Welcome to Week Two! I know a lot of you are taking free meal or free day today but I thought about Erik's advice in his "good luck" thread (the most recent post) and I think a daily checkin, workout and food is a good idea.
Today I worked out at 5 am!!!! I am not doing Free Meal/Free Day today because I started on Tuesday AND I think that with my wacky schedule it is best to leave Free Meal/Free Day as a necessity and not a planned event. I'm going to use it as an absolute contingency plan (though I plan my meals pretty well so I don't foresee a lot of "emergencies") but interviewing starts next week and last year I remember a group of very tired and cranky law students eating after interviewing days. So I might have a meal or two out in the next few weeks. Still, my goal is to exercise it only in great emergencies or I just NEED it (rather than want it).
Today I did a full UBWO. I'd like to split it but haven't figured out how yet. I did chest press and flyes and then I needed the cable apparatus for the back exercises and the gym rat guys were all over it. I went over anyway and TWO WOMEN followed me. The guys scattered (they "hang out" there more than anything else)
Then I did shoulders, tris and bis. I was exhausted by the time I got to bis so I would like to split it up.
The yoga class was cancelled so I came home but I should have done a swim or something (not that I had my bathing suit with me) but I'd like to capitalize on how quiet the gym is at that time and have some stuff to myself.
I don't know what the upside or downside is to doing weights two days in a row (I plan to do cardio 2 days in a row too) but I'd like to utilize the weekend gym for weights so that is how I'm going to do it for now. I don't really see any problem with it, but if anyone has a comment (good or bad) please let me know. Thanks!
Right now I'm having a berry blast mrp with udos and frozen strawberries. I took a multivitamin, glutamine and CLA with it.
Feeling good. I love this camp thing. I feel so committed.
Day #7 is going well. Did cardio this morning before meal #1 and I'm off to the gym in just a few minutes for my bi/tri/ab workout. My gym doesn't open until 10am on sundays which means I can't get in my weight workout before meal #1 ;-( I took a partial free day on Friday (chinese takeout and cookies for dinner), and particiapted in the American Heart Association's Heart Walk on Saturday (5K) - was a great cardio workout. The trail had great hills. I'm really feeling those hanstrings this morning!
susan: is skinnydippping not permitted at your gym? I usually lift weighs on both Saturday and Sunday as well. I enjoy my weekend workouts because I'm not pushed for time and the gym is nice and quiet, so I feel as though my workouts are much better on the weekends than they are during the week.
Tomorrow will be the first time in a year trying something substantially different from plain BFL. I was going to join you all just with BFL and some moderation in free days, but progress has stalled -- it's time for a change.
Brian and I will be doing something similar to Camp Pam Brown, but with modifications to fit our eating tastes and exercise schedule. We'll see if it's enough to give us a jump start.
My goals include:
100% nutrition.
100% water.
Hit 10s in lifting (I'm not really doing that now).
Better effort in Cardio.
Moderate free days/meals.
18% bodyfat by New Year, 20% or lower by end of C3FC.
Do pushups on my toes in TKD class.
Pullup on assist level 5 (I do it on 8 now).
Well today is day ummmmm..... day 2 of week 2 for me. I lose track of the days after a while. I had a great back/bis workout with sprints after it yesterday and quads/abs this morning. I plan on taking the dogs for a run this evening before my classes.
My free day was great. I had a slight craving for sugar but got over it fairly quickly. I had some pizza, popcorn and a lebanese chicken kebab. I kept up with my water though so I didn't have a carb hangover the next day. Hubby and I watched some DVD's on Saturday night and it was nice to relax with him. We are so busy all the time that we don't get much time to relax. Sunday was cooking and cleaning day. All in all it was a fairly great weekend. I had loads of sleep because I had forgotten how tired I get on this program.
