Starting Show and Go

I'm off!  I took pictures, measurements and weights today.  This is a 16 week workout program.  I'm excited!  Front squats were the major lifts today.  Later on were deficit reverse lunges... the squats had tired my quads so much, my legs failed at the bottom of the lunge a few times.  Then, all of a sudden they worked again.

The Pallof press iso holds were hard!  Phew!  I'm not sure if doing them at an angle is a problem.  I wasn't totally sure what to use as a weight for the speed deadlifts.  What I ended up with was pretty easy, which I guess was the point.  I don't know if I was at 50% because I doubt I could 1RM 210#.

Here we go:

S&G Week 1 (4x per week) Monday
Foam rolling
Mobility moves
Front squats - 1x3 @75#, 4x3 @80#
Scapular wall slides - 4x8
Speed deadlifts (50% load) - 1x2 @95#, 5x2 @105#
DB reverse lunges with deficit - 3x8 @10# each hand
Pallof press iso holds - 3x3 @15#
Split-stance kneeling adductor stretch - forward position - 2x30s per side
1-arm doorway pec stretch - 2x30s per side

Doin' my own thing - kinda

Today I went over the Show and Go foam rolling and warm up again after watching the associated videos again. It went a lot better.  I do need to see the "wall hip flexor mobility drill" again.  I don't think I got that right.  Also, I need to find a ball for some of the foam rolling section.  Otherwise, it went a lot better this time.  I think I'll have that down before the first full session on Monday.

After the warm up I did a metabolic circuit from Female Body Breakthrough.  You pick two exercises from four groups.  I did 30s on, 15s off, timed with my trusty Garmin Forerunner 305! I think next time I should do 45s-15s and maybe 3 rounds.

All together, not a very long workout, but still beneficial.

Here are the moves I chose:
1A - Hopscotch
1B - Cross behind stepup and over
1C - Pushups
1D - KB swings
2A - Jump rope
2B - Dynamic lunge with overhead reach holding 5#
2C - Prone step-off on Swiss ball
2D - Squat thrust

Sore lats

Saturday, I got to the basement to lift in the morning.  I did New Rules of Lifting for Women Stage 6, A2.  (Again, this is my second time doing this stage.)  As I was working out, the kids came downstairs and played.  They also watched me some.  I was grunting a bit on the lat pulls and my son, in his infinite wisdom asked me if he should remove some weight to make it easier.  It was funny at the time.  I forgot to alternate the split squats and the push-ups.


Stage 6A2-2

Warm up - FBB (10:00)

Negative Chin-up - 25s @BW, 20x @backpack with 10#, 13s @backpack with 15#

Underhand-grip Lat Pulldown - 10x2 @115#

Barbell Split Squat - 2x8 @60#

Push-up - 2x8 on floor (not the best form, i.e. not quite deep enough toward the end)

Afterward, I foam rolled.

After my son's soccer game and my daughter's gymnastics class, we went with friends on a nice bike ride.  It was from Slater to Ankeny on a bike trail for about 13 miles.  A nice ride on a very nice rail-to-trail path.

This morning, I got out for a run.  First off, I had forgotten to charge my phone, so no music for me.  Pooh.  So, I set out with nothing but the clothes on my back, so to say!  It took me a good two miles to get into the run.  Then my mind started coasting and my legs started going on autopilot. The start was a bit hard because of the soreness in my lats and arms from yesterday's lifting.  That got a little better after about a mile or so.  It was not an overall easy run, but I made 4 miles.  I plan on increasing my long run length over the next few weeks in preparation for my 10k on October 2 and my half marathon on October 17.  I hope to get two 2.5-3 mile runs during the week.

I just purchased a running belt from iFitness.  I got the dual pouch version.  It's not supposed to bounce or ride up and it is also water resistant.  That will be nice when I go to the coffee shop after a long run.  I hate giving them moist dollar bills!  It should also hold my phone and gels.  I'll report back on how it does for me.

Before lifting workout on Saturday, I replaced the battery in my Garmin heart rate monitor strap.  It had been getting some very poor readings lately.  The readings were less sporadic, but there were still some spots where it obviously wasn't reading well.  I probably need to shorten the strap some, since the elastic has stretched some and I'm at the limit of how much I can adjust it tighter.  I have cleaned the contact area, so I don't think that is the problem.  I know for sure my heart rate did not dip to below 110bpm on my run today!

Look at the graphs below for two of my runs.  The red track is my heart rate and the blue track is my pace.

Before the battery replacement (8/27/2010)

After the battery replacement (8/29/2010)

That was close!

I almost talked myself out of working out today.  But, about 5am, I was telling myself how bad I was for not getting up and then I realized I still had enough time to fit in a small workout at home.  So, I got up and did a new plate circuit.  You can find the description here.  Since I didn't have much time, I only went once through.  Taht was enough.  We only have 10# plates, so that was what I used.  I'm not sure I would want to higher yet, anyway.  I'll have to switch to dumbbells if I go higher.

After the circuit, I foam rolled.  That is feeling good.  Sometimes the outsides of my legs (ITB) don't hurt much when I roll them.  Other times I'm almost in tears.  I wonder what the difference is??

Another metabolic circuit

I did a bodyweight metabolic circuit again today.  I improved on most of the exercises.  It's going to be hard to do that again!  It's a good workout for a little under 30 minutes.  I warmed up with 4 sun salutations and foam rolled afterward.  That's about it for today.