In between

I think Im bored of writing about working out. I love talking to people about it, but writing about it without any dialogue is actually not that fun.

I think I will just write about whatever is on my mind for the day. For example, I noticed Im in a strange place in life at the moment. Maybe other people have thought this, but I dont hear anyone talk about it.

Im over the age of 40 but I dont have children. Most people my age have children and live the so called "normal" family life. Most of their life is about their children, which makes total sense, but that means they dont really find anything in common with me. And those that dont have kids are quite a bit younger than me, and I dont have that much in common with them.

Im out of the go out and party every night stage, and frankly I was never really good at that stage. And then all my parent friends get a random day off and want to go out and tie one on. But my lifestyle has been one that appreciates small crowds, real conversations, and healthy meals without much alcohol.

Its like Im in an awkward in between stage in life. Ive also noticed that people expect different things from you if you dont have kids. It's not a complaint, I just can't imagine making an assumption someone has all the free time in the world if they do not have children. My schedule tends to be hectic with work and hobbies, which is my own doing/choice. But its a full life.

Maybe when Im 60 years old I will feel like I found my circle of friends. I guess its something to look forward to. :)

Day 9 - Rest Day

I give myself an A for yesterday! Day 8 was a success.

I feel like I have a better meal plan that is more satisfying with the macros Ive allowed myself. And I liked the workout yesterday which motivated me. For some reason I got in a slump and wasnt enjoying my workouts. I actually signed up for someone else to write my workouts and so far so good. Something about someone else writing the workouts is like a surprise. :)

Today is an off day from the gym and I can tell my body is ready for it. Tomorrow will be legs and the new plan looks good! I will post it tomorrow. And I have a high carb day this Saturday so Im gonna make pancakes. Yes, its only Tuesday but I love thinking about pancakes.

Day 8

Somehow I lost my posts after Day 3. It must be Googles Blogger issue and certainly not something I did! :)

Anyway, this week starts week 2. Week 3 I will be testing my max lifts to calculate percentages of my lifts I should be progressing through from Week 4 though Week 12 (8 week time period).  I anticipate I will extend my training through week 16 (a full 12 weeks). It just takes me longer than it used to.

Cardio: I did a very slow jog this morning and had to cut it short at 20 minutes because it started to rain and Mr. Mosby was not happy. Actually, I blame him but I gave him a bath last night...which is more like a spa treatment... and I didnt want him to get all muddy in the rain. For anyone who doesnt know, Mosby is my deaf pitbull and he has some serious genetic defects including his skin so I put a lot of thought into my little guys time outdoors and what he is exposed to. He is allergic to almost everything so back inside we went.

I will do steady state cardio after my workout this evening to make up the difference. Im up to 40 minutes of cardio and this week that will be on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Todays Workout:
Triset Warmup (2 sets):
-45 degree ext rotator x 10 each
-alternating med ball push up x 8 each
-lat pulldown x 15 each

Superset (3 sets)
-Incline bench press x 10, 8, 6 (increase weight each time)
-Cuban press x 8 each time

Superset (3 sets)
-Chin ups x 10, 8, 6
-DB singe arm shrug x 10 each time

Superset (3 sets)
-Smith Machine OH press x 10, 8, 6
-Bent over T raise x 12 each time

Superset (3 sets)
-DB Key Press x 10, 8, 6
-DB bent over row x 10 each time

I have a feeling this will be a good workout, I tend to like moving quickly though exercises while trying to increase the weight.

Day 3

Is this really only Day 3? This is what I think at the beginning of any new plan or change. I start doubting why Im doing something or if I can finish it. I have to tell my self to focus on the present day and eventually the days will add up and I will be happy with my efforts.

Yesterdays grade: B+ again. I stuck to my meals but found I was starving around 10pm. I had a piece of peanut butter bread. Yes, its a weakness of mine.

Also, my workout did not go according to plan. I ended up going to the gym after work and it was so crowded. I had to swap out some exercises because all the equipment was taken. I added in bench press and I could feel eyes burning a hole into me because I was taking up a bench and using "light" weights. When I start to feel like Im being judged, I start doing math. I was thinking, I weigh 119 lbs and Im benching 105 lbs for reps. Thats 96.63% of my body weight. I had to remind myself that Im a badass. ;) The workout was good, difficult...it was just different than what I planned to do. I have to learn to accept that will happen but to just carry on.

