Just enough to hit all the key points

When I woke up this morning, I thought it was going to be a stay-in-bed day. I'd had a crappy sleep and had to get up at the crack of dawn for a chiropractor appointment. But Chiro Kelly set me straight, and I was able to brave the elements to get to the gym. That was the highlight... My workout was tough, and the walk home from the grocery store even tougher.

I started with a walk:

Walking - 2/3 mile - 3.2 mph/10% grade/12:40 min

I'd meant to go 3/4 mile, but had an everlasting contraction and my back was seriously aching so I called it quits. I had to take a 2-3 minute break sitting down to let the midsection to unwind.

I took it easy thereafter, rotating through the following sets:

Squats - 45 x 12, 12, 12
Presses - 45 x 14, 10, 9
Seated row - 75 x 10, 8, 7

And that's it. I did an extra long stretch and then headed to the grocery store. And by the time I was headed home from there I was tired. And my back hurt. And it took forever to walk home. But I made it. And will live long enough to make supper, including brownies. :-)

Weigh-in - 159!

Not even Rage Against the Machine could save this workout

I must remember that there have been good days and bad days throughout. And I will continue to have good days ... I will remember this on days like today, when I think this out "working out" thing must be drawing to a close, that I'm too big, and have no energy left. When I can't imagine dragging myself another step...

On my way to the gym today, I almost convinced myself to bypass it entirely, get the groceries, go home, and go to bed. I was tired. Despite the big sleep-in this morning. But I kept going, and managed this circuit:

4 rounds:
Row - 500 m (2:50, 2:43, 2:38, 2:32 -- slow because tired, but at least I improved!)
Push-ups* - 25, 20, 18, 18
15 RDLS - 50, 60, 65 lbs (I only did 3 rounds; my hands and back were toast)

* I have a new and improved method for pregnant push-ups: knees on a step bench, hands on 10 lb dbs (gives extra inches and takes some strain off the wrists), lower myself 'til my belly touches the floor (resulting in an elbow bend of much further than 90 degrees). These are considerably harder than the regular girlie push-ups -- as the numbers show. (The 1st set was done without the dbs and my belly didn't quite touch, so I was able to do a few extra.)

Weigh-in: 157. The extra weight is water, and it's all in my hands. That's what it feels like, anyway. Yuck.

So. Very. Tired.

I dragged my ass to the gym yesterday because I know it's the only way to help alleviate the swelling in my hands and feet. Oh the joys. I don't think I would've gone if I didn't have a car at my disposal. Yes, it's true - I drove the one kilometre to the gym. (I did have to get groceries after though, so...)

Anyway, the workout was pretty good, all considered:

Row - 1500 m/10:55 min

3 rounds:
15 squats - 50 lb
15 good-mornings - 50 lb
13, 10, 10 bench dips - feet on a ball
(All of these were pretty hard -- had to really squeeze to get out the last couple reps of every set.)

Row - 1000 m/8:15 min

No extras. Just groceries, home, and staggering through the rest of the day, tragically napless.

(Weight - no change.)

I will assume this is just a phase

I had a kind of crappy workout today. Not necessarily feeling tired, but my belly didn't seem to be cooperating. It seemed that whatever I tried, it felt twingy, or it contracted. No big discomfort, but enough that I felt like pushing it (or continuing, in some cases) would not be a good idea. Anyway, I managed the following:

3 rounds:
Row 700 m (walk 1/4 mile @ 3.3 mph, 10% grade)(walk 1/5 mile @ 3 mph, 10%)
30 push-ups*
15 db swings (20 lbs -- this is 5 lb less than usual)

*First set I tried with knees on the ball, hands on the floor. I managed 15, but it was really uncomfortable, so I did another 15 on the floor. Belly's not too much in the way.

Then:
Squats - 45 x 15, 12
DB presses - 40 x 8, 6

Weigh-in: 153. Progress at last!

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.

In which I feel like a$$, but forge ahead

Today's workout was based on today's Crossfit WOD. I used the word "based" loosely, as I subbed and scaled with abandon:

5 rounds:

Run 400 m - 6.7 mph
15 sumo deadlift highpulls - 40 lb
30 v-sit ball tosses

Finished with an easy 10 minute jog @ 5.5 mph.

The SDHP's were subbed for deadlifts (the sumo stance seriously helps navigate the belly). The v-sits were subbed for glute-ham extensions which are impossible to do pregnant. I actually attempted to do crunches on the ball, but these have become really uncomfortable, so I switched to v-sits.

I shoveled the driveway again.

I was SO tired today, I could barely drag my butt out of bed, and I was terribly unfocused all day. Going to the gym gave me something concrete to focus on. But I felt like total ass the whole time. Running sucks: my belly cramps here and there, my boobs are uncontainable (sport bra issues another issue entirely), my adductors and hip flexors hurt... My shorts don't fit properly over the new curves, so I get fat-lady-bunch when I run. SUCKS.

Today, anyway.

Three days straight might be too much

I'm not sure that trying to cram my workouts into the beginning of the week is such a good idea. After running on Sunday and trying a crossfit-type circuit yesterday, I tried another regular gym workout today, the last free day before vacation.

I was tired before I went, and the exercises were harder today than usual.

Rowing: 4500m in 22:35 (Daddy-o, you'd better get rowing!)

Alternating sets of:
Squats - 65 lb x 8, 8, 8 (I usually do 10's more easily than today)
Calf presses - 240ish x 8, 8, 8

Finisher squats - 45 x 15

Alternating sets of:
Back extensions - 10, 10, 10 (I usually do 12's, but I couldn't squeeze out any more today)
Bench dips - 10, 10, 8

Weigh-in: Still hovering at 138.

I had a little nap before my workout today, and now I feel like I need another one. Yikes. When I start trying to get in 4x starting next week, I'm going to be more careful to spread things out over the week!

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.