Viki's Creatively Entitled Workout Log

[SimplyViki]

OK, guess I'd better start this thing! Wish I'd started it when I first started working out, because there would've been more dramatic improvements to talk about, but whatever, here I am, so here I go!

Day 1 (yesterday)

I did the Beginner Body Weight Workout, and here's where I'm at with that:

20 squats (nothing special about 'em, just normal arms-in-front ones)

10 knee pushups (Tried a whole one, still can't. I can almost do one if I place my hands wider apart, but is that cheating?)

20 lunges (nothing special)

10 bent-over dumbell rows (the one-arm kind, with chairs, using a 20-lb dumbell) <-- That's where my main progress has been. I started with a milk jug that I was too chicken to fill up more than a third of the way.

45 second plank (another area of improvement! Started with 15 second ones)

30 jumping jacks (should I start doing more?)

And I'm doing all three circuits, whereas when I started I could only do one.

My intent is to continue with the beginner bodyweight routine every other day until I've mastered proper pushups, and then attempt the advanced one. I'll keep on upgrading my dumbell weight and increasing plank length until then, but I haven't tried doing more squats, lunges, or jumping jacks. I'm not sure if I should or not.

[vizh]

hi and welcome!! quite impressive already, stick with it

[SimplyViki]

Thanks!

I should've updated this on Saturday when I worked out again, but I'm lazy about the internet on weekends. I did the same thing as written above, but I decided to move up to a 50 second plank. I also did a few sit-ups toward the end of my workout, and was surprised to learn that I can actually do them without tucking my feet under something (I haven't tried sit-ups in ages).

I'm due for another workout today, so I'll update when I've done that.

[SimplyViki]

OK, I suck at updating things. I did work out on Monday and on Wednesday, and I'll do it again on Friday. Nothing new to report there, same as last time. Still at a 50 second plank. I guess I'll move it up another 5 seconds at some point. Not sure when.

I'm kind of in a funk. I'm dragging ass to get started on my workouts, and I desperately need to go grocery shopping so I can cook a decent meal, but the task seems far more daunting than it should right now, and I don't know why.

[SimplyViki]

And I worked out again yesterday (Friday), nothing new there. I don't really know how fast I'm supposed to add new stuff/increase difficulty. :-/

Also tried the first mobwod thingie. I feel like I'm missing background info there, though. The first blog post just kind of throws you in there with no introduction.

[SimplyViki]

Yeah, I am just awesome at this updating thing, aren't I? Monday's workout did happen yesterday. I upped the planks to 55 seconds. That's all that's changed. Also I'm still MOBbing.

[SimplyViki]

Wednesday's workout happened yesterday. Nothing new in the workout itself. Did another mobility wod, after skipping Tuesday for no reason.

I also rode a bicycle for a total of about an hour and 15 minutes or so, since my car was in the shop and I had to ride my bike to and from work and to retrieve my car from the shop.

[SimplyViki]

I'm still doing it. I'm kind of stalled out in terms of progress though, just maintaining. I get tired out. Maybe I'll get better when I start increasing my protein... I ordered some protein powder online, so I think I'll start putting that in my muesli in the mornings and make a quick shake for after workouts when it gets here.

Still MOBing, also, but I skipped another damn day on Saturday. Gotta not do that.

I've been in a funk. I'm trying to drag myself out of it. At least my workout's become routine now.

[SimplyViki]

MOB'd yesterday.

Also, I had a Groupon for a 60-minute massage and chiropractic exam and I used it yesterday. I have scoliosis (I knew this, but it was never treated and when it was identified I was told it was mild) and it looks worse on the x-ray than I remember. Of course, it was at least 10 years ago when I last got it x-rayed, so maybe my memory isn't quite accurate. The chiropractor said he definitely would advise me to avoid exercises involving loading my spine with any extra weight (specifically barbell squats), which is kind of disappointing because I'd hoped to work my way up to that. I asked about other types of weight lifting, and he said anything besides putting a bar on my back would be fine, so I guess I can squat while holding a weight in front of me. Still, not what I'd had in mind.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to start going to a chiropractor regularly. He said that he thinks I really need it... but then, of course he'd say that, right? But on the other hand, my spine is clearly whacked out. Sigh. I don't know what I'll do. I do know that I don't want to develop back pain that'll prevent me from getting and staying stronger. Right now I don't really have back pain, or if I do, it's very minor and mostly happens while I'm sitting at my desk at work.

Whatever. Onto fitness stuff. I got my protein powder in the mail yesterday, and I mixed a scoop of it into my oatmeal this morning. I'm going to try upping my planks to a minute long tonight, and it's high time I exchanged my 20-lb dumbbbell for a 25-lb one. And I'll drink a scoop of the stuff after my workout (haven't decided yet if I care enough to make a real milkshake or if I'll just mix it into some water or milk and down it).

