Ohrn Identity

Notes

I decided that it was probably time to get some lifting stats down on my BodySpace profile so I had a sort of “Maxing Out” day today.  I performed a couple of lifts, and I did them as heavy as I could stand so that I would have a good benchmark to judge myself on.

I was especially proud of my bench press today.  It may not seem like a lot, but I did 245 once, and I was ecstatic.  It’s the most I’ve been able to do since I hurt my shoulder about a year and a half ago.  Back then I was doing sets of 265 x 10.  Ahh, those were the days.

Anyways, I only maxed out on upper body lifts because my lower body is still annihilated.  I did overhead press, bench press, barbell cur, and barbell rows.  Things went well, and like I said, you can check out the stats on my BodySpace Profile.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 8:30 am.  I left the gym at 9:10 am.  There was no cardio today because I was going for a walk on the beach later.

Body Parts Worked

I didn’t work a specific body part today because I was just trying to lift as much as possible on a few lifts to set a benchmark.

Notes

Again, today was supposed to be a straight-up cardio day, but I decided to change it to a shoulders day for convenience.  I figured that I would be able to get a better workout that way.  Also, my legs were killing me from my workout yesterday and I knew that I was going to be walking two miles to go to dinner at some point.

The workout itself was actually really fulfilling.  I started out with my seated dumbbell press and pushed out 70s x 10, 75s x 8, 80s x 6, and 80s x 3.  That last set I thought I was going to die.  After that it was mostly various raises, which I always enjoy.  I like how pumped my shoulders get when I’m doing front raises.  They look like they’re about to explode out of my body.

I also did some calf exercises today.  The equipment that was available for use was somewhat lackluster, but they do have a nice leg sled which I was able to use and calf raise the whole stack for sets of 15.  My calf striations were crazy-looking.

I’m still visiting the girlfriend, so we worked out in the same gym as we did yesterday, and their equipment for shoulder exercises is decent.  Now, on to the rest of the data.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 7:20 am.  I lifted until 8:30 am before leaving the gym.  I skipped the cardio today because my legs were annihilated from yesterday (I could barely walk) and I knew that I was going to be walking about two miles for dinner, which is good enough for today I think.

Body Parts Worked

• Shoulders
• Calves

Exercises Performed

• Seated Dumbbell Press
• Front Dumbbell Raise
• Lateral Dumbbell Raise
• Bent-over Lateral Dumbbell Raise
• Upright Row
• Dumbbell Shrug (with 100s!)
• Standing Calf Raise
• Leg Press Calf Raise

Notes

Today was an awesome gym day.  I’m staying with my girlfriend, so we went to her school’s gym this morning for our daily workouts.  It was snowing on the way there, and the gym doesn’t have the same equipment I’m used to, but it was still acceptable.

Today was supposed to be a straight up cardio day, but I decided to change it to a legs day because I needed to do them and I wasn’t sure I’d get a chance later in the week.  Squatting is always fun (it’s one of my favorite lifts) and I generally enjoy leg workouts.  Plus, because I was busting my legs up good, I didn’t have to run/walk/cycle afterwards and I get to eat a lot more stuff today.

In general, I’d say I did well on my lifts today because I could barely walk out of the gym afterwards.  Of course, my legs usually don’t get really sore until the day after a leg workout.  Post workout, I felt good, but definitely not refreshed like I usually do.  I felt like I could barely move across the gym to leave, but it was a good feeling.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 7:45 am.  I lifted until 9:30 am before leaving the gym.

Body Parts Worked

• Legs
• Abs

Exercises Performed

• Barbell Squat
• Leg Sled
• Dumbbell Lunges
• Leg Curl
• Leg Extension
• Romanian Deadlift
• Machine Crunch
• Lying Crunch

There was no cardio today.  I felt bad today because I couldn’t finish my sets of dumbbell lunges.  My legs felt like they were going to give out at about 7 reps, but I was supposed to do 15 reps for 4 sets.  I ended up doing 10, 10, 8, 8.  Squats were a success today though.  I started out with a warmup of 135 lbs done 12 times.  My next set was 225 done 8 times.  Then I jacked it up to 275 for 6 and 295 for 4 before finishing with 225 for another 6.  I like doing my squats fairly deep, so my quads were burning like crazy after my very first exercise.

