BFL - Days 11 and 12

Day 11 - did my lower body workout - very good but left my stats at home so I can't post 'em. I was experiencing "netscape errors" yesterday!

Day 12 - my cold has decided to settle in my chest so no run for me...I'll have to miss a few cardio workouts, and hope to get back on track on Monday.

Lisa

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I know I am here late, but if your muscles are sore, DO NOT train them until they are recovered (or not sore, at least).

The general purpose of any training session is to improve the performance and the shape of the body's muscles, organs and systems. To achieve this the body must be subjected to a load above it's habitual level.

Most of your muscles' adaptations for increased strength and endurance occur in the interval between exercise sessions, your ability to perform at a high level day after day is limited by the extent of muscle recovery and repair after strenuous training.

Equally important is recovery after exercise. Without adequate recovery, there can be no advancement in growth. The body needs time to rest, recover and adapt after training. The amount of time needed will depend on the intensity and length of the session, the fitness level of the person, the use of recovery techniques, and the person's diet.

If you train too frequently, the body uses its energy completely for recovering purpose and no time is left for the buildup process. Overtraining and it's complications seem to be a no-brainer, but unfortunately mnay people don't understand the interaction between exhaustion and recovery.

Here's a common scenario ... a person starts weight training and gets great results initially. Excited by the results, and anxious to do whatever it takes to re-shape their body, they start training everyday.

They start to have problems going up in the morning (everything hurts and you're sooo tired), and in the gym the muscles are still sore somehow from the preceding workout. First they don't even notice that they get weaker. Then they do and somebody has to tell them its OVERTRAINING.

What to do against overtraining?

One good solution is to learn to listen to your body. Are the muscles you're going to train today really fully recovered? If its the first day after the tension or the soreness went away completely, wait another day to be sure there was time to grow.

If you are training with fully recovered muscles it has the big advantage of a really great pump.

Thanks for the great advice Dan! Fortunately, my upper body had recovered by the time I was due to get back to it -- so everything is okay! And now I don't have to ask the question again

As for me - I am still battling this cold/virus/bug/whatever from hell so I haven't done anything since Thursday last week. Was at the dr. this a.m. and he said it sounds like my chest is clearing but I should hold off on running until I'm confident I've healed. Shouldn't keep me from weight training though...so I'll be back at the gym tomorrow a.m.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Lisa

Well, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I've been sick for almost 3 weeks now, with no end in sight and I'm going to have to call off my Body for Life attempt for now. I've reset my start date for January 7th - once all the holiday madness is over and life returns to its normal pace. I'm not giving up on working out...but its going to have to be unstructured for a while. I will get back to cardio once my cold gets out of my chest. I'll try to follow some weight training with a degree of regularity where possible but I'm not going to feel guilty if I don't make it.

I feel frustrated but I can't afford to be sick for much longer and I need some patience to let it be what it is. After working out so consistently for the last 6 months ... for the first time in my life, I might add ... its hard to stop for a while. I guess I worry that I won't go back to it and I'll end up like I was before.

Lisa

Lisa, I know it can be tough, specially when you're forced to take time off and it's not a choice. But it sounds like you need it. Overtraining isnt something that happens only to elite athletes. A few weeks off (real time off !! no cardio no weights; just vegging around the house) will make you stronger and let you heal and you'll be back better than before.

Hang in there.
N

P.S. 7 away from goal

Thanks Nat! The hardest part is not sleeping! I don't know if its the cold, or not working out, but I'm not falling asleep so easily anymore.

Drat! There I go complaining again!

Lisa

Okay all - I'm officially declaring myself on two-weeks of NO workouts. This is now my non-gym log! I haven't actually worked out since Thursday last week so I'll let myself back in the gym next Thursday (Dec 27th) - but only if I'm healthy!

Have a good day...I'll be back next week!

Lisa

Enjoy the time off. And I'm looking forward to seeing you on Sat night! Btw, I had to do a double take; 155.5?????????????????? Maybe this break is just what your body needs.

Wow!
Nat

Thanks - I was kinda stunned myself. I go to the chiropractor once a month and had been using his scale to update my weight here. My last few updates have been based on my scale at home. Since I was at the chiro's yesterday, stepped on his scale and was amazed to be 1 1/2 lower than I thought.

I miss exercise,

Lisa

Still missing my workouts...I check my thighs every once in a while to make sure they still feel "hard" LOL ... I don't think 2 weeks off is going to turn me to mush, but there's no harm in checking!!!

