From Russia with Tough Love!

I decided to change some things around in my training schedule. I still plan on hitting the gym only 4 times a week (doing morning cardio on those days)
Day 1 - Back/Shoulders

Back:

Pull-ups 3 x 6-9
Wide-grip pulldown 5 x 6-12
Seated rows 2 x 6-9
Wide grip hang from pullup bar: 60 sec

Shoulders:

Behind the neck press: 3 x 6-9
Seated lateral raise: 5 x 6-12
Rear dumbbell lateral: 2 x 6-9

Day 2 - Chest/Arms

Chest:

Flat barbell (or dumbbell) Bench press: 3 x 6-9
Incline barbell (or dumbbell) bench press: 3 x 6-9
Flat bench flys: 2 x 6-9
Incline bench cable flye: 2 x 6-9
Arms:

EZ bar curl: 4 x 6-9 (no cheating!)
Close-grip bench press: 4 x 6-9 (keep the elbows in on all tricep exercises)
Dumbbell concentration curl: 3 x 6-9
Triceps pressdown: 3 x 6-9

..and some cable work for bis and tris (supersetting)

Day 3 - Legs/Abs  (will write down the exercises later)

Day 4 - Back/Shoulders  again

Sunday and Saturday - off days.

Fridays are great for working out. I had the gym to myself. There were only 5 more people there. Had a great back workout:

Continued with the bis and finished with the ab circuit. I just love the old-school cable crunches. If your form is right it’s the best took for shaping the 6-pack rack!

Ab circuit:

Had a wonderful shake right after - Muscle Flaxer (Protein 37, Fat 14, Carb 4, total cals 325).

Many people found my shoulder mass-building routine challenging and effective. Today I want to post a basic chest-for-mass workout. Remember, weight needs to be heavy enough. If it says ‘6 reps max’ it means you simply can’t squeeze out rep#7. Therefore, if you don’t have a spotter do make use of the Smith machine, please. Saw too many stupid acidents at the gym. Can you guess if the victims were men or women? How did you guess? Of course, men.   Nothing personal, but some guys need to leave their ego at the door of the gym.

Anyway, here’s the routine.

Sunday is supposed to be my day off of working out, but I’ll be at the gym again. This time training someone else. I was told they can start me as a trainer without a cert now. Cool, but I am still hitting the books and taking the exam. So, gotta put my camouflage pants on and assume a mean face! Nah, not really:)

Decided to get certified as a personal trainer. In a few months I’ll be looking for a local gym to start applying my knowledge and experience. The one I go to is pretty nice. I really like the staff. I have a passion for helping people achieve their optimum health and fitness goals. I hope I’ll be a great trainer…..

Today was chest day. Used (6-20) drop sets. Did two 45lbs on Smith machine for 6 reps, then went down to 25lbs on each side and presses 20 reps! And like that 3 sets. I could definitelly feel those:)

I also did DB presses (went up to 40lds dumbells, but could only do 4 reps). But it’s not for long - I tend to grow in strength pretty quickly. DB flys were next on the list. Then dips. Those transitionned me to my tri workout nicely. After the tris I HIIT-ed for 10 minutes (11mph - 4mph).

I am good and tired now. Had a very satisfying open face sandwich post-workout: Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame bread+a slice of avocado+lettuce+turkey and a cup of java, of course. Gotta have my drug!

Now, gotta go eat again…

Yesterday I did shoulders and got a comment the same day about mass building on delts. Here’s what I’ve done for a while (switching to a high rep lower weight every 2 weeks). With the program below you need to move max possible weight you can lift with correct form for the given number of reps. And it goes without saying that you HAVE to warm up your shoulders well with lighter weight doing full range of motion exercises.

If you just starting out do Seated Barbell Press with the bar only - get the balance right. When going to heavier sets make sure you have a spotter. If you can’t get one, there’s always a Smith machine:)
Polinutri, for you:)

I was diagnosed with    Chondromalacia patella 3 years ago. Now, I don’t even think about it anymore. I am officially off of my anti-inflammatory meds. Working out and gradually building quads and hamstrings drastically reduced the discomfort. 2 years ago one of my ‘unattainable’ goals was leg-extensions machine. I slowly started with no weight at all, not doing the full range of motion. Now, I amaze myself by doing 100lbs for 15 reps on the same leg-extension machine and squatting my body weight for 12 reps! The key here is taking your time and constantly listening to your body!

I’d like to share some helpful info with people who are in the same situation now and their training is hindered by this condition. I hope you will be able to have victory over    Chondromalacia.

Medicine.net gives a short and succinct article about chondromalacia.

The authors of the article state “Generally, full squat exercises with weights are avoided.”. I will have to agree with that. Full squat could be done after your muscles have been significantly strengthened, but with weight that could be squatted 10-12 times.

Stretching and strengthening the quadriceps and hamstring   muscle groups is critical for an effective and  lasting rehabilitation of chondromalacia patella.  “Quad sets” are the  foundation of such a program.  Quad sets are done by  contraction the thigh muscles while the legs are straight  and holding the contraction for a count of ten.  Sets of 10  contractions are done between 15-20 times per day.

I wish you all safe training. Stay healthy!