Hezha’s BodyBlog

Hello everybody!

So I’m writing about my Tuesday (7th of July 2009) training, i was yet to find a proper gym that i would find fitting for my training needs. So i had to settle for ANOTHER public gym, this one was a bit better but way too crowded, i actually went there at 12 noon to avoid that but didn’t help too much as people are not at work, specially during summer times. Well hey it’s a public place, so let’s stop complaining and start lifting some weights and continue with this fitness transformation process. I did a bit of warming up but nothing special as i wanted to get started.

Here is the workout i did:

Dumbbell flat bench press

Set 1: 10 reps with34kg/75lbs dumbbells

Set 2: 8 reps with 38,5kg/85lbs dumbbells

Set 3: 7 reps with 38,5kg/85lbs dumbbells

Note. I got a really good pump from these sets, I feel that I’m getting stronger each workout. Thanks to proper training, eating and adequate sleep.

Incline bench press

Set 1: 10 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Set 2: 8 reps with 70kg/154lbs

Set 3: 7 reps with 70kg/154lbs

Note. Didn’t like this exercise too much, but the other incline machines were occupied, even the incline bench was taken. So i chose to try this one out. So you gotta be flexible with your routine, specially in a new place and also to shock your muscles with new exercises hitting the muscles from different angles.

Bench press machine (weight plate loaded)

Set 1: 12 reps with 65kg/143lbs

Set 2: 10 reps with 75kg/165lbs

Set 3: 8 reps with 85/187lbs

Note. Felt my inner chest working and contracting nicely on this exercise, i like this exercise and every now and then i do it to ‘’spice'’ things up a little.

Dumbbell flyes

3 sets of 10-12 reps with 20kg/44lbs dumbbells

Note. Having a controlled motion is key to really contract the chest muscles without the help of too much momentum, and when coming to the top of the movement, really squeeze the muscles to involve every bit of muscle fibre. Remember not too stretch your chest too far out and hurt yourself, moderate good stretch is enough.

Close grip barbell bench press (to finish up my chest workout and fire up the triceps)

3 sets of 10 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Note. With this exercise i got to work my inner pecs and also get my triceps ready for some heavy lifting. Having balance during this movement is key, so plant your feet firmly to the ground and try to have a slow motion and elbows in close to your body with the exercise to really get the most benefit out of it.

Skull crushers for triceps

3 sets of 8 with 30kg/60lbs

Note. I was getting fatigued at this point, because i couldn’t lift the normal weights that I do and even this weight was really forcing the reps out of me, I actually needed some help with my last set as I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself.

Overhead dumbbell tricep extensions (seated with back supported)

3 sets of 8-10 reps with 34kg/75lbs dumbbell

Note. Try to keep your elbows in to force the triceps do most of the work, however if you feel that you can’t do it, either decrease the weights (which i recommend) or let your elbows out as it will make it easier for you.  Back support is really important in this exercise.

Cable tricep pushdown

3 sets of 8 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Note. I really like this exercise as i can squuze the triceps and contract them really well. I feel that this exercise is great for both size and definition for getting the ‘’horse shoe'’ triceps. But this time, the cable machine was really old and not properly maintained, so didn’t really enjoy the exercise this time.

Dumbbell tricep kickbacks

3 sets of 8reps/per hand with 15kg/33lbs dumbbell

Note. I love this exercise and find it to be a great exercise for bringing shape and definition to my triceps, make sure that you lock your elbows high next to your body and squueze on top of the movement for a second before letting it back down. This was my last tricep exercise for the day. Only abs left for the day.

Abdominals

Ab crunch machine

6 sets of 8-15 reps, starting off with higher reps and lower weights and pyramiding to my heaviest set. Weight was in between 40kg-80kg/88lbs-176lbs.

Note. As mentioned in some previous post of mine, that I have been doing weighted ab exercises to really build strong and thick abdominal muscles.

Also did some different variations of abdominal exercises that i do and try to create as i go along. I try to use weight plates or dumbbells for these exercises also. I will soon post videos and pics of those too in my blog at: xtransformation.wordpress.com

Hello everybody! So yesterday (Sunday) was time to workout the legs. I gotta admit that i have mixed feelings, when it comes to leg training days, i dread it since i know that I’m gonna destroy my muscles with hard training and going to be sore as hell the following 2-3 days, but on the other hand excited to lift heavy weights as my legs are my strongest body parts by far. As i have mentioned previously, i don’t take any pre-workout supplements before leg training, because the pumps would be too painful and i would start cramping. I just drank 1 liter of pineapple juice before and during my workout to keep my energy level high.

