Hawkwind's journal and musings

[Hawkwind]

Wholey walking lunges Batman! Can we all say OWIE! I'm still hurtin' today. I am a bit stunned that Tuesday's workout did this to me...I went light! And here I was all cranky because I realized that I had also forgotten to do my 'pull-throughs' on leg day. (I had decided that since I couldn't get to the gym to squat that I would go light and do auxiliary work.) Reminder to me that even my help work can bring on the DOMS.

Anyhow...today is going to be a train-wreck as well...I'm thinking of doing my bench work tonight after I get back from all the running. I'm also thinking of keeping it light. Trying to decide on auxiliary back work or not...I'm hiking tomorrow with my big pack...so that may not be a good idea. Argh! I hate having my usual schedule all messied up!

This too shall pass...this too shall pass...this too shall pass...

Thursday
Week 7 - Day 2
Chest/tri's

DB Flat bench
set 1/6r - 24#
set 2/8r - 20#
set 3/8r - 15#

DB decline bench
set 1/8r - 15#
set 2/8r - 20#
set 3/8r - 24#

DB incline bench (Palms facing grip)
set 1/8r - 19#
set 2/8r - 20#
set 3/8r - 24#

CG bench
set 1/8r - 27#
set 2/8r - 32#
set 3/8r - 37#

DB skull crusher
set 1/8r - 14#
set 2/8r - 20#
set 3/8r - 24#

That's it...I'm still feeling 'wrung out' from all the chaos this week and I have a full pack-all day hike tomorrow.

[Hawkwind]

Week 7 - Day 3
Shoulders/back

Seated BB press
set 1/8r - 47#
set 2/8r - 37#
set 3/8r - 27#

DB lateral raises
set 1/8r - 8#
set 2/8r - 10#
set 3/6r - 12#

DB front raises
set 1/8r - 8#
set 2/8r - 10#
set 3/6r - 12#

DB raise aka 'side scratchers'
set 1/8r - 15#
set 2/8r - 17#
set 3/6r - 19#

Face pulls
set 1/8r - 30#
set 2/8r - 40#
set 3/8r - 50#

Wide grip reverse lat pull downs
set 1/8r - 50#
set 2/8r - 60#
set 3/6r - 70#

V-handle reverse lat pull downs
set 1/8r - 50#
set 2/8r - 60#
set 3/6r - 70#

Chest to low incline BB rows
set 1/8r - 53#
set 2/8r - 47#
set 3/8r - 37#

Good mornings
3 sets/8r - 37#

[TRACE]

Nice work Hawkwind

[Hawkwind]

Originally Posted by TRACE

Nice work Hawkwind

Thank you sir.

Week 8 - Day 1

Squats
set 1/8r - 135#
set 2/6r - 155#
set 3/8r - 175# PR

Zerchers
set 1/8r - 95#
set 2/8r - 115#
set 3/8r - 135#

Bottom up zerchers
set 1/8r - 95#
set 2/8r - 105#
set 3/8r - 115#

Romanian deads
set 1/8r - 95#
set 2/6r - 115#
set 3/6r - 135#

Good mornings
set 1/8r - 65#
set 2/8r - 75#
set 3/8r - 75#
*Kept these light...I just felt so off today.

Hip adduction
3 sets/6r -160#

Hip abduction
2 sets/6r - 160#
1 set/4r - 160#

Hypers
set 1/8r - body weight
set 2/8r - 10#
set 3/6r - 25# PR

Machine back extensions
2 sets/8r - 145#

Slipped in some leg press work
2 sets/8r - 130#
*both sets a struggle

Single leg
2 sets each side/8r - 50#
*new for me...gassed

Calf machine
3 sets/12r - 120#

Single leg calf machine
2 sets each side/12r - 30#
*new for me too light

Today just sucked...I felt 'off' even though it looks good 'on paper'. I went into the gym really upset and stressed. Anakin...my 8 year old GSD has an appointment tomorrow. I found tumors on him today. I've been suspecting cancer for a good month now...I'm sure his x-rays will confirm it. I'm having a really hard time with this. I'm not ready to part with him...but if I'm correct and unfortunately I almost always am...he doesn't have much longer and it's not fair to make my buddy suffer. He's been loyal and deserves to be treated with dignity.

[bush hawg]

Congrats on the PR

[Hawkwind]

Thank you.

[narcsarge]

My prayers for you and Anakin. Sometimes I think it is harder to lose a pet then a person. Not sure why. Maybe because your pets never complain. Maybe because they are always there for you. Great work on the PR's.

[Hawkwind]

Originally Posted by narcsarge

My prayers for you and Anakin. Sometimes I think it is harder to lose a pet then a person. Not sure why. Maybe because your pets never complain. Maybe because they are always there for you. Great work on the PR's.

