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.

Thanks for the kick everyone, will definitely make it to the gym tomorrow, no time today but do have a run planned for this evening. I have cut sugar out of my diet for the last couple of days and it has made such a difference to how I feel.

I have New Rules for Abs and got halfway through it last year but my gym has so little equipment (eg no barbell, no weight plates, kettlebells, steps) that I ended up having to adapt the routine until it was unrecognisable. I have still been following the ab progression side of things, putting those at the beginning of my other workouts.

I would love to try a martial art or something but the time's that I can workout changes each week so there's nothing I can really commit to. I will get back to the weights, this is the first time in 18 months where I have struggled to get back into it, normally I cannot wait.

I can see the benefits of martial arts but I do think it takes alot of time, commitment and dedication to reach any level of proficiency.
If your main goal is to stay in shape and time is limmted then it may not be the most efficient option.

Very disappointing when your gym doesnt have good kit, mine is pretty good but wouldnt it be a dream to train in one of those huge gym with rows and rows of all every piece of equipment there is.

oh well

I've just bought another pair of press up handles (gave the last pair away) they make press ups harder but more effective and easier on the wrists, worth trying:)

Hi everyone, glad to hear you are feeling more enthused Gene. I am sure you'll feel even better after your run. I know what you mean about fitting in workouts you have to commit to such as martial arts, one of the great things about running or getting to the gym is its flexibility time wise. I am lucky to have found sessions that mostly work for me. I have to disagree on martial arts not being best for keeping in shape though, loves. The kickboxing classes I do are usually a killer workout, combining technique and a bit of self defence with lots of punching and kicking pads/bags alongside bursts of push ups, crunches and star jumps touching the floor and shuttle runs. I guess it depends which discipline you go for though, I would imagine some martial arts focus purely on technique which wouldn't necessarily improve your fitness much.

So Rhonda, are you going to share your vital stats before and after the carb cycling? It would be great to know how effective it is.

my point was more that martial arts require more commitment and dedication than types of fitness training which require less skill.
I'm thinking it probably takes several years to become truly proficient @ a martial art, where as if you use the cv equipment in a gym you can pretty much get on and go

I duno, the Thai boxing I do is vicious from the outset. To be honest, the cardio a lue is instant from martial arts, the technique takes longer but you don't need to be brilliant at it to get the effect. It's almost interval training in the class, bursts of high intensity followed by short rests, and it's fun.

Erm I'll share any drops in size and fat percentage (if I can work it out) is that okay?

I think I have a virus, second evening feeling dizzy and a bit sick, so I holed up on couch a bit sad and twitchy but I couldn't train, just not up to it hope you all had fun though.

Sorry to hear you are feeling grotty rhonda, how miserable , it does sound like you have been putting yourself through a lot. Focus on resting and coming back stronger . I would be fascinated to hear how you find the carb cycling and what the outcome is. Do you feel that you want/need to lose weight, or just reduce fat %?

Loves, yep, I think it would (will, for me) take years of commitment and practice to get good at a martial art but that doesn't make the class less of a workout. I find the hour I do there much tougher than an hour's swimming or running for example. As rhonda says, lots of it is effectively interval training, but I can only speak for the classes I go to

Gene, how was your run? Your gym doesn't sound so great, must be quite frustrating. Why do you need to focus on endurance btw [nosey]?

ah mus' be thinkin' of the more 'zen' style martial arts

Hope you feel better soon Rhonda. You've motivated me to give the carb cycling another bash. I definitely need to lower my fat% and have not been eating particularly well since christmas the last couple of weeks.

Run was good thanks sleepwhenidie (do you have an abbreviation for your name?? swid??) and am off to gym in a bit, still not sure about what program to follow so may be a bit random today but I will be there. Am switching to endurance to support someone else in achieving their goals, so all worth it.

Agree with what you are all saying about martial arts basically being interval training just for longer! DH used to do it and whilst it definitely takes time to perfect the kicking/punching/blocking technique wise, the training is hard core from the start.

Heeeellllllooooo! Sorry, I´ve been a bit awol. Hectic..

