Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Diminishing Returns.

Sorry I've been a little MIA this past week - work was busy, life was hectic, and I was trying to squeeze in some fun.  I know, I know, you missed me, so I'm back in action!  Before I share a new little circuit training sesh, I wanted to fill you in on my experience with a new-to-me online dating-ish website...for all the singles out there!

So, everyone knows about the whole Match.com, EHarmony, standard online dating that we see beautiful, in-love couples raving about in commercials.  For those who have tried it, you likely made a profile, logged on, and realized that 95% of the people messaging you are either 1. creepy. 2. creepier. or 3. the creepiest.  I don't mean to bash online dating - it can work.  I know a few couples who met that way... but let's be serious, it can be a little sketchy and a lot awkward, and honestly it's just not for me.  Anyways, in comes a whole new world of online dating called Grouper.  It's half online dating, half meeting new friends, and all fun!  You sign up for a Grouper with 2 other friends, and the site matches you up with another group of 3 friends (from the opposite sex, duh).  Then, it picks a bar for you to meet at, and you get an email the day before filling you in with when/where to go.  It costs $20 and includes your first drink at the bar.  Well, my friends and I were feeling adventurous (and bored), so we went on our first Grouper last Thursday.  Let. Me. Tell. You..... it was a blast!  We met 3 really fun guys who were so similar to us, and spent the whole night laughing, drinking, and making fun of each other... and we stayed out way too late for a work night.  It even turned out that we had a few mutual friends through the guys' kickball league.  Now, I'm not saying I met my future husband on this Grouper, but it was a great way to meet new people, and way less awkward and more fun than a standard first date.  My friends and I had a pact before we went that if the guys were lame, we'd just bail and have a fun girls night out, so we looked at it as a win-win situation.  Luckily, they were the opposite of lame so no escape tactics were necessary.  I just thought I'd share my Grouper experience for any other less-than-enthused-about-standard-online-dating singles out there!!

Ok, enough about my eventful social life and onto the gym, since this is a fitness focused blog.  My whole body was burning after the workout I'm about to share... I swear, I was sore for 3 days after.  It uses the concept of diminishing returns - meaning you start with a heavy enough weight that your muscles are burnt out after the first set, but then decrease the reps on the next set so you can keep the heavy weights up.  I used a 12-10-8 rep count, but the whole concept works with any decreasing rep count.  The key is to pick a heavy enough weight to start with - so for this circuit, your muscles should be fatigued after the first set of 12 reps.  For the arm exercises, I used 15-20 lb weights, and for the leg exercises I used 20-30 lb weights.  Adjust that as needed for your strength, but don't be a wimp! 


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