Whew. It was quite a week! Because I had to rearrange my running schedule AGAIN, this week was heavy on the strength workouts. My son came to the gym with me twice (!) and there were some interesting revelations… but before we get into it, thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see how it all played out…
Sunday
New Year’s Day! My son and I had talked about going to the gym, but spontaneously decided on New Year’s Eve that neither of us felt like it. So I did Caroline Girvan’s “Brutal Leg Day” workout from her Tempo Week. I’m not sure if it was that much more brutal than her Iron Series leg days, but it was hard.
Monday
4 mile run on legs that felt like lead.
Tuesday
I ran 3 miles in the morning…
and then- very exciting- my son and I FINALLY went to the gym together! Part of the reason we were having trouble making this happen is that we seem to have very different fitness goals. He doesn’t prioritize legs, while I don’t see the point of schlepping to the gym if I’m NOT going to do legs. He wants to bulk up and I don’t really care what my body looks like anymore- I just want to run injury-free.
I finally agreed to do it his way, and this was a “push” day. We warmed up with some cable flys, then did bench press, incline press machine, overhead press with dumbbells, lateral raises, skull crushers and tricep extension. Ahem… ouch.
Wednesday
Since yesterday was “push” day, today was “pull” day. We hit the gym AGAIN and did a cable lat warmup, then lat pulldowns, seated cable row, rear delts with the cable, trap shrugs, and bicep curls.
So… my son chided me for not working hard enough. He always does his last couple sets to failure and couldn’t believe I wasn’t doing that as well. That’s why he prefers to use machines and cables and not as many free weights. He pointed out that if I’m doing bench press or squats with the bar, I’ll obviously always stop when I know I can get the bar back up safely. With the machine or cable, he’ll always end when he can only get his last couple of reps halfway.
My son wanted to give me a training plan, but I had to negotiate a few points. Just like we did with bench press, where we fin0shed on the machine, I pointed out that I could do squats but then end with the leg press machine and work to failure. He agreed to that. Then, I questioned the reason for some of the exercises we did and he said he does them to make his shoulders more broad. Strangely, my fitness goals have never included “have broader shoulders.” Keeping this in mind, we came up with a tentative schedule for me.
My two best days to go to the gym are Tuesday and Wednesday. Not ideal, but Tuesday I’ll do upper body. I’ll combine the push day and the pull day, and leave out some things I don’t think will help me. Wednesday I’ll do legs, and then a third strength day at home (on Fridays?) with things I don’t need the gym for- like bulgarian split squats or bicep curls.
Speaking of bicep curls, my son said I’m doing them wrong (SIGH!) He challenged me to do them without moving my upper arm AT ALL, and it was really, really hard. I thought I was good at these, but apparently not.
One more thing. I LIKED going to the gym and working super hard. I realized that doing “pretty hard” strength training is just kind of uncomfortable and boring for me. But doing REALLY hard strength training is actually kind of… fun. Wait, did I just say “fun?” Yes… I did. It was fun and it made me feel great.
Thursday
After all that, I needed a leg day. I repeated Caroline Girvan’s “Brutal leg day” workout because… why not?
Friday
Enough of all this pushing and pulling heavy stuff around! I did a nice 4 mile run.
Saturday
Day off! Well… other than going to work and HOSTING THE DREADED BIRTHDAY PARTY. Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments on my last post. You guys were right! No one cared that the house wasn’t perfect. And I forgot- these are band kids. Band kids are nice, and slightly nerdy. No one did anything stupid, and there were no trips to the ER. They jumped on the trampoline, painted rocks, ate pizza and cake, and just hung out. Most of them stayed past the original end time, and everyone seemed to have fun. Hooray!!! I was really happy for my daughter, but the best moment for me was when everyone was gone and I could change into my pajamas and snuggle on the couch with my cat. An introvert to the end.
Sunday
You may have noticed something missing this week- a long run! The last two weeks I did it on Wednesday, but had to move it yet again because this Wednesday I worked in the morning. So on tap for today- 15 mile run.
One last thing I have to mention. After months of complaining about the weather, I can finally report that our weather has been BEAUTIFUL. Well, this is our time- if you don’t like the weather in South Florida in January, then you definitely shouldn’t live here. It’s been upper 50s/low 60s overnight, and 70s-low 80s during the day, and the humidity is down. I love it.
What’s your favorite month, weather-wise? – I might be the only one who says “January.”
