2 hour chest workout waiting for the pool to open

I took the Austin and Jacob swimming at the bubble and planned to lift a little, but the pool didn't open for two hours so I lifted for nearly two hours. Chest was the workout and it was insane:

Flat Bench: 12 x 225, 8 x 245, 6 x 265 (all slow and pause at bottom)
Incline Bench: 12 x 135, 8 x 155, 6 x 175
Cable Flys: 3 x 8 x 60
Incline DB Press: 12 x 40, 12 x 50, 12 x 60
Machine Flys: 10 x 180, 2 x 8 x 220
Flat Bench DB Flys: 12 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45
Push ups with all of Austin's weight sitting on my shoulder blades (+68 pounds): 3 sets of 15

This was the first time that my chest cramped up throughout the remainder of the day. However I haven't been terribly sore as I would have expected. Probably because I didn't do high weight low reps, but did get quite a bit of fatigue.

I hope everyone's Christmas was enjoyable and that you had some quality time with your family. Mine was wonderful and had a fun time with friends and family and ate too much crap.

Oh my back

Today - I did some deadlifts, and by the last set my lowerback was rebelling.

Deadlift: 4 sets of 2 x 8 x 225, 6 x 245, 4 x 275

I did these without wraps this time and my knees weren't having a problem at all, it was my lower back after the sets that was really tight. I think I'm going to stretch between sets so I can loosen up those lower back muscles. Yesterday I went ahead and ordered a tighter fitting bench shirt along with some new knee and wrist straps. I wanted to go get some bands from elite too, but a whole set is $150, so I'll have to wait before I get those.

Shoulders at the Bubble

Today I worked through lunch and went to the bubble on the way home. Here is what I did:

Military Press: 3 sets of 8 x 135
Cable Front Raises: 12 x 50, 2 x 8 x 70
Lateral Raises: 10 x 30, 8 x 30, 6 x 35
Incline DB Rows: 8 x 50
DB Shrugs: 3 x 8 x 50
Upright Rows: 3 x 8 x 115
Seated Rows: 8 x 160, 6 x 210, 8 x 180
Bent Over Rows: 10 x 135, 8 x 185

I felt really good about this workout considering that I did it in less than an hour. Abs still store from Monday! Tomorrow - deadlifts.

Thicker than expected frosting

Sometime when I feel great after a workout, I'll top it off with "frosting". Today's frosting was much better than expected. Considering that my abs were considerably sore from yesterday's workout, I decided against doing legs today as I could sense that Abs are kind of important in doing squats. So I opted for Chest today (and it was my week for using the Titan Fury shirt which I use every fouth chest workouts).

Flat Bench (Focus on completely STOPPING at the bottom - NO BOUNCING ALLOWED WHATSOEVER!):

8 x 245
8 x 255
6 x 275
5 x 295
4 x 315
2 x 325
1 x 335

I noticed that my feet and legs are NOT used at all. On the 325 set I tried putting my feet further back forcing me to use my legs a little, but I ended up moving them back into a neutral position on the way down as my thigh was starting to cramp up.

After these sets I did 2 more sets of just 135 focusing on keeping my heel and toe forced into the floor and almost push my body up the bench. My butt stayed flat on the bench and I'm not sure if that is right or not. I almost need a face to face session with a professional. I've read about the positioning, but it is difficult for me to figure out how to do it.

At this point I almost used up my entire hour, but I wanted to top off the workout with something great. So I figured I would do as many push ups as I could without pausing at all. I could slow down a tad, but as soon as I locked out my elbows and paused for even a fraction of a second, game over. My goal was to do 50, but I ended up pushing out 65 of them and probably did it in about 50 seconds.

I was pleased with today's workout and noticed that the bruising from the shirt is not happening any more. I think my triceps are getting used to the tight fit. I'm going to wash the shirt and hope that it shrinks (Its a size 54 with my actual chest size being 50). If it doesn't fit tighter after that, I'm going to try selling it on Ebay.

When all else fails - do Abs

I forgot my camera today, and I wanted to film my leg work this week so I had to opt for something else. My entire upper body had some residual soreness from last week so I had to think of something that would be "overtraining", so I figured I would do abs (which I honestly have never done in an isolation workout). There are some advantages to working out without a partner (all alone for that matter) and that is you don't have to be embarassed with someone watching you struggle like a lame school girl.

I remember the good old days lifeguarding at Deseret Gym, with my favorite US Marine, Mike Carroll. This guy was in top notch condition. I remember the Infrared Body Fat Percent machine pegged him at -3% body fat. How can you have negative body fat? Anyhow, I remember him teaching me tons of calisthenics that he used to do as a marine and how we used to be machines doing them together. One of the exercises was flutter kicks so I started out doing those:

Flutter kicks: 4 sets of 25 (4 count)
Legs up crunches: 4 sets of 25
Captain's Chair: 2 sets of 15 (crappy form and too fast), then slowed down and did 4 sets of 5
Bicycles: 7 sets of 15

Those bicycles were bad! I didn't get a burn from those, just a wedgie and I could barely get my shoulder blades off the ground. Touching knee to elbow was totally impossible as my flexibility and gut just wouldn't allow it. Today was completely humiliating, however it was kinda fun.

