Hermy G's Super Fantastic Between Challenge Workout Log of Silliness!

[MasterOfCows]

Glad the knee feels better!!

[Max Power]

 

hey, what's going on in here, Oh just Laura dominating another workout,as usual!  Carry on.  

[Hermione Gainser]

Glad the knee feels better!!

 

 

 

hey, what's going on in here, Oh just Laura dominating another workout,as usual!  Carry on.  

 

Thanks y'all

 

***

 

4/27/13

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I'm having some weirdness in my right shoulder/arm.  I felt like I pinched a nerve again, the muscle at the bottom of my neck was all swollen, I have a pins and needles feeling in my arm and hand, etc.  Got it rubbed, rolled it out and went back to the chiro on Saturday morning and got readjusted.  It still didn't feel that great on Saturday afternoon when Boyf and I headed to the gym so I opted to do a lower body workout with minimal arm use.  So, the following:

 

DB Bulgarian Split Squat:

25x5

25x5

25x5

weight is per hand

 

RDL:

75x6

75x6

75x6

a little eh with the holding

 

DB Reverse Lunges:

15x12

15x12

I think that was the weight? maybe I picked 10, but 15 seems more realistic.

 

Between workouts and then after I finished I helped Boyf with his 1RM test.  It's hard to help someone with a 1RM and not do it! haha but he did really well given it was first test. He vastly underestimated his strength. 

 

Notes on my workout/arm feeling:  During my workout (and for a while now) I notice my right leg is a lot tighter and weaker than my left.  Trying to lunge and BSS is much harder and the weight feels a lot heavier.  This is regardless of whether or not I do that leg first.  When I got my deep tissue she said my IT band on that leg was really tight so I've been trying to stretch and roll out the area with varied success.  But I think it's interesting that this is the case given the issues I'm having in that arm.  It's like that entire side of my body is all jacked up.  I feel like these things must be related.  More mobility!

 

Also, on my way to work this morning the tingly feeling came back. According to my arm anatomy search (I should know this, huh?) the tingling is in my deltoid and brachialis.  I'm not sure what it is about driving in my car but I keep adjusting my seat and position.. nothing seems to work.  The plus side is sitting at work is also bugging it (my desk set up sucks in a major way) so I've rigged a standing desk set up (huzzah).

 

wtf arm?

[Max Power]

Come on arm, you used to be cool, why don't you play nice anymore?!

 

That sounds like a pinched nerve to me too, but I'm in no way, form, or fashion an expert, it could easily be a side effect from a recent bout of Khumbu cough for all I know.  (I'm assuming you've climbed Everest recently?)  

 

Have you tried a heating pad on it?  I don't know if that would help or not, but maybe?

 

Hope it gets better soon, if not, you'll have the legs of a Greek god, so that's cool.  

[katscratch]

GAH! I just messed up all my fancy quoting. 

 

What PrincessHeather said re: melatonin.  I have come across objective research in the past-- melatonin was one of the first things I was put on when I was ill, for adrenal support, and I was told by my physician that it would mess with my natural sleep hormones if I stayed on it long term.  Higher doses have a stronger negative effect if I remember right, which makes sense I suppose. 

 

So it's not that you get addicted, necessarily, it's more like not being able to "wake up" without caffeine, or tv before bed messing with your sleep-- just another external factor that disrupts our bodies' natural system. 

 

For the people that melatonin helps fall asleep the benefit seems to definitely outweigh the risk. 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you feel tingling all the way down your arm, specifically in your pinky like if you flex your wrist back?  I have an old ulnar nerve injury and certain arm positions definitely cause symptoms.  I injured my elbow, but if I sleep really hard (so not moving positions much) with pressure at my shoulder I end up with numbness the next day.  Especially if I sleep all night on my stomach- I tend to tuck the arm up under me, so way hyperflexed in the elbow.  Ok enough about me-- mostly I'm just curious if maybe sleeping harder if you sleep on that side is causing problems. 

[Hermione Gainser]

Come on arm, you used to be cool, why don't you play nice anymore?!

