Al–1961’s BodyBlog

Feeling much better today.  Good thing too.  Brad The Instructor brooks no pansies or wusses in spin class……..LOL.  Just kidding.  Actually, he’s pretty merciful to those that are more cardio or fit-challenged.  But if you’re looking for a challenge, Brad is your man.  He’ll take you "to Hell and back" if you can handle it.  I was going to commerate that trip in cardio this morning with a clip from the movie To Hell And Back, about a genuine WWII hero, Audie Murphy (and he played himself in the movie).  He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and 3 Purple Hearts.  Apropos, considering December 7th was Pearl Harbor Day.  Instead, gotta go with a great tune from back in the day.  Brad was jamming tunes from AC/DC, Elvis, Bon Jovi, U2,  a Saturday Night Fever tune AND………this tune from The Jackson 5, called ABC.  The first 2 albums I ever owned were both by J5.  They were my fav when I was a kiddo.  So without further adieu, here they are: 

ABC:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYx3BR2aJA4 

Brad did a change of pace this morning.  The entire spin class was ALL standing hill climbs and standing isolations.  No sprinting.  I’m here to tell ya that you do not have to do killer sprints to get the heart thumping and keep the HR raised.  Great workout today.  Good ab day too.        

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ABS  &  CARDIO:

–  Laying down leg lifts over the head  (7 sets, 15-20 sec’s rest)

–  Crunches with 10 lb weight  (7 sets, 15-20 sec’s rest)

–  Situps on decline situp bench  (7 sets, 15-20 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  Spin class  (45 min’s)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Moving in slooooow motion this morning.  I picked up the cold crud on Friday.  I still felt OK on Saturday, so I elected to go 110% on Leg Day, which may have prolonged the time it’s taking my body to fight it off.  Felt so-so yesterday, but felt like crap this morning.  Still, I got up and hit the gym.  It’s an ingrained habit, and I hate to miss workouts.  I generally have to be ready for a visit to the mortician before I skip the gym.  Considering that I’m not up to snuff, my workout was not too bad this morning.  Unfortunately, since I didn’t feel good last night, I raided the stash of Hershey’s chocolate kisses in the pantry.  My diet goes to crap when I don’t feel good.  Crud, what a crappy habit to have.  

Maybe it’s due to the fact I didn’t feel great, but I found this guy next to me this morning on the elliptical to be quite annoying.  He was barely exerting any effort, and he was tooling on the web with his iphone (I’ve seen him do the same on several occasions).  Now the elliptical can be a real pansy workout if you don’t put out any effort.  What’s the point of getting up to hit the gym at 5:30-6am if you’re just going to lollygag?  Anyway, that’s my mini-rant since I don’t feel so hot today. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ARMS:

(6-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest.  Dropset on last set of every exercise)

–  Curlbar curls  (6 sets)

–  Curlbar reverse curls  (4 sets)

–  DB curls  (4 sets)

–  Close grip bench press  (6 sets)

–  Curlbar tricep extensions  (4 sets)

–  Cable rope pushdowns  (4 sets)

CARDIO:  20 min’s of LIIT on the elliptical, HR 135-145.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

"Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down".  I’m not so sure about that. I’m wobbling bigtime this morning from Saturday’s leg day.  I had to move leg day to earlier in the week during Thanksgiving week.  Then last week, I pushed out leg day the other way, out to Saturday.  So over a week between leg blasts.  Plus, it was one of my best outings in awhile for hitting legs, since I wasn’t working out at 5am and I had more than my usual 5 to 5.5 hours of M-F sleep.  This definitely invited DOMS to bite me in the butt.  Literally…..LOL.  And in the quads, hams & calves.

So it was an up & down Saturday.  Actually, a downhill day.  It started off great with the leg workout.  Then the concert that I was taking my girls to (Friday blog) was cancelled, since it was an outdoor venue and the weather was very cold & rainy.  So I missed getting to see my friend Christa Wells perform her new album.  Then I got to watch the whole SEC title football game, and the joy of seeing the Gators get totally dominated by Alabama.  Kudos to The Tide, they played a good game and simply outplayed Florida.  Kudos also to my man Tim Tebow, a class guy who lost with grace in giving credit to Alabama and their organization. 

