This is Gonna Hurt

Saturday morning I ate a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter on it and headed to the gym. When I got there I realized I didn’t want to do The Same Old Saturday Routine. The weight room was nearly empty because of the early hour so I took advantage of that and warmed up with the FREE WEIGHTS! I thought of Lori’s comment about trying free weights to switch things up and I did it.

I only knew a few free weight routines so I warmed up with those. I did some routines my old trainer Christian taught me and then added in some Shoulder Shrugs with two 10 pound weights.

Then I had the brilliant idea of using my Nike Training Club App to get ideas on other moves! First up was the Sumo Squat with Lateral Raise. Oooof I knew my legs were gonna feel like Jello after a few sets of these babies. I started with two 7.5 pound weights and then swapped them out for two 10 pound weights.

My thighs were BURNING! I went back to the Christian Routine, plus Shoulder Shrugs before doing the next workout: Sumo Squat with Press.

I was getting my heart rate up like CRAZY! Next: Alternating Step Back Lunges with two 10 pound weights.

I hadn’t planned on doing so many leg exercises but that’s alright. I found another exercise that was targeting my upper body and switched to that.

The Single Leg Arm Curls were super fun and I did these the most. I alternated between the above squat exercises and this exercise. I think this one was good because it not only worked my biceps but it made me engage my core and stand up straight to have proper form. PLUS it helped me with balance. The balancing part was hard and I almost lost my balance a few times but the more of these I did, the better I got. I like this one a lot.

Next: The Wood Chops. Check out this ridiculous video. I don’t think guys are watching it to learn how to do the exercise, if you know what I mean. 😉 Finally, I did the Shoulder Press with two 10 pound free weights. I liked this one a lot and could have easily done 15 pounds. Next time.

I finished up with my “normal” weight routine using the plated machines. I had to increase the amounts on several of them. That felt really good.

I spent about 55 minutes doing the weight lifting routines and I felt awesome. I felt confident and happy and I was reminded once again how much fun weight lifting can be. It really is a self-esteem booster because I’m always impressed with what my body can do! I finished up with a 2.75 mile run on the treadmill doing hill intervals. The hills made my thighs BURN.

I could have run longer because despite all the squats and lunges, my legs were feeling pretty good. However I’d already spent about 1:15 minutes in the gym and was kinda ready to go. I stretched and called it quits.

Gym Stats:

Time: 1:45
Calories Burned: 767

I love that I switched things up!! I will be doing much more with the free weights. And now for an update in Progress Photos:

Before Weight Lifting, Sept 2010

After Months of Lifting, June 2011

I LIKE RESULTS! WOOT!

QUESTION: Tell me some of your favorite free weight routines!