I think you’re right. I’ve been feeling guilty about it but I just know it’s not going to work well so it’s not terrible that I didn’t offer to take on the payment.

Upper Body last night. All went well. Increased weight in all lifts and focused on form.

Lat Pulldowns
10x80
8x90
8x90
6x95
5x100lbz
Hundo baby!

OHP
5x40lbs
1x45
2x45
3x45
3x45
3x45
3x45

First of all, I did those overhead presses w the big bar! Progress! I did a couple of extra sets because my camera/tripod wasn’t at the right angle and didn’t capture anything. Grrr in the end a woman named Yasmina offered to video it for me. Yes please! More on her in a bit.

Bench Press
7x45
5x50lbs
5x50lbs
3x55lbs
4x55lbs
3x55lbs

At least I went up to 55lbs. Lift still scares me but I have to get over it. I forced myself to do that 4th rep at 55lbs just to see what would happen and it was fine.

Negative chin up ****s
2 reps, 10 times.

This took forever and it sucked. I understand the value of it as I feel stronger doing it this week.

Bicep curls w (2) 15 lb dumbbells
6,6,8
I made the jump to 15 lb weights. Felt very heavy but doable.

Pec flys
8x50lbs
5x60lbs
4x60lbs
Jumped to 60 lbs, very heavy. It was last exercise of night and I was tired. Should’ve done another set.

So Yasmina...I’ve seen her there training a skinny guy for the last couple months but tonight was the first time she said hi and offered to video me. She videoed the OHP and said my form was good.

We were chatting and I mentioned I saw her training that skinny guy. She replied that she was but not to say anything cuz it’s against the rules of the gym.

Then she went on to give me a verbal resume of which clubs in Boston she’s been a trainer at. And said if I had any questions on any of the lifts or needed help w them, she’d be happy to do it.

Hmmmm

I don’t particularly want her to train me, but I was thinking...she could spot me on BP on upper body days, tell me how to improve form, film me...maybe even pop my cherry w the power cage or whatever it’s called.

I wonder if she’d be interested in that vs me doing her program.

Think that’s a good idea?

I’m comfortable w 2 days per week, 1 hr ea, $50 ea or $100 per week.

But I don’t wanna commit for more than 4 weeks. Unsure if I want/need this though a spotter would get me through this pussy stage.

Renton says if I can ohp 45lbs I should be able to BP more than 55.

This & That

Tonight is Evan's concert. Lower body is scheduled for tonight. I will do it tomorrow night instead of playing poker. *sad face*

I did set my alarm for 4:15 this morning with the intention of working out before the office, but I went back to sleep. That snooze either cost me or saved me money.

So lower body tomorrow night and then back on the program on Saturday. I've been doing squats at opportune moments in the office and I'm worried. Not about the weights, but about the fact that I can't squat far down enough. meh.

Weight:
125, 126, 125, 124

I seem to be playing with the same pound, which sometimes makes me anxious. I told Renton that my first priority was strength, not to lose weight, and that's where we are headed yet, sometimes I feel like I should be losing weight. Blah

However, my body though weighing the same is definitely changing. Yesterday a colleague told me I was looking skinny. Same colleague today said 'oh my god you're so thin'.

I bought a blouse at the Armani Exchange outlet store at Foxwoods at end of Sept. It's sleeveless and cold here in Boston, so I haven't worn it lately. I decided to wear it the other day with a blazer on top. What used to be a form fitted blouse now looks like maternity wear. It fits in the tittie area still but the rest is very big and flowy. I did not buy it like that....so I can see changes. Hopefully that means less fat and more muscle.

I see other changes too btw. Excess hanging skin is looking worse, not better. FML Jesus Christ, seriously, worse, though muscle definition is visibly different, so that's nice.

The thought of skin removal surgery scares the shiat out of me, but I'm considering it. Problem is where do you stop? Arms? legs? belly? back? ass? toes?

Yeah, toes. It seems I have excess skin on my big toes. so much so that I've been stepping on it. Been taping it up to prevent that. Fun times.

Good morning. It's Friday. I haven't worked out since Tuesday. I feel like crap.

