Love, Sweat, and Beers

Want to hear something gross? When you strength train, you are actually putting little tears in your muscles, which often causes delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). When the muscles repair the tears, they build themselves stronger than they were… most of the time, anyway. Whenever I think about that, I get the heebie-geebies I am reminded as to how awesome the human body really is.

Why the tidbit of info? Today I’m sharing the workout I started this week. It focuses on lifting heavy, so you’ll be tearin’ it up in the gym. I don’t follow it exactly day-in and day-out, but I’ll be following it pretty darn closely through September.

The beach is that way....

For instance, I completed huge pyramid sets of dumbbell bench press instead of barbell bench press Tuesday night. All the barbell benches were taken, so I did what I could.

I may have taken bits and pieces from various sources, but if I remember correctly, this is a Tiff original. I’ve had it a few years, so I can only be 96% sure of this, not 100%. 96 is a pretty good percent, right???

• Day 1: Legs
• Barbell Squat: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Glute Kickbacks: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Day 2: Chest & Calves (Pilates at Night)
• Bench Press: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Cable Crossovers: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Pushups: 2 sets until failure
• Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Donkey Calf Raises: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Day 3: Back
• Barbell Rows: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Lat Pulldown: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Reverse Flyes: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Day 4: Shoulders & Calves (Pilates at Night)
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Front Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Standing Calf Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Donkey Calf Raises: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Day 5: Arms
• Rotate in a Functional Exercise: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Hammer Curls: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Barbell Curls: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Concentration Curls: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Triceps Kickbacks: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Rope Pushdowns: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Skullcrushers: 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Day 6: Cardio
• Probably running or walking outdoors
• Day 7: Rest
• Alternate between 4 sets of 6 reps and 3 sets of 8/10 reps

Complete as much cardio as you’d like. This workout takes me about an hour to complete every day, excluding Day 6. That does not include the 20-30 extra minutes of pilates at night twice a week. If you are a cardio queen, feel free to extend that a bit. I allow myself frequent occasional cardio-free Fridays. You could also sub exercises for your main trouble spot once a week in lieu of calf exercises; it’s your workout!

Here are 3 free pilates workouts I’ve been loving lately. The first 2 are difficult, and the 3^rd is for lazy days.

1. Blogilates
2. Pilates Power
3. Less is More Pilates

As you all know, it’s important to refuel after a hard workout. Be sure to include protein and carbs in your post-workout munchies. The Greek yogurt I’ve been eating this week is full of protein, and it’s best when purchased in containers as big as your head. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Wowzers! That's a lot of yogurt! And a double-chin!

How often do you change up your workouts? What are your favorite sites for workout videos?