Category Archives: female body breakthrough

My Healthy Heart Weekend and counters

Did this weekend fly by or what? I loved getting in the emails with what everyone was doing over the course of the weekend!

I did my first workout with the Female Body Breakthrough. The exercises were grouped in supersets of 2.

Yes, I do rehab and lifting with nail polish intact! Cause I’m cool like that 😉

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
Bird Dog Forward Ball Roll	3 set of 10 3 set of 10
Stepups 3-point dumbbell row	3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs
Partial Co-contraction Lunge (video) Pushup	3 sets of 10 1 set of 10/ 1 set of 7/ 1 set of 6
Single-leg bridge Bent Over Reverse Fly	3 sets of 10 1 sets of 10 with 10# DBs/ 2 sets of 10 with 8# DBs

I forgot how hard these workouts are. On paper they don’t look too hard, but the co-contraction lunge – Such a small move by by the 8th rep on each set my legs were on Fiyah!!

Here is a detailed video on the co-contraction lunge:

John actually used a guest pass and came with me to work out for his HH weekend 😀 . He is thinking of a gym membership, too, but not quite sold yet.

Don’t forget to get me your activity and picture for the Healthy Heart Weekend! Email is javaqueen01@yahoo.com . I will be doing a wrap up post and the drawing for prizes hopefully on Monday evening. There is the New Orleans artist pin I posted about on Friday. The other 2 prizes are some locally roasted coffee and some local peanut butter! I would have roasted coffee, but I haven’t been able to because of the cold weather (I have to roast outside).

We got tons done on the counters, too. Neat story here – When I pulled the tiles off the other day, about half of them came off whole. I put them on Craigslist for free figuring someone could maybe use them for a craft project or something. I got a ton of responses, but the first person who came to get them said they were exactly what they needed to repair a floor. Who knew my ugly counter top tile was what someone was looking for? The man said he was actually grateful to me for giving him the tiles because he would have had to rip out the whole floor since he couldn’t find replacements for the tiles. That made me happy to save the landfill and make someone’s day!

Anyway, we removed the sink, took up the rest of the plywood underlayment, repaired walls, cut a new pattern for the top and got that installed. Glued and weighted down while it dries:

We are going to do some Rustoleum countertop paint on this. It’s a special paint designed for counters and has antimicrobial properties. Then the backsplash will be made up of these mosaics (these sheets will be divided into 4 inch strips):

I’m getting excited to see how it comes out. Not having the kitchen sink sucks right now. Doing dishes either in the bathtub or the downstairs bath sink. Hopefully the sink will be functioning in a day or so, but the kitchen won’t be finished until the end of the week, probably.

Fit Female Eating

Well, my pants are a bit tight from the trip… and Christmas, so now is the time to refocus again. I am going to start a lifting program and I think I settled on doing the Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove again. Now I don’t necessarily care for her approach as far as trying to get women to lift with silly acronyms like BITCHH – Be Inspiring, Totally Confident and Hot, rocking the jeans, turning heads, etc., but I guess I understand if that is how she needs to hook the nonlifter. Those women who understand how strength training changes your body don’t need to be catered to like this. I much more prefer the approach written in New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Okay, I’ll get back on track again, sorry. 😳

For me, the eating style is pretty much what I try to do most times, but a bit stricter than I normally do (no sugar except on splurge meals). I didn’t really follow her eating plan too closely when I was doing this a couple years ago, but I am going to this time. I also am going to try something really radical for me, which is to not count calories. I am just going to write down what I ate in a notebook and stick to portions and see what happens. I have tracked food for years, but I thought this would be a good challenge for me. This is not moving towards intuitive eating at all – that just doesn’t work for me, which is okay. It’s just something to help make me very aware of what I am eating. I know that sounds odd to say considering I track my food, but the trackers I use have settings where you can have favorite meals set up or common foods and just add them with a click of a button, so you don’t pay attention as much. Does this make sense to anyone but me?

