Pretzle needs to take herself seriously.

[Pretzle]

I'm back - again. I'm not gonna bother with a respawn thread, because by now I realise that I'll be here (on the forums) on and off. Luckily that doesn't mean exercising is on and off. Motivation and taking the exercise seriously, however, is. 

 

So, for the next six weeks:

 

- I will do my scheduled workouts at the gym (unless away on holiday for 1 week in July) twice a week.

 

- I will get a new training programme before this challenge is over.

 

- I will focus on making healthy choices, food-wise, at least twice a day. 

 

So:

 

Workouts: 2 a week, total of 12 over the challenge.

 

New training schedule x 1.

 

Healthy food-choices twice-daily: Total 84

 

[Pretzle]

Today (day 1): Healthy food choices: Bread instead of pizza for lunch, spinach-based pastasauce with dinner. 

Exercise: 1/2 for the week done.

 

On my goals, btw. I'd like to get 'toned', no matter how much I hate that word, it describes what I'd like to do: Get stronger, look better, get rid of some of the skinny-fat-fat. So yes, that's what I'm going for. This challenge though? Getting back into a good training rhythm and making wiser food-choices, eating slightly more but doing so by eating more healthy food.

[wildross]

hi!

[brutalbears]

Nice start! Keep it up!

[KB Girl]

Welcome back! <3

 

What does your training program look like now? 

[Pretzle]

Thanks all!

 

Kind of reluctant to specify, haha... kind of joking, but not really. I've lost quite a bit of progress since last year and am only very slowly making some new progress. :/ Life happened, I guess... 

 

Anyway, today's workout (I've been doing this programme for 4 weeks now, sometimes only doing it once a week... I asked the gym for a programme to mostly just keep active and do exercise I enjoy doing - such as the bench press).

 

Warming up (cycling to gym + 5 minutes on the epiliptical). 

 

Bench press: Warm up (3 reps @ 22.5 kgs)

3 x 10 @ 25 kgs

 

Dumbbell row (10 kgs) 3 sets of 12 (/arm)

 

Back hyperextension (BW + 2.5 kgs - first time I added extra weight). 3 sets of 13 or 15 (can't remember which number, heh)

 

Lunges, 7 kgs/arm, 3 sets of 22 (so 11/leg)

 

Leg raises 3 x 15

 

Plank 3 x 40 seconds

 

---

 

4 minutes (got lazy) on the epiliptical and stretching after.

 

So yeah, that's it! I've climbed back up to the 25 kg bench press over the last few weeks (was quite glad to I could just jump back in without too much effort with just the bar, tbh) and the lunges are going better now (fewer knee problems than before, very doable now). I think next programme switch I'll add squats back in, starting at 30 or 35 kgs... ( Seriously, squats just seemed to be getting worse every single time, mostly tightness on the inside of my upper legs, just like they don't want to bend properly, bleh). 

 

Anyway, so far so good - no issues with my shoulder/back and at least I'm going to the gym and not just doing Zumba

[Alanna]

Glad to have you back, Pretzle!

[KB Girl]

Hey we all have to start things back up sometime. It looks pretty good to me, I was just missing the squats

[Waanie]

Welcome back .

 

I love your goals, especially the healthy choices one. Sometimes I find it so hard to choose something that's just as tasty and healthier, but just a little more effort .

 

Good luck this challenge!

[Pretzle]

Thanks everyone <3 always great to see familiar (and new) faces and get some encouragement!

 

Day 2 & 3: 

 

Day two healthy food choices: Adding an extra egg to my salad (I need some (extra) protein), meal salad for dinner. 

 

Day three: 

 

Workout:

Similar to the other one, but squats instead of lunges and no planks. I did 3 x 10 @ 25 kgs for the squats. I've been practicing Grok squats lately so it's really quite easy to go super deep Proud of this. Weight will come, eventually, but need to get form and depth uber-awesome as a first priority. 

 

Healthy food choices: 1 so far, hard boiled egg as a snack after the work out.

[KB Girl]

Eggs! Nom! 

Your sets are so big, wouldnt it be easier to do sets of 5-8 with slightly more weight?

[Pretzle]

Maybe (probably, hehe). 

 

To be honest I've just been following the gym's advice for this round, partially because lazy, and partially because I was curious what it'd be like. 

 

It's a different experience for sure, but I feel like I can practice some discipline (actually going for those last 2-3 reps if I can, but think I can't). 

 

I'll probably do lower rep counts once I change my programme (which should be soon).  

 

-------

 

Update: Got a migraine on Thursday, blah. Which meant that I didn't go cleaning at the church (3 hours of cleaning is like a decent workout I tell you!). Shame. 

 

Food choices: Second drink @ restaurant was water. I had chicken with 'raapstelen' yesterday instead of pizza. 

[Waanie]

Chicken with raapstelen sounds tasty . Too bad about the migraine, is it over now?

 

[Pretzle]

Yes! Usually it's either a few hours (I feel it coming on, take a nap and the headache will be gone). If that's not possible I usually have to take a paracetamol or two, sleep and hope it'll be over in the morning Very rarely does it last any longer, although sometimes I wake up with a migraine starting Bah. Always inconvenient.

