Finished Fat Loss III !!

Yes.  Finally.  I finished the Fat Loss 3 program from New Rules of Lifting.  Wow.  That is one of the toughest programs I've ever done.  Thanks to my foot and the pure torture of this program plus the increased running, it took me over two months to complete 12 workouts.  I guess that isn't all that bad considering 2 straight a week would have been a month and a half.

Today's workout was a wonderful use of my new equipment.  The equipment is perfect in every way.  I also used my new Lynx grips for the first time.  They worked very well.  I'll have to decide when to use them.  I'm thinking mostly on the heavier weights.  After a while my hands get a little tired from having to grip a little harder or something.

The workout took 1:28 plus foam rolling.  It's so nice to have a foam roller handy for right afterward.  I'm pretty thrilled with how my squats are improving.  A little in weight, but a lot in form.  Also, my step-up form is improving... less help from the trailing leg.  I love not sitting for the pulldowns.  It seems closer to an actual chin-up/pull-up.

Now for the stats...

FL3B6

Front squat - 4x10@ 60#

Underhand lat pulldown - 4x10@ 90#

Step-up - 4x10@ 20# each hand, 7 risers (18")

Dumbbell push press - 4x10@ 25# each hand

Squat - 1x20@ 60#, 1x20@ 65# (woo hoo!  went up in weight!  used Eco Ball to keep bar from sliding on bare shoulders)

Wide-grip lat pulldown - 2x20@ 70#

Step-up - 2x20@ 15# each hand, 7 risers

Dumbbell shoulder press - 2x20@ 20# each hand

Swiss-ball crunch - 2x10@ bw (sat ON ball this time, arms overhead... surprised how much harder this is than resting back on ball)

A warm morning run

I hope the 20k isn't this warm. It was around 70F this morning and I know by the time I would be getting done, it'll be even warmer.  Humid and the sun will be high.  I know it's not as bad as it could be, but the 50s or 60s would be so much more comfortable!

I got in 3 miles this morning.  No issues.  7 bunnies!

Two runs to report!

So far, the runs are going well.  I've been taking ibuprofen and icing my foot, like the podiatrist recommended.

Thursday, I ran 3.5 miles. 14 bunnies.
Today, I ran 5.5 miles.  It was a beautiful morning.  Sunshine and tweeting birds!  Topped it off with a cup-o-joe from Cafe Milo.  Nice!

2nd to last FLIII workout!

I'm glad to step away soon from the high reps in Fat Loss 3 from New Rules of Lifting.  I think I'll do Hypertrophy I next.

I went to the basement to do the workout over lunch.  Loved it!  Burned about 750 calories in about an hour and half including warm up.  Not bad.  The softer surface is so nice for the lunges.  I can lower my knee all the way down without worry.

FL3A6

Warm up - 3 minutes jump rope, mountain climbers, Swiss ball leg curls (single and double), deadlifts:  6x45#, 5x95#, 5x115#

Deadlift - 4x10@ 135#

Explosive push-up - 4x10 (with a pop off the floor at the end, arms not in much)

Bulgarian split-squat - 4x10 @ 15# each hand

2-point dumbbell row - 4x10@ 35# each hand

Deadlift off box - 4x10@ 115# (on aerobic step, no risers)

Dumbbell bench press - 4x20@ 25# each hand

Walking lunge with side bend - 2x20@ 20# each hand

Cable seated row - 2x20@ 70#

Hanging leg raise - 2x10

Playing with my new toys

Today, I got to break in my new toys!  I got to the basement to do Fat Loss III B5.  I am sufficiently wiped out!  After 80 squats, my legs are made of Jello.

The equipment worked out perfectly. I'm thrilled!  I liked doing the pull downs on my knees.  I find the position closer to what a chin-up or pull-up would be.  At the gym, I had to sit down unless I wanted to go around swapping bars out with other stations.

It took a total of 1:34 including 12 mintues warming up and foam rolling afterward.  According to SportTracks, I burned around 750 calories!  I think I might be more likely to warm up with this setup, since I won't be worrying if I will be the first to the power cage!

