Work Out Wednesday, July 25

Everything hurts.  Not in the way that I can't get out of bed, but I did have to pop a couple of Advil when I got to the office this morning.  This is kind of a good news, bad news situation.  If muscles are sore after exercise it's because they are not accustomed to being used and you have started using them, which is wonderful.  However, the thought of going to the gym after work today and using said muscles is a little bit daunting.  I think that once I start moving again this evening everything will feel better so I'm going to try to keep that in mind.  Also, I'm going to Charlottesville with some girlfriends (wine weekend!) starting tomorrow and probably won't get back in the gym until Sunday so I really need to make the most of my workout this evening.

I'm on Day 2 of Prevention Magazine's "Shrink A Size in 14 Days", although I may start my 14 days over on either Sunday or Monday since I'm going to miss two days of workouts this weekend.

Strength Training
Plie with Biceps Curl: 3 sets of 12 with 5 pound weights
Forward Lunge and Raise the Roof: 14 with 5 pound weights, 15 with no weights
Squat with Straight Arm Press Back: 2 sets of 10 with 5 pound weights

Plie with Bicep Curl
image via

Tip It Over: 2 sets of 8 on each side with 5 pound weights
Curtsy Lat Raise: 2 sets of 8 on each side with 5 pound weights

(Yesterday I received a couple of questions about how to do these exercises.  If you check out the guide online, there are really good descriptions and pictures.)

Cardio
5 minute warm up: moderate walk
20 minute power walk: walk as fast as you can without actually jogging
5 minute cool down: moderate walk slow to a regular walk

Assessment
I know that I got a great workout with this routine.  Lunges and squats are old school workout techniques.  People have been doing them for years and will continue to do them because they work.  By the time I got to the Curtsy, which is a lunging motion, I had to get awesome boyfriend to come and steady me because my legs were so tired they started shaking.

I was also surprised at how high my heart rate got during the power walk.  It wasn't quite as high as during one of my extreme, torture myself cardio burns, but it was high enough to be burning fat which is what counts.  Maybe power walking will become a regular addition to my weekly routine after all.

The only move I wasn't crazy about was Tip It Over, which involves balancing by holding onto the side of a chair while you lean over and extend one leg.  I feel foolish and had a hard time concentrating on doing the move correctly.  Next time I'm going to get awesome boyfriend to stand nearby and make sure my back is straight.

Keep checking back for further updates, and keep sending your questions and updates on your own progress to lifelovelowcarb@gmail.com.