Christmas carbed

Finally got off my Christmas-cookied butt and threw down some exercise, in the form of:

4 rounds:
500 m row
25 push-ups, knees down
10 lat pulls - 80#
10/leg split squats* - 30#, 20#

* The split squats were pretty uncomfortable -- tweaky in the adductor area -- so I dropped the weight from 30 to 20 lbs, then switched altogether to squats. Subbed in 15 squats with 50 lb bar for the last two sets. Sore to walk last night and today. Grr.

Post-Christmas carb weigh-in: 148. Wtf? I'll be taking a good four or five days off the gym as I do some holiday travelling, so I'm sure my next weigh-in will show drastic change. At least the break will be good for my achy joints.

Christmas warm-up

I did actually make it to the gym one more time before the hours (the gym's and mine) got Christmas-crazy. Let's see if I can remember what I did... I know I squeezed it in between the final big grocery-get, last minute gift-finding, and making dinner, while my mom watched the kids (which included tobogganing and playing little-tiny-ball with Ben. She's a hero.) I do recall that it was short and sweet, and likely involved squats...

Yep:

Squats - 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Lat pulls (regular pull-up grip) - 85 x 9, 6, 6, 4
Bench dips - 10, 8, 7

Treadmill - 3/4 mile at various speeds and pitches ranging from 3.3 mph/11% grade and 3.6 mph/7% grade. (The small speed differences are bigger when you're walking.) I was experimenting with keeping the Braxton-Hicks at bay (they seemed to subside when I walked a little faster on a lower grade. It might be the other way round. Must continue experimentation)...

Since then, it's been nothing but eating carbohydrate-rich foods and working on crossword puzzles. (Just one, actually, and five days later, we're only about 2/3 of the way through the 1200 clues...) The gym is open for a brief window of time this afternoon, but I may have inadvertently signed on to accompanying a kid to see Twilight. Ugh.

Carbo crash

I had to go to the midwifery clinic first thing this morning to do a blood test for gestational diabetes. (My mother had it when she was pregnant with me, so that is enough of a risk factor for me to get the test.)

First, I had to fast for 8 hours (thus the 9 AM appointment -- I got up and went without coffee or breakfast.) She takes a blood sample, then I drink 75 g of glucose (!) in the form of an orange crush-type drink. An hour later, she takes another blood sample; an hour after that, yet another. The first hour, I felt quite ill -- nauseous after all that sugar on an empty tummy. Then I just felt hungry. It was hell.

At last it was over, and I ate (inhaled) some nuts and half a peanut butter sandwich in the car. On the way to the gym. The first couple rounds of the circuit were great. Then the true hunger kicked in, and I struggled. Anyway, I managed to eke out:

4 rounds of

500m row*
25 push-ups
15 RDLs - 65 lb
15 step ups - per leg (I do one leg at a time, leading)

* I was sure I wasn't going to do the 4th set; I couldn't face the slog of the row. Someone was on the erg when I came up for #4, so I skipped it, and went straight to the push-ups.

I replaced the missing row set with a 1/2 mile uphill walk (3.3 mph, 10% grade, @ 9 minutes). Ultimately more work than originally planned, so that is good.

At home, the ensuing avocado and cheese sandwich barely saw the light of day.

And now with more weight!

I got all dressed for the gym yesterday but didn't quite make it. I'm glad in retrospect, because it would've been one of those tired, push-through-with-gritted-teeth kinda workouts. Instead, I went today (first time to my gym on a Saturday), rested and ready to go. It paid off.

I'm not sure why I felt the urge to do a little more weight than usual -- it just sort of seemed like the thing to do. So I upped the weight a little on squats and presses, and merrily eschewed cardio altogether.

Squats - 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10 (I've been doing this with 65 for the past month)
Calves - 200 x 10, 10, 10
Presses - 45 x 11, 8, 5, 4 (earlier this week, I had similar numbers with 5 lb less)

Finisher sets:
Squats - 45 x 20
Presses - 30 x 16

Core:
V-sit ball toss - 50, 40, 40
Side plank - 30 count, each side x2 (I consider this to be awesome, since I have that extra 18 lbs around the middle! Yay me!)