Basic plan is 5 to 6 eats per day (snack or meal). On lifting days, protein shake post workout. Meals should be as unprocessed as possible with protein and either a fruit or veggie with every meal or snack. Starchy carbs should not include bread or pasta, but things like oats, potatoes, corn tortillas, rice. Protein bar or shake in a pinch, not as part of the daily food.

The idea is to stay on track 90% of the time, which is the goal, and 10% of the meals are splurge meals where you can eat the things you aren’t eating the other 90% of the time. This includes bagels for me a couple times a week and a meal out (not that you can’t follow the guidelines eating out, but the option is there). 10% equals about 3 to 4 meals a week.

And yes, I know it isn’t the beginning of the month when I normally set goals for myself, but I need a mid winter push.

So, here is my example today of a nonlifting food day:

Brekkie – steel cut oats with egg whites whisked in, topped with a banana sauteed in a teaspoon of butter and cinnamon (plus coffee and almond milk).

Morning snack. Sometimes I am really hungry for a snack, sometimes I am fine until lunch. No rhyme or reason to it, either, so I have it if I want it – like today. Grapes and a portion of lean ham.

Lunch. This is turkey chili that I made just throwing ground turkey, canned tomatoes, a bit of onion, chili powder, a can of diced green chiles and some salt and pepper in a pot. Corn tortilla on the side. (This picture is last night’s dinner, but I had the same thing for lunch – only I ate it at the computer!)

Afternoon snack – latte and blueberries!

Dinner – Omelet made with 1 egg plus some egg whites to bulk it up. Topped with some parmesan cheese. Side of sauteed and shredded brussel sprouts.

Evening snack. 1/4 cup of ricotta mixed with 1/4 cup of pumpkin and a boatload of cinnamon. Plus about 1.5 walnuts that happened to be in the fridge. Not sure why a container with only this many nuts was in there, but there you go.

This is made up and in the fridge to have later. I was going to get closer with the picture, but then thought better of it 😀

Eyeballing the day puts this probably around 1400-1500 calories, but again, I am not counting them specifically.

I’ll talk about the strength part later and get back to listing what I do for that. It will definitely be part of Healthy Heart Weekend! I will state my power goal is to be able to do a 25# dumbbell shoulder press – without use of momentum. I got there before and I can do it again!

Lifting and froyo

It’s Thursday already and the week is almost over! It has gone by fast. I sure wish I didn’t have to work and waste all that time 😉

Last strength workout for the week and Stage B.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
1. Crunches on stability ball	3 sets of 10
2. Complex: High Pull, Front Squat/Push Press, Back Squat, Good Morning	4 sets of 8 each exercise with 20# bar
3A. Deadlift	3 sets of 10 with 65# bar
3B. Dumbbell Overhead Press with rotation	3 sets of 10 with 10# DB
3C. Single Leg Squat	3 sets of 10
3D. Bent Over Row	30 sets of 10 45# bar

Only new move to me is the overhead dumbbell press with rotation. You basically rotate the same side of the body that is pressing up with the dumbbell. That’s a nice addition to that move.

This complex was a little different than workout A. I actually hit myself in the chin with the bar doing the front squat/push press. I remember now that I did that when I did NROLW, too. Guess I never learned my lesson.

Again, this workout was really more metabolic and kept the heart rate up. I didn’t think it was possible for me to get sweatier lifting than I have been with this program, but I managed it. 😳

Breakfast upon return to home:

Protein waffles topped with a banana mashed up with maple syrup. It may not look like a lot, but I had a 200 calorie protein drink already. Plus, I was saving the other 2 waffles wedges for lunch.

So, there I guess is a time to do lunch!

I used my new sandwich press with the other 2 waffle wedges to make a chicken sausage sandwich.

I like having new toys 😀 I guess that shows how exciting my life is… I was just saying to my mother last night that I was so happy that my life is pretty much drama free. Either that or it is how I react to stuff that keeps it fairly drama free.

