That was my response to Jen's inquiry as to whether I broke a sweat at all during our 15 minute leisurely warm-up on the new arc trainers at Planet...haha...probably not what you thought I was referring to but at least it got you to click!
Jen and I hit up Planet today for a legs workout. It was a pleasant surprise to see a normal-sized crowd after the ridiculous horde of people that packed World's last night. Yesterday I did shoulders and am really feeling it today due to my slack workouts over the past week. I attempted to get in a run but only made it 10 minutes before needing a break. I'd say I'm about 80% better but this awful dry cough is keeping me from performing to my fullest. Tomorrow is going to be a rest day so I'm hoping that come Thursday I'll be back in the game.
So anyway, Planet got in a bunch of nice new arc trainers since my last visit. All of them have built-in fans, iPod hookups, and movable arms (like an elliptical) so I think I'll be using these from now on during my non-run days. I don't really feel much of a workout from these machines but they're a good warm-up and don't put any stress on weak knees!
To start our workout we went upstairs and did...you guessed it...one-leg dead lifts. I do realize I do these during pretty much every leg workout but I swear they always make me sore the next day so I figure I should keep doing them. We followed these with leg lifts on the standing leg lift machine (front and side lifts). I could really feel the burn in my abs after having done stability ball leg lifts for the first time in at least a week yesterday! We were able to work out simultaneously (rather than alternating using the same equipment like we usually do) since the weight area was emptier than usual. This really helped to speed the session along today! The last thing we did upstairs was weighted stationary lunges with knee lifts in between lunges. Very exhausting!
Moving back downstairs we did ball-catching incline crunches. It's been a while since I've done these and they felt soooo good! Finally, we moved over the the mats and did stability ball glute squeeze leg pull-ins. I can't remember what these are actually called but its where you lie on your back with your feel on the ball and raise your glutes so you're in a sort of bridge position and use your legs to move the ball in and out. Really great lower body workout! We did these using both legs and then raising one leg at a time. That was it today other than some good stretching before we left. I fully expect my hamstrings to be in serious pain tomorrow after this series of moves!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Battle Continues
The battle to maintain my workouts with a cold that will not go away, that is! The Black Friday "deals" yesterday were less than disappointing so I'm still on the hunt for some good, inexpensive running sneakers. But for now, it doesn't really matter since I have absolutely no energy to crank out a run these days! Yesterday was a short work day so I hit up the gym in the afternoon for some light cardio on the eliptical and a bis/tris workout. Even though I'm stuck doing lighter than usual weights this week it at least feels good to be back in the gym!
This morning I felt even more out of it (perhaps a result of my morning coffee mixed with sudafed?) so I only did a short 10 minute eliptical warmup but then I followed it up with a pretty good legs workout. I started with 3 sets of 8 (each side) one-legged dead lifts, keeping it at 15 lb dumb bells today since my balance is still kind of off. Then I followed those with 4 sets of 8 on the glute press machine (the one where you are bent over), doing 2 sets of straight leg and 2 sets of bent leg. I decided to give my legs a break for a bit so next I moved on to side leg crunches on the back extension machine (3 sets of 12, each side). For my last leg workout I alternated 3 sets of 12 forward leg squats with 3 sets of 12 plie squats with a 30 lb. bar on my shoulders. World's just got 3 new sets of fixed-weight bars which I am really excited about! Next for abs I did 3 sets of 8 pushups with my toes balancing on a stability ball. These are really difficult and I can't go down all the way yet but they are a great core/shoulders/chest workout! Lastly, I did a series of planks (front, right leg/arm and left leg/arm) mixed with chaturanga pose (low hovering pushup position) into upward and downward dog. It was a nice mix of abs and stretching to round out my workout!
This morning I felt even more out of it (perhaps a result of my morning coffee mixed with sudafed?) so I only did a short 10 minute eliptical warmup but then I followed it up with a pretty good legs workout. I started with 3 sets of 8 (each side) one-legged dead lifts, keeping it at 15 lb dumb bells today since my balance is still kind of off. Then I followed those with 4 sets of 8 on the glute press machine (the one where you are bent over), doing 2 sets of straight leg and 2 sets of bent leg. I decided to give my legs a break for a bit so next I moved on to side leg crunches on the back extension machine (3 sets of 12, each side). For my last leg workout I alternated 3 sets of 12 forward leg squats with 3 sets of 12 plie squats with a 30 lb. bar on my shoulders. World's just got 3 new sets of fixed-weight bars which I am really excited about! Next for abs I did 3 sets of 8 pushups with my toes balancing on a stability ball. These are really difficult and I can't go down all the way yet but they are a great core/shoulders/chest workout! Lastly, I did a series of planks (front, right leg/arm and left leg/arm) mixed with chaturanga pose (low hovering pushup position) into upward and downward dog. It was a nice mix of abs and stretching to round out my workout!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Pre-Feast Calorie Burn
Sick alllll week with a nasty cold and today was my first day back on the weights since Saturday. God it felt good! I eased back into my routine yesterday with some light cardio and stretching. Feeling a bit better today, I decided to do a full workout focusing on back and chest.
