Al–1961’s BodyBlog

HACK #1:  Leg day this morning.  I had a solid workout, but I could tell my head was not fully in the game and I was not giving it 110%.  So I did a few extra sets on hack squats.  10 sets total.  I finished up legs with the squat jumps I experimented with last week.  KILLER.  I had 20 lb DB’s in each hand, squat down low, then explode up to jump as high as I can.  Then repeat for around 10-12 reps.  This gets the heartrate zooming.  It also hammers the quads & hams.  I’m going to try this as part of interval cardio in the next few weeks. 

HACK #2:  In my 2nd blog yesterday, I wrote about my lunchtime encounter with a coworker about holiday eating (or face stuffing), and how it touched a nerve with me (see yest’s blog).  Well, my wife got a double barrell treatment this morning on this very same issue.  Our department had a Thanksgiving potluck lunch planned for today.  As I was about to head out the door for work this morning, my wife says "Now be polite & sample some of the other dishes."  This set me off again.  I responded, "That’s exactly what I get at work all the time.  ‘C’mon Al, just try this, or sample that, it won’t hurt you, you don’t need to lose any weight.’  I tell her (nicely) that I was NOT going to sample dishes, unless it was something I wanted to eat.  We had at least 20-30 people bringing dishes in.  Was I supposed to try "just a little" of all these dishes?"  "Why is it that I am the one who always gets pressured to conform to everyone else’s eating habits?"  I also told her that I do not go around with a self-righteous attitude regarding my diet & approach to food.  I never point out to my coworkers their unhealthy eating habits.  They already know.  It’s their choice to change, or not.  Actually, I try to keep a low profile and quietly do my thing.  Others are free to approach me anytime, if they want to know about clean eating, exercise & how I keep my weight down.  It’s no secret that my diet is different & that I get regular exercise.  By the end of our "one-way conversation", my wife agreed that I should stick to my guns, unless I choose to indulge.  And, I left the house with both of us smiling.  

So………I have finished my relatively small portion meal of turkey, black beans & green beans.  I skipped the carb & fat-laden casseroles, potato salad, white breads, etc., and the TONS of sugar-laden desserts.  But guess what…………There is plenty leftover of my wife’s awesome & delish clean eats black bean dish, which I brought.  But there’s hardly any leftovers of all that other stuff………LOL.  No wonder America is getting fatter & sicker……..

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS:

(6-10 reps)

–  Hack squats  (10 sets, 60-75 sec’s rest)

–  Standing calf raises  (8 sets, 45 sec’s rest)

–  Leg extensions  (5 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

–  Leg curls  (5 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

–  Squat jumps  (5 sets, 20 lb DB’s in each hand, 45 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Wow did I have a Wheaties day this morning.  Lifting was great, worked up quite a sweat before even getting to cardio.  Jacked up my heartrate to its highest ever on the elliptical with HIIT today.  Love it when these days come along.  So I was ruminating on an old Joe Walsh tune, Life’s Been Good (wish I had it on my mp3).  Joe sang off & on with The Eagles.  One of the best concerts I’ve been to was The Eagles in 1980, on their Long Run tour.  Anyway, here’s Joe live.  Life’s good…….I need to be thankful EVERYDAY for God’s blessings, regardless of morning workout, life’s circumstances, etc.  

Joe Walsh:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzxF-M2erx8 

PS:  Another clean eats day yesterday.  Back on track from recent stress eating crashes. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK  &  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps)

– Pullups: 19, 11, 7, 6, 6, 5  (Extra wide grip, slower reps, 90 sec’s rest)

– Close grip cable rows  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

– Bentover BB rows  (Extra wide grip, 4 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Close grip cable pulldowns  (4 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

– Military press  (6 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Arnold overhead DB press  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

– Front DB raises  (4 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Lateral DB raises  (4 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  20 min’s HIIT on the elliptical.  HR 165-180.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Great spin class this morning.  Brad The Instructor was out, so we had Dena.  I was the ONLY guy in the class.  Al’s Harem.    Dena worked us over every bit as hard as Brad.  Hard climbs with high tension & blasting sprints.  Dena is a 5′0" fireball of energy, so I dub her Dena The Firecracker.  Heartrate went way up, for the entire 45 minute class.  "What goes up, must come down".  So here’s a repeat of the classic oldie, Spinning Wheel, by Blood, Sweat & Tears.  I love their use of brass & syncopated rhythm. 

