Working up the courage to try new Workout techniques

I keep seeing new exercises that I’d like to try but I am unsure of how to do them so I hesitate.  I don’t really know why.  I guess I am afraid of someone looking over and wondering what I am doing; there is something comforting about having the trainer walk through exercises with me that seems to negate any fears I have. When I try or think of trying on my own I am afraid I’ll screw it all up.  I don’t meet with Dustin again until the 5th of November so I am on my own till then.  I am good with this as sometimes I feel like my training days are a bit of a wasted workout.  I learn new things so it is definitely valuable but sometimes it goes so quickly I can’t put it into use on my own and I get unsure of my technique so I will skip those things that baffle me.

Anyway my latest magazines have some exercises I am dying to try so I think I will try to work on one or two of them.  I will post some techniques and such as I learn them.

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Five Pounds Lost!

Alas, I’d not forgotten about posting it’s just been busy around here!  At my “assessment” Friday I’d lost 5 pounds.  It was about 5 – 6 weeks I think since I’d had my first measurements taken.  I think the most surprising number to me was the inch I lost at my neck.  Seems like such an odd spot to lose weight but I could tell when Charles took my picture earlier in the week I didn’t look so pudgy.

My trainer, Dustin, keeps suggesting I try the Paleo diet or something of the sort;  I insist I will not.  I love my bread, pasta, corn, and all the other forbidden foods on that type of program.  He tells me how he’s lost 20 pounds in just a few weeks.  I am not convinced; he may have really lost the weight but I disagree with his thoughts on it being healthier for me.  There are draw backs to any deprivation diet.  This one can cause stress on the kidneys.  Others lack essential vitamins and minerals for a generally healthy lifestyle.  I told him portion control is my biggest obstacle and “sampling” at work.  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet but I manage an all you can eat buffet with “homemade” food…. I have to taste things throughout the day just to know what it tastes like and for quality control purposes.  Sometimes this leads to unnecessary nibbling though so I try to drink water when those urges hit.  I saw a post on pintrest the other day that said something to the effect of “when a craving hits to eat something you shouldn’t; count backwards from 100 and take a sip of water between each number”… it’s not really possible to do this but after a few sips of water the munchies go away and hydration is good!

So I will work to cut down on my “sampling” and I have eliminated some of the carbs from my diet but I will not take them all away unless it is necessary for my health to do so.

Upcoming Assessment at the Gym

Friday I have an  “assessment” at the gym;  I will get to see if I’ve made progress since my initial assessment in early September.  He took some measurements and my weight so we will see how much progress I’ve made so far.  I try not to get on the scale often; it really isn’t important to me to worry about that number.  I can see some progress now; if nothing else I can tell by my baggy underwear that things are changing.

I workout six days a week just about every week; no less than five anyway.  I try to mix up my workouts everyday.  I probably don’t focus on weights as much as I should but I do get a lot of cardio and general strength training in so I am getting stronger.

I am not dieting; I try to watch what I eat and make smart choices.  Portions are probably my biggest obstacle; I tend to over eat but I am working on that.  I don’t feel the need to deprive myself of something I want but I can eat less of it.  I also have this thing against artificial ingredients so I choose not to put the so-called “diet” foods into my body.  I or my husband do just about all of my cooking for every meal we eat so I can easily avoid the crap in prepackaged foods.

Anyway, I will post my results good or bad after I meet with Dustin Friday; I have a feeling if nothing else some inches will be gone!

To Stretch or Not To Stretch

I keep get conflicting information on when to stretch.  I have always been a big believer that stretching afterwards is definitely important. If I am starting with walking or light cardio type exercise a warm up I feel is a much better way to go.  Stretching cold muscles can lead to injury so warming up if my favorite way to start.  Don’t get me wrong sometimes if I am feeling a bit stiff I might do a few little stretches first but I think warming up is more effective.

Of course everyone’s workout is different so I am sure there are times when cold stretching might be better but I usually start with a warm up and get right to the workout.  Here is my workout from today:

• 10 minutes elliptical on interval resistance

Then into the strength training and core workout.

• 15 kettlebell swings with the 12 kg kettlebell
• 15 ball slams with the 15 pound slam ball
• 30 count battle ropes; each arm

I did two rounds of all of these then moved on to some weights.

