Yesterday I went to the gym and did this barbell complex workout.  (Do NOT perform this workout if you aren’t in good condition or haven’t been trained in each of these exercises.  If you are going to try it, make the exercise substitutions suggested by my friend, Laura, on her blog.  Best idea: just read about how Laura, Julie, Jimmy and I got through it.)

Choosing the right weight for the workout was difficult.  Having recently completed Stage 7 of New Rules of Lifting for Women, I knew that I needed to pick a weight that would be  lighter than I would normally choose for any of the individual exercises. I ended up going with a 30# preweighted barbell, and I think  it was the best choice for me.

I made it through all 6 rounds.  I think it took me about 28 minutes.  Unfortunately, when I got to the gym, I couldn’t remember how to start a new session on my spanking new Polar heart rate monitor.  So I  was unable to time my workout precisely or capture any of the other fun data the watch provides.   That really stinks, because I’m sure that I burned a ton of calories and I KNOW that my heart rate got way up there.

Nausea during a tough workout is not uncommon for me.  I usually notice it when the exercises alternate between upper and lower body and are performed in a circuit fashion with little rest.   True to form, I started feeling the nausea around the second round of this workout.  It never got really bad, though, and I was able to shake it off during each rest period between rounds.  I also became aware of lactic acid building up at about the third round.

The military presses were becoming difficult for me by the end of the fourth round.  On the last two rounds I really had to work to perform all 8 reps.  That confirmed to me that choosing a heavier barbell would have been a problem.  I didn’t fatigue too much on any of the other exercises.  However, by the last round, I had to really convince my legs to cooperate when it came time for the lunges.  After that, I knew the end was in sight, and I just pushed through.  

Overall, the workout felt great.  I really love performing some of those movements, especially the Squat/Push Press.  (By the way, I did substitute a front squat/push press for that one, partly because it is an exercise I have experience with, and I didn’t want to have to think too hard when fatigued!) Explosive movements are my favorites.  I also enjoyed the fast tempo of the workout, and the simplicity of using  just one weight for an entire workout.

Doing this kind of workout periodically to gauge your fitness would be kind of fun.  I may just have to revisit this workout or a similar one in the near future.

If you decide to give this one a try,  leave me a comment below and let me know how it goes for you!

It took me some time to learn enough about weight training to make intelligent decisions about how to train myself.  Here’s my history with weight training:

1. Learning to lift and building basic strength/developing “normal” strength in my arm and wrist.  Used machines + some free weights.  Cardio consisted of treadmill running and/or walking.  This phase lasted until  around April, 2007.
2. The body building phase –  using mostly free weights, doing a 5-day body part split,  using both compound and isolation exercises.   Cardio was kick boxing classes or treadmill.  Later I learned about high intensity interval training. This phase ended in September, 2008.
3. New Rules of Lifting for Women – Following the 7 stages exactly as presented in the book by Schuler, Forsythe and Cosgrove.  I completed this program in March, 2009.  I am very proud of this achievement, as I learned so much about lifting, and I saw so much improvement in myself with this program.  For the first time in my life, I was able to do a chin up after following the progression outlined in the book.  All that WITH a shabby wrist!  My cardio training was high intensity interval training performed after weight training 3x per week.  On off days, I walked on the treadmill using a significant incline or used the Stairmill.

While I was following the program in New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROL4W) I became interested in kettlebell training, and made the decision to begin training with kettlebells after completing the New Rules program.  Kettlebell training began in March, 2009.