We're generally boring right now, mostly staying at home doing our workouts, working, setting up new computers (I got a new laptop this week), doing other tech stuff, and sometimes we go to play music somewhere.
Last week I finally got going with a new routine which includes some cardio, so other than lifting to the gym I now do a few bike rides on Zwift per week, or walking when the weather allows. I feel so good doing some more movement again! So far, this winter it's been cold and frosty or we've had sideways rain, so an indoor option is absolutely essential. I'd love to do something more weight-bearing, so I'm thinking of starting a plyometric routine at home to pair with the indoor cycling.
This post is linked with the Weekly rundown link-up, hosted by Deborah and Kim. It’s where fitness bloggers get together to share their ups and downs with fitness and training, whether it’s about strength, running, cycling or something else. It’s great for accountability as well as inspiring and supporting each other. We also include some bits from everyday life if we want to. Let’s get into it!
Monday - gym day
After lifting heavier before Christmas, I now do a softer program with 3 x10 reps, but after the heavier cycle some weights are increased, and I'm liking it.
Today I did deadlifts, reverse lunges, good mornings, barbell rows, dumbbell chest press, push-ups, upright rows and barbell shoulder presses. Of these, good mornings and barbell rows are now increased to 35 kgs. It was a good, solid session and the highlight was probably the barbell shoulder presses. I did these last Friday too and they are beginning to feel a lot smoother. I remember some year ago when these were mostly experimental, we both knew I wouldn't be able to do all the reps but it's an important exercise to get started with. Then I could do almost one full set but for the last two I only managed 4-5 reps. Isn't it good to think back to realise how far we've come!
Tuesday - walking
Today was the first day of good weather in quite a long time so instead of cycling I went for a walk. I took a nice route of about 5 km. It was chilly but sunny and beautiful, and so good to get outdoors! We've had some appalling weather here over and after Christmas, with either frost/ice or sideways rain. As for photography, this is my slowest season and at the moment I mostly take photos of Elsa. But while I was outside I played with this kind of reflection again.
Wednesday - gym day
I did heel raises and toe extensions in the morning, and in the afternoon I went to the gym. I felt strong today! I had forgotten to take creatine in the morning so I took it just before going to the gym, and no matter what "everyone" is saying about how the timing doesn't matter as long as you take it daily, I can't help but wonder if it DOES matter for performance because I've noticed several times that when I take it within 1-2 hours before the gym, those sessions have been really good. A coincidence maybe but who knows!
It was a good session with lunges, sumo squats, flyes, Renegade rows, inclined dumbbell row, pullovers, forward raises and bent-over lateral raises. With the Renegade rows I did what I could do push myself a bit extra and got to 10 reps in both first sets, but in the last set I only made it to 5-6. It was a bummer because I really thought I could make it to ten, and afterwards I wondered if I could have made myself do a few more - so frustrating, I don't want to have any doubt whether I pushed myself enough!
Thursday - indoor cycling
Time for a bike ride! I tried a few workouts since I've enjoyed the interval workouts (they bring out the oomph in me, haha), but all I found were about increasing cadence instead of power, and after a few intervals I simply could not go any faster! I crave more effort, not super speedy pedaling. I gave up and chose a route instead, 9,5 km on what is called the "hilly route". That's more like it! Perhaps I simply don't understand cycling but at least I got the heart pumping eventually, and even won a sprint.
I unlocked a new level and achieved the possibility to buy dotted socks. Very prestigious. LOL.
Friday - gym day
I had another good gym workout today with squats, Bulgarian squats, barbell chest presses, flyes, dumbbell rows, good mornings, dumbbell shoulder presses and upright rows. I felt great with the squats! They are still at 50 kgs and heavy enough to be challenging but I can also do them with good enough form. The chest press also felt good and I continue to challenge the range of motion.
In the evening we went to Cork to join a bluegrass jam session. These happen monthly now and there's also one further away that happen at the end of the month, plus we were invited to another session further up the country which takes place randomly. So there's hope for some renewed guitar inspiration! I've slacked off with my music practice and events like this gives me what I need to create some guitar habits.
The big bummer of the night was that my husband played with my guitar before the session and put the pick back where I never keep it (just above the bridge) and when I was to take it to start tuning, my one and only €60 extra special Bluechip pick flipped off the guitar and disappeared somewhere on the floor - a brown pick on a brown floor, in a dark crowded pub. Gone forever, of course. And almost all Bluechips are sold out, even in the US.
Saturday
After a late night out, today was a rest day but I did single heel raises and toe extensions with resistance band. A very slow and restful day otherwise!
Sunday - walking-(ish)
Today it's greyer than grey, but it seemed good enough for a walk. I planned to take the 7 km route but it was cold and not at all pleasant, and I felt a bit of scratchiness in the throat too. I walked about 3 km and called it a day.
For next week my number one hope is that this throat scratchiness doesn't progress. The weather forecast looks generally eww, so I guess if all is ok I'll go ahead with my plyometric plans, along with more cycling routes and gym sessions.
How was your week? How's the weather like where you are?
