Showing posts with label Gina Ostarly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gina Ostarly. Show all posts

September 11, 2011

Day 254: Remember, remember...


WORDS FOR THE DAY

I was just saying earlier to Sean how ironic it is that last night/this morning we sat through the entire anime series and movie Eden of the East, given what happened today in history.

"Today is a difficult day. The memories are painful and some wounds may never heal. I pray You will help me and the ones left to go on living for truth, firm in our hope of Your salvation. Help us not to question why, yet even if we do, give us courage to continue to trust You. Help us take the comfort and strength You've poured into our lives and use it to comfort and strengthen all who need hope." - Gina Ostarly
TRAINING

It's been another difficult week back in training, but I am getting there, battling through, determined to get back to "normal" as soon as possible. My left wrist is much weaker than it was the last time I fractured it, but I have faith that I will be able to get it back to where it was and surpass it, just like I did when I started training again last time.

Training completed this week (4 sets for each exercise):

Shoulders/Hamstrings (1 min recovery between sets):
1. Behind-the-neck BB Military Press- for some reason, this angle re hand/wrist placement cause the least pain of most exercises
2. Hammer Raises - doing this because front press hurts wrist so much that drop weight after only a rep
3. Lateral Raises
4. Stiff-Legged BB Deadlift (BB to touch ground)

Arms/Abs (1 min recovery between sets):
1. EZ-Bar Biceps Curls (21s)
2. Dips - REALLY struggling here, barely able to complete even 3 reps before "collapsing" on left side
3. Alternate Hammer Curls
4. Rope Crunches - 100 reps in total only

Chest/Back (1 min recovery between sets):
1. Push-Ups (hands on fists) - really having to "set" wrists to grit through the pain
2. Seated Supinated Lat Pull-Down - hand position "pulling" at left wrist, leaving a heavy ache after each set
3. Incline BB Bench Press
4. Reverse Rows (feet on bench)

Abs (no recovery between supersets):
Superset -
1. Rope Crunch - 100 reps in total only
2. Plank (1 min hold)

Next week, I am going to go back to my usual period of time for all resistance sessions and add my Full-Body session back in on Friday, and see how it goes - if I struggle, that's fine, but at least I will have made the effort!

OTHER NOTES

I didn't notice it so much last time, but this time around, my right side "carrying" my left has made a considerable difference in my girths. My right arm and thigh are now a full inch LARGER than my left arm and thigh - my right arm is usually ~1 cm larger, but never as extreme as an inch before. Not being able to lift heavy or train as usual has continued to affect my body, with more loss re muscle mass in my deltoids and a little more in arms, despite body mass remaining fairly constant.

Still no supplements aside from barely even the basic staples, and at the end of next week, I will only be left using Vitamin C, BCAAs, and MuscleGel Shots. I am considering starting Battlefuel (which I've had sitting here waiting to be used for a few months now) tomorrow, since it's been a while since I ran out of Erase (and haven't received any more), likely until I get more Erase (I cannot stress how much of a difference this makes to how I look and feel) or have used a bottle of Battlefuel.

Even though I am still not able to train as usual for me and my body has changed (my delts, which I worked so hard to build up and cap, have diminished considerably), I am still looking at competing in October - the competition is now only seven weeks away, which means that I need to work as hard as possible to get into competition shape by the end of September (as best as I can, praying and hoping for no more muscle loss). I will also start practicing my posing again after resistance training, to make sure that I at least have an improvement there from last year.

Remember, there is nothing we can do now about what has been, but we CAN make the most of the present and do the best we can NOW with what we have!

God Bless and keep you all Safe!

April 21, 2011

Day 111: Everything is a CHOICE

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Life only drags you down if YOU let it. We all have bad days...Including me! It's about finding balance, one where you AND life can live in harmony. If you truly want a better you, the only thing holding you back is YOU." - Gina Ostarly


TRAINING

Session 1

Back/Chest (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. Reverse Rows (feet on bench) 4 x 10, 10, 10, 8
2. Flat BB Bench Press 4 x 10, 8, 8, 6
Alternate Set B -
3. Supinated BB Bent Over Rows 4 x 8
4. Push-Ups (feet on bench, hands on medicine balls) 4 x 10, 10, 10, 8
Alternate Set C -
5. Supinated Lat Pull-Downs (in squat position) 4 x 6
6. Incline BB Bench Press 4 x 8

Post-Weights Cardio - Run:
3 miles @ 3.4 min/km pace

Post-Weights Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x18 @ 100 rpm

Stretch 25 min.

Session 2

Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x18 @ 100 rpm


COMMENTS

Sleep - Time and Quality: ~4 hours. Ended up passing out after I'd been up for a bit though for another ~2 hours.

Mood/Aggression: NOT letting life drag me down. CHOOSING to be happy and positive and ignore the pain.

Energy: What I need when I need it.

Mental Focus and Clarity: Once I was awake for good, there has been no end (and none allowed until it's time for bed).

Endurance: Great.

Strength: Making sure progress continues to be made.

Pump: Strong - comes pretty easily these days during training, and stays longer afterwards.

Quality of Training: Session 1 - No cardio pre-weights today - made up for it with a 3-mile run before my rollers afterwards. Resistance session was good - could definitely feel my body working, and noticing that the definition is coming out more and more in my upper body. My 3-mile run pace was interesting, considering I didn't feel like I was going that fast at all! . . . Session 2 - Since my tummy has been having that sharp, stabbing pain again these last few days (and because it is a "recovery" week), I just did an easy session on the rollers to help re recovery . . .

Recovery: Since this is the "third" week, this entire week is a "recovery"/"easy" week.

Body Composition and Look: Upper body is getting and definitely looking leaner.

Other Notes: Keeping my hopes up, prayers constant in my heart, doing what I can when I can, a smile even though it might not seem the time for one, knowing that things WILL work out!

March 20, 2011

Day 79: 16 weeks out from Competition

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Attitude determines your success...or your failure. Attitude turns troubles...into blessings. Attitude sets the altitude!" - Gina Ostarly


TRAINING

Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x17 @ 104 rpm

Stretch 25 min.


COMMENTS

Sleep - Time and Quality: ~5 hours.

Stress: High.

Endurance: Good.

Pump: Only in legs.

Vascularity: Normal - and there is a new 'normal'.

Quality of Training: Day 6 is going to be 20 minutes of cardio - if I decide to make it HIT that's fine, but I am not going to force it, especially knowing how shattered I was yesterday after the previous five days, and that is just the START! Training was a nice and 'easy' rollers session today - hopefully my lower body will be fine for tomorrow.

Recovery: I was so sore yesterday it wasn't funny - lower body especially, glutes and quads, tight and stiff, no doubt from the Jump Squats on Friday, with the run I did in the evening not helping either.

Other Notes: This last week has let me see how my body handles what it HAS to be doing. Cardio was a mere ~20 minutes on training days - this needs to be upped to 20-60 minutes. Resistance sessions were fine, but by Day 5 I was shattered, and even though the session was intense, it was done almost at collapsing. This week was 'baseline' re nutrition and training like this, and next week is only going to be BETTER!