Obliques for M

Finally got my home internet back up and running so I can get back on track with my blog posts! Today I hit up World's for a much needed legs session. I had planned on starting with a run but an inconveniently timed nervous stomach ache made me choose the elliptical instead. I set my Pandora really loud on the Hard Rock Workout mix which immediately got me in the zone and set the pace for an intense stress/anger relieving weights sesh. After a good 15 minute cardio warmup, I got out a bosu ball and did three sets (each leg) of one-legged deadlifts (6 reps each time). The first set I did without weights since I hadn't done them in so long and wanted to be sure I still had my balance. Then I did two sets with 15 lb dumbbells and the last two with 10 lb dumbbells. My hammies better be in pain tomorrow! Next I did three sets of 8 squats on the bosu ball with a 40 lb. barbell held on my traps and then finished up with 3 sets  of 8 (each leg) on the standing glue press machine (70-65-60 lb resistance). I always find it best to start out as heavy as I can go and then decrease the weight slightly as I tire out.

This morning I got an email from an old High School friend who had been reading my blog and wanted to get some advice on how to change her diet and exercise routine in order to blast away her love handles. Love love love when people ask me for advice! One of the things I recommended, on top of an increase in cardio, was adding in a couple of 30-minute ab-focused routines per week to her usual routine of solely aerobics classes. Of particular focus should be the obliques so I tried to do two oblique-targeting moves today as examples.

First, using the back extension machine, I did three sets (each side) of 12 side crunches. I didn't have anyone with me tonight to take pics so I'll have to do my best to describe these. In case you don't know what machine to look for, here is a sample pic:
                                              
Lie on your side on the machine with one leg on top of the other, your bottom hand on your waste and your top hand behind your head. Then crunch your torso up while lifting your top leg's knee to meet your head. They probably won't touch, you just want to achieve the side-crunching motion. If this is too difficult, you can keep your legs in place and just crunch your torso up. Alternatively, you could use a stability ball as your base if your gym doesn't  have a back extension machine.

Next I did hanging leg lifts. I usually do these on the standing leg lift machine but as of late have moved on to using the padded hanging arm loops as support because its much harder and I wasn't feeling it anymore on the standing rests. Again, I have no pic of me doing these so hopefully I don't get sued for using someone else's pictures! Here is a pic of someone using the standing machine (easier) and one of someone using the hanging loops (harder):

You want to start in a standing position and then crunch your knees us for each rep. I did four sets of 8 reps, two sets with my legs coming straight out in an L-shape and two sets crunching side-to-side to get the obliques. In both of these pictures the models are doing the easier bent-leg front crunch version.

That was it for today's workout. Pretty solid routine which hopefully makes up for the fact that both yesterday and tomorrow have to be off-days this week. Friday will have to be super intense! I came home and took my pup for a short walk in the drizzle before dinner. His new shock collar arrived in the mail today (and he proceeded to try to eat the UPS delivery man who tried to hand it over to me) so hopefully some Back Cove dog runs are in our near future!

Born Again

I've always felt like Springtime is a season of re-birth. A time to start over and rid your life of anything preventing you from making the most of your time. Kind of like a second chance at a New Year's Resolution. That's exactly what seems to be going on in my life right now.

First of all, I'd just like to say that I haven't been writing because my internet has been funky at home and writing on my iPhone is not easy. Thus, I'm having lunch in a local cafe with Wi-Fi right now so I can make a much needed blog entry! The past week has been nothing short of a roller coaster. Everything went downhill starting on St. Patty's. Most of it is personal and more information than you want to read in a workout blog but getting food poisoning Saturday night and basically being immobile for 3 days didn't help things. Luckily, starting mid-week, a string of great events started occurring that has led to a complete turn around in my luck / attitude / emotional & physical well being!