To start I did a 20 minute eliptical warm-up. Not quite feeling up for a run yet but we'll see how tomorrow goes. After warming up I did some stretching on the mats and a series of single leg lifts with a bar behind my back, held vertically. These are kind of like the one-leg dead lifts I do only without weights or a step so its really just balancing work. I always find that I lose some of my balance when I've been sick so I try to work on it more than usual until I'm feeling 100% again. To start my weight sesh I did 4 sets of 8 rows, balancing on a bosu ball and rowing with the 45 lb. bar (loving these lately!!). Then I moved onto incline bench chest flies (4 sets of 8), sitting rows on the cables (3 sets of 8) and lastly, lat pull-downs also on the cables (3 sets of 8).
Moving on to abs, I started with standing leg lifts on the leg lift machine (2 sets of 8 front lifts and 2 sets of 8 side-to-side lifts). Finishing up, I alternated bosu ball pushups and bosu ball plank leg crunches (where you hold the plank position and alternate crunching your knees to your chest). I did 3 sets of 8 of the pushups and 3 sets of 12 of the crunches. I finished my workout with some light stretching on the mats. I'd say I'm almost back in the game after that workout! Hopefully I didn't push myself too hard because I really want to get back to running tomorrow. Given that tomorrow is Black Friday, I may have to scope out the athletic wear stores for a good deal on running shoes!
Well, it's almost time to head over to the rents to begin the Turkey Day feast with some festive-inspired cocktails! I fully plan to eat as much turkey as possible and have already planned ahead by donning my "fat jeans" haha. I'm sure I'll be making up for it in the gym tomorrow so I don't feel too guilty! To all you gym rats out there, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
To start I did a 20 minute eliptical warm-up. Not quite feeling up for a run yet but we'll see how tomorrow goes. After warming up I did some stretching on the mats and a series of single leg lifts with a bar behind my back, held vertically. These are kind of like the one-leg dead lifts I do only without weights or a step so its really just balancing work. I always find that I lose some of my balance when I've been sick so I try to work on it more than usual until I'm feeling 100% again. To start my weight sesh I did 4 sets of 8 rows, balancing on a bosu ball and rowing with the 45 lb. bar (loving these lately!!). Then I moved onto incline bench chest flies (4 sets of 8), sitting rows on the cables (3 sets of 8) and lastly, lat pull-downs also on the cables (3 sets of 8).
Moving on to abs, I started with standing leg lifts on the leg lift machine (2 sets of 8 front lifts and 2 sets of 8 side-to-side lifts). Finishing up, I alternated bosu ball pushups and bosu ball plank leg crunches (where you hold the plank position and alternate crunching your knees to your chest). I did 3 sets of 8 of the pushups and 3 sets of 12 of the crunches. I finished my workout with some light stretching on the mats. I'd say I'm almost back in the game after that workout! Hopefully I didn't push myself too hard because I really want to get back to running tomorrow. Given that tomorrow is Black Friday, I may have to scope out the athletic wear stores for a good deal on running shoes!
Well, it's almost time to head over to the rents to begin the Turkey Day feast with some festive-inspired cocktails! I fully plan to eat as much turkey as possible and have already planned ahead by donning my "fat jeans" haha. I'm sure I'll be making up for it in the gym tomorrow so I don't feel too guilty! To all you gym rats out there, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Saturday Sweat Sesh
I think I workout better in the morning. Think my boss will let me start coming in around noon to accommodate my #1 priority? Haha doubtful...
One week later and I hit my 25 mark again. Very please with myself, I must say. Especially since I had a ridiculous amount of Corona to sweat out! The best part was that I probably could have kept going and only stopped because I was pouring sweat and prefer to retain some form of attractiveness during my workout haha.
Today's workout was bi's and tri's again. I really need to figure out some more exciting exercises to do for these muscle groups because even though I feel like I've had a great workout, I'm not seeing much improvement. Here's what was on the agenda:
1. Regular bicep curls (3 sets of 8 with 15 lb weights)
2. Bench tricep dips, feet balancing on the stability ball, 10 lb. plate on my lap (3 sets of 12)
3. Regular bicep curls again but with a 30 lb barbell instead of free weights (3 sets of 8)
4. Tricep kick-backs (3 sets of 8, each arm, with a 10 lb weight)
5. Teepees (3 sets of 8) with kneeling ball-balancing in between sets
6. Stability ball crunches with a 10 lb plate held to my chest (2 sets of 20 forward crunches and 2 sets of 20 side-to-side crunches)
7. Knee-to-chest lifts in plank position with hands balancing on a medicine ball. I don't know what these are really called but they are a good balancing exercise if nothing else!
