LEOlifter’s BodyBlog

Since I was lazy Friday and Saturday, I counted those as my 2 days off and got after it yesterday.  I hit arms yesterday and did something a little different.  Instead of supersetting bi’s and tri’s, I did bi’s first, then tri’s after.  My tri’s have always been good, so I make sure to work the most deficient muscle group first and in this case, it would be my biceps.

 Didn’t have time for ab work or cardio, so will have to start today.

On Thursday, I hit chest and it felt great.  Followed that up by my normal 20-30 min of ab work, then 20-30 min of cardio.

Had to take Friday off cuz of a previous commitment.  Then today I was gonna go; I even took my protein and creatine prior to leaving.  But, it’s about -10 degrees here with over -30 windchill factor.  After the car barely started, I decided today would be a good day to watch a movie, get some more rest, and go to work tonight (yes, I work graveyard shift).

I’ve told myself I’d hit it tomorrow (Sunday) cuz it’s back time.

My second day lifting without my brace and it went just fine.  I have what’s known as negative-ulner variance in my left wrist and in the past, the arthritis pain has led me to believe that I can only lift with a brace.  I’ve done that for years now and until recently, thought that it was just the way it had to be….until the day before yesterday.  I blogged on that already, so I won’t get into it again, but I did shoulders yesterday without the brace and it felt great.

Shoulder work included dumbell military press, bent-over laterals, seated and standing laterals, and behind the back shrugs on the smith.  Then it was off to 30 min of ab work, followed by about 30 min of cardio. 

I feel good today.  I think that slowly, I’m losing that layer of fat that prohibits me from seeing the six-pack I used to have.  My diet has been pretty good too although I did cheat a couple days ago.  But overall, I’m eating clean and often, getting as much protein in as possible, and hopefully will soon reap the benefits.

Hammered arms today and mixed things up.  I’m really finding that the more you change up your routine, the better your body reacts.  I started concentration curls again today and they felt great.  Got a great pump. 

And I forgot my wrist brace that I’ve relied on for so long.  So, I just used my normal straps and went to work and….low-and-behold….my wrist feels fine.  In fact, my range of motion wasn’t too bad and I’d venture to say that it was better without the brace.  As I’ve stated in earlier blogs, I’ve noticed my left arm is smaller than my right and am sure it was because of my limitted range of motion with that brace.  Well today, I lifted without the brace and I feel fine….so I think there’s hope for me after all.

Finished the workout with 20 minutes of ab work, then called it a day.  Normally I’d do cardio too, but there were too many people at the gym and I don’t like crowds.

Yesterday was legs.  I didn’t have a lot of time because of some errands I had to run, so I left out abs and cardio and just did legs for an hour.

I did smith squats, leg press, hamstring curls, then standing and seated calf raises.  It seemed strange to not do abs and cardio as I’ve become accustomed to that, but my legs definitely felt it.  I don’t think it’s a bad idea to go easy on abs and cardio on leg and back days anyway…those core exercises tend to take a lot out of me.

Today (Tues 1/15) I’m heading in to hit arms, abs, and cardio.  So I’d better go eat some more.  Trying to get those protein numbers up and eat more often.  Wanna reach that goal of 220 lbs if it kills me (healthy weight, of course).

Hit chest on Saturday and for the first time in a long time, it felt like I really got something out of it.  I did cable crossovers after pullovers, and bench (incline and flat).  I really concentrated on the contraction and the mind-muscle connection.  I used lighter weight just to see how it would feel and I really like the result.  Gonna incorporate those into chest days from now on.  Maybe I can etch some detail into these pecs for once.

Then it was onto my ab-onslaught, followed by my cardio.

I took Sunday off then was back at it on Monday.  (see next blog)

Decided to take Victor Martinez’s advice and NOT do legs and back one right after the other.  I agree that it’s too much for the lower back within those 2 days. 

So, I did deadlifts, smith bent-over rows, wide-grip lat pull-downs, and seated cable rows.

Then it was 20 min. of ab work, followed by 20 minutes of cardio.  I’ll hit chest tomorrow before taking a day or two off.  Gotta keep up with the cardio as much as I hate it.  I know my abs are improving but it doesn’t do any good if I can’t see the results cuz of the layer of fat that’s there.  Guess I’ll keep pluggin away.

Given my recent wrist pain, today didn’t feel too bad.  I hit arms, then my 20 minutes of ab work, followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill. 

Arm work consisted of incline alternating dumbell curls which, after failure, I’d stand up and do the same until failure.  Then I hit hammer curls which don’t hurt my wrist because of the neutral grip.  I superset bicep work with tricep work including rope press-downs, and overhead dumbell extensions. 

Abdominals are getting easier and I’m able to do a few more reps per set.  I feel I’m getting stronger in my trunk, but I can’t see it yet because I have that layer of fat where most guys get it and I think it’s keeping me from seeing my work.  That’s why I hit the cardio after for about 20 - 30 minutes.

My diet is the thing that I’m having a hard time with.  Since my ultimate goal is to GAIN 10 lbs, I don’t think I’m eating enough.  I’m eating pretty clean, but need to feed the muscle more than I am.  I’m finding it difficult to not only be able to afford the extra food, but find the time to eat it.  At this rate, I’ll be 205 forever which isn’t bad; just not what my ultimate goal is.

Hit shoulders today and while doing bent over laterals, I felt a small pop in my left shoulder.  It continued every time I raised the dumbell, so I stopped the exercises.  I’ve never experience tendonidous before, but I was told by a friend that it can feel this way.

Anyway, I did standing front raises, seated front raises, bent over raises, then low-cable raises.  After that, it was my 20 minute abs assault, followed by 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Tomorrow, I’ll tackle arms.