8 and trying to drag my butt to the gym. Hope the rest of Week 2 is going well for everyone!

Week 2, Day 3: GRRRRR! I mean. Hello! Went to the gym, huzzah! Arm day today: 15min warmup/stretches; Bench: 1x5 bar only, 2x5 with 20lbs added...so...65lbs. This is the most weight I've added so far, so, yay! It was a bit of a struggle on the last rep of my last set, but I gave it a grunt and got the bar back up; 3x10 one-arm overhead press with a 17lb kettle bell, alternating with 2 sets of two-handed kb swings (27lb kb), and 1x20 set of alternating one handed kb swings; 3x as many as I can do pull-ups (1st set was 10, then 8 and 6. Total: 24) with the counterweight set at 60lbs; 8 knee pushups (I'm getting better at these, though it didn't help that my arms were jello by this point); cool down and stretches. All meals, homemade. Currently working on dissertation, will do so until 9:30 or so. Best get back to it! Hope everyone is having an awesome week 2!

Augh! Hope you recover soon! That does not sound good. I mean, YEAAAAH for kicking the ass of Week 1 and making a solid start to Week 2...but seriously - ouch. Get better soon! You'll need that toe for all the ass you're kicking!!!

No problem, Will! Life happens, and I know writing related burnout all too well. Best to avoid it! We're here for you Love the idea, erosan! Beyond what I have up for myself in my challenge, I'm going to get back to working on my second language learning (French). I have a course starting on Monday, so, good timing! And, when I say challenge myself, I mean going beyond 'okay, I did the assignment/passed the test' and working towards a functioning ability to understand and use the language. Keep on kicking ass, Brigade!

Thanks, ST! I first saw that at work from my phone and almost spit out my coffee from laughing. Awesome! And, thank you Swampling!

Thank you! That's a really good way of putting it. I do tend to get overwhelmed now and again, but then I do think back and reflect on having 160pgs done (yes, with revisions to do I'm sure - but, they're still written), plus 25pgs of my current chapter (10 more to go, or there abouts), and then 35 in the next; so 45pgs left. That's 115 less than I've already done. Good perspective! -- WEEK ONE = A+! I went to the gym every.day! M/W/F. All meals, except one (which was planned) were home made. Huzzah! I've been working away on the dissertation, and I'm still on track to be done by the end of this challenge. -- Week 2, Day 1: Gym dooooOoooone *singsong*. - 15min warmup and stretches - Squats! 1 set of 5 with just the bar, then 2x5 with 20lbs added (so, about 65lbs, maybe 75lbs; I'm not sure how heavy the bar is. It looks/feels more like the titanium/heavier competition bar from my old gym, but who knows). Either way, huzzah! When I first started back at the gym a few weeks ago, just the bar felt kind of heavy and awkward - now, I 65lbs is relatively comfortable. There were moments where I had to push myself to get back up, but it wasn't a terrible struggle. Squat question: how can I keep my toes in place? Maybe I'm putting too much weight on my heels? As I squat down and push my knees out, sometimes my toes turn out as well. It could also be an issue with my shoes, they're not terribly grippy on the wood platform. - 2 x 10 assisted pull-ups, just because (even though it's not 'arm day', I find my arms recover quickly). Having the counterweight set at 60lbs is getting easier. - 10 each side of 'walking lunges' with a 15lb dumbbell in each hand - 3x10 hyper back extensions alternating with 3 30second planks (longer, if I could hold it). - cool down and stretches. Meals: all were home made (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Dissertation: it's already been a long night, but, I've taken 15min to do some writing. It's already past my usual cutoff point, so I'd best shut 'er down. Keep on kicking ass, everyone!

Got it, thanks! Looks like I'll have to incorporate more pull-ups and the like to boost the attack capacity of the Brigade!

Good goals! I hear you on the upper body. I'm getting better, but for awhile my arms would shake just benching the bar (about 45-55 lbs, depending on the bar I was using). I'm also there with you on being good for awhile, and then getting distracted by everything else (or rather, letting things distract me...re: people pleasing). So! Here's to us getting through the rest of this challenge! Grrrrr!

Thanks, CandiRose! Yeah, the people pleasing habit is a hard one to break, sometimes I feel guilty for 'taking too much time for me'. But, I also know that my perception is warped because I had thought taking any time for me would be 'too much'! So, taking some time for myself is normal and a good idea, not selfish. Ugh. I think that too: if I bought the ingredients, I could make most of what is made in restaurants. I mean, sometimes it's not cost effective because they'll have some rare/expensive incidents, but for the most part I could do something similar (since I love to cook), so it's hard to justify a lot of going out meals...even if I do like a break from cooking every now and again!

