Day 6- The Workout: Strength Training Plan
Day 6 of my weight loss journal, 1500 calories. The Exercise plan: cardio and strength training.(See the other days in this weight loss journal here).
Day 6: 116 lbs
I can’t believe I’m on Day 6 already! The scale was a teeny bit lower today, so I can’t complain. But my idea for losing 10lbs in 30 days may have been a BIT aggressive, consider tomorrow will be a full week and I would probably have to be down by 2 1/2 lbs after the first week. But, I’m good with that. Sometimes, I set goals pretty high, so if I don’t reach it, but I’m close, I’m usually pretty dang happy.
Food from yesterday:
I honestly don’t even think of the food I eat each day as “diet food”. I TRULY love all the meals I eat. The only “restrictive” thing about this 30 day weight loss is just NOT eating EXTRA food. That’s it. I like extra food, all too often.
So, yesterday I had some eggs, veggies and toast. A BBQ Chicken salad, a snickerdoodle protein mug cake (*which I’ll share the recipe for very soon), and some spaghetti squash with ground turkey for dinner.
The full day of eating was 1427 calories, 155 g protein, 93 g carbs, and 51 g fat, with 26 g fiber.
My Workout
I’ve always liked to exercise. I don’t like team sports, but I love exercising. Even at my heaviest weight (150lbs+) I was still going to Jazzercize!
But, until I was 46 years old, I never did any type of strength training. Mostly I didn’t have the time to do both cardio and strength training. When I was raising kids, I always wanted to be home when my kids woke up. And I only like to exercise in the morning. I do wake up early, but so did my kids. So, that really cut into the time I would have been working out. So, I normally would just go for a morning jog until my kids all left home.
Now, I still wake up early, and the older I get, the earlier I wake up. I’m embarrassed to say I get up at 4am, and I haven’t used an alarm clock in over 20 years. But, I’m also almost sound asleep by 8pm. I haven’t stayed up past 9pm in a VERY long time.
Anyway, back to my workouts now… the more I learn about the benefits of strength training for aging, the more I believe that deciding to do a bodybuilding show literally saved my life!
Strength training not only builds muscle, but it also
- Improves glucose uptake/Insulin sensitivity
- Improves cardiovascular health
- Helps you maintain your weight
- Increases longevity!! Who doesn’t want to live longer?!
- Build strong bones.
- Is Protective for joints
- Helps you burn more calories (because of the increase in muscle size).
- And makes you stronger!
Strength training for me has been so much fun. It gives me a plan when I get to the gym. I like listening to podcasts while I lift, and completely forgetting about any responsibilities I have. (here’s the bikini prep podcasts I like).
I also have loved to see my muscle grow. And, it motivates me to have a MINIMUM goal of eating 100 grams of protein per day, and not try to limit my meals that way. The last Dexa scan I got showed I have gained about 8lbs of muscle since I started lifting weights (in 2 1/2 years).
Strength
Yesterday was back day, but today was my favorite day…. LEG DAY!
My Strength Training routine split
For each exercise, I do 4 sets, and lift 8-12 reps. I try to lift heavy enough that it’s just 8 reps. The last few weeks I’ve lightened the weights a little and did 15-18 reps, but I’m going back to the heavier weights because I just like it better.
- Monday- Leg Day
- Hip thrusts,
- Standing Dead lift,
- Barbell squats,
- Walking lunges,
- Standing calf raises,
- Reverse crunches,
- Plank
- Tuesday- shoulder day
- Lateral raises,
- Dumbbell Overhead Press,
- Dumbbell upright rows,
- Dumbbell front raise,
- Hanging leg raises ,
- Ball crunches .
- Wednesday-back day
- Bent over, two arm row
- Single arm row (in a lunge or on a bench)
- Barbell bent over row,
- Bent over fly ,
- Upright row .
- Thursday – Leg Day
- Wide stance Squats,
- Barbell lunges,
- hip thrusts,
- Straight leg deadlift,
- Leg Press,
- Glute kick backs,
- Plank .
- Friday- Shoulder/biceps/triceps
- Overhead press,
- Arnold Press,
- Barbell upright row,
- Dumbbell Lateral raises,
- Lying leg raises,
- Decline crunches
- Bicep curls
- Tricep dips
And… Here’s a video that I recorded this morning! Stay tuned for a few more videos. Once I get shoulder day and back day done, I’ll share those too.
Leg Day Workout Video
Cardio
Yesterday, I ran 6 miles on the treadmill. I forgot my headphones though and I only stopped because I got so bored! I felt great and feel like I could have kept running if I had something to listen to.
That’s it for today. Be back tomorrow!
READ NEXT —> DAY 7- DEALING WITH HUNGER ON A DIET
Just started binge reading your journal entries! I’m curious why you would set a goal of 10lbs loss in 30 days as that would require a daily deficit of around 1250 calories. Was it because you were also hoping to shed water weight along with the fat burn?
thanks!
haha! Good question. I tend to over reach when I set goals. I definitely plan to lose 10lbs, but it’s likely going to take 2-3 months because, like you said, I’m not in that big of a deficit!
I honestly did think the first 5 lbs would be easy because I thought I was holding so much water, but that doesn’t seem to be the case!