Weight and Resistance Training - BFL/BB #86 - week of 20 Jan 03

All right you guyz, I'm still alive :lol:

YES I have been horsing around this weekend! Actually since I have today off (yay!) I'm going back to the stables today. Yesterday Jim and I went on a drive. It has been gorgeous here in the Bay Area - we drove to Half Moon Bay and then took Highway 1 to Santa Cruz (really beautiful drive!), then Hwy 9 through Boulder Creek and back to San Mateo via Skyline Blvd. We used to do those kind of drives a lot so it was nice to get on the road again.

Y'all have been way busy! I slept in a bit today then did my leg workout...BTW here's my current split:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Killer legs workout + back + abs
Tuesday/Saturday: Upper bod (except back) + abs & cardio
Thursday/Sunday (optional): Just cardio and abs

Generally I like to hit my legs super hard - they can take a lot of punishment - but I don't have time to do cardio as well. However, I might head over to the gym again this afternoon for a quick 20 minutes or so on the treadmill.

Optional: Horseback riding on Saturdays and whenever else I can fit it in!!

Hm, as far as cleaning - I was trying to find a photo of Jane Curtin as Mrs. Conehead with that apron that says "I HATE HOUSEWORK". :lol: Actually I just cleaned the cat box. Unfortunately, Ms. Meg is not as nice and neat as our Sparky. :) He is always so careful to cover up his 'business' after he finishes, but she just leaves it on top. Eww.

I can see I have a ton of messages to read - I'll do that after I get back from Dee Dee's. Have a great day everyone!

Mrs. Jim - You make me homesick for beautiful scenery! I'm originally from Sonoma, and there are NO hills in Mississippi! :lol:

Adriana Have you always done that much cardio? WOW you have a ton of energy my friend! I know for other posts, that those who do extra cardio find they are not building muscle as fast and sometimes suffer from burnout faster. I'm really curious, and am just learning more about how the wonderful body works, so that's why I'm always full of questions. Do you have a lot of weight to lose, or are you already in great shape? Thanks in advance for your help. ;)


I thought Karen might have been out horsing around this weekend! Good for you! Lady, you work hard!

To all of you 'Clean Freaks' out there - I'm one too! :lol: I love to clean. JC, I find it's like therapy too. I put on my Old Navy Dance tape (disco songs, OLD disco songs!) and clean away! My husband thinks I'm nuts.

Kinda tweaked my back this weekend.
:mad: Not sure how. I sure don't want an injury this new into my new workout. Shoot. Well, I shall rest and see what happens.

Gotta fly - off to the office. I wonder if they'll remember me! :lol:

just to stay current w/ the new thread and to say

sounds like a great weekend Karen and hope you are enjoying your week off mel

well....... at least here it's already evening.

Karen -- it's soooo good to see you!! i'm glad that you had such a great weekend. i've done that same drive many times in my life and i miss it!! so.... enjoy it double each time, once for me ;)

Niffer - until september 2002 i just didn't move. that's how i got so heavy in the first place. well.... i was on the swim team when i was a kid but from age 11 or so till now i just didn't do any kind of exercise. i just slowly got into it over the past few months. i LOVE it now. i would not be able to go the gym without doing some form of cardio -- kind of sacreligious to me. i'm planning on working my way up to running one day..... whenever that day is.

all i know is that i'm building muscle faster than anyone i know because i work the weights with great intensity. i know for a fact that no one in our gym has the results that i have, but then i work really, really hard.

i do have a lot of weight to loose (another 70 or so), but then it's been coming off consistently for 18 weeks now. i'm down 26.4 pounds and i've lost more than 2 entire clothes sizes too. my leg muscles are rock solid now even though there is still fat on them. i never took pictures nor measured myself, but the changes are incredible nonetheless!!

i think it's a total falacy that it's harder to build muscle doing lots of cardio too. if you work the weighs the way they are suppose to be worked then the muscles will come (of course rest and recovery are just as important, as well as nutrition).

i feed myself SUPER well, always thinking of how i'm building muscle. i don't take *free days* or *free meals* because they just don't make sense to me...... i'm building my body, not just waiting to reward myself with a blow-out meal or blow-out day.

i hope this has answered some of your questions. i also love hearing about how people progress with weights, weight loss, cardio, etc. !!


Ledom -- your workouts look real good ( i read it in the closed thread). i'm sure that you'll make great progess with it and you'll be excited every time you workout. personally, right now i'm working on the pyramid set progression of BFL. i hadn't done this in a few months and it feels good to be back to basics. i'm doing 4 weeks of *by the book* bfl when it comes to amounts of exercises per body part, sets and reps. who knows what the next 4 weeks will bring :dizzy:


==================

well........ i had a great killer legs workout. i felt so solid and strong!! i did my entire workout without one interruption and that was nice. i also did some abs work. then i hit the treadmill for 60 minutes of incline intervals. the stretches at the end of all the abuse felt like a little bit of heaven :^:

tomorrow is a rest day for me. we're going to tel aviv to do some errands. hopefully no one will blow up. we have a real false sense of security lately, especially in our little city. it's scary.

i hope you've all had a great monday so far.

take care and work hard !!

adriana

Adriana
YOu are workin it girl! I only did 10 minutes on cross trainer, today, but I did an awesome leg workout today. I can really feel the burn. I am on my last week of my first challenge. I can not see much of a difference, however, my friend is going to take my after photos on Saturday night, so we will see then.
I had a rough Xmas month and never really got fully back into after that. I am going to start on Monday with a brand new challenge and stick to it 100%. I want to see what BFL can really do for me. Well, off to take some glutamine, I am stiff and sore right now.
Take care everyone!
Virginia

Physioloigy lesson here:

Unless you are compensating with large amounts of clean food, it is impossible not to burn muscle doing cardio session of over 30 minutes. That's just how the biology works. Since staring to lift INTENSELY 2 years ago, the only times I have experienced muscle (and strength ) loss, has been doing Camp Pam Brown, which adds a lot of cardio, and training for the 1/2 marathon. I was lifting with max intensity during both those periods, but steadily losing muscle due to the horrific cardio loads.

When actually doing cardio, you burn no fat- once the glucose and glycogen stored in your liver are depleted, your body turns to muscle for it's fuel. That is why BFL is based on a 20 minute cardio session: during those 20 minutes, you are using glucose and glycogen for energy- it's called a glycolitic process- beyond that, it is a "catabolic" process (muscle burning). After long aerobic exercise, your muscles will eventually repair themselves if they have sufficient amino acid pools (food and stored fat) from which to pull nutrients.

Overweight beginning weighlifters can get away with excess cardio, tho it's not going to help you, unless it just plain makes you feel better. For about the first 4-5 months you have a golden window for developing muscle, despite too much cardio. However, your muscle gains would be greater if you keep your cardio in the less than 1/2 hour range. This only applies to intense cardio- HIIT or all-out sessions. Taking a walk- even a 5-7 km one or a bike ride, is healthy entertainment.

As your body fat get lower, unless you are doing real exact nutritional analysis and eating buckets of the right foods (like Robb or Rich at L&S), you'll finding it increasingly difficult to build muscle mass or even maintain it if you do excess cardio. Also, metabolisms adjust to a level of exertion, and the more cardio you do, the more you need to add to maintain or lose.

There is one other aspect to consider, tho. That's what do you want to look like? Not everyone (in fact a lot of my friends have pronounced her comp pictures "disgusting") don't want to look like Pam Brown. Given that the long, lean look is genetically impossible for me, I'm going for the muscular.

Well enough of that. This is all based on clinical studies which I can point you to if anyone is interested, and my own recent experience.

Adriana- I sure hope nobody blows up, too! I read the paper each morning with new trepidation now that I have a new friend in Israel. My cousins returned to the US about a year ago, so I no longer had such a personal connection.

Ledom- I second the motion that your workouts look real good! Have fun.

Karen- Sounds like you had a super weekend! It's been too cold here to think of doing anything. Even getting in the car seems like being under seige.

Lana- How are you? Must be pretty cold up there too! Dh did 2 co-op terms in Ottawa when he was at university (Waterloo) and tells me stories not condusive to visiting there in the winter :lol:

OK- gotta go help with homework. I took a 6th grade take home math quiz this morning and got 1 wrong. :(

mel

I just did my back and bis and was wondering the whole time what the heck I was doing. Back I did three dif. exercises 3 set/10 reps. For bis I reverted to the bfl technique 12,10,8,6,12,12 because I felt like I knew that would be correct.

If I am only working each part once a week then I am not working out as hard unless I increase the amount of exercise I do for each part, am I? I need to learn some bodybuilding terms besides set and rep as I don't think I am getting my questions across.:?:

Mel: thanks for that - I was about to post it myself. The only point I would add is that - that is why the post workout meal is so important. You need the protein to provide the amino acids so that your body doesn't catabolise your muscle and a form of energy, normally carbs to replenish your glycogen stores so that your body doesn't catabolise your muscle even more.

