Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Strength Training and Breakthroughs

This morning I went to Bodypump. It was a strength training day and I have finally figured out how to match Bodypump to my carb cycling workouts. My workout plan for today focused on legs, chest, triceps and shoulders. I can do all of these on my own at the fitness center weight room, but Bodypump is a lot more fun.


In true Hong Kong weather fashion, as soon as I was getting ready to leave it started pouring rain. Instead of walking, I took the bus to stay dry. Ha! At least my shoes stayed dry. By the way, I'm loving these new Nikes for my indoor workouts. They're good for running too, but I like the simplicity of this shoe for cross training. It's actually the first running shoe I bought about a thousand years ago, just kidding. It was 2005.


Bodypump went like this: warm-up, legs/squats, chest, back/glutes/hamstrings, arms/triceps, arms/biceps, legs/lunges, shoulders/arms, abs, cool-down. Bam, bam, bam. It was a fast one today and it was good. 800 reps but it was over before I knew it.

Today's class was packed. Not a single piece of equipment left on the rack. And it was 100% women. It's amazing to look around the room and see so many strong fierce women sweating it out. I realize that many of us here in DB are traveling spouses and we don't work, but I still love it!


It wasn't raining when class ended so I took advantage and walked back to the apartment. Even with the looming storm clouds, I have a pretty awesome view no matter which way I look. I wasn't sure if I would make it without having to pop open the umbrella, but I was willing to risk it. I made it.


There goes my bus! No sweaty marks left on the seat today, haha ;)


Walking home lets me get in additional low intensity cardio. The goal is to keep the heart rate in the fat burning zone. I determined my zone to be between 108-126. I was powering up the big hill today (which felt easier than normal!) and probably spent more time above my fat burning zone, but during Bodypump my average heart rate was right in there at 114.


When it comes to fitness, I have had a few breakthroughs over the last year.

1. I'm RUNNING again! This is by far the biggest and best thing happening right now. I am so thankful that my knee has responded to the osteopath and chiropractor work and just me taking things slow and steady. I'm not running long distances, but I embracing the fact that I can run a 5K and a little more.

2. LISTENING to my body. I can honestly say that I do this. I have tried to do it in the past, but now I really, really do. If I'm not feeling it, if my knee is cranky...I don't do the exercise, the workout, the activity. I take time off. I don't let FOMO make me do something that will ultimately hurt me. I just finished this super funny book that makes fun of all the wild and crazy things people will do in the name of fitness. I used to be that person!

3. Working out SMART - this year I have learned not to push too hard. I'm following a workout plan and taking rest days. I warm-up and I stretch. I foam roll and do yoga. All the things the super smart people tell us to do. I'm finally doing it.

4. I understand the relationship between FOOD and WORKOUTS. When I was younger I didn't need to know any of this because my body was a fat burning machine 110% of the time. As I've gotten older and my fitness habits have changed, I've had to educate myself on how fuel and exercise affect my body. Through the FASTer Way to Fat Loss carb cycling program, I have gained valuable information that has become a lifestyle for me.

5. I've embraced STRENGTH TRAINING. I used to dread anytime a coach or instructor told me to lift weights. Now I know that my body will not burn fat without muscles and the muscles I used to have are, well, gone. I have to build new muscles, 46 year old muscles.


Regular Calorie day 1 - the meals

Broke fast at 11:00 - I was seriously craving the grapes today.


Lunch - I was feeling lazy and went for the Cheese-its.


Dinner - One of the recipes I make most often when mrC is on a trip, cheesy tuna and quinoa (recipe here)


Snacks - 1 cup of Chex rice cereal

What breakthroughs have you had recently?
Do you watch your heart rate during workouts?


It's Wednesday Word and I'm linking up with Deb. Today's word is breakthrough and I'm linking up with AnnmarieNicole and Jen for Wild Workout Wednesday!!





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13 comments:

  1. sounds like a great class - funny to have the total rep count! Today I realized that I no longer exercise to burn calories, I exercise to get stronger, stay stronger, or because I just enjoy what I'm doing.

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  2. I am all about heart rate training, especially when it's hot out. It helps me cut myself a break and realize I'm getting a good workout even if I'm backing off my usual pace. I haven't been to Body Pump in years. Maybe once this marathon is out of the way I'll go back.

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  3. I have always wanted to try BodyPump class. It seems like something that I would enjoy!

    My heart rate was sky high during a long run last week due to the heat and humidity. I had to stop a lot to bring it back down. It was a little frustrating but I have learned to give myself grace while training in the summer!

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  4. I agree with you about the changes that come with aging. I definitely eat way better than I did in my younger years! I work with a lot of younger people (in their 20s) and they just laugh at me when I turn down their snacks.

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  5. I've never thought about the total rep count for my strength workouts! I wonder what it would be. I eat way better than I did even 10 years ago but it's harder to keep off the weight for sure

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  6. Those are a lot of great breakthroughs! My breakthroughs have been realizing that I don't need to workout an hour a day to make progress and running for the love of it vs. trying to PR every race.

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  7. My body has NEVER been a fat burning machine. Sigh.

    Learning to respect my body, give it the rest it needs -- even though I'm not really a gung-ho type, I still find it hard. But I'm definitely becoming better at it!

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  8. Good for you...that's a lot of breakthroughs ;-) I am one of the last people who has not done HRM...I need to get on that wagon.

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  9. I haven't been to BodyPump in FOREVER! It's a great gateway into strength training for women. I never would've considered using barbells if I hadn't tried that class.

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  10. When I started really strength training this year I was SO HUNGRY! It was like being a new runner, but upping my protein a lot really seemed to help a ton!

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  11. That class sounds like a lot of fun!!! So awesome that the class was all women :)

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  12. It looks like we were very much on the same page with our posts! Great minds think alike! :-)

    Thanks for linking up!

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