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Today was the last of the 12 reps workouts for Stage 1. Next week I’ll get to move down to 10 reps!

So here follows today’s results:

B. Deadlift – 2×12 – 70 lb barbell
B1. Dumbbell Press – 6 & 5 – 17.5 lb dumbbells
B2. Pullovers – 2×12 – 15 lb barbell
C1. Lunges – 2×12 (each leg) – 3 lb dumbbells
C2. Swiss Ball Crunch with arms overhead – 2×15 – 12.5 lb dumbbell

I’m still not sure of my current limit for the deadlift. I’ll definitely be bumping it up another 5 lbs next session. I think I’m keeping good form on these. I’m thinking about figuring out how to set up my camera to take video. The camera has some sort of video function, but I don’t have a tripod or timer and am not sure what I’d need. Definitely keeping it in mind for the future though.

I managed a couple more reps than last time on the dumbbell press. It seems like I should have been able to do a bit more on these, but it just didn’t happen. Still, progress is progress.

For the pullovers, I had all sorts of trouble with this weight last session and didn’t get in all the reps. No difficulty this time around, so I’ll be bumping up the weight on these for next time.

It was pink dumbbell time for the lunges. A couple of B sessions ago, I’d tried it with 7.5 lb dumbbells, ended up with the worst form ever, and then went back to bodyweight. I haven’t been having much trouble with bodyweight, so long as I go slow, so decided to add in a bit of weight this time. After adding in the 3 lb pink dumbbells (they aren’t actually pink though), I got in all the reps, but my form on the second set was pretty awful. I think I’ll be sticking with pink for the next time around until the form is good for both sets. I am going all the way down at least. It wouldn’t physically be possible to get any lower as my back knee is brushing the ground.

These swiss ball crunches are pretty easy so far. The weight makes it a bit more difficult, but not in the ab crunch area. I think as I bump up weight, my arms will give out holding the weight up long before my abdomen would feel much of anything. I didn’t up the weight from last session though because I did have difficulty staying on the ball. No problems with the ball this time around.

Also, the minor weight plate injury from Wednesday was completely gone by today, so no gloves. I don’t have any chalk though, so I’ve been using baby powder. It seems to be working so far.

On Monday, it’s back to workout A. Ugh. I like workout B much better than A, but at least I can decrease the reps! And!!! I’ll get to do 3 sets for each exercise instead of only 2 sets!!

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Fall is definitely coming and it’s starting to get colder and I’m just not looking forward to it. Yesterday, I broke down and bought an electric blanket. I’d been avoiding it because I don’t like the idea of being electrocuted in the middle of the night, but I was freezing the previous two nights and didn’t want to turn on the heat just yet. You could bet though that if it weren’t for the cost of the heat, I’d have it cranked up to 80 degrees (F) every day. I want my summer heat back!

Thursdays are primarily devoted to Tai Chi and Kung Fu classes, so I rarely do much working out at home on Thursdays. Sometimes I do a bit of yoga afterwards, and if I’m really in the mood, then an exercise DVD or something with the Wii, but last night I wanted to finally watch the unrated director’s cut of Fearless with Jet Li. I’d been holding off on it the last few days due to Accounting homework, but last night was finally the night!

Tonight is supposed to be little warmer, thank goodness! But I know the winter is coming and I’m just not ready to be cold for months at a time. Freezing in the year-round air conditioning at work is more than bad enough! I need to move to a warmer country where AC is luxury and isn’t cranked to full power everywhere outside of my house.

Categories: Fitness, Martial Arts, Weather
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On Wednesday, it was back to Stage 1 – Workout A in NROL4W for 12 reps maximum. My results:

A. Squat – 2×12 – 10 lb barbell – still working on form here.

B1. Pushups – 10 & 11 – used kitchen counter. Hands at chest and elbows pulled in close to body. I will go up to 2×15 and then try to find something lower to use than the counter.

B2. Bent Over Row – 5 & 6 – 50 lb barbell – Will continue at this weight for the next time. Had some issues that I’ll explain below.