Ledom: I emailed you - we can work it out.

Karen: glad to see you had a great weekend mate.

Virginia: stick with BFL for as long as it works for you... trust me you don't want to change to early.

Niffer: my husband thinks I am crazy as well. Last night I went to the gym and did legs then a bit of cardio (8 mins) to get the lactic acid out of my legs. When I got home he was gardening so I jumped in and helped him (after a protein shake of course) for an hour of so and he was like 'It's good enough' and I was like no it has to be finished and neat and clean (damn weeds)! So I kept going until it was finished. It's just satisfying to finish the housework and for everything to be neat and tidy!

Adriana: I have 2 dogs as well. Beagles - what about you?

JC

<sorta delurking>

I totally agree with Mel; it certainly isn't a "fallacy" that too much cardio burns muscle, and it doesn't matter how hard you work out at lifting. I would bet Mel's squats (and probably most other lifts) against most of us here ;)

As a matter of fact, when I did do cardio I had very little success, with either fat loss or muscle gain. I suspect that most of my problem was undereating (palm/fist is inadequate for me) but the cardio sure didn't help matters.

So without cardio I went from 125 @~23% BF to 112@12%. My lean mass went up about 9 pounds (over 10%). I've maintained that level since October, though I'm flirting with the idea of a bulk lately. :lol:

This is BodyRX btw, I know some were wondering about it recently. I cannot say enough good things about this program, or how happy I am to be eating so well and so much.

Laura

Look what the cat dragged in! (or the cardio-hehe).

Just finished a quickie re-read of the BodyRx book. Still put off by the lifting. NO SQUATS!!! Still mystified by the eating. Or rather, how to track it all other than just wolfing down 2 bowls of Fiber 1 a day.

mel

LOL!

Most of us just ignore that "no squats" thing; we don't know what Dr.C was thinking! I did these evil wide squats on Friday and am still crippled.

Meant to say earlier: I also agree with JEC about the importance of PW meals. BodyRX doesn't endorse this either, but I started using one mid-cycle 2 and I believe I owe a lot of muscle to that.

As with all things, sometimes it's a matter of finding what works for you .:D

Laura

well well well look who 'popped in' hey Laura!!

I did sumo squats last night and my butt is still reminding me today. Big kisses!!

JC

I LOST 3 SIZES!!!! :o

yep it's true I finally got around to getting all of my rings adjusted on Sunday and my ring size has dropped from an 'N' to a 'K'. The jeweller couldn't believe that I had lost that many sizes.

So I am 'unmarried' at the moment! :s: :s: :s:

JC

hope you're all well today.

Mel, and everyone else -- there is still no reasonable explanation then for my great results in the past (almost) five months if i am completely wrong. i've lost weight and built muscle. i've gone down two complete sizes and i've brought down my cholesterol.

with everything that i have read, and that's a WHOLE lot lately, there is still a great divide even amongst the best of the sports medicine community was to the benefits/costs of doing more or less cardio.

i'm not talking about the marathon or 1/2 marathon training that you did before. i'm talking about daily cardio, 30-60 minutes each time -- anywhere between *fat burning* to HIIT.

there is nothing that really shows that it's counter-productive. on the other hand it does burn more calories and calories still translate into fat anyway you analyze it.

personally, i haven't had any problem with over-training or lack of strength during workouts. i do get tired during the day, but that's more because i have long, long days (and short nights), and i take a nap to solve that problem.

i also eat 100% of the time to support all the energy i expend and to further the strength work and recovery i want and need. i eat 100% clean, balanced meals with good protein at each meal and i never under-eat, so there is no reason in the world why i shouldn't continue with the amounts of cardio i do.

bodybuilders that do supersets, tri-sets etc also expend a whole lot of energies, some of them maintaining at least 65% heart rate for at least 30 minutes at a time, more towards 60 minutes. then they do 20 minutes of HIIT. what's the difference here? none.

are you familiar with Tom Venuto (http://www.fitren.com) ? now there's someone who knows what he's doing - check out that man's body ! he also contributes to many other sites and from everything that i've read he makes a whole lot of sense.

i think that most importantly each one of us has to do what is personally compatable with their body, lifestyle, capabilities, goals. since i've never been in *good shape* i have no idea yet what my genetics are like, muscular, lean, tall i'm not for sure (i'm 5'1"), whatever. i'll have to keep being patient to see what really comes out in the end. i wouldn't mind being totally lean, but i wouldn't mind working on being more muscular if that's what my body says i should do. we'll see.

take care,

adriana

hope you're all well today.

Mel, and everyone else -- there is still no reasonable explanation then for my great results in the past (almost) five months if i am completely wrong. i've lost weight and built muscle. i've gone down two complete sizes and i've brought down my cholesterol. it could be because i have lots to loose (90-100 total, 27 gone already), but who knows yet since i'm nowhere near goal weight. one day, once i don't have so much fat to shed, i might have to re-work the whole thing.

with everything that i have read, and that's a WHOLE lot lately, there is still a great divide even amongst the best of the sports medicine community was to the benefits/costs of doing more or less cardio.

i'm not talking about the marathon or 1/2 marathon training that you did before. i'm talking about daily cardio, 30-60 minutes each time -- anywhere between *fat burning* to HIIT.

there is nothing that really shows that it's counter-productive. on the other hand it does burn more calories and calories still translate into fat anyway you analyze it.

personally, i haven't had any problem with over-training or lack of strength during workouts. i do get tired during the day, but that's more because i have long, long days (and short nights), and i take a nap to solve that problem.

i also eat 100% of the time to support all the energy i expend and to further the strength work and recovery i want and need. i eat 100% clean, balanced meals with good protein at each meal and i never under-eat, so there is no reason in the world why i shouldn't continue with the amounts of cardio i do.

bodybuilders that do supersets, tri-sets etc also expend a whole lot of energies, some of them maintaining at least 65% heart rate for at least 30 minutes at a time, more towards 60 minutes. then they do 20 minutes of HIIT. what's the difference here? none.

are you familiar with Tom Venuto (http://www.fitren.com) ? now there's someone who knows what he's doing - check out that man's body ! he also contributes to many other sites and from everything that i've read he makes a whole lot of sense.

i think that most importantly each one of us has to do what is personally compatable with their body, lifestyle, capabilities, goals. since i've never been in *good shape* i have no idea yet what my genetics are like, muscular, lean, tall i'm not for sure (i'm 5'1"), whatever. i'll have to keep being patient to see what really comes out in the end. i wouldn't mind being totally lean, but i wouldn't mind working on being more muscular if that's what my body says i should do. we'll see.

take care,

adriana

Hi Adriana-

I think you, like me, are an exception to the norm. And it's great that we've both found programs we are happy with, isn't it? ;)

As Mel posted, things are different when one still has a lot of BF to lose. I was never really in that position; while my BF percentage was not great, I started (and ended) BFL at around 125/126. I am 5'2 1/2".

Let me clarify what I mean by "undereating". Palm/fist gave me around 1300-1400 calories. According to Hussman and just about everyone else, this should have been plenty for a woman my size. Instead, it threw me into "fat-hoarding mode". Once I bumped my calories up to 1600, and dropped cardio,I started dropping fat, and at 1750 it really cranked up. Like you, I always ate very clean.

I'm now maintaining, eating around 2100 (and not counting free meals). I'm happy that you enjoy all that cardio and that it's working so well for you. But I don't have the time or the desire to spend that much time at the gym. :D

BTW, I am also a huge fan of Dave Draper's!

Laura

i had the exact same problem with undereating. i upped my calories from the 1400-1500 range to 2000-2100 range and then really started to shed weight. i hold on to fat when i don't eat enough calories. palm/fist is just too little for me too.

i'm glad that you have a good program that you really like. i think that's what makes all the difference in the world !

i can't wait to be at the point that you're at - maintaining. i still have a long way to go, but i'm most definitely enjoying every step of the way there :D !!

thanks for sharing your strategies with me ;) . btw, Dave Draper would probably hang me on a cable machine if he saw how much cardio i do :lol: he's just the greatest !!

have a great day,

adriana

:wave:

Hi girls,

I have to keep this post short because I have the flu and I am a bit weak and getting a hot flash at the moment...:lol:

I'm glad everyone is doing well, and as usual the discussion is HOT :devil: in the what to do and not to do in the cardio department.... As for myself when I read that less cardio was better I was totally happy with that ... specially inside cardio on the treadmill.... how boring is that!! Outside cardio well that's a different story...

Hey girls it's -1F here.... yep... and that's with no windchill factor....


Well i have to get going... i'll keep in touch...

Thanks for all the BD wishes... you guys are too much...:love:

Good morning!

This thread has been active. I like to see everyone's ideas on exercise. The tough part of it is that there is just so much conflicting information. I think if it works for you...go for it. I have been feeling like I need more cardio as well. Mostly b/c it feels good to be active in these cold winter months. But, my joints have been hurting so badly that its not always possible.

Questions:
1.) What is a superset?

