monday

Stage 2, workout A, round 2

1. front squat push press 2x10 (55)
2 (a) step ups 2x10 (22.5lbs dbs)
2 (b) 3 point row 2x10 (22.5 lbs dbs)
3 (a) bulgarian split squats 2x10 (20 lbs dbs)
3 (b) pushups 2x10
4 (a) plank 2x60 sec
4 (b) wood chopper 2x10 (40 lbs)

friday

Stage 2 of new rules of lifting for women! great fast workout!

Workout B, first time:
1. wide grip deadlift from step 2x10 (95)
2 (a) static lunge with toe on step 2x10 (22.5)
2 (b) underhand grip lat pull 2x10 (90)
3 (a) reverse lunge with toe reach 2x10 (17.5 lbs dbs)
3 (b) prone cuban DB snatch 2x10 (12.5)
4 (a) swiss ball crunch 2x10
4 (b) reverse crunch 2x10
4(c) side lat crunch 2x10 each side

2x60 second sprint @8.0 mph/3% incline

monday

Today was my final workout of stage 1, workout A- I did the AMRAP workout to test my progress, and here's how I fared:


Squats 1x25 (115)
Pushups 1x25
Low row 1x25 (60)
Step Ups 1x20 (15 lbs Dbs)
Ball Pikes 1x25

monday monday

Stage 1, Workout B, number 3
Deadlift 2x12 @115

Db shouldr press 2x12@22.5
Lat pull 2x12@95

Lunges 2x12@25
Swiss ball crunches 2x10

kettlebell work:
press 10x5@30
onehanded swing 10x5@30
double press 3x5@20

Monday

Today's workout was stage 1, workout A, workout 3:

Squats 2x12 (135)
Pushups 2x12
Low row 2x12 (60)
Step Ups 2x12 (22.5 lbs Dbs)
Ball Pikes 2x10

Wow. I increased my weights without checking last week's workout, and also I got confused and skipped right to workout 3 for this stage. Oops. So I increased my squats by 20 pounds and step ups by a lot more than I meant to. No wonder it felt so hard. I'm sure the soreness will make me remember this is not exactly as easy as it feels. The workouts are short (right around 20 minutes) so it's easy for me to feel like I didn't work hard enough. I definitely feel stronger though.

thursday 9/1

Barbell complex. 40 lb 4x10 no rest Overhead press Bentover row Squat Stiff legged dead lift Upright row 3x10 chest circuit Bench press (75) Pushups 4x10 Bi & tri with 20 lb barbell Bicep curl skull crushers 2x20 med ball bosu crunches w 12 lbs

thursday cardio

great fast workout today on the....treadmill! I usually sort of hate the dreadmill/treadmill, but I only had a bit of time and I'd promised myself I would attempt to run. Miraculously, I worked up the courage to put both kids in the gym daycare and I hit the treadmill. I gave myself 30 minutes and attempted to run as much as possible while taking walking breaks and using some intervals to keep my heart rate way up.

final tally:
30 minutes
2.55 miles
280 calories burned

I alternated between 3.7 for rest periods, then 5.0 for slow jog, 6.0 for medium jog and 7.0 for fast jog. I did a few sets of one minute intervals and then did some 2 minute intervals until the clock said 30 minutes.

I will do this workout 2 times a week going forward, mixing up the intervals, working my way up to 3.1 miles in 30 minutes.

go go go!

tuesday short cardio

Today was sprint day!

20 rounds of 20/40 sprints on the treadmill. I took it easy and stayed between 8.5 mph and 8.8 mph for the sprints though. my body is not quite ready for those 10.0 intervals.

day 6- 21 day kettlebell challenge (4 days later)

i had to take a 4 day break due to strep throat and overall ick. i feel 1000 times better now,

on to day 6:

*Warmup: 10 lunges, 10 knee pushups, 8 lunges, 8 knee pushups, 6 lunges, 6 knee pushups
0:00-1:00 • 30 seconds swings / 30 seconds rest
1:00-2:00 • 30 seconds knee pushups / 30 seconds rest
2:00-3:00 • 30 seconds swings / 30 seconds rest
3:00-4:00 • 30 seconds knee pushups / 30 seconds rest
4:00-5:00 • 30 seconds swings / 30 seconds rest
*walk/jog 3:00 or until cooled down

i tried a few TGU afterwards and wow- my form is shot. back to practicing with no weight.

day 2- 21 day Kettlebell challenge

*walk/jog 3:00 or until warmed up ( i did BW squats b/c i can't jog due to nursing boobs bouncing too much!)

