What if I had givern up? Part 4 of 4

I'm calling this last part "Even if it takes a year". Because what if you knew it would take you a year to get in shape? Would you give up? Would you say that it wasn't worth it to only lose 12 pounds in a year? Gosh, that's only 1 pound a month. Why would I work so hard for only one pound a month? There are women around me on "insert fad diet here" losing 5 pounds a week. Really, how long does that weight stay gone? A year later do they still look good? And do they just look good in clothes but not in a bikini?
Here's why you should not give up, even if it takes a year. (not that old pic from sept again!!! hehehe)
Sept 2009:

Sept 2010:

Sept 2009:

Sept 2010:

So, what would you do?

Would you give up? One pound (on the scale) a month not worth it?  To me it was worth every single moment of hard work and clean eating. And honestly, you dont have to eat perfect. You should enjoy cheats here and there. With me when I have a good cheat like pizza or burgers and fries, or desserts it just revs my body up for more weight loss.

But you can't just do this with diet and cardio. If you want to get lean and have curves you MUST LIFT WEIGHTS. And you have to lift them heavy. Obviously starting out you want to be careful, but you need to challenge your muscles. As Michelle (BuffMother) always says - Challenge=Change. If you are not lifting heavy (for you) to challenge yourself you will NOT see change. You will just get a smaller skinny-fat body.

So get started! Grab your weights, clean up your diet, work hard, lift heavy, add in some cardio and get to it.

Even if it takes a year girls!!

What if I had given up? Part 3

I'm talking a bit about momentum today.If you don't work at it, you can't build it up and use it. It makes me think of power ups in games. You have to do certain combos and moves to get your power up, then you use it to do even better moves. Same thing - except you only get one life here in RL, and you can't defy gravity and jump 50 feet in the air, or be a half-elf, and slay monsters... Ok, rabbit trailing a bit. Anyway....  You workout and you eat right, you keep doing it until you see results, you gain more confidence in what you are doing and you do better, lift heavier, run faster/farther (further?), eat cleaner, and you see even more results! That's how it works.
So I didn't say "why bother". I have felt like "why bother" at times, but luckily those days pass by.
And so we move onto the next challenge! Yes, there's almost always a challenge going on in the BuffMother Rally Room, which is great to keep you on track. The next one was... Sexy in 70. 70 days to work hard and see what you can do. I was determined to make more progress this time around than back in the SSS2009 challenge.
You see, that momentum builds. If i had given up after the sss I'd still be struggling. But I kept at it, kept joining challenges, kept myself accountable to my fitness friends, which kept me building that momentum to succeed.
Ok, where did I start for sx70? Here it is. I was 125.6. That's good because it means I was losing between contests. Yay!  My goal was to get under 120. I really like being around 118 when I have a good amount of muscle. The more muscle, the more I get to eat!! :) And since I love to eat I have to build the muscle. I am really rambling off track today. Sorry!  I ended the sx70 at 119.2. Hurray, goal met!
Pics.  Let's go back to Sept 2009 again - we're all going to get tired of that pic, but hey, this is the way it goes, because everything relates back to not giving up at that point. I think I was 129 at start of sss2009. So this is now a 10 pound difference. (scale weight, body comp is much different)
Sept 2009:

June 2010:

Sept 2009:

June 2010:

I was quite happy with my results. But now a thought begins to tumble around in my mind.
Could I do a competition? So many of my friends are doing competitions. My dad mentions a customer doing competitions. Competition just seems to be everywhere. So I pray about it. And I make the decision to do it. And oh my gosh, I felt a physical weight just lift from me. I hadn't realized how oppressive the enemy had been until that moment. I felt free when I decided to go for it. And ya know, I'm only 3 days away and I'm not nervous at all. I'm really just excited. I think it is going to be fun. And after the competition is when the final blog of 'not giving up' is going to happen. Because you are going to see a total transformation from Sept 2009 to Sept 2010. And I hope it will motivate you to not give up!

What if I had given up? Part 2

Obviously my answer from the previous post - part 1 - is that I chose not to give up. I continued lifting more consistently and eating (a bit) better. I try not to go crazy about clean eats - just more good choices than bad. But I completely believe in moderation on my eating and I do enjoy the good (bad) stuff now and again.
Anyhow, when the next BuffMother RR challenge came around at the turn of the year I was ready to get at it. My weight was basically the same as the ending of SSS2009, mainly because of the holidays. So I started the 6 week Just Do It challenge at 129, and ended at 126.6.  Yay, progress finally! Well, scale progress. My body was making progress all along, it just hadn't shown up yet. Add in all of the holiday meals and treats and I was pretty happy to maintain those few months.
Do I give up yet? Well let's see.... from Sept to April I've only dropped 3.4 pounds. Is that even worth it?? That's not even a pound a month.
Pics-

End of SSS2009 - Front:

End of Just Do It - Front:

End of SSS2009 - Back:

End of Just Do It - Back:

Pics aren't showing much difference, not for over 6 months of work. Should I say "why bother?"

