***We're In This Together*** (May 2013)

Jen
Sorry to hear about the stuff going on at work :(.

Sarah
I really like MMA Boxing too :).
I'm not really sure what will happen after BB is over. I'm kinda 50-50 on doing STS again or Nia's program. If I do STS again, it will be 5X/week strength + 1X cardio.

Colleen
However you decide to do BB, I don't think you will be disappointed. Obviously you can't do the program as designed, but I'm sure that's ok too. Doing this program has really changed my thoughts on lifting and cardio -- how I want to ultimately prioritize my exercise (lol cardio taking a back-seat;)). I think it's important to engage in exercise that we love and will continue to do, so for me that would be more strength-based. I see what lifting heavy is doing for my mind and my body, and I LOVE the results :).


So I am moving into week 6 of my rotation and I could not be happier with the changes in my body: more overall muscle definition, I'm stronger, my LB is leaning out a little bit, my confidence is soaring. Sagi is my go-to guy, just like Cathe is my go-to gal :D.

Gotta run to take Bella swimming and then it's Bulk Chest later on :eek:. Hoping to up my weight #'s!
 
Last night I was a bottomless pit.I was so hungry! I didnt loose it completely. But I did have popcorn, and a baked apple with honey and creme Frache'. Yesterday I also took a 2 mile walk with the dog and the hubby.

Nat - I am sitting here previewing BB : ) Sagi is super cute. I like that sometimes he is almost soft spoken. I really think I will start in 2 weeks. But I am nervous about feeling that bottomless pit feeling from lifting heavy. I think that was the problem yesterday because I went heavy with STS TB on Tues.

Jen - I'm sorry things aren't going more smoothly for you.

Today was STS TB. This time I did everything at my own speed. I went super heavy again. I still took breaks. I think this DVD has a dread factor just because she moves so fast. That is why I did my own thing. Next week is GS, thank god. The following is STS TB again, Uhg.

I might throw in some 100 rep challenges today too. Triceps and hip thrusts, hopefully.

Sarah
 
Hi everyone!

Yesterday w/o was Bulk Chest. I was determined to heavy-up :eek: and I think I did pretty well. I am def feeling it today :D.

Sarah
Can I reassure you and tell you not to worry about the hangries? (hunger+angry=hangries :D). The reason why you are hungry is because your muscles need the food to grow! From what I've read (over and over again) is that if you fuel that hunger with the right foods, your muscles will utilize them. So please don't fear! The benefits of lifting heavy weights, IMO, outweighs the hunger. The more muscles you have, the more you can eat, the more calories you burn. I'm eating more than I ever have in my life :eek:.
I've never been in love with STS TB. I don't feel it's as fun as High Reps and def not as effective as Muscle Max. There is basically no tricep work. Just dips? C'mon now! Anyway, my .02 :).
Oh and glad you like Sagi. He really makes me laugh sometimes, especially with his little montages at the beginning of each workout :D.

Colleen, Jen, Marie
Have a great weekend!
 
Hiya ladies!

So get this...yesterday I got this box that said Beachbody on it. I opened it up all excited and it turned out to be a box of Shakeology packets (12 strawberry and 12 chocolate). I was like "what the...", then just figured maybe it came with Body Beast and I didn't realize it? However, Body Beast wasn't in there. Soooo....I emailed Mary at Totalfitnessdvd who then informed me that apparently these shipping mistakes happen ALOT! :rolleyes: She contacted them and they'll be shipping out the dvds which should be here in 2-3 days. The upside is I guess I can keep the Shakeology stuff for free. :)

Today's planned workout is Tabatacise. I am really nervous for some reason...:confused:. Since I've been doing less cardio these past few weeks my endurance has decreased. Let's hope this one doesn't make me want to pass out today! LOL :eek:

Jen- I'm so sorry about the situation at work. :(

Sarah- which HoCo gave you the great oblique DOMS?

