Just Keep Going

I Joined A Planet Fitness {and my thoughts on joining}

I let out a chuckle as I drove through town one day and spied the big purple and yellow sign.

"Planet Fitness coming soon!"

I hadn't heard much good about the place, and had only seen the jokes about them serving pizza.

Now, I like pizza. I think pizza has a place in everyone's life, and often make it fit in my macros. But to serve it a gym where people are often struggling to eat well, and workout? I don't agree with it.

Anyway.....

They moved in quickly, and pretty soon I had friends joining, and telling their friends. I didn't want anything to do with it after I heard you couldn't do deadlifts, or press a barbell overhead.

I'll stick to training at home, thanks.

Then my mom joined, and chose the option to bring a guest. She invited me to go with her, and kind of walk her through her workout, and I didn't turn her down.

I sat in my car Wednesday evening, looking at the front of the gym with it's big "Judgment Free Zone" , plastered across the front wondering what I was doing here, hoping I didn't see anyone I knew.

I was hoping for at least a squat rack and was sad when all I saw were Smith machines. :(

We signed in, and I took a better look around. It was pretty busy since people were getting off work, but overall it had a clean and relatively pleasant atmosphere.

I helped my mom through her workout, and was eager to get going with mine. I was starting day 1 of Triple Threat (still not running much at the moment) and was starting off with squats.

I made a huge mistake and completely forgot to warm up before diving in. I put 70lbs on the bar, and dove into my timed squats. When I finished those 5 sets my legs felt like jello. Then came walking lunges. Then leg extensions, and  more jello. The gym only has two leg press machines, and both were taken so I swapped that out for something else.

There's a little section with Kettlebells, battle ropes (which I thought were kind of cheesy), bands, an adjustable box jump,  and whatnot. 

My mom had gone to run errands, so I had some time to kill. I grabbed the 30lb KB and did three rounds of 10 KB swings, and 10 burpees as a finisher. I was sweating like a pig, and could literally barely walk. I hadn't had a workout quite this intense or heavy in quite a while!

I don't normally do cardio on strength days, but I still had some time so I hopped on the treadmill fully intending to just go easy as a cool down. I got on there and promptly started bumping the incline as far as it would go , and sped it up. The gal next to me looked like I was insane as I stood there, my machine beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beeping. I lasted all of two minutes before the shaking in my legs got so bad, so I called it quits and went to change.

The next day I was so sore. I was supposed to do conditioning, but I could barley walk or sit. My glutes, hamstrings and quads were hating me at work. Or maybe I was hating them?

I lay in bed last night debating whether or not to get a membership. It was cheap.....but no squat rack????? Back and forth, back and forth....

Then today I did a thing. A thing I said I would never do. I got a planet fitness membership.

Why?

Because I was in a training funk. I would groan as I bundled up in the cold to train with my weights and barbell, and I've been running the same road for three years. Once I got going I was okay, and enjoyed myself, but I needed a different atmosphere.

Would I rather join a Crossfit gym? Absolutely. Can I afford it? Nope. Do I wish they had a real squat rack? Duh.

I've heard people say "You can't get fit at a Planet Fitness, But I'm going to let you in on a little secret.....

You can get fit at home using just your body. You can get fit with a barbell and a few weights. You can get fit with machines. You can get fit at a Planet Fitness.

If you are eating smart and training hard, (and correctly), you can reach your goals. It's as simple as that.

I don't just love PF, but I'm looking forward to getting out of my rut and crushing my new training plan. I will still have days were I train at home and get in my deadlifts, front squats and (my favorite), push presses, but a change of scenery is very muchly needed right now.

So to all the PF haters, (speaking partially to myself), yes, there lot's of newbies who you'll see performing "Bro Reps", and whatnot, but you'll also find more experienced people who ignore everyone else, go in, get work done, and leave. They're not just there to socialize, and flaunt their muscles. 

Plus, it's only $10 . Even I can afford that.

WOD 12-7-16

The last couple weeks I've taken a break from my original training plan due to some pain in my calves/ankles/shins. I was incorporating more running into my week since that's one of my biggest weaknesses, and after only a mile I would get shooting pain in my legs, and the bottoms of my feet. Really hard to train when you can't run, and OCR is primarily a running sport. -_- Grrr.....

I have been seeing my chiropractor about it, and see a trainer next week, so hopefully we get this taken care of, and I'll be back to normal.

Between that and the cold, cold weather I have been having a bit of a tougher time getting my training sessions in. I work on the weekends, and come home cold, tired and hungry so for the moment those are my rest days, and I train Mon-Fri. Not ideal, but it works.

