Upper Body/Core Lift

Well, given the back to back running workouts I did earlier this week, it's understandable that my legs are down for today's count. So instead I'm going to focus on an upper body and core lifting session.


My goal for today is to actually get through these '15 minute' workouts in 15 minutes. *Maybe* twenty. That way I have time for two! Both from Women's Health Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts. One steals it's monkier from none other than FLOTUS herself: the 'Michelle-Obama-Arms Workout. I'm wary of this workout because it uses machines, which I hate using because someone else is ALWAYS using them. So we'll see how it goes. 

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3 - feeling lethargic today. Really want to go to trivia. Can't afford the time or the calories.

Sore Areas: Legs are exhausted

Yesterday: Light alcohol, Cardio

Environment: Indoors -- hot/humid

Workout
Equipment: dumbbells: 8, 10, 15; medicine ball; resistance band; step
Work Time: 36:30

Upper Body	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Standing Lunge + Cross Shoulder	10/side - 8lbs	15/side - 8lbs	15/side - 10lbs
Lateral Band Raise	10/side	10/side [black]	10/side [black]
Bicep Curls	10 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs
Step Walkovers	16/side	16/side	16/side
Standing V-Pull	15 - 25lbs	15 - 20lbs	15 - 20lbs
Cobra Pushups	10	10	10
Tricep Pushdown - Both Grips	15 - 30lbs [x2]	15 - 30lbs [palm down] 15 - 30lbs [palm down]	15 - 30lbs [palm down] 10 - 30lbs [palm up]
Time	7:30 [x2]	9:00	10:30

Abs	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Reverse Wood Chop	10/side - 15lbs [med ball]	10/side - 14lbs	12/side - 14lbs
Single Arm Lunge	10/side - 10lbs	16/side - 10lbs	12/side - 12lbs
Reverse Plank + Leg Lift	10/side	10/side [table] + 20 sec.	10/side [table] + 20 sec.
Single Arm Bent Over Row	12/side - 15lbs	12/side - 15lbs	12/side - 15lbs
Half Seated Leg Circles	12/direction	10/side	12/side
Plank Twists	10 [x3 sets]	10, 10, + 10 plank lifts/side	10 plank lifts/side x3 sets
Time	7:30 [x2]	8:00	9:00

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 50:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Upper Back

Comments
This was an interesting workout -- some things were too easy, some were too hard. A lot of modifications were made. Definitely need more weight next time on the both kinds of lunges, maybe the wood chop (med. ball choices are 14lbs or 18lbs) and maybe the bicep curls. I don't like using the resistance band because I don't know exactly how much resistance I'm putting on myself (depends on where I'm standing on the band), so I'll probably switch that out next time for dumbbells. My choices for the V pull were 20 or 27.5 pounds and 27.5 was too heavy -- I'll look harder next time for the little wights that get me to the in-between weights. The cobra pushups were surprisingly hard -- both sets needed a break before I got to 10. Same for the reverse plank; I felt like the muscles behind my knees were ripping every time I lifted my leg. So I went into a 'table top' position and lifted my legs instead, then added some time in the actual reverse plank. Loved the leg circles -- could really feel those working all kinds of ab muscles! And finally, I hated the plank twists -- my feet kept sliding back and I couldn't twist properly. So I subbed them out with side planks with a hip lift -- I think I'll keep those next time around.

Distance Run

Confession time: I am not a runner. I do not 'run', I do not enjoy running, I do not understand this (mystical) phenomenon of a 'runner's high'. And I firmly, FIRMLY believe that standing on a starting line with the knowledge that you are going to be doing ONE exercise for the next FOUR HOURS (if you're LUCKY) is an ancient form of torture that causes Zeus to occasionally dissolve into a fit of giggles because he can't believe people today subject themselves to it willingly (thanks Pheidippides).

I will, however, occasionally go for a run. Why? Because it's logistically easy - it takes virtually zero advance planning to accomplish and I can do it almost literally anywhere. Because I know it's a legit form of exercise - it burns real calories and helps build real muscles (I'm looking at you, elliptical. You don't fool me.) And because I can bring my dog -- I get to pretend he's getting the quality time he deserves and he gets to romp through grass. Look at all those birds I'm killing with stones.

