Just so I feel accomplished

[telophase]

I've got four more workouts in Stage 1 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women, then I get to rest for a week, then I start Stage 2.

In Stage 1 (well, in all stages, really) you alternate two different workouts so neither you nor your muscles get bored. :) Here is how I've increased in weights:

(note: "x2/x3" means do each set two or three times. Squat 15 x 2 would be squatting 15 times, rest then squat 15 times again. Etc.)

	1st time	Most recently
Workout 1
Squat Push-up Bent-over row Step-up Prone jackknife	BW (body weight)/15 x 2 60deg (incline, against wall)/15 x 2 5lb (dumbbells, 5 lb in each hand)/15 x 2 5lb/15 x 2 BW/8 x 2	18 lb barbell/10 x3 60 deg/8 x3 (with better form!) 18 bar/8 x3 BW/8 x3 (but stepping up 10" instead of 4") BW/15 x3
Workout 2
Deadlift Dumbbell shoulder press Wide-grip lat pulldown Lunge Crunch	10lb/15 x 2 3.75 each dumbbell/15 x 2 3.75 each dumbbell/15 x 2 BW/15 x 2 BW/8 x 2	23 barbell/8 x 3 7.5 lb (each dumbbell)/8 x 3 7.5 lb/8 x 3 5 lb (holding 2 5lb dumbbells)/8 x 3 BW/15 x 3

Yeah, I think we can call that accomplishment.

Comments

[weirdquark]

Whoo!

I'm finishing up the second week tomorrow and then am going to a con where I will not have access to weights (or, you know, time, really) so I'll be taking a break where I do some of the things at body weight this weekend before going on to MORE HEAVY THINGS!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've got myself on a Sun-Tues-Thurs schedule to theoretically weekend trips shouldn't break it up too much. Although I was off by a day for the past two weeks because I had a migraine one Sunday a while back and decided not to risk making it worse.

I can tell I'll need to buy more weights soon, as I've already got all the plates on the barbell and the dumbbells and I hate swapping plates in between sets. XD

[weirdquark]

Since I work Saturday afternoons and am off on Mondays, Sat-Mon-Wed means I can take my time two of the three days and only need to pay attention to how much time lifting takes one day a week. (So far, under a half-hour, not counting warming up, which works for working out before going to work.) Stage two looks like it'll take longer though, so unless I'm wrong I'll have to do two workouts a week, by which I mean on the third day I'll do as many Turkish get-ups or something as I can fit into twenty minutes and alternate the actual program on Saturday and Monday.

I'm not sure what I'll do when my current max deadlift exceeds the amount of weight that I own; buying heavier plates and a barbell will still be cheaper than a yearly gym membership, but they get more expensive as they get heavier.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I haven't looked at Stage 2 much yet. I'll play it by ear when it comes.

Today I tested myself at work - normally when I walk up 2 flights of stairs, I'm panting and wobbly, but today, while still panting, my legs weren't wobbly and they recovered much faster than usual. I should probably add more cardio to help me stop the panting. :)

Our main problem with getting more weights is a place to store them and work out. There's a garden room off the living room, but it was made ineptly out of a covered porch years ago and has no A/C. There's a metal fan (with two speeds: Off and Decapitate), but it'll still be too hot to work out in during the summer, which is a pity as otherwise it'd be a good space for it. At the moment, the home gym (weights and two exercise bikes) is sharing space with the guest bed and a laundry rack.

[weirdquark]

There's a garden room off the living room, but it was made ineptly out of a covered porch years ago and has no A/C.

Maybe you could add some hot yoga on your non-lifting days! (I'm only sort of kidding -- I have a friend who tried it out and discovered that to her surprise, the heat makes it easier for her to breathe, so she's continuing to do it. Though I wouldn't want to start without a trained professional around. ::g::)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I'd give it a go except that overheating triggers migraines for me! XD Which is annoying, because it means I can't walk outside for much longer than it takes to get to the car from my building at work during the summer, and as I discovered last year, I can't garden then either because working for longer then 10 minutes or so gives me a raging migraine.

I dream of a house with an air-conditioned sunroom in which I can grow plants.