The nature of my profession can bring with it a lot of stress.  I am more fortunate than many in that I am self-employed and have built my business to the point where I can minimize a lot of the stress i.e. only accept good clients and have some flexibility in my schedule.  In spite of my efforts though there are times that some stress cannot be avoided.  The last few weeks and I suspect the next few will be one of those stressful times.  I am finding, however, that my ability to cope with stress is vastly improved in the last few years as compared to earlier in my life.  I’m positive the difference is bodybuilding!

Pre-bodybuilding, work related stress would cause me to become grumpy, withdrawn and even a little depressed.  I used binge-eating for stress relief, and of course this probably made me feel even worse physically.  Now that I am fully committed to bodybuilding, trying to eat, sleep and work out like a committed bodybuilder, I am having an entirely different reaction to the work stress.  Mentally I am more focused, things aren’t getting to me, I’m taking it all in stride.  I am doing the best I can and not worrying about things I can’t control.  Physically, I’m feeling great and don’t have any cravings for junk food at all.  I am following my same eating routine which is keeping my metabolism humming and my energy high.  Being able to go to the gym regularly (which I will never sacrafice for any work circumstance) is keeping my spirits high and the workouts themselves are helping me release any stress that may be lingering. 

I read a blog in which someone said that one of the things they find so satisfying about bodybuilding is that the evidence and reward of all their hard work is with them at all times.  After 5 years 8 months working out I can now relate to that feeling.  After hating the mirror for so long I now make a point of looking at my progress.  I am pleased with what I see and know that I DID THAT…it was the result of my decisions and actions and I know I can keep transforming if I want to…what a feeling of empowerment, I’m in control of my own body, not a slave to it!  I know I’m rambling and getting off topic but these are the thoughts that are coming out of me as I type and it’s important to express them.  Is this vanity, to look at yourself and like what you see?  How can feeling so good about life and your accomplishments, and wanting to keep improving be a negative thing?  Any thoughts? 

Anyway, a final comment on stress relief.  The mere fact I can sit at my desk and feel the DOMS, flex a little or stretch a little, these simple things remind me of how good bodybuilding makes me feel and that seems to push away any stress I may be experiencing at that moment.

Thank you bodybuilding for everything you do for me! 

Looking at the calendar and there are less than 8 weeks left in 2009!  I’ll do the 3-S for about 6 more weeks then keep the last part of December for less structured (but just as intense) workouts….

…I’m back from the gym and the shoulders/triceps work went well together.  Here are my working sets:

Shoulders

Strength: Seated Dumbbell Press - 55×6, 55×6, 55×6, 55×6 (up five pounds from last time)

Size:

Upright Rows: 50×12, 50×12  Two Arm Side Laterals: 28×12, 28×12  Incline Revese Flyes:24×12, 24×12

Shock: Double Drop-set Machine Seated Press: 130×6, 90×7, 50×10.

Triceps:

Strength: Close Grip Bench Press: 191×5, 196×5, 196×5

Size: Skull Crushers: 50×12, 60×10, 60×10  Rope Pushdown: 120×12, 130×10, 120×12

Shock: Two tri-sets: Bar Pushdown, Reverse Bar Pushdown, One-arm Dumbbell Extension.

I used heavier weight for almost all exercises completed today.  As usual with 3-S, this work left me fatigued but feeling great!  Next workout - Legs!  

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.

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.

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!

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! 

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. 

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!

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.

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.