Darknesss23’s BodyBlog

Final minutes of the workout… Tired, exhausted, and drained…. Muscles already fatigued and swollen…. Thoughts wandering. Trying to stay focused. "YOU CAN DO THIS!  ONE LAST SET/ONE LAST REP.  GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT!" Vision clears as you get a tunnel vision effect with your goals at the end. Nothing distracts you, no visual or auditory stimuli can affect what you’re about to do.  Standing over the bar or at the machine you stand tall, breath deep, and feel a cool breeze of air from the open window nearby brush against your skin, cooling you and rejuvenating you. Another deep breath…  feeling the oxygen enter your body and fill your blood. A renewed sense of duty or purpose…You say to yourself, "YOU MUST DO THIS!"  And again, "YOU WILL DO THIS!"  Preparing now for your final task. Knees bent, hips bent forward slight, back straight and abs stretched and contracted, maintaining posture to keep you stable. Sweat drips from your forehead. Each drop is like weight lifted from your shoulders. "ONE MORE SET/ONE MORE REP" its almost over now. Powerfully moving with grace and control as the weight lifts off the ground contracting your muscles,and feeling the blood rush through vessels like a freight train. Seeing the striations break through the skin like a sledgehammer to a brick wall, revealing the the tough armor cast blood, sweat, tears, and the very iron you hold in your hands.  At the top now, full muscle contraction completed and just as gracefully and controlled as you lifted this weight you lower it down to where it came from. As the weight touches the ground you feel relief and soreness simultaneously. Each growing with intensity as one affects the other in a continuous cycle.  A few deep breaths and drops of sweat rain down from your forehead once more splashing onto your shirt. And then you realize, its not over… It’s only really just begun. A champion, is born.
haha just trying to get myself motivated for my workout tonight…  not that I’m competing or plan on competing any time soon or anything but I thought it might help.

Had a great workout yesterday. A nice full body workout with some olympic lifting (clean&jerks) some isolated exercises for bi’s, and a few misc. exercises that i missed this week(due to illness).  Stayed at the firehouse last night to make myself available to respond to emergencies in town, There were two motor vehicle accidents. Finally got home at 3 a.m., passed out. woke up today and made a delicious shrimp, cheese, and onion egg-white omelet and a little calamari on the side.   doing yard work and chores for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to the firehouse for another night of being on-duty. Tomorrow it rains so its a good time to meet up with an old friend who’s in the military. …Yes… it sounds like it will be a good weekend.

Well after years of mostly weight training, I’m making the transition into more cardio (a couple injuries from late last year prevent me from lifting heavy with confidence…for now).  Today was Day 2 of an all cardio/no weights training program (trial for minimum 4 weeks, 4 days a week) It felt good, it felt satisfying accomplishing something in the gym… a feeling i haven’t had in quite a while.. the plan is to not do a consistent  steady pace cardio program.

For example yesterdays cardio session included 1 mile around the ymca indoor track (17 laps)   walking and running 3 lap intervals, 3 ten minute sets on the schwinn windjammer (crank style cardio machine for arms) and a 20 minute jog/walk on the treadmill.

TODAY’s session  included  1 mile around the track  walking 5 laps (warm up), running 5 laps, walking 5 laps, and the final two laps were an interval session involving jogging the each width of the track and an all out sprint on the lengths of the track.  This was followed up by a 30 minute session on  the  stationary bike ( this gave me a perfect opportunity to continue on my new book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman) switching intensity levels every 3-5 minutes.  last but not least 1 fifteen minute session and 3 shorter five minute session on the schwinn windjammer focusing on both changes in intensity and breathing technique through out each session.

Tomorrow I hope to be able to start using my 20 lb weighted vest on the track again…

"The Warrior acts  …and the fool only reacts" - Way of the Peaceful Warrior

"A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does." - Way of The Peaceful Warrior

OK SO IN THIS PAST 2 MONTHS OR SO, I’VE ACQUIRED A FEW INJURIES… A POSSIBLY SEPARATED COLLAR BONE AND NOW… A SPRAINED ANKLE… MY DIET IS GOOD, MY TRAINING IS CONSISTENT… HELP?!?!

