75 minute mega-circuit: a workout for a smaller gym

Today I realized I need to get my motivation back.  I need to be stronger and more compact.  I decided to jump back in with a bit of a mix-up on my usual routine - sadly I didn't have the amazing equipment of DW but I did have barbells and bars and a few machines.  So I did the following:

April Mega-Circuit!

500 meter rower

Deadlifts (30kg) x 15

Box Step-ups (5kg each hand) x 20

Weighed squat (10kg bar) x 10

Clean & Press (15kg) x 10

Bicep Curl (12kg) x 10

Lat pull down (heavy) x 10

Dumbell Chest press (10 kg each hand) x 10

Push ups x 10

Dips x 10

Repeat 3 times!

THEN....

Machines!  I started at a do-able weight,  did 10 reps, increased to next weight, 10 reps,  increased again until I could only do 5. I did it for the following:

Adductor

Abductor

Leg Extension

Leg press (each leg separately)

THEN...

A bunch of core stuff.  Sit ups, weighted sit ups, planks, leg lifts, reverse crunches, hundreds, V-sits, Side plank, side crunch... etc.

And that's it!! That's my awesome fun workout that took 75 minutes and made me feel awesome.  Horray!

Really Awesome Weights Routine TWO!

Today I had a truly excellent workout.

I've started to get really into this idea of Strength Training.  I think it's because often my "hobbies" are more cardio based - like cycling, or mountain biking, or hiking, or even running (which is not so much a hobby but a think i try to do sometimes).

There is something fun about going to the gym and throwing around weights and looking awesome and seeing yourself get stronger.

I used a 10kg bar today for bicep curls and it was too light.  I did my 10 sets easy.

Tonight I used a guest gym at DW fitness. Saturday night at 7pm is an odd time to go to the gym, and the floor was full of muscle people, but I didn't care.  I did my totally awesome weights routine 2, which is the new workout Geraint and I do (the old one is HERE)

TOTALLY AWESOME WEIGHTS ROUTINE 2

Rower: 500 Meter Sprint

Deadlift (25kg bar) 15 sets

&

Box Step Ups (5kg) 10 each side

&

Weighted Squats (10kg) 10 squats

Dumbbell Chest Press (10kg each) 10 sets

&

TRX Chest Press (10)

& 

Press Ups (10)

Clean and Press (15kg bar) 10 sets

&

Bent Over Rows (15kg bar) 10 sets

&

Kettle-bell Swing (8kg) 20 swings

Bicep Curls (12.5kg) 10 sets

&

Upright Row (12.5kg) 10 sets

&

Chin Ups (10 or however many I can do)

Leg lifts (15)

&

Crunches (15)

&

Plank (60 seconds)

Repeat twice

I love this routine.  I love how it puts 3 exercises together and I love how I get to lift heavy things.  I like the Clean and Press most because it makes me feel awesome.  

This evening I modified it slightly, I didn't do the last core bit but instead did the following:

Modified Core

Leg Lifts (15)

Knee Lifts (15)

Crunches (20)

Plank (30 seconds)

Repeat 4 times

Now I'm tired.  That was a good workout.

Thursday Training

What's that thing where 2 words have the same start?  Like my clever "wednesday workout" post followed by "thursday training".  Anyways, on Thursday I was still away with work, but I managed to AGAIN get down to the hotel gym for an early morning workout.  I also figured out how to log stationary trainer and treadmill on Strava, so now I have a list of workouts such as "stationary bikes are boring" and "treadmills are boring" which they are.

So in an attempt to keep me from getting too bored, I created CARDIO ROUTINE 2 FOR THE GYM!

I'm even going to list this under "routines" so I can look at it next time I'm away with work, which is exactly 10 days from now.

CARDIO ROUTINE 2

Treadmill:

Running intervals - 20 seconds slow, 20 seconds transition, 20 seconds fast

Repeat 10 times

Rower:

500 meter sprints

1 minute recover

repeat 4 times

Stationary Bike:

20 minutes on random, level 8

Going to the gym only less boring than writing about going to the gym, so I'm very sorry for making you read all this boredom.  On Sunday I'll be mountain biking again (it's been a while!) So look forward to some better pictures then.  Horray!

Wednesday is Gym Day!

I go to the gym.  I go to the gym once a week, with my gym buddy Geraint, who is awesome.  I call him my personal trainer because he sets what we do, and then he does it well, and then I complain.  I complain a lot.  Geraint has not yet stopped inviting me to the gym, so I think our parasitic gym relationship might actually be a symbiotic one.  Geraint is very strong, and he lifts heavy weights, and now I am going to learn how to lift weights.

FACT: Geraint is one of the few people in the world with a nicer smile than me.  If that's not a brag-compliment, I don't know what is.

This is me and Geraint, not at the gym.

Our gym is very cheap and full of people wearing football gear, which is odd becasue none of them are playing football.  I recently started lifting weights - our current routine is as follows:

Rower: 500 Meter Sprint

Deadlift (20kg) 15 sets

&

Lunges (10 kg) 10 each leg

Clean & Press (15kg) 10 sets

&

Bent over Rows (15kg) 10 sets

Bicep Curls (12kg) 10 sets

&

Upright Row (12kg) 10 sets

Chest Press (7.5 kg each side) 10 sets

&

Push Ups (I can't actually do a push up, but the routine calls for 10)

Tricep Extention (EZ Bar* with 1.25 each side) 10 sets

&

Bench Dips (10)

Ab crunch bench - 15

&

Plank - 45 seconds

Repeat three times.

Geraint does this 4 times a week.  I do it once a week and it hurts!  but good hurt.  I guess.  Of all the things in the list, the two hardest are Plank and Push Ups.  I can't do a push up.  I can do lots of "girl" push ups, and occasionally I can do a star push up, but no push ups.

NEW GOAL: 10 PUSH UPS.

Also, I never stretch, ever, so that's probably why I feel so awesome in the morning, and by awesome I mean sore, and by sore I mean kind of not awesome.  WOULD IT KILL ME TO STRETCH? Probably not


NEW GOAL: Stretch after weights

NEW GOAL I HAVE ABANDONED IMMEDIATELY: Stretching after weights.

*I don't know why they call it the EZ bar because it is not at all easy!