The presses are pretty much pre-pregnancy numbers for me. I was tempted to up the weight to 50, but didn't want to push it too much. I'm wondering if the last couple months of lower weight and higher reps haven't helped in some way. Lately, my number for bench dips have been actually better than pre-preg... And that's with 18 extra pounts around my middle. Hey! Maybe that's the answer. I've been doing bench dips with gradually more and more weight - like having strapped on a big ole plate -- but haven't scaled back the reps. In fact, I'm able to do slightly more than before. There's no way that doesn't help my presses. Nice.

Better than walking

I've been borrowing Ken's shorts the past few weeks, but they look, quite frankly, ridiculous on me. I finally dug up some old frisbee shorts (inherited; shiny black #12's) that are just perfect - they fit, but are baggy in a way that looks purposeful. They went a long way towards making me feel great at the gym today. However, I'm starting to feel like people (I spent most of the time in the free weight area of the gym, surrounded by big muscly fellas) are starting to stare. I'm sure it's my imagination.

4 rounds
14 walking lunges - 35# barbell
15 db swings - 25#
12 seated rows - 60# (last set = 75 lb x 7 slow reps)

Plus:
Press - 40# x 11, 7, 5
V-sit ball tosses - 40, 40

Weigh-in: 148.

I can't believe I have more than 3 more months. I'm going to be enormous.

Such a thing as too much walking

Instead of the gym today, I walked. A lot. My feet hurt. My back hurts. I'm going back to the gym tomorrow -- it seems that vigorous suits me much better than gentle.

Sleepy McNapperson

I feel like just about every other workout I'm tired. Today was the "other" workout. Fighting a cold, and not sleeping well lately. Sleeping on my side is a necessity as my belly is too big to fit underneath me (I'm traditionally a stomach-sleeper), and on my back is uncomfortable after awhile (weight of the fetus compresses the vein that returns blood to the heart -- I can feel my heart start to pound when I lie on my back long enough -- yuck). By side sleeping suck, hurts my hips, and I have to roll over frequently, which is increasingly difficult as the belly is of a size that now needs to be hoisted. Ugh.

Whining aside, I did manage to eke out a half-decent circuit today:

4 rounds of
500 m row (about 2:25 min per set)
25 push-ups (knees down)
15 good mornings (45 lb bar)
15 steps ups (per leg)

It took about half an hour; I felt like I worked hard (as evidenced by the hot and sweaty red face). Then I staggered home with my eyes-half closed. A pre-dinner nap awaits.

Snowy Sunday

I seem to be saving the last workout of the week for Sundays, but it's really hard to get to the gym on Sundays. Even though I technically have the time, there are always more compelling things to do, like hang out with my family. That's kind of why I've only been managing three workouts a week lately. This week, I'd only logged two, so there was no squirming out of the trip this Sunday.

Alternating sets:
Squats - 45 x 20, 17, 17, 15
Press - 35 x 13, 9, 9, 8

Alternating sets:
Back extensions - 8, 10, 10
Pulls downs with chin-up grip - 105 x 5, 5, 4

Treadmill:
Walking - 1/2 mile, 3.5 mph, 10% grade
Jogging - 3/4 mile, 5.1 mph, 1% grade

V-sit ball tosses - 40, 30

Weigh-in: 147. Getting up there!

P.S. I tried doing hang cleans (luckily with a very light weight during warm-up), but the belly is now officially in the way. Same deal for high-pulls.

Not quite a rest day

Shoveling out of a 20 cm dump of snow counts as a workout when you're 24 weeks pregnant, right? RIGHT?

I'm happy to have an enlightened husband. My sister's fella won't "let" her shovel snow in her condition. I like shoveling. (And frankly, it's a lot easier than my gym workouts.)

Admittedly, I didn't complete the whole project in the 40 minutes I was out there this morning. I have another set planned for this afternoon.

Edit: It turned out to be 35 cm of snow, and I went out later for another half hour of shoveling and completed the job. (Damn snowplows never give you a break. That icy crap at the end of the drive -- which reappears at least three times a day -- is heavy.)

Push, pull, swing

Gave the legs a break today.

Incline chest press - 55 x 12, 11, 9
Chin-up grip pull-downs - 90 x 12, 11, 10
DB swings - 25 x 15, 12, 12

Final round:
Incline chest press - 45 x 15
Pull-downs - 75 x 15
Thrusters - 30 x 15 (didn't have a grip left for more swings!)