Notes

I have a lot of engagements today, so I knew I had to be up early to be able to get to the gym.  As such, I woke up at 4:45 am and got ready to leave at 5:00 am.  Boy was I ever surprised when I walked out of my garage this morning to find myself in the middle of a blizzard.  The forecast had called for moderate amounts of rain today, so the precipitation was expected.  The type and ferocity, however, was not.

In spite of all this, I quickly, but carefully, made my way to the gym so I could blast away at my arms.  It was bicep/tricep day (something I always enjoy) and I just couldn’t skip my workout.

Post-workout I felt great today, in spite of the early awakening.  I almost think I’m inclined to work out that early every day if my regular gym was open at the time.  However, it is unfortunately not.  I did a different cardio program today that felt really good and is something I will probably continue in the future.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 5:15 am.  I lifted until 6:20 am before proceeding to the treadmill.  I was on the treadmill until 6:45 am.

Body Parts Worked

• Biceps
• Triceps

Exercises Performed

• Barbell Curl
• Alternating Seated Dumbbell Curls
• Hammer Curl
• Standing Preacher Curl
• Lying Tricep Extension
• Machine Dips
• Bodyweight Dips
• Tricep Pressdowns

My cardio workout today was something I’d never done before.  I was on the treadmill, like usual, and decided to try the "Fat Burn" program option on the control panel.  I put in my weight, age, and desired speed.  The machine than calculated my target heart rate and adjusted the incline to speed up my current heart rate to the match the target.  I didn’t think I could get much of a workout in 20 minutes (I had to drive my sister to school today, so I was crunched for time) of that, but I was exhausted when I finished.  I think the incline stayed between 12.0 and 13.0 the entire time in order to keep my heart rate consistent.  What a draining exercise.  *PHEW*

Notes

Today was a great lifting day, not only because I got a great pump, but because it was my first real good lift in a gym other than the one I call my own.  You see, I’m on Spring break for the week, so I had to find a gym to go to in my hometown.  I headed on over to Classic Bodyworks, a gym I frequented a couple of years ago and bought a three day pass.

My workout today was awesome for a couple of reasons.  First, I had music to accompany my lifting and running for the first time since I’ve been working out seriously.  I stole my sister’s iPod and hit the gym listening to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Linkin Park.

Second, the atmosphere at Classic’s is just plain awesome.  It has clean rows of machines and free weight platforms and everyone in there is serious about their workout.  It was nice to see no one joking around for once.

Finally, I was in a great mood.  I don’t know what it was, but I was happy today and ready to lift.  It made my workout great.  Even at the end of my workout, when I was covered in sweat from head to toe, I was feeling great.  Now, for the rest of the information.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 7:40 am.  I lifted until 8:45 am before proceeding to the treadmill.  I was on the treadmill for 9:20 am.

Body Parts Worked

• Back
• Calves

Exercises Performed

• Cable Pulldown
• T-Row
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Straight Arm Pulldown
• Seated Cable Row
• Leg Press Calf Raise
• Seated Calf Raise

Post-lift, I did some interval training on the treadmill by setting the incline to 7.0, and having my walking speed at 4.2 mph.  The running speed for today was 7.0 mph.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 9:20 am.  I lifted until 10:15 am.  At that point I proceeded to do some work on the treadmill until 10:50 am.

Body Parts Worked

• Chest
• Abs

Exercises Performed

• Barbell Bench Press
• Barbell Incline Bench Press
• Dumbbell Flys
• Bench Leg Lifts
• Hanging Leg Raises

On the treadmill, I continued with my interval routine.  I walked for the first two minutes, and then alternated running and walking each minute thereafter until the 26:00 minute mark.  At that point I sprinted for one minute before beginning my three minute cool-down.

I had the incline set at 7.0 for the cardio workout.  My walk speed was 4.0 mph, and my run speed was 6.5 mph.  My sprint speed was 10.0 mph at the same incline, and that sprint lasted one minute.  My cool down speeds were 3.9, 2.9, and 2.5 mph for one minute each at 0.0 incline.

Feeling Afterward

The workout felt great today.  When I got done I felt powerful and full of energy.  I started a bit later than I usually do, and I don’t know if that was the determining factor or not.  I hit 225 lbs on bench today 3 times.  That’s not really a great accomplishment, but I felt I could’ve done more if I had a spotter.  I really need to find a quality workout partner.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 7:00 am.  I lifted until 8:05 am.  This was a day with no cardio, so at that point I returned to my room to shower.

