Al–1961’s BodyBlog

Workouts are just the ticket for grumpy moods.  For whatever reason, I was grumpy today & had a headache that just didn’t want to go away.  My wife & daughters got together with a friend & her daughter this morning, so I got to get away for a weekend workout (i.e. guy-time!!).  Well I took out my bad mood on the weights & cardio……..now I’m feeling chipper.  Nice! 

WORKOUT TODAY  —  BICEPS  (7-10 reps, 60 sec’s rest):

—  Curlbar curls  (6 sets, 2 dropsets on 5th & 6th sets)

—  Dumbbell curls  (4 sets, 2 dropsets on 3rd & 4th sets)

—  Straightbar curls  (4 sets, 2 dropsets on 3rd & 4th sets)

CARDIO:  5 min’s warmup intervals on elliptical.  Then 25 min’s HIIT, heartrate 160-175.  Then 15 min’s LISS, heartrate 150-155. 

ABS:  4 sets of leg lifts.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Going hard on leg day sure takes it out of you, especially with dropsets.  Today I was down 10-20% in strength after yesterday’s leg workout.  Also, it took longer to get the engine revved up on cardio.  Still had a great workout this morning to wrap up the week. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST  (7-10 reps, 60 sec’s rest):

—  Bench press  (6 sets, 2 dropsets on 5th & 6th sets)

—  Decline flyes  (3 sets, 2 dropsets on 2nd & 3rd sets)

—  Decline bench  (4 sets, 2 dropsets on 3rd & 4th sets)

—  Incline bench with dumbbells  (3 sets, 2 dropsets on 2nd & 3rd sets)

—  Flyes on pec dec machine  (3 sets, 2 dropsets on 2nd & 3rd sets).  I haven’t worked the pec dec in several years.  I want to incorporate it back into the chest routine to get that squeeze in the middle, at the end of the movement that you don’t get with free weight flyes.

CARDIO:  30 min’s of intervals on the elliptical.  Heartrate 150-175. 

ABS:  4 quick sets of crunches with 10 lb weight. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Today’s avi is from a TEA Party protest rally we went to last night (Taxed Enough Already).  The blocked out face is a local talk radio show personality that we met.  Lots of people showed up, with funny and thought provoking protest signs, and good speeches.  There were a lot of families too (we ran into a few friends).  Very cool to see a protest that was peaceful, no abusive bad language, respect for the property (it was held at the State Capitol building), no violence, and people also having fun.  Samuel Adams & his Boston band of "indians" would have liked it.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS  (8-10 reps, 60-75 sec’s rest):

—  Squats on Smith Machine  (6 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th & 6th sets)

—  Leg extensions  (4 sets, 2 dropsets on 3rd & 4th sets)

—  Leg curls  (4 sets, 2 dropsets on 3rd & 4th sets)

—  Hack squats  (3 sets, 1 dropset on 2nd set, 2 dropsets on 3rd set)

—  Calf raises  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th & 5th sets)

Walked/hobbled out of the gym with Wobby Leg Syndrome.  Need to go shopping today……..gonna need crutches tomorrow.     

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!    

Hellacious pump & awesome cardio this morning.  I blasted out dropsets that really had my deltoids pumped.  I sure wish my shoulders looked like that all the time.  On cardio, I was finally able to run sprints on the treadmill for a full HIIT session……my right calf held up, for the first time in > 2 months.  I also pulled a Switcheroo Day #2….I held off doing legs again for 1 more day, since I was out late last night and I’m operating on 2nd straight day of about 4 hrs sleep.  Just didn’t think I could pull it together for squats this morning, as those dropsets on squats really take concentration & determination.  Still, today was a stellar workout.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  DELTS  (8-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

—  Military press  (6 sets, 1 dropset on 5th set, 2 dropsets on 6th set)

—  Lateral dumbbell raises  (3 sets, 1 dropset on 2nd set, 2 dropsets on 3rd set)

—  Overhead dumbbell press  (3 sets, 1 dropset on 2nd set, 2 dropsets on 3rd set)

—  Front dumbbell raises  (3 sets, 1 dropset on 2nd set, 2 dropsets on 3rd set)

—  Lateral dumbbell raises, overhead dumbbell press, front dumbbell raises  (No rest between sets, then repeat once)

CARDIO:  5 min’s warmup intervals on the treadmill, then 26 min’s HIIT sprint intervals.  Heartrate 155-170.  FELT GREAAAAAT!  (So sayeth Tony The Tiger)       

ABS:  4 sets of situps with 10 lb wt, each with a dropset without the wt. 

Quote for the day:  "Failure is the line of least persistence."

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

The plan for today was legs.  But I didn’t sleep all that great, and my calf strain was feeling a bit "edgy".  I’d rather tackle legs on a good night’s sleep; and, I have a meeting tonight, so I’ll be out late. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LATS  (8-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

—  Cable close grip lat pulls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Bentover barbell rows  (6 sets, 1 superset with dumbbell bentover rows on 5th set, 2 supersets on 6th set)

—  Cable wide grip lat pulldowns  (4 sets, 1 superset with barbell bentover rows on 3rd set, 2 supersets on 4th set)

CARDIO:  40 min’s on stairmaster with a few intervals.  Heartrate 145-175.  Man, I’m liking the stairmaster.  Even at low-medium speeds, that heartrate gets up there.  Love it when the sweat is dripping buckets.     

