big_bad_bod

Good News:
I haven't smoked since my last post
I've been doing sit-ups, push-ups, and jogging almost everyday for 2 weeks
I'm getting more stamina and endurance
For the most part I've been able to stay on a decent diet

Bad News:
Somehow I've gained back a good deal of the weight that I'd lost
I haven't been able to get rid of that weight

So what? I've got until june to lose 40 lbs or else I can't elist. Blah! I'm gonna go jog now.

So I got up this morning and said "I'm going to go jogging" then I checked my email, at breakfast, watched tv, checked lj, played some games, and about 7 this evening I got dressed and went jogging.

I didn't go far just once around the block but that's better than nothing. I jogged about halfway before the smoking caught up with me and I had to settle for walking at a faster than normal pace. It's been 9 days since I quit and I can totally feel the difference when I work out. It's still interfering with how I breath when I excercise (smoking + asthma = verge of death). But, at least I can feel the difference from a week a go and know that my body is healing.

So what I did today

Jog/walk around the block
35 sit-ups (improvment)
15 Push ups

Tomorrow I'm going to start hitting the weights again.

I haven't really done anything over the past week. A couple of times I did push ups and sit up but I haven't lifted any weights and I haven't gone walking. It's been 8 days since I last posted and I haven't had a single cigarette since. For alot of people quitting is very difficult, and there were a few times when I wanted to just go take a puff but once I decided I wasn't going to smoke at all or cheat I haven't really been all that tempted. I still think about it but it's not as bad as it was the first day. So, I think after 2 years I'll be able to quit smoking cold turkey.

In my other journal I've made a few posts about joining the military. Obviously, I'm way out of shape and in my current condition that's not possible. So, I'm modifying my fitness goal to reflect my long term goal of joining the Navy. These are the Navy fitness requirements for women between the ages of 20-24:

145 lbs maximum (for a 5'2 female)
58 Sit Ups
21 Push Ups
1.5 Mile Run in 14:15 mins
500 Yard Swim in 13:50 mins
450 M Swim in 13:05 mins

In my current condition
186 lbs.
30 sit ups
15 push ups

I don't have a pool so I can't practice my swimming but back in the day I was pretty good at it. I figure if I can get meet the neccessary time for the 1.5 mile I can probably meet the swim time so I'm not going to seek out a pool to practice in. Tomorrow morning I will start jogging which will probably be a lot easier since I quit smoking.

I only did the bench press tonight. This was partly out of laziness and partly out of feeling like crap. I'm not feeling bad like I was before but I did have a revelation. Smoking does not make me feel good. I smoked a cigarette before and after my "workout" and I realize it has a very negative effect on what I am physically capable of. Now, that seems like a given. Obviously being born sometime during the 20th century I've heard all of my life that smoking is bad. But, until now I really didn't care because I didn't do things with my body that smoking would interfere with. But, now that I actually have the desire to lose weight and be healthy I realize I cannot continue to smoke. So, I'm quitting. I'm going to try to go cold turkey and see how that turns out. And, I'll keep track of my success here in this journal. I'm also going to start walking tomorrow. I hate walking but I know it's a good way to lose weight, especially since I try to avoid walking long distances whenever possible. No matter what tomorrow I am going to at least walk around the block. It doesn't seem like much but it's a start.

Bench Press

Set 1
10 reps
60 lbs

Set 2
6 reps
60 lbs

Set 3
8 reps
60 lbs

That's pitiful. Goodbye cigarettes.

Today I worked on my lower body which I mostly hate. The only excercises for my legs I enjoy are the squat thrust, lunges, and deadlifts. I've done virtually no research on my quads and hamstrings because working on them is boring. As a result I'm probably going to end up one of those people with a giant upper body and toothpicks for legs. Unless, I can find some new excercises that I can do at home. In other news I can do girl push ups!


Warm-up= Lunges 30 reps

Lying Leg Curl
3 Sets
20 lbs (I need to add alot of weight)
10 Reps each leg

Leg Extension
3 Sets
20 lbs
10 Reps each leg

Deadlift
60 lbs
Set 1: 8 reps
Set 2: 7 reps
Set 3: 7 reps

I was talking to shadowwolff the other day about joining the WPFL. I've been thinking about it for a while but I never actually got up the guts to just go try out. So I'm thinking if I can get the $45 fee I might actually go for it this year.

I haven't been feeling so hot so I only did the bench press last night. At least I did something.

