What about macaroni... let me finish... salad?

Brovatar Korra · June 26, 2013

OKAY I'm starting a new diet now through the end of July that is my own unique blend of all the slow-carb, low-carb, Whole30, Paleo advice I've read. Here is the outline:

- no added sugars

- no grains

- lots of vegetables (several servings a day)

- lots of protein (several servings a day mostly chicken, eggs, beef)

- moderate amount of fats (butter, avocado, coconut oil, animal fat)

- moderate amount of nuts (mostly almonds)

- occasional legumes (I love chili with pinto beans, that's gonna keep happening)

- occasional fruits (I LOVE FRUIT! Especially strawberries and mango)

- occasional dairy (greek yogurt, goat cheese)

I've been following this for three days so far. Very proud that I haven't drank any juice or soda! The only thing I've eaten that doesn't follow my guidelines is I ate some jasmine coconut rice yesterday with my thai chicken. It was delicious and totally worth it. And it didn't send me into a carb spin afterward! I've had a serving of fruit everyday, which is a little high I know I need to cut back a bit, I'm using it as a crutch. I'll try no fruit tomorrow and see how it goes.

"What about hash browns?"

Brovatar Korra · June 26, 2013

Gym Workout!

20 min on elliptical incline 10 intensity 5. This was tougher than I remember I was sweating profusely by 7 minutes in!

Bench Press:

10 x 45lb

8 x 65

6 x 85

4 x 95

3 x 95 (Not too shabby for not lifting at all for 3 months, but I have some work to get back to 120)

Pull Ups:

6 x 106lb assistance (56% of my current body weight)

6 x 106

Dips:

6 x 106lb

6 x 106

Squats:

10 x body weight

10 x 45lb

8 x 45lb

I was so tired by the end I couldn't finish my last set so I called it a day. A good start!

Brovatar Korra · June 29, 2013

Gym Workout!

20 min on elliptical same intensity as Wednesday, but it was remarkably easier after just one session. (It's all comin back...) I will have to up the stakes next time.

Deadlifts:

10 x 45lb

8 x 65lb

6 x 85lb

4 x 95lb

3 x 110lb (Phew I was exhausted!)

Bicep Curls with Bar:

10 x 25lb

8 x 30lb

6 x 30lb

Rows with Bar:

10 x 30lb

8 x 40lb

6 x 40lb

Lat Pulldown Machine:

10 x 50lb

8 x 60lb

4 x 70lb

3 x 80lb

And at that point I was out of water and tired so I made like a tree and got out of there.

P.S. - I realize in an above post I said I was going to try no fruit the next day. That totally didn't happen. Fruit is delicious! But I will limit myself to one serving a day.

Brovatar Korra · July 1, 2013

I wanted to supplement my week with some other exercises besides my beloved squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Don't get me wrong - I love lifting heavy things. I wish I could do it everyday. (I can but I know we shouldn't) AND I am also trying to lose weight, so I wanted to work in some other kind of activity for my non-lifting days. So my husband introduced to me to FitStar, a free iphone app that creates personalized workouts. It is pretty neat.

The first session is a fitness test assessment, which involved a plank for 30 seconds, 1 minute of jumping jacks, pushups, etc. I started off pretty much at Level 2 for everything. I also jumped into the first official workout afterward, which focused on chest and core. It involved intervals of cardio (jumping jacks, air jump rope) with standing wall pushups and this core move which involves laying on your back and trying to push the small of your back into the ground while keeping your core tight. It didn't feel effective at all in the moment, but I can feel it today.

Overall it was fun and I'm going to try a few more sessions. You earn badges with each workout you complete, which appeals to my gamer achievement score conditioned brain. The body weight stuff was actually pretty manageable, but the cardio was tough! All I had to do was jump up in down 45 seconds at a time, and it was brutal! Now I know what I need to work on more.

Has anyone else used fitness apps, and do you have a favorite?

Brovatar Korra · July 2, 2013

Another weightlifting session!

Bench press:

45 x 8

65 x 8

85 x 8

95 x 4

105 x 2 (a little TOO ambitious, almost embarrassed myself trying to get it back on the hooks)

95 x 3, 85 x 1 (muscles...failing...)