Check in tomorrow, I'll show you why you need to keep on going even when the going seems slow.

~Darcie

What if I had given up? Part 1

This is part 1 of a several part blog. I don't know how many yet LOL. But as I count down to the show (5 days) I have found myself thinking about what if I had given up last year.
I see people all of the time getting upset about not losing much weight after just 1 week of turning things around. I am one of those people at times as well. I'm hoping to not be one anymore. I want to take a look back over this past year to show that you can't (or shouldn't!) give up over a week of no visible progress. In fact, you can't (shouldn't!) give up even when a month goes by with no big scale drops or measurement changes. There's stuff going on INSIDE that's getting fixed too, and sometimes it takes a while to show up outside.
Today's blog I'm talking about last September when the BuffMother Rally Room contest "Super Star Success 2009" started. I have always done the RR contests, but for the almost 2 years prior to SSS2009 I hadn't been giving it my all. When this one came around I was ready to start trying again. I was tired of being fluffy, again.
So for 10 weeks I cleaned up my eating, was good about doing my workouts and my stellar results were.... 0.6 pounds. No way!! 10 weeks and only 0.6 pounds?
Here are the before and after pics.
Before Front:

After Front:

Before Back:

After Back:

Okay, so obviously that wasn't a great performance during the SSS2009. But I did give it all I could give. What are my choices now?
1. I can say "That's just the way my body is supposed to look at this age". I tried, but it didn't work. It isn't worth the time to keep trying and not see results.
2. I can say "That's 0.6 pounds down, if I keep it up I can lose more". Because if I give up now it isn't as if the pounds will magically fall away on their own. I will not be better off if I quit. I'm going to keep trying.

Hmmmm, which one did I choose?

1 Week Out!

Saturday 9/4/10:
Wow, I'm really struggling with the legs lately. I'm sure its the lower cals as we get closer. Only 1 week away!!! I'm so glad. I'm ready to eat a big piece of red velvet cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. That's on my list for after the show next Saturday. Yum!!!
Anyway, did wimpy legs today. Just 3 isolation exercises. I have to do legs again on Monday and I didn't want them sore for my last real leg workout before the show. On Monday I'll kill them with squats and deadlifts, but for Saturday it was just sets of Leg Ext's, Ham Curls & Calves. A bunch of sets with different weights and some single leg, some both legs. Too lazy to write it all out - nothing special LOL.
Tomorrow I start a much more strict diet, with no grains at all. No more oatmeal (cry). No brown rice. Just fruits for my starchy carbs this week. I'm doubling up on my oatmeal today since it's my last for a week. I hope the rest of the family survives my diet this week.
Since it's actually Sunday when I'm posting this - today is my day off. Yay! I am trying to rest and really be ready to go this week. Tomorrow is a bit off schedule because it's labor day and we'll all be gathered together - and there will be snacks everywhere. But it is going to be my butt up on that stage that is getting critiqued and I'm not sabotaging that with a few chips and dip. Clean, clean, clean eats this week.
Watched a bunch of npc figure clips on youtube last night. It was a great confidence builder. Those girls aren't perfect either. So I feel really good going into the show. By the time I'm dehydrated and prepped by Saturday morning I think I'm going to be shocked at myself. Can't wait to post some pics here!
Have a great holiday weekend.
~Darcie

Last of the Catch Up Posts!

8/30/10: Rested up and Ready to go!
I am ready to tackle the week. I had a good rest day on Sunday. I only did a little pilates and stretching when my back got tight from sitting at the computer gaming with Ted & Jake.

Saturday was hams/glutes and I focused on single leg exercises - so not very many. They take forever LOL.
warmup rbike 10

booty bulgarians - 20's x 6 x 4 ea
with RB Lat Raises - Blue x 10 x 4

Single Leg RDL's 20's x 6 x 4 ea
with RB Front Raises - Blue x 10 x 4

Ham Curls (single) 10 x 12 x 4 ea
with RB Bi Curls - Blue x 20 x 4

Stat. BB Lunges 45x8 ea - Knees said no more!