C1. Step Ups – 2×12 (each leg) – Sat on weight bench and attempted to stand up with just the one leg and no help from upper body or other leg. Held resistance for approximately 5 seconds.

C2. Incline Reverse Crunches – 2×15 – Used no incline on the bench as I was testing if it was harder without the incline. Did 15 reps each because it was very easy. I’m having a difficult time making these difficult without more reps.

My bent over row issues…when I was adding the weight plates onto the barbell, I pinched some of the skin on my right hand between two of the weight plates. It didn’t break the skin, but it HURT. And I had just stopped using gloves as I’d heard using them is bad for grip. So I had to put the gloves back on for this session and the whole incident just affected the rows. Very annoying!

Step ups…*sigh*…I tried using an aerobic step next to the weight bench, and it seemed to be the right height, but the seat of the bench just seemed too wobbly. Plus, I didn’t have anything to grab onto if I started to fall off of it. I’ll just have to keep trying to find something else. In the meantime, I’m doing the resistances described above for each leg. At least I can feel it in my hamstrings while doing those.

The incline reverse crunches just seem too easy no matter what incline I use. I’m not sure how to make these harder.

These stage 1 workouts, and especially workout A, never really seem to be enough, so I warmed up with workout 3 of the 30 Day Shred DVD. For the walking pushups, I just hold planks for those intervals until I can actually do the pushups properly on the ground.

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Yesterday was my NROL4W lifting day and here are my results:

Deadlifts – 2×12 – 65 lb barbell (up 5 lbs from last time)
Dumbbell Press 5 & 4 – 17.5 lb dumbbells (a couple more reps since last time)
Pullover (on ground) – 6 & 7 – 15 lb barbell (used 10 lb last time)
Lunges – 2×12 – bodyweight & knee all the way to ground
Swiss Ball Crunch w/ arms overhead – 2×10 – 12.5 lb dumbbell

I went back to bodyweight on the lunges to work on form. I was concentrating on my feet being in parallel tracks rather than on a balance beam and don’t think I wobbled near as much getting up. I’ll try adding weight again next time and see how it goes.

For the swiss ball crunch, I realized yesterday that the required reps were different than for the other exercises, so I was only supposed to be doing 10 for each set. The weight wasn’t too difficult and I could have done more reps, but I did almost fall off the ball during the first set.

Just as an extra since I am working toward being able to do a real pushup on the ground, I experimented with using the bathtub as an incline. I’d been having trouble finding something that wasn’t too high and too easy, or too low and too hard, so the bathtub seemed just right.

But it was too hard!!

I tested the other surfaces that were previously too easy and the kitchen counter is working again.

Now I was wondering why it all seemed to get harder and I had to go back to using a higher incline. Then I realized that I am now using better form. I am keeping my hands positioned close to my chest and not flaring out the elbows, making the pushups more difficult. I’ll have to wait on the bathtub idea.

I was doing these counter pushups periodically throughout the evening, but today I won’t do any so that those muscles can rest and recover. I don’t really feel them at the moment though. Still, my idea is to do them about every other day since I’d only be doing them once or twice a week just following NROL4W, and that just doesn’t seem to be enough for reaching my pushup goal.

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A few years ago, I created a monster.com account when I was job hunting and signed up for some of the email newsletters. Even after I found a job, I remained subscribed to the newsletters because I’d still read them. A few months ago, I started cleaning up my email inbox and unsubscribed from a lot of different newsletters from different places, including the monster newsletters.

Well, monster persistently continues to spam me with this one newsletter that I’ve unsubscribed from multiple times in the past few weeks. When I voiced a complaint to customer service, the representative refused to help me unless I provided them with my personal home address and phone number for “security reasons”. I refused since I saw no reason I would need to provide them with this information so that they would stop spamming my email address. Plus, the address and phone number in my account was very outdated since I’ve moved since then, so why would they need my current home address and phone number to verify anything? I asked to be referred to a manager, and the last email I received over a week ago was that a supervisor would be contacting me. It never happened.

