Warm up : 4.5 mins on the elliptical + 28 lb ass to grass (ATG) squats
Squats: 78lbs, 8*3 (can increase weight, only felt something in the third set, 7th or 8th push)
Single arm dumbbell chest press: 20 lbs, 8*3 (this was tough work, esply since I could feel my midsection working hard to keep the balance -- good one!)
Dips: 8*3. Perhaps ready for the feet elevated version?
Military press: 25lbs bar, 8*3. The last couple of reps in each set was a bit of work, so tried 35lbs for the last set. Managed 4, but the elbows did flare out. I think I did have too narrow a grip on this one.. Hmm...
Push ups: today was just not a floor push up day. Had terrible ROM, so changed to push up from an elevated bench.
Obliques (V-seated twists) with 5Kg medicine ball: 7*3 (each side).
For a long time now, I have been thinking of trying split workouts rather than full body 3 days, 1 hour each. Today I finally had some time to work out and was so excited to try one out. Like a kid in a carnival, I was all so antsy last night.
I am trying to do the heavy/light push/pull split instead of the traditional body part split, because I do believe in working the body holistically instead of part by part. One example of such a workout is in Krista's page (the routine 2): http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-5
It was done in 15 minutes! I did not even need much rest in between (definitely no 1 minute rests for sure!). Did not feel like work at all, so I skipped the cooling off as well. Obviously the weights were too low! At the end of it I felt like I could still lift a whole lot more. The only thing that was uncomfortable was my hand when I was doing the hanging leg lifts. Calluses were forming right there as I hung from the bar. Perhaps I need a better padded glove, because although I have enough fat in the body, my feet, hands, elbows and knees are skeletal in their paucity of the much needed padding material. But the hanging leg raises are an interesting challenge. I think I will enjoy those the most in the upcoming heavy pull days!
I think next time, I will try increasing the weight by about 20 lbs more for the DLs and perhaps 5 or 10 more for the rows. (PS: two pesarattus and a glass of milk is too much for this workout! Giggle!)
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3 leaves of kale
1 cup of frozen, diced pineapples,
1 table spoon of extra virgin, organic, cold pressed coconut oil
1 tbsp of nutritional yeast.
Blend in vitamix or similar high power blender and drink.
Accidentally downed most of it, before I could get the phone out of the bag to photograph this!
Color: nice green.
Sniff test: mainly of pineapple
Taste: nice, although perhaps not for someone new to GS.
This week, for the first time since May, I actually managed to work out 3 times a week. In fact, ever since mid 2009, my workouts have been very irregular, so I have not progressed much in my strength training. Last year, life threw a crazy curve ball that made my stress levels shoot up. That coupled with the fact that I am an easy prey for cortisol, I really put on some fluff on the lower abs. To top it all, in June this year a minor accident left me with 3 herniated discs in the neck and put me on about 4 months of prescription anti inflammatories and physio therapy. So, from working out about 3 or 4 times a week in 2009, I dropped to 2 or 3 times a month and skipped one month altogether. Some good did come of all this. The blood work showed that I was low on Vit D -- not really surprising since I don't exactly spend 12 hour days in the sunlight. The MRI showed not just 3 herniated discs in the neck, but also 3 degenerated discs. Aha! I was wondering when my bad computer habits will finally come back to haunt me. They have. Every time I slouched in front of the computer, the pinched nerve would shock my arm. Like a dog on shock collar I was made very well aware of my bad posture at work and have been forced to sit up straight.
The inflammation has finally subsided and I hope at least for the rest of this month I can get in a couple more work outs. So far I have managed 4 workouts this month!!
Here's today's workout:
squats: 68lbs, 12*3
chest press (dumbells): 15 lbs, 12*3
one arm rows: 25 lbs, 9*3
flyes: 10lbs, 12*3
lat pull downs: 25 lbs, 12*3
tricep push down: 15lbs, 12*3
bicep curls (barbell): 25 lbs:, 12*3
tricep dips: 10, 12, 12
deadlifts: 55lbs, 10*3
Abs: some plank work with leg movement
jumping jack -- about 50 or so.
Blair, the Witch, has been grocery shopping with a vengence. You see, she has been pouting all summer long because she did not get her much needed facial make over. The caretaker tried to appease her with new clothes, but she is not appeased. So she decided that she will not be photographed and that she will go indulge in some good old retail therapy.
So far, she has acquired new jars and potions for her kitchen. She has even got herself the Transylvanian Sand Slitherers (recommended by the Head of the House of Slytherin, no less!).
That was a bit of a splurge, but that didn't stop her from ordering the rare Phoenix Phlaxe. Something she plans to brew into her morning tea to go with the time reversal potion she has been working on for three years now. May be it will finally work and she wont have to wait for the caretaker's measly make over! Hrmph! Here are a few other things she has in her kitchen:
1. Huffle Puff -- a little green fluffy monster with an impossibly cheerful demeanor. Something for times when she is too down in the dumps to conjure up her patronus.
2. True Griffin Blood -- they say a little of it after dinner can really work wonders for your bravery and hence your confidence. She figures she is going to need a lot of that if she is going to have to face the crowd with her botched up face!
3. Ghost tears: This she simply collected from the resident ghost bride who has still not stopped crying for her lost love. Or is it for her lost life? Blair will never know, and probably never care. Ghost tears are useful anyway, and if she's getting it for free, why not, hey?!
4. Ghost and Pirate Sprite Trapper: This is not really a potion, its a device. She bought it this year and used it to trap a pirate sprite. But she did not completely read the instructions, and the pirate sprite tried to escape. The botched up capture, was unfortunately caught on film (or should we say pixels, these days?). Here is what the actual instruction said: "Cork immediately for best results. Leaving in sea water for too long may cause the
pirate sprite to attempt escape.
Should this occur, bag immediately in gunny sack and twist cork counter
clockwise. Spitting on the bottle is optional and has sometimes reported to
deliver better results" Oh well, now she knows!
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Turned out that hot glue does not work well when it comes to bonding plastic to glass. I then tried air dry clay, which also did not work. Finally, I used gorilla glue and so far so good.
Hmm.. is it me or does he look like he is doing a ballet move? Not what I was going for!! LOL!
Hmm.. I think all the interesting clay texture is completely hidden now.
Started him a while ago using Scott Stoll's (stolloween.com) balloon method to create skulls. Just completed claying him this weekend. If he dries by today (doubtful, considering the weather). I might even paint him and finish him.
Here are some on-the-way photos:
Started with a balloon
Added facial features with black chart paper (the same way as in the tutorials in the Stolloween page). Used a couple of heavy books and a cat to straighten the rolled up chart paper!
Then added some jaws as well.
Added a few layers of mache on the jaw and eye details. Added a "side horn" thing and some teeth. Unfortunately, no build pics of those. Clayed it all up and left it out to dry.
Of course, it would have to fall off the deck railing and break one of the side horns! I guess I will have to use gorilla glue on this one as a quick fix as there is really no time to fix it at the clay level.
Hanging upside down, drying. That's his "side tooth" thing on the floor, the one that broke off!
Right side up. Missing the side thingy on the left.
The thing that broke off!
The white teeth in the far side are damaged.
I left in the deck to catch what sun it could and went on my weekly grocery trip. Got back, let the dog out and in a completely unexpected move, Dufus made a nose dive for this guy, caught him by his damaged white teeth and foisted him into the air. I saved the head, but the white tooth on the far side is gone -- flaked out and broke off. That'll teach me to stay off air-dry clay for good. It may be easier to smooth out, but it does not seem to be strong at all!