ABS:  Crunches with 10 lb wt  (5 sets, 1 dropset without wt on 4th & 5th sets)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

God Bless’em.  When I was in the Navy, we took Seals along on deployment (our ship was an amphibious assault ship).  They are an amazing group…..no flaunting, bragging, trash talking.  No need to.  God Bless all our troopers serving.      

Here’s a pic from a family hike outing this weekend.  The previous weekend I took my daughters on a bike ride.  A big reason why I’m a 5am gymrat…….to stay fit, active & healthy.  Even more than my goal of uncovering my abs.  This is what it’s all about for me……an active lifestyle for better quality of life. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BICEPS & TRICEPS  (8-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

—  Curlbar curls  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th set)

—  Dumbbell curls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Straightbar curls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 1 dropset & 1 superset with dumbbell curls on 4th set)

—  Straightbar tricep extensions  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Cable reverse tricep extensions  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th set)

—  Cable tricep extensions  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

CARDIO:  31 min’s varying intervals on elliptical.  Heartrate 155-175.  The extra 4-5 min’s was for you, KP.     

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!      

YesSireeBob, DOMS………the legs are SORE.  Those dropsets on squats et al yesterday did the trick.  Going up & down the stairs this morning, I felt muscles where I didn’t know I had muscles.  Dropsets ROCK.  Of course, the opposite was going through my mind as I was doing them.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST & SHOULDERS  (8-10 reps, 60 sec’s rest):

—  Decline bench press  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th set)

—  Flat bench press  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Flyes  (4 sets, 1 superset with decline flyes on 3rd set, 2 supersets with decline flyes on 4th set)

—  Military press  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th set)

—  Lateral dumbbell raises  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Overhead dumbbell press  (4 sets, 1 superset with front dumbbell raises on 3rd set, 2 supersets with front dumbbell raises on 4th set)

CARDIO:  26 min’s HIIT on the elliptical.  Heartrate 165-175.  Sweat City. 

TGIF     TGIF     TGIF     TGIF     —– HAPPY EASTER —– 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Dropsets on squats are killer…….that’ll test your manhood.  So I learned this morning that I haven’t really hit legs lately as I should.  And that huge volumes of sets are not necessary if one is pushing hard, especially with dropsets to the point of gasping out "Oh Mommy!". 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS  (8-12 reps, 60 sec’s rest):

—  Squats on Smith Machine  (5 sets, 1 dropset on 4th set, 2 dropsets on 5th set)

—  Leg extensions  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Leg curls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Hack squats  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 2nd & 3rd sets, & 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Calves  (4 quick easy sets, since right calf strain is still keeping me from running sprints on the treadmill)

—  I wussed out on doing any deadlifts since my back was sore from the squats (had to don the weight belt to finish out squats).  So wrapped up with Walking Lunges  (3 sets, 25 lb wt in each hand) 

CARDIO:  You must be kidding! 

ABS:  2 sets of situps & 2 sets of crunches with 10 lb wt. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!      

Bummer dude.  I woke up at 3:30am with a major headache.  It got better, but I never got back to sleep.  I’m here to tell ya that the stairmaster ROCKS.  The plan was to do a LISS cardio on the stairmaster this morning…….and even with that my heart was pumping.  Jeepers!  Either I’m getting old, or the stairmaster ROCKS.  I vote for the latter.       

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  TRICEPS  (8-12 reps, 60 sec’s rest):

—  Tricep extensions with curlbar  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Close grip bench press  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Reverse cable tricep extensions  (5 sets, 1 superset with cable rope tricep extensions on 3rd set, 2 supersets with same on 4th & 5th sets)

CARDIO:  43 min’s of LISS on stairmaster.  A few "semi-sprints" thrown in just to keep it interesting, but not flat-out hard.  Heartrate still got up to 155-165……yikes, this was supposed to be lower intensity.

ABS:  3 sets of crunches with 10 lb wt, each superset with knee raises to the chest.

Repeat of a favorite quote by Calvin Coolidge, which definitely applies to workouts, diet & fitness:  "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I wrapped up a work deadline yesterday, on time.  I’d been behind in workload since December, working LOTS of evenings & weekends.  It was great to get home "early".  We watched some old videos we took of our daughters when they were toddlers.  Laughing, laughing, laughing.  It was a good reminder to capture the kiddies on video………for lots of fun memories & to embarrass them when they’re teens.  Hey, I’m sure they’ll be doing the same to yours truly!      

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LATS & BICEPS  (8-12 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

—  Close grip cable pulls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Bentover barbell rows  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Close grip cable pulldowns  (4 sets, 1 superset with bentover dumbbell rows on 3rd set, 2 supersets with bentover dumbbell rows on 4th set)

—  Curlbar curls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Dumbbell curls  (4 sets, 1 dropset on 3rd set, 2 dropsets on 4th set)

—  Straightbar curls  (4 sets, 1 superset with dumbbell curls on 3rd set, 2 supersets with dumbbell curls on 4th set)

CARDIO:  23 min’s of intervals on stationary bike.  Heartrate 155-170. 

ABS:  4 sets of situps. 

GET IN…….GET-ER-DONE…….GET OUT.  Great start to the day.  

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!