Lulu's a Lurker Log

[Max Power]

I hear you on the whole "calm before the storm of a major life changing event" thing. I've decided that's why I can't motivate myself to get back to the gym either. I've pretty much just written everything off until after the wedding. Once that's over I'll pick up the pieces of my former fitness life.

Sometimes I feel like the whole "backhanded complement" is only in our heads. Some of the guys will joke with me about "leaving some weights for some other people" and whatnot. But in my mind I'm thinking I should be lifting another 200 pounds before it crosses the heavy mark to me. I have to remind myself to just take the damn compliment for what it is.

Sent via telepathy.

[AKLulu]

I hear you on the whole "calm before the storm of a major life changing event" thing. I've decided that's why I can't motivate myself to get back to the gym either. I've pretty much just written everything off until after the wedding. Once that's over I'll pick up the pieces of my former fitness life.

Sometimes I feel like the whole "backhanded complement" is only in our heads. Some of the guys will joke with me about "leaving some weights for some other people" and whatnot. But in my mind I'm thinking I should be lifting another 200 pounds before it crosses the heavy mark to me. I have to remind myself to just take the damn compliment for what it is.

 

Yeah, I feel like I do this a lot in my life. I put things off because this event or that event is going to happen and I just feel like I have trouble wrapping my mind around doing much other than trying to keep my cool and think about the upcoming thing. I guess I'm not fully succeeding at keeping my cool because I've been having a lot of dreams about moving and forgetting things or missing my brother and his family moving the last few weeks. And I don't usually even remember dreaming very often.

 

I agree that the "backhanded compliment" is in our heads. DEFINITELY. We evaluate the comments from our point of view of being insecure about things and have trouble taking the compliment without a little cynicism, because if we were making the comment to ourselves, it wouldn't be all niceness. I do try to take the compliment and not let my negative brain waves twist it into something it's not. It was just sort an interesting way to put the compliment I guess, "You kept me going. I was watching you and thinking 'If she can do it, I can do it.'" Maybe it was just sort of one of those things where... when you have a friend or family member doing something, you admire them for it, and realize it's not so out of reach and you should be able to accomplish the same.

[AKLulu]

CrossFit - Tuesday, May 6th

 

An Armed Offing Arm Offering

Barbell gymnastics:

Every 90 seconds for 9 minutes

3 positions clean

 

So many things to work on here. I need to get in the habit of making a list so I have things to work on later, but still only focus on one. I get too all-over the place and make other things worse. I scarecrow too early and don't full extend my hips, I hop back a bit more than I should, I don't drop under the bar fast enough, and my knees STILL try to knock in a little. I'm sure I've forgotten things, but that's all I can remember right now. I need to make these lists when it's still fresh, not three days later. I'll add that to the list.

 

Part 1: Strength
Alternate between A & B for 5 rounds
A: 3 pause back squats
B: 3 bent over rows

 

These were good. I went pretty light on the rows because I kept stealing weights from that bar for my back squats and not putting them back, but I was glad to be getting rows in. I'm trying to focus on keeping my shoulder blades engaged in the right position to help fix the one that's been a little funny. My back squats felt pretty good. I've been happy recently to be getting really good depth on my squats and my knee isn't rebelling *knocks on wood.* I think I worked up to somewhere between 90 and 100 lbs... didn't actually keep track, but it was getting heavy cleaning it and push-pressing it over to my back. At least I'm squatting low enough weight that I can still do that and not damage my neck I'll let the heavy-lifters hold onto the squat racks a while longer.

 

Part 2: Metcon @ 13:33
4 rounds for time
11 Kb snatches (24/16kg) right hand @ 8 kg
11 handstand push ups @ feet on a box
11 Kb snatches (24/16kg) left hand @ 8 kg
11 chest to bar pull ups @ black band

 

This metcon was exhausting. There were definitely a few people doing some corpse pose afterward. I didn't have it quite as bad as other people (maybe) because 1) I can't actually do pull-ups, so those were very assisted. Even with the black band I still have to give a little hop to actually get my chin above the bar, which means that I don't actually end up doing much "work" with it. I can do -some- pull-ups with the band without a hop, but when we have such a low time-cap, I don't waste my time and energy on it =/ I guess I just need to start doing some of those on the side before our workouts to get better.