[SimplyViki]

Right... so I suck at updating, but I'm better at keeping up with my workouts. Promise. Still on my M-W-F schedule. Here's where I'm at:

20 squats - I tried holding a 15 pound dumbell in front of my chest for the heck of it. I felt like I had to put it down about 10 reps in the first two sets, and I didn't even want to pick it up again for the last one. Plus I'm not even sure how to properly hold it. Note to self: Don't just start shit on a whim. But hey! At least my thighs are aching. That's kinda cool. Hasn't happened in a while.

10 pushups - STILL can't do a whole pushup. I lower myself to the bottom of a pushup, and then can't get all the way up. Still doing knee pushups.

20 lunges - Nothing new there.

10 one armed dumbbell rows - I bought a 25 pound dumbbell yesterday. I felt silly carrying it out of Sports Authority. All I can do with it are dumbbell rows, after all. My arms are skinny little sticks.

Plank - I'm up to a whole minute now!

30 jumping jacks - nothing new there.

I'm feeling a little restless with this routine, a little bored. I'm seeing results - I'm losing weight and I'm feeling more muscly-ness, but carrying that 25 pound weight and struggling to hold it while waiting in line makes me feel a little foolish. I hope I'm not doing it wrong...

Also, I'm not MOBing. I'm duly ashamed. I even bought all the stuff. I'm going to get back on that bandwagon. I'm just kind of in a blah place right now, not feeling very rebellious.

[SimplyViki]

And again, awesome at updating. I won't promise to get better. Internal motivation for this working out thing seems to be what's keeping me going.

But at any rate, just for the sake of keeping on top of this thing to some degree, here's where I'm at.

20 squats - I'm doing basically however many of these with a 15-lb dumbbell in front of me as I feel like for each set, and then switching to bodyweight. Right now that's 5-6 reps with the dumbbell, and the rest bodyweight. I give up on the dumbbell by the third set though. I'm going to youtube goblet squat, though, so I know how to do it properly.

10 pushups - yeah, same deal here as before.

20 lunges - nothing new.

10 one armed dumbbell rows - 8 reps with the 25 lb dumbbell for each circuit of the bodyweight routine.

Plank - still on a minute. A crossfitter friend of mine said he does his planks with his arms straight, hands on the ground. I've been doing them with my forearms on the ground, elbows bent. I tried doing them his way. Not sure which way's harder, but I can do a minute both ways. I'm switching to his way for a while to see what I think.

30 jumping jacks - nothing new.

And still not MOBing. Good grief, Viki.

Woot despite all that: I hopped on the scale at the grocery store last night. 134 pounds! I started at 144, although my highest recorded weight, before I started trying to fix it, was 147. So I've either lost 10 pounds or 13 pounds, whichever you prefer. Either way, I'm making a real, measurable difference in my body, and that's freaking cool. I've never done that before.

Side note: I've been tracking my diet on livestrong.com/myplate. Seems I average about 1400 calories a day, about 70 g of protein, and 79 g of sugar. That all fluctuates pretty wildly though - my lowest calorie intake was 951 (lazy Saturday), highest was 1852 (holy crap, avocados and bananas have a LOT of calories). The highest protein was 110 g, and the lowest was 44 g. Sugar: highest 121, lowest 25. So clearly I get quite enough sugar, LOL. The protein I'm not sure about. I'm told a gram per pound of bodyweight is good, but I learned in nursing school that Americans usually get way too much protein and it's not healthy for our kidneys or something. So I'm a little wary of upping it a whole lot more than that. I don't think I'm doing frequent/intense enough exercise to warrant a heck of a lot of protein, even though I'm doing more than I've ever done in my life.

So... I guess what I'm taking from this is, eat less sugar, maintain protein, maybe up the calories a little. Maybe. Right now I'm content to lose weight, because I've still got a bit of a paunch, but if I get below 120 I'm definitely going to up the calories. Don't need to get any lower than that, for sure. And when/if I get there, I'll start focusing harder on building muscle, so increase the calories and protein. Til then I'm not particularly worried - I feel fine, not lacking energy or anything (well, aside from my "normal" laziness).

[SimplyViki]

I kinda went all out this time, I guess. I had been doing a M-W-F schedule, but uh, I skipped yesterday, so this week it'll be T-R-S instead. I worked out hard, though. I actually got kinda queasy. That's never happened to me before. I'm going to blame my period... I think. I'm not really sure why that happened. But I know I pushed myself, so I guess that could be it.

I did the Beginner Bodyweight routine as follows (whole thing three times, obviously)

20 squats - I tried doing goblet squats with a 15 pound dumbbell, but I had to put it down after like 8 squats each set. I think I made it to 10 squats one of the sets.

