Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Legs Part 1, Done!

Ah, another leg day today! I will say I don't like the bands much for quad work so didn't use them in my workout. I think they are great for glute stuff (kickbacks, ad/ab stuff) and will incorporate them on Saturday's leg day.

Today I did more post-exhaust supersets and I was so shaky by my 3rd set of exercises that I had to finish up for the time being.

Squats
95x10wu
115x10wu
135x6x3
wtih
Leg Exts
45x20x3

Squats - feet together
135x6x3
with
Leg Exts - toes out
45x20x3

Deadlifts
135x6x3
with
Step Ups
BW x 10 x 3

I could barely step up on the bench LOL. So later I will finish Part 2 with:
Walking Lunges
Calves

I'm getting ready to take Jake Wakeboarding today, and maybe try it myself. It depends on how busy they are. I think it will be fun though and hope they aren't busy so I can try it.

Ok, so last year I wrote a blog about working on not being afraid to fail. And I've moved forward slowly. But I really don't like failure. Really afraid of having to admit I failed and look like a loser. So I've been keeping this thing to myself, and I feel that I need to share it, get it out there and be able to face it. So here goes. I'm doing a comp on Sept 11th. My biggest fear is NOT that I won't place. My biggest fear is that everyone here will know I'm competing and I have to come back and say that I didn't place and feel like a total failure. There it is. Its out there now. I'm not going to be talking about it in any more blogs and I'll let you know how I did after the show.
I really don't want to push the save button.....

~Darcie

Back from the beach!

7/24/10
We had a great time!!! The weather was gorgeous and the house we stayed at this year was so nice. Yesterday was our only rainy day, which was actually a nice way to end the week. Our schedule every day was the same:
AM - Beach
Noon - up for lunch and swim in the pool
Afternoon - play games - wii, billiards, air hockey, cards, puzzles, nap
5pm - out to dinner
Evening - back to the beach to swim and play frisbee
PM - back to the house to play dominoes, watch movies, eat dessert
Sleep
Repeat every day!!

We had some really great food again this year. I ate, and ate, and ate.... LOL. I left at 122 and came back at 126. :) Crab bisque; duck; chicken marsala; some yummy salmon topped with peas, sundried tomatoes and bacon in a cream sauce; shrimp; brie baked in a pastry with walnuts and apricot sauce; great salads and tons of different types of breads; choc mousse dessert (twice!); seduction by chocolate cake; lots of ice cream... See, I ATE. LOL. Good stuff. We really enjoy our dinners out on vacation and it is fun to try so many different things.

I also worked out EVERY DAY. Yep. I brought my resistance bands along and I have to say I LOVE them. I could totally feel I worked out even though I only had 45lbs resistance with them. I will be incorporating them into my workouts at the end because I love the pump they give. My schedule was:
Sun - Chest/Tri's
Mon - Legs
Tues - Back/Shoulder/Bi
Wed - Chest/Tri
Thurs - Legs
Fri - Back/Shoulder/Bi

For cardio I didn't do much. I brought all of my workout clothes but forgot my shoes! Oops. Two days I rented one of those long paddle boards that you stand on and did that for 30-45 minutes. Jake loved it too. He took it out, but got tired coming in. My dad and Ted swam out to see if he was low blood sugar, but he was just tired. As they were coming back in a manatee swam up to check them out. It brought its nose out of the water right in my dad's face like it was giving him a kiss, and then swam to Ted and he was able to pet it. (Alright. so it is illegal to pet manatees, but I think if THEY come touch you its okay :) ). So that was cool. Anyway, back to cardio. I also ran sets of stairs and did sprints on the beach with Jake (he beat me every time). Oh! And I got a compliment on my arms from the guy I rented the paddleboard from. That made me feel great because they are such a hard part for me to build and they never look buff. But I guess they are getting better!

And that sums up our week on the beach! We got home last night just after midnight and it was great to sleep in our own bed. I'm off workouts today and tomorrow, then Monday I boost for another week, then I'm on fire buffing!! Can't wait to get some of this vacation weight off in the next few days as my meals go back to normal. Gonna take advantage of it and build while I can though :) . Well I'm off to do all of the fun stuff that has to be done when you get back from vacation - unpacking and laundry!!!

Have a great weekend!

~Darcie

~*~*~*~*~*
7/26/10
Just finished my workout and I'm off to a great start to this week! Feeling good and raring to go, which is strange since it is CD 24, but I guess that's what vacation does to me. Gets me re-energized and ready to tackle it all. Let's hope this feeling lasts. For now, I'll take it for today and deal with tomorrow when it gets here!

