I'd been a bit delinquent last week; between houseguests, swimming "lessons" for the pooper, and a long weekend in Edmonton, I only got to the gym twice last week, and I wasn't sure how this week would pan out.
So I skipped my upper/lower split, which seems to have been working nicely, and threw myself into a bootcamp-inspired total body blast, using plyometrics and stabilization drills to completely annihilate every muscle in my body. Actually, the main targets (I discovered the next day while trying to get out of bed) ended up being the medial glutes, quadriceps (teardrop, to be specific), mid-back and shoulders. All of this in 30 sweaty, heart-pumping minutes. Awesome.
Clean and press: With a moderately wide stance, I deadlifted a 30-lb (oooo) barbell from the ground up to my shoulders (the "clean" portion of this powerlifting move), then pressed it overhead, and lowered it all the way back to the floor 12 times. This uses all the major muscle groups in the legs and glutes, as well as low back, shoulders and triceps. I repeated this with the 40-lb barbell for 10 reps, and the 50-lb barbell for 8. Supersetted with...
Hanging knee raises: Simple movement to really focus on the lower abdominals, hanging from the chinup bar (since I'm still not quite ready to try chinups again...) - the knees pull up into the chest as you exhale and curl your hips up. 3 sets of 15.
BOSU agility work: Round side up, I started on the right side of the BOSU. I stepped up with my left foot, then my right, then stepped off the left side with my left foot. Up with my right, then left, and off the right side with my right foot, and it counts as one rep. Yay for plyometrics! It's an up-up-down 3-c0unt, and by keeping my legs bent and my centre of gravity low, I was able to get some good speed going, while burning my legs and lungs near to death. Nice. 3 sets of 15, supersetted with...
BOSU pushups: Flat side up, I placed my hands on the far edges of the BOSU. With the round side down, you have a very unstable surface, which is excellent for calling your stabilizers into action, making your chest, shoulders and triceps work even harder, and turns boring old pushups into a whole-body challenge. 3 sets of 15.
BOSU jump-in squats: More plyos! Round side up, I stood behind the BOSU, and jumped forward with both legs into a squat position so that my left foot landed on the BOSU, and my right was on the ground beside the BOSU. I quickly stepped back behind the BOSU, and jumped forward so that the right was on the BOSU and the left on the floor. Again, that was one rep. The round side gives an uneven surface to help challenge the stabilizers, strengthen the calf, foot, and ankle, and also allow a new range of motion for the squats. Excellent for legs, glutes, and cardio. 3 sets of 15, supersetted with...
BOSU bent-over dumbbell rows: Flat side up, I climbed up on the BOSU (very carefully), and hinged forward at the hips. Keeping my head lifted and my back slightly arched, I pulled two 20-lb dumbbells up to my waist, squeezing my shoulder blades together at the top. Strengthens the lats, spinal erectors, biceps, and gives the hamstrings an isometric workout, as well as making your whole body shake from trying to hold this position on a wobbly base. 3 sets of 12.
Raise-and-rotates: Holding two wee little 5-lb dumbbells, I started with a bent-arm lateral raise up to shoulder height. From there, I keep the elbows still, and rotate the weight up so that my upper arms are straight out from my body, and my forearms are bent 90 degrees, pressing straight to the ceiling, and the weights are by my ears. (Ok, this one needs a stick figure, but I don't have access to a scanner here...) This exercise is excellent for focusing on both the front and medial delts, as well as the rotator cuff. These are all tiny little muscles, and it doesn't take much to make them work.
There you go! A total body blast, quick and dirty. And boy, will you feel it the next day.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Rambling Fitness Update
(simulpost on kapowfit blog)
Well, it's been a while.
It's now been 11 weeks since the blessed/dreaded event, and although I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight, give or take 3-5 lbs, I'm definitely not the same shape that I was. My theory is that my pelvis hasn't shrunk back together yet, but that probably doesn't explain why some of my shirts don't fit well on my arms... I know that nursing will keep some extra baby fat on me till I stop, but still! And there is definitely a bit more pooch to the stomach than there used to me, but it seems to be tightening a little bit more every week.
Here's what I've been doing to get back into shape:
From 5 - 8 weeks post-baby, I was getting to the gym 2 times a week (they have a babysitting room at the Y), and sometimes getting out for a stroll with Vaughn strapped to me. (Aside: I REALLY didn't think that walking was a workout, but I've changed my mind...especially with my walking buddy - that 10 lbs makes a difference!) I would do 30 minutes of weights, supersetting everything, with as little rest as possible. The order of exercises would change with each workout, depending on what equipment was free, but there would be 2 sets of 15 reps of:
Squats
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Lat Pulldown or Seated Cable Row
Incline Dumbbell Press or Dips
Lateral Raises
Biceps Curls
This would be immediately followed by a dash to the babysitting room to make sure that Little V was still sleeping (nice that he sleeps when we're out!), then a dash up to the cardio room for 30 minutes of elliptical or stairmaster. All of this felt good, and I was seeing definition in my arms again, and feeling stronger and fitter.
THEN, I re-read the Oxygen magazine that I got in my stocking for motivation, and switched to a 3-day routine, involving three sets of one of three options for each body part, with a progressive load structure, so that each workout would be slightly different, attacking the muscles from varied angles and rep ranges.