So I upped my training another notch…

Yesterday, I purchase a weighted vest adding another 20 lbs for when I do some running around the indoor track. Now I admit I was a bit self concious about just wearing this thing over my tshirt. I mean.. I go to the YMCA… i felt like these people would wonder what the F*** i was thinking… i tried to cover up with a sweatshirt… the sweatshirt was too small.. i’d forgotten that i’ve grown into it quite a bit already.   Luckily, I had a backup in the car, a zip up instead of a pullover… so I went ahead and ended up doing 1 mile around the track instead of the usual 2… i was DRENCHED….

Also new to the program is use of the Stairmaster… HOLY CRAP! I’m using that machine at least once a week. granted i only did 15 minutes which consisted of 5 min. on, stretch, 5 min. on, stretch, and then 5 minutes… I feel GREAT!

Circuit 1    Weight:95lbs (45lb. Barbell + (2) 25lb. Plates
8 Reps - Bent Over Barbell Row

8 Reps - Upright Row

8 Reps - Overhead Barbell Press

8 Reps - Good Mornings

8 Reps - Lunges (right leg)

8 Reps - Lunges (left leg)

8 Reps - Straight Leg Dead Lift

Rest Time: 1-2 Minutes

Repeat Circuit  4-5 more times with 1-2 Minute Resting period in between

Walk/Run/Jog 1-2 miles (a.k.a. 17 laps around YMCA indoor track = 1 mile)

(10) x 120sec. Speed Rope w/ Different variations, Double jumps, skiing motion, lower body twist
(4) x 25 reps Knee-ups on bench

Yesterday, after that looooooooong memorial day/birthday weekend, I did my chest workout as usual and i felt much much stronger from last week considering i had been feeling ill and had a headache all day.   The past month or so of doing chest i had been feeling pretty weak, barely being able to put up 225 on the bench with shoulder and wrist injuries ( i think from softball)  but yesterday i managed to put up the 110lb Dumbbells for 9 reps on my 3rd and final set.. ( i did 10 of 90’s, 10 of 100’s, and 9 of 110’s)  a few weeks i go i was struggling to get 6 reps.   for inclined DB presses as the other people i was training with were bitching about feeling a little weak, i went right ahead and went from 80 to 90 to 100’s I was also able to kick them up to my starting position myself which i had been unable to do when i joined a few months back. for bench, when i first started again in march i was struggling with bench press having been away from it for 2 years didn’t help.  Yesterday, I put up 225 and 285 with ease.  315 wasn’t going to happen as my wrist was still very much sore.

Progress seems good in terms of strength! just need to cut some more.

Ok so apparently my work ethic in the gym is paying off in more ways then one!  Last week, as i was developing my new training program i was on the bodybuilding.com website and then a few minutes later the girl sitting next to me was telling her friends about the site! and all the exercise programs and explanations that the site has!  so that was kinda cool!  i think perhaps i have inspired them in some way to look for new exercises!    shitty thing is…she took the credit for it..lol   oh well…. i guess she "found it" by looking at my computer screen…    AND TODAY! the guy at the little convenience store on the way to school  who asked me last year if i go to a gym randomly asked me about it again today! so i think progress is def. being made!  I will update if i notice anything else!  As of yesterday, 3-19-2008, my chest "is the size of a truck"

Workout Program

Monday

-         Shoulders

o       Arm Circles      Forward x 30, backward x 30

o       Arnold Press 1 x 10, 2 x 8

o       Rear Delt Row 1 x 10, 2 x 8

o       Shoulder Press 3 x 8

o       Seated Lateral Raise 3 x 7

o       Standing Anterior Raise 3 x 8

o       Upright Rows 3 x 8

o       Shrugs 3 x 8

o       Reverse Cable Flies

o       One Armed Bent over Barbell Rows – 3 x 8

o       Rocky Presses 3 x 8

-         Legs (every 2 weeks)