And 2) We don't actually have an abundance of lower-weight KBs, so I ended up doing the first two rounds heavier than I wanted at 16 kg. That wasn't really very good and I felt like I was on the verge of doing something to hurt myself - either my form going wildly off-kilter and killing a shoulder or snapping my forearm with the KB flop at the top. I switched to the 8 kg KB because that's what was available. Ideally I'd have liked to do ALL of them at 12 kg, but we only have one of those and someone apparently had it already. Dudebro, let the woman have the 12 kg, k? I love man workouts (where I'm the only woman.. only happens once in a while), but that part was lame.

 

Also went to CrossFit yesterday, but I'm going to wait until Wally puts that post up to recap.

[AKLulu]

I've been watching this video series on YouTube called "Indie Alaska" and so many of these stories are talking about how much they love living in Alaska and how they just know they belong. And then I watched this one:

 

 

 

And I was like... that's... I may not be a musician... but that's me. Even down to thinking I'll miss the food the most... and I have the same kind of car as her  

 

It's still a little scary thinking about moving, and maybe I'm just looking for signs, but I'm excited and it seems like everywhere I turn I find affirmation that I'm making the right choice. I really have missed being in Alaska and in some ways it has gotten easier, but in other ways it just gets harder the longer I'm gone. I'm glad I'm going home. I don't know what I'm doing after the summer, but I really hope I find something good to do so I can stay for a couple years and still be "productive."

 

Another one that really spoke to me was about this sort of... family commune in a place called Ionia. You can watch the video here if you want, but the part that matters is towards the end, one of the men says this:

"I'm most passionate about the simple life that I struggle to be satisfied with on a daily basis. Happiness is, seems to me, that's the wherewithal and the ability to go after what's most important to you."

 

For whatever reason, this thought struck me as extremely profound. I listened to it several times and just sort of stared off into the ether. I'm as guilty as anyone of thinking you should be happy, or at least content, in what you do. That's not all of it though and this guy makes it more clear to me. He's happy, he has found and is following his passion, but it's a daily struggle to find satisfaction in it. I think this is what we've lost, what so many of us have been missing. Yes, we should be happy. Yes, we should find a passion and follow a dream (or at least an interest). It doesn't mean we're going to be satisfied all the time though. It's okay to struggle. To lose your certainty now and then. It doesn't mean we have to turn and run the moment we get a little unhappy. A lot of times maybe it means we need to turn inward and look for the things we do love about who we are and what we do. To reconnect with our passions and remind ourselves that we have so many reasons to be happy. I'm not saying it works all the time or that we should force ourselves to be satisfied if we're not. If you're in a situation that's more bad than good, you should consider moving on. We can, however, work towards our own contentment no matter what we do. Personally I don't think I'll ever -love- a job. A job will never make me happy, but I can be happy and find contentment in my work if it's helping me pursue what's most important to me. I am not my job, but my job can help me live the life I want.

 

Now I'll stop. I'd call myself a rambling old fool, but I'm not old enough to be old, so I'll just call myself a rambling fool and be done.

[AKLulu]

Leaving Portland today! I'm going to spend the night in Seattle with a friend from college, then I'm off through Canada tomorrow. Hanging out at Comcast right now trying to cancel my service, then I get to go pack up my car. Great fun

Carved with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given me by Svenge.

[AKLulu]

Hey... guess what.

I'm aliiiiiive!

After a busy summer and a little bit of down time, I've finally decided to procure a weight room key and start working out again. Yesterday was my first day back and I felt pretty pathetic. I guess that's what I get for not lifting things.... and only pulling occasional totes of fish through the mud. I'm trying to get back into the groove with a simple Starting Strength sort of plan that I borrowed from T-Nation (because I was reading their article about The Texas Method... but decided I need to go back to the basics). Sooo... I don't know how to program myself and this is all guess work at this point, but I just started loading the bar and worked up to weights I thought I could do my sets with. Yay?

Squats 3 x 5 @ 65 lbs.

Bench 3 x 5 @ 70 lbs.

Deadlift 1 x 5 @ 155 lbs.

 

I also tossed in some accessory work at random (between sets and after the lifting portion), I'll need to come up with a better plan for that.