Cardio for today: I went for a morning jog with my Mo-man and I have to say...even though I hate getting out of bed, once Im jogging in the silence of the early morning its my favorite time of the day. Im also a super anxious person by nature and starting the day with some jogging helps me to have positive energy to start my day.

I am super chatty today by the way.

The workout for Wednesday is as follows;

1. Reverse cable triceps push-down
Superset with cable OH tricep ext
2. Tricep OH ext with rope
Superset with single arm rope kickback
3. Close grip push up to failure with feet elevated, then drop to feet on ground and go to failure, drop to knees and go to failure
4. Bench dips with feet elevated and go to failure, drop feet and go to failure
5.Spider curl
6. Close grip EZ bar curl
8. Reverse grip DB curl
Superset with DB hammer curls
9. Lying cable curl
Superset with standing bicep curls

Arm day is something I tend to skip if I dont make it to the gym and therefore my biceps are puny, lol. So I will not be skipping this workout but Im pretty sure my arms will break.

Day 2

Day 1 wrap up: I give myself a B+ for yesterday.

I stuck to the meals I made but did have some gummy bears, I can not lie.

I also felt like I was going through the motions in my workout. That happens sometimes but I would rather hit the gym then skip it. Its about setting a routine, making a habit in the beginning.

Day 2:
Cardio was a 22 minute jog with Mosby and it was so muggy I wanted to stop at 6 minutes. Im pretty sure Mosby would be ok with stopping as well. I think I will add a minute to the time each day for this week.

My workout for today is chest and shoulders. I am kinda hoping that I can go to the gym at lunch today so I can stretch tonight and clean out the cabinet with pots and pans. Along with tackling a fat loss plan, I am tackling a house declutter plan. :)

Workout Link: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethins-8-week-hardcore-trainer-day-2.html
It looks like an interesting one because its different than what I normally add to my routine. The cable exercises lying on the floor will be difficult for me but its a great change!

1. DB chest press-3 triple dropsets

2. Superset Incline cable fly
with Dumbbell floor press

3. Superset Decline DB fly
with Push up

4. Superset Smith Machine OH press, alternating front to back
with cable upright row

5. Superset Cable side raise
with Cable front raise

6. Superset Cable rear delt fly
with rope face pull

Im actually lookingn forward to todays workout!

Peace out sauerkraut! :)

Day 1

Day 1 of my new workout / meal plan.

Morning cardio: a brisk steady state jog outside with my Mosby a.k,a the most high maintenance expensive dog in the world.

• Why steady state? Because I feel like I dont need to do high impact cardio first thing in the morning and Im already in a calorie deficit so I dont need to do drastic cardio.
• Was my jog fasted? Yes but not for any other reason than I enjoy going for short jogs with less in my belly. And I dont have time to eat and wait around so I dont feel the slosh. If you want to make things complicated you can look up research about how fasted cardio works better or you can find articles against it. My theory is to keep it stupid simple based on my own schedule and thats what works for me. 
• Why 20 minutes? Because its a good place to start and I can add more as the weeks progress. I am a big believer on losing weight / body fat by doing the least amount. Not because Im lazy, but if I start with hours of cardio and cutting thousands of calories, when I hit a wall/plateau, what is my next step? 

After work I will go to the gym and lift for approximately 45 minutes. My workout for today is the following for quads, ab calves: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethins-8-week-hardcore-trainer-day-1.html

• Hack squat 3 sets of 15
• Leg press with a 2 second pause
• Leg extension; 2 triple dropsets, immediately follow with walking lunges 10 per leg, then 10 body weight squats
• Seated calf raise 5 sets of 30 YIKES
• Hanging leg raise- to failure immediately followed by lying leg raises to failure

I personally find the lifting heavy yields the best results for my fat loss. So I keep a log of my workout and try to beat my own numbers. If I cant go up in weight the following week, I add a rep or two. 

Food: 

I am not getting fancy with my food. I loosely logging my intake with the goal of hitting 120 grams of protein each day and 85 grams of carbs. That may sound low but Im not tracking the carbs from my veggies which is a ton! I just want to keep my carbs from rice, oats, potatoes, etc at approximately 85 grams. And Im not even tracking my fat intake at this point because Im not eating added fats. Only fats from cooking oils and meats. 

