Lifting - The Basics

I'm almost 10 weeks into my first cycle of lifting. It's not easy and, as I begin leaning out, I am sore, tired, and hungry every day. I'm also two weeks away from taking my ACSM Certified Personal Training exam. My days are consumed with the gym, meal planning/prepping, and studying. This is not the life I plan to lead forever but I'm very happy I gave myself 3 months to give it my all. The changes (mental, physical, and emotional) have been more than I ever dreamed. And I'm going to take my new knowledge and strength into my next cycle with the aim to be more balanced so I can still have meals out, sweet treats, and look amazing.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

So that leads me to how I plan to design a lifting program. Is it the only way? No. Is it the best way for everyone? No. But it's a great place to start and learn what works for you so you can build your own programs that maximize your results.

Phase 1: Endurance/Strength

Everyone wants to jump right into lifting hard and heavy. But that's when you end up so sore you can't walk or, even worse, injured. Next thing you know you're skipping the next workout or two to recover and all your hard work is slipping away.

The only way to avoid this pitfall is to start slowly (note: I didn't say EASY). Building endurance starts with higher reps. I like to use 3 sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise for the first 2 weeks. It's right on the line between pure endurance lifting and strength building so it sets you up for maximum growth in the next portion. I also like to start with only 4 days of lifting so my body has plenty of time to recover between workouts.

There are several general 'target areas' that need to be strengthened each week. These are your chest, back legs, shoulders, arms, and abs. Obviously, you can't dedicate a day to each group or you won't hit them all in a four day split. A common split, sometimes referred to as the 'Brogram', is chest/triceps, back/biceps, legs, and shoulders/abs. This gives you four workouts per week and makes sure you get all of your muscles ready for growth.

After two weeks of lifting like this, I move onto a five day split. The fifth day is simply a second day of working out my weakest body part. For this first cycle that meant legs for me. I chose them because I love to run but I also want a butt and strong legs. Next cycle I think this will be my back as it is definitely my weakest link and prevents me from squatting as heavy as I'd like and I still can't do a pull-up. You have to decide what your weakness is and hit it the hardest so that it becomes your strength!

August 31, 2014 to January 13, 2015

Grow booty, grow!

Phase 2: Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy)

As an adult you can't actually add muscle. You have all the muscle fibers you ever will. But you can make them BIGGER. This is known as hypertrophy. So how do you do this? The answer is to get a little heavier in the weights, add a few more sets, and keep your reps in the 8-12 range (I prefer 8-10). I also add supersets (grouping two lifts together before resting). Lastly, I added a 6th day of lifting. In this phase, my program consisted of the following days: back, chest/abs, legs, arms/abs, shoulders, legs. I also added more cardio to increase my calorie burn and keep my in running shape. I usually aimed for 30-40 minutes with a day or two of 60+ minutes. The longer cardio days were simply to keep my running up and not related to my lifting goals.

I love my arms and shoulders now!

Phase 3: Leaning Out/Fat Loss

Once you've gained the muscle you have to shed fat so you can show it off! The last portion of a lifting cycle will be losing some of the fluff. This really focuses on diet (which I will talk about in another post) but I also tweaked my workouts.

I kept a 6 day lifting split (5 days with cardio) and added higher volume lifting. This means more sets (usually 4) with higher reps (usually 15-20). I obviously am lifting lighter weights to be able to nearly double the reps I do of each exercise but the 'burn' is killer. I have kept supersets as a big part of my programming and added active rest as well. I usually rested 60-90 seconds between sets in the first two phases. This phase the rest periods are filled with jump rope, mountain climbers, burpees, and tuck jumps. Keeping my heart rate up keeps my calorie burn high. 

After I finish my lifting workout I do 30-40 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio. This can be intervals/speed work on the treadmill, a spin workout, plyometrics, or even rowing. I just try to keep my heart rate up and burn as many calories as I can. 

For the final two weeks my lifting will be done in circuits. I will work through one set of every exercise before I rest for 3-5 minutes and then repeat the series 3-4 times total. After that I will once again perform 30-40 minutes of cardio. 

Working out with Shaun T and Beachbody's T25!

