A little behind in updating my workouts......oops! It's been a roller coaster this last 6 months with getting everything in place for the new venture and actually starting it.
I have taken up running again, and have rediscovered my love for trail running. I would rather be in the outdoors and up in the forest than anywhere else when it comes to running, a treadmill just bores me. I am partaking in the Race for Life again this year for the 7th time. This time though I am pushing the boundary and going for the 10km race instead of the 5km. I have also been challenged to do the Nottingham Half Marathon in September so will be undertaking that as well as the Spartan Race series and some other OCRs.
Today's workout to follow but it's going to be a heavy lifting session :)
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January 4th 2013
1 Rep Max session
Warm up
3mins 30 walking with shoulder tools on incline of 2 increasing speed from 5kph to 6.5kph on the treadmill.
CV
Steady state intervals. 2mins at 9kph, 2 mins at 11.5kph on incline 1 (3 times).
1 RM session
Deadlift - 77.5kg (excluding bar weight)
Back Squat - 35kg barbell
Seated pully 40kg pull
Peck Deck 37.5kg
Lat Pulldown 45kg
Bicep Curl 9kg
Remaining 1 RM max to be done next session
(I have lost some strength as I was pulling more on these this time last year but that's to be expected due to active recovery and only being able to do body weight exercises. Ah well, back to improving these over the next few months)
Core work
Forearm plank with leg raise - 15 seconds in plank, 15 seconds left leg raised, 15 seconds in plank, 15 seconds with right leg raised (these kill)
Back strengtheners, holding each for 30 seconds in good form - 3 of.
Stretch with legibility development and PNF stretching.
All in all a really good workout and good to get my 1RM sorted. Double whammy of cardio classes on Sunday including the return of my all time favourite class, Body Jam.
Saturday CJ and I are trying Rock Climbing at an indoor climbing centre. Should be good fun. Monday sees a return to pole.
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January 1st 2013
First of all, Happy New Year all. Hope you all have an enjoyable and safe New Year's Eve shindig.
So, as with all things I do, I have set a selection of goals to reach come the end of the year. Some will be achieved in the short term, some in the mid term and then there are those that I know will take much of the year but the short and mid term goals will all help towards those in some way. I might even add my goals list here at some point, or i might just let people know as and when they are achieved. I haven't decided yet. ;)
Today, though, was definitely the start of ensuring that I kick off 2013 as I mean to go on, and as it's a bank holiday and the gym is shut, I decided to focus on pole training. Here is what today entailed:
Warm up
Dynamic stretching and sun solution warm up. Sumo squats, toe raisers, wrist rotations, shoulder circumduction and standard body weight squats.
Spins 3 -6 on each side (ensuring I don't favour one side of the other)
Chair
Front Hook
Back hook
Hook with kick into chair
Wonder Woman
Carousel
Ankle attitude to Fireman
Back Attitude
Sits and Climbs
6 standard climbs, alternating lead hand
3 lifts either side with extended trailing leg
4 x lying lady
4 x Peter Pan
4 seats, no hands when seated.
Strength
6 tucks either side with 4 second hold
6 either side for negative pull ups alternating lead hand
2 pencil holds each side
Cool down, sun salutation and full stretch sequence. Foam roller, and focus on right Hamstring as that's still giving me niggles.
Total time, 60 minutes. Very happy with that and I got a little bit sweaty doing the strength section which meant the muscles were working hard. Now to just keep it going through the year :)
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Wednesday 7th November 2012
2 months since my last entry and 9 weeks since I last set foot in the gym, last nights work out was the real test for the knee and it went well. Workout as follows:
Warm up
5 min walk on treadmill at various speeds and incline, followed with some dynamic and static stretches.
Cardio blast - 10 min run on incline 1 at speed 9.5kph for 7 mins, 10kph for 3 mins. (no twinge in the knee - yay)
Weights section:
Back squat - 2 x 12 x 20kg barbell
Romainian single leg deadlift 2 x 10 x 8kg kettlebell
Overhead squat 2 x 12 x 10kg barbell
Lunge with russian twist 2 x 12 x 8kg dumbell
Sumo squat with calf raise 2 x 12 x 10kg dumbells in each hand resting on the thigh
Front squat 2 x 12 x 20 kg barbell
At the start of the section, the end and between every paired set I held a full body plank for 1 minute for a total of 7 planks.
