Ok, I will start!

How are you all, I am in a groove now with workouts, feel better when I do than when I don't. Stability Ball Back Extension: Set 1: 12 reps | Set 2: 12 reps | Set 3: 9 reps Seated Cable Row - wide grip: Set 1: 12 reps | Set 2: 10 reps Plie Squat - dumbbell: Set 1: 12 reps | Set 2: 12 reps Dumbbell Hammer Curl - standing: Set 1: 12 reps | Set 2: 10 reps Alternate Heel Touches: Set 1: 57 reps | Set 2: 57 reps | Set 3: 45 reps Lying Bent Leg Raises: Set 1: 26 reps | Set 2: 26 reps Bent Leg Crunches: Set 1: 57 reps | Set 2: 57 reps | Set 3: 45 reps Hamstring Curls - seated: Set 1: 12 reps | Set 2: 12 reps CARDIO: Skiing - Nordic: 1.43 miles, 15 minutes ,5.73 mph Mike 425/399/285/225

GO MIKEE!!! I got my workout in tonight. I almost had another PR in bench pressing tonight! WOW! Here goes: BP on Smith Machine (I know it isn't quite the same as a "reg" bench, but at least I am getting up there!) 65# warm up 75# x 6 85# x 4 95# x 4 105# x 3 115# x 1 125# x 1 135 ~ ooooh almost! DANG I had it about 1/2 the way back up and just...quite...couldn't ... get.... it!!! Oh well. Train to failure! The neat thing is my first bench press meet, I pressed 135# at a body weight of about 242#. I am now rounding about a buck fifty and almost doing the same amount!! Ok, braggin' done... Dips 120# x 12, 125# x 12, 130# x 12 these are getting easier too Incline DB flyes 10# x 12 x 12 x 12 Overhead DB presses 12.5# x 12 x 12 x 12 Side lats 7.5# x 12 x 12 x 12 Rope pulls to face super set with rope tricep pull downs 40# for 3 set of 12 each Skull crushers bar only 12 x 12 x 12 Abs on ball 3 sets of 15.... KILLER I did about 15 minutes of cardio. I give up trying to read the monitors on those machines, they are worthless. However I did start experiencing a sharp pain in my left inguinal area, and I figured pain like that means to slow down or stop so I did. But I know I got my heart rate in cardio range for a good 10 minutes anyways. Actually got sweaty, so that means I got some good post workout cardio in albeit a tiny bit. So, now I am home and I have had my herbal tea and I am ready to crash! G'night ya'll! Val

WOW, you is amazin girl! The ab workout tonight almost did me in, I think my spleen is in the garage. How awesome is that, 135 (You will be there soon enough) and a hundo less in body weight, very cool my friend. it ain't braggin if you can do it.

Thanks Mike! My goal was to be able to at least bench my body weight. My highest bench was 200 but I weighed 268# that time. So, the percentages would be much better point wise! Those ball crunches are killer man. I mean they wipe me out. Spleen in the garage! That's great...better go find it before the neighborhood animals do... Hey look Mikee's spleen...mmmmm treat!

Wow, Val, you're doing awesome on your BP!! Actually, you're doing great on lots of stuff! I was wondering if you have any idea with the reduced weight/size, how that is likely to affect your strength on power lifting? I'm guessing that's the $10,000 question and one that you're getting some exciting answers to, as well, it seems! I'm kinda doing the same exercise on the bodybuilding in general, trying to figure out how close I can get to my developmental goals after carrying around the excess weight and the aging since I did it a couple of decades ago. I am trying not to focus on what I *might not be able to achieve* but rather exploring *let's see how far I can go now*. I've already surprised myself with recovering 18 lbs of lost muscle after I lost too much with complications from WLS last year. Had to work my a** off for every bit of that muscle, but was thrilled to see that I could still do it! Have you noticed how that 15 minutes of cardio feels like a *really* long time after a heavy workout in the weight room? Keep up the amazing job you're doing on your strength gains/regains! It's really paying off! With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