I'm pretty exhausted now (several hours later) but I felt great post-workout. My pup is looking at me begging for a walk right now so I guess my workout isn't quite done for the day yet!
One week later and I hit my 25 mark again. Very please with myself, I must say. Especially since I had a ridiculous amount of Corona to sweat out! The best part was that I probably could have kept going and only stopped because I was pouring sweat and prefer to retain some form of attractiveness during my workout haha.
Today's workout was bi's and tri's again. I really need to figure out some more exciting exercises to do for these muscle groups because even though I feel like I've had a great workout, I'm not seeing much improvement. Here's what was on the agenda:
1. Regular bicep curls (3 sets of 8 with 15 lb weights)
2. Bench tricep dips, feet balancing on the stability ball, 10 lb. plate on my lap (3 sets of 12)
3. Regular bicep curls again but with a 30 lb barbell instead of free weights (3 sets of 8)
4. Tricep kick-backs (3 sets of 8, each arm, with a 10 lb weight)
5. Teepees (3 sets of 8) with kneeling ball-balancing in between sets
6. Stability ball crunches with a 10 lb plate held to my chest (2 sets of 20 forward crunches and 2 sets of 20 side-to-side crunches)
7. Knee-to-chest lifts in plank position with hands balancing on a medicine ball. I don't know what these are really called but they are a good balancing exercise if nothing else!
I'm pretty exhausted now (several hours later) but I felt great post-workout. My pup is looking at me begging for a walk right now so I guess my workout isn't quite done for the day yet!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Caffeine Suggestions?
Another great World's workout today! Finally got in that "intense" legs day I'd been planning. Disappointingly though, the only part of me sore from yesterday's workout is my underarms from all of the pull-ups. Don't know if that is normal or if it means that I'm holding the bar wrong seeing as my girlfriend who did the exact same thing as me is feeling it in a totally different part of her arms! Anyway, today's workout started with my scheduled run of course. I really wanted to make it to 25 today so I had a late afternoon Starbucks coffee thinking the caffeine would help to keep me going longer than usual. It didn't. Made it to my usual 20 by really pushing myself through the last few crampy minutes. I think the coffee did more harm than good. Need to find a good source of pre-workout caffeine that is a) not coffee so my tummy won't be upset and b) is not carbonated because I really detest carbonation! Open to suggestions...
After my run I moved on to my usual favorite one-legged dead lifts (3 sets of 8, each leg). I upped the weights to 20 in each hand again which I am finding to be quite an increase in difficulty! I followed these with 3 sets of 8 (each leg) on the standing glute press machine, 3 sets of 12 on the leg press machine, and finally 3 sets of 12 on the standing calf machine. For abs today I did 4 sets of 8 standing leg lifts, crunching straight and to the sides, and then front and side planks (holding each of the three sides for 60 seconds). I finished up with a lot of stretching to make up for the lack thereof yesterday. Overall, very satisfying workout today!
After my run I moved on to my usual favorite one-legged dead lifts (3 sets of 8, each leg). I upped the weights to 20 in each hand again which I am finding to be quite an increase in difficulty! I followed these with 3 sets of 8 (each leg) on the standing glute press machine, 3 sets of 12 on the leg press machine, and finally 3 sets of 12 on the standing calf machine. For abs today I did 4 sets of 8 standing leg lifts, crunching straight and to the sides, and then front and side planks (holding each of the three sides for 60 seconds). I finished up with a lot of stretching to make up for the lack thereof yesterday. Overall, very satisfying workout today!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Oxygen Workout
Great upper body workout at World's tonight! A girlfriend of mine has been obsessed with Oxygen magazine lately and cut-out one of their routines for us to try. The idea was to get a full upper body workout in one session by hitting each major muscle group once. I figured it was good to try something new even though I typically like to concentrate on just a couple muscle groups per session. I'm all for anything that could make me look like one of the girls in Oxygen, that's for sure!
I started out with a 20 minute warm-up on the elliptical since yesterday was a run day (although it was not quite as "intense" of a leg day as I had planned haha) and then we met over by the assisted pull-up machine to get started. I know, I know, assisted pull-ups aren't quite as hard core as I pretend to be but it was necessary seeing as our first task was 6 sets of 10 pull-ups; 2 sets with hands facing toward each other, 2 sets with hands straight above shoulders, and 2 sets with hands at an angle. I better be seriously sore from those tomorrow! We followed these up by chest flies on a bench (3 sets of 8), then moved to the back extension machine where we did weighted back extensions and side leg crunches, 3 sets of 12 each (9 sets total). Next came 3 sets of 8 arnold press (hitting our tired shoulders again!) and then 3 sets of 8 stability ball leg lifts. To finish, we hit out triceps with bench dips using the stability ball and finally, bicep curls on the cables.
