Excitement!

Ok, I know this is prettttty sad... BUT! I managed to do my usual set of squats without any pain in my hip! I didn't work out to my max but I am just so glad to be able to get back to my normal routine. I have really missed having squats in my routine and my training partner has really had to hold me back from doing it anyway. Instead I have been looking longingly at the power rack while I work out my upper body grudgingly.

Another awesome development is that I have noticed a few changes in my body. You know that awesome line you get down the side of  your thighs when your muscles start to develop (Like the lovely lady below) - I have started to get it :D My abs have become much more noticeable, as when I tense I have a very definite line running down my tummy. My partner says that my back and shoulders have much more definition so all in all, I think it is coming together. It might be time for a few pictures to see if I actually have changed at all.

Improvements and set backs

It has been a while since my last post and I just wanted to say I haven't given up on my goals, I am still hard at it! So, a quick update from me :)

Original stats from 1 month ago:
Max push ups - 4/5
Benching - 35kg
Squatting - 30kg
Assisted pull ups - on 60 kg 8 reps x 3
Weight - 68.9kg

Todays:

Max push ups - 8

Benching - 40kg

Squatting - 45kg

Assisted pull ups - on 50kg 8 reps x 3

Weight - 68.4kg

I haven't actually done that much cardio at the moment, I have been so into my weights that I have almost totally forgotten about it. However I will be cracking on with that as my new job requires 60 mins of cycling daily... If that doesn't get me onto the road of fitness nothing will! 

Basically, I am feeling pretty chuffed with myself. I am steadily increasing and that fills me with a lot of hope. It wont be long until I can proudly lift 2 large yellow 15kg weight onto my barbell and do some real squats. I cant wait until I can do the cross fit motto of "Your workout is my warm up" some real justice.

However there is a big BUT with all of this positivity. I have had a real set back lately. I massively hurt my hip/groin. I think it was a combination of spending 2 hrs in a childrens play area, lifting some heavy weights with poor form the day after and then cycling on top of it. My body was just pushed past its max and my god am I paying the price. I have only done upper body workouts on my last 2 sessions as the pain was so intense. I literally had to hold myself back from getting in the power rack and doing some real work but my training partner reminded me of how much longer I would take to heal if I kept pushing it. I needed to let myself recover.... I am off to the gym again tomorrow, so I will see if my hip is any better, but I am tearing my hair out not being able to do my beloved squats.

Ok back to positivity! Because I have been focusing on my upper body a little more, I have noticed a big increase in my pull up ability. I have also done my first 4000 meter rowing session taking 19 min. There is something really methodical about rowing that allows me to just get into an awesome rhythm. I think I will have to add a little bit more rowing to my current work outs.

So there you have it, the highs and the lows of the last few weeks. Onwards and upwards :)

This made me smile

My friend came to the gym with me today and saw me lifts weights for the first time. Later on in the day, she sent me this video. Apparently it reminded her of me...

I would like to think she was reminded of me because I have 2 pet rats or my determination not to give up and not that she thinks I am overly hairy :P

Happy Pancake day btw. I just ate 5 nom nom nom :D For lent, I am giving up all bad things so no crisps, no fizzy drinks and no sweets/chocolate... Wish me luck! And good luck for whatever you choose to give/take up :)

Go hard or Go home.

I was nearing the end of my squat set in the power rack when a rather large man asked my training partner how many more sets we had left. He politely replied "1 but then we are using it for benching". The large man scowled and walked away. This may seem petty but he had already set my back up by asking me first, purely because there are 2 other racks but they have men using them. So of course he comes over to ask us. Lets try and intimidate the girl. I ignore it and carry on...
He returns now that I am resting and my training partner is working, to ask us again. I politely replied with the same answer to which he replies with "well how long is that going to be then?" he looks arsey at this point. "about 10 minutes?" "OK well come find me when you are done" and he walks away. OK now my feathers are getting ruffled. Come find you huh? What am I your serving girl?
He suddenly catches onto the fact that there is only one bench left to use, which we will be needing for our sets of benching. And so he picks it up, moves it away and half heartedly does some bicep curls (Yes, he is definitely a curl bro!)
When I realise what he has done (either on purpose or accidentally) I concede defeat and tell him I am finished for now. His smile is a little too smug for my liking. However I am still not that annoyed. Irked maybe but after all I can just work on my pull ups and dips.
Now for the cherry on top. He spends 5 minutes looking at the power rack, sets up a massive amount, manages to squeeze out 2-3 reps and then pheww. he rests. He rearranges his stuff on the floor next to him, contemplating the angle of his water bottle and manages to take another 5 min just loitering. He hasnt even broken a sweat yet. This routine is repeated twice more and then he just sits there....
I mean really. You kicked me the power rack for that! I wouldn't have been bothered if he was actually going to use it but please! He was just taking the piss. Either go hard or go home.