10 pushups - A friend told me to try doing incline knee pushups off a couch or my bed or something, since I'm having trouble moving up to a whole push-up. I managed to do like... three of those. The first set. Then I finished the rest of the ten. I did like one the second set, but I couldn't even think about it by the third set (er, should I be saying circuit instead of set?)

20 lunges - Uh, so I have no idea if this is a legit way of doing it, but I decided to hold the 15-lb dumbbell in front of me while I did these. I only managed to get up to like 10-12 in each set though, then I did the rest regular.

One armed bent over dumbbbell rows - 25 lb dumbell, could only do 8 on each arm still.

Plank - I'm doing the one my friend told me, with my arms straight instead of bent. I actually think it's a little easier, but he says it adds the triceps, so... :shrug: I'll give it a shot. 60 seconds each time on that.

30 jumping jacks - same old. What can I do differently there anyway?

Oh yeah, and I warmed up longer/more intensely this time - I did 5 minutes of jogging in place, 5 minutes of jumping rope, then 5 squats, 6 lunges, 3 knee pushups off the edge of the couch, and then got to work.

So yeah... That was maybe a bit much. But I got through it, and the queasy feeling passed, so I'm feeling pretty good now.

[SimplyViki]

Trying to do better with this.

Last night's workout:

20 squats - I held the 15-lb dumbbell for 10 out of each set of 20 squats.

10 pushups - I did three incline ones with my legs/knees on the couch, and 7 regular knee pushups on the floor in each set.

20 lunges - I held the 15-lb dumbbell for 15 out of each set of 20 lunges.

Bent over dumbbell rows - still only 8 on each arm with the 25-lb dumbbell before I start shaking and can't lift it all the way back up.

Plank - still doing 60 seconds with arms straight. I decided to try lowering myself partway down and lifting myself back up a couple times during one of them... I figure this will help me in my quest for a damn pushup. THAT was tiring, though. I only did that during one of my planks.

30 jumping jacks - yeah, those are pretty straightforward.

I was still aching from Tuesday's workout. I'm still aching from... I dunno, a combination of the two? But it feels good.

[SimplyViki]

OK, so progress since the last post: I managed my first real pushup, and I got to where I can hold the 15-lb dumbbell through all of my squats and lunges. I haven't tried lengthening my plank.

I also tried doing these things where you have a dumbbell on the ground in front of one foot, and you bend down at the waist and pick it up with the opposite hand, then stand and raise it above your head. I did like 10 each side... My hamstrings were aching for a few days afterward. I should probably give those another try.

My body is improving. It's really cool to see this happening, and it's really too bad I didn't take all of the "Take before pics!!" advice seriously. I have some nekkid shots I can refer back to, though (don't ask), and I can see distinct differences. My belly is definitely looking less round and more toned. I don't have like, a six pack, but there's a little horizontal nip in the center at my waist, and a softly contoured vertical indentation forming as well. Abs? Sorta? Plus my ribs are visible now with little effort. My thighs don't have as much squishy area anymore, there's a lot more firmness. Plus I weigh less. Depending on where you say I started, I've lost either 16.5 or 13.5 pounds. My highest weight was 147, but I didn't make a serious effort to do anything about it (well, I did part of Couch to 5k, but I didn't stick with it). When I started actually trying, I weighed 144. Now I weigh 130.5 lbs. Granted, I weighed myself first thing in the morning before breakfast or a drink of water to get that number, but still!

I have a Groupon for 30 days unlimited access to a bootcamp class near my house. I need to go before it expires in April. I'm just not sure what I'll do about my bodyweight routine while going to bootcamp. Am I going to do bootcamp AND the circuit training? Alternating days? Weekdays only? I'm not sure yet.

[katscratch]

Hi! I just started browsing through all the battle logs looking for peeps that are around my level, so yay, I'm glad you're updating, it helps me to see what Real progress looks like for someone like me

And way to go, your numbers just keep moving in the right direction! Go you!

[SimplyViki]

Hee. I feel bad now for slacking on updating it. I've been keeping on keeping on, though, but it seems I've stalled out a bit (in terms of leveling up, that is. I have most certainly not quit.)

So... where was I? OK, yes. The workout I could do the last time I tried doing the Beginner Bodyweight routine was the same as the last one I posted, except for some reason I couldn't do pushups the week of March 5th, so I had to go back down to knee and decline pushups (declining from the knee of the sofa, not from the feet. Those would be harder than regular pushups! ). I could do one pushup again the week of March 12th, so I did one pushup for each circuit on those days. Then last week, the week of March 19th, I decided to switch things up a bit and use a coupon a friend gave me for a $20 unlimited week of yoga classes. I went for five days last week and absolutely loved it. When I have a bigger budget, I will probably buy the unlimited year pass. For now, unfortunately, it's prohibitively expensive at $18 a class.

