Does your face usually turn that shade of purple?

Allie and I are now halfway through the first block of training in the training program we chose.  The program is 5/3/1 which was developed by Jim Wendler.  Even if you don't feel that this protocol is good for you it is worth taking a peak at the book which can be purchased in digital here or Amazon.  It involves us first doing maximal testing to which I apparently turned a couple wonderful shades red and purple.  I valsalva on maximal lifts (taking a deep breath and holding it in while pressing maximally).  This raises your blood pressure a whole bunch and is not recommended for those who have high blood pressure as it could cause serious problems.  The purpose is to create and hold intra-abdominal pressure which helps support your core during the lift  Again, this is not for every single lift you'll ever do in the weight room, mainly for those really heavy lifts that you need the extra help with.

Looks kinda like this...not pretty, but effective.

Back to training stuff.  The first two weeks have been pretty great.  The workouts are intense but not so long as to cause us to lose interest halfway through the workout.  I've only been too sore to walk like a normal person twice! I blame lunges.  Lunges are awesome and should not be looked at with shame from anyone because really girly girls do them all the time.  They are super effective, just make sure you have time set out for recovery because they will probably make you very sore.

As far as the bodybuilding.com transformation challenge, Allie has decided to opt out but is fully supporting my participation in it.  I registered for it this morning, and was pretty unimpressed with  my before photos.  Nothing like seeing yourself in swimwear to motivate you.  As such, I am about to head to the grocery store to get delicious noms to fuel me for the week, then head to the gym for some time with the iron. If I happen to make anything awesome I will be sure to post it.

Here's to health!

-- Ariel