Workout this morning was chest/tri's. I did post-exhaust supersets like in the article I read the week before last. So it was a low rep heavy compound set paired with a high rep lighter isolation set. I feel totally worked over.

Warmup rbike 10 min

BP
45x10wu
70x10x3
with
Resistance Band (RB) Flyes
Blue & Yellow x 20 x 3

DBBP
20's x 10 x 3
with
RB Chest Press, single arm
Blue & Yellow x 10 x 3 ea

Inc BP
55x10
65x6x2
with
RB Single Arm Flyes
Yellow x 15 x 2
Blue x 15

Then a tri circuit:
Tri Kickbacks 15's x 10
w/abs x10
w/ Tri Ext's 15x10
w/abs x 10
w/ Tri Pushdowns 25x10
w/ abs x 10
Three times through.

And I'm done! Now to eat some yummy salmon and salad. I finally got the grocery shopping done yesterday. Our fridge was EMPTY when we got home. Saturday night we had pizza and cinnapie - too much! I totally pigged out. Sunday was clean though and weight has dropped almost a pound since getting back from vacation, even with Saturday night's eats. My goal this week is to build that muscle!

Will probably go bowling this afternoon so that should be fun. Hope we haven't lost our touch over the last week off :)

Have a great day!

~Darcie

More Catchup...

7/13/10:
The hormones are after me! It started yesterday afternoon - frustration, brain fog, fatigue, doubts about my ability to succeed in the goals I set before myself, desire to just QUIT and give up. I prayed through it. My brain really wanted me to compromise and just tell it I would give up so that it would quiet down. But NO. Prayer is awesome. I accepted the peace God sent my way. I'm still a little tired today, but am NOT giving up. Its a bit unusual for me to have mid-cycle symptoms, but every once in a while they head my way.

So yesterday wa Chest/Tri's/Abs, Cardio
DB Flyes 15's x 10 x 3
w/ Tri Exts 15x10x3 ea
w/ abs 10x3

BP 65x10x3
w/ Tri pushdowns 25x10x3
w/ abs 10x3

DBBP, Incline - 20's x 10 x 3
w/ Bench Dips 10x3
w/ abs 10x3

Did 30 min fasted rbike upon waking. Then did about 15 min bellydance drills to wu before wo. Then last night was cardio #2 - run/walk intervals for 30 minutes, then a 30 min walk afterward.



Today was Leg day. I was bad this morning and skipped my AM cardio session. So onto the workout:

wu 10 min rbike

Mini Circuit of the following: All the way through, then repeat 2 more times.
Squats 95x10
KB Swings 25x10
SLDL's on step 102x10
Leg Exts 90x10
Cable Leg Curls 15x10

Set those up in different rooms and then did walking lunges back and forth to equipment.
Walking Lunges 15's x 10 x 12
Abs After Lunges, + after last exercise 10x15
Calves After Abs 15's x 30 x 5, 15's x 20 x 5, 15's x 10 x 5

Tonight is elliptical while watching Jillian. Looks like a good one - where the lady doesn't even want her there and cries about it, and the guy won't finish his lifting sets and Jillian catches the lady smoking. I think she's going to have fun yelling at people tonight LOL.

On the countdown to the beach! Weight didn't drop today but not gonna stress it. It is what it is :) Have a great afternoon. Keep pushing through anything trying to get in your way!

~Darcie
~*~*~*~*~*~
7/15/10
We're halfway through the week! I still have so much to prepare, but I don't want to do any of it LOL. Stuff to pack and sort, etc., and it all seems overwhelming. So I end up sitting here at my computer goofing off instead. Totally having hormone issues this week.

My scale has not been nice to me, so I have decided that I will not grace it with my presence until Saturday morning. It can stay all lonely and we'll see if it has anything nice to say after a 2 day time out. I will just continue to eat good and work hard, and whatever it says on Saturday... well I'll have done my best. And you really just can't do better than that, can ya.

Today was Back/Shoulders/Bi's & Tri's day. I split it up, so I've kinda been working out all day.

6:30AM - fasted cardio 30 min rbike

8-10:30 - crashed on the couch LOL

11:00AM - Back - preexhaust supersets
Bent Over DB Rows 20's x 15, x10, x12
w/ Shrugs 95x10x3

Reverse Flyes 15's x 10 x 3
w/ BOBBR's 45x10x3

Seated Rows 55x10, 45x10x2
w/ Lat Pulls 45x10x3

Super quick workout - only took about 15 minutes but I hit all the big stuff.

Bowling this afternoon - 145, 113, 151. Obnoxious family with NO bowling etiquette next to us. Made me cranky. Rephrase that - increased my natural hormonal attitude today in a downward direction.

