So I'm gonna restart STS

 Ok, if you don't want to read my blogs from back in October and early Nov, I have this workout program from Cathe Friedrich called STS or Shock Training System.  Its a weight training program, that has 3 separate 4 week phases, which are called mesos.   

The first 4 week is a light weight higher rep, and less rest in between reps phase. Its focus in endurance.

The second meso is a increase in weight, decrease in reps, and an increase in rest time between sets. This is the muscle building focus meso

You guessed it, the third is heavier weights, lots of rest, and not to many reps. You are going to build more muscle and strength with this meso.

I started it, but family stuff came up, the death of my MIL and I quit.  I really should have gotten back to it after a couple weeks but...

Yes, there are 40 DVDs in this program.  In the 3rd meso, you can either do the heavy "I have a squat rack or something similar and can do HEAVY legs" workouts, or you can do the "I don't have a squat rack, or don't want to lift super heavy so I'll do plyo stuff" legs workouts.  I'm gonna go HEAVY!  

My goal is to do my 3 STS workouts plus 1 spin class and 1 cardio of my choice workout.  

I've been sticking my toes back into logging my food intake.  I need to make sure I get enough protein in cause I do want to build muscle, and if I get more protein, I drop weight pretty easy while still eating a lot of calories which hey, isn't that what we all want???

I would also love it if Mother Nature would cooperate and get back to the warmer temps and stay there.  We have literally gone from 60s-70s one day, to 30s and snowing the next.  Three times in the last 4 week.  My sinuses hate that.  I'd like to take the grandkids out to play, go for walks etc.  But nope. Today, it was like 38 degrees and it snowed.  Ok none stuck to the ground, but a couple days ago, it was 60. I'm so over this.  I'm ready for spring to get here and stay. 

So, tomorrow, I'm doing a great fridge clean out, thowing away old food, taking a real inventory of what we have and what we need, then doing some stocking up on Sat.  Time to get back to healthier eating and back to my weight loss again. Plateaus suck

So I did Jari Love's Ripped

 I did a workout on Monday evening.  Jari Love's Ripped

This is what the DVD looks like.   Its a high rep, light weight workout.  Its a nice workout. Not one of my favorites of all time, but I like it enough to have done it several times in the, time I've owned it.   Its been out for several years now, and I've had it pretty much from the beginning.

You use very light weights cause you will be pumping out the reps.   Like squats, I only used my 40lbs barbell, when I use 100lbs when lifting weights. 

And I did enjoy it. but to be honest, I sort of wished I had been lifting heavy while doing it 😂

Then on Tue I did this

I do SUCK at yoga.  LOL.  I'm not flexible anymore, and I could only half ass the poses, but I did it and I'm going to get better at it. 

So now, of course, I'm trying to figure out how to do it all.  I want to spin, do a little yoga/stretching, lifting heavy and do my videos.  Workout ADD at its finest.

So I guess for next week I'll try and figure out how to lift heavy, add in yoga, spin and do my DVD/streaming workouts LOL 

Sometimes, trying to get fit is so hard.

 I mean, I literally took this last week off, which I probably shouldn't have.  I should have been more dedicated to myself to get up and go down to my gym and do something.  But this last week, it was just hard. 

I felt very blah, wasn't sleeping that well and just eating kind of shitty as well. 

So I've had some time to think. I'm not sure I'm mentally really wanting to do a long program like Year One Challenge.  Its a lot to take on, even if I try to break it down to the different phases.  

So I think I'm going to go back to my workout DVDs and streaming.  I've got a bunch of workouts I've either  never done, or have not done in years and I want to do them again.

I also signed up for Cathe on Demand.  Cathe Friedrich is a fitness instructors who I think makes some of the best workout DVD period. I've been a fan of hers for over 20 years now.  And she has a streaming site, where she does a live workout every week, and you can access all the live workouts she's done over I think 4-5 years now.   I've done a few in the past and I REALLY like them.  Ok I like them cause if she has a group working out with her, cause due to the Rona, for a while it was just her, I can find someone with a body style close to mine,  or someone I can be like "if they can do it so can I" 

I also want to get more out of my Peloton subscription.  I've been using it more for the sleep meditation than the spinning, which is sad.  So I'm going to get up on that bike, and on that treadmill, each at least once a week.  Plus a Cathe streaming workout, and a dvd of my pick.  I think that's pretty good, right.

I've been playing around with my fitness planner. Right now I'm using this Happy Planner

And this is what the inside looks like

 

I do redo the Food Log cause well, that's not nearly enough room for my food, and I prefer to track via an app anyway.  So I put down my calories and macros I've eaten and the calories my Fitbit said I burned. Yes I know that my Fitbit is off on that, but I don't care.  I just like to see if I'm eating 2000 calories a day, and my Fitbit said I burned 2100 calories a day, and I lost a little weight, then I'm good.

Harlee is doing well.  Growing like a weed and 99% housebroken.  Oh, if we're not paying attention, she might have an accident, but overall, she does her business outside like a good girl

Here's a not so great picture of her lol

That's our boxer Phoenix behind her sleeping in the sunshine.

I've also been thinking of getting STS out and trying it again.  I've still got the book in my book holder next to me and have been looking at it.  And I'm following a lady on YouTube who's doing it and man, I want to do it now, so bad.  Maybe I'll do it starting in April.  And get back to reviewing the workouts like I had planned on before MIL died.

Things to think about for sure.

