I survived my first week of venturing into the weight room section of the gym. No sand kicked in my face and no dirty looks from the muscle bound guys who populate this area. Free weights is a very humbling experience. It's one thing do work on the machines, which are all very controlled and work very specific muscles or muscle groups. It's quite another thing to bench press any kind of weight at all. Honestly, what if you are the only one in the gym and you are struggling on your last rep? I had thoughts of being trapped under the weight of the barbell I'm a trying to lift! In any event, I find the free weights much more effective than the machines.
I ran everyday this week and also threw in a track work out on Tuesday for a total of 46 miles. The track work out was geared towards my mile race in January. It consisted of 5x250M at 5:12 pace with 2 minutes jog between sets. the goal is to string these all together for a sub 5:15 effort. Highest mileage since my October marathon and first week of running everyday. I was growing accustom to those periodic days off and my legs feel pretty fatigued, even with the low mileage.
So, the plan will continue with low to moderate mileage and a slight focus on building strength. I want to have a solid foundation and be plenty strong before I launch into the high mileage portion of my plan. Looking forward to the results, maybe a new 10k PR, maybe more?
Happy Running!
Hey Rick,
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly not an expert but I can let you know what I do. When I'm doing bench presses there are really two choices - don't get anywhere close to the point where you are struggling to get that last rep or use dumbbells instead of a barbell. I try to mix it up a bit and not do one exclusively over the other. For the barbell, I'll start with a weight way lower than what I know I can handle. Do one set at this weight just to get the muscle awake and working. Then I start adding weight. Depending on what I'm doing that day I'll do 8-12 reps per set and 3-5 sets. When I feel I'm a couple reps from failure, I stop and put the bar back. Track the weights you are doing each time and you'll get a feel for it.
With dumbbells you can push yourself a little harder but I find I can do more weight with a barbell than I can with dumbbells. It is harder keeping the dumbbells in line and keep good form.
Whenever I am doing the reps and my form starts to break down, I stop that set. Injuries happen when form is incorrect.
Most people will be a spotter for you if you ask, at least they will at the places I work out.
Good luck!