Define yourself Phase starts week after next!!

Yes next week is my last full week of Base Phase workouts. I'm dying to start the define yourself phase but I know I'm still building strength to get to that phase. I'm very excited to start chin ups and T push ups! Supposedly BPA (my new company!) has a gym - with classes even!!! - so I'm anxious to check it out and see if I can do my workouts at work! What a perk!!!

Hell, if they have a microphone/sound system maybe I'll even teach TK. Hahahah.

Saturday/Tuesday A/B

Yes yes, I've been a little lazy about blogging. A lot has been happening in my life including getting a new job - HOORAY!! I've still been working out but I just haven't been blogging it.

Saturday morning, I did workout A. I'm really excited about workout A because I can REALLY see gains in strength. For instance, when I started just a few weeks ago, I could barely squeeze out 8 incline push ups and the 3rd set was just totally impossible. Now I am up to 12 reps, 3 sets. Sure the 3rd set is still really hard but I CAN get through it. Also, I'm starting to finally memorize that damned long warm up and it's only taking me 10 minutes to get through it - shortening my workout in time which is really good especially in the mornings.

Stats for workout A:

Step up: 12 lbs in each hand

Three point row: 15 lbs

Bent over reverse fly: 5 lbs

Tuesday (yesterday) I did workout B IN THE EVENING. I know! First evening workout. It was actually ok - I did skip the upright squats though. :/

Lateral raise with external rotation: 8 lbs.

Single leg Romanian dead lift: 12.5 lbs.

Single arm cable row: 20 lbs.

Split lunge: 10 lbs. <- OUCH OUCH OUCH

Double arm row: 80 lbs.

Workout B - aka quivering leg workout

Hey, yes it's been a little while. I was going to do a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday workout schedule this week and then I skipped Tuesday because I woke up that morning with a really raw throat and didn't want to push it. I felt better later in the day and ended up doing Round 39 in my living room.

I rested yesterday so today I was ready to kick some ASS! And I kicked my own! HA!

So here's the rundown (3 sets of 12 of all):

Rotation with a medicine ball: 6 lbs

Static cobra: 90 seconds

Upright squat: lat pulldown bar

Lateral raise with external rotation: 7.5 lbs

Single leg Romanian deadlift: 12 lbs

Single arm row: 16 lbs

Split lunge: 10 lbs for 2 sets and then 5 lbs for final set

Double arm row: 70 lbs

I'll be doing workout A Saturday morning and TK on Sunday night. That's the plan for the rest of the week!

Workout A - by my lonesome

I did workout A on Saturday morning, all by my lonesome. Boo hoo for me.

I increased the weight on the step up to 12 lbs in each hand.

The row to 12 lbs.

The reverse fly to 5 lbs.

Doing 3 sets of 12 incline push ups is STILL really hard for me. I did 2 sets of 12 and then could only squeeze out 8 in my last set.

In other news, just back from Sunday night turbo ass-kicking. Round 39 KICKS MY BUTT!!! I love it! Got really deep in my lunge - roundhouse and it would have been perfect but the girl next to me was getting sort of peeved that we were too close to each other. Crowded class - what can you do but work around it, right??

I might do Tues-Thurs-Sat this coming week for my lifting schedule. Waking up at 5:30am on a Monday is freaking brutal and I think I might seriously need a rest day after really pushing it during round 39 tonight.

Base Phase Workout B - first time with Jourdan

Today was the first time Jourdan attempted Workout B. In deference to her, I only did 2 sets of 10 of each exercise. And she didn't use any weights with any of the non-pulley exercises.

My stats for today:

Medicine ball static rotation: 6 lbs (2 sets of 10)

Static cobra hold: 90 seconds (2 sets)

Upright squat: bar only (2 sets of 12)

Lateral raise with external rotation: 6 lbs. (2 sets of 12)

Single leg single arm deadlift: 12 lbs (2 sets of 12)

Single arm lat pull down: 20 lbs (2 sets of 12)

Split lunge: 1 set @ 5 lbs, 1 set @ 10 lbs, 12 reps each weight

Split stance row: 50 lbs (2 sets of 12)

Lastly, suffered once AGAIN from not reading the book carefully. I will be doing Base phase alternating workouts A and B for FOUR weeks. Not two. So this is week two starting today. Will be doing Round 39 tomorrow, downtown 24!!!

Tuesday - rest day-ish

So yes workout A was yesterday. I am sore but not in the same places as I was last time I did workout A. Strange, huh? My upper body is pretty sore - chest, lats. My legs are kicking it. That's good though since I know workout B tomorrow will thrash my legs. However, next time I do workout A I will add even more weight to the step up. I thought I felt a serious burn but I can do more!