Abs are without question my weakest muscle group next to my legs, so I really want to set a goal to do them isolated like this at least once a week. I think from now on my routine will go like this:

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Biceps/Triceps
Thursday: Abs
Friday: Shoulder/Back/Neck

This way I can rotate my muscle groups in a way that should prevent overtraining. I totally respect you guys out there who do abs on a normal basis and can do sit ups without breaking a sweat.

Work before play

Tonight is my company's Christmas Party, here at the facilities. Instead of driving all the way back home and then back again, I asked Cathi to just come straight here. The bonus is that I also was able to work through lunch and then lift right before the party (We have lockers and showers of course). I figured I needed to make sure to get some variation of deadlift in this week so I did:

Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 x 225, 2 x 6 x 275
Military Press: 3 sets of 8 x 135
Seated Close Grip Cable Rows: 3 sets of 12 x 130, 8 x 180, 8 x 200
Standing Preacher Bar Rows: 3 sets of 8 x 115

Probably took only 35 minutes to do, but I didn't want to overdo it in case I show off to Cathi a 1 rep 335 bench(I'll be in party clothes and don't want to have to worry about needing a spot).

Arms at the Bubble

Standing Preacher Curls w/Armblaster: 3 sets of 12 x 95
Standing Cable French Press: 3 sets of 12 x 80, 10 x 110, 8 x 130
Incline Dumbell Curls: 3 sets of 12 x 30, 10 x 35, 8 x 40
Dips with Weight: 3 sets of 12 x 35, 10 x 40, 8 x 50
Concentration Curls: 3 sets of 12 x 30, 10 x 35, 8 x 40
Dumbell Kickbacks: 3 sets of 10 x 25, 8 x 25, 10 x 25
Alternating Dumbell Curls: 3 sets of 8 x 35, 6 x 40, 8 x 40
Close Grip Bench: 3 sets of 15 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 205

The grip on the close grip bench was 6 inches or so apart so it was difficult balancing the weight, but it went up fine. Had a great time with this workout.

No Legs - just Chest

My glutes are sore from Monday. I figured it would be a good opportunity to try some chest with no legs whatsoever.

Legs up Flat Bench: 4 sets of 15 x 135, 12 x 185, 10 x 225, 8 x 245
Dumbell Flys on the floor: 4 sets of 2 x 12 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45
Floor Presses: 4 sets of 8 x 225

Four sets of various push-ups: 15 diamond pushups, 15 clap pushups, 15 fist pushups, 15 decline pushups

Tonight is my only chance this week to go to the bubble. I'm going to do Biceps and Triceps so that should be fun. Today was a good day.

Procrastinate not the day of your leg work

Usually Monday's are my anticipated chest days. But today I had promised myself a focus on legs this week. I even was hoping for a "killer" leg workout. Unfortunately I fell far short of considering this a "killer" workout, however I did do a couple of new exercises, and also focused on form rather than weight. Here is what I did:

Alternating between:

Bulgarian Squat: 4 sets of 2 x 8 x 50, 2 x 8 x 40
and
Box Squats: 4 sets of 12 x 135

At this point I was ready to throw in the towel. I was fatigued and lost all motivation, but I did not succumb to my lazy thoughts and did one more superset alternating between:

Dumbell Side Step Ups: 4 sets of 16 x 60, 8 x 60, 2 x 10 x 60
and
SLDL: 4 sets of 8 x 135

The chair for doing the Dumbell Side Step Ups was too wide and not very stable so I didn't like those at all. I did enjoy the SLDL's though. I almost did just two sets though because I was drained.

So while I did get through my goal sets for today, I definitely did not exceed my plans. I do believe though that I will be sore since I've done a couple of exercises that I have never done before regardless of the light weight. I did not leave psyched up and happy about today's work, but I wasn't cussing myself out either.

Deadlifts and Ping Pong

Today I was looking forward to doing some deadlifts and doing some shoulders:

SLDL: 4 sets of 8 x 225
Military Press: 4 sets of 8 x 135
Dumbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 8 x 35

Instead of doing another exercise or two, Bala convinced me to play a few rounds of table tennis with him. That sure was fun and it went very well. This week has been quite an "off" week with lifting only three days this week and not very much either (except for Monday). My chest is still a tad sore and happy with the intensity of it. Next week, my focus will be to do a killer leg workout.

I hate Squats!