Conclusion:

I can attest first hand to the first two phases doing exactly what I'd hoped. I'm still working on my lean out and I have 17 more days before it's over. I hope I will love those results just as much as I loved the muscle building. After hitting a highest weight of 139.5 pounds over the holidays, I am currently sitting at 131 pounds. That is not my 'goal' weight but I'm more worried about not losing my hard-earned muscle than hitting an arbitrary number. 

So I hope this basic overview of the last 10 weeks of my life has helped you get ready to begin or build your lifting program. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I'll cover my nutrition in the next few days.

Also, please remember that I am not a certified trainer (yet). So, as always, consult your physician and listen to your body! 

Stronger

Thanksgiving was not at all how I planned it but it may have been even better. Sharing an evening of non-traditional food, board games, and silly shows with my daughter and a great friend made the holiday memorable. I missed my family but I'm hopeful the weather will cooperate for Christmas.

Friday morning Gem and I packed our bags and headed south. The trip to Virginia Beach was fairly uneventful and I was thrilled to see two of my closest friends, Jenn and Dan. Gem hit it off with their children immediately. We spent Friday evening catching up before bed. We had to be rested Saturday for the main event.

After a hardy breakfast of ham and cheese omelets Jenn and Dan took me over to the Brute Strength Gym. My friends have been training for Strongman competitions and this was my first chance to see them in action. The hour long clinic was focused on tire flips and fingal fingers, neither of which I had attempted before.

Dan warming up with some Sara tosses

 

I stayed in the back and watched as women with muscles I dream of having heaved the 300 lb tire over. When it was my turn I put on a brave face and approached the tire. I've never deadlifted more than 145 lbs and I was afraid that I wouldn't even get it off the floor. But it came up surprisingly easily and before I knew it I was lining up at the 380 lb tire. That also went up and over without a hitch. Next up was the 500 lb tire. That was a little more of a struggle as you can see below:

 

 

 

After that I attempted 625 lbs but I couldn't even budge it. Oh well. Almost four times my body weight is a good start!

 

We moved on to fingal fingers after the tire flips. I had never seen a finger and it was intimidating. A hollow metal tube is filled with rebar to meet the weight required. If I remember correctly my weight was 207 lbs. The tube is attached to a pivot on the floor and the point is to deadlift the tube, clean it, and then quickly push it to vertical and over the pivot.

 

Fingal Finger picture (strongman.org)

 

I had very little trouble lifting and cleaning the finger but, once it was shoulder height, I couldn't press it to overhead.  It took everything I had to just work my shoulder under it towards the pivot one small bite at a time until I could heave it over. Upper body strength is clearly my biggest weakness.

 

Noodle arms!

 

The experience was amazing and gave me a new appreciation for lifting. I usually dread strength workouts where I feel trapped into 3 x 12 reps of standard exercises. Strongman workouts were more like really heavy playground excursions. I think I could really get into training like that. Tires, logs, rocks, and pretty much anything heavy and awkward can be used to create an amazing workout.

 

The aftermath of it is almost as entertaining. I am black and blue from shoulder to fingertips with a few scattered bruises on my stomach, hips, and thighs from resting the weight of the implements at different points on my body. I went for a haircut today and when I removed my coat I'm pretty sure the hairdressers jaw hit the floor. I almost wanted to explain but thought I might just come off as crazy if I tried!

 

My wrist is disgusting!

Left bicep

Right bicep

 

This experience was so worth the temporary pain and stares. And now I can proudly rock my Brute Strength Gym tank top!

 

 

 

 

Did your holiday involve any unexpected or exciting workouts? How did you counter all those tempting calories?

 

Only The Strong Survive

"I will not be forgotten.

This is my time to shine.

I've got the scars to prove it,

Only the strong survive.

 

I'm not afraid of dying;

Everyone has their time.

Life never favored weakness.

Welcome to the pride."

~Five Finger Death Punch

 

 

You may not be a fan of heavy rock or alternative or whatever you want to classify 5FDP as. However, this song went on my playlist because the lyrics SPEAK to me. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't be weak this training cycle. I swore that I wouldn't make excuses to quit or lessen the burden of training. I promised that I would find out exactly how deep I can dig and just how strong I am. I wanted to be one of those runners. You know, the ones who run in the pouring rain at 4am because it's the only time they could run? One of those runners who never gives up because life throws them a curve ball. I think they could justifiably be called a 'pride'.

