Chelkie

Ack, sorry I haven't updated in awhile everyone! It was an intensely busy week. Alright, Monday/Tuesday morning update: I went to the gym twice this week and did strength training, and then for one of my exercises I did the Guild challenge, but modified it a bit. Did a bit more of each exercise and skipped out on the jumping jacks. I hate jumping jacks with a fiery passion. Stretching I was really good all through the week but the weekend I dropped the ball a bit, forgot to stretch both saturday and sunday. When I did my stretches on Monday though I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of progress i'm making in my splits, I feel way more comfortable and you can really start to see me getting closer to the ground. I blame sunday on staying out late at my first Magic draft. I did alright for it being my first time won 2 out 4 matches. Yay super nerdness! I kept in my protein goals and brought lunch 4 times last week. Overall I feel like on this challenge i've definitely not had the strongest start, but it's week three and I still have time to pick myself up and finish strong. Here's to turning things around!

I could probably get behind subbing in between sets, i've never seen anyone do it in my gym though. It is rather busy this time of year, last month I didn't have a problem getting on the one squat rack, now I have to lurk around it for at least 10 minutes. I selfishly hope that in a month all the people who joined for a new years resolution will have flaked out, and i'll get my peaceful gym time back again. We'll see. Google mostly, I looked up quite a few sites as well as asked around on Myfitnesspal, the general consensus was 1g/1lb LBM or .82g/lb regular body weight. At my last body fat test at my gym I was 95lbs of LBM and my total weight is 117lbs, both of which equal to 95g of protein. I mostly did this challenge to test if there was any measurable change eating considerably more protein than normal. Some people say yes, some people say no. So far I haven't really felt a difference, but it's only been a week and a half. I've actually also been relatively curious about preworkout stuff. My bodybuilding friend took it every day before his workouts and said it made him far more energetic and made him push harder. It seems to me most of it is just caffeine though, so I wonder if just drinking an energy drink wouldn't do the same sort of thing?

musasabi - That's actually not too bad, do you have barbells or just dumbbells? So I stayed out late last night having dinner and a movie with my friend, and didn't get back home until around 11:30 last night. So when I got home I remembered I still had my stretches to do, but I was tired so I decided to skip my warmup...yeah, it's amazing the difference in stretching when your warm and when you aren't. Didn't have nearly the flexibility, and my muscles felt much more uncomfortable when stretched to the point I could easily do the day before. Another lesson learned the hard way!

A jerk. :/ Yeah I feel you on that, it's quite annoying to have to wait for both floor space or a squat rack, my gym is pretty cramped too. Well, the weight section is...for some reason the cardio area though, totally open and spacious. Having a basement and a bunch of money would be really convenient. Also you wouldn't have to commute. Though sometimes it's nice to get up and out of your house, even if is just to hit the gym.

Well, I laughed a bit at both of us. Me for having a diva moment, and him for his ridiculous urge to claim everything as his personal property. Also he was one of those people that sounds like they are canoodling while lifting, grunting, groaning, huffing ect. Which I can't help but laugh, because they are just so earnest. Paintball gun would be pretty fun...but it would also get paint all over the nice gym equipment, which wouldn't be cool. Now when he leaves to his car though, totally fair game.

Haha hey now, I don't want to be eyeballed in a demeaning way (that only happens occasionally), but a person can appreciate the occasional approving glance. You would have to, or you'd probably try to tear out everyone's eyeballs at the gym, because it just happens and is a fact of life. Well that makes sense, I would probably be watching someone looking in imminent danger of being crushed like a bug too. Perhaps he just liked your form though. I don't think anyone understands these guys except these guys. It was pretty douchey, especially because there is section with several bars and weights off in a corner that you can use for deadlifts, that isn't right in the squat rack.

So I was at the gym last night in the weights section, lifting. Lets preface this by saying that i'm usually the only girl in there among an average of 10 guys. It's not uncommon for me to get eyeballed, sometimes creepily. Also there is only one squat rack, why? Because apparently no one likes squats, I dunno. Alright back to the story. So I was lifting and there was this guy in the squat rack, using it hold his weights in between deadlifts, and he finally finished and unloaded the weight from the bar and started doing something on a machine. So I of course, scoot on over to the squat rack so I can actually get my squats in at some point during the evening. I'm busting them out and in the mirror I notice him creepily staring at me. Intensely staring. I chalk this up to the above mentioned facts and continue my routine. The moment I step away from the machine he races in, loads up the bar and lays it out for deadlifts, stares me down, then walks away back to his other machine. So not only was he not staring at me in that way (yeah...ego blow) he was being a total jerk and purposefully hogging the one squat rack so he could "circuit train." I had to laugh at myself for a bit though. On a happier note, everyone else at the gym has been quite courteous, one guy even helped me find where they hid the weight clips/collars.

