ouch.

i am SORE.

Friday was back squats - I didn't go over 85lbs, but, well, my form kind of sucked and since I had a light weight (i.e., just the bar) for the metcon, I did a bajillion of them. Over 60 during the metcon and probably 5-6 rounds of five during the class.

As a side effect, the back of my neck is bruised from the several sets I did with improper bar placement. AND the FRONT of my neck is sore - the muscles in my freaking neck are sore - which PhillyGuy speculates is an extension of my form. He's probably right.

Handstands yesterday went well. Forward rolls less so, sort of, since I got stuck at the bottom of nearly all of them during the metcon. So I have a bruised lower back from that.

And - I'm just freakin' sore. During yoga today, we had what felt like the longest warrior sequence imaginable. Warrior one to two to reverse warrior back to two, and then some extended side angle, and I think maybe some twists in there, though that might have been another sequence. While it probably took less than 120 seconds per side, holding my lunge felt impossible.

Tomorrow's skillwork is front squats. Metcon is going to involve sprints and squats. The idea of doing more work with my tender legs is beyond me...

...but I could learn to clean.

So.

Should I be patient - since I will clearly have many more opportunities to learn to clean - and not push my sore legs?

Or should I just suck it up, foam roll like a good girl, and figure that by the time 6:30 rolls around tomorrow, I'll have all of the strength I need to get this done?

(Patience is not my best virtue. And I'm never sure when I'm making an excuse [which, believe me, I make PLENTY of] or when I'm being appropriately cautious.)

in the meantime...ouch.

REDEMPTION

thank god.

I was up early(ish) yesterday, and had plenty of time before crossfit to make breakfast. Of course, I didn't have much in the way of, you know, breakfast food. I knew I wanted eggs.

Delicious, over-easy eggs.

I improvised while the eggs were frying and ended up heating up the last of a rotisserie chicken I had pulled apart over the last week, dumping the eggs on top, pouring on a bunch of corn and black bean salsa, and mixing everything together.

At the last minute, I threw a handful of grape tomatoes on the side and called it good.

So, my fifth On Ramp class was at 11am yesterday. I was feeling a little disheartened after Thursday's pullup disaster, so I was happy to see that the WOD focused on a couple of (what I thought were) my strengths: short runs and deadlifts. My legs are definitely stronger than my upper body.

And halfway through the skillwork, I got to hear the eight most beautiful words in the english language:

"You're gonna be really good at this lift."

Skillwork was to build up to an easy set of three deadlifts, and then take it down by half for the WOD. We started to run out of time, but based on how my last three at 95lbs felt, I think I'd have been easily able to do 135lbs for the easy set of three. My form was good and I felt strong - which was so, SO refreshing after hanging there helplessly like a fish on the pullup bar the other day.

WOD was fabulous. Three rounds for time of "the short run" - a loop around the block that I estimate to be about .17~ish miles (not sure - definitely more than a tenth but less than a quarter mile) followed by 10 deadlifts. I lifted 95lbs for the WOD. Looking back, I could probably have pushed myself more on the runs - my hamstrings were burning on the last two - but I finished sweating and feeling good in 6:07.

Post-crossfit refreshment:

I felt completely redeemed in that class and I can't wait to go back. Yay crossfit.

Like the other night, I came home starving and craving something cool and refreshing. I threw together a quick salad with the last of what I had in the fridge - cucumber, tomatoes, olives and peppers, with some feta cheese.

Topped with my last two salmon burgers. Time to go back to Costco.

How's your weekend?

Mmmm, Weekend

This morning brought another quick jaunt for Cosmo and I to the Fitler Square farmer's market.



I felt kind of guilty leaving Sophie at home, but rumor has it she built herself a fort under the dining room table.



Honestly, I just can't take her with me if I actually intend to shop. She goes apeshit when she sees people -- all she wants to do is play! -- AND she doesn't have the same walking capacity that Cosmo does. She's all trot-trot-trot-happy for a few blocks, but then...she gets tired, and decides to lay down every few yards. I can't really manage to carry her AND the groceries AND my coffee AND walk Cosmo...so, she stays home for our farmer's market trips.

I had hoped for some fresh strawberries, but no dice. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (all of which I had already), and gooseberries (which I just wasn't into) -- that was it. I grabbed some asparagus, mushrooms, and a couple jars of fresh jam, all for about $10 -- not too bad.

When I got home, I set about making breakfast:

Chopped broccoli, mushrooms, and spinach went into my frittatta.





Plus some romano cheese whisked into the eggs.



(Non-farm-fresh, but still delicious) berries on the side.



Melted some fat-free american cheese (don't you judge me, I love that stuff) on top, plus a couple slices of bacon on the side...mmmmmm.



