Hi all,
I think I have some conceptual confusion regarding weight-lifting. In some sense, I'm just not getting it. I never seem to actually make any progress with it and I rarely see results (and so I stop doing it and stick to a cardio-only regimen, which quickly ceases to engage my motivation once I reach my goal.)
Since I am so close to my goal (which I might move down to 140...not sure yet), I decided to create a new set of goals to keep me motivated and going to the gym. Gently sculpted arms and shoulders, I thought, would be just the ticket for summertime. I met with a personal trainer at my Y a couple of weeks ago, and she walked me through all the free-weight stuff I'm supposed to be doing. I've broken it down to doing arms one day, and then back and legs the next. And I do it *after* my cardio (which I know is naughty, but I really like cardio better and I fear that I won't be able to do my cardio after I work my legs.) I do 3 sets with the heaviest weight I can manage, and strive for 10-12 reps of each set.
The thing is though, that it takes me all of about 10 minutes to do my entire arm bit, and about the same to do legs and back. I have this feeling that it should be taking quite a bit more time than that, so I'm not sure what I'm missing. For my legs I just do that thing where you recline on a chair and then push the platform back and forth. And I use the little, seated machine for my hammys. I was doing the ab/adductor as well, but it hurts and I don't like it. Besides, I don't really care if my legs are sculpted or not--mostly I just want quads strong enough to spare my knees during cardio. For arms, I do 3x10 with 10lb weights on my biceps, do 3x10 with 5lb weights (I'm just starting!) for my shoulders (I do that exercise where you hold a weight in each hand and raise your arms out to the side to the level of your shoulders) and then I use this awkward contraption that allegedly works the triceps. I can't remember what she told me to do for my pecs, so I haven't been working those at all. And that's it. I do feel exhausted afterwards, and I am using the heaviest weight I can manage for 3x10 (and sometimes I crap out at 8 in the 3rd set), but I still feel as though I'm missing something, or should be doing more somehow.
My apologies for the rambling nature of my post. I suppose my problem is that I don't have a good sense of what my question is, only a nagging feeling that I'm missing something fundamental about building muscle. Does anyone have any flashes of insight here?