Lifting Move of the Week: Lunge with Forward Reach

Welcome to December! It really seems as thought the older I get, the faster time goes by. It’s kinda scary. I had a protein drink before heading out to the gym.

Kind of looks like John’s eggnog, doesn’t it? I wish that it was.

Pubsgal asked about what warmup I do before lifting. Normally I hit the treadmill for 10 minutes or so when I don’t bike, but don’t mention it here for boredom sake. I also will do some unweighted moves before I start loading up the weights on the first couple exercises.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Reverse lunge with forward reach 3 set of 10 with 8# DBs (16# total) Full body
Barbell Split Squats 3 sets of 10 at 65# Lower body
Dumbbell Pull Over 3 sets of 10 at 30# <—- increase Back
Horizontal Wood Chop 3 sets of 10 each side at 30# Core
Barbell Bench Press 3 sets of 10 at 60# <— increase Chest
Triceps Pull Down 3 sets of 15 at 30# Triceps
Upright Row 3 sets of 10 at 30# Shoulders
Good Mornings 3 sets of 10 at 35# Low Back and Hammies

Then I walked for a little more. Headed back to pick up John for Bagel Day! We were back at Cool Beans, which was all decked out for the holidays:

I had a sunflower bagel, which was oh-so-delicious!

It’s time for Lifting Move of the Week! It is the reverse lunge with forward reach.  This is from the New Rules of Lifting for Women. It will get your heart rate up, that is for sure.  The move is basically a reverse lunge while simultaneously reaching forward with your arms while stepping backwards.  Try this move without weights at first, because it also works on your balance and coordination.  Apologies for the fuzzy video.  Not sure why it uploaded like that.

I like to twist the weights so they are horizontal to the floor because that just feels more natural to me. You also don’t want to go too heavy on the arm weights.  This move is much harder than it looks.  For a super challenge, do this from a step.

Today was a challenge to stay around 1500 calories.  Tomorrow I will talk about why I chose that number, so come on by for that.  I like to eat bread (duh) and that really is where a good chunk of daily calories come in.  Most times I can lower my calories in a day just by ditching a bread item from the day.  Well, not today!  Good thing the Cool Beans bagels are small, but still doing a bit of guestimation on calories here.   It’s all relative.

I would have liked a piece of bread with lunch, but I refrained and ate my tuna with lemon pepper straight up.

I always eat my clementines in sets of 3.  I don’t know why that is, but I rarely vary from that.  Guess I am just showcasing some odd habits this week. 😳

While I am sipping on my unpictured latte with some protein added, I will entertain you with my December goals.

  • Keep an eye on my portions.  Even when I finish up this 1500 calorie week, I am going to really pay attention to portion sizes (also known as snacking) and keep the creep from happening.  I plan on really enjoying the Christmas feast, but it is only a couple of days and not 4 weeks, you know?
  • Relax!  I am very go-go-go and forget to just chill out.  That means more reading and listening to music.
  • I will barbell squat 105 pounds with 6 reps by the end of the month.  I am at 95 right now, so I should make it.
  • Reflect on this past year.  Another reason why I love blogging – I can do that easily LOL!

That’s enough for December.  It’s hectic enough as is.

Today has been pouring rain and incredibly windy.  The temps got to about 60 degrees, which is amazing.  I keep thinking about how much snow this would be if it was colder.  I think we would be talking feet!

I wanted some eggs for dinner, so it was time for an omelet!  This had laughing cow and sauteed broccoli in it.  I love this combo.

Snack time tonight will be this:

It’s sitting in the fridge waiting for me! This is a mix of fat free ricotta, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, stevia and 1 tbsp of cranberry sauce.  Surprisingly tasty!

Calorie tally:  Preworkout:  110, Breakfast: 526, Lunch: 350, Snack:  165, Dinner: 282,  Evening snack:  95. Grand total: 1528

Question:  Do you have any December goals?

16 thoughts on “Lifting Move of the Week: Lunge with Forward Reach”

  5. Michele @ Healthy Cultivations

    I’ve put a lot of food combinations on my plate, but I’ve never put broccoli in an omelet. Why not? I have no idea. I love omelets, and I eat broccoli almost every day. I think I know what to make for breakfast this weekend. Thanks for the idea!!!

  6. Jane

    Thanks for commenting on my last post regarding the new WW program. It seems to be rather controversial, particularly the zero point fruit. Time will tell, but I will continue working it the way I always have. By the way, your food looks great! You also amaze me with your consistency with exercise and your food. Obviously that’s why you have been so successful!
    .-= Jane´s last blog ..Odds and Ends Weight Watchers New Program and TAGGED! =-.

  7. debby

    Oh yeah, that is a hard move! Thanks for the demo. I saw a girl doing it at the gym once with one of those weighted soft balls, and I’ve been wondering how to do it ever since. I thought it was a forward lunge, and that just didn’t make sense to me, balance-wise. Hmmm. A day where none of your food tempted me. What were those stick things you had at lunch?

    Good job on controlling the calories!
    .-= debby´s last blog ..This ‘n That =-.

    1. Lori Post author

      The omelet didn’t tempt you at all?

      The sticks are Wheat Thins Crunch Stix. Kind of like pretzels, kind of like crackers. They are pretty good.

  11. Fran

    You’ve already read my goals on my blog yesterday, so yes I have them 🙂

    I like the relax goal, it’s so important to do that. I try to shut down the laptop at 9 pm every night and watch something I recorded, read or make a puzzle because I love to do that too apart from reading blogs.

    You’re not strange, I eat my Clementimes by three too unless they are big but I usually buy the small ones. Two just doesn’t seem enough 🙂

  12. Dawn

    Thanks for your comment today Lori I had never thought of maintenance like being a pilot but boy how true is that. A great way to think of it and I’m going to go a little easier on myself from here on. Love watching you do your weight training moves. I mix pumpkin with greek yogurt and pumpkin pie spice and splenda and it’s really yummy. Like to dip apple slices in it.
    .-= Dawn´s last blog ..I hate the yuckys =-.

  14. Leah

    My December Goals are to finish my Hot 100 challenge strong and see a loss of at least five pounds this month. I LOVE how you said the Christmas feast can be a few days, but not four weeks! So true.

    p.s. You make those moves look so easy!! 🙂
    .-= Leah´s last blog ..Throwdown Challenge – Results =-.

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