Pull-Ups

106 x 6 (106lbs of assistance, lifting 56% of my own body weight)

95 x 6 (improvement from last week)

95 x 4, 106 x 2 ( I WILL FINISH SETS, even if I have to lower weight)

Dips

106 x 6

95 x 6

95 x 4, 106 x 2

Squats - I was waiting forever for the rack to open up, then decided to just find some real estate and do them with the bar, since I know I can safely pick the bar up and move it over my head. I did 3 sets of 8 reps, and holy cow my thighs were on fire. I was able to go lower and get better form, and man that makes a difference! Now I know what those warriors are always talking about. So I'm going to stick here for now, and move the weight back up very slowly.

Funkl3 · July 2, 2013

Great work... Keep it up!

Brovatar Korra · July 3, 2013

Thank you so much Funkl3!

Here is today's workout! I did more repetitions and exercises than usual in one workout because I'm using these numbers for the Warrior Dog Days of Summer: Volume Daze.

Bench Press:

45x10

65x10

85x5

Squats:

45x10

Deadlifts:

45x6

65x6 (my form was really off and i wasn't doing something correctly because my back was strained, gotta go back to Starting Strength and reread!)

Lat Pull Downs:

50x10

60x10

70x6

70x4

60x4

Curls:

30x8

30x6

Rows:

30x8

AND I'M spent

Brovatar Korra · July 10, 2013

I am holding steady at 186lb (-4) since starting this new healthy eating and exercise plan 3 weeks ago. I am happy that the weight has actually stayed off, but I can't help but be a little disappointed that those 4 pounds were all in the first week, and nothing has happened since. I know this is a very typical pattern for people making dramatic eating adjustments. I tell myself "The success isn't in that number, it's in feeling happier and healthier!" Which I do! Some days I'm buying it, but on other days my math brain demands results in numbers.

What I NEED to do is buy a measuring tape so I can start making assessments with that tool instead. That will be a much better method of judging how my body is changing. Since my pants are ever so slightly less snug, I know I'm headed in the right direction.

There are four days left in the current challenge, I detailed my latest exploits here Andrea Owns Up, Hits Restart. I'm already brainstorming what I will do for the next challenge. It is going to involve new PRs for sure...

And now that I am officially moved to Austin, I need to find a new good gym with lots of heavy things.

Brovatar Korra · July 12, 2013

The new gym is great! Has all the stuff I'm looking for (Squat racks and weight spacers for deadlifts!)

Gym Workout:

So I didn't do 20 min of cardio on the elliptical before lifting, and I can't believe what a difference it made! I had way more stamina than I usually do, I'm totally never doing that again. This probably also explains why I historically have had more trouble with squats than other lifts. I can't believe it took me this long to figure that out. I went for as high a weight possible at 5 reps, because that is going to be an important part of my next challenge.

Squats: (everything in lb)

45x5

65x5

85x5

105x5

110x5

Bench Press:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x5

105x3

Deadlifts:

65x5

85x5

115x5

135x5

135x3

Lat Pulldowns:

60x5

80x5

100x5

110x5

120x3

These are pretty close to, if not new PRs. I used to have them written down from a year ago but I totally forgot what they used to be. Pretty good starting point!

Brovatar Korra · July 13, 2013

I finally got a measuring tape and scale that reads body fat %. Here are yesterday's results:

187lb

39% body fat

34.5% muscle

38.6% water

WAT that adds up to 112%! That's what I first thought too. Apparently the water % is Total Body Weight (TBW), and since muscle has water in it the numbers overlap a bit. AHA!

The important thing is now I have my baseline for my next challenge, and an accurate way to measure changes week to week other than pounds.

Here are the tape measurements:

neck: 13.5"

waist: 35.5"

hips: 45"

L and R thigh: 28.5"

L and R bicep: 13.25"

L and R wrist: 6.75"

According to the Army body fat calculator (which uses neck/waist/hips) I am 44% body fat.

According to another body fat calculator on fitbie (which uses neck/waist/hips/forearms) I am 27.5% body fat.