Tonight, I am going to preview Round 39 which came in the mail yesterday!! And then I'm going to go out with my dear friend Wendy who I haven't seen in far far far too long.

I'm starting to see some muscles popping out maybe A LITTLE BIT!

Base Phase Workout A - second time around

Getting up at 5:30am on Monday morning is ROUGH. SUPER rough. This time, I mixed up my protein shake and brought it with me to the gym. What I put in my shake:

Soy milk

Smoothie fruit blend (strawberries, mango, pineapple)

Banana

Sun Warrior Rice Protein Powder (chocolate)

I'm totally won over by the smoothie. 100%. Delicious and nutritious!

6am is STILL a crowded time at the gym! Good thing workout A can all be done in my own little corner.

I increased my weight on the step up to 8 lbs in each hand. I love the step up!!

I kept my row weight at 10 lbs and increased my reverse fly from body weight to 3 lbs.

I did 3 sets of 10 on every move.

Can't wait to do workout B for the first time with Jourdan on Wednesday morning!!

Base phase workout B - AKA ASS KICKER

OK so I thought base phase workout A was reasonable when I was first doing it and was surprised by how sore I was after. Well, base phase workout B was extremely tough (on an already sore body to boot) so now I'm REALLY scared to see how I'll feel tomorrow, the next day, and possibly even the next day.

I was on my own working out today so I really blasted through the warm up - finished it in 10 minutes flat but by the end of it I was winded and already sweating bullets. Um maybe I should have gone slower? Anyway, workout b starts with 100% core work. First your abs/obliques are blasted and then she makes you hold a static cobra pose for 60 - 90 seconds. Sound easy? IT IS NOT! I, of course, went for all 3 sets and and did the hold for 90 seconds. Have I ever heard of pacing myself?

The next set was an overhead squat. She suggests using a wooden dowel for your first time but I couldn't find one to save my life (the trainers have them hidden, I think) so I actually improvised and used an unused lat pull-down bar. Keeping my arms straight through the full squat motion was seriously tough, as was squatting so LOW. By the end of 10 reps I was making the scrunchy face. Then it was on to lateral raises with an external rotation. I did these with 6 lb'ers. Every time I did the external rotation my left shoulder went crunch. Poor shoulder - I tore my rotator cuff in that shoulder years ago and it's never been right since.

Next set - single leg, single arm Romanian deadlifts. I actually LOVE these. Basically, you stand on one leg (say your right leg) and you hold a weight in your opposite hand (left hand.) Then you hinge forward lowering the weight to your standing foot. HELLO balance and also HELLO glutes. YOW! But I love these. I'm much better standing on my right leg than I am on my left. I did these holding a 10 lb weight. Also in this set - a split stance cable single arm lat pullover. I did this with the lowest weight setting - 20 lbs. This got really hard when I got to the 3rd set. I was having a difficult time getting a full range of motion and also resisting the weight on the way up as well.

LAST SET. At this point I was feeling like a wrung out rag but I was almost done. Bulgarian split squat. My first set, I was overly ambitious and tried these with 5 lbs in each hand. Not so with my other set. These HURT BADLY after wrecking your legs earlier. Split stance cable row - these were too easy with 20 lbs so I increased to 40 lbs. I probably could have done more but frankly, I was just ready to blast through and finish.

I'm drinking my rice protein shake and recovering while writing this post. I do 2 more workouts of A and B before I move on. I don't know if I'm loopy but I SWEAR I notice a difference already. Swear. Hopefully I'll be able to say bye bye to muffin top, wobbly arms, and back fat after 16 weeks.

Ow!!!!

Holy cow, I am SUPER sore from what I thought was a "reasonable" workout yesterday. My shoulders and hamstrings are super sore and I don't even know I was working those muscles!

I also realized last night that I did the workout WRONG. Why? Because I didn't READ THE BOOK. DOH! I was wondering what the whole 1A 1B numbering was in the workouts. Turns out, you're supposed to group those together as a set with no rest between exercises. Ooooooh.

So tomorrow, Jourdan and I will be tackling Base Phase workout B doing it the right way. I did a cursory look at the workout and I'm excited for the Bulgarian Split Lunge (where you do a lunge with your back leg up on a bench.)

Also, due to Jenn's prodding, I went out and bought some rice protein and a shaker. Why the hell not? It's just a drink. I hope my body understands what it is I'm trying to feed it but if so many people say it's important then I suppose I'll believe them. At least Rachel Cosgrove really emphasizes having that post workout shake be your ONLY non-real food item in any given day.

Oh I will be SKIPPING turbo today. I know, I know. I am so sore I really feel like I need a full day of recovery before taking on tomorrow's 6am workout.

