Oooh, the day after strength straining for the first time in a bazillion years…I hurt. My husband goes to a gym that’s on the other side of town so I’ve dug my heels in and refused to join for the last 9 months. Last night, I begrudgingly went with him and signed up for a month-to-month, no-commitment package. I actually really liked it and can see why he makes the drive there rather than going to one of the closer gyms. (I’m so not ready to tell him that though).
I’m thankful he knows what he’s doing with weight training because my experience is limited to the one 6 week course I took as part of a PE credit in high school. I was so scrawny at the time, I couldn’t even bench press a complete set with just the bar. As a 16 year old girl, I really wasn’t into it. I just needed the credit. I never put real effort into it so I didn’t improve.
Times have changed. I want to have a successful strength training routine and I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements. I run and eat well, but strength training is a vital part of weight loss that I’ve been neglecting. I’ve heard it described as a 3-legged stool. A good routine includes nutrition, cardio and strength training. So I’m FINALLY incorporating the 3rd leg.
I was so out of place with all the muscle heads in the weight lifting section. The muscles, the grunting and groaning, the sweat – I was lifting 10 pounds to their 150 pounds. I wanted to join the others on the machines, but I stuck with free weights for the most part. I was a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious, but I believe that my rewards have always been greater when I venture outside of my comfort zone.
So a little sore this morning, which I assume will get worse before it gets better. I’m really looking forward to going back to the gym in a couple of days though. Did I say that? Seriously, don’t tell my husband.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations on getting back into strength training. I have learned that I love lifting weights almost as much as I love running, although it’s hard to do both in the middle of training for races, at least for me it is.
Anyway, last Spring I followed a program in the book Weight Training Workouts That Work, Vol. 2 by James Orvis. I had GREAT success with his program, losing a total of 3 inches off my waist, 3.5 inches off my hips, and 4 total pounds.
At that time I also tightened up on how we were eating at home which consisted of protein & veggies at every meal and lots of fruit.
As you pointed out, the third part of the equation is cardio. I would generally end up with about 1 hour of cardio to 1/2 hour of lifting each day. My cardio consisted of both biking and running.
Good luck and keep it up!!
Thanks! I’ll definitely check out that book. I was just checking out your blog. What race is the picture of where you’re all running up the hill? Looks like tons of fun!!