Then today was back/shoulders/bi's
warmup rbike 10 minutes

BOBBR- 45x10wu; 65x10; 75x8x2
with Mil BB Press 45x8x3

Cable Rows 75x10; 85x8x3
with Lat Raises 15's x 8 x 3

Lat Pulls Wide grip - 55x8x3
with Rev Flyes 15's x 8 x 3

Front Plate Raises 25x8x3
with Bi Curls 15's x 10 x 3

10 min rbike afterward, moderate speed. Pilates after that.
PM - Hill Sprints. Walked to hill, 6 sprints uphill, walked home. Total distance 2.5mi

And I was super-productive today. Only got 4 hours of sleep and thought for sure I'd be crashing after Jake was at school. But instead I continued packing up his old toys, rearranging stuff, cleaning out the toy room/storage room / everything goes here that we don't know where to put somewhere else room. I was going, going, going all day long.

And now it's time for me to go game with the family :) Have a great Monday, the week is just starting and there's so much you can accomplish!

~Darcie

9/1/10: Try, try again
Yesterday was leg day. Was supposed to be leg day at least. I just could not get this workout going. I started in the AM and did a few sets of squats and leg ext's. But my back was so tweaked from some booty bulgarians the previous Saturday. So I ended up rolling it out on the tennis ball. Started mid back and ended up going all the way down my glute and into my hamstring. That whole area was a tight mess. But wow did it feel much better afterward. Had to head out, but tried to do the workout again in the PM and it just didn't happen. I ended up with: 10 min rbike wu. Squats 45x10, 95x10x4. Exts 90x8, x7, x8, x10. That was it. Needed to do some ss cardio but that was a no go too. I think Monday's super productive day caught up to me. So on Saturday when I do legs I will do it all instead of just hams/glutes.

Today was senior picture day at school so I was there all morning. I brought my food but just didn't have time to eat it. When I got home I thought I might be doing a workout, but no energy. Picked up Jake, came home and ate, still no energy. Decided I needed a nap, so had a nice 30 minute rest. And FINALLY got my workout in.

wu rbike 10

BP
45x10
65x10
75x8x2
80x6x2
85x4x2
90x1
75x6

Paired those with:
tri kickbacks 15's x 8 x 3
tri exts 15 x 20 x 3
flyes 15's x 10 x 3
db press 15's x 10

Intervals: rbike 20 minutes
Ab Boot Camp - 2 rounds

I felt better after I got it done. I had such a hard time getting motivated and getting started. Just had to push through it today. Tomorrow is long cardio day, some walking lunges, and calves.

Have a great evening!

~Darcie

9/3/10: Leaning out
I can tell I'm leaner than I've ever been, because well parts of me are just getting, smaller. LOL.

Today was back/shoulders/bi's.

wu rbike 10 min

BOBBR's 45x10, 65x10, 75x8, 85x6
with Mil BB Press 45x10, 65x6x2, 45x10

Single Arm Rows 45x6x3 ea
with Lat Raises 15's x 8, 20's x 5 (only got those halfway up), 15's x 8

Lat Pulls 55x8 wide, 65x6, 55x8 wide
with Bi Curls 20's x 8, 15's x 8 x 2

Rbike - 21 minutes with some intervals. I forgot I was doing intervals LOL. Was just going along doing SS when I realized I was supposed to do intervals.

Then Ab boot camp afterwards - 2 rounds.

Yesterday I went up to the park and rode my bike for an hour. That place is always windy. It can be still everywhere else but the wind there blows against you no matter which way you are going. Even when you swing around the loop its always against you.

Tomorrow is legs, ss cardio and abs. Looking forward to a nice long weekend. Hope you all have a fun one!

~Darcie

Wow, Still more stuff From August?? Yes!

8/23/10: Abs are looking great today!
Abs are looking awesome this morning. I love that!
Today was chest/tri's. yesterday was off day and I did 4 sets of booty lunges.

WU - rbike 10min
BP - 45x10wu; 65x8; 75x6; 85x2, 1; 75x6; 80x4
Tri Kicks - 15's x 12 x 3

Inc DB Flyes - 20's x 8 x 3
Dips 10, 10, 6

Inc DBBP - 20's x 10 x 3
Tri Pushdowns 25x10x3

Tonight is sprints. If it isn't raining. It rained all weekend. And I will do pilates and some extra abs after sprints. I was doing pilates in the AM, but I really like doing it after cardio.

I was very productive yesterday. I finished putting stones on my suit this weekend. Not a lot, just a nice amount I think. I caught up on all of the dishes, ran laundry, and even got to play some games with the family in between! It was nesting day :) .
School started today. Got a call at lunch saying Jake had forgotten his lunchbox in Ted's car. So we scrambled to find stuff there that would get him enough carbs. They are a private school and don't have a cafeteria (food is ordered and brought in for lunch each day) so it was quite a jumble of stuff LOL. But at least he ate :) Then I called Ted and he says he doesn't have the lunch box. So I called the school back and they found it up in his classroom. But both Jake and his teacher looked for it and couldn't find it. So either someone accidently grabbed it then brought it back, or it got shoved behind a backpack or something. But at least we know where it is. What a way to start! LOL.

