Jo, my goodness, I would be shocked if you weren't exhausted, perhaps a day to rest especially if your shoulder still isn't right. I hope it isn't anything too serious.

bepeejaye, how was the iLasik? Its something I've been interested in but scared to do. Does it hurt or is there any down time? My vision is not good, & I hate my contacts & glasses.

Beeps- totally with you.... I hate it too. And you've guessed it.... last night I was called in for a birth at 1am. Have had a total of 3 hours sleep. :yawn:

This week is a total write off - can't lift until next week what with my boys bday and going away. I could go today but it will be a crap session seeing as I'm tired and then I'll feel even worse about it.

It's not like I haven't been keeping myself busy..... I've just been busy doing things other than lifting. :grumble:

Jo you are one busy day, and your job is unpredictable to say the least. I know it's frustrating, but just get it done whenever you can.

Bepee, my husband is dying to get lasik. I really need to start expendable fund and get on that. So glad it's working for you.

Welcome to the new ladies!!

I am completely exhausted. I took the kids to six flags after a lame weekend of watching mommy be sick. Eight hours of nonstop fun and horrible theme park food lol.

Tomorrow (weather permitting as it was cool today) lounging by the lake and them the gym

Manic I hope your surgery goes well- why are you having one? Tell your doctor how important exercise is to you....

I have been busy but I am on track with lifting- I am on lower intensity workouts per my physical therapist. I've been trying to convince myself it's worth a few lousy workouts it will be better in the long run but I don't like lifting light weights twenty or fifty times/ it seems silly. But I don't want to lose the habit and I've already had two rest weeks in the past month- so more lifting in am as well as pt.

Sounds like everyone has a lot going on! Funny, isn't stuff supposed to slow down and be more relaxed in the summer? Not here either. My sister is going to have her baby soon so everyone is excited about that; a first cousin for my boys and it took her a long time to get pregnant. In the span of the last three weeks my 3 year-old has decided to stop napping, stop using his soother (was just using it for sleep), has moved into his big boy bed AND has decided he is done with diapers. I have had my hands full! Luckily my five yeat-old has been a big help but all this combined with trying to keep up with workouts (success!), my birthday (fun!) and summer activities, and I haven't had much downtime. Consequently, I took a few days off from tracking, which of course turned into about a week of binging. BAD. I've been on track the last few days and feel SO much better. I wish food wasn't such an issue for me I found an app that has been really helpful with identifying underlying feelings and distracting me when I feel the urge to binge, so that's good.

Off to do my last stage 5 workout today and then I will probably skip to level 7. Not sure what to do when I'm done this program: debating the Rules for Abs. Anyway, after today I may take a week off of lifting before starting stage 7 as my gym is closing and the new one opens this weekend. I want to go in there a few times to just do cardio and maybe abs, check things out, before I start stage 7. The set up there looks very different from my current gym.

Sheila, when I am short on time or energy, I will move the HIIT or BWM stuff to the day in between my lifting (I lift M W F). Sometimes I would do both together for a good cardio session, or just one plus some jogging.

Manic, I'm so glad you're still around! Keep us posted on how you're doing and REST up. You'll come back stronger than ever!

Sue, that's great news. The research I've been seeing on rotator cuff injuries indicates that PT is the best choice nearly every time. Surgery doesn't seem to speed or facilitate healing. So hopefully you'll get great results from the therapy!

Sheila, some of us did the HIIT on our non lifting days. It's a great quick workout that will really torch the cals. My only reservation with it is that it does affect your muscles the same way lifting does. So it *might* hinder recovery and strength gains. The other option is to do fewer cycles of it at the end of your workout. If you're truly doing HIIT (meaning getting your heart rate to max- anaerobic zone), you only need 5-10 mins to get a good finisher to your workout.


Ok, so NSV: my "goal" pants I bought last weekend fit me comfortably and my others are getting too big. The new ones are a size 27 Silver Jeans- I started in a size 33 two years ago. Waist and hip measurements are the same that they've been all Summer and I weigh more than I did in May. But something is still changing for the better. Wondering if maybe all the booty work in Strong Curves is altering my shape in ways that my measurements don't show.

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here and close to the end of Stage 1 - loving it so far. I've completed Stage 1 once before but never moved on to the next stage, so I am recommitting to finish the full program this time through.

I'm looking for some friends that eat along the lines of the program also. I'm far from perfect in my eating but I keep to my macros pretty decently. Feel free to add me

Beeps, I think recomp must be it. Maybe creatine is helping, maybe a new program with new exercises is helping, gosh, I don't know....but I am taking it!
You're consistent and you know even if it's slow progress it will get you to your goal...just keep at it!!! I would love to be your size any day(being 3 inches shorter than you makes 27 jeans not as attractive).

Elsie, welcome!

Yeah, Manic, hang out with us. We take all kinds here :laugh:

This week, I'm working on a calorie deficit. Need to fit into my professional clothes in a few weeks :indifferent: It's been fun eating at and over maintenance and I've gained only very little. This shouldn't be too hard.

Y'all might remember that the batteries in my scale died in February. The further away I get from February, the less motivated I get to buying new batteries. I might just go the rest of my life without the scale :drinker:

Sam, my allergies have been complaining, too :sick:

Hi, Elsie! Check in with us regularly and we'll cheer you on!

Ran 4 miles this morning. 1 more lift day this week. I'm almost done with Stage 5. I can smell it!!

Runz, your post makes me happy! I think you're truly a great example of BALANCE! And that is what being fit is all about. Also, I keep reading a recurring them amount ladies who lift: what they *think* is maintenance is sometimes still a deficit. So yay for muscles and being able to eat more than "maintenance" without gaining!

Elsie, you can always mix the exercises up to fit the flow of your gym. I know it's hard to so them exactly as they are written if you workout at a busy gym.

Beeps- you've got this!

Got another workout in this morning. I will get my 4th one in on Saturday. I think after Strong Curves, I will go to a 4 day split. I think I'm at the point that adding in more isolation exercises will be beneficial. I may use the Strong Curves Lower Body workout and then design my own upper.
Oh, and yesterday my hip thrusts were 155lbs X 5 and they weren't too hard. Hoping to hit 200lbs X 5 by the end of the program!

I didn't realize there were so many of us in stage 5; I just finished it this week. What's everyone doing after NROLFW?

So, I did stage one workout b1 yesterday, and my upper back has never felt so sore ever. Those last pull downs kicked my Butt. I've done lat pull downs before, but somehow this time was different! I feel accomplished, but man! Painful and sore to the touch! You think I should pull through for a2 tomorrow even if I'm sore?