In all, we hit shoulders, upper back, chest, abs, bi's and tri's...not too shabby! I tried to up the intensity a bit tonight with little variations like using a 25 lb. plate when doing back extensions (vs. my usual 10) and adding the 5 lb. weight from the leg lifts to my lap for a little added resistance during my tricep dips. The resistance level I had to use while doing the straight above and angled pull-ups was a bit embarrassing (I won't be mentioning the number haha) but I can definitely see those getting easier over time! I neglected to stretch before heading out so I'll probably need a good stretch sesh tomorrow before I embark on another run. I only made it to 20 mins yesterday so here's to hoping I can crack 25 again soon!
I started out with a 20 minute warm-up on the elliptical since yesterday was a run day (although it was not quite as "intense" of a leg day as I had planned haha) and then we met over by the assisted pull-up machine to get started. I know, I know, assisted pull-ups aren't quite as hard core as I pretend to be but it was necessary seeing as our first task was 6 sets of 10 pull-ups; 2 sets with hands facing toward each other, 2 sets with hands straight above shoulders, and 2 sets with hands at an angle. I better be seriously sore from those tomorrow! We followed these up by chest flies on a bench (3 sets of 8), then moved to the back extension machine where we did weighted back extensions and side leg crunches, 3 sets of 12 each (9 sets total). Next came 3 sets of 8 arnold press (hitting our tired shoulders again!) and then 3 sets of 8 stability ball leg lifts. To finish, we hit out triceps with bench dips using the stability ball and finally, bicep curls on the cables.
In all, we hit shoulders, upper back, chest, abs, bi's and tri's...not too shabby! I tried to up the intensity a bit tonight with little variations like using a 25 lb. plate when doing back extensions (vs. my usual 10) and adding the 5 lb. weight from the leg lifts to my lap for a little added resistance during my tricep dips. The resistance level I had to use while doing the straight above and angled pull-ups was a bit embarrassing (I won't be mentioning the number haha) but I can definitely see those getting easier over time! I neglected to stretch before heading out so I'll probably need a good stretch sesh tomorrow before I embark on another run. I only made it to 20 mins yesterday so here's to hoping I can crack 25 again soon!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Who Doesn't Love A Quickie?
Well, it's Monday again and given that its not pizza night and last Monday's workout partner is out-of-town, I chose Planet for a typical nothing fancy bi's and tri's workout. Despite the lack of variety in Saturday's yoga class, my arms, shoulders, and upper back area was super sore yesterday so rather than weights I did the eliptical followed by an all-abs session including balancing leg pull-ins on a bench, planks (side and front), weighted standing side-crunches, and stability ball leg lifts. Today was supposed to be a run day but after a seriously short sleep last night and battling my closing eyelids all day at work, I opted for a short 10 minute eliptical warm-up instead. I really didn't want to go to the gym at all but I figure a quickie workout is better than no workout. I mean, a quickie anything is generally better than nothing, eh? haha
So anyway, after my warm-up I dragged myself upstairs and did the usual 3 sets of 8 regular bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep bench dips balancing my feet on the stability ball, and tricep presses on the cables. To finish I only did one ab workout which was front and side leg lifts on the standing leg lift machine. On my way out one of the usuals sarcastically yelled out, "did you even work out today"?! I shouted back with a smirk, "just a quickie today..." and then secretly felt guilty on my way down the stairs as I realized I'd barely been there an hour. Planning on getting a rediculously long sleep tonight and doing an intense leg workout tomorrow to make up for it!
So anyway, after my warm-up I dragged myself upstairs and did the usual 3 sets of 8 regular bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep bench dips balancing my feet on the stability ball, and tricep presses on the cables. To finish I only did one ab workout which was front and side leg lifts on the standing leg lift machine. On my way out one of the usuals sarcastically yelled out, "did you even work out today"?! I shouted back with a smirk, "just a quickie today..." and then secretly felt guilty on my way down the stairs as I realized I'd barely been there an hour. Planning on getting a rediculously long sleep tonight and doing an intense leg workout tomorrow to make up for it!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Movin' On Up
Major breakthrough today...made it to 25 mins of running on the treadmill! After a leg workout yesterday and realizing that I haven't given my body a break in a while, I decided to take the day off from weights. Somehow I managed to get up early today despite not having set my alarm and decided to hit up the 8:00 am yoga class and then follow it with a run. I haven't made it to that yoga class in several months. For one thing, its kind of hard for me to commit to be there by 7:45 on a Saturday (I like to get there early so I get the spot by the door where its not so dark!) and secondly, the teacher is a little weird and likes to do this gross thing at the end where she puts her greasy fingers all over your face while you're in savasana (corpse pose) at the end of your practice. Today she upped the weirdness by doing a reading at the beginning while in lotus (crossed legs) position. I know some people like this sort of thing but I'm really there for the stretching, not the hippie meditation aspect. Its supposed to relax you but it just makes me antsy and irritable as I wait to move on to the real work! Overall I thought the class was a disappointment as she spent way too much time on her relaxation crap and hardly had any variety of balancing poses or anything remotely challenging like the old teacher used to. It also didn't help that the guy next to me definitely had not showered this week and seemed to be breathing his wretchedness in my direction the entire time. I think I'll try to make an effort to show up at least once a month going forward just so I stay in the loop in case a new teacher takes over again at some point. Plus, I really could use more stretching this time of year when I seem to be in a constant state of tension due to the frigid temperatures here! I followed the direction of the guy in front of me who scooted out before savasana so I didn't have to be fondled by her. She gave me a nasty glare as I got up but oh well, she shouldn't expect everyone to be down with her greasiness!