47 Responses
Interesting to read about your son’s perspective on strength training! SJ always tells me that your training should be reflective of your goals. If you want to get stronger for running, you can focus on lower body and heavy strength one day per week. I added upper body to my training because I wanted to be stronger overall. I think it is helpful to have someone to push you–I wouldn’t push myself as hard if SJ didn’t make me. We do train to failure with the bar. I’m looking forward to following your training and watching you get stronger!
Clearly, January is not my favorite month, weather-wise, lol. Here in the midwest, that would probably be August or September. I like spring and summer but I love early fall!
Okay, that’s good to know, because it’s really hard for me to get to the gym, other than Tuesday and Wednesday (which gives me on day of legs at the gym per week.) It definitely helps to have someone push you- I wish my son could come with me all the time!
Sounds like your son gave you some interesting and useful feedback on your strength training. Form for upper body exercises definitely makes a huge difference. I agree, doing really hard strength training is fun and rewarding. Kind of like how you feel after a great run. My favorite months for running here are April and October with cool mornings and warmer afternoons. Enjoy your nice weather! Good luck with the 15 miler today
Thank you Deborah! It was actually a hard run but I got it done.
It was definitely helpful to get a new perspective on my strength training. Kind of like when I worked with a trainer, years ago. He was pretty hard on me!
I’m glad your son is not here critiquing me. I minimally do anything at the gym. When I did go.
That half will be a breeze for you. I struggled to run 8 run walk miles.
My favorite month is May. Also love September. Not January!!!
Yes, you do not want to go to the gym with my son! I think the bottom line is that his main thing is strength training, and ours is running with some strength thrown in. It’s a whole different perspective.
Great week and good luck on that mid week long run! Its sometimes fun to do the long run on a non-weekend day, especially when you had such a full Saturday. Glad the party went well!
I actually love doin my long runs on Wednesdays, but have to keep switching it around, especially during the last month when things were so crazy.
So glad the party went well – band kids are among the best kids! I totally get what you said about strength training; having someone push/propel you makes it more mentally and physically interesting, for sure. My favorite month is October – up here in New England, it’s cool enough to wear a hoodie, but you can still get by with sandals most days. Just the best!
October seems to be a popular choice up there! What you said about sandals and a hoodie made me smile, because here in Florida, no matter how cold it is, there will always be people wearing flip flops.
Great job at the gym!! My youngest was really into strength training a few years ago, and considered becoming a personal trainer (as a side gig), so she’s given me a lot of input & guidance. Glad to hear the dreaded party was a success!
Ooh! It’s nice to have an “expert” in the family. I’ll bet she helped a lot.
15 miles? Wow! You are up to some serious long runs these days!
So glad the bday party went well. Sounds like the kids had a good time.
Interesting to see your son’s perspectives on strength training. Have you tried to do biceps curls with your back against a wall? That will show you how much you are usually “cheating” — it’s so much harder. And, no, I don’t usually do them that way!
Oh, that’s a GREAT idea! He had me doing them at the gym while looking in the mirror- but I don’t have a mirror where I work out at home. I’ll do them with my back against the wall from now on.
Having kids with nerd interests is a beautiful thing. We had a b-day party/sleepover for one of the stepsons last night, which meant we got to hang out with family for dinner and cake, and after the adults went home the kids started an epic Dungeons and Dragons game.
Right now I want to continue on the CG path, since workouts at home in the early AM is what fits my schedule, but I think that around next fall I’m going to assess where I am strength wise and see if maybe I want to add in a personal trainer to help work on my weaker points. Pushups continue to be very frustrating and I’d really like to be able to do pull ups someday.
I actually love really hot weather, so I’d live in FL in a heatbeat. The only caveat is that “live in FL” in my mind means being on the beach all day, so the reality might be a touch different. Right now the weather is pretty mild so it isn’t too bad but from mid Jan to early March is the pits. So much snow, so much cold.
Well, if you become extremely wealthy you could have a house right on the beach. That might be your dream!
I’m surprised my son never got into D&D. In addition to band, his interests included speed-solving the Rubiks cube and card tricks. Definite nerd interests.
I think the CG path is good- I like her much better than Peloton. I’ll probably continue to do her workouts on my “at-home” strength days.
I’m glad the party went well!