Comments
sorry about the guitar pick :(
and I hope that scratchy throat doesn't end up like mine... a full blown cold!!
I agree with the others... more Elsa pics.
Sadly too late about the cold... full sniffles and cough here now although it isn't as bad as it usually gets with my colds (but we'll see).
I'll make amends about Elsa pics in my next post!
It's been pretty cold here and we're about to enter a really cold snap tonight. I've been consistent getting outside for my walks; we shall see how I do with the really cold weather that's on the way.
I agree with Jenn, I love your pictures and wouldn't mind seeing more of Elsa (she's such a cutie).
I almost added some photos of Elsa just to add some photos, but then forgot about it after I had been out for my walk. She's adorable!
"Boring" weeks are sometimes quite useful - you get a lot done in those weeks!
Your new routine sounds sensible and well balanced. Now I'm wondering whether I should switch to taking creatine before Crossfit instead of just randomly during the day. It sounds like it makes a difference!
And YAY for Zwift socks, ha!
Have a lovely week, Susanne!
You're right, there's nothing wrong with boring weeks and they can be very beneficial! Do try creatine before Crossfit. My experience is still too random to say it's a pattern, but it's an interesting coincidence and there's no harm in giving it a try.
It got really cold this weekend! Normally, I don’t let the extreme cold hinder my runs, but that hasn’t been the case this go-round. I’ve been trying to kick this weird head cold (?), so I’m holding off on the running until I’m all better and/or the temps rise a bit. So, the bike has been getting all kinds of love, LOL. Variates serves us well ;-)
That would be my choice too on cold days and perhaps I shouldn't have gone out yesterday. My sore throat developed into more nastiness during the night. Surprisingly I feel ok-ish this morning but with a lingering sore throat and I've cancelled my gym session for the afternoon. I hate the winter so much, even in Ireland (although, not as much as I would in Sweden).
Oh, not the guitar pick! That's soooo frustrating! I hope you can replace it.
I love that you were able to get outside after some less than ideal weather. It makes such a difference for me.
I absolutely miss your photos! I'll even take pics of Elsa... you are an incredible photographer!
Wow thanks Jenn! If this weather keeps going it's definitely time to do the indoor photo project I tried last year. And yes, there's always Elsa. :)
As for the guitar pick... there's very little hope. Sadly the Irish style guitar uses very soft picks so it's hard to get good ones for heavy flatpicking here. The Bluechip is very popular among bluegrass players so I decided to try it a few years ago. I got it from the UK since the cost to get it from the US gets ridiculous. Now apparently there's been very big demand for these picks and even on American shops they're sold out. I took out my old collection of picks yesterday and chose a few that could possibly be good enough, and ordered two more Dunlops from a local shop.
It's either snowy (so white and pretty!) or gloomy here, so I get it! That's why I always vote for more snow. Was getting a new computer a good day, or a frustrating day? It's always a solid mix of both when I get a new one, especially at work. Most times I'd rather just NOT get a new one at work since mine is all set up the way I like it.
It was a good day! It's a small Dell XPS that I'll mainly use for writing and personal stuff, and it's perfect for travel, so light and portable. I only checked that it booted properly, then switched it off and installed Linux. I've been an Apple user since 2007 but lately they've been going in the wrong direction when it comes to privacy etc and there are bad rumours about them for the future (and AI) so I've been playing with Linux for a while on my husband's old laptop. I knew exactly what I wanted and needed and the only frustration was that I was busy in the evening with the camera club and couldn't be at home fiddling with the new computer! I had everything important set up in time for the weekend and yesterday I did the final fixes with SSH settings (I need sFTP for adding blog posts). I've become used to setting up a new computer when I've switched between Linux distros and it's quite straightforward except when it comes to SSH and Github connections and Docker where there's always some detail I forget about.
Ugh on the guitar pick — that’s so frustrating!
Those skies definitely look grey and gloomy but that grass looks so green!
Nice to notice your strength improving and even easier workouts using heavier weights. I hope you fight off the ick!
Yes, I'm so grateful to have the green around me even in the winter! It makes such a difference to the mood, in Sweden even if we didn't have snow the world was monochrome for 5-6 months.
I want to see these photos of Elsa!!! How's our little girl doing?
Sounds like you had a nice week (other than losing the guitar pick- ugh). I hope this scratchy throat doesn't turn into anything! Great job on al the strength work, and oof- those are some GRAY skies! I would want to huddle inside.
Hahaha! I have like 200 photos of Elsa sleeping in different positions because she's so cute when she sleeps and that's basically the only time she's still enough for photos. I almost shared one in this post in the absence of more relevant photos. She's doing well and is as feisty as ever.
It has been kinda of gray here too but trying to make the most of it and get outside anyway. I’m always glad when I do. yes it does feel good to look back and see how far we have come in the gym! Hope you have a good week ahead
I had actually been looking forward some cloudy weather because the winter sun is so harsh and makes it so hard to take any good photos, but oh it was SO cold. Not nice at all. But it's always refreshing to get outdoors for sure.
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