LOL! You know what though.......the definition doesn't show up on film. Only in my mirror. It's NOT all in my head! I swear!

I KNOW IT!! I've had the same bewildering experiences. It's like the wicked witches mirror-- it's saying-- "yeah.....you're looking pret-ty good." The camera says-- "what am I suppose to be capturing here?" AND, AND the camera makes me look 15 pounds heavier than the mirror. Sometimes I think I have no idea what I really look like. Must be nice to be a twin.

Hey Lisa how's it going? Looks like you've made good progress on bench, no? My worst lift .

How 'bout some picks of the delts while you're curling? Rear delt flyes are also very flattering for the arms. Where does it all go once the set is over ? I'm a long ways away from Galatia-type arms. Oh well, I know what you mean about pictures. At least you're having luck with your mirror. Sometimes I like what I see...sometimes, it's not so hot.

Hi Deb, Jen!

I might do pics tomorrow. We'll see if they come out. The other trouble I have with pics is my dig cam has an automatic flash that can't be turned off, so it washes out definition. Maybe with proper lighting though........

Jen, bench is your worst lift? I love benching, and deads, too. Squats are my nemesis! However, Emily over at BLC has been helping me tremendously with it, and it's getting much better.

Wed and Thursday were both low cal/low carb days, cardio only.

Wed.:This morning, semi-fasted cardio (after coffee w/bit o cream, of course)--brisk walk, 40'

This afternoon.... st. bike HIIT
5' wu L2; 10 intervals (15"L7/45"L3); 15' cd L3 325 cals burned

Thurs:
This morning, 30' brisk walk to/fro the Butcher's.

Notes to self:

On Quad days, sub Bulgarian squats for step-ups

On Vertical days, sub supine pullups for cheater chins

On Ham days, sub front squats for leg extensions.

Vertical Push/Pull, Abs, Seated Calves
**Note for next time---Arnies first!

Pull:
Cheater Chin-Ups
1 real one, then
Supine Pull-Ups
5 x 5 x BW, ball under thighs definitely felt the lats working, better than with the chins...tomorrow shall be interesting, DOMS-wise!

Cable Pullovers
3 x 8 x 45#
ss w/
Lat Pulls
3 bands twisted 3x10

Push:
Arnies
3 x 8 x 12.5kg (27.5#)/2' got all reps, but dayum.....hard.

Incl Prone Rear Delt Flyes
3 x 8 x 7.5kg (16.5#)
ss w/
Side Lats
3 x 10 x 5kg (11#)

Abs:
Hanging Leg Raise, squat stance
2 x 10,8 x BW
ss w/
SBC-reg
2 x 10 x BW

Calves
Single Leg DB Standing Calves
3 x 10,8,6 x 12.5kg (27.5#) 2122T

Grrrrrrrr....I forgot I wanted to do push before pull today, to hit the Arnies fresh. :-\

Good workout, though. First vertical pull session where I feel like I got my money's worth. ;D

*********
Afternoon HIIT:
5' wu L2; 10 intervals (15"L7/45"L3); 15' cd L3 30', 310 cals

Added in so I don't forget:
At this point, I would suggest that you drop your 18 kg warmups on the deadlift and start with 5 x 30 kg; then 3 x 40 kg; then 2 x 45 kg; then 1 x 50 kg; then work sets with at least 55 kg. If you can't do 5x5 (no shame on the deadlift, believe me), then do 6 x 3. Between reps, make sure to get your ass down and to take TIME to set up before you lift. A common mistake when repping the conventional dead is to try to go again too fast, and because of that to not get the hips low enough in the opening position.

Hip/Ham Dom
Deadlifts
warmup
5 x 28kg (62#)/1'
3 x 38kg (84#)/2'
2 x 45kg (99#)/2'
1 x 50kg (110#)/3'
work
5 x 5 x 56kg (123#)/3' changed reps from triples, rather than inc wgt.--went well, so next time back to 3's, bump wt.

RDL's
3 x 8 x 48kg (105.6#) good wt

Seated Good Mornings
3 x 10 x 20kg (44#)
ss w/
Quad Acc
Front Squats
3 x 10,8 x 20kg (44#) gah...ass whipping time

Triceps
Close Grip Bench
1 x 8 x 28kg (62#)
2 x 8 x 30kg (66#)

Betw. Bench Dips
3 x 6 x Baby (9kg/20#)

Great workout! András is going to help me take some arm pix now.....cross your fingers they come out ok.