2.) I am confused on calories. I can't seem to find that magic number where the weight just melts off. I use the palm/fist right now. Nothing really seems to be happening, so that makes me inclined to go lower. I KNOW that if I was eating 2000 I would gain weight. What do you guys think? I have a decent (not bodybuilder :p )amount of muscle and probably 15-20 lbs. of actual fat on my body.

I have just had a bad 5 days so I am trying to find my way back! Patience is not a virtue of mine.

Thanks!

Back to work... :( actually it's not as bad as all that! Getting ready for my trip to Miami on Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday but oh well - Jim and I aren't football fans anyway...since we're in Raider Country it's a little nutty around these parts).

Jim and I spent most of Monday at the stables - we're having one of our typical weather pattern changes - Saturday and Sunday were GORGEOUS - in the 70's - and yesterday it started getting yukky - last night and this morning it has started raining again. So any time I have some free time off, I ride when I can :) Later in the day, we lost our internet connection so we went to bed at 8:15 pm believe it or not!!! And our KITTIES ARE FRIENDS NOW! Our bed is getting very crowded now, what with two cats and two humans all snuggled together. Yesterday Meg came up to Sparky while he was asleep and tried to wash his face - he batted her away but he didn't look mean - it was more out of surprise. I bet once he finds out how nice it is to be washed, he'll be a lot more accepting!

Carrie - a superset is when you do two exercises one after the other. Example...

I do 12 reps on the bench press, then immediately follow with 12 dumbbell flyes (without a break in between).

That's one superset.

As far as calories - how long have you been at a plateau? Are you sure it's your food intake or could it be something else? The thing about this way of losing fat, is that your body can hold onto the weight for a loooonnnng time before 'releasing' it. This happens to a lot of people doing BFL and in fact happened to me in my first challenge - if you look at my photos you will see virtually no outward change for the first four weeks, then in the 8th week BAM!

If you're going to reduce portions, I suggest you do so VERY CAREFULLY. Underfeeding your body can be as bad as overfeeding, so I would reduce by spoonfuls and make up for the difference with LOTS of veggies. And I wouldn't reduce protein - I'd do carbs first. Have you been keeping track of your menus? If you've been eating a lot of carbs like taters, yogurt, brown rice, etc (i.e. the 'higher-calorie' carbs) you might want to lean more towards the lower calorie ones like oranges, apples, squash, pumpkin, etc for most of your meals. Just a suggestion...

Hey Laura - come by more often! It's always nice to see lotsa shiny faces here!!! :dizzy:

I have just had a chance to skim through the thread - wow 19 posts already and it's only been one day - and I read Mel's with much interest. Bottom line - we are all different and our bodies are going to react in different ways to whatever we do. Last year I was doing an hour of cardio six days a week on top of a four day weight training split AND my horseback riding and was worn down to a nubbin. Basically, ya gotta find a way to make this a natural part of your life - as natural as breathing. Right now I am doing three cardio sessions (sometimes extra moderate cardio on Sundays) at 30 minutes (time includes a five minute cooldown) per week and that seems to be working fine for me!

Oof! I gotta get my second meal in and then BACK TO WORK! Later y'all! I still need to read the rest of the thread too!

Can someone please explain the term "HIIT?"

High Intensity Interval Training

Usually 20-30 minutes of cardio activity, in which the level of exertion changes every minute or less from a medium pace to a very intense pace. Example, using an elliptical:

Warmup at level 3 for 2 minutes
1 minute at level 4
1 minute at level 5
1 minute at level 6
1 minute at level 7
1 minute at level 4
1 minute at level 5
1 minute at level 6
etc for however long you can go ;)

Sometimes the intervals are shorter, and sometimes only two levels (high and low) are alternated.

HTH

Laura

Jennelle: another version of HIIT is sprinting.
ie

2 minute at level 5
1 minute at level 10
1 minute at level 5
1 minute at level 10
1 minute at level 5

for about 6-10 sprints then a 2 min cool down. This can be very exhausting but I always do it for at least one cardio session a week because I play soccer and speed is important.

JC

I see some familar faces here from L&S.

I've come to add support for Laura's no cardio posts. :)

Yes I'm from the dark side, a BRXer who's done pretty well to date w/NO CARIDO!!!!!! ;)

How are you all doing??

Hey Mindi

Nice to see you over here.

I am staying out of the cardio/no cardio posts. I don't have the strength to think at the moment.

JC

JC!!

Hey, lady! You dropped into my "other" forum (The Plan). Good to see you there! I haven't tried the CC/yogurt mix again since the 1st time I did it, so I'll have to try it in the blender, like you suggested. One of the reasons I didn't like it the 1st time, tho, was because the cottage cheese curds were still big and the mixture was lumpy. Ugh. I haven't tried the thing yet with the CC and the Jello. Maybe I should try that.

I did my 2nd LBWO yesterday. It went MUCH better than the 1st. I still feel a twinge today when I sit down, but I thought I was gonna DIE last week (after my 1st LBWO)!! Ouch!!

I am very excited about this whole program. I know that two weeks is too soon to be seeing results, but I feel like I am. I measured before I started and I plan on measuring again at wk.4. I did, however, lose 2 1/2 lbs. my 1st week OP.

I'm looking forward to my next UBWO (tomorrow). For my 1st two, I only had 2 and 5-lb. weights. Now I have 2-5-8 & 10. Yeah, I'm weak, I know.....But, I plan on working my way up, up, up!!!

Cheryl

Sorry about thinking you were a guy over on L&S..:o Sometimes my brain functions at low speed.

Ah I don't really care if someone does cardio, I mean heck I love Taebo and do it now and again. I mean you gotta do what works for you and too much cardio just wore me down and did nothing for my physical condition.

No problem mate although it is the first time that I have been mistaken for a guy!!!

JC

Hi Mindi, I lurk on the BRX board all the time.

I can't get onto L&S at all- Erik's server must be getting clobbered today.

It did cardio this am and will do abs tonite, but no lifting. Carrying grocery bags and driving hurt my shoulders :(. I'm pretty sure it's not the lifting that's actually causing the problem, but spending most of the day hunched over a computer mouse in a really bad ergomoic set-up! Then the lifting just makes it worse. I'm not sure what to do- I already take prescription anti-inflammatories for my fibromyalgia, so that should be helping. But it seems to be getting worse.

OK JC, you're right. I can't eat a pan of those brownies! I can barely stuff down 1/3 of the pan which is a meal portion for me. I don't use splenda, so substituted stevia and not nearly enough. They were not sweet at all, but certainly had a good chocolate kick to them! Sweet might make for trouble. :lol:

Welcome 4 myself! Glad you dropped by. Keep us posted how you are doing. I'm sure you are going to need to go weight shopping fairly quickly.

Gotta go-
mel

Mel: I can't get on either - it must be really busy. Yeah the brownies are really morrish huh? (that's an aussie term if you haven't heard it morrish as in you want more) It's a big portion.

How are you feeling with everything?

JC

Thanks for the answer. :) It sounds similar to what I do on "good" days...run full speed for a minute and walk for a minute.

Jennelle: Yep that's how I started doing it, I would just jog as fast as I could without dying which was about 5 mph. Then I worked my way up in speed and slowly but surely I got to my current speed which is 14.2kms per hour or 8.9 mph. I can keep that up for a full minute now no problem. I am aiming for 15 kms ph next!

JC

I have loved reading the cardio opinions. I have had a hard time deciding whether to do BFL or BRX. I have decided to do BFL because I cant seem to find anyone who has lost over 100 pounds on BRX. You can find success stories for BFL.

I started today. Tomorrow AM I will go join the gym in town. So it will be my first actual weigh workout day.

What was Camp Pam B like?

Hey forgiven,

Good on you for starting. The thing I like about BFL is that it gives you a good foundation for moving on to other things in the future if you wish to. It's also so simple that it's hard to stuff up!

Camp Pam B? Well it's harder than other programs namely BFL but it is tailored to you personally. Pam B takes a few things into consideration like your weight, goals, workout timings etc and creates a plan for you that includes diet and exercise. I would suggest that most people should do at least one round of BFL before tackling Camp Pam B. You can email Pam and ask her questions via her website which I can't advertise here. Over at lean & strong there is a link to it.

Good luck

JC

I second what JC said about CPB.

My suggestion: Do BFL by the book for at least one - and preferably two or more - challenges. If you get to your goal doing BFL BTB (by the book) then great! If you find that you get to a point where you need a change, then it's time to look elsewhere, and CPB is one option.

I might add here that unless you are planning on actually competing, I would personally NOT do a 'competition diet' as it is not really meant for PERMANENT results - a comp diet which is VERY restrictive and requires a vast amount of discipline is really meant for only a temporary effect - i.e. the date of competition (not saying here that CPB is exclusively a comp diet though).

HIIT - actually the 20MAS in BFL is an example of a HIIT program. What I do now is switch between the 20 MAS in the book (adding on five minutes at the beginning and end for warm up and cool down) and a HIIT consisting of 2 minutes light/1 minute heavy with a five minute warm up and a four minute cool down.

