99 problems but a fitness programme ain't one

Stargal

Stats
Age: 25
Height: 5ft 3 1/2
Weight: 79kg

Background
After a few false starts, I joined the gym in Trinity two weeks ago and have set up programme with one of the trainers there. I knew I needed something disciplined - my usual approach to the gym is to stick to the treadmill/bike and keep going until I get too exhausted/discouraged to go on (this has never worked out well, unsurprisingly!).

My level of fitness isn't great - I did the Couch-to-5k programme in the summer, but stopped when I did my first 5k - so I want to build that up. Gym programme is a mixture of cardio and weights.

I've been in the gym 5 times over the last fortnight and played badminton 3 times, so it's a good start. I want to keep this log to record progress and to basically get my ass in gear and to do this properly. Here goes.

My goals
- Run 10k in around an hour
- To lift progressively heavier weights (right now, I'm not sure what to aim for so I'm leaving this one vague)
- To play badminton once a week
- To go to the gym three times a week
- To generally get more toned and a lot fitter


Also, I don't actually have 99 problems. I wanted a cheesy thread title, Jay-Z came on iTunes as I was writing this and voilá

Stargal

This is the programme I've been following in the gym this past fortnight. I go from cross-trainer to weights to treadmill and then I repeat it all. As part of my programme, I'll be doing it three times from next week.

I started out last week with 4kg weights (I know, I know, total girl. Hey, it's a start!) but this week I've used 5kg instead. Think I can go heavier - I'm tired by the very end but could usually do more. Figure it's better to use heavier weights rather than do lots of reps with lesser weights.

Cross-trainer: 2 x 6 minutes (level 5 incline).

Weights:
Squats: 2x15 5kg
Sit-ups holding one 5kg weight: 2 x15
Reverse crunch using Swiss ball: 2x15
Sit-ups: 2 x20

Hmm, I don't know what these next ones are called so I'll just have to describe them:

One hand and one knee on the bench, the other hand pulling a dumbbell up to my shoulder and back down again: 2 x 15 5kg
Lying on the bench and pushing the dumbbells up into the air from a starting position by my side (shoulder curls?): 2 x 15 5kg

Treadmill:
1 x 7 minutes (intervals)
1 x 10 minutes (intervals)

So far, so good. I ran 30 minutes at the end of my session on Saturday (just over 5km) and was thrilled with that cos it's only the second time I've ever ran it. Yay:)

cardio,shoot me

Stargal wrote: »

One hand and one knee on the bench, the other hand pulling a dumbbell up to my shoulder and back down again: 2 x 15 5kg Dumbell bent over row, try to pull more to your hip than your shoulder. like imagine pulling the dumbell level to your belly button nearly.

Lying on the bench and pushing the dumbbells up into the air from a starting position by my side (shoulder curls?): 2 x 15 5kg Dumbell Press

There ya go :P good luck with the log, nice name

Stargal

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

There ya go :P good luck with the log, nice name

Thanks dude, appreciate that. Saves me having to write big long descriptions every single time:)

I just re-enacted my dumbbell bent over row (lot more succinct than what I was calling it!) and I do pull it up to between my hips and my boobs. Don't know why I said shoulder - tried it there and that would just be painful.

Stargal

Wed 2nd December

Cross trainer: 2 x 6 minutes (level 5 incline)

Weights:
Squats: 2x15 6kg
Dumbbell press: 2x15 6kg
Dumbbell bent over row: 2x15 6kg
Sit-ups holding 6kg weight: 2x15
Sit-ups with extended leg: 2x15

Treadmill: 1 x 7 minutes (intervals)

Didn't have time to go on the treadmill again. Walked 2.6km on Dun Laoghaire pier afterwards, not exactly the same.

Thoughts:
Used 6kg weights for the first time today (mainly cos there were no 5kgs left in the rack!). Was happy using them. Tough but in a good way. The squats at the very end were hard; I had to stop for a second every time I'd done 5 of them, but I did do them all. Going again on Friday, will use the 6kgs again.

jayoo

Good work with the squats:)

Stargal

I was bad at both gym-going and diary-keeping in December; the past few weeks I've been better at the gym-going but still terrible with the diary! Going to rectify that now.

