Life Lyn Style

I’m not sure whether the workout was really super hard today or if maybe I was just in a weird zone.  But this really kicked my butt!

I did about 10 minutes on a stationary bike before meeting up with Jen and my partner in crime.

Here’s what she had in store for me –

2 sets of the following:

• Hack Squat 50lb x 15 + 15sec. hold  – After 15 reps, the hold really burns!
• Prone Leg Curl x 20
• Push Press 15lb x 20
• T-Pushups on bench x 20 – I’m surprised that I can actually do these.  I don’t have the best pushups, but I am able to do the T.
• Fire hydrants x 20ea. leg – I just love the name of some of the exercises.
• Step ups x 40ea. leg
• Curl to Press 15lb x 20
• Cable Torso Rotation 30lb x 20ea. side
• Back Extensions (center, left, right) x 12ea.
• Ball Chest Press 10lb x 20
• Straight Leg Crunch 15lb x 30 – I was holding a 15lb kettle bell for this.  I like the shape of it for this exercise.
• Bicycles 2 x :30sec w/ :15sec rest
• Plank 2 x :30 w/ :15sec rest – I held the planks as long as possible.  The first one I did the full 30, but definitely not on the second.
• Stretching

It was really 2 sets of 3 different circuits, but I’m not exactly sure which exercises went together.  I definitely was thinking that an hour was a really long time about 25 minutes into the workout.

I’m really glad that I’ve been able to maintain this strength trainer workout in my exercise schedule.  Although I’m already sore from today’s workout, I know it’s good for me.  I have more stamina and I am getting stronger.

I’m already wondering what will be in store for us next week!

My partner in crime and I were at it again on Thursday.  Jen did not disappoint and had a full workout planned for us.

We completed the following:

2 sets:

• Band Lunges x length of gym
• Bus Drivers 45lb bar x 20ea
• I’m not sure how to describe this one, but I basically was taking a 45# pole from one side of the floor up and over to the other side.  My shoulders took 3 days to recover.
• Dr. Seuss Pushups/Regular Pushups x 1 minute
• My partner in crime requested these.  I tried the Dr. Seuss pushups which was a rhythm – up up down down halfway up neither up nor down to the pushups.  I wasn’t really able to do them, so I stuck with regular pushups.  I’m not very good at them either.
• I/Y/T/A Raises 5lb x 10ea

Then, 2 sets of this:

• Hip Drop Plank x 30 seconds
• Barbell Single Arm Row 45lb x 20ea
• Cable Single Arm Tricep Kickback 20lb x 20ea
• Box Squats x 50
• Cable Good Mornings 50lb x 25
• Lunge with Knee Drive x 20ea
• Ball Jacknives x 20

I can tell that I am getting stronger.  It’s making the workouts more fun.  I took today off and it was the best decision as far as workouts go.  I really needed a day to just rest my body.  I’ll be back at it tomorrow.

On Monday, I did my regular spin class with Beth.  It was great like always.  I have several friends who take the class on a regular basis and that makes it even more fun.

On Tuesday, my friend Lyle (who also teaches the lifeguarding class), was teaching the spin class.  I’ve never seen him on the schedule to teach a class before, so I felt like I had to take the class.  So, even though it meant spinning two days in a row, I decided to give it a whirl.  He did not disappoint.  It was a GREAT class.  I’d put him in the top three instructors  (after Beth) that I’ve had for spinning at the J.  The music was great.  He also has a great voice and it was easy to listen to the workout.

Today was supposed to be my weekly swim lesson.  The pool heater is broken and the J is waiting for a part to fix it.  The pool was a few degrees cooler than normal.  All of the regular swim lessons and most of the classes were canceled for yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Private lessons were at the discretion of the instructor and student.  After conversing with Tabitha, we decided to postpone my lesson until next week.

Instead, I decided to swim a few laps.  It was nice to swim since the pool was not very crowded.  In the end, the water was cooler, but not cold.  Swimming laps uses lots of energy, so I never got cold.  I only wished I had brought a written workout to follow.  I’ve been reading up on swimming drills, but it’s hard to do an actual pool workout without a written plan.  Hopefully, after my lifeguarding class ends on Sunday, I can write out a couple of workouts and keep them in my gym bag.

Next up is my trainer workout with Jen in the morning.  It’s been an active week!

Yesterday, my partner in crime and I met up with our trainer for another fun-filled workout.  The past few weeks of working out have been some of my best.  I have been looking forward to Thursday more and more.