Treadmill - 3/4 mile walking uphill (3.5 mph, 10% grade, 12 min). Walking uphill quickly is hard! It especially works the butt and calves - way more than jogging.

V-sit ball tosses - 50

Shovelled the driveway.

Active recovery

My legs are still tired and sore from Friday's workout. It's only natural, then, that I should do another leg workout today:

Squats - 65 x 8, 10, 10; 45 x 15
Calves - 200 x 10, 10, 10
RDLs - 65 x 12, 12, 12

With some upper back/triceps thrown in:
Bent-over rows - 25 x 10, 10, 10 (each arm)
Bench dips - 12, 8

Treadmill:
1/2 mile walking uphill (3.5 mph, 10% grade) = 8.5 min, 80 cal
1/2 mile jogging (5.2 mph, 1% grade) = 6 min, 65 cal

According to the treadmill computer, my half-mile of walking requires more energy than the half-mile jogging (and yes, it's as fast as I can go). Also, it is more comfortable. Lung-wise, it feels about the same. So, I feel like I have an option for when I really can't jog any longer.

Weigh-in: 145. Still.
(Apparently, I should be gaining about 1/2 lb per week now. It's been a couple weeks since I gained... Knowing my luck, I'll go in one day and suddenly weigh 5 pounds heavier!)

Big legs

It's been awhile since I left the gym and felt all wobbly on the first set of stairs I hit. Today was one of those days. I planned to follow Ken's example and do yesterday's regular crossfit, but ended up subbing in thrusters for kettlebell swings. It looked like this:

5 rounds:
12 thrusters, 40 lb
12 walking lunges, 30 lb

Finished with:
12 presses, 35 lb
15 squats, 45 lb

Treadmill to loosen up - an easy mile (about 12 minutes @ 5.3 mph, 1% grade). Walked some of it at the beginning, because I got a cramp (the regular kind). Otherwise it felt great - normal. Slow's the way to go!

Hitting all the (body) bases

A hk custom CF-style circuit again.

4 rounds:

500 m row
15 DB (aka kettlebell) swings 25#
12 bench dips
15 16" step-ups (per leg)

Phewf. That's it. It took about 40 minutes. It was hard. I sweated a lot. I loved it.

The DB swing is my new answer to deadlifts. (Which are awkward at best without the proper sized plates.) The drive of the legs/hips and stabilization of the back required really seems to work the same muscles in similar ways. Just saying.

Note on the step-ups: This doesn't sound very high considering box jumps are typically done on a 20" box (not that I've ever used a box that high, but anyway). But when I step up to this level, my hip flexes my thigh beyond parallel to the floor - that is, it's as high as I can possibly step up before I have to twist my hips or hop. Next time I do this, I suspect I'll have to lower the step, because my belly is beginning to interfere with my leg when I raise it this high. Hmph.

Cardio day

I wanted to test out my running ability, to see if I could still count on it. The past few times I've hopped on the treadmill, it's been at the end of a workout, or part of a circuit which requires a quicker pace. These episodes didn't go that well. I hoped that if I started with running and maintained a slower pace, I'd be able to keep it up. It worked. Sort of.

Here's what I did on the treadmill:

10 min jogging (5.5 - 5.7 mph)
10 min walking on a 6 - 11% grade (+10% for the 2nd half)
12 min jogging (5.3 - 5.5 mph)

In total, I did about 2.5 miles in 33 minutes (there were some walk-for-water breaks in there).

I had to stop to walk after the first 10 minutes jogging because of increasingly uncomfortable presure/cramping in my lower belly. The walking helping, and the 10 minutes on a grade showed that I burned about the same # calories as the 10 min jog. Feeling better, I jogged again, at a slightly slower pace. This went better, and I probably could've kept going, but I didn't want to crash and burn.

The rest of the workout comprised two times through the following:
25 push-ups (knees down)
40 v-sit ball tosses
side plank (30 count per side)

Today's lesson learned: GO SLOW. This is not the first time I've had this lesson WRT to running. When I first started running about eight or nine years ago, I hated it because it hurt. I was coaxed and cajoled into just going more slowly (thanks Daddy-o)... and voila! I became a runner. Now, I must recall the basics to keep forging ahead.

Weigh-in: Still hovering around 145!