After yoga I hopped on a treadmill and got to my run. I don't know what came over me but I just felt more motivated than usual today. It certainly didn't hurt that I plopped myself next to a hottie who distracted me from the clock with talk of our pups the whole time! When I hit the 20 minute mark and still didn't have cramps he convinced me to up it to 25. I didn't want to look bad so I pushed through it. I was really feeling it once I hit the 25 minute mark and my face is still a bit flushed 3 hours later but I felt so good afterward! I bought a coconut water on my way home which seems to be my new post-workout weekend treat. Supposedly its full of electrolytes so I figure it must be good after a run! I don't know what tomorrow's workout will bring but I do know that now that I have hit the 25 mark, I'm not going to feel satisfied unless I continue to match it.
After yoga I hopped on a treadmill and got to my run. I don't know what came over me but I just felt more motivated than usual today. It certainly didn't hurt that I plopped myself next to a hottie who distracted me from the clock with talk of our pups the whole time! When I hit the 20 minute mark and still didn't have cramps he convinced me to up it to 25. I didn't want to look bad so I pushed through it. I was really feeling it once I hit the 25 minute mark and my face is still a bit flushed 3 hours later but I felt so good afterward! I bought a coconut water on my way home which seems to be my new post-workout weekend treat. Supposedly its full of electrolytes so I figure it must be good after a run! I don't know what tomorrow's workout will bring but I do know that now that I have hit the 25 mark, I'm not going to feel satisfied unless I continue to match it.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday Like A Friday
World's was as crazy as ever today but what a great workout I got in! Met Jen there just after 5 and busted ass for a good 2 straight hours! We started on the treadmills of course where I got in a good 20 minute run after two rest days. I increased the incline and speed ever so slightly so I felt really good about today's run. Still not quite ready to amp up the minutes though...
Today the focus was on back and chest so we started with incline bench dumbell flies. I did these with my usual 10 lb. weights but didn't really feel much of a burn so I think it's time to increase to 15. Next we moved over to where they have the 45 lb. bars. Standing on a bosu ball, we did rows using the bar. This was one of the moves I learned on Monday that I was positive I couldn't do at the time but now it's one of my favs! Once you get the feel for getting on and off the bosu ball while holding the bar, you're golden :) We followed these with pull-ups, incline ball-catching crunches, and lastly, weighted back extensions.
Taking a much needed day off from work tomorrow so today feels more like Friday to me! Going to try to sleep-in and get in a mid-morning gym sesh tomorrow while its nice and empty!
Today the focus was on back and chest so we started with incline bench dumbell flies. I did these with my usual 10 lb. weights but didn't really feel much of a burn so I think it's time to increase to 15. Next we moved over to where they have the 45 lb. bars. Standing on a bosu ball, we did rows using the bar. This was one of the moves I learned on Monday that I was positive I couldn't do at the time but now it's one of my favs! Once you get the feel for getting on and off the bosu ball while holding the bar, you're golden :) We followed these with pull-ups, incline ball-catching crunches, and lastly, weighted back extensions.
Taking a much needed day off from work tomorrow so today feels more like Friday to me! Going to try to sleep-in and get in a mid-morning gym sesh tomorrow while its nice and empty!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Mid-Week Slowdown
Is it Friday yet?! Whooo what a busy week! I haven't been skipping on my workouts; I've just had so much going on! Promised myself I'd blog tonight though so here we go...
Monday - Crazy intense 3-hour workout at World's where I learned quite a few new moves from a new "significantly above par" gym partner haha (that's a joke to those of you who didn't read last Thursday's post). Started with a run and then followed with a zillion different abs, shoulders, back, and chest moves. Way too much to blog about but I'll definitely be using some of them in future workouts!
Tuesday - Light recovery workout at Planet where I rested my knees on the eliptical and did a lot of stretching, a couple abs moves, and one-legged deadlifts.
And now to today, Wednesday, where I hit up Planet again for Bis & Tris. I started with my warmup on the eliptical again because my knees are still hating on me and I really want to get in a good run at World's tomorrow. Then after a good stretch I moved upstairs to the weight room where I did regular bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep kick-backs, and tricep dips using the bench & stability ball. I only did two sets of each rather than my usual 3 because quite frankly I'm pooped. Plus, I plan to workout with Jen again tomorrow and want to make sure I am pushing us both 110%! So, moving back downstairs, I did front and side crunches on a stability ball with a plate held to my chest and finally, front and side incline crunches on the incline bench.