Foam roller and 10 minute progressive stretch sequence.
A good day all in all. Tomorrow I give my back, chest and shoulders a beasting :) Bring on the pull ups and push ups.
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Friday 7th September 2012
I haven't updated the workouts page for quite some time as my workouts have been sporadic and inconsistent. However, I have a number of new projects on the go, fitness related and all gearing up towards my final qualifications in my certification.
Pole continues to be my one constant in fitness, and my strength is improving daily. Flexibility gains are still progressing and with the introduction of PNF stretching, I'm seeing improvements all the time.
I have started to undertake the Spartan series of obstacle course racing so will be gearing my gym sessions to not only increasing upper body strength (handy for pole as well as rope climes over obstacles) but also endurance. More updates to follow :)
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Friday 1st June 2012
Flexibility class. Managed to get my splits further and am now about 6-8 inches from full front/back splits. I have found that my more flexible side is my left, which is odd as I thought it would have been my right. My box split is still a work in progress. But I'm now able to get my feet flat on the floor in downward facing dog pose. I also held my crab pose for the longest I've been able to do in a long time which means I'm regaining the flexibility in my lower back.
Progress is being made constantly on all sides of fitness, and this is really pleasing. It's an immense feeling of achievement and something I'm quite proud of. What I've also started to realise is that I'm gearing my workouts to help improve my fitness and strength on the pole, which is no bad thing ;)
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Wednesday 30th May 2012
Cardio day
Warm up - 5 minute walk on the treadmill at 6kph with dynamic stretches
2km run 12mins 51 seconds -speed 9.5- 10.5 with 1 minute walk when knee had a slight twinge.
1000m row - level 5, 4mins 24 secs (a little slower than last time)
HIIT Drills - repeated 3 times
10 full press ups
10 squat jumps
20 jacks
10 Sumo burpies
20 high knees
20 butt kicks
20 heismans
Repeated 3 times through. Finished with 10 V press ups and 10 full press ups.
Foam roller and stretch.
Very happy with the workout today. Managed 40 full body press ups (4 sets of 10), no dropping to the knees. No giving up. For me that is great progress as I've always struggled with the press up. Also it's funny doing a HIIT workout at my gym as the looks you get can be off putting but I try to ignore them or use them as motivation to do more.
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Tuesday May 29th 2012
Base Phase Workout A - week 2
Warm up - 2km run (to see how the knee is holding up)
1 (a) Bird dog 2 x 12
1 (b) Ball roll 2 x 12
2 (a) Step up 2 x 12 x 7kg
2 (b) 3 point bent over row 2 x 12 x 7kg
3 (a) Co-contraction partial lunge 2 x 12
3 (a) Incline Press 3x 12
Foam roller and stretch.
Decided to do a smaller workout but keeping to the main points of the base phase workout.
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Monday May 28th 2012
Monday night is always Pole night unless something comes up that I have no choice but to swap it to the Thursday of the same week. Lots of focus on strength this week which is always welcomed. New techniques of how to increase upper body strength on the pole were given and I'm going to incorporate them into a 10 minute daily session along with a 10 minute stretch and foam roller to ensure that I maintain the flexi gains that I'm currently working on.
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Saturday 26th May 2012
Base Phase workout B - week 2
Warm up as per the book.
Included a run today - 2km in just over 13 mins - split of 6.30 (improving but granted much easier on a treadmill, yet I prefer running outdoors)
1 (a) Russian Twist 3 sets x 12 reps x 4kg medicine ball
1 (b) Prone Cobra 2 x 60 seconds
2 (a) Overhead Squat 3 x 12 x 15kg
2 (b) Lateral raise with external rotation 3 x 12 x 4kg
3 (a)Single leg Romainian Deadlift 3 x 10 x 6kg
3 (b) Split Stance cable Lat Pullover 3 x 10 x 5.7kg
4 (a) Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x 10 x 8kg
4 (b) Split Stance cable row 3 x 10 x 12.5kg
Foam roller and extended yoga stretch with progressive stretching.
