Make em’ Hurt

Make em’ Hurt

My biceps are my best muscles. Weird statement to make? Eh, maybe, but I like to know my strengths and weaknesses. I call them my best muscles because they are my most visible muscles. I try to hit biceps 2x week, but my biceps routine has been pretty stale for a while. I used to just curl a 40 or 50 lb barbell both seated on a bench and standing and do dumbbell hammer curls. A few months back I took up with curling an Olympic barbell instead, it is over 7’ long so the need to stabilize it makes the muscles work harder. I usually just do the bar (45 lbs) so that I can go high rep (15-20/set), but my current heavy record for Olympic Barbell Curls is 65 lbs for 5 reps. I’m also a big fan of the hammer grip rope curl which is essentially a triceps rope pull-down flipped 180 degrees as a pull-up to hit the biceps instead. I love those last two exercises, but I know my body has come to expect them and that I need something new to keep my muscles guessing and adapting.



Today I added in a tip from IFBB Figure Pro Mona Muresan that I read in the current issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers. I have sporadically tried and then run and hid from standing high cable curls. I have to set the weight low and even then I feel like my form is off and I’m not doing them right, so I promptly quit. Mona, however, does a one-armed version which I tried today. You grab the side of the cable station with your resting arm to stabilize yourself and then focus on your working arm. By doing them this way you're able to carefully control the movement to ensure proper form. I did these only a few hours ago to polish off my biceps and they already have a quiet ache. My biceps do not normally experience muscle soreness, so this move is getting a big thumbs up from me. Here's hoping it hurts to hold up my blow-dryer tomorrow! =)

Today’s Biceps & Triceps Session:

1)Elliptical for 15 min to warm-up.

2)BT Superset 1, warming up the muscles:

Set 1: 15 reps Olympic Barbell Curls (45 lbs), 12 reps Dumbbell Standing Triceps Extensions (20 lbs)
Set 2: 15 reps Olympic Barbell Curls (45 lbs), 12 reps Dumbbell Standing Triceps Extensions (20 lbs)
Set 3: 15 reps Olympic Barbell Curls (45 lbs), 12 reps Dumbbell Standing Triceps Extensions (20 lbs)
Set 4: 15 reps Olympic Barbell Curls (45 lbs), 12 reps Dumbbell Standing Triceps Extensions (20 lbs)

3)BT Superset 2, make em’ work:

Set 1: 8 reps each arm (full set, then switch) Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curls (25 lbs), 16 reps Triceps Bodyweight Bench Dips (body weight ~ 140 lbs)
Set 2: 8 reps each arm (full set, then switch) Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curls (25 lbs), 18 reps Triceps Bodyweight Bench Dips (body weight ~ 140 lbs)
Set 3: 8 reps each arm (full set, then switch) Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curls (25 lbs), 16 reps Triceps Bodyweight Bench Dips (body weight ~ 140 lbs)
Set 4: 8 reps each arm (full set, then switch) Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curls (25 lbs), 16 reps Triceps Bodyweight Bench Dips ( body weight ~ 140 lbs)

4)BT Superset 3, cable station:

Set 1: 10 reps Hammer Grip Rope Curls (50 lbs), 10 reps Triceps Rope Pushdowns (60 lbs)

Set 2: 10 reps Hammer Grip Rope Curls (45 lbs), 10 reps Triceps Rope Pushdowns (60 lbs)

Set 3: 12 reps Hammer Grip Rope Curls (40 lbs), 12 reps Triceps Rope Pushdowns (60 lbs)

Set 4: 12 reps Hammer Grip Rope Curls (40 lbs), 12 reps Triceps Rope Pushdowns (60 lbs)

5)Polishing off my Biceps:

Set 1: 12 reps each arm Standing One-Arm High Cable Curls (20 lbs)

Set 2: 12 reps each arm Standing One-Arm High Cable Curls (20 lbs)

Set 3: 8 reps each arm Standing One-Arm High Cable Curls (30 lbs)

Set 4: 8 reps each arm Standing One-Arm High Cable Curls (30 lbs)

Set 5: 12 reps each arm Standing One-Arm High Cable Curls (20 lbs)

