Vegan Curious

[Cown]

I never did end up going for a swim yesterday...the workout was pretty decent though. I even worked out my issue with my wrist straps on my dead lifts, so those sets were pretty solid.
I went for upper body today...my fascination with a guy in the gym is totally working out in my favour haha because I want to stick around more often to see him, I end up doing more exercises than what I originally plan. My shoulders and upper back are still aching Oh, and he's a personal trainer

I've FINALLY worked out my gym schedule to something I can keep to.
Upper body on monday, wednesday, and saturday.
Legs on sunday, thursday, and possibly the occasional friday if I think I'll have a long lunch hour.
For the most part, tuesdays and fridays will be days off.

[Cown]

I like stepping on the scale at the end of the day for motivation for the next day...but tonight it made me feel AMAZING!
I've been under 14% fat several times, but I tend to average 14 - 15, and right now I'm at 13 for the first time!! Ideally, I'd like to hit 10%, and depending how I like the look I'll make adjustments from there.
I'm just really psyched right now! Had to share my excitement with people who wouldn't freak out because they think dropping fat means I'm going anorexic!

[kareno]

Congratulations, Sam! That's great news! And the part about your gym crush made me giggle.

[Cown]

Congratulations, Sam! That's great news! And the part about your gym crush made me giggle.

Haha whatever works for motivation, right? His presence in the gym all the time definitely hasn't hindered my progress...lol Thankfully I'm not the type to start wearing makeup and dressing girly just cause of him...it just makes me work harder.

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

Keep up the good work girl !!

[Cown]

Keep up the good work girl !!

Thanks! I appreciate the support

-

Hitting the gym today and trying out some of my new vegan protein Quite excited about that.
I don't really have a set schedule for upper body...I have a few exercises for each muscle [group] and I pick and choose what I want to do. Generally, if I did something on monday, I won't do it wednesday. With some exceptions.
Today I'm thinking...
Flat bench 9 reps x 3 (I have been doing 8...weight hasn't improved in many weeks, time to change that)
Incline bench, 3 sets superset with pushups (I alternate the sets...I stole this idea from fitness model Annik Nayler (http://www.simplyshredded.com/fitness-c ... d-com.html).
Incline bicep curls 8 reps x 3
Preacher curls 10 reps x 3
DB lat raise/peck deck...(no idea if it has a name) 8 reps x 3
Behind the neck shoulder press (smith machine) 7 reps x 3
Tricep dips, 10lb weight on lap (arms are on a bench, feet on a stability ball) 10 reps x 3
Skull crushers superset with tricep press
Widegrip lat pulldown 10 reps x 3
Cable row 10 reps x 3
BB row 15 reps x 3

I'm also very excited because today I'm going to have a whole wheat bagel after...I love my carbs! Restricting them I think is the worst part of my diet haha If I could, I'd eat them every time I'm hungry. ESPECIALLY right before bed lol

[kareno]

I hear ya on the carbs and am right there with you! For years I have referred to myself as a carbivore.

[Cown]

haha Carbivore, I like it! I might have to use that term from now on!

So it occurred to me when I got home from work tonight that I'm due for a logged weight check (I weigh myself several times a week, but only track on the first of the month).
On Jan 1, when I started my new clean diet and started hitting the gym harder, I was 57.5kg
Feb 1 - 56kg
March 1 - 54.7kg. I'm going to recheck this in the morning, though. Regardless, still quite pleased.
I'll take new pictures this weekend.

I made an attempt at working legs today...I had nothing in me, and was running on minimal sleep, so it was rough. I pushed out all the reps I would normally do, however. Plus 3 sets of 8 for deadlift with 115lbs. My trainer friend was impressed that that's not a heavy weight for me
Before the workout I felt off, afterwards I could tell my brain was running really slow, so I grabbed some Subway for lunch to get some carbs in me...the bread was delicious lol It's not as bad as it seems though. I fill mine with thermogenics..hot peppers, jalapenos, and hot sauce. It was fantastic. I felt much better afterwards, too..my brain was functioning at a more normal level.

Tomorrow is an off day, then back at it with upper body on saturday! 7am start...yuck.