Also, having an afternoon latte is also a good way to stay on an even keel.

Ran a bit late with work today and I was a little cranky for dinner. That meant something fast! Omelet time.

I diced up the potato and microwaved it for a few minutes before tossing it in the pan to brown up a bit. 10 minute dinner.

Then I was happy again 😀

Such a beautiful evening that John and I took advantage of that for a Thursday night treat. Riding for froyo! Lots of choices.

I wanted the Baklava, but they were out. So, I ended up with cinnamon bun.

Refreshing, but not my favorite flavor. Rum cheesecake or pistachio would probably be that.

One more day til the weekend!

Bagels and FBB Stage 4!

Bagel day! It was cloudy and wet when we got up this morning, so that nixed biking to breakfast. Boooo… But, the bagel was still good!

Of course, it never rained and the sun peeked out by the time we finished, so we could have ridden. Oh well, it’s all good in the end.

Anyway, I thought I would now post the next workout I did for the Female Body Breakthrough.

This last phase is different in that each week the reps change for some of the exercises, so progress will be harder to monitor and I think I will just go back to my normal posting each week of my workouts. I will also be extending the program to get in all the workouts since there are 6 different ones to do, which means 12 sessions. I am lifting twice a week now, so that means about 6 weeks for this phase instead of 4 (barring rainy weekends).

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
1. Plank with alternate arm/leg reach	3 sets of 10 each side
2. Complex: Deadlift, High Pull, Push Press, Reverse Lunge	4 sets of 8 each exercise with 20# bar
3A. Bulgarian Split Deadlift	4 sets of 5 with 10# DBs
3B. Single Arm Chest Press on ball	4 sets of 5 with 20# DB
3C. Back Squat	4 sets of 5 with 65# bar
3D. Chinups	4 sets of 5 with assistance

Just when you think the plank can’t get any harder and now I have to lift the opposite leg and arm at the same time. So, you are balancing on one toe and 1 forearm and alternating to the other side. Wow.

I like the complexes. You use a lighter weight and do all 4 moves right in a row, so 8 deadlifts, 8 high pulls, 8 pushpress and 8 reverse lunges. It’s more of a metabolic circuit that gets your heart rate up. The last 4 exercises are done as a giant set. Challenging for sure!

Tomorrow is workout B. My legs are a bit stiff today.

Lunch time! Easy peasy today. Greek yogurt with apple topping. It’s fast and I have been liking that lately for lunches.

I took a quick bike ride to the bank and back for pay day! At least I got in a quick ride today. About 2.5 miles. Today is one of those “squeeze it in when you can get it” exercise days. It’s actually windy today and you all know how much I like riding in the wind. 🙄

Got back just in time for lattes. Icy latte, that is:

Very busy day for work today. I had a panic moment when I was just about finished with a 41 minute dictation (takes about 80 minutes to do that long of a file) and my program locked up on me. I thought I lost the last hour and half of work! That would have been very depressing. I walked away from the computer for about 5 minutes and came back and it had unlocked. Phew! You would have heard me yelling if I had lost that. They system doesn’t have a good save function, unfortunately.

Pixie could care less about all the excitement.

Dinner was quick and easy thanks to precooking stuff. I had made up some of the balsamic tomato topping early in the week just to put on stuff (an omelet was great that way, btw). Tonight I had it on some cooked chicken.

Even though it is meal assembly that way, it still seems like a nice dinner.

I am posting this quick. Tonight is mother/daughter night. Either froyo or coffee, but the temps are cooler now and I am thinking it will be coffee!

Female Body Breakthrough Stage 3 Wrap-up

Thank you all so much for your comments on my maintenance post! I actually realized that it was a week early – oops LOL! Not that it matters that much in the grand scheme of things.

