Push It

[mini-natty]

Hope everyone had a great w/e

My w/o today was BB Build Shoulder's + 2hrs spent outside walking and at the park. So balmy out . I was able to increase my weights on some exercises today! Really happy about that . Also, I am FINALLY starting to notice more shoulder definition . I just knew I needed 1 dedicated w/o to fully concentrate on shoulder's! I love the way Sagi works them.

Yesterday was a rest day, but I did some walking outside. I also found a nice barefoot walking video by Jessica Smith on youtube. Bella and I did it together and it was so nice .

Jennifer
Congrats on the muscle definition! That's amazing! Do you think it's specifically from Brett's program? How many days/week do you slot in cardio now?
Glad to hear your shoulder is feeling better btw .

Bye bye for now ladies!

 

[heartymax]

Toni---glad you are enjoying STS ! I have never done the 5 month rotation. It's hard for me to stay focused to get through the 3.5 month.

Jennifer--take care of that shoulder.

TMJ--I can imagine how stressful things are watching your colleagues get laid off.

I overslept on Friday so didn't workout. Today I did Chest, Biceps And Shoulders disc 7.

 

[atompki1]

Hello all. I've had a fabulous weekend. No kids so DH and I have just been milling around doing not much of anything Love these types of weekend!!

Friday was STS D3 Legs. My hip flexor is still a little strained, but I was able to do the workout. I added some rest between moves to make sure I was ready for the next move. Also on the last set of squats I dropped my weights totally about half way though. It wasn't hurting, but at that point I was starting to feel the fact that it was strained and I didn't want to take any chances of making things worse. Doing the squats with no weights removed all the strain I was feeling. And since that was the last weighted move it was all good. The leg conditioning drills didn't bother the hip flexer at all. I was even able to get through most of them which I was surprised about because my legs felt totally wiped out at that point!! I think I only missed 4 reps on each side. Even thought my weights were not incredibly high for the workout I definately felt it the next day(and even some today , which is two days later).

Saturday is my standard rest day and today was STS Med Ball abs(no partner moves) + Afterburn. I still feel some strain in my hip flexor so there will be no HC this week. I modified AB and removed all the plank work with ab work that didn't involve the hip flexor. I still feel like I got an awesome cardio/ab workout!! And my cardio capacity was awesome...no rest during the workout today

HeartyMax
I think I'm looking forward to the 5 month rotation. And I'm hoping it will keep me busy and help me not feel the need to make any other big fitness purchases

Tasha
STS and XTrain are both split body work aren't they? I know BB is also, but I wasn't sure if that was somehow different in terms of split work. I don't mind splits, but I do find that they leave me less time to do other things. There are only so many days in a week and I always want to make sure I am well rested for the next day. I think if I were to get BB I would need to follow their rotation so that I did get the proper amount to rest. My only hesitation in terms of BB is that I have no goal to build lots of muscle mass. And that is specifically what the program is designed to do. And fat loose is always a goal of mine, which is not what the program is designed to do either. But I am really intrigued by the difference in the rep counts for the moves and the way they are performed. Plus it's always good to change stuff up....we shall see

Jennifer
Thanks for the details. The way the moves are put together sounds really interesting.

 

[heartymax]

Toni---sounds like you and DH had fun.

I did 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical before going to church. Sunday is normally my rest day but I decided to make sure I at least get in 5 workouts this week. I'm hoping for 6 though. DH just previewed disc 1 of STS thinking he may be interested in trying it and Cathe started out with push ups. He looked at me and said "you do all those pushups". I was cracking up. Of course not darling, I just do whatever number I can.

 

[Jenniferlove]

Happy Sunday!

I didn't end up with Burnsets this weekend after all... Saturday was glute workout C followed by Hard Strikes which included the shoulder drills and also had some bi's/tri's in there. Plus, workout C was also hard on my arms/lats so I felt like it was a good start to an upper body workout.

This morning Gym Styles Chest/Triceps (minus the pushups) followed by Slide and Glide.

This may be the start of splitting the upper body work for me - we will see!

