My BodyBlog

Decided to do biceps along with my back workout Friday night, just to try something different.  It was a great combo, the heavy back work really taxed biceps too, by the time I got through the bicep isolation work I was exhausted.  I did 600 jump rope reps during the workout, the last 100 my arms wouldn’t cooperate and I stopped-started my way through.

Highlight of the workout came at the start where I did heavy rack pulls.  I increased the weight 70 pounds over last time for the working sets.  My sets were: 135×10, 225×8, 385×5, 385×4, 385×2.  The last set each lift was a monumental effort.  I’ve never done those kind of heavy reps before, I didn’t know I had it in me.

That’s all for now, I have a lot to do on this rainy Saturday.  I’ll be doing a shoulder/tricep workout tomorrow.

Only about a quarter of the usual people at the gym last night.  People were talking about all the friends they have who are home with the flu.  The front desk girl says gym use is down about 50% since last week.  The H1N1 pandemic is here, along with the regular flu.  My wife and I don’t qualify for the vaccine yet, we aren’t in a high risk group.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we can avoid getting sick.  I’m sorry that people are sick but on the positive side I didn’t have to wait for any equipment!

It was ten days since my last chest workout and I was chomping at the bit to do some heavy lifting.  I warmed up with some light rotator cuff work and light chest sets.  Here’s what followed:

STRENGTH:

Incline Barbell Bench Press:  I often struggle with this one, and I haven’t done it in awhile.  Turns out I under-estimated the weight I was capable of.  I will know better what weight to use for next time.  I did: 145×6, 155×6, 165×8

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press:  I was also a little stonger on this one than I had anticipated.  First set 80×6 I could have easily done 2-3 more reps.  Second set used 90’s and did a solid 8 reps.  I guess in order to be in the 4-6 rep range on this one I need to use the 100’s or even a little higher?  Mind boggling.

SIZE:

Dips: Two sets of 10.  Second set felt a great burn.

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press: 75×10, 75×8 (failed).

SHOCK:

Tried something different, a Giant Set.  Pushups x10, Incline Dumbbell Flyes x10, Flat Dumbbell Presses x10, Plate Pushes to failure.  Exhausting.  Did it a second time!

Ended off with a drop set of high cable crossovers: 50×15, 35×15, 20×20.

After the lifting I hopped on the treadmill for some HIIT.  I only got in 12 minutes before my hamstrings started to cramp up a little, not surprising given the heavy leg work I did 48 hours earlier.  I guess 12 minutes is better than nothing.

Woke up this morning physically and mentally exhausted.  Instead of rushing down to work I decided to shake up my routine.  Cooked a big breakfast and enjoyed it thoroughly.  Then I had a long hot shower, and my wife and I went for a walk on a cool but sunny autumn day.  This made me feel a lot better and I think I’m ready for several hours of quality work now.

Sometimes I can accomplish more work in a few hours when I’m feeling good than I can in a full day if I’m tired or not mentally focused.  It’s the same thing at the gym - quality wins out over quantity every time.

The great overhead barbell pressing on Friday night not only gave me some delt soreness, but the abs are feeling it too.  That exercise, since you have to keep the weight balanced, is a great core workout.  Arriving at the gym mid Sunday afternoon, I was feeling the soreness and a little fatigue.   I had to wait about half an hour for the squat rack so I passed the time by doing light warm-up sets on machines and jumping rope, plus I did 10 sets for abs.  When I started I knew it was going to be tough today.  But I was determined to go heavier than the last time I did squats for the Strength component of 3-S.

Squats: Bar x 10, 135×10, 225×6, 235×5, 245×4, 225×5.  All reps Ass To The Ground, took maximum focus and effort for the heavy sets today.  Happy to get them done, weight was up from the 225 I used before.

Size exercises were Leg Press: 500×10, 500×10, 500×10 and Lying Leg Curl: 70×12, 70×12.

Shock exercises were 2 Super Sets Leg Extensions/Lying Leg Curls and finished with a Double Drop Set of Leg Extensions (120×12, 70×12, 40×15).

That’s it, short and sweet too, I hope.  Still hard to get my head around the fact that you don’t need a lot of sets for a great workout using the 3-S approach.

That’s one month of 3-S workouts under my belt.  It’s been great so far, more to come!