Before we go to my workout, be sure to check my own blog site out at: xtransformation.wordpress.com as i might forget to post some of my workouts to bodyspace.
I warmed my body up by doing 10 minutes on the cross trainer

After which i did some explosive stretches lightly to wake my muscles up, i usually don’t do conventitional static stretches BEFORE my workouts, but i do light static stretches to the muscle I’m working in between sets and after workouts at home.

Let’s get to my workout:

Leg extensions light (to warm my knees up)

2 sets of 15 reps with 50kg/110lbs

Deep squat (same as traditional squat, but i go really deep to shock my leg muscles and get more muscle fibers involved)

Set 1: 10 reps with 80kg/176lbs

Set 2: 10 reps with 90kg/198lbs

Set 3: 8 reps with 100kg/220lbs

Note. I did the reps in a slow, controlled fashion. Slower than normally, to force the muscles to work and not have any momentum helping my lift the weights up.

Sumo squat
3 sets of 8 reps with 90kg/198lbs

Note. In order to do this exercise correctly, make sure that your knees and feet are pointing to the same direction from start to finish of the exercise, your feet should be pointing outwards slightly.

V-squat machine ( i rarely do this, just wanted a bit of a different angle to work my quads)

Set 1: 12 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Set 2: 10 reps with 75kg/165lbs

Set 3: 8 reps with 85kg/187lbs

Note. I tried to position my feet fairly down on the machine platform to target my quads more instead of my hamstrings.

Seated leg curls for hamstrings

3 sets of 12 with 50kg/110lbs

Note. I have trouble with putting up big weights with hamstring exercises, i have to work on that more. To hit the hamstrings from a different angle during this exercise, make sure your feet are pointing forwards instead of upwards, you will notice a difference and the weight will become heavier. This reduces the help you receive from your calves and relies more on the hamstrings alone.

Dumbbell deadlifts

3 sets of 10 reps with 26kg/57lbs dumbbells

Note. Gotta remember to stick your butt out to keep your back straight throughout the movement and slight bend in the knees are ok, have control over the dumbbells and really feel your hamstrings stretching and working. Don’t over-stretch your hamstrings as you might pull a muscle.

Seated calf raises

6 sets of 12-15 reps with increasing weight, starting from 40kg/88lbs pyramiding all the way to 70kg/154lbs.

Note. As mentioned, i do calves in a two-motion phase, i push 60% and pause for a split second then squeeze the remaining 40% of the movement. I do this to really cut my calves in two and have a noticeable peak to it. You guys should give it a try.

Last but not least abdominals:

I did weighted crunches, leg raises, some ab machines etc. I tried to go heavy on them, to develop my abdominal muscles and force them to grow. As for the last years i have done abs without weights for the most part, and like any other muscle they need resistance to grow bigger.

That’s it for my workout from yesterday. Tried my newly bought HD camcorder, not sure if it’s really any good, gonna try to have somebody take some clips of me to post here or gonna have to buy another one, that is better.

Remember keep training hard and stay motivated, don’t slack off. Sometimes it’s easy to miss practices and eat junk food since it’s summer, gotta have self-discipline. Make promises to yourself that you can keep, but even if you break them, don’t feel to bad about it, just make sure not to break too many promises!

Be sure to check my blog at xtransformation.wordpress.com

Hey guys,

On friday i did upper back, traps and abs. I had a great day outside the gym, so i automatically assumed that it would remain at the same level, when i would go to the gym. How wrong was I, I wasn’t satsified with the gym i have been going to lately, so since i didn’t have an active membership since wednesday 1st of July. I thought to myself, that hey i still gotta workout, so decided to go to a public fitness center like a YMCA type facility. I can honestly say i had the worst workout of my life, no air circulation, crappy equipments etc. etc. I was so actually hurrying to finish my workout and left it a bit short. So I NEED to find a good gym fast, as i don’t wanna go back to that gym.

But hey at least i grined through the workout, here goes:

Upper back

Wide grip front pulldown

Set 1: 10 reps with 70kg/154lbs
Set 2: 10 reps with 75kg/165lbs
Set 3: 8 reps with 80kg/176lbs

Seated Row

I only managed to squeeze 2 sets of 10 reps with 90kg/198lbs.
Note. Machine was really old and unreliable, so i chose to move on.

T-Bar row

Set 1: 10 reps with 60kg/132lbs
Set 2: 8 reps with 70kg/154lbs
Set 3: 8 reps with 80kg/176lbs
Note. I enjoyed this exercise, as the machine was working fine. So i pushed 3 really good sets out of this one. Felt a bit better at this point.