Susan: I am doing weights every day with one day a week rest. It's a different sort of routine though than BFL based on Pam's original training for her first comp. It's split into 2 bodyparts a day. If you want me to give you details let me know and I will post it. Today's was
quad/abs - 3 sets 15 reps of leg press, 3 sets of 15 reps of leg extension and the same of barbell squats. Then 3 sets of 15 crunches, leg raises and incline situps. I take a 30 second to 1 minute rest between sets and this takes me about 30 minutes to complete. The weights are about the same as a 6 or 7 level on BFL so that the last reps of each bodypart are difficult but not impossible. It's not meant to push the limits it is meant to fatigue the muscle. It's great when you are doing more cardio than normal because it works you without totally wearing you out. Basically it's a fatburning tool.
wcolleen: skinnydipping huh?
Carrie: great goals there!
MrsJim: You are always full of little gem sayings! I love it!
Hubby told me last night that he thinks that everytime he sees me I look like I have lost more weight. Wait until he sees the next few weeks progress!
I had my free meal and dessert on Thursday night...ravioli with homemade spaghetti sauce, garlic bread and then some ice cream at the local stand before they close for the season. It was so sweet that I could only eat a little bit of it!
I jumped on the scale today...I'm down six pounds this week. I know that it's all water though, as I can put on six-ten pounds in one free day, so it's not all that surprising. My jeans are much looser though and my arms and abs are a lot tighter so those two things have me sure I'm heading in the right direction.
I hit the gym early this morning, 7:30am, I had the entire place to myself the whole hour I was there. It was wonderful! I like to do my barbell squats in peace and quiet...there is a trainer at my gym who insists that doing them will make my butt and quads big and I'm to the point where I avoid him at all costs. He sees my results too, the fact that lifting heavy has not made me bigger AT ALL, and he still refuses to listen to reason. Drives me crazy!!
Not sure when I'm taking my free meal this week. There's a new Mexican restaurant in town that I'm dying to try and I'm also craving a Hershey's bar for some reason or another (I have been watching candy shows on Food Network again), so I think I'm going to have one of them. One free meal a week is HARD, nice to know that I can do it though.
Sounds like you're all doing really well! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend.
Susanje--I don't see any problem lifting two days in a row as long as you're not working the same muscles two days in a row. There are plenty of ways to split up your UB too, there's no way I could go back to doing it like straight BFL--I would tire out my shoulders and arms before I even got done with my chest exercises.
I'm off to sleep ladies, have a great Monday!
Maggie
Well! Hope everyone enjoyed their Free Day this weekend! I know I did maybe a bit too much...we did go to Yumi Yogurt yesterday and each had a vanilla Carbolite yogurt cone. Before that, a burrito for lunch. YUM! Back on track today!
This week on CPB - I have more carbs. Yay! My workouts for this week are as follows:
Sunday - chest/quads
Monday - Shoulders/abs/calves and cardio HIIT
Tuesday - back/hams
Wednesday - cardio MAS
Thursday - bis/tris and cardio HIIT
Friday - Cardio MAS
Saturday - Chest/quads
I'm motivated and ready for another great week!
This morning at L&S, QuadZilla posted the following and encouraged me to share it with y'all:
Quote:
I've seen countless posts from people who have undertaken fitness plans (BRx, BfL, GL, etc) that didn't work for them. In the cases I'm talking about (certainly not in all cases), it was because the person, by their own admission, let things slide and fell off the wagon.
Many of the plans discussed here are tough - very tough! Especially for newcomers! It's pretty overwhelming and it's a huge commitment to jump feet-first into a concious life change. To abandon everything you've learned and been taught about how to get thin -- to suffer the doubters and subverters in our own lives, often the people closest to us. All of that is tough stuff!
Tentatively, these folks seek validation, adivce, or just an ear to bend. Is this a carb? How many grams should I eat? How can I slim without more cardio? Fruit okay? Bread? Beef? Should I be so sore? Should I be sore at all? Do I need supplements? What is a 10? I slipped up. I'm struggling. My friends don't support me. How should I... What if my... When will I... Can I... Should I... These questions are so important to ask! They're just as important to answer. Firmly. Thoughfully.
Sometimes though, in the cases I'm on about here, the querent just isn't committed enough to their plan. They want it, but not enough. They crave it, but less than they crave other, more tangible things. These folks struggle and strain and try only to fall down over and over. They ask for help, usually get it, and fall down again. In the end, egos in tatters over having no luck at something that's worked for "everybody else" they sulk away and stop stuggling, stop straining, stop asking for help.
