I'm writing this post a bit late in the day to be calling it a Pre-Turkey Burn but that's all I've been thinking about during my workouts this week and I can happily say that I ended this food-centric holiday in a bit of a calorie deficit, despite stuffing my face this afternoon, thanks to my solid workout this morning!
I can't wait for my favourite show, the Biggest Loser to start airing again. All I thought about today and yesterday was making the most of my "last chance workout" haha. Yesterday I skipped my usual cardio and instead did the 30 minute maXtreme "Pure Grit" routine. The app workouts are meant to be done as your only form of exercise but instead I'm using them as warm-ups for my more focused weight routines as I am trying to gain some serious mass right now! This one was a lot of fun, hit several different muscle groups, and got a wicked good sweat going! Then for my regular weight room sesh I did shoulders and core with this routine:
-Bosu ball arnold presses (3x8)
-Lateral raises (3x8 each arm)
-Standing cable cross-overs (3x 12-11-10)
*I'd never done these before but one of the friendly gym usuals was kind enough to show me a new move and I really like them! You simply stand in the middle of a set of cables, set your weight on each side, grab the left cable with your right hand and right cable with your left hand and uncross your shoulders while lifting the cables to opposite sides. It's not as difficult/confusing as I am probably making it sound and it really gave me a burn!
-Incline weighted crunches (3x12)
-Side plank one-arm rows (3x10 each side)
*This is another new move I got from another person earlier in the week. You do a side plank in front of a cable with your weight set and whatever pull-bar you want to use hooked onto the cable (you don't use any with the cable cross-overs). Simply do one arm rows while in plank position, lifting your top leg for an extra burn.
This morning I got to the gym nice and early to make sure I got my spin pass prior to the Turkey Day crowd I was anticipating. I must say, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of early morning turnout. There were of course a few usuals and I know I shouldn't complain since it's so much nicer to work out in a quiet, empty gym but it sure goes to show who's really committed! I concentrated on chest and core today, adding in a bit of calve work since they get so strained from spinning. I don't know what it was, but for some reason I was on a serious role, going heavier than usual for all of my sets. It must have been my subconscious panic at the thought of getting fat off of the chocolate mousse cake I knew I'd be eating later today haha. Here's the rundown of my routine:
-Stability ball free weight chest presses (4x12)
-Standing calve raises (4x12)
-Incline seated chest flies (4x12)
-Hanging loop leg raises (3x8, 1 set forward bent knee, 1 set forward straight leg, 1 set side-to-side bent knee)
-Flat bench leg raises with a stability ball between my feet (3x12)
THEN SPINNING!!! It was an instructor I hadn't had before and always being skeptical of new instructors I wasn't sure how it would go. However, it was a great class and the best part was that she was quite the comedian! I think I was smiling/laughing so much during class that I didn't even feel like I was working that hard! Don't get me wrong though...I was still sweating buckets haha. She played an odd set of music that ranged from Nelly's "It's getting hot in here" to "The Devil went down to Georgia" (Zac Brown version) but everything matched the class really well and kept us very entertained!
After a good foam roller session (my glutes and quads HATE me right now), I filled up my shaker with a free sample of Giant Sports Delicious Vanilla Protein that the guy at PNC was nice enough to give me the other day when I went to re-stock up on Xtend. To my surprise, it really did live up to it's name and was in fact delicious...as far as protein goes anyway haha. Sidenote: I also got a massive container of Syntrax Nectar Vanilla Bean Torte flavoured protein that should last me a while. I've only tried it in my oatmeal thus far but it's tasty enough that I don't have to mask the flavour with maple syrup like I've been doing with the awful GNC unflavoured kind I've been forcing myself to choke down haha.
Then I was off, headed home to get ready for my family's Thanksgiving feast which was also a combination birthday celebration for one of my family members (hence the chocolate mousse cake). Despite having some seriously inflated portion sizes, I managed to keep my plate rather clean (sans gravy/butter/other unhealthy extras) so I could indulge in dessert. I got plenty of the usual harassing for declining the pre-dinner cocktails and asking for my veggies to be set aside before they were doused in butter but I guess I just need to learn to ignore it. Maybe some day my good habits will wear off on at least one of them! Anyway, I'm sitting here in a bit of a Tryptophan coma and I think I've managed to create another run-on blog entry so I'm signing off. I hope all you true Gym Rats got in a good pre-turkey burn today and enjoyed a delicious meal with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!