Ok, I'm gonna clean up from my workout and veg out a little bit while I have the house to myself.

~Darcie

8/24/10: Not even a taste!
I made oatmeal raisin cookies today for Ted and Jake and I didn't even take one tiny taste. Not a nibble, not a lick of a spoon or finger, nothing! When we were at the grocery store the other night Ted was actually looking at boxes of cookies. I was like "are you kidding? store bought cookies?" That's just nasty. Those things are dry and disgusting. But since I've been on a pretty tight diet I haven't done as much baking as usual besides bread. So today I thought it would be nice for them to have a little treat around. And you know what? I'm just not even tempted. I SO thank Jesus for that. I know it is him who is giving me the strength and discipline to get through this training. I'm so thankful!!

Today was leg day. I got it done early today since I have things to do this afternoon. It's a bit hard adjusting to school year schedule, but it will get better after a few weeks. Still, with it being earlier than usual, and CD2, major cramps both tummy and back... I was proud to even get anything done today! LOL.

Warmup rbike 10

Squats 95x10; 135x6x3
w/ Ext's 90x10x3
w/ Calves - single leg bw - 10x3ea

Squats - feet together - 135x6x3
w/ Ext's - toes out - 90x10x3
w/ Calves - single leg bw - 10x3ea

Lying Side leg Raises- 25x20x3ea

Then 20 min ss on the rbike. Then pilates/abs.

And I'm done!! :)

I made those cauliflower "mashed potatoes" today that Kermane has in the recipe section. Well, without the butter, but they were still good!! Made me feel like I was getting some good carbs - mentally.

Now I'm off to vote in the primaries today. Then to go get Jake and we'll rent some movies for tonight. It's dark, rainy and stormy. Love that, but wish I could nap today and take advantage of the good nap weather. There's just no time today!

Have a terrific afternoon!

~Darcie

8/25/10: Back Day!
Had a blah workout this morning. I didn't really give it my all. Actually, I just didn't have much to give. I felt like I was getting an ear infection last night and I'm still a bit stuffy feeling on the left side today. It's STILL rainy and dreary out. And it's CD3. Put them all together and what do you get? Tired and run down. And back/shoulder/bi day always feels like it takes forever.

Back/Shoulder/Bi
wu 10 min rbike

BOBBR - 45x10, 65x8, 85x6x2, 65x8
w/ Lat Raises 15's x 8 x 3

One Arm Rows - 45x6x3ea
w/ DB Shoulder Press 15's x 12 x 3

Lat Pulls 55x8, 75x5x2 (actually these were negatives. this weight pulled me off the bench LOL)
w/ Rev Flyes 15's x 8 x 3

Front Plate Raises 25x8x3
w/ bi curls 15's x 10 x 3

15 min intervals on rbike
15 min pilates/abs

Then did some work. And I started packing away all of Jake's star wars toys. We were in his room the other day and I asked if he even played with it anymore and he said no and that I could pack it up. I can't tell you how much stuff there is in there. I've filled 4 big boxes and I'm not half way done. I hope Ted can find some more boxes to bring home today LOL. But it was kinda sad packing it all away too. Some things we haven't played with in years, but I can remember how much fun we had with them. Still, it is time to move on to a new stage. His room is going to be so empty though. He's actually excited to get one of the bookshelves free now so he has more places to put his books. He is like me in that way. We love books.

Weight was 119.6 today. i wasn't expecting that at all. I always sit at 120 forever so I was shocked to see something different. And I still haven't had a cookie :) Eats are good, but just the same old thing. You can't imagine how excited I am at my last meal of the day for my prot powder/pb mix LOL.

Gotta go pick up the kid. Catch you all later.

Oh, my sparkly clothes came. They are the best!

~Darcie

8/27/10: Another Tired Workout
Ugh, it was all I could do to get through the few exercises I had planned. Just so tired today. I went back to sleep this morning after Jake was at school. I didn't even get my first meal until noon - which is probably why I just feel weak and tired today. Anyway, here's what I did.

WU rbike 10 minutes

BP 45x10; 65x8; 75x6; 80x4
with Bench Dips 10x3

Inc BP 45x10; 65x6x3
with Tri Exts 15x10x3

Inc Flyes 20's x 6 x 3
with Tri pushdowns 25x10x3

Then just 12 minutes on the rbike with 4 intervals. I don't feel too bad about those. I did cardio every day this week.

Tonight I will do some resist band stuff for shoulders and maybe some light chest stuff. Tomorrow is leg day and I get more carbs, so that should help too. Then Sunday I'm totally off and I'm taking advantage of that and just resting. rest, rest, rest!