Perhaps they simply weren't ready for the plan they tried. Some plans are more forgiving than others. The popular ones here, BfL especially, is a pretty unforgiving plan by most folks' standards. Sure, it's a cake-walk compared to GetLean and other competitive diets. But for the common Joe and Jane, it's a massive commitment. Great effort, great results, great commitment, great risk. Sometimes we're not set up to handle that much greatness all at once.
My message here is to the people who are struggling like **** just to keep their heads above water. The folks who wake up every day and don't know if they can do this. You'll hear from all of us that you can -- and I believe that you can! But maybe not right now. Don't be afraid to be realistic in selecting your fitness and diet plan. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself, but please do not undertake something that you know you can't finish. It's only damaging to you.
When you hear someone talking about their great success on a plan like GetLean, don't leap headlong into it unless you are really prepared to see it through. Unlike many of the diets we've all tried in the past, true fitness plans require more than just a week or two of "try it, you might like it" -- they require a shift in the way we see ourselves, our food, and our bodies.
What you, the newcomer, need to do is make sure you're making promises to yourself that you can and will keep. What I, a longtimer here, need to do is remember the excitement and trepidation that I felt so long ago when I had the exact same questions - and I need to gague my repsonses accordingly.
One of the things that makes L&S so amazing is that those who succeed stick around to help lead others to success. Sometimes we succeed only in aspects of our transformations, sometimes our success is complete. Sometimes our only success is never having surrendered. Our lessons were hard won, sometimes with the help of wiser L&Sers, sometimes from flying solo. We've got very high standards of ourselves and I (since I won't speak for anyone but myself) sometimes forget that not everyone holds those standards. Not everyone wants to. Not everyone has to.
The important thing is to find YOUR plan. Find the program that's going to work right for you. Measure your success by what you achieve, not by where you fall short. And when the time comes for you to answer someone else's plea for the information and perspectives you've learned to take for granted, remember when you were that person yourself.
What a wonderful post from Quadzilla! It's great to read everyone's posts on a Monday morning -- to become re-charged for the week ahead.
BTW: Has anyone seen the Jamie Curtis article in More magazine? I just saw it this weekend and thought it was fantastic. In case you haven't seen/heard about it, Jamie Curtis participated in a photo shoot where, in one pic., she's totally herself - no makeup, airbrushing, etc. As she put it, this is how at least one 43-year-old woman looks without all of the primping that goes on in Hollywood. In my eyes, she looked a little pudgy, but not bad at all. In the next photo, after being worked on by about 10 professionals (makeup, hair, sexy dress, spiky heels . . . ), she looks fantastic. You would never guess that she's the same person. I think it's healthy to see someone who's business is based, in part, on appearance, say, hey - a lot of the Hollywood image is just lights and mirrors.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great day. Talk to you tomorrow. Mox
P.S. I've lost a little more weight (from 236 to 223) and a few more inches. Yea!
Mox: I like the Monday re-affirmations as well. Great way to head into a new week!
JEC: I'd be interested in seeing your split, if ya have time to post it. I'm currently following a split routine I put together based on Krista Smash's website, but I'm looking to mix it up some.
Well, after an exhausting weekend, I wasn't able to get up for the gym this morning. I was *very* disappointed. I don't even remember the alarm going off at 5:40! So I will go tonight. I usually do my weightlifting in the eveneing anyways, but I love the way that I feel after a short AM cardio session. I'm feeling exhausted and sluggish today, as a result of not fitting it in.
How is everyone? I'm SOOOOO SORRY I didn't post last week... I didn't even have time to lurk... I spent Saturday nite reading everyone's posts of of the week, took me quite a while too... Then when it was time to post a reply the page didn't download...grrrr....
It's just been so hectic here... I'm back to work, and it's stressing me out... I'm only a TEMP school secretary, but I've been working at one school now for the last 3 years...I really like it tho everyone there is so nice...but they've gone and cut one the the secretaries in the office, and we're down to 3, we are running like fools... I barely have time to pee, let alone drink my water or my coffee for that matter... I do take a well deserved break, and have been drinking a protein drink and a fruit... Water was almost nil through all the week, and that really annoys me...