So of course, right on schedule as of today, I get spammed the unwanted monster newsletter. I immediately went into monster and completely canceled my monster account and filled out their little survey as to why I was canceling. We’ll see if this spam continues. In any case, I am not happy at all with monster.com customer service. I suppose this is another example of “you get what you pay for.”

Categories: Spam
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Saturday was a rest day for working out, so I just practiced Shao Kai Men form for Kung Fu and got some stuff done around the house. I also read through Chapter 8 in my Accounting text.

On Sunday, I got caught up with all the Accounting homework related to Chapter 8 and two extra credit assignments. As Sunday was not a rest day for working out, but was a rest day for lifting, I did workout 2 of the 30 Day Shred DVD and more practice with Shao Kai Men form. I’m just starting to get to the point where I’m not having to think too hard about what comes next in the form.

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For the past three weeks since Monday, September 7, 2009, I have been following the strength training program in the book, New Rules of Lifting for Women, by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove, and decided to note my progress here. This first post will be a bit of a catch up since I’ve been doing the program for three weeks. Before starting the program, I made a room into a weight room with a basic incline bench and adjustable dumbbells and barbell with weight plates. I also installed a pull up bar in the door frame, but haven’t yet needed to use it for the program.

The first stage of this program typically lasts for 6 weeks, but there is an option to extend it to 8 weeks. I decided on the longer option, which means that I would be doing each level of this stage 3 times intead of 2 times.

Level 1:

Workout A – 15 reps (Monday, September 7, 2009)

I didn’t really know what I was doing or how much weight to use. Since I’m training at home without a spotter, and do not have a squat rack, I decided to use 12.5 lb dumbbells for the squat that first day. I managed to get through both sets of 15 reps with what I considered to be very bad form.

The next exercise was push  ups. I am still unable to do a perfect, full-form push up on my toes. Being able to do a “real” push up is one of my main goals for this program. On this first day, I tried using the windowsill. I can’t seem to find anything in my house to use as an incline that is not too high to make the push ups too easy, or too low to make them too difficult. I did both sets of 15 reps, but the windowsill was very awkward and I decided I wouldn’t use it again. I could see my neighbors being surprised to look over and see my head coming through the window!

The next exercise that alternated between the push up sets was bent over rows. In a gym, the program calls for a cable machine, but the “at home” option is for the rows using a barbell. I used a 35 pound barbell and completed both sets of 15.

For step ups, I used my aerobic bench. No matter what I did, I could not seem to keep my back leg from “helping”. I did both sets of 15, but feel like I had been forced into cheating with that back leg.

Lastly were jackknives on the swiss ball. This is an awkward exercise where you roll over the ball so that it is all the way at your ankles and then “crunch” into a jackknife. It is difficult to keep from falling off of the ball, but I did both reps of 15.

Stage 1 – Level 1:

Workout B – 15 reps (Wednesday, September 9, 2009)

The first exercise in workout B was deadlifts with a barbell. I tried a 45lb barbell and was able to do both sets of 15.

Next exercises were dumbbell overhead press alternating with pullovers. I used 12.5 lb dumbbells for the overhead press and only managed 7 and 9 reps. For pullovers, I did both sets of 15 reps with 5 lb dumbbells on the weight bench. This exercise makes me feel as if I’m pulling something in my triceps, so I decided to start off very light until I got used to the movement.

Next exercise alternated lunges with a swiss ball crunch. I just used bodyweight on both of these. I did both reps of 15 for the lunges, but did not go down far enough into the lunge, and tend to have balance problems doing these.  I had no issues doing both reps of 15 for the crunch.

For the next levels, I’m just going to list the exercises and reps and then make comments only when they are pertinent.

