Halfway done with Week 3! Today included Shoulders & Arms as well as Ab Ripper X. I decided that I was ready to increase my weights, and I am so glad I did. I used my new 10 lb weights for all curls, presses, and rows. I decreased my reps from 12 to 10. I stayed with 5 lb weights and 12 reps for tricep exercises. I just wanted the maximum weight I could lift while keeping good form; for triceps exercises, it's harder for me to keep that form, so I kept it light with more reps. Maybe some day I'll adjust those triceps kickbacks to 10 reps at 8 lb.
Tony's suggestion is:
If you want toned muscle, do 12-15 reps at a lower weight.
If you want big muscle, do 8-10 at your maximum weight.
I definitely felt the burn more with my new 10 lb weights. I had a hard time with my last few sets of curls, although I wasn't barely eeking them out. Maybe I need a set of 12 lb weights? Scary! I am definitely seeing a physical difference - I can see some definition in my triceps (definitely never had that before) and more size in my shoulders and biceps. Hehe, I like it.
Ab Ripper is still torture, and I'm sure it always will be. I don't even do the full 25 reps of each exercise. I do 20 and then stretch and breath while Tony does the last 5. The problem isn't that it's too hard, it's that I'm too tired! I honestly feel that if I took 3 days off, and then did Ab RipperX, I could do it all. Lol, but I guess that's the whole point. For Phase 1, which ends next week, I'm going to stick with that 20 reps. I want to gradually work my way up. Here are my Ab Ripper X goals:
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4): 20 reps
Phase 2 (Weeks 5-8): 22-23 reps
Phase 3 (Weeks 9-13): 24-25 reps
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