Natty- I do like STS TB but the thing about that one that bugs me is she moves as a lightening pace which I'm not crazy about when I'm lifting. :confused: She also warms up with the barbell, but I just do that with dumbells and it's all good. Muscle Max is awesome, though! :eek: That one definitely fries the triceps gooooood! :D

HI Marie! The pics of B on facebook are to die for! :eek:
Have a great Saturday girls!
 
Colleen - SCORE! You will have to let me know what you think of Shakeology. I have been trying to pick it up cheap to try it on Ebay but it just isn't cheap anywhere. I don't remember which one gave me such goood DOMS. Funny how soon I forget.

Nat - I need to do something have still am having major hangries. I am going to start BB next week. I will not go through another week of STS TB.

Yesterday I ended up not doing Hiit Double Wave. I just took a walk. But I managed to do it this morning : ) Hopefully I will take a walk too. I had to make cookies for my daughters piano recital. So I had to try them to make sure they were fit for strangers. Toffee cookies with a drizzle of chocolate then sprinkle with toasted pecans. They are a little too good : ( Hopefully there will be none left to bring home.

Hi Jen & Marie

Sarah
 
A very busy (and hot) w/e for us :cool:. Yesterday we went to the zoo. We all had a great time. Hopefully I can post some pics of Bella soon :). No w/o for me yesterday, except for the hours spent walking of course ;). Today we went walking to the park, and then stopped off at the ice cream shoppe. I had a new flavor which featured all different types of chocolate. It was heavenly!

Today's w/o was Bulk Legs BUT I must tell you guys a very crucial piece of info regarding my squats. It seems as though I have been overestimating my depth :eek:. I tried to gauge how low I was going using my high step and risers -- it seems as though my booty does not even touch the step...at get this...16inches :eek:. I then lowered it to 14inches and had a very difficult time touching the step with any weight at all. I am quite embarrassed TBH :(. In Legs and Glutes, Cathe touches her bum on the step with 5 risers (= to 14 inches). SO I have been 3/4'ing my damn squats all this time :mad:. All in all this means I need to get acclimated to the lower squat range while keeping good form, which equals to me severely lower my weight #'s :(. I want to make sure I get the full benefit of squats with a good range of depth/motion.
How low do you guys go? Can you please give me an estimate with step heights?

BB tomorrow for personals!!! Have a good evening :)

*ETA*
Well I must have done something right yesterday cuz' my LB is DOMS'ing hard today. I just want to ensure that I don't injure my knee's and back while attempting to go lower.

Sarah
Excited that you and Colleen will be doing BB with me!
Ohhh, those cookies sounded delish. I love cookies a little too much too ;).

Colleen
Sorry to hear about the BB mix-up :( but hey at least you scored some free Shakeology. Let me know how you like it! I would buy it if it was not so darn $$.
Even though I have been decreasing my cardio to 1X/week, my stamina has been the same. I think it's because the BB cardio is def one of the toughest I have ever done. Since you love planks and using weights to get the HR up (like AB) I think you will most def appreciate it.
 
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Hello Friends.

Happy Monday! : ) I have peace in my heart for leaving the workplace and I'm officially a Texan. I would've gotten bored very quickly there. Did contact an attorney for legal advice concerning the problems with the trainer. Made a friend out of it, a former classmate from my training group tracked me down.
Hope to start working out soon. Had a good interview Friday morning (last week). Applied to be an adjunct Prof at the local college for kids day.

Thanks for continual support. Texas is better but not always easy.


JT
 
Jen - I'm glad you feel like a "Texan". Also that you may have made a friend out of a poor experience. Sorry things didn't work out.

Nat - I'm not sure in inces how low I go because I only have just the 2 risers plus step. But what I do make sure of is that I go down so there is a approx. 90 - 110 degree angle. At least thats what I tell myself ; ) I agree on the Shakeology thing it just passes that mental mark that I have have in my head on how much things should cost.

