So I started my slightly updated new workout plans this week. I now have workouts such as weighted negative chinups. Ughhhh... lol... and I thought negative chinups were tough on their own already. I also did real deadlifts for the first time ever! So strange that I've always done Romanian deadlifts, or American deadlifts, and even Sumo deadlifts, but never just the good old deadlifts. My trainer said I should be able to use heavier weights than I do when I do American deadlifts, which I use 90 lbs for. So I used 100 lbs to do deadlifts and my lower back felt a little sore the next day even though I made sure to squat down and use my legs to get back up. I guess I'll have to play with my positioning some more to see if this was a good weight to use. It's always hard to tell with new exercises. I'm annoyed that the heaviest barbells at my gym are 110 lbs. I wish they'd at least go to 130! I don't want to have to use the squat rack all the time.
Anyways! So here are my workouts for the week!
Monday 9/9
What I did: Lower body weights circuit. 4 rounds of 6 lower body exercises, followed by 4 sets of calf raises. Then 30 minutes of cardio intervals on 15% incline treadmill. I like my lower body weight circuits because I think they are effective. But I hate doing them because someone always ends up taking something I need while I'm on other machines! I don't want to leave a towel on every machine/station I need to claim my spot, when I'm doing so many different things and would be holding each one up for like an hour. I know some people do that but I think that's really bad gym etiquette. My lower body circuit workout used to be on Fridays when the gym is less crowded, but now that my trainer moved it to Mondays, I have to deal with a lot more people! I need to be a billionaire and have my own private gym lol.
What I wore: Lululemon swiftly racerback in heathered plum - so glad I kept this one actually! I wore the Victoria's Secret Angel sports bra under it and Lorna Jane Marvel 3/4 Tight and Brooks Pure Drift shoes.
Tuesday 9/10
What I did: Weights for back and bi. It actually had some supersets in it too. I was going to do my cardio session afterwards but it ended up taking longer than I thought so skipped cardio and went home.
What I wore: Lululemon Stuff Your Bra tank in fossil/flash with Lululemon Empower crop in coal/passion and Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes.
I'm not sure if you can tell from my photos, but the flash bra (circle mesh) portion of this tank is now a lot lighter color than the straps (luxtreme). This is because the damn tank bled onto itself last time I wore it, after I've worn it and washed it many times before that! It's so strange that it never happened before and I didn't sweat more last time than usual. But the inner flash bra bled onto itself and dyed the fossil outside part in many places both in front and back of the tank. I should have taken a picture of it, but I was so distraught that I forgot. I basically ended up soaking the whole tank in Oxyclean for about 3 days, and most of it came out eventually. The side effect though, is that the bra color is now much much lighter than before. I think it's hard to capture it on photos though, because flash tends to look more saturated on photos. It looks worse than this in real life:
Well, at least I can still wear it though. I love this tank! I was so sad this happened and thought it was gone for good.
It was actually a little cooler earlier this week so I wore my Splits59 Olivia Run Tee in barberry as to and from.
Wednesday 9/11
What I did: I did double workouts! First I did my weights, shoulder and triceps, where weighted negative chinups were involved. Then I did 30 minutes of cardio intervals. Then I went to pilates!
What I wore: For the weights and cardio portion, I wore Lululemon electric orange cool racerback with power purple free to be bra, and power purple Track Time crop, and Nike Frees in crimson/gray.
I haven't had time to write about this yet, but I got an Inspire pullover in heathered lolo purple! I wore it as to and from.
I actually bought it when it was in the store but I returned it later on and kept the teal zeal one. But I did post pictures of me wearing this one since I was debating which color to keep. I was looking at this older post today, which was from September 2010 - exactly 3 years ago. At the time the post was made, I was doing a lot of cardio and eating a lot less food. I did not weigh much differently than I do now. But here is what I looked like then in the same pullover, same size... I think weight lifting is really good for me because I like how I look now at age 30 better than I did at 27! :)
For pilates on the same day, I wore another new to me tank that I haven't had time to post about either - the Namaste tank! Wow I heart this tank, it gives you more curves than you actually have! It's super comfy, but very long though. I might take an inch off of it. I wore it with Lululemon Ebb & Flow crops in black.
