Showing posts with label GNC vs ON whey powder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GNC vs ON whey powder. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Power Beats Accuracy

I really enjoy whacking the machine even if it's aggravating my sciatica. I don't actually realize this until halfway through the Intermediate session when the ache in my lower leg and foot distracts me from a series of combination blows. Between the Power Knee, Power Sweep and Power Kick, all involving the right leg, my sciatic nerve is vibrating. Like a funny bone. Only not funny. Afterwards, I spend 15 minutes on the Precor elliptical doing Program #1 with three-plus odd minutes pedaling forward, then backward, then forward, then backward again. It helps with the pesky hamstring.

Using big swathes of moleskin helps to protect my knuckles from bruising even though my power scores aren't all that high. But I'm fairly consistent. And after each 5 round bout, the machine tells me that I'm "over power" and to add rounds. Uh huh. I take a few selfies by propping my phone on the machine. It's at an odd angle. And I'm apparently not only sweaty and puffy, but fairly hulking in these photos. Wow, I wouldn't want to meet me in a dark alley...
Hulking today!

After I strip off my gloves and whatnot, and after the elliptical, I arch my back to flex out my shoulders and do a set of pull ups. Because I told myself that I would do at least one set every day that I came to the gym. Never mind that my set went from 15 reps to 21. Today I hook my left leg over my right and keep as arrow-straight as possible. Sometimes the sciatica kicks in while I'm pulling up and I have to curl my legs into my chest, but not today. Yaaay! I toy with the idea of trying Tiger Push Ups again, but think better of it. I have to get a few things from the store today... Besides, I want to try doing Tiger Push Ups at home, with my iPad in front of me so I can see whether I'm doing it correctly. It takes me a while to learn a new move. Seriously.

I'm not happy with my weight gain, although my home scale has me less alarmed: 108.2 lbs and 15.2% BF isn't the end of the world. But I'm a lot happier lighter and leaner. I've switched back to my own ON 100% Whey protein powder even though there's still a few doses left of the GNC brand powder that my husband bought. Maybe I'll finish it off afterwards, when I've finally dropped these 3-4 extra pounds of fluff. 

When I get home, I assemble Buff Dudes Hot Pot turkey meatballs. It looks simple enough. Hopefully it'll taste good too! I like the Buff Dudes and have a subscription to their YouTube channel. Although I don't agree with a lot of their training advice (because I'm my own trainer), they are pleasant, funny and thoughtful. And good, easy dinner recipes are always welcome.



Tuesday Workout

Warm Up
Calorie :   91 CAL
Distance: 0.81 mile
Duration : 00:10:00

15 rounds
Lap/Rep :  15 Lap/Rep
Duration : 01:00:00
Prgm#1
Calorie :   125 CAL
Distance: 1.16 mile
Duration : 00:15:00
190.4
Set 1 : 112x21

Photos posted for actual stats:


5 rounds Beginner


5 rounds Intermediate


5 rounds Advance

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Working Through the Discomfort

It feels colder even though temps are in the moderate 30s. Just the humidity getting in everyone's bones. I get my son off to school and then head off to the gym. It's crowded, not just because the overcast skies seem threatening, but because HS kids are off this week.

Warming up, whacking, feeling okay in spite of the numbers. I must be getting better because walking the dog and doing other routine things don't really bother me. But putting my socks on in the morning is nearly excruciating, probably because the bed is too high for me to actually sit properly at the edge. I wear socks nearly all the time, but different pairs for different activities. I have super-soft and warm bed socks. And seamless toe, thin cotton &nylon gym socks. And every day wool socks. Which are not necessarily the socks I wear when I walk the dog and have to don heavy boots.

Avoiding lunging motions and stretches seem to be helping me recuperate. But it's awkward not being able to do certain hamstring stretches. Not that I need to stretch them. I've doubled up on the fish oil and completely cut out the calcium carbonate tablets. I haven't been able to find any credible information that taking calcium supplements actually prevents osteoporosis. My sleep is fractured in spite of taking ZMA nightly so I've started drinking some mild chamomile tea as well. My husband tells me that it has a bad cumulative affect and recounts how he would wake up groggy and prone to making bad decisions when he drank it nightly. No wonder we have a big box of largely untouched Sleepy Time tea in the cupboard.

Two steps forward, one step back but it's still progress. I pull my punches today because I don't want bruised knuckles. My finger tips are split and the cracked skin peeling off in small, painful sheets from the cold and dry winter air. I still swathe them in Bag Balm but it's hard to handle electronics or anything else if your hands are always sticky or greasy. The Step Mill is available but I know that's going to have a bad effect on my sciatica, so I do 15 minutes on the elliptical instead. I see a few regulars who have been MIA for the past year or two, like Ponytail Tattoo. His hair is longer than mine, but it's grey, like his beard. I see a few middle-age women who seem well on their way to becoming slender. I'm sure they're happy with their progress, but I'm more concerned with the lack of tone in their arms. I don't think "skinny fat" is in their vocabulary.

I'm really hungry by the time I leave the gym. The scale reads 110.6 lbs which is better than yesterday, but not where I want to be. After doing a few errands, I'm able to get home and make myself a protein shake. My personal favorite is the Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Vanilla IceCream flavor. My husband favors the GNC Wheybolic Extreme stuff, but the last bag he bought is sitting here at home because he says it tastes terrible. It's suppose to be strawberry flavor and there's a faint scent of Strawberry Qwik.

I don't like brands that claim to give you 60 grams of protein without revealing that you have to use 3 scoops. So it's really only 20 gms per scoop. And there's a lot of stuff in this powder that I'm not sure about. I toss a scoop of it into my lactose-free, fat-free milk and chug it down with fish oil, vitamin D3, B-complex and chelated zinc. It has a nasty aftertaste, which I think is related one of the ingredients: 600mg Testofen® Fenugreek. Okay, 600 mg in 3 scoops. So that's 200 mg, and although I'm not exactly sure what it really does (in spite of what it claims to do), it reminds me of Chinese herbal medicine. Today, I take 1/2 a scoop and mix it with 1/2 scoop of my protein powder. It tastes slightly better.

Wednesday Workout

Warm Up
Calorie :   91 CAL
Distance: 0.82 mile
Duration : 00:10:00

Follow Me
Lap/Rep :  15 Lap/Rep
Duration : 01:00:00
Prgm#1
Calorie :   139 CAL
Distance: 1.25 mile
Duration : 00:15:00
188.7
Set 1 : 111x21

Photos posted for actual stats:

5 rounds Beginner to warm up


5 rounds Intermediate


5 rounds Advance

An Unexpected Wrench in My Hand

I'm gonna buy it! My right hand has been sore for the past few days, to the point of where I'm waking up with it aching and stiff. I...