Here is a blog post from a friend of mine about why women should be lifting weights. Thanks, Meredith!
Why Women Need To Lift
June 14, 2012
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Fat Loss, Fitness, Motherhood | Tagged: lift weights, muscle, strength training, Weight training, women | 
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Posted by Barb Macy
Rest Week
November 20, 2010
Image by Chris Gin via Flickr
This has been a week off for me. I haven’t taken any significant time off since our family vacation at the end of July, so this has been a welcome rest. I played tennis on Monday and Tuesday, and that has been all the activity for me for the week. . . no lifting, no kickboxing, no circuits, not even a walk. And, it has felt good!
Rest is important. . . it helps the body heal from injuries. It provides time to repair and recover from hard work. And, for me, it not only helps me physically recover, but it also helps me mentally regroup. I get burned out from working out hard all the time. And, I’ve discovered that taking time off makes me want to come back with renewed motivation. Taking a week off makes me WANT to exercise again. The oddest part about all of the time off I’ve taken over the past year is that I’ve always either maintained or lost weight. This week, my weight is down a couple of pounds . . . bonus!
One of my problems when I was heavier was that I took “rest weeks” a little too often. I’d workout faithfully for a couple of weeks, then slack off a week, work a couple, slack, etc. . . I wasn’t consistent and I had more rest than work. Now that I’m consistent with my exercise program and workout 5 times a week, taking an entire week off is actually a good thing. I don’t feel guilty. I don’t “feel fat”. And, I know that the time off is well-deserved.
How often do you take a rest week? Does it make you feel good or guilty?
1 Comment | Fitness, Health, Motivation | Tagged: DOR, fitness, healing, Health, Physical exercise, recovery, rest, Weight training | Permalink
Posted by Barb Macy
Thursday Lift 10/21/10 & The UPS Guy
October 23, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
I lifted a the gym on Thursday. I sometimes will venture out of my home gym in my basement to workout. It’s different scenery and gets me out of the house and started with my day. Here’s what I did. . .
Front Squat x 6 + 1-arm DB Rows x 8 + Jack Knife x 10 (3 sets)
Bar Bridge x 6 + Super Plank x 8 each + Farmer Walk (3 sets)
It was a good workout and everything was heavy! I attempted to do regular bench press with a bar, however my shoulder wasn’t feeling it, so I did the Super Planks instead. In dealing with my shoulder and back issues, I’ve always got to modify and find other exercises that work, yet don’t cause me pain.
On Friday, after 30 minutes of kickboxing, part of my workout was helping the UPS guy unload my some kettlebells of his truck. 316.8 pounds, to be exact! The poor UPS guy was having a hard time, so I helped him. Yes, I lifted all the heavy boxes and packages that had warning labels on them. . . then I had to unpack and carry them down to the basement. The 28 & 32 kg kettlebells are monsters!
1 Comment | Motivation, Strength Training, Workouts | Tagged: Health, kettlebells, Physical exercise, Squat (exercise), strength training, weight lifting for women, Weight training | Permalink
Posted by Barb Macy
Monday Lift & Tuesday Circuit
October 20, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
Monday Workout . . .
Foam Roll, Mobility, Warm-up, Rehab stuff
4-way Lunge (front, lateral, drop, diagonal) x 6 +
Negative Chin-ups x 5 +
Plank With Reach x 8 each side (4 total sets)
Circuit:
KB Swings x 20 +
Medball Throws x 25 (4 rounds)
On Tuesday, I played tennis for 1 1/2 hours, which was good. Since we only had 3 players show, I got to play some singles. Then I hit the gym and did some metabolic conditioning. . . .
Plate Circuit (15 lb) x 20 (Big Circles, Wood Chop, Squat to Press, Lunge Walk w/ Rotation, Pull-over, Russian Twist) +
Heavy Rope x 50 (various)
Jump Rope x 1 minute
6 rounds took me just over 25 minutes. By the time I was done, I was spent!
Leave a Comment » | Fitness, Strength Training, Workouts | Tagged: Circuit training, fat loss, interval training, metabolic conditioning, Physical exercise, Skipping rope, Sports, strength training, weight lifting for women, Weight training, workout ideas | Permalink
Posted by Barb Macy
Monday Workout – 10/11/10
October 12, 2010
Image by Susan Sharpless Smith via Flickr
I lifted yesterday. This was my workout . . .
Foam Roll, mobility, rehab stuff for my shoulder, ankle, etc.
Band Step-ups on the bench x 10 each leg +
Assisted Chin-ups x 7, 7, 6 +
Core Variations (3 sets)
Bar Bridge x 8 +
1/2 kneeling OH kettlebell press x 8 each +
Core variations (3 sets)
I also did 10 minutes of metabolic conditioning with one of my clients (thanks, Janet!), which consisted of kickboxing with the bag and the air dyne. My partner and I took turns doing 2 minutes of kickboxing and 2 minutes on the bike (:30 hard; :30 easy), and rest for 30 seconds during the change over. I think the Air Dyne is everyone’s least favorite exercise when we do circuits. . . when done correctly, that thing is HARD!
Leave a Comment » | Fitness, Strength Training, Workouts | Tagged: air dyne, assisted chin-up, Chin-up, fitness, Kettlebell, kickboxing, Weight training, workout | Permalink
Posted by Barb Macy