Dumbbell shrugs for traps

4 sets of 10 reps with 41kg/90lbs dumbbells

Note. Wanted to go heavier than normally and in a sense punish myself for not having a good workout. I gotta admit, that at this point i was happy that i did most my exercises that i was supposed to, but couldn’t bare the thought of staying there and doing abdominals, so i decided to do them at home later in the evening.

Abs

I usually do abs with weights to develop the abdominal muscles and make them thicker, but since this time i was gonna do abs at home, i tried to do different varieties of crunches etc. for a total of 250 reps. Guys remember, that the number is not the most important thing, you have to control your body and it’s motion to actually feel the muscle working and contract the muscle properly, without too much of a swing action.

Anyway enjoy your weekend guys, keep training hard and eating healthy. Remember that a little cheat meal or snack is ok 1-2 twice a week, to keep a sane mind.

Be sure to check my own blog site at xtransformation.wordpress.com for training videos that i will try to put 2-4 times a week. I have only managed to put videos of one day, more are coming, as long as i get my hands on my camera tomorrow.

Hey everybody!

So today i had chest, triceps and abs to do. Before hitting the weights in the gym, i took a Universal Nutrition Storm & SAN V-12 personal mixture of mine to get my body amped and ready for a hard training session.

After not being able to go to the gym for 4 days now, i was really excited about getting to lift some weights, so i started my regular warm-up routine, which i will show to you guys sometime soon on video.

I started with chest, followed by triceps and last i did abs. Here is what i did (haven’t included a few light warm-up sets):

Barbell bench press

Set 1: 10 reps 70kg/155lbs

Set 2: 10 reps 75kg/165lbs

Set 3: 8 reps 80kg/176lbs

Set 4: 8 reps 85kg/187lbs

Dumbbell bench press

Set 1: 10 reps with 26kg/57lbs dumbbells

Set 2: 8 reps with 31kg/68lbs dumbbells

Set 3: 8 reps with 34kg/75lbs dumbbells

Incline dumbbell press

Set 1: 8 reps with 26kg/57lbs dumbbells

Set 2: 8  reps with 31kg/68lbs dumbbells

Smith incline bench press (very high angle to hit the top of the chest area)

Set 1: 10 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Set 2: 8 reps with 62,5kg/138lbs

Set 3: 8 reps with 65kg/143lbs

Pullover (to hit my weak lower chest area)

Set 1: 12 reps with 21kg/46lbs dumbbell

Set 2: 12 reps with 21kg/46lbs dumbbell again

To finish off my chest workout, i went to the flye machine to open my chest up and bring more definition

3 sets of 12 reps with medium weights, i was just going for the feel of it and concentrating on contracting the chest muscle, not so much about how much weight i can lift/push.

Moving along to the triceps, at this point i’m very pumped and still have plenty of energy and excitement to continue with my workout

Triceps:

Weighted dips

3 sets of 10reps with only 5kg/11lbs as extra weight on my waist, but hey gotta start somewhere, right?

Two arm dumbbell extension seated on bench

3 sets of 8 reps with 36kg/80lbs dumbbell

Tricep cable pushdowns (narrow grip to bring the peak of my triceps out)

4 sets of 8 reps with 60kg/132lbs

Dumbbell tricep kickbacks both hands simultaneously

3 sets of 8 reps with 10kg/22lbs dumbbells

Feeling good and pumped, damn the pre-workout drink works great, loving it!

Gotta finish strong, so i did 4 different exercises for abs. I tried to have them all weighted, since i want mass and definition on my abs, big blocks. Tried to stay withing the range of 10-15 reps doing a total of 15 sets for the abs.

That’s it for todays workout, tomorrow i have upper back and biceps along with some cardiovascular/aerobic exercise. Be sure to tune back in and let me know how you’re doing with your training and dieting.

PS. sorry for not having any videos today, i was training alone. But in the future i will try to include video on almost every workout with a little spice

So take care and see you later!!!

Hey everybody, again welcome to my blog.

This is gonna be my fitness transformation blog, i will write about my journey to a greater body, i want to achieve the body that i have wanted for years but always had some obstacles and not reached them. Feel the same way? Well join me and we can go through our life changing physical transformation together. Feel free to comment and ask any questions that come to you mind. Also i would like to know how you are doing with your training and dieting, so we can motivate each other. As it’s sometimes hard to do it by yourself, trust me i’ve been there. No need to be alone anymore, we’ll do it together!

I do more up-dates on my own blog: xtransformation.wordpress.com , where i have pics and videos of my training, be sure to check it out.

