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Okay so today was my first day of strength and conditioning. It's basically a class where you work out the whole time every time you're in there, if you didn't know.
Today I had to learn my workout. First, I did an "easy" dead lift. To do an easy dead lift, you take a hexagon bar, place your weights on it, ( i'm starting out with 10lbs on each side, starting out light is best) and then you stand in the middle of it with your feet shoulder width apart, then you bend over and grip the handles on either side. Drop your butt down, bending your knees, then stick it out and look straight ahead of the direction you're facing. This straightens and arcs your back out of the rounded position from bending over, which can injure it if you lift like that. Next you push your ribs and chest out/up and stand straight again. That counts as one rep, and from there on you just bend down using the same position, tap the weights on the floor and stand up again, each one counting for 1 rep. I have to do 3 sets of 8 reps with 1 to 2 minute breaks in between.
After that I did 2 sets of 16 lunges while carrying 5lbs dumbbells (again, starting light). With each set I did 8 reps per leg with a 1 minute break in between. The lunges were easy because I had to do lunge every day in past P.E. classes, and with the weights you just have to not move your arms.
The third exercise I did was horizontal pull ups. There are racks with 45lbs bars on them, and I had to lay on the floor underneath it, legs bent, then grip the bar and raise my hips to be level with my back making my torso parallel to the floor. Then I had to pull myself close to the bar at chest level. I did 4 sets of almost 20, (First set was 20, next was 17, then 19, then 18 because I got tired).
My final exercise that I got through today was dumbbell hammer curls. There I had a 5lbs dumbbell in each hand, and lifted them from down by my hips straight up almost to shoulder height but not quite because I wasn't supposed to move anything but my elbow when I did one, and I had to do them one arm then the next, not two at a time or in quick succession.
It was very tiring while I was working out, and throughout my next class but as I walked away from school to head home I realized I felt great, better than i had the rest of the week even though my backpack was heavier than it had been any other day. Working out makes me feel really good, and so I'm going to try and work out 3 days a week instead of just my scheduled 2, because not only do I want to get stronger, but I i want to feel good like that too. smile