Great Spin class tonight

Cardio night and one of the best instructors had a late class so of course I went, after an unusually carb-filled dinner of potato chips and Ramen noodles. Hey, nobody's perfect. It was good, challenging and music that went with our tempo, so important in a class. Oly lifting tomorrow, cardio Weds, off exercise Thurs, then power-lifting training Friday.

Building strength back up

Still working on getting back to pre-ski month strength levels and beyond. I chose the more difficult elliptical for the warm-up as I had a shorter amount of time to work out then usual. !2 minutes on that, 15 back extensions, then squats starting with the bar, increasing weight ten pounds at a time up to 65 lbs. I did three sets of five at 65, then back down in weight by ten pounds each. Bench press to 65 pounds, incline press at 55 lbs, then another set of back extensions (I love the way those target my glutes and thighs.) Deadlifts up to 125 lbs, I vow to be back to 135 in the next week. No soreness after this workout, except some lingering Spinners-butt from Thursday. Tomorrow is cardio-only day, then Monday is Oly day. Front squats, overhead presses and power cleans.
In other news, my kitchen drain sounds like a monster breathing and it is freaking me out.

Back to the blogosphere

Got home Friday from three weeks of ski lessons and skiing in a small resort. That was the best vacation I have had yet! Trying to stay alive on skis while going as fast as is fun was challenging, never a dull moment. Last year was the first time I had skiied other then a one day bad experience at 17 years old. Possibly due to the years of inline skating I have had since, this past time was surprisingly great. Many of the movements are similiar to skating and I love the flying sensation. However, after each day of skiing last year my whole body felt sore and beat up, requiring a couple of days to recover.
This time, after four months of lifting, was a different story. I skied day after day without muscle weakness or soreness. Mentally I would become exhausted after a point, usually four or five hours, but my body was conditioned for the movement and lifting involved. I started as an okay beginner and am now a strong intermediate skier- but not stopping there. Next year is round two and I vow to come home having successfully completed black diamond runs.

Giving that, its back to the gym time! Had my comeback session last night. There was some loss of strength as expected and I am going to bring it all back and twice as much. Last night did four sets of bar squats w/ eight reps, two sets at 55 lbs 4 reps each. Doesn't sound like much but my quads were feeling it during the latter part of the workout already. Same thing with benching, two sets with the bar, three sets of 6 reps with 55 lbs. Deadlift was a warmup set of 95 lbs, then two four rep sets at 115. I warmed up for the whole thing with 20 mins on the elliptical and threw in three sets of back extensions, which I was strangely strong on.

Tonight will be Spin class, tomorrow squats, overhead press, power cleans.