And for those who think that vegans don't get enough protein to build muscle, prepare to be amazed.

Base Phase Workout B tomorrow!

Day #1 - Base Phase

I got up at the serious crack of dawn this morning - 5:30am, fed the dog, changed into my gym clothes, had a Lara Bar, filled up my water bottle and headed out the door to meet Jourdan. The gym was CROWDED. Hello - I had to park on the roof! Jourdan swears it's usually never that crowded at 6am and everyone must have had the same idea as me.

So base phase is pretty easy. It's kind of drag to bring a book to the gym and keep referencing back to it but hopefully I'll memorize things soon. The warm up is almost a work out all by itself. Even with having to look at the book all the time, the warm up took about 20 minutes. After I memorize it I can see it only taking 15, easily.

The actual workout is pretty basic and for the most part only uses body weight as a way to get the average non-strength focused person ready to lift heavy. I like that she doesn't go bonkers at the beginning and try to slaughter you. I thought it was a VERY reasonable first workout. I might be sore tomorrow. I can't really tell yet - it generally takes a lot to make me sore. For this first round, I did 2 sets of 10 on most exercises though I did 3 sets on the ab ball exercise and on the bent over rows. Next time (Friday) I might add some weight to the step up (a FAVORITE exercise of mine!) and increase to doing 3 sets of 10 on all exercises.

The partial contraction lunge with hands on inside of knee and on glute were killer. I was so excited to see those in the base phase as that was a HUGE part of my physical therapy for my knee. I also really love her emphasis on foam rolling and stretching. That alone keep most anyone injury free.

I did NOT have a post workout shake. Maybe I'm being obstinate but protein shakes just aren't real food. I'd rather have something real. I DID have a post workout delicious breakfast of oatmeal, soy milk, and a sliced up banana. DELICIOUS!

Oh and I rode my bike to work today. Hey, it's my transpo! And it's only - what - 20 minutes each way and lots of stops for lights and stop signs. I'm on the fence for turbo tomorrow. I feel like I should maybe (???) lay off the cardio classes for at least a couple of weeks? I don't know - opinions?? I know Jenn will do HIIT but I still feel like maybe for the sake of the experiment I should not go? I don't know. It's fun dammit!

Oh I should probably list some starting statistics too.

So according to my scale (I'm just using this as a relativity thing for comparison's sake):

My height: 5'5" 1/2

My starting weight: 135

My starting body fat %: 32.6 (WHA???? I think my scale is broken but at least I know where I start)

I'd LOVE to be at 22% body fat. I sort of can't imagine what life would be like there.

Day 1, complete!

Starting the female body breakthrough tomorrow

My turbo kick friends Jenn and Ashley have both been talking about this book, The Female Body Breakthrough, and today I went to Powell's and snagged the last copy they had on the shelf. I admit that I go through major workout phases - I used to HATE cardio and only lift weights. Now I'm very cardio heavy with taking Turbo kick classes and step class and the only weights I do are in Power Sculpt class where the amount of sheer repetition forces me to use no more than 2 lb weights. I'm never going to get ANYWHERE lifting 2 lb baby weights!

So I'm going to give this Female Body Breakthrough a try. My plan is to get up early on M/W/F and lift weights according to Rachel Cosgrove's recommendations. Tue/Sat, I will have rest days and Th/Sun I will take cardio with Jenn where she will probably do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training.)

A few caveats:

1. Other than eating before I workout, I will not be following Rachel's nutrition plan. The whole low carb day high carb day approved foods list will not work for me for so many reasons. I eat extremely healthily and don't see any problem with continuing to eat the way I do. I do eat every 4 hours and drink tons of water already. I think everyone should at least do that and I do that already. Varying protein sources won't really work for me either since as a vegan, I get my protein either from tofu or beans. Also, on the protein tip, I don't drink protein shakes. So my experience following Rachel's advice will definitely be a MODIFIED experience.

2. I am not going to stop doing cardio. I don't care what she says! It's fun! And I think it's part of an active lifestyle. If it's not helping me change my body - and I can say for a fact that I don't think it is at all! - then that's fine but I'm still going to do it just because I like it.

I'm excited to start this. I'm doing it with my friend Jourdan who is still clinging to her daily cardio but is willing to lift with me 3 days a week, if for only part of the time. And who knows, maybe she'll see such killer results she'll be won over to lifting! All I know is: I've been doing the same thing for a long long time and I always look the same. I don't think there's anything WRONG with the way my body looks. But there are definitely trouble zones that I wouldn't mind toning up and geez with how hard I work I should be rewarded with a total hard body.

Looking forward to starting this tomorrow at 6am with Jourdan!