nicolakgreen

I gave up shampoo about two years ago. Now I just use a baking soda/water solution instead of shampoo and vinegar/water to condition. With shampoo I had to wash my hair every day, now it's every four or five. Makes life so much simpler. http://no-poo.livejournal.com/ has lots of info.

Your studies sound fascinating. Welcome to the rebellion.

This was fun. The gym was nice and quiet so I didn't feel too bad for hogging the rack for so long. Squat - 55kg Bench Press - 37.5kg Deadlift - 60kg Not much compared to the rest of you but I was pretty impressed by my progress so far.

My bruises from self defence are pretty spectacular this week - my left knee from where I hit the ground and my right forearm from blocking are turning some amazing colours. I went and found my 1 rep maxs yesterday as the gym was quiet. Pretty pathetic compared to the other guys on the spreadsheet, but I was pleased with my results - not bad for only being able to move the bar six weeks ago. Squat - 55kg Bench Press - 37.5kg Deadlift - 60kg I only have two sessions left on the plan I have been following, so I am going to spend a couple of hours today figuring out what to do next.

Self defence hurt tonight. Had fun, but ow.

@ ETFnerd From the chatter in the changing rooms it seemed like they all use the gym normally but have been too busy with christmas to make it in for a while. I'm expecting the real new years lot next week. Normally I am the only woman there, maybe there's one other - yesterday there were easily a dozen of us and very few blokes. Felt bizarre!

Been fixing the fence today with my dad. We originally built it 20 years ago and a couple of the posts have gone. The first time we built it was just before the big storm, so when we put it back together after that we gave it seriously deep foundations - digging out all that concrete is more time consuming than anticipated. I skipped breakfast to get on, which was a mistake - by 1 I was feeling lightheaded and shaky. And while we were eating lunch the heavens opened and never let up, so we have called it for the day and will start again tomorrow. I will have breakfast first. Odds of us getting finished before my parents go away for the new year is pretty low though.

Back in the gym yesterday after missing two days over xmas. 28-12-11 Workout B1 Squats 8x20, 8x3, 8x40, 8x40, 8x40 Deadlift 5x40, 5x40, 5x40, 5x40, 5x40 Dumbbell chest press 8x10, 8x10, 7x10, 4x10 Bentover row 8x25, 8x25, 8x25 Overhead press 8x15, 8x15, 5x15, 7x15 Mostly women in the gym today for a change - meant the weights area was nice and quiet. Going to see about my 1RMs on Saturday for the Midwinter Muscle Madness: Virtual Powerlifting Meet http://nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?6272-Midwinter-Muscle-Madness-Virtual-Powerlifting-Meet

@ cacodaemonia Thank you, I hope they do too. Romanian Dead Lift. I'm going to start with proofreading - I used to do it at work until it was outsourced a year ago and I really miss it. I'd like to get into copy editing too. As soon as I get xmas over with! Roll on the new year. Just me at self defence again tonight; I had lots of fun but am feeling very battered now. With less people there it's a much more intense session and hurts more!

Not a workout, but an achievement all the same. IMAG0056 by nicolakgreen, on Flickr One for my mum, one for my sister.

21-12-11 Workout A1 Squats 5x7.5, 5x27.5, 5x37.5, 5x37.5, 5x37.5, 5x37.5, 5x37.5 Bench Press 5x20, 5x30, 5x30, 5x30, 5x30, 5x30 RDL 8x30, 8x35, 8x35, 8x35 Inverted Row - 3x8 Tricep extension 10x7.5, 10x7.5, 10x7.5 Wednesdays are always so busy. I had to wait ages for the squat cage - started my squats in the smith machine and it was horrible. Not doing that again. Worth the wait for the cage. Next year when I start freelancing and cutting down my hours at work (once I have made £100 working in the evenings I'll cut down the hours I work at my day job by a day) I am going to make sure Wednesday is the first day I take off work so I can go during the day. @ cacodaemonia - I have been sleeping great since the weather calmed down - feel so much better. I will post pics as soon as it's done. Hopefully this afternoon so I can get my wrapping done today too. Tomorrow is a busy day then we're heading off early Saturday so it needs to get done now. @ Leimanu - Happy to be foreign and exotic. Honestly I swear too much irl so I make an effort to use the fun English words online rather than offend people!

Nice, good job!

19-12-11 Workout B2 Squats 8x10, 8x25, 8x30, 8x30, 8x30 Deadlift 5x20, 5x30, 5x35, 5x40, 5x45 Dumbbell chest press 8x10, 8x10, 8x10 Bentover row 8x25, 8x25, 8x25 Overhead press 8x15, 71/2x15, 5x15, 5x15 Makes a crappy day so much better.

I was feeling horrible, all bloated and lethargic, but I went in and had an excellent time in the gym. Felt amazing when I came out, and met up with some people I haven't seen for ages in the pub. A good evening, even if they did encourage me to make a knitting needle case for my sister rather than buy one. Sewing day today then. 17-12-11 Workout A2 Squats 5x20, 5x30, 5x32.5, 5x35, 5x37.5, 5x40, 5x42.5 Bench Press 5x20, 5x22.5, 5x25, 5x27.5, 5x30 RDL 8x25, 8x25, 8x25 Inverted Row - 3x8 Tricep extension 10x7.5, 10x7.5, 6x7.5, 5x7.5

Just got my appointment letter for the endocrinologist and it's for 23 Feb. That seems a really long time away, but I'm not sure I should mess with my diet beforehand. Time for research.