Strange things happening to me.

[kitchen_kink]

Around February 2004, I started working out in what I can safely say is the most consistent way I ever have; that is, since then, I don't think I've ever gone more than two weeks without hitting the gym at least once. I've been pretty durned steady-as-she-goes the past few weeks, lifting twice a week, doing cardio three or four times, and usually a yoga class. I feel like I've reached a plateau, though, and for some reason, I also have been gaining weight (this may be due to a change in birth control scripts: Seasonale, while it is in every other way my friend, may have caused a bit of weight gain).

sensesurfer asked me recently if I ever thought about just getting all buffed out. Of course I do, but I told him that I'd decided I'm not capable of it. He kindly informed me that that was nonsense, and I needed to be working to failure - each body part only once a week. (And maybe take Creatine, too, but I'm suspicious of powdery muscle supplements. Anyone have any experience with this stuff?)

Hm.

So I decided to give it a shot. Tuesday I worked my chest and shoulders until they could be worked no more, and did some abs. Yesterday, I hit my legs the way I haven't since my earliest days of weightlifting (actually did calf raises, hip adductors and abductors, and three different kinds of leg presses - I don't do the quad lifts or leg curls, they feel weird on the backs of my knees), and today I wailed on my back and biceps.

Result? Well for one - DAMN I'm sore! I'm like Sorey McSoreypants here. I realize how long it's been since I did high weight, low reps, and I've never done it where I don't let myself do more than eight reps per set - that is, where I lift enough weight that doing more than eight is physically impossible.

I injured my left shoulder over two years ago, and sometime last year realized I had slightly injured the right one in overcompensating for the left. But they haven't been bothering me at all lately, and I've been doing low weight, high reps on chest presses, shoulder presses and pull-ups for months. So I'm going for it, with warm-up stretches for the shoulders, and very-low-weight rotator-cuff exercises once a week before my other shoulder stuff. The stuff that hurts right now seems definitely to be sore muscle (good pain), not pulled muscle or messed-up tendons (bad pain!), but I suppose as I rest over the weekend I'll get to know for sure.

Besides this, I also seem to be becoming some kind of protein monkey. After working out yesterday, I had two pieces of turkey and a piece of cheese, followed by a banana with a bunch of almond butter. In about an hour I was hungry again - for meat. I had been planning on cooking eggplant; that plan was totally fucked. I wanted sushi. After billions of sushi I desired ice cream - not the delicious sorbet that novalis made which is living in our freezer, but ice CREAM with fucking MILK and fucking FAT and PROTEIN. And sugar, yes, but that was fairly incidental at this point.

Meanwhile, last night I finally seem to have caught up on sleep/rest from the events of the weekend, and woke without difficulty around 7:30.

This morning I had an omelet with lots of cheese in it, and while I ate the potatoes that came with it, they weren't all that interesting. My zucchini muffin, which was tasty, I didn't even finish. Those of you who know my breakfast habits will know how weird this is. Me, not finish a sweet breakfast carbohydratey thing? The people near me were having waffles, and they just looked, I don't know...ick.

And then there was my food shopping trip. First I picked out some nice veggies and not too much fruit. I thought about cutting the veggies into bits and putting them in the fridge for quick snacking. (?!) Then I skipped the cracker aisle, not even stopping to buy rice cakes, which were my staff of life during the elimination diet. Instead I got two pounds of halibut steak (on sale!), a pound of beef sirloin tips, a 32-oz thing of yogurt, a pound of cottage cheese, a small wheel of provolone, a block of dill havarti, two packs of smoked turkey breast, a pack of turkey bologna, a pack of sliced swiss cheese, and a dozen eggs.

What. The fuck. Is wrong with me.

I hope it stays wrong. I feel great.

Hm. My body wants MORE protein, MORE! What will happen? Will I purchase an overpriced salad with meat and cheese all over it? Will I search the local groceries in vain for unsweetened yogurt? Will I have to eat one of my fellow Diesel denizens?

Stay tuned, for the further adventures of PROTEIN MONKEY!!!

