Phase 1's Leg Day

Accurate representation

I apologize for the lack of update yesterday. I have been so busy that there is barely time to actually rest on my "rest days." If you don't know what a rest day is, it is simply a day off from the gym, to give your body time to recuperate and the muscles time to heal and grow. It is not, however, a day off from the lifestyle. I suddenly cannot binge on 6,000 potato chips or whatever my heart (or stomach) desires, just because I'm not in the gym. No, I must still continue on with my frequent and healthy meals.

I wanted to write about my first leg day of the year. I did not go to the gym, and that was fine, since at home I have a nice good weight to work with for my legs.. my 4-year old son. He is about 45 pounds. In my glory days, I could squat 50-60 hoisted atop my shoulderblades. Since I'm picking back up the weightlifting habit after a long hiatus, it is only right to start with less weight. My legs are definitely my strong points.

Like I mentioned before, I am only following Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer loosely as a guide, so for leg days I pretty much have a variety of workouts I am seasoned in doing, and like to do. I no longer need a guide on how to train that part of me. Unfortunately, without gym equipment, I was not able to do leg presses, but below is a guide of what I accomplished with my little guy sitting above me as a cute, cooperative weight:

Squats - 3-45X12
Lunges - 45X10, 45X10, 450X8
Hip thrusts - 3-45X10
Standing calf raises 3-45X10

To describe this in a few words, these workouts were gruesome. If you are a man scoffing at me right now that I only squatted 45 pounds, GTFO right now. It may not seem much for legs, but I needed to do a weight that I could repeat in numerous exercises, with multiple sets containing  8-12 repetitions. I am going for hypertrophy, real results, not some show-off game of who can hit the heaviest steel. You try doing it, put a child of considerable weight on your shoulders and do this. I wanted to do more, but my legs grew wobbly and unsteady, and for the sake of everyone's safety, I stopped.

It must have been very hard work anyway, because I have been very sore for 2 days and have been doing the trademark penguin walk that comes when you push extra hard on leg day. Stairs hurt like a B. I am grateful for "rest days." LEG DAY IS SERIOUS BUSINESS, FOLKS. It is not for the faint of heart, or the weak, or for the lazy. I respect all of you out there who train the crap out of your legs.

Boromir is right

As for diet updates, since this day, and since I have started exercising again, my appetite has grown voraciously. I can no longer go by with 5 meals a day, I have to make them 6 now. I really can't wait to get my food scale in the mail so I can start perfecting my nutritional intake.

It has only been a week, and Phase 1's Week 2 is about to start, yet I am irrationally impatient that I am not seeing results. Yes, you guys can call me crazy. You guys can tell me I'm being ridiculous. I know I am. It's only been a week. And not doing any form of cardio is not helping that botched mentality either. I just keep reminding myself that with patience and discipline comes reward. I see girls with perfect bodies without even trying, and I admit it still gives me a pang of envy when I see them, because I have to work so hard just to be in a healthy shape. Thanks to genes, unfortunately, If I were to not work out, weight train, or eat healthy, my body would revert to a state of blob. The women in my family are not shapely at all, they are just shapes. And that is majorly attributed to their poor lifestyle choices.

So, as you can see, I still have days where I nitpick my body, and not like what I see in the mirror. I am working on this every day. This nitpicking usually happens when I see other girls. It is a confession that is slightly difficult to accept about myself, but it is truth, so it must be told. On a positive note, I am becoming stronger inside day by day, even if by just a little sliver. Worthwhile progress never occurs just overnight.