Maybe, just maybe I'm done venting...I'm not sure yet...LOL...
My free day, which I chose as Friday turned out to extend to Sat. and part of Sunday too.... Last nite I biked 20K, (about 10miles, Karen... )
This morning I had a LBWO did:
Squats: 5 sets
Dead lifts: 1 set
Lunges: several sets
Side lunges: several sets
Calves: only had time for one set
Abs....
I feet really great....
Today food has been clean, and I was able to drink 6 glasses of water before 10AM....That's pretty good considering last week was very bad water wise...
Karen, thanks for the post from Quadzilla... Made me think alot....
I'll try posting daily this week more regularly.
Good Luck one and all, all your posts are a great inspiration to me, you are all a great help..
Hi everybody! Hope you all had good weekends. I got in a good cardio session on Saturday while watching tennis matches (dusted off the old nordic track, forgot what a workout that is), and managed to eat clean all week-end til last nite when we all went for my birthday treat. I had told everyone NO CAKE, so we went to DQ and I had a small blizzard- no leftovers to call my name! Other than that, have stayed 100% with nutrition, water, and workouts. Yeah! I'm going to try to go treatless for the next 3 weeks and see if that helps any.
Anybody else feel totally stuffed all the time on Pam's menus? I swear, my stomach is stretching again!
This week is going to be really wild at work, plus I took on a fairly large house decorating job. I used to run a decorating business for 12 years until the little old ladies who just wanted a friend drove me out of my mind. A neighbor who I had done work for before begged me to do this for her, and I figured some extra $$ right now would sure come in handy. Won't let it interfere with my gym time, but I may not be on the boards as much for a while....
You can do weights two days in a row but not the same body parts as you have to let your body part recover so it can repair and build that muscle you want; also you can serously injure a muscle by working the same muscle twice in a row....as per Karen Andres, "The Woman's Book of Strength". Good Luck!!
I don't know what the upside or downside is to doing weights two days in a row (I plan to do cardio 2 days in a row too) but I'd like to utilize the weekend gym for weights so that is how I'm going to do it for now. I don't really see any problem with it, but if anyone has a comment (good or bad) please let me know. Thanks!
DNW and whomever asked the question initially: As long as you don't work the same muscle, you can lift six days in a row. It is important to have at least 1 day OFF a week, tho. I seriously injured my rotator cuff muscles several years ago by doing "circuit training" daily. Working the same muscles even with less heavy weights is dangerous!
I can't believe I've had time today to post not just once but twice !!
I had a fairly good clean food day... It's my daughter's birthday and everyone had icecream cake except me, and I didn't mind at all... BUT I'm annoyed at myself for giving into some cheerio snax while I was making supper, I had 3 handfuls, then threw the rest out.... I was pleased with that because I was aiming to see the bottom of that bowl!! Work is very stressful these days and bad food choices seems to hit me while I'm preparing supper around 4:30 or so...
I did go for a nice fast bike ride after supper... It's extremely hot here, it was in the mid 90's... I like it though, I went for a nice swim after work and after my bike ride and hubby and I will go just before we go to bed tonite...
Here's wishing everyone a very good day tomorrow...
Another great workout today! I did shoulders, abs, calves and 45 minutes of moderate cardio on the elliptical (too hot to run/walk outside).
Mel--glad to hear that you're doing well on CPB eating. I always was so interested in home decorating too.
Pam had warned me that this week's calories were low and that I should let her know how I was feeling. Well, after my workout (1:45-3pm), I came home and had to sit down. I had zero energy. So I decided to eat my afternoon meal and see how I felt. Lots of veggies, but no "real" carbs (at least to my thinking). I didn't feel any better at all after eating and making a trek to the library. At this point, I was just about in binge mode and seriously considering making tonight a free night. Instead, I emailed Pam and told her how I was feeling. She got back to me in like 10 minutes, told me to fill my tummy with healthy food and to adjust my meals for the rest of the week. I'm now feeling 100% better and ready to roll for the rest of the week.
