Back on Track + Hitting the Weights

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays! I love this time of the year, you know the time in between Christmas and New Year. You have the left over glow of Christmas and the excitement of the New Year to look forward to. This is when I start to brainstorm about what my New Years resolutions will be. I will save New Years resolutions for another post.

Eric and I returned home to Dallas last night, and I wanted to get back into the swing of working out right away. I ran on Friday and Sunday, but took Saturday and Monday completely off (I was getting pretty antsy). I woke up this morning at 9:30am (this is like crazy late for me) and got all dressed in warm clothes to go for a run outside. I put on my shoes, grabbed my heart rate monitor and gloves, and headed out the door only to find that it was raining. Since I was dressed to face the Arctic, I had to go back in the house and change into treadmill clothes. I pounded out 4 miles before I just couldn't take the treadmill any longer.

This might be a little dramatic, but that's what it felt like to me. :) [source]

After a nice warm bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter, Eric and I headed to the gym to hit the weights! I did a circuit style workout alternating upper and lower body muscle groups using super sets. Here's what it looked like: (if you are unsure about what a particular exercise looks like, just click on the name)

[source]

Warm up: 1 mile run on the treadmill (I felt like I just got off one of these)

Leg press machine
Lat pulldown machine

Seated hamstring curl machine (I prefer the prone hamstring curl machine, but it was occupied)
Chest fly machine

Seated leg extension machine
Assisted pull up machine (I did 3 sets of 8 instead of 12)


Assisted triceps dip machine (I did 3 sets of 10)
Alternating reverse lunges holding a 10 pound medicine ball

Dumbbell bicep curls
Plank with forearms on a stability ball

Overhead shoulder press
Crunches on the stability ball (15)

Skull crushers on the stability ball
Plank with ankles on the stability ball

I performed 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise (minus the ones noted above) alternating between the two moves. This type of workout keeps your heart rate up the entire time by limiting the recovery time between each exercise. Remember, anytime you life weights you want to use heavy enough weights that you can barely complete your last rep. This entire workout took me about an hour  including the warm up! I like total body workouts that are as efficient as possible!

Questions of the day:
How was your Christmas?
Do you prefer total body workouts, or muscle group specific workouts? For example splitting upper and lower body over two days.
Have you started brain storming about your New Years resolution?

In health,