Hello (Hello, helloooo)

Knock, knock…hello? Is this thing on?

I just commented on TB’s post it seemed serendipitous the very day I slinked back over here to take a peek around, he had just posted. It made me so happy to see, because I do so enjoy this place where we can all come to bitch, cry, congratulate and support each other. It makes me feel less alone in my on-going quest for self-improvement. Helps to keep myself accountable. This is a happy place and I’m damn glad to be back.

I started off about a week ago, very tentative. No exercise yet, but cutting out certain things that seem to be my albatross: sweets and soda. What an unoriginal albatross that is, but there you have it. Along with that, I got serious about upping the water intake, which is a lot easier when you’re not drinking work-day Diet Cokes and Black Cherry Kool-aid with dinner. I still feel you will pry the coffee from my cold, dead (caffeinated) hand, but I’m back to measuring the crap I put in it and trying not to go overboard with it. A little over a week and I already feel a little less bloated. Water. Who knew. (Everybody, including me)

Then Sunday I woke up feeling good and made a quick decision: Today is the official Getting Off the Ass Day. I wasn’t quite ready for Jillian (I’m meeting back up with that bitch tonight and I’m predicting pain), but I went a whole hour on the stepper and it wasn’t until a few hours later when I was having trouble walking I realized I probably overdid it a little. A very hot shower with some waterboarding on the legs miraculously did the trick and I managed another hour plus a long walk around campus yesterday. Only two days of this so far and my mood is ridiculously improved.

Another thing that seems to be helping is having fresh fruit in the house. When the ice cream monster strikes during nighttime TV, it’s helped a lot to have apple, oranges and grapes. Take THAT, sweet tooth bastard!

I’m going to try to keep my goals a little more short-term for the moment because I don’t want to set myself to fail. I don’t see the past few months as total failure and I’m thrilled that I only put back on 4 of the 14 pounds I’d lost – starting from a slightly improved standpoint does wonders to encourage me. But for now, back here at the starting gate, I’m concentrating on the next month. By the end of February, I’d like to be down another 10 pounds. That’s a realistic goal and should I lose any more than that, hooray, bonus. But that’s the goal and what I’m working toward.

It feels right.

On the Wagon

Okay.  Tiff’s back on the wagon, Kim’s back on the wagon, Steve’s training for another marathon, and bless her flexible heart, Crisitunity is actually getting paid to pull the wagon for some others.  (Way to go, C-Tune!  Yes, I thought that nickname up yesterday and thought it would make you cringe.)

And so, finally ashamed of my own suckitude, I’m back on the wagon with one wussy workout yesterday and more on tap.

Even though I really enjoyed Crisitunity’s post about chucking the scale and I intend to stick with it and skip the weekly weigh-ins I was doing in the fall, I did do one weigh-in yesterday just as a benchmark.  And to see how badly I sucked over the long Thanksgiving-New Year break, pigging out without a single workout.  The result?  Not as bad as I feared, but still not good.  196, or 7 pounds heavier than my lightest weigh-in in the fall.  I can do better, and I will.

SO.  I’m going to gradually try to cut back on teh nomz, particularly the Dove chocolates I tend to keep stashed in my desk, and less gradually work my way UP in the gym.  And instead of doing all cardio like last time, this time I’m starting out directly with resistance training and cardio combined.

Yesterday’s workout:

Dumbbell bench press:  1 warm-up set, 5 sets of 10 reps, medium weight
Barbell incline bench press:  3 sets of 10, light-medium weight
*I was feeling fine in my chest/triceps, but had a little twinge in my shoulders, especially the right, so I played it very safe with the weight on this set.

At this point, I’d planned to switch over and do deadlifts, but both of the barbell power racks were occupado.  So I took that as a sign that I should go back to my old split workouts, at least for a while, so I went with chest/triceps and did a light version of my old tricep workout.

Lying arm extension w/curl bar
SUPERSET WITH
close-grip bench press:  1 warm-up set, 5 sets of  10, light weight

(For those who don’t read Ads & Muscle & Ads & Ads & Muscle & Ads & maybe a little Fitness Magazine, “Superset” means you move from one to the other without resting between.  In other words, I’d do a set of the arm extensions and then just bench press the bar for a set.)

I finished up with one set of 20 straight-leg raises in the Roman chair.

Then I went for 30 minutes of cardio – all of the ellipticals were taken (the place was still pretty busy, I’ll give these folks credit for not being two-week resolutionaries!) but I didn’t cave to the instinct to wuss out, and so I parked my butt on a recumbent bike for a half hour.

So far, 15 hours later, only minor soreness.  Maybe all those push-ups during the break really did help.  Plan:  Back/biceps workout on Wednesday.  Random workout on Thursday – perhaps all-cardio, perhaps deadlift/shoulders.  Optional workout on Friday (whichever one wasn’t done on Thurs).

Rinse, repeat for the next, oh, six to nine months before I decide to change up the routine.  THAT’S THE PLAN.  YOU HEAR ME, SELF?

*Minor note:   Radiohead does not make for great weightlifting music…but it does make for pretty good cardio music.  Gracias again, C-Tune.  😉