Spinning Wheel:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uHM7lOly00 

Oh, and my wife brought home ice cream last night.  She & the girls were chowing away.  But not me.  Clean eats.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ABS  &  CARDIO:

–  Crunches with 25 lb weight  (5 sets)

–  Crunches with 10 lb weight, working a different angle  (5 sets)

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

–  Situps on the decline situp bench  (5 sets)

CARDIO:  Spin class  (45 min’s)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

"That’s a fact Jack!"  Had a great arm workout this morning.  So what clip would be apropos for an armed & dangerous workout?  Well, Stripes, of course.  Talk about armed & dangerous.  And funny.   Here’s a 3 min clip of Bill Murray & Co, doing their drill ceremony.  Just seeing this clip reminded me of how many stars were in this movie, since I haven’t seen it in a while.  Boom chucka lucka lucka, boom chucka lucka lucka……     

Stripes:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfxcq77FkdE 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ARMS:

(6-10 reps)

–  Curlbar curls  (6 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  DB curls  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Close grip bench press  (6 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Curlbar tricep extensions  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Straightbar curls  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  DB curls  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Cable tricep extensions  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Cable reverse tricep extensions  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  17 min’s of HIIT on the stairmaster, HR 160-175.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Weekend weakness wussness woes.  Say that 3x fast.  My weekends of late are like a broken record.  Weekend diet sucks; during the week it’s good.  Weekend diet sucks; during the week it’s good.  Weekend diet sucks; during the week it’s good.  And so it goes……Stress eating.  Strange how I generally hold it together during the week, then let go on the weekend.  At least I got in a good cardio & abs workout on Saturday.  Plus, a friend took our girls for an over-nighter Saturday.  So my wife & I grilled out some steaks, and horrors!……..I had a beer with that steak.  Blue Moon.  Put it in the freezer for 10 min’s before popping that baby.  It was goooooooood.

This is turning into a bulk period.  I can see definite size increase in arms, lats, chest & quads.  The cycling of my workouts has been working towards that end.  I’ve been staying in the 6-10 rep range the last few months.  But within that framework, I’ve been drastically changing things up from week-to-week:  Changing the exercises, order of exercises, dropsets, supersets, rest between sets & occasional high rep sets.  But I’m not giving up on the diet focus to cut a few lbs of bodyfat.  So here’s a repeat from that genius Tim Allen character in that Oscar worthy flick Galaxy Quest:  "Never give up.  Never surrender".  So…….you guessed it……here’s the clip:      

Galaxy Quest:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI5hi4c4y9k 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:

(6-10 reps)

–  DB incline bench press  (5 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Incline flyes  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  DB flat bench press  (4 set’s, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Flyes  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Hip pushups  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest).  Stu, these hurt.     

–  Pec dec machine  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  30 min’s of intervals on the elliptical, HR 150-170.

ABS:  Roman Chair knees to chest  +  situps on decline situp bench  (4 sets each, 20 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Got in a cardio & abs workout today.  Since I don’t count on getting workouts in on the weekend, I’m in Bonus City.   

I finished the book A Tale Of Two Cities this morning, by Charles Dickens.  I read it years ago, and started reading it again a couple months ago after getting the idea from my blog.  I had quoted from it and it gave me the idea to reread this great story.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…..".  A 2nd quote, the last sentence in the book:  It Is a Far, Far Better Thing That I Do, than I Have Ever Done:  It Is a Far, Far Better Rest That I Go To, than I Have Ever Known."  Good stuff.  It took awhile to read the book due to the busyness of life.  Just don’t get the chance to sit down very often to read long passages.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting reaquainted with this story about the horrors of the French Revolution in the late 18th Century. 

CARDIO:  15 min’s HIIT sprints on the treadmill, HR 165-175 (My right calf held up).  Followed by 15 min’s of intervals on the elliptical, HR 160-165.  Sweat like a hurricane.      

ABS:  Laying down leg lifts over the head (5 sets) & crunches (5 sets)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!      

Maybe I should learn how to jump rope for cardio.  NOT!  I’m a bonafide klutz, and would do lots of tripping & face-planting.  My wife just sent this to me.  It’s a performance of a jump rope team at halftime, of an Army-Navy basketball game at the US Naval Academy.  These girls are amazing. 

http://a.blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F1826380%3Freferrer%3Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fsn110w.snt110.mail.live.com%25252Fmail%25252FInboxLight.aspx%25253FFolderID%25253D00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001%252526n%25253D345477279%26source%3D3&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer.swf&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsoonereyo.blip.tv%2Frss%2Fflash&brandname=blip.tv&brandlink=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2F%3Futm_source%3Dbrandlink&enablejs=true 

Oh, almost forgot:  GO NAVY!           