Sorry to hear many of you have been feeling knackered. You know the difference between not being arsed to go to the gym and being bone achingly tired. If you´re at the bone achingly tired end of the spectrum, then listen to your body and take at least 3 days off. Go for a walk or something or dance about your living room, but lay off the high intensity stuff. The world will not fall apart :)

Funny that you are talking about carb cycling - have also been looking into that. I try to eat Paleo, but with wine :) Doesn´t always work...will I ever be free of sugar cravings? Evil stuff. I love the simplicity of it - eat lean meat and loads of veg. Easy. I don´t miss bread/potatoes/rice etc at all any more (have been doing it almost a year). I have been adding porridge with spiced apple for breakfast for a bit as energy reserves do suffer if you go too low carb.

I need to change things up a bit as I do have some fat to lose to show all the lovely muscles I´ve built, but am totally stuck at a plateau that I cannot get past. Frustrating. Anyway, decided that carb cycling sounded too much like hard work, so have started to try Intermittent Fasting (IF). Anyone done it? There are a few versions, but the one I´m doing is basically fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. Am going to do twice for the next 2 weeks as am off on holiday after that!

I´m basically going evening meal to evening meal. I did a hardcore cf session in the morning of fasting and it was fine. I had a really busy day, so tbh didn´t really notice that much. I also drank plenty of water :)

Gene - hope you´re back into it by now :) If not, consider this another kick up the arse! Don´t think about it, just do it.

I´d love to try a martial art too, in fact am going to book a Thai boxing session when we´re there on hols in a couple of weeks. V excited!

Hi sunshine, nice to see you again . Now I need to know about how your fasting works too, be interesting to compare with the carb cycling! I would like to lose a bit of fat too. Probably just cutting out sugar would do it tbh, but it's so hard! I haven't had my body fat checked since about six months ago, but I think it's slightly higher than it was just before Christmas, I am certainly 2-3lbs heavier.

I had a good workout at the gym this morning, this week's routine of gym Monday, rest tues, run weds, kickboxing Thurs and gym again today seems to be much better than my usual week which is similar except for kickboxing Tuesdays. I'm not sure weights followed by a day of punching and kicking works so well as the other way around, makes me too tired!

Gene, just Sleep would be fine! How was the gym?

Gym was good, and am at the pool this evening for some intervals.

Good luck with the IF sunshine, will be interested to hear how you get on with it. I read quite a bit about it last year but I cannot imagine going that long without eating. I aim to eat in a Paleo-esque manner, but I still love my bread (and cake) far too much which leads to a lot of lapses

Did bootcamp on Thursday and took my friend (was bring a friend day free)
Hard session! We did shoulder press, bastards (burpees!), squat jumps, press ups, kettlebell swings, plank, broad jumps and a thing I don't know the name of. Basically you were in a push up position with hands on weights and one hand at a time brought the weight up to your chest?
Very sore, mainly my thighs and upper abs sort of near my ribs

Anyone around still?

It´s a glorious day here, so perfect for a spot of interval training & bodyweight circuit by the sea with a bunch of wonderful ladies :) Some even skinny dipping afterwards...

I did my 2nd day of IF yesterday. It was fine - thought it might be harder after the first one! Especially since we had friends staying over the weekend, with plenty of eating and drinking involved. I even worked out pretty hard right at the end of it, then ate dinner afterwards. Might do it twice for the next couple of weeks as a last ditch attempt to drop a couple of lbs before hols. Beats self up for lack of self control beforehand...

Any chat anyone?

Hi, I really enjoyed the sunshine today too, made my run almost enjoyable .

Where are you sunshine? It sounds wonderful!

brighthair when you did the thing like a push up with the weight, did the weights move at all? I tried a similar thing a few weeks ago but was nervous of the dumbbell rolling and me falling flat on my face !

Ha ha, skinny dipping makes it sound a bit tropical.

No, insane nutters - I´m in Denmark! It´s all the rage to have a daily dip in the Baltic sea (complete with cracking the ice open when the sea freezes in winter...). No matter the weather, there will be some hardy vikings (and a few crazy expats) doing it.

Ok now I'm not quite so , just suspecting that you are a bit loopy !

Sleepwhenidle - nope but the dumbells are funny end shaped, not round? If that makes sense!!

How's everyone doing?