Im trying to simplify a process that I think too many people complicate. With that being said, when I get lower in body fat, I might have to be more strict with tracking....that is the reality of being 40 something for me. 

I can post some of my full day of eating if there is anyone out there who is interested. But keep in mind my current stats:

5'2

119 lbs

24% bodyfat

I dont know if the bodyfat percentage is correct and I dont care. Im just using the same scale to keep it consistent and as long as it goes down I dont really care how accurate the starting number is. 

Day 1 in the books. :) I will post weekly results so I have a log for myself to see if the plan is making a difference. Wish me luck! 

Fat Loss Over 40

Im not gonna say my age but based on the title, you know Im over 40.

Ive worked out in some fashion for more than half my life. I got lean and stayed lean for many years. At some point I wanted to gain some more muscle so I knew I needed to add some body fat and eat more calories to attempt to add muscle as an "aging" female.

And now my goal is to drop some body fat to see the progress I made adding muscle. But the problem is that my body and mind are not the same from when I was in my 30's or 20's. We all know that things change, but we dont know how to change our fitness routine. Let me start by saying, Im not going to give you the answer because Im trying to figure it out myself. And each person is different based on so many factors. Like your workout and eating history.

I was talking to a friend in the industry who is in his early 30's. And he was telling me that he was going to tell people over 40 about the need for more rest and mobility. I wanted to smack my forehead and say Duh! Anyone that is over 40 knows....feels....that they need more recovery and mobility. The problem is not knowing how to put it all together.

I personally think people are tired hearing about what its like to not be able to get in shape and why, but want a plan that gets them results. And part of that is being upfront..it will take longer...it will take more consistency with nutrition. Notice I didnt say diet. You have to accept that its not a 6 week challenge, or some diet bet.

I thought I would chronical my efforts over the next several months for my own log and in the event anyone stumbles across my over 40 "journal" it may help them get started. Or who knows, maybe someone out there will leave me some words of wisdom! :)

Tomorrow is house cleaning, grocery shopping, and planning out my week. I like to do that on Sunday so I feel some sense of control throughout a normally hectic week. I like to make 1 breakfast casserole that last Mon-Wednesday. I will make a ground turkey/potato/veggie mix that will be my lunch. I dont make my dinners ahead of time because I actually like to have a freshly cooked dinner and a few times out of hte week its fish. I dont really like to have that made too far ahead of time. I hit the grocery store if needed and cook a different casserole for Thurs-Saturday and another meal, probably chicken, pineapple chili that will last the same amount of time. Sunday I eat a big fun breakfast out...that is my only meal that I dont cook myself. One meal a week. Not a full day off my plan, that doesnt work any longer like I could do in my 20's and 30's.

That just means I have to become a creative cook so I enjoy my home cooked meals. Anyway, thats my first realization/tip. Cook your own meals with fresh, unprocessed ingredients 95% of the time. The 80/20 rule doesnt work for me any longer.

The next update will be Monday and I will include my activity/workout for the day. Later!

More than a neighbor

Sometimes people you see on a daily basis remain acquaintences and sometimes they become part of your family.

I received some very upsetting news this Saturday about a family friend who suffered a severe neck injury. This is a man that lived across the street from me since I was in 6th grade. He was that awesomely nosey neighbor, and I say awesome because I loved that he asked questions and was genuinely interested in my answers. Likewise, you could ask him anything and he would gladly share any about himself with you. To this day, I still like people who are nosey for the sake of carrying on genuine conversations.

Ed,

I will miss our conversations. You were not my neighbor for 10 years or a family "friend" for 30 years. You were part of my family. You were always helpful without judgement. And on your last day you were still so generous by making an election to let go of life so your organs would still be healthy enough to donate. I do not like your decision because it breaks my heart and I am being selfish. I can tell you that because I know you won't judge me. I'm lucky to have known you.

All my love,

Ames





  

Strange book review

Not that the review will be strange...I should clarify, its a review of a strange book. Im not a professional book reviewer, but I read a lot or listen to several audio books and I always like to hear "real" reviews. Not like the reviews from people who are given things. I hate seeing those long reviews on Amazon and then they say, I was given this for my honest review. I always think, part of an honest review is the fact you paid for something and you are determining if it was worth your hard earned money. Anway, Im rambling.

