Readers’ Workouts — November 13

Welcome to Readers’ Workouts, our weekly gathering of bookish folks doing active things. How was exercise for you in the past week? What are your plans for the coming week? Link your post below or tell your story in the comments. Don’t forget to visit the links to offer encouragement and support to other participants!

I’ve been pleased with how I’m doing with Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. When I first started incorporating strength training in my workout, about three years ago, I was extremely cautious. Every time I’ve attempted anything with weights in the past, I’ve managed to pull a muscle or wrench a joint and quit before I really began. But the experts say there are many benefits from strength-training, especially for boosted metabolism and bone development to prevent osteoporosis. Mostly, though, I just wanted to quit getting injured while doing yard work.

I started with 10-Minute Solution: Target Toning for Beginners. It’s available through Netflix streaming or, currently, less than 6 bucks from Amazon. At first, I used 1-pound weights — cute little pink ones. I bought the purple 2-pound weights at the same time and graduated to them a few weeks later.

Over the years, I’ve added a few other DVDs with a strength-training element including Slim in 6 and 30 Day Shred. Slim in 6 uses a resistance band and that helped me make a leap forward in my strength-training. So, when I tried 30 Day Shred this month, I combined the 1 and 2-pound weights for 3 pounds (I have big hands). That worked for everything but the shoulder presses and anterior raises – for those, part way through, I dropped the 1-pound weight and did them with 2 pounds. For the last three workouts, though, I’ve been able to do all reps with 3 pounds. I’m thrilled!

The next challenge: Level 2 of 30 Day Shred.

I’m on track for exercising 1600 minutes this month and for doing 30 Day Shred 15 times. How is your exercise going?