That's all for today other than some stretches, particularly for the glutes/quads/hamstrings which seem to be perpetually tight. Already starting to mentally write-down tomorrow's workout...while I sit here and eat some ridiculously good Whole Foods pizza!
Monday - Crazy intense 3-hour workout at World's where I learned quite a few new moves from a new "significantly above par" gym partner haha (that's a joke to those of you who didn't read last Thursday's post). Started with a run and then followed with a zillion different abs, shoulders, back, and chest moves. Way too much to blog about but I'll definitely be using some of them in future workouts!
Tuesday - Light recovery workout at Planet where I rested my knees on the eliptical and did a lot of stretching, a couple abs moves, and one-legged deadlifts.
And now to today, Wednesday, where I hit up Planet again for Bis & Tris. I started with my warmup on the eliptical again because my knees are still hating on me and I really want to get in a good run at World's tomorrow. Then after a good stretch I moved upstairs to the weight room where I did regular bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep kick-backs, and tricep dips using the bench & stability ball. I only did two sets of each rather than my usual 3 because quite frankly I'm pooped. Plus, I plan to workout with Jen again tomorrow and want to make sure I am pushing us both 110%! So, moving back downstairs, I did front and side crunches on a stability ball with a plate held to my chest and finally, front and side incline crunches on the incline bench.
That's all for today other than some stretches, particularly for the glutes/quads/hamstrings which seem to be perpetually tight. Already starting to mentally write-down tomorrow's workout...while I sit here and eat some ridiculously good Whole Foods pizza!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Satisfying Sunday
Another gorgeous November day here! Seriously lacking on sleep right now despite having turned the clocks back an hour last night but I hit up Planet for bi's and tri's around mid-day after a delicious, hearty scrambled egg breakfast. I usually do World's on Sundays but I didn't feel much like mingling with the usual noon crew. Planet was remarkably empty which was a nice change from its usual weekday post-work crowd.
I started my workout with a warmup on the arc trainer. I'm not a huge fan of this machine as I don't like the stationary handles but its always nice to switch-up the routine! After 15 minutes on that, I went upstairs and did free weight bicep curls (3 sets of 8), stability ball tricep dips on the bench (3 sets of 8-12), and then did bis and tris using a short bar on the cables (3 sets of 8 each). Moving on to abs, I did 4 sets of 8 on the leg lift machine (2 sets forward and 2 to the sides) and then finished off with teepees back downstairs in the stretching area (3 sets of 8). I got some great pics of these that I'll post on a new tab shortly, so check back later tonight if you want to see how they are done! After a good roll-out on a foam roller (ouch!) and some all-over stretches, I was out for the day.
It was so sunny and warm when I walked out that I decided it would be a great day to take my pup for a long walk so I went home, packed him in the Jeep and ventured down to Scarborough to walk across the marsh between Black Point Rd. and Pine Point Rd. Such a gorgeous trail and hardly any other dogs which made for a pleasant stroll. I'd say he got in a good workout too since he's snoring away right now!
Well, all in all it was quite the satisfying Sunday! I'm not yet sure which gym I'll hit up tomorrow as its the first Monday of the month - pizza day at Planet - and I'm not really keen on the idea of trying to work out with the smell of greasy cheesy deliciousness wafting in my direction. Either way, its definitely going to be a run day!
I started my workout with a warmup on the arc trainer. I'm not a huge fan of this machine as I don't like the stationary handles but its always nice to switch-up the routine! After 15 minutes on that, I went upstairs and did free weight bicep curls (3 sets of 8), stability ball tricep dips on the bench (3 sets of 8-12), and then did bis and tris using a short bar on the cables (3 sets of 8 each). Moving on to abs, I did 4 sets of 8 on the leg lift machine (2 sets forward and 2 to the sides) and then finished off with teepees back downstairs in the stretching area (3 sets of 8). I got some great pics of these that I'll post on a new tab shortly, so check back later tonight if you want to see how they are done! After a good roll-out on a foam roller (ouch!) and some all-over stretches, I was out for the day.
It was so sunny and warm when I walked out that I decided it would be a great day to take my pup for a long walk so I went home, packed him in the Jeep and ventured down to Scarborough to walk across the marsh between Black Point Rd. and Pine Point Rd. Such a gorgeous trail and hardly any other dogs which made for a pleasant stroll. I'd say he got in a good workout too since he's snoring away right now!
