That’s right. I went there. Salt n Pepa. What?
I feel like a total beast right now. I killed it in the gym this morning (fitocracy update coming soon) with upper push lifting and some genuine HIIT on the treadmill. Now I’m drinking my soy milk, cottage cheese, greek yogurt shake which totals out to 270 calories and 40 freaking grams of protein.
I have a shit ton of work to do today, but I’m feeling like a major boss this morning. I’m owning live so hard.
I’ve really been slacking on the cardio lately. I feel like I’ve killed it pretty dead with lifting, but the goals that I have require a little cardio. This week I will run on my upper body days. Just 20 minutes.
I have such a love/hate relationship with running. I know I’ll feel good afterward, and I know I’ll be in a better mood all week for it. Hell, I’ll even feel good while doing it. For some reason, I just have this huge aversion to it.
But I can push myself for twenty short minutes—that’s only five or six songs. And I never have time to listen to music anymore, so it might actually be nice! Charging the nano right now!
If you don’t see running on my workout summary tomorrow, get on me about it!
My four day split was just not working out very well. I wasn’t making it in four day a week, and the shoulder/ab day seemed a bit excessive anyway. I’m moving back to a three day split, and I’m going to try reverse pyramid training. Today I did exercises for day one and two since it’s been a week and a half since I made it to the gym, so essentially, I did my upper body.
For each exercise, I started with 7-10 reps of the move at about 50% and then 7-10 at about 75%. Then did my top set and two drop sets. I’m shooting for 6-10 reps in my top set, 8-12 in my first drop set, and 10-15 in my last. Once I get to max reps in a set, I’ll up the weight the next week.
DB Press: 11x20, 12x15, 15x12.5
DB Flies: 6x12.5, 10x10, 10x7.5
Tate Press: 5x20, 7x15, 15x10
Triceps Extension: 7x20, 8x15, 10x10
DB Row: 12x20, 12x15, 15x12.5
Zottman Curl: 6x15, 8x12.5, 10x10
25 minutes on treadmill — 2.23 miles
With the exception of the triceps extension, the weights listed are the amount I had in each hand. With triceps extension, I hold one weight in both hands.
RPT calls for four exercises: bench press, chin up, deadlifts, and squats. Which works for my chest/triceps, back/biceps, legs split. What doesn’t work is chin ups. I’m just not a chin ups gal, so I’m substituting DB rows. I have only four exercises for each upper body day and five for lower body, and I’m using dumbbells instead of the bar:
Chest/Triceps: DB bench press, DB flies, tate press, and triceps extension
Back/Biceps: DB row, lat pull down, biceps pull down, zottman curl
Legs: squat, deadlift, lying hamstring curl, adduction, abduction
If you have any suggestions for exercises that would be better than one I have listed, please tell me! These are just what I’m used to. I’d especially like to find something better for my lats and biceps than the pull downs, but for now, they’ll work.
Also, on upper body days, I’ll run for 20-25 minutes. I’m thinking about also doing a long run on a fourth day if my week permits. Maybe 40-60 minutes. Anywho, this has been a long post. I’m going to watch the Matrix while my boyfriend cooks me cilantro lime chicken and quinoa!
Bend over DB row: 15x10, 12x15, 10x20, 12x15 (amount in each hand)
Lat pull down: 15x50, 10x60, 5x70, 10x50 (SS with bicep pull down)
Bicep pull down: 15x50, 10x60, 5x70, 10x50
Reverse flies: 15x5, 5x10, 10x5 (I really need to work on these!!)
Zottman curl: 15x7.5, 10x10, 8x10, 10x7.5
Hammer curl: 15x5, 10x7.5, 12x5 (SS with inner bicep curl)
Inner bicep curl: 15x5, 10x7.5, 12x5
Treadmill: 2 miles in 20 minutes
My left bicep just can’t handle more than 10lbs, and once it’s managed to do two sets, it can’t lift 10lbs again. Poor lefty. She needs so much work.
