Does anyone else enjoy doing weights/kettle bells/trx training?

[rhondajean]

I'm just looking for a few people who love doing this type of training rather than just running/cycling/swimming.

I do A bit of martial arts too and I've got some friends who do that but I don't know a lot of women who like the weights and resistance bit and it would be nice to know some more.

It's circuits I do rather than powerlifting btw.

Glad you asked sunshine c'mon brighthair tell us about the bastards!

Nigel Slater has a great and v easy chicken dish with garlic, cream and tarragon... basically involves browning chicken pieces then leaving them in a big pot for 40 mins with garlic, then making a sauce from juices by adding wine, parsley, tarragon, lemon and cream. Delicious with crusty bread and a big salad. Chicken thighs work best but you can use any/all pieces, skin on.

Well I can't find a link so will have to describe!
Start like a burpee so legs kick back but you end up face down with arms stretched out, spin round so you are on your back legs and arms outstretched then jump up

just wondered if anyone could give me some advice as yesterday whilst doing my usual body pump class, i experienced face and scalp tingling whilst doing chest press routine - i'd upp'ed my weight but only by an extra 1.25 on each side. By the end of the set which is quite long and i was starting to strugglie the tingling started. Never had it before and am physically fit, i do cardio 3-4 x week and body pump 2-3 times a week, so unsure what could have caused it.

When i lowered the weight it stopped, anyone else experience this?

well I dunno...hot flush maybe?
doesnt sound life threatening though

I often feel awful mid lift, isn't it more about lower weights, plastic bars and high reps with body pump? Could it be either too hot in the room or you just in an uncomfortable position? Or just of working your cardio hard?

I am vv pleased with self today, am now lifting 50k deadlifts for sets of eight reps. This is a massive improvement in the last four weeks and I'm sure I've got more in me.

Spoke to a mate at the gym about pistol squats today and she does them with her trx - using the handles to hold - which takes some of the strain off but also because they are a bit unstable by nature works you hard at the same time? Any thoughts?

myermay - you were obviously working hard. I´ll often get tingly or light headed if I´m lifting heavy (although bodypump more about endurance).

Thanks for the chicken recipe - which I´d seen it before as sounds much more sophisticated than my pie & mash effort (although it was yum and we were low key rugby watching...) :) And the best team won :)

Brighthair - sounds awful...

Ronda - great stuff :)

I´ve been trying to drop a few lbs before going on holiday at the end of the month and I can definitely feel it in my lifting - back squat and deadlift stalling but upper body ok. Frustrating but understandable...

Gorgeous blue skies and sunshine here today but still only 2 degrees.... Maybe spring is finally springing in Scandinavia!

Hi everyone, it's been a gorgeous day here today, had a fab superplaydate with three friends whose DH's also weren't around for various reasons...11 children here from 10am til 4.30! It was deafening great, thanks to he sunshine and our newly laid garden they mostly played outside - no doubt to our neighbours' horror - while we drank coffee and chatted. Who needs dads around! Now trying to settle all 3 to bed on my own though, so "me" is probably the answer to that

Rhonda I agree about the pistol squats and trx...would think that holding the trx handles would keep you more upright and so work your core harder, as it always does . You can also do Bulgarian split squats with one leg in the handle behind you, but that is harder than having your foot on a solid surface IMO.

Needabitofsunshine Which rugby match were you watching? Could you possibly be a fellow Valleys girl ?

My friend carried on walking, swimming, running and riding through her pregnancy - she dropped back to her prepregnancy weight in 5 days!
No bootcamp for me until Thursday work in the way. It's bring a friend day on Thursday though which I am really looking forward to

Does this help? Seems quite informative on weights and pregnancy
www.stumptuous.com/weight-training-during-pregnancy

The general rule is it is fine to stick to what you are already used to fitness wise and listen closely to your body during pg. Only do what is comfortable and don't push yourself/try new things (possible exception of pg yoga.

Beware of over stretching, your joints become much more mobile... To me wrt to weight lifting that would translate as not lifting too heavy and being obsessive about form being perfect.

Also be especially careful with anything using your back muscles, they are already under extra strain (possibly sit with back supported for things like bicep curls and shoulder presses) and nothing that involves lying on your tummy, not that you probably would anyway.

This is my experience and understanding btw - I am not an expert!

I have really struggled today, I did my full workout but I am just not feeling the love.

Lady, also remember as your bump grows your centre of gravity changes and some exercises will be almost impossible. However if you start now before you are actually pg, it will help loads, and especially work on your ab muscles if you can.

Has anyone tried carb cycling? I've not been following the diet in my training plan, although I have tried to eat well, but in a couple of weeks it's talking about carb cycling andim intrugued...

Hi Rhonda I am feeling the same at the moment, dragged myself through usual gym routine yesterday but felt tired from start to finish, even after two days rest (if crazy weekend with houseful of kids counts as rest .) Felt really tired and achy this morning, so much so that I couldn't even face kickboxing, which I usually love. Don't know why I'm feeling like this, the only things I can think of is either it was giving blood the other week (low iron levels) or over training or not eating enough protein/right stuff after a workout . I am also eating far too much sugar, which isn't like me, possibly also a contributor? Why do you think you are feeling jaded, is your programme maybe a touch too demanding alongside the rest of your life?