5:00PM - Shoulders/Bi's & Tri's -
preexhaust supersets

Lat Raises - 15's x 10 x 3
w/ Mil BB Press 45x10x3

Front Raises 15's x 10, 10's x 10 x 2
w/ DB Shoulder Press 15's x 10 x 3

antagonistic supersets
Tri Kickbacks 15's x 10 x 3
w/ Bi Curls 15's x 10 x 3

Tri Pushdowns 25x10x3
w/ BB Bi Curls 45x10x3

My arms are FRIED! I got this email article from tom venuto yesterday and it was all about supersets and working specifically for hypertrophy. I really loved all of the different types of supersets so I'm going to work those into my workouts quite often. The idea of post-exhaust sets for strength and size - good for boosting.

So all that is left is PM cardio. It just finished raining, so not sure if I'll do any running. Plus I ran Monday and today might be too close together as far as my shins and knees are concerned. I'm thinking of challenging Jake to an hour of Outdoor challenge on the Wii. That is a sweaty workout. Ok, good he just accepted my challenge. 60 min competition it is, 9pm.

Alrighty. I guess that's it for the day. I should be doing something. I'll start with something small. Gonna go get Jake dinner and wash 10 dishes. Then maybe make some jewelry for my sis for her bday this weekend.

Have a super day! Have a better mental day than I'm having LOL.

~Darcie

~*~*~*~*~
7/16/10
Off to the beach. Cya in a week!!

Oops, Sorry! Falling Behind Again

Sorry about that. For all of you folks who aren't even reading this blog LOL.  Doesn't matter, I'm posting anyway.  Here's 7/8 through 7/12
7/8/10:
I am worn out today. It's those Tired Thursdays sneaking up on me again.

Workouts....
Monday I did get in my running intervals outside while Jake and Ted did a longer ss run. My shins were still sore yesterday, but not hurting like shin splints.
Tuesday was legs (quads) and abs. My abs were really sore from my sprints too. I also did ss elliptical while watching Losing it with Jillian and some calves and lunges.
Wednesday was chest/tri's, nice quick circuits. SS cardio 4 miles - 2 miles up to the ice cream place and 2 miles back. No I didn't get one. Jake and Ted were the lucky ones :) They each gave me a teeny tiny bite of theirs. It was almost 11pm by the time we got home. We had to time it around Jake's bedtime snack.
Today is double cardio day. Did 45 min rbike this morning and will either do more rbike or elliptical in about an hour. Probably ellip since I'm bored with the bike.

Eats....
My meals have been super duper clean all week. I'm really proud of the things I've turned down and for getting this far without my bread or glass of milk (not even a swig from the carton).
I have had 2 "cheats" that I really don't even consider cheats. The teaspoon of ice cream I tasted last night - and saying a teaspoon is being generous, it was hardly any. And today I had a forkful of mac n cheese. That is it. So I'm giving myself a 99.9999999% for clean eats this week :) .
I'm fairly close to my carb ratios each day. I've yet to actually make it to all the way down to 50, but not over 60 on those days either. On my leg days, which are 100 carb days, I've stayed below 120. That is good for me because typically a low carb day for me is about 120 and my normal carb days are near 200.
Unfortunately I'm not dropping my weight at a quicker rate on these low carbs, nor am I looking much leaner. But I do plan to stick it out the whole two weeks to see if I can get a better overall picture of how it is working.

Current weight is 121.8. I thought I'd be in the 120.x range by today so I'm a little annoyed with that. I still think I will see 120.x by Sunday.

I had a little nap this afternoon which helped a bit. Some crazy cat was meowing right outside my window though and woke me up, so it was a short nap.

Ok, I'll catch you all tomorrow. Have a good evening :)

!*!*!*!*!
7/9/10
Short week. I was so confused all week as to what day it was LOL. And now I find it is Friday. It's almost 3pm and I really haven't accomplished much yet. I didn't wake up until about 10:30 so my day has been short too. I will need to kick things up a bit to get everything done that needs doing today. I DID however get in my workout :) Didn't want to but I did it.

Tri Circuits:
Warm up - rbike 11min

Single Arm Rows 25x10x3ea
w/ Lat Raises 15's x 10 x 3
w/ Hammer Curls 15's x 5 x 3 ea

BOBBR's 45x10x3
w/ Shrugs 45x10x3
w/ BB Bi Curls 45x8x3

Seated Row 60x10x3
w/ Mil BB Press 45x10x3
w/ DB Bi Curls 20'x 8, 20's x 6, 20's x 3 & 15's x 3

Lat Pulls 60x10x3
w/ Front Raises 15's x 8 x 3
w/ Conc Curls 20x5 ea, 15x5x2 ea

Ellip Intervals 20 min

DONE DONE DONE!! Yesterday I did a walk to my parents and a swim for my evening cardio. So got in my 2. Weight was 121.2 this morning. Still on track for being in the 120.x zone on Sunday morning.