So today I'm going for a run. While yesterday's exploits might make me regret this decision, hopefully I won't notice until I'm far enough away from my house that turning back results in running  a respectable distance. Plus, I don't think I have much of a choice -- there's a time factor involved in that I have dinner plans, and while today it's a balmy 82, starting tomorrow the outside air temp will be approximately 'hellacious'.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: none?

Yesterday: No alcohol! Ass kicking cardio!

Environment: Outdoors - warm, with a nice breeze.

Workout
Equipment: none!
Work Time: 55:00
Distance: 5.6 mi.

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 8:00
Total Time: 65:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: n/a?
Sore Areas: Not so much 'sore' as 'extremely fatigued'. Stairs are a challenge.

Comments
Well, I was right. I lasted about 27 seconds before my legs turned into Jello. Unfortunately, 'around the block' doesn't count as a respectable distance. So instead I employed my patented method of 'give exactly zero fucks about my speed (or lack thereof)' and ground out a little over 5 1/2 miles [5.6, to be exact]. Took me 55 minutes start to finish, but I'm going to give myself... enh... 3-4 minutes for doggie breaks and red lights. Works out to about a 9:15-ish pace. Not my best by any stretch of the imagination, but not bad considering how I felt.

40:00 Incline Treadmill

Feeling super uninspired to go to the gym today. Normally when this happens I hop on a bike and read a book, but I biked (hard) on Saturday so I feel as if this isn't really an option. I should hit the treadmill today. Ugh. Run run run.

This treadmill workout is similar to the one I did last week, only instead of mucking around with the speed I'm going to be changing  the incline. And the speed. Just for fun. The pattern here is slow & high, slow & really high, fast & really high, slow & really high, slow & high, repeat. The breaks are slow and slightly less high. I'll cover less distance that I did last week, which is a given, but my butt will hurt more. So, win, I guess?

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: none (weird...)

Yesterday: Sunday Funday -- alcohol, no exercise

Environment: indoors - unpleasantly warm

Workout
Equipment: Treadmill
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Manual
Incline: 12-18

Minutes	Intensity: MPH [time]	Incline: °	Total Distance (horz. mi / vert. m.)*
0:00 - 3:00	6.5	3.0	.3 / 50
3:00 - 5:00	4.5	12.0 [1:00] 15:00 [1:00]	.37 / ? ~ .44 / ?
5:00 - 6:00	6.5	15.0 15.0 [:30] 9.0 [:30]	.97 / 462
6:00 - 8:00 6:00 - 9:00	4.5 4.0	15.0 [1:00] 9.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00] 15.0 [1:00]
10:00 - 11:00 9:00 - 10:00	6.5 6.0	15.0 12.0
11:00 - 12:00 10:00 - 12:00	4.5 4.0	15.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00] 9.0 [1:00]
13:00 - 14:00 12:00 - 13:00	3.5	6.0
14:00 - 23:00	Repeat 3:00 -> 13:00
13:00 - 15:00	4.0	9.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00]
15:00 - 16:00	6.0	12.0
16:00 - 19:00	4.0	12.0 [1:00] 9.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00]
19:00 - 20:00	6.0	12.0
13:00 - 14:00 20:00 - 22:00	4.0	12.0 [1:00] 9.0 [1:00]	1.72 / 860
23:00 - 24:00 22:00 - 23:00	3.5	3.0
24:00 - 26:00 23:00 - 25:00	4.0 3.5 side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	3.0
26:00 - 29:00 25:00 - 28:00	4.5 4.0 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	3.0
29:00 - 33:00 28:00 - 31:00	5.0 4.5 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00] backwards [1:00]	3.0
31:00 - 32:00	5.0 backwards	3.0	2.4 / 967
33:00 - 34:30 32:00 - 33:30	3.8 3.5	3.0
34:30 - 35:00 33:30 - 34:00	3.5 -> 7.0	3.0 -> 12.0
34:00 - 35:30	7.0 [:20] 0.0 [:10] repeat x3	12.0
35:30 - 36:00	7.0 -> 10.0	12.0 -> 3.0
35:00 - 39:00 36:00 - 39:00	10.0 [:20] 0.0 [:10] repeat x10 repeat x6	3.0	3.28 / 1224
39:00 - 41:00	3.5	0	3.40 / 1224

*Note: 'Total Distance' is distance read off the treadmill, values starting with '~' are calculated post-workout based on speed, values without were recorded in real time.

