Pushing Forward

So, I wanted to share what was going on with me and the newly incorporated-into-my-world resistance training! You saw yesterday that this was on my 2008 daunting to-do list, but there was just no way it was going to happen simultaneously with starting up running. Just. No. Way. It was enough that I'd put one foot in front of the other to run, and, boy, did I have a lot to figure out with that effort. Lifting weights? Ha! NO WAY!

I wanted it to eventually come, though, whatever "eventually" meant. I have always been super-strong in the legs and not-strong-in-the-least (understatement of the year) in the upper body. My upper body issues concerned me in terms of thinking way down the road: If I'm this not-strong now, just how weak am I going to be as I age? Throw an issue like the potential for osteoporosis in there, and this girl wanted to do some work!

In the meantime, I read over and over in magazines and blogs about how weight training compliments every part of a running effort. I've come to enjoy running to the point that I'm actually quite inspired to put a different effort into it and see what happens. I figure the only real outcome can be positive no matter what! What a deal!

And, under the always-thinking-about-stuff category: This is the opportune time to note that I'm about to register for the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in October, so I'm going to pay very close attention to my new efforts and determine the outcome of them after that run. I'm anxious to see what difference this makes! I have a five-month window from now 'til the run which is fabulous ... totally fits in with my slow-and-steady methods!!

So, here's how it's breaking down:

My main piece of equipment -- we've had
it for years, and Aaron is really the master
of using it. He's also super strong, and I used
to get annoyed seeing how easy it seemed
for him (even if he was working hard.
Oh yeah ... mature!) So, I wasn't that
inspired to use it when we first got it.

The other thing that annoyed me about it was hooking/unhooking
the resistance bands. Sometimes they come right off, other times,
I'm turning myself upside down trying to jimmy it out of its hole.
I felt like it was yet another thing I had to do and take care of
instead of just being patient. Yup, another excuse to blow it off.
I blew it off quite handily.

Now that I've gotten over my issues, it's time to get to work! The
Total Gym is cool because you use your body weight for the
resistance. You can adjust that way up or way down, too. While
I am here doing my squats, Elly is demonstrating her post-run
activity. She didn't stay there too long because when a pulley
hit metal, she got scared. She's awesome, but she's a chicken.

Major key to success: Something to tie
back the hair! Aaron was helping me learn
the exercises the other day, but it was then I
discovered I had to be on the lookout for my
own hair issues, otherwise, it got caught in
the bands or glider board track. Aaron's hair
is hardly ever an inch long, so I really could
not expect him to foresee the possibilities of
this problem! BUT, wouldn't that be a great
excuse to stop? "I'm sorry, but I can't do
weight training. Hair injury."

The bicep curls did not work for me ... one level of resistance
was too much, and the next one down was too easy (isn't that
always the way? There's hardly ever a great solution for being
in between!) So, while Lizzy took over Elly's sprawl-and-sleep
duties, I got out my hand weights. An excellent alternative!

My workout includes the following targets: quads; thighs (a killer move on the Total Gym, by the way); calves; back; shoulders (hate that one, total bore -- will be using hand weights for those from now on); chest, triceps and biceps. This first-go yesterday after running was a huge success, and I actually really liked it! I think having a goal in mind totally helps there. That and recorded tv! It took 25 minutes from beginning to end doing two sets of 15 for each exercise. That's way less time than I thought it would take. My current schedule for this is three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday -- yup, just messed up a Rest Day curses! but I intend for it to be worth the trade!).

The morning report after doing this circuit yesterday is that I felt great! I could most definitely feel every muscle, but I wasn't sore. Pushed but not sore. That seemed like a great way to begin. I could feel all of my muscles firing including the ones in my upper body while I ran, and that was awesome. I'll go specifically into why another time, but know that I can already tell this is going to be a good addition now that I've figured out how to make it fit in!

Not ready to add something else to your world? THAT'S OKAY!! You know me, I totally embrace the one-step-at-a-time methods. While I was out running this morning, I had some lyrics from a favorite Styx song going through my head over and over:

"Don't need no fast-buck lame duck profits for fun
Quick trick plans take the money and run
We need long-term, slow-burn gettin' it done
And, some straight talking, hard working son of a guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuns"

Clearly, they weren't singing about running, but you can make the connection. I'm not about "as fast as" I can; I'm about "as great as" I can.

In another week or two, I'll re-evaluate everything in terms of sets and levels of resistance to make sure I'm pushing myself. This is the area I want to actually go farther than my comfort zone (as opposed to running when I'm going to go how I want to go and no one is going to advise me different!), and that's kind of exciting! I'll keep you posted on the progress. And the pain. Ha!