Yeah, I guess I had to learn my gyms hours eventually. It was weird though, I've worked out late and i've worked out Sunday, I guess I just had never tried combining the two. Working out Sunday morning has definitely been my favorite though, not a soul in the gym and I don't have to wait like a vulture for the one measly squat rack.

I wish I had a weight set at home...or even a basement! It's not too hard, I find it more terrible if I have to do it in the morning though. Prepping everything at night while I make or immediately after dinner is easier for me, as i'm not a morning person at all, so I like to wake up the latest I possibly can and run out the door. Go week 2! Here's to hoping for safe and measurable gains!

I've started doing that as well, we always manage to make too much food when we cook anyways, so i've been packing the leftovers for lunch. Very convenient! My only problem is I have an issue with reheated meat, I find it repulsive. Going to have to suck it up if I want to hit my protein goal every day though. =/ Haha riiiight. Old hats, for sure. Though going to the gym when I know i'm going to lift weights vs run on the treadmill is actually way easier mentally. Oh yeah! I actually found that one too in my searches, and it seemed pretty helpful. I can't help but laugh at him though, he looks like such a tool.

Ah yes Erick, sorry I don't check on NF very much during the weekend, but here is my report! 1st Monday Update: So almost everything went as planned. Almost. Was set to do my third and final strength training session for the week on Friday, but I got invited to a last minute going away party for a friend so I pushed it to Sat. On Sat I lazed about my house all day playing video games and saying, "I'll go to the gym tomorrow!" Then Sunday I had to go to work from 1-6, and by the time i got out and drove to my gym, the thing was closed! Apparently every single branch of my gym closes early Sunday, even the 24hr one isn't open on Sundays. So I shuffled home grumbling and whining, but i've learned my lesson, don't push your workouts off! When it comes to stretching I think I did really well, I stretched every day this week, twice after my workouts and 5 times with a little warm up in the evenings while I watched a Battlestar Galactica episode. I can definitely tell i'm getting a bit further down into my splits. I've only been using static stretches though, and this week I think i'll start to incorporate some isometric stretching and some noodle rolling. For diet related stuff, I brought breakfast/lunch every single work day (including Sunday!) which was pretty great for me. Only twice was it something really solid and a balanced meal though, so i'm going to try to be better about that this week and cook some more meals that I can take for lunches. I also have been keeping up on my protein intake, I wasn't super strict about it though and came in a bit below and a bit above some days. I figure this is life, and i'm not going to try to control it too much as long as i'm getting about enough. I didn't run at all though this week though. I'm such a slacker! Ah well, the Zombies, Run! missions will just have to wait. Hope everyone else had a great first week as well!

Haha that was both ridiculous and inspirational. Also, eating raw eggs in a smoothie gives me the heebie jeebies.

Rut Roh. Can I just borrow someones already working flight suit? Sharing is caring you know.

You know it. Us Alaskan know how to buy good outdoor gear...aka shop at REI and buy almost entirely North Face items.

I actually decide to only focus on the side splits for the challenge, the front (or left and right) splits seem a bit too daunting right now...though I suppose if i'm already stretching I might as well throw in a few ones that could help me later on with those. Also, I don't suppose you know of any good videos/websites about foam rolling, you've convinced me to work it into my stretching routine.

I certainly hope so! Though even in gymnastics I never got to a full side split, so this is new territory for me. Deal! Though you can already do front splits, so I feel I have a handicap in this race.

Just a quick update, I finally had time to upload the starting picture I took last night of my splits. I just edited it into my first post under the splits section. Yes...i'm pretty much just standing up. I was a little disappointed, then I thought, "hey, this is a before picture, the more it sucks the better I look when I take my final splits picture in 6 weeks!" Good motivation. As a side note, my hair is tucked to one side, I don't have some sort of crazy new age cut where its short on one side and long on the other. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I have a hard enough time getting people to take me seriously in the Finance field looking as young as I do, without something wild like that.