Alright, so I'm 2 weeks out! I'm getting really excited!!

~Darcie

Yep, More August Stuff!

8/17/10: Tuesday means LEG DAY.
I had to do legs early this morning so we could head over to Bok Tower Gardens for the afternoon. So here's how it went...

Legs & Shoulders/Bi's (didn't get my extra shoulders/bi's in last night)

Squats 95x10, 135x6x3
with
DB Shoulder Press 15's x 10 x 3
with
Abs 10x3

Squats Feet Together - 95x10, 135x6x3
with
Lat Raises 15's x 10 x 3
with
Abs 10 x 3

Deadlifts 135x6x2 (back started feeling tweaky after previous squats, so only 2 sets)
with
Front Raises 15's x 8 x 2
with
Abs 10 x 2

Leg Exts 90x10x3
with
Bi Curls 15's x 10 x 3
with
Abs 10x3

Then it was off to Bok. We were there for 2 hours, had lunch, walked the trail and grounds, hung out at the reflecting pond for a while. A nice relaxing afternoon. A photographer there took pics of Jake & I at the reflecting pond for a magazine he was doing a shoot for there. That'd be fun if they use them in the magazine. He said he'd send us a copy. That's the second time for us getting asked for photos. Last time we were at a park looking over a bridge to the river and a photographer from the local paper stopped us to take some photos for his story. I don't get the paper though so I don't know if we made it in there LOL.

Yesterday was back/shoulders/bi day. I did some compound stuff in the AM with plans to do isolation in the evening, but that didn't happen. A rainstorm rolled in and I got all lazy :) No sprints either. Gonna have to do those Wed. But what I did get in was:
BOBBR - 45x10x4
Lat Pulls 45x10x3
Cable Rows 45x10x4
Mil BB Press 45x10x4
BB Bi Curls 45x10x4
PM- Rev Flyes 15's x 10 x 2 - then the laziness kicked in.

I'm on low cardio this week. I talked to Michelle yesterday morning and she said I could keep building right now and not try to lose weight this week so yay! If you are going to do a competition you SO have to train with her. Even if you can write your own program, there's just a huge relief in knowing someone can guide you through all the way to the show, who knows what exactly to do and how to do it. And don't wait til the last minute to do it like I did :)

Last night I ordered some custom yoga pants, hoodie & tank top from a site called Custom Glam Girl. Oh my gosh! If you love sparkly stuff and rhinestones you'll love this. I had all of those items made with Team BuffMother on them. The hoodie is black with pink sparkly writing. The yoga pants and tank are black with the writing in rhinestones. I'm wearing them to the show. I think I'm going to be addicted to making my own stuff there. Hopefully they will be good items. I'll let you know.

Okay, gonna veg for the rest of the evening. Everyone keep up the great work on the 30 day challenge!

~Darcie

Oh, my suit came yesterday!

8/18/10:Rainy Day
I love rainy days, but they make me feel so lazy. After our errands this afternoon I came home and changed into my jammies to hang out and relax. I'll need to get some energy for sprints if it clears up. Only problem with sprints after rain is that the sidewalks that are under the trees out on the main road get slippery from mildew. I don't think it is going to let up though. That's my second day this week that sprints have been rained out. I guess I will at least need to do intervals tonight.

This morning was chest/tri's.
wu - rbike 10 min

BP - 45x10wu, 65x8, 75x6, 85x4x2
with Tri Kickbacks - 15's x 12 x 3
with Abs 10x4


Inc BP - 45x10, 65x8, 70x6x2
with Tri Exts - 20 x 12 x 3
with Abs 10x4

Flyes - 20's x 8 x 3
with Tri Pushdowns 25x10x3
with Abs 10x3

Weight is back down to 120.4. It keeps going up in down in a two pound range. I'm feeling good though and looking good so I'll ignore that for now. Of course my butt, hips and thighs are the most stubborn part and they don't seem to want to cooperate with the plans I have for them. Too bad! Compliance is not optional.

Eating is going great! I had my lindt truffle "cheat" today - ahhhh. I made it last a long time LOL.
M1 - oatmeal w/blueberries, eggs
M2 - salmon, green pepper
M3 - turkey, spinach, strawberries
lindt treat
M4 - tuna, brussel sprouts
M5 - some dessert-y type thing that isn't a REAL dessert but tastes like it LOL

I've been trying to come up with some creative bedtime snacks because I love sweet stuff at that time. Since I'm off bread and dairy for now the cottage cheese thing is out, and the yogurt thing is out. No cinnamon toast or pbj toast. The last 3 nights I've mixed canned pumpkin, prot powder, spices, 1/4 of a graham cracker and pecans together. Eh, it's okay. But I'm out of pumpkin now. I can probably do some applesauce thing. Peanut butter is calling my name though. Maybe some pb, pp & a little water to make it like brownie batter. & some peanuts. Well, i'll think of something.

