Happy happy Tuesday! It's another gorgeous day here in New York, and it's predicted that tomorrow will be a record breaking 70. Woah Nelly! That's what my neighbor gets for putting up his Christmas lights early. No joke...what's goin' on with that, Cable Dave? :-)
Ahem. Sorry. Even though the weather's nice, we have some serious issues at hand to discuss. Namely, Iron. No, not that kind of Iron. Or that one either. It's strength training time, friends!
Confession: For someone that considers herself to be a pretty well-rounded athlete, I suck at strength training. I know, I know (hangs head in shame). My faulty line of thinking-if I have an hour to get a workout in, cardio is the most bang for my buck.
I need to revise my thinking. Although strength training doesn't give me the feel good sweat that a good interval run or bike will, it builds muscles, which:
First, make it fun. There's some talk around the blog world about the 100 pushup challenge. I am totally on board with this. Goal-January 1. Too ambitious? We'll see :-D Starting number of push ups-22. I'll check in once a week with this one!
Second, incorporate it into your cardio workout. I did an awesome interval cardio and strength workout today. Warm up 10 minutes on the bike (or your choice of machine). Sprint one minute, recover 2. Repeat 4 times (15 minutes). Hop off the bike, do upper body for 10 minutes, hop back on the bike. repeat bike sequence. Hop off, repeat weight sequence. Cool down. Weights, intervals and cardio in just over an hour. Boy, I felt that one!
Third...break down muscle groups. I've decided to work each area (upper, lower and abs) two times a week to start. 15 minutes a day. Monday-Upper. Tuesday-Lower. Wednesday-Core. lather, rinse repeat. Sunday= rest. Let's see how far I get.
Lastly, if you belong to a gym, try a weight class! The Downtown Fitness Club (where I belong) has an awesome Turbo pump class as well as a boot camp style class that is fun, works you out, and you don't have to think up moves on your own. Win win!
Let's see if I can get those guns by 2012....I have no doubt it will help with race season!
Do you lift? Any good pointers or tips to make it fun and effective?
Ahem. Sorry. Even though the weather's nice, we have some serious issues at hand to discuss. Namely, Iron. No, not that kind of Iron. Or that one either. It's strength training time, friends!
Confession: For someone that considers herself to be a pretty well-rounded athlete, I suck at strength training. I know, I know (hangs head in shame). My faulty line of thinking-if I have an hour to get a workout in, cardio is the most bang for my buck.
I need to revise my thinking. Although strength training doesn't give me the feel good sweat that a good interval run or bike will, it builds muscles, which:
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* Elevates your metabolic rate (i.e. you burn more at rest)
* Helps build bone density (no osteoperosis here, baby!)
* Gives you definition (6 pack abs, yes please!)
Ok, so we know there's enough reason to DO IT, but how to best go about it? Well, I've got a few ideas.First, make it fun. There's some talk around the blog world about the 100 pushup challenge. I am totally on board with this. Goal-January 1. Too ambitious? We'll see :-D Starting number of push ups-22. I'll check in once a week with this one!
Second, incorporate it into your cardio workout. I did an awesome interval cardio and strength workout today. Warm up 10 minutes on the bike (or your choice of machine). Sprint one minute, recover 2. Repeat 4 times (15 minutes). Hop off the bike, do upper body for 10 minutes, hop back on the bike. repeat bike sequence. Hop off, repeat weight sequence. Cool down. Weights, intervals and cardio in just over an hour. Boy, I felt that one!
Third...break down muscle groups. I've decided to work each area (upper, lower and abs) two times a week to start. 15 minutes a day. Monday-Upper. Tuesday-Lower. Wednesday-Core. lather, rinse repeat. Sunday= rest. Let's see how far I get.
Let's see if I can get those guns by 2012....I have no doubt it will help with race season!
Do you lift? Any good pointers or tips to make it fun and effective?
I have also been trying to incorporate weight training into my weekly regimen! If I am really stuck in a rut, I usually pull out a dvd like 30 day shred or Troy Jacobson's Strendurance series. Sometimes someone yelling at me over the tv screen is just the motivation I need!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could provide useful info here, but everytime I attempt to start lifting/doing weights, I end up only lasting about 2 weeks. I'm impressed!!!
ReplyDelete