6)Polishing off my Triceps:

1 Set 12 Dips on the Assisted Pull-up Machine with a 60 lb offset

3 sets Dumbbell Single Arm Overhead Triceps Extensions to Failure (10 lbs), failed between 6-10 reps each arm, decreasing with each set

7)Stepmill…5 min and then remembered I’m not on a lean out right now so I decided to be done and nix the cardio =)


My biceps may be my best muscles, but my right one takes the prize. Symmetry is important in bodybuilding and if I flex my right bicep pops up noticeably higher than my left one. I don’t think the inequality has anything to do with what I do in the gym as I work them equally there. My theories are kind of humorous. Just this week I’ve started wearing my iPod armband on my forearm for biceps day as I’m concerned that the tightness of it on my left bicep is restricting the muscle when I’m working it.

The second theory is my flexing habit. Since I took up with this blog adventure I’ve had many random conversations where I happen to mention that I’m into bodybuilding. Outside the gym in street clothes I really don’t look the part. I weigh 140 lbs and have noticeably big arms for my body, but I’m a size 4, relatively tiny in the scheme of the world. This always leaves me wondering if people think I’m a big dreamer when I mention being into bodybuilding, so I always tend to follow up the statement with a quickie right bicep flex. It pops up and that’s when people tend to react. It’s entertaining. As anyone who has practiced posing for a competition will tell you, posing is a workout in itself, so I wonder if always popping my right has caused it to be bigger than my left. Those are my two silly theories; the third and most reasonable one is simply that I’m right-handed ;)

Leg Day aka Lunge Love!

Leg Day! =)


Leg day is one of my favorites. The flaw with it though is that if your energy isn’t there it can be pretty tough to get through, especially squats. Yesterday I was feeling pretty weak so the result was Smith Machine squats to the floor, but only 4 sets and never more than 35s on the machine (putting the weight at about 90 lbs). By contrast when I go into leg day feeling strong you might catch me at the rack doing a set of parallel squats as high as 165-170 lbs.

When I do legs I like to have at least one, preferably all three of the big compound leg exercises involved: squats, leg presses, and lunges. Many people will point out that the dead lift should be included in the big compound leg move list. I didn’t list it because I largely avoid them as they make my lower back tighter than I’m comfortable with. Then I round it out with more targeted moves such as hamstring curls, leg extensions, hip adductors, hip abductors, cable kickbacks, standing unilateral leg presses, single leg squats, dumbbell step-ups, stiff-legged dead lifts, good mornings, etc.

Lately without a strict gym goal to guide me I make up my workouts as go along. Yesterday worked out to be:

1)Smith Machine Squats
Set 1: 70 lbs x 10 reps
Set 2: 70 lbs x 10 reps
Set 3: 90 lbs x 8 reps
Set 4: 90 lbs x 8 reps

2)Leg Press
Set 1: 135 lbs x 20 reps
Set 2: 135 lbs x 25 reps
Set 3: 225 lbs x 12 reps
Set 4: 225 lbs x 12 reps
Set 5: 225 lbs x 12 reps

3)Walking Barbell Lunges
5 sets x 30 reps x 40 lbs on my back. The key here is finding a long straight place to walk out your 30 reps.



4)Leg Extensions (works your quads)
Set 1: 60 lbs x 12 reps
Set 2: 60 lbs x 12 reps
Set 3: 60 lbs x 10 reps
Set 4: 50 lbs x 12 reps

5)Prone Hamstring Curls
Set 1: 50 lbs x 20 reps
Set 2: 50 lbs x 20 reps
Set 3: 50 lbs x 16 reps
Set 4: 40 lbs x 20 reps

6)Stretching! I’m usually bad about stretching, but if I don’t make time for it on leg day I regret it pretty seriously the next two days. My hamstrings get especially tight so I focus my stretching on them.