Thank you N-sarge. The vet thinks he just has arthritis and a bruised shoulder. (From running into a door jamb in the middle of the night over Labor Day weekend thanks to nabes that over did it with the illegal fireworks.) The open wound/sore and the lumps I felt turned out to be a staff infection and when we went to clip around it we discovered that it had spread further than we thought. So he's on Rimadyl twice a day and anti-biotics once a day and I have to soak his wound three times a day and remove any scabbing that formed. Good thing he's such a tolerant guy!

BTW...I haven't forgotten the backpacking information for you. I just have to sit down and get 'r done! Easier said than done the past two weeks as I've been out of the house a lot in between wound care on Anakin.

Anyhow....I've been having a lot of upper-body trouble so I took it easy today. But I did add in some auxiliary work. So let's see if I can keep this all straight:

Week 8 - Day 2
Upper body

Face pulls:
3 sets/8r - 30/35/40#

Medium grip/reverse grip pull downs
3 sets/8r - 50/55/60#

V-grip pull downs
3 sets/8r - 50/55/60#

Bent over cable rows
3 sets/8r - 50/55/60#

Cable crunches
3 sets/15r - 50#

DB Arnold press
3 sets/8r - 10/12/15#

Plate raise
3 sets/8r - 10#

DB hammer curls
3 sets/12-10-8r ~10/12/15#

Sunday's will be 'dead days' again soon so....
Conventional dead lifts
3 sets/8r - 55#

Auxiliary work:
GM's
3 sets/8r - 37#

Pull throughs
3 sets/8r - 50#

SLDL
3 sets/8r - 55#

Resistance band:
Hip adduction/abduction*
2 sets/15 reps each

Glute kick-backs*
3 sets/15 reps

*On the resistance bands...I bought them 7 or so years back for my recovery and just dug them out...they are too easy! I'll have to use the lower pulley on my gym next time and just keep the weight to 30# or so.

Aight...that's it for the day...I got all that done and just realized as I was typing it out that I forgot to do GHR's. Forming new habits can be such a PITA sometimes!

I've also got to come up with a new type of workout sheet for myself. My sheets are getting messy since I keep adding in auxiliary work. I like my sheets neat! (Not that I always am by any means! )

[Hawkwind]

Okay...so I've been mulling over this weight loss plateau that has once again hit me.
I read an article on cortisol that hit a 'nerve' for me because I know I've been under tremendous stress since Kate, Ray and Amity were nearly killed, all the running their appointments entail and due to being in limbo with my living arrangements right now.

I've also been suspicious that something I was eating was causing problems. In fact I know it was. So I set out to find what was causing problems for me and I'm pretty sure it's wheat products. And not just products with wheat gluten, but all wheat. Over the weekend I was doing some research about my fibromyalgia and I found an article by a nutritionist about how wheat products contribute to inflammation in lupus and arthritis patients. Especially if they are 'older', meaning over 40 women like myself.

Okay...so that's two problems that will contribute to a weight loss plateau.

So...I picked up Phosphatidylserine. Two reasons. I'll take it in the AM to help offset cortisol and because it will also help with my fibro-related 'fogs'...that tend to get worse as the days get shorter. I decided not to take this at night on the advise of the lady at VW as she said it keeps her mind active. I decided to take it once before bed to see if she was correct...and she was. My mind was 'busy' for hours before I could sleep. Not like if I have caffeine. Just busy with thoughts of my work and projects. Not a bad thing...but I struggle to sleep as it is. I don't need to be up thinking about my work when I should be sleeping!

I'm working wheat products completely out of my diet. That is a bit tricker as I'm now faced with replacing things like my whole wheat wraps and the like.

I still would like to pick up something for before bed to help keep the cortisol in check. But I have to decide which particular supplement I want to use. I'm leaning in the direction of L-Glutamine as I have used it for my fibro in the past with good results so it would benefit me in two ways like the Phosphatidylserine.

Anyhow...all this because I just feel that somehow there is a way to kick out of the plateau without doing mad amounts of cardio that will irritate my knees which I know are in need of a break while I work to strengthen them for next years hiking season.

Week 8 - Day 3
Chest/tri work

Decline DB press (a) followed immediately by decline DB flyes (b)
set 1a/12r - 10#
set 1b/12r - 10#
set 2a/10r - 12#
set 2b/10r - 12#
set 3a/ 8r - 15#
set 3b/ 8r - 15#

BB flat bp
3 sets/8r - 40#

*Note...dropping a 25# on your already bruised toe is painful!

CG bench
set 1/12r - 25#
set 2/10r - 30#
set 3/ 8r - 35#

DB OH press
3 sets/10r - 15#

*That's it. I took it easy as my upper body is still sore and 'knotty'. Leg day tomorrow.