I have learnt 2 lessons from this.
1. Do your benching first to so no-one can steal your bench.
2. And do not EVER rush your set just because some arsey big shot is pressuring you.
Screw him, I have every much right to be using it, so you can just wait your turn like I had to and suck it up.
Its a real shame that there are so many men like him in the free weights section, but at least I am now beginning to work out who are the gaukers, who are the talkers and who are the helpers. Even a few of those men who are worth talking to are beginning to smile at me. I guess I am not doing so bad after all.

Ouch!!

You know you've done a really good work out when those stairs to get down and out of the gym are a cause for concern. I decided to push myself towards the end of my squat set to see what I am truly capable of. I managed to push my squat weight up to 42.5kg for 8 reps. I was so worried that the last one would be the death of me. That horrible feeling when you get as low as you can manage and your legs just cant push up any more. You are stuck in that limbo of not going any lower but not pushing up either. I began to panic, would this be my first fail? Luckily for me I managed to push through the pain and stand up straight. Queue massive relief and considerable pride. I almost felt like saying to the man that had been staring at me the whole time "That's right, I am squatting more that you after 1 month of work!" I like to think that his leery staring changed to one of respect when he saw me struggle and defeat that last rep. Getting down those stairs was another challenge. My legs were shaking so much I was truly worried that I was going to fall down a flight of steps. But the worst of it is today. My goodness! I am majorly feeling it today but I am kind of enjoying it. Does that make me wrong?! Its not painful in the way that I have injured myself but in a way that tells me that yesterday was a good training day. To quote my training partner, "it is an ache that is like a really good stretch". However it does make me walk a little bit like a duck... I will let you imagine that one!
On another note, my hands are developing some pretty impressive calluses. A friend said I should pumice them down, but I quite like them. They are a produce of my hard work and if they stop my hands from hurting during a work out then damn, they can stay. And anyway, my hands are almost the same size as my partners, they might as well have mirror image calluses too ;)
I would love to work out today as well but my body is telling me to keep it easy today. So instead I am going to crack on with cleaning my house. Considering I live with 6 other students, you can imagine the destruction.

Thankfully this is not my house!!! But I am a clean freak and even the slightest amount of mess distracts me. I am celebrating my birthday tomorrow, and I have enough pride that I don't want my friends to see my yucky house. So I am slapping on the marigolds and tying my hair up like a war time house wife, armed with anti-bacterial spray and a hoover. So now I am off to work a miracle on my house... and woe betide anyone that destroys the peace before tomorrow!

Training like a WOman

Ok so if you have seen the film "So I Married an Axe Murderer" with a very young Mike Myers, you will get that my title is from his poem. "Woman! WOman! WOOOOOAHman.... She stole my heart and my cat!"
And if you don't get that, then you are now thinking that I am a little bit random.... ok! Moving on to the real topic of training like a woman.

When I first took an interest in weight lifting I said "I want to train like a man, you know, in the man's section". Please forgive my naivety, as I had only ever seen men in the free weights area and hadn't yet begun to do my own research. Once I had done this and been shown the basics from my partner, I began to realise that a lot of these men that I had been staring at in awe previously, were actually doing it completely wrong!
I'm sure you have all seen that man with the massive arms and the hilariously little "chicken legs". My partner affectionately calls these men "Curl bros". Pretty apt if you ask me. They spend the entire time that I am doing my work out doing isolation exercises to make sure that their "guns" are as huge as possible. They forget to train their body as a whole and develop their muscle unevenly across their body. Surely they must realise that they are going to do their body an injury? It would seem not. There are few men that I see training their legs and back, but these are usual the ones that grunt and squeal like a pig in an attempt to attract the most attention as possible. My feelings of admiration have rapidly dissolved. Give me functional strength over massive muscles any day!

Nia Shanks wrote an article about "training like an athlete" not a man or a woman. Just simply someone that is focused on training to become faster and stronger. Aiming to improve your performance is a much more positive goal than aiming for fat loss or calories burnt. Instead of being unhappy with yourself and getting wrapped up in the way you look, you instead push yourself towards becoming a better you, but in a healthy way. There shouldn't be a difference in the way women and men train, but sadly that is the reality of it.

However I feel that when training as a woman you need to be a little bit more than just an athlete. I like to think there are plenty of women that have looked at the weights section and thought to themselves "I would like to try that" but that every time they have summoned the courage to edge over there, they have been scared away by the men that gawk at them or pressure them into cutting their sets short. Training as a woman in a male dominated section requires self esteem, confidence and a little bit of attitude. The strength that you acquire as you work out, can be applied to so many other areas of your life and you become a stronger person as a result. Some times it just comes down to having some backbone and  faking it, until you make it.