Saturday 16 March 2013

Progress Report

So today I took some progress pictures. I did it this morning because I normally forget and I was feeling good after my personal record yesterday:  squatting 10 reps of 100lbs! I'm going to stick with that weight until veins don't pop out of my forehead when I lift it anymore :D

The last time I took pictures to show my progress was very shortly after I started lifting, so they are as close to 'before' pictures that I have. I put on the same outfit and stood in as much the same way as I could to get an accurate comparison.

Here they are!




Uploading these, especially to an account linked to my modelling name, took quite some courage. They're unedited, no sucking in, no posing (apart from the arms and maybe a little arched back on the butt shot), no special lighting. They show me as I really am, which I think can be a good thing. Those of you who follow my modelling will know what I can do with my body when I pose it in the correct way, even before I started working out properly (like in this very NSFW picture that contains boobies by Stefano Brunesci at Christmas time last year) so hopefully these won't put you off!

I'm very proud of what these pictures show, actually. I didn't think I'd changed that much, but looking at my waist, bum and arm/back muscles, you can see that what I'm doing is definitely working! I took my measurements this morning as well, to compare to the last time I took them...

                    15th Jan                            16th March         
Waist:          65cm/25.5"                         62cm/24.5"      
Hips:            85.5cm/33.7"                      83.5cm/33"
Thigh:          53.34cm/21"                       50cm/19.6"
Upper arm:  25cm/9.3"                           24cm/9.5"

And I've lost centimetres/inches all over! I've not actually lost any weight in lbs, so I'm assuming I'm losing fat and gaining muscle, just like I should be!

Thanks for indulging my vanity, you may go now :)

Monday 11 March 2013

80%

So today I squatted 95lbs for 10 reps...that's 80% of my bodyweight! I'm pretty proud of this, and I'm damn proud of the fact that I've now stuck to a workout routine for just over 2 months. A year ago I was living a very sedentary life, not paying any attention to my health, fitness or diet and constantly complaining about my body. It took a while, but I eventually got myself into the gym and having hit the 2 month mark I'm feeling pretty good about everything.
I can see progression and change not only in the gym, but in everyday life. I got a delivery today and just took the big heavy box out of the delivery man's hands (much to his surprise) and set it down where I wanted it, which I'd never have been able to do 6 months ago. I also used to have real trouble standing back up again if I squatted down to look at something on the bottom shelf in a shop and it was only a couple of days ago that Ras mentioned that I haven't needed him to help me back up in weeks!

Back in the gym, as well as increasing the weight on the squats, I also increased my deadlifts (grip no longer failing, yay!) and bench presses and added 3x5 assisted pull ups.

Here are today's workout details, if you're interested. Of course, you could always join Fitocracy and not have to read all this rubbish ;)


  • Barbell Squat:
    • 40.8 kg x 10 reps (+74 pts)
    • 13.2 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
    • 43.1 kg x 10 reps (+77 pts)
  • Barbell Bench Press:
    • 22.7 kg x 10 reps (+57 pts)
    • 22.7 kg x 10 reps (+57 pts)
    • 24.9 kg x 10 reps (+59 pts)
  • Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift:
    • 36.3 kg x 10 reps (+69 pts)
    • 36.3 kg x 10 reps (+69 pts)
    • 38.6 kg x 10 reps (+72 pts)
  • One-Arm Dumbbell Row:
    • 11.3 kg x 20 reps (+51 pts)
    • 11.3 kg x 20 reps (+51 pts)
    • 11.3 kg x 20 reps (+51 pts)
  • Cable Crunch:
    • 12.7 kg x 10 reps (+12 pts)
    • 12.7 kg x 10 reps (+12 pts)
  • Hanging Bent Leg Raise:
    • 10 reps (+5 pts)
    • 10 reps (+5 pts)
    • 10 reps (+5 pts)
  • Pull-Up:
    • 5 reps || assisted || 19 lb (+15 pts)
    • 5 reps || assisted || 19 lb (+15 pts)
    • 5 reps || assisted || 19 lb (+15 pts)
  • Running (Intervals/Sprints):
    • 45 sec || 8 km/hr || jog (+6 pts)
    • 45 sec || 12.5 km/hr || run (+15 pts)
    • 45 sec || 8 km/hr || jog (+6 pts)
    • 45 sec || 12.5 km/hr || run (+15 pts)
    • Would have gone on for longer if it wasn't for the crippling cramp I got in the front of my thigh which nearly threw me off the treadmill! Will do this tomorrow instead!
  • Walking:
    • 0:20:00 || 2.4 km (+75 pts)
  • Push-Up:
    • 5 reps (+9 pts)
    • Just seeing if I could do them. Bearing in mind the last time I tried (before I started strength training), I managed half of one before cracking my nose on the floor.

And the badges I got today!


Level 16




Get Low Badge
Perform barbell squat for at least 0.8x bodyweight