[Hawkwind]

Week 9 - Day 1 (Time to back the weight down for a bit.)

Squats
4 sets/5 reps - 135#

Zerchers
3 sets/8 reps - 95#

'Bottom-up' Zerchers
3 sets/8 reps - 95#

Romanian deads
3 sets/8 reps - 95#

GM's
3 sets/8 reps - 65#

Hip adduction
3 sets/8 reps - 140#

Hip abduction
3 sets/8 reps - 140#

Hypers/plate hypers
3 sets/8 reps - body weight/10#/25#
*Woot! Two more reps at 25#

Machine back extension
3 sets/8 reps - 130

Calf machine
3 sets/12 reps - 110#

Calf machine - single leg c-press
3 sets/12 reps - 50#

No leg press and no ab machine today. Ran very short on time as I had to boot-scoot out of the gym to pick up Ray, Kate and Amity at the optometrists.

I'll do abs tonight.

[narcsarge]

Hawkie you continue to amaze me at how much you really know about your body and all the "triggers" for various things. I am astounded. I shouldn't be after all this time but you are quite the knowledge base.

Good luck on the new changes to the diet.

[Cougar]

Hey, I wanted to tell you that I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, stayed the night, and hiked out.
It was 6 miles down, took 5.5 hours and 9 miles out, that took 9 hours to hike.
What an awesome experience.
Hope you are well.

[Hawkwind]

Originally Posted by narcsarge

Hawkie you continue to amaze me at how much you really know about your body and all the "triggers" for various things. I am astounded. I shouldn't be after all this time but you are quite the knowledge base.

Good luck on the new changes to the diet.

Thank you N-sarge...it's always a work in progress. At least that's how it feels.

Originally Posted by Cougar

Hey, I wanted to tell you that I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, stayed the night, and hiked out.
It was 6 miles down, took 5.5 hours and 9 miles out, that took 9 hours to hike.
What an awesome experience.
Hope you are well.

Hello Cougar! I remember you saying you were heading to the Grand Canyon! That is absolutely awesome! Kudos to you!

Alrighty then folks. I've been on my training break. It's normally a two week break, but I stretched it out for 3 weeks this time around as my allergies/immune system went haywire on me and I was fighting off a nasty flare.

My diet is coming along nicely. I'm pretty much on the anabolic diet and have worked all wheat and gluten products out of my diet as well. I've been busy working on recipes for various things made with rice and oat flour and I have to drive a good hour away every couple of weeks to pick up wraps made with rice flour. (Thankfully they can be frozen!) On the whole I'm finally starting to feel better and acclimate to the changes. Enough so that I'm not bothered with 'cravings' any longer for anything wheat based.

In the meantime I've started a cycle on Atro-Phex by BSN. It's a very new supplement and so far I'm rather pleased with the results. And that in itself is amazing as I tend to be a 'hard sell' when it comes to supplements. The only supplement I will not train without is 5-Tetra by Epic Nutrition. I use NoExplode when I train, but I won't go nuts if I run out. I've used Kre-Alk, but really prefer the 5-Tetra. So for me to start using something like Atro-Phex and actually like the darned thing...well that is saying something.

As for my lifting, I was going to push harder to bring up my bench work...but I just signed up for Kung Fu and will be starting on Monday evening. So I have decided to see what my new training is going to take out of me and adjust my lifting around my martial training.

[Hawkwind]

From one of my other journals:

I decided to post up about my change in supplementation recently.

Normally all I use is 5-Tetra by Epic and No-Xplode.

The 5-T helps with my stamina and I feel has been responsible for my steady gains over the past year. I also tend to recover better when I use it in conjunction with my lifting. And since it is such a great supplement for stamina Gypsy and I both keep a couple tablets in our backpack and when we reach the 'half-way' point of our day/hike we often will take one so that we don't finish out the hike feeling like a wet rag.

So...5-Tetra for stamina in particular has been my standard for over a year now.

The NoXplode. I only use a scoop and I found it helps to prevent me from having any training related asthma attacks. I can train without it. But I prefer that scoop of NoXplode 30 minutes prior to training verses unexpectedly having to pull my inhaler out of my bag in the middle of a set.

Sometimes if I remember I use Kre-Alk. Most of the time I forget to take it and when I run out I tend to forget to buy it. It's just not that important to my training.

So, this brings me to the new supplement addition:
I started taking Atro-Phex this week.
For a couple reasons:
At this time of year...
This is when I start to struggle with exhaustion early in the day.
This is when I start to fight the winter weight gain.
This is when I start to fight 'the blues'.

I had been keeping tabs on the release of Atro-Phex by BSN for quite a while. As it has ingredients in it that should (in theory) address my needs. In particular at this time of the year.

