Sammiejune gets back on the bike

[sammiejune29]

Thursdays are my measurement and picture day. I may post some pics later but for now they are just for me. Also, just for some perspective I was around 204 lbs at the beginning of September, 2012. I had gained a lot of that weight in the couple months before and after my back surgery because I was sedentary by necessity. But I'm so happy to see all the progress I've made already.

 

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 190 lbs (this was from about a month ago but I don't have a scale in my apartment, and I'm trying not to obsess over weight)

 

Bust 43" Waist 34" Hip 41" Neck 13.5" Forearm 9.75" Thigh 25" Bicep 12.5" Calf 16"

 

And now its workout time!!

 

 

Yay, heavier weight! Go you! And nice workout - awesome to see those numbers going up!

Good job, making progress nicely.

 

Thanks!! Support is so wonderful. Imagine that. lol

 

 

I just switched from circuits to concentrating on one exercise at a time.  It's been quite the mind switch!  It's hard twiddling my thumbs while I wait for the rest timer to beep for another set!

 

I always had a hard time with waiting between sets. Another advantage of the circuits for me is that I have a busy schedule and it allows me to get a fairly full body workout in a little over a half and hour. What made you want to switch?

[chris_de_maas]

Have fun with your workout

[sammiejune29]

Thursday's workout (Feb 28, 2013):

Warm-up - Jogging and walking (alternating) for 5 min

3 Circuits (in 25 min):

Body Weight Squats: 22/16/11

Incline Push-up (kitchen counter top, 3ft tall): 13/8/8

Right Leg Lunges: 9/8/6

Left Leg Lunges: 9/8/6

Right Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5/4

Left Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5/4

Plank: 30 sec / 24 sec / 20 sec

Jumping Jacks: 30/30/20

Stretching

 

Lunges were a bit better today. The first one of each set was the hardest. Inclined push ups didn't improve as far as reps go but I think my form was a lot better.

 

 

As far as goal #4 goes I haven't missed a day of cleaning yet so yay!

 

Also, next week is going to be the most difficult week of the challenge for me. I'm going home to visit my family over spring break. Which mean I have a lot less control over my time and when things happen. So knowing this I'm going to work even harder to make sure I get my workouts in. I also have to be careful not to overeat. My grandma is quite a good cook afterall. Lol

[chris_de_maas]

Good job on your workout! How did the rows feel?

Also, well done on keeping on top of the cleaning goal

 

You need to remember that workouts don't have to take a long time. One thing you can do next week is to come up with mini but very intense time challenges that you can do straight after you wake up so you don't have the pressure of working out all day. I particularly like one that is called the "Dead man burpee" (or something very similar) and it will only take 10mins (+ warm up) of your time. You can make it shorter if you'd like but it has to be intense and challenge you.

The whole exercise consists of a jump up, then drop down on your belly with your arms spread out, then back on your feet ready for the next jump. Do as many reps as possible within the 10mins. It looks unbelievably simple but it's really intense and will leave you in dire need for a shower, a huge glass of water and a lot of fresh air!

I personally really like to set a goal I want to reach for these mini challenges, they make you push extra hard to get there.

 

Hope this helps

Have a good day

[rybo]

I have been doing circuits since getting back into my strength training. I'm liking it because its so quick to get a workout in. I used to lift in a more traditional sense back in the day, but I am enjoying doing circuits. I just don;t know if there is a cap, and where switching back to sets, would be more beneficial.

[sammiejune29]

Good job on your workout! How did the rows feel?

Also, well done on keeping on top of the cleaning goal

 

You need to remember that workouts don't have to take a long time. One thing you can do next week is to come up with mini but very intense time challenges that you can do straight after you wake up so you don't have the pressure of working out all day. I particularly like one that is called the "Dead man burpee" (or something very similar) and it will only take 10mins (+ warm up) of your time. You can make it shorter if you'd like but it has to be intense and challenge you.

The whole exercise consists of a jump up, then drop down on your belly with your arms spread out, then back on your feet ready for the next jump. Do as many reps as possible within the 10mins. It looks unbelievably simple but it's really intense and will leave you in dire need for a shower, a huge glass of water and a lot of fresh air!

I personally really like to set a goal I want to reach for these mini challenges, they make you push extra hard to get there.

 

Hope this helps

Have a good day

 

Thanks!! The rows are still feeling good. I have realized with the heavier weight that improving by a rep per day is not reasonable so with dumbbell rows I'm hoping to improve by a rep per week.

 

And thanks for the advice about workouts. I ended up doing two circuits today instead of 3 because dinner was ready. But I was very glad to get in a workout.

 

 

 

I have been doing circuits since getting back into my strength training. I'm liking it because its so quick to get a workout in. I used to lift in a more traditional sense back in the day, but I am enjoying doing circuits. I just don;t know if there is a cap, and where switching back to sets, would be more beneficial.

 

I also love circuits for that reason!

