The I Love Carbs Blog

California was beautiful, especially this time of year.  I took my daughter over there as a "celebrity rider" in the Cycle with Champions ride.  It was a great turn out, beautiful weather, not a lot of traffic, right through Sonoma County.  I had the pleasure to ride in the Pro BMC Team vehicle, as they followed the riders for support.  We stopped at mile 40 at the SEGHESIO Vineyard for lunch and a quick wine tasting.  After the ride, there was a silent auction and celebrity rider introductions.  My daughter was introduced along side the Pro BMC guys and their director.  What an awesome thing! My husband and I are both so proud of her.  

My diet however…that’s another story.  We flew from Florida to New Mexico to LA, to San Jose CA.  And THEN we had to drive to Santa Rosa. What a long day.  Airport food isn’t the best place for good eatin’.  With all of that craziness, I think I needed that time away from the gym to let my muscles recover.  I missed the gym, and today I’ll be there working out chest.  O-YEAH!  After killing myself for the next couple days there, I’m off on a camping adventure.  Hopefully the hurrican in the Atlantic will stay clear for us

I got in my last workout before I leave for California in the morning.  I’m still having knee problems, and I’ve backed off from doing legs every 5 days to once a week.  I’ll focus on higher reps, lower weights next week.  But…before I leave, I wanted to really push the weight.  I hit a couple new max weights.  I didn’t do squats today because of the darn knees, but I made up for it in the leg press.  I’m talking Glucosamine/chondrotin, hopefully it’ll get better. 

Warm up 10 minutes on the StairMaster.

Leg Press:

1- 90lbs x 15

2- 140lbs x 10

3- 180lbs x 10

4- 230lbs x 8

5- 270lbs x 6

6- NEW MAX—>320lbs x 3, rest pause, 320lbs x 3

Leg Extensions:

1- 120lbs x 10

2- 135lbs x 10

3- 150lbs x 8

4- Drop Set: 150lbs x 6, 120lbs x 4, 90lbs x 4

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts:

1- 90lbs x 10

2- 110lbs x 10

3- 135lbs x 8

4- NEW MAX—> 145lbs x 6

Seated Leg Curls:

1- 75lbs 12

2- 75lbs x 10

3- 90lbs x 10

4- 90lbs x 10

Lying Leg Curls:

1- 40lbs 10

2- 40lbs x 10

I’m signing off until Tuesday.  It’s not a long trip, but I’m actually looking forward to the recovery time and hanging out in Sonoma County.  Too bad wine and cheese isn’t on my diet plan

I used to have some body parts that I just hated doing.  I’ve come to love them all, but some just a little more than the others.  Back days are one of my favs.  I’m finally getting some width and definition in them.  I had to go and buy some new clothes the other day.  I was partially excited, and partially worried at the same time.  I’m not quite sure how much weight I’ll put on during my bulking cycle.  I’m eating pretty clean, and the weight keeps climbing.  I’ll get my trainer to take a bf% this week.  Obviously I’ve put on some BF, that’s expected, but hopefully I can keep it fairly reasonable so when I’m ready to cut, I’m not having to spend too much time on the cardio machines.  I head out to California this Saturday, so I’ll give the muscles some recovery time. 

This was my workout yesterday.  Today I’m hitting shoulders, another favorite.

Wide Grip Pull Downs (parallel bar):  Warm Up: 60lbs x 12

1- 90lbs x 8

2- 100lbs x 6

3- Drop Set: 120lbs x 3, 110lbs x 3, 100lbs x 3, 90lbs x 4, 80lbs x 4

Bent Over Barbell Rows:

1- 65lbs x 8

2- 85lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 95lbs x 5, 85lbs x 5, 75lbs x 5

DB Rows:

1- 35lbs x 8

2- 45lbs x 8

3- 50lbs x 6

Seated Close Grip Cable Rows:

1- 75lbs x 8

2- 90lbs x 6

3- Drop Set:  105lbs x 4 (NEW MAX), 90lbs x 3, 75lbs x 4

Close Grip Pull Downs:

1- 80lbs x 8

2- 90lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 110lbs x 5, 100lbs x 2, 90lbs x 2

Hyper Extensions:

1 set: 25 reps

2-4 set: 15 reps

Rear Delts/Cable Face Pulls:

1- 50lbs x 10

2- 60lbs x 10

3- 70lbs x 10

4- 80lbs x 10

Rear Delts/Cable Side Pulls:

4 sets: 20 lbs x 10

I ended the workout with 20 minutes on the StairMaster.