On a stalkier note, I totally had a gym creeper today. Dude was standing maybe three or four feet to my left and spotting his friend on flies. First he kept glancing over from time to time, and I thought maybe he was trying to check out how much I was lifting. So I started verbalizing to my gym friend about my poor little left bicep. Then dude took his turn doing flies, and I just kept lifting. Then dude’s friend was back on the machine, and dude started checking out my notebook. I’ll admit, it’s pretty fly. On the spread, there’s four days of workouts, and you guys know I’m a beast, so there’s a lot of sets written down. Once dude got his friend set up, he was back to creeper staring at me owning my 5lb dumbbells. Like, dude, tell me I have good form. Tell me you started with a puny arm too. Tell me I’ll get where I want to be. Ask me how long I’ve been lifting. Ask me where I find my workouts. SAY SOMETHING. Don’t just stare. Creeper stare is creepy
.
I haven’t worked out since Friday yoga. I haven’t run since last Thursday. My body is like, wut?
DB flies: 15x5, 10x10, 10x10, 15x5
DB triceps extension: 15x10, 12x15, 7x20, 10x10
DB press: 15x10, 10x10, 10x7.5, 10x5 (superset with tate press)
tate press: 15x10, 10x10, 10x7.5, 10x5
NB: Weights for DB press and tate press are amount of one dumbbell in each hand.
Treadmill: 2 miles in 20 minutes
That’s the fastest I’ve ever run. I hit 7.0 for the length of Fell in Love with a Girl, about two minutes.
Turns out my gym closes at 8pm during the summer, so leaving my house at 7:30 really didn’t give me a lot of time to do anything but warm up and one shoulder move. I guess it’s a good thing it was shoulders and abs day. My delts are my weakest muscle, so I was able to get a little workout at home with my 8lb weights. I decided hold off on abs until Saturday (legs day), and I took Topher and Stuart for a run outside
Shoulders:
rear delt row: 15x5, 10x10, 10x15, 10x10
upright row: 12x10, 12x11, 15x8
frontal raise/lateral raise superset: 15x3, 10x8, 10x8
shoulder press: 15x3, 15x8, 15x8, 15x8
Run:
2.09 miles
24 min 13 sec
11 min 35 sec avg pace
It’s definitely easier for me to run in the air conditioning than in 85 degree weather that feels like 94 degrees and on a machine that will hold my pace for me than with a dog who stop to pee often. Not hating, though. I could have pushed harder and just didn’t. Now, back to work!
And yoga tomorrow!
DB flies: 15x5, 10x10, 5x12.5, 10x7.5
DB triceps extension: 15x10, 10x15, 5x20, 10x12.5
DB bench press: 15x15, 10x20, 10x20, 15x10 (superset with tate press)
DB tate press: 15x15, 10x20, 10x20, 15x10
machine squat: 15x60, 10x80, 8x100, 10x60
trans. abduction: 15x85, 10x100, 8x115, 10x85
trans. adduction: 15x100, 10x115, 8x130, 10x100
treadmill: 2 miles in 24 mins
.25 @ 3.0
1.5 @ 6.0
.25 @ 4.0/5.0
I missed legs day on Saturday, so I wanted to to do a little legs today. I ended with the leg exercises, so my legs were pretty tired when I went to run. I definitely think I could have run a little faster, but I didn’t want to fall off. I think I’ve run on a treadmill twice in my life, and I’ve always hated it. But after running on the road for the past month, the treadmill wasn’t all that bad. I didn’t have to worry about pushing myself to keep my speed up or about the uneven sidewalks in a lot of my outside route. Overall, I think it went pretty well—especially since I’ve only run twice in the past week.
Someone was in the Smith’s machine so I had to use the squat machine instead. I’m really looking forward to using the Smith’s machine to figure out exactly how much I’m really squatting. I don’t think I’d be able to squat as much without the help of the machine’s pulley system. Maybe on Saturday (my next legs day) no one will be using the Smith’s machine and I can see how much I can squat without pulleys.