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 8:00
Total Time: 60:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Quads

Comments
Wow -- that was much harder than I anticipated. I nearly died after just the first interval and needed to reassess the situation. I also managed to get so discombobulated that I lost a minute somewhere along the way... I think it was probably one of the medium-speed medium-height minutes. Maybe?** I dunno, there wasn't enough blood left over for my brain once my legs started running up and enormous psuedo-hill. There were multiple other fails in this workflow: I forgot to speed up the treadmill for the first round of shuffles, attempted to turn the 20:10 sprints into hill sprints which wasn't sustainable, AND my distance marking sucked -- I have a few distances, but honestly I can't remember when I put them down or what I was doing at the time (breathing)... thankfully that's what this blog is for! So that next time I can build a better workout and not burn up all my energy in the first 6 minutes. Plan!

** I just realized while filling in the chart that I hadn't lost a minute on the treadmill, I actually skipped a minute in the original plan [minute 8:00 - 9:00 is nowhere to be found]. Times have been updated!

20:00 Row, 20:00 Bike

Since Friday was such a g-d disaster, Boyfriend and I made it a point to go to the gym on Saturday. It was part of our Old-School-esque 'lovey little Saturday'. We went to the gym, and the farmers market, and PetSmart and the epic beer/wine store, AND we saw a movie. It was a very busy, yet fairly unhurried day. Very rare. And we accomplished everything on our to-do list!

I decided to do an intense cardio routine. A pair of extended Women's Health inspired HITT routines, one on the rower and one on the bike.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 5!

Sore Areas: Shoulders

Yesterday: No Alcohol! A disaster of a lifting session...

Environment: Indoors - pleasantly cool

Workout
'Warmup': Biked 2.1 miles to the gym
Equipment: rowing machine, bike
Work Time: 42:30
Program: Manual 
Level: rower - 8; bike - 14

Row:

Minutes	Intensity [min / 500m]	Distance Traveled [m]
0:00 - 3:00	~2:30
3:00 - 5:00	~2:15
5:00 - 6:00	~2:00
6:00 - 6:30	1:50-	1430
6:30 - 9:30	~2:30
9:30 - 11:30	~2:15
11:30 - 12:30	~2:00
12:30 - 13:00	1:50-	2430
13:00 - 16:00	~2:30
16:00 - 18:00	~2:15
18:00 - 19:00	~2:00
19:00 - 19:30	1:50-	4250
19:30 - 20:45	~2:30	4500

Bike:

Minutes	Intensity [RPM]	Distance Traveled [mi]
0:00 - 3:00	70
3:00 - 5:00	85
5:00 - 6:00	100
6:00 - 6:30	110+	1.92
6:30 - 9:30	75
9:30 - 11:30	90
11:30 - 12:30	100
12:30 - 13:00	110+	3.85
13:00 - 16:00	75
16:00 - 18:00	90
18:00 - 19:00	100
19:00 - 19:30	110+	5.84
19:30 - 21:45	70	6.25

Bonus! Ab work:

Minutes	Exercise
0:10 - 1:00 5:10 - 6:00	Straight Arm Plank + Leg Raise
1:10 - 2:00 6:10 - 7:00	T-Plank, R
2:10 - 3:00 7:10 - 8:00	Straight Arm Plank
3:10 - 4:00 8:10 - 9:00	T-Plank, L
4:10 - 5:00 9:10 - 10:00	Reptile Pushups [12]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4!
Stretch Time: 5:00
Total Time: 1:10:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Legs, Upper Back
Comments
Felt really good to get a good workout in after the disaster that was Friday. I was super energized and maybe did a little to remedy the indulgent week I had. 7 more days till the beach!

Total Body Lift

No workout yesterday -- went to a Nats game instead! The project I'm currently on did a 'social' and they bought us tickets to the game and a picnic dinner. And beer. Lots of beer. Some of it I didn't even have to pay for!So it's back to the gym today. Sigh. I'm going to try to do the workout I meant to do last week before I got distracted by classes.

Whoops... didn't get around to this workout until Friday. Thursday I was bored at work and perusing stubhub when I found tickets in the all-you-can-eat-and-drink box for a reasonable amount. So I bought them! For no particular reason other than it would be fun. Boyfriend was very excited.  Thus my healthy intentions were pushed back another day. C'est la vie!