And yes -- real bacon. From a pig. Fried. None of that turkey bacon BS for me -- that crap is an abomination.

Afterwards, I cleaned up the house a bit and then headed to the gym for my daily dose of Tony Horton. I did 25 minutes on the recumbent bike followed by legs & back.



That's kind of what my thighs look like. Except maybe just the TINIEST bit...softer. TINIEST bit. I swear.

I know I say this a lot, but I've really been making noticeable strength improvements. Especially with my pullups. Today, before the first set of pullups, I figured I'd just do a little test. I set the counterweight at only ten pounds -- and OMG I did a pullup. It was HARD and I only did one -- my second, I failed halfway up -- but man, I just lifted almost my entire body weight. That is a tremendous, TREMENDOUS improvement.

I knock out about 8-10 pullups in each set, with 6 to 8 sets per workout, depending on which split I'm doing. I had started with a 75lb counterweight on the assisted pullup machine. I'm now down to 50lbs, and can probably go lower next week. At some point, I'd like to start with at least one unassisted in each set, and go from there.

Next thing you know I'll be doing Beast Skills.

Once I came back, I was SO ready for lunch. Enter the almighty Costco salmon burger:



with feta, baby spinach and honey mustard on a whole wheat english muffin. SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.

We've got a chill evening ahead of us -- running out to grab some ice cream, and maybe we'll On Demand a movie (god bless you, On Demand). I love weekends!

Still Basking

in the glow of my new track light. I know, I know...but really, I didn't set the place on fire. That's huge to me.

Saturday night's gym session was...OK.

I started with pull -- that went very well!

- lat pulldowns, 3x8 at 75lbs
- one-arm standing row, 3x8 with two resistance bands looped around that ever-so-useless hamstring curl machine (seriously, does that thing fit ANYONE'S body properly?)
- dumbbell bicep curls, 3x8 with 20lb dumbbells
- preacher curls, 3x8 at 42.5lbs

Then...I moved on to legs. I don't know what it was -- maybe that I wasn't wearing my knee sleeve this week? -- but I came close to pulling a hamstring during my second (or maybe it was third? Can't remember -- I should really blog closer to the event!) set of lunges. It just ain't worth it, you know? I abandoned that after two abortive attempts at resuming, and attempted to move on to deadlifts...but once again, OUCH with the hamstring, and I just wasn't going to push my luck. I did complete the following, which felt great:

- squats, 3x8 with two 20-lb dumbbells
- 1.5 (or maybe 2.5??) sets of 8 lunges on each side with 10lbs total weight
- 3x15 calf raises on a platform (heels below level) with a 20-lb dumbbell
- 3x15 calf raises on the floor with 105lbs, using the preacher curl machine

Even though it wasn't the most phenomenal, sweat-inducing session of all time, I managed to feel it in my poor butt on Sunday morning. I intended to hit the gym for some cardio and abs, but PhillyGuy (who was quite impressed with my electrician skillz) and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to rearrange our bedroom. Which took a LOT more time than I expected, but man it looks good.

I'm more than ready to get back to it tonight, though. Even though I have actually managed to lose a few pounds, I'm just feeling...stuffed today. As in, my rings are super-tight since I'm clearly retaining water for some reason, and I don't remember this particular pair of pants feeling tight before, and now I'm wondering why I didn't make time for the gym in the morning yesterday instead of taking Sophie for a walk to get coffee. These feelings are silly and hopefully inaccurate (well, the part about the pants, anyway -- my rings are def tight!) and fleeting. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Legs Kick My Ass...

...yup. Every time.

Thursday night was legs night. For something that only takes 30 minutes, MAN, it gets me.

I wore my knee sleeve on my more troublesome right knee. That thing (much like its cousin, the knee strap) does absolutely nothing for me when I'm running, but I hoped that it would give me a little extra stabilization to tackle these oh-so-elusive lunges.

I don't know if it was the sleeve or just the fact that I concentrated a whole lot more on my form, but I was able to actually complete some decent lunges -- and not with those goofy three pound weights, either. (NO! I went up to EIGHT pounds -- that's a total of SIXTEEN, for those of you counting.)

Legs:

- Squats, 3x8 with two 20-lb dumbbells (one on each shoulder)
- Lunges, 3x8 on each side, with two 8-lb dumbbells
- Stiff-leg deadlifts, 3x8 with two 45-lb dumbbells
- Calf raises on a platform, 3x15 holding a 20-lb dumbbell
- Calf raises on the floor, 3x15 at 90lbs using the preacher curl machine (what can I say -- I have to be creative here!)