I decided to increase the weights this week as I need to start pushing myself further and progressing through the weights. I also increased the repetitions and did a full 3 sets where I felt comfortable to do so. I have really felt the benefit of switching it up quite quickly. Also with the overhead squats I found 10kg to be too easy last week and I didn't feel as thought I was pushing myself far enough. 15kg and 3 sets of 12 reps proved to be the right weight/rep combination as the last 2 of the last set were starting to feel difficult. The same with the bulgarian split squats. Increasing the weight to 8kg has made those horrible little blighters all the more horrid which means they do me good. They are the only exercise that I genuinely thing 'urgh' when faced with them. But I'm sure I'll be loving them if the results prove they work.
Day off Sunday - domesticity calls.
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Wednesday 23rd to Friday 25th May 2012
Decided that as it was an absolutely stunning evening that I would give my usual 3km jog a bash and see how well the knee is recovering now that I'm conscious of running in my correct gait.
Time taken 20mins 54 seconds. Split of 6mins 59seconds per Kilometre, this displeases me as I'm used to running about 5.50 average per km. But I have to remind myself that once the knee niggles i have to stop and walk and those splits include a walk of about 600m. But it's something I can work on and improve in time for the Race For Life in July.
Thursday, I did my pole class which is usually on a Monday night, but on the occasions I can't make it I join in on the Thursday group. My strength is coming on slowly, I am now able to pull myself up into a tuck position on the pole without jumping up first. Next step is the tilt, ready to invert. I'm quite excited but also aware that I can take my time and ensure I build up enough strength to do it smoothly. It's all going to help keep my core strength improving which is integral to all exercising.
Friday I joined in with Richard's flexibility for development class. Deep stretching, with focus on breathing to really get the most out of the extended stretches. After doing Body Balance for a long time, I finally got my heels to the floor while in downward facing dog pose. This means the hamstrings are finally starting to lengthen, which in turn means the splits are once again achievable. A good day.
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Tuesday 22nd May 2012
Base Phase Workout A - week 2
Warm up as per the book
1 (a) Bird dog 3 x 12
1 (b) Ball roll 3 x 12
2 (a) Step up 3 x 12 x 7kg
2 (b) 3 point bent over row 3 x 12 x 7kg
3 (a) Co-contraction partial lunge 3 x 10
3 (a) Incline Press 3x 10
4 (a) Hip-Leg extension 2 x 12
4 (a) Bent over reverse fly 1 x 12 x 4kg, 1 x 12 x 5kg
Also included a run for 1.5km (but the knee started to niggle so I dropped to cool down straight away).
Foam roller and extended yoga stretch with flexibility progressions
Decided to up the reps on almost all exercises and increase weights on a couple of the moves today and felt really good doing so. It made the workout a little tougher which I needed, so had to dig deep on a couple of reps to really get them out in good form.
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So to kick off this page where I log my workouts, I'll start with a breakdown of this weeks sessions.
I've started to follow the strength workouts (have done the base phase workouts a couple of times previous but then fell foul to life getting in the way and injury) in The Female Body Breakthrough by Rachael Cosgrove BSc CSCS. Great system which allows for 2 hours a week of strength training and if you have the time and inclination you can increase to 6 workouts a week. Excellent read and I thoroughly recommend it.
The workouts are splits into phases - beginning with the base phase - and each phase as 2 different workouts, each with charts to enable you to know rep range and set range. The book comes complete with descriptions and diagrams on how to perform the exercises. I will say that this book is for someone who has experience of free weights and has been taken through ideal form with a trainer. I always recommend seeking the advice of a PT at your gym before you try these exercises as they will be able to spot (no pun intended) where your technique requires adjusting so that you perform the exercises safely and you get the best result possible. More advice, and apologies for shouting, READ THE WHOLE BOOK. It's worthwhile.
This week was week 1 and my workouts with my weight ranges are below. I also have included a more cardio intensive workout as i do like my cardio ;) After injuring my IT band, I took the sage advice from my own PT (yes even personal trainers have personal trainers) and decreased my weights so that I don;t aggravate it and I will slowly increase these back to where I was before the injury. The warm ups for the strength workouts are the same so I will only include it here the once and then refer to it as 'as per the book' in future posts. The exercises where they are numbered such as 1 (a) 1 (b) are done in pairs so a set of 'a' will be done followed by a set of 'b' then repeated until the required number of sets have been achieved.