I'm really not sure what's on tap for tomorrow but based on my indulgent weekend it will have to include a hard cardio. Actually I'm thinking Athletic Training since it's not really a strength workout, or I may do Cycle Max/Ride. After all, I will have to be on Glutes Tuesday and Wednesday.

It has been a great weekend; lots of fun Saturday and today which includes two days of decadent drinks and food. We celebrated my friend's birthday Saturday night with some martinis and dinner; today we went to the baseball game. We even went to church before the game... one can get a lot done when the dog wakes up at 5am

It is kind of ironic - last night and today. The restaurant we went to ended up going out of business so we had to go somewhere else to eat; then today the Cardinals lost and it was cold -- it was supposed to be in the 60s and sunny but it stayed in the 50s and was cloudy. BUT we had row F! That is 6 rows from the field. Comfortable, cushion seats I've never been so close to the field before. Her boss is a season ticket holder and gave her the tickets for today. We had such a great time. And at least she got a free bobble head. And she did see the Happy Birthday Ellen post on the board at the game which we arranged a few days ago; she was thrilled

Tash,
That's so awesome about your shoulders! Increasing weight and noticing definition is SO rewarding. I couldn't be more happy for you

The barefoot walking with Bella sounds adorable!

Glad you had some nice, balmy weather. Enjoy some for me! Actually, if the weather people are right (which, seems like they never are anymore) we may be in for a couple days of warmth... right before it goes back into the 50s.

As far as my muscle and cardio... I went from doing 4-5 cardios which also includes circuits such as cardio leg blast, afterburn, to the max, etc. to only 3 straight cardios the last couple weeks such as Ride, AOLIH, 40/20. I do think that the glute muscle is from Bret's program. He said that some people will see results quickly while others won't. He also says that strength/hypertrophy early in the program is easy but continuing to see more and more progress and hypertrophy will become more difficult which makes so much sense.

I'll go on to tell you that the walking lunges which will strengthen your forearms will also work (very hard) the muscles in the tops of the feet! I used my feet and abs to stabilize myself during the walking lunges and the tops of my feet into my shins were sore for a couple days.

Oh; 30# dumbbells - one in each hand - for deadlifts. 3 sets x 20. That'll get your forearms These were in Workout C and my forearms were burning!

I miss Cathe's XT legs; I may just have to go ahead and at least do the barre portion and the hamstring ball roll-ins. I'll have to figure out the best place to throw those in. I don't want to spend *all* my time on lower body, though, and that is becoming the challenge. But where there's a will there's a way I will just have to work out longer and wake up earlier when I can. On the other hand I trust Bret's program... it's just that I'm used to doing those other things and some of those other things are not in Bret's program.

Toni,
Sorry to hear about your hip flexor; glad to hear it's doing better and that you still were able to do a nice workout.

Having time with just you and DH sounds nice. I hope you two are making progress. Does he workout? Does he like your spin bike?

Workout A was what I told you before, then the day after that was workout C: Glute bridge, goblet squat, Romanian dead lifts, and then the awesome cable hip rotations.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be workout A again followed by Workout B which is single leg glute bridges, walking lunges, back extensions and leg lifts.

So overall I guess it's a split lower body workout; split over 4 days with slightly different exercises.

Heartymax,
Chest/Bi's/Shoulders sounds good. I used to think Chest/Triceps were perfect together since they work together on so much but I guess separating them allows for greater strength gains.

Have a great evening!

 

[heartymax]

Jennifer---Biceps, Shoulders and Triceps is my favorite combination. I guess that's because I don't like working the back and chest.

Today's working out was Back and Triceps. I don't have good form on cross body kickbacks so I did double arm overhead extensions for the drop sets at the end.

DS15 recently joined the multi-media ministry at church and he really likes it. His dad has been a part of that ministry for several years and DS has talked about joining an finally did. Yesterday, was his 2nd time working and he really likes it. He has been ushering for many years and it is nice to see him join another ministry.

 

[mini-natty]

Hi everyone

I hope you all had a lovely w/e. Yesterday we went to a beach/park 30min north of us called Heritage Park, which is in a city called Barrie. Once there walked up and down the lakeshore and boardwalk. Bella played with the sand on the beach and had a blast dipping her feet in the cold water . It was a gorgeous day .

