Getting Strong: Dial It In Phase - FAIL

Well, things couldn't keep up at such a great clip =)

While I was wonderfully consistent for the first two months of my getting strong challenge, following Rachel Cosgrove's training plan, this month was a big fat fail.

I exaggerate a bit. The first two weeks were moderately successful with two weight training workouts a week. My transition back to work full time took its toll, though. I was exhausted (falling asleep at 7:30 pm is not normal for an adult) and stressed with the schedule changes (not to mention being away from baby girl - who won't take bottles - for the first time). Then, hubby had a 10 day work trip - making the gym and, for the most part running, a no-go during that time. Ah well.

At least I didn't gain any weight this month! I'm sure I lost some strength, but that's okay. The question now is how to proceed. I'm ramping up my running - it's finally time for marathon training! - and don't want to overdo it in the strength training department.

So, while I hate to leave this challenge unfinished, I think I'm going to bypass Congrove's last stage (and the half-completed third stage). Instead, I'm going to bounce back and fourth between the stage 1 and stage 2 workouts, hopefully twice a week, to maintain strength while I run.

This first week has already had its challenges (fell asleep at 7:30 pm on Monday - again!) but I'm starting to find a rhythm. I still haven't quite figured out how to get to the gym (hubby has been working late) but that should take care of itself in the next week or so. In any case, I'm looking forward to my next fitness phase - training for the SFM!

Getting Strong: Define Yourself Phase

A month ago I posted about my experience with the first weight lifting cycle in Rachel Cosgrove's Female Body Breakthrough.* I mostly continued the program for the second month. Here's how it went:

What I did:
 - Followed Cosgrove's weight lifting routines as closely as possible (exceptions noted below).
 - Did not miss a weight lifting workout (3 times a week).

What I did not do:
 - Follow all other Cosgrove advice. This includes:

• Eat 5/6 small meals a day: this drove me nuts the first month. Eating 5-6 times wasn't the problem. The problem was making sure each 'meal' had the correct protein/vegetable balance. I let this go and was much less stressed about my eating.
• No running. Yeah, there was no chance this would happen. Though, I did keep my running to 20 miles or so per week and my longest run was only 7.5 miles.
• Metabolic circuits: I did the running I wanted, instead of these.
• Exercise modifications:
• Assisted Chin-Up: my gym doesn't have elastic bands for assisted chin-up, so, I just used the assisted chin-up machine.
• Inverted Row: there aren't many squat racks at my gym... and lots of people who want to use them... so, rather then hold up a rack for this, I just used a row machine.

Results:
- I continued to lose weight the first two weeks and then stabilized at a pound or so under my pre-pregnancy weight. This is good and expected, since I'm clearly adding some lean mass to my frame in the process of these workouts.

 - My strength improved greatly; especially on the two exercises I found to be the most difficult: chin-up and single leg squat. The last set of assisted chin-ups I did had 18 fewer pounds of assistance then the first. I couldn't even do a set of single-leg squats at first (with a bench behind me, not full range of motion). The last workout, I cranked out three good sets with the bench.

 - I now fit into all of my pre-pregnancy 'skinny' clothes! This is, of course, my favorite result. I can even wear my favorite skin-tight, not-at-all-stretchy-fabric dress. Two months ago, I couldn't even pull that dress up over my bum, let alone zip it and have it look good!

So, I'm still enjoying the routines and will continue with the next set: Dial It In Phase. Again, I'm only going to follow the weight routines and not the rest of the program. We'll see how it goes =)

* I have no affiliation with Cosgrove and have not received anything for this review.

Getting Strong: Base Phase

About a month ago (3.5 months post baby) it became clear to me that those last 7 lbs and my long-lost muscle tone weren't going to take care of themselves... at least not with running alone. So, when Charlotte of Great Fitness Experiment wrote of her group's results weight training w/ Rachel Cosgrove's Female Body Breakthrough* routines, I decided to give it a go.

I got myself the PC Kindle version of Cosgrove's book (yikes, I've crossed into the forbidden e-book realm. Somewhere, a library quietly weeps) and had a look.

It's an actual book, too!

At first glance, the routines seemed very doable. More importantly, they are all full body workouts and only take about one hour (3x a week)... very manageable. Upon closer inspection, I realized that I would have trouble meeting all of her "unbreakable" rules. Here's a summary:

Cosgrove's Rules

Unbreakable Rule #1. You do not miss a weight-lifting workout (3 days a week). - I can handle this one.

Unbreakable Rule #2: You must drink a post-workout shake within 15 minutes of finishing your weight-lifting workout. - Not my favorite but, again, I can make this work. When I don't have time to make a protein shake right after getting home (hungry baby calls, etc) I found a pre-made protein shake at Trader Joe's that I like.

Other Suggestions

Rule #1: Lift as heavy as good form will allow. Okay by me, I liked lifting heavy back in my sprinting days. Though, I could do without the massive quads again, it was hard to find pants that fit! Fortunately, Cosgrove's routines call for enough repetitions that massive muscle building isn't in the cards.

Rule #2: Eat 5-6 small meals a day, each containing a fat and a protein. I tried this the last month, I really did. I even kept a detailed food journal of each meal. It drove.me.nuts. The most difficult part was the 'eat breakfast withing 15 min of waking up'. With the demands of taking care of baby girl this was almost impossible and stressed me out. Also, I prefer to feel full after eating, and 5-6 smaller meals never got me there. So, while I'll stick to her recommended meal composition, I'm going back to fewer, larger meals this month.

Rule #3: Eat clean 90% of the time, a few 'cheat' meals are allowed. This one I like. Dietary guidelines with the flexibility to indulge guilt-free every so often.

Rule #4: No running (or other cardio)! Instead, she allows for some metabolic circuits on non-lifting days and 1 cardio workout in the final phases of her plan. There is NO WAY I could handle this one. I don't run simply to get fit; running is my therapy. I recognize, however, Cosgrove's point that too much cardio forces your body to want to conserve its fat stores as reserves; counterproductive to the goal of changing body composition. So, this last month, I reduced the frequency and duration of my runs - only going 3 times a week and only for 3 or 4 miles. However, I miss the semi-long runs, and will be re-introducing 6-10 mile runs this month.

Base Phase Results: I'm not big on before/after pictures and body measurements, they stress me out. However, I can report that after this first month I've lost about 5 lbs and more-or-less look to be back in my pre-pregnancy condition (4.5 months post baby). My middle isn't quite there yet, but my arms and legs look better then pre-pregnancy. More importantly, I feel great and am really enjoying her varied routines. The first time I did her warm up (it's goofy, but works!) I felt exhausted, and I had not even gotten to the workout! Now, I finished my last base phase routine feeling great and ready for more. We'll see what next month, the 'Define Yourself' phase brings.

* I have no affiliation with Cosgrove and have not received anything for this review.