Phase 2

amysj303

Well, the holiday threw me off a little bit. I did the cardio yesterday but didn't get to the gym so today I am going to do the strength training for Day 29 and 30 and another cardio session at the end.
I am hopeful about being able to do legs tomorrow, no cardio, but I just looked at the workout and they have donkey calf raises, which I had never heard of until last week, I saw the machine and I thought, I am never going to do that! I even took a picture of the demonstration pic to make fun of with my friends, ha! the video on JELF shows a guy with a girl straddling his back while he does it, but the picture on the machine shows a women bent at the waist, raising her butt into the air, way to embarrassing for me I guess.

karinefitness

I also saw the donkey raise and thought... NO WAY! We don't have the machine at the gym and there's no way I am asking someone to 'assist' me in doing this exercice!

Instead, I will use the leg press machine as suggested.

I did workout 29 (back & cardio) and 33 (shoulders) today since I didn't go to the gym yesterday. Will do legs and another 30 minutes of cardio tomorrow morning.

amysj303

It took about an hour and a half to do the two workouts and the cardio and I really skimped on the abs stuff so I might have to do some tonight if I have time after the legs workout.

lexagon

Just use the leg press machine and do calf presses, it's the same basic exercise. We don't have one at my gym but I looked at it and laughed when I saw it. As long as you are getting a good calf workout you are good

amysj303

for your amusement:

amysj303

course, that machine is nothing compared to having someone straddle your hips:laugh: I can just see myself asking for that at the gym:embarassed:

karinefitness

Just use the leg press machine and do calf presses, it's the same basic exercise. We don't have one at my gym but I looked at it and laughed when I saw it. As long as you are getting a good calf workout you are good

I used the leg press but I felt like I was doing the exact same thing as the standing calf raise. Maybe I wasn't doing it properly?

I've also discovered we have a sitting calf raise machine at my gym, but I never knew it was there before today! Woops!!

amysj303

Did the legs workout last night, all my calf raises were on the leg press.
My food choices were a bit of a fail. I am really going to try and be 90% with my approved foods. It's hard when there are social plans, like last night, it was 10 friends at an Italian place. I could have had a salad with grilled shrimp but I was hungry and pizza looked so good...

amysj303

I am needing to manage expectations, I guess. I just compared my before and after phase 1 pics and I really can't tell any difference :grumble:

amysj303

Did shoulders and cardio yesterday and legs today. Tomorrow is rest. Happy new year!

jawolfe

It's rest for me tomorrow too, last one before Phase 2! Happy New Year!

amysj303

rest day today but looking forward to back and cardio tomorrow, going to the store and making chicken chili and pumpkin bars on my day off tomorrow.

jawolfe

It was back day for me today too (day 29). Those super sets are a killer!

amysj303

Day 36 for me and the gym is way too busy for super sets! It's driving me crazy already. I made some pumpkin bars tonight and going to make chicken chili tomorrow

amysj303

I ended up getting the same protien powder where I went they didn't carry Promasil, so I got the one with sucralose again. I don't know whether it is really bad for me or not. It is derived from sugar, but I don't know why Stevia is better.

jawolfe

Here are the weights I've been using...

Yesterday was Back & Cardio:
overhand pullups - used the assist at 125lb. I used to use 110lb. Not sure if I got weaker or if it's b/c I put on 10lb...probably both.
Bent over barbell row - 15lb. Unsure of weight of bar
seated cable row - had to use machine at 60lb; couldn't get on the cable row
wide grip lat pull down - 70lb
one armed row - 20lb
close grip pull down - 70lb; prob could go heavier
back extensions - with 10lb weight

Today was chest...ugh, it was a killer!
wide grip barbell bench press - warmup - empty bar, don't know how much it weighs, regular sets 10lb, negatives - didn't know what this meant so i used the empty barbell and went down very slowly to a count of 5
wide stance pushups - 12 rather than 15, I'm so pathetic at pushups!
cable crossover - 20lb; light i know but learning these for the first time so focusing on form. ouch!
smith incline barbell press - 10lb, 15lb, 15lb
cable crunches - 70, 80, 90; was trying to figure out how to do these, could probably go higher even

It's only the 2nd day in Phase 2 and I'm already feeling like I need to eat more, especially more protein! How's everyone doing??

amysj303

Thanks for sharing your weights jawolfe. I had back and cardio yesterday, this is what I remember:
Here are the weights I've been using...

overhand pullups - used the assist at 110lb. usually I can do a couple at 95 assist but not yesterday!
Bent over barbell row - 40lb. the whole thing is one piece and that is the weight printed on it.
seated cable row - 60 lb
wide grip lat pull down - can't remember!
one armed row - 15lb
back extensions - one without and one with 10lb weight. some other guy wanted to use it so I missed the last set.