 

That sounds like a pinched nerve to me too, but I'm in no way, form, or fashion an expert, it could easily be a side effect from a recent bout of Khumbu cough for all I know.  (I'm assuming you've climbed Everest recently?)  

 

Have you tried a heating pad on it?  I don't know if that would help or not, but maybe?

 

Hope it gets better soon, if not, you'll have the legs of a Greek god, so that's cool.  

 

I laughed. Hard. No lie!  That is the silver lining.  I took a walk and worked mostly standing up so far today and it's relieved a great deal of the issues.  I have tried heat and ice... not sure it did anything, though.

 

GAH! I just messed up all my fancy quoting. 

 

What PrincessHeather said re: melatonin.  I have come across objective research in the past-- melatonin was one of the first things I was put on when I was ill, for adrenal support, and I was told by my physician that it would mess with my natural sleep hormones if I stayed on it long term.  Higher doses have a stronger negative effect if I remember right, which makes sense I suppose. 

 

So it's not that you get addicted, necessarily, it's more like not being able to "wake up" without caffeine, or tv before bed messing with your sleep-- just another external factor that disrupts our bodies' natural system. 

 

For the people that melatonin helps fall asleep the benefit seems to definitely outweigh the risk. 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you feel tingling all the way down your arm, specifically in your pinky like if you flex your wrist back?  I have an old ulnar nerve injury and certain arm positions definitely cause symptoms.  I injured my elbow, but if I sleep really hard (so not moving positions much) with pressure at my shoulder I end up with numbness the next day.  Especially if I sleep all night on my stomach- I tend to tuck the arm up under me, so way hyperflexed in the elbow.  Ok enough about me-- mostly I'm just curious if maybe sleeping harder if you sleep on that side is causing problems. 

 

It is all the way down to my hand, yes.. but it mostly comes up over the top of my forearm and to my middle and ring finger. I had a rough sleep night last night so I'm not sure, but I don't think so.  It felt fine when I woke up and was getting ready but started to feel funky about 15 minutes into my car ride. Weirdness. Even more weird is that sitting in a proper, ergonomic position seems to aggravate it. Say what?!  Sounds like a job for Kstar. someone call him!

[Hermione Gainser]

Some random stuff:

 

I forgot I got this cheap pedometer for free during an event. I decided to try to use it during my lunch walks to see how many steps I take. it's definitely faulty and doesn't log all the steps. The plus side, it doesn't seem to add steps. So I logged in at ~2900 for a little less than 30 minutes. I'm positive it didn't log a bunch, though. So, that's cool.

 

I spent most of yesterday working standing up and it helped a lot with the arm. Got home and did mobility and it felt a ton better.  Currently, it's bothering me again. It's definitely something about this set up.  The plan for tonight is to go to the gym and do a bunch of mobility and then lift. 

 

Also, this happened the other night and I forgot to post it. I think y'all would appreciate it.

 

Making bone broth and it's the half way point. This is when I break down the bones some more and dig out any marrow. So, I start digging out the marrow. Boyf is cooking next to me.

 

Me: "I really love digging marrow out of bones. I don't know why, but it's awesome."

Boyf, laughing: "You know, if you met your former vegetarian self in a dark alley I'm pretty sure you'd kill her and make broth with the bones."

Me: "Heck yeah. And they'd be awesome because I was grass fed."

[PrincessHeather]

Me: "I really love digging marrow out of bones. I don't know why, but it's awesome."

Boyf, laughing: "You know, if you met your former vegetarian self in a dark alley I'm pretty sure you'd kill her and make broth with the bones."

Me: "Heck yeah. And they'd be awesome because I was grass fed."

 

Best. Conversation. EVER.

[Max Power]

Best. Conversation. EVER.

 

Agreed Ha!  

[Morrigainz]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahah! Yes! It's perfect!

[Chaze]

That is fricken hilarious! It's weird to think of a grass-fed Laura.

[Rob__]

So I was lamenting the lack of Laura thread again. And then you posted on my thread which reminded me I STILL needed to come over here and subscribe to your battle thread since you don't have a challenge. I fixed the subscribe thing, and play catchup and see this:

 

Making bone broth and it's the half way point. This is when I break down the bones some more and dig out any marrow. So, I start digging out the marrow. Boyf is cooking next to me.

