Dumbells that Make my Butt Ache

In my effort to lift heavy things three times a week (as recommended by the Primal Blueprint), yesterday was a leg-day and I LOVE leg-day.  I think it's the girl in me that really wants a nice tush, and I also feel that I get more for my money if I work out my bigger muscle groups.

I'm really sore... and it's only the day after (I find that the soreness reaches its pique after two days).  I like the feeling of having put my body through a good workout, but I had to ask Grok to give me a butt massage this morning (dirty minds!).

In my gym, I have minimal equipment but does the trick for my routine.  I have my giant elliptical machine that has an incline and resistance option (I call her Ellie, and as the second machine I've owned I treated myself to a gym-quality product).  I have a flat-bench that raises to an incline, and it has that piece on the end that I can do my isolated bicep or hammer curls on.  I have a series of workout DVD's that entertain me and keep me moving depending on what my mood desires (think yoga, plyometrics or lifting).  In addition, I have a thigh-toner and two stretch bands that really help with my back work, a yoga mat, a giant workout ball and 10lb wraps. Last but certainly not leaqst, the best workout piece own is: My PowerBlock dumbells (note that other than the loose dumbells you'd get in a gym, I haven't bought or tried anything else).


PowerBlock.com

  I love these dumbells!  They look a little bulky but they don't really get in the way of any of the exercises or routines that I've been trying out.  They go up to 50lbs with the option of 2.5lb increments.  However (and this is a big HOWEVER), I'm a girl and not as strong as Grok.  So the only downside I find is the fact that there is a gap between 10lbs and 15lbs.  When I'm working on my curls, 10lb is too little and 15lb is too much until I get a little stronger.

I'm sure that in the future I'll want to grow my gym.  For now, all of this works great and I'm super happy.

Here was my workout, three sets of each:

 



Ambro


• Squats (12 reps of 35lbs each dumbell)
• Sumo squats (12 reps of one 45lb dumbell)
• Lunges (12 reps of 25lbs each dumbell, each leg)
• Stiff-legged deadlifts (12 reps of 25lbs each dumbell)
• Inner leg lifts (I used 10lb wraps)
• Bouncing calf raises on the edge of a step (20 reps of one 25lb dumbell, each side)

Happy training!