I'm off to eat something - a bit hungry today! Have a great weekend.

~Darcie

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
7/12/10
I finished up a week of low carb, no dairy and no bread stuff. I was going to do two weeks but have decided it just isn't working out for me. Not because I can't do it but because it isn't giving me the results I am looking for.
Some of my expectations going into this were:

1.*Faster weight loss
2.*Breaking the 120 barrier that I tend to get stuck at
3.*Leaning out more
But I did not experience those things. My cals were 1100-1300, carbs below 60 most days and just around 100 on leg days.
My results were:

1.I struggled this week to lose any weight at all. Sunday,7/4, I was 121.8. I had a cheat day that day which brought Monday to 123. I should have started dropping rapidly after that day but instead I went three days without a drop at all. By the following Sunday I was 121.2. That is only a total drop of half a pound. If I want to lose half a pound I can do that on 2500 cals and 200+ carbs thank you very much.
2.I couldn't even get into the 120x zone, much less under it, which really made me mad. I should have hit it by Friday. I totally expected to be under 120 by Sunday. Instead - 121.2. Didn't like it. Didn't like working my butt off and no carbs for mediocre results.
3.I got bloated. The thing is I KNOW this. I have done this experiment before with the same results. When I get my protein ratio too much higher than my carbs I get bloated. I really do much better with my carbs even to my protein, or just a bit higher. I especially should have leaned up due to my cycle days, and ending my period, but I didn't.
It wasn't a failed experiment though. It basically reinforced what I know about my body - low carb is not beneficial to me. The removal of dairy and wheat is not a change for the better for me. I'm glad I tried it again, just to be certain. I did succeed in doing it the whole week. I didn't complain or whine about missing it. I kept up a good attitude until Saturday when I realized I wouldn't be making my goal. I got kinda grouchy then. The worst part was that I was completely without energy and tired for most of the week. I still pushed hard through my workouts but then I was drained.

Sunday I pushed the RESET button (ie: high carb/high cal cheat day). This week I am still on the lower cals, but my ratios are back to normal. Workouts for the week are M-chest,T-legs,W-back, F-full body. Thursday is off except for cardio. I'm on 2-a-days this week going into the final 5 days before vacation. AM ss, PM mix of intervals and ss. Lots of water as always. I'm hoping I can reach 120 or less by Saturday morning. No, I'm expecting and planning to be 120 or less. :)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Friday 7/2:
I am READY to have 2 successful weeks leading up to vacation. Or like my friend Liz says, to be Victorious! I feel very good about the upcoming weeks.

Some ways I have been successful so far:

Yesterday's cals fell right in mid range - 1411. Carbs were a little higher than I had planned out, but still only comprised 20% of my diet so I feel victorious about that.

This morning on the scale - 123.4. I defnitely revved up my metabolism the past 2 weeks.

Got my chest workout in and my intervals this morning. These are my first intervals since before the SX70 ended - its been a while!

My attitude. It might be CD1 today, if not it will be tomorrow for certain, but I am focused on keeping a positive attitude.

No bread, no milk yesterday and none today either. That is big for me :) Will keep that up until vacation.

I have already cleaned the master bath, master bedroom, family room and dining area, plus a couple of loads of laundry - getting things done!

So when I am feeling down or frustrated I will come back to this post and see the success I had and know it is possible and I can keep on going.

Let's see. I do still have to finish up my tri's this evening. I'm really loving splitting the workouts up when I have a day that just doesn't allow it all at once. I do the hard stuff in the AM, the big compound moves and sweaty stuff. Then in the PM the isolation and smaller moves. Like today, chest & intervals in the am, and tri's in the pm.

AM:

10min wu

DB Flyes 15's x 10 x 3

BP 65x10x3

DBBP 20's x 10 x 3

Tri Pushdowns 35x10x2, 25x10

Between sets did abs, calves, lunges.

Intervals - 22 min rbike

PM: will be...

Bench Dips

Tri Kickbacks

And some light shoulder stuff.

Yesterday we had fun at the trampoline place, but Jake ended up feeling really sick. He was jumping without much of a break for about 45 minutes. It was fun to run and jump into the walls and do flips and roundoffs and stuff. I was the only adult in there, besides a few in their late teens (18/19ish maybe). Jake had abandoned me for the dodgeball game and I felt kinda dumb on my own LOL. But I jumped anyway. I don't think we'd go again unless it was someone's party though.
Ok, I'm off to clean house. Have a wonderful afternoon. Plan for success this weekend!