Well, all in all it was quite the satisfying Sunday! I'm not yet sure which gym I'll hit up tomorrow as its the first Monday of the month - pizza day at Planet - and I'm not really keen on the idea of trying to work out with the smell of greasy cheesy deliciousness wafting in my direction. Either way, its definitely going to be a run day!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
The Kink is Out (Mostly)
Today is a good day. The sun is shining, its not frigid out, and I had a great workout! I woke up a bit later than I had planned so I didn't make the 8:15 yoga class at World's but I did make it through my 20 min run thanks to my elipital break yesterday. I only had time for an hour-long workout so I followed my run with 3 sets of 12 standing calf raises, 3 sets (each leg) of 8 standing glute presses, and then moved on to abs. I did 3 sets of 8 teepees (another move I really need to get some pics of!), stopping to balance on my knees between each set, and then finished up with 3 sets of 8 balancing leg pull-ins on a bench.
I had to scoot because I had a 30-min "stress buster" massage booked at Soma Massage & Wellness in South Portland. Highly recommend this place...great massages and reasonable prices! The masseuse told me that I was really tight in my chest which I thought was odd given that I barely do any chest exercises and thats not where the pain is but I'll take her word for it. I made the mistake of telling her how tight my jaw was so she barely touched that area which was a dissapointment but she did do a great job kneading out all of my shoulder and neck knots! How great life would be if I could get a massage every day!
Well, I'm just back from taking my pup for a walk. Or, let's be honest here, he's back from taking me for a walk. He probably added a few knots back into my right shoulder but I'll take a few knots in exchange for a gorgeous November afternoon, anyday!
I had to scoot because I had a 30-min "stress buster" massage booked at Soma Massage & Wellness in South Portland. Highly recommend this place...great massages and reasonable prices! The masseuse told me that I was really tight in my chest which I thought was odd given that I barely do any chest exercises and thats not where the pain is but I'll take her word for it. I made the mistake of telling her how tight my jaw was so she barely touched that area which was a dissapointment but she did do a great job kneading out all of my shoulder and neck knots! How great life would be if I could get a massage every day!
Well, I'm just back from taking my pup for a walk. Or, let's be honest here, he's back from taking me for a walk. He probably added a few knots back into my right shoulder but I'll take a few knots in exchange for a gorgeous November afternoon, anyday!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
This Running Thing
...is really putting a kink in my, well, everything! It's Thursday so I hit up World's again with Jen. It was a random crowd so not quite as distracting as last week. As usual, we started on the treadmills where I wobbled through an embarrassing 13 minute run. Yesterday at Planet I did the eliptical to give my body a break but apparently it wasn't enough. I don't know if its the way I'm holding my shoulders when I'm running (I know you're supposed to relax them but I've never learned how to relax!) or if its TMJ-related (a lovely disorder that seems to crop up at the most inopportune times in my life) but my jaw/neck/shoulders are so stiff right now that I have about 50% of my usual range of motion. Not the greatest scenario considering today was a shoulders day. It started with my jaw and neck yesterday and I stupidly pushed myself through 3 sets of stability ball leg lifts despite the neck strain they cause. Bad idea. I hope I can move when I wake up tomorrow :S
Anyway, I hadn't yet done a shoulders routine with Jen so I decided we'd go through with the workout and I'd just take it easy on the weights. We started with 3 sets of 8 on the assisted pull-up machine. I know I previously said that I wouldn't dare use this machine at World's but today it was either a) use the assistance or b) don't do it at all. Then we moved over to the free-weight area where we did 3 sets of 8 arnold press. I thought about getting some more pics to post here but my painful grimace probably wouldn't have made anyone want to use this move! Lastly, we moved on to 3 sets of 8 front raises and latteral raises. I decreased my weights considerably and skipped out on the third set but it didn't help much. I dunno, maybe the tightness has nothing to do with running or with TMJ and I just slept funny or something. Here's hoping...
For abs we did 3 sets of 12 rope crunches on the cables and then 3 sets of 8 pushups using the bosu ball. I love doing pushups on the bosu ball; it adds a great stability aspect and you can really feel it burning your abs! Finally, we moved over to the mats to stretch out our shoulders and legs. I really needed a good calf/shin/hamstring stretch-out but I got distracted by a friend who came over to chat and diss on my ex's recent choice of sub-par gym partners haha. Oh well, I needed the laugh today so I'll make up for the stretching tomorrow. I don't yet know whats on the workout agenda for tomorrow but I can assure you it won't include running. Going to make that an every-other-day thing until this kink gets worked out.
Anyway, I hadn't yet done a shoulders routine with Jen so I decided we'd go through with the workout and I'd just take it easy on the weights. We started with 3 sets of 8 on the assisted pull-up machine. I know I previously said that I wouldn't dare use this machine at World's but today it was either a) use the assistance or b) don't do it at all. Then we moved over to the free-weight area where we did 3 sets of 8 arnold press. I thought about getting some more pics to post here but my painful grimace probably wouldn't have made anyone want to use this move! Lastly, we moved on to 3 sets of 8 front raises and latteral raises. I decreased my weights considerably and skipped out on the third set but it didn't help much. I dunno, maybe the tightness has nothing to do with running or with TMJ and I just slept funny or something. Here's hoping...
