Body parts at 169 lbs.

Yankin'

I was up at the Training Center on Saturday - did my back. No, still not recovered. I may never be recovered again in this lifetime...I don't know. I was hoping to use their brand new Texas Deadlift bar, but alas! It was locked away in a closet. Perhaps they are waiting to break it out next month at the powerlifting meet that will be there? What powerlifting meet you ask? Well, since you asked - April 21st, the APF/AAPF Delaware Power Classic, produced by none other than yours truly... me! (and Broderick - who is the DE APF state chairman) We run a good, fun, well expedited meet - lots of lifting talent in the groups of lifters we manage to have had with us in the past - Brad Vargason and Scott Yard have both set wold records with us, just to mention a couple - and we have a RAW (in capital letters - HAH!) division. Will I lift in it? I plan to do something, but I doubt I'll go in full power tis time - stay tuned.

Anyhooo...even though I was tremendously drained of energy, I just couldn't walk out of there without yanking on some heavy dumbell rows. I did manage two sets of deadlifts, 365 x 5 and 405 for one measly rep... telling ya, I am still just so terribly tired after a few reps. As none of the gyms in my area have anything heavier than a 150 dumbell, I had to - HAD to yank on something heavy. They were calling to me - "Kaaaate, pick me up". I was too fatigued to even think about the 180's, but I did do a set of 150 for 8, with 160 for 6...then 170 for 4... not my best, but it felt really, really good to pull those. REALLY good.

I want to have a contest of "odd lifts" and include dumbell rowing as one of the events.

This picture has nothing to do with training, nor does it have anything to do with anything relevant to anything I have to say at all.
It is me buying tomatoes at the grocery store.

Juggling

Rather than sit here and type about my training sessions this week (and my new wrestling/jui-jitso/self-defense lessons), I'm going to touch upon something that I get asked frequently - how do I juggle all that I do and get it all done? Heck, when juggling, I drop alot of balls, believe me...and then I go the other way and over-extend myself, and get into "the hole" (where I am now, by the way). I am a single mom, ok - divorced single mom, work full time as a real estate agent, part-time as a personal trainer, competitive powerlifter, competitive bodybuilder, produce two powerlifting meets per year, oh my God, STOP!! I'm tired!!
I was blessed with a wonderful child, who is 14 now and his age makes things a little easier as he gets older...Real estate can be flexible, yet sometimes you have go to go when "they" beckon you. I am very lucky to have a partner who puts up with me! (If he is reading this, well, remember Jody, I have to put up with you, too!!! )He is a great business partner. He even gives me encouragement to pursue my extra curriculars. The powerlifting - bodybuilding juggling hasn't been too much of a problem, but it IS getting more difficult the better I become at bodybuilding. What does that mean? Well, for example, I got reamed out by my trainer (B) the other day, he says that indeed I really do walk around much too lean to be continuously lifting the poundages that I do... read: WEAR AND TEAR! However, I feel much too "clunky" to walk around over 11 or 12% bodyfat...I can't figure some of the bodybuilders who put on so much body fat when they aren't in competitve mode -
Producing the meets? Well, that's just like being the hostess of two big parties to me...I love it. And me competing in those meets, well, I'd just be pacing back and forth anyway, so use the energy constructivly, right?
I brought up this topic, mostly because I am "in the proverbial hole". I had the surgeries, didn't ease back into things like I should have, just went hog wild, started with the wrestling...on and on - My body is starting to physically rebel by the constant tiredness, the bothersome joints, non-recuparative muscles after workouts... it all adds up. I have to be good to myself now so as to avoid any perpetual repercussions. It is entirely possible I may skip competing in the Delaware Power Classic on April 21. Of course, that would make B very happy that I could tend to only running the show - I may just do that, and be "the anal judge"...(no one wants me to judge - I am very, very strict). Maybe I will compete, I don't know yet. Bodybuilding -I am definitely planning on the Masters' Nationals on July 21 - that is my priority at this point in time. I need to try to make those judges wipe the crust out of their eyes and notice me. I may never accomplish that, but at least I know that I am better than they have given me credit for thus far...

Leg Pressing

I am just dragging my big ol' butt this morning. Maybe the time change affected my sleep, because I haven't been sleeping soundly the past two nights. Maybe I pushed myself just a little too hard last week? Or maybe alot?
And last night - wow, George and I went to town. He felt like he was on the verge of having something, and I was brain-numb tired - did you ever get so tired that your brain was numb? So, we claimed that we were going to "back off just a bit"...we lied.
We didn't squat - I try not to squat every week anyway...we used the Hammer Strength leg press, which I am learning to love. The movement is so much like a squat. It works the entire leg in the same fashion, regular leg presses don't really do that. AND - a milestone!!! I wrapped my own knees for two sets. I've tried to put that off as long as possible! There is room for more practice and improvement, but they were sufficient - not too bad. I think I did sets of 12, 12, 12 20 - not my usual low reps, but, again, I don't think my legs will shrink after the way they were pounded last night.
I introduced G to Sissy squats, manual with a 25 pound weight...I learned to do this movement when I first started training, and still love them to this day. It is RARE to see somebody else do them. B hates them, so when I train with him, I don't get to do them much,but I beleieve in sissys...
We got out of the gym in less than an hour and a half - incredible. I see some sweep coming, but my legs are never going to look like they have as much sweep as some others because of the long vastus lateralis - it attaches into my knee. I'm going to have to grow big FREAKY legs to make them look like they are as big as they are. They are big, but deceptively so.