~Darcie

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday 7/5:
My body is burning through the fat, fast. On Wed after boosting I was 124.2. I ate super clean and strict on Thurs, Fri & Sat and by yesterday (Sunday) I was already down to 121.8. Of course, it was the 4th of July and was my last real cheat day before vacation so I lived it up! But, I'm only 123.0 today which is still 1.2 pounds down from Wednesday despite my cheat day. I fully expect to be 120 by the end of this week. So I know I will reach my beach goal by the 17th. I'm always excited to see how my body reacts to things and this last experiment with lots of food and heavy lifting was NOT a disappointment.


Todays workout was back/shoulders/bi's. I still have a set of hammer curls to finish later, and some running intervals.
BOBBR's - 45x10x3

Cable Rows - 55x10x3

Lat Pulls - 55x10x3

Rev Flyes 15's x 10 x 3

DB Shoulder Press 15's x 10 x 3

Lat Raises 15's x 8 x 3

Front Raises 15's x 8 x 3

Bi Curls 15's x 10 x 3

Hammer Curls 15's x 10 x 3

Running Intervals

Food is on today. 1100-1300 cals, low carb, no dairy or bread-y type stuff. I'm really full though so getting in all 1300 cals is going to be tough today. The rest of the week will look like my previous two weeks as far as the lifting goes, with intervals and ss added in.

Ok, I'm planning for a successful week! I hope you are too :) . And hoping for some NICE weather because we haven't seen the sun in almost a week - rain, rain, rain and clouds.I need a tan!!!

~Darcie

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Caught up!! Wooohoo!

This is actually today's real post. I will do better about staying caught up too. :)
Ok, so I didn't make my weight goal this week. I thought I'd get to 125-126 but only made it to 124.2. That's what I weighed on Sunday so I didn't gain an ounce Mon - Wed. I dropped cardio to just once this week and I did pretty good with cals (averaging 2500/day), but couldn't get there. Oh well, it isn't TOO BAD because now I'm closer to my losing goal for vacation LOL. And I feel really good about my progress during boosting. For one thing I went all out and didn't try to keep my cals a bit lower for fear of gaining. I know that was my goal, but you all know how hard it is mentally to accept the weight going up on the scale! So sometimes I end up eating less out of that fear. I am happy that I didn't do that and proud of myself for following through. I believe that I worked out heavy and hard and all my cals went where they were supposed to go - to building muscle!

And now that I've gained, I'm ready to lose again. I started the morning with some fasted ss cardio, just 30 minutes. It felt great and is a good jumpstart to my next 2 weeks. I'm looking to be 120 or less by vacation. That's 4 pounds - totally doable. My workout schedule will be the same, but buffing style. Thursday "off" day will still have cardio. Sunday "off" day may just be active or complete rest.  4th of July is cheat day :) My only cheat day for the next 2 weeks. After the 4th I'm getting tight and strict.

Yesterday's workout - last boosting wo. Back/Shoulders/Bi's. I split it up to do back in the AM (which ended up being 1pm LOL) and Shoulder's/Bi's in the PM (about 8pm)

AM: Back:
Single Arm Rows
25x10x3 ea, for wu

Seated Rows
55x10
65x10
75x8
85x6
95x6

Lat Pulls
55x10
65x8
75x4 - neck/shoulder felt fine again - doing good!

BOBBR
65x10
75x8
85x6

Inverted Rows (feet on bench)
6x3

PM: Shoulders/Bi's
Mil BB Press
45x10
55x8
65x6

DB Shoulder Press
20's x 6 x 3

Lat Raises
15's x 10
20's x 6 x 2

Front Raises
15's x 8 x 2
20's x 6

BB Bi Curl
45x10
55x6
65x4

DB Curls
15's x 10
20's x 8 x 2

Preacher Curls
32x4x2 - my short little arms couldn't reach the stupid bar on the preacher bench. hated these. Guess that's why the preacher attachment's been sitting in the corner for a year LOL

Jake and I went for a walk in the rain in the afternoon at the park, 2 miles.

Cals for yesterday: 2495. F-89, C-245, fiber 19 (too low), P-178.

Meeting a friend of Jake's at a fun play place this afternoon - 11000 sf of trampolines - should be a blast!
Have a great day!!

~Darcie

Dragging!