You may remember several months ago I mentioned being approached my someone while working out at Planet Fitness who asked me if I'd be interested in being a fitness model for a new fitness app for iPhone that he was in the process of building. Well, at the time I just kind of put it in the back of my mind thinking that there was a good chance the offer wasn't for real. However, to my great delight and surprise, the guy called me this week asking if I'd still be interested. Of course I said yes and we met Friday night to go over the details and also so he could give me a demo of the app. Let me just say, this product is nothing short of amazing! The guy is an absolute computer genius and he's been working with a slew of personal trainers to help build-out the best fitness app to compete with the likes of Nike. It incorporates all the best aspects of the existing fitness apps on the market and includes so much more! I could go on forever but I'll let you see for yourself when it finally becomes available. This morning I met him for a fitting so we could choose the best fitness gear for my shape. I'm really excited to showcase the outfits! Once all the models are done being fit (there are a group of models, both male and female from a few different states), we are going to start shooting. There's not only going to be a picture of a model doing each exercise but there's also going to be a short video of each one in order to demonstrate the move properly. Shooting is going to start in a couple of weeks and he's hoping to have the app ready for launch in June. I'll post details over the next couple of months but I can't broadcast the name yet. I absolutely cannot wait for the launch! So excited to have something to look forward to and to have a reason to get in the best shape possible!

My fitting was at 10am today so I was up bright and early to hit the gym beforehand. Today I focused on shoulders and abs. Here's a run-down of my routine:
1. 3 sets of 12 Arnold presses on a bosu ball
2. 3 sets of pull-ups on the assisted pull-up machine (8-7-6)
3. 3 sets of 12 shoulder shrugs
4. 3 sets of 8 stability ball weighted leg lifts
5. 3 sets of 8 tee pees, kneeling on the ball in between sets
6. 15 mins on the elliptical

I thought I wasn't going to have time for cardio this morning so that's why I did it last when I realized I still had time to kill before my fitting. I was hoping to get in a late day run with my dog but unfortunately its raining out and luckily for me my dog hates the rain haha. Stay tuned for updates and don't forget to follow @PortlandGymRat on twitter!

Spring Training

Wicked good workout today, especially for a Friday and given that I either have allergies or a bit of a Spring cold going on. I felt unusually motivated as I walked through the doors of World's and out of the cold, dreary, wet March air and started today's workout with a solid run. I desperately want to run a 5k this spring. I think if I can pull it off, I will prove to myself that I can finally call myself a runner after all these months of practice. Last Sunday, I pulled off 5k on the treadmill clocking in at 34.5 minutes. I do have to admit thought that I did walk 4 of those minutes (2 to warm-up and 2 separate 1-minute drink breaks during). Today I was only going to do a 20 minute run but as I got going I decided to try and hit the 5k mark again. I wanted to beat my time so I started with a 1-minute warm-up at a 3.0 incline and then amped up the speed from 4.0 to 6.0. I thought I'd be able to do it in around 30 minutes but as I quickly overheated, I allowed myself two separate 1.5 minute water/walk breaks which dragged down my time. In the end I clocked in a 33.5 minutes so at least I improved! When I slowed it down to a snail's pace to cool down afterward I got really nauseous but luckily that passed quickly. Going forward, my new goal is not to see how many minutes I can run like it has been in the past but rather to see how far I can go. Then when I can comfortably do say 3.6 miles (the distance of the Back Cove path) without stopping then I will concentrate on improving my time. 

After my run and after a good stretch sesh on the mats I embarked on a chest & back workout. I started with lat pull-downs (3 sets of 12) and then did free weight chest presses on a stability ball (3 sets of 12). Lastly came back extensions while holding a 10-lb plate to my chest. I started with a set of 12 reps, then 10 and then 8. Even though this is supposed to work your lower back, I always feel it in my hamstrings more than anything because of the way your feet rest against the footrest. After a solid legs workout at Planet on Wednesday and today's run, my hamstrings are hating on me! 

For abs today I did incline crunches (2 sets forward and 2 sets side-to-side). The first two sets were of 20 reps but I was using the bench with the rounded pads (there was a super creep on the bench I usually use who I wanted to avoid) which hurt my legs so I only lasted to 16 reps for the 2nd two sets. Lastly, I did 3 sets of 8 stability ball push-ups, using the bosu ball for my hands on the first two sets. These are still ridiculously hard. I was shaking so much after my first set that I fell off on my first attempt on a 2nd set (super embarrassing!) but after a breather I was successful on my 2nd try. I guess I shouldn't be too embarrassed about it seeing as no one else was trying it! 

That's all for today's workout. I'm seriously exhausted at this point so I better get some good zzz's before tomorrow's St. Patty's day festivities! Tomorrow's workout will definitely not involve any leg activity so they can get some much needed rest. Perhaps an ab-focused session will be needed so that the green beer doesn't go straight to my gut!