So I conclude my scale's measurements falling right in between those two is fairly accurate, and what I will continue to use for tracking. I'll still keep track of tape measurements just to watch the numbers get smaller but I won't use them for body fat%, that's what the fancy scale is for!

Brovatar Korra · July 14, 2013

Today's workout focused on technique and form rather than setting records:

Squats (all numbers lbs)

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x5

Press*

45x5

55x5

55x4

45x5

* I can't believe how hard these were! I mostly do bench presses, and after re-reading Starting Strength decided I needed to vary it up. I STRUGGLED with 55lb. I'm going to incorporate these every other workout from now on (like I should've been doing from the start)

Dead Lifts*

65x5

85x5

115x5

*I jumped from 85 to 115 to fast, I need to throw a 95 or 105 in between next time.

Chin-Ups 120lb assistance x 5

Dips 120lb assistance x 5

Whoah. This new gym has a different kind of assisted pull up machine that requires you to rest your knees on the pad rather than your feet. The resistance in movement is much greater, the cable doesn't seem to pull as smoothly and I don't like it at all. I don't know how else to work up to being able to do body weight chin ups and dips though.... Any suggestions?

Brovatar Korra · July 16, 2013

UPDATES! SO MANY!

Back up to 188lbs. Not happy about that, but now that I'm tracking body fat % I'm not as worked up, since I'm down .4% body fat and up .5% muscle. Yay! Going to do tape measurements this weekend to compare to last week. Not expecting much change, but any change downward at all would be awesome.

After rereading Starting Strength I've adjusted my progressions a bit. Here is today's workout at BIG TEX GYM!

Squats:

45x5 (weird twinge in my right hip, ignoring it)

65x5 (weird twinge still there, do a bit of stretching, carry on)

85x3 weird twinge now pain, stop dummy!

Not sure what it was, it was a tightness in my right groin/inside thigh area that became painful as I squatted down and went away upon standing up. Going to do lots of stretching tonight and tomorrow, and try again on Thursday.

Bench Press:

45x7

65x5

85x3

95x3

105x5

105x4 (ARGH! Tried really hard to push the last one out, ended up calling on the safety rungs to rescue me)

Deadlift:

45x5

65x5

85x5

105x3

125x3

135x3 (didn't rest long enough after the last set)

135x5

Woohoo! That's the most I've ever lifted 135lb that many times in a row!

Brovatar Korra · July 18, 2013

My waist and hips are down .25" from last week. Actual progress or just measurement variance? We'll know for sure next week!

Today's workout: (full of awesome)

5 min elliptical warmup, since my right hip flexor was tight on squats last time

6 body squats just to make sure, yep all limber

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x5

105x3 (twinge in right hip flexor / groin is back, but not painful just tight, so I keep going)

125x2 (EEP! TOO MUCH! could barely get back up after the second one, not even going to count these because of bad form)

115x4 (ah much better, still couldn't make the 5th rep)

115x4 still better than last workout! (110x5)

Press:

45x5

55x5

60x5 (so hard, didn't think I could make a micro increase)

60x4 (gah!)

And my favorite...

Deadlift:

65x5

85x5

105x3

135x3

145x4 (Hell yeah new PR!)

145x4 (Grip starting to slip, might need to look into mixed grip)

Woohoo! Now I have new maxes to start with for the next challenge!

Brovatar Korra · July 20, 2013

Today's Workout:

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x5

105x3

115x3 (eep form suffering!)

110x4

BP:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x3

105x3 (eep struggling to not kill myself!)

100x5

DL:

65x5

85x5

105x5

125x5

145x4

145x4 (that fifth rep is killing me)

Brovatar Korra · July 23, 2013

Today's Gym Workout:

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x3

105x3x2 (hip pain is back, i'm convinced it is a tight hip flexor and I'm researching good stretches to do post work out to make this go away so I can lift heavier!)

Overhead Press:

45x5

55x4

55x5 (what's going on, not resting enough in between? This was just shoddy)

Deadlifts:

65x5

85x5

105x5

125x3

140x3

150x4 (new PR! woohoo!)

