Crunch - 20 reps
Lying Leg Raise - 10 reps
Standing Hip Abduction - 40 reps (20L, 20R)
Lunge - 20 reps (10L, 10R)
Seated Leg Curl - 20 reps
Squat - 20 reps
Standing Calf Raise - 20 reps

HIIT Cardio: 15 minutes on the Gazelle
Could have done more, but I was afraid my legs would give out! I think I'll stick to 10-15 minutes of cardio after lower body days, and try to do the full 25 minutes after upper body days.

20 minutes on the Gazelle

Curl - 20 reps
Shoulder Press - 20 reps
Seated Row - 20 reps
Chest Press - 20 reps
Upright Row - 20 reps
Lateral Raise - 10 reps
Triceps Extension - 20 reps

Thought about following up with cardio, but I haven't been sleeping much lately and was exhausted by the end of the night. Oh well...

No exercise today.

Whew! What a crazy couple of months it's been! In spite of my new work schedule, and although it's not my favorite time to exercise, I stayed up late enough last night (October 2) to do 25 minutes of HIIT cardio on the Gazelle. Yeah! I think I'm going to stick with cardio only for a week or so, then get back to strength training. I still haven't decided exactly how I will alternate back and forth. Just gotta keep on moving!

Gotta get this exercising habit re-established while I'm home on Christmas Break. Once I go back to work, if I haven't re-established, I'll probably stay off-track until Easter and I can NOT let that happen!

I'm tweaking my exercise routine. I'll admit, I'm not sure how much/how often is supposed to work, so I'm just going to post what I do each time. My plan is to do lower body strength training one day, upper body strength training the next day, then rest. Repeat for the next three days, then do cardio the following day. That's how I plan to spend each week.

All the strength training exercises I list here are done with a resistance cord rather than free weights. I wonder sometimes if I'm wasting my time on that, or if I should buy a set of variable resistance bands. Any readers who wish to comment, fire away!

Wednesday, December 27, 9pm

30 squats (1 set of 10, 1 set of 20)
30 crunches (1 set of 10, 1 set of 20)
20 hip abductions (10 on each leg)
20 lunges (10 on each leg)
20 seated leg curls
20 calf raises
10 lying leg raises

Thursday, December 28, 10:00 pm:

30 standing rows (1 set of 20, 1 set of 10)
30 chest presses (1 set of 20, 1 set of 10)
30 curls (1 set of 20, 1 set of 10)
20 shoulder presses
20 tricep extensions
20 upright rows
10 lateral raises

I'm also trying something new: on the last rep, I hold the position for a count of ten before releasing. What the heck, it sure felt like it was working. I definitely had wobbly arms by the time I was done!

My only problem with upper body exercises is that I'm feeling a lot of tension in the back of my neck as I do these moves. That can't be right, and yet I can't seem to release the tension. I need to work on that.

Note to self: starting with tomorrow's workout, I need to do my exercises in circuit, 3 complete sets of 10 reps each, rather than doing all 30 reps of each exercise in one set. Hope my legs stop hurting tomorrow! Also, I am going to try to remember not to grip the cord handles so tightly; hopefully that will alleviate some of the tension I'm getting in my neck.

Hi.

Quote:

I'm tweaking my exercise routine. I'll admit, I'm not sure how much/how often is supposed to work, so I'm just going to post what I do each time. My plan is to do lower body strength training one day, upper body strength training the next day, then rest. Repeat for the next three days, then do cardio the following day. That's how I plan to spend each week. All the strength training exercises I list here are done with a resistance cord rather than free weights. I wonder sometimes if I'm wasting my time on that, or if I should buy a set of variable resistance bands. Any readers who wish to comment, fire away!

Your plan sounds fine. You're not wasting your time as long as you are challenging your muscles. I'm glad to see you're going to 3 sets of 10 reps. Just remember for a muscle to grow, you need to force it to feel like it needs to. So by the time you get to your 8th rep, you should be unsure if you'll make it to 10. Don't get a set number of reps in your mind and then just whip them out. The best way to think of this is:
Your goal isn't to find a weight that you can lift 10 times...
Your first goal is to find a weight that you CAN'T lift 10 times..
Your second goal is to lift that weight - 10 times...
Your third goal is to increase the weight, so you can return to the second goal...
Same principle applies when using resistance bands. Make sure the resistance is adequate to work your muscles in this way.

Saturday, December 30, 10:30 pm:

Circuit strength training, 3 sets of 10 reps each -
30 squats
30 calf raises
30 crunches
30 lying leg raises (whew!!)
30 seated leg curls
30 hip abductions (30 L, 30 R)

Ironically, doing these exercises in circuits rather than all at once allowed me to get in more reps, but I'm not feeling as sore this morning. I can't decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing! Hmmm....

I'll be surprised if I get my upper body exercises done tonight, since it's New Year's Eve and I have plans. I'll probably break with routine and get those exercises done first thing tomorrow morning. Happy New Year to all! And thanks, galatia, for your advice!

Sunday, December 31:
(actually done first thing January 1)

Two cycles of 10 reps each -
20 curls
20 upright rows
20 lateral raises (yay!)
20 chest presses
20 standing rows
20 shoulder presses

Meant to get in three cycles (30 reps total) but the kids needed me - no wonder I usually exercise at night!

Wednesday, January 3, 10:30 pm:

Three sets of ten reps each -
30 squats
30 calf raises
30 crunches
30 lying leg raises
30 seated leg curls
30 hip abductions (30 L, 30 R)

Monday, January 15, 7:00 a.m.:

Finally got my hands on some variable resistance toning cords. Boy, do they make a difference! I kept to my 30 reps, in three sets of increasing resistance, 12/10/8. Could have done about 10 more at the medium resistance, but ran out of time 'cause the kiddos were up.

30 curls
30 front raises
30 upright rows
30 tricep kickbacks
30 military presses

Wednesday, January 17:

30 reps, in three sets of increasing resistance, 12/10/8 -
- squats
- lunges
- seated leg curls

Plus 30 crunches, without resistance cords

Thursday, January 18:

30 reps, in three sets of increasing resistance, 12/10/8 -
- curls
- front raises
- upright rows
- tricep kickbacks
- military presses