Have a great evening. Oh, I think I see blue sky. Drat, sprints! LOL

~Darcie

8/20/10:Friday Already?
Wow this week flew by. Our last week of summer vacation. I am going to miss our lazy schedule. Now its back to school and packing lunch and snacks and getting clothes ready. Today I have to go pick up school supplies. LOL, I know, last minute huh? That's me. I do my best work last minute

So I just finished up my back/shoulders/bi's workout. I am currently boosting/buffing. Boosting my big moves, buffing the smaller ones, buffing eats, boosting cardio.

BOBBR's
65x10
85x6x3
with
DB Shoulder Press
15's x 12 x 4

Cable Rows
45x10
75x8
95x5x2
with
Front Raises
15's x 8 x 3

Lat Pulls
55x10
75x5x2
with
Lat Raises
15's x 8 x 3

Seated Calves
Single Leg -
45x10ea
90x10ea
Both Legs -
90x10
135x10
150x10
with
Seated Bi Curls
15's x 6 x 3

Donkey Calves, single leg
10x3ea
with
DB Curls
15's x 8 x 3
(saw my vein come up for a visit on these sets! )

How do calves fit into back/shoulders/bi's? LOL. They don't. But I they need some extra attention.

No sprints today. I'm not getting rained out this time, but my shins are sore from Wednesday's sprints. Normally I wouldn't do them that close together but the weather was uncooperative this week. Anyway, I'll do some intervals later and I'm going to do some pilates after since I skipped abs during the weights today.

Today's tasks are housework, school supply shopping and groceries. I need to restock. I'm getting to the point where I'm going to make bad choices since nothing sounds good.

Have a great weekend!

~Darcie

More August CatchUp

8/10/10: Legs, Legs, Legs
Got them done! I did my pilates this morning, but no extra am cardio today - yay! I'll do a little ss elliptical tonight.

Leg workout - PreExhaust SuperSets

Leg Ext's - 70x20x3
with
Squats (feet together) 115x10x3

Let Exts (toes out) - 70x20x3
with
Deadlifts - 135x8x3

Triple Burnout Circuit:
KB Swings 25x10
with
Step Ups 15's x 10
with
Walking Lunges 15's x 10
3 times through
Legs were TOAST!

Eats are great. I got to have my little lindt truffle cheat today - one a week! LOL. Lots of greens going down today.

I ordered a new comp suit. The other one was too small up top. I can't remember if I wrote this already? LOL. Anyway, it should be shipping out tomorrow, and is for my measurements instead of just guessing. I still got it through diva exchange for a great price. I'm only putting a few stones on it for a little extra bling, but not much.

Oh, and i ordered a GREAT video. If you are doing a comp for NPC and have never done one, I highly recommend it. It's called What Judges Are Looking For in Figure, Bikini, Women's Bodybuilding & Fitness, 2010. Lots of things like - don't try to flare out your arms on front pose - if you don't have the Vtaper they know it and you're not fooling them. And good stuff like that.

Ok, off to play some games and eat. It's a dreary rainy day. It's supposed to be that way the rest of the week. And I have to stay home for some package that's coming tomorrow, but only have to wait between the hours of 7am to 8pm - how nice of them to narrow it down like that. So convenient for me. LOL

Have a good one,

~Darcie

8/12/10: Summer Bowling Party
Today we had a summer party at the bowling alley. We invited all of Jake's class and about half could make it so that was fun. We did about 2 hours of that. Then we played some pool until all of the kids were picked up. It was a fun morning. I did not eat any of the pizza. I did however end up going a long time without food because I never had a chance to get out to the car to grab my salad. I was STARVING!!

I'm glad it was just cardio day because I didn't have to try to fit in a weight workout somewhere in there. Did 30 min on the rbike this morning and will do a walk through the neighborhood tonight. I keep pulling my groin muscle slightly every time we go bowling. I'm not sure why because I haven't changed my bowling style in 20 years. But I'm going to have to stay away for the next few weeks. i can't be down and out of commission at this time.

