Skip to main content

A Bit About Weights & Pumpkin Soup

Splits vs Full-Body for Lifting?
Today ended up being another weight-free day for me. I didn't get up early to workout, and Jason and I ran an errand (Whole Foods) at lunch. I want my chest and back workout to be a good, solid workout with the option of a spotter, so I am putting that off until Saturday. I ended up doing the cardio only premix from Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Circuit plus the abs workout.

Now, on the topic of weights, Alycia @ Fit n Fresh commented yesterday with a question about splitting up muscle groups vs full-body workouts for weight lifting. She noticed that I typically split out my muscle groups and asked if that was how I had always worked out. I thought this was a really great question, especially for people interested in starting a weight lifting routine. I know it can be so intimidating that you just avoid it. I mean, how on earth do you know how many sets, how many reps, how many days, what exercises, what's the right weight, etc. There are some crazy rotations and methods too: drop sets, super sets, tri sets, giant sets, oh pyramids, straight sets, push muscles, pull muscles, push/pull...holy crap.

Disclaimer before anyone jumps on my case - I am NOT certified in anything. The following is simply my personal beliefs and suggestions through research and trial and error on my own. If you want professional advice, please talk to a certified personal trainer.

Well, to answer the question about how I started off - I started lifting doing full-body and circuit workouts. Cathe Friedrich* was and is my go-to gal pal for weights. The great thing about starting off with the DVDs is that you don't really have to think about all the details. But, the problem can be getting in a rut and not changing up the routine, the splits, increasing your weights, etc. You do have to push yourself and not be afraid to pick up that heavier weight and know that hitting failure isn't a bad thing.

So, full-body vs splits? There seems to be some debate about the effectiveness of either style. I think there are pros and cons for both, and I am not here to argue them. Here is one article you can read that sort of explains the differences. But, from personal experience I would suggest starting off with 2-3 full-body workouts a week. Make sure you're up for the routine of lifting each week. Get familiar with the exercises out there and the weights you're able to lift. Then play around with reps and weights - try going for fewer reps, but upping those weights. This is more muscle and strength building. Do some research or invest in some (more) DVDs and play around with splits. Cathe seriously has some amazing DVDs to choose from for lifting options. I know there are others, I am just not as familiar with them. There are also books that have rotations set up for you (gotta love that) with demonstrations of the exercises as well. Two that I would happily recommend (I own both) are The Body Fat Solution and The New Rules of Lifting for Women .

Now, I mostly do splits now. I have done a total-body rotation (8-weeks) twice since December just to change things up. I prefer to split out the muscle groups though so I can go heavy and focus on that muscle group more. I like to change up the splits too - not always doing biceps and triceps, but sometimes doing say biceps and back, or biceps, triceps, shoulders. The thing is, when you only work that muscle group once a week, you have to hit it hard because you're then going to rest it a week. For full-body workouts, you gotta keep in mind that you are going to hit that muscle group at least once maybe twice more. Good? Bad? Better? Worse? Each to his own is what I say in life. I think you must adapt your workouts (either weights or cardio or both) to your individual situation, your individual needs, your individual goals.

*Note: I do have affiliate links to Cathe's site/products, regardless of this, I wholeheartedly recommend her workouts. I will never recommend any product that I would not purchase myself.

Soup Night
Today ended up being raining, gray, and on the cool side. Jason suggest soup, salad, and bread. Well, I haven't made bread in a while, but he decided to pick some up from a local bakery. I had some canned pumpkin so opted for a Pumpkin Soup. I was out of vegetable broth, so I ended up using unsweetened almond milk instead. It was a nice, creamy and hearty soup. For the salad, I did a play on a BLT with tempeh bacon, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and green olives. I did use some of the tempeh bacon to top the soup with. I think I may try adding just a few dashes of liquid smoke to this soup the next time I make it.
Pumpkin and butternut squash soups have become some of my favorite soups. It's hard to believe that there was a time I wouldn't consider soup for dinner.

Popular posts from this blog

Love in Photos

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

Hump Day and More Pineapples

Full-Body Workout  I'll readily admit that getting up this morning was quite painful and almost didn't happen. I forced myself out of bed though not exactly excited about tackling a full-body Pyramid workout. Sort of daunting at 5 am really. I did the warm up from Shock Cardio Cardio Core Circuit (cardio only premix) then hit the weights. It was a pyramid up only so I increased my starting weight. I topped it all off with the first 2 1/2 drills from the cardio workout. I ran short on time and was basically spent. Squats into Plie Squats Step Ups (seriously hate these especially at 5:30 am) Incline Chest Flyes into Chest Press Pullovers into DB Underhand Rows Step Ups (freaking again) Static Lunges Overhead DB Press into Lateral Raises Deadlifts Kickbacks into Overhead Extensions Hammer Curls into Alternating Curls Calf Raises I am so excited to report that my new cross-trainers and running shoes arrived today. Can't wait to test both of them out. I waited way way way too

Hitting the Gym and Lazy Means Creative Tex-Mex Creation

Sunday, Gym Day Why do vacations and min-vacations go by so quickly? Just doesn't seem quite right. Anyway, we left Branson around 9:30 am to head back home. It was a pretty uneventful drive back, which is usually a good thing. We got home and unpacked, then I headed up to the gym. I started with a 10-minute treadmill run to warm up before hitting the weights for back and light legs then abs. I went with a giant set for back then supersets for legs. GS - 4x8 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Double-arm rows SS#1 Rear-leg elevated lunges (Bulgarian Split Squats) - 3x8 Calf raises - 3x20 SS#2 - 2x8 Walking lunges Plie squats with low-end pulse Single-leg deadlifts - 2x8 I did some ab exercises, stretched, and called it quits. Lazy = Crazy Dinner I may have made it to the gym and washed a few loads of laundry, but I never made it to the grocery store - lounging in the pool trumped grocery shopping. This meant getting creative with dinner. We had another package