Tuesday 26th January

Treadmill: 35 mins (15 +10 +10 = 7km)

Weights
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10 6kg 1x5 7kg
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 6kg 1x10 7kg
Sit-ups holding 6kg weight: 3x10
Dumbbell press: 3x10 6kg
Front raise + lateral raise + bringing weights up to breast height close to the body (?): 1x10 3kg

Swiss ball curls: 40
Sit-ups extending alternate legs: 40

Cross-trainer: 10 mins

Bike:10 mins

Rowing machine: 1000 metres

Thoughts
Was very happy with this, especially the running, which was far faster and for longer than I've done before. Finding the front raises and lateral raises sooo hard - not even close to being able to do them with 6kg, which is my standard. First time trying the rowing machine, liked it but it was the end of my workout so was v tired. I'll try it again.

Stargal

Wednesday 27th January

Weights:
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 1x10 6kg
Dumbbell bent over row: 1x15 6kg
Sit-ups holding 6kg weight: 1x15
Dumbbell press: 1x10 6kg

Treadmill: 10 minutes (fast)

Cross-trainer: 10 minutes

Thoughts:
Verrrry quick session today.

Stargal

Thursday 28th January

Swam: 34 lengths

Cross-trainer: 12 minutes

Rowing machine: 1000 m

Weights:
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 2x10 6kg 1x10 4kg
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 6kg
Sit-ups holding 6kg weight: 3x10
Dumbbell press: 3x10 6kg
Front raises + lateral raises + weights up to boobs: 2x10 2kg (!!)

Swiss ball curls: 40

Thoughts:
Today was my first time swimming in almost 2 years. Was so happy to be back in the water but dayum, it was so much harder than I'd remembered. Had to take breaks after pretty much every two lengths. At the start, I didn't think I'd make it to 20, let alone any more than that, so was happy with the amount. Really need to work on technique though. Terrible.

Was tired afterwards but figured since I was there, I should still go to the gym. Didn't do a lot of cardio, mainly weights. Squats got the better of me in the end and had to go down to 4kg, and front raises + lateral raises went down to 2kg as well. Boo. From now on I think I'll either gym or swim on one day, not both. Too tiring to do properly.

Stargal

Friday February 5th

Cross-trainer: 15mins

Bike: 15 mins

Treadmill: 27 mins (10+10+7)

Weights:
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10 6kg
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 7kg
Triceps kickback: 2x5 7kg
Dumbbell press: 4x10 7kg
Front raise + lateral raise + bringing weights up to breast height close to the body: 2x10 3kg

Sit-ups holding 7kg weight: 4x10
Swiss ball curls: 50

Stargal

Sunday February 7th

Cross-trainer: 10 mins

Treadmill: 10 mins

Weights:
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 8kg
Dumbbell press: 3x10 8kg
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 1x10 7kg, 3x10 5kg.
Front raise + lateral raise + bringing weights up to breast height close to the body: 2x10 2kg

Sit-ups holding 8kg weight: 3x10
Swiss ball curls: 60

Thoughts:
Used 8kg weights today for the first time. Tough, but do-able. Couldn't use them for the squats and shoulder press though; still stuck on 5 or 6kg usually for them. Boo. Short workout overall, very energised after it though. Prob cos it was mainly weights and little cardio.

TheRiddler

Looks like you are progressing nicely with your weights Stargirl, keep up the good work. How are you coming along with you 10km goal? I'm in the Trinity gym also, the waiting for weights and machines is ridiculous sometimes. Try keep up the swimming after you sessions I find it great for some extra stretching.

injured365

Try doing the weights before your long cardio sessions and you might find you can use heavier weights as you won't have fatigued the muscle from cardio.
Maybe only 5-10 minutes cardio before hand as a warm-up and then a longer cardio session after the weights.