I had to take progress photos.  Yesterday I hit 135lbs!  But, I’m weighing in at 132lbs in the a.m.  Bulking is in effect, and I can see my weight steadily creeping up.  I’m keeping my meals clean, and eating 6-7 meals a day.  I feel like it’s been months since I started, but it’s only been 6 weeks. 

I did chest and abs today.  I felt pretty strong but lacked a spotter to go heavier.  My Incline bench press could have reached 85lbs.  And my DB flys could have reached 25lbs, but I was worried about my right shoulder being injured, it’s happened before. 

Incline Bench Press:  Warm Up: 45lb bar x 15

1- 55lbs x 8

2- 65lbs x 8

3- 65lbs x 8

Pec Deck:

1- 50lbs x 10

2- 60lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 70lbs x 6—>NEW MAX, 60lbs x 4, 50lbs x 4

Hammer Wide Press:

1- 90lbs x 10

2- 110lbs x 8

3- 130lbs x 7

4- 140lbs x 4

Incline DB Press:

1- 20lbs x 8

2- 25lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 30lbs x 5, 20lbs x 5

Incline DB Flys:

1- 15lbs x 10

2- 20lbs x 10—> NEW MAX

3- 20lbs x 8

Hanging Leg Raises:

4 Sets of 15

Stability Ball Crunches-SUPER SET w/ 30 seconds Plank:

Sets 1-3 x 25 crunches

Set 4- 50 crunches

Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.
 

Gotta keep the blog short and to the point today…have to eat, and eat, and eat some more

Wide Grip Pull Downs (parallel bar):  Warm Up: 45lbs x 15

1- 90lbs x 8

2- 105lbs x 6

3- Drop Set: 120lbs x 3, 105lbs x 3, 90lbs x 4

Bent Over Barbell Rows:

1- 65lbs x 10

2- 85lbs x 10

3- Drop Set:  95lbs x 5, 85lbs x 4, 75lbs x 5

DB Rows:

1- 35lbs x 8

2- 45lbs x 6

3- 50lbs x 6

Seated Close Grip Cable Rows:

1- 75lbs x 8

2- 90lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 90lbs x 6, 75lbs x 6, 60lbs x 10

Close Grip Pull Downs:

1- 80lbs x 10

2- 100lbs x 5

3- Drop Set: 110lbs x 4, 100lbs x 2, 90lbs x 3

Hammer Shrugs:

1- 90lbs x 10

2- 90lbs x 10

3- 140lbs x 10

4- 140lbs x 8

DB Shrugs:

1- 35lbs x 10

2- 40lbs x 10

3- 45lbs x 8

4- 45lbs x 8

Hyper Extensions:

Sets 1-4 x 15

At the gym, there’s this guy that’s ALWAYS on his mobile.  The moment he walks in, while he’s training, until he’s finished with his workout, the guy is STILL on that dang mobile.  Well, today, he about killed himself.  While he was doing cable cross overs, with his mobile resting on his shoulder, he went to start his reps and his mobile drops to the floor.  At the same time, he lets go of the cables.  Luckily, no one was hurt. 

I trained chest, abs, and 30 minutes of cardio today.  I felt pretty strong with the exercises, but I really needed my training partner there for a spot.  I couldn’t go as heavy as I wanted to, but had a great workout anyways. 

Incline Press:  Warm Up: 45lb Bar x 15

1- 55lbs x 10

2- 65lbs x 8

3- 65lbs x 8 (at this point I could have gone heavier, but needed a spot)

DB Incline Press:

1- 20lbs x 10

2- 25lbs x 8

3- 30lbs x 7

Hammer Wide Chest Press:

1- 90lbs x 10

2- 110lbs x 8

3- 150lbs x 6

DB Fly / DB Pull Overs:  SUPER SET

1- 15lbs x 10—-> 30lbs x 8

2- 20lbs x 8—–> 35lbs x 8

3- 20lbs x 10—-> 35lbs x 6: This set was to failure

ABS:

4 sets of situps x 25 reps

Leg Raises:

4 sets of 25

Cardio:

30 minutes on the treadmill at 2.7mph at 6% Incline

That’s what I did today.  I trained until I felt sick.  I went in wanting to really blast my legs.  I took advice from someone here on the BB.  They said before they lift the weight, they imagine lifting it…mind over matter.  Sometimes just thinking about going heavier, I start doubting myself, and I want to stick to my comfort zone.  Lately, I’ve taken this approach and have shown that I can push that weight.  I had but one exercise left, leg curls.  After finishing my stiff legged dead lifts, I was feeling nauseous.  I sat there sipping my CellMass, but the feeling wasn’t fading.  I decided to go home, and felt better after a hot shower.  

