Intro to Iron Pumping

About a month ago Gina at The Fitnessista put together a weight-training routine for Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point.  Caitlin is well known for her super duper running abilities and marathon training, but wanted to start tackling strength to make herself even tougher, fitter and more fabulous.  Gina posted the routine and I was immediately drawn in.

Her timing was perfect.  I had been putting a lot of thought into trying out a personal trainer again (the first one I had didn’t really understand what I wanted and therefore I didn’t really learn anything) but I am not really looking to spend a ton of money.  And then I swear the next day, Gina was posting this awesome Intro to Iron Pumping routine.  (Gina is a certified personal trainer, for those that didn’t know.)

Instead of rehashing everything she already says on her blog I thought I would do a recap of what I think and where I am now.  It’s been four weeks, and although I’ve still got a long way to go I am feeling stronger, more confident and can see definite improvement in myself. 

My arms are really showing the success for sure!

Day One – Shoulders Chest Triceps (Saturdays for me)

Exercise	My Mod	Week One	Week Four
Overhead Press		2 x 8lbs 3 sets of 10	2 x 10lbs 3 sets of 12
Dips		3 sets of 10 struggling legs very bent	3 sets of 12 faster legs straighter
Stab Ball Pushups	girlie pushups	barely 3 sets of 5	3 sets of 10
Planks		3 x 30 seconds	3 x 45 seconds
Lateral Raises		2 x 5lbs 2 sets of 10	2 x 10lbs 3 sets of 12
Cable Tricep Ext		15lbs 3 sets of 10	17.5lbs 3 sets of 12
Stab Ball Leg Raises	*my addition	3 sets of 10	3 sets of 12 supersets with *3 sets of 12 regular crunches

Day Two – Legs (Tuesdays for me)

Exercise	My Mod	Week One	Week Four
Lunge & Lift		3 sets of 12 wobbly	3 sets of 12 fast & sturdy
Stab Ball Hamstring Curl		3 sets of 12	3 sets of 12
Leg Extension	machine	40 lbs 3 sets of 10	50lbs 3 sets of 12
Stab Ball Calf Raises		2 x 5lbs 3 sets of 12	2 x 12lb 3 sets of 12
Step Ups		2 x 8lbs 3 sets of 12	2 x 12lbs 3 sets of 12 faster
Pullover Crunch	slightly bent knees	1 x 5lb 3 sets of 8	1 x 8lb 3 sets of 12
Eagle Crunch*	*my addition		3 sets of 6

Day Three – Back & Biceps (Thursdays for me)

Exercise	My Mod	Week One	Week Four
Seated Row	machine	12lbs 3 sets of 12	17.5lbs 3 sets of 12
Lat Pulldown	machine	30lbs 3 sets of 12	40lbs 3 sets of 12
Stab Ball Ys & Ts	*now omitting	no weights	2 x 5lbs
21s		20lbs 3 sets of 12	25lbs 3 sets of 12
Stab Ball Back Extensions		3 sets of 12	3 sets of 12
Frog Crunches	*my addition	2 sets of 5	3 sets of 5 supersets with *3 sets of 12 rev. crunches
Hammer Curls		2 x 8lbs 3 sets of 12	2 x 12lbs 3 sets of 12
Oblique V-situps	side planks	2 x 20 seconds	4 x 30 seconds

(Gina includes links for each of the exercises on her post, so you can see what they are and how they are done…very handy!!)

So, obviously I’ve made a few adaptations. 

• I have always sucked at pushups.  Every once in a while I get to the point where I can do a few real ones, but if I stop I lose it.  My goal at the end of eight weeks is to get back up on my toes…even if I can only do one.  :)
• My lower back hampers a few of the exercises.  Namely the Ys & Ts.  I am leaving those off now.  Sometimes I throw in another exercise to make up for them, sometimes I don’t.
• I like that she includes core work with each day.  I almost always add in an additional core piece, whether it’s more crunches or sometimes additional planks.

Day One is my favorite.  I can do everything, and those things I struggle with I can see improvement in.  Day Three is my least favorite.  I would like to tackle more lower body and glut exercises instead of more upper body.

In addition to this routine I also dedicate one day (Mondays) strictly to cardio and try to fit in one or two Booty Camp DVD workouts (and I’m really trying to get one yoga session per week…but admittedly I’m failing on that).