Tonight was supposed to be a rest night, with yesterday designated for 20-minute cardio intervals followed by pull. However...eeesh. Yeah, my legs night was more successful than the last one...which meant that I had trouble walking up stairs. And putting on my pants, for that matter. I was planning to just postpone the cardio and only lift, but alas, even that was not in the cards. Around 7pm, after I got back from walking Sophie, I got socked with a NASTY headache -- I couldn't even tolerate light, and when poor PhillyGuy called to let me know he was on his way home and would pick up Indian takeout for us, I cut him off after about four seconds of talk time.

So, instead of the gym, I horsed down some Tylenol, grabbed my dog, and spent the next hour laying on my bed in total darkness with a puppy curled up next to me.

Blech. Thankfully, by the time PhillyGuy got home (complete with chicken makhni, some kind of spinach/paneer deliciousness, and a giant pillowy naan), I was better...but blech. Not my kind of way to spend a Friday.

MUCH less of a PITA this week!

I was sort of dreading doing legs last night. Not the actual workout, since I almost always really enjoy lifting, especially legs -- my legs are pretty strong and I always feel good. But, after last week's virtually incapacitating leg workout, I was really worried about saddling myself again.

I went anyway, of course. And it was (for the most part, anyway) FINE. I did:

- Squats, 3x12 with two 15-lb dumbbells, one on each shoulder
- Lunges. Ugh. More on this below, but I did three really UGLY sets of 8 lunges on each side with (wait for it) two THREE POUND dumbbells.
- Stability ball reverse leg extensions, 3x12.
- Stiff-legged deadlifts, 3x12 at 50lbs (a 20-lb and a 5-lb dumbbell in each hand).
- Standing calf raises on a platform, 3x12 holding a 15-lb dumbbell on my chest, dropping my heels below level
- Standing calf raises on the floor, 3x15 at 90lbs, using the preacher curl machine (I am SO proud of my creativity)

So, about those lunges. I don't know if it's my knee issues or what, but I am having SERIOUS trouble with these. It's not JUST my knees, although I feel a TON of pressure and some pain when I lunge with my right leg forward. It's also that, no matter how little weight I use, I feel like I'm about THISCLOSE to pulling a glute every. Freaking. Time.

It's frustrating (like many things about working out!) because I want a challenging, difficult workout, and let's face it, when you've got big ol' strong legs like mine, 3lb dumbbells do NOT challenge and build muscle. My form must be terrible. With no mirrors in the gym it's tough to tell, but that's all I can think of, because I've done lunges in the past -- even WALKING lunges -- without the same pain and pressure I'm feeling now. Guess I need to drag PhillyGuy to the gym with me on legs night to see what I look like.

I'm glad it's Thursday. It's a rest day, for one. The week is almost over. I don't have to go to court today like I thought I did (sensing a pattern here?), so I got to wear my new J.Crew Jackie twinset in burnished olive. My back-ordered Jackie cardigan in navy is coming today, instead of two weeks from now, as they had projected.

Pain in the butt...

literally, and figuratively.

First, the literal: last night was "legs" night. The Oxygen routine I have chosen to follow had me doing plenty of glute work. Squats, lunges, those weird donkey kick-back things (I had hoped this would work my hams as well, and perhaps it did, but they're not particularly sore)...also, stiff-legged deadlifts and seated and standing calf raises. I'm still a little challenged with the lack of equipment but am making some good substitutions. Deadlifts, for example -- instead of fighting with the 45-lb dumbbells, which I have a hard time holding (not to be confused with LIFTING -- grip and forearm strength, I do not has it), I used 20-lb AND 5-lb dumbbells. Once I figured out how to hold both at once, I just upped my reps from 8 to 12 and voila, effort!

It's still not perfect -- I cannot wait until they finish the new gym and I can actually use a STRAIGHT BAR with REAL WEIGHTS -- but one must adapt!

Now, the figurative: MAN, is it a PITA to write down everything I eat. But it's been very enlightening. I haven't changed my habits at all this week, since my goal was to see where my baseline is, and I am pretty surprised at my calorie intake. Looks like I've been averaging 2300-2400 calories per day. And really, I bet it was more -- even though I have not INTENTIONALLY tried to change my habits yet, this has been a comparatively good week. No DiBruno's wraps or bagel breakfasts (ok, except for today -- and I gotta say, it wasn't particularly delicious). But this is VERY educational. I know this kind of monitoring isn't for everyone, but I am the master of excuses and justifications, so seeing it there in black and white is pretty necessary for me.

Today is a "rest day" on my Oxygen plan, and thank god, because it honestly hurt to put on underwear this morning. And to sit down in my chair here at work. I'm looking forward to blowing through this day and starting my weekend -- maybe by soaking my sore butt in a bubble bath.

Happy Friday all! Any fun plans?