Started the workout with standing barbell overhead press.  Goal was to up the weight 5 pounds and keep reps same as last time (sets of 125×5 last time).  Warming up I felt good, but I had no idea that I was going to be as strong as I turned out to be!  I did my best overhead pressing ever, here are the sets: 130×6, 135×6, 140×4, 130×4.  Pushing that 4th rep at 140 I almost couldn’t believe it - when you are able to exceed expectations like that it is the most awesome feeling in the world!

Doing shoulders with arms was Plan B since upper body felt too sore to do them earlier in the week.  Worked out well other than I was exhausted at the end of it - that was a lot of sets!  Legs will be done tomorrow, I want to go heavier on squats.

I was alone at the gym most of the night (guess there were a lot of Halloween parties on the go) until two guys arrived just as I was finishing.  I got to chatting with one of them and he soon started talking about the pro-hormones he had tried and said he got them on the ‘black market’.  To make a long story short he implied that he had access to a lot of stuff and said he could hook me up with some if I was interested.  I said no thanks, I was happy with my progress just taking some basic supplements and I wouldn’t want to take any chances of screwing up my body, especially at my age.  He asked how old I was, I told him 44, he said that he would have said I was in my mid-thirties.  Flattery will still not get me to use any of the stuff he was offering!

Time to go and get ready for the trick-or-treaters.  I hope everyone has a safe and fun halloween! 

My brother started going to the gym a few months ago, I just recently found out about it.  He lives in another part of the country so I don’t see him often - we keep in touch by email.  He’s 51 and was athletic in his youth, but as is typical with many men, his fitness level dropped off when life became hectic with career and family.  I would describe him now as the ’skinny-fat’ type.  He knew I worked out but I’ve never really told him much about it (ie he doesn’t realize how ‘into’ it I really am!).  I started asking him a few questions to find out what he is doing and what his goals are.  I started to give him a few tidbits of unsolicited advice.  One thing I told him was about ab work, the fact that you can do all the crunches you want but it will not give you 6 pack abs unless you lose the body fat that covers the abs through cardio and diet.  He was skeptical and asked a trainer at his gym who confirmed what I said.  I’m glad I debunked that common misconception for him.

Right now the only goal he expresses is to reduce his weight to 170.  He wants to be the same weight he was in college at one time.  He is doing a little lifting and a lot of cardio, but not jogging because of what he calls a ‘wonky knee’.  The other day he burned 700 calories walking on the treadmill and then went home and as a ‘reward’ had a lite beer with 100 calories!  I can see I have a lot of work to do….LOL.

I really want him to succeed in adopting a more fit lifestyle.  I know first hand how great it can make you feel and improve overall quality of life.  I also know that although we can get some help from others, to a certain extent we all have to find our own way on this journey.  There are lessons to be learned that only come with experience, and we all have to find what works best for us.  I am encouraging him to continue, but don’t want to lay too much info on him for fear of becoming preachy or making him overwhelmed.  The main thing I want him to do now is enjoy what he is doing and to just use me as a sounding board or to ask questions when they occur to him.  I did however try to get across two important points in my last email. 

First of all, walking on the treadmill is great if you enjoy it but there are lots of other cardio activities you can do.  Don’t feel like you have to use the treadmill, if it becomes a drag then switch to something else.  The other point was about his weight goal of 170.  I commented that it is a goal more for his mind than his body.  I cautioned him not to be too focused on it, it may not be possible and he risks getting frustrated and losing motivation if he is too focused on this number.  I pointed out that changing his body composition and improving his fitness level and health are more important goals.  I suggested if he wanted a short-term goal to use measurements or pants size.

I hope he catches the fitness ‘bug’ like I have…only time will tell. 

A very solid workout last night.  I can feel the back DOMS starting as chest DOMS finally start to ease.  Doing the sets last night the mind-muscle connection was the strongest I have ever felt it.  I’m glad I deferred shoulders and focused solely on back.  Arriving at the gym, my workout partner for legs last week was there.  He was just starting a leg workout again with a couple of friends, they asked if I wanted to join in.  I was tempted but said no, I needed to do my back.  A little later I asked him how he found his legs after the workout we did last week.  He said he was really sore but it felt good.  He said it was the best leg workout he’s ever done

After a warm-up, here’s what I did:

Deadlift: 135×10, 225×6, 315×6, 335×4, 315×5.  First time I’d done heavier weight for reps in a long time, and I felt it.  I will improve on this as time goes on.