Right now I'm primarily strength training with very little cardio except in small bursts, and doing whatever sounds fun for the day, making sure to hit all the muscle groups in a week. The last couple sessions have been workouts from Jen Jewel's 6 week program, and it was not only fun, it hurt! :)

I modified it a bit here and there for myself, and only did 3 sets instead of four, just because of time. Okay, and maybe because  was also feeling a tad lazy...... ;) So, because I know everyone loves a good leg day, I thought I'd share. :) 

(I'm assuming you have been lifting for a while now, and are familiar with the moves and lingo. If you have question as to what anything means, let me know.)

Superset #1

DB jump squat x 12 (I used a 30# DB)

DB Rear lunges x 16 (8 per leg, and go heavy!)

Rest for 1 minute and repeat for a total of 3-4 times

SS #2

BB Deadlift x10

30 seconds jump rope

Rest 1 minute and repeat for a total of 3-4 rounds

SS#3

DB Curtsy lunge x 16 (8 per leg)

burpees x 15

Rest 1 minute and repeat for a total of 3-4 rounds

SS #4 

Glute kickback with resistance band x 10 per leg

Jump squat x 15

Rest 30-60 seconds and repeat for a total of 3-4 rounds

And there you have it! that was today's fun. Use heavy weights for this, but make sure your form is correct throughout. Don't get sloppy! Stronger legs = better runner.

Charlie Mike {Program Review}

Having been working out/training for 2+ years now, I've tried out many different programs. I'm pretty good at sticking with something for the prescribed time, (usually 4-6 weeks before switching things up). Even if it's just changing basic things to my routine, I shake things up (a) to keep from getting bored, and (b) To avoid plateaus.

One that I want to talk about today is Ashley Horner's Charlie Mike.

If you don't know who Ashley Horner is, let me just tell you she is my inspiration. She's a mom of two, has overcome so much in her life, and is always doing something to help others. Whether it be raising money for battered women, or her most recent project, partnering with a orphanage overseas. She is a proud supporter of our military, and often works with disabled veterans.

I remember being SO excited for the release of her new free program on Bodybuilding.com, and waiting very impatiently to try it out.

The day finally arrived, I read the nutrition guidelines, downloaded the app on my phone for easier tracking, and set out to do day number one.

It looked pretty easy. The first week you test your one rep max on the main lifts, (squat, bench, deadlift, and push press), followed by two different metabolic conditioning circuits, and also your 1 mile time, and rowing. I don't have a rower, so I skipped that.
Day one was Bench press and conditioning.
Oh. My. Word.

I was in a puddle of sweat laying on the floor a the end! So much for looking easy!
My one rep bench max was a pathetic little 65 lbs, but those circuits....I gave it everything I had, and just about died! I loved it! Any makeup that I had on was gone by the end.....Lol.

It's more of a Crossfit style, which made me happy. :) It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the feeling of smashing your workout yet feeling totally dead at the end.
You train for two days, followed by a rest day, etc, which was nice, because after two days of those types of workouts, my body needed a rest!

The thing to keep in mind about this program, is you only get out what you put in, and you can't cheat! It was designed to be tough, and if you just slowly go through the motions you'll see very little progress.

Day two was just as tough. As well as day three, four, and so on..... They never got any easier! Sprints, weights, and circuits....basically the stuff of my dreams! Or maybe nightmares.... ;)

This program is totally different than a typical body builders routine. None of the boring '4 sets of 8 reps' stuff, (although I do enjoy that, it does get a little....well, boring.) You feel like an athlete while doing it! After the first week and you've tested your maxes, the main lifts at the beginning take on the 5X5 protocol at 80% of your 1RM for building strength before the circuits.
I never felt very sore with this program, because of the lack of volume, but I did see changes in my body, strength and speed. :)

So, just for reference I'm going to share my progress I made during this program with you. Some people might think these weights are heavy, and some might think they're puny. We're all at different stages, which is what makes fitness fun. :)

So.....
Bench: 65-75 {10 lbs in 6 weeks? Yeah, I'll take that.....definitely my weakest lift.}
Deadlift: 140-160
Push Press: 70-80
Clean+ Front Squat: 70-85

Unfortunately I don't have a squat rack, so I have to be able to power clean my barbell into the front position. No back squats for me. :( I did just hit 95 lbs on that a few weeks ago though, so I'm happy. :)

Anywho.... my take away is that this is not the best program for beginners, but if you do decide to try it, take your time learning the movement before diving in. You will get stronger doing this, you will be gasping for breath, you will feel like dying and maybe quitting here and there, and you will start to see new muscles. I followed this before my first Battlefrog race, and feel like it really helped with my performance.
The only con that comes to mind is that each one does take around an hour, with warm up, lifting, rest, circuits, and cool down. That time is fine for me, but for those with crazier schedules it can be hard to fit in.
So, I would definitely recommend trying it out!  The app makes it very easy to track, and each day is laid out for you.

Charlie Mike