There is always that concern in posting progress photos about being judged and that does happen. It’s always a little scary to put those out there. I know where I am right now is where some people start from. But who cares – not me!

Today was the start of the last stage of my fit female lifting program, but I need to post results from the last month first.

I made up my protein drink to bring with.

This is 8 oz of almond milk, 30 grams of unflavored whey, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and cinnamon with a couple ounces of water to thin it out. I alternate this one with the pumpkin shake.

I drink half before and half after the workout. I can’t tell you the difference this workout shake has made in recovery not just from lifting, but I have incorporated it after long bike rides as well.

Here was my progress on stage 3 of Female Body Breakthrough. Now with this stage, the progress was to come from the exercises with 6 reps. That was where the emphasis was on lifting heavier, not the exercises with 15 reps (which were fairly static). This was the last 4 weeks.

Workout A

Exercise	Set/rep/weight Week 1	Set/rep/weight Week 4
Plank on stability ball	3 sets of 30 second holds	3 sets 60 second holds
Russian Twist	3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs	3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs
Deadlift	3 sets of 6 with 65# bar	3 sets of 6 with 95# bar
Military Press	3 sets of 6 with 20# DBs	3 sets of 6 with 25# DBs!!
Forward and back step over	3 sets of 10 each leg with 10# DBs	3 sets of 15 each leg with 10# DBs
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs
Single Leg SHELC (hamstring curl on ball)	3 sets of 15	3 sets of 15 with both legs
1-point Dumbbell Row	3 sets of 15 with 15# DB	3 sets of 15 with 15# DB

Workout B

Exercise	Set/rep/weight Week 1	Set/rep/weight Week 4
Prone Cobra	3 sets of 70 second holds	3 sets of 80 second holds
Front Squat	3 sets of 6 with 15# bar	3 sets of 6 with 45# bar
Chinups	3 sets of 6 with 90# of assistance	3 sets of 6 with 70# of assistance
Stiff-legged deadlift	3 sets of 15 with 65# bar	3 sets of 15 with 65# bar
Dumbbell Push Press	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs
Barbell Split Squat	3 sets of 15 with 45# bar	3 sets of 15 with 45# bar
Split Stance Single-arm cable row	3 sets of 15 each arm at 20#	3 sets of 15 each arm at 40#

Very pleased. I was thrilled with the military press. 25# dumbbells was really hard to work for, but I got there strongly on all 6 reps by the last workout. Going good on the deadlift, too. I still haven’t been able to do more than 1 unassisted chinup, so I have a ton of work to do in that department. Not that fond of the front squat, I have to say. It is hard on the wrists. And single-leg SHELC are out for me with my back. Gotta make things work for me.

I hope posting workouts might inspire others to lift as well. The pictures I posted yesterday – lifting heavy really gives you lifts in all the right places. It is most noticeable in my chest and butt. No surgery or padding or any kind of support undergarment in those photos (other than a regular bra). That was all from lifting over the years. After losing a lot of weight and in being in my mid 40s, I can use all the lift I can get LOL!

I know a reason many people don’t lift is that they don’t know what to do and either can’t afford or don’t want to work with a personal trainer. If I may suggest a book that will really, really help you out – it would be this one.

(my amazon linkie). This is a great book for teaching what moves for what body parts and how to set up a lifting program yourself based on what you need. It’s a very, very good resource. Plus, there are alternatives to work out at home if you don’t belong to a gym.

I’ll be posting the next FBB workouts later this week – I know you are all excited!

