Workout Wednesday 02/02

My weekly workout:

Thursday: 75 min on treadmill at 3.5mph - 4.25 miles
40 min walk with the kids - 1.75 miles

Friday: DAY OFF!

Saturday: 85 min on treadmill at 3.5mph - 5 miles

Sunday: 85 min on treadmill at 3.5mph - 5 miles
5 min weight training

Monday: 75 min on treadmill at 3.5mph - 4.5 miles
35 min walk with the kids - 1.7 miles

Tuesday: 75 min on treadmill at 3.5mph - 4.5 miles
35 min walk with the kids - 1.7 miles

Wednesday: 60 min on treadmill at 3.5mph- 3.5 miles
5 min weight training

Total time: 8.92 hours
Total miles: 31.9 miles

On Saturday and Sunday I felt amazing - I could have kept going and going. I was so proud to complete 5 miles! I keep encouraging myself to do more and more... but the reality is I should be taking it a little easy, especially as I'm just getting started and used to a routine. This is my third complete week of exercising and I really feel like it's helping with my mood swings.

I finally incorporated my weight resistance/training to my workout. I'm starting out slow with the weights because I don't want to overdo it and hurt something. I did the Dumbbell Squats I posted on last week's Workout Wednesday and the Bicep curls from the week before that. I also did Chest Flys - which is this week's focus...

Chest Flys
Courtesy of ABC of Fitness.com

The chest is made up of pectoral muscles - major and minor. The pectoralis major covers the front of the upper chest and is attached to the upper arm. This muscle is responsible for major arm movements such as flexion, rotation, and adduction towards the body.

Strengthen your pectoral muscles by doing exercises that target those muscles. The Fly is one of those exercises. When performing the Fly, don't bring the dumbbells down in such a way that your elbows are much below shoulder level. Keep the same angle of your arms through the whole movement.

To prepare your muscles and reduce the risk of injury, make sure to do some warm-up exercises before doing the Fly, or any type of exercise for that matter. Learn how to do the Fly in this section:

STEP 1: Lie on the bench, with your arms and weights extended to your side and your elbows slightly bent.

STEP 2: Move your hands above your chest. Then extend your arms out to the side. Alternately open them and bring them together above your chest.

The number of repetitions (reps) and sets you should do will depend on both your strength and skill level. It is important to use weight that is heavy enough to perform the desired number of reps and sets for your skill level while using good form. Try to increase the weight you lift by 5 - 10% as you increase your Fitness level. Depending on your Fitness goals, you may maintain certain weight and reps rather than increase them to build more strength or muscle.