For abs we did 3 sets of 12 rope crunches on the cables and then 3 sets of 8 pushups using the bosu ball. I love doing pushups on the bosu ball; it adds a great stability aspect and you can really feel it burning your abs! Finally, we moved over to the mats to stretch out our shoulders and legs. I really needed a good calf/shin/hamstring stretch-out but I got distracted by a friend who came over to chat and diss on my ex's recent choice of sub-par gym partners haha. Oh well, I needed the laugh today so I'll make up for the stretching tomorrow. I don't yet know whats on the workout agenda for tomorrow but I can assure you it won't include running. Going to make that an every-other-day thing until this kink gets worked out.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Just One of Those Days...
...when you wanna break stuff (in the words of Limp Bizkit). You know, the kind of day when everything seems to be going wrong and you are one tiny step away from picking up your whole life, running away and never looking back. Yeah, that was today. It was almost to the point of me skipping the gym entirely and going home to sit on the couch and feel bad for myself. Well luckily I didn't. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. When something bad happens, something good usually follows. It may not be the same amount of goodness as the badness but over time things generally even out. In my experience anyway.
So, as you can imagine the treadmill got quite a beating today! I busted out my 20 minutes despite wanting to keel over around minute 18. The woman to my left was making these obnoxious throat-clearing noises the whole time. I kept looking over at her with what I'm sure was an extremely annoyed and irritated expression but she was completely oblivious. There used to be a woman at World's who did the same thing on the stationary bike everyday. I think thats what made me switch to the eliptical. I guess I'll have to be more careful in my treadmill selection next time. Although, I suppose her adding to my anger issue is probably what kept me going!
Next I headed upstairs to do 3 sets of 8 reps each on the inner/outer thigh machine. Then, I wanted to do something I hadn't done in a while so I went back downstairs to the stretching area and did stability ball hamstring curls. These are great for both the hams and glutes and even better if done one-legged. However, I only did one set of one-legged curls as my hamstrings are killing me! I think I may have to run every other day for a while until my legs forgive me.
While breaking in-between sets this guy I'd seen there a few times before came over to me and said he was a software developer currently building a fitness app for smartphones...and wanted to know if I'd be interested in being one of the fitness models! How cool is that?! Now I'm not totally naive. I realize it could have been his no-balls way of getting my number but I think he was legit. Anyway, it wouldn't be until the Springtime so now I have a reason to get into rediculously good shape in the meantime!
By now my F-you-right-back (in the words of Frankee) attitude was fading as I had better things on my mind. Moving onto abs, I did four sets of 8 crunches on the stability ball (two front sets and two side-to-side) with a 10-lb. plate on my chest. Then, I finished off with more crunches on the incline crunch bench. No weights, just crunches until I couldn't crunch anymore!
So, alls well that ends well I suppose. I'm totally amping up my routine over the next few months in case this opportunity does follow through and if it doesn't, well its not like its going to hurt to have a stronger, tighter bod in time for bikini season!
So, as you can imagine the treadmill got quite a beating today! I busted out my 20 minutes despite wanting to keel over around minute 18. The woman to my left was making these obnoxious throat-clearing noises the whole time. I kept looking over at her with what I'm sure was an extremely annoyed and irritated expression but she was completely oblivious. There used to be a woman at World's who did the same thing on the stationary bike everyday. I think thats what made me switch to the eliptical. I guess I'll have to be more careful in my treadmill selection next time. Although, I suppose her adding to my anger issue is probably what kept me going!
Next I headed upstairs to do 3 sets of 8 reps each on the inner/outer thigh machine. Then, I wanted to do something I hadn't done in a while so I went back downstairs to the stretching area and did stability ball hamstring curls. These are great for both the hams and glutes and even better if done one-legged. However, I only did one set of one-legged curls as my hamstrings are killing me! I think I may have to run every other day for a while until my legs forgive me.
While breaking in-between sets this guy I'd seen there a few times before came over to me and said he was a software developer currently building a fitness app for smartphones...and wanted to know if I'd be interested in being one of the fitness models! How cool is that?! Now I'm not totally naive. I realize it could have been his no-balls way of getting my number but I think he was legit. Anyway, it wouldn't be until the Springtime so now I have a reason to get into rediculously good shape in the meantime!
By now my F-you-right-back (in the words of Frankee) attitude was fading as I had better things on my mind. Moving onto abs, I did four sets of 8 crunches on the stability ball (two front sets and two side-to-side) with a 10-lb. plate on my chest. Then, I finished off with more crunches on the incline crunch bench. No weights, just crunches until I couldn't crunch anymore!
So, alls well that ends well I suppose. I'm totally amping up my routine over the next few months in case this opportunity does follow through and if it doesn't, well its not like its going to hurt to have a stronger, tighter bod in time for bikini season!
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