[kareno]

[Cown]

So weighed myself this morning for a 'recheck' - 54kg on the nose. Tonight it was back up to 54.9kg, so I'll go half way and say 54.5 lol However...my fat percentage was at a wicked 12.8% tonight!! I don't know how accurate my scale actually is with that, but a decrease is a decrease! Loving it!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to try the Vega pre-workout energizer that came in the awesome prize package I got...quite excited to see what effect it has!

[Cown]

Didn't find the pre w.o energizer to have much effect this morning...I did feel a little less cloudy, but that was about it. I wasn't in the best state to begin with though, overly tired and extremely distracted, so I'm not sure I gave it a fair chance. Decent workout, regardless. It would have been nice to not have to watch the clock during it, but unfortunately my presence was required at work lol

I'm really intrigued by this essay contest! I love to write, and this is one subject where I'm not short on words. I have a feeling limiting it to 1500 words might be an issue... Gunna start writing this weekend!

[Cown]

Loading up on carbs and calories as a whole this weekend...as much as I love all the food, I'm not enjoying how bulky I look. I feel AMAZING, very strong, very energetic, but bulky. My obliques are all but non-existant lol Hopefully dropping back down to normal tomorrow will make all this worth while. I'm hoping to try and get the pace back up a bit...I feel like I've been in a 1%/1kg range for weeks. If it doesn't work...at least I had a delicious weekend of carbs.

Hit the gym for legs this morning...Went into it feeling pretty blah, but deadlifts just make me feel awesome. I felt so good after doing them. I checked with 2 women I work with about their deadlifts because of my friend's comment. These women don't really workout like I do, but still their weights are significantly different than mine. I had no idea that other women didn't lift like I do...makes me feel kinda good.

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

I hear you, sometimes if you want to be strong you have to carry a little 'extra'. I'm noticing a bit of difference in strength from going from 143 to 147, you tend to have more energy reserves as well which isn't a bad thing.

I find if you stay within a 5 or 6lb range it isn't that hard to drop back down to where you were if you wanted/needed to. Just my opinion of course.

Do you do your deadlifts on leg day rather than back day?

[Cown]

I hear you, sometimes if you want to be strong you have to carry a little 'extra'. I'm noticing a bit of difference in strength from going from 143 to 147, you tend to have more energy reserves as well which isn't a bad thing.

I find if you stay within a 5 or 6lb range it isn't that hard to drop back down to where you were if you wanted/needed to. Just my opinion of course.

Do you do your deadlifts on leg day rather than back day?

I find it pretty easy to drop weight..most of the time, but I don't have a target weight, and I don't compete so I don't really have anywhere I need to be, either. I'm loading up this weekend to try and drop some more fat.

I do my workouts in lower and upper body splits, and I tend to prefer my deadlifts on a leg day. I only work legs twice a week, so having the extra time between workouts lets me lift what I want without worry of recovery time/over doing it. I'm thinking that when my groin is fully healed I'll up legs to 3 times a week, but I might just keep it at two and go harder...not sure yet.

[Cown]

I tried the 'Garden of Life' Raw Protein powder that came in the prize package before my workout...I took 2 sips and dumped it. Just couldn't stomach that one...Thanks to the amount of carbs I consumed in the last 2 days, though, I was able to have quite a successful workout despite the lacking protein beforehand. I think the normally low level of carbs is the reason my bench has been sucking lately, too...I did 65lb for 3 sets of 9 with ease, whereas most days I'm doing that weight for sets of 8 with extreme difficulty. Damn carbs...
I have to thank Mini Forklift for his post the other day, as well, because when I wanted to quit in several sets I just thought of that post and cranked out the rest of the set and a few extra. Felt pretty damn good.

For lunch, a few hours before my workout, I tried that ProBar meal bar...that thing was delicious! More carbs than I'd like, but sooo worth it.

If any women are reading this, can you give me some insight as to what you're lifting for standing BB row? I only know 2 women who lift, and neither do this, but I'd like to have an idea of what I should be doing. Currently I'm using a 40lb pre-set BB for 3 sets of 15.