Stargal

Thanks for that lads, nice to get a bit of feedback/encouragement

TheRiddler wrote: »

Looks like you are progressing nicely with your weights Stargirl, keep up the good work. How are you coming along with you 10km goal? I'm in the Trinity gym also, the waiting for weights and machines is ridiculous sometimes. Try keep up the swimming after you sessions I find it great for some extra stretching.

You've reminded me that I really need to update my goals! I'm going to run this 5km race around Dublin city centre on March 14th and then the plan is to do the 10k race in the Phoenix Park in April. Really looking forward to both - I couldn't even run for two minutes a few months ago so it's going to be pretty cool if I can finish these two in decent times.

I use the beginner's weights area in the Trinity gym so it's generally grand tbh (weights are almost always available but the area is tiny). Haven't tried deadlifts or anything like that, so right now it's fine for what I'm doing. Plus I don't yet have the balls to go into the main area.

injured365 wrote: »

Try doing the weights before your long cardio sessions and you might find you can use heavier weights as you won't have fatigued the muscle from cardio.
Maybe only 5-10 minutes cardio before hand as a warm-up and then a longer cardio session after the weights.

Cheers, good tip. Generally I do crosstrainer/bike, then weights, then treadmill (repeated 3 times) so it'd be good to mix it up.

Transform

Stargal wrote: »

Sunday February 7th

Cross-trainer: 10 mins

Treadmill: 10 mins

Weights:
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 8kg
Dumbbell press: 3x10 8kg
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 1x10 7kg, 3x10 5kg.
Front raise + lateral raise + bringing weights up to breast height close to the body: 2x10 2kg

Sit-ups holding 8kg weight: 3x10
Swiss ball curls: 60

Thoughts:
Used 8kg weights today for the first time. Tough, but do-able. Couldn't use them for the squats and shoulder press though; still stuck on 5 or 6kg usually for them. Boo. Short workout overall, very energised after it though. Prob cos it was mainly weights and little cardio.

you should always be able to one arm row more than you can press so increase the weight on that and keep diet tight

Stargal

Following on from this thread I started in the Fitness forum, I upped my weights today:

Cross-trainer:10 minutes

Treadmill:5 minutes

Weights:
Dumbbell bent over row: 4x10 10kg
Dumbbell press: 3x10 10kg (very proud of this!)
Lunges: 2x10 8kg
Front raises: 1x10 4kg Lateral raises: 1x8 4kg
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10 6kg (tried 8kg. Failed. Must try harder)

Swiss ball curls: 60
Sit-ups holding 10kg weight: 2x10

Thoughts:
Man, these heavier weights are tough! Couple of times I had to stop, take a breath and go again -also my posture got a bit shakey towards the end of some of the sets. I was definitely lifting weights that were too light before this; usually I just fly through the sets with the 6-7kg weights. This felt more satisfying though.

Disappointed that I can't lift heavier with the squats + dumbbell shoulder press though. I tried 8kg weights, did 2 reps and nearly overbalanced (SHAME!). Also the lat raises are embarrassingly bad. Something to work on. The lunges were random. Just threw them in cos I heard they're good. Will add them to the ol' routine cos I liked them.

Been neglecting the cardio lately and focusing on weights. Will fix this at next visit.

Finally, this is totally immature but I really liked that I was using the 10kg weights cos they're the heaviest weights in the beginners zone. I know, immature, but still

Stargal

Thursday 11th February

Cross trainer: 18 mins (6 + 6 + 6)

Treadmill: 30 mins (8 + 8 + 14)

Weights:
Dumbbell bent over row: 3x10 10kg
Dumbbell bench press: 3x10 10kg
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10 7kg
Lunges: 2x10 8kg

Sit-ups with 8kg weight: 3x12
Swiss ball crunches: 60

Thoughts:
Tough but good.