Today I knew I had to do legs and as the time grew near I was tempted to bag it altogether, but I did get off my fat butt and did the following:

Squats - 12 x 135 fast, 6 x 225, 6 x 245 slow

Man were those hard! At that point I had completely lost all motivation and I admit my attitude was extremely lame, but I was in no mood to to leg presses or anything else. I don't know what the source of my issues with legs is, but a few possibilities are:

• Not having a partner
• Having childlike leg matter
• Lack of confidence from doing Squats without being in a cage.
• I don't like having all that weight resting on my neck, it just doesn't seem natural!
• More and more, but enough of my whining and excuses!

After the squats I tried out the jump rope I bought over a month ago and haven't even really tried. I did three sets of running in place with the jump rope at relatively high speed. I was frustrated with my timing. A second grade girl would have laughed at my attempts. I did get a slightly elevated heart rate, but nothing to consider aerobic as my three sets probably totaled 100 jumps and about 1 minute of total execise.

Not a good day at all. I'm looking forward to deadlifts tomorrow though.

Wide Grip Chest

Today I wanted to focus on wide grip of everything:

Flat Bench: 12 x 225, 8x 255, 6 x 275, 7 x 275 (2 blocks), 8 x 295 (4 blocks), 8 x 315 (6 blocks), 35 x 135
Incline Bench: 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 8 x 65 (Dumbells)
Decline Dumbells Flys/Press Superset: 3 sets of 8x 40, 8 x 50, 4 x 60

This was a great workout and it was harder with the wider grip. I sure was shaking like it was heavier than normal, but it went up so that's good.

Here's a video of the entire workout (18M), except for the first two sets of flat bench.

Getting back after two days off

Today I did a little bit of arms:

Alternating Dumbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 x 35, 3 x 8 x 40
Preacher Curls: 3 x 8 x 95, 8 x 105
Standing Cable Curls: 3 x 8 x 50, 8 x 60
One arm Cable Curls: 12 x 20, 3 x 8 x 30

I also missed out on free pizza the company was offering because they were late delivering. The entire company was downstairs in club Tomax (standing room only) and everyone was just standing around waiting for pizza. What a waste of time. I waited about 5 minutes and went lifting instead. I was hoping there would be leftovers, but that was wishful thinking. My neck is still sore, but the rest of my aches have subsided considerably. I never did get that massage that I wanted.

Aches and Pains - taking a day off

Due to a build up of intense lifting the past couple days my entire body is sore. Hams are sore from yesterday's Romanian deads, my chest is sore from Monday's lift, my neck is so bad I spent two hours using a handheld massager on my neck, and right shoulder. There is no way I would be productive today so I'm taking the day off lifting and see if I can recuperate a little here. Good luck everyone today on your own workout!

Gords

Deadlift Superset

Today I did the following three exercises doing a superset rotation between each of them:

Romanian Deadlift, SLDL, Normal Deadlift - 4 sets of 8 x 185, 8 x 195, 8 x 205, 8 x 215

My back had enough at that point. I had just enough time to do one more exercise:

Seated Straight Arm Cable Rows to a lying back position - 4 sets of 8 x 160, 3 x 8 x 200

There is a muscle in my neck going into my right shoulder which was giving me problems starting on Saturday. I'm not sure what I did, but its getting a little worse. I'm going to try and get an appointment with a masseuse for sometime tomorrow. My hands are also getting more calloused and the chalk really helps with maintaining a grip on the bar.

If Cathi doesn't go crazy with the kids today I'm also going to see if I can do another round at the Bubble tonight doing shoulders.

Working out in Office attire sucks - Chest Day

Surprisingly, my legs weren't sore at all over the long weekend. I also weighed in today and to my astonishment only gained one pound (236) so that's good. I took my lifting clothes home to wash and forgot to bring them in so I worked out today in two blocks to avoid getting too sweaty.

I got some feedback from Stinn on my bench, so today I tried a couple of his suggestions. I usually put my pinky on the inside of the ring, today my index finger was on it. I also positioned my feet much wider than I normally do. The weight seemed much heavier because I wasn't used to the wider grip and my chest/tricep ratio was less work on triceps and more on chest. I sure was shaking like a leaf, but the weight wasn't too much. Balancing the weight took more effort than normal. I'll stick with this grip from now on. Plus it felt weird to have my feet so far out, but it was probably right on. In a few weeks I'll take another video clip once I feel comfortable with these changes so I can get more technique tips to work on.

Flat Bench: 4 sets of 8 x 225, 6 x 255, 4 x 275, 8 x 225
Incline Dumbell Presses: 4 x 8 x 65 (the heaviest dumbells we have)

Break for an hour

Decline Dumbell Flys: 4 x 8 x 55
Weighted Dips: 4 x 8 x (235 + 35 lb dumbell)

Considering I hate lifting in office attire, it was a fairly good workout.

