One-Legged Jumping Super Star!

This morning I went to the gymnasium with Drew.  We had a lot of stuff to get accomplished today, so we got to the gym pretty much right when they opened at 8.  I started off on the Elliptical as a warm-up.  After that, we went to the weight room and did some weight lifting. 

I wanted to try to redeem myself after last week when I dropped the bar on the bench press and my trusty spotter saved the day.  I think I definitely did that today.  I even managed to go up 5 pounds from last week.  The 1.5 reps is because I did the first one all on my own and then Drew said that he thought I could get one more.  I brought the bar about half-way down and realized that there was no way, so I pushed it back up on my own, so it was really only half a rep.  Anything is better than dropping the bar, right? 


Bench press
10 @ 65 lbs
5 @ 75 lbs
1.5 @ 90 lbs

Butterfly
10 @ 60 lbs
6 @ 60 lbs
8 @ 70 lbs

Stand up shoulder presses
3 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs per arm

Arm curls
3 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs per arm

Jumps
10 x 3 (short box)

I actually did the jumps while alternating the arm curls.  It was a really good way to keep my heart rate up.  However, as I've mentioned before, I'm really NOT a good jumper.  Or, more specifically, I'm not a good two-legged jumper.  As Drew said, "You're a one-legged jumping super star!".  Which is sort-of true.  I'm just missing some sort of balance or something that makes me able to be good at jumping with two legs, but I gave it my best effort!

After that I finished up with a run on the treadmill.  Between the frigid temperatures and the snow we keep getting here, it seems almost impossible to run outdoors (at least to me).  My hat is off to those of you who are doing it!  I decided that in the spirit of keeping up with this speedy 5K plan, I should do some pick-ups during today's run.

I ran the first half-mile at 5.4 (11 minute pace) and then bumped it up to 7.5 (8 minute pace) for the next 0.25 miles.  I then went back to my slower pace to recover.  I ended up doing a total of 4 pick-ups throughout the run.  Two of them were at 7.5 (8 minute pace) and two were at 8.5 (7 minute pace).  All four pick-ups were for 0.25 miles.  It wasn't always easy, but I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging in there!  I ended up doing the 3.1 miles in 29:20 and then walked for another minute to cool down. 

I know I need to get some longer runs in, too, but the thought of doing them on the treadmill is slightly daunting/boring/annoying, so I'm holding out for better weather...


Elliptical
Time: 33:59
Distance: 2.80 miles
Calories: 269

Weight Lifting
Time: 26:43
Calories: 148

Running
Time: 30:58
Distance: 3.20 miles
Calories: 307

A New Max

This morning Drew and I went to the gym together and that meant that I'd have a spotter in order to try to test out my bench pressing abilities.  The last time I tried, I felt like I maxed out at 80 pounds.   A couple days ago I was able to do 90 pounds on the chest press machine, so I was hoping for something around there.  But I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, since I always think the machines are easier. 

We started out with 30 minutes on the stair mill before hitting the weights.  I was pretty nervous, but we started out at 65 pounds and that was fine.  Then I moved up to 75 pounds and it was definitely getting harder and my right pectoral muscle was a tiny bit tired.  I decided that we should just go for it and try 85 pounds.  I did one really easily.  The second one I managed to get up and then that was it.  My right pectoral muscle had had enough.  I can't say I really blame it.  And, um, as a result, I dropped the bar.  Right into Drew's hands.  Lucky thing I have such a great spotter, huh?  It's not quite as bad as it sounds.  I kept my left hand on the bar the entire time and I'm sure I just surprised Drew more than anything else.  Thanks to him, I was never in any real danger.   

After that, we finished up with some more weight lifting, which looked a lot like this: 

Bench Press
5 @ 65 lbs
5 @ 75 lbs
2 @ 85 lbs

Skull Crushers
3 x 10 @ 25 lbs

Butterfly
6 @ 60 lbs
8 @ 60 lbs
7 @ 60 lbs

Shoulder Press
2 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs (per arm)

I have to say that I'm pretty proud that I beat my previous best.  Especially since I really haven't been lifting weights all that consistently (or at all) recently. 

We finished up our day with some time on the Arc Trainer.  I still don't understand the appeal of that machine.  Drew loves it, probably with a capital L.  And I think it's super boring.  His response?  "Yeah, but I go faster and push myself more than you."  After thinking about that for a while, it's probably the reason I love the stair mill so much.  Because the machine pushes you automatically.  Plus, it's really easy to read a book on the stair mill.  Which probably makes it the best machine of all time.  Maybe I don't like the arc trainer because I don't automatically get pushed in the same way? 

Stair Mill
Time: 30:00
Distance: 2.95 miles
Calories: 275

Weight Lifting
Time: 32:05
Calories: 144

Arc Trainer
Time: 30:00
Distance: 0.70 miles
Calories: 248

The Max

This morning I headed off to the gymnasium with Drew and I really wanted to try to figure out what my max bench press would be. I had been looking at this site and trying to guess what I thought I could get to. I was really hoping that I could do 100, even though I thought it might be a little bit ambitious.

We got to the gym and loaded up the bar so that I'd try lifting 100 pounds. Um, it was a no go. I lowered the bar, but I couldn't push it back up. Of course, when I told that to Drew, I expected him to pick it up right away, but he didn't really help me all that much at first even though I felt a little frantic that it was going to crash down and smoosh my chest in. So, then we decided to try again at 95 pounds. Still the same situation where I could lower the bar but not push it back up.

So, then we decided to go about it from the other direction. We took lots more weight off and then started adding it back on. I was able to lift 65 pounds just fine. I was able to lift 75 pounds with a bit of a struggle. I was able to lift 80 pounds and thought I had reached my max. Drew says he's not convinced that it was my max because even though my arms were a little shaky pushing it up, he said that it was still relatively quick. I decided that I had maxed out at 80. I guess I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't more, especially since I've been doing so much weight lifting, but I guess I know where I am now and can only hope to maintain this level and hopefully improve.

After that, I went over and spun my little heart out on the computerized spin bike. I did the race day program which gets you up out of the saddle about 50% of the time. Nothing too noteworthy to report here. It definitely is a lot better now that I realized that I can clip in with my regular bike shoes, although I wonder if I'll be more likely to forget to clip out when stopping on my regular bike now that I'm getting used to the stationary bike!

Biking
Time: 37:44
Distance: 12.80 miles
Pace: 20.35 MPH average
Calories: 363
Maximum HR: 163
Average HR: 146