20 Sep 2010 – Week 9

This is a short week, four days.  Read as # sets x # reps @ dumbbell weight (lbs).

Everyday:  Abs and calves, in that order.

• Weighted jackknifes, straight – 1 x 6, 12 lb ball at feet, 15 lb ball at head, extended overhead and back on slow descent.
• Weighted jackknifes, oblique – 1 x 6, alternating side to side, same weights as above.
• Slow sit-ups-and-downs – 1 x 6, 15 lb ball on head for up, overhead and back for down slowly.
• Seated calf raises – Warmup with 1 x 8 x 90 lbs, then 2 x 6 x 160 lbs.

Monday:  Arms.  Workout rating – killer.  I super-setted bicep with tricep, alternating after each single set.  The workout took an hour, and I was wiped out.  My arms hurt…

• Prone hanging dumbbell bicep curls – Warmup set, 1 x 4 @ 35 lbs, 1 x4  @ 30 lbs, 1 x 5 @ 20 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 15 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 10 lbs.
• Standing overhead tricep cable presses – 1 x 8 @ 65 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 50 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 40 lbs.
• Seated decline dumbbell preacher curls – 1 x 6 @ 25lbs, 1 x 4 @ 25lbs, 2 x 6 @ 20 lbs
• Horizontal dumbbell tricep kickbacks – 1 x 6 @ 30 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 25 lbs
• Overhead standing dumbbell tricep presses – None.
• Standing cable one-arm tricep presses – 1 x 6 per arm @ 30 lbs, 1 x 6 per arm @ 20 lbs.
• Standing cable tricep pushdowns – 1 x 6 @ 60 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 40 lbs.

Tuesday:  Shoulders.  Workout rating – very good.

• Seated dumbbell military presses – warmup with 30lbs, then 1 x 6 @ 50lbs, 1 x 5 @ 45 lbs, 1 x 5 @ 40 lbs.  Ended workout with 1 x 6 @ 35 lbs, 1 x 6 @ 30 lbs, and 1 x 6 @ 25 lbs.  Getting stronger…
• Standing dumbbell windmills – None.
• Prone hanging dumbbell shoulder flys – 1 x 1 x 4 positions @ 20 lbs, 3 x 3 x 4 positions @ 15 lbs, 4 x 3 x 4 positions @ 10 lbs.  Each rep is held as high up as possible for 2 to 3 seconds and slowly released down.
• Standing dumbbell pullups – 1 x 6 @ 25 lbs.

Wednesday:  Legs.  Workout rating – tough.  I am exhausted.

• Dumbbell wide stance lunges – Dry warmup, 1 x 6 x 25 lbs
• Dumbbell squats – Dry warmup, 2 x 6 x 55 lbs, 1 x 6 x 55 lbs half-squats
• Lying hamstring squeezes – 1 x 3 x 15 seconds.

Thursday:  Back and chest.  Workout rating – excellent.  I pushed the weight up and got a very good pump with my pectorals.  Great shoulder workout incidentally, which left me feeling very relaxed afterwards.  I can do more weight on chest, but need to go slow and easy for now to make sure I do not injure myself.  Chest first, then back.

• Incline dumbbell bench press – 1 x 7 x 55 lbs (after warmup).
• Flat dumbbell bench press – 1 x 7 x 65 lbs.
• Decline dumbbell bench press – 2 x 7 x 65 lbs.
• Flat dumbbell bench press – 1 x 7 x 65 lbs.
• Incline dumbbell bench press – 1 x 6 x 50 lbs.
• Seated cable lat alternating pulldown, wide grip – 1 x 6 x 160 lbs (after warmup), very slow.
• Seated cable lat alternating pulldown, narrow grip – 1 x 6 x 140 lbs, very slow.
• Seated cable lat rows – 1 x 4 x 140 lbs, 1 x 4 x 120 lbs, 1 x 4 x 100 lbs, very slow.
• Standing cable flys – 1 x 6 x 30 lbs, 1 x 6 x 20 lbs, 1 x 10 x 10 lbs.
• Incline dumbbell flys – None.
• Flat dumbbell flys – None.

Friday: Saw the chiropractor for routine adjustments and deep muscle massage on my arms.

End-of-week weight:  187 lbs.  Abs are more pronounced, belly is getting flatter, shoulders are getting bigger.