So after work today, i went back to the gym to do my legs. Warmed up and everything, since summer is closing and i’m on a cutting diet. My training follows that guideline, i don’t lift too heavy for that reason and also for the fact the pressure it puts on the joints. I like to see myself as a bodybuilder more than a powerlifter, so i train accordingly. On leg days i warm my body up properly, before any heavy lifting i do some light leg extensions to warm the knees up. Then starts the actual training.

 I start by doing Barbell squats, with 2 warm up sets. Increasing the weight each set. Doing a total of 4 sets with normal shoulder width, then doing 3 more sets with narrow stance to give that sweep to the glutes and hams. (WARNING, not all can do that narrow stance due to lack of balance and lack of flexibility of knees, so please if you decide to do it, BE CAREFUL).  Reps were between 8-12.

After this i went to the leg press combining the narrow stance (feet together) and wide stance (bit wider than shoulder width). Doing each 6 reps, so a total of 12 reps for each set. Narrow stance was to work the outer portion of the glutes and quads, wider stance was to work the inner part of the thighs. Did this for 3 sets.

 Moved along to smith machine 1 legged squat (having my other leg on the bench), before this i did a pre-exhausting step-up on the bench 8reps/per leg, then moving straight to the 1 legged smith squat. Very important to concentrate on keeping the midsection tight, specially because when you get tired, you tend to lean forward which is not preferred (might cause back pain). At this point my quads and hams are on fire. But this is not enough for me, i want more. I wanted to hide the pain i was feeling, so went to put my hoodie shirt on and moved to the next exercise, the stiff legged deadlift with dumbbells.

I tend to get a better contraction for the glutes and hams when i use dumbbells instead of barbells for deadlifts, even if i do lighter weights with the dumbbells. (remember guys and gals, back as to be straight when going down, so stick that butt out. Try to connect the mind to the glutes and hamstring muscles, limiting the involvement of the lower back.

At this point, i must say. I was ready to puke, my body was telling me enough. My mind was telling my body to shut up and suck it up. So i went to do leg extensions (quad definition and separation) and lying leg curls as a superset. did 3sets 12 reps for each of the two exercises, with no rest in between. I couldn’t lift my legs to walk after this. But i wasn’t done. One last superset pair with standing leg curls and partial hack squat for more separation of the muscles. Don’t want just big trees for a pairs of legs, i want them defined and showing come summer.

To top the workout off, i hung in there and felt that i don’t have more than 15minutes in me, decided to superset my calf workout : Standing calf raise machine, seated calf raise machine and donkey calf raise machine. Doing them each 4 sets 8-12 reps, with absolutely no rest. My legs were shaking all the way in the shower, driving home and even 1 hour after the workout. Now THAT’s what i call a hardcore workout. Didn’t do any cardio, but with supersets you tend to sweat a lot, and the pump is just amazing. Another day rapped up. Tomorrow no training, just gonna go to the tanning bed for 20minutes and do some ab training. Now to relax and eat a lot.

 Take care all of you! Loving this bodyspace website, hooked on it after being here for 1 week now.

So i went to the gym 1 hour before work. To get my biceps worked out real good and not have to worry about it when i go back to the gym in the evening to do my quads, hamstrings, calves and abs. I usually have very grueling hard leg days. So went there started with the bread and butter for biceps Barbell curl (z-bar, to take the pressure of the forearms). I always mixed it up whether it’s my own training or a clients, just to keep the muscles guessing. I Decided to go for a unique style of supersetting. Did narrow grip barbell curl and followed it (no rest) with normal grip. 45-60sec rest, then started with normal grip (no rest) straight to wide grip. again rest 45-60sec. Then started with a wide grip and followed it with a narrow grip. So you get the picture. I did a total of 6 sets (2 sets per stance) 6 reps. Oh my god, i was feeling pumped. The pump i was getting was just amazing, felt like my arms are gonna explode any minute. After that i moved to Bicep dumbbell curl standing supersetting it with Reverse barbell curls. Total of 4 sets 8reps. After that seated dumbbell hammer curls with a slight incline on the bench (so i can’t cheat and pull the weight up with body movement) total of 4 sets 8 reps. At this point i was done, felt like all the blood rushed into my biceps. Love that pump!!! haha. So to finish it off, i always do cable crusifix concentration curls to get my bicep peak out. People always ask me how i do that. I suggest that you do this exercise if you are lacking this peak on your biceps. So as you can probably guess, my workout was very fast paced and intense. The lady on the counter was like damn you are done???! tired or lazy to workout she asked me.. i answered with a smile that im coming back in the evening. some people don’t get it, you don’t need to spend countless hours in the gym. I see people in my gym, having rest between sets for like 5-10minutes. You are not gonna get a fatburning effect by doing that. It’s actually working against you, if you stay in the gym for too long. Your body will have spent most of your energy and it starts eating away your muscles, which you don’t want, cause that will result in a slowing down of your metabolism. So i would say no matter what (UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARING FOR A COMPETITION AND NEED TO DO LOT’S of CARDIO ETC.) but in general don’t workout for more that 60-90 minutes without nutrition. Can’t wait for tonight’s leg workout. Excited and scared at the time. Gonna punish them! haha.

