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Once upon a time, I strictly stuck to the gym for endurance workouts, either spin class, the treadmill or elliptical. But after about a year of that, I hit the metaphorical wall and wasn’t getting any stronger. I was also just getting downright bored with my normal routine. I knew I should be including more resistance and weight training into my workouts, but in all honesty the weight room was an intimidating place. I felt like it was a men only zone in the gym, and my waif-like arms weren’t going to cut it.
It wasn’t until Lauren posted The Core (or as I prefer to call it: The Sore), that I felt confident to weight training a try.
It’s still a little intimidating being the only female in the weight room, and sometimes I feel a little funny reaching for the 15 lb free weights when the guy beside me is working with 50 lbs. But, there are a lot of important health reasons to weight train in addition to cardio. It’s also kind of exciting to see biceps for the first time in 25 years (because years of ballet and soccer left my arms in the same shape as they were when I was 10). I found that the Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises has variety of strength training moves and modifications to make things more challenging.
Here’s my go to circuit:
- 10 Stiff-leg dead lifts
- 10 Shoulder press squats
- 10 Shoulder press forward lunges
- 10 Seated dumbbell curls – Do this holding a weight in your free arm and keep it at a 90 degree angle while curling.
- 10 Flat dumbbell presses
- 10 Lying overhead triceps extensions
- 10 Dumbbell rows per arm
- 10 Stability ball jackknifes + pushups
- 10 Seated Russian twists
- 10 Lower body Russian twists
- 10 Lower-ab leg drops – Putting your hands under your lower back will prevent straining.
- Plank with leg raises – I aim for 5 raises on each side, holding for about 20 seconds
Repeat everything 2-3 times. Just remember to do what works for you. Start with a weight that feels easy and gradually work your way up – I started doing this with 10 lb weights. Just be confident and feel free to have a mean look on your face (although I do discourage loud grunting).
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great workout! I used to avoid strength training as well, but then I realized that I could physically see results. I’ve fallen off the bandwagon lately, but I’m ready to get back to it. I’m definitely going to be trying this workout soon.
Haha, def no grunting for me ;P Too often I stick to the cardio machines but this year I’m trying to incorporate more weights into my workout routine…
I’ve been totally slacking on weight training the past few weeks… sometimes it’s just hard to fit it in! I loooooove classes like BodyPump because they take all the guesswork out of weight training, but my university gym doesn’t offer it. Lame. Without it, I get super bored super quickly, but this looks like it would be a challenging circuit for me. Thanks for posting!
I love weights!! I’m doing NROL4W and look forward to every workout. It’s tough but the burn the next day makes it all worth it.