So when I got called into work unexpectedly Wednesday night I had to make some quick adjustments on the fly. A planned 10 mile run got swapped with cross training. I banged out 40 minutes worth of strength training before I raced off to work the 4 to midnight shift. I promised myself that I would run my 10 miles as soon as I got home even though I had been up since 6am already. I moved 10 foot long pipes back and forth through our shop all night. I dealt with a major crisis with a radioactive source that could have proved dangerous but thankfully didn't. I wondered every minute how I could survive a run after this but reminded myself that I will feel worse at Burning River and probably have more than 10 miles to go at that point. I needed to be strong!

Then my boss put another wrench in my plans. Two of our guys are down sick so I needed to come back in at 8am and put in another shift. That meant getting home at 1am, sleeping for 5 hours, and then going back to work. No way to put 10 miles in unless I wanted to be in a coma by lunch time. I dragged myself back into the shop and loaded all of those 10 foot pipes on a truck for our customer BY HAND because we're not allowed to touch them with a fork truck or crane. I loaded heavy castings for another customer and then started working on some different castings we had in the lab. I was exhausted. I was starving. And all I could think about was running.

I begged my brain not to give my legs excuses. I bargained with myself. "Just get on the treadmill and see what you can do." Finally, my relief arrived and I was able to head home. I stopped and picked up some fish food on the way. I puttered around the kitchen sorting mail and drinking water when I got home. I fed the fish some new food. I basically did anything to avoid putting on my running shoes. Then Shane woke up and I knew it was now or never.

I asked him to get Gem off the bus and pick up Ash so I could run and he agreed. (I'm a lucky wife, huh?) I changed and headed down to the basement like a prisoner headed for the electric chair. I popped in a movie and started out slowly. My legs protested at first but then it started to feel better. The knot of worry and stress in my chest released and I felt like I could breathe again. My stride started to loosen up and I was able to get close to the pace I was supposed to hit.

I didn't push myself to hit the recommended paces. I know that being awake for close to 40 hours with only a nap in the middle wasn't the preferred state for training. I went with the flow and even paused to grab some cookies for a quick sugar hit when I started to fade. The next thing I knew:

BAM! Ten miles done!

 

And now I know.... I am one of the strong. I will survive whatever life throws at me: job, personal, or anything else. I survived crazy work hours, a long way to run on the treadmill, and my fourth ACSM CPT class. And I'll survive working again tomorrow and whatever it may bring. Welcome to the pride!

 

 

Week In Review: Part Two

This week was another tough one but I feel like I handled it better. It started off deceptively easy with a 60 minute walk then progressed through speed work, steady state runs and a tough long run. So here's my week in review:

Monday: 4.2 miles of speed walking on the treadmill with inclines.

Tuesday: 1 mile warm up, 20 x 1 minute at faster than 5k pace (7:30 per mile) with 1 minute at 4-5MPH recovery, 1 mile cool down. Yes, that's right.... TWENTY repeats!

Wednesday: 70 minute steady state run.

Thursday: 0.5 mile warm up jog. 30 minutes of strength training: front squats, lunges, curls, rows, and then form drills.

Friday: 2 mile warm up, 3 x 10 minutes at 5k pace with a couple minutes recovery in between, cool down.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 13.1 mile trail run.

Total: 39 miles

The trail run was AWFUL. It's been raining for days and the trails were nothing but mud and wet leaves and rocks. I can't believe I stayed upright the whole time!

Nothing but mud

 

Muddy Shoes

 

On a really cool note check out what I got from my Secret Santa! Nothing like a little extra motivation on the Christmas tree and my book shelf!

 

 

Stronger By The Minute

The last couple weeks have been really hard! And that's not a complaint. In fact, I'm ecstatic. I am tougher than I realized. I've been taking my weaknesses and working on making them strengths. I've been putting in miles when I'd rather sleep, watch TV, eat something, or play with my kids. Maybe I won't always be a back/middle of the pack runner?

