Shoulders and Back

3/5/2013
Target includes Shoulders, Trapezius (Traps) and Latissimus Dorsi (Lats) muscles...

Photo Cred - forum.bodybuilding.com

Today was another two hour long workout with the hubs. This, by far, is my least favorite workout and it's always a relief to be finished with it for the week. My arms are frail, but I'm working on them. I get frustrated because I feel like I should be able to lift much more than my arms allow.  



 

Close Grip Front Pulls - 30 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

 

T-Bar Rows - 35 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

Note to self: Flatten out my back!

 

 

Machine Rows - 80 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

Machine rows are my favorite exercise of the group. I wish I had more time to play with different grips (e.g. wide, reverse, etc.).

 

 

Dead Lift - 30 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

 

Lat Raise - 12 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

Note to self: Keep my head straight! I think I have a tendency to lean toward my left (weaker) side.

 

Reverse Overhead Lat Raise - 8 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

 

Plate Raise - 15 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 



Wondering what the white stuff is on my arms?

I had a shoulder injury about six months ago. Day 1 of a new P90X program, I was doing Dive Bomber Push Ups when I dislocated my left arm from my shoulder. In the previous workout (Reverse Overhead Lat Raise), my arm has a tendency to slip backward with the weight in my hand. To avoid another dislocation, the hubs has to support my arms with his hands. He works out with me and uses corn starch as an assist to grip the weights, so I have to deal with corn starch hand prints on my shirt. ;-) I am hoping that eventually I will strengthen the muscles enough so I no longer need the help.

 

Dive Bomber Push Ups

 

Side Lying Lat Raise - 5 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

 

I can only use a small weight for any straight arm or overhead exercise because of the shoulder injury.

 

 

Upright Rows - 20 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

Shoulder Shrugs - 55 lb. Weight - 30 Reps

 

 

I always stretch and have a snack after every workout.

 

 

Much love! <3

 

 

-Theresa

An epiphany...

I woke up this morning feeling very thin, :-) so I decided to step on the scale to see if my suspicion was right. Lo and behold, I lost another two pounds! I really could not believe that I had lost weight after eating yummy chocolate cake last night. The cake itself really isn't that bad; it's the peanut butter-fudge frosting that I was worried about!


Then, I started to think about why I would have lost so much weight in the last couple of days. Today is Saturday, and apart from four hours of house cleaning and chores yesterday, I haven't done any type of exercise in the last 2 ½ days. In fact, I wasn't feeling well on Thursday and I just laid on the couch all day. I ate all my regular meals though. I track what I eat with Weight Watchers, so I'm always sure to eat my allotment every day. Therefore, the weight loss wasn’t because I went hungry that day.


Going back through my daily meals, I realized that I hadn’t eaten any blended fruit meals Thursday or Friday. This is a big deal for me because 1. I LOVE FRUIT! and 2. I usually have a meal like this every day. My most favorite type of fruit meal is blended frozen berries and grapes topped with granola, raisins, and papaya. With Weight Watchers, unsweetened fruit is zero points meaning that they don’t count against one’s daily point allowance. Anyway, I was tracking the point values for the raisins and the granola, but not counting for the fruit. Normally, this would be fine. However, for me, it is apparently a problem because I eat way too much fruit when I have the chance.


I haven’t had a problem losing weight in the last several weeks, with the exception of one week, in which I thought dried dates were zero points (they’re NOT, by the way). Thank you friend (you know who you are) for setting me straight on that one. The moral of the story is: I will be more diligent with tracking point values for fruit if I think I might be eating too much. ;-)


Back to the point, I lost another two pounds. Yay! I was calculating my weight loss earlier and it dawned on me that I have lost a whopping 99 pounds! I am one pound away from an enormous milestone in my weight loss journey. I never thought this was possible for me. At 255 pounds, three years ago, it was all a losing battle. I was tired EXHAUSTED all the time. I couldn’t run. I didn’t want to leave the house. I avoided cameras at all costs. I had preventable health problems. I was a miserable human being. I know what it feels like to think that weight loss goals are unattainable. Three years ago, if someone would have given me a chance to see the future me, I never would have believed it was me.

I don't avoid cameras as much anymore.

My advice to anyone who is struggling with weight loss is to stop making excuses, eat the right foods and the right portions, and move your tush! Do something…ANYTHING that will get you off the couch and moving around. If you simply can’t miss your show, walk on the treadmill while you watch. I would never be where I am today if I continued making excuses for why I couldn’t lose weight. I think that is the biggest obstacle for most people. If you get your mind right, it’s much easier to tackle such a task.


Much love! <3


-Theresa 

Arms and Chest

Monday 3/3/13

I did a nice two hour long arms and chest workout with the hubs today. We usually devote an entire workout to arms and then another to chest. However, today we felt like combining a few of our favorites from each. So, that's just what we did... 

Our first and second exercises of the workout were preacher curls and reverse preacher curls. The two look very similar, with the exception of hand grip. Palms face up during regular preacher curls and face down during reverse preacher curls.





Preacher Curls - 20lb. weight - 30 reps





Reverse Preacher Curls - 20lb. weight - 30 reps

 

Barbell Press - 30lb. weight - 30 reps

 

3-Part Curl (21s) - 15lb. weight - 21 reps

 

There are 3 sets of 7 reps in 3-part curls, hence the name 21s. Each set is a little different. For the first 7 reps, I begin with my arm extended downward, curl the dumbbells half way up with my arms parallel to the floor, and then return back down to the starting point. For the next 7 reps, I begin with my arms bent and parallel to the floor, curl the dumbbells to my shoulders, and then return to the starting position. For the last 7 reps, I begin with my arms extended downward, curls the dumbbells all the way up to my shoulders, and then back down to the starting position.    

Concentration Curl - 20lb. weight - 30 reps (each arm)

 

Machine Fly - 30lb. weight - 30 reps

 

 

Dips - 60 reps

 

 

Wrist Curl - 20lb. weight - 30 reps

 

 

Skull Crusher - 10lb. weight - 30 reps



 

Pull Downs (regular grip) - 60lb. weight - 30 reps

 

 



To wrap it up, I did some stretches and ate a small, healthy pre-workout snack. I was exhausted after this workout. Now it's your turn. Go move your tush!

 

Much love! <3

 

-Theresa