Today, I'm torn between getting back to my Beginner Bodyweight workout and starting up that bootcamp class I have a Groupon for. I am pretty sure I'll be utterly wiped out after bootcamp, so I think if I do that, I'll put the bodyweight routine on hold for the month until I've used up the Groupon (1 month of unlimited bootcamp! Can I do this? Yes I can! At least I hope I can.)

I'm still a little bit achy from yoga classes (hey, I don't use those particular muscles often!) also, so maybe today's not the best day to start bootcamp. On the other hand, why the hell not. Hmm... decisions decisions!

ETA: Oh! And my weight. It had crept back up from 130.5 lb to 132, which I was thinking was maybe just a healthy weight for me. It's going down again, though. 129 when I checked Saturday. I guess that's good.

[Barbarossa]

Hi Viki,

"Why the hell not" indeed! I just glanced through your workouts and you seem to be doing pretty well!

Why not go for a couple of sessions and decide if it's a good fit for where you are now?

Regards,

P

[katscratch]

Go for it! You can totally do bootcamp!

And hey, no worries on not updating, it sounds like you're motivated on your own just fine!

I hear you on the cost of yoga.... I have yet to do classes because of funds, but I am notoriously horrible at doing things on my own at home! I end up reading about it instead

[SimplyViki]

This is Viki's ghost. Bootcamp effectively and completely kicked my ass. I might talk about it tomorrow.

[SimplyViki]

OK, well I made it through week 1 of bootcamp class. I went on Monday, Wedndesday, and Thursday. Two days in a row scared me, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to go without a rest day in between. The only reason for doing it is that the schedule for the class only has those days available at a time I can actually go. Well, that's not true - they also have a 7am and a 8am Saturday class, but I know me, and I know me in the mornings, and I know me in the mornings on weekends, and I know that's just not going to happen.

Things I like about bootcamp:

It's something different each time

Someone else does the thinking and planning, so I don't have to come up with my own workout or decide what to do next (also why I like the Beginner Bodyweight workout)

This particular bootcamp class is small, and mostly women. I was worried about crowds of men, which might make me uncomfortable. This is fine.

Things I don't like about bootcamp:

Running. FML I hate running. Last time we had to jog in a line, and the person in the back of the line had to sprint to the front of the line while everybody else jogs. The formation was supposed to continue all the way around the parking lot, but it kinda broke up halfway through.

Getting sweat mixed with sunscreen and mascara in my eyes. I suppose I could wash off the mascara before going after work, but that's just one more step, and the sweat and sunscreen will still be an issue.

My form keeps breaking. But I have to keep going, I can't just stop and move to the next thing like I could at home, because I don't know what comes next.

Things I have mixed feelings about:

The soreness. This is good because I know my body is getting stronger. This is bad because it hurts!

[SimplyViki]

Finished up week 3 of bootcamp class. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday again.

I really like it! I wish I could afford the $100/month fee, but I can't. One thing I was surprised by is that there are some really challenging exercises that can be done with 5 lb dumbbells. The website recommended to bring a pair of 5-10 lb dumbbells to class, and I was mentally almost scoffing at the 5 lb idea because I'd gotten up to 25 lb dumbbells in the BBW workout (I feel so weird abbreviating it that way because it means something else elsewhere... But I'm getting so sick of typing it all out, so I'm calling it BBW from now on, even if it does make me picture lovely Rubenesque women!). I'm really, REALLY glad I didn't get the 10 lb ones though, because that would've been an epic fail. Some things I can recall that we've done with them that've made me want to curl up in a ball and die:

Walking lunges while holding dumbbells arms length above the shoulders

Squat, jump up, and press the dumbbells up above the shoulders at the same time

Side lunge, kick leg out and abduct the arms out so they're level with the shoulders at the same time

I guess it all just depends on what exactly it is you're doing with the dumbbells. Everything we've been doing in the bootcamp class is between 10-30 reps, and usually 3 sets of an exercise. We take very few breaks, so I'm figuring it's pretty much circuit training. Between sets of an exercise, we run, skip, run sideways, or run backwards about 5 yards and come back for the next set.

Some days I'm more sore than others. I need to do ab work. I know pushups and squats are supposed to strengthen your abs, but apparently I'm not keeping my abs tight enough or something, because some of the abs exercises we've been doing have been WAY difficult for me, so I guess I have a really weak core.

Next week is my last week of bootcamp. I think the BBW workout will probably be really easy after this, so I'm going to try something harder. I just haven't decided what exactly. Probably an older BodyRock.tv workout, one of the ones that doesn't use equipment (I thought they all required an interval timer, but upon further inspection, I found quite a few that can be done with a stopwatch, which I have on my cell phone).

[acrimony]

Hey Viki - just wanted to share that I'm following along with your updates. Keep up the progress. It's great to see you progress and get stronger in such a short time. And congrats on the full pushup! When are you going to try a pull up?