Have never heard of carb cycling, is it riding your bike whilst eating pasta ?

I'm eating way too much sugar for a start. It's also a tough programme but I'm getting great satisfaction from getting it done, and I'm seeing results.

Works awful just now, end of financial year, and I am training harder than I ever have for six days a week, and I think I have pms, I am a hormonal mess with a huge boil on my chin! Been avoiding the pus porn lot.

Carb cycling seems to be to lose body fat - You eat little for a few days (high protein, low carb and low calorie) and then you have a day you eat as much as you want. I think I could follow it - I'm going to try, I'm building good muscle and need to strip fat to see it.

Sleep, I always feel more proud of myself the days I have to drag me through it, I hope you do too well done.

Ha, you sound exactly like me, I keep thinking I must have pms but it's a bit early...I am also a bit spotty and am having a sudden flare of psoriasis, which hasn't been a problem since before first pg....usually stress related but nothing especially stressful going on for me compared to usual. I am going to address the sugar consumption, it is EVIL! Interestingly, I gave up sugar in my coffee at new year, which I had no problem with, but I seem to be overcompensating with cakes and biscuits/chocolate that I could honestly take or leave before, maybe I should go back to my one sweet coffee a day and kill the cravings.

I will be back in the gym tomorrow, bouncy or not, you are right about feeling proud afterwards. Yesterday was a very encouraging first too, there were two other women who put in admittedly brief appearances in the free weights section but whilst there they both lifted proper weights - hurrah!

I have coming seeking inspiration and motivation please... I have done nearly nothing for the last few weeks. I wasn't well for a couple of them but have no excuses for my laziness now and am struggling to get back to the gym. It doesn't help that I have to switch to lower weights/high reps for the next few months either as I have to concentrate more on endurance and running until June. Any tips or suggestions for a program to follow? I was going to go back to stage 1 of the New rules, but have done that twice now and really want something different to try. It is times like this when I wish I had a training partner to help come and kick my arse out of the kitchen and back into the gym.

Rhonda I tried carb cycling last year. It was really effective and I was probably the leanest I've ever been (compared with where I am now after 3 weeks of comfort eating on the sofa that's not hard!). I did it slightly differently to how you described, I split the week into low, medium and high carb days: 2 high, 3 medium, 2 low. High carb was always on a training day, and the majority of carbs would be consumed pre and post workout to get the most out of them. I would still (try to) stay away from sugar, white flour, but would eat whole grain bread and pasta. Carbs on medium days would come from fruit and and potatoes etc. Low carb days I stuck to basically green veg (apart from peas).

Whilst it was effective I found that when I had PMT I just dived head first into the nearest cake and didn't surface for a few days, so the gains, or rather my leanness, was very short lived. It did teach me a lot about how my body responds to different foods though. I find that wheat has the same effect as sugar, it just makes me feel totally lethargic. Knowing this however does not seem to make it any easier to stay away from though unfortunately

not really sure what to suggest GeneC, except just go there for gosh sakes
the longer you leave it the harder it gets!

I quite often save my fave podcasts to listen to in the gym..might help? :)

How strange that lots of us seem to be going through a patch of low enthusiasm...maybe it's the time of year?

I still didn't feel like the gym this morning so went for a run instead. It was blimmin freezing but great to be outside having things to look at. First time ive run outside for a few weeks. I'm not a natural runner at all, certainly not my favourite exercise, but for endorphins afterwards and calorie burn, it's pretty hard to beat. I came back vowing to try and squeeze a run in once a week now that the weather is (sort of) improving. Kickboxing tomorrow and gym on Friday I think.

Gene, lovesineffable is right about the longer you leave it the harder it gets. Get off your bum and do something...anything! You know it's true -. Is there a new sport you could maybe try, to mix it up a bit and refire your enthusiasm? When I started kickboxing it changed my (then) slightly jaded attitude to weights and cardio, made it so the latter were helping to improve my kickboxing, rather than just for the physical changes they prompt IYSWIM?

I think it's handy to have some little tricks that you can use to keep yourself motivated, I dont have any problems with strength training (find it harder not to do it than to do it iyswim)
but cardio can be a bit torturous so I like to mix it up a bit, I also find it handy to use a pedometer and make sure I get 10,000 steps per day

Didn't make it to train at all today - unbelievably busy at work, then road closed and stuck on way home after I left late, rush to get to out of school club agm and then home about eight having had a pitta bread and hummus to eat all day - no way I could train without food. So no gym.

Not happy.

Gene, I think after a couple of weeks off its hard getting back but the longer you leave it the harder it gets. Remember how good you felt on the way out of the gym after one of your favourite workouts - you want that feeling again don't you?

Btw read a bit more about carb cycling and it sounds much more like how you described it, I'm going to try from next Monday for four weeks (eek)