Day 3 of Strength Training

AKA: Oh my I am hurting, but in a good way.

The pictured workout consisted of 2 Modified Compound SuperSets.

#1: Back and Thighs: Squats with Dumbell Rows (8lbs)

      Chest and Core: Push-Ups w/ Side Rotation (modified)

#2  Shoulders and Thighs: Upright Row w/ Side to Side Plie Squats (8lbs)

      Triceps and Thighs: Plie Squats and Tricep Extension (10lbs)  

 

Page 145 of The Body Sculpting Bible Express

Today was a bit harder. I did have to modify the 2nd part of the 1st compound superset. I am not ready for pushups and knee push ups hurt because of the arthritis in my knees. I can not kneel for very long at all. Instead I did Wall Push Ups.




I have also been having fun logging my workouts on Fitocracy. From the about page: "Fitocracy is the game you play to improve your fitness. Play it to track your progress, compete against your friends, and get real results in your physical fitness."
Right now I am level 6 and after tomorrow's workout I will probably get to level 7. I am still learning about the site and finding some groups to follow.

Back on Sunday I mentioned some goals. At this time I have only eaten out once which was tonight at Firehouse Subs. I have also kept up with my food diary all week. I may eat out twice this weekend, but 3 times in 7 days is MUCH better than I have done in the past 4 weeks.

Now it is time to get ready for bed since tomorrow is a busy day with going to Cardio for Comfort and then a bunch of errands. I am very nervous and excited about tomorrow. No idea if I will be able to keep up but I am definitely going to try.

Day 2 of my Strength Training

Today is the 2nd day of my 21 day express workout challenge. I increased the weight up to 8lbs on some of the exercises since I was not sore on Monday.

Modified Compound SuperSet #1
Shouders: Dumbbell Upright Rows - 8lbs                           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest
Calves: Two-Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises  - 8lbs             2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest


Modified Compound SuperSet #2
Biceps: Dumbbell Curls  -  8lbs                                           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest
Triceps: Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions  -  5lbs           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest

On Friday the routine gets more challenging. I am going to struggle with one of the exercises on Friday (push-up with side rotation) The book does have suggestions for working up to the exercise. Next week I will be doing the same exercises but increasing to 3 sets, lowering the reps to 15-18 and the rest between is 45 seconds. Week 3 I will be doing 4 sets, 12-15 reps and 30 second rest.

Today I also went to the Y for Pilates at 5:30. I am enjoying taking Pilates twice a week. I am glad K was back today teaching at the Y. Her teaching style is really good. I went to the beginner class and it had 6 people! 3 were relatively new.

On Saturday LM and I are going to participate in Cardio for Comfort- A fundraiser for Hospice of Lexington being held at the Lexington Athletic Club.







They are going to have a wide range of classes going on for 2 hours. Per the information I have seen they will have 2-3 different classes every 30 minutes. I am excited to try out Boot Camp. I may also give Spinning a chance. The cost is $20 and the benefits are helping out a great organization, a couple of workouts, a t-shirt and the chance for door prizes. I have always wanted to see what LAC is like and now I can. The gym looks really cool/interesting but I know I would not go since it is across town from where I live.

Cardio for Comfort Event Listing on Facebook

Now that I am more active it is fun to find local events to participate in. Run/Walks are listed on a local shoe store's website. There is one every weekend. I will definitely write about them!

21 days

I admit the thought of strength training is scary to me. I have a bunch of books and some equipment just gathering dust. I enjoy weight work once I start but I have not been able to just start. I get so bogged down on the details that I do not do anything. I just freeze. I also worry about injury if I do not do the exercises just right. What if I do not get a good rest day? What if I work the same muscles too much? The What Ifs just run round and round in my head.
THIS ENDS TODAY!

Last night I cleaned off my weight bench. It was a nice catch-all place when I would come into my room. I found a home for all items that were on the bench. Below the bench are my 3, 5, 8 and 10 lb dumbbells for use.

I picked one of my books and it has a beginner routine to do for 21 days and each day should only take 21 minutes. The routine for Monday consists of 2 modified compound supersets. 18-20 reps for 2 sets with a 60 sec rest.

#1 Back: One Arm Row
     Chest: Inclined Dumbbell Bench Press

#2 Thighs: Dumbbell Squats
     Hamstrings: Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts

I just completed the exercises and recorded them. Day 1 of 21 is in the bag. I did 5lb weights which at this time seems to be about right. On Rep 18-20 I was starting to feel the fatigue.  I think the 8lb weight would have been too much at this time.

Back to the Gym again

I did 1 hour today at the Y. 30 minutes on the Elliptical and 30 minutes on the treadmill. This means that I am now 3.5 hours away from completing the 100 hour challenge at the Y. I might be able to get that done this week. Woohoo!! It depends on when I get to the gym and if I do a class or just use the machines. We shall see. I will take a picture once I get the new shirt.

An interesting thing happened today after my workout. My face was feeling alittle tight and itchy. I reached up and felt grit against my skin. When I looked in the mirror in the car my face looked like there was something white on it in spots. I did a quick taste test and found out that it was salt. I of course had to come home and do some web searches to see if it was something I needed to be worried about or not. Thinking back I believe I have noticed a grittiness before, but not as much as there was today. Quite interesting. I may be a salty sweater.

My knee is not too happy with me and the longer work out. I do not think I have done anything major though. Rest and some anti-inflammatory meds should take care of it. I always need to be careful of the knee.

Today I did eat out twice- Subway and Qdoba. My plan of fast food only twice in the week starts tomorrow. I also need to restart my food diary. This time of year is hard for me. I either do not want to eat, or want to eat everything in sight. That is one reason I need the food diary. It helps me to keep track and not eat mindlessly.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know I did!

Saturday Exercise

Today I had my 2nd Pilates class at Bliss Holistic Wellness Center in Lexington Kentucky. It is at a more reasonable hour (10:30am) than the session at the Y (7:30am) that I finished 2 weeks ago. I got a great deal with Groupon where I paid $22 for 5 classes. Today K had us using the ring during class. I have a love/hate relationship with the Magic Circle. It is great because it gets me to concentrate and center. I have a focus point to help make sure what needs to stay steady does and what is moving is the only thing moving. I hate it because of the same reason. I have to modify some of the exercises at time and K is very good at advising on modifications. One big problem I have is knee pain when kneeling. I am thinking I might have to find out what is out there that might help. I do not like not being able to kneel.

So with the hour class today and the 30 minutes yesterday I am only 4.5 hours away from the 100 hour club. I started in April. This means that in 8 months I got 100 hours of exercise in. That is an average of 12.5 hours (750 minutes) a month. Woohoo!! I wonder if I could join again in December and try for another year. I would only have 7 months to get the 100 hours since I would have to finish by June 30th 2012. I could wait till January and then have the full year to complete the 100 hours. I would have to average about 14.5 hours a month to finish in 7 months. Just something to think about.

Time to get on with my Saturday and also think about what I want to get food shopping tomorrow. I need to figure out things to take to work and cut out the eating fast food. Goal for next week is fast food at most twice.