Al–1961’s BodyBlog

Another weekend bonus workout.   And it was another good one.  I made an extra effort to concentrate on strict & steady form for lifting, and visualizing the muscle contracting.  Had a great pump.  Plus, I’m now on 3 days of clean eating, so the diet’s back on track.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  DELTS & TRICEPS:  Still heavy with 5-8 reps per set.

DELTS:  Military press with curl bar, overhead Arnold dumbbell press & front dumbbell raises (5 sets each, 60 sec’s rest).  Then military press with straight bar & lateral dumbbell raises (4 sets each, 30 sec’s rest).

TRICEPS:  Tricep extensions with curl bar, close grip bench press & reverse cable tricep extensions (5 sets each, 60 sec’s rest).  Then regular cable tricep extensions & dips (4 sets each, 30 sec’s rest).   

CARDIO:  22 min’s HIIT of varying sprints on elliptical.  Heartrate 170-175.  Another chest pounder & sweat sweat sweat.  

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!    

Insomnia & soreness.  I woke up before 3am and never got back to sleep.  I will be downing some java this afternoon……..On the upside, my chest is quite sore from yesterday’s workout AND I had another good one today.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LATS & BICEPS:  Still heavy with 5-8 reps per set.

LATS:  Close grip cable pulls, wide grip cable pulldowns & bentover barbell rows (5 sets each, 60 sec’s rest).  Then dumbbell over the head pullovers & bentover rows with a curl bar (4 sets each, 30 sec’s rest).

BICEPS:  Curl bar curls &  dumbbell curls (6 sets each, 60 sec’s rest).  Then curl bar close grip curls & dumbbell curls with different angle (4 sets each, 30 sec’s rest).   

CARDIO:  21 min’s HIIT on elliptical.  Heartrate 170-175.  Went hard…..seriously out of breath & chest pounding!   

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!       

Killed it & nailed it!  I killed it on the workout this morning & nailed the clean diet yesterday.  Ready for the day with the trip through Endorphin City.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:  Still heavy with 5-8 reps per set, with a slight tweak of the routine. 

— Incline bench (5 sets, 60-75 sec’s rest), then incline flyes (4 sets, 15-30 sec’s rest)

— Decline bench (5 sets, 60-75 sec’s rest), then decline flyes (4 sets, 15-30 sec’s rest)

— Flat bench (5 sets, 60-75 sec’s rest), then flyes (4 sets, 15-30 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  25 min’s HIIT on elliptical.  Heartrate 170-175.  Then wrapped up chest with 4 sets of incine flyes, each supersetted with decline push-ups (feet on bench), 30 sec’s rest.  This part nearly killed ME! 

ABS:  Crunches (10 lb wt), knee to chest raises, crunches (10 lb wt), 2 sets of situps. 

Wow.  I needed this workout after slugging through the last 2 mediocre workouts. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

Another so-so workout this morning.  Partly due to after dinner munching last night.  I’ve been way off point on nighttime junk food for the last 10 days or so.  Time to toughen up!  I’m resolving today to get back on a strict clean eating diet for a few weeks………my pants were a little tighter when I got dressed for work. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS (8-12 reps per set):  V-squats on Hammer Strength machine (5 sets), squats on Smith Machine (5 sets, last set with 2 drop sets), leg extensions (5 sets, last set with 2 drop sets), dead lifts (5 sets, last set with 2 drop sets), leg extensions again (2 sets), lunges (3 sets, with 25 lbs in each hand).  I skipped calves since my right calf is strained, but did some stretching. 

Time to get the nighttime munching back under control before I start morphing into a pudgy puffball. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

Hey, who ate my Wheaties?!  Lifting was so-so this morning, but cardio…..a real grind.  But I got it done.  My workout motto has me smiling anyway.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ARMS:  Still heavy with 5-8 reps per set, 60 sec’s rest between sets. 

BICEPS:  Curl bar curls, dumbbell curls & close grip curl bar curls (5 sets each). 

TRICEPS:  Tricep extensions with curl bar, close grip bench press, cable reverse grip tricep extensions (5 sets each)

CARDIO:  Tried doing sprint intervals on the treadmill, but my right calf is acting up again.  Made it for 6 min’s, then switched up to prevent further strain.  Did 22 min’s of sprint intervals on the elliptical, heartrate 155-165.  Not into it today, but pushed through. 

WRAP UP:  3 quick sets each, alternating between straight bar curls & straight bar tricep extensions, 15-30 sec’s rest.  Then 3 quick sets each, alternating between dumbbell curls & cable reverse grip tricep extensions, 15-30 sec’s rest. 

Living by the motto today……..