This one is another workout I've pulled from the Women's Health 'Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts', this time their 'Bikini Body Workout 2', but I've tweaked it a bit to work in my gym - removing the barbell-rolling pushups and replacing them with some different ab work.

I'm also going to try and start finding these exercises online somewhere -- look for links within the workout if you're curious as to what, exactly, constitutes these moves.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Legs -- no idea why...

Yesterday: Beer x2 No exercise x2.

Environment: Indoors -- hottest day of the year so far...

Workout
Warmup: Elliptical - 5:00 - .5 mi
Equipment: dumbbells - 15lb, 12lb [hex]; box; barbell - 40lb; ab roller stability ball
Work Time: 35:00

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Squat + Overhead Press	15 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs
DB Pushup + Row	10/side [alt] - 12lbs [hex]	5/side - 12lbs [with pushups] 5/side - 12 lbs [no pushups]	4/side - 15lbs [with pushups] 6/side - 15lbs [no pushups]
Reverse Lunge + DB Curl	15/side [alt] - 12lbs	15/side - 12lbs [3 sets of 5/side]	15/side - 12lbs [2 sets]
Tricep Dip + Reach	15/side [alt]	5/side [dip + reach] 10 dips x2 sets	8/side [dip + reach] 8 dips x2 sets
Sumo Squat	15 - 40lb [barbell]	15 - 40lb	8 squats + 4 low squats x2 sets
Lunge + Overhead Press	15/side [alt] - 15lbs	12/side - 12lbs [with press] 3/side - 12 lbs [no press]	15/side - 12lbs
Barbell Pushup	12	10	12 [no barbell]
Ab Rolls Stability Ball Mountain Climbers	12 30	30	30
Total time	7:30 [x2]	16:00	19:00

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal
Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 2:00
Total Time: 1:10:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Shoulders!

Comments
Holy hell... I do not recommend drinking heavily two nights in a row and attempting anything resembling a difficult workout. I barely got through this intact. Everything was a disaster -- starting with the fact I couldn't find the ab roller so I had to improves, then I couldn't even get through most of the sets without stopping to rest. I tried to make myself feel better by making the moves that didn't make me want to die harder -- like adding weight to the DB rows because I knew there was no way I'd get through 20 pushups. Then my noble intentions to throw a cardio workout after this one were defenestrated (!) after I failed at pushups. At that point, it was time to cut my losses and hole up at home. I also don't know how I managed to be there over an hour for a 35 minute workout. Sigh. I'll have to retry this workout in the near future to figure out exactly how hard it is, because I'd like to think it won't make me want to cry if I'm anything resembling on top of my game.

30:00 HITT - Plyometrics

Nothing much to say today -- feel pretty good! Gotta stock up on calorie burn today, as tomorrow I'll be going to a Nats game and likely eating/drinking pretty badly. I tell myself I'll get up in the morning and go for a run, but my current record in that regard is something like 0 - 2307462034. I've gotta take the pup to the vet for a few vaccines, so instead of the gym I'll be going to the park with the dog and a ball and jumping up and down for awhile.

Today's workout is taken from BodyRock.TV -- a great fitness website if you can look at it somewhere other than work. Or at work, maybe, if your boss isn't a douchecanoe. Or you have an office or something. Not so good for cube-dwellers like myself. You've been warned? Today's workout can be found here, but I've tripled it (because I have the time to spare) and added some more abs (because I have to be in a bikini in 5 days).

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Upper/lower back.

Yesterday: No Alcohol! Cardio HITT!

Environment: Outdoors - HUMID, HOT

Workout
Equipment: none!
Work Time: 30:00

Minutes	Exercise	# Completed
0:00 - 0:20	Split Lunge Jumps	Rd 1: 24, 23, 23, 25 Rd 2: 25, 26, 25, 24 Rd 3: 18, 24, 25, 30
0:30 - 0:50	Mountain Climbers	Rd 1: 40, 40, 40, 42 Rd 2: 41, 38, 31, 40 Rd 3: 46, 38, 42, 50
1:00 - 4:00	Repeat 0:00 -> 1:00 [x3]
4:10 - 5:00	Plank Butt Squeeze	Rd 1: 27 Rd 2: 30 Rd 3: 32
5:10 - 6:00	T-Plank + Toe Touches [R]	Rd 1: 40 Rd 2: 40 Rd 3: 44
6:10 - 7:00	Plank
7:10 - 8:00	T-Plank + Toe Touches [L]	Rd 1: 42 Rd 2: 46 Rd 3: 42
8:10 - 9:00	Reptile Pushups	Rd 1: 14 Rd 2: 0 [walked home] Rd 3: 20 [regular]
9:01 -10:00	Rest
10:01 - 30:00	Repeat 0:00 -> 10:00 [x2]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 45:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Quads