First time doing SLDL

Today I did a fairly tough legs routine (at least for me):

Squats - 3 sets of 10 x 165, 5 x 225, 3 x 275
SLDL - 3 sets of 10 x 115, 8 x 135, 6 x 185
Quad Extensions - 3 sets of 10 x 90, 6 x 135, 4 x 180
Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 10 x 45, 8 x 60, 6 x 75

This is the first time doing SLDL. After visitng Stinn's site, I've decided I need to start doing these. I started with a really light weight and focused on form and quality reps and found that I could probably do these in the low 200's range on a normal basis. I got the feeling that these work the same muscles used in doing Good Morning's which I've been wary of doing reading from Kris' workouts. I've tried Good Mornings and have nightmares of having an injury similar to what Kris went through, but I really like these SLDL's because they are safer in that if the weight is too much, worst case scenario... drop it! But with Good Morning's, my face could end up on the mat!

I felt distinct tightness just after the workout, but now a few hours later, tightness is gone, I imagine I will definitely be sore this weekend.

Bestrafe Mich

Man was I depressed the last night due to yesterday's quality of 1 rep max. With this week being Thanksgiving, I won't be able to lift Thursday through Sunday so I figured I would really punish my chest for the cheating I did yesterday. So this is today's workout which was done partially during my lunch hour and the rest at the bubble.

Today's focus is on sticking everything, going slow and making deliberate movements. Less on reps, more on weight:

Incline Dumbell Press - 3 sets of 8 x 45, 2 x 4 x 65
Floor Presses - 3 sets of 8 x 135, 4 x 225, 4 275
Floor Dumbell Flys - 8 x 45, 2 x 4 x 55
Flat Bench - 8 x 225, 4 x 315, 3 x 315
Decline Press - 8 x 225, 4 x 315, 4 x 335
Incline Press - 8 x 135, 4 x 185, 4 x 205
Fly Machine - 8 x 160, 2 x 8 x 200
Lower Half Bench Press - 8 x 225, 4 x 315, 4 x 335
Cable Flys - 8 x 80, 4 x 100, 4 x 80

Its a good thing the cable flys were last because on the last set I tried another 4 x 100 but couldn't get the weight in, so I lowered to 80. Afterwards the struggle with the 100 made me realize I may have pushed it too far as I felt shoulder pain a little so I'm glad that was my last set. Tomorrow I'm doing legs and resting until Monday (except for cardio work in the evenings with Cathi).

I met a guy at the Bubble named Mike who works there in the weight room. He offered a spot when I needed it and place to put my keys and wallet so I wouldn't have to worry about thieves. He was very complimentary (which I don't take too well) and talkative. I'll definitely take him up on the spot in the future I'm sure.

Today I bought the Hypnotize album by System of a Down. From what I've heard so far, it is very good. I like how they end on a newer version of Soldier Side which is what they started on in Mesmorize. I got the clean version this time though, cause I have a difficult time keeping my mouth clean when I'm frustrated and don't need to hear somebody else cuss just for artistic reasons. Awesome musical talent in this album though.

I weighed in this morning and came up at 235 which was a shock since I haven't been doing too good on my diet. My goal for Thanksgiving weekend is to watch my portions and if I do feel like having seconds, keeping it to half a plate instead of two full plates of food. Then only 2 pieces of pie. I guess I'm dreaming if I'm thinking I'm not going to gain weight. If I also do 1 hour of cardio in the evenings, I'm hoping that Monday morning I won't weigh more than 240. Its really hard to say no on Thanksgiving, so I'll have to control my portions to compensate.

375 lb bench - Not legal though!

I was happy to get up 375 pounds today (Here is the video - 1.5MB) on my bench press max, however after reviewing the video, I was disappointed with the failure to stop at the bottom but bounced the weight off.

The weight did not stop but progressively went up, so that's good.

Just for kicks I tried 385, but knew going down that it wasn't going to happen.

I was happy with the lift until I saw the video. Actually I'm not going to count this lift since I have proof that it would have been disqualified in a meet. I'll try 375 again in four weeks where I'll make sure to pause at the bottom of the lift. Let me know what else I can work on. I fould the rules for a good lift here -> http://www.hickoksports.com/rules/rpowerlift.shtml#bp

I've also realized that I should always video my PR's to make sure they are legit. Who knows? Since I didn't video my 365, I may have had crappy form on that one too!

Any tips from fellow powerlifters out there on bench techniques I could work on, would be appreciated!!

Wednesday, November 16 2005

Bubble Day

Today I didn't get to lift at lunchtime, so I decided to double up and do this week's supplement lift today rather than on Thursday. I stopped at the Bubble on the way home and did today's workout as well as tomorrow's.

Legs -

Squat Machine - 5 sets of 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 225, 4 x 275, 8 x 225
Leg Press - 4 sets of 12 x 150, 10 x 160, 8 x 170, 6 x 180
Quad Extension machine - 4 sets of 12 x 50, 3 x 8 x 60
Hamstring Curl machine - 4 sets of 12 x 60, 3 x 8 x 80

The last two machines were really old and was not smooth at all. The Bubble's leg machines basically suck really bad. Can't go wrong with free weights though.

