It’s Sunday and I’m back to the weekly fitness wrap-up. I never got going with any writing last week and on the weekend I was too busy enjoying the fabulous weather to go inside to write! This is Ireland, the land of unstable weather, so when we have summer-like weather I prioritise being outside, in the garden or elsewhere.
Last week I enjoyed some good walks and decent workouts in the gym. On the Friday evening we both went to the local fun run where I walked the 5k and my husband ran the 10k, and we both did PBs. Some people would laugh about it but I’m strongly convinced that walking is a good form of exercise depending on HOW you walk and that you can (and should) challenge yourself and do PBs with it!
This year I had decided I wanted to do it faster than an hour. When I checked my watch, my speed wasn’t really where I wanted it to be, but during the last 2 km I ramped up a bit and made it in 54 minutes, and my husband did his 10k in 55 minutes. It was a lovely evening, I enjoyed that fast walk and decided to do speedy walks like this more frequently.
In these posts I join a weekly link-up to share my weekly fitness routine and the ups and downs during the week with barbells, walking shoes or else. This is good for accountability, for my own documentation, the fitness/running blogger community is lovely, and I hope these posts might inspire someone to start lifting weights and generally getting more active. I usually also add in some bits from everyday life as well as some photos. Let’s get into it!
This has been an unusual week because my husband has been away for work. While he had like 8 degrees (46F) and rain in Sweden, here at home I continued having some fantastic summer weather. Still, most of my activity has been about lifting weights, doing hip exercises at home or small things in the garden. It’s a bit weird that I didn’t go walking more – it’s like when the weather is so good, I want to stay in my garden! Lately my calves have been very tight and upset too so a bit of rest between the gym sessions has probably been good, but obviously if I want to be fit for long walks in Italy later this year I need to get back on the road.
In the meantime, let’s talk about how this week went in the gym and elsewhere.
Monday – gym
I got some work done and then went to the gym.
4 sets x 10 reps
- Hexbar deadlifts, 48 kgs
- Reverse lunges, barbell 30 kg
- Bench press, barbell 35 kgs
- Renegade row, 9 kg dumbbells
- Good mornings, barbell 30 kgs
- Straight arm pullovers, one 17,5 kg dumbbell
- Bent-over lateral raise, 6 kg dumbbell
- Shoulder press, barbell 15 kgs
It was a solid workout as usual, my new nemesis the Renegade rows went ok compared to most times in recent weeks, and the barbell shoulder press is getting better! I managed to do full sets today, although with a few partial reps at the end of the last two sets.
I miss the heavier weights and my body needs to get back to them asap, but my body also needs the troublesome parts to continue settling down. Last week I got a quick trigger point treatment on my left arm, and after that it seems to be improving. My lower back muscle is fairly quiet too so I guess better times may be coming.
Tuesday – work and body TLC
I got into the flow with work so I decided to keep going with that, but I did my piriformis exercises.
Wednesday – gym
The weather was unreal! Some days have been cooler because of the wind but today, despite a stronger wind, it was warm and very pleasant outside, so I took some time to do a few jobs in the garden.
In the afternoon I enjoyed a good gym session.
4 sets x 10 reps
- Split squats, barbell 40 kgs
- Deadlifts, barbell 35 kgs
- Dumbbell row, 17,5 kgs
- Parachutes
- Flyes, 8 kg dumbbells
- Inclined bench press, 12,5 kg dumbbells
- Shoulder shrugs, 10 kg dumbbells
- Forward raise, 6 kg dumbbells
I love split squats. I’m generally a big fan of single leg exercises to work on imbalances, and split squats are quite easy technique-wise, so you can load a decent weight – which I totally embrace right now! The deadlifts were very light for me, for good reason because of the right glute/lower back issue, but at least I got some blood flow through the muscles. Today everything felt good and I hope we can start working our way back to the heavier weights soon.
After training I enjoyed some time in the garden with the camera. My rockery looks exactly as I wanted it – the campanulas and catmints are in bloom now and it’s all gorgeous.
I used the macro lens, although not for any proper macro photography. There was no wind so I should have tried a bit harder! Next time.
Thursday – a walk on the beach
I went to a beach with my photographer friend. It was a fantastic day! I hadn’t really been to that particular beach before other than passing by. It’s part of an area that is popular among wind surfers and it’s quite busy in the summer. Today wasn’t too bad and the beach is quite large so despite the good weather (and that it was on a Thursday perhaps) it wasn’t crowded.
We kept to one side of the beach where there are some very pretty rock formations with lovely textures in various colours.
We had mixed sunshine with some clouds at times (as you can see on the photo above), and a very pleasant temperature. After a good photoshoot we then went for a walk to the other side of the beach and back. To make up for my lack of movement (other than lifting) this week, walking in sand is quite a decent exercise!
Friday – gym
It was an odd morning with very warm weather quite early on, and almost no wind. I spent some time in the garden with my camera after breakfast.
I’m taking all the opportunities I can get to play with the macro lens, and photos like this above are so much fun. When/if we get back some not-so-windy weather I’ll do more.
My back felt awkward during the morning so I spent some time doing all my recommended piriformis exercises with hip rotations, piriformis glute bridge & stretch and I did some movements for my triceps too. After lunch I felt much better, and it was time to hit the gym.
4 sets x 10 reps
- Sumo squats, barbell 50 kgs
- Lunges, barbell 35 kgs
- Push-ups
- Flyes, 8 kg dumbbells
- Barbell row, 30 kgs
- Straight arm pullovers, 9 kg dumbbells
- Shoulder press, 6 kg dumbbells
- Upright row, barbell 22,5 kgs
I really enjoyed this session. The sumo squats felt great, and I continue to be very grateful for my progress with lunges which used to be very troublesome (for balance more than anything else). As I mentioned earlier I miss the heavier weights but with 4 sets of 10 reps, I get a decent load and the breaks between sets need to be fairly short too. I needed to push myself quite a bit with some exercises, particularly the pullovers and then the upright row where we’ve increased the weight a while ago.
Saturday
Today the weather got worse, with wind and rain. It was quite warm and perhaps I should have gone for a walk but didn’t because it was supposed to start raining quite early (which then it didn’t). I had a day of some good music practice and I’m happy to say that my previously suffering arm is doing quite well and it didn’t bother me at all while playing the guitar.
I tried some deadhangs! The last time I tried I was just back from the gym so I wasn’t in great form for it after shoulder presses and whatnot, and lately I’ve hesitated because of that tricep. Now it worked – but not for long. My shoulder and upper back strength probably need more work to do this but it’s good to check my capability for it now and then. Pull-ups are lurking in the back of my head, but I’m definitely not there yet.
Sunday – walking, 3,86 km
I expected some rough weather, but when I looked out it was sunny and didn’t seem too windy. I went out for a walk. After a few 100 m I nearly turned back because it was so cold! But when the clouds disappeared it got much warmer so I went ahead towards the sea. About halfway some very dark eerie clouds started accumulating and I eventually decided to turn back just in case.
I promise you that this photo is only very minimally processed, and I haven’t even touched the sky.
It started drizzling on the way back but ironically when I came home it was sunny and nice again. At least I got to walk a bit!
Next week should be very normal and I hope to do more walking, although the weather forecast looks nasty for the next few days. Otherwise we’re starting to prep for our trip to Sweden and the 2025 edition of my husband’s crazy cycling event. If you’re into cycling, interested in visiting Sweden and like a good challenge, you should try this.
Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly rundown link-up!
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