Comments
I can't decide if counting is a good thing for this workout. On the one hand, I know whether I'm going faster or slower than my 'average'. On the other, I hit whatever number happens to be 'normal' for that exercise and I probably give up a little bit. I guess next time I'll have to readjust what I feel is my average number of reps...

Also I should remember to hit the park before dusk. Too many bugs for my general happiness...

40:00 Treadmill

I can think of lots of sports that require athleticism. Soccer. Baseball. Football. Swimming. Gymnastics. The list goes on and on. But kickball? Kickball ... is not so much on that list. But judging my my soreness today after playing 5 games yesterday, I might have to reconsider that outlook. It's not enough to keep my out of the gym, thankfully, but it's definitely more than zero. And I don't even have a trophy to show for it!

A treadmill workout of my own devising today. After 3 minutes of warmup, the first 20 minutes is composed of minute-long intervals at one of three speeds [walk, jog, fast run]. It roughly follows a 'walk, run, sprint, run, sprint, run, walk' format [low, med, high, med, high, med, low]. The next 10 minutes is one minute of shuffling on each side, followed by a minute of running backwards. Yes, I get weird looks for this at the gym. I'm over it. Mostly. Finally it's a minute break, then around a minute to get the treadmill up to ~10mph (these things don't happen instantly you know), and 5 minutes of 20/10 sprint/rest intervals. Then a 3 minute cool down and I'm on my merry way.

It might seem a little complicated, and it kind of is, but I get bored Very Easily, so having to punch numbers all the time helps keep me focused. Plus, I can do anything for one minute, right? 60 measly seconds. I could withstand the Spanish Inquisition for 60 seconds (probably...). No excuses.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Hip Flexors, Lower Back

Yesterday: No Alcohol, Does Kickball count as Exercise?

Environment: indoors - cool

Workout
Equipment: Treadmill
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Manual
Incline: 2.0-3.0

Minutes	Intensity: MPH [time]	Incline: °	Total Distance (mi.)*
0:00-3:00	6.5	3.0	.32
3:01-9:00	9.5 [1:00] 6.2 [1:00] repeat x3	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [2:00] 2.0 [2:00]	1.10
9:01-10:00	3.8	3.0	~1.16
10:01-15:00	6.2 [1:00] 9.5 [1:00] repeat x2.5	3.0 [1:00] 2.5 [2:00] 2.0 [2:00]	1.78
15:01-16:00	3.8	3.0	~1.85
16:01-20:00	6.2 [1:00] 9.5 [1:00] repeat x2	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [2:00]	2.38
20:01-21:00	3.8	2.0	~2.44
21:01-23:00	4.0 side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.0	~2.57
23:01-26:00	4.5 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.0	~2.80
26:01-29:00	5.0 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.0	~3.05
30:01-32:00	5.0 backwards	3.0	3.12
30:01-31:30	3.8	3.0	~3.21
31:30-32:00	3.8 -> 10.0	2.0	3.23
32:01-37:00	10.0 [:20] 0.0 [:10] repeat x10	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [3:00]	4.12
37:01-40:00	6.0	2.0	4.43

*Note: 'Total Distance' is distance read off the treadmill, values starting with '~' are calculated post-workout based on speed, values without were recorded in real time.

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 60:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Quads, Upper/Lower Back

Comments
So I made it 4.43 miles in 40 minutes, except for 2 of those minutes I was standing on the side rails while the treadmill either got up to or hummed merrily along at a 10mph clip. That roughly works out to .3 miles, so *I* physically ran 4.13 miles in 40 minutes. Works out to an average pace of 9:41...  not great, but considering I spent around 12 minutes at sub 6.0mph, I'll take it.

At the same time, I covered 2.38 miles in the the first 20 minutes, which is a respectable 8:24 clip. I consider that a better indicator of the overall pace, as the shuffling around is more of a toning exercise, and the 20/10 intervals are purely for fat burning purposes. Ideally this is the pace that will transfer to outdoor distance running.

