Pumpin’ Some Major Iron

Since marathon training has started, I feel like I haven’t been able to lift weights as much. I think that’s kind of standard. Running takes up so much time and since no one is paying me to run/work out, I guess I have to make time for work.

Today I put together a great, full body workout. I think I shy away from working my legs out while training for a race. I’m always scared they’re going to be too sore to run or I’ll pull something. But it’s important to strength train since running alone does not do the trick.

Here was my workout from today. I went through the entire circuit once, then completed it two more times.

• Curtsy Lunge- 3 sets of 12 holding 15lb. weights. This is a great variation on a standard lunge. Starting in a standing position, I lunged my left leg backwards crossing it behind the right leg, then returned to the standing position and switched legs. I think regular lunges get a little boring so this is a great way to mix things up. Here’s an example of how to do this properly.
• Medicine Ball Chops– 3 sets of 10 on both sides holding 10 pound medicine ball. Starting with my arms straight and over my right shoulder (holding the medicine ball), I started to squat down while bringing my arms down and across my body so they ended up near my left knee. Then I returned to the starting position. So, you’re getting a good rotation in your torso which works your core. You’ll also feel this in your arms and your legs since you’re squatting down. Here’s an example of a dumbbell chop which is basically the same thing ( I just used a medicine ball today).
• Lunge with Single Arm Press– 3 sets of 10 on both sides with 15lb. weight. For this exercise, when I started with my left leg, my right arm was holding a 15lb. weight at shoulder height. When I lunged forward, I pressed the weight up to do a press. After ten times on one side, I switched to the other. This gets pretty challenging. Especially with the 15lb. weight! It’s definitely a great full body exercise though. Here’s an example. In this example they are doing a reverse lunge, which you can definitely do, I did a forward lunge.
• Triceps Dips- 3 sets of 15 on bench. These are basically like reverse pushups. I placed both hands on a workout bench with my feet out in front of me. All I did was bend my elbows until they were at 90 degrees, then back up again. You can do these almost anywhere from a chair to the floor. Here’s an example.
• Incline Bicep Curl– 3 sets of 12 holding 12lb. weights. These are just standard bicep curls on a bench except the bench is at an incline. It makes the exercise much more challenging, you’ll notice it right away! Here’s a detailed video on proper form.
• Chest Press Machine– 3 sets of 12 pressing 50 pounds. I used the chest press machine today. My wrists have been hurting a little lately so I decided to keep the pressure off of them today (although I did do those triceps dips..oops). I usually don’t use machines just because I feel like you can activate more muscles when you use free weights. But it’s nice to mix things up a bit. Although it’s a similar exercise to a free weight chest press, it’s slightly different enough to keep my muscles working.
• Rear Lateral Raise– 3 sets of 12 using 8lb. weights. Bending forward at the hips with my arms straight in front of my shoulders (holding the weights), I raised my arms straight out to my sides so they were in line with the rest of my body. Then lowered them back to the starting position. I always find upper back exercises to be more difficult than I thought. 8 pounds was definitely hard enough! Here’s another explanation in case mine makes no sense!
• Weighted Crunch– 3 sets of 15 holding 10lb. weight. This is a standard crunch except I held a 10 pound weight basically on my chest while crunching.
• Side Plank Raise– 3 sets of 10 on both sides. Starting in the regular side plank position (on your forearms with hips up), I lowered my hips down to the ground barely touching the ground, then back up again. I repeated this ten times on each side. These are pretty tough! They start to burn your obliques and your hips. It’s a great way to mix up the regular old side plank.
• Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls– 3 sets of 15. With my feet resting on top of a swiss ball, I lifted my butt and hips up off the ground. With my butt in the air, I curled my legs towards my chest therefore rolling the ball towards me. Then I straightened my legs back out to starting position. These start to burn big time after about ten rounds. If you want to make it harder, try using one leg at a time, that should do the trick!

It was definitely a good workout. My biceps are already a little sore. We’re moving tomorrow so hopefully I’m not to sore!

Hope ya’ll had a great Monday! This is going to be a crazy week!