 

Me: "I really love digging marrow out of bones. I don't know why, but it's awesome."

Boyf, laughing: "You know, if you met your former vegetarian self in a dark alley I'm pretty sure you'd kill her and make broth with the bones."

Me: "Heck yeah. And they'd be awesome because I was grass fed."

 

Oh Laura <3 

 

My friend Ashley stopped being vegetarian and said it was the best thing she ever did for her health. Her boyfriend at the time broke her with bacon... I broke my vegan crazy ex roommate with steak.

[Caution]

[katscratch]

Really though, every day thousands of innocent animals are killed by the eating habits of vegetarians. But that's another thread entirely

[weirdquark]

I have a vegan friend with a plant phobia. They eat all of the plants. (Well, not all; they have allergies.)

 

 

 

Me: "I really love digging marrow out of bones. I don't know why, but it's awesome."

Boyf, laughing: "You know, if you met your former vegetarian self in a dark alley I'm pretty sure you'd kill her and make broth with the bones."

Me: "Heck yeah. And they'd be awesome because I was grass fed."

 

 

Good to know that when you were vegetarian your diet was good enough that you counted as grass-fed!

[MasterOfCows]

That is hilarious.

 

My vegetarian friend ate a piece of bacon at our house a month ago.  I don't think she's eaten anything meaty since though.

[Hermione Gainser]

Best. Conversation. EVER.

 

 

Agreed Ha!  

 

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahah! Yes! It's perfect!

 

 

That is fricken hilarious! It's weird to think of a grass-fed Laura.

 

Hahaha thanks I was laughing my butt off. 

I know, right?!? It seems like a lifetime ago, but really, it's only been a year and half...

 

So I was lamenting the lack of Laura thread again. And then you posted on my thread which reminded me I STILL needed to come over here and subscribe to your battle thread since you don't have a challenge. I fixed the subscribe thing, and play catchup and see this:

 

 

Oh Laura <3 

 

My friend Ashley stopped being vegetarian and said it was the best thing she ever did for her health. Her boyfriend at the time broke her with bacon... I broke my vegan crazy ex roommate with steak.

 

YAY!!!! I think it's helped my health. Granted, I'm definitely heavier than I was but I also wasn't lifting weights..  But I've noticed a lot of things that have improved. But then, since finding NF I've been changing my diet even more.. so who knows which x= y here. I'm definitely a happy meat eating, Laura  

I actually couldn't eat red meat when I started... it did not play well with my stomach. NOW? Give it to me raw!

 

 

I've always been the activisty type....

Really though, every day thousands of innocent animals are killed by the eating habits of vegetarians. But that's another thread entirely

 

lols, most definitely another thread. eek!

I have a vegan friend with a plant phobia. They eat all of the plants. (Well, not all; they have allergies.)

 

 

 

 

 

Good to know that when you were vegetarian your diet was good enough that you counted as grass-fed!

 

Whoa. That's craziness.

 

Ha, yeah, it varied. when I started in HS it definitely wasn't. But later it got cleaned up. 

That is hilarious.

 

My vegetarian friend ate a piece of bacon at our house a month ago.  I don't think she's eaten anything meaty since though.

 

Did she just want to see what happened? or if she liked it?  That's interesting.  It was a slow change for me. A piece of chicken here, a pork chop there..

 

***

 

Okay, so lift went relatively well. I took some video of my bench (sadly only two sets b/c my POS phone shut off when I started taping set 3. I need to upgrade but verizon is pissing me off...anyhow...).

 

4/30/13

 

Bench:

60x4

75x3

85x5

85x5

85x5

I felt weaker on the right side (the injured side) but didn't feel any pain. Slight pressure on set 3.  Form didn't feel as good as last time and it was hard to get my shoulders the right way despite all the mobility.