Yesterday was back/shoulders/bi's/cardio/some abs

AM - Pilates
40 min Ellip
Back:
BOBBR - 45x10, 65x10x3
Cable Rows - 45x12x3
Lat Pulls - 45x10, 55x10x2
Rev Flyes - 15's x 10 x 3
Single Arm Bent Over Rows - 25x6x3

PM -
Shoulders/Bi's:
DB Shoulder Press 20's x 8 x 4
Lat Raises 15's x 8 x 4
Front Raises 20 x 8 x 4
Bi Curls 20's x 5 then 15's x 5, 3 sets
RB Lat Raises Blue x 8, 10, 12
Ellip 30 min

Looks like alot, but just because I split it up. I like to split it so I can do some stuff quick in the AM, then we can go do stuff, then later at night I can finish up. I usually do big muscle moves in the AM and hit the auxillary stuff in the evening. Except that yesterday we didn't go anywhere at all LOL. We had to stay home and wait for that mysterious important package that required a signature. You know, the one they dropped at the front door without even ringing our doorbell and left and the only reason we knew it was there was because we heard the truck. And it was so important - a free game from MicroSoft since Ted did some survey's. LOL.

Eats are awesome! I am not tempted to eat the good (bad) stuff. I haven't completely eliminated everything yet because I'm still losing weight. Well, I'm not losing fast, and some days I am a slight bit higher, then drop again, but i'm leaner so who cares what the scale says. Anyway, this weekend I will probably cut my dairy down a bit....just a bit :) I'm slowly weaning off some things so it's not all at once. And I had to do a nice high cal day on leg day because I needed a jump start.

Alright, that's it for me. We've been having a Harry Potter movie marathon this week. I think the last one I had seen was number 3, so that's 3 new movies for me to watch (3 new movies to keep me occupied while I do the elliptical!)

~Darcie

8/15/10: Weekend Stuff
Let's see, last post was Thursday night so catching up...

Friday was chest/tri's. Just did a regular style workout, no supersets that day. I just wasn't up to it.
Did
bench 45x10, 65x10x3,
incline bench 45x10x3,
incline flyes 15's x 10 x 3,
resist band flyes blue & yellow x 10 x 3,
tri pushdowns 25x10x3,
tri exts 20x10x3
& bench dips 10x3.
Did I do cardio? I must have. Oh, yes right after lifting I went out and did sprints. 8 sprints in the hot FL afternoon. They felt a bit wimpy but I gave what I had. Did 2 miles total with the walking part between sprints.

Saturday was hams/glutes. I kept putting it off ALL DAY until about 7:30pm. Things just kept popping up - grocery shopping, playing computer games with Jake LOL. Anyway, I only got in 4 major exercises.

Sumo Squats 95x10x3
SLDL's 95x10x3
Booty Bulgarians 15's x 10 x 3 ea leg
Cable Pull Thru's 25x10x3
Calves between each set.

I don't know what it was - maybe because it was so late in the day or something - but after the booty bulgarians I was shaking. Not just my glutes and legs, but my arms too. It was like they got my whole nervous system. We went for a walk after my workout and I was so slow and sore already. I've done them with heavier weight so I'm not sure what was going on. My glutes are killing me today. Tried to do my booty lunges today and only got in 2 sets of 10 with the 15's.

Today was an off day. No cardio or weights (besides the lunges). It's also my day to drop bread and dairy for the next 4 weeks. I think I'll be fine. I've been weaning off them all week. And yesterday I had my high cal day, and some toast and milk for my last hurrah LOL. Eats are going great! Today I ended up with all greens and fruit for my carbs, weird.

Weight only dropped .4 pounds this week. All that extra cardio and stuff??? Bah. Whatever

Played with the tanner Friday night and it looked bad. Not sure if there was still some leftover of the spray stuff on me, but some areas would NOT accept the tanner at all and just rubbed off. Very blotchy looking too. And I've been exfoliating for 2 weeks now. Just not sure why it is being so stubborn, but I need to get it figured out soon. At this point I like the ultra 1 better than the hi-def, but I think I'd put on 2 coats of it. It sure covered way better. New suit shipped out yesterday so will get a few stones for it this week.

Ok, that's all that is going on here. Well besides a little "freak out" that I'm not going to be ready in time that hit me on Friday. Michelle reassured me I would be. I needed that.

Catch ya later.

~Darcie

So Far Behind!!!

Wow, I'm almost a month behind in posting my blogs here. Ok, well these next few posts will be more catch up posts.

8/6/10: All carb'd up, nowhere to go
That was me yesterday. I ate most of my carbs that morning knowing I'd be doing a longer cardio session, then we changed our plans for the day. So instead of 60 minutes of cardio it was to the bank; to the school; to the movies (Sorcerer's apprentice, fun!); to wal-mart; to the grocery store; to the video store. Too many errands!
So later yesterday evening I did 60 min elliptical while we watched a movie.
Today was back/shoulders/bi's. I did back this morning: Pre-exhaust supersets
warmup rbike 10 min
Bent over rev flyes 15's x 10
then resist band rev flyes blue x 10
w/ BOBBR's 50x10x3
w/ abs 10x3