Fit Female Stage 3B

New lifting day. You are getting all kinds of lifting posts this week 😀

I was not sore at all from Tuesday’s workout, but part of that is new moves and lighter weights. Today was the second part of this month’s stage, so without further ado:

On to Stage 3B

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
1. Prone Cobra	3 sets of 70 second holds
2a. Front Squat	1 set of 6 at 15#, 2 sets of 6 at 30#
2b. Chinups	3 sets of 6 assisted (less assistance)
3a. Stiff-legged Deadlift	3 sets of 6 at 95# (was not supposed to do this rep range.)
3b. Dumbbell Push Press	1 set of 10 with 20# DBs, 2 sets of 15 with 15# DBs
4a. Split Stance Single-arm cable row	3 sets of 15 at 30#
4b. Barbell Split squat	3 sets of 15 with 45# bar
The Finisher – Leg Matrix	20 bodyweight squats, 20 alternating front lunges (each side), 20 side lunges (each side), 20 body weight squats

This workout was tough. It’s a little hard on the first time with a new group of exercises trying to find the balance of enough weight versus too much. It’s even more challenging because of the rep differences. I thought I could push press the 20# DBs since you get assist from the legs, but I could only eke out 10 reps instead of 15. Then I dropped down to the 15# DBs to finish out.

I love the stiff-legged deadlift. Not sure why, but I do. I loaded up the barbell and worked on that one. However when I got home, I realized that I wrote down 6 reps instead of 15 on that one. So, I was lifting much heavier than I was supposed to. Ooops! So, that will look wonky at the end of the month stats wise.

Finisher B. The leg matrix. How I hate this with the heat of 1000 burning suns! It burns!!!! It normally calls for jump squats and jump lunges, but I actually modified this because I can’t do up and down plyo jumps with my back, but still damn hard.

I totally had jelly legs when I was done. Breakfast was fast when I got home. 1-minute muffin (applesauce version) topped with almond butter.

While this does not look filling, it really is. Between the 28 grams of fat and 12 grams of fiber with breakfast, it will last me all the way to lunch. Plus I did have an post workout shake. As an aside – I still can’t believe Peyton Manning is a Bronco!!

Here is a picture of what I come home to most days.

She rolls over for tummy rubbing, and John and I are trained very well to do her bidding.

Work very, very busy today. Surprising because usually on the last day of the pay period work is sparse as everyone tries to get in all their lines. As I told John, I am not complaining because it means I don’t have to flex hours to get my lines in.

Lunch came by quickly:

I am loving bakers with sour cream. It is a comfort food for me.

With my afternoon latte, I had a broken piece of John’s cookies from yesterday.

John got the recipe from allrecipes.net, but I don’t know which one it is. They are fudgy and good!

I got stuck at the end of my work day with a long file. That got me a late start on dinner, but at least it was extra lines to tack onto this paycheck. Woo Hoo!

The last of the salad mix. Yay – no waste there. 😀

I am posting a little early. We are going out to the mall shopping and for coffee! Time to par-tay!

Fit Female Stage 3A and challenging yourself

New workout time!

I print out my workouts a little fancier for this since I am doing the same one for a month. Easier to read than my scribbling.

Today’s protein drink for the workout? Almond milk, cinnamon, applesauce, whey protein.

On to Stage 3A

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
1a. Plank on Stability Ball	3 sets of 30 second holds
1b. Russian Twist	3 sets of 10 with 10# DB
2a. Deadlift	3 sets of 6 at 65#
2b. Military press	3 sets of 6 with 20# DBs (Go me!!!)
3a. Forward and back Step Overs	3 sets of 10 each leg with 10# DBs (Was supposed to be 15)
3b. Incline Bench Press	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs
4a. Single Leg SHELC	3 sets of 15 each each leg (I had to go back to using both legs on each set)
4b. One-point dumbbell row	3 sets of 15 each arm with 15# DB
The Finisher	Squat thrust, bodyweight squats. 3/1 – 6/2 – 9/3 – 12/4

Now it feels like the real ‘meat’ of the program. I looked at this workout on paper and did not have any idea how challenging it would be. Planks on a stability ball? Hello! This was really, really tough. I could barely hold 30 seconds on that.

The step over is something that doesn’t sound hard, but is. You take a step, put one foot on the step and the other one behind you on the ground in a lunge position. Then you lift the back leg up and over the step (without touching it) and come down in a lunge position. Then take that leg back over. Damn this is tough. I was supposed to do 15 on each leg, but I couldn’t.