I wish I had taken measurements to start.  I only weigh myself about once a month and I’ve stayed the same…but weight isn’t a very good indicator of muscles and strength anyway.  I’m just going to have to trust the visuals and progress instead!

All in all, I am so glad to have found this workout from Gina.  I plan to do it for eight weeks total before switching things up for a new routine to keep my body guessing.  I highly recommend trying this if you have fairly decent knowledge of your gym and equipment, but just need a good push in the right direction.  :)

Is anyone else following The Fitnessista’s Intro to Iron Pumping?

If so, how are you doing? 

If not, have I convinced you yet? :)

Personal Trainer Recap #5

My final session with my trainer was tonight. (Having said that I'll probably sign up for another set with her in September...but I'm gonna do the Summer on my own now that I have two full strength training routines to work with.)

I actually hate evening workouts, but our schedules never jive in the mornings. Tonight's ended up being really great though, so that's awesome!! I needed the good sweat, and she got me to do a couple of things I wouldn't normally do, plus it kept me busy during my prime-time snacking hour!

We always start with some hard-core cardio. Cardio before strength training is a must. No matter how hard you work out, you need to get your heart pumping and your muscles loosened up before you start with the strength stuff. Rule #1 - very important!!! So, usually it's sprints on the cross-trainer or sometimes the elliptical. She likes to mix it up, which is great because I get bored easily. haha. So tonight she says "how about the recumbant bike?". Love it!!! I always use the recumbant bike as my cooldown cardio, but I've never used it for HIIT.

She had me pick a level that I find challenging...so I chose 10 (I usually ride at level 7 or 8.... 6 if I'm being lazy). She was impressed and thought that 10 might actually be too high. So I did the five minute warm-up ride, trying to keep my RPMs at a consistent moderately fast rate. Then we did 1 minute resistance intervals by raising the level to 15! One minute at 15, one minute at 10, until I'd completed 15 minutes. My legs were like jello!! But the good, hardcore, shaky jello. My five minute cooldown ride was pretty funny...I had to keep reminding my legs to keep pedaling. 5 miles by the time I was done.

I don't know if I could push myself to do that on my own, but I'm sure going to try to throw that in there at least once a week. It was crazy hard and I really needed her motivation....it will be a personal challenge to do it without her for sure.

Then we went through my new strength training routine to make sure I'm doing everything correctly and to adjust some of my weights, etc. She upped my weight on two of my exercises, so that's good. Tone, tone, tone! For my fast step-ups on the bozu ball (which I love for some reason) she kept saying how fast I was. I don't know if that's just her way to motivate me, or if she really thought I was fast...but I'll take it. I love to get compliments on this stuff!! Plus, yesterday she had corrected my stance for my planks so today's were a breeze to get through...yaaiieeee.

At the end, she showed me a new piece of equipment that the gym just got. I had seen it show up last week, and it looks relatively easy to use, but I hadn't tried it yet. It's the one where you grasp on with your hands and brace with your forearms, while your legs hang...then you pull your knees up (or pull your legs up straight out if you're superwoman). Well, it is easy to use, but it seems to be built for shorter people so I found it a bit awkward. It's a total core/ab/oblique workout so my problematic lower back didn't really like it....but I'll give it a go a few times and see what happens. My trainer said to maybe start with three sets of five (instead of fifteen) and work up from there. Sounds good to me.

And to top it all off, after she left to meet her next client, I decided that I had nowhere to be, so went for a 10 minute cooldown random incline walk on the treadmill....and then had the longest stretch session ever. It felt great!

(hehe, and by the time I got home, watered the planters and garden, had my shower and now typed this...it's too late to go to the kitchen and snack. I had my planned cottage cheese and yogurt and I'm all good! and OP! yaieeeee!)

Personal Trainer Recap

I realized that I never did post the new strength training routine I got from my trainer last week.... I like this one a lot better. I don't know if it's because it seems easier, or maybe because there is less equipment involved, or maybe because I am finally seeing some toning results....but this routine is much more enjoyable to me. It's also faster, with less waiting between sets.

- free moving chest press: this is the machine you sit on with your back up against the pad, and the handles on each side are attached to their own sets of weights (hence free moving because each arm is independent). more difficult than the chest press I was using before, because now I have to control my own arms. this also has the option of lifting a foot off the ground to work on my core...which I desperately need.