6/29/10
Wow, I am so drained today. From the moment I woke up and all through the day. Totally tired this month leading up to CD 1. I had originally thought maybe we would go tubing over toward Orlando today, but the thought of the drive, and the morning traffic, and dealing with all of the people on the river - exhausting! I know, floating down a river is exhausting? LOL. It sounded like it today. Saw the rain forecast and it said we'd get storms around noon through the rest of the day - um, no, never happened. So we lazed around all day waiting for the rain LOL. We finished up some of our gaming marathon, and did get a little swim in this evening before Losing it with Jillian (which was an excellent one tonight).

I did get in my workout. It was leg day. I woke up with a twinge in my back so I elminated any sort of deadlfit or lunges this morning. So I started out with:

Squats, normal
95x10; 115x10; 135x8; 155x6
Squats, feet together
95x10; 115x10x3
Leg Exts
45x10wu - knee started to hurt so I ended the workout at this point. Twingey back and sore knee too? No thanks.
Ate and rested and then during Losing It I finished up because my knee felt better
Leg Exts
90x10x2; 135x8x2;
Leg Exts toes out
90x10x3
Single Leg Exts (left only)45x15x3
Calf Raises
90x15x3 (in, out, straight)
Lunges - front
40
Lunges - back
40

Yesterday was chest/tri's
DB flyes
15's x 10; 20's x 8 x 3
DB Bench
20's x 10 x 2
BP
75x6, 85x5assist, 95x1 hurt, 65x10
Tri Pushdowns
25x10, 35x6, 45x6
Tri Kickbacks
15's x 10 x 3

Tomorrow is my last day of stuffing my face! yeah! I managed to get in 2293 cals Sunday, 2362 Monday and 2482 today. Tomorrow will be about the same and then I get to buff. SOOOOO ready to buff. But a bit of a cheat day on the 4th. Otherwise it is super buffing all the way to vacation on the 17th. Ahhh, the beach for a week!!

Alright, I definitely need to get out and do something tomorrow. Something active and fun!! Because CD1 is coming up quick and I'll want to veg that day for sure.

Have a good evening. Catch ya tomorrow!

~Darcie

Sneak Peek

6/23/10- Took a sneak peek at the scale
I generally don't weigh in much during boosting. I just like to enjoy it, so I usually weigh in on Sundays only. But, I really wanted to see if I was gaining at a good rate. My goals were to hit 2000 cals a day but I've been hitting about 2500 each day instead for the past 3 days since I started. Goal is to gain 3 - 4 pounds by July 5th. So far I've lost half a pound. Seriously. Ok, so my goal was also that by this Sunday I'd be losing weight on 2000 cals and I'd have to increase. But instead I'm losing already on 2500. I'll stay at 2500 for now and will reassess when Sunday comes around. Next week may be a 3000 cal week and let me tell you that is HARD. I mean it, it sucks trying to eat 3000 clean cals - you feel so sickeningly full.

Workouts have been ON. Heavy (for me) and intense, lots of rest between sets. Slow cardio for 30-45 min a day, just simple things like a walk around the neighborhood or climbing hills and trees at the park. So far I'd say I'm right on track, except for the fact that I'm losing. It is possible I'll gain though by the time Sunday comes around. Looking to really rev up this metabolism prior to next buffing session.

Today was chest/tri's. I ended up splitting the workout up so we could meet a friend of Jake's at the park. We had fun there and his friends mom and I are pretty alike in things we enjoy doing. She has 4 boys so she deserves a medal :) We spent 90 minutes playing there, fun!

AM -
DB Flyes
15's x 10
20's x 6 x 3

BP
65x10
75x8
85x3 ?? was supposed to be six. I couldn't get it today though. I felt strong going into it, but nothing.

PM -
Inc Bench
45x10
65x8
65x6

DB Bench
15's x 10
20's x 8 x 2

Tri Pushdowns
25x10
35x6x2

SkullCrushers
20x8x3

Bench Dips
15, 20, 25

Light Calves (in, out, straight)
20's x 30
bw x 45
20's x 60

Some light lat and front raises too. Forgot about booty extras today. Climbing the hills should count! Might throw in a few kicksbacks and stuff tonight since those don't require much time.

Oh, and while I'm thinking of it. I did half supermans ON the ball yesterday. Kneeling on ball, just practicing the arm portion. I did a few of those. I did balance doing a full superman on the ball for all of 2 seconds but couldn't switch :)

That's all. I'm almost done shoveling down food for the day. Just a little yogurt & protein powder later (tastes like choc mousse!). Oh, I'll put a yummy cold bean salad in the recipe section. Made it yesterday and it is awesome! Eats today:
cinnamon toast (2) & milk
kashi w/milk & blueberries
bean salad over lettuce
prot shake & banana @ park
ww spaghetti w/ground beef, tomato sauce
ice cream - southern blackberry cobbler flavor, yum!
yogurt w/prot powder
sunflower seeds - snack on these throughout the day
Cals - 2340, fat 65 (25%), carbs 306(46%), fiber 53, protein 162 (29%)

Have a great one!