Oh, no worries at all! It's a respawn/reboot for me (and a name change). I was also fairly absent on the last challenge, so it's understandable Think of me as having gotten distracted a few towns over, and now I'm running to catch up with the rest of you! -- Workouts for the week (total thus far), though there is no running/walking/pushups (I do have pull-ups!). Help with the points? Day 1 consisted of: 15min warmup/stretches; 3x5 squats (bar only first two sets, added 10lbs for the final set; 3x5 face-pulls (60lbs); 3x10 hyper back extensions, with a 20lb kettle bell in my arms. Day 3: Assisted pull-ups, counterweight set at about 60lbs (I'm 5'6 and weigh about 135-140? I haven't weighed myself in awhile!) for first two sets of 'as many as I can do', this time 10 pull-ups, then 7 dips. Then dropped it to 50lbs for the last set, which ended up being around 5 each (pull-ups and dips). So, total of 25 assisted pull-ups and 19 dips. Next: Bench. Which was unfortunate since my arms were jello by this point (normally I start with the benchpress), so I did two sets of bar only, one set with an added 10lbs. Then, 3x10 face-pulls at 60lbs, 2x10 one-armed overhead press with a 20lb kettle bell, then 10 squats with the kettle bell. Day 5: Deadlift daaaaay. 2x5 DL @ 95lbs and then 1x5 at 115lbs. Bench, just because: 2x5 @ 50lbs and 1x5 at 60lbs. 3x10 hyper back extensions with a 10lb plate in my arms. It's kind of like running, but all of my warm-ups include about 3min of jumping rope. So...9min of jumping rope for the week! Does that count? -- Happy weekend, Brigade!

I'm going to have to learn the attack/defence points system, but I'm so in on this!

Thanks, Slates and Absidey! Work week is dooooooooone! (Said in my best death metal voice). Week 1 isn't over, but it's shaping up to be good so far! Workouts for the week: A+, not a one missed! Today was deadlift day. I started getting a bit of a headache before the work day was over, but I pushed myself to go to the gym anyway as it wasn't 'too bad'. And, I like deadlifts. 15min warmup/stretches 2x5 DL @ 95lbs and then 1x5 at 115lbs (wasn't too difficult either. It wasn't super easy, but I didn't struggle to get it off the floor). Bench, just because: 2x5 @ 50lbs and 1x5 at 60lbs. 3x10 hyper back extensions with a 10lb plate in my arms. cool down and stretchs. I would have liked to do more, like some weighted walking lunges, but by this point my headache was getting worse so I called it a night. Still, I got my arse to the gym 3x this week. Huzzah! So far, meals are shaping up too: all meals, save for one (which was planned - lunch out with my mum), have been homemade. Every night I've done work on the dissertation. Sometimes it's two hours, sometimes it's only 20min (if I've already had a long night) and I try and shut it down by 9 or 9:30, so I don't have computer lights keeping me up (though, I do have f.lux on my laptop). Keep on kickin' ass, everyone!

Day 3 check-in! Gym - something, something complete... Huzzah! Started off with my assisted pull-ups, counterweight set at about 60lbs for first two sets of 'as many as I can do' (usually about 10) and then dropped it to 50lbs for the last set, which ended up being around 5. They're getting easier, so a goal of mine would be able to do one full bodyweight pull-up by the time the challenge is over. Bench was after pull-ups, which was unfortunate since my arms were jello by this point (normally I start with the benchpress), so I did two sets of bar only, one set with an added 10lbs. Then, 3x10 face-pulls at 60lbs, 2x10 one-armed overhead press with a 20lb kettle bell, then 10 squats with the kettle bell, stretching and cool down. Meals: all home made! Dissertation: I have about 20min before I'll be turning off all screens so I can unwind before I head to bed, but will use that to do some editing. Hope everyone else is kicking ass out there!

Mmmm...beeeeer. I'm a fan of dark brews, so I understand the beer love. Fortunately (?) for me, I don't have a regular group of people who want to have beer(s) often, so I can avoid it for the most part. Now, coffee....whooooboy! As a PhD student working full time and trying to finish the dissertation - yeah, coffee and I are bff's (only, not). I've been good lately about only having one cup in the morning, but I empathize with your plight! I think I'll take some inspiration from you on drinking more water, so, thanks! I have a glass water bottle at work (can't do plastic or stainless, tastes funny to me), so I really have no excuse. I drink about 16oz while at work, but I'll work on doubling that. Keep on kickin' ass!

D'awh! Love the dog! Vizsla? Ugh. I understand the cold/snow (because, Canada). The past two weeks have been pretty darn cold, but at least the days are starting to get longer. So, yay? Good goals, and good job kickin' ass today!