Weight Lifting Update

So I did my usual and forgot that I was updating this with weight lifting information. Aw well.

I'm doing well. I had a brief time (during my birthday month) where I stopped eating well and working out, but I'm back on track now. Cheers!

BMI: 20.8
Body Fat: 21%

Happy days. My goals are:

BMI: 19.4
Body Fat: 20%

So I don't have that far to go!
______

I'm loving the new book, really helps me plan some fun workouts. I don't get bored doing them. B (boyfriend) decided to work out as well and has been challenging me to lift with heavier weights. I was totally underestimating myself as far as pounds-I-can-lift goes. Today I did one awesome work out with a barbell (45 lbs) lifted over my shoulders stepping one leg onto a fairly high bench, balancing, then stepping down. I felt like a badass!

If you are new to weight lifting, definitely tone it down a bit on the weights. I started with no weights, moved up to 3 lbs and still have to do light weight on some exercises. You don't want to hurt yourself or overextend something.

Speaking of injuries, just the other day I was doing box jumps. It was my first day at the gym with new shoes. I didn't consider that I may need to jump slightly differently with my new shoes (which are fatter and longer then my previous shoes). I caught the edge of the shoes when I jumped and nearly fell. I did catch myself, but I sure hurt my ankle! It's better now, but injuries happen to beginner, intermediate and advanced lifters. So, choose your exercises carefully, make sure you reference the exercise with a trainer or a how to video/book and make sure you are completing the exercise in good form.

New Rules of Lifting-Supercharged...for me!

So I am very excited today. I have been working with a personal trainer for almost three months. The trainer has really helped me meet a lot of my fitness goals. Check out Leah's program here: http://www.facebook.com/bephyt?fref=ts.

I am excited about that, but also what i purchased today. My time with my personal trainer will end this month, so I need to learn more about putting together good programs for myself. I purchased this book: http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/nrol-supercharged  to help me learn more about lifting. I really feel that lifting versus total cardio is the way to go. While I may be able to burn 300-500 calories on the treadmill or elliptical, the calories burned during strength training are also building more muscle. This leads to a more toned body (Sofia, 2011). Strength training burns calories for more time throughout the day versus just during the exercise (Plosser, 2012). You need to balance cardio and strength training to blast away the fat on top of the muscles you are building!


I am super excited to start the lifting programs outlined in the book. I am going to update my process here!

Starting measurements:
Body Fat: 23%
BMI: 21.1

References:

Sofia, V. (2001). Should I be doing cardio or lifting weights? http://life.gaiam.com/article/should-i-be-doing-cardio-or-lifting-weights.

Plosser, L. (2012). Cardio vs Strength Training workouts. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts

Here we go again (the beginning of a new series)

My first blog post of the new year, congrats to me. Happy New Year to the general internet public. Hope it's going well so far. My new blog goal for the next few months is to inform everyone of my thoughts on the purpose of higher education. If you read the cute little "about me" post somewhere to the right side of your screen, you will see that I am currently studying higher education. I am also very interested in education. Therefore, my interest in the purpose of this institution. Spurred by a short writing assignment in my new class (The History and Philosophy of Higher Education through the graduate program at Montana State University). So, I want to explore this topic in a short series over the next few months.

My questions/thoughts revolve around:

• What is my personal philosophy or purpose of higher education?
• What's the who, when, why and where of higher education in the U.S
• Are there multiple purposes of higher education (yes), if so, what are they? Who do these purposes actually serve?
• Has the purpose changed over time? What was the purpose when higher education institutions were first formed versus now?

I am sure I will think of more in the future. For now, what are your thoughts? What is the purpose of higher education in the U.S? If you truly begin to consider this question, you will see that the answer may be more complicated than one would first think!

Cheers and see you soon,

L