Traditional vs. Circuit

I recently received an email from Gold's for a free PT session, so I went in today to use it. I wanted to see if I could learn anything about using the weight room and performing exercises using free weights. However, like the last trainer I worked with, he showed me how to do a circuit. He assured me that it would burn fat quicker than doing traditional resistance training, which involves doing 2 or 3 sets, then moving to a different exercise. As in the circuit that the previous PT demonstrated for me, this circuit involved small bursts of cardio. I'm sure I would have appreciated this more...had I not already done 25 minutes on the elliptical prior to the PT appointment. We did about 8 different exercises, doing one rep of each, moving quicking between each exercise, and did the circuit 3 times.

Overall, he was helpful, and did show me how to do a barbell squat (though I had to ask him), but I still really wanted to work more with the free weights and learn how to do traditional resistance training. I don't really see anyone in there doing circuits on their own, so are circuits truly where-it's-at? It makes me wonder if the trainers are supposed to tell all the free clients the same thing, then maybe cater more to their requests once they become paying clients. Or maybe I'm just thinking about that too hard. Conspiracy!

Anyway, I've been reading a couple of resistance training books geared towards women. The first, New Rules of Lifting for Women, gives you specific exercises to do in specific stages. The other book, Sculpting Her Body Perfect, recommends three different stages, but gives you a number of exercises to choose from in order to design your own routine. You do your whole body three times a week, using one exercise per area of the body. At the moment, I'm leaning towards Sculpting to get started, and maybe continue on with NROLW when I become more comfortable in the weight room.

I'm visiting my parents in the town where I grew up, so I'll get in a couple of runs on FLAT ground, which will be nice. I'll also get to run through our neighborhood, which is always an adventure, and kinda nice. And maybe, after these runs, I'll announce something BIG! Whoosh! Such a tease...

Catch-Up

Stating the obvious: it's been a while. I keep thinking of things I'd like to say in a post, then neglecting to actually post them. I'm real lazy about the Internets (I often forget what I mean to do immediately after sitting down to my computer). Here's what I've been up to:

• Went to the beach
• Went to New Orleans to visit family (and eat a whole lot of seafood)
• Due to the obnoxiously high temperatures as of late (consistent 105s, anyone?), have largely moved my running indoors--which I will address shortly
• Have stopped eating bread daily (except for the occasional whole-wheat bagel)
  
• Have started having smoothies for breakfast and soup or tuna for lunch
• Am trying to eat more vegetarian dishes (hello, lentils!)
• Weights!

I'm not a morning person. But, I do like working out in the morning. It's much less crowded, it's cooler outside, and I like not having to think about working out throughout the day. So, last week, I mainly went to the gym in the morning. It was nice, and would have been nicer had I been able to get more sleep at night (I've always been a bad sleeper). I ran on the treadmill or used the elliptical, and did weights, then came home, showered, and got ready for work. Hopefully my internal clock will adjust itself and I can sleep better, so I can continue this business. It's not like I have to study or anything... :-p

I live in Texas. It's hot. It's always hot in the summer, and I accept this, but this is the first summer I've had to try to run around said hotness. It's even gross in the morning. I made an effort up until about a week into June, then decided to move indoors, not unlike our Northern friends do in the winter. It was alright for a while, but last week I realized how bored I get on the treadmill after about 20 minutes. There's TVs and everything, and the treadmills at Gold's are on the second story, so you get to watch people weightlifting (which is always a hoot), but it still gets old. And when I get bored, I tend to get tired, which leads to me quitting early...no good. So this morning, I decided to venture out for an easy jog, just to see if I could handle it. At 6, it was about 78F and not too humid. There was even a breeze (!!!). I was slower than usual, but I chalk it up to waking up my outside legs (much different than my treadmill legs). So...I think I'll try to get outside at least 3 times a week, especially for a long run, and continue cross-training and doing weights at the gym. Weights!

So, I've been thinking about doing something, running-wise. It kinda depends on how this week goes, but I've mostly made my mind up. But more on that another time. :)

Gold's Gym and 4 miles (finally)

On Friday afternoon, I finally made it over to Gold's Gym to start my 1-week trial. Well...it's a gym. Lots of strength training equipment and tons of cardio machines (which are upstairs and overlook the weight machinces--kinda cool), a decent-sized pool (with a sauna!!!), a basketball court, a few classrooms, a spinning room, and a smoothie bar. There's also a "Cardio Cinema," where they play movies on a huge screen in a darkened room while you do your cardio. I think this would be a little unnerving, because it's really dark in there and I'd be afraid I'd fall off a machine, in my typical clumsy style. I'll probably try it out one day, if I like the movie they're showing.

So, I got the tour from this dude who seemed more interested in trying to be super-cool (and flirty?) than actually telling me about the joint. Luckily I asked lots of questions and forced him to do his job (what a novel idea...). He also kept trying to get me to join that day instead of doing the week trial, which totally defeats the purpose of a week trial. I held my ground and signed up for the week trial. If I'd been a different person, this guy might have turned me off of the whole place. But I wasn't there to deal with sketch dudes, I was there to work out.

The next day I had a free session with a personal trainer, which more than made up for dealing with the sketch dude. This guy seemed to know his stuff and was able to give me tips on working off the last 10-15 lbs. He suggested that I eat less complex carbs, like cereal and bread (I eat cereal most days and bring sandwiches to work on whole wheat bread), and drink smoothies in the morning. He also suggested I incorporate resistance training into my workout regimen and showed me some exercices that I could make into a circuit. He was able to answer all of my questions and gave me very helpful advice regarding nutrition. I thought I was doing ok in that department, but there's always room for improvement. He then scheduled me for a follow-up visit for this Friday.

I had a friend staying with me this weekend who is a hardcore foodie, so there was lots of good eating and socializing to be done. Even so, I committed myself to finally getting in those 4 miles on Sunday morning. I got up at about 7 and set out. It wasn't hot, and it was cloudy and breezy, which made for a pretty nice time. I started out slow and took breaks periodically to avoid early fatigue. Even so, I hit a mental wall at about the halfway point. I think this was because I was doing 2 laps of a 2-mile loop, and I had to pass in front of my apartment complex, which made me just want to quit and go home. However, I took a walk break and continued on. For the rest of the time, I did a 5:1 run/walk breakdown which really kept me from getting really tired. I probably could have gone on another mile doing this, which is good to know for when I do go another mile. So...hooray! I went back to my apartment, ate cereal (I think carbs are kinda necessary post-run--I'll save the smoothies for the non-running mornings), stretched, showered, and went to church and lunch with my friend and her uncles.

This morning, I made my first smoothie with banana, frozen strawberries, skim milk, yogurt, and a little bit of protein powder. It was really (really) thick, so maybe less yogurt, more milk next time. For lunch, I brought one of those soup cups and my usual apple and yogurt. I also brought some carrots as an afternoon snack, so I won't starve until dinner. After work, I'll hit the gym for cardio and maybe do some of the circuit exercises. It will be interesting to see how things work when it's full of the post-work crowd.