I'll Take A Dozen

     No consistency, as usual. Not much to say tonight. Here's what I did:

 BENCH:

Bar x20

55lb x12

65lb x10

75lb x8

(95lb x5 / 25lb bent row x10) 3x

SEATED REVERSE DB FLY:

(12lb x12) 3x

PLATE SKULL CRUSHER PULLOVERS / SIT UPS:

(25lb plate x12 / 25lb plate x12) 3x

LAT RAISE / FRONT RAISE:

(12lb x6 / 12lb x6) 3x

STRICT DB PRESS / DB RDL:

(12lb x6 / 12lb x12) 3x

The Beginning Is A Good Place To Start

     Em was feeling a little under the weather today so instead of fighting to get her to do a lacklustre workout, I decided to head down to the dungeon by myself tonight.

      I've always been the type to do best with a structured plan. By that I mean I need all of my exercises written out in sequence before I start. If I'm left to my own devices to wing it and figure it out as I go, it's guaranteed to end in frustration. With that in mind, I thought, I need a simple, whole-body routine that I can ease myself into the bar with. Where do I start? Well, the beginning sounded like a good idea. So, I googled a beginner barbell circuit. I found one that was a 2 day plan. I altered it to do both days in one round instead of the prescribed 2 rounds of "day 1". I also used some dumbbells for the upper body so I wouldn't have to keep moving equipment in and out of my way. Certainly nothing to be thrilled and proud of, but it got me off of the couch. Here's what got done:

BACK SQUATS:

Bar x12

*NOTES*

My knees were wrapped a I didn't dare go any heavier. While they felt just OK, I wasn't going to press my luck with heavier weight. It's frustrating because my legs could have definitely done more. The knees, however, are not to be trusted.

DB BENCH:

25lb x10

PLANK:

Elbows; 1 minute

DB BENT ROWS:

25lb x10 (ea. side)

REVERSE LUNGE:

Body Weight x12 (ea. side)

*NOTES*

Again, my knees were wrapped but these were worse than the back squats. I don't know if it's the specific movement or it they were just already sore from the squats, but I hate them.

BARBELL RDL:

95lb. x10

DB SEATED PRESS:

25lb x6

SIDE PLANK:

Elbows; 30 seconds ea. side

PUSH UPS:

x6

     As I look back, I know I could have and should have pushed myself to do another round. I also realized I miss the second set of bent rows. Tomorrow I will try to do it all again. It's actually very depressing to look at this in black and white. All I can do is keep going and hope that the endorphins will kick in and make it a little easier to keep going. 

     You can find the full workout and instructions here

     

Team Effort

     Emily has actually decided to start working out with me again! She had a Raider challenge for JROTC last weekend and I think it sparked something in her. She said her goal for the summer is to get stronger and to run more. 

We've jogged twice this week. We didn't go yesterday because it was raining and I'm just not that die hard. Today we did an ab workout. She had texted me this workout that she came up with a couple of days ago. She said I could do it along with her if I wanted and I, of course, said "Absolutely!" 

     When she got home from school I asked if we were working out. She looked totally disengaged and mumbled we would do it later. I could tell she didn't want to, but I gave her some time and told her "Let's get this done". She complained of a stomachache the entire time, but she got through it and I'm proud of her. We only did one round but I told her we would work up to 3 rounds. I'm going to be totally honest; this was tough for me. Just like the jogging; I'm once again, a beginner. You can giggle if you want, I don't care. I know I'll crawl my way back to fitness. Here's the workout that she came up with.

30 crunches

1 minute tall plank

30 high knees

30 jumping jacks

30 mountain climbers

30 bicycle crunches

1 minute elbow plank

30 Russian twist

     And that was it. That humble little workout made me say bad words and have reflux. I'm not sure if we're jogging or doing this again tomorrow. She had originally said she wanted to do both, but she may be reconsidering lol. I'll also jot down our run times here too, just to keep track of them. I don't have any exact measurement on the distance, I'm going to guess, at most, half mile. We jog to the end of the powerlines and back. It's uphill, downhill, soft loose sand and gravel. 

FIRST RUN:

Me: 11:47; Stopped about 3 times to rest.

Em: 12:30

SECOND RUN:

Me: 12:14; Stopped twice to wait for Em but kept jogging in place.

Em: 12:44