I wonder why I am not getting stronger and I think maybe I am not eating properly for muscle growth?! I really don't like to eat when I am not hungry. But also, I have a bad habit of thinking that hunger is the feeling of fat cells dying and I really think going to bed hungry means losing body fat.
For Phase 2 I am really going to try hard to get my protein. But also, really try getting the eggs morning and night. I am a little wary of drinking egg white in a smoothie but I might have to, especially at night, I am not wanting to eat eggs then.

jawolfe

Thanks for sharing asjerven! that's very helpful. Hey strength is relative, so long as we start seeing some improvement, right? At least we are doing it. I know that my nutrition over the past 2 wks has been awful. But I've been off work with my husband and didn't want to be too hard on myself. I'm with you, I"m going to start focusing on making sure I get enough cals and especially protein. Going to get my eggs and ground turkey tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!

amysj303

oh, and FYI, my name is Amy. I hate my screen name, I didn't know my login would create my screen-name and now I don't want to change it to something else, I guess.
Anyway, here's to us and eating right:drinker:
I have been checking out paleo sites for dinner ideas since they are pretty low in carb and sugar, sometimes a little high in fat, though!

karinefitness

Amy, I might be wrong but I think the progress might be less noticeable in people who don't have weight to loose (ie: you). The progress pics I've seen were mostly of people who wanted to loose weight; and they did! But maybe they weren't active at all before the program and this is why their progress is amazing?

I also wonder if I've made any improvement during the first few weeks of the program. I am lifting more than I was last week and in Phase 1, but I guess I am impatient and would like to see more (muscle) gains.

Of course eating enough protein is crucial, as well as lifting heavy. Maybe you can try the go up in weight in most of the exercices next week? I sometimes do that and if I cannot do a set I just do a few reps and then go down in weight.

I haven't taken pics yet, I only have my 'before' pic but I don't feel much different yet... But I'm unpatient to see results... ;-)

karinefitness

I'm also planning on doing the trainer a second time once I finish Phase 3, hopefully there will be more gains this time! We'll see! We still have 6 weeks to go!

amysj303

I can't believe after this week I am halfway!
I think you are right, karin, phase 1 is not a weight loss phase.
Is it too much to hope for 6-pack abs by the end?
Yesterdays workout called for the cable crunch, but the gym was super crowded and I haven't tried them and I was intimidated, plus, I had just done 60 toe touches and 60 crunches and the roman chair so I thought abs had enough!
I did try the cable cross-overs, though, 20 lbs, before I just did bench flies because I was afraid of the cables, so there's progress.
pushups, I did 2 sets wide and one set narrow, all girly-style.
For the side-to-side pushups I do the walking pushups like in 30 DS, where you move one hand to the middle and one hand to the side and do the pushup (again, girly style on knees). Well, I think this guy was trying to make me look bad! He was right next to me, doing pushups with one hand on a basketball and one on the floor, pushup, then the hand that was on the floor went to the ball and the hand on the ball went to the floor and another pushup, badass:mad:
And then while I was doing the crunches this girl was balanced on one foot on the half-ball doing triceps presses right next to me. She was good, but I just kept thinking, if she falls on me with that weight...

karinefitness

And then while I was doing the crunches this girl was balanced on one foot on the half-ball doing triceps presses right next to me. She was good, but I just kept thinking, if she falls on me with that weight...

Haha, I know what you mean! That sounds like a crazy exercice though, not sure it's safe? I don't really like those half-ball, I see them as just a thread but I might be wrong...

I also wish for the 6 pack at the end... and bigger arms...

I do the side to side pushups like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqQcQrXoYrw

But on my knees, and they feel ackward. I'm not 100% sure I am doing them right...

amysj303

Thanks for the video, I will try that next time, it looks more appropriate. Did you notice sometimes the tutorials on body building.com has all this roided up dudes and it's almost impossible to tell how it should look with me doing it! I noticed Jamie on some instructional exercises but not many!
Last night I went to the wellness center here at work, 23h fitness is too busy. This place was quiet, I had never been. The equipment is old but adequate I think. Legs last night.
I am taking today as my rest day to visti a friend, so no rest on Sunday which is fine, really, I prefer to workout on the weekends anyway, I got the time...

karinefitness

If you log in (create a username and indicate you're a women) on bb.com, you'll see Jamie's video instead of the big dude :-)

I prefer Jamie's videos, most of the time.

amysj303

I didn't know that. I wondered why it was Jamie performing the exercise one time and then the muscled dude the rest of the time. I do have a login but I just have the month view on my favorites and click on the day I want to see, usually.
Do you participate on the body space? I am a little intimidated by that aspect, I can't figure out how to find what I want.

karinefitness

I didn't know that. I wondered why it was Jamie performing the exercise one time and then the muscled dude the rest of the time. I do have a login but I just have the month view on my favorites and click on the day I want to see, usually.
Do you participate on the body space? I am a little intimidated by that aspect, I can't figure out how to find what I want.