My w/o (in addition to hours of walking of course ) was BB Build Legs. I broke out my 20lbs vest and upped my weight #'s considerably from last week. Mark got his 30lbs dumbbell's from his buddy, so I was really stoked on using them for this w/o . Let me tell ya, it was really hard to do 80lbs squats (30lbsx2+vest) using such heavy dumbbell's! I think I could go much heavier had I had access to a squat rack . I also love to use my barbell for squats, but there is just no way I can hoist 50lbs+ more over my head. The limitations of working out at home frustrates me sometimes .

Toni
Regarding BB and fat loss, the program will definitely allow you to lose fat (if that is your fitness goal -- nutrition playing a critical role). If you Google Body Beast for women (pics), or even youtube vids where women have done the program, they will tell you that their body fat % decreased. Women of all ages have had success with weight loss, several inches lost, and look AMAZING . Very inspiring . To answer the question about the split work, STS only requires 3 days whereas BB requires 5 days + 1 cardio/week. It was definitely a bit out of my comfort zone to do it this way, but my body has responded tremendously .

Jennifer
I'm sorry to hear that the Cardinals lost . Your night sounded lovely despite the loss though! How cool of you to arrange for a happy b-day message on the board .
Glad you had a nice time with good drinks and food this w/e . You deserve it! Does 1 of your doggies always wake up at 5am? Is it for a walk to go to the bathroom?
I have also thought about adding some floor/barre work here and there BUT I'm not going to! I want to see what kind of results I get specifically from doing BB and only BB [as I sit on the couch in extreme LB DOMS ].
Can I admit something? I don't miss the cardio AT ALL . And congrats on using 30lbs for deadlifts! Holy crap that is AMAZING .


Have a good one ladies!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning ladies! No workouts to report on Saturday or Sunday my dad came up from an expected visit and it kinda threw off the schedule a bit. Friday was Pyramid lower body. My neighbor used her barbell for the first time. She did really well with it.

Bring your child to work day was a lot of fun for the kids. It did get really crazy in the afternoon but we made it through it.

This is Tyler's last week with the amazing substitute teacher. I am absolutely dreading the return of his regular teacher next week.

Toni
Sorry to hear that your hip flexor is giving you trouble. I think it was smart to take it easy before any injury took place.

That's nice that you and DH has great kid free weekend! Did you guys stay at home or did you go out and have some fun out on the town?

Jennifer
Baseball games are so much fun! Those sound awesome seats too! Were they behind home plate? The Yankees are coming to town to play the Rockies next week and we are going with my cousin and his girlfriend. Our seats are going to be in the nosebleed section but it will still be a blast! My cousin is really goofy and fun so I'm really looking forward to it!

Dinner and drinks ALWAYS sound good btw!

Oh, I forgot to mention that it DID snow here again last week! Can you believe it? We haven't had much of a spring at all.

Natasha
I haven't tried out the POW recipes yet. So much to do and so little time!!! I love hearing to BB stories! I am still on the fence about doing it as designed or making some mods to the rotation.

How do you like your 20lb vest? Does it have the weighted sand bags? I think I read somewhere that they were breaking a lot on people. Do they seem sturdy to you?

HeartyMax
Is the son that is doing the ministry the same one that was working at the animal shelter? Did he decide the ministry was another fit.

 

[atompki1]

Today was STS D2 Back & Bi. I've decided I'm definitely going with the 5 month rotation, so I'm repeating W1. I'm really glad I did. I feel much more confident in the workout this week. One thing I can say for sure is that I feel like the Leg and the Back workout really work my back Holding the weights for all the leg moves really works my back and lats. This actually is a good thing for me because I would like to work on both of those. So feeling like I get a second day for them is nice

I pulled out my foam roller yesterday and holy cow I had no idea how knotted and tight my legs were. I'm sure that has a lot to do with why I strained my hip flexor. I felt immediately better after foam rolling. I could just move and feel the muscle lengthen a lot more. I want to spin so badly tomorrow, but I'm not going to. My hip flexor is just about to the point where I feel no strain at all and I want to wait until that feeling is completely gone before I spin again. It's really important that I stay healthy right now. I've paid a lot of money to go hiking in seven weeks and I do not want to be injured.

