Back To The Gym

Friday was a pretty rough day for me. I had a fever and just felt terrible. It was one of those feelings where one minute I was super hot….then I’d get cold….the whole time, head was pounding. So, I sat on the couch pretty much all day and watched a couple movies (that was the upside…getting caught up on Red Box). I watched Eat, Pray, Love which I thought was pretty good. It’s just so hard to compare since I really liked the book (like everyone else in the world). I also watched The Other Guys which I thought was funny! My husband thought it was stupid…but he doesn’t have what it takes to appreciate that kind of humor :).

Anyway, I’m feeling a million times better today. Just have a lingering cough but I can deal with that. So, I got my buns down to the gym today and decided to do a little “light” weight lifting session. I haven’t done my long run for this week yet (it’s supposed to be 9 miles). I’m thinking I’ll do it tomorrow as long as I’m feeling okay. This next week’s run is 14 miles so I hate to do them so close together but I gotta do them sometime!

Here’s the circuit I put together for today’s workout. Nothing too strenuous- no Crossfitting or jumping today! I went through the entire circuit once then completed it two more times.

• Alternating Chest Press on Swiss Ball- 3 sets of 15 holding 15lb. weights. The title of this exercise is pretty self explanatory, but basically I was laying on a swiss ball (ball below my upper back supporting my neck and head) pressing the weights up towards the sky one at a time (alternating arms). The whole time keeping your hips up, so they don’t sag down. This also works your butt since your basically clenching it the entire time trying to keep those hips up. Here’s a nice explanation of how to do this properly.
• Alternating Shoulder Press on Swiss Ball– 3 sets of 12 using 15lb. weights. Sitting on the swiss ball, this is almost like a basic shoulder press except you alternate one arm at a time. While one arm is pressing up, the other arm is at 90 degrees holding the weight so it’s still working. Here’s a video demonstration.
• Skull Crushers on Swiss Ball– 3 sets of 10 holding 10lb. weights. It’s been a while (like a week) since I’ve done these so I thought I’d throw them in today’s workout. Here’s an explanation from an old post.
• Alternating Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball-3 sets of 12 using 15lb. weights. These are pretty self explanatory too. I sat on the swiss ball and did bicep curls, alternating left and right. The 15lb. weights were pretty challenging!

After the upper body circuit, I did a couple ab exercises.

• Crunch with Weight- 3 sets of 15 holding 10lb. weight. This is a basic crunch, except I held a weight in both hands straight out in front of me. It brings more of a challenge to a regular crunch. For one set, I put my legs in the air, which adds even more of a challenge!
• Russian Twist– 3 sets of 12 holding 10lb. medicine ball. I like this ab exercise because I really feel my abs working when I twist back and forth. Trying to hold your legs in table top is pretty tough too. Here’s an explanation from an older post.
• Side Plank– 3 sets, holding 30 seconds each. These were just standard side planks. I tried to keep my top foot on top of the bottom foot which is a little more challenging. To make it easier, you can keep both feet on the ground.
• Regular Plank- 3 sets, holding for 45 seconds. I haven’t done the plank in a while so I kept it at 45 seconds today. I’d love to get in the habit of doing these everyday.

It was a slower workout day but at least it was something. It felt good to lift some weights after a few days off. Hopefully, tomorrow will feel equally as good running!

Hope you all had a fun weekend!