Monday, January 19, 2009

Recipe for a Gym Queen

I've gotten several questions over the past few months asking what exactly it is that I do at the gym. I can never remember the names of things, so I usually can't answer, but today I took the time to look things up and will give it my best shot.

My current routine is as follows.

All of these are 3 sets of 8-12 reps unless otherwise stated, and my goals is to do this 2-3x per week (Mon, Wed, Fr mornings). That is very doable now, with running added in Tue/Thu/Sat but it will be challenging when I add swimming and cycling back in for triathlon training.

Upper Body
- Cable Seated Rows
- Incline Bench Press
- Shoulder Abduction (?)
- Bicep Curls
- Tricep Pull Downs

Lower Body
- One legged squats (although I've seen them called one legged lunges)
- Squats
- Stiff legged dead lifts

Core
- Bicycle Crunches w/ ab roller (3 reps of 20-25)

Things that I've dropped over the past few months because of time limitations that I'd like to add back in at some point:
- pushups (real ones, not modified. goal is 15, 12, 10)
- plank (goal is 3 sets of 90 secs)
- rocking v-ups

Other
- I also do at least 15 mins of stretching and use the foam roller almost every day. I usually do this at the gym.
- I've added in Yoga DVDs (they take about an hour) 5 days a week, but probably will have to cut that down to 3-4. This is done at home, but somehow seemed worth mentioning. Not sure why.

One last comment. If there are any women who read this and have been thinking about doing strength work at the gym but are intimidated for some reason, I highly advise working with a Trainer at least a few times to make sure you are doing things correctly. With a little guidance, it doesn't take long to gain confidence. In addition to the physical benefits, I find working out at the gym to somehow be very empowering and good for self esteem (an added bonus!).

27 comments:

  1. I'm totally impressed by your routine. Wish I had the disclipline! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing these! I wish you were here to do them with me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice routine! You want to come and do some training here?! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Lisa that's a lot of stuff!!

    I *heart* the last bit of advice. Good to know ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is a huge amount of working out. Wish I could quit making excuses and then I would have time for half that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks like a good routine - and way to go with the M,W,F thing. Glad the yoga workout is working well for you, too! Do you have an Off Day? My husband and I are working out a deal where he goes to class one night and I go another. He's doing a Rodney Yee DVD a few other nights, too. What a difference that makes for him (and me!) stress-wise and flexibility-wise.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great workout you do girl!!!

    You can be a personal trainer for sure!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yeap, agree with your final comment. Although I have a female PT but a male training partner. Great workout and I'm the same. I never know what the exercises are called. :-)

    What's a foam roller?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I loved your last comment to encourage women that they shouldn't be intimidated by lifting weights.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good choice of strength exercises. It sounds like all muscle groups are being worked. The added benefit of strength work is that you have better posture and actually feel more confident in your ability to do simple tasks that most people can't manage.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am going to put together a strength routine for after P90X. I feel the need to keep working. We do those V-up roll ups in P90x. They are killer (as are bicycles).

    ReplyDelete
  12. yes....use the trainer for about 3-5 workouts to get over the shyness etc....

    my bride is available...haha

    ReplyDelete
  13. I always hated strenght training but since starting again I'm seeing great results and I'm always looking forward to it. My problem is that I never knew exactly what to do! Since finding another bloggers routine, I am just following that. I am doing it at home so with a rope and some weights. So far so good!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice work! Good for you for making time for stretching. Very few people do that. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice routine! I think I should have worked with a trainer when getting back to doing some upper body strength training over the holidays. In 3 weeks I got back to doing what I used to do years ago and am paying for it, I think :-(

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great routine. But what's a "rocking v-up"? I have no idea how to picture that.

    ReplyDelete
  17. You are rocking the total body workout...SWEET!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Whoa. Hard core!
    I just started back on the push ups and I'm glad I did. They are such a great workout.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great workouts! I need to start lifting again. How do you schedule your lifting around your s/b/r time?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great gym routine! I think all of us could benefit from following your lead.

    ReplyDelete
  21. No wonder you're the gym queen, nice workouts, thanks for sharing. I'm back to the push-ups thing myself, it's hard!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for posting this. You're the best!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the inspiration! I need you to motivate me! Now, I just need to go to the gym LOL...

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm really impressed too. You should be a personal trainer!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I do as many exercises I can do but at home. We ahve a gym membership. I just never feel like going. But I sure pay for that guilty feeling of not going.

    ReplyDelete
  26. That's some good advice to work with a trainer. I sorta got into strength training the way you get into a cold pool...first the toe, then the foot, then a leg...

    It took awhile to know what to do with all the machines, but once you know, it's a piece of cake!

    Sounds like you've got a great routine going :)

    ReplyDelete