SLOW MOTION WEIGHT LIFTING SESSION SIX

Today, I did my sixth slow motion weight lifting session as taught in the book Body By Science.  I did the Free Weight Big Five at home.  It has been sixteen days since my last session.

Since I have been having trouble making it to failure on most of the lifts, I decided to increase weights and go to failure on each one, and see how long it took, instead of stopping after 90 seconds.

Bent-Over Barbell Row: 5.25 reps in 1:51 minutes TUL (Time Under Load) using 38 pounds.  I made it to failure. When I do this again next week, I will add more weight.

Standing Overhead Press: 3.25 reps in 1:16 minutes TUL using 28 pounds.  I made it to failure.  When I do this again next week, I will add more weight.

Dead Lift:  7.25 reps in 3:00 minutes TUL using 38 pounds. I made it to failure.  When I do this again next week, I will add more weight.

Bench Press: 3 reps in 1:12 minutes TUL using 38 pounds. I made it to failure.  When I do this again next week, I will add more weight.

Dumbbell Squat: 5.25 reps in 1:47 minutes TUL using 32 pounds. I made it to failure.  When I do this again next week, I will add more weight.

Since starting this 50 days ago, I have:

Lost 1/8" around my neck

Gained 1/2" around my biceps

Gained 3/8" around my bust

Gained 3/4" around my midriff

Gained 7/8" around my waist

Gained 5/8" around my navel

Gained 5/8" around my hips

Gained 1/2" around my thighs

Gained 1/2" around my calves

Gained 3.6 pounds of body fat (33.9% to 35.9%)

Lost 1.6 pounds of lean mass (which includes water weight)
Gained 2 pounds on the scale

Since the last time I lifted weights 16 days ago, I have:

Lost 0" around my neck

Gained 5/8" around my biceps

Lost 0" around my bust

Gained 1/4" around my midriff

Lost 1/8" around my waist

Gained 1/4" around my navel

Lost 0" around my hips

Gained 1/4" around my thighs

Gained 1/2" around my calves

  Lost 0.1 pounds of body fat (36% to 35.9%)

Gained 0.3 pounds of lean mass (which includes water weight)
Gained 0.2 pounds on the scale

Its not much, but it is progress!

Related Post:
Body By Science - Doug McGuff, MD and John Little

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Facing My Own Mortality

Without even knowing it, Ive been running myself ragged the last six months, and especially so the last few weeks or so as we got ready to, and moved. This resulted in my getting sick, and not being able to shake it.

I thought I was doing fine, I just had a cold with a cough,and a bit of congested chest and nose, and finally felt like I was on the mend yesterday. But then starting late afternoon, my throat started to hurt and I just started having a feeling of general malaise. Towards the end of the evening though, it started to get worse and worse,, and I was laying on the couch barely able to get up. I was very cold, yet I didnt have a fever and the house was warm. I went to bed on time, and intended to get up at 6:30Am to exercise on my new Elliptical machine. Nuh Uh! My body had other plans. When I went to bed, I was freezing, huddled under the covers and feeling like I was in a sauna. I sure felt nice and hot under there, it was wonderfully toasty warm. Throughout the night though, I kept waking up in a feverish state, dreaming crazy things and tossing the covers off over and over, and all over the place. I woke up at 5:30, and promptly changed my alarm to my regular school day wake up time. No way I was getting up at 6:30AM. It turns out I DID have a fever, almost 101!! I just popped a few motrin an hour ago, and I am starting to feel slightly normal. But I am so sweaty from my fever that my back was as wet as when I am done working out. Ewww!

Anyway, last night as I lay huddled under my covers, all toasty warm, I was actually scared to go to sleep. I actually considered trying to stay up all night because I was afraid I was so sick I wouldnt wake up. I didnt want to leave the kids with no parents.

That was the first time I actually felt like that, and was scared for my own life. I know I just have a touch of the flu, but thats how Barry got sick. And now hes dead. I dont know if Id call that a form of PTSD, but I was definitely scared. I had to calm myself down as best as I could, and let sleep overcome me. I remember feeling relieved when I woke up at 5:30 this morning, kind of thinking "Im not dead!". I guess well all have to face our own mortality sooner or later, but at least I can be rest assured that I have at least one more day to live.

That being said, Im going to go snooze on my couch. Im fading fast and I am so exhausted. I see a lot of orange juice in my near future.

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Six Months Later

Right now at 9:30AM as I am writing this, 6 months ago Barry was completely "normal". He was alive, and joking and telling me he loved me. And then he died a mere hour and a half later. I am trying not to dwell on that today, but its hard. I am going to keep busy and run some errands with the kids.

I had all these grand plans to write a post about how he died because I figured six months would be a good date to let it all out. No one asked me to, no one pressured me to do it, but I decided not to do so because I am just not ready. I just cant handle the emotions that come with talking and writing about it. It is going to wait for another day, if i am ever ready that is.

I find it so incredibly hard to believe that six months have passed already. It seems a lifetime ago, yet it was only six months. And look how far the kids and I have come in just six months! I have done so much more than I thought I ever would do, and Ive come out ahead most of the time. Time is flying by so quickly, and while I am thankful for that, I am also sad. As I told someone not that long ago, I feel like I am holding him clenched in my hands as tightly as I can, but no matter how tightly I grip my hands together, some of him is bound to seep out like little tiny grains of sand. I hold on as tight as I can to the memories, but as time goes on, I am so afraid I will forget him. Not necessarily him, but his little nuances, things he did and how he was. In the grand scheme of life, 11 years with someone is not that long considering we live for almost 100 years. That would only be 10% of my life that I spent with him, and it doesnt seem like it was nearly enough. I wanted 80%.

I finally started to write in my journal. I have no rhyme or reason to what or when I write, but whenever it strikes my fancy, I write down memories I have of him or us, things he told me, things he did as a child etc etc. Its for the kids mostly when they are older, so they can read about their daddy, and for me too, so I dont forget the little pieces of him. I only have one entry so far, but its a start, right?

I am starting to get choked up writing this, and Id like to keep it together today, so I am going to end this now. I have grocery shopping to do today, and still feel like I need to get this house into order because I took four days off this week when we went on vacation. Were almost all moved in, but there is still a lot of work to be done around the house organizing and unpacking.

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