Benefits to working out at home, #23:
-after deadlifts, pants come off
-after RDL's, shirt comes off
-after front squats, shoes come off
-rest of workout completed in undies, sports bra, with the fan on high. :P

Naked weight training Oh my! I won't tell DH about that one or he'll insist that I do it too.

I think you must have a definite form issue on the squats as opposed to strength. Looking at your deadlift, the numbers just don't add up. I was terribly stuck on squats too till I figured out what the problem was. I didn't seem to advance much in years, felt like I always got stuck around 90 to 100 lbs. In a couple of months I brought it up to 135X3 or 120X10. I quit going heavy so I don't know how much above 135 I could have gotten, but the key for me was figuring out form. I also squatted 3 times a week during this time (different intensities obviously). You are definitely strong enough though that you can squat more than you bench. Do you have your power rack yet?

What do you mean by "cheater chins"? I've seen alot of people refer to it. I'm just learning chins and would really like to advance beyond my sets of 2 Do you mean just not going through the full range of motion when you lower?

Hi Jen!

Yes, most definitely a form issue on squats. I think now, it might be a relatively weaker lower/mid back. I'm working on accessory exercises for that, but it's slow going. When I went to a gym last May in the States, I was playing around with plate loaded leg presses, and the hack sled, etc. I have VERY strong legs, and was able to impress my brother with the weights I was able to push. However, you translate that into an upright squat, and I fail.

No power cage yet, and it figures! Now that I have the funds and the agreement of my husband, I can't find a decent one. Either a plain squat rack with no safety bars, or a mega huge industrial sized one that would barely fit in my living room, much less my exercise room, haha. Plus, that one is $$$$.

I'm still looking, though, and haven't ruled out getting one custom made.

"Cheater Chins".... Getting yourself to the top position anyway you can (usually by jumping up), holding for a beat, and slowly lowering yourself. So doing the eccentrics, essentially. However, I feel more work in my lats doing these supine pullups. Emily said it probably has to do with leverages, and I think she's right. I'll probably get better use of chins when I lose another 20#, ha!

Hi ladies. Lisa....I love my home gym too! 3 of the top reasons are 1.- no waiting for equipment/ 2.- nobody else's sweat / 3.- my music is always playing.

Jen, here is some more information on (cheater chins) assisted pull-ups. I prop my feet on a bench sort of like she's doing. http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=51 But you do need a squat rack to do it this way I guess. I try to do just negitives on occasion, but I managed to strain my forearms many months ago and it doesn't take much to flare them up again. Lisa, which grip do you use? I hope you're able to find the perfect squat rack soon.

Nobody else's sweat! Hahahahaaa! Very important, though; you're right.

On the cheater chins I use an underhand grip, but for the supine pullups I do an overhand grip. Maybe a n00bie thing to say, but I was amazed at the difference a grip change can make. For example, doing BB bent over rows. I feel it MUCH more when I use a supine (underhand) grip.

Cardio yesterday........convinced András to go for a late afternoon/evening run with me, while MIL got her kid fix. We took both dogs, and it was grrrreat! Much more fun to have a running partner. 35', jog/walk.

Today:
BGB--Horizontal Push/Pull

Push:
Flat Bench Press
warmup
5 x 18kg (40#)/1'
3 x 28kg (61.6#)/2'
work
8 x 3 x 43kg/3' (95#) Check it out....PR!! Last rep of each set hard, but man they felt good.

Low Incl DB Press
3 x 8 x 15kg (33#)

Low Incl DB Flye
3 x 10 x 12kg (26#)

Pull:
Bent BB Row, supinated grip
5 x 5 x 44kg (97#)

Seated Cable Row
3 x 8 x 100#

Prone DB Row
3 x 10 x 12kg (26#)

Seated Calves
3 x 10 x 84kg (185#) tonight, when A gets home

towel crunches
3 x 10 x 5kg (11#) plate these were alright....sort of felt uncomfortable pressure from the towel. I think I get a better ROM with the swiss ball.
ss w/
SBC-Rev Hypers
2 x 10 x BW

Great workout! I went up on all exercises except for the seated row (which is maxed out, grrr).

Have I said yet this week that carbs are good? ;D

Congrats on the bench pressing weight!