This took about 45 minutes to this point then I transitioned to upper back, shoulders workout:

Military Press - 5 sets of 10 x 115, 2 x 8 x 135, 2 x 6 x 145
Dumbell Shrugs - 5 sets of 8 x 55
Lateral Raises - 5 sets of 10 x 25, 3 x 8 x 30, 8 x 35
Barbell Rows - 5 sets of 2 x 10 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 95, 6 x 95
Reverse Cable Crossovers - 5 sets of 10 x 20, 8 x 40, 3 x 8 x 50

I was happy with the upper body workout, but the leg workout, while I did work it hard, the machines were so crappy that I didn't feel like I was into it as much. My shorts didn't have a pocket for my MP3 player so I had to tuck under my belt which was annoying. Today my chest was quite sore still so I am pleased with Monday's chest workout! I also noticed that I was already a little sore in the neck/shoulders area so I was hoping that today's workout wasn't going to make things worse, but I had a plan in place on paper and didn't want to mess it up. I might take Thursday off. We'll see.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - Back

Close Grip Cable Rows (All arms)- 5 sets of 10 x 170, 8 x 180, 3 x 8 x 200
Wide Grip Cable Back Bends - 5 sets of 10 x 170, 8 x 180, 3 x 8 x 200
Wide Grip Cable Pulldowns - 5 sets of 10 x 140, 8 x 150, 3 x 8 x 160
Deadlifts - 4 sets of 8 x 225, 6 x 245, 4 x 275, 2 x 295
Incline Dumbell Rows - 5 sets of 3 x 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 8 x 45

In between each exercise I did 25 crunches. I also didn't plan on doing the deadlifts, but planed on doing bent over barbell rows, but figured I probably wouldn't hit my back again this week and really wanted to do deadlifts this week. I did the deadlifts without wrist straps, since I recently learned that they are not allowed in competition. I need to go pick up some chalk since I almost dropped the 295 on my last rep.

I'm also quite sore from yesterday's chest workout. Much more than the chest workout I did last week which was supposed to be a Chest Marathon. Yesterday I did the chest workout totally raw so I think that made the difference.

Excellent workout today and yesterday! I'm very pleased.

Monday - November 14, 2005 - Chest Day

Flat Bench - 5 sets of 12 x 245, 8 x 275, 6 x 295, 4 x 315, 2 x 335, 15 x 225
Incline Dumbell Flys - 5 sets of 12 x 35, 8 x 45, 6 x 50, 12 x 50, 8 x 45
Floor Presses - 4 sets of 15 x 135, 3 x 8 x 225
Decline Dumbell Press - 5 sets of 12 x 55, 10 x 60, 8 x 65, 12 x 65, 35 x 35

I got Brendon to spot me on the third and fourth set of flat bench (thank goodness). I needed help on the 2 x 335 although I got the first one up myself. I felt great about today's workout!

The talk I gave on Sunday went much better than I thought and man talk about a relief when it was over! We had Mom and Dad over for dinner since they watched the kids at the meeting for us. That was fun. I think I'm going for a new PR next Monday on the flat bench (375).

Week 2 November, 2005

Friday, November 11, 2005 - Arms

Dips - 4 sets of 12 x 240 (full body weight), 3 x 8 x (240 + 35)
Alternating Dumbell Curls - 4 sets of 10 x 40, 3 x 8 x 45
French Presses - 4 sets of 8 x 95, 3 x 8 x 115
Preacher Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 95, 8 x 100, 8 x 105, 6 x 115

Tonight Cathi and I are going on a date, I'm going to try talking her into going to the Bubble on the way to SLC and workout with me for a little bit instead of going out to eat to a fancy restaurant and then we can eat healthy afterwards. We'll see how that plan goes. I have to give a 15 minute talk in church on Sunday and I haven't done that in about 13 years so I'm kind of nervous although I'm prepared and researched the topic (Obedience). It made me realize that I have a long way to go before I'm the kind of person I want to be spiritually, but I'm still working on it. We all know that nobody's perfect and as long as we don't pretend to be and help each other out then we heading the right direction.

Thursday, November 10, 2005 - Legs

Today I left work at noon to let Cathi go run an errand that couldn't be postponed. Poor Isaac and Samuel have bad colds and don't feel well at all. I just held them while we watched TV. I caught myself dozing off here and there. When Cathi got back we did our normal evening routine early and went to Austin's Pack meeting. After the Pack Meeting it was about 8:00 and decided to go to Gold's Gym in Layton rather than the bubble. It cost me $10, but worth it cause the equipment was better and it was much closer. However considering I didn't want to do a massive leg workout and get cippled it almost wasn't worth the money. Here is what I did:

Leg press - 5 sets of 12 x 135, 8 x 225, 8 x 315, 8 x 405, 6 x 495
Calf Raises - 5 sets of 8 x 90
Quad Extension Machine - 4 sets of 8 x 120, 3 x 8 x 150
Hamstring Curls Machine - 4 sets of 8 x 120