I’ve been thinking about what makes the workouts so great.  I love doing the group training.  It’s so much more motivational and social.  Jen is such a great trainer and has been doing a great job of pushing both of us even though we are on different levels physically.  Mostly, I think it’s about variety.  Every workout is different.  Each workout comes with exercises that are familiar, new and a combination.  It’s been wonderful!  Yesterday was no exception.

I took a walk early in the morning while Stephen was still at home.  I was tired of taking a walk at 10PM to get my step requirement so I wanted to front load my steps for the day.  When I arrived at the J, it was pretty early.  I wanted to read a book, so I did a leisurely pace on a recumbent bike while I read.  I ended up biking for about 20 minutes.

For the training session, we completed the following:

2 sets:

• KB Swing w/ Lateral Walk 15lbx 20ft. x 4 – We’ve done plenty of kettle bell swings before (150 just last week), but we never paired it with a lateral walk.  It was a great exercise even if I had to pause every now and then to figure out what to do next.  I’d get in a rhythm of steps and swings and then I would get off a beat and have to regroup.

• Slashers 10lbx 1 min x 2 – This was a brand new exercise.  We basically held the kettle bell upside down and did a halo around our head paired with an alternating squat to one side and then the other.  It’s a good exercise for core strength and shoulders.

• Single Arm TricepPull 20lbx 20ea

• Squat/Curl/Press 8lbx 20

• T-Plank 30secea

• Single Arm Cable Chest Press 30lbx 20ea

1 set:

• Band Figure-8 Walk – moderate strength x 15ft.x2 – This one was a new exercise for me.  We put a resistance strap around our ankles and did a figure 8 dance in them.  It’s the type of exercise that you feel while you are doing it.

• Bodybar Overhead Walking Lunge 6lbx 60ft(down and back)

• Dumbbell I/Y/T/A Raises 5lbx 10ea – This was also a new exercise.  It involved laying on my front on an incline bench, holding dumbbells and then doing 4 different sets of shoulder exercises.  Of all of the exercises yesterday, I think I feel this one the most.

• Cable Sidebends40lbx 20ea

Later in the day, I played around in the pool with Sally.  I think the water was a big help is loosening me up from all of the workout exercises.

I can’t wait to see what Jen has in store for us next week!

Yesterday, I took my spin class.  Monday’s class is still my favorite.  I’m still rather hung up on the Virgin HealthMiles pedometer that I am wearing to earn real money through Stephen’s work.

According to the Virgin HealthMiles website, the following activity is recommended:

“But how much activity do you need?

• 30 minutes of moderate physical activity or 15 minutes of vigorous activity 5 days a week (or any combination of those) is considered enough activity to reap these health benefits.
• Measured in steps, taking over 7,000 steps a day, 5 days a week is considered the right amount of regular, moderate physical activity.
• 15 minutes of Active Minutes, or vigorous activity, 5 days a week will also get the job done. “

Unfortunately, if you achieve the above, you don’t come anywhere close to earning the maximum amount for the pedometer use.  In my case, we are talking about $300.  The whole project really bugs me since the numbers to achieve the different levels don’t add up.  But, here I am still playing along.

My goal yesterday was to see if I could max out the miles available for the day.  For me, that meant that I needed to log into the site (10 healthmiles), enter two activities (20 healthmiles) and complete 45 active minutes or 20,000 steps (100 healthmiles).

So, at my spinning class, I ignored the instructor and used the motivation from the class and music to spin.  I kept spinning at a good clip the entire class.  I only slowed down to stand a couple of times to stand and give me a break from sitting on the bike seat.  I looked at the pedometer a few times and new that I was on track.  During the hour long class, I was able to accumulate 45 active minutes.  It did take me a couple extra minutes during the cool down.

On one hand, this is a great accomplishment.  I maxed out with 130 HealthMiles yesterday.  On the other hand, I didn’t do any interval training and rode at a constant pace.  It would be unhealthy for this to become my daily workout for the rest of the year.  And, I’m pretty sure that’s about what I would need to do to end up with the 36,000 HealthMiles to earn the $300.

It’s really not about the actual money.  It’s about a plan that should be motivating, but is actually demotivating on several levels.  For now, I am experimenting and trying to get additional feedback from other participants and from Virgin HealthMiles.  Maybe at some point, I’ll figure out that I am missing something.