Finally Jumping In

[Wicked Pixie]

My hubby gave me the nickname Wicked Pixie

Laughable because I'm 6'1" & when he met me I was 160 pounds (not bad at all)

Here's my story-

I'm 33, almost 34.

depending on which scale I use-

the wii says I weigh 162.5 and the bathroom scale says 180.

I don't really care what those numbers are, I just want to see a slight downward trend.

My current measurements are

Waist 33

Hips 42.5

Thigh 25

Upper arm 12.5

Forearm 9.5

Wrist 7

I have 4 children. Work full time with an hour and a half commute each way.

Time sucks & is always a challenge.

I had gotten off my fitness path in 2008, I was going thru a nasty divorce and trying to keep my head above water while it felt like the entire world was pulling me under.

A few years prior to that I started martial arts training with the ATA. I was traveling the country for sparring competitions and in my first year earned the Texas State Champion title for my age division. I earned my black belt and kept competing, in my first tournament season as a black belt I made the elite top ten which enabled me to compete for the title of World Champion in sparring. Unfortunately I only placed 3rd, but the way I see it, 1st and 2nd place went to a Brazilian and a Tahitian, so one could reasonably say I was the best in the USA

I wish I could find the pictures of me from that time because there would be a lot of "damn you look good's I was fit enough but my endurance sucked. I was tone but not STRONG. I admit, I didn't mind looking in the mirror naked, but there was still something I couldn't see-

CONFIDENCE

I didn't have ANY! Where did it go? Was it ever there? C'mon, I was an athlete, I excelled at my chosen sport- Why didn't I hold my head high, why didn't I FEEL confident?

Like a lot of women I know, I think it came from years of self neglect. Years spent caring for others needs in such a way that you felt guilty for giving yourself the time and attention you need. And that is why I wasn't confident. I dedicated only enough time to taekwondo to become proficient, to get in beat my opponent and go back to caring for my family's needs. I began to equate training with neglect and the thought of neglecting my family was intolerable to me. Then I found out I was pregnant with my youngest angel and that was the perfect excuse to quite training altogether.

Long story less long,

Motivation, not feeling guilty, and over coming the girly fear of racking up weights next to the muscle bound guy next to you at the gym.....

and that squishy inner thigh that rubs together and annoys the hell out of me if I try to run in shorts!!!

I've recently joined a gym and lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks. Week 4 I registered a 4 pound gain, got disappointed and stopped weighing myself, but I didn't stop going to the gym. I am determined not to get discouraged by the scale anymore.

I'm so out of shape it's sad. I'm using a walk run program to get some cardio in and just started weights about a week ago- I know machines are bad, but so is being the only person in the gym at 4 am- so until I build up some strength and I'm reasonably certain I won't kill myself, I'm using the machines. ( I guess a guide to proper lifting techniques for women would be awesome)

My short term goals (before the end of the summer) are:

*To run (no walking) a 5k

*To be able to do at least one pull up

*To be able to do REAL push ups 10 of them!

I almost forgot, I don't want to jiggle in my bikini this summer!

Longer term- I want to compete and place in Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder (my brother lost a leg in Iraq and the Wounded Warrior project has been a blessing to him and his family)

Thanks for the inspiration (especially the Star Wars references- When I reach my bikini goal I will send an updated picture with my SW themed tattoo)

Any guidance as far as strength training will be taken and cherished!

[GreenEyesBright]

Yay! Another chick! Welcome to the boards and all the nerdy goodness you'll come to love! Kudos for the weight loss and screw the scales. If you can see and feel the difference then the numbers are pointless

Go Big or Go Home! Sent from my Atrix using Tapatalk.

[Summer827]

Welcome! We're the same age . I've been lifting weights for 3 months. Starting Strength is the program I've been following and it's very simple, but effective. I was intimidated by the barbell at first but now I love it!! Great way to get strong fast. There's my plug for SS (by Mark Rippetoe). Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can. I was never any type of athlete, even as a child.

So, sending encouragement your way! You can do it!

Yeah, and good idea to avoid the scale. It says crazy things sometimes that mess with our minds!

[Morrigainz]

Welcome! Girls rule and boys drool! Lotsa lotsa people on here use SS...I started with New Rules of Lifting for Women (Lou Schuler). It kicks my ass and it's hard. But awesome.

Girlllll...STEP AWAY FROM THE MACHINES! If necessary, do the exercises with lighter dumbbells until you get the confidence you need to go heavier. The machines will only inhibit your progress in the long run. They don't teach your muscles to actually work like they are supposed to; they only work them in a linear fashion. TRUST ME you aren't going to kill yourself as long as you are careful

[morethanjustamom]

Welcome, yay another woman and a mom of many!! I have five kiddos so I know the whole family/fitness/food juggle you've got going on.

[Skittle]

Welcome! I could spend days backtracking through the archives here - you will find TONS of fantastic information and support

[joeyb]

Welcome to the boards. You shouldn't get discouraged by the scale at all. 16lbs in 3 weeks (1) isn't sustainable and (2) isn't healthy. You either lost A LOT of water weight, were averaging 3-5lbs per week, or one of the scales was off. Really, 1-2lbs of fat per week is what is considered safe. Any more than that and your body will think it is starving and it will start storing fat any way that it can. Plus, if you think about it, 12lbs in 4 weeks is still amazing progress. Most people would kill to be able to lose 3lbs per week.

Another thing that you will notice is that your body weight fluctuates a lot. I weighed myself before bed one night, then again in the morning to find that I lost 5lbs overnight. There are a lot of things that go into that fluctuation, but the important thing to remember is that as long as you are making progress on your workouts and maintaining a safe deficit in calories, you will see a downward trend in your weight.

[Wicked Pixie]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I am so proud of myself, I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but I did because I knew if I didn't I was going to feel like crap the rest of the day.

But the proud thing-

I did weighted squats. REAL ONES! I did however use (I think it's called the Smith Machine?) where the bar stays in a track and has resting pegs. Anyway, I'm not embarrassed to say that I only had 20lbs of extra weight on the bar. Hey, we all have to start somewhere. I did my 3 sets of 8 with that and my legs are burning soooo good!!!

I also gutted up and tried benching. same amount of weight on the bar and it was really tough for me. But I did all my sets & I'm excited!

I did use some of the other machines until I can research some free-weight excersises. I like going into new things carefully & I don't want any injuries to give me an excuse to stay in bed.

-Hope y'all have a fabulous day!

~*~Wicked Pixie~*~

If sweat is fat crying, then I'm gonna make it cry!

[Morrigainz]

I must confess, I used the Smith machine a couple times. If you can use the machine, you can totally use an empty barbell. As long as you have good form, you'll be fine.

GREAT JOB on getting out of bed...some days that's tough, I know.

[Wicked Pixie]

I must confess, I used the Smith machine a couple times. If you can use the machine, you can totally use an empty barbell. As long as you have good form, you'll be fine.

GREAT JOB on getting out of bed...some days that's tough, I know.

I feel so much better when I can get past the torture of crawling out of my cozy warm bed!

I always work out alone, so I figured until I'm confident with my form it's best to use that. I'm guessing by the end of next week I'll be busting out some truly awesome squats!

[Morrigainz]

I know...I ALWAYS have trouble with that on the weekend. And then I feel yuck when I sleep in too late.

[Wicked Pixie]

Weekends suck for me too! I so desperately want to "catch up" on sleep, but then if I do, I feel like my head weighs a thousand pound and I just can't seem to get moving!

Luckily I have a 2 year old who sleeping late means I'm up by 7 on weekends (3+ hours of extra sleep than during the week) so I should just gut up and get up!