o       Leg Press machine 3 x 8

o       Squats 3 x 8

o       Seated Leg Curls 3 x 8

o       Barbell Lunges 3 x 8

o       Barbell Side Lateral Lunges 3 x 8

o       Romanian Dead Lift 3 x 8

o       Dumb bell Step Ups  3 x 8

o       Calves 3 x F

Tuesday

-         Back

o       Close Grip Lat Pull Downs 3 x 8

o       Seated Cable Rows 3 x 8

o       Full ROM Lat Pull Down 3 x 8

o       Underhand Cable Pull Downs 3 x 8

o       V-bar Pull up 3 x F

o       Long Bar Row 3 x 8

o       Hyper Extensions 3 x 8

o       Barbell Good Mornings 3 x 8

Wednesday

-         Chest

o       Bench Press 3 x 8

o       Incline Dumbbell Bench  Press 3 x 8

o       Flat Bench Dumbbell Flies 3 x 8

o       Downward Cable Flies 3 x 8

o       Upward Cable Flies 3 x 8

o       Cable Cross-Overs 3 x 8

o       Palms Forward dumbbell Pushups 3 x 8

o       Close Grip Bench Press  3 x 8

o       Reverse Grip Bench Press 3 x 8

o       Dips 3 x F

o       Medicine Ball Pushups 3 x 10

Thursday

-         Arms

Biceps

o       Standing Alternating Bicep Curls 3 x 8

o       Preacher Curls 3 x 8

o       Alternating incline hammer curls

o       21’s  3 x 21

o       45lb plate curls 3 x 10-15

o       Bicep Curl Machine 3 x 10 (each arm)

o       Reverse barbell Curl 3 x 8

Triceps

o       Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extensions 3 x 8

o       Cable Pushdowns(Rope) 3 x 10

o       Cable Pushdowns (V-bar) 3 x 12

o       Cable Tricep Extensions 3 x 8

o       EZbar Skull crushers 3 x 8

o       Tricep Extension machine 3 x 10 (each arm)

o       Dips 3 x F

Friday

-         Forearms, Abs, Misc Full Body

o       Barbell Forearm Curls 3 x 10

o       Barbell Forearm Extensions 3 x 10

o       Wrist Roller 3 x ?

o       Abdominal  crunch Machine 3 x 15

o       Abdominal crunch Machine Obliques 3 x 15  (each side)

o       Cable  Crunch 3 x 15

o       Hanging Leg Raises 3 x 15

o       Cork screws 3 x 20

o       Seated Cable Rows 3 x 10

o       Dips 3 x F

Saturday

-         Misc. Full Body

o       Similar to Friday

OR

-         Basketball

-         Racquet Ball

-         Speed Rope + Shadow Boxing

Sunday

-         Basketball

-         Racquet Ball

-         Speed Rope + Shadow Boxing

Cardio 

o       Speed Rope

o       Shadow Boxing

o       Basketball

o       Racquet ball

Misc. Training

Plyometric Training

Plyometric Jumps

12-18” box

24” box

Plyometric Medicine Ball  Chest Pass

Because someone asked me and there just isn’t enough room in the comment box..lol  anyways here’s why I do for cardio, its very simple.  It works both upper and lower body and helps build endurance, stamina, and reaction times.  Because I have to deal with winter I can’t run outside, and to be honest I don’t in the warmer weather due to a knee injury from high school so my alternative is Speed rope.  I started doing speed rope when i was in college I found that it really helped with my speed and agility during the late night basketball games that my roommates and neighbors played.

I do speed rope in sets.

First Set = light, about 10-20 skips just to get the motion down basically a warm up set to work on proper technique
Second Set =  about 50 skips, alternating between using both feet to skip and left and right feet individually

"Third Set" =  attempting to get to 100 skips or  so just like the second set. (i placed third set in " " because i haven’t quite gone all the way to 100 without messing up a little, but I’m working on it)

fourth set = try to go as hard and as fast as i can within a 2.5-5 minute time period.

NOW Cardio part 2 = Shadow boxing

This is great for after speed rope or after shoulder workouts kind of like a finishing exercise for the shoulders.

Get into a "Fighting Stance" i’m right handed so left leg out front, right leg in back, square the upper body to target (I don’t have a speed bag or a punching bag so i have placed TAPE athletic tape on the wall in the shape of a square is something of a target, something to focus on as I do this)

I do this in 3 "sets"

Each set consists of ten(10)  sub-sets.

Each Subset is as Follows;   (L & R are used to determine left and right hands)  L-Jab, L-Jab + R-cross, L-Jab +  R-Cross + L-Hook, L-Jab + R-Cross + L-Hook + R-uppercut

This is one (1) subset and will be done Ten(10) times in the first set as a warm up to get the technique down.
The second set is  is basically the same only with 5lb wrist/ankle weights strapped to…the wrist.lol
Third set  is the same, only fifteen times(15) not 10 with the wrist weights off and going full bore non stop, because the weights are off you can move faster or…thats what it will feel like.

When performing this, tighten abs for the whole time, and maintain proper breathing techniques to help with the motions.

This is what i do for cardio, any critques that can be made are more then welcome as i am always looking to improve.