Today's WO was a walk with GS Tris and chest. I worked it hard today!

Sarah
 
Just a very quick post :). I have the JM concert today! Now that I think of it, I hope this whole thing was not a waste of my money :confused:. I really wonder what she is going to talk about that will "Maximize My Life" lol ;). Since Mark is working and has the car, I'm hitching a ride w/my mom into Toronto early this morning with Bella and staying at my aunt's house until it's time for us to leave. I will be sleeping over at my aunt's, and won't be home until tomorrow afternoon, so I will post then.

Yesterday's w/o was Bulk Arms. I get a tad bit frustrated with Sagi in this one because he goes too fast in the reps :confused:. I can only lift/lower a heavy weight for tricep kickbacks so fast :mad:. I end up having to count my own reps, while he is counting at a different speed. Not cool :mad:. Can't really complain though because this w/o is very effective, regardless.

Have a great day everyone!
 
Nat - Do you guys have Panda Bears at your zoo? I think you will probably enjoy the Jillian concert. I find when that many people are together its very in powering. Yesterday on my walk it was so crowed and there were fisherman in the river too. But seeing all those people gave me a huge sense of community and gave me extra energy. I think its perfect timing to with being right in the middle of BB. It might just give you that extra little mental edge. I wanted to ask, although I think I probably know the answer. Your eating has been dialed in for a long time. Other than getting more protein, did you do any of the BB calorie consumption estimates? I know you are not one to listen to others "diets" : ) Thats what I like about you. You are so over the diets you to everything in moderation. I strive to be like this, but sometimes my OCD takes over ; ) I was excited about Nia's Book 10 Commandments for S and S Nutrition is free today.


Today's WO was Hiit 30/30 plus Ab ripper X. I also took a second walk last night with the hubby.


Sarah
 
Yikes! Long time no post :confused: Busy weekend contributed to that and then I had to go out of town yesterday for a CE meeting that lasted all. day. long. :(

Let's see, workouts... Saturday I did Tabatacise plus Core #1 which kicked my booty more than usual. I think my heart requires more cardio to keep up the capacity or else I lose it quick. Then again, my muscles are the same way and get squishy when I don't strength train regularly. :rolleyes: Sigh. Darn genetics! :mad:
I spent the rest of the day after my workout putting in our vegetable garden. Broccoli, butternut squash, green beans, radishes, cucumber, zucchini, jalapeno pepper and LOTS of tomato plants! Then we planted some asparagus by the house. Looking forward to that next year! :D While I did that, Mark set up the pool for the kids. We got a lot done but man, I was soooo tired! :eek:

Sunday I did To the Max: w/u, solid step and step tabata (18 min) + STS disc 6 legs (with my weighted vest at 21 lbs), going as heavy as I could with the dumbells considering the rep range for that disc (~15 reps usually). I skipped the two sections of wall squats (tough to do with the vest on), the calf raises at the end and bonus section. I started to do HoCo Feb 102 but 5 minutes in decided I was too pooped to continue. :eek:

After that, we went to visit Mark's grandpa in the hospital. He's not very close to him and we only usually see him twice a year if that, but regardless it was pretty sad. He is in hospice care from lung cancer. He'll be 87 in two weeks, but honestly we're not sure if he'll make it that long. :(

Monday I had the CE in the twin cities...driving 2 1/2 hours up there (sitting on my butt) and enduring 8 hours of CE (sitting on my butt) and then driving back (sitting some more). My tush was so numb from sitting and then it started to hurt. :mad: I hate sitting that long! I didn't even bring my fitbit with me...I had no desire to see that low number of steps!

Finally, today I did HoCo Bootcamp (stopping at 54 minutes due to time). Thanks for sending those back Sarah! :) I got them yesterday. Did you ever manage to do the Bootcamp one? I can't remember if you posted about it. One thing I did, and will probably do in the future with that one, is to keep many of the cardio moves low impact. Some I did as is, but others I modified by doing one of the moves from AOLIH or AB. Much easier on the joints that way!