At this point it was only about 45 minutes into the workout and I didn't want to overdo it, but at the same time didn't want to spend $10 for just 45 minutes so I did some upper back:

Seated Machine Rows: 4 sets of 12 x 150, 8 x 170, 2 x 6 x 190
Bent Over Barbell Rows: 4 sets of 3 x 8 x 135, 1 x 12 x 90

Wednesday, November 9, 2005 - Shoulders

Close Grip Cable Pulldowns - 4 x 8 x 160
Military Press - 4 x 8 x 135
Standing Dumbell Rows - 4 x 6 x 135
Pull-up and Arnold Press Superset: 4 sets of 8 pullups minus about 60 pounds using pull up machine (I know I'm fat, but I'm also on a diet and losing a little) supersets with 4 x 8 x 35, 40, 45, 50.

Total time: 1:00 - I felt OK about this workout. I'm really surprised that I'm not evey tight or sore at all in my chest from yesterday's workout. I would have thought that the workout would have made me sore for sure. This week when I go to the Bubble I think I'll work legs since my squat and Deadlift are so wimpy compared to my bench.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - John McDonald's nothing but bench workout

Flat Bench: 8x185 (.507), 7x200 (.548), 6x220 (.603), 5x235 (.644), 4x255 (.699), all 2:00 rest 2x3x270 (.74), 2x2x290 (.795), 1x310 (.85), 1x340 (.932), all 3:00 rest
1x345 (.945), 5:00 rest
1x340 (.932), 3x310 (.85), 4x290 (.795), 5x270 (.74), 6x255 (.699), 8x235 (.644), 9x220 (.603), 10x200 (.548), 10x185 (.507) all 3:00 rest
Total expected time: @1:05

I did the workout above just as expected (Except I didn't have a watch so I guessed at the rest and ended up taking 1:20. I also put on the Bench shirt at the One Rep 310 and took it off at the 255 on the way down. It sure gets scary putting up that kind of weight with no one in the room to help in case I get stuck. I really need a partner on bench days! Thanks to John McDonald for his post which I copied for this workout. It was awesome and I was very pleased with the routine. Wouldn't want to do it more than once every couple months though.

Monday, November 7, 2005 -

Lower Back Workout (and Deadlift PR attempt)

Deadlifts - 2 x 225, 1 x 315, 1 x 335 (Failed on this attempt)
Finished up with: 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 225, 4 x 275 (successfully completed all these)

In between sets I did 10 reps of leg curls using the tower for hitting my abs. I ended up doing probably over 10 sets.

After deadlifts I wanted to hit more lower back so I did:

Seated Cable Rows (Lower back only) - Seated to laying on my back (Like Goodmornings)
8 x 130, 8 x 160, 8 x 180, 8 x 200

Then did 1 minute of jump roping (I know I'm wimpy), but I'm aweful with hard surfaces and the cement floor was not fun jumping on. It was just a fair workout and I was very slightly satisfied. After doing two sets of chest last week, I wasn't about to do chest today. Maybe tomorrow I'll do Upper Back/Shoulders and Neck and then do chest on Wednesday.

Week 1 November, 2005

November 4, 2005 - Arms

Tried out the dip tower for the first time:

Dips - 4 sets of 12 x (240), 8 x (240 + 35), 8 x (240 + 35), 8 x (240 + 45)
Cable Tricep Extensions - 4 sets of 12 x 80, 8 x 90, 8 x 90, 8 x 90
Dumbell Alternating Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 8 x 40, 8 x 40

My arms didn't have the normal pump feeling but instead of had a pain that I've not felt before so I stopped there. I think I may have strained a muscle from yesterday evening's lift.

November 3, 2005 - Legs at noon, Chest after work

Noon: Today I did 4 sets of squats: 6 x 225, 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 8 x 185

Then I did 2 set of knee raises using my new tower, 12 reps each. My legs and abs are pathetic! I plan on leaving work today at around 4:30 and then have a great chest workout. I'm also excited for a fun weekend up at the cabin.

After Work: I went to the bubble this afternoon and did a great chest workout:

Flat Bench (With Shirt) - 4 sets of 12 x 225, 8 x 275, 6 x 295, 4 x 315 - after these sets, the shirt came off (quite easily by the way - It has stretched a little or I'm getting smaller)
Decline Bench - 4 sets of 12 x 225, 8 x 275, 6 x 315, 4 x 335
Incline Bench - 4 sets of 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 205, 4 x 225
Fly Machine - 4 sets of entire stack 8 x 225
Cable Flys - 4 sets of 12 x 30, 12 x 50, 8 x 70, 8 x 70
Flat Dumbell Press - 3 sets of 8 x 85

What a great workout! I really enjoyed this workout. The gym was unpopulated, but the equipment was well worth the visit. I think I'll keep going once a week if Cathi can handle it. Isaac woke up with a minor fever and some dry throated coughs. I may have to stay home with him while Cathi goes to the cabin. I hope he gets better today and I can still go. I was really looking forward to going. I found a link on gym ettiquete. One the one day I go to a gym, its basically only me anyway, but I still find that my habits are in accordance with a busy gym anyway -> http://www.criticalbench.com/gym-etiquette.htm

November 2, 2005 -

Today I bought and assembled a tower for doing dips, situps, pullups etc. It took about 2 hours to build and man was I sweating! I considered that my workout because of the calories burned and the fact that I had already extended my lunch break way beyond what I should have done. I plan on hitting my legs again tomorrow which means I'll probably just do 4 sets of squats and thats it. I am no longer going to sacrifice my entire week because I go overboard on a leg workout. Tomorrow I'm going to do a good chest workout at the Bubble.