Sheesh! I'm gonna have to try that brownie recipe after I get back from Miami!!! (Looking forward to stone crab next week...mmmmm...)

Lana -- i hope you're feeling better by the time you read this. it seems like absolutely everybody in the entire world has had either a cold or flu this winter. get well real soon !

Mel -- wow. i'm sorry to hear about your shoulders. pain like that can be very tiring throughout the day. i agree with you about it most probably being because of the computer. i sit here all day long too and sometimes my whole right side just aches and aches. maybe you should go ahead and get it checked out. feel better :)

Cheryl -- oh how i love your enthusiam !! good for you! don't think of yourself as weak, you're strong and just only now discovering HOW strong ;) i hope to hear of your continuing progress during this challenge.

JEC -- that's pretty good running !! it's fun isn't it? i love the feeling of running like that -- makes me feel powerful, especially since i could barely walk fast 6 months ago. did you do a Camp Pam session? i was curious about the whole thing also after being at L&S for a bit - but you've answered some of the questions here too.

=================

i'm so happy to see so many posts here :) !! the more the merrier.

yesterday was a rest day for me -- but we ended up almost sprinting through the streets of tel aviv. i parked far from the dentist's office on purpose and my daughters wanted to kill me. but i completely ignored their complaints and we all felt good in the end.

today i start week 3 of my second challenge. feels good to just be crusing through the days, working hard and feeling stronger. i can see and feel more difference in my jeans -- it's just about time to take them in for an alteration ! they were jeans that i couldn't even wear 4 months ago, and now they are soooo baggy on me :smug: -- i've also lost another kilo this past week, so i'm feeling quite pumped !

wishing you all a great Wednesday !! i know, i know, some of you haven't even finished up tuesday, lol ! what can i do? i like starting out my day here on this board.

take care and see you all later,

adriana

Adriana: Yes I have done 2 separate sessions of CPB. The first one was 8 weeks and the second was 6 weeks. If you have any questions then SHOOT!!

JC

JC -- boy that was quick !! i keep forgetting that you're awake at this hour also -- lol

are they so intense that they run only the 8 or 6 weeks? she actually tailors it to each person, right? what's the program like?

enough of that for now, i don't want to make you crazy.

what program are you on now? i'm sure you told me before but i have a problem with my short-term memory until i get it through my brain !

are the fires anywhere near you? that's so tragic what's been happening there! i keep praying for your country.

adriana

Awake??? I am at work! It's only 4pm here.

They are pretty intense but I always asked Pam to go hard on me as well. You can do it for as long as you want but I found it very taxing mentally. Yes she tailors it to your individual needs. What's it like? ummm hard! ask me something more specific...... No you aren't making me crazy.... :lol:

No you haven't forgotten - no one here knows what I am doing at the moment. It's quite different to what I have done before and I really don't want to go into it until I have tested it fully. As for workouts I do this;

Monday: Lean legs by Dave Draper with abs
Tuesday: back and bis split followed by 20MAS
Wednesday: soccer
Thursday: lean legs again with abs
Friday: shoulders, chest & tris followed by HIIT sprints with 7 high points. Total time about 17 mins.
Weekend: off but sometimes I run my dogs on the beach. I am taking a break off weekends for the moment to thoroughly test my diet properly.

Ah the fires I was waiting to be asked about that. At the moment they are 3 states and one is particularly bad about 450 houses have been lost. There are some about 30 minutes from me but no I am not in danger. Thanks for thinking of me though. Hubby has been to the Canberra fires to help out since he volunteers on weekends and said its the worst that he has ever seen.

At the end of the day fires are a part of our life unfortunately. Loads of dry land and not a huge population.....

JC

i vaguely remembered the Draper legs workout.

wow! the Camp Pam program was so intense? and you asked for more punishment? wow ! okay, give me one week of the second program you did, if you can remember it.

that's so cool that you're working on something so individual right now. i'll be looking forward to hearing about the whole program one day. your workout week is pretty intense and that's good that you take the whole weekend off. i also like the two days off now, but i do 3 on one off, 2 on one off.

that's what life was like in califoria also ! fires are a way of life there and it can get pretty scary. i never lived in a real fire area, but some of my brothers do. one year one of them almost lost his house. the fire line reached the embakment right behind his house but they were able to fight it back. it's all so scary. i'll be thinking of your husband and praying for his continued safety.

ad

Monday: Morning: chest & quads - 4 sets of 10 reps with 3-4 exercises per bodypart. Evening: 20HIIT with 20 mins moderate after.

Tuesday: shoulder/abs/calves - reps as above. Then Cardio 60 mins of moderate - I used to run about 5 miles.

Wednesday: Back & hammies as above

Thursday: 20HIIT with 20 mins moderate after.

Friday: Bis & Tris, Cardio 60 mins of moderate - about 5 miles.

Saturdays: 20HIIT with 20 mins moderate after

Sunday: rest

I get tired even reading it. It was hard but please note that I was doing so much because I was already fairly fit at this stage. Not everyone would do that much - then again some may do more.

As far as the diet is concerned I can't say much - it's Pams business.

You think that my workouts are intense? Boy and I am on a break at the moment! You should see it normally! I keep thinking that I am slacking off lately.....

Thanks for the thoughts - hubby is a bit of an adrenaline junky.

JC

thanks JC !

that is a fairly intense schedule, but it's just about what i'm doing now too, except the extra rest day. it's interesting seeing these programs in writing.

the two sessions per day can get a bit tiring, but then i don't do much else during the day other than just sit at the computer. it's not like i'm physically active all day long too, except for housework, which keeps me more sane than anything else.

did you have good results from the Camp Pam programs?

your workouts right now are fairly intensive because of all the running that you do in a week. i would die ! especially with the soccer. i can't run more than 5 minutes straight yet. well, i can, but it's not fun after the 5 minutes. i'm still quite heavy (209) and i feel pain in my ankles after the 5 minutes. but it's better than the 20 seconds i started with !!!

ad

I made the brownies that you all have been talking about lately. I think I must've cooked them too long, or something, because they were....hard, rubbery. The taste was excellent, tho. I made them in a mini-muffin pan rather than a cake pan. Maybe that had something to do with their outcome. I just wanted to check with those of you who made them and see if you had any suggestions as to how I could make the next batch more brownie-like (meaning chewy--not rubbery-hard).

Cheryl

Cheryl - I haven't yet tried making them, but if MINE come out like a brick, I wouldn't be too surprised - that's my lot in life - lumpy Jello and rock-hard brownies. Julia Child I most definitely am NOT! :lol: Actually I think the brownie baking thing came up last week at L&S - you're not the only person having this problem. JC is our resident HBBE (Healthy Brownie Baking Expert) here - she'll probably have some good tips. :)

Adriana - I did two stints of CPB last year - 8 weeks between Feb - April and then four weeks around September/October. I also worked my fanny off quite literally - cardio twice a day except on leg day - and some really tough workouts, lots of supersets. If memory serves my split was similar to what Pam has posted in her training document which was posted in August 2001.

Mon - chest/tris
Tues - quads/hams
Weds - back/bis
Thurs - Shoulders/abs/calves
Fri - chest/tris
Sat - quads/hams
Sun - rest
Mon - back/bis
Tues - Shoulders/abs/calves

and so on...whew!!!

You must have lived in Southern California - we don't get TOO many fires here in Northern California, although we had a couple of doozies in the past ten years (Oakland/Berkeley Hills fire in 1991 and Morgan Hill fire a year or so ago). We don't get those dry Santa Ana winds up here that they get in LA and Orange County. I didn't know there were fires going on in Australia - right now it seems the only two news stories here are the Raiders in the Super Bowl and the Laci Peterson missing person case in Modesto.

As far as cardio - don't worry about it. As you get fitter, your '10' will become harder - I remember the ankle thing myself when I was in the 200's - I thought I had weak ankles - I didn't I was just too big for them, that's all :lol:

Forgiven - let us know how your first day of training went!

Gotta get caught up a bit here at work - be back later!

Karen

thanks for posting the CP workouts! that is quite a lot of work you did -- pretty intense with the extra evening cardio too !! that second round was fairly recently too.

yes, i grew up in southern california, riverside to be exact, although l.a. and orange counties are more affected by the fires each year.

i hope you're having a good day Karen :-)

i'm on my way to a late workout........ i almost never workout in the evening, but i felt like a bit of a change today. i'll have a great workout after all these hours at the computer.

take care and i'll see you later,

adriana

Oh my you girls are hard to keep up with !!

I haven't been to the gym since Sunday... Altho Sunday I had an awesome w/o with my buddy Lu which we've started to do, because I usually never go to the gym on Sat and Sun... this is just my own routine and it works for me... so Luane and I only work one body part, this week it was back... Wow... she is THE best little bobybuilder...because of my cold I haven't had the energy to exercise or even to eat... Firstly I can't taste or smell anything at all...and I'm NOT hungry at all... So I will let this week go by and next week is a new week...I can physically tell that I am loosing fat... It doesn't take long doesn't it??