Stargal

I've gotten in a fairly regular gym-going pattern by now so going to update my goals and make them a bit more specific now I've got a better idea of what I'm capable of (and also what I'm totally not capable of; damn you lateral raises!). Here goes:

- Run 5km race around town on March 14th in under 35 minutes.
- Run 10km race in the Phoenix Park in April.
- Be able to squat + dumbbell shoulder press with 10kg by the end of Feb
- Get a new routine from my gym guy.
- Learn how to use some of the weight machines, particularly the leg ones.
- Swim 50 lengths by the end of March. Possibly 40. Depends on next few swim sessions.

And finally: Go into the real weights section of the gym. I don't know why I'm such a wuss about it - I like the beginner's zone but 10kg is the highest weight in the rack there so if I want to use anything heaver I'm gonna have to man up and go in there.

Chet Zar

Stargal wrote: »

I've gotten in a fairly regular gym-going pattern by now so going to update my goals and make them a bit more specific now I've got a better idea of what I'm capable of (and also what I'm totally not capable of; damn you lateral raises!). Here goes:

- Run 5km race around town on March 14th in under 35 minutes.
- Run 10km race in the Phoenix Park in April.
- Be able to squat + dumbbell shoulder press with 10kg by the end of Feb
- Get a new routine from my gym guy.
- Learn how to use some of the weight machines, particularly the leg ones.
- Swim 50 lengths by the end of March. Possibly 40. Depends on next few swim sessions.

And finally: Go into the real weights section of the gym. I don't know why I'm such a wuss about it - I like the beginner's zone but 10kg is the highest weight in the rack there so if I want to use anything heaver I'm gonna have to man up and go in there.

Nice Do it.

TheRiddler

Stargal wrote: »

And finally: Go into the real weights section of the gym. I don't know why I'm such a wuss about it - I like the beginner's zone but 10kg is the highest weight in the rack there so if I want to use anything heaver I'm gonna have to man up and go in there.

Yeah the way they have the weight section set up in Trinity it can be a bit intimidating for beginners and to an extent woman. But once you go in there you will see its grand and there is a much bigger selection of weights. There is another rack of weights like the ones in the beginner zone they range from 4kg to 16kg I think so you might want to look at that.

Oryx

Nice log stargal, well done with your progress. Its the great run youre doing in April? Ill be there with a gang of girlies too. Its a good day, but a crowded run. Nice goodie bag after, lol.

Stargal

Thanks y'all. Didn't know that they had suitable free weights in the weights section - cheers for that, TheRiddler. That whittles away another reason I had for not going in there Yep Oryx, that's the one. Bit freaked but also looking forward to it (espec now I hear there's a decent goody bag...). Registered for the 5k Dublin race today, whoo!

Stargal

Saturday 13th February

Treadmill: 14 mins: 7mins x2 (intervals)
Crosstrainer: 12 mins: 6mins x2
Weights:
10kg x10 x2 Dumbbell bentover row
10kg x10 x2 Dumbbell bench press
7kg x10 x2 squat + shoulder press
12 x2 sit ups with 7kg weight

40 swiss ball crunches
40 sit-ups with extended leg

Thoughts
Verrrry quick session. Two things: 1) Haven't been doing intervals on the treadmill lately. Will fix that from now on. They're way more effective. 2) Tried to do a bicep curl with a 10kg weight - HAHAHA! FAIL, as they say on t'internet. Did a few with 5kg, just to see if I could. Will work them into routine every so often from now on.

Stargal

Treadmill: 25 mins (9+9+7 -intervals)

Crosstrainer: 18 mins (6+6+6)

Weights:
9kg x10 x3 Dumbbell bentover row
9kg x10 x3 Dumbbell bench press
6kg x10 x3 squat + shoulder press
3 x12 sit ups with 9kg weight
6kg x10 x3 lunges

60 swiss ball crunches
60 sit-ups with extended leg

Swimming
40 lengths

Thoughts
This started out as a really 'meh' gym session - just felt kinda groggy and weird - but kept at it and it turned out pretty good. Did lighter weights than usual which probably helped. Swimming afterwards was tough - I was working really hard but getting frustrated cos I was going so slowly and panicking slightly in the water, which never happened in the past. Kept going at it and about 30 lengths in, it finally, finally clicked. Stopped panicking, got my breathing in check and it got a hell of a lot easier. Can't express how relieved I am about that - love swimming so much but really left it too long. Yay!