 

Dumbbell curls 3 x 10 @ 15 lbs. (looking back at that T-nation page, I guess these should have been barbell curls, oops)

2 laps lunges

20 seconds handstand against the wall

25 GHD sit-ups

1-mile run on the treadmill @ ~ 12 minutes

 

So also, because I felt really sad that I could bench more than I could squat, I added about 3 squats at 85 lbs. after the bench and it felt HEAVY. I definitely couldn't have done my sets at that, so... yep. Just have to work back up. I've had some soreness in my left hip and some knotting in my right leg for unknown reasons for a little while now though, so that could be part of the issue. Mostly it's probably because I haven't lifted at all since April-ish, since when I've also gained back a few pounds. If anybody has recommendations for what I should be doing differently or what kind of accessory work I should be adding, tell me pleeeeeease!

I've also got CousinC going to the weight room with me and have convinced her she should start lifting, so it'll be fun to have a partner She's the reason I decided to run a mile, because she said she "couldn't even run a mile anymore," so I wanted to see if I could. Treadmills are weird. I could also complain at length about the equipment in the weight room and the hours it's available, but I guess at least I have a weight room available to me. I can make-do, so I should just be happy I guess. I'm also contemplating doing yoga or pilates one day a week since my mom has a bunch of videos and the weight room is only open M-F.

Now, if only I could say no to the carrot cake mom had me make.. 

[Max Power]

Yay, you're alive!  

 

 

I too have recently gotten back into the gymnatorium, and one of the things that has helped me the most with my squats was adding a few sets of BW squats at the end.  Here are my thoughts on programming...

 

1)  Are you planning on using the Squat/Bench/DL set up three days a week?  Or would you alternate deads with rows and bench with overhead work?  

 

2)  Would you be opposed to dropping back to an empty bar and adding the 5lbs everyday routine?  Since you have CousinC working with you, you could both start at that and alternate sets without changing weights.  

 

3) For accessories on that setup, I'd throw in some sort of rows for sure.  and as for the curls, I wouldn't worry about barbell vs DB, unless you're planning on selling tickets to the gun show.  Curls are good for getting blood flowing throwing your arms (the pump) which is good for the elbows after a hard press/pull session.  

Anywho, them's my thoughts.  I hope they helped.  

 

Don't be a stranger!

[raptron]

Luuuuluuuu. Hi~

 

Glad you might have a cousin workout buddy!

[AKLulu]

Yay, you're alive!  

 

 

I too have recently gotten back into the gymnatorium, and one of the things that has helped me the most with my squats was adding a few sets of BW squats at the end.  Here are my thoughts on programming...

 

1)  Are you planning on using the Squat/Bench/DL set up three days a week?  Or would you alternate deads with rows and bench with overhead work?  

 

2)  Would you be opposed to dropping back to an empty bar and adding the 5lbs everyday routine?  Since you have CousinC working with you, you could both start at that and alternate sets without changing weights.  

 

3) For accessories on that setup, I'd throw in some sort of rows for sure.  and as for the curls, I wouldn't worry about barbell vs DB, unless you're planning on selling tickets to the gun show.  Curls are good for getting blood flowing throwing your arms (the pump) which is good for the elbows after a hard press/pull session.  

Anywho, them's my thoughts.  I hope they helped.  

 

Don't be a stranger!

 

1) I was just planning to follow the simple plan that was lined out on that blog, since I don't know what I'm doing and basically alternate two workouts (as follow) M, W, F:

 

Workout 1 - 

Squat 3 x 5

Bench 3 x 5

Deadlift 1 x 5

 

Workout 2 - 

Squat 3 x 5

OHP 3 x 5

Power Clean 5 x 3

 

2) I wouldn't mind too much dropping back down to an empty bar. I'm not so far beyond that right now, so it's not like it would be a major setback. I think I'll see how serious CousinCee actually is about lifting before letting her be a major part of me switching the routine.

 

3) Rows are a good suggestion. They're not something I've done a lot of, so I always forget about them. I'm thinking maybe some good mornings in there somewhere also. I'm sure you're totally right about the curls too, but I might switch to barbell curls anyways so I make sure my form is more even per side. I feel like my form on my left side fails a little bit because it's not my dominant arm... but I guess the other option is just reducing the weight, but... but... guns!

 

I definitely appreciate your input. I need someone around to keep me in line. Let me know if any of my theories/approaches are idiotic, please

 

Luuuuluuuu. Hi~

 

Glad you might have a cousin workout buddy!

 

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I'm glad too. Now I just need to figure out what the actual hours are on the weight room so we can have a normal routine!

[RisenPhoenix]

[AKLulu]

 

...