Stage 1 – Level 1:

Workout A – 15 reps (Friday, September 11, 2009)

A. Squat – 12.5 lb dumbbells – 2 x 15 (very bad form)
B1. Pushups – on swiss ball, ball under lower thigh/knee – 2 x 15
B2. Bent over row – 40 lb barbell – 2 x 11
C1. Step ups – stepstool & bodyweight 2 x 15
C2. Jackknife – swiss ball – 2 x 15

Stage 1 -Level 1:

Workout B – 15 reps (Monday, September 14, 2009)

A. Deadlift – 50 lb barbell – 2 x 15
B1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 12.5 lb dumbbells – 11 & 12
B2. Pullovers – 5 lb dumbbells – 2 x 15
C1. Lunges – bodyweight & bringing knee all the way to the ground – 8 & 5
C2. Swiss ball crunch w/ arms overhead – 5 lb dumbbell – 2 x 15

Stage 1 -Level 1:

Workout A – 15 reps (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)

A. Squat – bodyweight (to work on form)  – 15 & 6
B1. Pushups – on swiss ball, ball under lower thigh/knee – 2 x 15
B2. Bent over row – 40 lb barbell – 2 x 15
C1. Step ups – stepstool & bodyweight 15 & 6 (was really attempting not to use that back leg)
C2. Jackknife – swiss ball – 2 x 15

Stage 1 -Level 1:

Workout B – 15 reps (Friday, September 18, 2009)

A. Deadlift – 55 lb barbell – 2 x 15
B1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 12.5 lb dumbbells – 15 & 13
B2. Pullovers – 5 lb dumbbells on floor instead of bench – 2 x 15
C1. Lunges – bodyweight & bringing knee all the way to the ground – 15 & 15 (wobbled a lot on the way up)
C2. Swiss ball crunch w/ arms overhead – 7.5 lb dumbbell – 2 x 15

I decided to use the floor instead of the weight bench for the pullovers because it didn’t feel like it was dangerously pulling something from the floor. I’ll likely try the weight bench again when those muscles get a bit stronger.

Stage 1 -Level 2:

Workout A – 12 reps (Monday, September 21, 2009)

A. Squat – bodyweight (to work on form) – 2 x 12
B1. Pushups – on swiss ball, ball under lower thigh/knee – 2 x 12
B2. Bent over row – 45 lb barbell – 8 & 12
C1. Step ups – sitting on weight bench and holding resistance for each foot – 2 x 12
C2. Prone Jackknife – bodyweight – 2 x 12

For the step ups, I decided to sit on the weight bench and try to stand up using only the one leg and not helping with forward momentum. I wasn’t able to stand up that way, but was feeling the exercise a lot more in my hamstrings than I was when trying to step onto the step stool, so I just held each leg for 4-5 seconds for each rep. I’ll probably continue doing these this way until those muscles get stronger.

Stage 1 -Level 2:

Workout B – 12 reps (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)

A. Deadlift – 60 lb barbell – 2 x 15
B1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 17.5 lb dumbbells – 3 & 3
B2. Pullovers – 10 lb barbell on floor – 2 x 12
C1. Lunges – 7.5 lb dumbbells & bringing knee all the way to the ground – 3 & 4 (wobbled a lot on the way up)
C2. Swiss ball crunch w/ arms overhead – 10 lb weight plate – 2 x 12

I decided to try weights again with the lunges, but the form got really bad, so will go back to bodyweight again next time to work on it.

Stage 1 -Level 2:

Workout A – 12 reps (Friday, September 25, 2009)

A. Squat – bodyweight (to work on form)  – 2 x 12
B1. Pushups – on knees – 3 & 3
B2. Bent over row – 50 lb barbell – 2 x 12
C1. Step ups – sitting on weight bench and holding resistance for each foot – 2 x 12
C2. Incline reverse crunch – on weight bench – 2 x 12

So that’s where I am up to this point. Next week I’ll continue level 2 with 12 reps for workouts A & B. On alternate days, I do things like exercise DVD’s, Wii My Fitness Coach or Gold’s Gym Cardio Boxing, yoga, and am also taking Kung Fu and Tai Chi classes on Thursdays.