Stargal

Wednesday 17th February

Swam 30 lengths

Stargal

Wednesday 3rd March

Crosstrainer:12 minutes

Treadmill: 45 minutes. Did 5km in 27 minutes, kept going and did 8km in 43 mins. Ran the final two minutes just to prove to myself that I could

Weights:
Meh, nothing worth noting. Did two sets of dumbbell bench presses and dumbbell bent over rows, both with 10kg. Rest was just bits and pieces.

Thoughts:
Whoo, that was the longest I've ever run! Was just going to do 10 minutes, then figured since I hadn't done any exercise in two weeks (boo) and have that 5k race next week, I should just keep running and see how it'd go. Thrilled. Was tired by the end, but not exhausted or in pain or anything. Here's hoping it's that straightforward when I'm running it outside next week!

Stargal

Saturday March 6th.

Just ran 5k in my local park in under 30 minutes (29 mins 45 secs) - yay! But my god, it was SO much harder than on the treadmill. I don't set any incline at all on the treadmill, but hadn't expected the slopes in the park to take it out of me so much. This 5k was far tougher than the straightforward 8k on the treadmill the other day.

I was happy with my pace (steady throughout, got a bit faster in the final lap). Felt a little light-headed in the first and second lap - hadn't drank enough water beforehand. That's a good lesson to remember for the Patrick's Festival 5k next weekend. Bit of work to do in the gym this week to keep my fitness up so that the race next week goes well. Whoo!

dolliemix

Hi Stargal. I've been reading your log and well done on the progress. I started a log 5 weeks ago when I started the couch to 5k program. I've also started doing weights in the last two weeks. I'm nowhere near where you are but its nice to read what another woman is doing as it's mostly men in this forum (as far as I can see). I don't even understand what exercises they're doing!!!


I'd love to start doing the 5k races when I get to that stage. Where do you find out when they're on etc?

Stargal

Aw thanks for that dolliemix. I read your log too - I suspect all the girls who have logs here and are at similar stages read each others cos it's a great incentive to see what other people are capable of. I know I wouldn't have started using weights if it weren't for all the (very insistent!) logs by other girls here about how essential they are. (Although having said that, I had totally unrealistic expectations about how much I could lift because of all the fitness logs written by weightlifting boys. I was expecting to be benchpressing 70kg in a matter of days which, looking back now, is kinda hilarious!).

You're doing great stuff yourself with the ol' Cto5k (and well done for starting on the weights btw!). I really like the way you write down your thoughts and motivations for doing it - I try to do that a bit, but usually end up just rambling about how I want to try to do better, without analysing my reasons for it. I think articulating the reasons why a session was particularly good or bad definitely helps in understanding and improving the ol' routine.

About the 5k events - the Athletics/Running/Triathlons forum has a dedicated sub-forum here for upcoming races. It's really useful - seems to be quite comprehensive, plus there's lots of tips and information from other boardsies who have done the events in the past. Might see ya at one in a few months

Stargal

Monday 8th March

Swam 60 lengths (30 front, 30 backstroke). That's the first of my goals completed, and a few weeks ahead of schedule too It was soo much easier than my first few sessions back in the pool a few weeks ago when my technique was so bad that I was exhausted after just 2 lengths. Still have to work on it but definitely getting better. Love swimming.

Stargal

Tuesday 9th March

Crosstrainer: 12 mins
Treadmill: 10 mins (intervals)
Weights:
Dumbbell bent over row: 10kg x 10 x3
Dumbbell bench press: 10kg x 10 x 3
Squats + dumbbell shoulder press: 7kg x 10 x 3

Swiss ball crunches: 20 x 3
Sit-ups with 10kg weight: 20 x 3
Sit-ups with extended leg: 20 x 3

Swimming:Didn't count but around 30 lengths