23 Aug 2010 – Week 6

This is a short week.  M = Arms, T = Shoulders, W = Legs, Th = Back and Chest

Weight:  About 185 lbs now.

Abs – Everyday.  They are starting to take a better shape, and the jackknifes are getting easier.  Slow reps make a big difference.  I hate doing long sets of setups (like three sets of 30 or 40 or even 50) – I want to get the same burn and workout in one set of 12 to 20 reps.  This does just that, so I am not taking 10 to 15 minutes just for abs.

Calves – Stopped after Monday – I can feel something uncomfortable in my right calf, so I am just gonna wait it out.  Did 2 sets of 8 reps, 160 lbs, on Monday.

Next week, I will be at a conference, so no workouts.  I will be good to take a short break from the gym.  Week 7 will pick up after that.

Monday:  Arm Day.  I had a very good workout.  For arms, I warmed up with seated incline dumbbell curls with 20 lbs for a few slow reps.  I then switched to 30 lb dumbbells for four reps of prone incline hanging curls, then moved down to 25 lbs for four reps.  I followed this with standing tricep presses (one-arm) with 30 lbs, then tricep kickbacks with 25 lb dumbbells.

I moved on to incline preacher curls from 25 lbs, for seven reps per arm, then moved down to 20 lbs for eight reps.  I followed this with cable tricep pushdowns (two-handed) with 55 lbs for eight reps, then i turned around and did overhead tricep presses (straight out, leaning forward) with 50 lbs for eight reps, then 40 lbs for eight reps.  I went back to hanging curls with 15 lbs for six reps, then 10 lbs for five reps before giving up.  I was drained, but my arms felt so good and thick all day.  It was a very good workout.  My ab routine was also very good, as I went even slower on reps.

Tuesday:  Shoulder Day.  Very very good workout.  I did seated military dumbbell presses, 3 sets x 8, with 45 lbs, 45 lbs, and 40 lbs.  I then concentrated on prone incline shoulder flys, with sets of 9 to 12 reps (three or four reps in one of three different positions each), working down from 20 lb dumbbells to 10 lb dumbbells.  I also did various shoulder raises with 25 lb and 20 lb dumbbells, as well as overhead windmills using 15 lb dumbbells until I was worn out.

Wednesday:  Leg Day.   I had a rough day, and barely managed 3 sets of 6 squats with 55 lb dumbbells, after warming up with no weight.  But I am really feeling it, so it could not have been *that* bad a workout.  I was so tired I fell asleep before I could finish dinner.

Thursday:  Back and Chest Day.  Very good, deeply satisfying workout.  I started with seated cable rows, warming up with a few reps at 120 lbs, then doing eight reps at 160 lbs.  Next I did seated lat pulldowns, wide and narrow grip, eight reps each, alternating reps front and back.  I used 140 lbs for this.   Doing dumbbell bench presses, I warmed up incline with 40 lb dumbbells, then did the first set inclined with 50 lb dumbbells times eight reps, then flat at 55 lb dumbbells times eight reps, then decline with 55 lbs at eight reps, then another declined set with 55 lb dumbbells at eight reps, then flat with four reps of 55 lb dumbbells (before giving out), then flat with eight reps of 45 lb dumbbells, then finishing with incline, six reps of 45 lbs (before giving out again).  I then did two sets of four seated cable rows at 140 lbs.  I finished with two sets of standing cable flys (chest), with each side at 25 lbs for eight reps, then 15 lbs for eight reps.  Great workout!

My weight is now about 187 lbs.

I also spoke with a trainer at the gym about good hamstring exercises, and he pointed me to dumbbell lunges, using a very wide lunge.  Wider hits the hamstrings more, narrower works the quads more.  Seems obvious now, so I will bring lunges into the routine when I get back.

Friday:  Off.  Be back in a week!  And remember, Uncle Kracker says Smile!  ^___^

2 Aug 2010 – Week 3

This week was very good, and was a full week of five workout days.  I am getting back into my groove now with diet, stretching, rest, and exercise, and feel awesome.  Each day, I did seated calf raises with 160 lbs (3 sets of 8), and a great abdominal workout using medicine balls (6 lbs between my feet, 8 lbs held on my forehead to prevent cheating).  I fold up in a V shape, holding one ball with my feet, the other at my head, then slowly lower legs and torso, then back up.  I am doing 4 of these, then four more in which I twist my legs one way, and torso the other, then reverse that on the next rep.  Finally, just four of leg raises and four of traditional situps, but all done very slowly.  Only 16 reps total, but I am DEAD after this – my abs burn and I have a hard time getting off the floor.