If you’re brand new to weights and wanted to try a similar workout I’d recommend squatting to parallel with your bodyweight only, or perhaps one of the preloaded 20 lb barbells across your shoulders to get comfortable with the move. You can also place a bunch under your butt and practice squatting low enough to touch it without letting your knees go over your toes. For the leg press you would want to start out with the sled alone (most weigh about 45 lbs) and then add weight as you became comfortable with the movement. Walking lunges are known to be very hard. It has taken me a long time to work up to the rep counts and weight I currently use. Starting out with bodyweight only is smart. You want to focus on your form, making sure your knee doesn’t go over your toe, you don’t wobble on your ankle, but that you still feel a deep stretch in the movement. I’ve been stuck on the 40 lb barbell for forever. I occasionally grab the 50, but that tends to result in a lower rep count per set and I prefer to up my reps rather than up my weight with lunges. It’s a muscle group I’d rather tone and tighten as opposed to expand muscularity on, thus the lean towards high rep vs. high weight. The prone hamstring curl and leg extensions are machines and thus pretty straightforward to approach.

The leg workout detailed above hits the full legs and glutes with the compound exercises and then focuses in more detail on the quads and hamstrings. I hit legs twice a week and always include a handful of glutes focused exercises (such as cable kickbacks) on at least one day.

Squatting to the floor is an advanced move. Parallel is what you want to begin with if you're new to weights, but here's how I like to squat these days. This movie was made about a month ago and has been waiting for a blog entry!

Gym Happy! =)

Whew! It has been a long time since I posted. A lot of different topics to write about have come into my mind and then filtered back out like wisps. That’s the strongest “dislike” I have about not being a daily blogger anymore. I’m blogging tonight mainly because it relaxes me. Why relax? Tomorrow I have to drive 2 hours, sit for a 4 hour exam that will make, break, or be a neutral factor in my admission or lack thereof to graduate school and then drive 2 hours back home.

I’ve put my time into studying so I took the weekend to prepare myself in the best way possible: doing the things I love most with those I love most. My son, my boyfriend and I made our own pizza last night and it was delectable. I’ve made pizza dough from scratch in the past, but we took the easy route and bought a bag of whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. Consider this a five star endorsement of that dough! I was in charge of proofing and stretching the dough, Rich was in charge of the sauce spreading, Charlie was in charge of the cheese sprinkling, and we all topped it. Yum =)

Rich and I got in a solid workout yesterday that my abs are still very sore from (2 person abs exercises kick the butt of most self-administered ones. I wish I had a workout partner on weekdays too =) Today all three of us hit the gym and I met one of my current goals! I got my one rep bench press max up to 135 pounds. That’s 96% of my bodyweight, awesome! I did 4 reps at 115 lbs just prior or I *might* have been able to bench my bodyweight. I want to get strong enough to do a set at 135 lbs for 6-8 reps. Then we switched and I spotted Rich for 2 reps at 305 pounds. That’s 149% of his bodyweight. Sure, he has testosterone on his side and he has been doing this for A LOT longer than I have (about 15 years longer despite only being 2 years older), but I’m can’t resist feeling proud of him. When you lift with your boyfriend, girlfriend, son, daughter, friend, husband, wife, etc. you can sponge a secondary endorphin high off of their lifts just by feeling pride in what someone you love has trained themselves to be capable of. I feel really blessed to be with someone who loves this hobby / lifestyle as much as I do. Beyond that, I feel very blessed to see my son influenced by this hobby of ours. He smiles when he talks about going to the gym, as do I =)

Triceratops! aka Triceps are Tops!

I’ve been doing a three day split this last week. Saturday was chest, triceps, and abs, Sunday was off, Monday was legs and glutes, Tuesday was shoulders, back, and biceps, and today was back to chest, triceps, and abs. Are you detecting a pattern here? =)

I’m not biased when it comes to grouping body parts, so next week I might do chest and back together and biceps, triceps and shoulders together with abs on leg day. You get the idea. You can change it up a 3 day split invariably. Beyond that combination you can change up what you’re doing to work each muscle group invariably. This will keep your body guessing and your muscles growing.

Triceps really exemplify the variety principle. They’re the one muscle I don’t find myself getting bored with =) I’m a big fan of various triceps moves you can do on a cable station: rope pushdowns, a single arm variation of the former, straight bar pushdowns, single arm with a D handle, dips on the assisted pull-up machine. There are more, but those come to mind at the moment. There are various machines that hit your triceps, although personally I’m not a big fan of machine weights for biceps, triceps, or abs, but I’ll mix in some for chest, back, shoulders, and legs. To each their own =) When it comes to triceps I’m a big free weights fan.