I also think I might start running 5K instead of just two miles. The a/c in the gym made such a difference in my endurance. I could warm up with a quarter miles, run two, walk a half, run two, and cool down with a quarter (or so) until I can get up to running the whole 5K. We’ll see.
- Run early.
- I repeat: Run early, seriously.
- Think about the lazy people still in bed. Feel smug.
- If you have to add a short loop to hit your miles for the day, do it at the beginning.
- Run on a shady trail, preferably next to a river or a lake.
- Wear light clothes made from tech fabric.
- …
17. Compose blog posts in your head.
Every. single. time.
(via upforsomethingbeautiful)
Source: 007runner
Looks like I’m doing cardio in the gym for the next couple of days! I think it’s supposed to stop raining sometime Wednesday. I’ll have to look out for breaks in the rain to take Topher outside! Poor pup. He loves our run so much.
After legs day at the gym yesterday, my legs and butt were burning! When I started running, I immediately made a deal with myself that I could stop at the half mile point. When I got to the half mile, I was about to cross with a male runner coming from the opposite direction. Obviously, I couldn’t stop. I told myself I could stop at three quarters. But then there was an older guy walking from the opposite direction. Again, couldn’t stop. When I was at about 8/10, my butt stopped burning so much, so I just kept going. I hit the mile and kept going. I think I stopped twice to walk for about 20-30 seconds in the first mile and a half. Otherwise, I ran. And apparently, I ran fast. I ran my fastest mile today!
2.22 miles
23 min 19 sec
10 min 29 sec avg pace
Previous PR mile: 10 min 38 sec
Current PR mile: 10 min 13 sec
Holla. Not my fastest overall run, but I’m feeling pretty good about that mile! Thanks to The Joy Formidable and Razorlight for today’s power songs.
I’ve changed my sleep schedule again. I’m now completely listening to my body. I get sleepy at 9, but I’ve been pushing myself to stay up until at least 10:30 or 11. I like to get 7.5 hours of sleep because I read that REM cycles are 90 min. Sleeping in 90 min increments means you won’t wake up in the middle of a REM cycle, thus you wake up more easily and feeling more awake. But Saturday night I couldn’t stay up any longer, so I went to bed around 9:30. Sunday morning, I woke up at 5:30, but lay in bed until my alarm went off at 6:15. Last night, I again got tired at 9 and went to bed at 9:30, so I set my alarm for 5:30—I figure it takes me about a half hour to actually fall asleep, so 10-5:30 would be 7.5 hours. Well, I woke up at 5:15. I lay in bed in Savasana for the fifteen minutes until my alarm went off. I got up, felt awake, did my morning thing before running (drink some water, put on running clothes, check tumblr, etc.), and had a great run.
I might have the sleep schedule of a four-year-old, but as long as it works, I’m owning it. Now, off to do ALL THE WORK! 
Of course, two days after yoga, I really start to feel it. My hips are actually more sore than anything! Having my friend’s son teach a class was so beneficial. Though sore, my hips feel more open than ever, and I’m excited that I know how to get into each pose more correctly and fully. Also, the entire backside of my lower body is sore—glutes, quads, and calves—which is kind of problematic because today is legs day at the gym. They don’t hurt very much, but enough that I didn’t want to push myself running so I could get the most out of my gym workout.
2.13 miles
25 min 51 sec
12 min 7 sec pace
That’s actually faster than I was expecting. I thought it’d be closer to 12:30, so I’m pretty happy with that pace considering the amount that I walked.
Off to eat a delicious, protein full breakfast of eggs, Go Lean, and an orange! Then working on thesis, going to the gym, and finishing up this week’s GA work. I’ll be so glad when I’m done with this thesis!!!
This is mile ten. Only 456 more to go! It’s all road, tree, and sky still. I think I have about eight miles before I hit the next town, and it’s extremely small. Prepare for many pictures of road, tree, and sky for a little while!