Whew, sorry for the book there! :eek:

Natty- still no Body Beast. :( Hopefully later this week, though! Enjoy JM today! Hopefully she'll be inspiring and fun to listen to.

Jen- Good luck with the interviews this week. :)

Hi Marie! :D

TTYL girls!
 
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Sarah- LOVE the picture of the twins! cuties!

Had a blast in CO! We did so much....zoo, circus, swim lessons, hiking, storytime! Lots of fun! It was so cute to see the kids interact.

B is officially crawling. He is still slow at it though and in that awkward phase but soon enough he will be cruising.

I've been busy back at work. It's been crazy on the Geri Psych unit lately. I love it though. Lots of action. That being said though I'm excited to start my new position June 22.

I work evening shift the next 2 days so I'm hoping to catch up on personals if it's slow.

Hi to everyone! Keep up those workouts! I've been mostly into walking and yoga lately :)
 
Hey guys!

Checking in with Afterburn (express premix intervals 1-5, minus c/d) + LB Trisets (minus w/u). Ran out of time for hip thrusts, though. I may try to tack those on after my upper body weights tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see how I do, since normally I do those after an intense leg routine.

So, you guys know how much I adore the Fit and Feminist blog, right? I absolutely love Caitlin's writing style. She makes me laugh, while also being extremely clear and intelligent with her posts. Well, I loved this one from yesterday:
What happens when the pursuits of “skinny” and “strong” collide? | Fit and Feminist
It's interesting because I used to get so excited when I would hear people use that tagline...like I would think "finally people are starting to emphasize and idealize strength over being thin! How wonderful!" However, Caitlin is totally right in that the execution of that message has been not so great. I thought about posting this in OD, especially as a counterpoint to my last post on this topic, but TBH I am a little nervous. There has been some great conversations over on reddit about these topics (not just on the fitness subreddit but also 2xchromosomes and the feminism subreddits). However, after the debacle I had on VF trying to start that conversation and even the lukewarm reception I got on here, it is making me a little gunshy about starting this topic anymore. :confused: What do you guys think?

Natty- I tested out my squat depth for you today! Plus I was a little curious myself. I had on my weight vest (21 lbs) and two 20 lb dumbells and found I could go to about 12 inches without a problem. I even took out another riser to see if I could go deeper, and I could maybe to 11 inches but I found 10 was rough on my knees. TBH, I've always preferred lunges over traditional squats anyway. I just don't feel them in my glutes like I think I should (I feel them more in my quads). Now, OTOH, crossover dip squats, hover squats, plié squats, Bulgarian split squats...just about every other variation actually, is da bomb! :eek:

Marie- I'm so glad you had fun in CO! The yoga and walking must be so relaxing. :) It's definitely good to deload like that once in awhile! :D Are you still doing UY?

Hi Sarah and Jen! Gotta scoot. :) TTYL!
 
Colleen - My husband keeps asking me everday if you have tried your Shakeology yet. He is curious if you likey?

Sarah
 
I haven't tried it yet! I don't really know a lot about it. Is it really any different from other protein powders? When I opened the box I was like....oookay was this part of the Body Beast package? lol I was so confused! It sounds like BB finally shipped but they are estimating delivery to be May 28 :confused:. I mean, they shipped it yesterday supposedly...why would it take that long to get to me? Are they shipping from outer space? :rolleyes: I swear, I'm not that cranky about it, just getting a little impatient. ;)
 
Hi everyone!