Today I managed chest, triceps, and abs as follows:


1)Warm-up
15 minutes Stepmill
Triple Set repeated three times with no rest:
20 dumbbell pushups
30 medicine ball wood chopper squats
40 second side planks – 1 each side

2)Flat Bench Press in a Smith Machine (best substitute if your BF is unavailable to spot you ;)
Set 1: 75 lbs x 12 reps
Set 2: 95 lbs x 7 reps
Set 3: 95 lbs x 6 reps
Set 4: 85 lbs x 8 reps

My bench weight is not something I’m a fan of disclosing. It’s embarrassing! I’ve just started doing chest 2x week instead of only 1x. That and always including classic bench should help me build up my numbers. I’ve made a bad habit of subbing dumbbell benching too often. DB benching should ideally be used to augment classic bench, not replace it. My goal is to be able to bench 135 lbs on a free bench (not smith). Why that number? So I can have a 45 lb plate on each side and consequently actually look semi-buff. No, really. That’s my reason! =)


3)Triceps Time! Circuit Style – circuit repeated 3 times
1. Overhead Triceps Extension – 20 lb DB (sometimes I do 25, as in the video, but I’m not always feeling strong enough) x 8-10 reps
2. DB Triceps Kickbacks – 15 lb DB x 10-12 reps each arm
3. Skull Crushers – 30 lb BB x 10-12 reps
4. Bench Dips with Plates (45 lbs + body weight) x 8-12 reps
5. Single Arm Overhead Triceps Extensions – 10 lb DB to failure 4-5.5 reps per arm per set today)



The skull crushers aren’t a regular part of my routine. I used to do them a lot as they’re a primary move in most Body Pump triceps tracks, but I’ve done them little since I took up with free weights. I’m doing them now to shake things up a bit. Kickbacks make my triceps feel really swollen in a good way; they seem to pump blood in most effectively and make the skin feel really tight. The extensions are a classic standby and the bench dips with plates are my favorite because they’re fun. I also love doing the same move, no plates, just body weight. That way you can go to failure which always puts a smile on my face. I just love it when a muscle gets stuck at a half rep and you literally can’t budge it without an assist from your other arm, another person, or just quitting at the partial rep. That’s why I do single arm overhead extensions to finish the 5 exercise set. My triceps always fail early at that point and it is easy to take down the little 10 lb DB with your free arm when the active arm gets stuck =)

4)Abs Circuit – repeated 3 times
1. Shoulder Crunches x 30 reps
2. Reverse Vertical Leg Crunches x 15, 15, 25 reps
3. Mini Crunches x 15 reps

5)Cardio
20 min Elliptical


I don’t know what will be up next, but I think I will make a point of doing a video for each muscle and a corresponding post. In case you were wondering from tonight’s video…..yes I belong to 3 gyms. If you’re thinking of pointing out my gym “problem” it’s a little late, everyone already knows about that =)

Influence

Influence

I really hadn’t thought I’d convert to a “Fit Mommy” Blog, but when inspiration strikes one to write…

I was taking my last opportunity until fall quarter to workout at The Rec this morning. Today was both my last day of summer quarter and Charlie’s last day of preschool. I was in the downstairs weight room doing an upper body set (hitting back, triceps, biceps, and shoulders) when I saw Charlie walking in the main entrance with his class for their weekly round of swim lessons. One of his classmates had recognized me first and waved and then Charlie saw me and got all excited. There’s a big glass window facing out also I walked up and blew him a big kiss through the class. Seeing him excited and pointing with pride, “that’s my mom” means the world to me.