Oh well a new week will start...

Later girls, I will keep lurking....

(my nose is sooooooooo sore from blowing it!!):lol:

Wow where to start? :dizzy:

Adriana: I sit at a computer all day as well but then again I play sport, plus I go to college at night and I look after the house etc as well. On my own as well when hubby is away.

My CPB results?? The first time I did it they were great. I would have to search through my notes to get my exact figures though. The second time wasn't so good.

My running is intense? I guess so I don't really notice it that much because I love to run. It's empowering. I tried walking but it bores me to much. I used to get shin splints when I was over 200lbs but they disappeared when I got to about 180lbs. :smug:

Cheryl: my brownies weren't gowey at all they were solid but kinda like cake my rubbery. I do know that the one thing I did different to normal was I whipped my egg whites to form peaks and I blended it very very well. I also had the nuts in it as well. Besides that I don't know. :(

Lana: Sorry about your nose! I really wish that I had a training partner but there are hardly any girls who lift in my gym and those that do use the little pink dumbbells normally. I am yet to see another girl use the big boy weights like I do. :(

Well personally I am great. I played soccer last night and we won 3-0 which means that we are still on top of the table. It was good to run around and I was soooo full of beans last night!

JC

Lana -- i hope you get well real soon. take it easy on your body or else it'll just take longer to re-coup. be well.


i did an evening workout and remembered why i don't like to workout inthe evenings :dizzy: too many people, too noisy and i don't really reach my full potential with the weights. strange how i can do a good cardio push in the evenings, but weights is another matter.

don't get me wrong, i still did an excellent chest, back and shoulders workout, but the whole time i just wanted to bolt because of the people who were there. i'm so anti-social :s: .

i changed up my cardio a bit, dumped the treadmill for a few weeks and went onto the stationary bike. now, that was a strange experience. i do spinning 2-3 times per week, which is tough, right? well this innocent-looking stationary bike was so different than the spinning that i really got in a great 30 minutes of HIIT :D

i'm looking forward to working on that thing now for awhile.

i hope everyone had a great wednesday. i'm up at this insane hour (3:30 am) because i got up to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep. i'll go back upstairs in a few minutes.

take care !

adriana

Well, I went and worked out. I did legs today, I sure am outta shape! I must have done it wrong or something though, it didn't take me 46 min, it only took 25-30? Am I supposed to double up on things? Oh well.

I hate to say this..although I have suspected it all along. I am not going to be a gym rat. As much as I want to be it was a real pain. We live about 20-30 min from the gym so we drove in. My kids went in the pool while I worked out. So, there is the changing of the clothes to get in, the changing of the clothes to get out. Then the drive home. I am afraid this is not realistic for me, I am lying to myself. I need to get some home equipment I guess. I fear if its too difficult I will give up. I way dont want to do that. I have a free pass to the gym for a few days to try it out.

I called and Sears has the "Crossbow" on sale for $499. Any of you have experience with it?

Forgiven- Are you waiting a full 1 minute between each set? Usually it's rest times that throw people off.

It's great that you are realistic about getting to the gym; we're moving 20 miles away in 2 years and I'm already thinking about gym access, because mine will be too far at that point.

Lots of people at L and S do home workouts; I don't know about the Crossbow but many seem to do fine with a bench, barbell and dumbbells. A swiss ball is also good to have.

Adriana-
I've never even *been* to my gym after 2 in the afternoon; what I hear is that it's much more crowded and a younger crowd. I admit I'm spoiled going at 10 a.m. when there's almost no one in the weight room. The resolutioners are still in cardio classes now, they haven't discovered the weight room yet . :s:

JC- way to go on the soccer!

Lana- Hope you feel better soon; so far we've escaped any colds or viruses here at my house, but when we do catch something, all 6 of us seem to get it.

I'm off from the gym today, but have to go to my "job"; I work 2.5 hours a week at ds4's preschool as a lunch/recess aide. We will NOT be going outside today; right now it's 8º.

Laura

Laura, nice to meet you. You sound like you have been at this a while.

Forgiven, I work out at home w/ a bench, dumbells, and barbell. I bought my bench for $190 at Hibbets and about $150 for the olympic weight set. Dumbells I have been collecting over the years from places like Target and Wal Mart. I totally understand your reservations with your gym experience and having my gym set up at home suits my work/commute schedule. I don't know anything about bowflex however.

Lana, are you feeling better?

Almost a week into the split routine and I miss my old bfl routine. I like lifting 3 days as opposed to 4. But I am going to give it a whirl and see if I get used to it. I have a lot of uncertainty regarding the new workout that seems to inhibit having a really good workout. But then I felt that way when I started w/ instructions by the bfl book too.

Hope everyone is well and having a good week.

Hi Ledom!

I'm LLS over at L and S so I've seen you there. I've also lurked here for months so I feel like I know all of you (plus a bunch of others who seem to have fallen by the wayside).

I started BFL last March after losing 10 pounds doing the Zone (too little food, too much math) and then my own Sugarbuster's variation. I met Mel at the SB board on this site and she persuaded me to try BFL. We've also met a couple of time IRL; including one memorable night exploring most of South Jersey on our way to a bodybuilding show in November.:lol:

I started BodyRX in June and have been very successful with it. I'm doing Cycle 1 exercise again but my eating is very tweaked. I also think I will be changing my lifting routine very soon; I'm ready for a new split and think I may do :

-Legs
-Arms
-Chest/Shoulders
-Back/Abs

I don't do cardio, I find that I do just fine without it.

Laura

Forgiven, go try the Crossbow out and see what you think of it. My BF has a Bowflex and I really love it, I know the Bow is lots more expensive and the Cross and I can't critique the Cross because I've never tried one.

But be sure the bows are long and have a smooth movement to them. If they don't, don't get it. That movement is very important to avoid injury by jerking your arms or legs.

Really I think most pieces of equipment probably have a purpose to serve, if they're actually used.

My opinion (take it for what it's worth as I'm a gym rat myself for the same reasons Mel is - of course I live only 2 blocks away from mine and it's open 24 hours) is if you're gonna shell out five hundred smackers on a home gym, it's probably (pardon me here!) junk that you will soon grow out of and will end up becoming an expensive clothes tree :lol:

My suggestion - I have two actually. You can get a good workout with just dumbbells and an adjustable bench or Swiss Ball - I would STRONGLY suggest looking into PowerBlocks - they take up very little room and are totally adjustable. They might seem expensive at first - but if you figure out how many dumbbells you would have to buy in their place, they become a much better deal! If I had the room in my wee place, I would buy 'em (especially now as the Omni Fitness store down the street has them on sale this month!!). Check 'em out at powerblocks.com.

Another suggestion - if you have a Play it Again Sports in your area - you would get a much better deal. Also, check your Penny Saver or classifieds in your area (my husband loves www.craigslist.org - they're more a Bay Area thing though) for some good deals on gently used equipment. I see Bowflexes and other stuff like that advertised all the time.

OH and if you have an acquaintance or friend who is a weight trainer, bring him/her along to help you - and check www.eopinions.com to see what others think!

:wave:

Hi girls!!

I am alive again!! Feeling 100% better now... It's really amazing when you are healty how fast you heal...I only have the sniffles this morning...

I was going to go to the gym only on SUnday with my buddy but I am going tomorrow I feel I really need it....

JEC -- it is very difficult to find a WO partner compatible with you... I've gone through a few over the years and only 2-3 have been really good... I have a great friend who goes to the gym every day at 5am too, but she uses the pink dumbells :( , and now she's pregnant so she will be using the "baby" pink dumbells
:(:D... oh well....:?:

Home gym equipment front -- I am a total gym rat and every time I tried to WO at home I would fail...

Well I do have to get going.... I need to wo/do housework...

Later all... OH and thank you all for asking how I was...

BuhBye.....

I've used my brother's bowflex (probably more than he has) and don't like it at all. I'm assuming that a cross-bow is a cheaper version. The bowflex takes a LOT of time to set up between exercises, and even with the leg attatchments, you can't get a real good leg workout. The action is smooth, but the eccentric-concentric feel is quite different from real weights. I agree with Karen- go with powerblocks, a bench, and a swiss ball. I still don't think I could get a proper leg workout that way, but if you know you aren't going to go to a gym, it's certainly preferable to doing nothing. There are lots of folks at L&S who seem to get great results without a squat rack or leg press- I'm just kinda fond of those torture devices :lol:

Workout partners! Gosh I'd love to find one! Never have, and don't really expect to, tho. The only women I see lifting heavy at my gym train w/ a trainer ALL the time ( we're talking megabucks here!). Wouldn't it be wonderful if some of us lived near each other? There was a woman who briefly posted at L&S last year who lived about 3 miles from me, but she wouldn't even meet me, even tho I was the one answering most of her questions. Guess it was the "you never know who is on the internet problem". Oh well, just keep slogging along in solitary.