So as of mid-last week I started my daily dosing. I've discovered that I will probably be able to take 4 a day (on non-lifting days), although I'm still at three at this point. 1 first thing in the AM and 2 mid-day. I don't take 2 first thing as I am concerned about my stomach, but I seem to be acclimating fine.

I have not as yet used it in conjuction with 5-Tetra. On my training days I may not need my mid-day dose as 5-Tetra and Atro-Phex both have Yohimbe and technically you should not combine any other yohimbe product with the Atro-Phex. Since I'm not willing to give up my 5-Tetra I would rather adjust the Atro-Phex dose on my training days since I only use the 5-T on those days for the most part.

Atro-phex can be stacked with Nitrix, NoExplode and creatines without problems. So there should be no 'glitches' there.

So, as I work out how best to use the Atro-Phex and evaluate how well it does or does not work for me. Those of you that stop in will basically be catching my 'review' of BSN's newest supplement.

Anyhow...so far, it definitely has been helping me evade the mid-day exhaustion and it does keep the carb cravings at bay and my mind-set has been better the past couple of days. I would be apt to say the mind-set is due to not feeling like crap from being exhausted, but hey. I'll take whatever help I can get this time of year!

I am very interested to see how I'll do in the gym when I return to lifting and how it will work to amend my dosing on my training days.

[Hawkwind]

Again...from one of my other journals:

My Atro-Phex cycle experience.

I've been using the Atro-Phex for a little over two weeks. Some of the product 'highlights' listed on the box are as follows:

• Weight management
• Metabolic rate
• Mental and physical energy
• Focus and well being
• Muscle tightening and toning*
• Removal of subcutaneous water
• Appetite control
• Thyroid and insulin function

*FYI: I really HATE when a product uses the term 'tone'.
Anyhow...let me address each 'highlight' (in the order listed above) with my experience thus far.:

-I've lost 2 pounds a week since starting my cycle. I feel I should point out that I'm pretty much on an anabolic diet and I have also just taken wheat and gluten products out of my diet, so my diet is a bit limited compared to most people at this time while I adjust to the lack of wheat products.

-Sometimes I feel a bit flush or 'heated' but I also have a complete hyst and no longer use HRT, so that may or may not be related to the Atro-Phex.

-Within 30 minutes or so of even one capsule my energy definitely bounces up. Over the past couple of weeks I have been suffering pretty badly with my Seasonal Affective Disorder and Fibro...so this has turned out to really be a nice bonus for me. It's keeping me functioning in the midst of a very rough spot. I haven't been in the gym yet as my immune system is still a bit off the map. So I'm really getting anxious to see how I do in the gym.

-I'm going to address the muscle tightening and removal of sub-q water together. This stuff takes the sub-q water off fast! Within a week I was noticing changes all over my body, even in my 'difficult' spots. But! I will also point out that you should probably be sure to keep water on hand and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I can actually tell when I'm in need of water as I'll suddenly get hit with 'cotton mouth' (for lack of a better way to explain it) Not bad...just enough to know it's time to get some water in. As for tightening...I really cannot say at this point.

-Even one caplet keeps my appetite in check. But I also feel I should point out that I gave up most white flour products years ago in favor of whole wheat. (And now I don't even eat whole wheat products.) When I did that as well as keeping 'sugary' food items few and far between I stopped having cravings for the most part. I have to make sure to keep tabs on the time while using the Atro-phex as I normally eat every three-four hours and my body was 'alerting' me when it was time for my next meal. On this stuff it seems to be shutting that signal down. I'm not sure I consider that a good thing as I get 'in a zone' when I'm working and will 'forget to eat'.

-As for the last point. I have noticed that I'm not having the occasional 'drop' I was experiencing, but again...I've just adjusted my diet again as well and when you limit certain types of carbs you don't have the 'carb drowsies'. Which I was having a terrible time with before taking wheat completely out of my diet.

[Hawkwind]

Sooo...tonight was my first class. And. I. Loved. It!

It kicked my butt! But I did fine. I have to say...I am so very grateful for the hours and hours I've put in on the trail and in the gym. I did not realize how well my stamina has improved. The one thing I'm regretting is that I have not been faithful about my yoga lately. In spite of letting that slide I was pretty flexible and did very well in my balance exercises.

I'm the oldest student and when I saw the lady I was going to train with I really thought I was 'doomed'. I did fine. It's going to take me a bit to memorize the stances. I didn't do too badly with my blocks.

My abs are a bit mad at me...sit-ups and side sit-ups and leg raises and cross-over leg raises. Good thing I've been a bit more faithful about my core work!

Tomorrow is leg day in the gym...I'm going to go easy since I have another class tomorrow night and I don't really want my legs to 'crumble' during my balance work!