The reduced presence of required P.E. classes and funding for athletics in schools these days is something that bothers me. I think promotion of exercise at a young age serves so many positive purposes. It fosters the groundwork for a lifetime of healthiness. I’m not exactly writing a well cited research paper here or anything that formal, but over the years I’ve read many little blips about sports helping to keep kids off of drugs or drinking, more focused in school, less depressed, and healthier over their entire lifetime. I can see how exercise does all of these things, the endorphins create a rush to your brain making you happy, not desiring artificial and detrimental endorphins, and they relieve your stress and excess energy to allow you to sit down and focus when needed. My awareness of all these benefits is precisely why I was in the gym this morning instead of this afternoon. I had my last exam of the quarter at 12 pm and knew that the best way to mentally prep for it was to physically sweat before it =)

Naturally, I want my son to grow up with all of these benefits as well. I didn’t get into weightlifting because I’m a single mom and wanted to be able to teach stereotypically boyish hobbies to my son, but seeing his excitement and intrigue with the sport one more reason, and the best reason, for me to want to keep it up for the foreseeable future. A year ago when I first started with Body Pump classes he was exited to help and would proudly carry over the little 1 kilo plates for me. When we went to see family out of state and were caught gym-less he was pleased to be my weight for triceps stair dips and imitated me lunging across the courtyard. When we both began our new schools here last fall he most mornings say “I don’t want to go to school, I want to go to the gym.” When I was being a goof and set up a dumbbell at home to match his bodyweight ad curled it in one arm with him on the other he grinned. Around that same time he bent over and made an attempt, in what was essentially dead lift form, to hoist a 20 lb dumbbell at home. At that time that was 76% of his body weight, equivalent to my dead lifting 108 lbs…not bad for such a skinny guy. When I fixated on a YouTube video of Erin Stern doing a hang snatch with an Olympic barbell and wanted to try it he did too. Then, when I arrived home with myself and Rachael on video dong them at The Rec he REALLY wanted to try it. So he did, with his “horsey weight” and a HUGE smile. When I ordered Nicole Wilkin’s video we watched it together and then he started requesting the “girl with the big weights” movie over his usual classic kiddo movies. So when I saw him all elated to spot me in the weight room this morning it made my heart smile.

Whether we intend to or not we influence our children, even before they are born. It is said that a baby’s tastes begin to form around what you eat while you’re pregnant and what you eat while you breastfeed. When I was pregnant I ate a ton of veggies, whole grains, lean meat and dairy, oh and 4 Marie Calendar’s Chocolate Satin Pies (shhhh I’m human and those things are far too tasty to have come from the grocery freezer aisle). The funny thing is that is what Charlie willingly eats: veggies, lean meats, he prefers brown rice and 9 grain bread, likes his dairy, and is weak for chocolate. It is really hard to get him to eat more than two or three French fries, go figure.

I’m an imperfect mom: we watch a lot of movies together, don’t go exploring the outdoors as much as we should, etc., but I’m so immensely happy to be influencing him to not only see working out as an expected aspect of daily life, but to love it for what it is. I love that he gets so excited about trying the things he sees me do with weights. I absolutely cannot wait until I can take him with me, not to the gym childcare, but to the weight floor of the gym to show my little man how to lift =)

A side note: I expect my blog entries as “Fit Mommy” to occur sporadically with no predictable pattern whatsoever. I only write well when a tangent inspires me to do so =)

“There is a difference between giving up, and knowing when you have had enough.”

I quit. Actually, I quit a week ago, but I wanted to let it settle and make sure it wasn’t an impulsive decision before posting it here. I still train and lift and I intend to keep that up on a perpetual basis, but I quit the prep diet. The funny thing about the sport of figure is that it is essentially a dieting sport not a weightlifting sport. While it is true that to be competitive at it you must have both a solid training regimen and a very specific very restrictive diet plan, 80% of it is the diet.

There are many women out there who make all that work and are successful at it. There are caveats though; I recently ran into a woman I know who competed a year before I did and she said it well. She said that she loves the sport and the industry surrounding it, but that it is a selfish sport because it affects everyone around you. I thought she summed it up perfectly.

By training and dieting to gain the competitive edge I lacked at my first competition I was wiping out everything else in my life. I was really tired, coffee was useless, I was forgetful and lacked the energy to do anything else. At first I thought maybe I was just a wuss and would acclimate to 1,100-1,300 calories a day of very specifically combined and timed macro-specific mini meals, but then people in my life started commenting on my demeanor with concern. They all worded it various ways: “worried about me,” “that I was getting a bit loopy,” “figured you would want to stay in because your diet had you so drained.” It was costing me too much. My son comes first, doing well at school is important to me, I need energy to get my work done, and it is nice to be able to have a social life that includes dining without carting along little 4 oz. Gladwares and staring forlornly at your boyfriend’s or friends’ plates.

