I've just finished eating breakfast. Yes, it's late in the day, but I was exhausted and slept for about 10 hours last night. I needed it. My entire body is sore from this week's workouts, and I still have shoulders left. But I'll do those tomorrow.

For breakfast, I usually have egg whites and oats or two scoops of protein powder and oats. I do a strange combination with them. I take either the egg whites or the scoops of protein powder, combine them with the oats (never more than 1/2 a cup for me), add in a couple of packets of Splenda (or more if I'm craving sweets), sprinkle cinnamon (well, more like pour it in) and nutmeg, add water to the protein and oats mixture, and blend it together until it's all smooth. Then I pour the mixture into a bowl and heat it up in the microwave for about 1 1/2 to two minutes. The egg whites/oats creates a strange, muffin-like concoction (and if I add in a banana--which I rarely do--then it becomes much like banana bread...yum!), whereas the protein and oats creates a really thick semblance of porridge. I use Sci-Tec's Protein DeLite and I love the banana flavor and the lemon cheesecake kind.

Well, I saw on the board that a detailed description of my leg workout was requested, so here it goes:

I decided to work hamstrings first, so I got onto the lying leg curl machine and did sets of 12 to 15. I do these very controlled, and that's a key to really working your hamstrings. I see many people throwing the weight up and dropping it down, allowing gravity to do all the work. You won't get anywhere with that technique. Instead, I pull up and fight the resistance and squeeze at the top of the exercise and then slowly bring the weight down until my hamstrings have stretched slightly. I repeat this and I follow a tip that Arnold had made in one article I read: do not move your pelvis. Hips should not by gyrating against the machine when performing this exercise. If it feels like you're practicing for your date later that night, then something is wrong!

I could tell that I had worked my hamstrings very adequately when I finished my four sets (one of which was a warm up). I moved on to straight leg deadlifts (though I keep my legs at a 10-degree bend). I did these with a bit closer stance...maybe a foot apart rather than three feet apart. I change the stance up from week to week in order to attack the muscle fibers in my hamstrings and glutes a bit differently. I had done very wide last week, so I moved on to a more narrow stance this week. Anyway, I used a 110-pound bar and did sets of 15. When I was in my powerlifting days, I would do 135 pounds, but I would stop at about eight to ten reps, so I know I've gotten stronger. I also focus mostly on my glutes for this exercise and really squeeze at the top. The key to this one is getting those hips back far enough to feel the stretch in your hamstrings and glutes at the same time. Be sure your lower back is not hurting at all. If it is, then you are not doing the exercise properly.

Well, now that hamstrings were killed, it was time to do one more exercise to really do them in: lunges. Need I say more? I did walking lunges with a 40-pound bar on my back. Is that a lot? No. But the number of reps I do is. I do approximately 40 reps on each leg, and I travel around the circumference of the weight room. I am the Lunge Queen. By doing this exercise, I move from focusing solely on hamstrings and glutes to working the entire leg...quads and all. Oh, I forgot to mention that I supersetted this with leg extensions, which I actually did first and then went immediately to the walking lunges. I did sets of 20's with the leg extensions, so my quads were screaming and my vision was blurry when I finished with the superset.

Of course, I wasn't done yet. I moved on to the leg press machine, and with about 315 pounds, I did sets of 25...full reps...knees at a complete 90-degree angle, and the reps done at a consistent speed. Emphasis was on my glutes and the outer sweep of my quads.

I am still hobbling. The only thing is that I've done chest and biceps/triceps since then, so not only can't I walk, I can't pick anything up. I should just go back to bed!

There was a bodybuilding, fitness, and figure show here in Plano, which is a suburb of Dallas. The Heart of Texas was my second bodybuilding show in 2001, and I attended it as an audience member last year, but this year, I'm just too exhausted, and after seeing the Southwest Texas show, the only truly motivating and inspiring bit was watching Branch Warren guest pose, so I decided to stay at home and rest. Besides, I have that Longhorn game to watch. They better win!

Less than two weeks until Vegas! I will definitely have to provide a full report of everything I see, hear, taste, etc. while at the Olympia and in the city where everyone loses their money (not me, though...I hate gambling!).

Enjoy your Saturday!

Jodi