I'm kind of curious about how long you're holding stretches for. I've read you shouldn't hold one longer than a minute, but I find it definitely takes longer than that for me to wait out the discomfort and force my mind and legs to rellllax. I just don't want to pull or tear anything. I shall definitely have to read that site when I get a chance to sit down and pay attention to it, looks like it has quite a good bit of information, thanks! Haha that's true, I actually felt a bit of progress between stretching monday vs. tuesday though, it felt less awkward. Hopefully this persists!

Hey Quirky, I see we're both doing side splits as a goal this time! I don't suppose you have a training regime I could take a gander at? I've been doing the three from that site I posted, and been really focused on relaxing and waiting out the tension, but I wonder if i'm doing enough. Either way, good goals again this time, the basement in particular is a daunting task. I'm sure you'll be even more of a super hero in your wife's eyes when you finish it though!

Hehe yeah, I know you didn't mean I should be a bum. It's tempting though sometimes. Especially on the weekends when i've spent all day in my pjs and the thought of putting on all the required gear to leave is just oh so daunting. I'll definitely listen to my body and if its feeling strained i'll take some time off. Will just be my personal goal to separate my body saying it, and my mind saying it.

I've found it to be the same tight rope sort of balance, i'm not too worried about calories at the moment, but eating the amount of food that it requires to get that much protein in difficult. I definitely need to look into alternate sources of protein because i'm relying too heavily on supplements. Ah another marksman what do you like to shoot? I've been using a .357 that I inherited from my father, but i'm eyeballing a 454 Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan for my first gun purchase. Bear protection is definitely my biggest driving factor as I like to go camping and hiking a lot in the summers. One downside of being a small girl though, the kick on a pistol big enough to put a dent in a bear darn near knocks me over, and rifles are just not practical for hiking. Haha good luck on your half...or two! I would say you should plan on doing two anyways if your first one is in April, plenty of running time after that in the summer, and you'll want to put your training to good use. It really is super practical, though I saw a post on another persons thread about gardening, and now i'm kind of tempted to try that too. Another really useful and delicious hobby.

I actually just found a link to this site on Pinterest http://personalizedfashion.blogspot.se/2010/02/how-to-make-your-own-dress-form.html?m=1 where it gives instructions on how to make your own dress form. I think it would be fun to try, and also helpful because then it would be exactly your size and shape. I'll let you know how it goes!

Haha, thank you for the sub! Badassitude is definitely the goal. I've heard about the pvc pipe thing too, i'm crazy, but i'm not sure i'm that crazy! I'm not sure I get the point of the rolling in general though, is it just like a deep tissue massage and helps loosen up your muscles? Is it a pre or post workout thing? Hey now Anchorage was getting -10/-15 weather in November, when it's supposed to be relatively mild still. Though it has been quite lovely out this week, in the low 30's and snowy. Mostly I can just say, HA! Suckas! to you poor folks freezing your bums off in the lower 48.

Coming from Alaska i'd normally scoff at your snow days...but after checking the weather, it snowed up to 18" in some places in Michigan. That's actually pretty solid snow right there, so I say good on you and enjoy your snow!

Quirky - Haha yeah, I think most of those will become challenges this year, but I also have a few other ideas i've been kicking around. I love traveling, it's kind of the one thing I splurge on. Mostly I horde my money like a squirrel...a money squirrel. But I don't mind spending money as much if it's to do awesome things i'd probably never get to do again. I think next years trip is already planned too, my parents have a timeshare in Cancun they said I could use, so I think i'll go do there for a bit and explore all the cool Mayan Ruins. GoodDoug - Allow myself to slack? That's a slippery slope for me... It's true you don't want to get burnt out or get an strain injury, but I worry if I give myself leniency to miss a day or two it'll snowball. Do you think perhaps a deloading week or something similar would be just as beneficial? missrebecca - Yay! I love finding people who are sharing my goals, i'll have to go creep on your thread and see your strategies. That's pretty much me exactly. I'm 5'2 but most of my junk is in my trunk...poor chest. So I have stubby little legs, a big butt and a smallish upper body. Makes finding clothes quite impossible. That Burda Style place is awesome though, just took a peek and I think it'll turn out to be quite helpful. I've also found a lot of really fun projects on Pinterest. I know how to sew straight and on a curve, but i'm mostly worried about sewing on different fabrics, especially ones with stretch, because i've only ever really sewn on cotton and denim. How do you go about fitting your clothes to yourself, do you have a mannequin you pin on, or do you just put it on and pin it in the mirror?