Al–1961’s BodyBlog

Still going…….clean eats & no cheats yesterday.  No nighttime munching.  Had a protein drink before bedtime, nothing else.  Today’s workout was the high rep routine for the 2nd half of the week.  Waiting to see how sore I’ll be from throwing high reps into the mix, and since I’m used to going 4-5 days before hitting a muscle group again, instead of just 3 days.  I was definitely spent after lifting.  Nice.     

WORKOUT THIS AM  —  CHEST & DELTS: 

(15-25 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest, 1 dropset on last set of each)

–  Bench press  (4 sets)

–  Incline dumbbell bench press  (3 sets)

–  Pec Dec machine  (3 sets)

–  Military press  (4 sets)

–  Arnold overhead dumbbell press  (3 sets)

–  Lateral dumbbell raise  (3 sets)

CARDIO:  31 min’s of intervals on elliptical.  Heartrate 155-175. 

ABS:  Situps on decline situp bench  (4 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Rolling along.  Clean eats & no cheats yesterday.  One of my pitfalls is coming home late & being too wired to sleep, then resorting to munching on something to wind down.  I had a meeting last night, but no late evening munching afterwards before bed.  And had a good workout this morning.  

WORKOUT THIS AM  —  LEGS: 

(7-10 reps, 60-75 sec’s rest, 1 dropset on last set of each, including abs)

–  Smith Machine squats  (5 sets)

–  Hack squats  (4 sets)

–  Calf raises  (5 sets, and 2 dropsets on last set)

–  Leg curls  (4 sets)

–  Leg extensions  (4 sets)

–  Walking lunges  (3 sets, 25 lbs in each hand)

ABS:  Crunches with 10 lb weight  (4 sets)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

CLEAN EATS & NO CHEATS YESTERDAY.  No pansyness going on here.  Had a great workout this morning.  The change-up in routine was just what the Dr ordered.  I usually find it exceedingly difficult to hit my delts hard enough to get DOMS the next day.  But I’ve got it going on this morning.  Sweet.     

WORKOUT THIS AM  —  ARMS  &  LATS: 

(4 sets each, 5-8 reps, 30-60 sec’s rest, 1 dropset on last set of each)

–  Curlbar curls

–  Dumbbell curls

–  Curlbar tricep extensions

–  Close grip bench press

–  Straightbar curls

–  Cable reverse tricep extensions

–  Wide grip lat cable pulldowns

–  Bentover barbell rows

–  Close grip lat cable pulls

CARDIO:  20 min’s of HIIT on the elliptical.  Heartrate 155-170. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Rainy days & Mondays……no, I haven’t morphed into Karen Carpenter.  But there’s something about Mondays.  This is the 3rd or 4th in a row I’ve woken up quite a bit early before the alarm.  Awake this AM around 3:30am.  I had a treat meal Saturday night.  Otherwise, clean eating amidst several temptations.  I avoided homemade chocolate chip cookies Friday night.  Saturday we volunteered at a cookout for National Guard families.  I avoided all the crap food and just ate hamburger meat (sans the bun), fresh veggies & fresh fruit.  Then later on Saturday my wife & I went to see "Star Trek"…….I’m an absolute popcorn hound at the movie theatre.  But not this go’round.  But I did have my weekly treat after that.  Clean eats Sunday, and I did all the cooking since it was Mother’s Day.  Yep, it was a great weekend.     

On the workout front, for the next few weeks, I plan to do split heavy vs light routines each week.  Go heavy for upper body Mon & Tues.  Work legs on Wed.  Then light/high reps for upper body again on Thurs & Fri.  The weekend will be a bonus if I get in a workout. 

WORKOUT THIS AM  —  CHEST & DELTS: 

(4 sets each, 5-8 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest, with 1 dropset on last set)

–  Bench press

–  Decline bench press

–  Incline flyes

–  Military press

–  Front dumbbell raises

–  Lateral dumbbell raises

–  Pushups with feet on bench  (3 sets, last set superset w/ incline pushups)

CARDIO:  26 min’s of intervals on stairmaster.  Heartrate 155-170.

ABS:  3 sets of leg raises, each superset with crunches.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

That’s my theme for the next 30 days…..Don’t be a pansy on the diet.  I have strong self-discipline on working out.  Time to quit being a wuss & apply that to the diet to drop the few % points of BF I’ve gained with being lax on diet in ‘09.  The first hurdle was on Day 1.  My wife baked chocolate chip cookies last night…One of my fav’s.  When I announced that I was abstaining, she said "oh, just wait til Monday…..you’re being silly".  Well!  Time to dig deep.  I didn’t cave.  Day 1 done & in the books.  However, I did forget about 2 upcoming weekends later this month.  A 2 night Girlscout camping trip with my daughters, and a 2 night out of town trip with my wife to a conference.  Planning, planning, planning…….and no pansyness. 

WORKOUT TODAY  —  TRI’s & BI’s  (7-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

LAST OF THE HELLACIOUS DROPSET ROUTINE

2 dropsets on 1st & last sets of each exercise. 

–  Curlbar curls  (5 sets)

–  Dumbbell curls  (4 sets)

–  Curlbar tricep extensions  (5 sets)

–  Close grip bench press  (4 sets)

–  Straightbar curls  (3 sets) 

–  Reverse cable tricep extensions  (3 sets)

CARDIO:  20 min’s of intervals on stairmaster.  Heartrate 160-175. 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MY LADY BS.COM FRIENDS.     

