Heartbroken...

My heart is breaking.  After 3 years at my gym, Superman is leaving. He's going to a local car plant where he can make more money, get full time hours, benefits, etc. Several years ago when he started competing on stage as a bodybuilder, we talked about this day. I asked him if he'd at least write my workouts, and he said he would. He still plans to.

I plan to keep training, using the workouts he writes for me. At this time, I'm not ready for a new trainer. It's going to take a really amazing person to walk in Superman's shoes. In the 2.5 years I've worked with him, I've learned so much and gotten so strong. The first time he had me squat, it was 160lbs...yesterday I failed a 285lb squat but I unracked it and didn't just fold under it. I can bench 135lbs. I can deadlift about 200lbs. I can shoulder press a 40lb dumbbell.

I still can't do an unassisted pull up, but I'm getting there.

Two steps forward, one step back...

I still haven't gotten my pull up, and the scale has gone in the wrong direction :(

I'm trying not to let it get me down. There is a chance that a few pounds are due to starting to take creatine again, and a few pounds could be muscle (probably not). I'm still hitting the gym 4 or 5 days a week, and working upper body 2x a week. I've seen an increase in width, and some fat loss in my upper back.

A few weeks ago I did tire flips again for the first time in about 9 months. It was much easier than last year, and Superman  only felt the need to even touch the tire once, and that was only to stabilize it a little.

Despite tweaking my back badly at the beginning of April, I am now able to do a single squat at 275lbs. That's about the same as several teenage boys I know!

Progress

My third pull up attempt is coming up next week. I honestly don't think I'm ready. After the first attempt, I changed my workout around for 6 weeks or so, and I think it might have been a bad decision. I changed it again after the second attempt. The current exercises seem to hit all the right muscles.

No matter what happens on pull up day, I am getting stronger, and people are noticing. The last week or so, several people have given Superman compliments on how much weight I'm lifting. One guy complimented my bench press, and it was only 100lbs. I've hit several personal records the last week or so too. Last week I did a set of 5 hammer curls with the 25lb dumbbell. This week I did a 270lb squat on Tuesday,  and yesterday I did a 225 lb rack pull.

I'm not sure that lipo drex is the fat burner for me. When I first started it, I gained a few pounds, and kept them on the entire month I took it. Within a week of stopping it, I had dropped at least part of it. I'm not sure if my body fat changed at all. It feels like if it changed, it changed in places that can't be measured, like my shoulders.

Lipo drex

Today I started taking a supplement called Lipo Drex. It's a thermogenic fat burner. I'm just under 189 lbs.

My weight has been slowly going down for the last month, but I'd like to see it go down a little faster. Superman and one of my female gym friends are both taking lipo drex. I'm intrigued by the fact that it is supposed to keep carbs from being stored as fat. It's supposed to shuttle them straight to the muscles to be used.

Superman is a campus protein rep (beastmastercp.com ), so I like trying all kinds of different supplements so I can give him my opinion. He has 2 other girls who try stuff too, but they are competitors, and fairly lean...I am not. As a matter of fact, I am only about 30 lbs lighter than he is. The way it is dosed, under 150lbs you take 1 pill, over 150 you take 2. I may be taking more than Superman because he is stim-sensitive.

Keeping it real

Despite a rough start, I'm trying really hard to stick to the calories and macros that Superman suggested. I've fallen into a routine, and found meals and snacks that I can almost enjoy. There are still a few days a week where I struggle to get my mid afternoon snack in, but I do try.

I'm still doing my upper body workouts 2x a week. I don't have time to hit all the muscles every week, so I picked two workouts that I alternate.  One is back and biceps, the other is chest, shoulders and triceps. All my Monday workouts start with a 'dead hang' to help with my grip strength. Yesterday,  just for grins, I took this picture between sets. 

Tough love

Superman did my bodyfat with calipers. Since I'm a normal person (not a competitor ) he only used 3 points instead of 7. He used the calipers to pinch a skin fold on my triceps, my thigh, and my belly. According to his measurements,  my body fat is between 37 and 38 percent.  Earlier in the day I used my bathroom scale and a handheld device to do it on my own. The handheld and the calipers were within a few points of each other, and the scale was about 10 points higher.

So, at 37% body fat, at minimum I need to lose 7 percentage points off my body fat. 10 points would be ideal.

I started my diet this week, but there have been tons of issues. Birthday cake, birthday dinner....working a double the ONE day I neglect to bring a real meal. I'm trying though. I'm doing my best to eat my protein, and the right amount of carbs. To spread everything out over the day. To find recipes for real food that I enjoy eating.

When I look in the mirror,  I'm happy with my lower half, and I'm ok with my top half...except about a 6 inch band around my belly button.  That's where I hold all my fat. My goal is to lose the fluff there so my clothes fit correctly. So my pants don't roll down.

The strong and athletic look is something I like. But I want enough body fat that I don't lose my curves ( low body fat generally means a small chest. I like my DD chest).

Epic FAIL

Yep, that's right. My pull up attempt was an epic fail. I tried twice, and pulled up a tiny bit...so little that you cannot even tell on the video that I have started my attempt.

It's OK though. I've known for a while that I was not going to be able to do it. But I had to attempt it. There have been so many times that Superman asked me to do something that I thought was impossible...and I did it. Even though I failed at my goal, progress was made. When I started on this journey a few months ago, I struggled to bench 95 lbs for 8 reps. Now I struggle to bench 105 lbs 8 times. I started doing my shoulder presses with 20lbs dumbbells, and now I can do a set with 30 lbs dumbbells. Superman noticed that the increased shoulder strength made holding the bar for front squats easier.

I'm not quitting til I can do that pull up. The last week or so I have been researching and planning. I'm continuing to work upper body on Mondays and Thursdays. Exercises specific to pull up strength (such as dead hangs, and negative pull ups) are being incorporated. My next attempt will be the last week in March.