Back to the Gym

The marathon is now less than 2 weeks away…can you believe it? I seriously can’t. I’ve been thinking about this race now for over a year and it’s finally here!! I have to admit…I’m pretty nervous/scared/excited. Not only am I nervous because I’m pregnant, but because it’s the Boston Marathon. It’s a big deal!!! A part of me (very small part) wishes I had planned this out better so I could be running my fastest race. But, for the most part, I don’t really care to be honest. Boston will always be there. If I can actually finish this race, I will be so proud of myself…I don’t care how long it takes me!!

I love that quote since it is totally true. It is all about our state of mind. I remember talking to my mother in law about the marathon and I was downplaying it and she said, “no, it actually is a big deal. It’s like your Olympics.” She’s right! It is my Olympics. No matter how slow I go or how many people pass me, if I finish, no one can take that away.

Anyway, since the race is almost over and I’m now in taper mode (this week’s runs are 4 miles, 3, 4, then a long run of 8) I’ve decided to head back to the gym to start incorporating weight training into my workout routines again.

I’ve really missed weight training. In normal circumstances, I may have continued my weight training program with the marathon training, but since I’m pregnant, I don’t want to overdue it (which some may say I already am).

Last week I hit the gym to do some weights for the first time in a couple months. I took it pretty easy and completed this circuit (3x) of arm exercises:

• Sitting Bicep Curls- 15 reps, 8lbs.
• Sitting Shoulder Press- 15 reps, 8lbs.
• Chest Press on Bench- 15 reps, 10lbs.
• Skull Crushers- 15 reps, 8lbs.
• 1 Arm Row- 15 reps on both arms, 10lbs.

I wanted to ease back into the weight lifting, which I definitely did. I’m going to do a couple more sessions like that (including leg workouts) but then I’d like to step it up again. I think I’ll stay away from plyometric moves like burpees and lunge jumps…I don’t want our baby to hate me when he or she comes!

To get started, I went over to Lindsay at the TheLeanGreenBean.com. She has some great workouts there that I can either do as is or slightly tweak for my pregnant body. Here are a couple of my favorites:

(Found here)

This one is from Bonnie Lang Fitness:

I’d probably have to change a few things in that routine…but it’s a pretty good one!

(source)

Think I might try this one today:

(source)

Those are just a couple great workouts I’d like to try. Maybe not all right this second, but at least after the race I’ll have more time to try them out.

Just for fun, here are a couple other inspirational pictures for you guys (or for me 🙂 ).

I love those pics!! Especially the baby ones..pretty hard core right?

 

Do you lift weights? What’s your favorite body part to work? For me, it’s arms. My least favorite is probably abs.