Monday:  Arms (biceps and triceps).  I only did dumbbell preacher curls, from 25 lbs down to 15 lbs, just doing sets until I could not do any more, and my biceps were barking loud.  For triceps, I did dumbbell kickbacks with 20 lbs, overhead tricep presses with 30 lbs per arm and 20 lbs per arm, then tried one-arm presses using 20 lb dumbbells.  I had an outstanding workout, and my arms felt swollen for, well, they STILL feel swollen.

Tuesday:  Legs (UGH).  Dumbbell squats.  First with 40 lbs, 8 reps, then two sets with 50 lbs, 6 reps.  I was done after that, whole workout was only 20 minutes.

Wednesday:  Shoulders.  I did seated dumbbell presses and standing flys.  Presses with 30, then 40 lbs.  Flys with 20, 15, and 10 lbs.  I worked them till they could not move and burned.

Thursday:  Legs again.  I was so wiped out on this I could only do two sets of dumbbell squats with 45 lbs.

Friday:  Back and chest.  I did six sets of dumbbell bench presses.  I started with incline, then flat, then decline, then worked back up to incline.  I start with incline because I am weakest at that, and it uses the most shoulder power, which will be used up if I do anything else first.   After warming up with 25 lbs:

• Set 1 incline = 45 lbs x 8
• Set 2 flat = 45 lbs x 8
• Set 3 decline = 40 lbs x 8
• Set 4 decline = 40 lbs x 8
• Set 5 flat = 40 lbs x 8
• Set 6 incline = 35 lbs x 8

For back, I did two sets of seated cable rows, 120 lbs x 8, and then seated lat pulldowns.  I alternate reps front and back, and use only 100 lbs with a long bar.  In front I pull down to my lower chest and hold before slowly releasing.  In back, I pull down to my shoulders, even back a little, and hold while squeezing my upper back before slowly releasing.

I also alternate sets between wide grip and narrow grip (same bar), so the second set was also 100 lbs x 8, hands at roughly 11 and 1 positions.  This really crunches my mid-back area and works my lats deep.

I unfortunately only got one set of 8 reps for each type of grip, then only 5 reps on set three before my forearms could not hold on any longer.  I won’t use wraps either – I need to get stronger is all.  It will happen over time.

I am also up to using 10 lb and 12 lb medicine balls for abs, from 6 lbs and 8 lbs earlier.

Explanation? Clarification?

Well, I suppose I should mention that I had been working out for about ten weeks before I started this blog (did I mention that already?).  We moved back to the States in late May, and I started at the gym again in July sometime.  This closed off a three month (or more) break from exercising.  So I have been at it again for about….four months now?

When we left Japan, I was much stronger and weighed about 189 lbs.

When I started up again in July, I was down to about 178 lbs, and had lost a lot of strength and energy (I do that – I have always had a hard time gaining and keeping muscle weight and strength).

So now, I am finally creeping back up  – I am at 188 lbs as of yesterday, and much of my strength has returned.  I am also regaining my bulk, which has never actually been very bulky, when I stop to think about it.  This *does* tend to make for some surprised reactions when people see me doing 900 lbs on the seated leg sled, 320 lbs on the seated calf raise, or 270 lbs on the flat iso-bench press (I guess they expected less?).  ^____^

Not there yet, but I will be one day.  Old-age: 0.  Me: 1.

Speaking of old-age, I also met this guy in the gym.  Big vein-y arms.  Fit-looking.  Strong.  Silver hair?  I asked, and he said he was 75 years old!  He has been doing this non-stop since he was 16!  Imagine – 60 years of lifting.  He said he had been at the North Pole before, and he and some buddies had convinced the metal shop to cut some round plates.  You know it – they made barbells out of pipe and steel plates.  He said they were either lifting or eating constantly.  Amazing.  He knew a long time before it became popular to say, that this is a life-style.  You don’t stop; it doesn’t end.  It is a journey, not a destination (sorry, very cliche, but it drives the point home, right?).

I hope I got half of what he has when I am that age…  Dude’s gonna live to 120 at this rate.