Lana-Glad you feel better!

Laura-I remember that night more as "escape from South Jersey" than exploring! We barely made it out before our hair pouffed up, our clothes got tighter, heels got higher and our accents changed! I've always wanted to see the back streets of Camden.....

JC- I had no idea Australia was on fire. We get so little international news, especially now with Superbowl Fever raging, except for pronouncements from our trigger happy president. And I read a REAL newspaper, not TV news.

I am dying from not going to the gym- gone from hard to lard in 5 days, despite eating clean. I snuck onto the exercise bike twice for 1/2 hour sessions, but no weights. Shoulders still bother me.

shoot- gotta go back to work,
mel

sure is nice to see you all here already :)

i'm hanging out here at the computer for a bit longer, waiting for a decent time to go to bed. i've been awake since yesterday morning (that would be our wednesday). i have pms related insomnia and it's that time now :dizzy: another day or two and i'll be just fine.

before i started working out in sept i would have this for 7-10 days before my period, so now 1-3 days is not too bad. i'm shooting for 0 days within the next year..... let's keep our fingers crossed.

no workout today for me because of the lack of sleep. i don't like to workout when i'm not sure what kind of rest and recovery i'll have. i'm hoping tomorrow i'll be able to do a legs workout and some cardio.

Lana - good for you !! that was a quick recovery and i'm glad to see you up and at 'em again ! it does make such a difference to be fit and healthy!

Laura - i also go from 10am - 1pm and that evening workout was torture for me! i'm back to my regular time from now on, it's like having a personal gym...... soooooo empty and sooooo cool :lol: i'm frequently in the pool by myself !!!

i admire all of you who have the gumption to workout at home. i've never even considered it -- buying equipement would be a total waste of money for me because i'd never do it at home. good for you all though !! all the more power to you. i'm sooo lucky that my gym is 1/2 mile away and i often walk there.

well.... it's time to pack it in for a good night's sleep.

take care everyone. see you tomorrow.

adriana

Hi everybody!

Things are going ok for me. After a derailment of going out to eat for lunch yesterday (for a coworker...no getting out of it!) I am back on plan. This has not been a great week for me eating wise. On Monday a friend of mine from Turkey made me a traditional Turkish breakfast. Very interesting, and I ate more than I should have. :( Trying to do better though! I have had good workouts. I am trying splitting up my UBWO and I am liking it better. I get bored too fast!

Next week I am going to do really, really well!

I posted a recipe. Please go check it out. I know it needs modifications, but I am not sure what. I want to eat it for dinner! Thanks :D

Carrie

I disagree on the inability to get a good workout w/a Bowflex, been using my BF's for a couple years now and have made good progress with it. The squat attachment has helped my legs immensely.

My belief is that any piece of home equipment is a good buy, if you can use it to your best advantage, this doesn't mean as an expensive clothes rack. LOL

Cheryl: I was having trouble as well.

JC

Well, I am glad everyone is feeling better and working out strong! This has been a good week for all (far as I can tell!)

I have done very well this week myself. Worked out hard every day and eating great! I did eat clean all day Sunday, then had a free meal. DANG! It wasn't even that good - and I made it! :lol: Rubens sandwiches and fries - blicky! (looking for barfy smilie...)

And speaking of blood sugars - I went to the "Diabetes Education" class at the hospital last night. OH! My GAWD! What a crock! Where shall I start? Ok, they had me fill out a typical meal plan for the day. So, I write down my 'clean eats' for a day (Chicken breast, steel cut oats, salad, egg whites....) and the nutritionist says "You're eating a "very high protein diet, that's just not very good" Ok, not getting off on the right foot with me straight away! :s: Then, we go into class and the very first thing they talk about is fast food! :mad: "You can eat anything you want, fries, a burger....Just watch your carb count". Now, I know why they do it. Cuz, they figure that's how everyone eats, so why try to change it.

Anyway, here's a sample breakfast. Now, remember, this is from the American Diabetes education class.

3/4 cup cornflakes
1/2 cup skim milk
1 slice toast
1/2 banana

Can anyone find the protein? If any of us ate that and tried to lift, we'd bonk - big time! So, I told her I have tested my BS after each meal for the last 3 weeks while eating the BFL way, and they are perfect. So, if you don't mind, I'll keep eating this way and not follow the meal plan you gave me. K? (She wants me to have 15 gms of carbs for a snack, like say a cup of melon :censored: ) She said, 'well, it's still very high protein, and you can try it and see how it works. If you want to use it for a while just for weight loss, that's fine, but in the long run, that diet is hard on your kindeys.' (thinking to myself as I am walking out the door, I'll show her in 6 months what a high protein diet will do! )

JC You get that test done yet! :D ;) I admire people who run. I don't run lest somebody be chasing me!

Lana - I lost my WO bud. She got a different job and now she's too tired! Funny too, cuz when we 1st started, she thought I was gonna be one of those "whiney chicks" :lol:

Adriana - you swim too! Sheesh, I can't keep up with you!

Forgiven - it's gotts be rough to live that far from the gym. Like the others here have suggested, try Play it Again Sports for a bench and some used weights. I worked out in the early 90's using 2 kitchen chairs and exercise bands!

Ledom - what does your split consist of? I bet you'll like it after a while!

Have a good night all!

not yet ok ok ok I am getting there - making the appointment is the easy part - trying to get the time off work is the hard part!

JC

Hi ladies!

Gosh, L&S is closed down for a day and there's a BRx invasion over here! I love it :lol: Hi Laura and Mindi! I lurk at all the BRx boards, so I feel like I know you guys.

Hello to all the newbies too :)

A quick update on me: I'm in my fourth week of BRx and LOVING the food and workouts. I've increased all my weights so that feels great. I haven't gained a pound, but I can tell I'm building muscle--I'm back up into some pairs of size 8 jeans which have been too big since April/May. I'm seeing a lot of definition in my thighs (finally!) so I know it's not fat. No measurements/BF% for another two weeks. It's a little freaky, but I know it's a good thing, and I know I'll probably end up smaller than when I started after it's all over with. Did you guys experience this, Laura or Mindi?

Probably the best thing that BRx has done for me so far is really to free me from the calorie counting/free day guilt that I totally obsessed over before starting this program. True, BRx doesn't have a free day, but I don't even want one. I haven't had anything that's not authorized in almost a month and it's fine! Crazy, because I was the BFLer who had out-of-control free days even after doing it for a year and a half. I think that my body finally has the calories it's been asking for. I haven't done any cardio other than a 10min treadmill warmup on leg days for a month either...I have to admit that I was scared of giving it all up, but I've really experienced new highs during my weight workouts that more than make up for the good ole runner's high.

Just to weigh in on the CPB discussion...when I did CPB, I specifically asked Pam for a program that would kick my butt and be kind of like a competition diet because I wanted to see what it was like. It was killer! Much, much harder than I expected. I think that doing her programs without the end result of competing is difficult...you need that constant deadline and positive pressure to make the program work for you...at least that's how I felt during it. I really had a hard time with food in general on it. I was hungry a lot and cheated more times in that month than I ever did on BFL in over a year. It made me really question my resolve and made me just want to throw it all out the window more times than I'd care to admit. Pam is awesome, inspiring and wonderful, but I just wasn't ready for that caliber of program.

It's so good to see that everyone here is on track and making progress...

Ledom--you'll get into the groove of your new split soon, I'm sure. It's hard to go from one thing to another, but think about how your body's going to respond to this change! It hasn't caught on yet and you'll see great progress because of it.

JC--I see you still haven't spilled the beans. I for one am anxiously awaiting your announcement :)

Karen--You always seem to have the best time at those stables. I'm so glad to see that things are still going well for you!

Oh, what I'd give for a female workout partner! Too bad Laura and Mel live on the other side of the state from me! I've met a few women at my gym who I have contemplated working with, but I feel like I'm too picky, I don't know. And shy too, that doesn't help any :)

I'm going to really make an effort to check in here more often, I miss you guys!

Maggie

Hey Maggie!

Yeah the guy at my gym (Sean) who is the single best built guy there (I met him by asking him if he competed at all - and he doesn't! - shame) - well we talk all the time because we understand each other like most true body builders do. Anyway so I was complaining to him about getting to the 'next level' physically and he suggested that I needed a training partner. I had never considered it before but it sounded cool. That's when I mentioned to him that it was a bit hard because none of the girls there lift heavy. He said he understood that and that he hadn't seen one other girl anywhere near my strength. He offered to train with me 2 days a week but it's hard to co-ordinate times with him. Oh well I guess that I can keep hoping.

By the way I was thinking about changing gyms to a larger one that is still close but further away than my current gym. It's a bit daunting though and I am not sure if I should.

What do you guys think?

JC

glad to see you all here :)

JC - that bigger gym might be just what you need to move up to the next level. have you checked it out yet? even if you have maybe take another trip there and check it out with a different eye this time...... like where can it help you to go? good luck!

