Move that body: 20 minutes upper body and 20 minutes on the treadmill
This morning, my workout was inspired by the ladder … and the fact that it is pouring rain outside. Thank goodness, too – my tomato plants were in dire need of a good soak.
First up: ARMS!
The exercises: Bicep curl, overhead shoulder press, tricep extension, lateral raise, bent-over row, wide-grip bicep curl, upright row, tricep kickback with a twist at the top.
The weight: 5-pound dumbbells
The plan: Perform reps/sets in a ladder of 8-10-12-10-8. So, for the first set, I completed eight reps of each exercise (no break in between) and then rested for 30 seconds. The second set was 10 reps of each exercise (no break in between) followed by 30 seconds rest. And so on and so on. What I love about ladders is that you can start with as few reps as you want depending on time. You could do the workout with a 6-8-10-12-10-8-6 plan. Heck, you could even do a 2-4-6-8-10-12-10-8-6-4-2. I also like to do the last set with a heavier set of weights.
I was hoping that after my arm workout that I could take out Denali for a walk but the weather was not cooperating. I’ll walk with an umbrella but not when it’s thundering and lightning. So I decided to hop on the treadmill and do a short incline workout.
| Time (in minutes) | Speed | Incline |
| 1-2 | 3.0 | 2.0* |
| 2-4 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 4-6 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| 6-8 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| 8-10 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| 10-12 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| 12-14 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| 14-16 | 3.0 | 7.0 |
| 16-18 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| 18-20 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
*2.0 is the lowest incline setting on my treadmill
Switching up the speed and incline – and “Something Borrowed” on audiobook – made the 20 minutes in the basement not so bad. I definitely could have gone longer if I had it in my head that that’s what I wanted to do. Plus, I kept it short in the event the rain stopped. It didn’t.
What did your workout look like today? Would you like to come make me a cup of coffee?
You're more than welcome to come over for coffee whenever you feel like traveling to a desert with 100+ degree weather :) At least it's a dry heat!
ReplyDeleteI didn't work out today cause I stayed up too late reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo!
I did a 2 mile run, some rowing and a bit of bench pressing today :)
ReplyDeleteToday - ahhh, today is my first day of not running this week. I have NEVER run (except for when I was in the army) 4 days in a row (and even then I'm not sure we actually ran 4 days in a week - they're pretty much fans of every other day running).
ReplyDeleteI've never made a cup of coffee in my life, but if you really want me to come give it a whirl - then I'll be right up :)