Today is the first day of my 4 week lifting program!

Week 1: Full-Body Split

The premise this week is that we will be working all major bodyparts in each workout.

Day 1: Full Body

1. Dumbbell Bench Press (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
2. Lat Pulldown (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
3. Overhead Dumbbell Press (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
4. Leg Press (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
5. Lying Leg Curl (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
6. Rope Pressdown (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
7. Barbell Biceps Curl (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
8. Standing Calf Raise (3 sets; 8/10/12 reps)
9. Crunch (3 sets; 15 reps)

I used 10# dumbbells for the Dumbbell Bench Press, Overhead Dumbbell Press, and Barbell Biceps Curl (the gym doesn’t have barbells, so I improvised). I did 70# for the Lat Pulldowns, 145# for the Leg Presses, 80# for the Lying Leg Curl, and 48# for the Rope Pressdown.

The Rope Pressdown exercise was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I think on Wednesday I’m going to down to a slightly smaller weight, just to make sure I’m exercising with correct form. It really was a struggle. There’s not one of these exercises which failed to make me work for it – which is good! The Calf Raises also surprised me with how difficult they were! I know I’m really out of shape, but calves used to be my thing! Lat Pulldowns were again my favorite – no real surprise there.

I had a class today at work, so I got off a little later than usual. I was only able to workout for 30 minutes before I had to go to my Yoga class at the NCAC. The Yoga class will run every Monday for 45 minutes. After Yoga, I went back to the NCRC and finished by lifting routine (#7-#9). When I was done, I popped on an elliptical for 10 minutes or so, then packed up and headed home.

It’s now almost 11 pm, and I really don’t feel too sore yet. My feet a little from the Calf Raises, but that’s about it. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning!

Thanks for joining me on this journey! If you have any suggestions/encouragement, I’d love to hear it!