Enough of the bulking, time to start cutting!

So yesterday I’m shopping, looking for some new dresses to wear from Ryan’s commissioning and it hit me. I need to start cutting. I typically wear a medium dress, but with it being in the single digits up in RI, I needed a dress with sleeves. But here’s the problem: my biceps and shoulders have bulked up so much, I am finding that I have to get a size bigger in order to accommodate my muscles. Putting on muscle is a great thing, but now it’s time to start shedding in order to show off that lean muscle!

I started this blog back in October, 4 months ago, and all the while I have been increasing my weight and hitting new maxs’.  For these next 8 weeks I plan to incorporate a large amount of  H.I.I.T workouts  and A LOT of body weight exercises! Personally, with the warmer weather just on the horizon, I’d much rather be outside working out than stuck in a gym- that’s just me!

So this is my latest workout and the last of my bulking ( for now)  :)

Exercise	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep
Leg extension	60lbs/12reps	70lbs/12reps	80lbs/10reps	90lbs/10reps
Leg curl	60lbs/10reps	70lbs/12reps	80lbs/10reps	90lbs/8reps
Leg press	110lbs/12reps	130lbs/10reps	150lbs/10reps	185lbs/10reps NEW MAX!
Wall squats w/ stability ball (Pyramid)	50reps	40reps	30reps	20reps	10 reps

Exercise	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep	Wt/Rep
Single leg extensions	70lbs/15reps	85lbs/15reps	95lbs/15reps	105lbs/10reps
Buso ball lunges	15reps each leg	15reps each leg	15reps each leg	15reps each leg
Dead lift	50lbs/15reps	50lbs/15reps	50lbs/15reps	50lbs/15reps

Over 2 hours long, are you ready for this?!

So I’ve been slacking at blogging this week and I’m sorry about that. Between working Valentine’s weekend, all this crappy weather and clinicals, it’s been difficult to get to the gym. I've been doing a bunch of home workouts, but I was anxious to see how I was recovering after that horrible virus. Thankfully, my strength is back and I was able to hit a new max today on my bench press.

With my clinic being closed today, I was able to hold off till the roads cleared up and got a 2 hour and 15 minute workout in! Needless to say, I’m pretty tired and will be going to bed shortly after posting this! I'll be at the gym tomorrow again for a long leg workout since I just go an update that my clinic is closed again!  Stay warm, friends :)

Time to complete: 2 hours 15 minutes

Cardio:

 30 minute treadmill 10.0 incline 4.0mph  Completed: 2 miles Burned 317 Calories

Circuit 1:

Exercise	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps
Wide Grip Row	55lbs/15reps	65 lbs /12reps	70 lbs /12reps	80 lbs /10reps
Lateral Pull Down Close Grip	55 lbs /15reps	65 lbs /12reps	70 lbs /12reps	80 lbs /8reps
Tricep Rope Extension	25 lbs /12reps	30 lbs /12reps	35 lbs /8reps	40 lbs /4reps
Overhead Press	50 lbs /10reps	50 lbs /10reps	60 lbs /6reps	60 lbs /6reps

Circuit 2:

Exercise	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps
Lying Tricep Extension	20lbs/15reps	20lbs/15reps	25lbs/12reps	25lbs/12reps
Overhead Rear Deltoid Fly	7lbs/12reps	10lbs/10reps	10bs/10reps	10lbs/10reps
Face Pulls	35lbs/15reps	40lbs/12reps	45lbs/8reps	50lbs/8reps
Single Arm Lateral Pull Down	25lbs/12reps Each Arm	30lbs/10reps	35lbs/6reps	40lbs/5reps

Circuit 3:

Exercise	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps	Wt/Reps
High Pully Cable Bicep  Curls	5lbs/12reps Each Cable	5lbs/25reps	10lbs/10reps	10lbs/10reps
Bench Press	55lbs/8reps	65lbs/8reps	65lbs 6reps	75lbs/6reps (NEW MAX)
Back Extensions	20reps	20reps	20reps	20reps
Wall Pushups	20reps	20reps	20reps	20reps

Abs:

Exercise	Reps	Reps
Stability Ball crunch	25reps	25reps
V-Ups	20reps	20reps
Leg Lifts	20reps	20reps
Bicycles	25reps	25reps
Reverse Crunches	20reps	20reps
Russian Twists	40reps	40reps

Short and Sweet

Tonight's workout only took 40 minutes and it was enough to wear me out! Being out of the gym for 8 days has surely kicked my butt and I can feel it. Aside from that weaker feeling, the worst possible thing about getting back into the gym after being sick is how much you sweat. Not only the amount but just the odor. I like to think that my minty body wash helps beautify my sweat, but there is no beating that yucky sweat after ingesting 20 capsules of an antibiotic.  :P Anyways enough of that, here was tonight workout:

Cardio:
15 minutes elliptical Level 7 Completed 1.61 miles Burned 147 Calories

Legs:

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Squats	85lbs/10 reps	105lbs/10reps	125lbs/8reps	135lbs/6reps	145lbs/6reps  (NEW MAX!)
One Legged Smith Machine Squats	Left: 15lbs/15reps	Right: 15lbs/15reps	Left: 15lbs/15reps	Right: 15lbs/15reps
Rope Pull Thru	15lbs/15reps	15lbs/15reps	15lbs/15reps		VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
Single Leg Press Down	Left: 60lbs/20reps	Right: 60lbs/20reps	Left: 60lbs/20reps	Right: 60lbs/20reps

Time to get back into the swing of things!

As you probably guessed from my last post, I got more sick. I started my antibiotics and it got worse before it got better. I'm pretty sure I had the early stage of Strep Throat before I got the fever and white specks. The good news is that I finished the 10 day span of antibiotics yesterday and I feel much better, however I feel weaker. I know it's going to take a few days/ even a week for me to get back to my routine,

Things to keep in mind when you're sick:

Hydrate: The antibiotics you are probably on tend to dry you and and make you extremely thirsty. it is important that you drink to stay hydrated! Drinking also helps to flush out your system.

Eat healthy: Even though you more than likely don't want to eat anything because the antibiotics make everything taste horrible, you still need a steady diet.  Eating small snacks/meals and help with maintaining a steady diet while sick. My go to was granny smith apples and peanut butter. 

Rest: After being at work/school or whatever it is that you do, you are probably exhausted by the end of the day. Make sure you get enough rest or you're just going to run yourself down and you won't get better. I took an Advil PM every night on top of my antibiotics to help me sleep, but also because I was having body aches. This helped with sleeping and relieving the body aches!

Finish the antibiotics:  10 days seems like a long time, but it is imperative that you finish the antibiotics. By not taking the entire course of antibiotics, resistant bacteria may develop that no longer respond to common antibiotics. Stop complaining about how bad they taste and just take them

Exercise: If you feel the need to exercise because you are deprived, keep in mind your limits. I walked a little bit everyday just to keep the blood flowing and help with the body aches. I didn't keep track of these walks or post them, but I did close to 3 miles a day on top of walking at work.


Sincerely,

Your friendly medical student :)