I've defined myself

... by completing the Define Yourelf phase of Female Body Breakthrough!

I've got my logs all made up for the next phase, Dial It In.

Today's workout ended up in the afternoon, thanks to some strong storms last night.  The storms plus the extra squirmy kids in bed didn't make for enough restful sleep to get up early.
I felt strong. I upped the weights used and the intensity.  I'm ready to move on, though.

Define Yourself B4
0:57
Foam rolling and warm up
Reverse Wood Chop - 8ea/32.5#, 8ea/35# (rope attachment)
Prone Jackknife - 2x8 (rolled farther out in plank so that arms were out and not perpendicular to the ground... this really increased the intensity!)
Stepup - 2x8ea/20#ea (7 risers)
T Pushup - 2x4ea/8#ea (much better form and ability than in recent past)
Single-Leg Squat - 8ea with 7 risers, 8ea with 6 risers (!)
Alternating Lateral Raise - 2x8ea/10#ea
Supinated Hip Extention with Leg Curl (SHELC) - 2x8
Inverted Row - 2x8

Various

There are are few more things to report.
At my hotel last week, I had access to an excellent fitness center.  Having a real cable station was soooo nice.  I wish I had the means to buy one without guilt.  So, I was able to fully complete my next FBB workout: (I will have to verify the numbers later.)

Define Yourself A3
Foam rolling and FBB warmup
Wood Chop - 8ea/40#, 8ea/42.5#
Plank - 2x90s
Dumbbell Squat with Offset Load - 2x8ea/12kg (used kettlebells)
Dumbbell Alternating Overhead Press - 2x8ea/25#ea
Single-Leg Bent-Knee Deadlift - 8ea/5#ea, 8ea/7.5#ea
Chinup with Band - 2x8 with 1/2" and 3/4" bands together
Alternating Lateral Lunge - 8ea/15#ea, 8ea/20#ea
Two-Point Dumbbell Row - 2x8ea/45#

Then, over the holiday weekend, I got up early and worked out with my friend.  It was great to have the mutual encouragement to workout and not be completely slothful!  The first day, we jogged.  At mile intervals, we stopped and did other stuff, like push-ups or squats.  I wasn't wearing my jogging shorts, though, so at about 3.3 miles in, I had to walk, otherwise I would have some raw skin.  That kinda sucked, but at least we got out and got moving.  The next day, we did a timed circuit.  30s each of 6 stations for about 25 minutes.  Then, we went for a walk and took the stairs to the 7th floor.  I think that helped counteract to some degree my poor eating for the weekend.

This morning, I got up for my lift.  It felt great!  Not much else to say about that.

Define Yourself B3
Foam rolling and warm up
Reverse Wood Chop - 8ea/30#, 8ea/32.5# (rope attachment)
Prone Jackknife - 2x8
Stepup - 2x8ea/17.5#ea (7 risers)
T Pushup - 2x4ea/8#ea
Single-Leg Squat - 2x8ea (to bench, then to step with 7 risers)
Alternating Lateral Raise - 2x8ea/10#ea
Supinated Hip Extention with Leg Curl (SHELC) - 2x8
Inverted Row - 2x8

Pathetic pushups

Today, I started off by running my measly mile in about 10:30 on the treadmill at 1% incline. I'm not sure why my time went up a bit. I guess I accidentally started off a little slow. Monday, when doing yoga, I felt a little bit of the odd feeling in my knee. But, today on the treadmill, I didn't notice anything. That's good! The temperature when I run should be starting to get above freezing pretty soon, so hopefully some outdoor runs are in my future.

Weights went well. I did 1A8 of NRoLfW. This should be my last day of stage one, workout A. I might add on another time or two, though. I'm definitely noticing some progression. I'm still upping the weights pretty much every time. I've been trying to increase the weights for at least the third set. If that third set is still not hitting my max, I make a note to increase the weights next time.

Squats went better today. I don't think I was having as many problems with lifting my upper and lower body separately. I am still doing them from a full squat. I had to pause a lot during my first couple sets. I would get a little dizzy when I stood up. My heart rate gets decently high, too, up into the 150s, maybe even to the 160s, but since my wrist is behind my shoulders, I can't actually see my watch. The odd thing is that they go better as I went through the sets. I'm not sure why. Maybe warming up by doing some non-weighted sets would be a good idea! I always thought it would wear me out. By the way, I mention warming up with non-weighted sets rather than reduced-weight sets, because I'm only using 10# on the 45# bar. 10# worth of weight on a 45# Olympic bar looks really funny. But, that's where I am and it's going to stay like that until my ability increases!

My push-ups are rather pathetic when I try to do them by the book. If I let me elbows out when I lower, I can do lots of push-ups on a low setting on the Smith machine. But, if I try to do them with my elbows in, I hit an angle where I just can't support myself. It's kind of like the point on my squats just around or below horizontal, where the muscle just doesn't want to fire. (That's why I started doing them from a full squat. Moving through that point seems to work ok.) So, I wonder if there is a way to move through this weak point with push-ups. It seems like I would fall flat on my nose. I wonder what different muscles are being used between the two styles. It would seem like the elbows-in version would focus more on triceps and the elbows-out style might recruit more biceps? Hmmm....

The Swiss ball jackknives were hard again. It seems that 10-12 are about the sweet spot. Doing 15 is hard!! But, my form was a lot better this time. I kept my toes more pointed rather than flexing my feet. That way is more challenging to stay balanced on the ball.

Step-ups went better. I still get my heart rate up pretty high with these. I use a weight bench, so the step is pretty high. I have to pause to get my heart rate down between legs. I think at one point, I got up to 174bpm. But, I guess this is a rather dynamic exercise.

Nearing the end of stage 1

This morning, I ran a mile. A bit faster this time with a few speed intervals. I think I'll try upping the intervals next time.

After the run, I did 1A7, which is the second to last time to do this A workout. I'm thinking I might repeat stage 1 a couple more times, since I had so much off time. I peeked ahead and things don't get any easier! That's just fine, though! If I'm going to ever achieve a chin-up, I need to have my butt kicked!

Today, I really tried hard to get full motion on the squat. The weird thing is I can't seem to squat with any extra weight and stop right when my legs are parallel or a little below. So, I went all the way down to where my thighs and calves are in contact. This week I was a bit obsessed about improving my squats, so I read up on them on the internet. One person mentioned that kids do them all the time. So, I observed my kids, and it is so true. They squat all the way down for lengths of time and also stand up without a problem. Doing these full squats was difficult. I did manage to complete the sets, but I needed to pause some between some of the reps because I got a little light headed. I could really feel it in my hips afterward. I understand why many experts think the squat is the ultimate lift. I think it uses just about every muscle. One thing I noticed myself sometimes doing was extending my legs faster than my back when standing up. Not a good idea. With more weight on the bar than I currently have, that could spell back injury.

For the push-ups, I noticed that my elbows move out rather than stay close to my body. I tried on my 2nd or 3rd set to correct this, but was too weak to do that. I guess I need more work on that. I'm not really sure how close to the body the elbows really need to be.

The jump up to 15 prone jackknives per set was tough. I barely finished the last one of the last set.

I finished off with a good stretch. I feel really good today.