Another great day! I just suffered thorugh 2 low carb days but let me tell you it was easier this week than it was last week. That's for sure!
I am trying something different for lunch today. Instead of eating my 3rd meal food separately I have thrown it into a big bowl and made a huge salad. It's really yummy. It has lettuce, broccoli, chopped roast beef, salsa, rice, flaxseed oil and a pinch of mustard. I may try this more often.
Glad to hear that everyone is going strong. Last night I saw the makings of a six-pack on my stomach which really motivated me! I still have huge thighs to get rid of though.
Moxie: I LOVE ravioli - it's my favourite pasta. Great Free food. Don't play down your hard efforts either - it may not be all water if your pants are lose as well! Way to go with burning fat!! Pam is great huh? I am glad that you went back to her for advice instead of caving in to your cravings! Well done!
MrsJim: Thank Zilla for his wonderful words for me will you? He is a true gentleman.
Mox: We don't have the magazine over here but one of our national mags had a copy of the picture and put it in their magazine. I was shocked to say the least and very happy! I had no idea that they could change someone so much. She actually looks quite NORMAL! I admire her for her courage.
wcolleen: my split works over a 2 week period. So over the 14 days there are 2 rest days and the 12 workouts are divided into 3 periods of 4 days each. Thus;
So over the 2 week period you hit each bodypart 3 times. I do 3 sets of 12-15 reps for each exercise and 3 exercises per bodypart. So today is shoulders/tris so I will do;
Shoulders
bent- over raises 3 sets of 15
sitting shoulder raises 3 sets of 15
beth horn raises 3 sets of 15
Tris
pushdowns 3 sets of 15
french press 3 sets of 15
dips 3 sets of 15
It takes about 30-40 minutes to do the workout. Then on top of that I have cardio. My cardio varies but basically I do over a one week period;
2 lots HIIT sprints (12 minutes)
2 run/jogs - decent pace (15-20 mins)
2 walk/jogs - slower pace (20-30 minutes) with my dogs.
I often split them up so I will do weights in the morning and run at night. Some days I do it all in an afternoon. It depends on college and work and other commitments. I have to admit I love this routine and it cuts up my muscles better than the pyramid sets. I switch between pyramid and high sets regluarly though so my training is well rounded. Oh by the way I don't train calves because of all the running.
Mel: Be careful going totally treatless - it can be very hard. Yes I feel totally full on Pam's menu. It's crazy to think that you can only be consuming a small amount of calories but you feel like a pig! That's the beauty of fibrous vegetables they are calorie sparse but dense to eat. :tomato:
Hubby started his program last night so he was complaining about 'jelly legs' all night. Glad it was him and not me! He comes home and I asked him what he did at the gym today (his is at work) and he said legs. I said cool what did you do for legs? He says squats, leg press and leg extensions. I said I thought you were training legs not just quads? Then he tries to argue with me that leg press is a hammie exercise. That was his total leg workout - no wonder he has chicken legs! But I didn't argue with him because he is a man and they always think that they are right! I will just wait until I get my beautiful cut up legs and then I will show him! He finally listens to me about nutrition at least now. He has a super fast metobolism so he needs loads of carbs - lucky
BFL/BB #67 C3FC Week 2!!!!
I usually lift weighs on both Saturday and Sunday as well. I enjoy my weekend workouts because I'm not pushed for time and the gym is nice and quiet, so I feel as though my workouts are much better on the weekends than they are during the week. 
Feeling great!
Monday, fabulous Monday!
maybe a bit too much...we did go to Yumi Yogurt yesterday and each had a vanilla Carbolite yogurt cone. Before that, a burrito for lunch. YUM! Back on track today!
Yeah yeah!
That was his total leg workout - no wonder he has chicken legs! But I didn't argue with him because he is a man and they always think that they are right! 
I will just wait until I get my beautiful cut up legs and then I will show him! He finally listens to me about nutrition at least now. 
He has a super fast metobolism so he needs loads of carbs - lucky 