Warm up:
Stand to Squat x 10
Heel to butt x 10
Jumping Jacks x 20
Crossover lunges x 10
Lateral Jumps x 10
Inverted hamstring x 10
Single leg front back hop x 10
Lunge walk with rotation x 10
Single leg lateral hop x10
Inchworm x 10
Lateral lunge x 10
Bent over Y-T-W-I (5 of each)
Bridge march x 10
Workout 1 - Base Phase workout A - week 1 (Tuesday)
1 (a) Bird dog 3 x 12
1 (b) Ball roll 3 x 12
2 (a) Step up 3 x 12 x 6kg
2 (b) 3 point bent over row 3 x 12 x 7kg
3 (a) Co-contraction partial lunge 2 x 10
3 (a) Incline Press 2 x 12
4 (a) Hip-Leg extension 3 x 10
4 (a) Bent over reverse fly 3 x 10 x 4kg
(added extra - 3 sets of 10 of Jumping macs, bur pies, heisman lateral jumps, mountain climbers and hold plank in full arm extension for 1 minute)
Foam roller and extended yoga stretching to finish.
Workout 2 - Cardio workout with compound full body strength (Wednesday)
Walk warm up on treadmill (4 mins at speed 5 - 6.5) dynamic stretches
10 minute run (2km) Speed 10 - 11.
1000 metre row - level 5 - 4mins 20 seconds
Deadlift 2 x 12 x 20kg
Back squat 2 x 12 x 20kg
Bicep curl with forward lunge 2 x 12 x 6kg
Double arm Tricep extension with sum squat 2 x 10 x 8kg
3 x 20 of the following: Jumping jacks, High Knees, butt kicks, mummy kicks, squat jumps, burpies.
Foam roller and stretch
Workout 3 - Base Phase workout B - week 1 (Sunday)
Warm up as per the book.
1 (a) Russian Twist 3 sets x 10 reps x 4kg medicine ball
1 (b) Prone Cobra 3 x 60 seconds
2 (a) Overhead Squat 3 x 10 x 10kg
2 (b) Lateral raise with external rotation 3 x 10 x 4kg
3 (a)Single leg Romainian Deadlift 3 x 10 x 5kg
3 (b) Split Stance cable Lat Pullover 3 x 10 x 5.7kg
4 (a) Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x 10 x 5kg
4 (b) Split Stance cable row 3 x 10 x 12.5kg
Foam roller and extended yoga stretch with progressive stretching.
Monday's I have my 1 hour 30 min pole class. Thursday I managed 45 mins of pole practice on my home pole and Saturday I had a gig which is a cardio workout in of itself. Although this week has been much lighter on formal workouts I have managed to keep momentum with physical activities. Next week i'm aiming for 3 base phase workouts, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, with cardio on Sunday (either in the gym or one of my Turbofire workouts at home). Monday and Thursday will be pole based.
It seems like a lot of working out when I write it down, but I'm used to working out 6 days a week for anywhere between 30 mins to 2 hours at a time dependant on the exercises I'm doing. So this is scaling it back and looking for more time effective ways to get the same intensity and results.
It's worth it, there is nothing quite like working out. I love it, so much I'm making it a career choice.
Anyhow, I hope that gives some insight into what I get up to and i'll update this page with each workout after they've been completed.
Be kind to yourself, you rock, always
Much love
Krissie
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A number of people have asked for me to post my workouts for them to look at. I'm quite flattered that you are that interested so here we go, a new page all about my workouts.
A few disclaimers first:
- Although I have qualifications in fitness/exercise/nutrition I am still very much learning new techniques and always looking to perfect those I currently do. What works for me may not work for you.
- ALWAYS speak to your doctor before you understake any form of physical exercise.
- I can accept no responsibility if you injury yourself by copying some of the routines that I do.
- Take it steady, if you can afford it invest in a Personal Trainer, they are there to help you.
- Know your limits - I've been recently reminded of my own, so find yours.
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