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I took some new progress pics & weighed myself this morning after the workout.  The operative word:  SOFT.  I’ve been lax on the diet since the beginning of the year, while at the same time putting a lot of focus on the workouts.  I can say that the I’ve probably had the best & most intense workouts ever, the past 4 months.  Haven’t missed a single workout, inspite of bouts of insomnia, illness & working late.  I’ve only gained about 3-4 lbs, but with a very short torso & wide waist, it seems that ALL of the BF gain went to the waist.  But while the pics don’t seem to show it, I can also tell that I’ve gained muscle in the arms, delts, chest & legs.  I’m definitely filling out my shirts a little more.  All in all, I’m not too displeased.  However, my overall preference is leanness.  I wouldn’t mind adding 5-10 lbs of lean mass, but I don’t want to become a pudge doing it.  So……along with the recent blogs I’ve read by ShanBL & Ledford45, my focus for the next month will be diet.  Time to tighten up again, with fewer treats in the diet.  

In today’s leg routine I increased the weight for the 2nd straight week.  I was also able to do higher weights on the dropsets as well.  Gains in strength & stamina.  NEXT WEEK:  I plan to change things up.  I’ve been hitting it hard on dropsets recently, and I can tell the body could use a break.  I will definitely continue incorporating dropsets going forward.  They have been an awesome tool for upping the intensity of my workouts.     

WORKOUT TODAY  —  LEGS  (7-10 reps, 60-75 sec’s rest):

2 dropsets on 1st & last sets of each exercise, including abs.

–  Smith Machine squats  (5 sets)

–  Hack squats  (4 sets)

–  Leg extensions  (4 sets)

–  Leg curls  (4 sets)

–  Calf raises  (5 sets)

ABS:  Crunches with 25 lb weight

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Had a great workout this morning.  Finally, the family seems to be all over the stomach bug.  I felt the urge to hurl during HIIT on cardio…….but not due to the bug.  Pushed it hard since tomorrow is leg day, which means no cardio.  Last night was the 4th night in a row I worked til 8-8:30pm (went in this past Sunday as well).  That’s finished, so I can actually eat dinner with the family tonight.  Ready for the day & psyched to tackle legs tomorrow.      

WORKOUT TODAY  —  CHEST  (7-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

4 sets each exercise.  2 dropsets on 1st & last sets of each exercise.

–  Bench press

–  Incline flyes

–  Decline bench press

–  Pec dec machine (flyes)

CARDIO:  21 min’s of HIIT on the elliptical, heartrate 165-175.  Then 10 min’s of LIIT on the elliptical, heartrate ~ 150-155.  

ABS:  4 sets of situps on decline situp bench  (15 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Inspite of 2 nights in a row working til 8pm, I woke up today before my alarm & ready to go.  Probably have 1 more late night at work tonight, to wrap up a monthly deadline.  Both my daughters were yak-free yesterday & feeling better.  Hopefully, no more middle of the night ralphing episodes…….

WORKOUT TODAY  —  SHOULDERS  (7-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

5 sets each exercise:  2 dropsets each on 1st & 5th sets.

–  Military press

–  Arnold overhead dumbbell press

–  Lateral dumbbell raise

CARDIO:  22 min’s HIIT on the bike, heartrate 155-165.  Then 10 min’s LIIT on the bike, heartrate 150-ish. 

ABS:  3 sets of leg raises, each superset with crunches. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

The word for the day:  Sluggish.  I’ve read that you can’t really make up for lost sleep, you can only get back on schedule.  This morning bore that out.  Slept pretty well last night, but it didn’t make up for Sunday night’s lack of sleep.  Plus I worked til 8pm last night.  Lifting went fine, but I was whipped when finished.  Had to slog through it for cardio, and barely eeked out 22 min’s.  I have another late night ahead at work, for a deadline this week.  Testing the ole commitment today…….here’s to pushing on through. 

WORKOUT TODAY  —  LATS & BICEPS  (7-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

5 sets each exercise:  2 dropsets each on 1st & 5th sets.

–  Wide grip cable lat pulldowns

–  Bentover barbell rows

–  Close grip cable lat pulls

–  Curlbar curls

–  Dumbbell curls

–  Straightbar curls (4 sets, 2 dropsets each on 1st & 4th sets)

CARDIO:  22 min’s of variable intervals on stairmaster.  Heartrate 150-155. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.  This morning started out almost as a repeat of last Monday.  This time it was Daughter #2 who comes into the bedroom at 3am……"my stomach doesn’t feel good".  30 sec’s later, cookies were being tossed into the commode.  I never got to sleep again, as she got up another time shortly after.  I had gone to bed later than ideal, because my wife was up packing for a short trip with our daughters to the beach for 3 days.  Ixnay on that……..At least I’m not sick on my stomach too, as I was last Monday.  I hope tomorrow morning isn’t a Day 2 repeat of last week’s 3 day insomnia battle.  On the bright side, had a great workout this morning, with a tweak to my dropset routine for this week. 

WORKOUT TODAY  —  TRICEPS  (7-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest):

5 sets each exercise:  2 dropsets each on 1st & 5th sets.

–  Tricep extensions with curl bar

–  Close grip bench press

–  Reverse cable tricep extensions

CARDIO:  25 min’s HIIT on the elliptical, heartrate 160-175.  Followed by 20 min’s LIIT on the elliptical, heartrate 150-155.  Major endorphins………I like it.     

ABS:  Crunches with 20 lb wt  (4 sets, 2 dropsets each on 3rd & 4th sets.)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!