[sammiejune29]

Saturday's workout (March 2, 2013):

Warm-up - Running up and down stairs, walking for breaks in between

2 Circuits (in 15 min 28 sec):

Body Weight Squats: 23/17

Incline Push-up (5th stair): 3/3

Right Leg Lunges: 10/9

Left Leg Lunges: 10/9

Right Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5

Left Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5

Plank: 35 sec / 30 sec

Jumping Jacks: 30

Stretching

 

I only got in two circuits because dinner was ready. But dinner was delicious. A beef roast with potatoes, onions, celery and carrots. The beef roast wasn't grass fed but alas, still a pretty good dinner.

 

Moving to the 5th stair for push ups proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I'm a little worried about achieving my goal of a full push-up before the challenge is over, but I will keep working on it :-)

 

 

 

Update on Goal #4

 

Been putting in a lot more than 15 min per day with cleaning and doing stuff for my family for the last few days. Went to the store with my mom and grandma today. Also spent a lot of time organizing my mom's new computer and making sure it has all the right programs installed and such.

[chris_de_maas]

Well done on both the workout and the cleaning!

 

Don't worry about if you're going to achieve your pushup goal or not yet. You still have a full 5 weeks to go so keep pushing with your alternatives, up the level a little bit every few days and you'll see, you'll get there

 

I hope you have a great time with your family

[sammiejune29]

Thanks Chris!

 

 

Today was very busy but still got some stairs in for the mini-challenge. Over the last 4 days I got 1,250 steps in which isn't too bad considering how busy I've been. I spent some time working on my grandpa's computer and organizing pictures. Also celebrated my grandma's birthday today which was really nice.

 

Tomorrow is a workout day and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

[chris_de_maas]

That's a lot of steps! Were you running them?

 

Good luck with the workout

[sammiejune29]

At least half of them were running/jogging up and down stairs. The rest were carrying stuff up stairs. I figure carrying heavy grocery bags up 4 flights of stairs should count since my legs were burning by the time I got to my apartment. Haha

[sammiejune29]

Week 1 Update:

 

Goal #1 - Bodyweight Workout 3x/week

   Very successful workouts (Sun) Tues, Thurs & Sat  3/3

 

Goal #2 - Increase by at least one rep (or increase difficulty)

   I've seen definite improvement in all of my different exercises. I improved on average more than 1 rep per session or increased the difficulty on each of the exercises.

 

Goal #3 - Do a real push-up

   I can now do a push up on the 5th step of my stairs which is a little lower than my countertop

 

Goal #4 - Spend at least 15 min per day cleaning my apartment (or helping my mom & grandparents)

   When I was still in my apartment I was doing at least my 15 per day and I think it was helping my apartment be cleaner more consistently. Since I've been home I've been using that time to help my mom and grandparents with stuff. Haven't missed a day yet :-)

 

Mini-challenge - Stairs/Hills

  In the days of the first mini-challenge I managed to get in 1250 steps either jogging them or with weight. This challenge definitely encouraged me to take the stairs when I came home from the grocery store instead of the elevator.

 

Weight Update

  I finally weighed myself and my weight now is 186! Which is down 4 lbs from the beginning of February (this was the last time I weighed myself). Now losing fat and putting on muscles is much more important to me than losing lbs but I feel thinner and stronger. So I'm super happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday's Workout (Mar 5, 2013)

Warm-up - Jogging stairs alternating with fast walking

3 Circuits (in 35 min)

Incline Push-up (5th step): 3/ (countertop) 8/8

Right Leg Lunges: 11/9/6

Left Leg Lunges: 11/9/6

Right Arm Dumbbell Rows: (20 lbs) 5/5/5

Left Arm Dumbbell Rows: (20 lbs) 5/5/5

Body Weight Squats: 10/10/2

Plank: 36 sec / 31 sec / 25 sec

Glute Bridges (hold for 10 sec for each): 5/4/3

Jumping Jacks: 30/30/30

 

Clam R(L): 15(15)

Lying Abduction R(L): 15(12)

Stretching

 

 

Circuit took a bit longer today. I added in glute bridges which obviously took some time but I just didn't feel as focused. It was still a great workout though. Its hard to believe how much more difficult 5th stair pushups are than countertop ones. I just wasn't feel squats today. My left hip felt a little funny and I didn't want to push it to hard in case I tweaked something. Really excited for this mini-challenge though. I wanted to add some glute workouts into my routine and this was just the kick in the butt that I needed to do it.

 

Also the part that I'm prolly most excited about is I finally got the 5th rep in the third set of dumbbell rows!!

 

I've also been trying to move more towards paleo with my food choices. I'm not spending too much thought and effort on it yet since I only have so much will power. But the small changes I've made already seem to be helping.

[chris_de_maas]

You had a really good week Sammie!! Well done!! And congrats on the weight loss!

 

And good job with yesterday's workout too!

Good call on taking it easy when you felt your hip was being a bit funny. Always make sure you're safe.

Really look forward to reading about your constant progress!

[rybo]

That's a great first week! You are really doing well.

[lemongranita]

Impressive first week there!