My legs are getting stronger.  My new max gains last leg day felt a lot easier this time around.  I’m bummed out though because I didn’t get to finish my hammies.  Oh well.  The workout was awesome, and I’m happy with that.

Squats:  Warm Up:  2 sets- 45lb bar x 12

1- 65lbs x 10

2- 85lbs x 10

3- 105lbs x 8

4- 110lbs x 8—> NEW MAX WEIGHT

Leg Press:

1- 140lbs x 10

2- 180lbs x 10

3- 230lbs x 10

4- 270lbs x 8

Leg Extensions:

1- 105lbs x 10

2- 120lbs x 10

3- 135lbs x 8

4- 150lbs x 8

DB Squats:

1- 30lbs x 10

2- 35lbs x 10

3- 40lbs x 8

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts:

1- 65lbs x 10

2- 95lbs x 10

3- 135lbs x 6—>started feeling sick :(

4- DROP SET: 135lbs x 4, 125lbs x 4, 115lbs x 6

I am inhaling my bowl o’oats and egg whites.  It’s my post workout meal.  I always take Cellmass, BCAAs, and Glutamine directly after training.  Bi’s and Tri’s felt great today.  Instead of alternating them, I stuck to doing all my tri exercises and then bi’s.  By the time I finished tri’s they were super pumped and ready for the break.  I LOVE doing 21s for the bi’s.  I’ve cycled off from doing that exercise for about 4 weeks now, and today I was able to go heavier than I did 4 weeks ago. 

DB Tri Extensions:  Warm Up:  20lbs x 15

1- 25lbs x 10

2- 30lbs x 10

3- 35lbs x 7—>no spotter!  Whoo-hoo!

Tri Rope Extensions:

1- 40lbs x 10

2- 50lbs x 10

3- Drop Set: 60lbs x 4, 55lbs x 4, 50lbs x 3, 45lbs x 3

Tri Push Downs:

1- 80lbs x 8

2- 90lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 100lbs x 3, 90lbs x 3, 80 lbs x 3—> 100lbs NEW MAX WEIGHT

DB KickBacks:

1- 12.5lb x 10

2- 15lbs x 10

3- 20lbs x 8

Bi’s:  21’s

1- 25lb ez bar

2- 30lbs straight bar

3- 35lbs ez bar—>NEW MAX WEIGHT

Preacher Curls:

1- 30lbs x 10

2- 40lbs x 10

3- 50lbs x 6

Concentration Curls:

1- 15lbs x 10

2- 20lbs x 8

3- 20lbs x 6

Cable Hammer Curls/ DB Writs Curls:  SUPER SET

1- 50lbs x 10—–> 15lbs x 15

2- 55lbs x 10—–> 15lbs x 12

3- 60lbs x 10—–> 15lbs x 15

Just a quick post on my shoulders.  Too tired and hungry to write more than the workout, but it was awesome!

DB Presses:  Warm Up: 15lbs x 15, 15lbs x 12

1- 20lbs x 10

2- 25lbs x 8

3- 25lbs x 8

Hammer Iso Shoulder Press:

1- 50lbs x 10

2- 70lbs x 7

3- 75lbs x 6

4- Drop Set: 80lbs x4, 75lbs x 3, 60lbs x 4

DB Side Laterals/Front DB Raises: Super Set

1- 15lbs x 12——–12.5lbs x 12

2- 15lbs x 8———12.5lbs x 10

3- Drop Set: 20lbs x 5, 15lbs x 5, 12.5lbs x 5——12.5lbs x 15, failure

Cable UpRight Rows:

1- 70lbs x 8

2- 80lbs x 8

3- Drop Set: 90lbs x 5, 80lbs x 4, 70lbs x 4

Cable Face Pulls:  (Rear Delts)

1- 60lbs x 10

2- 70lbs x 10

3- Drop Set: 80lbs x 6, 70lbs x 8

DB Bent Over Raises: (Rear Delts)

1- 15lbs x 10

2- 15lbs x 8

3- 15lbs x 8