Marebear's Gym Log

[Marebear]

I've been doing low carb for about a month now. I have been doing 20 min of cardio 5-6 times a week. I added a full body weight lifting routine to be done 3 times a week. Today was the second day I've lifted and added more weight. I got a few more dumbbells so now I have sets from 3-25 pounds, which should be enough for me for awhile. I'm going to lift 3 times a week and do cardio 3 times a week.

Today I did:
2 sets of 12 reps with dumbbells
Squats - 15 lb dbs
Leg extensions - 15 lb dbs
Dead lift - 10 lb dbs
Calf raises standing - just body weight
One arm row - 15 lb dbs
Bench press - 8 lb dbs
Flyes - 8 lb dbs
Seated shoulder press - 8 lb dbs
Lateral raises - 8 lb dbs
Bicep curls - 8 lb dbs
Hammer curls - 8 lb dbs
Tricep kickbacks - 5 lb dbs

This felt challenging to me and I will keep at this weight for the next week at least. I know I will be sore - my muscles will be talking to me :wiggle:

[Skamito]

Hey, congrats on starting a gym log! Your workout looks great.

A good tip for sore muscles: Glutamine! If you take a teaspoon of glutamine powder right after a workout (I mix mine in my protein drink :thup: ) it will really help DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

I love weight training... hope you do too! Keep it up. :)

[Marebear]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice :) I'm going to have to order some glutamine. I am very sore right now, but it is a good sore - it let's me know I'm still alive LOL.

Mary

[Skamito]

Heh, yeah sore makes you feel ACCOMPLISHED! My BF says muscle soreness is like a good hangover... you know you had fun. ;)

But don't worry, I'm still sore even with glutamine. Ouch. :)

[Marebear]

I lifted weights again today, the same exercises, sets and weights as I did last Friday. I did get some L-Glutamine and had a teaspooon with my protein shake afterward and it has really helped. This time last Friday every muscle was screaming at me. Now it's only a dull roar LOL.

I did a 20 minute exercise video on Sat, and took Sunday off. I am right on track to making my goal for the week - yay! :dazzle:

I love lifting and how it makes me feel strong!

[Marebear]

I just got done with my weight lifting today and I feel great!! I've been doing the same routine and it is still challenging so I figure just keep it the same until I start BFL.

I did a 20 minute walk yesterday and worked on increasing the intensity. I got 2 higher peaks and that really pumped up my walk.

:yay:

[Marebear]

I revamped my lower body routine due to back pain - lowered the weight on some exercise and eliminated 2 (deadlift and one I don't know the name of, bending to the side LOL) and added leg curls for my hamstrings. I don't like to do them since I am so short, round and feel so awkward on my equipment. But I did them and it was OK.

So yesterday I did my full body weight routine. I took it very slow and hardly even sweated, but I just wanted to take it easy. I don't want to screw up my back like that again!

Today I did cardio. Was going for 20 minutes, but felt good (minimal knee and back pain) and did and extra 5 minutes - yay!!

[Marebear]

I did cardio yesterday and did 25 minutes instead of 20. My back and knees didn't hurt much at all so I did more. That felt really good! I know I am getting stronger. :yay:

Weights today. I revamped again, this is what I did today:
Squats - 10 lb dbs 2 x 12
1 arm rows - 10 lb db 2 x 15
Bench press - 8 lb dbs 2 x 12
Flyes - 8 lb bds 2 x 12
Seated shoulder press - 8 lb dbs 2 x 12
Lateral raises - 8 lb dbs 2 x 12
Bicep curls - 8 lb dbs 2 x 12
Hammer curls - 8lb dbs 2 x 12
Kickbacks - 5 lb dbs 2 x 12

I got my BFL Journal today and it is awesome!! Every day there is a success story with pictures and it is really cool. It really floats my boat LOL. I plan on starting it next Monday, and doing it to the best of my ability. I know my goals will be modest, but I am doing this for me!

:wiggle:

[Marebear]

I have met all my exercise goals this week :yay:

I did 25 min cardio on Tuesday, weights yesterday, and 20 min cardio today.

I am going to start the BFL 12 week challenge on Monday. I am going to do it to the best of my ability, but there will be some exercises that I will only be able to do 1 of instead of two, either because I don't have the equipment or I am not comfortable doing them. Hopefully as my weight comes off and my strength increases I'll be able to do more. This first time I will be striving to learn more about my body and what I can expect out of it. I will go for the intensity and try to make every day count, but it's progress not perfection.

I love the BFL journal. This morning I filled out the dream list, my goals, reasons for my goals, and what behaviors I need to change. In the next few days I'll figure out exactly what exercises and weights I will use. I already have an idea, but need to write it all down.

[Marebear]

:yay: :wiggle: :yay:
I started BFL today. I did my upper body and had to adjust me weights (I guessed too low for the start) but then it went well. I really like it. My muscles are toast, but that's OK. Even typing is tricky.

I used my journal - which I LOVE!! Planned it all out and then used it for my guide. Then reflected on it. What a great tool.

I did cardio yesterday and added a high intensity interval to my 20 minutes. It totally wiped me out too LOL. My goal for the challenge is to be about to do 20 minutes with 4 high intensity intervals and live through it.

I know I'm going to love the progress I'll be making.

[Marebear]

I had my first LBWO yesterday and I struggled more with it than the UPWO. I had to adjust almost all of my exercises I had planned on doing, so that kind of threw me off. I started too high on my squats and had to adjust, and then had to revamp the whole set for my hams because what I had planned didn't work. I was going to do step-ups, but that killed my knees, so I switched and did leg curls which was going to be my second exercise. Then finding the right weight to get what I wanted was hard too. I did have a very intense workout though, and it was the first ab work I have done in years. I'm sure it will get easier to find the right starting and ending weights to give me those 9s and 10s.

Cardio was good today. I added another interval so now I am doing 2. It felt really good, but I feel wiped out now LOL.

:yay: :yay:

[Marebear]

Both UPWO and LBWO going just fine. I am usually reaching my 10s for each muscle group. I have increased my cardio to 4 intervals like it says in the book, and this morning did it exactly as it is designed. It was hard, but now I feel great! I also like how I am concentrating on the time and intensity level and this makes the time go very fast and before I know it it's over!

The main effect I don't like from the weight lifting is how wiped out I am afterwards. I have been lifting in the afternoon and then all evening I can hardly do anything! I would love to start in the morning, but I wonder if I would be able to make it through the day. I'm just going to have to try it some morning and see I guess. I'm sure my energy level will increase as I continue to do it.

[diemde]

Hi Mary, thanks so much for the feedback on my planned workout. I do plan on splitting this into 2 different sessions, but wanted to make sure I had all the exercises captured before deciding what goes in each workout.

Thanks especially for the note on deadlifts. I am a bit worried, so thought I'd go very slowly, with good form. I tried doing a couple of them to see how they felt before deciding on including them. I need to increase the strength of my back so I'm hoping these will help.

Thanks so much for the help. I am still just so green on all of this that I can't help but wonder if I'm missing something, or maybe trying to do more than I really need to. I'm really enjoying it, though. :D