 

Saturday bonus: 

Yesterday I wanted to either A) go to church (special prayer/music night, pretty cool) or go to the gym. I went with A because that's something that happens only 6 times a year. This morning? I was up late, it was raining, and the gym's only open until 15.00 or 16.00 on a Saturday.. So I did a 'mini' workout at home:

 

3 x 12 dumbbell rows @ 10.5 kgs (weighed myself without, then with dumbbell Guess without any plates it's 2.5, hence getting 10.5 instead of 10. Which is good, because it´s progress'. 

 

1 x 20 lunges (forwards, then backwards (so they're like double lunges, I guess) 10 each leg)

2 x 10 lunges (forwards, then backwards)... the 20 total was a bit much  

 

3 x 12 push-ups

 

Was definitely enough to get me very sweaty  

 

Food choices

Decided to get freshly roasted nuts at the market for a snack, also plundered the fruit and veggie stand (woot loot included: 2 avocados, 1 iceberg lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1/2 kilogram of cherries, 1 melon, 1 cauliflower, bunch of snack tomatoes, snack bell peppers). Tomorrow will be awesome-huge-meal-salad day ^^ (I'm SO happy my rather fussy-eater husband really likes meal salads. So tasty, versatile and healthy!). 

[Alanna]

Nice workouts!

 

 

Food choices

Decided to get freshly roasted nuts at the market for a snack, also plundered the fruit and veggie stand (woot loot included: 2 avocados, 1 iceberg lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1/2 kilogram of cherries, 1 melon, 1 cauliflower, bunch of snack tomatoes, snack bell peppers). Tomorrow will be awesome-huge-meal-salad day ^^ (I'm SO happy my rather fussy-eater husband really likes meal salads. So tasty, versatile and healthy!). 

 

Sounds like a delicious salad is in the works. I love getting fresh produce at my local market, too. Any chance we're going to see photos of all of this food?

[Pretzle]

I might take some photos if I remember  

 

---

Week 2... I'm still sore from Saturday's workout (just from the push-ups, haven't done any in a while) and I feel very sluggish and tired today. I have a meeting at 15.00, my aim is to get a workout at the gym in before that appointment. I don't feel like it, but hey I hope that when I get to the gym that'll be different. 

 

It's going to happen, that's all I know Haha. This is what challenges are for, hm?

[Pretzle]

Today's workout: 

 

----

 

10 minutes cycling to gym

5 minutes epilitical

 

Bench: 3 x 8 @ 27.5 kgs

Dumbbell rows: 3 x 10 @ 12 kgs (each earm)

back Hyperextensions with 7.5 kgs extra: 3 x 12

Squats: warming up: 3 x without bar, 3 x bar, 3 x 25 kgs then 3 x 10 @ 30 kgs

Leg raises 3 x 15

 

5 minutes epilitical, some stretches and cycling home after a well-deserved shower

[Waanie]

Good job on making it to the gym . This challenge seems to be going well for you!

[Pretzle]

Fooood pictures (fffuuuuuu huge, be warned): 

 

Before mixing: 

 

After mixing and adding some pumpkin seeds: 

 

The sausage (chorizo chipolata) we added

(cast iron, woot)

 

Sauce we used (this is awesome, 'old fashioned homemade' mustard sauce with rosemary, great as a dressing)

 

Contents?

Iceberg lettuce, snack tomatoes, snack bell peppers, 1 apple, 1/4 cucumber, pieces of père Joseph cheese, pumpkin seeds and the sausage... If I'm not forgetting about anything

[Waanie]

Looks like a tasty salad .

[Pretzle]

Ugh, I'm almost angry  

 

Yesterday I had a busy day, so today was going to be gym time. I woke up with a headache (same story last week Thursday ugh.) and even a paracetamol didn't help one bit. I also have to go clean (my voluntary job, love it) but I'm feeling sick as well as still having the headache. Last week I cancelled because of the headache, really hope I won't have to cancel today. 

 

Anyway, if gym still happens this week it has to be tonight or tomorrow morning, but I really doubt it... Headaches like these usually last (if sleeping for a bit and a paracetamol doesn't help, it's just a waiting game) and tomorrow morning I'd have to be realllly early to make it to the gym. I'll be at my parents' place this weekend, so I might just have to figure out an alternative this week. 

[Waanie]

Feel better soon!

[KB Girl]

Headaches suck, hope it's over by now! 

 

Those salad pictures look yumm, inspiring

[Pretzle]

Headache did eventually go away, but I never managed to do a proper workout last week. 

 

Anyway, no use in bawling about that. Today I made it to the gym and joined the Intens lesson. 2 round of 8 exercises, 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Intense circuit training. I struggled through most of the second round, but I did it! Woot!

 

Also, it seems like I mysteriously gained about 3 kilos over the last 1 1/2 months. Seems a bit outrageous (yes, I know not to trust the scale too much, but it's been consistently going up a bit every time). Makes me nervous. Especially as I've not been eating more, at all... :/ 

[KB Girl]

Are you sure? sometimes we unconciously eat more without even noticing. But 3kilos.. is well within the limits i go up and down in between periods x) Any of that going on?