Here’s the old Weebles commercial (34 sec’s).  Sure looks dated now:     

Weebles:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq0OQBdIhsc 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:

(6-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest.  Dropset on last set of every exercise)

–  Incline bench press  (5 sets)

–  Decline bench press  (4 sets)

–  Flat bench flyes  (4 sets)

–  Pec dec machine  (4 sets)

–  Decline pushups, feet up on bench  (4 sets, last set superset with incline pushups, hands up on bench & feet on the floor)

CARDIO:  5 min’s LIIT on the elliptical, HR 145-150.  Then 20 min’s HIIT on the elliptical, HR 160-175.

ABS:  Crunches (4 sets)  +  situps on decline situp bench (4 sets).

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

It’s amazing how much more intense I could hit legs today, since it wasn’t 5am & I could get more than my usual 5-5.5 hrs sleep during the week.  WOW.  If only I could hit legs on the weekend all the time.  My supersets with add’l sets were mostly the squat jumps that I’ve added recently.  Squat jumps with 20 lb DB’s in each hand.  Man these are simply killer.  Very hard to explode up as high as I can go after squats, extensions & curls.  But I like that these hit fast twitch muscle fibers. 

I don’t usually socialize much during my M-F workouts, since I have to get in & out by a certain time in my morning workouts.  Since I had more time this morning, I finally went up to one of the PT’s in the gym who has a nice physique and is very muscular (more muscle than me), to ask her if she competes.  Turns out she has her pro card.  Very nice young lady & humble too. 

Well, off to take my kiddos to the concert I mentioned in yesterday’s blog.  GO GATORS!!  BEAT BAMA!     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS  &  ABS:

(6-9 reps, 60-90 sec’s rest.  Superset on last set each exercise, followed by 2 add’l quick sets of the superset exercise with 30 sec’s rest)

- Smith Machine squats  (8 sets, last set superset w/ squat jumps)

- Standing calf raises  (6 sets, last set superset w/ seated calf raises)

- Leg extensions  (5 sets, last set superset w/ squat jumps)

- Leg curls  (5 sets, last set superset w/ squat jumps)

- Situps on decline situp bench  (5 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

- Crunches  (5 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

- Laying on the floor leg raises  (5 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

So I’m really trying to be a good Dad tomorrow.  I’m taking my daughters to a concert tomorrow afternoon, and I may miss the entire SEC championship game between Florida & Alabama.  The concert is by a friend of mine, Christa Wells.  For any of you who listen to contemporary Christian music, you may know the song Held, sung by Natalie Grant.  Natalie won a Dove Award a couple years ago for this song, which was written by my friend Christa.  Christa is both a songwriter & a singer.  I get together with Christa’s husband & another friend of mine for Bible study, and general Christian guy bonding.  The song has personal meaning, as Christa wrote it about 10-12 years ago for friends of ours.  These friends had tried for years to have kids, and finally had a baby boy in their 40’s.  Their son died in infancy due to a congenital health defect.  Christa wrote this song for them & sung it at their son’s funeral, which I will always remember.  It talks about the pain we go through in life, and that God didn’t promise us a pain-free life.  But He promised to walk with us through our pain and that we’d be "held".  Below is Natalie Grant’s version that played on the radio (but with the lyrics), and Christa’s version (I don’t know the family that posted this Youtube version, but it’s with Christa singing).  I prefer Christa’s, both for the personal connection & that it is more acoustic. 

Held - NG:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-hJ87ApWtw 

Held - CW:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI2EyUNROaY 

Very sore this morning, from neck to waist, from yesterday’s back workout & Wednesday’s 20 total sets on abs. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps, 60 sec’s rest.  Superset on last set each exercise, followed by 2 add’l quick sets of the superset exercise with 15 sec’s rest)

–  Military press  (6 sets, last set superset w/ lateral DB raises)

–  Front DB raises  (6 sets, last set superset w/ DB overhead press)

CARDIO:  15 min’s HIIT on the stairmaster, HR 170-180.  Followed by 20 min’s of intervals on the elliptical, HR 155-160. 