Well I don't feel like crap exactly, more like sluggish. Been on the go for the last couple days, not sleeping enough and my food isn't exactly on track either.

Nothing too crazy, but no cooking. When I don't have good food options, I tend to eat less and my protein surely suffers. Yesterday was a **** show in regard to food and protein. In fact, i'll list the cliffs below.

Brekkie
Honey crisp apple
cheddar cheese
Protein bar

Lunch
1/2 of a small salted chocolate chip cookie

Snack
tablespoon of peanut butter

Dinner
Bunless hamburger pattie
Raisinettes
(2) biscoff cookies

That's about 1,000 kcals of shiat.

Going to load up on coffee and protein today and hit the gym hard tonight. Still no cooking though and without a plan i dunno how that's gonna work.

Eh, it’s almost 7pm Friday night. I skipped poker tonight to go to the gym, but I’m home on 2+2 putting off my departure.

Not cuz it’s cold and rainy. Cuz I’m dreading the squats. Dreading them because I’m worried I won’t be able to do them. My knees suck so much but failing sucks more. Grrr

I still have to figure out what the program is for tonight. I need to consolidate Renton’s orders for tonight, maybe rewatch the squat vid, and get my ass to the gym. It closes in 3 hours.

You should go, obviously.

I'll be hanging out if you need a pointer or three while you're there.

You should go. But remain sensible and injury free.

pffffft

Thanks guys. I went and I’m injury free. Still not getting ass down deep enough in the squat but at least I was able to do them...a lot (fu Renton) of them.

Squats: I was supposed to do them w the light training bar which wasn’t available. I used the big 45lb bar empty.

BW squats: 10
Squats w big bar: 10 sets of 5 ea
(On YouTube @ Very Josie if you’d like to view or post here for me)

DL
5x65 lbs
5x80 lbs
5x95 lbs
3x110 lbs (was supposed to do 5)
2x110lbs
1x110lbs
3x5x105lbs

As I couldn’t do 5 reps of 110 lbs I moved down to 105 lbs. I did more than Renton programmed.

Leg Press
I did 120lbs last time. Renton said to increase either the reps or the weight by 5lbs but next weight after 120 was 135lbs.

2x15x120lbs
3x10x135lbs

Face pulls
2x10x17.5 lbs
2x10x 19lbs

I’m spent. It’s 10:30 and it feels like 1am. I don’t feel strong so much as tired but I also feel like I accomplished something significant.

Doing upper body early tomorrow morning. Thoughts & prayers pls.

Saturday Morning: The Renton Program continues w upper body.

My charge was to do bench presses in sets of 8, to get used to the bar of something. Done.

Below is workout. Combined w aqua fit it took 2 1/2 hrs.





My form is def improved. Kept my shoulders driven into the bench.

Laying in bed, 9am on Sunday morning.

I have two choices:

Go to gym before I hoof it to mama’s for secondhand smoke & guilt.

Go to the office and work on a few time consuming projects that I haven’t gotten to, then Mama’s.

Blah.

I was going to go into work yesterday (Saturday) but ended up taking a 2 hour ride (each way!) w my sis to visit her 91 yr old friend who is in long term care. He has no family and had been living alone until he fell.

Bad situation.

Otw home my sis asked if I minded stopping at Goodwill. Def not where I shop but what the heck.

And um, I bought a lot of shiat!

I bought a real leather jacket for $30!!!

Mostly all the stuff Goodwill sells is used but not the leather jacket; it still had the tags on it. Looks like it’s from the seventies but cool. Will def wear it for playing poker.

I also bought 4-5 boys T-shirts for working out. $1 ea. They’re already in the washer. I think my fave is a Justin Beiber concert T...ironically of course.

So yeah did that yesterday after the gym, instead of hitting the office.

Happy Sunday Y’all. Get your asses outside! Sun and fresh air is what everyone needs!

Sunday Funday, the Renton program continues w Lower Body.

I did 6 sets of deadlifts w the highest weight at 110lbs. Lady lifter told me I should consider changing my grip, one going the other way. Renton has mentioned this too.