Comments

[cutieperson]

protein is my hero.

i've been trying to use the nutrition tracker at www.mypyramid.gov and the only thing i consistently rock is amount of protein consumed.

hooray for cheese & yogurt. (i'll admit my brain's also been doing the MEAT dance, but i mostly haven't given in)

[frobzwiththingz.livejournal.com]

What. The fuck. Is wrong with me.
Nothing, from what you just said. You worked your muscles to failure, and now you want protein to build 'em back up. Keep at it!

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

This all sounds hauntingly familiar. Lately I've been unable to conceive of going back to being veg; I crave meat waaay too much. Mmmm... meat.

I actually just went back to higher reps, after deciding that I'm big and strong enough now, thank you. I'm intrigued to see what happens.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Heh heh.

Can we get some pics? Are you all buffed out again the way you were in college?

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

there will be pics when we get around to them.

i'm all buffed out, but not the way i was in college. more than way i was in college plus 25-30 pounds, so it shows less.

gonna do pull-ups with me at burning man? i have fantasies of doing pull-ups there with moominmolly but that won't be this year.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Next year! YEAH!

This year, things are preventing me. But next year, yes.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Oo! Maybe!

I'm working my way down on the Gravitron; I'm now doing 80 pounds of assistance for 2 or 3 reps. Next week I'm going to see if I can do one at 70. Maybe by August I'll be able to do a pull up or two!

on creatine

[dustriderma.livejournal.com]

... it is an enzyme that is naturally produced in your body. it does have wierd effects: much higher rate of dehydration, much higher impact on imune system and so on. addtionally it allows muscules to intake more watter thus causing size gains in a prompt manner... these gains go away as soon as you stop taking creatine. Its also an expensive habbit and from my experience, unless you are into serious body building, waste of money as its lke putting rocket fuel into a cat. will go fast and in circles but zero usefulness.

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

have I mentioned I love you...hehehehe.

You skipped the crackers...that is precious.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Hee heeeee...

Yeah, I just looked down that aisle and went, "Hm. Crackers. Rice cakes. Cookies. Chips. Ew."

my tuppence

[unknownrockstar.livejournal.com]

ok I'm no expert, but my intuition (and hazy memory of reading something about it once,) suggests working to exhaustion might not be as good for you as just working progressively harder than you had been. Gain might be slower but the tortise always wins that race with the hare, no matter how many times you read the fable.

so what's your hurry?

Re: my tuppence

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Well, for one, I'd love to do pull-ups with amber_phoenix at Burning Man!

For two, I've been lifting with seriousness for about a year and three months; intermittently for years. I'm not in a hurry; I'm just ready, and what I've been doing hasn't been doing much for me. I'm one for radical changes. :)

[sensesurfer.livejournal.com]

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/creatine/creatine-monohydrate.htm

I just googled this source ......haven't read it in particular, but read many others before I first tried it.....You can get pure creatine on Ebay for very low prices.... It works out to about $6-10 a month. It is only expensive if you get it already mixed in with other stuff.

My experience with it has been that.... Yes your muscles do puff up a bit with water on it, and that looks rather nice. While on it you are about 5% stronger and are able to push a little harder for an extra rep or a few pounds more. This is not a huge amount, but if you have plateaued it can get you beyond that. Yes when stop taking it the puffy muscles go back down, and you will drop a few pounds of water weight. OTOH the extra weight you got used to lifting.....well you can still do that. If you make yourself stronger with it you get to keep that.

Note of caution: Increase your water intake if you are taking creatine. Painful muscle cramps can result if you are not properly hydrated. This is particularly important during the "loading phase"

My take on it is that if you are careful to stay hydrated it is a good thing.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

I'm interested to see how you like the high weight low rep stuff. I've been a proponent of that for a long time, though I haven't been going to the gym consistently enough to see results lately. When I did (when I was unemployed in the year after college) I was the most fit I have ever been in my life. I went in and did 6 reps-5reps-4reps all the way down to 1 rep with increasing weight. Try this if you want to really see what you can do. You'll be quite surprised.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

ooOOoo.

That sounds neat. I might try that, particularly on pull-ups, as I'm trying to do one unassisted.