Yesterday was the JM concert. Meh, it was ok. There were 3 sections: diet, exercise, self. The 1st half of the show was about diet & exercise. I was not really motivated by that part because I already love to make healthy food choices and exercise hard.
I get it -- you don't need to convince me Jillian. The part regarding "self" was interesting. Did I walk away motivated and inspired? No, not really. I think she focused too much on calories, "diet" rules, eat organic or else you will pump your body full of hormones and pesticides, what you absolutely should/should not eat or else YOU WILL DIE :rolleyes:. Although I appreciate the info (I know many people will absolutely find it beneficial if they eat McDonald's super-sized meals every day), and I understand the pro's of eating grass-fed beef as opposed to beef that has been genetically modified, but OTOH I don't want that "fear" to consume my life and food choices. I will pick my battles wisely, and leave the rest behind. I find people like Amber (Go Kaleo), Nia Shanks, Cathe, to be much more inspiring at this time in my life.

I got a haircut! It's a super short bob and I love it! Will post a pic a later :). BTW, my aunt and cousin made a reference that I am starting to get "Bane Arms". FYI- Bane is from Batman and he is super muscular. Not sure if I should consider this a compliment or an insult. I see that yes, my arms have some nice definition going on ;). I really don't give a hoot what they think because I love seeing strong muscles on me.

Colleen
I will read the article you posted! Thanks for the link :). You know what, don't bother starting a new thread on OD :confused:. I mean, you can if you want to, and I will support anything you have to share, but really what's the point?
OMG your squat depth is AMAZING. I was not inspired by that JM concert, but I'm sure as hell inspired by that! You humble me, woman :).
Great w/o's these past few days! I find that as long as I am doing 1 hiit cardio/week, my stamina is still good. I'm sure it would deteriorate if I was doing absolutely none, which I never intend to do. Once you do BB cardio, you'll see what I'm talking about :eek:.
Sorry to hear about Mark's grandpa :(. Lung Cancer is truly a sad way to go. I have had several family member die from it, including my grandfather at the young age of 53.

MArie
Glad to hear you trip went well :).
How cute that B is starting to crawl! He is, hands-down, the cutest baby in the world right now! Don't tell that to my cousin's though cuz' they have babies too ;).

Sarah
Ummm, let me think about how many cals I consume :confused:. I would say roughly 2,000 perhaps, give or take a couple of 100 up/down depending on the day, how active I have been, how hungry I am. I know I should probably be eating more :rolleyes: to obtain more muscle mass, I'm just never really hungrier than this (unless I have done cardio for some reason which spikes my appetite BIG TIME).
How did you like Nia's nutrition article?! I really think she is a rare gem in the health/fitness industry. I hope it's helpful to you :).
Regarding your squats, does your bum touch the step w/2 risers? I'm just trying to get a rough idea, since you guys are about the same height as me. Nia has a lot of youtube vids on how to progress and get to parallel. Would this be considered a 90 degree angle?

Have a great day ladies!
 
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From what I've read it's is different from others. But I don't believe the hype, necessarily. I was hoping it would taste better. A lot of people also say they don't take any vitamins on top of it. That it has some of that stuff with it, so its all in one, kind of. My hubby is doing the biggest loser at work and is doing really good. He stopped drinking carnation instant breakfast (40 grams of sugar) in the morning and has been drinking Beach Body protein Shake instead. He also unfortunately bought a Beach Body cleanse : ( I was so annoyed! Shakeology is is really expensive like 130 for the 30 day supply, ouch.

Sarah
 
Natty- Yeah, you're probably right. :confused: :( Honestly, it's the intellectual egghead in me that is loving exploring the sociological aspects of women's fitness and body image issues, especially from the feminist perspective. I've always been into women's studies stuff (I didn't major in it or anything, but flirted with some classes in college plus on my own). I never really thought about fitness as being a feminist issue until recently. I was never that fit or athletic before I got into the fitness dvds and especially Cathe, so as I got going with it and then started reading stuff online, I guess it was just a natural extension of my prior interests, you know? Then I found reddit, and oh man, the discussions on there are a lot of fun. Lots of awesome, kick a$$ feminists on there. ;) The thing I find relevant and fascinating is how the fitness and body image things seem to be evolving lately. It's a pretty exciting time, really (that's the optimist in me talking ;)). Of course, I've never had an eating disorder, weight problem or body dysmorphia personally, but as you know I've witnessed it with my own mother...so I suppose that makes the issues personal for me, too. :)
 
Hi everyone!