I'm playing around with new smoothies in the Vitamix. I made a beet, orange, banana, and kale smoothie yesterday. I'm totally surprised but it was really good. I will definitely make that one again. I really like the spinach and pineapple smoothie, but it seem to mess with my stomach so I wanted to try something different.

Stacie
Maybe the regular teacher will be more relaxed now that she's been off for a bit. Keeping fingers crossed.

Tasha
I was thinking last week that I need to get a vest. I can't lift that much over my head either and I do not like holding the heavy dumbbells. Just a complete forearm killer. Not to mention my wrist. I'll be looking at those this weekend for sure.

HeartyMax
Nice to see your son enjoying more activities. Kids need to stay busy. I recently had a conversation with my son and told him he needs to pick another activity or I'm going to pick one for him. He's bored and getting on his and my nerves Next year this time he will be doing track, so it won't be as bad.

Jennifer
Let me know what you think of split UB work

 

[Jenniferlove]

Good evening, everybody.
Just finished dinner - asparagus and chicken breast. Followed by a glass of chocolate milk, of course

Afterburn was this morning - just had to do it. I laid off some of the squats/lunges during the shoulder/biceps work and concentrated only on the upper body weight work since tomorrow is back to Glute workout A. Well, after Afterburn I decided to pop in Xtrain Legs so I could do some barre work and then went ahead with the ball/hamstring roll ins. Yep, my thighs are feeling it already - which is partially from yesterday's Slide and Glide I believe - and the pushups reminded me of the GS Chest/Triceps I did yesterday. Yep - big time DOMS in my chest; not feeling it too much in my triceps but definitely a little.

Now that I think about it, Hard Strikes/Shoulders, GS Triceps/Chest, then Afterburn Shoulders/Biceps -- all on consecutive days - I'm diggin' that!

Toni,
I can relate - that's exactly what my glute workout has been doing... working my back... and forearms and feet extensors/stabilizers; it is actually great; a nice time saver on an upper body day, right?! I did enjoy the little split upper body variation

Glad you're *enjoying* your foam roller - it is a miracle worker, isn't it?!

Nice job on the smoothie! It is awesome to do something so great for the body, and it's even better when the taste buds agree.

Tash,
Sounds like an absolutely beautiful day you had at the beach! How did Bella enjoy the barefoot walk workout, by the way? And as for the Cardinals, thanks, yes, it was a bummer getting slammed 9-zip. Sigh. We stayed until the very end, though; after all, one can hope!

I hear ya', I would love a Smith machine. Sounds like several of us are in that boat - not being able to hoist an extreme amount of weight for a barbell squat without one. Your vest sounds like a great solution! Oh, and thank you I think 30#x2 is the perfect weight; I don't think my forearms can take any more than that for 3 sets of 20.

It is funny that you mentioned wanting to see what results you'd get from only BB. I thought about that exact same thing with the Glutes program... butt (hehe) obviously I decided to just go ahead and add some Cathe to the mix. Also, I am not missing the cardio, either! Not really, anyway. I definitely don't feel like it's as important to do *as often* as the heavy weights.

Whisper is the one (was there any doubt?!) who wakes up early; he's been used to Craig's 4:10am schedule for so long and eating breakfast at 5 that he can't break it. Craig's job hours changed a couple months ago but Whisper's belly hasn't! He does have to go to the bathroom - he doesn't hold it as long as he used to - but I think his stomach is what wakes him up; he loves his meal times. He really is a nice alarm clock - especially when I wake up to his adorable eyes staring at me. Could do without his hot breath, though! And it does help get me out of bed.

Heartymax,
I am happy for your son, and you; with him going into such an honorable field at such a young age. that's awesome

Those cross body kickbacks are HARD! I had to lighten up on those for sure!

Stacie,
How fun to have a silly cousin to go to the baseball game with!

Very cool on PLB and that your neighbor was able to use her barbell for the first time! Glad to hear it went well!