 

Squat:

bwx7

65x3

80x2

90x1

95x5

95x5

95x5

Form felt fine but I definitely had trouble maintaining a proper rack with the arm thing. I was pissed my phone died so early on because I had to do these without any headphones or good music (gym music-ugh). I found myself stuck around these gym bros all over the place. One gym bro felt the need to watch my squats (my first warm up squats are always bad, btw so I hate when people watch), the other two bros were doing "chest, bis and tris" ... lord. Leader bro was so obnoxious. Other bro, who seriously needs to cut his gd bieber haircut (he kept flicking his head..like perpetually) had no concept of space. His bench was 2 inches from the squat rack. Seriously? Bro.

 

Seated Cable Row:

100x7

100x7

100x4.5

whaaaaa?

 

DB Reverse Lunges:

25x8

25x8

weight is per hand, reps per leg

 

Medicine Ball Core work:

up: 10/8

to knees: 8/6

side reach: 20/20

leg raises: 8/6

 

No finisher b/c I started my workout late. In all my brilliance I forgot to pack my shoes.  Driving home and back would have taken over an hour (crazy ass traffic) so I went to Target and got some new chucks. I needed them anyway as my old pair (literally 12+ years old) were falling apart at the seams. So, it worked. But it still put me 30 minutes behind normal.

 

The gym was packed with customer appreciation stuff. Subway (ew), Panda Express (double ew), a chiropractor (cool), some supplements (potentially cool) and a tanning booth (eh). It took up allllll of the extra workout/stretch space. There were a lot of people working out, too (it looked like a Monday). So yeah, that was interesting.

 

In other news, I recently changed up my macro nutrient ratios, stopped cycling calories (and mostly stopped cycling macros) and have extended my feeding window. 

I'm eating ~2100 calories daily, lower carb over all though more on workout days, less on rest (so mini cycling), same protein, higher fat.  I started Monday. So far it's not hard since I'm eating roughly maintenance level. 

 

Self experimentation, ftw!

 

I made an appointment to see my doctor about my arm.  I just got it moved up to tomorrow (originally Monday).  Naturally, I did some internet searching.  I think it's an ulnar nerve injury.  But it might be something else. My forearm is hot compared to my other one and my finger tips are cold compared to the other hand. So, circulation? I don't know, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the doc about this.

[Morrigainz]

Yay self experimentation! Yay chiropractor! Yay new shoes!

 

Boo for bros and busy, crowded gym, and Bieber haircuts, and gross food.

 

Awesome workout I also hate it when people are watching me. It sucks. The other day when I was doing squats, some bro was watching me (he was wearing one of those shirts that has the arms and almost the entire side ripped off) and I was getting self-conscious but I couldn't hear a G-D thing because I was blasting NIN. So I'm trying to watch myself for cues in the mirror, and getting distracted by him watching me, and then he said something to me - in the middle of the set. I think he was telling me that the bar was uneven (higher on one side, lower on the other), but I couldn't hear. So I just sort of nodded and kept going. Stupid bro, distracting me. Also it was my 5x10 sets so I was only using the bar. GRRR bros.

[MasterOfCows]

Did she just want to see what happened? or if she liked it?  That's interesting.  It was a slow change for me. A piece of chicken here, a pork chop there..

She didn't grow up being a vegetarian, and she always has liked the smell of bacon.  I think it was an experiment for her - she knew she liked bacon but wanted to see if it would upset her stomach maybe, I don't know.

There's this site I've been on that details some of the health problems vegans have experienced, even when done "properly."  It was kind of neat.  Just shows that there's no silver bullet for anyone when it comes to food.  Some people are perfectly healthy with some variation of SAD, some paleo, some primal, some vegetarian/vegan, some other, everyone just has to find what works for them.

http://letthemeatmeat.com

 

(to skip the "ethical" type arguments, which I find a little pretentious, click on the ex-vegan & interviews with ex-vegan links on the left side)

I also hate hate hate people watching me.  That's why my work gym, even though the amount of equipment is scanty works well for me.  There's this one guy that comes in sometimes when I'm there, and he ALWAYS stares at me, no matter what I'm doing.  Weird creeper guy.  Plus he totally smells the whole place up.  And talks on his phone though his headset SUPER loudly.