I do use body space once in a while, mostly to track my measurements... I've also added a few friends who motivate me! Seeing pics of women with the shape I want is inspirating! I also use the forums.

My body space name is Maeva27 if you want to add me :-)

Tonight is arms, abs, cardio night! Can't wait! I'm actually to spend the evening in the gym; isn't that crazy?! I bet my friends would think I'm crazy... But I can't wait to lift and run!

There are no more sweets in the house so I should do better diet wise. My boyfriend are got a gym membership (at another gym, though) so he will want to start eating cleaner, which will help me at the same time.

Anyone else working out today/tonight?

amysj303

yep! arms, abs and cardio for me too tonight, it will probably take about an hour and a half, but I will probably still go out and have a drink, I don't know. Maybe I should just go home! We are going to a hockey game tomorrow and I think dinner is BBQ.
I have to workout Saturday and Sunday to stay on track, too, since I took last night off.

karinefitness

yep! arms, abs and cardio for me too tonight, it will probably take about an hour and a half, but I will probably still go out and have a drink, I don't know. Maybe I should just go home! We are going to a hockey game tomorrow and I think dinner is BBQ.
I have to workout Saturday and Sunday to stay on track, too, since I took last night off.

Same here, but I took wedneday off. So tonight, saturday and sunday are workout days, whoo!

I'll be going home right after my workout just because I want to finish Fringe season one so bad... So that's what I'll do after my workout I'll be exhausted anyways (I already am).

jawolfe

Thanks for the tips ladies, I was struggling with those side to side push ups too. I've been meaning to get the weights up from my last 2 workouts, here they are:

day 31 Legs
leg extension warmups x 30 - started and 20 and ended up going down to 15lb, then 10b to get all 30 reps in
wide stance barbell squat - 2 light sets: 20lb on barbell but don't know weight of barbell, 15 reps, 2 heavier sets to failure: 30lb x 17 reps
leg press - 90lb x 14reps (too light), 140lb x 8 reps for the next 3 sets (I felt good about that one!)
walking barbell lunges: 20lbs for the 1st 2 sets, then went down to 15lb for the last one. I find this one so hard!
barbell stepups - started out at 15lb and went down to 10lb, this was harder than i expected
plie dumbbell squt - 20lb kettlebell for first set, 25lb for the next 2; can definitely go heavier
standing calf raise - 15lb for 1st set, 20lb for the next 2
leg press calf raise - started at 130lb but had to go down to 120lb. last set got out 16 reps
this was a killer workout!

day 32 arms, abs, cardio
barbell curls- 20lb on barbell of unknown weight, but had to go down to 15lb
couldn't get to the cables for the cable curl so did dumbbell curls-15lbs, had to go down to 12lb b/c i was burning from the superset!
cable hammer curl - 35lb
alternating hammer curl- 15lbs dumbbells
dips
skullcrushers-15lb for 1st set, too light so did 15reps, then 20lbs for next 2 sets
did arm extension machine rather than seated triceps press-30lb
triceps pushdown rope-40lb

Taking a rest day today (had to go to the doctors for antibiotics for a raging sinusitis); will do Day 33 Shoulders and Cardio tomorrow. My nutrition is terrible, but I am trying to up the protein.

Have a great weekend everyone! Jennifer

amysj303

I went to a new gym for the legs workout and so I don't know how much weight I was lifting, it wasn't well marked, but I did hear him say the bars are 45 and 35 lbs, and I think I was squatting the 45 lb one, although I am not sure.
With barbell step ups I use 8 lbs in each hand and it is hard!
Plie squat I used the 20 lb weight and that was hard too, the last 5 of the last set I did without weight.
I used the 8lb weights for the walking lunges, they are hard to. I think I know the answer but I think one time I screwed it up. Okay, for the walking lunges do you girls actually walk? Do you take 30 steps (15 each side) OR do you take 15 steps? OR do you stay in one place and lunge forward on the same leg 15 times, then the opposite leg 15 times and then repeat 3 times?