And I'm really pumped about how much stronger I am getting. As I've mentioned before, I have been "lifting" some for years now, but only recently have actually starting LIFTING. About fifteen months ago I started to get into it more, but would superset everything I was doing to speed it up, and leave me with more time for cardio. And I while I initially saw some improvement, I plateaued pretty quickly.
Then, about 4-5 months ago, my husband convinced me to work out with him for a few days, therefore working out at his pace. Which was sloooooow. Annoyingly so. But I put up with it for a bit, and actually came to enjoy it (well, sorta. I still don't like waiting as long as he does between sets). Now, he's busy and I always workout by myself, but I am sticking with the non-superset weightlifting and am seeing more and more improvements in my strength.
So much so that I finally decided to give a leg workout a try today. I always skip leg workouts because I do cardio daily, which is completely leg based. And I do sprint intervals when I do cardio, so I figure(d) I don't really need the extra leg work. But I've been wanting to give it a try, and finally went for it (somewhat) today. I took it a little easy so that I could ease into it. And realized that my legs/butt are NOT as strong as I would have thought. I could have squatted a little more than I did, but not much. Sometime near the end I squatted down and for a second was wondering if I had put any more weight on if I'd be able to get back up... yikes.
And I did shoulders. Usually on shoulder days, I do sprint intervals on the treadmill afterward or run a mile or two as fast as I can. And then do some lower-key cardio on the elliptical. Today I just went right for the elliptical after my strength training since I did the leg stuff.
I am posting the weights I do because I want all of you "light lifters" out there to know that YOU CAN go heavier. I'm not recommending starting with a 32.5 pound dumbbell for a military press, you'll just hurt yourself. But it does not take that long to get there.
Today's Workout: Shoulders and a "ease into it" Leg Day
Shoulders:
3 Sets: Seated Military Press, 10-12 reps each (32.5 pound dumbbells)
3 Sets: Upright Rows, 12 reps each (20 pound dumbbells)
3 Sets: Lateral Raises, 12 reps each (10 pound dumbbells)
2 Sets: Front Raises, 10-12 reps each (10 dumbbells)
Legs:
3 Sets: Squats with Barbell Only, 12 reps each
1 Set: Straight Leg Deadlift (42.5 pound dumbbell in each hand)
*I only did one set of this because it slightly bothered my back. Might try going lighter next time to help get used to it
3 Sets: Backwards Lunge to Single Leg Deadlift (20 pound dumbbells in each hand)
* I really like this exercise. It is great for your balance. Simply do a backwards lunge, come up from it keeping the back leg lifted, and hinge to do a straight leg deadlift. The leg that goes back in the lunge should stay off the ground the entire time.
Then I went on the elliptical for an hour. The first twenty minutes I do little intervals and the rest I do more at a steady state. Even when I'm doing my steady state, I do try to incorporate little "bursts of energy" as my music picks up. I follow that with walking on the treadmill at an incline. I vary the incline between 4 and 12 usually and the speed between 3.5 and 4. The walking part of my workout is mostly because I want to watch some TV. :-)
And that was today! What are YOU doing to workout today? Feel free to share in the comments!
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