- deltoid pull down: this is the machine you reach up and pull down...haha, I guess the name says it all. works the back, delts and biceps. much better than the back machine I was using before...although I will say that my back is definitely getting stronger so it must have been working.

- sit-down/stand-ups: basically these are squats...but using the bench to make sure I squat the same distance each time. squat down so that my pants brush the seat, then stand back up.

during the rest between sets of those, I do...

- step-ups on the bosu ball: just as they sound...faced paced steps up and down on the half-ball (holy high intensity cardio batman)

- tricep press: similar to a bench press, but with a body bar and working the triceps...laying on the bench, keeping arms firm, holding bar straight up and bending at the elbow (hard to explain)

- calf raises: standing on the edge of a stair, going up on tippy toes and back down again

during the rest between sets of those, I do...

- planks: slightly angled, with hands on a bench (so much better for my lower back than the previous ab exercises I was doing)


She also upped me to 15 reps (3 sets). She had me at 12 reps because I'm leaner in the upper body and she thought I might like to build some muscle...but I'm fine with my muscle, I'm really all about the toning, back strength, and light cardio.

Originally I had said I probably wouldn't go back to her, but I've booked a follow up session to go over this new routine and then I'll decide from there. Honestly, now that I have two different routines (plus my own ideas about things I've learned) I think I'll probably take a break from the trainer, at least for the Summer.

Personal Trainer Recap - Day 3 of 5

As I just mentioned in my gym recap, I already did my cardio session this morning. I had to get up to drive DBF to work anyway, so no sense in wasting an early morning workout. But....I already had an appointment booked with my trainer for tonight....so I thought we'd just be doing strength training, but I was wrong!

Instead she turned my "warm up" into a brutal session on the cross-trainer. (We chose the cross-trainer because I already ran on the treadmill this morning.) She let me have my 5 minute warm-up, but then immediately had me bump it up to Level 6 and do sprint intervals. 30 second sprints as fast as I can (up to 11 mph on that machine), with recoveries of 1:30 minutes but still maintaining a rapid speed (about 6.5 mph). Then after 10 minutes of that, she informs me that I'll be doing endurance intervals for the next 10 minutes. Yup, instead of sprinting for 30 seconds, I had to bump it up to Level 13 and go as hard as I could for the 30 seconds. Brutal, but worth it! Finished up the last minute with a Level 13 sprint, followed by a Level 6 killer sprint. At least she let me have the full 5 minute cool down.

Then we headed downstairs to the weights and machines and did a run through of 1 set of my current routine to make sure I haven't developed any bad habits. Nothing to report there, all is well and she's happy that I've already upped my weights on a few things.

She added in two new exercises for me. First, a back extension on the large ball...I had asked for a back strenthening exercise and this does just that. It also works the core big time, plus a little action on the butt (which is always good). I also asked for something for the legs (I'm trying to tone my calves and quads...so she gave me lunges. But not just regular lunges...reverse lunges off the step. Those are going to be great, but to start I sucked. They require a lot of concentration, balance and support...but I could really feel them so I'm stoked to practice those.

I had thought I might stay and ride the bike after our session, but she kicked my ass so hard at the beginning, I just did my stretching and came home.

We've booked our next follow up for two months from now, and by then it will definitely be time for a new routine. She says that I seem to be doing everything just right for now, so to keep it up and by the next meeting I'll be looking forward to learning some more new stuff.

Now, I must go lay down. I'm poopered.

Strength Training Routine

As promised, I remembered to bring my card home today so I could tell you all about my Strength Training Routine.

First, let me toot my own horn by saying that I DID IT! I did my first session all by myself and I didn't try to sissy out once. I'm so proud of myself! And now that I know I can do it, I know I can keep doing it!! Yaaieee me!

So... Three days per week - 3 sets - 12 reps

- Chest Press
- Seated Row (rear deltoid)
- Seated Leg Press
- Side Shoulder Raise (standing on bosu)
- Tricep Pressdown
- Ab Machine (controlled crunches to work core without straining my back)

At our next meeting she is going to add a back extension exercise on the ball and maybe one other thing. I add in ball squats of my own at the end of everything just because I like them. :)

In two weeks, she will give me an alternate program so I can switch it up every 4-6 weeks so that my body doesn't get too used to things.