Maggie - that's soooo great that you're loving the BRx program as much as you are! good for you :smug: i personally would die without my cardio, it give me much more than the fat loss help. i don't take a free day with the bfl because it never made sense to me -- kind of like two step forward, one step back. when did you do CPB? from what i've heard she is an awesome *pusher* ! i'm starting to think about it for after this C2. we'll see.........

Niffer - :lol: i would have gone ballistic in that seminar!! the things that are passed off as *medical* or *informative* sheesh! keep downing that protein woman :dizzy: i can't believe she promoted fast foods :mad: !!


i didn't workout yesterday and i feel like a total lump on a log today! why is that? anybody else feel that way with just one day off? i'm now officially exhausted because i need to now catch up on my sleep. i hate my pms insomnia problems !! i'm starting to consider a sleep aid during these days. i'll have to talk with the dr. about this because it's starting to really interfere with my program each month :( . there's just no way i can do a great, killer workout when i'm this tired ! sleep, sleep, sleep !:eek:!!

i hope you all have a great friday! take care.

adriana

Hi girls,

Adriana ~ before you consider taking a sleep aid why don't you try taking some calcium/magnesium supplements before bed...myself and many of my g/fs have problems sleeping, for us it's because of perimenopause.... It has helped me 100%, magnesium relaxes the muscles.... just my 2 cents....

Maggie ~ welcome back... nice to see you again... I would probably enjoy BRX, cardio is not my fav....

JEC ~ Try the new gym.... maybe a good change of scenery is what you need... when I started at my gym about 5 years ago, after being at my old gym for eons... The first day was very intimidating...maybe not intimidating, but I was shy, and I really kinda had to prove myself.... and I didn't want to seem unknowledgeable, afterall, sheesh....... well for the first month or so, it's hilarious when I think about it now, I got the best 10's of my life....:lol: .... just trying to show off.....:^:

Niffer ~ I so thought of you this morning, because I had read your post last night before bed.... when I was at my parents this morning visiting, my dad (75 yrs old) has diabetes, and he and my mom were asking me about labels, and how to read them and the sugar contents in them.... and my dad looked at me and said: "How do you know all those things...?." .... because he said it in a very proud sort of way, and my dad is a man of very very few words, I swear my Pa has never, ever, EVER, raised his voice to me.... My MA was THE boss.... and she so hates that when we bring that to her attention...:lol: cause she doesn't see it in her at all.....But I felt really good that they had asked me those so important questions ....GAWD, can you believe that they actually say it's "OK " to eat junk in those meetings....:doh: ....

Anywho gotta go.... getting my nails done this AM....

Later all....

HI ya Maggie!

Don't lurk on the BRX Board, post!:)I definitely gained muscle definition on my first go w/BRX and I'm hoping to see even more this time, along w/more fat loss. I may have to tweak it to get what I want, but I'm not exactly sure how to proceed yet. Naturally I want it all now and no waiting! LOL

Interesting about your CPB experience..I had mailed a regular on L&S about it and he said he believed that individual programs were better than a program like BFL or BRX because of the individual set up. But I fear that it'd be another low cal program and that doesn't work for me at all.

I can't bear the hunger.

Lana what a sweet story! I bet it makes you feel good that your dad thinks so highly of you! Some men are put here just to be fathers to daughters. It makes a world of difference.

JC, did I see somewhere that you had an announcement to make.....


Kaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrren? You workin hard, or out horsin around again? Hope your week went well!

I am off to meet and old friend. Her mom was just dianosed w/ breast cancer. My mom had it 15 years ago. It was horrid. I hope I can help her in some way.

Susie

Hi everyone!

Nice to see it so busy here.
Maggie- my experience with CPB and the 10 week I continued it without Pam were much the same as yours. I told her to give me a very intense program, and I found the lifting actually easier than what I'd been doing, just a ton more cardio and the endless lettuce and chicken and egg white combos tedious. Without the deadline to compete or the need to drop 50-100 pounds, it's hard to maintain that nutritional deprivation for very long. I had good results, not spectacular. And I was very depressed for a while because after about 20 weeks of it, I feel I made little progress for the effort, and was starting to binge and cry alot. I also probably sabotaged myself training for the 1/2 marathon- all the truisms ARE true- endurance aerobics are not good for bodybuilders or fat loss! I've taken this week off from the gym, upped my calories and fat some, and am starting to incorporate BRX nutrition. Still trying to figure out what I want to do lifting wise come Monday.

This week away from the gym is KILLING me :?: I'm going in a few minutes to have my rotator cuff and supraspinitus worked on by my chiropractor and message therapist- that's helped in the past. I just haven't had time to get there lately.

Niffer- Your post reminded me of how I ate when I was pregnant with #2 and had gestational diabetes. I didn't lift heavy then, but swam and walked alot. The ADA diet was weird- 6 pretzels and a slice of cheese at bedtime, stuff like that. I followed it perfectly- didn't know different at the time, but for sure didn't eat fast food. I was able with all the exercise and careful eating, to stay off meds. Lucky for me, 9 months is a lot shorter than a lifetime (thoght that last month can seem like a lifetime :lol: ) I'm sure you have the knowledge to sort out the wheat from the chaff at this point.

gotta go get re-aligned :lol:
mel

after completely buring dinner to a crisp we ended up going out to eat at the new grill place just around the corner (kind of). i'm glad that no one here minded the cancellation in our shabbat dinner. i've never done something like that and i felt really bad.

i had grilled chicken liver, 1/4 pita with humus and various israeli vegetable salads. it was a good dinner ;)

Lana -- thanks for the suggestion. i'm also perimenopause and it has gravely affected my pms cycles this past year. i'm going to talk with my dr on sunday about the calcuim/magnesium that you mentioned and see what he thinks about the whole thing. i've got to get this straightened out before i loose my mind !

Mel -- you're starting to scare me off from the CPB :dizzy: :lol: i'm starting to think about it for after this second challenge. but i have a few more months to decide, right?

no workout today. i made a decision today to just take it easy till sunday and re-start week 3 on sunday. a couple of days off won't kill me. i'm hoping to get some sleep these next few nights.

i'm eating really good, which is a good thing. i've had a bit of a protein craving for a few days too, but that's not bad at all. i've upped the protein a bit and feel great with the nutrition. i'm being careful not to go low with the carbs and i'm sure i'm keeping a good balance.

now it's time to just pack it in for the day. tomorrow is going to be beautiful so we'll most likely go out for a day drive and a hike -- YAY :D :D

take care everyone,

adriana

oh - i've been meaning to ask you all, where on L&S do you hang out? what do you find to be the most beneficial on the L&S site? i'm finding it a bit difficult to keep up with the treads and posts; maybe i'm missing something good? thanks for the input!

I've just been a busy bee this morning - getting everything ready to ship out to Miami for my meeting next week. I've gotten just about everything packed and ready to go, so thought it would be a good time for a break to write y'all before Jim comes up to help get everything shipped...

We fly out on Sunday - my sister is going to take care of the kitties while we're away. Hopefully Sparky and Meg will really bond - most of the time they'll be alone together!

I'm hoping that the good weather we're having right now holds through - I don't want my lesson tomorrow to be cancelled since it'll be my last one until the first week of February. Ick!

Adriana - IMO - if BFL is still working for you then I would continue with it. It's when something STOPS working that it's time to tweak IMO.

Mel is right - CPB is pretty intense as far as the food goes. Like Mel, I hit the weights really hard and found the weight training that Pam gave me to be a bit less than I'm accustomed to - it takes a LOT to get me sore! And one thing I like about BFL eating (heck, bodybuilder's eating!) is that you get to eat a LOT MORE than you would on a 'traditional low-calorie diet'. I am a BIG EATER so that component of BFL (along with the Free Day) was the first thing to appeal to me. CPB includes a ton of veggies - which for me doesn't work all that well since I really don't care much for them...I really envy those of you who can eat bucket after bucket of broccoli! :lol: My trick is to mix my veggies with my carbs and protein - something like a stir-fry with chicken and rice. When I make Joe's Special I really load up the baby spinach and mushrooms - I do the same thing with my egg and potato concoction - sauteing onions, spinach and sliced mushrooms (and maybe a few sliced water chestnuts for crunchiness) along with the chunks of 'tater, then adding the egg whites and letting the whole mess cook. Sounds nauseating but tastes pretty darn good!

So anyway, this worked great on the days where I actually had complex/starchy carbs in my meals, but on low-carb days...well...I just choked 'em down, ya know?

Sleep aid - my favorite one is a nice hot bath. Calgon take me away!!! :dizzy: Generally that'll relax me enough to get me drowzy. That and my nightly fix of Seinfeld and SpongeBob Squarepants!

JC - I'm jealous! I don't have a workout partner. Actually I'm so accustomed to working out on my own...but I see Michelle (the buff chick at my gym) every morning with her workout partners and they seem to be doing fabulous. You should see Michelle - she looks just like a fitness model with a SIX PACK yet. I think it's the only time I've SEEN a six-pack at my gym!