Here I am, on my way to New Orleans. Not much to see, but it’s kind of pretty.
If I didn’t workout, I probably wouldn’t like LMFAO, but I do, so I do! Everything is just so upbeat, it pushes me to keep working and pushes me to go faster.
2.28 miles
23 min 33 sec
10 min 20 sec avg pace
My pace is inching back up there! My best average pace was 10 min 2 sec. Maybe in a week I’ll be closer to that more regularly. All I know is that I feel like I’m going to die, and at some point I’d like running to at least get a little more enjoyable. I honestly hate it, but I decided a while ago that I need to go for my dog, not for me. I can go to the gym and kill it on the elliptical, but Topher is cooped up in my small apartment all day. He needs a good run every morning. And if I’m going to be out there, I might as well push myself as hard as I can!
The rest of today is crazy busy. At 9 I’m going to the gym with my two best friends, which means I’ll get a great workout because we’ll all push each other to lift that heavy ass weight just one more time. We’re working pull muscles and obliques. Then I’m going to edit for a few hours, and at 2 go to yoga, again with my two besties! Between pull lifts and yoga, my back is going to be screaming tomorrow! My day of besties does even end there. After yoga, we’re going on a triple date to get some pizza and see Cabin in the Woods because it’s a freaking awesome movie and it’s in our two-dollar theater now.
I’m so excited about today!
Today, I was graced by two Yeezy songs in a row! Get ‘em High and Stronger. It’s like Ye was saying directly to me that I should be running better.
You should be honored by my lateness, that I would even show up for this fake shit.
What?! I’m not about to let anyone call my running some fake shit. Push harder.
That that don’t kill me can only make me stronger. I need you to hurry up now, ‘cause I can’t wait much longer.
I’m hurrying. I’m hurrying. I’m hurrying. Push harder. Push harder. And apparently, I kind of did.
2.27 miles
23 min 15 sec
10 min 15 sec avg pace
So still not my fastest run, but the lady body things are dragging me down a little. Also, I haven’t done any strength training in a week, but I’m about to go to the gym! Push day, so I’m working chest, shoulders, and triceps. Tossing upper abs in as well. I’ll have a list of moves/reps/weight this afternoon.
And before I forget, here’s where I am on the road to New Orleans!
There goes my hero! Watch [her] as [s]he goes! She’s [extra]ordinary!!!
Yeah! So sometimes I edit songs to fit me better. I mean, they are about me and all. Dave just thought that his version fit the riff better. He told me so.
And now you all think I’m batty! So here’s today’s run:
2.2 miles
23 min 51 sec
10 min 49 sec avg pace
Nothing amazing, but nothing terrible. I’m still under 11 min for my pace, which I think is my new goal everyday. More improvement! In five weeks, my goal has decreased from 12-13 to 11:30-12:30 to >11. I feel pretty good about this! Maybe in three or five more weeks, I’ll have that down to >10. I can’t imagine running a 9 minute something seconds mile. It kind of makes me giddy just to think that it’s probably not that far away!
Also, this is where I am on my way to New Orleans
The sky is really pretty! And I tried to zoom in on that billboard to see what it was advertising, but when I zoomed, the picture became too pixelated for me to see. Oh well.
So yoga was cancelled yesterday, and I tried to talk myself into doing the strength and ab moves from the first level of 30DS, but I didn’t. And today I was going to do 30DS, but I’m not. I’m going to the gym tomorrow, and I don’t want to overwork any muscles on my first week. I might have to save 30DS for days when I am supposed to yoga or gym but don’t or can’t. Going to the gym three days a week and doing yoga two days a week doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for my muscles to rest. I don’t want to do too much by adding in two days of 30DS. I’ll see how this week goes, and if I feel like it wouldn’t be too much, I might shred next week on T/R.
For the rest of today, then, it’s editeditedit. I have 30 pages left in the section I’m working on, and I need to get it sent off today. Then I’ll be catching up on GA work. I should be able to be completely caught up and back on schedule today!
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