Yesterday, I decided that the current Stage 1 workouts weren’t quite enough, so decided to warm up first with the 20 minute level 1 workout of the 30 day shred.

I’m more or less caught up with logging the NROL4W workouts now, so the next training log posts won’t be so long and probably will have more interesting comments.

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Not many people eat the types of food I eat. Since April or so I’ve been eliminating a lot of processed stuff from my diet and replacing that stuff with clean, whole food choices. I’ve always been known to be something of an oddity, but my change in diet has provided people with one more quality about me that they find odd.

It would seem that whole foods and clean eating may as well be the strange types of foods an alien from Mars would eat, assuming that there are aliens on Mars and also assuming that they eat!

Now I tend to eat about six small meals or snacks per day, and sometimes more if I spread my food out more throughout the day. I’m eating something about every 1 to 3 hours, especially during the day when I am most hungry. I am eating all the time, and yet people accuse me of eating like a bird and truly think that I am going to starve to death. It’s can be entertaining to measure my food near other people.

Well, the “alienness” of my food choices was again emphasized today. On Thursdays, I bring my supper/dinner to work to eat there since I have Kung Fu classes soon after I get home, and today I brought a sauteed onion and a bean burger that I’d made from scratch. I also brought salsa to put on the bean burger. I don’t eat it on a bun, so I just had it on top of the onion slices and was applying the salsa after having heating it up in the microwave.

I’ve gotten all sorts of reactions about the bean burger when I’ve brought it up. Today, someone asked me if I was cooking cat food. Not to be mean or snide. She sincerely didn’t know what it was. She didn’t seem to like it any better after I told her what it was. In fact, she was speechless while I was laughing about her question. She finally decided to just not to say anything else about it. It was even funnier than the guy who told me earlier that I needed to eat protein while I was in the midst of heating up the scrambled eggs I had as part of my lunch.

On a positive note, the next person came in and thought my bean burger and onion looked good and seemed impressed that I had made it. Then after I got back from my desk, another person nearby out loud what it was that suddenly smelled so good.

There may be hope!

Categories: Food
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So I came across the following video, a Mad TV spoof called Eat Less Move More:

Absolutely hilarious! In some respects I agree with the concept of eating less and moving more to lose weight and get fit, but it doesn’t always work that way. There are times when a person needs to eat more in order to lose the poundage. That’s right…eat more!

Let me explain. Most of us have tried, or know people who have tried, to lose lots of weight by just not eating, or by drinking water and eating a few leaves of lettuce and carrots for meals. Basically, attempting to starve the body into submission. And that’s exactly what happens too. The body decides that yes,  it is starving, and then begins doing everything it can to defend itself against starvation by clinging desperately to the fat!

So while it’s true that if you’re eating 5000 calories a day, then you probably do need to eat less, but adult females need a minimum of 1200 calories per day, and adult males would need even more. Teenagers of both genders need yet more calories a day because they are still growing. If people do not get at least these minimum amounts, the body decides that it doesn’t want to get rid of any fat and it becomes even harder to lose weight.

If you do end up starving some of your weight away, you aren’t losing just fat weight. You are also losing lean muscle and you end up just getting flabbier. If that’s not bad enough, then once you stop starving yourself (since a starvation diet is not a healthy lifestyle change), then the weight is going to quickly pile back on because you have messed up your metabolism.

So it can be very important to eat more if you want to lose more.

Categories: Weight Loss
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I’ve finally upgraded WordPress and can get back to posting. Thankfully, everything worked after I deleted and replaced files. There are still a couple of things that need to be adjusted with the menu tabs and pages, but I’m ready to get back to blogging again.

Edit: My CSS validation is suddenly not validating due to the upgrade. It seems to be related to the NextGen Gallery plugin. I think from this point I will concern myself with my own code validating and leave the rest alone and just not worry about it unless the web page stops working. Otherwise, I’ll spend hours just trying to get things to validate every time I need to upgrade something that wasn’t written by me.

Categories: Blogging, Web Development
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