For example, I did speed work today. A one mile warm up, 20 x 1 minute at 7:30 pace with 1 minute recovery job between repeats, and 1 mile cool down. I would have preferred a 2 mile warm up and cool down but the little one was out of patience early on today. And running for 20 minutes total at faster than 5k pace was daunting! In the end I finished with 10k at 9:40 average pace. That in itself is not that impressive but the fact that I wanted to die (or slow down) after 4 repeats yet I still finished 20 is! By 15 I realized something. It didn't feel quite so awful anymore. My legs and lungs were developing a rhythm. The recovery jogs now felt awkward and out of sync rather than the repeats. It was odd and kind of inspiring. By the end of the 20th interval I felt like I could do more. I didn't really want to but I knew I *could*!

I spend a lot of time in my home gym and on my treadmill and one thing that's really helping me is gathering inspirational memorabilia. We have two displays in the basement like this. The first is a Bill Rodgers signed print. He won the Boston Marathon FOUR times! It really helps to look at that and think that what I'm doing doesn't even compare to what he must have been running. It also helps to remember that even the fastest and strongest runners have moments of weakness. At the bottom it says, "To be a winner means preparing not just one day, one month, or even one year - but for a lifetime." I may not be better tomorrow or next week but you bet I will be next month and next year!

Someday I will see the Boston finish line!

 

The second display is Shane and I's autographed 'cards' from elite athletes. It really helps me to remember that I have met Shalane Flanagan and Amy Yoder-Begley and they are real women. They have aches and pains and bad days. They like junk food and don't have superhuman willpower any more than the rest of us do. They just set their sights on a goal and then make choices that make those goals possible. Whether that goal is a 4:29:59 marathon or a world record, it's a great lesson in perseverance for everyone.

 

 

I'll never be a world-class athlete but there's no reason I can't be better than last year or last race! And I'll keep imagining that day when I qualify for Boston or finish my first one hundred or age group at a major race. Because I know one day I will achieve anything I put the work into.

 

 

Pushing Boundaries

I had my second training session with Ed over at Strength, Fitness, and Speed, Inc. this morning.  Last week's workout left us both surprised.  I expected to be a blubbering mess on the floor by the end and Ed must have too.  Instead we were both pleasantly surpised at how much of my fitness has returned post-baby.  I did my 3 mile run before I went and was scared it was going to make the training even harder but I surprised myself and excelled beyond both of our expectations!

Today, I knew Ed would be ramping things up a little but I was less nervous.  We did some plyo drills, some strength training, and some circuit training.  I was a little sore afterwards but not as much as I expected.  I put off doing my scheduled 4 mile run for a few hours for fear I would feel it then.  However, I finally sucked it up and jumped on the treadmill.  (I still haven't braved the snow/rain yet!) 

Once again I was pleasantly surprised.  I figured I would just go all out and see if I blew up or not.  I started out at a 10 minute mile pace (yes, I'm slow, I know...) and stayed there for mile 1.  Mile 2 I pushed to a 9:30 minute mile pace.  That actually didn't feel too bad!  I had an outside chance at breaking my official 5K PR of 29:59 (I pulled a 27:xx in training but never in a race).  I kept pushing the speed through mile 3 until I got to 7MPH.  I managed to hold myself together to the 5K mark and shaved 6 seconds off that race PR!  I was elated (and wheezing, choking, red-faced....)!  I wasn't sure how well I would finish off that last mile to get my scheduled 4 but I didn't want to chicken out now.

I kept pushing, dropping back only to a 10 minute mile pace instead of 11 or 12.  I got myself to the 3.8 mile mark and notched the speed up to 6.5 MPH and then edged up to 7MPH for the final tenth of a mile.  I finished that 4 mile run in 39:45, an average pace of 9:41!  A truly amazing accomplishment for a penguin like me!  I'm going to rest up and really hope that I can break my pre-baby PR less than 4 months postpartum.  And, if the weather is only 20-ish degrees like they're forecasting, then there's an outside chance I could snag myself another age group award! 

I have to say I'm pretty fond of my newfound pain tolerance and 'speed'!  I'm starting to think I do have an outside chance of having a good first marathon and setting a new PR at the Rachel Carson Challenge this summer and still being able to walk in the days following.  So here's to pushing ourselves beyond our wildest dreams and finding that perserverence and determination are the keys to opportunities doors!