Lat Pulldowns:

60x5

80x5

100x5

120x5

120x4 (I think this is the weight I hit when I was previously killing it back in 2011, so 130 will be a new PR!)

Brovatar Korra · July 25, 2013

Today's Workout:

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x3

105x3

100x3

I tried to adjust my form after watching some videos but sitting "back further on my butt" but this just seemed to transfer the pain from my hip to my lower back. WTF.

Bench Press:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x3

105x4x3

Deadlifts:

65x5

85x5

105x5

125x3

145x3

155x4 (new PR! my grip is slipping though, maybe need to try that mixed grip)

Leg Press: (I only did this because my husband wasn't finished running yet and I thought I'd try something different)

50x5

90x5

110x5

130x5

Brovatar Korra · July 27, 2013

Todays' Workout:

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x4 (stupid right hip)

95x5 (adjusting technique to make less painful, not quite parallel but better than nothing)

105x5x3

Overhead Press:

45x5

55x5

60x5x3

Deadlifts:

65x5

85x5

105x5

125x5

145x3

155x3

Elliptical 20 min set at 6. This was tough. I want to incorporate cardio but I'm so exhausted at the end!

Brovatar Korra · July 30, 2013

Okay this is a totally different workout than my normal SS routine. Last workout I managed to make both my right hip and lower back sore. I imagine it was a result of too much weight, which resulted in bad form, which resulted in PAIN. So today there were no squats or deadlifts. I focused on upper body and cardio. I experimented a little bit, so Beware, thar be machines ahead. (I know YUCK). Wednesday will be back to normal (assuming no more back aching)

Bench Press:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x5

105x5x3

Lat Pull Down:

60x5

80x5

100x5

110x5

120x5

120x4

110x5

Tricep Extension:

50x5

70x5

90x5

100x5x2

110x5

This machine was RUBBISH. I think it worked my shoulders more than anything. I'm never going near this again.

Bicep Curls (Dumbbells):

15x5 ea side

20x5 ea side

22.5x3 ea side

20x5 ea side

Skull Crushers:

30x5x2

Dips:

130lb assistance x5

120lb x5

ChinUps:

130lb assistance x5

120lb x5

It was fun to do something different, I might keep barbell work in the rotation.

Brovatar Korra · July 31, 2013

AAAH, back to my main lifts. I've been doing a lot of form work on my squats, taking videos of myself, watching clips and reading tips. I have made some corrections which I will go into detail about over in my 6 week challenge Terms of EnRAMPAGEment. Suffice to say doing them CORRECTLY makes a huge difference!

Squats:

45x5

65x5

85x5

95x5

105x5

115x5x3

No hip pain or back pain! My form is finally getting honed in.

(Standing) Overhead Press:

45x5

55x5

60x5

65x5

65x4 (not enough rest?)

65x4 (nope, tried as hard as i could on the 5th rep and could and had to drop it back down)

Snatch Grip Deadlifts:

65x5

85x5

105x5

125x5

135x5

145x5

155x5

20 min elliptical

Brovatar Korra · August 2, 2013

Today's workout was different because... I convinced my husband to join my gym, which earned me two free personal workout sessions! So I asked for a trainer who had a background in powerlifting and could help me with my main lifts, correct form, and show me some assistance exercises. The guy was really nice and awesome, and he was psyched that I was interested in getting stronger. He showed me these things:

Inchworm warmups, which are very similar to some yoga poses that hit all the main muscle groups

Box squats, showing me how to work on pausing at the bottom and then pushing out

Romanian Dead Lifts

It was really fun and I'm definitely going to incorporate some of the tips he showed me into my routine. He's also helping me restructure my sessions by splitting up each major lift to its own day. Afterward I just focused on my benchpress and dips.

Box Squats:

45x5

85x5 (just showing me how they're done)

20 x Bodyweight lunges

Bench Press:

45x10

85x8

95x5

105x5

110x5

115x3 (PR!)