It's TTOTM for me :(. Yesterday's w/o was a half-hearted attempt at BB Cardio. I just was not in the mood at all. I felt kinda guilty this morning, so I wanted to make-up for it. I did TTM hiit 30/20 only. I did very well if I do say so myself :D. Tonight's w/o will be Bulk Back. Speaking of back and pull-ups, I have a feeling that it's much harder to do pull/chin-up's on the TT :confused:. Last week that the park, I knocked-out 2 chin-ups on the monkey bars, and yet I am finding it very difficult to do them at home :mad:. UGH, now I feel as though I must add a chin-up bar to my collection.

Colleen
I am also gravitating towards the feminist aspect of fitness these days. Maybe that's why I did not find JM very inspiring. A lot of her topics included diet, calories, being "fat" (she used that word a lot :rolleyes:). I bet if it was Nia Shanks up there, I would have have felt pumped up, motivated, ready to go home and kick some a**. To some degree, I felt let down by her discussion :(. Wanna hear something funny? During the intermission, people went out and bought coke to take back to their seats. I guess no one was listening when she said to avoid food with ingredients you can't pronounce LOL :D.

Have a great day ladies!
 
I guess I never did a real post yesterday. Oopsie.

Yesterday I walked in the morning then I did Hoco. Today I'm on tap for some Hardstrikes and GS Legs. I changed things up on the rotation in order to fit in the hoco. Yesterday I made Pad see ew. A Thai stir fry with chicken, egg, broccolini, and rice noodles. It was super good!

Colleen - I PM messaged you when I sent the DVD's back but again, user error. Sorry. Thanks again so much for letting me sample those. The video quality on the Hoco does take some getting used to. I also get a little confused on what leg or arm I previously worked. And some of her stuff I just look at and say "REALLy" in a very negative snotty voice. But it just doesn't look safe like when she is doing lunges with one leg elevated on the step and jumps on the single leg. But I just skip over those parts. I can'y deny the results I get from those in my core. I laughed when you said your muscles get squishy. Because my abs are the same way. Once again thanks so much!

I also loved the article you posted yesterday. It was awesome and I am not a big reader. But I laughed, learned, and got motivated.

Nat - I think Jillian is coming from a place that might be a little more negative and fear related about fat. Just because of her personal story. I get where you are at too in your life right now and its more about being stronger and not smaller.
Good for you for doing what your body could do. Cathe says that in one of the Cycling DVD's some day if your body only feels like doing 15 minutes thats ok. Some days you feel awesome and your not sure where you got tons energy and everything seems easy to you to push yourself on those days but not everyday has to be 100%. I probably slaughtered that, but thats what I took from it.
I have been looking everyday for exercise equipment on Craigslist. I really want a bench that I can use for presses but behind the bench is an area for squats too. Do I have room for this? probably no,but a girl can dream, right? I did decide to sell the TM. I have used it for about 6 years and really its just not my preferred way of exercising. A complete dread factor.
A 90 degree angle would be parrallel meaning your thighs run parallel to the floor.
Not a shock about the coke thing. In Nia's Nutrition book she talks about that mentality of starting on Monday or next month. She says start now, tomorrow at the latest, life will always get in the way.
Congrats on your "Bane" arms. You work hard for them. I just love me some muscley arms.
I too agree about the fear consuming ones life. There is a nice middle ground between the left wing anal eaters fitness enthusiasts and humans in Wall-E. I am one of those people that wants to do everything right the first time. But have found out fitness for me is in a constant state of learning and changing and trying to figure out my own path.

Sarah
 
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