The Barbell and I

I'm sitting at the dining room table with a protein shake and bulletproof coffee, a familiar place after my garage workouts.  Earlier, before I hit the weights in the garage, I was sitting here too, eating a little and reading my Bible.  These are routines that have not changed for a long time, and I don't plan on changing them, either.  There is a comfort in routine and schedule and "this is the same every day." 

However, when it comes to working out, I admit that I had gotten into a rut.  I was going through the motions, which I suppose was better than doing nothing at all, but I was bored and definitely not seeing muscle growth or definition.  I knew that that had to change.  I needed something to motivate me, challenge me, force me to grow in my workout space. (pull-ups and push-ups, I'm looking at you!) 

(in my "gym", complete with refrigerator and tool bench, haha)

A few months ago, when I was still on social media (yep, Instagram and Facebook accounts are toast, but that's another post for another day), I came across Chrissy King's account and was inspired by her posts about women and weightlifting.  When she announced that she was developing a special weightlifting program for women and that she needed people to beta test some of the workouts, I signed up, mostly out of curiosity.  The workouts I tested were hard!  Muscles I had forgotten about reminded me of their presence, and honestly I could not even finish the first workout she sent me.  This showed me what I already knew, that I was not really challenging myself anymore in my workouts and that I needed to kick it up a notch.  At the end of May, Chrissy launched her 9-week workout program, #BarbellBadass, and I didn't hesitate to purchase it.  I decided to start the program after school was out; so I could focus more on what I was doing and have extra time to learn the unfamiliar exercises.  The program focuses on three-week increments of the same exercises, hitting different muscle groups each day, with two rest days in the mix.

Here's how Week 1 went down.  First, the program helpfully provided links to dynamic warm ups to do before each workout.  Trust me, the warm ups are essential - not to be skipped!  Then each workout has a main lift, an accessory movement, and a circuit.    On Day 1, I did a squat warm up, executing moves like bird dogs, book openers, and hip flexors to get ready for the "Booty Blaster" workout that followed.  Booty Blaster indeed!  I discovered that I pretty much hate dumbbell Bulgarian split squats and wanted to quit them by the third round of the circuit.  However, I persevered, as I had decided that this would be all or nothing from the start.  Day 2 was entitled "Flex Your Pecs".  All lower body muscles were screaming at me from the previous day's workout; I was thankful that this day was focused on chest and arm muscles.  I love chest flys; they make me feel powerful and strong.  Skull crushers were another matter altogether.  It will be a while before I can increase the weights on those.  On Day 3, I woke up and realized that it was a rest day.  This came at an opportune time as I hobbled around like an old lady, racked with muscle soreness.  I learned it is important to take advantage of rest days by drinking lots of water (as I should every day) and moving around to keep the muscles in recovery mode.  Day 4 came quickly, with a "Back Attack" to remind me of all the stuff I can't do yet in the gym.  This day involved a lot of dead lifts and rowing.  The pull-ups were the most challenging part of the workout.  I used a bench positioned under my squat rack to help me get started.  All pull-ups (24 of them) were assisted; it will be a while before I can do one unassisted.  But I am determined to keep trying them as often as I can, until I can do pull-ups unassisted.  (Also, Mikey is working on pull-ups at Ninja Fitness; so I want to work alongside him on that.)  Day 5, called "Pump It Up", involved work on shoulders and arm muscles.  The circuit was tough: 12 dumbbell lateral raises, 12 dumbbell front raises, 12 dumbbell bent over flys, and 12 dumbbell upright rows (4 times in a row!)  Those front raises were especially challenging to keep good form when I hit the fourth round.  Day 6, "Front-Loaded", introduced a new exercise to me:  the front squat.  It was awkward, to say the least, but I am hoping that as I do it week after week that I will get better at it.  This was the day I got to do planks as well. (oh joy oh delight) .  And Day 7 was another glorious rest day.

I like the program so far.  I have been challenged at every workout, but nothing was impossible to do.  Each day, from start to finish, the workouts have filled about 45 minutes, a perfect time for me.  The balance of the different muscle groups is well-done; muscles were initially sore for a few days, but it got better over the week.  Next week, I'll report on Week 2.  Week 2 will be a repeat of the same exercises on the same days, with the idea that I increase weights wherever I can to keep the challenge going.