Overdoing it, or First Lesson Learned

I haven't had a gym to go to for a month. In the meantime, my 3-4 workouts a week have consisted of twice-weekly frisbee games, 5K runs, and vigorous 25 minute circuits.


This week, I joined a gym. I've been eager to get back to weight-training for a few reasons.


1) I didn't want to lose too much ground in terms of muscle mass and strength, especially assuming that I'll have to scale back as my pregnancy progresses.

2) I find it to be one of the best types of exercise for maintaining a steady weight, or losing weight. I don't want to lose weight, but until I figure out how on earth to eat as a preggo (a topic for another post), I want to be careful not to balloon more than I need to.

3) I'm already into my 2nd trimester, and I wanted to get some baseline for recording on this blog.


Here's what I did:


treadmill - 10 minute mile (ranging from walking to 8 mph)
squats - 45 x 12; 65 x 10; 85 x 10, 8, 8

calf press - 300 x 7; 260 x 8, 8

cleans - 65 x 10, 8, 8

press - 45 x 7, 5, 3 + 3

push press (with super-slow eccentrics)

RDL - 75 x 10, 10, 10

bench dip - 10, 10, 10

v-sit crunches - 20, 15, 15

lat pull - 70 x 7; pull-up grip - 85 x 4; chin-up grip - 100 x 4


Perceived exertion - the heaviest sets were what I'd call very hard - the rep numbers where the max I could push out. This was the same as any typical weight workout, even though I was pushing weights lighter than pre-pregnancy (or pre-month-off-from-the-gym).


It took about an hour and a half; I wasn't rushing as I was still finding my way around the new gym. It felt good. Really good. I left the gym, ate an apple and picked up some groceries on the way home; then ate some lunch, painted the dining room, picked up the kids from school...


Then I crashed. Total fatigue. I had to sit. I tried to read and fell asleep, leaving Ken to cook supper. I was groggy (in that post-nap kind of way) all evening. This morning, it felt like I hadn't slept. (Not to mention killer DOMS.) I napped -- sitting in a chair -- all morning, and finally felt better, though still tired. I bailed on my frisbee game tonight.


So THAT'S what they mean by "over-doing it".


Take-aways:

Keep workouts to an hour or less. High-intensity stuff like circuits should be under 30.

Rest after an intense workout. Sit down, nap, relax.