And The Finisher? (please say this term in a deep menacing voice) As Rachel says, it is designed to finish you off. And it does. A squat thrust is also known as a burpee. I don’t care for burpees (and I hate the name – so forever are known as squat thrusts to me), so this was really hard for me. You do 3 squat thrusts, then 1 body weight squat. Then 6 squat thrusts and 2 body weight squats, and so on upwards. If you feel like it, you can rest for the same amount of time it took to do the circuit and do it again. No thanks! I was wiped out. There is no way I could have biked home without waiting at least 15 minutes to rest. Good thing I drove 😉

Definitely a lot room for improvement with this workout!

I got home and baked up a banana bread pudding and topped it with coconut butter.

I love this breakfast because it keeps me full until lunch. Warmer weather meant that I bought salad fixings! Of course, today is colder and drizzly, but I need to eat it up.

The old stand-by of chicken, feta cheese and BBQ sauce. Yummy.

Fran made a comment yesterday about making great progress over the 4 weeks stages (thank you!). One thing that I make sure I do when I go to the gym is to challenge myself a little each time. So I will do 1 or 2 exercises with heavier weights, or longer hold times or whatever. Not every exercise because you will burn out. Just a couple. Then do different ones the next time. That is how you see the improvement. The strength building actually comes when you *aren’t* working out and the muscles repair and recover – hopefully stronger. So, if you have been hitting the weights, or even your cardio, and haven’t changed up anything in a while, do more. Challenge yourself. Make the most out of your workouts.

Ready for a latte? I was!

Pixie was annoyed that I had to make her get up so I could get this.

Why, hello there, Jabba! Sorry, haven’t seen Han Solo.

It was such a dreary day. We need the rain – I just don’t need the clouds for my mood. I finished up work just in time for dinner.

These blueberries were so good that I went back for a second bowl!

Good eats today. Yesterday I had myself a carb fest and over snacking. Definitely nice to eat like this today.

My mother is coming over tonight to show pictures of the cruise she just got back from. I roasted up some decaf so we can have that.

Here is hoping the rain stops so we can bike to breakfast tomorrow!

Fit Female stage 2 wrapup

I completely did not realize that I finished up Stage 2 of the Fit Female on Sunday! I was checking to see when I would be done thinking it was next week, but I already did 4 weeks. Dang that went by fast. Just a refresher that these were alternating workouts 3 times a week. I lifted on Tues/Thurs/ and either Sat or Sun (depending on biking). Where it says 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, etc., that means those exercises were done as supersets. Here were the workouts and my improvements:

Stage A – I did this workout a total of 6 times

Exercise	Set/rep/weight Week 1	Set/rep/weight Week 4
1a. Cable Wood Chop (high to low)	3 sets of 8 each side at 20#	3 sets of 8 each side at 30#
1b. Plank	3 sets of 60 second holds	3 sets of 80 second holds
2a. Dumbbell squat with offset load	3 sets of 8 with 15# DB	3 sets of 8 with 25# DB
2b. Alternating dumbbell overhead press	3 sets of 8 each arm with 10# DBs	3 sets of 8 each arm with 20# DBs!!
3a. Single-leg Bent Knee Deadlift (video)	3 sets of 8 with 20# DBs	3 sets of 8 with 20# DBs
3b. Assisted Chin Ups	3 sets of 8	3 sets of 8 with more resistance
4a. Alternating Lateral Lunge	3 sets of 8 each with 15# DBs (had to drop the weights during set 3)	3 sets of 8 with 15# DBs
4b. Two-point dumbbell row (video of me!)	3 sets of 8 each arm with 20# DB	3 sets of 8 each arm with 25# DB

I was very pleased with the overhead presses and getting up to using the 20# dumbbells for that one. Maybe I can get to 25 someday without doing a push press! I have to say that the single leg dumbbell deadlift was really hard. I maxed out on what my left leg leg could do. I didn’t want to go heavier on the right, so I don’t really know what I would have ended up at. I also was pleased at holding the plank for 80 seconds at a time. My core is feeling strong.