Pullups:  A set of 6 followed by a set of 7.  Started standing on the floor instead of a box and it was so much better, in spite of fewer reps.

Barbell Bent-Over Row: 111×12, 111×12.  Kept weight lower since I wanted to ensure great form on this exercise.  I will increase as time goes on.

Middle Back Shrugs: 22×12, 32×12.  A new exercise for me, kept weight low to make sure I had the form down.  I could still feel its effect though.

Seated Cable Row: 160×12, 160×12.  Getting into some unchartered territory on this one.  Hard sets but felt great!

3 Super Sets Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown/Reverse Cable Crossover

Double Drop-Set Seated Cable Row: 130×12, 80×12, 40×20

Also during workout did 4 sets of barbell shrugs and 500 jump rope reps.  I have a couple of rest days then I’ll do shoulders and arms Friday.  Thanks for reading!

Change of plans - my pecs and tris are so sore from Sunday’s chest workout that I don’t see how it’s possible for me to include shoulders with tonight’s workout and do them justice.  Just doing the motion of an overhead press sends fresh ‘waves’ of soreness through my front delts and arms - I’ll delay shoulders and try them with my arms workout later this week.  So tonight will be a back workout, I’ll include traps work and get some cardio in too.  The DOMS I experienced after Sunday’s chest workout were different than what I usually get - they started faster, they seem like they are more wide-spread and they are - how can I describe it - somehow ‘deeper’ or more intense.  A feeling unlike anything I’ve had before.  A very satisfying feeling.

What was the difference?  A few things I can think of.  I did decline press using the Smith Machine, which I found much harder to push the weight than with a free barbell.  I did flat bench press with a good spotter who pushed me to give maximum effort on couple of heavy sets even though chest was fatigued by the Smith decline sets.  I did two sets of 10 dips, the most reps I’ve ever done with good form to hit pecs.  Dips are a recent addition to my arsenal, and if this is how they make me feel I’ll be sticking with them!  I also did a couple of tri-sets with dumbbells, chest was very tired by this point and it was a tremendous effort to get in the 12-15 rep range.  That chest workout was the highest quality and greatest impact chest workout I’ve ever done.  How I feel today is my proof.  The 3-S approach has made me a believer - quality of sets beats quantity of sets every time.

Today I did my third 3-S Chest workout and it was by far the best.  I held nothing back, went as heavy or heavier than I ever have before for the required rep ranges.  Strength exercises were Smith machine decline press and flat barbell bench press.  Size exercises were dips and dumbbell pullovers.  Shock exercises were 2 tri-sets of incline dumbbell press/flat dumbbell press/flat dumbbell flyes.  This was a brutal tri-set and I gave it all I had.  After this I did a double drop-set of cable crossovers and finally a burn-out set of plate pushes.  Did some ab work after chest.  No cardio today but the quick pace of the workout left me sweating and breathing hard.

Next workout is back/shoulders.  Not sure how putting these two together for a 3-S workout will go, I’ll find out in a couple of days.  Talking to a couple of guys today doing back.  They did an exercise they called a ‘Middle Back Shrug’ using dumbbells, a new one on me.  They showed me the form, you hold two dumbbells and lean forward slightly, keeping shoulders still.  Then you do a shrugging movement that doesn’t move shoulders or traps.  I tried it (with no dumbbells) and after a little while got the hang of it.  I could feel the middle back area working, so on back day I guess I’ll give this exercise a try.

I hope everyone has a great week of workouts!  I won’t be on-line much due to work commitments, but I’ll be thinking about you.  

Recently at the gym a guy asked me what I did for a living.  When I said I was an accountant, he replied "I never would have guessed you were an accountant"  He said I have a ‘blocky’ build and look like I do some kind of trade or labour work.  Assuming I can replace ‘blocky’ with ‘muscular’, I take that comment as a great compliment!

