Phase 4...Phase 4...Phase 4
I got my e-mail yesterday with everything that I need for Phase 4. All I can say is...hmmm. How in the world am I going to do those exercises? They look very complicated and hard.
As I start a new phase I tend to always have a bit of panic going on in my mind. I have moments where I doubt myself and don't think that I will be able to handle this next step. Ever had one of those moments where you start to doubt what you are capable of?
I started to Google different things yesterday for the exercises because I like to try to see how other people do things so I can try to do everything as best as I can. There are some exercises that also have spoiler alerts throughout the web that indicate if I do something the wrong way that I could injure myself. The last thing that I want to do is injure myself. So research, research and more research. Thank goodness for YouTube!
As I was getting my gym bag ready for the morning it occurred to me that I still didn't know what I was going to be doing there. I didn't feel confident enough to start the new phase yet because I still wanted to look some different things up and had a few questions I needed to ask to get some clarification. This is probably the first day in a very long time that I have gone to the gym and had no idea what I was going to be doing. Very weird feeling for me.
Turns out...someone didn't put some of their "toys" away at the gym and so I got to play with them this morning.
One thing that I haven't done yet was deadlifts with a barbell. I have always used dumbbells and this was getting very tough on my arms and hands. Those big barbells are intimidating and I just hadn't taken the step yet to use those. This morning there was a shorter barbell just sitting on the mat, all by itself, just asking to be lifted. I wasn't too sure how much this barbell weighed, I think that was the part that I was most timid about...just not knowing what I was lifting and using. I was pretty sure that it weighed more than 15 pounds but I don't think it weighed more than 35 pounds. I did do a few sets of push presses with the bar at first just to try to figure out how heavy the bar might be. (Have I mentioned that I really like push presses? They are so fun.) I started out small with the weighted plates as I put them on the bar. I put on the clamp at the end and then...my new grips! (Love those too!) At the end of my lifting I had 90 lbs on the bar. Next time I will have to do a little bit more.
This morning I played. Now I feel a little bit more confident on using the barbells and that is getting me one step closer to being ready for Phase 4.
I have been working very hard at what I eat too. I know that food is my downfall...I like to eat. Since Culver's is just a few blocks away and they have the only ice cream I can eat without getting sick...and McDonalds, Wendy's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, etc. are just minutes away...the temptations are everywhere. This past weekend we had a family Christmas and my brother and sister-in-law introduced me to an app that they use to help track their food. I have been using pen and paper but that isn't always with me and then I forget to write things down. If I am truly accountable to my food I have to have something with me all the time. I checked it out and I have to say that I really like it. Probably the best feature for me is the ability to scan in the barcodes of whatever it is that I am eating. I can also put in my workout that I did that day. One other cool feature is that I can see what my friends are doing for a little extra motivation. If you want to see what I am really doing everyday and help keep yourself on track with your food go check out www.myfitnesspal.com. Just add me as a friend (you can send me a comment if you would like my e-mail address) and you will get to see the days I am really good with what I eat and the days when maybe I'm not quite as good and get to see what I am doing with each workout.
I also came across a really funny video today by StreamFit. You can view it here on YouTube. It reminds me of me at times and what I am thinking and what I see other people doing while they are at the gym with their trainer. I love the part about the foam roller. I just got mine and am a bit scared to use it because I heard that it hurts. Why this video has to have a bad word in the title is beyond my comprehension...so just ignore that. I don't remember hearing any actual bad words in the video...just the title. (I just watched it again...one word that isn't great that I found) Probably did that to get more people to view it...again, something else I just don't understand. This is pretty funny though.
Oh...and now our snow that decided not to be here for Christmas is back. Minnesota, I think our winter is now here. (Ok...it may be back to 50 degrees next week...who knows!)
No comments:
Post a Comment