Pumping Iron

I flew solo to the gym yesterday. The hub’s was not feelin’ another brutal beat-down Crossfit style and quite frankly, neither was I. I decided to focus on just a few muscles and basically lift as much as I could. Lifting heavier weights is a great way to add strength which I am definitely okay with. Originally, I was going to try to complete this workout Body for Life style and for the most part, I did. I ran into a bit of a problem though midway through my workout: I couldn’t lift anymore after a certain point. My arms would literally not bend; the weight was too heavy!  So, instead of increasing the weight with each set, I just tried to lift as many times as I could at the heaviest weight. Here’s what I did:

(Sort of) Upper Body Workout-Body for Life style (again, sort of)

Bicep Curls

1. 12 curls using 15lb. weights- So here’s where I started too heavy.The problem was, my gym starts at 15, no 10lb. weights around! So, I was kind of out of luck.
2. 10 curls using 17.5lb. weights- Harder than I thought!
3. 8 curls using 20lb. weights- Had to take a couple breaks. I’m actually surprised that 20lb. weights were as hard as they were. I’m a little bummed, but I guess that means I just need to do this more often!
4. 6 curls using 20lb. weights- I attempted 22.2lb. weights but my arms were already dead at this point.
5. 12 curls using 17.5lb. weights- Definitely by this point I was feeling some major burnage in the bicep region.
6. 12 hammer curls using 15lb. weights- So, on the 6th set, you’re supposed to switch to a different exercise, but one that’s still working the same muscle.

After my bicep workout, my arms were super shaky. I was the person in the weight room banging around weights making a ton of noise. Sort of embarrassing, especially when you’re in a weight room with a bunch of dudes: you already feel a little out of place-don’t need more attention!

Biceps were done, now it was time for triceps!

Overhead Extensions

1. 12 reps with 15lb. weight- Not bad…
2. 10 reps with 17.5lb. weight- Still okay..
3. 8 reps with 20lb. weight- Getting harder but still doable.
4. 6 reps with 22.2 lb. weight- Hard enough! I was definitely struggling a bit.
5. 12 reps with 20lb. weight- Ouch..
6. 12 reps with 15lb. weight- I didn’t change this one. I attempted to do skull crushers with 15lb. weights but they were just too heavy at that point. My arms were too tired I would have dropped them on my face…hence the name “skull crushers.”

I had plans to do the same sort of exercise for my shoulders but at this point, I could barely lift my arms up. So, I skipped shoulders and decided to try lat pull downs instead. The lat pulldown machine jumps a little too high in between weights so I didn’t continuously add weight. I basically started with 60lb., then jumped up to the next weight and did as many as I could.

After my upper body workout, I did a couple ab exercises.

• Crunches on the bosu- 3 sets of 15. These are so hard! If you need a new ab exercise, try them out!
• Side Crunches- 3 sets of 15 on both sides.

Overall, it was a pretty good workout. I felt like I didn’t do much (because it was relatively short), but I definitely did! My arms are super sore today which I love! I feel so productive when I’m sore. Honestly, my biceps don’t get sore very often so I’m liking this!

If you feel like you’re in a weight lifting rut, try increasing your weight. I definitely noticed a big difference…and I like it!