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the old teacher is feeling better when she gets back to teaching. I probably would mention to her how well Tyler did with the other teacher and that hopefully his motivation and interest will be maintained. Well, maybe that wouldn't be the right thing to say - but I think I would have to say *something* to just to let her know how well Tyler was doing in her absence.

I hope you don't have anymore snow!

Good night!

 

[heartymax]

Stacie---yes, it is my oldest son that is doing the volunteer work at the animal shelter and at church. I hope things continue to go smoothly for your son in spite of the teacher's return. Who knows----maybe her medical condition is what had her so cranky. When will Tyler get out of school? My boys have 7 weeks left. We have started the county down.

Toni---I want my son to develop more interest because as we know when teenagers get bored they do stupid stuff. At least I know my son does. His mind doesn't seem to function well when he has too much idle time. I wish he would have run track this spring, but he decided not too.

Jennifer---I don't think I could add on anything following Afterburn. I see you have been posting before me lately. Are you getting up earlier or are you just posting early in the mornings now. I try to start my workout between 4:45 and 5:00.

Tasha----I bet you are going to have some amazing results. Are you saying that the program requires 6 days a week (5 BB and 1 cardio only)? Wow---that would definitely be an adjustment.

Today's workout was Intensity Step and Hiit Lo premix.

 

[mini-natty]

G'morning ladies

Yesterday's w/o was a 30min Jessica Smith power walk from youtube (I really like her btw. She has so many on-line w/o's and they're FREE: jessicasmithtv's channel - YouTube) + BB Tempo Chest & Tri's. My entire body is DOMS'ing hard right now. Today will be a rest day.

Heartymax
Yes, 5 days weight training + 1 day cardio. TBH, I have never seen such rapid results. I'm already starting to notice more muscle definition overall. My stomach is flatter and the lines on my obliques are starting to show. Apparently, doing *too much* cardio can hinder muscle growth. When I do STS again (perhaps after BB ), I will try the same technique (1 hiit cardio/week).
How nice of your DS to join the multi-media ministry at church .

Jennifer
Do you have chocolate milk every day as your recovery drink? I hear so much conflicting information about it (of course ).
While doing BB Tempo Chest & Tri's, I was thinking of you. Remember how you said that you did not like all the rest in S&H? Well Tempo is the same concept as S&H, except minimal rest. OMG the super-sets with kickbacks and dips had me crying like a baby . Add in plank work and dear lordy .
Sorry to hear about Whisper waking you guys up . He sounds super cute though .
What I'm noticing in particular from adhering to the rotation, is that I'm making progress in my weight #'s very easily. I can def see an improvement in my performance as well.

Toni
How is your hip flexor today?
Repeating weeks in STS is a very good idea btw .
I like my vest, but TBH I don't use it very often . I get hot very easily and it irritates me to take it on/off during certain exercises (dead-lifts). But you gotta do what you gotta do to challenge yourself .

Stacie
Yes, my vest has the sandbags. No problems so far (knock on wood!).
Now that I'm 1 w/o away from completing the Build Phase, I will strongly encourage you to do the program as designed. Trust me, Beast Cardio and Build Legs will get your HR up sky high (if you are worried about not getting enough cardio). All I'm doing is walking several miles every day, along with the 1 cardio/week, and I've lost weight! (not intentionally). You will be amazed at how fast your muscles respond with this program. I veered out of my comfort zone for this one, and I'm so happy that I did .


Have a rockin' day ladies!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning ladies! Last night was PUB upper body. We are repeating last week's schedule since we missed so many days. Anyone else have any sore hands the next day after doing weights? It might be that the weights plus the slight carpal tunnel I have from my job that is causing it.

How many of you use a barbell pad? I was thinking about getting another one so my neighbor can use one but I started reading online that barbell pads are not good. The two main reasons is that it encourages bad form and that it can throw off your balance with really heavy weights. A lot of people were saying that if the barbell is in the right place for squats and etc there isn't any pain. I'm pretty certain though that recall Cathe and her crew using them in the STS squat rack discs.

Jennifer
Asparagus and chicken is one of my favorite meals! Nice follow up with the chocolate milk as well.