I can see why he’d think that - I don’t know many people around here who’s work involves sitting all day that look like I do - they either have far too much body fat or are the ’skinny fat’ type.  I decided NOT to fall into one of those categories by doing something positive for my body and health.  I’ve been making the trek to the gym, with very few breaks, at least three times a week for the last 67 months.  I progressed slowly at first, having a lot to learn about weight lifting form and technique.  My progress accelerated around month 43 when I found bodybuilding.com and started to soak up knowledge about exercise and nutrition.  Soon I made the commitment to healthy eating, which was the biggest barrier in my way to making a significant body transformation.  Changing my eating habits has taken time and I am still not perfect, but I’m a long way from where I was before.  The nutrition improvement has enabled me to make significant progress, also I’m having more intense and productive workouts and loving the burn and pump I’ve learned to create.  Two examples of what I achieved are 1) I can wear a size 34 pant now, I used to wear 42-44.  2) I started deadlifting with the bar only about 24 months ago and now I can deadlift 445 pounds.  I could go on and on.

That comment got me thinking about how far I’ve come on my journey and how lucky I am that I found the commitment and desire to give myself this great gift.  So for all you desk jockeys out there who want to improve how you look and feel but think that it’s too hard or an impossible dream, think again.  I’m 44.  I decided to do it.  I’m doing it.  YOU CAN TOO!

As leg day comes up again in my split I am getting more and more of an appreciation for all those posts I read from people who dread/love leg day all at the same time.  Done right, leg workouts are very difficult but the feeling of knowing you pushed yourself to get through it is amazing.  Having done two 3-S leg workouts, I realize now my leg workouts in the past have not been as intense and thorough as the ones I am doing using the 3-S method.  I often did squats, quad and ham isolation exercises on different days, resulting in a complete leg workout about every two weeks.  I’m happy with the strength and mass gains I have achieved so far, but how much more can I achieve working legs intensely every 10 days?  My last leg workout left me unable to walk away from the leg extension machine…I had to stretch and flex to bring life back into my quads.  If I can reach that level of muscle fatigue every leg workout I should get some great results.  I’ll finish this post after the beating is over!

….I’m sitting here at my desk at 4:15 Thursday, filling out boring forms, waiting for 5 o’clock to come when I’m going for a walk with my wife before dinner.  I’ve been waiting for arm DOMS to hit, but other than a little soreness when I flex, nothing.  I’ve noticed that DOMS were less intense after 2nd round of 3-S workouts than first.  I guess the first time through was a bit of a shock for my muscles, and they are quickly adapting.

If I stay on my current schedule I still have a over a FULL DAY to wait until my leg workout…I don’t know if I can stand that!  My body is screaming at me that I’ve had enough rest, it wants to lift some iron!  I have nothing pressing planned for tonight, so Body…you may get your wish!

…It’s Friday and I did make it to the gym last night, although not quite the workout I’d planned, for a couple of reasons.  The place was crowded, so instead of waiting around for equipment I changed up the order of the exercises I had planned.  I did get in all the sets I wanted to (and more) before the end.  The second unexpected thing, and this was a mixed blessing, was that I had a workout partner for legs last night.  It was one of the guys I’d been doing calf drop sets with the week before.  He was there with his usual friends, but he wanted to do legs while they didn’t.  He asked me if I’d mind if we did legs together, and I didn’t mind at all.  He’s been working out for about 5 months and I admire his dedication and interest in learning as much as possible.  He asked me a lot of questions about how and why I do things.  He is still learning good form on squats and learning how to challenge himself and do a more intense workout.  I really enjoyed sharing what I know with someone who is so interested in learning.  Not only that, I can see the tremendous effort he is putting into it.  On his last set of squats I told him if he wanted to go to failure that I would be there to help haul him back up, and to my surprise that’s exactly what he did!  Not many lifters I’ve seen, especially someone relatively new, would have the confidence to take squats to that level.

On the down side, I sacrificed a little intensity in my own workout.  On squats I stayed with the lower weight that he was using rather than having to keep adding and removing plates from the bar.  Also since I’m shorter than him we had to keep adjusting the leg curl and leg extension machines so we were both comfortable.  I hope the fact I did a few more sets than I had planned makes up for it a little.  Overall I was more focused on watching him workout than I was on what I was doing….I guess really what I did last night was a kind of personal training session!  I really enjoyed the experience, if I get the opportunity to work with him again though I’ll take the time to change plates and make sure I have the intensity I want.