~Darcie

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6/24/10 - too tired for a title
Today was back/shoulders/bi day. I'm very tired today (and yesterday). Might just be the heat - it is so hot here!

Single Arm Rows 25x10x3 ea
Cable Rows 55x10, 65x8, 75x6, 85x4
Lat Pulls 55x10, 65x6x3 - really happy with this. No neck pain again
BOBBR's 65x8x2, 75x8, 45x10 rev grip
Lat Raises 15's x 8, 20's x 6 x 2, 15's x 8
DB Press 15's x 10, 20's x 8 x 2
BB Bi curls 45x8, 50x7, 55x6, 60x4, 45x8
DB Bi Curls 15's x 10, 20's x 6 x 2
Walk, 30 minutes

Yesterday was an off day. Just an hour walking the dog last night. It was nice out.

Food is still good. 2404 cals yesterday, 2672 today. A little ice cream both nights and some lindt truffles that fell in my mouth. But other than those 2 things it was all good. Legs tomorrow. My hams just recovered from last Saturday's workout so hopefully they'll recover more quickly this week.

I'm thinking of cutting my heavy eating short by just a few days. I was schedule to end on July 4th and I'm not sure I want to feel that big and full running around in my bikini all day. I might finish out each body part lifting heavy one more time and start buffing 2 days prior, to just give my body a bit of time to not look so stuffed. I'll see how its going thorugh midweek next week. If I'm still looking lean I'll keep putting down the food.

We're about to watch Book of Eli so I gotta get going. Have a great weekend. I'm a little anti social today too. Maybe the tiredness?

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6/27/10 - pizza day!
Ahhh. Sundays are my day to have a real cheat meal. Today I am having some pizza! Its been a while since we have ordered a pizza, not even sure when the last time was. Anyway, the plan is to savor my yummy meal and hold out for next Sunday LOL. I should be able to hit my cals no problem today :) .
Speaking of that... I weighed in this morning at 124.2. That's 1.2 pounds for the week so I'm feeling good about that. By Thursday I think I will be 125.6. That's my goal at least. And then it will already be time to start buffing. The beach is in 3 weeks and I am confident I will be where I want to be by then. Not as low as I planned at the end of SX70, but i decided to build and I think it will be worth it.
Yesterday was hams/glutes:

Warmed up with ball curls, 10x3
SLDL's on step
95x10; 135x8; 155x6; 95x10
Sumo Squats
95x10; 115x8; 135x6; 95x10
Booty Bulgarians (ea leg)
15's x 8; 20's x 6 x 3
Leg Curls
10x10, 20x10; 30x8; 40x4
Side Lying Leg Lifts
25#plate x 10 x 4 (ea leg) Loved these with the plate. I usually use a db but the plate feels so much better - doesn't push into my it band.
Was supposed to do calf raises but ran out of time. So today I will do some weighted calf stuff. Standing, seated and donkeys.

I'm definitely feeling it today, but not as bad as last week. So that's good.

Alrighty, Ted should be back with the pizza soon. I'm STARVING. And I feel ill. The guy in front of me in church had so much cologne on that my eyes watered and I felt nauseas. Combine that with an empty stomach and its not a good thing. So i'm off to eat and then make good use of it with my calf workout. :)

Have a great day!

~Darcie

Shaky Legs!

6/19/10 - Shaky Legs Day
You ever feel great after a leg workout...and you go get your meal and sit down and everything is fine. Then you try to stand up from your chair and find out the something isn't quite right? Your legs shake when you try to get up? That's the kind of day I'm having today LOL, love it! :)

Today was legs, hammy/glute focus.

Bench Squats

95x10, a little too light

135x10, put too much weight on spine and couldn't feel the glute work

95x5x2 ea leg, single leg at 95 worked exactly what I was hoping for

Sumo Squats

95x10x3

SLDL's on step

95x10x3

Good Mornings

95x10x3

Leg Curls (legs were shaking before they even made connection with the rollers LOL. I couldn't even flex my hams w/o shaking at this point)

machine only x 10

10# x 10

20# x 10 x 2

yeah, this is really weak. This is the hardest exercise for me.

Calf raises (standing on step)

95x10x3

Stationary Lunges

95x4x3 ea leg

Seated Calves

45x10

90x10

135x10

180x10

Walking Lunges

20's x 10 x 2

Abs between sets. I tried those supermans on the swiss ball. I had to leave one foot touching the ground (knee pushed into ball) in order to do them. Tough! I couldn't balance totally on it and do supermans. So then I go look online and see that on the swiss ball you are on your STOMACH and then you do supermans. You aren't supposed to be hands and knees on the ball and do them. LOL. Is that correct Brenda? LOL, you should have seen me trying to do hands and knees on the ball AND do the supermans. I may decide THAT is a challenge for me to accomplish.

