Lindsay's Ramblings

MONDAY UPPER BODY Bench felt pretty good this week after my deload. Didn't feel crazy strong but not really super weak either. I kept the reps lower than I have just because I was itching to have heavy weights in my hands! I struggled a bit with endurance, but that's normal for me after a week  off from the gym. Pullups were really tough today, though. I struggled with 20lbs for 5 reps when I was doing 25lbs for 5 a couple of weeks ago. But it's no big deal since I haven't done them in a week! I was able to get a lot done in this workout in under an hour. 1)Bench: 115x2x5/110x5/105x7 2)Weighted neutral grip pullups: 20x3x5 3a)Lat pulldown: 3x12 3b)Seated dumbbell overhead press: 35x3x8 4a)Lsit: 3x15 seconds 4b)EZ bar curls: 50x2x9/Cable curl 2x15 5a)Pullaparts 3x15 5b)Hanging leg raises: 2x10/dragonflies 1x6(my abs were fried) Overhead carries: 45 x3 x 20-30 seconds Calf raises: 3x17 WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY Squats felt pretty good for not...

8:00(pre workout) 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 banana, 1 spoon peanut butter, and coffee with cream 11:30(post workout) 2 cups Honeycomb w/ almond milk, 1 scoop vanilla Platinum Iso-whey w/ almond milk 1:00 ~4 oz roasted red potatoes with ketchup, 2 egg + whites w/ ~ 1/4 cup? mozzarella cheese, coffee w/cream 4:30 4 oz grilled chicken on a salad with lettuce and tomatoes w/ light Italian dressing, and a Lara bar This was not my favorite flavor. Banana bread and apple pie are much better! 7:30 1 cup basmati rice, 2 spoons salsa, mix of 93% and 99% lean ground turkey(about 4 oz total) 10:30 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 spoons peanut butter, rice cake

I planned on working out from home Monday and Wednesday, then at the gym Friday and Saturday, but we ended up getting another round of bad weather Saturday so I figured I might as well just stay in and get my workout in at home. I did all of my home workouts with just a band and a 35 pound kettlebell. I LOVE going to the gym and lifting with barbells, but I do think that having some things at home to work with is a great investment. There are some days in the summer, for example, when it's just so nice out that I want to skip the gym and workout outside in the sunshine. Which is another reason I love not having to always follow a structured program!  The next thing I want to get is a pullup bar, and I'd be set! You can absolutely get in some great workouts with minimal equipment! Monday(home workout)-Full body 1a)Goblet squat 3x10 w/35lbs 1b)Pushups 3x10(single leg, alternating) 2a)Pullaparts 3x12 2b)Single leg foot elevated glute bridge 3x12 3a)Band kneeling hip t...

I decided to take a deload this week, or at least the first half of the week. I've been having some on and off knee pain and my back has been pretty tight lately, so I figured it was time. Plus, we ended up getting a good amount of snow yesterday, so it worked out perfectly since I was snowed in! So for me a deload is a week of doing totally different workouts, not just dropping the weights on my lifts. I find that taking some time off from the big lifts, or even the gym completely, is what I like to do. Plus, it just gets me that much more excited to get back into the gym the next week! I'm going to do full body workouts for the first 2 workout days and then back to the gym on Friday and Saturday with normal workouts. Then next week I'll start a new workout plan. *I will NOT cut back on my eating, as my muscles still need the calories!* We got the most snow yesterday that we've gotten in years! Of course, the entire state of Kentucky shut down completely. My h...

My workouts have been going really great lately. I don't know if I just needed a break from low reps or what...but I'm liking it! I think it's good to change things up every now and then-I had been doing 3-5 reps on my main lifts for years because I hated doing more than 5 reps! But now I'm stronger at higher reps than I've ever been, and I know that's because of getting stronger with lower reps for so long.  Now that's not to say I'm doing 15 reps of everything-by higher reps I mean 6-10!  I love being strong and training for strength, but sometimes it's good to take a mental break from constantly chasing bigger numbers on the main lifts, especially when you've been training for as long as I have. I don't think you have to go super heavy ALL the time if you're not a competitive powerlifter, which I'm not. Either make sure to take deload weeks periodically, or go through phases during the year where you focus more on hypertrophy wit...

I was trying on bikinis the other day at Target, and I'm not gonna lie....looking in the mirror, I felt pretty darn good about myself. I liked the way I looked and all the muscles that I saw! So I snapped some pics to send to Matt so see which ones he liked, and looking at them later I found myself starting to think that I didn't look lean enough. And I instantly thought to myself, " Really?? That is stupid, Lindsay." It's like, I thought I was long past this...but no. To be honest, I still struggle with my body image. Not all of the time or near as much as I used to, but I  DO have my days. The crazy thing is I can know that I'm really lean but still have days where I feel fat. Yes, it is stupid. I know this. Then I started thinking about how social media can almost make you feel like it's not okay to be okay with NOT wanting to be crazy lean. You know what I mean? Like most people are always trying to be leaner,...

MONDAY  UPPER Bench felt good this week. Added an extra set with 105 for 6. Was able to 2 get sets of 8 this week with 35s for overhead dumbbell presses. Gonna go for the 40s next week! Had to switch up the rest of my workout a little just because I couldn't get to the pullup bars. So I just did cable rows between overhead presses and did my pullups last, unweighted. 1a)Bench press: 105x3x6/100x8 1b)Wide grip pullups on fat bar:3x5 2a)DB overhead press(seated) : 35x8/35x8/30x8/25x10(last set standing) 2b)Seated cable row: 12/10/10 3a)Neutral grip pullups: 3x8 3b)Lsit hold: 3x15 seconds 4)Farmer's walks: (w/kettlebells) 70 x 4 x 40 seconds 4a)Standing calf raise machine: 4x15-20 4b)Pullaparts: 4x20 WEDNESDAY LOWER Squats felt great again. I worked up to 2 sets with 175, and got 6 on my second set for a new rep PR! Then I just did a couple back down sets, and was able to get 8 reps with 160. After that was good mornings and hip thrusts. Then I did the 2 minute amrap...

*I tried a Think Thin bar this week for the first time, and it was sooo good! I had it with 4 oz of chicken for my mid-morning snack. Still love my cookie dough Quest bars, but this was a nice change! *I've been craving a PB & J lately...so this happened after leg day Wednesday. I used some kind of soft wheat bread I had(because pb&j is better on soft bread-it's a fact.), Trader Joe's strawberry preserves, and PB2(just because I like to save my fats for real peanut butter before bed!). I definitely need to make this happen more often.  *I've been thinking about going "no poo"...as in not shampooing my hair. Have any of you tried this? I don't wash my hair every day, I use sulfate free shampoo, and I let it air dry most of the time...but I still think it looks horrible.  I do sometimes blow dry and straighten it, but that is not something I can realistically stop doing.  I've seen that a lot of people use baking soda and apple cider ...

I've been reading through 1 John, and if I could sum it up in 4 words it would be this: I think we have a tendency to make our faith all about US. We believe in God for what He can do for us; so we'll have a better life, or so that we can call on Him whenever we need something...even though we live our lives most of the time as if He's not even there. Well, Jesus never said, 'if you believe in me I'll give you a happy, healthy, easy, and comfortable life.' He never said, 'if you believe in me, I'll help you make you money, or get a nicer car, or a better job.' Yet, I think that's what a lot of us expect and the kind of things we pray for. Like God is this genie in a bottle who is there to just grant our every wish. From my reading and understanding of the Bible, that's not what it's about. Jesus said that we'll have trials and tribulations, that the world would hate us, that we would have to  deny ourselves to follow him. ...