Body Parts Worked

• Legs
• Abs

Exercises Performed

• Leg Press
• Deadlift
• Dumbbell Lunges
• Leg Curl
• Leg Extension
• Romanian Deadlift
• Lying Crunch
• Cable Crunch

Feeling Afterward

When I got done with my workout today, I felt great.  I could barely walk out of the gym, but it was a really good feeling.  The workout did take a lot out of me, however, so I felt a little tired a few hours later.  I’m writing this post a day late, so I can also tell you that when I woke up this morning my butt hurt something awful (from the deadlifts I presume) but it was still a great feeling.

Time of Workout

I began my workout today at 7:05 am.  Today is a cardio day, so I didn’t lift this morning, and went right into a stretching routine to loosen up my legs a bit.  I finished, after a short cool down, at 7:40 am.

Body Parts Worked

• Heart
• Mind - That counts right?

Exercises Performed

I usually do my cardio work on the treadmill, but I always used to find it so boring.  Now, I try to mix it up a little bit with some interval manipulation.  I start out walking at an incline of 7.0 and a speed of 4.0 mph for about two minutes.  After that, I ramp the speed up to 6.5 mph for a minute, before returning to 4.0 mph.  This cycling continues for half an hour.  Then I walk (at no incline) a short cool-down lap.

Feeling Afterward

Today, I didn’t feel too great after my run.  My side was aching and I had been feeling a bit nauseas from the moment I woke up.  However, I was covered in sweat (always a good feeling) and I feel a lot better a couple hours after the workout.  I am a bit tired, though, which is odd considering my workload for today was significantly less than usual.

Time of Workout

Began at 7:00 am.  The weightlifting portion of my workout lasted until 7:55 am.  Following that, I attempted to run, but after about 6 minutes I experienced sharp shooting pain in my calf and shin, so I had to stop.

Body Part Worked

• Biceps
• Tricpes

Exercises Performed

• Barbell Curl
• Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl
• Hammer Curl
• Laying EZ-Curl Bar Tricep Extension
• Weighted Dips
• Tricep Pressdowns

For cardio today, I planned to run for 30 minutes.  However, due to the pain in my left calf and shin, I had to stop after only 6.  If I get a chance, I may go back later today.

Today was the first time I had ever done weighted dips.  It was an interesting experience, and quite challenging.  My triceps were really burning after I got done with my three sets.  I started out with a 35 lb weight on the belt for 10 reps then used a 45 lb weight for 2 sets of 8 each.

In addition, I videotaped myself working out for the first time today.  I feel like I learned a lot from the tape.  For example, I need to move my elbows a little bit more when doing barbell curls so that I can get full pump in my biceps by raising the bar higher up on my chest.  Also, I think my form on lying triceps extensions is really quite good.  When you’re looking up at a bar coming down at your head, sometimes you’re not sure how well your form corresponds to what you’re supposed to be doing.  I think I did well, though.

From what I learned from this tape, I’ve determined that I’ll probably be taping the rest of my lifting sessions this week and repeat every 3 weeks so I can analyze what I’m doing better (or worse).

Feeling Afterward

I felt great after my lift.  Biceps and triceps can be pushed really hard without killing the rest of your body.  So, I felt like I had a really good pump going on but was still refreshed from a good nights sleep.  After I tried to do my cardio workout for the day, however, I didn’t feel too great.  The pain I was in subsided after about 20 minutes, but it took me by surprise.  Hopefully I can figure out a way to remedy this malady quickly so I can run again tomorrow.

Time of Workout

Began at 7:05 am.  The weightlifting portion of my workout lasted until 7:45 am., then I did a cardio portion until 8:15 am.

Body Part Worked

• Back
• Calves

Exercises Performed

• Front Pulldown
• T-Bar Row
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• Seated Cable Row
• Standing Calf Raise
• Leg Press Calf Raise

For cardio today, I strapped into a rowing machine for the first time ever.  I thought it would be appropriate since I was doing back today.

No milestones were reached today.

Feeling Afterward

I felt refreshed and renewed after my workout today.  I jumped in and out of the shower and felt ready to really attack my day. I wouldn’t have it any other way anymore.