Cable Rows 25x20; 35x20x2
w/ Lat Pulls 35x10, 55x10x2
w/ abs 10x3

Single Arm Rows
25x15, 12, 10
w/ abs 10x3

Then it was off to do sprints. I did 4 good sprints before I started feeling bad in my right foot. It was the feeling that said "you're about to get an avulsion fracture of the 5th metatarsal if you do one more sprint and you will be off your feet for almost 2 weeks" (yes my feelings are quite lengthy and wordy). So I walked the rest of the way home, which then took forever because I couldn't run LOL. And it is hot out there at noon!
Next I went out and weeded the garden for 10 minutes (did I mention the heat?)
Then it was off to pretend I was getting ready on comp morning so that took me a little over two hours to shower, shave, tan, hair, makeup, play with the bikini bite, pose for a while, etc.
Now I'm all pretty and tan and don't want to do the rest of my workout LOL. But it needs to be done. So I'll be heading off to do shoulders/bi's/(intervals -to make up for quitting earlier):
pre-exhaust shoulders
Lat raises __ x 20 x 3
w/ Mil BB Press 45x10x3

Front Raises ___ x 20 x 3
w/ DB Press 20's x 10 x 3

Bi Curls 15's x 10 x 3
Hammer Curls 15's x 10 x 3
Some extra bicep stuff with resistance bands.

Intervals on rbike.

OH, and JanTana FTW! The protan stuff sucked. I was barely tan, it splattered and ran down my body. The JanTana Ultra1 that you put on the morning of comp - it rocks. I am actually DARK right now. :)


8/7/10: No rest for the booty
My poor glutes have been sore since last Saturday! They just can't catch a break. Last Saturday was glutes/hams, then Monday they got killed with sprints, Tuesday was quads but squats always work those glutes, Thursday was walking lunges with a glute focus, and just when they thought they might recover it was more sprints on Friday, and today was hams/glutes again.

So, I worked my posterior chain today - I can already feel it so will I be mobile tomorrow? Lower back got some great work in too during the good mornings and cable pull throughs.

More pre-exhaust supersets: Glutes/Hams

Leg Curls 15 x 20 x 3
w/ Good Mornings 95x10x3
w/ Calves 20x3
w/ Abs 10x3

Cable Pull Thru's - 25x20x3
w/ RDL's 95x10x3
w/ Calves 20x3
w/ Abs 10x3

Booty Bulgarians - 15's x 5 x 3 ea leg
w/ Calves 20x3
w/ Abs 10x3


Yesterday I did not get in my other set of intervals to makeup for my lack of full sprints. And this morning I forgot to do my fasted cardio. Oops! Although I have been doing my pilates every morning. So tonight I'm thinking some intervals, then add some SS. But I'm feeling SO super lazy I can't make any promises on that.

Today was domestic day- laundry, dishes, Jake made yogurt, I made bread.

Eats are good! They've been good all week. Since today was legs it is my favorite day because... more carbs! That way I was actually able to eat a piece of the bread I made :)

Weight is good. I started the week Monday at 123.0 and today I was 121.6. Not sure how I'll end the week tomorrow because I tend to weigh a bit more after leg day. So I might go up. But it will drop right back down so it's all good.

Ok, was going to list eats this week but this post is getting long. Have a great evening!

~Darcie

8/9/10: RR is on fire today!
Wow, it is crazy busy in here today - lots of fun!

I am in the contest, but have a different workout schedule setup, so I'll be following along to my own little tune LOL.

Starting the week off GREAT! Today was chest/tri's/cardio/abs. I'm working twice as hard this week so lets hope I make it to Sunday :) . Weight is 122.0, looking to be in the 120.x range by Sunday.

AM fasted -
Pilates 20 min
Rbike 40 minutes, easy pace

Later AM - PreExhaust Supersets

DB Flyes - 15's x 20 x 3
w/ BP - 55x10x3

Resist Band Flyes - Blue & Yellow x 20 x3
w/ DBBP - 20's x 10 x 3

Around the Worlds - 5's x 10 x 3
w/ Pullovers 10 x 10 x 3

Then this evening I finished up with:

Tri Pushdowns - 25x10x3
w/ abs 10x3

Tri Exts - 20 x 10 x 3
w/ abs 10x3

Tri Kickbacks 15's x 10 x 3
w/ abs 10x3

Light Lat Raises - bluex10x2

And sprints outside. 8 sprints, total distance 2miles.

Eats were great at dinner out last night. Salad w/chicken, very little dressing. Saved up my carbs so I could have the croissant that comes with it :) . There must have been about 10 cups of mixed greens in that salad. I had the 2nd half at home as late night snack. Totally passed up the cake and appetizers. Today is great also. In fact it has been a perfect week of eats.

Hope you all are having a spectacular start to your week!

~Darcie