The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Monday, March 10, 2008

Wow. :)

I finished Day 1's workout from Making the Cut, and I am SORE! People in that gym probably thought I was nuts, didn't know what I was doing, or both. Especially the people on the treadmills... they're going on with whatever they're doing, the guy to my right is walking, guy to my left is jogging, and then I walk up, crank the treadmill to 9mph, then leave after 60 seconds. I can just HEAR the thoughts going through their minds!

So anyway, I posted this before but I'll repeat it with notes. The notes will basically tell you either how much weight I used, or if I couldn't do the exercise:

Circuit 1
Dumbbell presses on body ball 20 reps (10 on each arm)
Dumbbell flys on body ball with crunches, half weight of dumbbell press, 15 reps - same as video except do a crunch as you pull the dumbbells up
Squats, 50 fast (no added weight) - I was moving at least twice as fast as the girl at the beginning of the video, maybe faster
One minute sprint @ 9mph

Circuit 2
Plank (hold for 10 seconds) - a little different from the kind I'm used to, which you lean on your forearms rather than hands
Close-grip pushups (5 reps) - no rude comments on the video, guys, heh... although the announcer does sound a bit like George Takei
Side planks with inner thigh raise (10 reps) - had a balance problem with this one but I managed. Unlike the video, my arm was straight up toward the ceiling
Flip back into plank & hold for 5 seconds
Close-grip pushups (5 reps)
Side planks with inner thigh raise (10 reps)
Flip back into plank & hold for 5 seconds
Burpies (I was supposed to do 50 reps) - oh geez, well I did this wrong, I only did 10 reps. Whooooops.
One minute sprint @ 9mph

Circuit 3
Frog push-ups (20 reps) - they're #3 in the video
Squat thrusts (20 reps, then hold static squat for 30 secs) - should have looked for a video BEFORE going to the gym because I was totally confused. I did them wrong (didn't stand up), but did 20 reps. Didn't hold for 30 secs either. Learning experience here. :P
W Shoulder Presses with leg extension (10 reps on each leg) - can't find a video for this one, hold your leg out in front of you and each rep, you extend it... while lifting dumbbells to your sides simultaneously. As you might have guessed I had a balance problem with this one too. 15lb dumbbells, wimp that I am.
Jump rope for 1 minute

Circuit 4
Bench dips (20 reps)
Rope tricep presses (perform until muscle failure) - 50lbs, 20 reps
Static lunges with lateral shoulder raise (10 reps with each leg forward) - As you lunge, extend dumbbells out to the side. 10lb dumbbells, wimpy
Mountain climbers (as any reps as you can for 1 minute) - I did 30, then had to rest for 10 secs, then did 30 more
Boat pose (hold for 30 seconds)

Circuit 5
Jump rope 1 minute
Bicycle crunches (50 reps)
Extended plank (hold for 30 seconds)

That was that. A couple things I need to do though:

- Don't forget the heart rate strap! I don't have a # for calories burned.
- It's HARD to do a circuit with machines across the room from each other

I will say this though: I sweat more than I've ever sweat in the gym. Usually I wipe down the equipment, but this time I had to clean the floor too. Also, I gotta work on balance.

Another problem I'm having that I sort of expected is filling in all my calories. I need to spread them across the day more, because as it stands I'll have to eat 1000 calories at dinner, and I doubt that's healthy. :)