I wrote a little about this last week but I thought it deserved further discussion.
As I've mentioned before the gym & I were not particularly best friends that is until I discovered circuit workouts.
Something like three weeks ago I was talking to Heinz and I told him I thought I needed to do something different. I had heard about people hitting a plateau but it had never happened to me. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I didn't work out until recently in my life.
I keep a clean diet, it is not perfect but I try to keep it as clean as possible. I had started to cut down carbs and as I've said before my sugar intake is pretty low.
Heinz immediately ruled out a diet failure because he has seen the way I eat and the amount of workout I do so he thought it was directly linked to my gym activities.
After I ran my first marathon back in April (it seems so distant now) I wanted to focus on shredding a few extra pounds, toning up and basically building a stronger base. That meant going to the gym, lifting weights and limiting my running to a regular cardio activity (not an endurance "I will run 20-miles" activity)
That is what I have been doing since the beginning of May. It started out great until last month when I realized nothing was happening. When I say nothing I mean zero. Not only was I not losing weight but the gym had become boring again and I didn't even feel I was working out anymore. Everything felt easy.
Heinz suggested I add more weight and even though that choice didn't thrill me I decided to give it a try. A week later I still felt I was going nowhere. I became frustrated and decided to talk to one of the trainers at the gym.
I made an appointment and we sat down to talk business. I explained my situation:
- I work out
- I eat right
- I don't lose weight
- I'm not toning up
- I don't know what to do
He asked me about specific goals like what parts I wanted to tone up and where I wanted to lose weight. He said what I was going through was normal -"the body gets used to doing the same excersices over and over"- and that I needed to start isolating muscles. He had me dropped to a minimum weight: 5lbs dumbbells and gave this routine:
Upper body
- Bicep curls and triceps pulley pushdown
- Frontal shoulder extension (they start at shoulder's height and end with arms raised next to ears)
- Low row and bench row
- Chest press (machine) and pull over
- Rope pulldown and bench dips
Lower body
- Regular Squats
- Lunges
- Leg press (machine)
- Glute (machine)
- Hip abduction and adduction (machine)
Abs
- Frontal and side hyperextenxions
I highlighted with color the new exercises. None of the purple exercises were part of my previous routine.
These are a few of the exercises for those of you who -like me- don't know their names.
There are two main difference with this new routine. One is the weight and number two is that now I divide my days in upper and lower body.
I end with a 30-minute walk on the treadmill. It is heart rate controlled so I don't go beyond or below the limit.
That means of course that I am not focusing on running distance.
I love my new routine! and the best part is I am back to being friends with the gym. I am lucky to have this trainer as part of the gym staff because that means he is part of the benefits I get from my membership. I think he is excited to. He keeps asking me about my progress and I keep complaining that my body keeps shaking from the workouts. I mean I am lifting less weight yet everything is way more difficult. It is unbelievable! I end up drenched in sweat.
I am glad I talked to the trainer. I keep asking myself what took me so long and I think what kept me from asking for help is thinking that I could do it by myself.
Big no-no.
How about you? Have you ever hit a plateau? Do you have any questions about my little-man drawings? Do you want me to make a piece of art for your house? I could :)
