Amy Week 3 (Strength and Muscle Challenge)

Right, back from holidays and its time to get stuck into it! Had a great week this week at the gym, did 4 good sessions and I made it to spinning on Saturday morning. I can feel myself getting stronger, can see my body starting to change and I'm beginning to enjoy feeling sore the following day!

I  got to meet one of the other girls in the competition (hello Sinead!) and we trained together for the first time. I also had the pleasure of being trained by Debbie and Mikey and got great support tips encouragement from everyone!

Anthony wrote out a diet plan for me on Monday. 
My diet is my down fall.
I will turn up for gym sessions give 100% but I find sticking to the diet a lot harder!
I was great from Monday to Friday but I was a bit naughty at the weekend because it was my sons birthday. 
I've always known you can't out train a bad diet so I know I'm only fooling myself . 
I wasn't prepared yesterday I had no good food cooked and the cakes etc were just too easy and there right in front of me! I'm gonna buy seal tight lunch boxes tomorrow ( P.s. no Anthony I've no left over Chinese cartons ha! ) and buy chicken veg in bulk and prep my weeks worth of meals. Another saying ringing in my head is " Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" this is definitely true in my case! 
Plus I had 2 drinks today watching the Cork match!! It drives me mental thinking I might have undone all hard work by eating bad at the weekend I really need to focus and stop  thinking weekends/parties etc are excuses for me to eat what I want! Anyways I'm looking forward to the week ahead and adding some more cardio into my sessions ! 
This is my last week off before I return to placement and college so I'm gonna enjoy being able to go the gym anytime I want!

Sarah Week 3(Strength and Muscle Building)

This week has been a good week! I've had more energy,strength and drive.
I'm getting that feel good "buzz" at the end of my workouts and I love it! It's Addictive!
Note to self though - Do not attempt to put on mascara after a tough chest and triceps session!!
I learned this the hard way!
 Anyway i'm now gong into my workouts knowing I can lift the weight instead of thinking "can I?"
A positive attitude makes a huge difference and it has boosted my confidence!

My shoulders and upper back have more definition now and I am working on the rest as we head into week 4. I've sorted my nutrition out and no longer feel tired due to lack of carbs. I now know I need good carbs at the right times to give me the energy to train hard and for life in general. Yes Anthony I know "Carbohydrates are the bodies favorite fuel source".

The workouts are still tough but giving myself little goals each day is helping me to get closer to the end result. Getting advise and explanations from Anthony and Mikey helps me visualize what I need to do and why. They know their stuff and I know I'm safe in their hands.

Week 2 of 10 (Strength and Muscle Building)

The second week of the challenge saw one of the girls on Holiday and the other two working their socks off in the gym! ( No pressure next week Amy). I will say though that each of the girls are giving their all in training sessions. Their strength has increased already and more importantly their bodies have adapted to recovering quicker from the tough sessions.
For these first 4 weeks we are trying to increase strength across the board by lifting heavy weights for a max of 8 reps and using mostly compound exercises. Compound exercises work several muscle groups at once, and include movement around two or more joints. For example, in the back Squat, movement occurs(But is not limited to) around the hip, knee and ankle joints. This exercise is primarily used to develop the quadriceps, but it also involves the hamstrings, glutes and calves. Compound exercises are generally similar to the ways that people naturally push, pull and lift objects. When it comes to isolation exercises we are opting for 3 or 4 sets of 10 -12 reps depending on the muscle group being worked and only using 2 -3 isolation exercises per day. The weeks training split is:

1. Chest and Triceps
   

1. Back and Biceps
   

1. Legs
   

1. Shoulders, Traps and Abs
   

This gives the girls 4 days per week in the gym with plenty of time to recover for the next session for that body part. Recovery is essential for adaptation to occur and this should be the aim of any gym or sports program! What doesn't challenge you doesn't change you!
Anyway that's enough rambling from me, Lets hear from the girls:


Amy:
This week is gonna be short and sweet! I was away on holidays and had a ball! I have however no photographic evidence of being at the gym because ....... I didn't go oops! In my defense it was a good trek from where we were staying and I did go for jogs/walks as it suited me better with my son etc. I'm full of excuses I know! I'm back at it anyway and I'm going to go hell for leather!


Sinead:
The weeks are absolutely flying by! I’m sure you’ll all be glad to know the pains have decided to
no longer make walking/eating/sitting/lying down a torturous task. Knowing and feeling you are 
getting stronger, even just a little, is the best motivation and reward. 
Another thing I have discovered, and Anthony can definitely back me up here, is that me and 
weights means SWEAT!!! I mean I actually made what was referred to as a sweat angel the 
other day!! So must be doing something right!
Going into next week I really want to work on getting my form right when lifting...if you’re gonna 
do something might as well do it like a pro. So at the end of week 2 I’m actually starting to 
enjoy the sessions (even managing to laugh once or twice, even if it was at my involuntary arm 
shaking) 
Here goes week 3!!


Sarah:
After completing week 1 I thought "Great! that's the sore bit over with! I can look forward to getting nice and toned without the pain" I was wrong! Now to be fair I am seeing a difference in my muscle tone already which I am delighted with but week 2 hurts almost as much as week 1! But the weights increased this week and I was pleasantly surprised that I could lift them! I struggled with some but I persisted , just to wipe the smile off Anthony's face! I don't do cute Anthony!
Nutrition has been more of a challenge for me this week. It's hard to get the balance right and making sure I eat enough of the right foods.My protein intake had to increase to help my body recover from the hard workouts and carbs reduced a little but not taken out completely. I am also trying to get in more good fats and fiber too.What I have realized is that it is very important to eat properly to fuel yourself, or else you'll end up taking an afternoon nap on a Saturday afternoon like I did.
This challenge is not for the fainthearted. You need commitment and determination. Just as we all studied hard to get good exam results in school you need to work hard in the gym to get the body you want. So don't forget to bring your commitment, determination and a good dose of encouragement! The latter of which Anthony and Mikey provide!


So there it is, a few thought's and insight from our hard working girls. You might be think my god they are going through torture and they sound like they are in agony all the time!! What the girls are experiencing is a condition known as DOMS(Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). 

The soreness is perceived as a dull, aching pain in the affected muscle, often combined with tenderness and stiffness. The pain is typically felt only when the muscle is stretched, contracted or put under pressure, not when it is at rest. This tenderness, a characteristic symptom of DOMS, is also referred to as "muscular mechanical hyperalgesia".
Although there is variance among exercises and individuals, the soreness usually increases in intensity in the first 24 hours after exercise. It peaks from 24 to 72 hours, then subsides and disappears up to seven days after exercise. 

The soreness is caused by eccentric exercise, that is, exercise consisting of eccentric (lengthening) contractions of the muscle. Isometric (static) exercise causes much less soreness, and concentric (shortening) exercise causes none. It does happen and it is painful at times but it is a sign of adaptation, a sign of progress.

Onward and upwards ladies. only a couple of weeks of heavy lifting left and then we focus on tempo and the mind muscle connection for every rep! Fun times ahead!!