Strength Training Challenge

Core work today and upper body work from Cathe: Muscle Max DVD (appropriately from the HardCore Series). For me this is a tough workout. I think I'll stick with it!


Be stronger today than you were yesterday.

Lin in Central Iowa

I would love to join you all :-) I started strength training over the weekend and just now say this challenge.

Monday…upper body & ab’s
Plank…beginning (on 8/7) was 22.68, today (8/12) my time is 35.94 seconds
I’m also working on beginning bicep curls and triceps.
Terri

Yesterday I went to yoga and the gym. I had lots of exercise, to put it mildly. I showed a slight weight gain today, despite being well under my calorie goal. I think I have a pretty good idea why mfp doesn't award exercise calories for strength training. It seems to encourage water retention in the muscle cells. I consider strength an additional health goal, and it is worth the temporary weight. So far, so good. Today's Plank: one minute, fifteen seconds.

3rd workout with weights- (I am using workout from New Rules of Lifting for Women)

Also did Standing abs routine, c25k week 1 day 2, and finished out walking a total distance of 5k
Deb A in CNY

Jodios and Barbie:

Waaaaay back when I first started, the very idea of a push up or lifting an actual weight was so impossible that I stood a couple feet from a door, leaned into it and planted my hands flat and did what I called "push-aways" with my weight on my hands...........eventually moved my feet back and increased the number. I keep track of distance with the pattern in my kitchen floor. Then I moved to a lower stationary object----the edge of the kitchen sink and moved my feet little by little more away as my "push aways" became more like push ups, then on to the edge of the tub---I'm directly over the edge and my feet are like you would do for a plank.........it's a real push up, I'm just a foot off the floor at my shoulders. Chair dips......sit on the edge of a steady kitchen chair, keep your arms straight, slide your butt off and go down and back up using only your arms.

I don't know if anyone else would consider these made up things "exercise" but I've sure gotten better at doing them!!!

been keeping up strength training every other day.....following a womens lifting guideline ....it was hard to make myself so it today but so glad I did :-) Love reading everyones different styles and dedication.....

Good job Jodios!:flowerforyou:

And I had a light day today, an easy lower body workout and some core work. But not really intense. But it was something! :bigsmile:


Be stronger today than you were yesterday.


Lin in Central Iowa

If it's not too late I'd love to join you. I need to get myself moving!

It’s encouraging to see your posts!

Today I did upper body & abs…bicep curls (#10 w/10 lbs) and triceps (#10 w/10 lbs), modified push-ups (#10), also crunches (#10) and plank @ 40 seconds (up from 36 seconds).

Tuesday, I started lower body with “squat-lunge-curls” (5 each leg)…it’s difficult for me to keep my balance

Terri

Every time I do the weight machines in the gym I wind up with a sore back. I'm going to talk to the assistant today, and I'm thinking of dropping the machine that I suspect is the culprit.

I did some web searching about the plank. It seems the YouTube fitness gurus like it for strengthening abs and most recommended the bent arm version over the straight arm version. I tried both as an experiment, but with a good long time between them. I was able to hold the same length of time either way, and I have no idea if one was better than the other.

I do notice my weight goes up every time I visit the gym. Does that also happen to others?

Katla in overcast NW Oregon

I wanna join 15 female

First of all, this is a list of what I can do and those things are what I want to improve )) So I'll start tomorrow, Aug. 18

Push-ups = 12 male continuous (I want this to become 20 after a month)
Sit-ups = 140 continuous (200 in a month)
Plie Squats = 40 (80 in a month)
Crunches = 50 (soon to be 100)
Jumping rope = 30 high jumps (50 in a month)
Other abs exercises which I can only do for 15-20 reps. (50 in a month)
Plank! I want to last for 1 minute! Squats = 100 (200 in a month)
Flexibility = Idk, Maybe improve more? )))

So those are the main things I want to improve. I wish you all good luck and we could all do this! We will be stronger!

I want to play too;) I'm a 34yr old female with 4 kids. My goal for the rest of this month is to work out 4x a week. I've gotten way off schedule for the last several months. I will typically do lots of legs with some arms too and abs are included. So, more of full body workouts. I'm just about to get an Olympic bar and weights with bench on Sunday-yay craigslist! I own pairs of dumbells ranging from 5-25lbs. 5lb increments.
I did what I call my twenty workout today
20 high knees, each leg, in between each set of exercises
20 wide leg deadlifts with 40lb(2 20lb dumbells)
20 lunges each leg with 40lb(same)
20 one arm rows with 20lb each arm
20 squats with 40lb
20 wood chops with 10lb, each side
20 one leg deadlift, each side, with 20lbs(2 10lb)
20 tricep dips
20 wide stance squats with 20lb
20 bent leg deadlifts 40lb
20 plié squats with 20lbs
I do pushups daily about 4x a week to get as many in a row as possible, man pushups normally between 10-15 so far. I want to use my resistance bands some next week so I will make that a new exercise for then.

:flowerforyou: Today is day 4 of my new strength training resolution. I kept my routine the same but added to my ankle weights by about one pound on each leg. I think squats are the only thing in my routine that aren't made more difficult by the ankle weights.

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: yanniejannie, I do pushups with my hands on the seat of a dining room chair.......The height is possibly similar to the edge of the tub that you use. I think the ankle weights add a challenge to the pushups.

:flowerforyou: by the time I did my strength training routine, I'd already walked over 20,000 steps and worked in the yard for two hours. I thought my hubby would watch TV with me while I worked out but he took a nap instead:laugh: :laugh:

:flowerforyou: Katla, I do planks on my forearms....I have read a lot about muscles retaining fluid as part of the repair process so it's quite possible that the scale won't give you good news after a workout.....do not be discouraged.

:flowerforyou: Rori, that's a great idea to create a routine that you can take on the road with you.

:bigsmile: I workout at home and love being able to watch TV and not have to drive anywhere...


Barbie from NW Washington

“If it’s important to you then you will find a way, if it’s not you’ll find an excuse.”





hooray for all the members of this challenge

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