Stage B – I did this a total of 6 times

Exercise	Set/rep/weight Week 1	Set/rep/weight Week 4
1a. Reverse Cable Wood Chop (low to high)	3 sets of 8 each side at 20#	3 sets of 8 at 20#
1b. Jackknife on stability ball	3 sets of 8 (without falling over…fail)	3 sets of 8 – no falling!
2a. Step Ups	3 sets of 8 each leg with 25# DBs	3 sets of 8 each leg with 30# DBs
2b. T Pushups	3 sets of 4 each side	3 sets of 4 each side, 1 set with 5# DBs
3a. Single-leg Squats	3 sets of 8 each leg	3 sets of 8 each leg
3b. Alternating lateral raise	3 sets of 8 each arm with 5# DBs	3 sets of 8 each arm with 13# DBs
4a. Reverse Row	3 sets of 8	3 sets of 8
4b. Supine Hip Extension to Leg Curl (SHELC)	3 sets of 8	3 sets of 8

I was happy with this group because of the T pushups. I added dumbbells to them, but balance is quite hard with this, even using hex dumbbells. It hurts my palm, too. I maxed out on the step ups with how much weight I can hold in my hands. I can’t hold more than a 30# dumbbell in each hand without losing grip strength. I messaged Rachel on Facebook and she told me to try using the squat cage and a barbell, so maybe next time. I also got my lateral raise up to 13# dumbbells! That is the heaviest I have ever done that move, so I was pretty happy about that.

Thoughts? I feel much stronger. I do not feel any thinner. (I am not weighing myself right now). I think my clothes maybe are fitting a bit looser, but I just have been feeling large lately – major body image issues. I haven’t liked my pictures lately, so I obviously have something mental going on right now that I need to figure out, whatever it is.

I might have to tweak the eating plan. Rachel has steps to do for each stage with the eating, but to only change if you aren’t seeing results. So, maybe that is next for me to try.

Tomorrow starts stage 3 and some old familiar moves for me – like the deadlift!

Stage 2B and work, work, work!

Yesterday just flew by. It was very busy and boring, so I didn’t bother posting anything. I was ready to lift today. I notice the sun coming up earlier and earlier! It is a welcome change.

Today, I tried a different workout shake. I did some mango, almond milk, cinnamon, and whey protein. It was pretty good. Not as thick as my pumpkin shake, which is actually a good thing.

So on to Part B of this 2nd stage. Anyone who says you can’t work up a sweat or get strong with mostly body weight exercises is very mistaken.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
Reverse Cable Wood Chop (low to high)	3 sets of 8 each side at 20#
Jackknife on stability ball	3 sets of 8 (without falling over…fail)
Step Ups	3 sets of 8 each leg with 25# DBs
T Pushups	3 sets of 4 each side
Single-leg Squats	3 sets of 8 each leg
Alternating lateral raise	3 sets of 8 each arm with 5# DBs
Reverse Row	3 sets of 8
Supine Hip Extension to Leg Curl (SHELC)	3 sets of 8

An easy explanation for the SHELC is to go into a bridge position with your feet on a stability ball, the pull the ball towards you with your feet. It really works the hamstrings, plus your core as you have to keep your hips up. This workout was not as hard as the one the other day, but it felt more awkward. I don’t necessarily like the stability ball. It doesn’t help that the ball in my gym is canary yellow and large. It especially calls attention to it when it rolls away from me as I fall off it. 🙄 I should have a super stable core when this Fit Female series is done, I will say that.

I got home thinking of oats all the way! I made up plain oats with egg whites and then mixed in the apple cranberry topping I have been loving as of late. I put half underneath the oats.