Can you believe it is supposed to snow AGAIN tomorrow? Today the temperature is supposed to be in the low 71's and then it's going to drop into the 30's tomorrow. 4-6 inches of new snow is the current forecast. This has definitely been a strange spring!

Natasha
Thanks for the BB advice. I think we might just do it as planned...well...maybe some spinning in there now and then. My neighbor isn't too happy about stopping cardio. I keep trying to tell her that weight training actually burns more calories overall than cardio does. I don't know if she can do the BB cardio -- I was planning on subbing in some of the metabolic conditioning workouts that I have.

HeartyMax
That's nice that DS is going to be doing both things! There is some truth in that phrase about idle hands!

Toni
I didn't realize your trip was coming up so quickly! I don't blame you for want to be a good as new for it.

When you make your smoothies do you use fresh fruit or frozen fruit? I have been finding that I actually kinda like using the frozen fruit better. They seem to come out sweeter for some reason.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[atompki1]

Hello all!! I so badly wanted to spin today(I'm totally hooked ), but I was good and I did KPC instead. Love, love, love that workout!! There was actually a lot of hip flexor work. How I was unaware of this is beyond me But my hip flexor was fine. I felt some twinges here and there toward the end of the high impact section. But the last lower impact session didn't bother me at all. I'll make sure my Thursday cardio session is lower in impact. Maybe Rhythmic step.

So I am happy to report that as of April 1st I have stopped drinking all pop or anything besides water Well I still have my tea in the morning when I'm at work. No intention of giving that up. I do still have my smoothies, but that's actually to get some extra veggies in Other than that it's water all day long. And I do make an effort to make sure I get quite a bit of water a day. I'm quite pleased with myself. I have also stopped eating anything processed. Everything is from scratch now. My kids love the new cooking I feel really good and my cellulite is reducing. Can't wait to see what another month of this brings

Stacie
I haven't found the need to buy a barbell pad. Maybe I'm not lifting heavy enough for it to matter?

I've used both frozen and fresh. Frozen may be better because they only freeze better tasting fruit? Fresh is certainly hit or miss at times.

Tasha
Hip flexer is better today. I'd say I'm at about 90%. Just some slight twinges still when it gets to the point of being fatigued. I've been making sure to stop and rest when I get to that point. And every other day is an off day for legs this week Well except tomorrow when I plan to do a bit of extra glute work in for the week

HeartyMax
I totally agree about boys doing stupid stuff when bored!! Kids need to be kept busy for sure. Plus it expands their world

 

[Jenniferlove]

This morning was glute workout A followed by core. Tomorrow will be gw B and who knows what; I'm still sore from GS Chest/Triceps!

Heartymax,
Intensity Step and Low HiiT combined are one of my favorite workouts.
As for my posting lately it's been in the evening; too funny I do start working out pretty early; as early as 4:45 but sometimes as late at 6. On the late days I have to work later and I get stuck in more traffic - yuck. Lately I've been trying harder to keep the red-eye schedule so I can pack in more exercises along with the Glute program.

Tash,
The smoothie (made with frozen fruit) is my recovery drink; the chocolate milk after dinner is my dessert I use Ovaltine in case that makes any difference. I figure at least I'm getting some vitamins/minerals in addition to the sugar Seriously, now there are contradicting studies about chocolate milk as a recovery drink? I've not heard about that. I guess because of the sugar? Speaking of, do you think the hard weight work is motivating you to stick to the protein drink instead of having the chips at night?

That is so cool about your muscles and strength! I remember you posting before about BB's Chest/Triceps, and the fact that you have to do planks after that workout out is A-MAZING

No worries about Whisper - except on the weekends Does Bella wake up early?

Stacie,
I've read that frozen fruit and veggies are *more* healthy because they are frozen at their freshest point of being picked. That explains why it tastes better, and you are right - sometimes the strawberries and peaches are just not good. At all.

I love my barbell pad; I only bought it so I could do hip thrusts and glute bridges but I also think it's more comfortable for squats. It was less than $20 at Sports Authority. I think it's better to be comfortable while working out than simply not use the barbell because it's uncomfortable.

How did PUB go? I love that workout. You may already know this but it is fairly new information for me - the premixes are great when you're short on time.