Confused? So am I. It's a good thing I still have my handy-dandy fitness logbook, to keep everything straight. For each day, I need to choose one of the below exercises for each muscle group, and select a weight that will challenge me within the rep range given, making sure that I do all three variations in any given week. Generally, I shouldn't ever do the same workout twice.
Day 1: 3 sets of 6-9 reps / Day 2: 8 - 12 reps / Day 3: 12-15 reps
Leg press / Squat / Lunges
Bent-over Row / Lat Pulldown / Cable Row
Bench Press / Flyes / Incline Dumbbell Press
Rear Delts / Shoulder Press / Lateral Raises
Triceps Pressdown / Skull Crushers / Overhead Extensions
Preacher Curl / Barbell Curl / Dumbbell Curl
Knee Raises / Crunches / Oblique Crunches
..followed by my new attempt at cardio, which I like to call Trying To Run, But Failing Miserably And Feeling Foolish. My first "run" involved a 5-minute walking warmup, followed by a 1-minute run and a 3-minute recovery, of which I needed every second. The next day, it felt like I had a bowling ball bouncing around inside me...not good. However, I'm up to 3-4 minutes running, 2 minutes recovery now, and hope to manage a full 20 minutes, straight, within the next 3 weeks.
It seems to be going fairly well, but I've already started "slacking" on the biceps and triceps, only doing 2 sets. After all, I put the little pooper on a postal scale the other day, in his car seat. He weighed in at 20.5 kg, which any gym bum knows is exactly one of the big weight plates, or 45 lbs. THAT explains my somewhat-toned arms!!!
And FINALLY, I'm back on the schedule! I got a call last Tuesday night, saying that they really needed someone to teach the Wednesday morning step class the next day, that they had called everyone else already, and that they were desperate. I felt the love. So, the class is mine, at least till May.
Woohoo?
Well, it's been a while.
It's now been 11 weeks since the blessed/dreaded event, and although I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight, give or take 3-5 lbs, I'm definitely not the same shape that I was. My theory is that my pelvis hasn't shrunk back together yet, but that probably doesn't explain why some of my shirts don't fit well on my arms... I know that nursing will keep some extra baby fat on me till I stop, but still! And there is definitely a bit more pooch to the stomach than there used to me, but it seems to be tightening a little bit more every week.
Here's what I've been doing to get back into shape:
From 5 - 8 weeks post-baby, I was getting to the gym 2 times a week (they have a babysitting room at the Y), and sometimes getting out for a stroll with Vaughn strapped to me. (Aside: I REALLY didn't think that walking was a workout, but I've changed my mind...especially with my walking buddy - that 10 lbs makes a difference!) I would do 30 minutes of weights, supersetting everything, with as little rest as possible. The order of exercises would change with each workout, depending on what equipment was free, but there would be 2 sets of 15 reps of:
Squats
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Lat Pulldown or Seated Cable Row
Incline Dumbbell Press or Dips
Lateral Raises
Biceps Curls
This would be immediately followed by a dash to the babysitting room to make sure that Little V was still sleeping (nice that he sleeps when we're out!), then a dash up to the cardio room for 30 minutes of elliptical or stairmaster. All of this felt good, and I was seeing definition in my arms again, and feeling stronger and fitter.
THEN, I re-read the Oxygen magazine that I got in my stocking for motivation, and switched to a 3-day routine, involving three sets of one of three options for each body part, with a progressive load structure, so that each workout would be slightly different, attacking the muscles from varied angles and rep ranges.
Confused? So am I. It's a good thing I still have my handy-dandy fitness logbook, to keep everything straight. For each day, I need to choose one of the below exercises for each muscle group, and select a weight that will challenge me within the rep range given, making sure that I do all three variations in any given week. Generally, I shouldn't ever do the same workout twice.
Day 1: 3 sets of 6-9 reps / Day 2: 8 - 12 reps / Day 3: 12-15 reps
Leg press / Squat / Lunges
Bent-over Row / Lat Pulldown / Cable Row
Bench Press / Flyes / Incline Dumbbell Press
Rear Delts / Shoulder Press / Lateral Raises
Triceps Pressdown / Skull Crushers / Overhead Extensions
Preacher Curl / Barbell Curl / Dumbbell Curl
Knee Raises / Crunches / Oblique Crunches
..followed by my new attempt at cardio, which I like to call Trying To Run, But Failing Miserably And Feeling Foolish. My first "run" involved a 5-minute walking warmup, followed by a 1-minute run and a 3-minute recovery, of which I needed every second. The next day, it felt like I had a bowling ball bouncing around inside me...not good. However, I'm up to 3-4 minutes running, 2 minutes recovery now, and hope to manage a full 20 minutes, straight, within the next 3 weeks.
It seems to be going fairly well, but I've already started "slacking" on the biceps and triceps, only doing 2 sets. After all, I put the little pooper on a postal scale the other day, in his car seat. He weighed in at 20.5 kg, which any gym bum knows is exactly one of the big weight plates, or 45 lbs. THAT explains my somewhat-toned arms!!!
And FINALLY, I'm back on the schedule! I got a call last Tuesday night, saying that they really needed someone to teach the Wednesday morning step class the next day, that they had called everyone else already, and that they were desperate. I felt the love. So, the class is mine, at least till May.
Woohoo?
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