0:00-0:30 • 20 seconds swings / 10
0:30-1:00 • 20 seconds swings / 10
1:00-1:30 • 20 seconds swings / 10
1:30-2:00 • 20 seconds swings / 10
\ 2:00-2:30 • 20 seconds swings / 10
2:30-3:00 • 20 seconds swings / 10
3:00-3:30 • 20 seconds swings / 10
3:30-4:00 • 30 seconds swings / 10 seconds rest
4:00-5:00 • 60 seconds knee pushups * ( i did 37- wow i need work here!)

walk/jog 3:00 or until cooled down ( BW squats)

I felt pretty good overall, achey from yesterday and ZERO sleep due to baby last night. wow- what a tough night. but i feel better now that workout is over.

day 1- 21 day KB challenge

Today was day 1 of the 21 day kettlebell swing challenge. I'm doing the intermediate level, with a 25 lb KB.

3 min warmup (bodyweight squats and punches)
10 minutes of 30 second swings, with 30 second rest
3 min cooldown (bw squats and punches)

Overall, I felt pretty good, but I can feel a complete loss of glute and core strength compared to where I used to be. I had to focus HARD to keep my core tight during the swings.

Pregnancy Weight Gain and Loss...

Well, somehow I managed to gain nearly 60 pounds with this pregnancy even though I started out 30 pounds lighter than my first pregnancy. I lifted weights 3 - 4 times a week with a trainer until week 34, but I totally crapped out on cardio due to nausea and exhaustion. And then my last 4 weeks of bed rest hit right during christmas and I think I ate cookie dough for every meal and gained 15 pounds just during that month.

I'll be honest- I freaked out about my weight the entire pregnancy. I was not very pleasant to be around because this was such a sore spot for me. I'd finally hit a weight in my life where I felt GREAT and pregnancy just panicked me. My doctor and midwives kept telling me I was fine, and I was gaining the right amount my body needed. My doctor actually said "good. that means you were too thin to feed a baby so you need more fat. get over it."

so I'm trying to get over it. And just enjoy this beautiful baby boy and how wonderful and healthy he is. The labor and delivery and whole pregnancy was far less stressful on my body this time, I had no complications and a magically smooth delivery. He pretty much came out all by himself in 3 hours!

Here's the details on where I am today:

prepregnancy: 150 pounds
full term: 210
today (3 weeks post partum): 180 pounds

So I'm halfway back to normal, but I've got lumps and bumps all over the place. I know this is normal, and honestly, 10 pounds of this is probably my chest due to nursing. So I'm not stressing. I'm just excited to enjoy exercise again, and the great weather and get this baby outside with me soon.

I know I'll be back to fighting weight in no time at all.

an actual post partum workout

Today is 3 weeks post partum and I was feeling pretty awesome suddenly, and (due to a hot water heater breaking at the house...) I had to go to the gym to take a shower. While I was there, I snuck in my very first official workout. I felt awesome! it was the first time back on the weights in 7 weeks (I took the last 4 weeks off during pregnancy).

Here's what I did:

Superset circuit 1:
Bench Press 4x10 (75)
Bentover row 4x10 (40)

Superset circuit 2:
stiff legged dead lift 4x10 (40)
Incline Leg Press 4x10 (90)

Superset circuit 3:
incline bench 4x10 (65)
lat pull (70)

Quick intervals:
3 x 30/30 Kb swings with 25 lbs

I'm going to take it day by day for the next week then really start my plan. I'll be starting with the 21 day kettlebell challenge, mixed with some long walks and yoga. Then I'll hit the weights and sprints for the following 3 weeks.

first attempt at post-partum exercise

Day 11 since childbirth, I felt up to trying a few light exercises:

4 rounds of:

15 prisoner squats
15 pushups
30 second plank

oh , my abs are just shot to hell. this was really hard, but i think these are the right exercises to try to get things back into shape.it's going to be a long road I think. I'm planning to do a weigh in at 2 weeks to get started. At this point, I know I'll have at least 30 pounds to lose to get back to where I was. I definitely gained too much weight, but I've got an awesome perfect baby to show for it, so its all worth it.