[PrincessHeather]

Yay for self experimentation! Hopefully the changes will yeild some sort of result so you know if further tweaks would be beneficial or not. Huzzah!

[Hermione Gainser]

Yay self experimentation! Yay chiropractor! Yay new shoes!

 

Boo for bros and busy, crowded gym, and Bieber haircuts, and gross food.

 

Awesome workout I also hate it when people are watching me. It sucks. The other day when I was doing squats, some bro was watching me (he was wearing one of those shirts that has the arms and almost the entire side ripped off) and I was getting self-conscious but I couldn't hear a G-D thing because I was blasting NIN. So I'm trying to watch myself for cues in the mirror, and getting distracted by him watching me, and then he said something to me - in the middle of the set. I think he was telling me that the bar was uneven (higher on one side, lower on the other), but I couldn't hear. So I just sort of nodded and kept going. Stupid bro, distracting me. Also it was my 5x10 sets so I was only using the bar. GRRR bros.

 

It's so annoying. Most of the time I can brush it off but I definitely get people who just sit and watch. Like, dude, you're not paying me for the show, so move on.  But he caught me catch him and moved on. I just wish, if you were going to watch, you would do it during my good sets. Not my "easing the hips into this" set...which is always what my first warm up set with a bar works out to. so ugly.

 

also not cool: talking to me during a set. Wait until I'm finished, bro. I love my noise cancelling headphones. It's so fun to not be able to hear people!

She didn't grow up being a vegetarian, and she always has liked the smell of bacon.  I think it was an experiment for her - she knew she liked bacon but wanted to see if it would upset her stomach maybe, I don't know.

There's this site I've been on that details some of the health problems vegans have experienced, even when done "properly."  It was kind of neat.  Just shows that there's no silver bullet for anyone when it comes to food.  Some people are perfectly healthy with some variation of SAD, some paleo, some primal, some vegetarian/vegan, some other, everyone just has to find what works for them.

http://letthemeatmeat.com

 

(to skip the "ethical" type arguments, which I find a little pretentious, click on the ex-vegan & interviews with ex-vegan links on the left side)

I also hate hate hate people watching me.  That's why my work gym, even though the amount of equipment is scanty works well for me.  There's this one guy that comes in sometimes when I'm there, and he ALWAYS stares at me, no matter what I'm doing.  Weird creeper guy.  Plus he totally smells the whole place up.  And talks on his phone though his headset SUPER loudly.

 

Exactly. Gotta see what works for us each. As Strawberry Squatcake would say, "we are unique fn snowflakes"

 

ewww, smelly creeper. I do not like.

Yay for self experimentation! Hopefully the changes will yeild some sort of result so you know if further tweaks would be beneficial or not. Huzzah!

 

yes! I'm not sure what kind of time frame to start expecting to see changes but we'll give this a solid two weeks before changing anything else.  Fingers crossed!

 

you know what's funny? I always get soooo excited when I switch to a new dietary plan (even if it's a tiny switch). I'm not sure what that is, but I like it. currently still excited.

 

***

went for a walk today. logged 8144 steps.  woot. being ablet o wear the pedometer on my pants (one of the few pairs htat fits) is easier than trying to carry it.

[Morrigainz]

Yes! And, not to threadjack, but bro was there again today, talking super loudly and hardly doing any work. I really wanted to punch him in the face. In fact, before my working set of DLs, I had to close my eyes and take a deep cleansing breath to get the hatred out.

[PrincessHeather]

Mir, during all that, is Bro actually doing anything himself? I mean, I never really notice other people and certainly don't have enough time to skeev people out by watching them work. Maybe he's jealous of your beastliness?

 

[Hermione Gainser]

Mir, during all that, is Bro actually doing anything himself? I mean, I never really notice other people and certainly don't have enough time to skeev people out by watching them work. Maybe he's jealous of your beastliness?

 

 

HA! this. yes.

[Morrigainz]

Only a little. Sometimes he does half squats. Today he was doing flies (flyes? I don't know what's appropriate when taking about the exercise) in the cable crossover machine.