This is probably one of my favorite workouts, as I've been known to do it up to once a week (especially during the winter). I'm vaguely aware of progress in that I didn't feel nearly as much like death today that I recall feeling in, say, February, and I've been sporadically bumping up the 'jogging' pace and mucking around with the incline to make it harder. Now that I'm actually tracking pace/incline, I expect to see some quantifiable progress! 

In the interest of full disclosure, I took a 5 second rail-break after the 4th, 5th, and 6th 9.5mph 'sprints'. Running is hard!

CXWORX + Body Pump

Took a day off from the gym yesterday to go to trivia -- I'd feel guilty, but we won! Clearly there are no regrets with that. However it did result in an unpleasant surprise on the scale this morning, so it's back to the grindstone today.

Another workout I've pulled from the Women's Health 'Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts' - this time their 'Bikini Body Workout 1', but with some tweaks. They want me to do a move that involves a pushup on a barbell, then rolling it forward, then back in, then repeating the pushup, etc. etc. I'm switching it out, not because I don't think I can do it, but because the barbells we have at our gym have fixed weights. I'm sure there are arm-sized free weight bars that you lock plates on to somewhere around, but all the ones I've seen are in the class studio and I'm not entirely sure I'm allowed to take things out of there for use elsewhere... so I shall improvise!

Boyfriend kindly offered to play with Dog last night, so I took the opportunity to spend a little more time at the gym that I usually do. Did 13 minutes on the rowing machine because that's all I had time for, but then took a pair of classes back-to-back. The first was a 30 minute core workout called 'CXWORX' and then an hour of BodyPump. I do take BodyPump on a fairly regular-ish basis, so I'm going to go ahead and keep track of my weights so I can try and figure out if I'm improving or if I need to add/subtract plates.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Hamstrings

Yesterday: Alcohol,  No Exercise :(

Environment: Indoors. Cool via giant noisy fans.

Workout
Warmup: repeat minutes 3:00 - 6:00 until 13:00 are up

Minutes	min/500m	Distance Traveled
0:00 - 2:59	2:30	~ 600m
3:00 - 3:59	2:00-	~250m
4:00 - 4:59	~ 2:40	~190m
5:00 - 5:59	~ 2:15	~217m
Total: 0:00-15:00	2:19-	2850m

Equipment: resistance band [orange], small barbell, plates: 5kg x4, 2.5kg x2, 1kg x2
Work Time: 90:00

CXWORX: 30:00, various core exercises
BodyPump: 60:00, full-body workout

Muscle Group	Weight [plates = total]	Increase/Decrease?
Warmup - All	2 x 5kg = 10 kg	no
Legs/Gluts	4 x 5kg + 2 x 1kg = 22kg	no
Chest	2 x ( 5kg + 1kg) = 12 kg	no
Back/Hamstrings	2 x (5kg + 2.5 kg +1kg) = 17 kg	Increase
Biceps	2 x 5kg = 10 kg	no
Triceps	2 x 5kg = 10 kg	no
Shoulders	2 x 5kg = 10 kg	no

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 5:00
Total in-Gym Time: 2:00:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Chest, Triceps


Comments
I like body pump, but it definitely has the flow of making you feel like you're going to die while you're doing the exercises, but then 5 minutes after the class ends you're kind of like 'huh, I could probably do that again right now.' At least, that's what you think until you try to do a pushup and fall on your face. It's a sneaky little workout...

And a fun fact I learned from the instructor: in a typical 60-minute BodyPump class you do about 800 reps -- that's about 1 rep every 5 seconds! This was technically a 45-minute 'express' class, but apparently we still got in around 650 reps. Not too shabby...

Total Body Lift

Slowly getting over the travel sluggishness - a full night's sleep always helps. Today's goal is to workout then get back into the kitchen -- as much as I love restaurants and frozen pizza, I'm anxious to refill my fridge with leftovers!

Today's workout is one I took from Women's Health -- specifically from their 'Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts'. Maybe I'm slow, but none of their lifting sets has ever taken me 15 minutes. Too much weight, perhaps? Or maybe I'm just lazy? Regardless, I have a vague recollection of this particular workout being a hamstring killer, but we'll see how I feel in the morning. This is the 'High School Reunion Workout 1'.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Upper Back

Yesterday: No Alcohol! Cardio.