Set 1 2 3 4 5
Weight 60 60 60 60 60
Reps 5 5 7 8 8

( lady issues )

I have a bad habit. I do a lot of research. So much research in fact that I forget to actually begin/finish doing whatever I had planned to do. What I've been researching lately is the best way to increase the amount of weight I can lift. I've found two methods for increasing power.

The first method is a powerlifting cycle:

Week Sets Reps Intensity Rest
1 5 10 62% 3 Minutes
2 4 10 64% 3 Minutes
3 3 10 66% 3 Minutes
4 3 8 68% 3 Minutes
5 3 8 70% 3 Minutes

The percentages are how much of my max I'm supposed to lift for that week.


The second method is more common and called the pyramid:

Set Weight Reps
Warm-Up Light 8
1 Low 10
2 Medium 8
3 Max 3

The idea behind the second method is that you shouldn't immediately be able to complete all the reps in each set. When you do have enough power to complete all of the reps in the set you are ready to increase the max amount of weight. The difference between the two is that with the powerlifter cycle the lifter is probably already lifting a lot of weight, so they don't expect huge increases immidiately. The pyramid cycle is something I've heard about on weightlifting forums from a typical gym goer (as opposed to a competitive weight lifter). However, most typical gym goers don't know the difference between fitness myths and fitness realitites. I think I'm going to try the pyramid for three weeks with the bench press and the deadlift. If I am able to increase my max I'll stick with it (cause I'm definitely not a powerlifter). I also think I'll use more excercises that don't use any weights. Speaking of excercises that don't use weight I was almost able to do a pushup without my stomach feeling like it was going to rip apart. So maybe tomorrow I'll be able to start doing push ups and sit ups again.

A few days before I started this lj I decided to try doing the Barbell Ab Rollout and I totally fucked up my stomach. I didn't even know it was possible to fuck up your stomach. I only did about 2 of them and afterwards I felt like I had done a few thousand sit ups. I didn't hurt too badly at first but over the next day it was getting alot worse to the point were it hurt just to sit down. My abs aren't really hurting anymore when I go through normal motions like sitting down or standing up straight. This morning I got up and decided to try doing some push ups and I just collapsed before I even got both hands on the ground. My abs are so torn up I can't even hold myself up. Then I tried to replace sit ups with the air bike and lifted my leg up a few inches before I realized I'm gonna need to rest my abs for a long time before I even think about using them for anything other than keeping my waist warm. Gosh, I've only been doing the work out thing for a week and I'm already injured.

Workout summary 01/01/05

Benchpress
set 1 - 10 reps
set 2 - 10 reps
set 3 - 10 reps
set 4 - 07 reps
set 5 - 08 reps
Weight - 60 lbs

Military Press
5 sets
60 lbs
10 reps each

sit-ups
none

push ups
none

I think for now I'm going to focus on endurance instead of how much I can lift. Or maybe I'll switch things up and do endurance some days and power on other days. I'll have to look up the most effective way to combine the two.

So I've decided this year I want to get healthy. So for X-mas I got a weight bench and for the year of 2006 I plan on getting myself a body I can be really happy with. As a frame of reference here are some pictures of me now:







Hopefully, I'll be able to replace my old camera in a few months and start posting pics if I look any different.


Current State

1) 186 lbs. (yucky!)

2) Bench press 80 lbs

3) Deadlift Max Unknown, Squat Thrust Max 105 lbs.

4) Currently avoiding running/jogging/walking long distances like the plague

5) 30 Sit ups without stopping

6) 15 Push ups without stopping

I think this means I'm in pretty shoddy shape :(

Fitness Goals for 2006

1) Lose about 50 lbs.

2) Increase my Bench Press to 130 lbs

3) Be able to Deadlift or Squat 150

4) Be able to run a mile a day at least 5 days a week

5) Be able to do at least 100 sit ups without stopping

6) Be able to do at least 100 push ups without stopping

Oh gosh, I'm so ambitious. I really don't have any idea whether it's possible to go from a couch-potato/gaming master to Fitness Freddy in a single year, but I'm going to give it a shot. I really enjoy lifting weights and I think by setting goals like 2 and 3 for myself I will be able to stay motivated. Unfortunately, I hate running and I'm a student so if I have class at 9 am I'm not going to want to wake up at 6 am for a jog. I know running actually getting out of the house and using my feet to take me from Point A to Point B and back again is going to be difficult. Hopefully, though, having this journal (and using it) will keep me going.