• 50 pounds on the leg extension machine ~ 20 / 15 / 10 reps
• 50 pounds on the lat pulldown ~ 10 / 10 / 10 reps ~ moving arms in to a different position between each set
• 80 pounds on the pulldown crunch ~ 10 forward ~ 10 oblique each side ~ 10 forward

I finished with some renegade rows with the kettlebell ~ 5 each arm then 7 minutes cooling down on the treadmill today.

I of course stretched afterwards; I haven’t really had any lasting pains besides my first day; since then I started stretching afterwards and not so much before.  Somedays I do touch my toes and do a few squats just to loosen up but I think focusing on stretching afterwards is the way to go for me. I am hoping to learn some yoga so I am definitely not against stretching and lengthening the muscles but for a workout I plan to stick with my warm ups.  If anyone has any thoughts let me know!

Focusing on the exercises that are harder to do ~ especially pushups

I am not sure why push ups are so tricky for me.  I don’t seem to have trouble with planks or even the renegade row but push ups continue to elude me.  I have to do the modified push ups from the floor and I have my bar at maybe waist level for the standing push up.  I will get these; I am guessing that my pectoral and deltoid muscles are under trained.  So I guess my goal will be to keep throwing in these push ups.  I want to be able to do them; I will be able to do them.

I also learned another exercise Monday at my training session.  I don’t quite know what to call it but I was seated at the longpull machine and instead of pulling it to me he had me lift it up with arm extended straight out in front of me.  This was nearly impossible; I think he even took all the weight off; I tried again today and had a little better luck.  Charles had me try it from a standing position too.  Still very tricky so something else to work on!

Floor Exercises and Elliptical Workout at the Gym

Today was another workout I mapped out on my own.  I worked on the elliptical machine a bit to get my heart going; I have not quite figured out the ellipticals yet.  I am getting better at it; I did five minutes at the beginning and 5 minutes at the end today but I still find them tricky.  I don’t know if maybe I need to adjust my stride or if it’s just the way the machine works. I’ve posted today’s workout below; I am still trying to figure out what is the best to do in a day but I think at this point anything is good. I would like to make sure I mix it up and work on my “trouble spots” as I go. I don’t want to just melt fat; I’d like to work on sculpting and building muscle in the right places too.

• Reverse crunch
• Jumping jacks
• Straight leg pendulums

15 of each two times.

• Russian twist
• Bosu running mountain climbers
• Bosu crunches

again 15 of each twice.

• Wiggle worms
• Burpees
• Kettlebell squat with lift

This time I did 15 of the wiggle worm, 6 burpees, and 10 kettlebell squat lifts ~ Two sets of each.

I started and ended with 5 minutes on the elliptical machine.

Since Charles was still going I did some work on the longpull weight machine.  I set it at 40 pounds and did 15, 10 and 10 reps.  After that some stretching and done!

Another sweaty workout at the Gym ~ stepping up the bosu mountain climbers with a run!

I worked on another combination workout out that I made up today.  Dustin put a couple of workout sheets in my folder at the gym but I don’t know all of the exercises or at least I don’t know what the names of these exercises mean.  So I went with some I knew and added in a couple he’d shown me that I think I know.  I wasn’t sure on the jumps over the step if I was to lead with one foot or if the goal is to keep the feet together and I had a hard time shuffling side to side while moving the battle ropes.  I started with a couple of minutes on an elliptical machine just to get the body moving.

• russian twists – 15 – with 8 pound medicine ball
• battle ropes with side skips ~ 10
• barbell dead lift squat with raise ~ 10

I did three sets of each then moved on to the next three exercises.

• bosu running mountain climbers ~ 15
• side jumps over stepper ~ 12
• renegade rows with kettlebell~ 10

Again, I did three sets each.  I kicked up the bosu mountain climbers by running through them rather than slowly doing one leg at a time and I managed a bunch of renegade rows with the kettlebell today ~ that made 30 total with each arm!

My heart was really working and I was sweating perhaps more than any other workout I’ve done.  The last three exercises were tough but felt great.  I finished with a 5 minute cool down on the treadmill and some stretches.