This has been a roller coaster week. It started very dark with doom and gloom because of world events, but ended with some important awesomeness for me personally. Read on for details.
Fitness-wise? I’ve had some good, strong gym sessions, done some rowing and been out for my first long walk since September.
Photo-wise? Not great, because of gloomy weather and busy-ness. I took a few during my Saturday morning walk.
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!
Monday – gym
I continue my “foot strength project” with the routine of heel raises, doming and other foot exercises in the morning before going to the gym.
Today’s gym session was really good. I’m so happy to be back to (almost) my form of last summer.
3 sets x 12 reps
- Sumo squats, barbell 50 kgs
- Hexbar deadlifts, 53 kgs
- Inclined chest press, 12,5 kg dumbbells
- Flyes, 8 kg dumbbells
- Dumbbell row, 15 kgs
- Good mornings, barbell 30 kgs
- Shoulder press, barbell 15 kgs
- Cuban press, 4 kg dumbbells
I really enjoyed these sumo squats! I felt strong and stable. Likewise with the deadlifts, and today’s shoulder presses felt like my most successful yet in this rep range. The Cuban press straight after though… much less successful but definitely needed!
Tuesday – rowing
I started the day with toe extensions and foot mobility exercises.
The weather was terrible. I got on to the rowing machine for a 16 minute session… I keep the rowing sessions short for now to learn what my body can handle and will then ramp it up as I see fit.
Wednesday – gym
Another morning session with heel raises, doming and more for my feet and ankles, as well as the single leg stand.
In the late afternoon it was gym time. My sleep had been very poor so I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to perform but it became a very good, oomphy session.
3 sets x 12 reps
- Lunges, barbell 30 kgs
- Deadlifts, barbell 50 kgs
- Straight arm pullovers, 8 kg dumbbells
- Barbell row, 30 kgs
- Renegade row, 8 kg dumbbells
- Chest press, barbell 35 kgs
- Upright row, barbell 20 kgs
- Forward raise, 6 kg dumbbells
With these sets of deadlifts I finally started feeling that my form is much closer to what it should be. I was very happy with the first 2,5 sets and only started to fail with the very last 3-4 reps. The lunges worked well too and now after a few occasions of quite stable lunges I dare to say I’m finally making progress with them.
Thursday – walking, and good news
This was not the typical day. I had planned a walk, since the weather was supposed to be decent. But on Wednesday they called me from the clinic in Cork and offered me an appointment for a DEXA scan, and I had been waiting for this since before Christmas so it was high on my priority list to get done asap. Of course I didn’t say no even if it was with very short notice.
Killing time before and after the scan to fit the bus times means strolling in the city, so at least I got my walking done, perhaps 9k in total. It was very windy and quite cold despite 12-13 degrees. Even if I had the camera with me I didn’t even take it out of the bag.
Now to the interesting part.
If you’re new here, you can read my osteoporosis story here. And in case you didn’t know, a DEXA scan is a type of x-ray to check bone density. I expected to have to wait at least a week for the result because for most scans it takes way too long.
During the bus ride home I didn’t check my e-mails and then we went to join the slow music session in town. When we came home, at 9.30 pm, I opened my phone and found an e-mail from my GP with the DEXA result.
My bone density has increased with 7-7,8%.
This means I’m now in osteopenia range. My lower back had close to normal scores. My left hip is still the lowest and still too low for my liking, but at least it’s not osteoporosis anymore.
I’ve been on medication to slow bone loss, but of course my heavy strength training and changes in nutrition must have played an important role.
I’m a strong promoter of not relying on motivation to get things done (such as training), but this news was a HUGE motivator to keep up the good work, and knowing my bones are stronger will help me lift with more confidence.
Who will join me to celebrate??!
Friday – gym
I absolutely could not wait to tell my trainer about the DEXA result. I wanted to buy him a beer. Haha!
I did a good celebratory lifting session.
3 sets x 12 reps
- Bulgarian split squats, barbell 30 kgs
- Sumo deadlifts, barbell 50 kgs
- Dumbbell row, 15 kgs
- Inclined flyes, 8 kg dumbbells
- Straight arm pullovers, barbell 17,5 kgs
- Bench press, 12,5 kg dumbbells
- Lateral raise, 7 kg dumbbells
- Shoulder press, 6 kg dumbbells
I can’t say I’m confident with the Bulgarians, but recently I’ve done them without any big problems. I stay with my strategy – stand on one leg a few seconds until I get stability, then place the back foot on the bench, and quickly start squatting before my brain starts spinning. I lost balance after a few reps on the left leg but quickly got back to it.
The sumo followed the same pattern as the regular deadlift on Wednesday, I felt much better with my form than I used to.
Saturday – some decent walking!
Finally time for some walking! I walked much further than I should have, considering I had new shoes. But I couldn’t help myself. It was sunny, 12 degrees (53F) and almost no wind. I walked down the lane and then turned left on to a smaller country road, one of those I call a “cow road”. It becomes very narrow and rough after a while and then leads to a bigger road where you can turn right to go back towards home.
This loop is 9,2 km and my feet were VERY sore when I turned back with 2-3 km still to go. I also encountered two rain showers, one of them a bit too heavy for my liking, since the weather forecast had said nothing about rain. I hadn’t brought a camera bag and had to hide the camera under my jacket.
But besides the showers, what a lovely day for a walk!
After the second rain shower, I stopped to take a photo of the mist over the fields behind a stone wall. While I adjusted my camera settings, the mist cleared and instead this fabulous rainbow appeared. I didn’t notice until I came home and saw it in my computer that it was a double rainbow!
We had a music gathering at my neighbour’s house on Saturday night. It was fabulous! We had a few drinks and played music. Simple as that! She had invited some friends and they were very appreciative about our music. One of them was an excellent singer, and my neighbour sang a few songs too. We had a great time and got some new inspiration. In addition, there MAY be another regular music session opportunity coming up, in another pub on the other side of town. We’ll see what happens.
Sunday – rest
The music night ended at 1.30 am… so today has been about resting, reading, writing and doing some photo editing and sorting of old photos.
Next week should be a completely regular week. We’ll see about that!
I hope you’re doing well and made the most of your week.
Thanks Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly rundown link-up!
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