LOVE Pret a Manger! We have one around the corner from my office in DC and I love the half sandwich portions. Definite fave. Have so much fun!

There is a reason I only use the treadmill when I go to the gym and that reason is no one ever showed me how to use the weights and other machines and I’m too embarrassed to ask! You should have seen me trying to lower the bike seat… I did ask for help on that one though. I do want to buy 5lb weights and use them at home though. That is an awesome view! I basically just stare at the cars in the parking lot when I go to the gym! (at least I’ll know if someone hits my car though!)

I am the same in the strength training department, but its my fault. I like cardio (running, specifically) too much, so I end up slacking when it comes to strength training. I am really trying hard to incorporate it, though!

when i was training for my half strength training always fell to the waste side and i totally regret that. but just doing simple weights like you did today is always better then nothing!

I was a big basketball and field hockey player in high school. Especially in basketball is where I learned to strength train (squat press, shoulder press, lateral raises, etc). I am looking to find new ways though, since I’m graduated from college! I’m always lazy on my abs too, since they tighten up by running. But i’d love a blog challenge.

I do power yoga as strength training but feel very comfortable with weight machines because I worked with a personal trainer for about six months. I don’t feel as comfortable with free weights, though.

Caitlin~

I am loving reading about your trip, so exciting.

I used to be clueless about weights and was VERY intimidated at the gym. I started Body-for-life 5 years ago and got into lifting. I almost did a figure competition and have many friend who compete. Now I do Crossfit which adds olympic weight lifting into most workouts…I LOVE IT!

There is something so empowering about seeing your muscles when you lift AND lifting with the big boys at the gym.

Sometimes I lift more than they do..hehe OH, and NOTHING burns fat and slims you down faster than muscle!

B

I don’t know much about strength training but I need to take it up a notch. Please do a blogger challenge!

I hope you’re having a blast! I’m so jealous 🙂

As for strength training, I tend to do circuits like so:
Circuit 1:
-Some sort of squat (I switch it up every time so I’m not doing the same thing over and over again)
-Crunches on the ball
-chest flys/chest presses
-:30-:60 plank
Repeat
Circuit 2:
-Some sort of lunge
-Twisting crunches on the bosu
-Some variation of a row
-Side planks (1 on each side)
Repeat
Circuit 3:
-Calf raises
-Bicycle crunches
-Push ups

i am a total strength training junkie. =D i’m jealous you’re in london! no fair! =D
i got really into when i started learning personal training, and continued on. i started with machines in a circuit room and now i lift “with the big boys” partially because my best friends are guys who lift heavy. =D i LOVE SITUPS.

I am definitely down for blog challenge! I have been trying to tone my arms with limited success. I stick with pushups and a body sculpt class- a challenge can definitely help me take it to the next level!

i am lost in the weights area! I end up using simple moves I found on oprah’s website..YEA i’m an old lady.

Go to Borough Market if you can — the oldest food market in London will absolutely overwhelm you with all of the choices and fresh produce. Plus, lots of free samples. 😀

I’m not sure whether I’d feel safer or more nervous having to be escorted to the gym haha.

It looks like you’re having a great trip. Enjoy it!!!!!

I’m not exactly a guru, but I learned a lot about strength training by spending just a few sessions with a personal trainer. She really taught me a lot about form and about how to properly work each muscle group.

I love, love, love strength training. I learned most of what I know from Oxygen magazine and personal training sessions at the gym. When I first started working out, the trainers really helped me with form, but now that I’m more advanced, I’m able to do it on my own with ideas/suggestions from Oxygen mag. I love it!
I also highly recommend the book New Rules of Weightlifting for Women. It’s awesome, and can be used by anyone at any level. 🙂

I pretty much just play around with some free weights and I feel like I’m helping my body, but in actuality I have no idea what the heck I am doing haha.

Wow – you look like you are having an amazing time, you will be on first name terms with the workers in Pret soon LOL. I am in the UK so it is nice to read your blogs on my time as you are usually 5 or 6 hours behind the UK.

I too am keen to learn about strength training – i have just purchased P90X, which i am hoping will give me all the information that i need, i will let you know what it is like.

I have to admire you – working out on your holidays, i really am learning a lot from your blog! I hope to be as commited as you are to my diet and fitness in the new year – YOU ROCK GIRLIE! x

yay, caitlyn. take the plunge. i’ve been weight training for 2.5+ years. its the best thing i’ve ever done and has improved my running.

simple tips. work opposing muscle groups. focus on different body parts on different days. arms + chest, abs and back, legs. alternate high reps at low weight with less reps at a heavy weight. try super sets, two moves done immediately following one another with short rest between sets. torches calories. and most importantly, work with a trainer a few times. form, form, form is the most imporant part of strength training because it is easy to injure yourself. have him or her write a few programs out for you to follow and he/she should demonstrate them and walk you through each to make sure you are doing it correctly. i still can’t hold my lower back correctly for some exercises and i pay for it.

p.s. myth busters!http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/womensfitnesstopics/a/womenmyths.htm
p.p.s check out that book on kath’s blog. i’ve read it. thumbs up. the new rules of lifting for women.

I love Dan Brown, I got the new book the day it came out! I loved it!
Anyways, I really love pilates and what it does for muscles, especially the core. I like using free weights though too, it’s so easy to have a set lying around the house and just pick them up and do a set here and there. I like to do exercises that incorporate more than one muscle group, such as squats and military presses at the same time. Or lunges and bicep curls. Basic stuff…. By the way, that sammich looks soooo yummy!

Strength training is tough for me. I ignore it a lot but I’m making an effort not to forget about it. I learn a lot of moves in magazines and online.

I’ve just learned over time from others, from classes, from working with trainers…. proper form, routines, etc. Also of course magazines are great too. I do get bored easily with it at times though, so I’ve started taking kettlebell classes. They rock. Also it gets me to lift far more than I might on my own…. it is very easy for women to lift too light. I lift much more heavy now than I ever did and I’m not huge, I’m just MUCH stronger. My biceps do scare my husband just little bit though 😉 But he likes them.

Hi! New commenter (I think…?) here. I’ve gone to tons of different strength training group classes at my gym (Healthworks in Boston). Some are more structured (Body Pump) and some are different depending on the day/instructor. I figured out quickly who the best instructors are — the ones who watch what you’re doing and correct posture, answer questions, suggest modifications, etc. and stuck to those. I still much prefer to lift in class but when I lift on my own, I do exercises I learned in classes.