Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the boards but wanted to participate in the Gym Logs. I think this is a great idea so thanks to so many of you who have helped to develop this bb.

I've been weight training for 8 weeks now and i'm really feeling good about this. Since I have a severe case of fibromyalgia I had to start really slow. So, I only started with 2 lbs weights and I'm only using 3 lb weights now. But, hey that's progress. I'm still in a lot of pain so I have to take pain pills to even work out. But, I feel like this will help the fibro in the long run. And, hopefully, I will not have to take the medication in the future. For right now, I exercise even if I'm in a lot of pain because I figure this is the only way that i can get back to normal.

Today I worked out my lower body for approximately 35 minutes. My workout is three reps of each exercise with 10 repetitions and a 15 second rest in between. The exercises I did today are:

THIGHS (Squats; Side leg lifts; Leg Curl; Lunges)
HIPS/BUTTOCKS (Standing butt Squeeze; Standing back leg extention
straight-leg kick up; bent-knee kick-up)
ABS (concentrated butt lifts; Crunch; Ceiling lift; Knee-raised crunch)
CALVES (Seated Straight-toe raise; Seated angled-out-toe raise
Standing Strait-toe raise; Standing angled-in-toe raise)

I was really happy with the measurements for the first 5 weeks. I'm not sure why my calves went up 1/2"...but, hopefully that will change

Chest - down 1/2"
Bust - down 1"
Left arm - down 1"
Right Arm - down 3/4"
Stomach - down 1 1/2"
Hips - down 1/2"
L. and Right Thigh - down 1/2"
Calves - Up 1/2" Not sure what happened here

I measure again on December 16th (once a month from now on). Hoping for the best.

Cher nice to meet you

I'm glad you found the forum and you sound like your off to a great start to me

keep up the hard work and drink tons of water

talk to you soon

Hi again and thanks again grrlpwer for responding to my journal. I've already had 5 glasses of water today, and I think I'll add a few more while I'm sitting here. I did my upper body workout today and I changed it slightly. Usually I work out 5 body parts ...4 exercises for each body part, 3 repetition of 10 and 15 second rest's between each repetition (did that make any sense...lol). Well, today I did supersets. So, I combined 2 exercises with 10 repetitions for each...no rest in between and then rested and did 2 more sets the same way. I still did four exercises per body part. I think it was a slightly more aerobic version of what I've been doing. It was also harder but, it was faster since I didn't have as many rests. Anyway, I feel pretty good about this. Although, I went up 2 pounds???? and, I don't understand why... I hope it's just water weight and it goes away soon (please).

Well, I had a good morning in terms of exercising. I did my entire lower body workout for 35 minutes. Once again, I tried supersetting the exercises which actually felt like more of a challenge. Also, I did the pyramid system. On the first exercise I did 12, repetition then 10 repetitions and then 8 repetitions. I also went up to 5 pound weights (I used both 3 and 5 pounds). Well, I was able to do them...I'm so happy about that. I wasn't planning to start this phase of "supersetting" until I had another 4 weeks of basic training. I guess, I'll just let my body be the guide. One thing that i like...is when I'm supersetting, I'm taking less breaks and the exercises become more aerobic. Hopefully that will help me to burn fat faster.

Cher, those calves will probably go down to a certain extent. They've increased in muscle size, and when the fat layer on top goes away (and it's there, even if you can't feel it very well) they'll be-at the very most- the same measurement around that they were before. They'll just be more muscle and less fat. And they'll look great, not over developed- I promise. This happens with all of us, I think. Certain areas of our bodies get BIGGER at first till the fat layer goes away. My pants get tighter at first--but they always get looser eventually.

Keep up the good work. With fybromyalgia, my hat is off to you for working out so well.

YB

Yogabuff,

Thank you for addressing the "calves" issue. I really do hope they go down. I was hoping that I'm not exercising them the wrong way. But, I've been reading and re-reading the instructions and I think it is right. I do feel like all of my clothes fit better (which is a great, great feeling). Today was extremely tough with the fibro...I didn't think that I would make it through my entire upper body workout. Once again, I tried supersetting and I tried 5 pound weights (I don't think I was ready for that one). Well, I'll just sort of monitor how I feel over the next couple of days. But, I'm proud of myself for pushing through the workout today .

Well, I was in pain from the fibromyalgia all weekend so, I didn't push the workout...but I did my lower body workout today (thankfully). It really felt difficult and the pain was still strong...but, I'm glad I finished the workout. Again, I'm trying to "Superset" the exercises (Combining 2 exercises before taking any rests) and this is much more difficult than what I was doing. I'll definitely be impressed when I can do this without all the pain!
Cher

Well, this was definitely a telling month. My workout routine has really suffered because of the pain from the fibromyalgia...so, I only averaged 2 workouts a week during the first 3 weeks in January. Wow! Did I ever notice a difference. I just measured my waist on the 18th and there was no change... however, I did make my goal to lose 10 pounds by Valentine's day (set from the beginning of January). But, it's scary to think that maybe my weight went down because I wasn't building as much muscle, or worse...that maybe I was losing some muscle. Oh well, I can't focus on what's behind me...just need to go forward! I had such a phenomenal change from working out 4 - 6 times a week during October, November and December. Luckily, I am fitting into a size 12 jeans again...so at my weight...I'm certain that I've developed a lot of muscle. Well...LoL...all you need to do is look at my arms to see the muscle. Never remember having that before.

Still wondering what the end result will be for the flab that is still under my arms... It looks so much better...but, it's still there (yuck). I still have 30 - 40 pounds to lose...so, maybe I shouldn't focus on that! They say the body is very forgiving... But, I can't help wondering what will happen. Will I ever be happy with my arms, thighs and waist again?????

So, I did my upper body workout (with supersetts) yesterday and my lower body workout today (YaY)! I'm determined to get in at least 2 more workouts this week...so, I'll let you know what happens.

Hi Cher - saw you in Donald's journal - so i am here for the pep talk.



YOU CAN DO IT!!! GO'ON - i'M WITH YOU 100% - GO FOR IT GIRL - YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH - YOU HAVE THE WILL POWER - YOU HAVE THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE - YOU HAVE THE LOW CARB FOODS - NO GO FOR IT - I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT - I AM BACKING YOU!!! - YOUARE THE CAT'S PYJAMAS AND THE BEES KNEES - I KNOW YOUARE GOING TO BE SUCH A SUCCESS.

Is that enough???

You know what I mean - yep - I have succumbed to the carbfest evil monster "devil" lately too - but I am back on track and so are you!!!

See you soon Cher.

Ahhhhhhhh Wendye...thanks. I needed to read that right before going to bed this evening...Now I feel even more committed...and gee...I'm thinking about the gym work that I should be doing/adding to this thread...humm. Well thanks for the wonderful words of encouragement! That was really nice

It will be nice seeing you post in here again... Welcome back!!!

Linda...yes, I should bring my "gym logs" to life OK...look for the progress a little later. Thanks for the reminder!

A little bit of Inspiration for you:

I second that!!!!

Ok...Marlaine and Linda...I joined the exercise challenge too. So, I'm committing to 3 days a week plus "No cheat till Labor Day"...this should be an awesome month