Starlet's workout

[Nokie173]

Maybe add some hip extension with the warm up?

[starlet]

Good idea, thanks!

Yesterday I didn't do squats or lunges to give knees a rest, instead I did Glute Kickbacks and Exercise Ball Butt Raises which I enjoyed for something different. Today I didn't ride into work, instead I drove in and did 20 laps (50m pool) I'm pretty tired now. It's amazing that I can think I'm pretty fit and ride to and from work, do weights etc but the moment I try something different like swimming I feel like I'm starting all over again.
Tonight we're doing a night dive - can't wait

Also, I think I've put on 1/2 a kilo.. not sure if it's just fluid retention, muscle (which I hope!) or fat
jeans feel tighter around thighs, the waist is quite big now so I'm thinking it could be muscle but I'm not sure, thoughts?

Cheers
Starlet

[lareinamae]

Starlet, you're doing a great job! Your jeans are probably feeling a little snugger because of the muscle you're building! Hang in there!

How was your night dive? I'm assuming you meant SCUBA? That's awesome!

[fitoverforty]

It's amazing that I can think I'm pretty fit and ride to and from work, do weights etc but the moment I try something different like swimming I feel like I'm starting all over again.

If you swam 20 laps and are counting 1 lap as going all the way down and coming back then in a 50M pool you swam just over a mile. You should be tired!!
Swimming is a whole different ball game than weight lifting or running. When I was training for triathlons, and already an accomplished runner, I was shocked the first few times I got in the pool to swim laps - it exhausted me and heart felt like it was going to burst from chest!
And remember - it takes a fit person to ride to and from work, do weight lifting, or swim 20 laps on any given day - so be proud of your fitness! You did good!

[starlet]

Thanks for the reply girls!!

LaReina - yes I was talking Scuba. It was fantastic!
Yesterday was very hot and humid in Sydney, and the water temperature was a lovely 23.8 degrees It's amazing what creatures come out at night, you can dive a site many times during the day but it feels completely different at night. Thanks for the support, I know legs look a lot more defined then they ever have so it's got to be muscle.

fitoverforty - Yes, I was counting 50m from one end of the pool to the other hehe
I am definitely proud of fitness, I guess it's hard to stop and actually think about how well you're doing when it sometimes feels like groundhog day (mainly the ride to and from work) but I'm going to try and not ride 5 days a week. I feel like I'm doing too much cardio and don't want to burn out.

Today's workout
I'm still giving knees a rest from cycling, squats and lunges.
3x10 Glute Kickbacks
3x10 Exercise Ball Butt Raises - I can really feel the burn with these
2x10 Deadlifts (30kgs) and 1x10 (40kgs) - the bar I use doesn't hold more than 40kgs so I think I might have to use the smiths machine when I want to increase to 50kgs
3x10 Chest press 30kgs first set and 40kgs last two sets
3x10 Seated Row 30kgs, 40kgs and last set 50kgs
3x10 Arm Dumbbell Extensions 10kgs
3x10 E-Z Bar Curls 10kgs
x2 40 second elbow planks
3x10 Ab crunches on exercise ball

Cheers
Starlet

[starlet]

I'm going to mix up cardio for the next two weeks to see if knee pain is due to cycling.
Mon, Wed, Fri will be regular weights routine, Tues & Thurs I'm going to go swimming.
No cycling to and from work ( hubby got access to free parking in the city, we work only a 15 minute walk from each other) so it will be a good 2 week break.
Swimming twice a week should get me ready for the triathlon in Feb as well... out of curiosity though what are your thoughts on swimming as a form of cardio?

[swanso5]

2x10 Deadlifts (30kgs) and 1x10 (40kgs) - the bar I use doesn't hold more than 40kgs so I think I might have to use the smiths machine when I want to increase to 50kgs

why not?

[fitoverforty]

Swimming twice a week should get me ready for the triathlon in Feb as well... out of curiosity though what are your thoughts on swimming as a form of cardio?

