Day 53 - I can walk like a penguin

Well we all knew that was going to happen! After walking around the house all morning like a penguin, I braved the wind and set off to gym. Of course, as soon as I got there I was hoping all my pain would mysteriously vanish and I would be able to walk in like nothing was wrong - yeah right LOL - I kept walking like a penguin LMAO. I got upstairs (still think they need an elevator) and started working on my shoulders. I actually enjoyed my workout today (not that I don’t ever enjoy it LOL) but have to admit, I didn’t like it when I had to bend down to pick up a weight LOL. I did a few exercises I have never done before, which were interesting, and a few that I haven’t done for years, so the whole weights session great. I went back later (yes, still stiff) and got through my tricep session easily. Although, I did some Tricep Presses which felt weird to do, but they certainly got them burning! I have got a one-on-one tomorrow morning with my trainer - should be fun

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

Me!! LMAO - After my leg workout today I did To be a fly on the wall watching me trying to go down the stairs would have been hilarious LOL. You know what it’s like, you try to bend your knee and your whole leg buckles. I even told the gym they needed to get an elevator! Obviously my leg session was good and I know I’ll be sore tomorrow - but as always, it’s worth it - no pain, no gain Both gym sessions today were legs and a few back exercises at the end. I’m glad they get a week to recover - I’ll probably need it

I think that is probably one of the hardest things I do at gym LOL - trying to work out the correct weight to use and getting it right. It can be frustrating at times but I eventually work it out. I had a few new exercises to do today so had to work out what weight to use. My guesses were pretty good and I managed to get through my morning program within time. I enjoyed the feel of the v bar pulldowns - that was probably my favourite of the morning (alongside the seated calf raise - they are awesome LOL). I went back in the afternoon to do my biceps and spent a good 35 minutes working them. Finished up with a few different ab exercises (because they don’t already hurt enough when I cough, sneeze or laugh LOL). I am enjoying the new program though - legs tomorrow (thank goodness, my upper body is suffering a bit and will welcome the rest LOL)

Today was the first day of my “serious program” LOL - no more mucking around! I put in 110% effort today at the gym and motivated myself through the whole workout telling myself it was worth it, I can do it and getting excited about the results. Halfway through my decline press I noticed one of the gym trainers behind me spotting!! I have never had anyone spot for me before but he saw the effort I was putting in and wanted to help. It really made my morning. I did some incline flyes which I haven’t done for years - they bought back memories and felt really good. Probably the best exercise I did in the morning were the cable ab crunches. I have never done them before - but let me tell you - they work! My afternoon session was great - by the time I left the gym my triceps were in meltdown and my calves felt very heavy walking down the stairs so I know I did a good workout. Looking forward to tomorrow

I’ve got it again

The All Women’s Blogging Carnival is at Barmus again this week and I feel honored to be asked to host it again - thank you Leigh To quickly explain what it is (for those who don’t know), the carnival is a collection of posts from women’s blogs all over the world. It’s a great carnival and there are so many interesting and inspiring blogs to read.

So here it is - now don’t be shy LOL, visit them all and enjoy a great read. Don’t forget to grab yourself a cuppa, protein shake, water or whatever you like to drink first

Welcome to the January 21, 2008 edition of all women blogging carnival.

Carol Bentley presents Does your business pass the “Charlie the Plumber” test. . . posted at Carol Bentley.

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Kick Writers? Block posted at Rebecca Dean.

Unitari presents Let’s Make Us Visible posted at Antidrown.

Tali presents Modern Feminism Throughout History - Female Pinup Artists posted at The Pinup Shop Blog, saying, “Who are the gutsy women, who aren’t afraid to stand in the face of feminism and talk about their feminine experience, via the provocative art of cheesecake?”

Tali presents Who Cares if a Few Dykes Get Banned from Digg? | BlogHer posted at BlogHer, saying, “Is the right to free speech irrelevant, at Digg?”

Tali presents The S.M.A.R.T.S Report- A Smart Report for Smart Social Marketing posted at The Marketer Review, saying, “Stompernet got SMARTS. Check out the report that’s rocking the internet marketing community.”

Ed Rivis presents Blog Policy #1: Honesty. posted at Ed Rivis.

Meghna presents MUSINGS…: Mail it??? How??? posted at MUSINGS….

Leigh presents 52 things I ?- week 3 posted at crazy meezer.

Patric presents What I love 3 posted at mad goat lady.

Megan presents What a Mema is and does with two memes and a personal disclosure? posted at Imaginif.

Health and Beauty

Aparna presents 12 beauty uses of baking soda posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming, saying, “Though it’s a known fact that baking soda is widely used in baking, deodorizing refrigerators, microwaves and in household cleaning, let’s look into some common as well as uncommon health and beauty uses of this household ingredient.”

FitBuff presents 4 Tips on How to Live Longer posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, “What if you could live 14 years longer by making 4 lifestyle changes? Notice, I never said easy (that’s subjective), but there are 4 very concrete things you can do to possibly add a decade and a half to your time here…”

Lightening presents Depression Hurts posted at Lightening Online, saying, “Depression is an illness that isn’t always talked about. I feel like it’s time we lifted the lid off the mystery of it and talked about our experiences. Here’s a little glimpse into my own struggle with depression.”