During and after my first prep, which will now be renamed my only prep, I started getting lackadaisical about other long-established goals of mine. I started questioning whether I should just quit with a B.A. in Accounting or just take random other classes to fill out a fifth year. I had pretty much moved a Masters off the table. Now that I’ve gotten my wits back about me I’ve become decisive and taken action. I had my major evaluation completed to confirm that I can graduate when I intend to with the class schedule I’ve planned. I also visited the Assistant Director of the MBA program to find out what I can do now to strengthen my application and undo the damage I caused to my transcript when I crashed after Ecup. Everything looked rosier than I had expected so I’ll be spending my free time before fall quarter starts studying to take the GMAT. That’s not something I could have done if I had continued on with figure. I’ve reordered my priorities and am much happier with myself now.

This does mean the end of Figure Mommy though. I’ve become pretty affectionate towards my blog so I’m sorry to say that. Part of me is tempted to cross out the “Figure” in my title graphic and rename the blog “Fit Mommy” sporadically posting tales / tips on maintaining / achieving a fit physique while balancing life with kid(s), but I’m not sure if the candor or quality would be there as that is after all a rather common theme.

For me, the whole point of my alter ego (for lack of a better term) Figure Mommy was to be rare, or most optimistically an exception to the rule. When people used to ask me, “how do you do it all?” I used to smile and minimize my obligations to deflect the compliment. The accurate answer is, “I can’t.” Sometimes saying it is the healthiest direction to take.

I saw this saying in my Google+ feed, the original author is unknown to me, but thank you to E.L. for posting it. I hope you don't mind my borrowing and embracing it =)


“There is a difference between giving up, and knowing when you have had enough.”

Wasssssssup??!

Day 18 Ironman Prep

How do you Wasa??!!

Wasa is a word you can say very enthusiastically to the point of ridiculousness (if you want to). I however had never heard of a Wasa cracker until a few days ago when I got my second phase of diet dictation. I had to Google “Wasa cracker” to find out. It turns out they are a super healthful cracker with big dreams of knocking out bread and replacing its role in dietary society! Or, um, something like that.

I intentionally have been staying away from my blog since getting my latest nutrition plan because I was being negative about it and I try to not write if I’m not going to have a good attitude (seems a fair presumption that you don’t read this to hear me bitch right? ;) It was a pretty big downer to tally up the new meal plan and find I was getting cut another 200 cals a day and see that one of my six meals consisted of half a can of water packed tuna and 2 Wasa crackers (three others are equally tiny). Some plain tuna with 2 crackers? Really? I’m supposed to eat that and still do things like expend 50% of my total daily caloric intake on an hour of quality time spent with a stepmill? The notion almost turned me into a quitter! So I took a few days to digest it, pun intended. I got the details behind my nutritionist’s philosophy and I realigned my attitude. I don’t want to be a quitter who only ever competed once, didn’t pace, and gave up. I want to get better at this sport.

So tonight Charlie and I went to the grocery store in search of the mysterious Wasa cracker. There they were, bottom shelf mid-cracker aisle and they were big. BIG crackers! They have a slogan on the package, “How do you Wasa?” With tuna thank you! Wassup Wasa cracker?!? Really, try saying Wasa dramatically. It’s fun. Say it like you’d saw “wasssssssup?!?” Or, just say I’m WEIRD, but in my defense one must delve deeply to stay spunky and positive about their figure diet!

My new plan dictates eating exactly the same for four days and then a second meal plan for the next three days. I’m pleased with the boringness as it makes planning and prepping easier. Plus, the more monotonous it gets the easier it is for me to quell cheat urges. Any creativity or variety just begs for a fueled flame to cheat. Same old same old is thus desirable =)

Wassssup Wasa cracker…. wassup??! Lean muscle mass is up and body fat is down! ;) Hehe.