Saturday morning and I feel like the big choo choo train has taken me for a ride underneath for a few miles once again...so good to be back -
Wednesday, chest day was a bit off strengthwise - not that they touched the muscle at all during the operation, but I imagine that since it is the immediate area there is some local trauma to the pecs just being in the same vicinity? What do I know, I'm not a medical professional...maybe I was just plain weak on Wednesday for no reason - ??? 225 bench for 6 pauses - good, long pauses, but still, a few off my form. I backed off the total routine by three less sets than normal. Thank goodness, because here it is 4 days later and my chest is still WRECKED!!! owwwww - my delts and triceps are probably sore, too, but the pecs are so pulverized that it takes away from any other sensitivities I may be experiencing.

Last night - deadlifts! I had no expectations...well, ok, I always have expectations to pull maximum poundages, but I wasn't going to chastize myself if it didn't happen. My energy levels deplete rapidly, still, and again they did last night. I find myself panting after a few reps exhertion...strength wise I was on, but when it comes down to the last rep and max effort, I couldn't tally forth into that zone...I'll come around again soon, I do imagine. I did 365 x 5, 405 x2, 315 for 5 resets...I opted for the resets rather than go for the normal 315 for max reps.

I may have died! George and B were doing these awful 30 + rep sets just for the heck of it...rest assured that I did NOT join them in their antics. I did do one high reps set of 20 on the cable row, but for the most part, I stuck in my usual low rep range.
My biceps were pummeled last night, too. Went up to 60's for a few on the dumbell curl...I try like heck to enjoy working my biceps, I really do...but I reall don't enjoy training them at all.

I fell asleep early last night and slept late this morning. I'm just a poor ol' tired little girl.

Having troubles keeping my weight up - or should I just say I can't seem to eat enough. I'm still hovering below 165. I feel like a stick.

TOAST

No easing back into things for me. I told B not to let me go hogwild. But, i think he gets all warm and fuzzy when he sees me go hogwild so he let me, he encourages it... I went 315 for 9(dammit, nobody stops at 9!!) then 365 for 3...no knee wraps...so then B decides I'm going to do a 405 with no knee wraps. Could I have said no? - well, yeah, sure, I could have...but if you read my blog on a regular basis you are getting to know me well enough to know that I wouldn't back down at the challenge if somebody paid me....well, maybe if it was a very, very large sum of money... so I tried my very first 405 with no wraps. I made it halfway down (which by the way is a full squat to most people) , but I knew I was too exhausted to stick with it, so I left it at that. I didn't wimp out like my usual, I KNEW it was too much. I was exhausted after the first set, winded, toast, so by the 405 it was just too much. Next wek - Hell yeah...2 with no wraps...I will, because I can. Biomechanically my groove has come back better than ever, just lovely ol' squats they are.
We then progressed on to FRONT squats...yeah, taking it easy - HAH!!! Only 135, but I made sure to do them floor deep, and B said I even unlocked on a few of them...y'all know what that means?? It is when you go down, then go down some more with just your butt...three sets, about 10 , 8, 6 I don't remember....
We did extensions and curls, mixed regular and slow, and donkey calves, but by the second set of calves - I knew I had over done it...danger zone. Luckily I brought some gummy Legos and had some dried peaches in my bag...my blood sugar just plummeted, and it goes so fast, not with a warning - it just drops from being ok to danger zone, just like that. And then I got wierd and scared to drive home....it was almost like being drunk. Had I been one iota over that line I would have eaten more then waited.
Good to be back? You betcha!!!

87%

That's about how much of my normal self I feel today - about 87%. I was wavering back and forth today about hitting the gym for an abbreviated training session. I couldn't decide if going would be pushing it and be detrimental, or if going would actually help my system "jump start" for Monday- because no way in H-E- double hockey sticks am I missing training Monday, no matter what the story is. So I opened my front door. It was at least 60 degrees out, and sunny. That was enough to push me outside and down the road I went.

I still have these lovely swollen black eyes. It is kind of interesting how people either look at you, or try not to look at you without asking what in the world happened.

I did about half of the amount of work I would do on a back - bicep day. No really heavy movements...my lowest rep set was 8, most were in the 10-15 range. I set out to do one armed lat pull downs, but as soon as my arm reached up to and grabbed the handle, I knew I'd have to scratch that one off of my list of exercises. It felt like it was stretching my breast open.

All told, I did 15 sets, including 3 for shoulders (heck, can't let those wither). I weighed in at 162...my arms and shoulders and legs look a little leaner, even after laying around for two weeks. My abdomen is bloated, but that is probably due to all of the drugs, the laying around, and a bit of an off-kilter diet.(what, me eat Pringles???) I had to take some super duper anti- biotics, because the doctor wanted to be cautious and to make sure my fever wasn't an infection. I knew it wasn't, but better not to risk it - I took the last one yesterday but they really made me funky. Glad they are over with.

So I came home, ate, took a hot bath, and actually fell asleep!!!!

Anyhooo - here's a "16th" place back for you....yeah, that's right...yes, I'm griping, and after looking at pictures I just received from Eric Lemke taken the morning after the Nationals...well, Hell, I have to.

Granted, I looked a bit fuller the morning after the contest, as many people do, but 16th place was highway robbery... there, I finally said it out loud, but that's all I'm saying. A few new pics were posted on my free site, on the Nationals page....Eric Lemke is a pure joy to work with, can't wait to work with him again. And someday, when my webmaster REMEMBERS...there will be a new video posted on my free video gallery page (he'll read that, but will he post it???)