My BodyBlog

Did workout #2 of bench press program last night, 3 days after workout #1.  It called for 5 working sets, 2@ 190×3, 2@ 205×2, and one negative rep @225.  To tell the truth, I found this workout easier than the first, with the last rep of the second 205 set being the only lift I found a little challenging.  The negative rep was great, I kept it as slow as possible to get the maximum benefit from it.  I can’t wait for the heavier weights to come into play to see if I can do those lifts!

Workout #1 went off without a hitch.  I did 3 warm-up sets, then 5 working sets using the weight and reps as stated in the table for someone starting with a 220 1RM.  I did 1 set @ 6×170, 2 sets @ 5×180, and 2 sets @ 4×190.  No trouble at all with this, only started to feel a little tired on the fourth rep of the sets of 190.  After benching I did a good triceps and back workout.  I’ll do my second bench workout on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how I feel.  I won’t be lifting weights tomorrow, if I do anything It’ll be a walk and maybe go swimming if I can make it fit into my schedule.  Hope everyone had as great a day as I did! 

Today I started Muscle Media’s Bench Press Program by completing Step 1, finding out what my 1 rep max lift is.  I followed the procedure to the letter, including the rest times between sets.  I maxed out at 220, which is about 10 pounds more than I expected.  My last bench press workout I could only lift 205, but I did a lot more reps at lower weights, which I guess explains the difference.  The program calls for 14 bench press workouts over a 7 week period.  I’ll do workout #1 on Sunday, and I’ll do the number of sets, reps and weight listed in the Progression Table for someone starting with a 220 1RM.  The program has worked for a few people I’ve been PMing with on here, and if I follow it carefully I can expect an increase in my bench of about 50 pounds.  To think I could be benching 270 in 7 weeks is beyond belief!

After benching I did a good shoulder and quad workout.  The gym was really warm and my shirt was soaked by the time I was finished.  I did 8 good reps at 600 on the leg press machine, which is the best I’ve done with that.  That’s all for this post, I hope everyone has an active and fun weekend! 

I had planned to stick to cardio yesterday - in the form of lawn mowing and then going swimming.  The lawn mowing took one and a half hours, and I worked up a good sweat.  I headed off to the community pool, only to find it closed for the evening due to the staff having to attend another event.  I was very disappointed, I hadn’t been swimming in a week and it would have been great to plunge into the cool water after doing the lawn mowing.  But what can you do?  Take a disappointing turn of events and make something positive happen, that’s what!

I headed off to the gym and I only had an hour until I had to be somewhere else so I had to make the most of it.  I would have done some cardio, but I only had sandals so the treadmill was out - I decided to try something different.  I did supersets of biceps and abs with very short rest periods between supersets.  I did 12 supersets in about 50 minutes and by the end of it I was winded and had worked up a good sweat.  I was very happy that I could turn some resistance training into a cardio session too!

Today I am still sore from my chest workout two nights ago.  Tomorrow, if I’m recovered, I’m going to start a 7 week bench press training program someone told me about on here - it is personalized and is supposed to result in, on average, a 50 pound strength gain.  The first step in the program is to determine your 1 rep max, then you use that to determine the number of sets, reps and weight to use for the first few workouts.  I’ll post more about this program as I go along.

Saturday at the gym was one of those days where you achieve something beyond your expectations, a day when you know all of your hard work and dedication is really and truly paying off, a day when you want to tell the whole world how great you feel!  I’ve been away from my computer since that workout and couldn’t wait to get home so I could blog about it.  What I am going on about is my achievement doing deadlifts.  My other blogs tell the story of my new found love of this exercise, and how I’ve progressed with it since starting last November.  Last time I did them before Saturday, about two weeks earlier, I did a personal best lift of 365.  This was 10 pounds more than my previous best.  My goal has been to improve at least 5 pounds every time I do them, until I get to the 400 mark.  The 365 lift was hard and it took 2 attempts to get it up.  So, on Saturday I was hoping I could maybe lift 370, but in my mind I thought it may be beyond my reach yet, and realistically I would do 365 again, hopefully it would be an easier lift this time.

As I warmed up with 135, 225 and 315, I felt really good.  I also used chalk for the first time to help my grip, trying to get away a little from straps and improve my wrist strength. After 315 I had to use straps again, and I did a lift at 335 and 360.  I had no trouble with 360 and was still feeling strong, so I decided to go for broke and load the bar all the way to 375 lbs, just to see if I could do anything with it.  I was prepared to try and abort, then go back down to 365.  I set myself up and visualized what I was going to do, I tell you I felt so comfortable over the bar it was unreal.  I was in the zone and began to think ‘it’s only 10 pounds more than what you lifted last time, you can do this if you focus and use good form.’  So I guess by now you know what’s coming….I did that 375 lift!  And as great as that was what was even greater was how smooth it was!  No struggling or jerking, it went up in a fluid motion, I locked it in, looked at myself in the mirror for a second (hardly believing what I was seeing) and then lowered it gently back to the floor.  I tried to contain my excitement since there were other people around, but inside I was shouting!  One guy nearby, who I have a word with sometimes, said ‘you’re putting up a lot of weight there.’  I said ‘375 - the most I’ve ever done.’  He said ‘don’t you find it hurts your back? I can’t do deadlifts at all.’  I said ‘it doesn’t hurt my back at all, I’m careful to use good form.  I built up to this weight slowly, and my back is getting stronger.’

I got my water bottle, and as I took a little rest and looked at the barbell on the floor in front of me, I felt a twinge of regret that another deadlift session was over and it was time to unload the plates.  But wait…a thought occured to me…I’m feeling strong, not tired at all….why not do another lift?  I had never done two lifts above my previous personal best before, and I’d never felt I had it in me to try it….until that moment.  I had never felt so confident and strong at the gym, and I wanted to take advantage of it.  I put on two more plates, 2 1/2 pounds each, bringing my total to a mind-blowing 380 pounds.  I did that lift with almost as much ease as 375!  After that I truly was finished with deadlifts, I know when enough is enough and the last thing I want to do is push too much and injure myself.  As I put the plates away and moved on to doing some barbell shoulder presses, I couldn’t stop thinking about my achievement.  I deadlifted 15 pounds more than my previous personal best, and did it with relative ease!

Since I started deadlifts almost 9 months ago I’ve gone from struggling with 135 to doing a solid 380.  I never dreamed I could achieve this so fast, if ever.  I credit my success to a combination of things, factors that can be applied to many exercises and other things in life.  I read about what I was doing and watched videos, getting information from a lot of different sources.  I figured out what was the most common practice and what would work for me.  I asked questions to other bb.com members when I wasn’t sure about something.  I stuck with it, doing deadlifts every second week and then in between I worked on strenghtening the primary muscles used, hamstrings and lower back muscles.  I stayed patient, not trying to do to much too fast.  I was content with slow improvement, and realized that lifting right was more important for me in the short-term than lifting heavy.  I didn’t let any minor setbacks get me down, and I learned to make adjustments when something didn’t feel comfortable.

I am by no means an expert at deadlifts, I have much room for improvement.  I want to do heavier lifts with no straps, I want to do more reps at heavier weights, and I want to reach the 400 level and go beyond.  I know I will accomplish all this by staying on the same road that got me to this point.  What I achieved Saturday motivated me to work harder, both at the gym and at home in the kitchen, to do the right things and continue to improve.  Hopefully sometime down the road I’ll have another day at the gym as wonderful as Saturday was!

I love this time of year.  Travel for work is at a minimum, few clients are calling, stress levels are low and I can get caught up on some paperwork.  Plus there’s nothing to keep me from being active every day and staying consistent with my workouts!  I go for a walk for at least an hour a day with my wife (unless its raining), I get the occasional bike ride in, plus I’ve taken up swimming again at the community pool.  And summer is the time for doing some special things, like the boat tour we took on Sunday.  I’ve done the tour twice several years ago, so I knew what to expect, but this time the experience exceeded all my expectations.

The weather was perfect on the water.  A low cloud cover kept it from being too hot, and there was a light breeze, but the ocean was calm.  The boat was at capacity, about 50 people, mostly out of province tourists.  We were on the top deck with a perfect view.  We weren’t far from the dock when the puffins started to appear!  As we steamed towards the island where they nested, the number of birds bobbing on the water multiplied until it was like someone had shaken pepper over the ocean!  They were everywhere!  In the meantime we saw several whales in the distance, but the tour guide said not to worry, when we get to a better spot there’ll be more than enough whales to view. We went to the island where the puffins have their burrows, and the boat went very close to the sheer cliff wall. We floated along maybe 20 feet from the island as the puffins and many other seabirds went about their business.  The pufflings couldn’t be seen, they stay in the burrows until they are ready to go to sea, but we could see the small downy chicks of other species in their nests on the rocky cliff edges.  What a sight for bird lovers!  Soon we moved away, a little further into open water, where our attention turned to the real show-stoppers, the humpack whales.  At one point their spouts could be seen everywhere you looked!  The guide said we were among a pod of about 20.  The boat doesn’t chase the whales, the whales come to the boat.  Humpbacks are very sociable, small boats don’t bother them in the least.  If they want to get away, all they have to do is dive.  They were in a good mood, having been feeding on caplin in those waters for several weeks.  We saw a Mother and calf, but she didn’t get as close as most of the whales, which is understandable.  At one point we saw a small pod of dolphins go racing by, so close to a couple of whales they almost seemed to jump over them!  A couple of whales really put on a show for us.  One of them breached (it jumped right out of the water) but I missed it because I was looking the other way.  All I saw was the foamy surface where it went back in.  Then for the grand finale one whale decided to come up right next to the boat, swim parallel to it, and start rolling on its back, bringing its huge fluke out of the water, wave it a little and then slap it down with a thunderous splash!  It must have done this a dozen times as we looked on in awe.  You could see the ridges on its belly and the barnacles stuck to its huge tail, it was so close!  I had seen humpbacks swimming up close before, but I had never witnessed this spectacular behavior.  It was something I will always remember!

That was Sunday, the second of my two days off from the gym.  On Monday I had a good chest workout with some back thrown in.  I was working on pull-ups, which are coming along slowly but surely.  Tuesday evening I went swimming, the second time since the pool opened for the season.  There were only six of us in the pool and I had my newly purchased goggles so I could open my eyes under water while wearing my contacts.  I had a great swim, working on different strokes, and at one point I felt strong enough to do two lengths of the pool without resting.  I even successfully did the backstroke for one pool-length, something I had always struggled with when I used to swim regularly years ago.

On Wednesday at the gym I did arms and abs.  I finally got up the courage to do triceps dips again.  I say that because my first gym injury was caused by doing dips and not being strong enough for it and not really knowing what I was doing.  Since then I have avoided it, fearing another injury.  But I have felt so strong lately and have watched so many people doing dips I felt like I was ready to give them a try again.  I did one set of 10 with no real trouble, except that my legs started to swing towards the end.  I guess I will get better at keeping my balance the more experienced I get with it.  Tonight, Thursday, I’m going swimming with my 5 year old nephew.  I won’t be able to do laps since he’s just learning to swim and I promised to help him, but I’m sure it will be fun and somewhat of a workout anyway.  Tomorrow night it’s time for deadlifts again, and I’ll throw in some shoulder and traps work too.

Anyway, that’s an update on what I’ve been doing, hope you enjoyed the puffin and whale story!      

It was hot, hot, hot at the gym last night!  The small air-conditioning unit is broken, and there was no breeze coming through the open windows.  The fans were just blowing around warm air so no relief there.  By the time I finished my first set of power cleans and barbell bent-over rows, I was sweating like I’d just done half an hour of cardio!

I paced myself, drank a lot of water, and had a decent workout.  I think though I may have strained my left arm a little on the downward movement of my last power clean.  I was focused so much on getting the weight up, I didn’t concentrate on the descent and instead of going right to the floor in a smooth movement I stopped part way and that’s when the strain happened.  It’s not too bad though, I’ll rest it for a few days, my next workout is legs and abs anyway.  This just serves as another reminder of how important proper form is to avoid injury.  Always keep focused on what you’re doing!

Right after that workout I did something I haven’t done since last year at a hotel - I went swimming.  I went to our community pool, which is only open in the summer.  Even though I’ve lived here 15 years, I’ve never been to this pool.  It’s a nice spot, newly renovated, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  There were only a dozen people there, so I had lots of room to swim.  I wear contacts so at first I tried to keep my head out of the water, but I love go under water so I borrowed a mask that the pool owns.  It worked ok, and I was able to swim some laps (resting at each end) and fool around swimming to the bottom and swimming across the pool under water.  I used to swim a lot in my twenties, and forgot how much I enjoyed it.  Even though I haven’t been swimming much I haven’t lost the knack for it, I don’t think it would take me long to get back to doing many continuous laps like I used to do.  I went for the enjoyment but of course I want the cardio benefits too, and I think it will be a welcome change from the bike and treadmill at the gym.  Yesterday I went out and bought a proper pair of swim goggles so I can see underwater without any worry about my contacts.  I’m looking forward to trying them out! 

Looking at my recent blog posts you can see I write about deadlifts a lot…that’s because there’s nothing else I do at the gym that gives me such a sense of accomplishment!  When I’m doing deadlifts it just feels so natural, it’s like what I’m supposed to be doing.  Since I can’t ’shout it from the rooftops’, writing about it here is the next best thing!

I’ve been having great success these last couple of months, doing deadlifts 2 or 3 times a month.  On other days I make sure I get in some good hamstring workouts, and also do hyperextensions for lower back.  My new goal is to lift 400 by the end of September, and if I keep progressing like I have been I know I’ll get there!

Last night I decided to change up my deadlift workout to see how it would feel.  For awhile now I’ve been doing about 6 sets, with the last three at heavy weight and 3, 2, or 1 rep, and the last set being an attempt at a new personal best.  This has worked well for me, and I’ve been able to add about 10 pounds a month.  Last night, I did warmups 135×10 and 225×10, then jumped right to 315 where I did three strong reps.  Could have done more, but I wanted to save my strength for the next lift.  I added 50 more pounds for a total of 365.  That would be 10 pounds more than my previous best lift.  Setting up for the lift I felt a mixture of confidence and caution.  I thought I could do it, but I wasn’t going to sacrafice good form or risk injuring myself just to get it up.  I think I took longer to set up and focus for that attempt than I have for any deadlift I’ve ever done.  I started the lift and it felt good, but I had a problem with the palm-up grip on my left hand.  The bar started to slip and I had to abort.  But I felt like I was going to get it so I couldn’t stop there, I had to try again.  I took a small break, then I got into position again, making sure to tighten my grips with the straps as much as I could.  I took a few deep breaths, and then I did the lift!  I even locked it in and leaned back at the top of the ascent, like is required at power-lifting competitions.  Then I was able to lower it smoothly back down with good form, hardly making much noise when the plates hit the floor.  I pumped my fist in triumph, feeling wonderful that I had reached another personal best!  I stayed at the gym another while and had a good biceps and forarms workout, then left for home feeling on cloud 9.

For me I don’t think it matters how many warm-up sets or how heavy I go in my lifts before trying a new maximum.  What’s important is that I warm-up enough to get comfortable with my form, and not do too many lifts so that I use the best of my energy before I get to the maximum lift.  I don’t think any set workout will work for me, I just have to be aware of how my body is feeling and responding to what I’m doing at any particular workout and do what I feel is best to get the most out of it.  So, it’ll probably be another 2 weeks before I do deadlifts again, and next time I’ll go for at least 370, who know, maybe 375 if I feel good! 

I’ve been doing well on bench press for the first part of this year, rehabilitating from an arm injury and working my way back up to a personal best of 230.  A few weeks ago I asked a gym regular for a spot on a 225 lift.  After doing it, he commented that I hold the bar with a closer together grip than he does, he thinks I’m not working chest as much as I could be.  He showed me where he holds it, and I have to go about 3 fingers wider to do the same.  He lines up his middle finger with the smooth band on the rough part of the bar (sorry, don’t know how to describe it in technical terms!)

After that I made sure to watch other people doing bench press, experienced guys, and they all used the wider grip that he had shown me.  Sure enough, next time I did chest I tried this wider grip and I could really feel the difference.  An adjustment of three fingers doesn’t sound like much but it is!  There was no way I was getting anywhere close to 230, I just did sets at 135 up to 185, getting used to the feel of this wider grip.  It makes perfect sense when you think about it, since you use a close grip to do triceps, if I gripped wider I’d be working arms less and chest more.

Two days ago was time for bench press again.  I wanted to see how heavy I could go using the wider grip.  I did warmup sets with the bar only, then 135 and 185.  Then I did sets 195×3, 200×2, 210×2.  I barely got that last rep back up on the rack!  But I wasn’t content.  I set up for a lift of 225, and asked someone I knew for a spot.  I had no trouble on the liftoff or descent, but trying to push up I totally lost it and needed help.  The spotter said to me ‘you know you don’t keep your arms straight’.  I said I thought I did so then he got on the bench and showed me what I did.  After lifting off, my arms were straight but before starting to come down I moved them forward about six inches, throwing myself off balance for that failed lift.  I realized he was right.  I think I may be lying back too far on the bench, and I’m moving my arms out to keep clear of the rack.

I thanked him and said I’d adjust next time, but he said wait a few minutes and he’d help me try again.  I focused on my form and I did 3 assisted reps at 225.  Although having the spotter take some of the weight and guide the bar is not the same as doing it yourself, in that situation it was good for me to have help while I concentrated on form and good for my confidence that I did 3 reps.  And I know the wider grip is working my chest better since I have DOMS more after doing bench press this time than I ever have before! 

This experience just goes to show that you can read about form, watch videos and watch other people, and that’s all good, but there’s nothing as good as having someone watch what you are doing and pointing out any problems you might be having.  I really appreciate the spotter caring enough to take the time to point out a weakness in my form and helping me work through it a little.  Although bodybuilding is mostly a solitary endeavor, and you get out of it what you alone put into it, interacting with other bodybuilders makes you feel like part of a community of like-minded people and helps keep me motivated, which is why I know I would never give up going to my little community gym even if I had space and money for a complete home gym! 

Happy Canada Day to all Canadian bodyspace members out there! Hope your holiday was a great one.  At the start of 2008 I set a goal for the year that was very ambitious for me…. I want to see my abs.  I’ve blogged before about how important this is for me, and it still is important, but as the year has progressed other goals have become increasingly important to me too.  I thought that half way through the year might be a good time to measure my progress.  Do I have visible abs yet?  NO.  Am I a lot closer to getting them than I was six months ago?  YES!  The abs are there.  I’ve been working them for over 4 years and when I poke and prod I can feel them, no problem.  The problem is, as I’m sure many of you can relate to, is getting rid of that stubborn fat covering them.  I know how to do this, thanks to everything I’ve learned on bb.com, and I’m making slow but steady progress.  The thing is, do I have to sacrafice my other goals to lose enough body fat to bring out my abs by the end of 2008?

Here’s what I mean…I love to lift heavy.  I strive to increase my max lifts just about every time I workout.  Bench, deadlifts, squats, rows, curls, you name it, I’ve been working to lift more weight.  I’m doing better every month and I enjoy every minute of my workouts.  I can certainly see the results in how I look too…muscles are becoming more defined, I’m broader across the shoulders and back, and the legs are growing.  I’m also losing still losing body fat, but I know it could be a lot faster if I did more cardio.  But here’s the thing…I really don’t want to sacrafice any of the muscle and strength gains I’ve made.  So I’ve been compromising by doing some high intensity cardio, treadmill or bike, after lifting.

I guess this is the question I’m trying to ask….if I want to continue to build lean muscle and gain strenth, is it realistic to think I can still bring out my abs by the end of this year?  Is the way I’m training slowing down my abs results?  I think it probably is, but you know what?  I love what I’m doing too much to stop.  I still want to bring out my abs, but I’m not going to give up lifting heavy or sacrafice any of the gains I’ve made to achieve my abs goal.  If it takes me longer to get those abs than this year, then so be it.

Anyone who wants to share their abs experience with me, I’m all ears!