Very good. I am starting to increase my carbs more this week as we have a long ride planned this weekend (and just more riding in general) and I have to build that up.

Quick lunch of pork that was cooked yesterday in the crockpot. Love the leftovers on busy days.

After lunch it was off to Albany. My sister had a minor surgery done on her eye and needed someone to come pick her up from the hospital. It was over an hour away. Eek! Long day. After I picked her up, we stopped for coffee as she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since 8 p.m. the night before.

I had brought some dried pineapple and cookies for her to eat right away (because I am a good sister). I had some pineapple with the latte. It was quite tempting to get a donut, but I held my own. Sometimes you just want to eat whatever when the schedule gets mucked up, you know?

I had to get back to work when I got home at 4:30. It’s going to be a long night to catch up work. Today is the last day of the pay period, so no chance to make up lines another day. Oh well.

I stopped for dinner and cooked up a quick pan sautee of veggies and shrimp with a bit of lemon pepper.

Lame strawberries, though. You know how sometimes they are just watery and flavorless? That was these.

Oh, also – here is a photo of a goose egg! My sister and BIL have geese and turkeys and when I dropped her off at home, she gave me some goose eggs.

How giant is that! It’s next to one of our regular large chicken eggs. It ought to make a tasty omelet, although I am a little skeered 😀

More work to do tonight. Lots more work. I have a snack planned, but other than that it will be typing, typing, typing tonight.

Stage 2 of Fit Female

Lucky readers, it’s new workout week!

On to Stage 2 of the Female Body Breakthrough! This is workout A. This month the goal is few reps and heavier weights, although on the first day of each new workout I will keep the weights light to get used to the moves. Some moves are new for me.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight
Cable Wood Chop (high to low)	3 sets of 8 each side at 20#
Plank	3 sets of 60 second holds
Dumbbell squat with offset load	3 sets of 8 with 15# DB
Alternating dumbbell overhead press	3 sets of 8 each arm with 10# DBs
Single-leg Bent Knee Deadlift (video)	3 sets of 8 with 20# DBs
Assisted Chin Ups	3 sets of 8
Alternating Lateral Lunge	3 sets of 8 each with 15# DBs (had to drop the weights during set 3)
Two-point dumbbell row (video of me!)	3 sets of 8 each arm with 20# DB

This is hard. I think it is harder than Stage 1, but I think that is the idea. My goal is at least 75 second plank 3 times by the end of the month. Lots of balance work, which is really good for me. The offset load squat is harder than it appears. Basically, you just do a dumbbell squat, but only hold a dumbbell in 1 hand. You need a lot of core stabilization for that one. My glutes were burning at the end of this workout, too.

I want to get back to unassisted chin ups, but that won’t happen in a month.

I needed my post workout shake today. Okay, I guess I don’t need to say that after every workout. 🙄

Once home, I made up a 1-minute muffle and topped it with some ricotta.

That is 1 strawberry, too. Another giant mutant strawberry.

This lasted me to lunch time. Gotta love the 1-minute muffin for that. I ended up having the chicken for lunch that was supposed to be for dinner last night. Plus mango.

Gratuitous Pixie shot. She was just vulturing on my chair arm today. Not quite sure why she does this sometimes.

Not exactly sure what that look is. If only I could read her mind sometimes. She’s probably thinking it was about latte time and she shouldn’t get in my lap, which would be correct.

I think lattes are more fun in a Mickey cup.

Another attempt at fish today. This is a Sea Cuisine frozen product. Potato encrusted tilapia. We had a coupon.

Jury kind of out on this one. John really liked it, but I thought it was more fishy than the salmon. The breading was good. It was kind of peppery like Mexican seasoning.

I’m off for Mother/Daughter night. Coffee and chit-chat, always nice.

Finding Radiance

Trying to live a fit life loving food, cycling, gardening and everything in between!