My weight workouts

Hola, amigos y amigas!

Kids are having a lazy around the house day, playing with a friend, and as all is going well right now, I can take a few minutes to write.

Actually, my kids are anything BUT lazy, and they've both taken up running in addition to their gymnastics workouts! We're doing the Mather Mud Run as a family at the end of the month. (See my Flickr pictures to see the fun.) We're all doing the 5 mile run this year, and while 5 miles is not a short run, it's amazing how much longer it feels when you have to crawl on the ground, jump over ammo boxes, do a tire run, and crawl through a mud pit in every single lap! So anyway the kids are training. Tucker did 1-3/4 miles the other day, and a mile yesterday, and Austin did 2 miles yesterday, then went to our gym with a friend to do weights. I was showing the boys how to do anterior and posterior shoulder raises to hit all heads of the deltoid (do I SOUND like a trainer?) and a man working out said, "You're a good trainer!" Made my day!

A long while back, Jules asked about my weight workouts. Here's pretty much what I do twice a week:

Chest
Press: 45 pound bar, 2 or 3 sets of 13 reps (why 13? cuz it's my favorite number)
Push ups: body weight, 2 sets to failure

Back
Single arm rows: 25 or 30 pounds, 3 sets, 13 reps
Modified pull-ups (kind of laying down under a Smith machine bar): 2 sets, 13 reps (this position doesn't put nearly the strain on my shoulder as the overhead reaching involved in regular pull ups)

Shoulders (note -- I had multiple dislocations of my shoulder a little over a year ago, so I purposefully keep weights light here -- I'm highly motivated to keep it in place and avoid surgery! I also do rotator cuff rehab exercises before this workout.)
Overhead press: 10 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps VERY carefully!
Side raises: 12-1/2 pounds (gym just got new free weights -- very cool!), 3 sets, 13 reps
Upright rows: 12-1/2 pounds, 3 sets, 13 reps
Anterior lifts: 12-1/2 pounds, 3 sets, 13 reps
Posterior lifts: 12-1/2 pounds, 3 sets, 13 reps

Triceps
Stretchy band push-downs: to failure several times
Bench dips: to failure several times

Biceps
Curls: 15, 20, and sometimes 25 pounds, 1 set of each, 13 reps, THEN
Curls: 15 pounds, slow negatives (lift forearms parallel to the floor, then lower to a slow count of 4), repeat to failure

Legs
I haven't been doing leg weights nearly as much now that I'm running more miles. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the seated leg press machine, and really like what I do on it, and think it's kind of different. But then again, I'm going for definition (think dancer!) not size so much. Also (I'm sure you know this, but) you never lock your knees when doing leg press, right? Right!

So I plant myself on the leg press machine, set the weight for 85 pounds (which is light, I know), and do a warm-up set of 20 presses. Then the fun begins!

Using only one leg, and moving it towards the center of the pad, do a set of 20 reps.
Switch legs. Do 20 on the other leg.
Repeat so you do 3 or 4 sets on each leg.

NOW, using both legs, play with tempo. Hope I can describe this right. Have you ever seen a ballroom dancing lesson where the instructor is saying "quick, quick, slow" for the tempo? If so, that's the tempo for this, so you would bend (quick) straighten (quick) bend (slow, like 2 counts). Then you'd straighten (quick) bend (quick) straighten (slow). I'll do this for maybe 100 counts or so -- amazing how tired your legs get!