 

I see you got all dressed up for me

[AKLulu]

Ah yes, and of course as soon as I start getting into a routine, I run off to have adventures and have to stop lifting. Ah, such a terrible life...

Carved with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given me by Svenge.

[AKLulu]

Also this (because I think I'm funny):

http://instagram.com/p/sGFSeCwqVz/

"What is this? A barbell for ants? It needs to be at least... three times this size!"

Carved with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given me by Svenge.

[AKLulu]

Heya! I'm still here, livin' it up (haha) in rural Alaska. I've been doing a lot of substitute teaching since I got back from my trip to Norway last month and have finally been working my way back towards some healthier habits. I have other things I want to work on too and as always, I don't want to do a challenge, but I might update here once in a while just to share where I'm at A lot of these are things that I'm already slowly incorporating/implementing, so don't freak and be like, "WHOA, Woman! That's too much to start all at once!" I swear I'm not trying to overload myself. I just have a lot in my brain and need to organize these thoughts in writing.

I've gained back 15-20 pounds of weight since I moved up from Portland and while I know the scale isn't everything, I've definitely noticed a change in how my clothing is fitting and things that the tape measure tells me. I don't like it. I also have a hip that's been bugging me a little and I do not want this to become a big problem. I need to fix the things that ail me by strengthening, stretching, and making the load a little lighter.

Goal: Trim down a little, regain strength and flexibility, and stop calling myself fat. It's not nice. I get mad at the school kids for calling names, I should practice the same for myself. So what am I gonna do about it? Glad I asked:
 

1) I've been working on getting myself back into the weight room and am feeling pretty good about M, W, F and have only missed one day (Halloween) the last three weeks. I'm using the Stronglifts 5x5 app to basically tell me what to do. Some of it feels really light starting out (like deadlifts and bench) and some of it feels like I'm not gonna make much progress (see: OHP and barbell rows). I've been doing pretty minimal accessory work as a warm-up, but once I feel like I'm solidly into a routine, I'll probably start looking for more.

 

2) I recently read a MDA article about how everyone should be able to run a mile. I agree. Anybody who has talked to me pretty much at all knows that I don't consider myself a runner. I'm always talking about how I want to be able to run (a little bit), but I just never really make it a goal. I did a slow mile (probably around 12:30) on Friday at the end of my workout and it didn't feel terrible. I'm going to make a point of running a mile at least once a week (probably Fridays since I have a long "break" every weekend). Hopefully I get faster so I don't have as much time to get bored on the treadmill.

 

3) Another thing that I've been wanting to get into is some yoga or pilates. I think it would do me a lot of good to work on balancing my body out and getting my joints and muscles a little more limber again. My mom has several videos (and I did my first one tonight!) so I think I'm going to try to do one of those every Sunday and possibly one of my other non-lifting days. I'll probably get tired of all the talking in the videos, but I think having them for guidance will be a good jumping off point at least.

 

4) Feeding my face. I do that. Sometimes too much. I have been starting to reign in my poorer habits though and currently I have the luxury of being in charge of my own meals because my parents are out of town until early December. I may not have all the resources that I'm used to, but I think it will still be a good period of time for me to find a "new normal" for what kind of eating makes me feel good. I probably won't be going full Paleo or Primal, but I'm going to aim to be about 90% grain-free because I know I feel better (and lose fat faster) when I'm not eating so many grains. I'm also banning myself from making desserts unless it's something I'm bringing somewhere or tossing in the freezer in preparation for Christmas. Also also, now that my parents aren't home, I'm going to try to get out of the habit of daily wine. Firstly, I don't need all those extra calories and secondly, I'm kind of poor... so I probably shouldn't be spending a large chunk of what little money I'm making on booze. I'll still have some drinks on the weekend, but it's time to cut back.

 

The other big thing in my life right now is that I don't want to be stuck out in the village all winter, so I'm doing a good amount of job hunting. I'm really hoping to find something out in Anchorage before too long, but until then I'll be here substitute teaching. I definitely don't ever want to be a real teacher. The teachers I've subbed for love me and want to request me any time they're gone, so that's a pretty feel-good thing. Wish me luck! I need more money and a better location so I can go visit nerds more often

 

Start Stats:

Height - still 5'6" Ha! 5'6.75"

Weight - 230 lbs.

Bust - 47"

Band - 39.5"

Waist - 43"

Hips - 38.75"

(Albeit this is after dinner and eating bread for the first time in a week or so... so these numbers might be slightly inflated.)