Oops - more later - Jim just showed up to help me get stuff ready!

Do you who did CPB feel the cost of the program was justified by your results? Did you talk w/her daily or how did you keep track of your progress??

How long is the program?

Would you mind throwing out a ballpark figure of the expense?

Thank you!

Mindi- I guess the answer to that is "what are your goals?" The cost is listed on her website which I can't post here. I''m sending you a PM.

mel

MrsJim --

i'm most DEFINITELY continuing with BFL, the one and only thing that i'm not doing is the free day...... it's too much of a trigger for me and i need to keep eating really good for other medical reasons too!!

i LOVE bfl !! inside and out !! it works beyond any of my wildest expectations!

adriana

Yup - that's what time I got up this morning. And I was babysitting last night, came home and watched 20/20. Did y'all catch it last night? There was a quite interesting segment on teens getting WLS. I'm really on the fence about this because while I'm sure that there are people who may really NEED WLS, I think it's being overhyped as a cure-all, or like plastic surgery, when it is MAJOR surgery. Don't mean to insult anyone who has had WLS - we do have a board here - but I worry about what will happen 5-10-15 years down the road with so many people having the procedure.

For some reason I woke up at 3 am this morning. Could it have been a fluffy white CAT NAMED SPARKY who was craving his morning Krabby Patty? :lol: (we are SpongeBob fans here - and the kitties both love these treats - Tartar Control Whisker Lickin' Crab Cake Shape treats - so Jim and I call them "Krabby Patties" after the main dish at the Krusty Krab where SpongeBob works...sorry to ramble blah blah blah!! Not enough sleep!!) Miss Meg chose to stay with Daddy (Jim) in bed, lazy girl! I would've gone to the gym right then but I still need to wake up a bit - I'll go in the next half-hour. Saturday mornings are pretty dead there anyway.

With so little sleep, hopefully I don't fall asleep during my cantering in this morning's lesson!

Gonna run to the gym now...

I like SpongeBob, too....but 13-year old daughter is a fan in the true Fanatical sense of the word. SpongeBob pajamas, SpongeBob laces in her shoes, SpongeBob poster above her bed...she wants SpongeBob sheets and a SpongeBob comforter, and she's even willing to trade her double bed for a twin to do it.

I'm actually more of a Patrick fan....he's so brainless it's funny....reminds me of me on my worst days. :lol:

Sats. are my free day and I so love free day.

Laura and moxie girl - well, if feeling like you've been hit by a mack truck is any indication on how the new split is working - it's working great! I am much sorer in many more places than I remember since starting out. A funny, to me, thing happened yesterday. I had finally worked up to doing 110 lb. squats for my 6's. So yesterday, while I am not really doing the same style pyramid, I still increase weights to get to my high before my last rep. So I am on about the 7th rep and all of a sudden I am not coordinating my breathing and my lifting, I'm thing what the h*, I have done this before. I keep going and struggle to do my 10 all the time wondering why it's so much harder than I remember. THEN, when I unload that weight, my brain finally kicks in again and I realize I have added 4 reps and THAT is the difference. So somewhere in there is the proof of mind over matter, or maybe lack of mind over matter.

Another question/observation. On the night before leg day I anticipate it so much I sometimes even have trouble sleeping. What is it with that particular workout day? Do any of you have similar experiences?

Everyone sounds great. I do get so much from knowing that all of you are out there on the same path. I find this lifestyle almost addictive. Two years ago I took up kayaking and I would spend hours on all the kayaking boards, all that has been replaced w/ BFL/exercise boards.

I am going to look at the Brx book at some point. I just hear too much about it here and at l&s not to be curious about it.

On the state of the challenge. Tues. will mark the 1 month mark and after losing my christmas "fluff" on the first week NOTHING has changed on the scale. I mean, I am stuck weight wise. I continue to see my body compostion changing, as inaccurate as the tape measure is, I can see a 1/4" to 1/2" loss here and there. I have 2 pair of jeans that have been my "skinny" jeans on and off for the last 4 or 5 years and I am in them now. Though I will say, they aren't my most comfortable pants as they fit but are by no stretch of the imagination loose. Still, not embarrassed to wear them in public which I do just to prove I can. I just so want these particular jeans to be baggy because the also represent a sticking point in my weight battle - I think my body likes it here. This time WILL be different. I figure at some point, something has got to give.

Hi all and happy Saturday! :)

Ledom~ yes yes yes, I get so excited the night before, planning and thinking about form that I have trouble sleeping. I just thought it was me! Glad I have such great company! :D And, what are you doing any where near a scale? Evil things, throw it away! :joker:

Karen I hope you have a great lesson. About WLS for the youngsters. I think people have what I call the "Microwave Mentality" where no one wants to work for anything, OR take responsibility for anything. They want it NOW and that's the end of it. No working at it, just do it for me. Very sad.

I just want to go away somewhere, where no one can find me. Yesterday when I got home, my daughter said Paris (our Lab/Caffeine mix) had 'cut' herself. So, I tried to look at it and could get nowhere near her, of course. But, then she turned her leg and I saw the biggest gash! OH CRAP! I threw her in the car and took her to the vet, hitting every red light on the way there. She did not want to go into the vet's at all (she's had many vet visits and non of them fun! Let's just say she's 'accident prone', but a love none the less!) So, as soon as we get into the office, Paris starts bleeding all over everything! Poor little muffin. They looked at it and said it was bad and they would need to stitch it up. OK, do what ya need to. We went back to get her they said she was very lucky :lucky: . Had the 3 inch cut been 1 mm to the left or right, she would have cut arteries. :yikes: So, she has a nice green wrap on her leg and an Elizabethian (sp?) collar on and is snoozin away at my feet as I type. But, wait! There's more. I took her out last night at 3:00 to tinkle. This morning when I got up to let her out again, the door was open! And the cat was NOWHERE!!!!!!!!! I searched the house and couldn't find him, so off I went to search for him outside. Now, I'm not supposed to leave the dog alone but Mike is at work. I jumped in the car and drove around the neighborhood. Nothing. I came home and the little rat was sitting at the top of the stairs with a 'Who? Me? look on his face. :devil: All is well. All except my nerves that is!. :lol:

Cannot wait til Mike gets home, he'll watch Paris and I am going to the gym! Aahhhhhhhh :lol:

well............ saturday is finished here. what a quick weekend. but since i haven't done much of anything this past few days i'm really looking forward to starting whole new week tomorrow. i feel like i've been on vacation for some time now :dizzy:

i took today off as well, good thing too because i'm finally starting to *come down* from my insomnia and i'm sooooooo tired. i'm going to sleep good tonight, i can just feel it :cp:

so, tomorrow i will hit the gym hard with a chest, back and shoulders workout, then spinning in the evening. oh, how i love to spin :dancer:

Karen - i hope your cantering was good today and you didn't fall asleep up on top :lol: i do envy you being able to ride so much (probably not enough for you though, huh?). in university i took horseback riding as my phys ed for 5 years !! it was fantastic !!

Ledom - that is so fantastic about the jeans :bravo: another prime example of how NOT to be dependant on the scales !! good for you. oh, and yes, i do get myself worked up about my workouts, but that's because i love them so much. i really, really love doing legs though :smug: my one and only real tough workout is biceps/triceps. i'm still weak in my upper arms and it's a bit frustrating at times. but i'm working on it and i keep dreaming of gorgeous arms :goodvibes

Niffer - OMG !! poor Paris ! i hope she heals real quickly. does she do all this out in the yard or where? sorry to hear that the weekend has been a bit hectic like that.

====

about the WFL segment on 20/20.... of course we don't get it here, but last night there was a news segment on gastric by-pass that just tore my heart out. they presented this procedure as a *cure all* for being obese, like there are no issues to contend with after the procedure. i also agree that there are people who really need procedures like this, but it's being marketed now to the general population and i think it's dangerous. two women here in israel died last week as a result of the procedure (btw, that's how the segment started, as a headline of the two deaths) !!

wishing you all a continued wonderful weekend. sure is great being here with you all !

adriana

I have another scale-free method of charting my fat loss...my "teacher fat" is going away! For those of you unfamiliar with teacher fat, it's that stuff under your arms that jiggles when you write on the board. :lol: I can actually make a respectable "muscle" in my biceps now.

:wave:

Hi girls,

How is everyone?

Niffer -- happy to hear about puppy and kitty making it back home... It is a real pain when your better half is not around, we just depend on them so much at times....

ledom --- How are you?? long time no see! it seems.... Good for you on the jeans o' meter... hang in there and they WILL get nice and baggy... We all know you can do it... I too love leg days and plan it well too....

Finally I had a 100% free day today... Seems all last week because of being sick I was eating clean but always seem to fall off the wagon so to speak and would eat maybe only 75% - 80% clean and that wasn't good and I can feel it because of lack of exercise and bad eating ... so today was good and I'm on the road again...

I bought some glutamine today finally.... I will give that a try for a few months and see if this helps my muscles....

Well gotta go...

Later all...