141.0 lbs, 20.4% bf according to the Omron at work.

I am confident that I am actually in the 140.x range, but yesterday was pancake breakfast day with DH, and we also went out to Bahama Breeze for dinner with his mother. I ordered the Red Pepper grilled chicken breast with crispy yucca and veggies, which wasn’t that bad, especially since I only ate half of it, but I also had some of the after-dinner Publix mint choco chip ice cream and coffee with half and half, which WAS bad since it totally bloated me up with lactose. Blargh. No more ice cream or dairy creamer for the next 5 weeks. It’s not worth the recovery time.

Besides, I only really like Breyer’s ice cream anyway.

I didn’t quite make it up at 6 AM for my workout, but I was at the gym by 7 AM, and got everything in. I started the TT Mass Fusion program today with a heavy chest and back workout. I have decided to flip flop the order of the sets a bit in this workout to get in BB bench and wide-grip seated rows first instead of in the third non-competing superset so I can push more weight. I know I can go heavier with dumbbells–probably up to 50 pounders–but not without a spotter to help me get them up into position.

The best part about being back at the gym was looking over to the left and seeing two regular-size guys (e.g. not super skinny or unfit looking) doing many of the same exercises that I was…using 5-10 pounds LESS weight in each hand. I LOVE that.

I also found out why they moved my precious squat racks into the dim, unventilated corner and fenced off 1/4 of the weight room floor: my Planet Fitness now has a Curves-style “PF Express” 30-minute workout circuit set up over there. I saw three people use the area this morning, and I admit to being a bit curious. I might explore it myself this Saturday after my intervals on the treadmill. I didn’t really look at the shiny new purple and yellow machines, so I don’t know if they are real cable/weight equipment or those lame hydraulic ones used at Curves. There ARE some nice 1.5′ - 2′ tall boxes set up there that would rock for step ups, elevated pushups, and box jumps, though.

Anyway, I did 16 minutes of bike sprints after the weights, then went home and hit 30 minutes of HHA Fat Burning Cardio. And now I am all set for workouts for the day and can just chill when I get home tonight…

Oh wait. Never mind. I just remembered that I am working late tonight until at least 9 PM.

I guess I will just be passing out when I get home, with no chill time prior to getting my zzzzzzz’s.

I’m officially only 4 weeks out from completing this challenge, and after some experimentation with the 4-day splits in the Get Lean, Gain Mass and TT Ultimate Mass programs as my work, gardening, and social schedule have gotten busier, I’ve decided to go back to a 3-day TT program to allow for more interval work and shorter workouts on Tues/Thurs/Sat. There’s also the issue of nutrition–I’m going to be carb cycling for the next 28 days, and weightlifting gives me such raging carb hungries that I’ll blow my 90% compliance within 2 days if I try to stick with 4 days of lifting.

I have Week 8 stats and will take pics tomorrow morning to post. Despite taking a full week and a half off and only hitting workouts about 75% last week, I still lost some girth in various spots and strength levels are actually BETTER than before. I guess there IS something to be said for giving the body a rest while still eating clean.

4-week plan for the final 28 days of my challenge:

Program: TT 8-Week Mass Fusion (Weeks 1-4)
Nutrition: Swolegenix

MON: Mass Fusion Workout A + Bike Intervals
TUE: Run Intervals + my choice light activity (30 min of yoga, Yourself Fitness, Hip Hop Abs, Forza, or skate)
WED: Mass Fusion Workout B + Bike Intervals
THU: Run Intervals + my choice light activity (30 min)
FRI: Mass Fusion Workout C + Bike Intervals
SAT: Run Intervals + my choice light activity (30 min)
SUN: Rest

And most of my team is still kicking ASS in the office fitness challenge!

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WORKOUT
====================
- Mass Fusion Workout A
C1) Bench Press (3×6 @ 105, 110, 110 lbs)
C2) Wide-grip Seated Row (3×6 @ 97.5, 97.5, 105 lbs)
B1) DB Incline Press (2×8 @ 35, 40 lbs)
B2) DB Fly (2×10 @ 20 lbs)
A1) DB Flat Press (3×6 @ 40, 45 lbs)
A2) DB Row (3×6 @ 35, 40 lbs)

- Bike Intervals (16 min, Level 15-16 hard/Level 8 recovery)

- Hip Hop Abs Fat Burning Cardio (30 min)

====================
NUTRITION
====================
M1: Granola chocolate chip cookie (PWO)
M2: 30g oats, 30g raisins, 1/2 c. veggies, 3 oz. marinated chicken breast
M3: 2 corn tortillas, 3 T. salsa, 3 oz. chicken breast, 1/2 oz. part-skim mozzarella
M4: 1 scoop protein, 3/4 oz. walnuts
M5: 3.5 oz. marinated chicken breast, 1 c. veggies, 3/4 oz. walnuts
M6: 1 scoop protein, 1 T. Naturally More ANPB with flax seed and flax oil

Supplements: 1 multivitamin, 1 vitamin C, 1 vitamin D + 500 mg Calcium, 6 fish oil caps