Decided to hit the gym, straight after work as i usually do. I must admit, it’s easy being a part-owner of a sports supplements shop. I have all these products in front of me, makes my job easier towards my goal, but as we all know.. There is no substitute for hard work and dedication among other things.

 As for my workout itself:

 I see many people every gym i go to, start their chest day straight with the barbell bench press, i personally don’t like it at all. I usually end up hurting my shoulder joints and not really feel it on my chest. All though i am doing it right, so what i do first usually, is smith machine barbell bench press with a very slight incline (20-25degress), so by this i don’t envolve the delts so much and can really feel my chest working and filling with blood. I did this for 4 sets 10 reps.

I did Incline dumbbell bench press, i like this exercise a lot.Cause it gets the upper portion of the chest muscle activated hence making my chest look fuller. I did this 4 sets 8-10 reps increasing the weight each set.

 After this i did Flat Dumbbell bench press, as opposed to barbell bench press, i dont feel any pain on my shoulder with the dumbbells and i get a much better contraction. I did this 3 sets 10reps.

 Back to the smith machine doing high incline bench press to target the highest portion of the chest muscle. I always try to get the feel for the movement and the contraction. Swinging the weight fast up and down is not the way to go, since you are using a lot of momentum to move the weight instead of your muscles.

Top finish off i do a mix of dumbbell flyes a few sets light (really contracting the chest top of the movement) also i do either cable flyes or peck deck machine to open the chest up.

 Shoulders i did 5 exercises ( Shoulder press machine, Dumbbell arnold press, side dumbbell raises, front dumbbell raises, rear dumbbell raises) I usually do them for a total of 12-15 sets 8-10reps.

 Triceps i did 5 exercises as a superset, cause i was getting short on time and wanted a good end to the workout with really pumping the triceps up. Did a total of 14 sets 10-12reps.

 Before forcing myself to leave the gym, i did 30minutes on the treadmill. I’m blessed with the fact that even 30min (2-3 times/week) is more than enough to get me lean and cut. So summer is closing in, gotta decrease the fat % and try to keep as much of the lean muscle as possible. Later on i will add my supplementation plan also. Along with the diet programs etc.

 Keep training you guys and gals! Summer is near and those envy eyes in the beaches and clubs sure are rewarding.

Ps. after training i went to see my counsins baby. 3 year old girl, love her to death. She couldn’t stop touching and pounding on my biceps, she was like mommy, why is uncle Hezha’s arms so big and hard.then she said:  I LIKE IT and started giggling.. funniest thing.. haha

I was supposed to work my biceps, forearms and abs later tonight after work, also do a little of cardio. But unfortunately i had some family problems, that i wasn’t able to go to the gym. I feel really bad whenever i’m forced to miss a workout. Oh well tomorrow gotta hit it even harder. Man i love this bodyspace and blog. Hooked on it, so many beautiful and fit people. Who understand what i’m going through daily and have the goals or similar. Stay tuned. Soon i will also write some tips on nutrition, training etc. Now gonna drink my bedtime protein shake and off to sleep.

Hey everybody!

So me and friends of mine went on a 48-hour cruise. Had a wild, crazy time. So when i got back i needed 24 hours of absolute rest before getting back to training. Was kindda hard not drinking any alcohol, but hey that’s some of the sacrifices i have to make, if i wanna achieve my physical goals.

Couldn’t wait to get back to the gym, i had to restrain myself from not going straight after the cruise, well i managed to stay at home and rest.

Today (14th May 2007) went to the gym in the morning to do lats, upper back and the traps. I was amped and ready to go as soon as i got into the locker room. Damn that BSN NO-XPLODE really gets me going. Decided to do my training superset style, choosing 2 exercises and hitting them each 3sets 10reps with 30sec rest max in between. Hence saving time and supercharging my workout.Overall i did 6 different exercises with a total of 18 sets. Felt really good, looked lean in the mirror, so my nutrition diet seems to be right on the mark. Now im sitting in our sports supplements shop. 3 more hours, then i will get back to the gym and hit the weights doing BICEPS, FOREARMS, ABS and some cardio.

 Later on i will add my diet program here, training program (although i change it frequently, to keep my workouts exciting and always surprising the muscle)

 Will post new pics very soon! Stay tuned!