on the Summer of Strength

the hows and whys and most likely more than you ever wanted to know

During my errands last week, I stopped by not one, but two “Play It Again Sports” locations. I was seeking a pair of 25-lb. dumbbells, preferably used since “new” dumbbells cost anywhere from $1.60/pound and up.

While the first location had quite a few weights, many were new and selling for $2.00/pound. Used there was strangely six pair of 40-lb ones and lots of 5’s and 10’s. But I scored at the second location and they had exactly what I was hoping for: a pair of cast-iron 25-lb dumbbells exactly like the majority of my other weights. And they were only $1.00/lb. Hooray!

You may be wondering why the purchase of a pair of dumbbells was important enough for me to write about them. While I love a good bargain, this isn’t just about scoring a good buy. It’s about needing to buy them in the first place.

I’m writing about it because it’s tangible evidence I am getting more fit and stronger.

Setting fitness goals around weight loss or even cardio fitness can be frustrating since the amount of work you put in doesn’t always equal results. Or at least the specific results you may be seeking. Weight training - well any kind of strength training - if done correctly will always give an indication of changes.

So, when the dust settled around our return to Ohio from JB working in DC, I decided to dedicate the summer to strength training.

I’m not a stranger to lifting weights, but I haven’t done it consistently since around the time of my divorce in 2005. And, in all honesty, I haven’t focused on any kind of regular fitness since then. Until we purchased our Peloton Bike after Thanksgiving this past year.

Something about the Peloton just clicked for me. Or, rather, something inside me found a new path to healing. But that’s a story for another day.

But back to strength training. And the fact that I was fortunate enough to schedule a meeting with my old personal trainer earlier this year.

Not that he is old, but he was a part of my old life in Texas. The one where I was raising small children, trying to hang onto my failing marriage, and arriving at the gym at 5 AM most weekdays. And back to the original time period when I began blogging.

Though he doesn’t do any kind of Zoom training, he did agree to hop on a video call with me to discuss strategy. Because the one thing I love about Peloton is the availability of new classes almost daily. There’s always a shiny, new class just begging to be taken.

Yet, that’s exactly what was also making it harder for me to see any fitness gains beyond just feeling better in my body. Well, and also my mind and soul….

Here’s what we worked out as a strategy:

We set up a schedule.

• I devote Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays to Upper Body Strength.

• Tuesdays is for Lower Body Strength training.

• Thursdays and Saturdays (or Sunday) are for biking/cardio as my focus.

• Add core work in at least three days a week.

• He strongly encouraged me to take one day off from any kind of workouts.

Do the same lifts on repeat. For at least a month.

• Choose the same class and do it over and over again. This gave me the opportunity to not just become familiar, but also to better track my progress.

• Why? Every time I was doing a brand new class, even if it was an instructor I adored - and even if it was a lift I was familiar with - my first set was about getting used to the lift rather than doing the lift perfectly.

  • (Note: perfectly means doing a lift with proper form to ensure safety. And with the maximum amount of weight possible.)

• Modifying lifts if necessary. And, rather than doing as many lifts as possible within an allotted time frame, do a set number of lifts per round.

• The reminder that 10 lifts done with perfect form are just as good - or better - than pumping out 20 sloppy lifts. And that I don’t have to kill myself in an “Orange Theory” type workout or turn weight lifting into a type of cardio.

How does this translate to execution?

• I chose two upper body classes that did a full range of upper body muscle groups by favorite strength training instructors (Ben Alldis and Daniel McKenna). To give myself some variety, I alternate these two classes every other upper body workout.

• Though I give myself some leeway in core work, I mostly rotate two different core workouts on repeat to work different parts of the abs. One class is by Andy Spear and the other is by Callie Gullickson.

• Riding the bike does a lot of lower body work. However, I wanted to add in one day a week of dedicated lower body work and chose a comprehensive lower body class (also with Ben Alldis) to add into my routine.

• When schedule permits, I do a “climb ride” on the weekend. This is an intense class with high levels of resistance and more of a lower body workout than a casual class.

• To give myself more variety, I have begun adding in different warm-ups. Sometimes I hop on the bike, sometimes I choose the treadmill, and other times I do a class dedicated to warming up for a particular body area.

So, how’s this strategy working for me?

• To be honest, some weeks my schedule shifts. Yet, even though I may not do an upper body workout every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I do 3 solid upper body classes per week. With at least one rest day between workouts.

  • For example, I did an upper body workout this weekend (Sunday) at a hotel because I will be driving home from Lexington where I met a girlfriend for the weekend on my regular lifting day (Monday).

• I am making measurable gains, especially in my upper body workouts. What I once was doing with 15-lb weights has morphed to needing 20-lb weights. Thus the need for 25-lb weights as an incentive to move forward.

  • Don’t worry. My 10’s and 8’s are still getting a lot of use and love.

• The lower body workout sometimes gets shifted to another day. Or skipped on busy weeks. I do my chosen workout at least twice a month. And a climb ride at least twice a month. But this is where I am giving myself grace.

  • Lower body strength training is more challenging to accomplish without dedicated equipment. The only time I miss a “real” gym with equipment like a leg press.

• Cardio falls to the bottom of my priority list these days. This isn’t always a bad thing. And I do try to get at least 5,000 steps in per day.

But, why focus on strength?

Most arm chair fitness gurus would tell you to get in 10,000 steps per day, combine weights with cardio, do more cardio, and focus on burning as many calories as possible. But fitness to me is about much more than just burning calories.

Do I want to lose weight? Yes, I do. At least 20 pounds. The extra weight I am carrying around is hard on my joints, especially my hips.

As much information and research as I take in, sometimes you have to turn to an expert for advice. And, since my trainer has a bachelor’s degree if sports training, is a certified personal trainer, and has been a personal trainer since the late 90’s, he IS an expert.

Here’s why his advice is the right fit for me:

• Strength training builds lean mass. More lean mass equals less body fat. And yes, muscle weighs more than fat when it comes to a number on the scale. But I would rather weight more and be tone than weigh less and be flabby.

• It invites me to use other indicators of success beyond the scale weight. Like measurements, the way my clothes fit, and my aforementioned ability to progress to heavier weights.

• Women especially need to do weight bearing exercises to stave off osteoporosis. I’m certainly not getting any younger. So, this plays into how I am choosing to age.

• Strength training is important for heart health.

• I want to live a nourishing life. My definition of a nourishing lives means doing fun stuff. And being fit gives me the ability to do more fun stuff.

• I want to be stronger. Being stronger adds to the quality of my life. Just this week I noticed how much easier it was to carry things up and down the stairs. Being stronger allows me to move furniture when I clean, carry groceries in with more ease, and lift a heavy suitcase into the car.

And now for two things you probably didn’t think were going to be on this list of “whys”:

• Strength training allows me to do something I struggle with most of the time: get out of my own head and focus. Especially because form is super important to me it pushes everything out of my mind except myself, the lift, and the weights. So, for me, it’s a form of active meditation.

• And last, but not least, I enjoy strength training. While it is a form of fitness, it’s also a form of fun for me.

And thus we arrive at the rambling purpose of this post: this is something I cannot share in my capacity as a life coach. I am not an expert in fitness, weight loss, or nutrition.

Rather than be the expert, here in this space, I want to share my stories, my experiences, and a sometimes a deep dive into what’s really lighting me up.

What about you? Is fitness ever fun for you? And if so, what do you enjoy doing? And if not, what’s keeping you from finding some fun ways to love yourself and your body?