November 1, 2005

-

Yesterday I ate too much candy, but I walked about 2 miles with the kids so I called it even. Today's workout started out with low energy. I didn't have any OJ with me today and I've been eating a roast cut up into one inch squares. I bet I get close to 150 Grams of protein today. This week I plan to lift Chest at the bubble on Thursday. I also need to make up for short days on Monday and Friday so it will be a long week. We are going to the cabin this weekend with some friends so that should be fun. Today's workout went like this:

Seated Barbell Military Press - 4 sets of 12 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 8 x 135
One Arm Cable Front Raises - 4 sets of 8 x 10
Standing Barbell Rows - 4 sets of 12 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 6 x 135

At this point I started to get a headache and starting to get real sick of the combination of tunes I've got. Time to get a new set. I love Rammstein, but nothing but Rammstein for a few weeks in the weightroom can get me sick of it, time to give them a break a try a different genre.

Happy Halloween - Ghost of a workout today

My legs were in such a bad state over the weekend that I had to put heat pads on them. I will never neglect my legs again this bad. This weekend I also screwed up my right thumb by wrestling with Jacob with the lights out (except for the black lights) and as I blocked a kick he gave it hit my thumb alone and bent it back out of joint. It hurt like hell, but didn't require any readjustment. Then today in between sets I bent over to pick up a barbell collar and didn't see this broken radio antennae sticking up which poked me in the face just an inch from my eye. It barely drew blood but scared the crap out of me cause I didn't see it and realized I could have just blinded my left eye. So with that said, I had a barely existant chest workout. Here it is:

Incline Bench - 4 sets of 12 x 135 (slow), 8 x 185, 8 x 185, 8 x 205
Flat Bench - 4 sets of 6 x 275, 8 x 275 (2 blocks), 8 x 275 (4 blocks), 8 x 315 (6 blocks)

My thumb was bugging me a little and I'm hoping it heals quickly. I'm only working 7 hours today so I can get back in time for Cathi to run before we get the kids ready for Halloween.

October 28th, 2005 - Legs in a bad state

Yesterday's lift was more than I should have done. I am extremely stiff and in pain. I stopped by the Bountiful Bubble on the way home and did a monster Arms workout:

Preacher Curl Machine - 4 sets of 12 - 8 x 80-120
Standing Preacher Curls - 4 sets of 12 - 8 x 75 - 95
Dips - 4 sets of 12 x 0 add-on, 10 x 35 additional weight, 8 x 45 additional weight, 8 x 50 additional weight
Cross Face Dumbell Tricep Extensions - 4 sets of 8 x 35
Wrist Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 35 - 50
One Arm Reverse Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 40
Incline Bench Dumbell Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 45
French Presses - 4 sets of 8 x 115
Standing Reverse Curls - 4 sets of 8 x 75

Total time: 90 minutes.

This was an awesome workout! I felt really good and enjoyed the different setting to really push me out of my rut. About 3 hours after the workout, my right tricep was experiencing some painless, and frequent twitches which caused my entire back arm to move. It was kind of entertaining. Cathi could see it from across the room. Hopefully my arms will experience the level of pain that my legs feel from the measly three exercise workout yesterday.

Legs - October 27th, 2005

Squats - 12 x 185, 8 x 225, 3 x 275, 8 x 135 (Using chair)
Leg Presses 4 sets of 10 - 12 x (Stack - 4 to Stack)
Seated Quad Extensions 4 sets of 10 x 135

I know my legs are going to be dead tomorrow. They are jello right now. I really need to make legs a priority because they are by far my weakest link. I am planning to stop by the Bountiful Bubble on the way home and do an hour of arms to get tomorrow's workout a boost. I want my Biceps to be sore!

Shoulders, Neck and Back - Oct 26, 2005

Alternating Front/Back Military Press - 4 sets of 10x95, 10x95, 10x105, 10x115
Upright Rows - 4 sets of 8x95, 8x115, 8x115, 8x115
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 4 sets of 8x125, 6x165, 6x165, 6x165
Dumbell Shrugs - 4 sets of 8x55
Dumbell Lateral Raises - 4 sets of 8x30

Today's workout was very good. Yesterday I had a huge knot underneath my right shoulder blade so I took the day off. I sat in the hottub for a half hour and it felt alot better today. Did 35 minutes of Recumbent biking last night. Tonight the kids have a halloween party so that will be a blast. I will do 40 minutes of biking tonight. Tomorrow I'm hoping to do legs.

