shmiller's Journal, 16 February 2011

I need to add weight training. Congrats on your wonderful results! 

Thanks, IdaMarie. This has been a fundamental change for me and the results have been dramatic!! 

Do you mind me asking what kind of weight training program you are following? Is is it like dumbbells free weights or machines at the gym? I need to set myself up a program to work with and just looking for ideas. The most strength training I have been doing is lunges, squats, planks, some pushups off the wall. Not much yet but I want and need to do more. However, since I don't belong to a gym yet I have debated back and forth about buying some equipment,(kettlebells, more dumbbells etc,) or join a gym. 

I'm doing free weights, machines, and resistance bands. I don't belong to a gym either, but I'm lucky to work at a high school that has a great fitness room I can use during my lunchhour. I try to do one area a day (arms, legs, shoulders, core) and rotate around every day. No matter what exercise I do, I work each muscle to the point of "failure," which means I couldn't possibly lift it anymore. I do this on the advice of one of our PE teachers and some research I've done on my own. I choose a weight that is heavy enough that I can only do a set of about 12 reps before I exhaust the muscle, then I stretch and rest for a minute or so, and do it again. Usually 4 sets in all, and the reps get less each set simply because "failure" comes sooner. I was doing just WiiActive at home, and I tried the Biggest Loser workout, but I was getting results much more slowly than I would have liked. Adding the weights, in addition to 10 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical have changed my body. I have lost pretty significant pounds, but more importantly, I'm totally reshaped. And that's the part that excites me!! I wish you luck. I hate to say the gym is probably your best bet, but that's what's worked best for me. (And it's hard to not go when you pay that much for it!!) Good luck and stay in touch! 

Thanks..sounds like a great plan.. I wish you continued success. Reshaping your body is great. 

Hey Idamarie... I've been using the active 2 for the Wii at home. It's perfect for a beginner like me and you can use wifhts and resistance bands in the workout. The sessions are only 20 min long and are a circuit style, so you keep repeating reps like Schiller is saying. I can still really feel it in my arms and shoulders from my workout Tuesday! I got the art in sale for $60 and it came with the resistance bands. When I'm ready to move past that I can program it to use free weights. This has been working for me... maybe it coups for you too idamarie? The program rates through the muscle groups too so that you rest them and work them... its nice for me to not have to think about it... because I'm such an amateur at weight lifting. 

radio...hmmm i think i saw that one at the store the other day.. I will have to check it out. I have bands and dumbbells at home just sometimes don't feel like I know what I am doing. Research time. :)