ABS:  Crunches  (4 quick sets, 15 sec’s rest).  Did these just to ease the DOMS I had this morning from Wednesday’s ab work.  Will really hit abs tomorrow morning with Leg Day workout. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!        

Am I obsessed?  I slept to my 4:30am alarm this morning, which is a rare treat.  What a dream I was having.  I dreamed I was doing weighted pullups with a 25lb DB.  I must have been subconsciously focused ahead for today’s workout, seeing as how today was Back Day, with pullups.  In my dream I was beside myself with amazement & confusion as I was cranking out mega reps.  I got up to 40 reps (with an extra 25lbs, mind you), and could have easily done more.  But I was freaked out over repping out that many, so I stopped, thinking I was doing something wrong.  Then I did a second set of 35 reps, and stopped again, although I could have repped more.   So as I removed my weightbelt to take off the 25 lb DB, I discovered that I had only used a 5 lb DB.  DOH!  In real life, I’d be super fired up if I could rep out 40 pullups with a 5 lb weight.  Even without any extra weight…….LOL.  Hmmm, maybe I’m just going plain nuts. 

I had a GREAT back workout this morning with 10lb weighted pullups (NOT 25lbs, as in my dream).  I was scheduled for back & shoulders, but just didn’t feel like hitting 2 muscles today.  Plus, I am going to be able to work in gym time on Saturday morning with my wife & girls booked with some "girl time".  So I’ll get "Al time" Saturday morning, and that means "gym time".  Man do I love "gym time".  Even when it’s dreaded leg day & squat nausea.      So I’ll hit shoulders tomorrow and legs on Saturday.  HIIT cardio was as good as it gets this morning, with my heart feeling like it was going to burst out of my chest the last 5 min’s.  And Stu, you’ll be happy to hear that I had that aura of barfness going too.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK:

(6-10 reps.  90 sec’s rest on pullups & 60 sec’s on the rest.  Superset on last set ea exercise, plus 2 add’l quick sets of the superset exercise with 30 sec’s rest)

- Pullups: 17, 12, 9, 7, 6, 6  (Wide grip, +10lbs, last set superset chinups)

- Bentover BB rows  (4 sets, wide grip, last set w/ superset DB rows)

- Close grip cable pulldowns  (4 sets, last set superset cable rows)

CARDIO:  20 min’s HIIT on the elliptical, HR 170-180.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Spin class.  Brad The Instructor.  Crazy hill climbs.  Blazing sprints.  Sweat City & waaay out of breath.  Heart thumping cardio workout this morning.  Nothing makes my heart & legs feel their age than spin.  But in a good way.  I had to smile during spin, as I was out of breath & gasping for air.  The song Every Breath You Take, by The Police, popped into my head.  So here it is.  Seeing the video makes me feel old, because Sting looks so young.  The album Synchronicity came out when I was in college.     

The Police:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doFKkuzoawM 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ABS  &  CARDIO:

–  Roman chair knees to chest  (5 sets).  I hate these.  Do’em anyway.

–  Situps on decline situp bench  (5 sets)

–  Laying down leg lifts over the head  (5 sets)

–  Crunches with 10 lb weight  (5 sets)

CARDIO:  Spin class  (45 min’s)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

As my friend Stu would say, from across The Pond, "Tossers, that chuffin sucks".  Insomnia that is, as I tossed & turned.  And tossed & turned.  And tossed & turned.  Finally got up at 4am. 

I think Bodyspacers may be the only ones who will understand why I was stoked over something yesterday.  My wife knows that I’ve been hitting pullups for several months, and that pullups have become my favorite upperbody exercise.  My youngest daughter Sarah is in a Monday afternoon gymnastics class.  Sarah turns 8 in a couple weeks.  She’s the athletic one, and very wacky too.  Anyway, my wife texts me yesterday afternoon, "Sarah’s doing pullups".  I text back, "How many?".  Wife:  "I lost count".  I thought ‘Cool!  My daughter is repping pullups’.  When I got home, my daughter explained that it was actually chinups, and she did 3.  Whatever.  I’m seeing a future gym partner in the works.   

