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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)