As to and from, I wore the Alo Sport gray hooded button neck sweater with Zigi Kickin wedges sneakers.
What I did: It was my rest day from weights, so I just did my 30 minute cardio interval.
Friday 9/13
What I did: I can't believe I went to the gym after standing in line forever at the Lulu warehouse sale. And it was leg day! So I did my lower body exercises and then my 30 minutes of cardio interval session - 4th and final, to finish off the week.
What I wore: Lululemon swiftly racerback in pow pink, with laceoflage free to be bra under. Sort of matchy matchy Lululemon Mod Moves crop in afterglo, and Brooks shoes again for the 3rd time this week!
Saturday 9/14
What I did: My last weight workout of the week! Upper body supersets.
What I wore: Lululemon cool racerback in midnight iris multi, with black Lorna Jane Pammy bra under. Lululemon Team Spirit crop in coal and Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes.
Today was another rest day from working out. So that concludes this week! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I am not looking forward to my lower body circuit workout tomorrow!
That's too bad about your flash tank. I had my pinkalicious crb bleed onto my dune tata tamer bra recently. I rewashed it and it came out. The crb hadn't bled on anything else before, so annoying.
ReplyDeleteYeah I find that color bleeds normally do wash out, but it's still annoying and should not happen! I was soooo mad when my currant Energy bra bled onto my brand new white jacquard mesh cool racerback. The dye came out only after I soaked the cool racerback for like a week in different things ranging from vinegar to plain old detergent.
DeleteI came across your blog randomly and love all your reviews, so I've been reviewing entries under "lululemon" from a couple years ago. I love reading about older styles since I tend to hear "I loved lulu way back when" a lot and kind of didn't know what their "vibe" was in the past. Anyway, You definitely have toned up and your body actually looks younger than it did in your older entries! It was really interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteI'm on stage one of new rules of lifting for women which I know you started doing. Your progress is really encouraging since I'm starting this out at 28. I hope to see results like yours! Most of all, I love that you choose to work out fashionably. Half the battle for me has always been feeling frumpy, but it's inspiring for me to see other girls who need a little style in their workout clothes. It makes it that much easier to go when you feel good/cute in your clothes.
And finally, did you substitute Romanian deadlifts with NROL4W when you first started? I am doing that right now and hoping to work into real deadlifts because I'm afraid to reinjure my back.
It's been a while since I did the New Rules workouts. I seem to remember that it only called for Romanian deadlifts? Maybe I'm wrong, but either way I only did Romanian deadlifts! That was when I first got into lifting heavier weights, so I could have been scared to do real deadlifts too...
DeleteAnd thank you so much! I did see a difference in both physique and strength in my body when I was following that book. I really have it to thank for giving me a base to build on and get to where I am today. You are right - I totally use cute workout clothes as motivation to go to the gym! And to justify spending more money on them... hehe... but hey, if you use it, then it's worth it right?? :)
Have fun with the workouts! I really enjoyed them, I hope you see some great results too!
It is a pain, but using the olympic barbell in the squat rack or on a platform is the best approach for deadlifts. You want to start with the bar at the correct height, which is equal to the radius of a standard 45 lb plate (8.9 inches I think???). Two 45s on the barbell is 135 lbs, so you can work up to that by loading the bar with smaller plates and using plates stacked on the floor to raise the bar to the proper height. If you use the preloaded barbells, you are most likely doing deficit deadlifts, which have their place in a training program, but it is best to perfect your form by lifting from the normal height and go from there. Your back will be a lot happier. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip! You are right, it would be much better if I didn't have to put the little barbell all the way down to the floor... hahaha... I'll use the squat rack next time and set the safety low so I can rest the bar on it instead - I don't think I can handle 135 lbs yet!
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