Workouts - Strength + Circuit

Hi everyone!

We were very excited that it was finally Thanksgiving - a long weekend!  On the Friday night, after work, we took the time for a longer leg workout.  We started off with a strength component of three exercises, with four sets of each (plus warmups).  Then, we finished with two circuits of three exercises, with a brief rest in between those circuits.  This latter part was more for metabolic conditioning and as a finishing component (i.e. we used lighter weights and had virtually no rest in between the sets in the circuit).  Here's the workout:

Strength:

1. Deadlifts (rack-pull version)
2. Front squats
3. (Front) barbell step-back lunges (i.e. holding the barbell in front, as in the front squat)

Circuit:

1. Alternating kettlebell deadlifts
2. Kettlebell swings
3. Kettlebell bulgarian split squats

It was great to incorporate some strength work at the beginning of the workout.  It was challenging, but felt great afterwards!  We've included a pic of Tannys doing the step-back lunges during the strength portion.

On Saturday morning, we did a 5km training run, in preparation for an upcoming 5km charity race we're doing in Orlando, Florida.  Post-run, we enjoyed browsing through a local farmer's market and then enjoyed a Bridgehead latte!

Sunday was a rest-day for us, although we felt somewhat guilty given our pumpkin-pie consumption...

Monday was the finale of our long weekend, so we took more time in the afternoon to do a longer workout.  It was a similar style to Friday's, with a strength portion followed by a circuit as a finisher.  We focussed on upper body:

Strength:

1. Pullups (weighted for Alex)
2. Bench press
3. Bent-over barbell rows

Circuit:

1. Kettlebell clean & press (Tannys) / Kettlebell one-arm press (Alex)
2. Alternating kettlebell rows (Tannys) / Parallel-grip pullups (Alex)
3. Pushups

The strength portion was a great challenge.  With the safety of the cage and attentive spotting for each other, we were able to push our personal limits.  Tannys did a 135lbs bench press for five reps, while Alex did a 345lbs bench press for two reps.

We've included some pics of the workout below. 

With the pumpkin pie finally gone, we're getting ready to buckle down for another week and a return to a slightly stricter diet...

- Alex & Tannys

P.s. - Following several months of being on a 3-day split (legs, chest/back, and abs/shoulders/arms), we are returning to a 2-day split (upper body, lower body), as well as beginning more of a focus on building some strength.  That is not to say that we'll stop doing circuit training, density training, tabatas, etc.  Instead, we're going to aim to have more balance in our workouts and work in more strength focus, while maintaining our conditioning work.