Have a great day!

Lisa...who's off to battle the hoards of grocery shoppers!

...from my two-week, strictly enforced break.

I won't be starting BFL again until Monday but in the meantime I did a 20 minute cardio solution and upper body workout. Felt fantastic!

20 MAS - stairclimber

UBWO:
Chest:
Bench press
12 reps, 10 lbs (3)
10 reps, 12 lbs (5)
8 reps, 15 lbs (6)
6 reps, 20 lbs (7)
12 reps, 15 lbs (8)
Incline press
12 reps, 15 lbs (9)

Shoulders:
Standing press
12 reps, 5 lbs (6)
10 reps, 8 lbs (6)
8 reps, 10 lbs (7)
6 reps, 12 lbs (8)
12 reps, 8 lbs (9)
Lateral raise
8 reps, 10 lbs (10)

Back:
One arm rows
12 reps, 8 lbs (4)
10 reps, 10 lbs (5)
8 reps, 12 lbs (6)
6 reps, 15 lbs (7)
12 reps, 20 lbs (8)
Dumbbell pullover
12 reps, 12 lbs (8)

Triceps
One arm extensions (hate these!!!)
12 reps, 8 lbs (8)
10 reps, 10 lbs (9)
8 reps, 12 lbs (10)
6 reps, 10 lbs (10)
Bench dips
12 reps, no weight (9)

Biceps
Curls
12 reps, 12 lbs (6)
10 reps, 10 lbs (7)
8 reps, 12 lbs (8)
6 lbs, 15 lbs (9)
12 reps, 12 lbs (10)
Hammer curls
6 reps, 10 lbs (9)

Lisa

Hey there, welcome back! I bet getting up and going into work was a joy today with this to look forward to. Amazing how much we miss the exercise when it's not there, isnt it?

Nat

Alright world -- it's time! Since I have already decided to start Body for Life (again) on Monday...I figured no time like the present (and no one here to giggle and watch me while I do this) to take those darned measurements...so here it goes...stripping naked as I type...

Okay - here we go:

Upper arm: R:11 3/4" L: 11 5/8"
Chest: 36.5
Bust: 38 1/4
Waist: 31.5
Hips: 39 3/4
Thighs: R: 23 L: 23
Calves: R: 15 1/4 L: 15 3/8

Now's when I wish I'd done this when I started this WOE since I have nothing to compare it to...

Lemme go plug these numbers into a calculator...back in a second...

%body fat 26.6% (ugh!)
LBM: 114 lbs
Fat mass: 41.3 lbs

So:
If I can lose 3.5 inches off my waist, and reset my weight goal for 140 lbs...my body fat will be around 20% - quite acceptable!

Woo hoo - new goal! Oh, and I wanna be able to do 15 full pushups after my 12 weeks. Right now I can do...wait for it...1/2!

Weighed in this morning at home and I'm at 156.5 according to the home scale which I plan on using from now on so I had to adjust my weight profile up a pound. I figured I either gained a pound (entirely possible given some of my "nutritional holidays" last week) or its the difference between my scale and the one at the chiropractors. No big deal anyway...at least not to me which strikes me as a healthier-than-usual attitude.

Went to the gym before work and here's what I did:

10 min cardio warm-up on the stairclimber - much needed after my very chilly walk to the gym!

Lower body

Quads:
Squats
12 reps, 10 lbs (5)
10 reps, 12 lbs (6)
8 reps, 15 lbs (7)
6 reps, 20 lbs (8)
12 reps, 20 lbs (8)
Leg extensions
12 reps, 45 lbs (9) - major burn but not failure. Can't imagine the burn if I did get to failure!

Hamstrings
Leg curls
12 reps, 7 lbs (8)
10 reps, 15 lbs (9)
6 reps, 30 lbs (10)
6 reps, 15 lbs (8)
12 reps, 7 lbs (8)
Lunges
12 reps, 15 lbs L(9)

Calves
Angled raises
12 reps, 12 lbs (5)
10 reps, 15 lbs (6)
8 reps, 20 lbs (7)
6 reps, 25 lbs (8)
12 reps, 25 lbs (9)
Singe calf raises
12 reps, 25 lbs (9)

Did some ab work:
15 crunches holding those abdominal muscles together really helped! I didn't feel like there was "nothing" there.
15 oblique crunches each side
20 side bends
1 minute of stomach vacuums...those are amazing!

Stretching between sets.

Lisa

7:45 a.m. 3 k run - bbrrrrr chilly!

Lisa