[raptron]

<3 Good things here.

[RisenPhoenix]

Whooo!  Lulu!

 

You got all the things planned!  Very nice!

 

(Also, is it just me, or am I the only one who now finds it funny that we call it a luxury to be able to cook our own meals now?  Just makes me giggle a bit.)

[AKLulu]

(Also, is it just me, or am I the only one who now finds it funny that we call it a luxury to be able to cook our own meals now?  Just makes me giggle a bit.)

 

Haha, I guess it is kind of funny, but after finding a way to eat that makes you feel good and allows you to cut fat without hardly trying... going back to having little control over your groceries can be a bother

[AKLulu]

It was a daaaark and blustery day. Lulu was hunkered down in her home, trying to decide if it was worth braving the elements to seek out other living souls...

And while she deliberated, she updated her battle log! Wooo!

 

I made my M, W, F lifting sessions. Friday was a little lame because I happened to be there at the same time as this "Weight Lifting Club" that's just starting up, so there were a bunch of middle school/high school boys in the way. Booo. I stole a bar from them and did my lifts anyways. Also, my app deleted my M/W data for some reason so I had to re-figure my weights. Everything feels good so far, but I still have a loooong way to go. Can't wait to get that deadlift up to the 200s! I'm super happy because the guy teaching the boys to lift brought in a squat rack! Yay! Now I don't have to whine about that particular problem anymore. Also, Tony (the guy) is a beast... and I think he's starting the boys out squatting too heavy. But what do I know I also got my mile run in on Wednesday and did it at a 12-minute pace. Took a little will power to keep myself going, so I don't think I'll be speeding up too quickly. Here are the final weights for the week:

Squat (Fri.): 85 lbs.   - I could not do my math on these yesterday, so I had to adjust a couple times. 

Bench (Fri.): 65 lbs.   - Still pretty easy peasy. I've been reading up on form for everything, so I've been tweaking things a little here.

Barbell rows (Fri.): 80 lbs.   - I thought that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with the +5 lbs. on this, so did a no-no and didn't increase one time, but now it's seems a lot easier. Yay, strength!

OHP (Wed.): 60 lbs.    - These are getting pretty difficult. I had to take a couple 3-minute breaks instead of 90 seconds. Made it through 5x5, but don't think I'll progress too quickly from here on out.

Deadlift (Wed.): 120 lbs.    - Business as usual. Can't wait until I have the 45s on so I don't have to bend as far to pick it up Also need to make sure I don't get the really bent up bar....

 

Food has been okay. Alcohol consumption isn't yet as infrequent as I'm aiming for. I have my excuses, but that's all they are. Leaves room for improvement! No yoga or Pilates yet, but that's a good Sunday activity.

Hope everyone's having fun in Boston! I expect to see ALL the pictures.

[AKLulu]

So I didn't get any yoga in yesterday because I decided to go to an impromptu local choir thing instead. They're planning for a little Christmas program and I thought it would be fun to sing with a group again

 

I wasn't feeling super enthusiastic about lifting weights today, but I went anyways and felt good. I did my squats at 90 lbs. and moved on to OHP. Eked out the first set of 5 on those and thought, "Uh oh, this is going to be a challenge." Hah. Understatement. Even with 3 minutes rest between sets, I still only got 2 or 3 reps on most of the rest of my sets. It's fine, I know, I'll just stay at this weight until I can get my sets (as per Stronglifts instructions), but OHP is and always has been one of those lifts that just makes me feel so WEAK. Real mental a-hole, that one.

Finished up my DL at 130 lbs. then went to do my mile run like I've been doing on my "short program"  days... and got about 1/10th of a mile into it and thought, "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu." I really wasn't feeling it, so I decided to switch my runs over to my non-DL day and call it quits for today. I'm justifying it as making sense because really, as my squats and DLs get heavy, I'm going to be tiring my legs out a lot. Sure, some people might like to run that stuff off, but I don't want to force anything. And right now? I'm so glad I made that choice, because I'm sitting at home waiting for my dinner to cook and feeling super fatigued physically. That listening to the body thing? Yeah, I'm glad I'm getting back into that. I feel a little wussy because it never really feels like I'm working that hard with this lifting program, but I'm just gonna roll with it. Not looking to wear myself down. 

[raptron]

OHP  = all the suck. Also bodies are sometimes pretty smart and good to listen to.