So, this happened

 Meet Harlee.  Yes, its spelled different than in that Snapchat.  We decided to change the spelling.  Anyway, she's a Golden Retriever and our 4th dog.  Don't ask LOL  Long story on how and why we got a 4th dog.  Here's a couple other pics.

Here she is with my boxer Phoenix

And one with our oldest granddaughter, Charli.  They are friends.  Charli loves to run around the house and have Harlee chase her around.  I think they will become good friends as they both grow up.

But she's a lot of work.   Housebreaking a puppy is hard work.  And yes, I've gone through quite a bit of enzyme cleaner on the floor, and I've stream cleaned it extra as well.  UGH.  Thank goodness its mostly been above normal temps to go out and watch her in the dog pen.

Anyway, my fitness journey took a detour.  I got my Covid booster, finally, and it did throw me for a loop.  Felt tired, feverish, and had swollen lymph glands in the armpit and breast of the side I got my shot in.  Totally  derailed my fitness train.  So I've got to get back on my fitness track again.

And I got these to help. 

Nike SuperRep spin shoes.  I need to get back to using that Peloton bike on a fairly regular basis.  Its a great form of cardio, that I actually enjoy.  I'm not a big cardio lover, if given a choice, I'll lift weights.  But I've not even been doing that all that much the last couple weeks so I need to look back to my  Word of the Year, consistency, and get back to being consistent with my workouts again

Now that Harlee is more settled into our routine, and finally I think starting to understand the housebreaking, it should be easier.   I hope 

Making a Fitness Smash book

 What's a smash book you ask. Well, its kind of half journal, half scrapbook, half planner/motivational book.  Its kind of what you make of it really.

I've got this. 

Its from Happy Planner. A notebook I'm getting set up to be my smashbook.  Here's a sneak peak at things I'm putting in my book

First my word of the year.

Consistency.  I want to be consistent in my workouts, healthy eating being active. 

My next section is kind of a  motivational section.

It has things like this.

Every week or two I'm going to print out more motivational things, before and after pictures of women etc.

The next section is my before and soon, during and later on after pictures.  No, you can't see them quite yet.  I hate the way the look, but here I am 

Yes I have funky hair right now lol.  Life is to short for boring hair and I wanted something different for a while.  The shirt, the saying is from WandaVision.  HUGE Marvel fan here and that show was amazing

The next section is my goals. I have short term goals

Middle goals,  What do you call it Mid term? Sounds like I'm in school and its mid-term test time LOL

And finally my long term goals

Each goal has its own page and plenty of other pages I can add as I hit these goals and need to have new ones. 

So I'm as ready as I can be, I guess, to get this grandma bod into Glamma Shape

TTOM makes things so much harder

 Yep, Aunt Flo decided to visit me, a week early. 😠   Now I'm 51.  I've been in perimenopause for a few years now and I'm 110% OVER THIS.   I just want this crap to be over.  Why can't I just get this over with?     UGH.  It just makes things harder for these few days.  I mean, it sucks the energy out of me for a couple days.  I mean I have zero energy.  None.  Makes it so much harder to get up get down to my home gym and lift weights.

But I did manage to get down there. Day 1 all I could manage is a 20 min walk on the treadmill.  That was literally it.  

I finally got a lifting workout in yesterday.  Chest, shoulders and triceps.   Here's my shirt of the day

And the shirt is 100% right.  I really don't care what the scale says.  I want to be strong and healthy.  Ok I do want to be a smaller pant size cause where I'm at now isn't healthy.  But I don't have an actual number on the scale I want to see.  I just want to be healthy and fit and active.  I want to chase my grandkids in the yard and not get as tired.  

I've been tracking my macros the last few days.  I'm eating a range of calories.  Between 1800-2300 a day.   Yes, 2300 calories a day.  It takes calories to build muscle and that's my primary goal.  And I've been slowly losing weight, and inches, when I track at least 3-4 days a week.  So it can be done, losing weight while eating over 1200 calories a day.

But no tracking today lol.  Wed are a cheat day for me. I mean my show My 600lb Life is on, and I usually pop up some popcorn, and sit and watch those people.  There are ones I cheer for and hope they lean into Dr Now's program and lose weight, and then there are the train wrecks who I just sit and watch,  kind of stunned, at their lack of progress and behaviors. 

Well, I should get up off my rear and go do laundry.  I need to get a few things folded and then put another load in.  However Friday the 13th part 4 is on, and I have to watch it first lol

Before pictures are hard to take

 So I took my before pictures.  OMG that SUCKED!!!!!😨  Big time.  No, you don't get to see them yet cause I'm still uncomfortable with them right now. Maybe after I lose a little I'll share them, but not quite yet ok.

Here's a pic of me with a new tank I got.  

Yep a WandaVision tank,  I loved that show. 

Its been a little of a rough week. Yesterday my tummy kind of started hurting towards the end of the afternoon, and it felt off even by bedtime it felt off. So I didn't workout yesterday.  I mean it was the "Am I gonna puke" kind of off.   I'm feeling better today, so I hope to get some kind of workout in.

Maybe hit my Peloton cause well, its been a while, and I really need to get on the thing and use it,

I have been using the treadmill so at least there is that.

Not much else to say.  I'm sick of winter already, I'm 110% ready for spring and I want to be able to take the grandkids outside and play.  They nap better, they just are better when they can go out and get fresh air, burn off energy, and quite frankly, I feel better being outside and getting fresh air too.  This below zero crap, Antarctica can keep it.