Day 137: CRASH! WTF?!

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up...Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested." - The Alchemist, The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)


TRAINING

Cardio - CrossRamp:
10 min in R10/CR10

Legs/Chest/Back (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. Stiff-Legged BB Deadlifts (BB to touch floor) 6 x 12
2. Alternate Backward DB Lunges 6 x 12
Alternate Set B -
3. Flat BB Bench Press 6 x 12-15
4. V-Bar Close-Grip Seated Row 6 x 12-15


COMMENTS

Sleep - Time and Quality: Woke after ~5 hours, and passed out for another three. Lay down in the afternoon and passed out for a little while as well.

Mood/Aggression: Surprisingly, just flat.

Energy: I'm exhausted today. I DID cut my training session short because I WAS so exhausted (almost falling over in the gym) which is rare for me to do, since I keep on pushing myself regardless, and when I felt like this last week, I soldiered on. But, this was a different fatigue than last week, and even breathing has been an issue for me today. It was NOT me "giving up" - not at all; rather, it was me knowing when enough is ENOUGH, being smart, knowing the difference between a complaint of my body and a SCREAM. Honestly, I feel like I used to feel if I hadn't been using stimulants for a day or so back when I was heavily dependent on them to function, almost like I have CRASHED BIG time, and I don't understand it!

Endurance: Ok.

Pump: Legs.

Quality of Training: CrossRamp was just a brief "warm-up" pre-weights . . . Resistance session started off ok. As I started into Alternate Set B, my head started pounding and my energy levels just suddenly DRAINED away. I felt like I did last week, except there was no aggression or frustration behind the wanting to finish early. I pushed on, continued to finish Alternate Set B, and started on Alternate Set C. However, after the first set, I KNEW, and just put the weight down and went home, planning on finishing the session later in the day . . . No rollers for recovery once at home. Nothing. There was just nothing in me for some reason . . . My resistance session won't get finished tonight, though, not after waking mid-afternoon in no better condition . . .

Recovery: My legs and back are no longer in pain, all DOMS gone. However, the pain seems to have been replaced by fatigue. Odd.

Other Notes: I asked Jeff if I could please try the new Red Raspberry (since I love fruit, berries some of my favourite fruit, red raspberries my favourite berry - plus BCAAs are an ESSENTIAL staple in my supplement arsenal) flavoured RecoverPRO and he was great enough to send me an entire TUB (42 servings), so I am going to be using this until I am finished with it, resuming my use of BC+EAA afterwards.

Day 358: Happy Christmas United States!

Quote of the Day

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering." - Unknown

Training

HIIT Cardio:
a. 4 min easy
b. 8 x 50 sec effort/10 sec easy
c. 4 min easy

Stretch 20 min.

Comments

Sleep - Time and Quality: ~6 hours, which can be classed as slightly over normal for me.

Energy: I was energetic when I first work up for a few hours, but the last half of the day I have been falling back into fatigue, and think I even passed out for an hour on the couch.

Stress: Even on today of all days, still high in some areas.

Quality of Training: Ok.

Body Composition and Look: I am definitely holding water, and the reason has become apparent - it's not entirely due to my lack of water consumption over the last week. Today, of all days, and now, of all times, when it is such a rare event - sometimes being a female is a nuisance. Ah well, hope it's over quickly . . . My lack of RESISTANCE training has also made a difference on how my body looks and feels - just goes to show how IMPORTANT this is to me in my ability to maintain my leanness and physique, not just for health and fitness reasons. Looking forward to being back to a proper training schedule next week . . .

Other Notes: HAPPY CHRISTMAS UNITED STATES! It's my second White Christmas - yes, it snowed last night (and I was out shoveling this morning). As much as I enjoy the snow, next Christmas I definitely want to be back home in New Zealand - especially since my immediate family is expanding, and I don't want to miss out on the lives of my family and friends any more than I have already by being over here in the US. Until then, those I love and care for are in my mind and heart, and I look forward to being able to see them again. And in the meantime, it's time to make a fresh new start!

Day 356: Funny how the body works

Quote of the Day

"Don't repeat history, Make new history." - Walt Ostarly

Training

HIIT Cardio:
a. 5 min easy
b. 8 x 20 sec effort/10 sec easy
c. 4 x 60 sec effort/30 sec easy
d. 5 min easy

Stretch 21 min.

Comments

Sleep - Time and Quality: I need to get back on track! Make a new schedule and stick to it!

Energy: Still none.

Stress: Ok, so sometimes we have to learn when to stop pushing and step back - this is one of those weeks. It's going to INcrease my stress in the short-term, but also DEcrease it at the same time, and hopefully let me give my head a break before going back into full stress mode.

Quality of Training: HIIT was ok. I did what I could and that was that.

Recovery: I'm still fatigued - definitely more from the lack of stimulants and going into withdrawal than anything else.

Body Composition and Look: Up to 120.2 pounds. I can definitely FEEL the extra weight, and I KNOW that I am holding water. The last few days I have drunk only 2-3 litres of water, because every time I drink it, I feel like being sick (not sure what's up with that) - when I drink less than 4.5 litres of water a day, my body tends to retain water, regardless of what supplements I am using (the loss of Shred Matrix also makes a difference here, which could be a contributing factor to the water retention since it acts as a diuretic), and to my eyes I look soft as well as feel it, neither of which I am particularly comfortable being.

Other Notes: It's been 30 weeks (this is the 31st) since I started back training and I actually haven't had a complete week off at all. I DON'T want a COMPLETE week off, and right after my competition (12 weeks ago) I had a week with only two resistance sessions, ending up having to do another week of only two resistance sessions and less training volume a couple of weeks after that (10 weeks ago), too. Ironically, the week my body decided that it wasn't going to work for me and I only managed ONE resistance session (five weeks ago), with two days of training in total, was the week that if I HAD continued with competition in 2010, I would have been at the Worlds that Saturday. So, technically, I have had three EASY weeks in the last 30.5 weeks (you could almost call one of them a 'week off', which makes me well and truly due for a week of nothing, despite my head NOT ever wanting another week of nothing ever again. I've done three cardio sessions this week, and a short resistance session, so technically it's a week off. Because of the way my body is feeling, I am going to fight my head and go with my instincts and just let it happen - I know, not very like me, but nothing has really been like me over the last 12 weeks if I'm to be completely honest. But, if it will allow me to pull myself together, get my thoughts centered, and prepare my body for a warrior's training over the coming months, then it is worth the small sacrifice to my sanity.

Catch-Up Time

I am getting around today to doing quite a few things that I have not had a chance to do over the past few days - in between bouts of extreme tiredness and falling asleep at random times. I'm still sleeping a lot lately, which is not conducive to being busy (guess my body is continuing to make up for all the days when I slept little, if at all), and certainly not the best when I need MORE than 24 hours to fit into a day as it is, if I were fully awake, to do everything I need to do.

Applied Nutriceuticals are preparing for the launch of FREE TEST - which is in two days. If you haven't read about it already, then check it out (there's a link on the right side down the page under the heading 'Applied Nutriceuticals') - it's a promising new product, that will have the world buzzing as much as The ONE. I will be adding this into my whopper stack in a few weeks - I'm waiting until I am able to train properly and consistently again, so not to waste the supplements and time.

Mood has been ok over the last few days, despite everything. Energy, as already indicated, is poor at best, but striving to work through it. Mental clarity - when I am awake - is fine. Training status is still a 'work in progress' and needs immense improvement.

Slowly getting there, everything coming together . . .