I can't wait for my favourite show, the Biggest Loser to start airing again. All I thought about today and yesterday was making the most of my "last chance workout" haha. Yesterday I skipped my usual cardio and instead did the 30 minute maXtreme "Pure Grit" routine. The app workouts are meant to be done as your only form of exercise but instead I'm using them as warm-ups for my more focused weight routines as I am trying to gain some serious mass right now! This one was a lot of fun, hit several different muscle groups, and got a wicked good sweat going! Then for my regular weight room sesh I did shoulders and core with this routine:
-Bosu ball arnold presses (3x8)
-Lateral raises (3x8 each arm)
-Standing cable cross-overs (3x 12-11-10)
*I'd never done these before but one of the friendly gym usuals was kind enough to show me a new move and I really like them! You simply stand in the middle of a set of cables, set your weight on each side, grab the left cable with your right hand and right cable with your left hand and uncross your shoulders while lifting the cables to opposite sides. It's not as difficult/confusing as I am probably making it sound and it really gave me a burn!
-Incline weighted crunches (3x12)
-Side plank one-arm rows (3x10 each side)
*This is another new move I got from another person earlier in the week. You do a side plank in front of a cable with your weight set and whatever pull-bar you want to use hooked onto the cable (you don't use any with the cable cross-overs). Simply do one arm rows while in plank position, lifting your top leg for an extra burn.
This morning I got to the gym nice and early to make sure I got my spin pass prior to the Turkey Day crowd I was anticipating. I must say, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of early morning turnout. There were of course a few usuals and I know I shouldn't complain since it's so much nicer to work out in a quiet, empty gym but it sure goes to show who's really committed! I concentrated on chest and core today, adding in a bit of calve work since they get so strained from spinning. I don't know what it was, but for some reason I was on a serious role, going heavier than usual for all of my sets. It must have been my subconscious panic at the thought of getting fat off of the chocolate mousse cake I knew I'd be eating later today haha. Here's the rundown of my routine:
-Stability ball free weight chest presses (4x12)
-Standing calve raises (4x12)
-Incline seated chest flies (4x12)
-Hanging loop leg raises (3x8, 1 set forward bent knee, 1 set forward straight leg, 1 set side-to-side bent knee)
-Flat bench leg raises with a stability ball between my feet (3x12)
THEN SPINNING!!! It was an instructor I hadn't had before and always being skeptical of new instructors I wasn't sure how it would go. However, it was a great class and the best part was that she was quite the comedian! I think I was smiling/laughing so much during class that I didn't even feel like I was working that hard! Don't get me wrong though...I was still sweating buckets haha. She played an odd set of music that ranged from Nelly's "It's getting hot in here" to "The Devil went down to Georgia" (Zac Brown version) but everything matched the class really well and kept us very entertained!
After a good foam roller session (my glutes and quads HATE me right now), I filled up my shaker with a free sample of Giant Sports Delicious Vanilla Protein that the guy at PNC was nice enough to give me the other day when I went to re-stock up on Xtend. To my surprise, it really did live up to it's name and was in fact delicious...as far as protein goes anyway haha. Sidenote: I also got a massive container of Syntrax Nectar Vanilla Bean Torte flavoured protein that should last me a while. I've only tried it in my oatmeal thus far but it's tasty enough that I don't have to mask the flavour with maple syrup like I've been doing with the awful GNC unflavoured kind I've been forcing myself to choke down haha.
Then I was off, headed home to get ready for my family's Thanksgiving feast which was also a combination birthday celebration for one of my family members (hence the chocolate mousse cake). Despite having some seriously inflated portion sizes, I managed to keep my plate rather clean (sans gravy/butter/other unhealthy extras) so I could indulge in dessert. I got plenty of the usual harassing for declining the pre-dinner cocktails and asking for my veggies to be set aside before they were doused in butter but I guess I just need to learn to ignore it. Maybe some day my good habits will wear off on at least one of them! Anyway, I'm sitting here in a bit of a Tryptophan coma and I think I've managed to create another run-on blog entry so I'm signing off. I hope all you true Gym Rats got in a good pre-turkey burn today and enjoyed a delicious meal with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!
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