[Aeryn]

Nice first week! And great workout! Good job moving down to the 5th stair - it can be a slow process, but you'll get to the floor. And congrats on the full dumbbell row sets. You've got great momentum - keep it up!

[sammiejune29]

You had a really good week Sammie!! Well done!! And congrats on the weight loss!

 

And good job with yesterday's workout too!

Good call on taking it easy when you felt your hip was being a bit funny. Always make sure you're safe.

Really look forward to reading about your constant progress!

That's a great first week! You are really doing well.

Impressive first week there!

Nice first week! And great workout! Good job moving down to the 5th stair - it can be a slow process, but you'll get to the floor. And congrats on the full dumbbell row sets. You've got great momentum - keep it up!

 

Thanks so much! I am absolutely loving this community and all the great support I'm getting. Its definitely what I needed to get back into working out after the year I had last year.

 

 

So Chris_de_mass inspired me (with her RPoD at midnight last night) to try side planks while catching up on Jeopardy last night. So I had a little mini-workout.

 

Side 1 Plank (sec): 10/10

Side 2 Plank (sec): 10/10

 

My arms definitely wanted to give out before my core but I was excited that I could do this since I couldn't about a month and a half ago.

 

Clam R(L): 15(15)/20(20)

Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5

 

Also added in a few more glute/hamstring exercises for the mini-challenge. And some dumbbell rows, just for the heck of it.

[chris_de_maas]

Thanks so much! I am absolutely loving this community and all the great support I'm getting. Its definitely what I needed to get back into working out after the year I had last year.

 

 

So Chris_de_mass inspired me (with her RPoD at midnight last night) to try side planks while catching up on Jeopardy last night. So I had a little mini-workout.

 

Side 1 Plank (sec): 10/10

Side 2 Plank (sec): 10/10

 

My arms definitely wanted to give out before my core but I was excited that I could do this since I couldn't about a month and a half ago.

Yaaaaay!!! I'm super SUPER proud of you!!! Congrats!!!!

[sammiejune29]

So yesterday wasn't a great day. Woke up feeling off, had to deal with insurance companies and run errands. Finally got my workout in around midnight before I went to bed. But I only did 2 circuits. The way I felt it was a miracle I did that much so I'm still proud of myself. I didn't time myself either since I knew I was moving slow. Lol

 

 

Wednesday's workout (March 6, 2013):

Warm-up - jumping jacks

2 Circuits:

Body Weight Squats: 24/17

Incline Push-up (5th stair): 4/4

Right Leg Lunges: 13/10

Left Leg Lunges: 13/10

Right Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 6/5

Left Arm Dumbbell Rows (20 lbs): 5/5

Plank: 37 sec / 13 sec

Side Plank (L): 10 sec / 10 sec

Side Plank ®: 10 sec / 10 sec

Bridge (hold for 10 sec): 4/3

Stretching

 

Squats felt better today. Not sure why my hip was feeling funny the other day but whatever it was seems to have resolved itself. Its good that I didn't push it on Monday.

 

I finally got in a 4th push-up on the 5th step. This is exciting for me. I feel like I'm finally making progress on this.

 

Dumbbell rows are seeming much easier on my right arm and I'm not sure why. I did 6 reps easy with my right arm then struggled to get the 5th on my left.

 

Right now my arms are what is holding me back on side planks but I'm still super excited that I can hold them for 10 sec cause a month and a half ago I couldn't hold them at all.

 

 

 

Goal #4: Spent a lot of time yesterday doing stuff for my mom and grandparents. I'm still working on organizing all of our pictures and spent about 2 hours on it yesterday. Today I'm going with my grandma to the doctor for moral support which will take at least an hour.

[chris_de_maas]

Congrats on the improvement! You're really crushing it!!

 

And don't worry about your right arm rows being easier, everybody has an arm stronger than the other, it's totally normal! I can actually feel it when I plank now, my left arm is starting to get painful and annoying when my right one is absolutely totally happy to keep going!

 

I hope your grandmother is ok and the appointment went well

[rybo]

Making great progress.

 

When I have a situation where one side was stronger than the other, I would do my weak side first, and then stop at that number of reps with my strong side. Eventually it catches up and the disparity was much less if any at all.

[sammiejune29]

I haven't quite fallen off the face of the earth. I had a busy couple days full of travel and a birthday party and now that I'm home my Internet has decided it doesn't want to work and I don't fancy typing up long responses on my phone. Hopefully tomorrow I can get somewhere with good Internet for a little while and fill you all in on my progress. Not to mention check in on everyone else's progress :-)

[chris_de_maas]

look forward to reading all about it

[sammiejune29]

So I caught up some on the forums and now I don't feel like typing up my own post. Lol. I mean it is 4 am and I should have gone to sleep hours ago so I think I'm gonna call it a night and do a real update tomorrow :-)

[Aeryn]

So I caught up some on the forums and now I don't feel like typing up my own post. Lol. I mean it is 4 am and I should have gone to sleep hours ago so I think I'm gonna call it a night and do a real update tomorrow :-)

Looking forward to the update - and that exact problem is why I update my thread first, and THEN go read forums...