This Gym In Flatulence?  Thank God It’s FINISHED?!  Thank God It’s Friday?  BINGO!  It’s all three.  It is not good to have gas on squat day.  Toot City today……LOL.  And as I said yesterday, "Ya just never know".  Yesterday I got to the gym feeling low, and ended up with a PR on pullups & a great workout.  Today……not so much.  Had a good night’s sleep & felt good, so I was revved for a hard charging leg day.  Started out on squats, and THUD!  Not happening.  I was waaaaaaay down on strength.  And of all days, leg day is a mental game.  Well someone hid my mojo.  It certainly was not with me in the gym this morning.  But my moto stands, so it’s all good:  "Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout".     

However, I did experiment with something new today:  Supersets with DB squat jumps, holding 15 lb or 20 lb DB’s in each hand for added weight.  Man they are killer cardio.  I will be adding them into my workouts.  Major heart thumper.

So as I was blasting out sound effects on squats (or trying not to), this funny clip from my favorite Mel Brooks movie was playing in my mind.  Love this movie.  Blazing Saddles.  Mel at his bestest.     

Blazing Saddles:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dm9rN6oTs 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —   LEGS:

(6-10 reps, 60-75 sec’s rest)

–  Smith Machine squats  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset DB squat jumps)

–  Standing calf raise  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ seated calf raise)

–  Hack squats  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

–  Leg extensions  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

–  Leg curls  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

CARDIO:  Uh, no. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I slept so so, and thought I would be down on pullups this morning.  Plus, I’m up a few lbs, which means more weight to pull up.  Much to my surprise, I set a PR on the 1st set of pullups and felt great during the whole workout this morning.  Ya just never know.  Some days I feel lousy, and end up with a superblast workout.  Other days, it’s the opposite. 

Ya just never know…….The other day we rented the Hannah Montana Movie for my girls.  I had NO INTENTION of watching it.  I’d never seen any of the HM shows, and just seeing the cutesy dolls & other merchandise in the stores made me want to hurl.  So I left it to my wife to watch with my girls, but she was having none of that.  Made me watch it, to spend time with my 2 favorite girlies.  Well, I discovered that Miley Cyrus can sing.  She actually has a good set of pipes.  I’m never going to start watching the HM shows or go out and buy up all her music.  But I have to admit:  My preconceived notions were wrong.  So, to give her props, here’s one song from that movie, called The Climb.  One that shouldn’t make you nauseous.        

The Climb:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmKsCMgROCQ 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK  &  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps, 90 sec’s rest on pullups, 45-60 sec’s for the rest)

–  Pullups:  27, 14, 8, 6, 6, 5  (Last 2 sets superset with cable rows)

–  Bentover BB rows  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with cable rows)

–  Military press  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with front DB raises)

–  Lateral DB raises  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with front DB raises)

CARDIO:  30 min’s LIIT on the elliptical.  HR 130-150.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

THANK YOU to all our Veterans AND active duty servicemembers.  Thank you for your service & sacrifice for our great country. 

All the way back to the American Revolution.  It was not Thomas Jefferson, for all his eloquence in writing the Declaration of Independence, that secured our freedom.  It was not John Adams.  For all his passion, speech making & sheer force of his personality that practically willed the Continental Congress to vote for independence.  Not even the Continental Congress, which declared our nation’s independence.  No, it was George Washington & our fledgling military that secured our freedom.  Through 8 years of deprivation, disease, Valley Forge, numerous defeats & victory at Yorktown. 

To the men & women who served in the War of 1812, Civil War, WWI and other conflicts, up to "The Greatest Generation".  Men & woman who served during World War II, literally a worldwide conflagration.  Who fought to defeat the horrors & tyranny of Fascism.  People like my father, who was a B-17 bomber pilot.  He was shot down over Berlin in December 1944, and spent the rest of the war as a starving POW in Germany. 

And to those who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and up to today.  THANK YOU to the men & women who serve now to protect us from evil terrorists who seek to destroy our nation and our way of life.  Thank you for willingly putting your life on the line so that I can go to work everyday.  So I can vote for my government leaders.  So my daughters can grow up free, in the ‘Land of the Free’ & ‘Home of the Brave’. 

Our men and women of the armed forces, past & present, I salute you.  YOU ARE THE BEST.  THANK YOU. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ABS  &  CARDIO:

ABS:  Crunches with 25 lb wt & Roman Chair knees to chest  (5 sets ea, 15 sec’s rest)

SPIN CLASS:  Guys, I’m telling ya, again, if you’re single, this is your ticket to meeting ladies that share your interest in fitness.  I don’t know why, since spin is a great workout, but there was just 1 other guy in class besides me.  This is not unusual.     

ABS:  Crunches with 25 lb wt & Roman Chair knees to chest  (5 sets ea, 10 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!