115x3

105x4

95x8

Dips:

130lb assistance x 10

120 x 7

110 x 5

100 x 3

90 x 2

Brovatar Korra · August 4, 2013

Today's Workout:

WarmUp:

4 inchworm stretches

10 core resistance stretches

2 x 45s planks

Squats:

45x10

85x5

105x5

120x5 (PR!)

Box Squats:

115x5

125x5

135x5

Squats:

110x5

125x5 (PR!)

I think incorporating the box squats really helps my body get used to supporting the heavier weight, so when I go back to full ROM regular squats the weight feels "lighter"

20 min elliptical

20 lunges

Brovatar Korra · August 7, 2013

Warmup:

4 inchworms

2 30x planks

10 hip raises

Bench Press:
45x10

85x8

105x5

95x7

85x8x2

Dumbbell Incline Press:

17.5x8

17.5x10

20x10

Barbell Row:

50x8

40x8

40x10

Dumbbell Bent Lat Raise:

10x5

7.5x5

7.5x6

(never done these before, super awkward!)

Assisted Dips:

120lb assistance x8x3

Dumbbell Lat Pullovers:

20x8x3

(Warrior Side Quest!)

17 min cardio (exhausted and husband was ready to leave)

Brovatar Korra · August 8, 2013

So usually on my non-lifting days I do nothing. Today I was motivated to try a body weight / core exercise workout since I'm trying to lose body fat in addition to getting stronger. I kicked my own ass! I guess I really need to do these exercises regularly, because they were super hard for me.

Warm-Ups:

4 inchworms

6 Turkish Get-Ups (using my full nalgene)

Hip Press 10x2

3 x 45s planks

Workout:

Back Extensions 8x3 with 10lb weight

DB Walking Lunge 8x2 with 20lb DB (was supposed to be 10x3 but I tired myself out!)

Froggies 10x3

Swiss Plank Rolls w/ball 10x1 (was supposed to be 10x3 but it felt awkward, pretty sure I wasn't doing it right. Need to go back and watch the videos again)

Knee Raises 9x3 (center, left, right)

MB sit-ups 10 x 1 with 8lb ball (again supposed to be 10x3 but I was exhausted)

MB toe touches - DO NOT DO THESE AFTER BACK EXTENSIONS, they started to hurt my back right away and I had to stop

There were also going to be pushups but at this point I just did my 20 min of cardio on the elliptical and called it a morning. I can't believe how hard these were for me, considering how much stronger I've gotten over the last few months. I guess it doesn't translate weights -> body weight / core. I hope it translates the other way and helps me with my main lifts!

Brovatar Korra · August 9, 2013

Squat Day!

Warmup: 4 x inchworms

Squats:

45x10

85x5

105x5

125x5x3 (PR for 3 sets!)

having tight abs from a crazy core workout yesterday actually helped my form today!

RDL:

45x10

95x5x3 (first time doing these!)

Pull Ups:

120x5

130x4

130x8x2

Dips:

120x8x3

Turkish Get Ups:

10lb kettlebell 4 x ea side

15lb kettlebell 2 x ea side

I had a much harder time with coordination while the weight was in my right hand, which makes sense cause I'm left handed.

Brovatar Korra · August 11, 2013

OH BOY. Today was all kinds of win.

First off let me say I deadlifted my body weight! 185lb! SHIT YEAH. AND While doing squats to warm up someone complemented me on my good form! Totally made my day. I feel like an unstoppable beast!

WarmUps:

4 inchworms

body weight squats x 10

squats 45lb x 10

squats 65lb x 10 (I did all these squats explosively, going for speed)

DL:

65x10

95x5

125x3

145x3

165x3

165x3 (this was supposed to be my max today and I was going for 3 sets 5 reps. That didn't happen. But then I decided why not go for a 1RM?)

175x1

185x1 attempted and failed, didn't lock out

185x1 FTW!!!!

Back Raises

10lb 10x3

Lat PullDowns

70x10

90x5

110x5x2 (Exhausted, realized its the 1 hour mark)

Farmer's Walk with DB (20-25m one way? I'm a terrible judge of distance)

30lb ea hand

40lb

45lb (they were practically falling out of my hands. this is going to be great for grip strength)

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What about macaroni... let me finish... salad?

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