Environment: Indoors. HUMID.

Workout
Warmup: Elliptical - 5:00 - .5 mi
Equipment: box, BOSU, stability ball, medicine ball: 15 lb, dumbbells: 8 lb [hex], 12 lb [hex], 15 lb
Work Time: 40:30

	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
One Leg Dip + Bicep Curl	15/leg - 12 lbs	15/leg - 12 lbs	15/leg - 12 lbs
BOSU 'Crab Walk'	15/side [alt]	15/side	15/side
Back Lunge + Shoulder Press	10/side - 15 lbs	15/side - 15 lbs	13/side - 15 lbs
'Warrior' Row + Tricep Extension	15/side [alt] - 12 lbs	15/side - 12 lbs	12/side - 12 lbs
Plank + Front Raise	15/side [alt] - 8 lbs	12/side - 8 lbs	11/side - 8 lbs
Sumo Squat + Side Crunch	15/side - 15 lbs	15/side - 14 lbs	15/side - 14 lbs
Stability Ball Crunch + Punch	10/side [alt] - 8 lbs	12/side - 8 lbs	10/side - 8 lbs
Time to Complete	15:00	15:30	20:00

Bonus! Ab work:

Minutes	Exercise
0:00 - 0:50	Straight Arm Plank + Leg Raise
1:00 - 1:50	T-Plank, R
2:00 - 2:50	Straight Arm Plank
3:00 - 3:50	T-Plank, L
4:00 - 4:50	Pushups -- 20

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total in-Gym Time: 1:05:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]:1
Sore Areas: Hamstrings

Comments
Full disclosure -- it may look like I exceeded my goals for those lunges, but I was actually aiming to do 15 on each side because I can't read my own handwriting. So in my brain its a yellow box.

Also: I have no idea how anyone expects to get that done in 15 minutes. They must be using 3 pound weights. Which, from the pictures I'm looking at, is probably true. I also think this workout has too many accessories -- ball, bosu, box, dumbbells AND medicine ball? This is why I don't do Pilates...

40:00 Stationary Bike

Just got home from a week-long vacation in Chicago/NYC -- huge congrats to my sister for graduating high school (never doubted you!) and Lee's sister for earning her D.O.! The week was filled with food and family, celebrations and attractions, and did I mention food? Because there was Food. Lots of it. Time to get back on track -- aiming to be beach-ready in less than three weeks!

Was super tired today, so I opted for a quick cardio workout on the bike so that I could read the book I'm desperately trying to finish. This is a workout I've devised myself, based on a blurb I read in Shape (Self? maybe?) magazine awhile back. It suggested that I add just 5 minutes of 20-10 intervals to the end of any workout to increase results. I figure if once is good, more than once is better!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 2

Sore Areas: none

Yesterday: Alcohol, No Exercise

Environment: indoors - humid

Workout
Equipment: Stationary Bike [LifeFitness]
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Random
Level: 16

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Distance Traveled
0:00-5:00	5: ~75
5:01-10:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]
10:00-15:00	5: ~75
15:01-20:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]
20:00-25:00	5: ~75
25:01-30:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]
30:00-40:00	5: ~75

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 0 min.
Total Time: 40 min.

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]:  1
Sore Areas: none

Comments
Crappy workout. Didn't hit many of my RPM goals and I didn't even finish my book! But something > nothing; plan to hit it hard tomorrow. 

Template

My workout 'diary' template. Huge danke to Boyfriend who got me started on this!

[Workout description -- source, if applicable]

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: [1-5]

Sore Areas: [Legs, Abs, Chest, Upper Back/Shoulders, Lower Back, Arms]

Yesterday: [No/Alcohol, No/Exercise -- Cardio | Weights | Stretch]

Environment: [In/outdoor, hot/cold/humid/pleasant/etc]

Workout
Equipment: [bike | treadmill | free wights | dumbbells | etc]
Work Time: [ xx min.]
[for cardio machines:
Program: [Random, Hill, Interval, etc]
Level: [xx] ]

Cardio Table:

Minutes	Intensity: RPM/MPH/time per 500m	Distance Traveled

Lifting table:

	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: [1-5]
Stretch Time: [xx min.]
Total Time: [xx min.]

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: [1-5]
Sore Areas: [Legs, Abs, Chest, Upper Back/Shoulders, Lower Back, Arms]

Comments