The only time I use an underhand grip is when I'm actually pulling myself up-- impossible with overhand grip, and still causes forearm flare-ups-- I think I can manage 2 on a good day-- and when I'm working biceps. I should do more underhand.
I was tracking my micros last week and every time I tried to eat more than 35 carbs, I gained weight! I'm going to try to keep them around 30 for a while and see if I can actually lose some "new" weight. I keep reading about what a hard time people who have reached goal weight have trying to maintain-- it's taken me 2 years to lose 13 pounds-- this isn't lookin' too good for me. Although, they say the slower you lose it the more likely you'll keep it off. I guess this is slow enough.

You can do 97 lbs on bent over rows? Wow. That makes it hard for me to believe you have any weakness in your back issues.

On squats, I too felt the problem was somewhere between the bar and my ass. Of all things the tip that seemed to help me the most was to think of pushing my neck back into the bar. Go figure. I had a problem with a forward lean and being tippy.

So cheater chins are the same as doing the negatives. I followed Krista's advice on her site and that got me doing one chin. I went on and did phase one of a chin up program by Christian Tibideau for the "regular guy" (that can't do chins). It involved doing supine pullups, static holds in various positions, lat pulldowns with maximal loading, and partial chins. I couldn't do this program to its fullest because it aggravated my dizziness, but I'm now able to do sets of 2 chins starting from a dead-hang. I just don't think I'm up to doing phase two, but I would really like to be able to add reps to my sets. If only I had Galatia's pipes to haul me up.

Way to go on the bench record. You almost have another 3 digit lift!

Quad Dom
ATF squats
warmup
1 x 3 x 18kg (40#)/1'
1 x 2 x 28kg (62#)/2'
work
8 x 3 x 36kg (79#)/3' PR!This is so cool. I increased weight today, and still managed to get them all, just fine. Bump next week.

DB Bulgarian Squats
3 x 6 x 2-7.5kg (16.5#)DB's- left leg/60"
ss w/
3 x 6 x 2-7.5kg (16.5#)DB's- right leg/60" balance is an issue

Leg Extension
3 x 10 x 80#/60"

Ham Acc.
Lying Leg Curl
3 x 8 x 18kg (40#)

Biceps
Barbell Curls
warmup
1 x 6 x 8kg (17.6#)
work
5 x 5 x 19kg (42#)/2' nice! bump weight

Hammer Curls
3 x 8 x 10.5kg (23#)/90" smooth!

Incl Alt DB Curls
3 x 15 x 5kg (11#)/60"

Oh my.....another great squat workout. I just can't get over the difference in strength now vs keto'd. Shit.

Yeah, but it's not fat, Deb. Your muscles are glycogen depleted when you low carb, so when you eat carbs, the muscles will grab the carbs and store them as muscle glycogen. each gram of muscle glycogen sucks up 3 (or 4, I forget) grams of water with it. (Grams or molecules..I forget, but the concept is the same) So you WILL gain scale weight.

Deb, you said: Now, that's great, considering most people are GAINING fat. However, think of this....maybe low carbing, ultra low carbing, isn't working for you. I was just talking to Pia (Bubu) about this over at BLC. The athletic person (which you are) does need carbs to function. I am just now understanding this, and Built's food plan is making more sense to me.

Not saying you should abandon low carbing, but something for you to think about, maybe.

Jen, I thought about your post as I was squatting today. I realized my problem was nothing specific....just an overall weakness I didn't recognize! Now that I am eating more carbs, "healthy" carbs, my squats are good! Now to build them up. :grin:

Chins.....I'm going to still attempt them each chin day, for vanity's sake, but I'm not expecting miracles anymore until I get down to a reasonable weight, haha.

Here is what I know about right now. If I eat much more than 30 carbs a day, I will not lose weight, and probably gain-- your explanation is very good -- but I wanna get rid of this fat that seems to go nowhere if I don't cut the carbs. I know I'm sacrificing strength and if yesterday is any indication, mental health , but I'm so obsessed with getting to and below 140 I can't stand it. So I don't know what else to do. I weight train hard-- I do cardio about 5 times a week, my measurements aren't changing for the good, and my body isn't making any improvements. So.....I might regret it, knowing me I probably won't even stick with it for long-- but right now I've got to try to get the weight off the only way I see it working. I know you are probably shaking your head now in exasperation.....I hope I don't become the poster child for what NOT to do. I feel like "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

I'll envy your new found strength for a while as I watch mine go the other way. I remember when I went to TKD I thought, this must be what taking steroids feels like .....all that strength that appeared like magic. Maybe I'll be able to shed this fat quickly and won't have to sacrifice much muscle. I hate to even write those words "sacrifice muscle".....