My sons both work out in a similar way to your son, particularly my older one: he always goes right to failure. They also do push, pull, legs (although I think their leg day is split into two, like glutes and hams, and then quads). Anyway, they put together a training program for me which is nothing like what they do. My goal is to ward off osteoporosis, period. Both boys had fun creating a program for me for my specific needs, so when we work out, we are not doing at all the same things. I found it interesting that your son and you do the same thing! I think I would die/ my hips would implode/ my shoulders would crumble if I did what they do. Then again, they would die if they had to keep up with me and my cardio (that’s not even a humble-brag, I have very good cardio strength). What I’m saying is I found this very interesting to read! Also, I do what your son says and I don’t move my upper arms on curls, but that is because I want to protect my shoulders (I do so much on the yoga mat that features shoulders) and I found that any movement felt like it was going into my shoulders. Does that make sense? I am between weights right now on biceps, we have ten and fifteen pound dumbbells, and I find I can do like 5 reps of 15, but 15 reps of 10. Well, I’ll keep working!
I did everything my son did, but with lighter weights. He was delighted because he said it was the first time he worked out with someone weaker than him, ha ha. And my son couldn’t even begin to keep up with my runs- but he has no interest in that.
Good to read about some heavy strength sessions, and it sounds like your own strength program will be a good one for you, with a separate leg day and upper body day. Just do what you feel is best for your needs. I do full body programs and a lot of focus on upper body and shoulders but also legs – my goals are both to be fit for running and to bulk and build muscle (both for function and to look good). I couldn’t agree more about how hard strength training is fun! It becomes a challenge to see what you can do and it challenges not only your body but also your mind.
Regarding weather… hard question. It depends… is it generally? For running? In general I’m always a summer loving person. I love warm weather. July always has the best weather in Ireland, with most heat waves being in July. Other seasons have their charms, but for weather only, July s the best. And – here it rarely gets so hot that you can’t do any workouts.
I was thinking that- July is probably nice there and it doesn’t get TOO hot.
We’ll see how the gym schedule works out! It looks good on paper.
How fun to go to the gym with Paul. Where did he learn all of this? I was a band/choir/speech geek so did not learn strength training until an adult. I assume your son was not in sports since he’s a band geek like me (but way more talented!!!). I do not work out like your son. I haven’t really worked out with Phil before. I bet he works out more similar to Paul, though. I did make Phil come to a yoga sculpt class with me at core power yoga when I had a free pass. It’s like yoga boot camp with strength training and cardio and a little yoga. He STRUGGLED!! He had a really hard time with the squats actually!
I finally had a solid week of workouts. I ran twice and did 2 strength training workouts. And I shoved a lot of heavy snow!! My runs are only 3 miles but this is not peak running season for us with all the snow, ice and cold temps. I think the best month of weather for us is September. It can still be warm and sunny but it’s not very humid and we have cool mornings!! February is usually my least favorite month. I’m usually so sick of snow and cold, but we still have a good 2 months of that crap left! I am glad you are finally having nice weather for running!!
My son has only recently started working out- yes, he’s a skinny band geek. His best friend/roommate taught him a lot of this, plus he said he picked some of it up from Youtube, and some of it just from being in the gym a lot. He’s a good teacher!
I’m glad you had a good week of workouts. I know it was warmer than usual up north for this time of year. I’m sure that helped!
I forgot to mention that I am so glad the party went well! You gotta love nerdy band kids. I am biased since I was a band kid but for whatever reason, extracurriculars like that seem to attract such nice kids. I mean there are nice kids in things like sports, too, but the band kids seem especially nice. Probably because they aren’t really at the top of the ‘food chain’ in school (at least that was the case in my tiny town).
The weather has been really nice here! I think it might get into the upper 30s next weekend. Which is tropical for January by Midwest standards!!!
Yes, I was a nerdy band kid and so were all my friends in high school- so i feel comfortable with these kids!
Glad to hear the party went well and everybody had fun! How great to be able to workout with your son. Enjoy that gorgeous weather. You know how gloomy it is here and it is soul sucking! January for sure one of my least fave months. June here is beautiful. so is October.
Oh yes- I know all too well how gloomy it is.
I wish my son could come to the gym with me all the time- I think I would get stronger much faster!
Sounds like you got some interesting insights from your son. I’m really interested in hearing how your strength training goes moving forward.
Yay for the party going well!
My favorite months are May and October.
Yes, I can see how May and October would be really nice where you are!
September is usually my favourite month. It’s warm during the day, but we have cool mornings and evenings. It’s PERFECT for exercise. Plus, I love how beautiful things look at this time of the year AND we’re getting back into school routines which always comes as a relief after the chaos of summer break.