You are KIDDING me - snow again, and 4-6? Wow! So much for global warming; I'm actually starting to wonder if it's just a shift in seasons... warm winters, cold springs.

Toni,
Glad your hip is feeling better. And I'm very happy for you regarding your body's response to your dedication! A big 'ol High Five! I used to hate water; what I discovered over a year or so ago is that ice water is awesome

Dinner's ready; left over spaghetti. I'll skip the cheese and have jalapeno Greek yogurt on it instead. Later, ladies!

 

[heartymax]

DH has been on the elliptical lately and said that he wanted something else to do. I finally convinced him to try a Cathe strength training workout. A couple of days ago, He asked to preview something and I suggested a Meso 1 since it has the guys in it an dis more "manly". Well---I think all those push ups scared him away. He asked again yesterday so i decided to put him Xtrain Burn Sets Biceps and Triceps. It has guys, short and not a lot of equipment. DH needs to work on his form a bit and he was very funny during the workout. He was determined not to let Cathe out do him, but I think he realized my workouts are not cheesy also. He was making all kind o faces by the time he got to the Total Failure sets.... I told him that he will get better if he keeps at it. Anyway, today is DH bday so we will grab dinner this evening.

Toni---sounds like you have found a new love in spinning Glad you are enjoying that new bike.

Stacie---I have the old FIRM barbell and it is padded and I like it. Maybe because that is all I know since it's the first barbell that I have ever owned.

Today's workout was Meso 1 Disc 9. I remember aching for days after this workout my first round of STS.

 

[mini-natty]

Hello ladies

Yesterday was my rest day...rest from exercising to a video of course . I was in desperate need of veggies so Bella and I walked to a grocery store to pick up some. The walk there/back equals to approx. 5 miles . It was such a lovely day .

I wanted to share this awesome blog article with you guys:
Why You Should Say NO to The Skinny Rules & YES to Being Awesome » Nia Shanks
I seriously love this woman. Hope you all enjoy it!

Jennifer
Yuppers, I've been taking Casein before bed. Holy smokes is it every tasty . I add a little bit of coconut milk w/ 1/2 scoop in a bowl and it tastes like a whipped cream icing .
I've been eying Ovaltine for some time, actually. I think I will pick up a jar on my next grocery trip.
Bella wakes around 6am, which is fine by me because I like to go to bed early anyway .

Heartymax
For some reason I find men are more motivated by an exercise vid if they see men in it . I always told my DH that Cathe could probably lift more than some men in his gym .

Stacie
I have not heard about the barbell pad thing . IDC, I really love mine! I don't feel it compromises form in the slightest. And maybe that's with really heavy weights. I can't hoist more than 50lbs over my head -- people can squat in the 100's and beyond. Maybe that's when the pad can cause problems.
PUB always makes my hands super sore the next day!

Toni
Congrats on your amazing progress of not drinking pop and making foods from scratch! That's fantastic .

Have a great day everyone

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning everyone! Last night was part of JM's BFBM. We stopped early because we started the workout late and my head was absolutely killing me. Luckily, I headed straight to bed afterwards and today my headache seems to have gone away. I was super proud of my neighbor though. For the first time, she did the mountain climbers and the burpees!!!!

I am having an issue with one of my neighbors. They keep throwing down food from their balcony. I think it's to feed the rabbits (like they need it -- there is grass everywhere). Not only is it gross since sometimes the food stays there until it rots but it is encouraging the mice to stick around as well. I tried to talked to them about it and the wife was really nice. She said they would stop. Well, I'll be damned if the very next day I didn't go outside to find lettuce leaves strewn about. I plan on turning them into the office because I don't know what to do at this point. Sometimes apartment life really bites!

Toni
I bet it's not that you aren't lifting heavy enough with the barbell but more that you have found the sweet spot for it.

Great job on the new eating changes! It's hard to go unprocessed so it's everywhere! I would say we eat clean probably 85-90% of the time. It definitely does cause way more cooking. I'm glad the kids are liking the change!

Jennifer
That makes complete sense about why the frozen fruit taste so much better. I have had some that wasn't near as flavorful as the fresh ones. For instance, the frozen blueberries I have been using in my smoothie are not nearly as good as fresh ones. It could be brand or season dependent as well.