Here’s wacky Sarah:      

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ARMS:

(6-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest.  Superset on last set each exercise, followed by 2 add’l quick sets of the superset exercise with 15 sec’s rest)

- DB curls  (5 sets, last set superset with curlbar curls)

- Straightbar curls  (5 sets, last set superset w/ reverse DB curls)

- DB tricep extensions  (5 sets, last set superset close grip bench press)

- Cable rope pushdowns  (5 sets, last set superset w/ dips)

- Cable curls  (4 sets, last set superset with reverse cable curls)

- Cable reverse tricep ext’s  (4 sets, last set superset w/ BB tricep ext’s)

CARDIO:  16 min’s HIIT on the stairmaster, HR 170-180.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I’m beginning to think I’m a HIIT snob.  This morning, as usual, I saw scads of people doing steady-state cardio for an eternity.  Plodding along on the treadmills & ellipticals for 45, 50, 60 min’s and more.  ZERO INTENSITY CARDIO.  NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BREAKING A SWEAT.  So many of these folks who could stand to lose maybe 10-15 lbs (and a few, 25-50 lbs).  But after 6 mths, a year, and more, no changes.  I’m usually done with cardio in 20 min’s.  30 min’s when I feel like going long.  I feel sympathy, as well as a bit of snobbery, since it took me several years to learn that forever cardio won’t make up for a mediocre or poor diet.  I almost wish I could walk around the gym with a flashing sign that says "It’s about the Diet, not BORING cardio in perpetuity". 

We spent Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law who is in the Navy, and stationed at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.  I like going on base.  Seeing the young men & women serving our nation is always a great encouragement.  Regardless of politics, the good ole USofA is in good hands with our servicemembers serving throughout the world.      We got home yesterday afternoon & we finished off the R & R weekend by grilling some lamb chops on the barbie, and I had a glass of a very tasty Cabernet-Merlet red wine (1st wine in quite awhile).  Ready to get back to clean eats & tee-totaling.

Last week my routine was 6-10 reps, with a high rep dropset on the last set of each exercise.  This week, it will be 6-10 reps, with the last set being supersetted with a complementary exercise, followed by 2 more sets of the 2nd exercise with only 15 sec’s rest.  It felt good to get back to it this morning after 3 days off and relaxing on the diet.   

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:

(6-10 reps, 60 sec’s rest.  Superset on last set each exercise, followed by 2 add’l quick sets of the superset exercise, 15 sec’s rest)

–  Bench press  (5 sets, superset with flyes)

–  Decline bench press  (4 sets, superset with decline flyes)

–  Pushups with feet up on bench  (3 sets, superset w/ incline flyes)

–  Hip pushups  (3 sets, superset with pec dec machine)

CARDIO:  25 min’s of intervals on elliptical, HR 155-170.  Then 5 min’s lower intensity intervals, HR 150-155. 

ABS:  Crunches  (6 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Got in a decent workout this morning, though it started out rough.  Woke up with a bad headache.  Popped 4 ibroprofen & a fatburner to get myself moving.  I started out with weighted pullups and was WAAAY down on reps.  So, I only did 2 sets, then removed the weight & did bodyweight pullups, while concentrating on good, steady & deep form.  From then on, things went well. 

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving.  So much to be thankful for.  Health, family, work, a home & bed to sleep in, great country to live in, etc.  God doesn’t promise us lots of toys, or to fulfill all our wants.  But He does promise to meet our needs & to give us a "soft landing" when we cross that mortal plain.  I am so thankful for that and hope I focus on the good & positive over the next year, rather than life’s inevitable bumps & detours.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!        

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK  &  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps, 45-60 sec’s rest.  Dropset on last set ea exercise, 12-15 reps)

–  Pullups:  2 sets with 25 lb weight, 4 sets bodyweight  (last set superset with close grip cable rows, 15 reps)

–  Bentover BB rows  (5 sets)

–  Military press  (5 sets)

–  Lateral DB raises  (5 sets)

–  Close grip cable pulldowns  (4 sets)

–  Front DB raises  (4 sets)

CARDIO:  27 min’s HIIT on the elliptical.  HR 145-170.

ABS:  Crunches with 25 lb weight  (5 sets, last 2 sets dropset with 10 lb wt)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!