January and February are definitely my two least-favourite months. They’re dark. They’re cold. They’re icy. Sigh. They’re the punishment for having such gorgeous weather from August-October.
Yay! I’m so glad the party went well. Painting rocks, pizza, a trampoline – gosh, that sounds like so much fun for any age group. And it’s always a great sign when kids want to stay longer than the planned-upon time frame. Gold star to you, Jenny!
Thank you, Elisabeth! I’ll take that gold star. And I hope I remember this next time I have to host a party.
I’m sure September is an incredible month for you. I would add one thing- there’s the anticipation of the holidays coming up. It starts in September!
Glad the party went well! Your son is right about having the upper arm still, but machines — I definitely think free weights are better. Then it’s all you!
We have been having an amazingly mild January so far — I seem to recall we had that last year, too, and then February struck like it usually does, LOL!
Yes, it seems like it’s been really warm up there! Everyone’s posting running pictures in shorts! I would imagine you’re in for some… cooler… weather soon.
Yay for beautiful weather and YAY for a successful birthday party! They are so wonderful once they are in the rear view mirror. 🙂
I love that you finally got to the gym with your son. Congrats! This made me snort laugh: “Strangely, my fitness goals have never included “have broader shoulders.””
Yes, see what I mean when I say my son’s and my fitness goals are different?
Nice job getting in a gym day with your son!! Sounds like fun. Good luck with the 15 miler and enjoy the miles and nice weather. It’s winter and cold here — I can’t wait until it’s nice again!
When it gets nice for you, it will start getting really hot for us. So I’m in no hurry for winter to be over!
The not moving your upper arms is why I’m still doing them with five pounds! Argh. I thought I would be stronger by now. (I am stronger. My push-up game has gotten a lot better.) I’m so glad the weather has improved for you and I promise not be cursing your name when I’m walking the dog in twenty degree weather tonight!
What that picture doesn’t show is that I had to go down to 5 pounds in order to not move my upper arms! I finally “graduated” to 10 pounds for the last set- but I think I moved my arms a little. Who knew bicep curls were so hard?
I’m so happy you daughter had a fun birthday party! See, all that stress for nothing! 😀
Yay for your terrific January weather! To answer your question, I need two months – late September into early October is my favorite weather here in Virginia because it’s warm, but not too warm and the humidity is very low. I’m happiest, though, in April because of the spring flowers and anticipation of summer.
It seems pretty obvious to me that you and your son would have different strength goals – is the scheduling about the fact that if you go to the gym together, you want to do the same kinds of workouts together (so you’re in the same workout area)?
I am so glad you’re enjoying the weather. It’s terrible here right now (you might have heard about the bomb cyclone(s) that are hitting Northern California. January is definitely NOT my favorite month for running – I’d say it’s September/October, when the summer heat goes away and the days are still kinda long-ish.
He’s used to going to the gym with a buddy and literally doing the same workout- like alternating sets on the same machine. But he’s going back to school next week so I’ll be on my own again, which is probably good.
Yes, I heard about your bomb cyclone! I didn’t realize it got that bad there. But I guess you are pretty far north.
I always toy with the idea of going to OTF on New Year’s Day but then always opt to either do an outdoor run or a workout at home, lol. Snce I’m usually up tunil 1 or 2 am on NYE, it just makes sense to do an at home workout.
So happy that your daughter had such a fun birthday party 🙂
Yes, I don’t know what we were thinking. Although I was curious to see what the gym would be like on New Year’s Day- full of people getting started with their resolutions? or empty because everyone opted to stay home. I guess I’ll never know.
When you mentioned that ‘band kids are nice and slightly nerdy’ I had to smile a little. That seems to be true over here, too. This is the one thing that keeps me hopeful for high school since it seems like all of my daughters close friends are choosing private school. She wants to continue with band so I am hoping she will find some nice new friends she can hang out with.
I am not sure which month my favorite is but it definitely not January. It has been raining so much this year in California and I even don’t know how I ever made it through German winters since I start to get really annoyed.
Yes, make sure your daughter stays in band!!! She’ll make lots of nice friends and do all sorts of fun activities. Nest year our high school band is going to ROME.
OMG, I wouldn’t know what to do at the gym. That is why I don’t go. Or maybe I need someone like your son to go with me. 🙂
Actually, having my son go with me was SO HELPFUL. I agree- it can be intimidating when you’re just starting.