Anne Maybus presents Competition - Tell us your tip! posted at Beauty Banquet, saying, “Share your tips and win!”

Guera presents Treating Clubfeet posted at A Roaming Aussie Mum, saying, “The story of my daughter’s journey to beautiful feet!”

Home sweet Home

Marilyn Terrell presents Love is in the Airport posted at Intelligent Travel, saying, “Sky-dating and the five top US airports for finding love.”

GP presents Inn the Kitchen posted at Innside Montana-Your Home at the Range, saying, “Inn the kitchen of an innkeeper!”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Trash Day posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Akemi presents Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Fail posted at Gratitude Magic.

Paula Gregorowicz presents Is Your Life One Dimensional? posted at Coaching4Lesbians.

New Old-Fashioned Gal presents How Did They Do It? posted at Diary of a New Old-Fashioned Gal, saying, “For a long time I’ve wondered how the women of old seemed to always be on top of the household chores, and I think that I’ve finally come up with an answer!”

Parenting and Family

Lovelyn presents Forgiveness: A Path to Emotional and Spiritual Healing posted at The Art of Balanced Living.

Kate Baggott presents Labor and Birth from A to Z posted at Babylune, saying, “Everything you need to know about labour, birth and other fun stuff.”

jen presents Semantically driven: blogging about blogging, parenting and living in Australia. » Basil pesto posted at Semantically driven, saying, “Basil is easy to grow and easy to make into pesto. Mmm, mmm…..”

Stephanie presents The Birthday Tea Party - Activities posted at Stop the Ride!.

the baglady presents Fifteen Years in America — An Introduction — The Baglady posted at xynny.

Shopping and Money

Lillian Devin presents Shopping on-line, these boxes keep arriving! posted at Dreaming on the edge, saying, “A general blog about all kinds of fun subject relevant to women. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for allowing me to submit my blog. Lillian”

paidtwice presents Creating Subaccounts in ING Direct Savings Accounts posted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…, saying, “A handy feature to keep your money organized.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of all women blogging carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Well, I don’t know what else to call it LOL.

I’m not going to list all of the sets of weights because it is just so long but this will give you an idea of what muscle groups I am working on each day

• Monday AM - Chest & Abs
• Monday PM - Triceps & Calves
• Tuesday AM - Back & Calves
• Tuesday PM - Biceps & Abs
• Wednesday AM - Legs & Glutes
• Wednesday PM - Legs & Back
• Thursday AM - Shoulders
• Thursday PM - Triceps
• Friday AM - Chest & Glutes
• Friday PM - Biceps

Sounds like fun doesn’t it LOL - Will let you know if it feels like fun at the end of the week

I had my assessment today and my trainer basically said that if I want to get into a comp, I will need to stop all the cardio, and start working hard on gaining some mass. It was my choice and the answer was easy - I want more muscle! Since I started, I have lost 7% body fat and 8kg in weight so I am at a good point now to build some serious muscle. That means no more running or cycle class *sobs uncontrollably*, changing all my meals (more food - yummy LOL) and training with weights twice a day, 5 days per week. The program he has written me is huge but I get 2 days off each week, which I’ll need off to cook everything anyway LOL. I will be starting my new program and eating plan on Monday. I won’t call my bodybuilding friend yet about my diet as it needs to be turned around completely anyway to build the muscle (and not to lose anything). I am really looking forward to this challenge and hopefully make some decent gains in the first month. Wish me luck

I went to cycle class today and decided I would give it my all. Of course, I was rocking the bike everywhere and blazing along when I smacked my knee on my drink bottle. It really hurt so what did I do - nothing - left it there and smacked into it again. Other than having to bite down on my lip to stop from crying, I ripped it out of the holder and threw it on the ground. The cycle instructor (who wasn’t cycling because he had cracked ribs) picked it up and put it in front of the bike. When I had a chance I quickly took my foot out of the pedal and had a drink. Guess where I put it?? I am soooooo stooopid sometimes LOL - you guessed it, back in the holder where I went ahead and smacked into it again. I now have the biggest bruise and lump on my knee. Cycle class was still awesome though LMAO - It’s so much fun. Got to say though, one of our cool down songs is Souls on Satellite by Borne - it’s so relaxing. I’m thinking of getting their cd - it would be great to have on to relax to. Will need to listen to it first of course

Okay - who did it LOL - own up!! I got a message from Santa saying I have been nominated for Santa’s Blog of the Day. That’s pretty exciting - so thank you to whoever it was

Apparently you can vote for Barmus by clicking on the link below and then chosing Barmus in the list of blogs. Well what are you waiting for? LOL

Do you look in the mirror when you train? I do. No, I don’t do it to check myself out LOL but I do use them to watch my technique. I have the tendancy to lean more to the right so I need to watch my posture when I train. I noticed today while I was doing my sumo squats that I was leaning again - not sure how to fix this. It doesn’t seem to create any problems at this stage but once I get into the heavier weights it might. The rest of my weights workout was all done straight and I got through it pretty quickly. When I went back later to do my run the gym was packed. I waited and the only treadmill I could get on is limited to 20 minutes. So I only managed to get 4kms done but I suppose it is better than nothing. Cycle class tomorrow - woo hoo!