Anyhow, that's all for now. Not sure that I'll do any cardio today. I was going to help Jake mow and then go swimming, but a huge black cloud rolled in (again). Now its storming. Will do some light lat and front raises later as I missed them yesterday. Just totally forgot about them. Have a few glute things to finish up too but its all stuff that can be done in small amounts throughout the day.

Have a great day tomorrow with the men in your life who are Dad's! We'll be grilling and swimming if it isn't raining.


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6/21/10 Back/Shoulders/Bi's
It is so funny how on any upper body day my writing in my workout journal gets messier and messier toward the end of my workout LOL. Lucky for you all I'm typing this and not writing :)

I started boosting this weekend, yay! I love boosting because I only weigh in once a week and don't have to deal with it on the other days. I am boosting really hard these next two weeks. I'm aiming to gain about 4 pounds by the end of the two weeks. I'm starting out on 2000 cals a day since I've been so low due to the finishing up of the SX70. However, I believe if I do this right that by next Sunday I will need to increase the calories to meet my four pound goal. That's how hard I plan to lift, that I'll start losing on 2000. We'll see :)

Today's workout:
BOBBR's
45x20wu
65x10
75x8
85x6
100x4
65x10

Single Arm Rows
25x10
45x6x3

Lat Pulls (light and careful)
25x10
45x8
65x6
55x10
Neck and shoulder felt okay - yay!

Military BB Press
45x10
55x8
65x6
50x10

Lat Raises
10's x 10
15's x 6 x 2
20's x 6 PB

Front Raises
10's x 10
15's x 6 x 2
20's x 6 PB

BB Bi Curls
45x10
55x8
65x2, then 60 x 4
50x10

DB Bi Curls
15's x 10
20's x 8
20's x 4
25x4 ea, self-assisted

Working my skinny little grover arms...

Between sets I did abs, glutes, bw lunges, bw calves. Later today will be easy going ss cardio. Nothing muscle wasting this week! Lift hard, low impact cardio, regular daily activity, eat, eat, eat!! I plan to be well rested and with a roaring metabolism by the time buffing comes - the watch out! LOL.

Have a great day. We're off to go bowling (not sure my arms will work??) then I'll be back later to catch up on all of the weekend posts!

~Darcie

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6/22/10
Did legs late morning/early afternoon. It took forever, but got them done. I had to stop and make lunch for Jake in between too, but mostly just resting up for the next set took up a bunch of time.

Squats
95x10wu
125x8
135x6
145x4
155x4 - highest I will go w/o spot
95x10

Deadlifts (conv)
135x10
155x8
185x6
205x3 almost 4
230 - no go. tried to pull several times but couldn't do it. 225 will have to stand as my pb for now
135x8

Leg Exts
90x10
125x8
135x6
180x4
90x10

Squats - feet together
95x10
115x8
135x6
95x10

Leg Exts - toes out
90x10
100x8
110x6
90x10

Donkey calves
bwx15
Jake x 10

Seated Calves
90x25
135x15
180x10

SS cardio later tonight and abs. Didn't get in my lunges yet either, but I am wiped out. Need to rest and eat and might do them later.

I got in 2500 cals exactly yesterday. So far today it looks like I'll just barely squeak over the 2000 line. Yesterday I had the help of the chocolate chip cookies that I made & lindt, but today is all clean so its harder to get them in.
Yesterdays eats:
Choc chip cookies/milk
1/2 pb&j
spinach tortilla w/spinach and chicken & dressing
prot shake w/spinach and blueberries, kashi bar
ww spaghetti, ground beef, tomato sauce
prot shake (milk & pb)
sunflower seeds
2 lindt truffles
Cals 2500, fat 95 (too high)34%; carbs 249, 37%; fiber 25; prot 160, 26%

Today:
kashi go lean w/blueberries, strawberries, milk
prot shake & banana
ww spaghetti, ground beef, tomato sauce; broc slaw
turkey sandwich and spinach/strawberry salad
bean salad w/chicken
plain yogurt w/choc whey prot
2 lindt truffles
*Edit* Cals 2408; fat 67; carbs 309; fiber 62; prot 165. Definitely made it over 2000 again **

Eat eat eat, lift lift lift, build build build!!

Ok, its game day today. We're battling each other on wii games, computer games and board and card games. (ie, a lazy day). :) So I'm off to play.

~Darcie