WOO WOO you go girl!

Awesome jan!! Don't let the monkeys (what my wife and I call the huge gym rats) intimidate you. Some are really nice and are happy to help and show you new exercises.

Keep it up!!!

Wow, jan! That's fantastic!

We joined a gym over the weekend, because it's just getting too hot to run outside (that said, I ran outside last night, stupidly. Not doing that again this summer.) I have always just done my own thing at gyms, but this time I'm getting an evaluation and a program written for me, sometime next week. I'm really excited about it.

But my goal of running a 10 km by the end of August isn't going to happen. I can only add mileage very very slowly (I know my body, and I know its limits very well) and I'm only up to running 4.5 miles with any amount of ease.

Nicely done. I'm hoping to get back in the "gym head" again. Mrs Slack and I renewed our gym memberships in February, but we've only been there a few times since then. I'm in a rut and I know that working out will help snap out of it. Worse case scenario, I'll just end up healthier. Congrats and keep it up. Hopefully seeing some other success stories will be enough to get me off my ass (literally) and into the gym at least a few days a week.

"...I've been weight training, although not as much as I thought I would do on my 'office' days. ..."

The great thing about training the body, is that, inevitably, the body then also trains the mind. You learn what you are capable of at this time, and you learn in muscle memory that by plan and work, you can change those capabilities, within limits.

Good on you for not only exercising your muscles, but your determination, essexjan.

holy shit, 10 pounds in three weeks is great! Well done :)

10 pounds?! Damn, that's good. I don't think I ever managed that when I was on my massive weight loss mission. Congrats.

That's wonderful, Jan. I wish I had that kind of motivation (as I've said before, my arse is made of creme). Weights are great. I took weight training in high school (one of three girls in the class... which can have its advantages : ). I used to take Tae Kwon Do, which was great exercise, not to mention handy in a fight. ; ) I also love tennis, and am a decent intermediate player, but sadly have absolutely no one to play with. : ( Lately, I'm just trying to eat better and maybe go for walks. Course, it's been so hot, and the couch is so comfy...

Seriously, though, good for you... we won't hardly recognize you in October (course, you were already absolutely adorable, so...)

*applause*

whooooooo!!!!!

And what paulsc said is very true: the more you do this, the more you develop a feel for what your body is capable of at any given workout.

I ended tonight's workout with an exercise called the Turkish Get-Up (youtube link -- sfw) and I was convinced that I could do five reps for each side with the weight I was using.

My body disagreed. When I lay down with the dumbbell, the number three started to flash through my head. I listened to my body and limited the reps to three.

So . . . tonight's workout:

One set of old-school back squats 170 lbs x 10 reps

One set of five pull-ups. I was aiming for seven but didn't make it. So I did five jumping pull-ups after that. My body told me that that was a good place to stop. I listened to my body and moved on to the next exercise.

One warm-up set of stiff-legged deadlifts 135 lbs x 5 reps, followed by one work set at 215 lbs x 5 reps.

I skipped my usual shrugs because I have a pulled muscle in my neck and I didn't want to exacerbate the problem.

Did some smith machine bench presses. I would have preferred to have done them in the power rack but a bunch of guys were using it.

(160 pounds x 5 reps x 3 sets)

Finished with the Turkish Get-Ups. 35 pound dumbbell held aloft for three reps each side.

My short-term goal is to be able to do the set/rep scheme I'm doing now with 225 pounds in the bench, deadlift and squat. "Four Big Wheels (45 lb weights)(plus a 45 pound bar) in the Three Big Lifts" is the slogan I use to motivate myself.

I want to branch out more eventually, do things like CrossFit, swimming, sprinting, parkour, etc. The fun stuff. But I want to build up a base of strength first so I'm gonna focus on the weights through at least the end of the year.

Yay Jan! I'm so glad you've seen results so soon! Build the habit and rock on!