365 Pound Bench Press - New PR

October 24, 2005 - Chest

Today I didn't really plan on doing a max. I put on the bench shirt planning to do a normal workout, but as I kept putting on more weight I figured, what the heck! Then I continued with a little more to call it a chest workout. Here's what I did:

10x225

2 x 275

1 x 315

1 x 340

At this point I figured I better get a spotter, so I called Brendon and Christian and neither were at their desk, so I caught TJ on the way up to find Brendon. He mentioned a while ago that he used to lift so I figured he could give me a spot. I then put up the max:

1 x 365

It went up without much struggle at all. Actually about 10 minutes afterwards I was kicking myself for not at least attempting 375. I'll save that for the end of November (and if that goes easy I'll go for 385).

I finished up the workout with:

5 x 10 x 245 flat bench

3 x 40 incline dumbell flys

I'm very excited about this new PR and am eager for the next attempt in four weeks!

Third week of October 2005

Monday - Chest (225 day)

Flat Bench

2 x 12 x 225,

2 x 10 x 225,

2 x 8 x 225,

2 x 6 x 225,

2 x 4 x 225,

2 x 2 x 225,

2 x 2 x 225 (Extra wide grip)

Good workout, got some good burns. It's getting old not having air conditioning in the workout room. The air is getting really stale in there.

Wednesday - Cardio

I did 35 minutes of elliptical trainer (300 Calories). I want to get down to 220 and think I'll need to start doing some cardio. It was a good workout and the tunes saved me. Tomorrow I'll lift triceps and I have Friday off for UEA. We will go up to the cabin.

10/14 workout

Shoulders today!

Military Press - 4 x 8 x 115
One Arm Cable Rows - 4 x 8 x 60
Machine Military Press - 4 x 8 x 130
Machine Pullups - 4 x 8
Dumbell Front Raises - 2 x 10 x 25, 2 x 6 x 30
Arnold Presses - 4 x 8 x 30

During the Arnold Presses I felt tightness in the back of my shoulder. Not typical strain, but tightness that made me realize I had done enough today and that I am going to be sore tomorrow. I gained about 8 pounds during the Tahoe trip I guess cause I'm back up to just under 240. I looked into Recumbent exercise bikes and man they are expensive! The cheapest I could find was about $800. I'll look in the classifieds in the local paper. Today's workout was pretty good considering I was feeling less than motivated.

Back to everyday life

Today I still wanted to do shoulders but chest is still to sore. So I did a wimpy legs workout:

Hamstring Curls: 4x8x 45 - 70
Quad Extensions: 4x8x 70 - 150
Leg Press: 3 x 150 - 300

Not in the mood for legs, I went to Ed's and got a single cable handle for tomorrow's shoulders workout. Getting back to everyday life is always a little depressing when coming back from a sweet vacation. Cathi and I had a wonderful time!

Day Two at Tahoe

Today I lifted biceps even though I was planning on upper back and shoulders. However my chest is so sore, I went with Biceps because lifting shoulders does affect chest.

Standing Preacher Curls: 12/75, 8/100, 8/100, 8/100
Standing Alternating Dumbell Curls: 8/45, 8/40, 8/40, 8/40
Machine Preacher Curls: 8/130, 8/115, 8/115, 8/115
Standing One Arm Reverse Cable Curls: 15/20, 12/35, 8/45, 8/45
Standing Reverse Preacher Curls: 8/75, 8/75, 8/75, 8/75
Concentration Curls: 8/35, 8/35, 8/35, 6/50
Dumbell Wrist Curls: 8/35, 8/35, 8/35, 8/35
Standing Cable Curls: 8/80, 8/90, 8/100, 6/120

Today was even better than yesterday! A little more crowded, but that made the motivation even greater. This is making me wonder if I should get a membership back home!

Lifting at South Lake Tahoe

Cathi and I are at Stardust Lodge at South Lake Tahoe. The weight room is very wimpy so I went to Kahle Community Center to lift and boy was that a great experience!

Yesterday I lifted Bench and here was the workout:

Flat Bench: 15/225, 8/255, 8/255, 8/255
Incline Bench: 12/135, 8/185, 8/185, 6/205
Decline Dumbell Press: 12/65, 10/70, 10/75, 10/80>
Dumbell Flys: 10/35, 10/40, 10/40, 10/45
Machine Flys: 10/80, 12/120, 10/160, 8/200

I was very pleased with the workout. I mostly enjoyed the mirrors, the strange motivation to lift harder with someone else in the room. I was feeling very good about my lifts and know I'm going to be dead sore tomorrow.

Finally moving to real blog format

Today I decided to adopt a better format for displaying my lifting information. I'm not going to bother posting my previous stuff, so if you want to check those out you have to go to this link.