FL3B5

Warm up: 3 minutes jump rope, squats - 5@BW, 4@45#

Front squat - 1x10@55#, 3x10@60#

UH lat pulldown - 4x10@90#

Step-up - 1x10@ 25# ea hand and 6 risers, 3x10@25# ea hand and 7 risers

Dumbbell push press - 4x10@25# ea hand

Squat - 2x20@ 60#

Wide-grip lat pulldown - 2x20@ 70#

Step-up - 2x20@ 15# ea hand and 7 risers

Dumbbell shoulder press - 2x20@ 20# ea hand (last rep was not complete)

Swiss ball crunch - 2x10@ 15# on head

Starting back up

I went out for a 2.5 mile run tonight.  So far, it seems to have gone well.  I might still take an ibuprofen to ward off any irritation.  Maybe I should ice, too.

I just ran.  No music.  No worry about speed.  I ended up running a 10:33minute pace, which is on the faster side for.  I felt like I was flying.  I definitely missed my runs these past couple weeks!

Now, I have to plan how I can best use these last three weeks before the 20k.  I think I'm going to try 4-5 miles this weekend.  Then I'll try a couple 3 milers during the week and maybe a 6 or 7 mile next weekend if I can.  These next few weeks are going to be crazy busy.  The main thing is I need to take care of the foot.

New equipment!

First off, I went for a short run/walk (1-3/4 miles) and things felt fine.  The podiatrist didn't find anything really wrong, so I guess I just irritated something.  I have the green light to slowly start running again.

But the big news is I now have a power cage!!  I'm very excited.  I got it off of craigslist.  It is a Deltech DF820L with lat/row pulleys and a bench.  Also, waaaay more weights than I need.  But, it's in great shape.  Because of that, I didn't get a "steal" but I did pay a fair price, I think.  Much less than new.

Here are the pictures:

The new equipment, with the colorful new floor!

485 pounds of weights

Stuff I already had.  Dumbbells up to 25 pounds, standard 1" weights totaling something like 90 pounds

( I think I'm going to get a 1" short bar to make my own heavier dumbbells for now.)

Long bike ride, sore foot, doctor visit, 1/2 a lifting session

After my run last Thursday, my foot soreness didn't go away as I had hoped.  So, I stopped running until I find out what's going on.  Sunday, I went for a 32 mile bike ride with the family.  I towed my son on the Trail-a-Bike.  When he really helped, I could tell it!  In fact, a couple times I had to tell him to hold back.  When he didn't help, well, I was towing 50 lbs of dead weight!  It was a nice ride.  When we got to our destination, 1-1/2 hours from home, we heard thunder, so we had to head right back rather than browse around the Iowa Arboretum, as we had hoped.

Yesterday, I got in to see a doctor.  He looked at my foot and didn't see anything obvious, which was not surprising to me.  So, he ordered an x-ray and referred me to a podiatrist.  I'll see that doc on Monday.  Until then, I'm going to take it easy.

I had been thinking about what I could do without aggravating the foot too much.  I realized most of my lifting is supposed to be done with most of my weight on the heels.  Since my foot issue is in my forefoot, I decided to lift today.  I started off with 5 minutes on the elliptical.  I realized that also doesn't stress my forefoot, at least as long as I don't reduce the incline too much.  I might try to do some of that until I know I can run again.

Today was half of Fat Loss III A5.  I did half of the sets, except both of the hanging leg raise sets.  No increase in weights, since it has been a couple weeks between workouts.

Warm up - 5 minutes elliptical, DLs 5@50#, 5@100#, 5@120#

Deadlift - 2x10@140#
Push-up - 2x10 regular on floor
Bulgarian split squat - 2x10@15# each hand
2-pt dumbbell row - 35# one hand at a time
Deadlift - 20@120# (it's amazing how much easier 120# is when you are coming off of 140# DLs)
Dumbbell bench press - 20@25# each hand
Walking lunge with side bend - 20@20# each hand
Cable seated row - 20@71#
Hanging leg raise - 2x10