So the book is called Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough and the only way I can explain it without ruining the twists is you better be super open minded. The main characters are interesting and if you like stories with far fetched endings you will enjoy this book.

I was reading other peoples feedback which included "load of crap" "hated the ending" and "huh?".  I personally thought it was a good twist on lucid dreaming and psychological illnesses. This is fiction and I was in the mood for an odd story at the time. You know how a movie or a book can be good or bad based on your mood? So if you are in the mood for something psycho-thriller I bet you will think the book was worth the read and the price. I dont want to give too much away and I would recommend you dont read the reviews and just start the book with an open mind. If you are weird like me, you will find the story intriguing.

Sweaty Pants

I think there should be a fitness clothes reviewer for women. I don't mean those paid bloggers or youtubers. I mean someone who will rate workout attire by a different kind of scale. For example, for tank tops the scale would include likelihood of showing your boobs, nipping, or falling out. For pants, a transparency rating, how much will the pants make you look like you peed when you sweat, and camel toe scoring.

I bought these cute Nike training pants at Ross. And maybe they arent real Nikes, or maybe they are. Thats half the fun at shopping at discount places. As well as, maybe they will last a day or maybe they will last a year. These new pants had a seam in the crotch that was so hideous (camel toe score was a 9 out of 10) and as I was sweating, the pants turned into those hypercolor clothes back in the day. Tell me you remember those! And the color change was only around the crotch and hiney area of course.

Yeah, the pants are cute but only if you are NOT working out. I will never wear those pants again. Normally I would wash the pants, fold them, and put them back in a drawer for a day I might wear them when Im not sweating. But you and I both know, I wont wear them. So I decided to start wearing one thing every day from the back of the closet or drawer and if by the end of the day I hate it, Im putting it in the donate bag. Each Saturday, I will get rid of the donate bag so it doesnt sit there for a full year.

So here is what I realized. Discount stores have some good finds for sure. But Im not buying workout pants. I also have too many clothes...that I dont wear! Based on the last week of wearing something from the depths of the closet, I have purged 6 items this week and I will officially be out of clothes within 1 month. So just to make this process even more systematic and complicated, I am going to buy one nice piece of clothing a month. In my mind, I envision a small, functional, and high quality wardrobe in the end. But you know how good plans go. I might be forced to join a nudist colony shortly. We shall see. :)

143

How did it happen?

Why didnt anyone tell me that turning 41 would change so many things?! Oh, I guess people do talk about it I just thought I would be the exception.

Let me start by saying, Im tired. And its 8:43am. And I slept for a full 8 hours. My knees dont hurt after I go for a jog but Im aware of their existence the rest of the day. Everyone on social media, facebook, instagram, youtube, etc looks so young and its odd to see those people giving life advice. I want to scream, the answer is move more, eat better and/or less, drink water, and a shit ton of sunscreen. No more fads, please!

I know 41 is not old, but my mindset is shifting and my body is reacting different to my normal lifestyle. And its like Im awkward again, trying to figure out an ever changing life. Ok, maybe I never got out of an awkward stage but now I have to learn a new way.

What brings me joy is pretty much the same; dogs, fitness, and stillness. Not the kind of stillness that is absent of movement, but the kind of stillness that comes with internal peace. I have been the type of person who has found a great deal of satisfaction with being a high "acheiver". Which meant I always had a great deal of stamina, worked hard, and was always being productive in one way or another at every single moment of the day.

As I turned 41, I noticed a subtle but swift shift. I have the desire to be efficiently productive and acheive great results, but I want to be still..have more time that Im not planning or problem solving. I was reading a great post I found which mirrored what it was like to be a high acheiver and then attempting to find stillness. Its work!

Here is the post if you are interested: https:The Practice of Stillness

Im going to try implementing some of the things mentioned in the post above and we shall see if this old dog can learn new tricks :)

Oh, and speaking of dogs, Amigo just turned 9 years old on 5/5/2017! You havent met Mosby since I havent actually written anything in forever. But the white tornado below is Mosby. And he melts my heart <3.