I think swimming is a good form of cardio. I know that it works alot of different muscles and it is alot less stress on your body than running. Is this your first triathlon?
What is the distance of your triathlon? Sprint, Olympic, 1/2 ironman or Ironman? Is the swim part going to be in open water or in a pool? If it is going to be in open water, then I would really suggest you do some of your training in open water. There is such a big difference between pool swimming and open water swimming ( I learned this the hard way in first Olymp. dist. race in open water ) And February is right around the corner...so be careful with that knee injury. If running is hurting your knees, you might could do that part of the training on the elliptical, set it at 0 resistance, just be careful with it. Good luck with everything!

[starlet]

I think swimming is a good form of cardio. I know that it works alot of different muscles and it is alot less stress on your body than running. Is this your first triathlon?
What is the distance of your triathlon? Sprint, Olympic, 1/2 ironman or Ironman? Is the swim part going to be in open water or in a pool? If it is going to be in open water, then I would really suggest you do some of your training in open water. There is such a big difference between pool swimming and open water swimming ( I learned this the hard way in first Olymp. dist. race in open water ) And February is right around the corner...so be careful with that knee injury. If running is hurting your knees, you might could do that part of the training on the elliptical, set it at 0 resistance, just be careful with it. Good luck with everything!

Yes, it is first triathlon or TRYathlon as it's called It's only very small, 300m open water swim, 8km cycle & 2km run.
I agree with you 100% that swimming in the ocean in much different to the pool, unfortunately with work it's hard to find time to train in the ocean unless it's on weekends. The only good thing is I'm pretty sure it will take place in a bay so it should be fairly flat seas.

Thanks for your advice, I'm taking it easy with knee hence no riding to/from work for a couple of weeks.
I'm going to go back to squats today in the gym, no lunges I'll take Nookie's advice and do lunges/squats on different days. knee is feeling better, not as good as it used to feel but much better than before.

Cheers
Starlet

[Boss Man]

Swimming is an adaptive form of Cardio, but there are ways around this.

1. Vary the pace every length.

2. Change the stroke every session.

Certainly I would not advise it before or after weights, because it will affect weights, or swimming with fatigued muscles is probably not smart

Good luck with the Triathlon .

[starlet]

I'll take that into consideration Bossman.

OK, today I went back to squats.. here was workout:

3x10 Squats on smiths. 1st set 20kgs, 2nd set 30kgs and 3rd set 40kgs
3x10 Deadlifts on smiths, question though. The bar wouldn't sit any lower than just below knees. Is that alright? I thought it had to sit on the floor...
3x10 Pushups, the gym was packed and I didn't have enough time to get on the chest press machine
Seated Row 10x40kgs, 8x50kgs and last set 7x60kgs
3x10 E-Z Bar Curls 10kgs
3x20 Russian twists - I like these
3x10 Bicycle kicks (not sure if that's what they're called)

Tomorrow, I'll be back in the pool, I love varying workout it keeps things fresh and interesting.

Cheers
Starlet

EDIT: While I was doing pushups (on knees) a guy in the gym must have thought I couldn't hear him (cause I had earphones in) and turned to another guy and said "hah, lets do girly pushups" and had a good laugh at the fact I was doing them like that. I just gave him a dirty and ignored it but I thought that was rather rude of him!

[swanso5]

don't do squats and deads on the smith machine, please

[starlet]

don't do squats and deads on the smith machine, please

Why?
You quoted me above about deads on the smith machine and said "why not" so I assumed it was OK.

[starlet]

Ahh, did you mean "why doesn't the bar you use now hold more than 40kgs"?

In that case, it's cause the bar is small I can't put anything else on it.

Still would like to know why no deads or squats on the smiths machine though

[swanso5]

long story short the bar is on a fixed plane which is not a natural one which means you're lower back is put at risk as you can't 'move" to fit your arm, leg and torso length

why can't you load a free wt bb?