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

I dreamt last night that I overslept & missed my workout, and was in a lousy mood all day.  Fortunately, I really made it up, and had a great workout to start off the week.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  DELTOIDS/SHOULDERS:  Still heavy with 5-8 reps per set.  Military press with curl bar, Arnold dumbbell overhead presses, front dumbbell raises & military press with straight bar (4 sets each, 60 sec’s rest between sets).  Then 3 sets of front dumbbell raises & 3 sets of lateral dumbbell raises, 20-30 sec’s rest between sets. 

CARDIO:  32 min’s of sprint intervals on the elliptical, heartrate 155-170.  Then 4 quick sets of front dumbbell raises & 4 quick sets of military press with straight bar, 8-15 reps, 15-20 sec’s rest between sets. 

Get in, get-r-done, get out.     

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

Weekend bonus!  I count any workout on the weekend a bonus, since I only count on hitting the gym M-F.  The rest of the weekend is now for house chores & family time.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LATS:  Changed up the routine yesterday, but still 5-8 reps per set.  Close grip cable pulls, close grip cable pulldowns, bentover barbell rows, wide grip cable pulldowns & bentover dumbbell rows (4 sets each, 45-60 sec’s rest between sets). 

CARDIO:  22 min’s of HIIT sprint intervals on the elliptical, heartrate 170-175.  Then quick sets of close grip cable pulls, chin-ups & wide grip cable pulldowns, then repeated this (15-20 sec’s rest between sets). 

ABS:  Quick sets of crunches (10 lb wt), leg raises, crunches (10 lb wt) & leg pullups to the chest. 

Get in, get-r-done, get out.  Have a great weekend.   

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

AWESOME workout this morning.  I’m going to be sore sore sore.  A wheaties day to end the week.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:  Changed up the routine, but still 5-8 reps per set.  Flat bench press, incline bench & decline bench (4 sets each, 60-75 sec’s rest between sets).  Then flat bench flyes, incline flyes & decline flyes (3 sets each, 30 sec’s rest between sets). 

CARDIO:  31 min’s of sprint intervals on the elliptical, heartrate 165-175.  Out of breath & almost to Puke City!  Then 4 quick sets of incline flyes, the first 2 sets supersetted with decline pushups (feet on bench) & the last 2 sets supersetted with incline pushups (feet on floor, hands on bench). 

ABS:  3 rapid sets of crunches with a 10 lb weight, then 3 rapid sets of situps. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

The Gladiator Warrior’s taking a sabbatical.  Indulged in some treats last night.  So instead of going back to Day 1 again for Warrior clean eating, I’ll simply work to maintain a clean diet the majority of the time with a few cheats.  That’s what I do anyway.  And I’m not fretting about not going an entire month 100% clean on the diet.  I’m in good shape for 47, and in better health than I was a 25.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS:  V-squats for 5 sets, with last 2 sets supersetted with Hack Squats.  Next was squats on the Smith Machine for 5 sets, last set supersetted with lunges (25 lbs in each hand).  Then leg extensions (4 sets), followed by dead lifts (4 sets).  Next was calves (5 sets).  Finished up with 2 quick sets each of leg extensions, leg curls & lunges (25 lbs in each hand). 

I still have the goal of shedding a little BF to uncover my abs.  I’m just not going to go crazy with a single-minded focus.  Like everyone, I’ve got other priorities to focus some attention on as well (faith, family, work, "stuff" around the house, etc. etc.).  Have an awesome fantabulous day.     

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!     

The Gladiator Warrior is back on the battlefield.  And out of the pantry!     

Day 48 of heavy cycle, and day 2 of Gladiator Warrior clean eating.  Yesterday’s diet was clean, and no eating at all after dinner.  My wife was sick yesterday, so I took a 1/2 day off to watch my kiddies.  Took my daughters to see the movie Desperaux, then on a leisurely afternoon bike ride. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING:  Still on heavy cycle.  I did 3 different heavy exercises (5-8 reps, with 45-60 sec’s rest), 1 set per exercise, then moved to the next, and next, and then did 2 different light exercises (10-15 reps, with 15-30 sec’s rest), until through all 5 different exercises.  Then start back on the 1st heavy exercise again, as follows:

BICEPS:  The 3 heavy sets were curl bar curls, close grip curl bar curls, & curl bar curls again.  The 2 light sets were dumbbell curls & another set of dumbbell curls with different rotation/angle.  Did 3 total sets.  Then I did 4 quick heavy sets of dumbbell curls supersetted with straight bar curls.  30-45 sec’s rest between sets. 

CARDIO:  My right calf started acting up again while doing running intervals on the treadmill, so I switched off to the elliptical to keep it from getting too strained like last month.  Did 13 min’s of interval runs, then moved over to the elliptical for 22 min’s of HIIT.  Heartrate 170-175. 

ABS:  3 sets of crunches with 10 lb weight & 3 sets of situps. 

I feel great!  The diet’s back on track.  The family & I are healthy, and I have a job.  And I’m in better health & shape at 47 than I was at 25!  And that’s partly because……

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!!