Donna, Thanks! Yep that is the $10K question Earl and I were pondering when we decided to have surgery. I know it will affect it to some extent. Muscle loss is unavoidable with wls. However, the nice thing is that my muslces are basically relearning what they were already trained to do prior to surgery and I am recouping at a much faster rate than if I were to start fresh. I know there are women my size benching inredible amounts, and if they can do it so can I!! I always had the theory that if I was carrying an extra 125 pounds of body weight, and powerlifting I should be able to transfer some of that to my lift totals. Makes sense to me, but unless I can build back some muscle it might be a little tricky. I am squatting up to 165 now, which is about 83 pounds away from my highest squat at 268 pounds. It is exciting to see what I am going to be able to accomplish. I am like you it's not what I can't do, lets see how far I can go, then push to go beyond that. Theoretically flies shouldn't be able to fly, but no one told them they can't. I feel the same way. Like my mom always said "Can't never did anything". Yes, it is amazing how freakin' tired I am after a workout. I know that no matter what I get in that post workout cardio is the best thing I could do for my body. Thanks and you too! I think we can show the world anything is possible if you put your mind to it! Val

Hiya Val, Wow you just nailed my stuff, too! When I first went back to the gym after WLS, I asked the owner, Scott, what he thought about how difficult it was going to be to get back to bodybuilding as I did 2 decades before. I mean, I was 43 when I started back not 23 anymore, and I knew that it would be harder, and it was damned hard work back then. I had been thinking, "Hmm, I'm a female, 43 years old, past my child-bearing years, seems like it will be tough." He said, "You know, Donna, muscle has amazing memory for things like that. I think you'll be surprised at how quickly they start responding if you make this a habit like you did back then." And he has been right. It has been more difficult, much more difficult, but things started visibly shaping up much more quickly than I thought they would have. The tough part has been actually putting on muscle. I've had to up my protein intake, become very scientific about that for optimal nutrition, very very focused in pursuing the work with the weights. It's not enough to just show up at the gym and casually lift a few sets here and there while socializing with friends and whatnot. My iPod helps with most distractions, as I crank up the volume and just let the music help to build momentum in my effort! I was not sure about how well I could put on muscle after dropping down to 112 lbs. And I wasn't sure how much I needed to put back on anyway. Sheesh, how did any of us even know what an *ideal weight* would be for us, eh? Then add the muscle building goal, and I was really not sure at all, but then I stopped focusing on numbers on the scale and focused on what I was seeing in the mirrors when I worked the different muscle groups. I felt at that point that I really needed to jumpstart that muscle regain, which is why I first recruited the bodybuilding trainers to work with me. They helped me get my diet tuned up to support my efforts, as well as teaching me how to work with my particular body the best to get good results. It was while I worked with them that I was able to regain most of that muscle, though I had managed the first 5 lbs on my own and then was stalled. And of course, it was early stages of fibromyalgia and advanced PCOS that had been the catalyst to drive me *out* of the gym 2 decades ago, and they are both still present in me, but at least this time I know what they are and how to deal with them. It has meant fighting through unbelievable pain at times to get here, and knowing that it will always be that way. That might sound depressing to some, but it isn't when you step back and look at the big picture. Without the exercise, I would flare constantly without a body that was able to cope. Without those workouts, I would not have the energy and vitality that I have just about every day now. True, all it takes to trigger a miserable flare is to change my workout on a given muscle group, which I do regularly to keep my muscles from adapting. But I can at least bounce back now like never before! I love your fly analogy; never heard that before! So I guess I'm a fly, too! I am still finding ways to push the envelope and push the boundaries of possibility a little more all the time! With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

Wow, great workout Mikee! A (not)funny thing derailed my workout last night--car trouble and it was cold! Took over two hours just to get the friggin' service vehicle to my car! Turned out to just be a bad battery, but by the time I got over to this side of town I was out of steam! Oh well, there's always today, eh? Fortunately I have time to do a double cardio today (split morning and evening) and chest and bis. Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz