My BodyBlog

Wow, I’m really feeling it today from my back workout Sunday night.  Pull-ups, deadlifts, rows, back extensions and shrugs have left me sore from the lower back right right up to traps!  I love it but it does mean I have to reconsider tonight’s workout.  A sore back does not bode well for heavy bench pressing, I’ve been there before and I know my body can’t perform to its full potential when I feel like this.  The smart thing to do is rest upper body, and although I’m a little disappointed, it’s what I’m going to do.  So tonight will be some leg work starting with squats, plus it’s time for abs.  I’ll try to do some extra cardio too.  Have a great day everyone!

What does bodybuilding have to do with curling, you ask?  What is curling, some of you in southern climates may be wondering?  It’s a game on ice, that’s all you need to know for this blog (google it if you want to learn more!)

I love watching curling, and last night happened to be the final game of the men’s world championship - Canada vs Scotland - but it was due to be broadcast during my workout time!  No fear though, there are TV’s at the gym and I can watch between sets.  I don’t recommend doing a workout this way as a rule, but on special occasions it’s fine to be flexible.  I still got all of the work in I wanted to to.  I took a break from my chest/bench program and instead did a good back workout.  Highlight was a deadlift set of 315×5, most reps I’ve ever done at that weight.

Now the curling/bodybuilding connection.  Until recent years, several of the men participating in the highest levels of curling did not exactly look like elite athletes at first glance…if fact, they looked more like couch potatoes and beer guzzlers.  All that has changed though thanks to the fitness attitude of many younger people taking up the sport, especially after it became an Olympic sport.  Nowdays, fitness training, including weight training is a common year-round endeavour for most who want to excel at the sport.  This approach to training for curling was embraced by the Brad Gushue team from my province of Newfoundland, who stunned the curling establishment by qualifying to represent Canada at the 2006 winter olympics.  They were young, mostly inexperienced (except for one veteran), but had great mental preparation and physical conditioning going for them.  When they won the gold medal I shed tears of joy and pride!  Now, I’m not saying that fitness and bodybuilding was a major factor in their success, but it was a factor, enough that these days physical training for pro curlers during the off season and off the ice is necessary if they want to keep up to the competition.

I guess the moral of the story is fitnesss can contribute to your success with anything you are doing in life!  What was the result of the game?  Canada lost, 8-6  

Three days rest since last workout, no upper body soreness going into this one - I was hoping for a much better result than when I did this workout on the last cycle and I got it!

Started with regular bench press, my working sets were: 165×12, 195×8, 205×6 (fifth and sixth rep assisted, 215×4 (third and fourth set assisted).  I may have gotten a rep or two more on my own, but the spotter was a little anxious.  A much better result than last week though, I’m happy.  I have realized that lifting 205 and 215 is much harder after doing a heavy set of 12 and 8 than it is after just a few light warm-ups.

Next exercise was flat dumbbell flyes, completed working sets 45×12, 56×8, 65×6.  I wanted to use 75 for the last set but the weights go from 70 to 80, so I grabbed the 80’s and managed 2 reps.  It will be a real challenge to get 4 flyes with these!

I did a litte extra for chest, just some low weight, high volume cable crossovers to stretch out the pecs and get the blood pumping through the muscles.  Felt great!  I finished the workout with some serious bicep work, including a lot of heavy sets.  I sprinkled in a few very light tricep sets just to get a good pump in the entire arm.  Nothing like getting the arms pumped up to finish off a great workout!  

Awhile ago at the gym I was chatting with a guy between sets, he was asking me a little about how I train.  He saw my notepad where I record my work and he said ‘you must take this pretty seriously’.  I said that I like to look back at my workouts and track my progress.  He then said ‘I guess it’s a great hobby for you’.  I nodded and smiled, but of course I disagree.  I know he didn’t mean anything by it, but it shows just how different our feelings are about working out.  He, along with a large percentage of the population, just doesn’t get what this is all about for many of us.

Do you plan your work and family time around your hobby?  Does any hobby require constant planning and vigilence (i.e food)?  Does your hobby increase your self-esteem and physical well being and overall qualify of life?  Do you carry the results of a hobby around with you 24-7 for all to see?  Does a hobby make you feel energized and just happy to be alive?  Bodybuilding is a passion, a lifestyle, maybe even an obcession - but a healthy obcession if you keep it in balance with the other important things in your life.

I’ve had hobbies - activites I’ve enjoyed doing at times in my life - but nothing has captivated my soul and passion like the iron has.  I never imagined feeling so positive about something and feeling so good about myself!  My hobby?  I don’t think so.

Last night at my gym, I was just starting my workout when I saw a family of four, kids in mid-teens, pay for a month’s membership and get the usual orientation by gym staff.  The orientation consists of ‘Here is the classes room - here are the machines - here are the free weights - here are the changing rooms - here is the cardio area - here is the ‘women’s only room’.  Basically, a one minute walking tour.  That’s it.  The newbies are then left to their own devices to figure out how to use everything.  That’s the typical orientation for new people at my gym -pretty pathetic.

To me its a no-brainer, from a business point of view, that new members should be offered something more - maybe a one hour complementary personal training session, so they can at least get some basis on which to start?  You’d think that the business woman who owns that gym would try to offer some basic personal training services for new members as a way of generating some additional revenue? More importantly, some training services would help ensure newbies get as much out of their first weeks at the gym as possible, and they would be encouraged and motivated to stay with it and renew their membership!  I’ve seen countless new people come and go at my gym, a little direction and encouragement I’m sure would have made a huge difference to many of them. 

The family stayed together and went to the part of the gym where there was no one else.  They then took turns trying out each machine figuring it out by looking at the diagram on the machine.  They made their away around the gym, spreading out a little as it got late and there were only a few people left.  They spoke to each other in lowered voices, as if not trying to draw any attention to themselves.  At one point the daughter got on a decline bench and just layed there, listening to her ipod.  She did one half-hearted crunch and then just layed there again for a minute

I felt badly for them - it seemed to be their first gym experience and they wouldn’t be getting as much out of it as they could have.  A part of me wanted to say something - but a comment or two from me wouldn’t have made much difference to their experience at that point.  They needed someone dedicated to being with them.  Heck, maybe my presence there, breathing hard and sweating with my rippling muscles, intimidated them too LOL ;)  Seriously though, I felt intimidated by the experienced lifters when I started so maybe they felt the same.  I ended up not saying anything but I did smile at them if we passed one another, hopefully it made them a little more comfortable.  If I see any of them again I will at least say hello next time.

Only time will tell if they stick with it - I’m afraid the odds are they won’t.  If I owned that gym they would have had a much better first experience! 

Upper body was totally recovered and ready for this workout - starting the second cycle of this training strategy and I hope to get a better read on how my body can take it than I did the first time around.  Working sets:

Incline Bench - 140×12, 150×8, 160×6, 170×4.  All sets completed cleanly, incline bench is no doubt the most challenging exercise for me in this routine.  I needed maximum effort on the last two sets, I’m near my limits on these, we’ll see how I do next time!

Decline Bench - 155×12, 185×8, 195×6, 210×4.  All sets completed cleanly, in fact with strength to spare.  I thought I’d be at my limit tonight on these but I’m not.  How did I get stronger on this exercise than flat bench?

Felt fantastic to do all these sets!  Last week on the first cycle, after doing incline and decline, I did more chest work then I blasted triceps.  That really set me back in terms of what I could do in the following two chest workouts, I needed extra time to recover.  I was determined not to make that mistake this time, so I just did some light work for shoulders, then I did a good abs workout.

I’ve got a couple of stories from the gym last night but they’ll have to wait for another post, I’ve got to get back to work!  Have a great day everyone, I know I will! 

The last couple of times I attempted squats I felt weak and uncomfortable.  I blame it on fatigue and soreness from the other exercises I was doing.  So I left it alone for a couple of weeks, hoping to go back at it fresh.  I even sat down before my workout last night to watch some on-line videos to make sure I wasn’t doing something wrong.  I don’t think there are any major problems with my form, but I did learn a couple of things that got me thinking and I’ve decided to change my approach to squats and how they fit into my overall goals.

First my squat workout: I warmed up with a few light sets of leg extensions and a little stretching.  At the power rack, I did a warm-up set of squats with the bar only.  I then did 3 working sets, 89×10, 135×10 and 135×10.  Not a lot of weight compared to what I’ve been doing the last couple of years, but it was effective squatting thanks to form and tempo.  Here is where yesterday’s research comes into play.

I had heard of a 1/4 squat, 1/2 squat and of course full squat, but did not know the true meaning of each.  Turns out most of my squats were close to 1/2 squats (thighs parallel to floor) and I’d considered a 1/2 squat to be a full squat.  Full squats, being as far down as you can go past parallel, are much harder but are the most effective for leg growth.  I usually only achieved this on lighter sets and not consistently.  On my heavier lifts I’d been doing a 1/4 squat or maybe a little deeper, but rarely to parallel.  Each type of squats have their function in training, and the lifter’s leg length and torso will often dictate what type of squat will be their optimal one.  For example, a person with long legs or torso will have a harder time executing a full squat.  According to my reading I am very well built to execute the full squat.  That is what I did last night, slow and deliberate full squats making sure my body was in the right position through out the entire range of motion.  I felt very comfortable, and even though the weight was light, I could really feel my legs working to execute these.

I have been proud of the squat weights I have achieved but the fact that it had been done with 1/2 squats or less puts it in a new light.  Can I legitimatly compare myself to other squatters who may be doing full squats?  I don’t think so.  I am going to consider the squatting I have done up to now as valuable experience and an effective leg growth exercise.  But it’s time to wipe the slate clean and start doing full squats.  I’m not going to set a strength goal, but a technique goal, which will be to do good form full squats every leg day.  I will slowly add weight when I feel I’m ready.  The overall goal is to have better leg workouts which will develop my legs and help my entire body grow bigger than its even been!       

Did this workout a day later than expected, maybe the extra rest would help my lifting? This workout is more intense than the first two, all 4 exercises are done, three sets of six at the highest weight possible.  I am still trying to judge what I am able to lift, I planned to start with a weight I thought I could do successfully based on past workouts.  First exercise was flat barbell bench, thought I could do 210. Ha!  Felt weak right from the first set, only did 4 reps.  Only thing I can say is that although I have no more tricep soreness, I guess I’m not fully recovered from the last two workouts.  I accepted the situation and decided to just do what I could.  I lowered the weight to 205 and did a set of 2 and then a set of 3.

On to incline bench.  Similar story here, thought I could handle 155 but the motion caused some shoulder soreness so I stopped the first set at 3.  Brought down the weight to 145 and did 4 reps, brought it down again to 140 and did 6 reps.  First set of six completed! :-)   Now, here’s where things got strange.  Moving to decline bench in the power rack, I had planned to lift 190.  I thought I might as well give it a shot even though I’m having an off day.  So I set it up and BAM!  Pumped out the 6 reps no problem!  I did all 3 sets and could have lifted heavier.  What gives?  Why am I so much stronger at decline barbell than the others?  I’m not complaining but I’d like to know why!  Doing this so well seemed to give me renewed energy, I tackled the last exercise, flat bench dumbbell flyes, and did the 3×6 with 56 pound dumbbells, no problem here.  Finished off chest with a burnout set of 30 flat bench dumbbell presses using 22’s, could have kept going.

Cycle one of the new routine is completed, it had its high points and its low points, that’s for sure.  I don’t think this was a typical cycle because of the extra tricep work I did at the start.  I’m not able to really judge at this point whether doing chest work 3 times in one week was a good thing or a bad thing for me.  I’m going to do the cycle again, being careful not to do too much extra upper body work (no triceps, that’s for sure!) and I think I’ll be in a much better position at the end of next week to decide if this type of chest routine is suitable for me.

Other than the chest work, I just did some biceps and jumped rope 612 times (yes, I count every rep, I just can’t stop myself!)  My gym has a new preacher curl bench, I tried it out and found it a lot more comfortable than the old one.  I was warming up with the bar only when a regular gym rat came over to comment on the new bench.  He said he found he couldn’t lift as much weight as with the old one, then he said to me I should have the seat adjusted lower.  Huh?  I nodded but that didn’t make sense to me.  If it were lower I couldn’t rest my upper arms on the pad and it would be a poor angle, I thought the point was to get in a comfortable position where you could totally isolate the biceps (by keeping the shoulders and arms above the elbows stationary)?  That way only the elbows would be bending and the lift would be done using biceps only.  Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.

A good workout today, all things considered!

The only bad workout is the one you don’t do! (Sorry Al, this is a poor imitation of your motto, but I can’t think of anything more original right now!)    

I had time after work in the city today to do a little clothes shopping - wanted some lightweight pants/shirts that I could wear around the office and that were casual enough to wear outside work as well.  I selected several things and went into the dressing room.  To my great satifaction most 34’s in pants fit very nicely and I needed 36’s for some makes.  A far cry from the 44’s I wore 5 years ago and even the 38’s I bought last year.  For shirts, size large fit well everywhere except they were a little tight in the arms and chest when I moved a certain way.  Size XL was just way too baggy, so I’ll settle for a little upper body tightness!  I bought 4 pairs of pants and 3 shirts to match - and actually enjoyed the experience!  Another bonus from bodybuilding!

In the dressing room I had the luxury of a full length mirror.  Stripped down to my skivvies I liked what I saw for the most part, except to be realistic I still have quite a bit of body fat to lose on my lower stomach before I’ll ever see my abs there.  I just have to keep plugging away at it.  To all those who’ve wondered why I haven’t posted any pics…well your comments have got me thinking about it seriously for the first time and I’m almost to the point where I’m ready to attempt it…almost.  More on this another day.

Triceps soreness faded today and is now gone…I’ll be ready to go back at bench/chest tomorrow night! 

Second workout of the new program last night.  Triceps were very sore in the morning, they worked hard Sunday night doing the incline and decline bench followed by a lot of triceps isolation sets.  I thought they were coming around by the time I hit the gym though…boy, was I wrong!  Half way through my first working set of flat bench press they started to scream at me but I finished the 160×12 as planned.  Next set 190×8 the soreness was even more intense and I just barely got in the 190×8.  Wow.  I’ve never had this intense soreness in my triceps before.  For my next set I bumped down the planned weigh to 205 but could only get 4 reps out of 6 before failing.  Final set I knew I was toast before I started so I just did a single lift of 225, barely got it done!  Lesson learned?  I must avoid triceps isolation work while doing the 3 times per week chest training.  Incline, decline and flat bench will give triceps more than enough work!  On the bright side, chest itself didn’t feel sore, and on the very bright side, my next exercise, flat bench dumbbell flyes, was completed cleanly with sets of 42×12, 50×8, 60×6, and 70×4.  Triceps don’t play much of a part in this movement obviously!  Hopefully I’ll be back to 100% for my next chest workout Friday night.

In addition to the tricep soreness I felt very unenergetic last night.  While waiting for the squat rack I went on the treadmill for about 15 minutes, did some slow jogging which normally would be no big deal but last night it was no fun.  When I started squats after my warm-up set I could tell it was going to be a crappy session, the energy just wasn’t there.  Yes, I whimped out.  Didn’t do squats, but believe me when I say it felt like more than just an ‘off night’.  On those nights I forge on and do some lifts, but last night I was very tired.  I did manage to do a few sets of leg press and did some pull-downs and seated cable rows for back.

Doing something at the gym last night was a lot better for me than sitting on the couch so from that perspective it was a success!