Did 8 sets of back squats. I go as low as I can, then try to go even lower but when I look at videos I ain’t even close to parallel. My knees just don’t bend much and apparently my hips r similar. I’m just gonna keep trying to increase my range of motion.

As I said, 8 sets w largest set being 55lbs. I could’ve done a higher weight but no point if I’m not going down low enough.

Full detail of workout below.



I find the people in the weight lifting area to be much nicer, friendlier and more helpful than the people working out on machines. There was an older woman (I guess my age lol) who looked like a serious lifter and just couldn’t be nicer or more knowledgeable.

Went to mom’s after that. Did her grocery shopping, and deflected many attempts at over feeding me. I did some grocery shopping for me too. Honey crisp apples were half price! I got $12 worth for $6. Even as I’m typing this I’m thinking bout grabbing one even tho I’m still full from mama’s.

I also bought myself exciting stuff like chicken breast, broccoli, protein bars, ham, cheese, yogurt, etc.

I’m glad tomorrow is an off day for the gym. Gonna work a little late then go home and make a big batch of chicken & broccoli.

I’d like to send Renton a thank you gift; (or 2 or 3) some coffee, a French press, caffeine pills, and something of his choosing. All he has to do is give me his addy...I think he’s worried that I’ll show up at his door. Hey, is there live poker in Cambodia?

Current situation:

127...what the ****. Are we now playing w 2-3 lbs? I did overindulge in cookies yesterday. *burp* It's a result of...

1. I didn't have good food available and prepped. Just being too busy and not prioritizing.
2. Didn't track my food for the past week or 2. No biggie unless things like cookies start creeping in, which they have. Tracking always gets me mentally on track.
3. Eating late at night, well after dinner.
4. Very little cardio - not sure if this even matters, but cardio is def on the back burner and it never used to be.

By the way, my ass is sore, as are my thighs and shoulders. I'll take that as a good thing.

Monday is a scheduled day off on the Renton Program. I was going to take the opportunity to get my eyebrows waxed, but after I got home I hit the gym instead.

I did stuff I hadn’t done in a while, like the treadmill!

Treadmill:
1 mile @ 3.2 mph 10.0 incline
1 mike @ 3.5 mph 7.0 incline

Interesting that the treadmill didn’t make me as sweaty as it used to.

Leg extensions
3x8x60lbs

Pushups
2 real ones
6 real ones but didn’t go quite as low

Lateral arm raises
8x20lbs
2x8x25lbs

Planks

Hip bridges & stretches

Abs shiat

Sauna, a freezing dip in pool, jacuzzi, shower, moisturize, home!

I’m feeling very relaxed. I even have some aromatherapy going on. Time to get even a little more relaxed.

Tuesday morning:

128 What.The.****.

Scale reading variation, water retention, true weight gain....?

I would measure hips, waist and boobs in addition to the scale, count calories or few dayss and drink some nettle tea to get rid of surplus water.

FMP.... I need new keyboard. My leaves out some keys sometimes and somehow doubles some.

Yes, I was thinking water retention too, which I've had in the past. Maybe!

Good idea on taking measurements, I'll do that just to see where I am. last time I took measurements was a while ago.

Nettle tea, eh? I've never tried it...something tells me it's not delish.

I'm tracking my food again.

It definitely isn't, but it is mild diuretic. May be you have other teas that contain nettle as a part of the mix. Should also work.

Why in the world should Josie be looking for a diuretic?

Diuretics are like payday loans for weight loss.

Maybe she's trying to make weight for a MMA match.

I agree if you take something serious. I completely agree that no amount of nettle tea will make you lose fat. But I think that limiting salt intake to something reasonable, eating a lot of stuff like asparagus and strawberries and parsley and drinking some herbal teas is a reasonable approach to keep weight variation due to water retention under control.

My weight oscillates up to 4 kg along my cycle. 4 kg is a lot. I feel better and don't go mental about my weight when I manage to limit it to about 2 kg. If she for whatever reason (hormones, eaten something salty, ..... ) retains water and it would make her feel better to get rid of that water why not? Especially because it has zero side effects, and if she doesn't retain water it just won't do anything. It won't make her dry out.

Lol MLJ, stop being so results oriented on dailies.