Move To Lose Spring Challenge - Tuesday

Hey Everyone 

We are off to a great start    Everyone has their plan in place, realistic goals and rewards waiting to be enjoyed.  Now for the hard part....the work

Here is my workout...  It's called a Push Day - Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Abs 

Bench Press                           3 sets      reps   8/12/15
Incline Flye                             
Dumbelll Shoulder Press  
Lateral Raises                      
Machine Reverse Flye         
Tricep Rope Pulldown         
Tricep Kickbacks                  
Hanging Knee Raises
Leg Press
Leg squats with DB
Lying Curl
Stability ball curl
Seated calf raises
Standing calf raises

If you are not sure how to do any of these let me know and I will send you some more infomation.

Did You Move To Lose Today?  Come on in and let's be accountable and inspire

Take care,
Kathy 

Hey Kathy!  What size weights are you using for those exercises?  I need to get something started with free weights but am not sure how much of a weight to use.

Last night was my first time back at Curves after a few months hiatus....surpised by how sweaty and out of breath I was by the end of the circuit!   Today I did a 3-mile walking DVD.

I'm starting to log my food again using FitDay.  Gosh those darn calories add up fast!  I did really well with my eating until last night and snacked on nuts and some other things when I really wasn't hungry.  Night time snacking is my worst habit!

The Basics

If you're setting up your own program, you'll need to know some basic strength training principles. These principles will teach you how to make sure you're using enough weight, determine your sets and reps and insure you're always progressing in your workouts.

1. Overload: To build muscle, you need to use more resistance than your muscles are used to. This is important because the more you do, the more your body is capable of doing, so you should increase your workload to avoid plateaus. In plain language, this means you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. You should be able to finish your last rep with difficulty but also with good form.
2. Progression. To avoid plateaus (or adaptation), you need to increase your intensity regularly. You can do this by increasing the amount of weight lifted, changing your sets/reps, changing the exercises and changing the type of resistance. You can make these changes on a weekly or monthly basis.
3. Specificity. This principle means you should train for your goal. That means, if you want to increase your strength, your program should be designed around that goal (e.g., train with heavier weights closer to your 1 RM (1 rep max)). To lose weight, choose a variety of rep ranges to target different muscle fibers.
4. Rest and Recovery. Rest days are just as important as workout days. It is during these rest periods that your muscles grow and change, so make sure you're not working the same muscle groups 2 days in a row.

Before you get started on setting up your routine, keep a few key points in mind:

1. Always warm up before you start lifting weights. This helps get your muscles warm and prevent injury. You can warm up with light cardio or by doing a light set of each exercise before going to heavier weights.
2. Lift and lower your weights slowly. Don't use momentum to lift the weight. If you have to swing to get the weight up, chances are you're using too much weight.
3. Breathe. Don't hold your breath and make sure you're using full range of motion throughout the movement.
4. Stand up straight. Pay attention to your posture and engage your abs in every movement you're doing to keep your balance and protect your spine.

If you can swing it, try and get a  couple of sessions with a PT to learn good form!!!

Take care,
Kathy

Great info...thanks!!