When I do plank rows I tend to do them on the mats so they sink in a bit to reassure me they are not going to roll out from under me.

Spending most of my time running and swimming at the moment so am going to have to stick to some bodyweight circuits I can do at home for the next couple of months I think. I am buying a chin up bar this weekend and my aim is to be able to do at least one chin up by the end of May. I find I am having to keep the leg work quite light at the moment anyway or I struggle to get out for my runs, so I think sticking to some single leg work like pistol squats, bulgarians, and then chin ups and press up variations should keep everything going until I can go back to usual routine.

How is the carb cycling going Rhonda? Last week didn't go to plan for me, too many last minute dinner invites and a friend dropping round with a cake, last few days have been much easier.

Hi gene!

I'm running behind schedule. I had a very woozy couple of weeks, my sinuses often play up and it makes me a bit light headed. So I had to bring the training down a good bit. As a result I had awful cramp and a heavy period the next week (which brings the training down too). I am now better! So back onto week 8 of my programme and the carb cycling will start next week with week 9.

I feel strong though- I bench pressed 42.5 k last week, 5 reps (with DH spotting) which is a brilliant gain for me, I was doing about 25k in week 1.

I've also started a wee jogging club for the no runners at work and we are going to to the couch to 5k programme because I hate running so the company and competition will push me on.

How's everyone else getting on?

Glad you are feeling better Rhonda. Were you able to go right back to where you left on in your program or did you take a session or two to get back into it? Great gains on your BP; that is what I love about weight training, it's the numbers on the bar that motivate you, not the numbers on a scale Can you link to the training program you are following or was it put together by a PT?

Good luck with the running club, sounds like a great idea. I quite like running alone, it's the only time I get some peace and quiet! I managed to get to the gym last night, and it was heaving. All cardio and weight machines were full and you could barely find space in the free weights section, but sadly I was still the only woman in it Short 4 mile run early this morning, interval session in the pool this evening, and medium carbs for me today.

Id managed to train a couple of times each week, just not the six times that the programme asks for! so I was able to jump more or less straight back into it.

You can have a look at it, its online at:

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html

I have not been very good with my diet at all so far - I am on week 8, four days in, and when I start phase 3 I am going to try the carb cycling.

I have not lost any weight (I weighed yest) but definite muscle gain, loss of body fat and reduction in inches eg waist size. Whats really impressing me is that after seven weeks of the programme I am developing veyr good definition in my arms. Ive had to really reduce the weight for calf raises though as I was bulking them up (I have very muscular calves, I can seated calf raise a 25k powerbag with our gym manager at 85k sat on top haha). Sadly I weight quite a lot but I know a lot of it is muscle, there is still a lot of fat on top though but its burning off.

Sadly I am not looking like Jamie Eason yet.

I love the way you say short 4 mile run....!I will crack it with the running, I will, if it kills me...

oops sorry

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html

was week 8 of bootcamp last night, and we went to the park. Running up and down hills, up and down steps... My calf muscles were crying
Mini death circuit - 30 secs each of bastards, press up crawls, squat jumps and lunges. All followed by a celebration meal as that was the final week. Except obviously I am insane and have signed for another 6 months
Off for a sports massage now very sore!

Can I join? I used to hate strength training but started with a PT about 6 months ago and now just love it!

I try to go a few times a week doing my own programme but I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in sharing programmes?

I just did 30 of each of these (can't remember the order):

burpees
squat jumps
tricep pressups
pressups with feet in the TRX
mountain walking in the TRX
1 min plank with feet in the TRX (only did one of these!)
Round the world plank
weighted lunges (arm with weight raised in the air)

I had to break up most of them into sections though. Couldn't do two rounds - was shattered.

Anyone interested in sharing programmes?

I really need to shift fat as well as get as strong as possible, and have just started the Get Running app, but my glutes play up a lot so this is tricky and I'm taking it slowly.

Bootcamp tonight so here is what we did before I forget!
40 secs on a station, 20 secs rest. Circuit done 3 times
Burpees
Squat jumps
Bicycle curls
Kettlebell swings
Press ups
Hurdle jump over a low box
Shoulder press

Followed by a challenge of 15 press ups, 10 squat jumps, 5 pulls ups. Repeat as many sets as you could in 4 minutes