I know it doesn't look like much, but to complete all three sets takes close to 1/2 hour. Pair that with 20 - 30 minutes of high intensity cardio and it's an excellent routine. On a couple of my off days, I will go in and do a full hour of cardio. Next week I will start trying out a few of the classes offered...likely starting with Yoga Flow or Fun n Fit Yoga... then possibly K-Box or Basic Ball & Step.

Personal Trainer Recap - Day 2 of 5

Last night I had my second session with my Fitness Coach. This was the session where she designed my first strength training routine. Of course, because I want to build up my cardio as well, she had me start out with that.

Oh how I already despise interval sprinting! haha. We decided to use the Cross Trainer since we used the treadmill last time. It's good because I haven't found new shoes for the gym yet (that's a whole other story!) and the ones I'm wearing aren't great for actual running. She had me set the machine at 2 levels higher than I would normally set it, and we went with the random course so there would be lots of hills. Oh yippppeee! haha.

So, 5 minute warm-up, followed by 30 second sprints as fast as I can, with 1:30 minute recovery periods maintaining a decent speed. By the end of the 20 minutes my lungs were hurting but not too bad....it was my legs turning to jello because of the hills that were causing me a problem. But I did it! 2 miles in 20 minutes! I'll take it. She wants me to keep doing that every workout and eventually shorten the recovery time, then later lengthen the sprint times. Hopefully I can keep up the motivation on my own....

As for the strength training, it's actually less than I thought....but I can see that if I spend the time to do the full three sets that it all makes sense. My weight levels were lower than I expected too, but again I can see how it all works when doing three full sets. (I meant to bring home the card with the routine on it so I could tell you all about it, but I forgot....so I'll write it up tomorrow after attempting it all by myself!) Mainly it's with the bigger strength machines, but one exercise is with the bosu ball...which I love because my balance is pretty bad, so it will really work my core. That's what it's really all about for me, is core, core, core....and firming my tushy!

So for the next two weeks, I'm on my own to see how I do. Then I'll meet up with her again to make sure it's going well. At that time she is going to add one or two more exercises to the routine, and also give me an alternate routine to use so that I don't get bored and my body doesn't acclimatize itself to the same old exercises. I'm supposed to change it up every four to six weeks.

The sessions feel a little rushed and I am left with a few questions about cardio, but I can call her after I've tried it a few times on my own, so I am going to get through this week and see how I feel.

Wish me luck!

Personal Trainer Recap - Day 1 of 5

This morning I had my final intro class for the gym...two classes in one... Stretching and Ab Work. It was good but I knew most of the stuff, except for the cool Precor stretching machine that I will sooooo use. Got me out of bed and out the door early too. :)

After that I had my first scheduled appointment with my new Personal Fitness Coach, Carol. She's really nice and obviously very dedicated to her job. There are little articles about her posted on the gym bulletin board, posters for the individual fitness classes she offers, plus her little bio indicates that she has been doing this for 20+ years and it is her mission to help out any women that want to be fun & fit. (That's me!)

I have to say that for the cost, this first meeting doesn't seem quite fair, but I'm sure it will work out by the end of the five sessions. We spent the first 20 or so minutes filling out paperwork, talking about my goals, and weighing & measuring me. I'm a good, healthy weight...which I knew...and my measurements are proportionate so that's good! She also called me long and lean...weeeeeeeeeeeee!

The rest of the session was just to determine my cardio starting point, so she had me walk and then run on the treadmill for 25 minutes. We tried to take my heartrate a couple of times throughout, so I would have something to compare to later, but the stupid machine wasn't cooperating. But I did do much better than I expected. I had told her that "my cardio sucks" and she laughed. Turns out I was wrong. I paced a 13.32 minute mile and apparently that's not too shabby for someone that rarely does cardio. Yaaieee me! We set my cardio goal to be able to RUN a 10 minute mile at the end of one year. She's sure that I'll be able to do it way before that. Score!

After that, we just did some stretching (I guess I didn't need to attend the gym class beforehand) and that was it. Barely 55 minutes, half of which was paperwork.

Monday night we will meet again to go over my strength training. She is excited that I'm wanting that to be my focus, because it's her favorite stuff. I'm excited that it's her forte because hopefully that means she'll help design an excellent plan for me!