I knew about the PUB premixes but I have never done them. There is something empowering about lifting weights. I don't know what it is but I feel so strong and alive after those workouts. I hardly ever do a premix on weights because of that -- I relish my lifting time. Cardio is a totally different thing though -- premixes rule for that unless it's a super fun step workout!

HeartyMax
That barbell sounds super nice! Did you used to do Firm videos? I have heard good things about some of them. I actually picked up a cheap Firm DVD at Marshalls for a little over $3 last weekend.

Natasha
I hadn't heard about the barbell pad either until just a couple days ago. Here are some of the postings I read...most of them were just from joe shmo lifter so I don't know what someone with a degree in exercise physiology would say.

What's wrong with using barbell pads during squats? - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Barbell pad for back squats,who does and doesnt - CrossFit Discussion Board

The walk to the store sounds so nice! I miss living downtown sometimes but it was much easier to take those nice long walks. The area I live in now is nice but it's definitely not walking friend unless you stick to the bike trails but they don't really go anywhere to keep traffic away from them.

Have a great day ladies! I attached a picture of the current view from the office. I hope we get at least a little bit of Spring before Summer comes!

 

[mini-natty]

WOW, Stacie what's up with that weather? YUCK. Are you sure you don't live in Canada? . Well, not to rub it in but we've been having balmy temps -- borderline summer weather. Not complaining though! I love it .

Yesterday was my LAST w/o of the BB Build Phase: Tempo Back & Bi's. I was successfully able to do 1 full unassisted pull-up and increase my #'s for bi's. I'm patting myself on the back for that one . Speaking of pull-ups on my TT, I have a feeling that a chin-up bar would be more effective for some reason. It just feels awkward to do pull-ups on the tower . I remember last year I did about 2 pull-ups on the monkey bars and it just felt different -- easier in some respects. Can anyone else compare pull/chin-ups on the TT vs a real chin-up bar?

Stacie
I would have definitely reported that behavior to the office. Not only is it disrespectful, but it's gross . Hope that issue get's resolved.
Thanks for the links to the articles. I found them to be very helpful. I like how they called it a p**** pad LOL .
I hope you get a sign of spring soon! Snow in April totally sucks .
COngrats on your neighbor doing mt.climbers and burpee's!

HAve a lovely day ladies

 

[Jenniferlove]

Good morning; I'm about to hit some weights downstairs. This is not a glute day.

Last night at the gym I got offered a job; the Yoga teacher is out on maternity leave and the manager can't find a sub for the duration. When she saw me after Ripped class she asked me to fill the class. I can teach Pilates but not yoga (imagine that) - she told me that would be fine and I start Wednesday (6:30 time slot). I'll get $30/class plus free gym membership. This will eventually give me an opportunity to bring low-impact/high-intensity to the gym; lots of people really need it and I can bring it Cathe-style The REALLY funny thing is that I had JUST decided that I was ready to start teaching/helping people again and was thinking about contacting the church to see if they were interested in exercise classes - and then opportunity walked right up to me. I'm out of practice so I will be busy this weekend brushing up on my skills.

Heartymax,
This time it is morning and I logged on; I'm about to workout

Tash,
I thought about what you said about BB; it's like S&H (style) but without all the rest. I will end up buying it sooner than I thought... probably a few months instead of next year since now I have no membership fee plus an additional $120/month.

I will have to check out the article you posted - thanks!
Awesome about the coconut milk and Casein powder!

Stacie,
So sorry to see the snow report on the news! All I can say is hopefully it will warm up and melt really soon!

Sorry to hear about the trouble with the neighbors; good luck with that. When I lived in an apartment my neighbors down the hall used to let their dog poop all over the back commons and never picked it up. One day I stepped in some and started looking around at ALL the piles of it. I definitely called the manager who promptly posted a note and I never had that problem again. I hope you have the same results!

Kudos to your neighbor; so glad your headache is gone and you were able to get some sleep.

Is Tyler nervous about his old teacher coming back?

Gotta hit it - have an awesome day!