nightspirit_21’s BodyBlog

So I’m living with this sharp pain in my left outside elbow (lateral epicondylitis) for over 3 months now. I believe it was caused when i was getting into my training after a long gap earlier this year doing upright rows or lateral raises. Pain lessens if I don’t lift but always aggravates after a chest/shoulder workout. It is caused by injuring the tendons linking the forearm muscle. It makes it difficult and at times impossible to do certain exercises, such as Hammer Curls which are a staple in my bicep workout & reverse grip barbell curls. Remedies for such injuries are, A; either stop doing activities that are causing it (not an option) and going on a medication program. B Surgery. I read a bit online last night and in most cases it doesn’t require the latter since medication and a bit of physical therapy heals the elbow. However, I’m just beginning to regain my strength, conditioning and in no mental state to quit lifting for sometime. But in order for me to completely heal that elbow, I’ll have to do some serious thinking on my part to either go super light on my workouts and give that elbow a rest. Decision upcoming …….!! Anyways, training is going strong and I think I’m losing fat. Scale hasn’t said a lot different but clothes speak a different story.  Job hunt is consistent and I may have a couple strong leads. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. This is a terrible time to lose a job, a successful job particularly as it is dfficult to land a job you like and are excited about. Oh well, we’ll see, I’m up for a challenge again. Thanks for reading and have a good workout!!

so it felt so good to run on the treadmill. i had trouble running constantly but it satisfying to run for every 2 mins and walk. I did 23 mins of 2 run/2 walk hiit. i will run often to lower my bodyfat as thats my main priority while i slowly gain my srength.

After a extensive warm up including stretching and loosening my shoulder/stretching my triceps :

Smith Machine Seated Press:

40 lbs x 15

50 lbs x 10

60 lbs x 8

60 lbs x 5

Seated Hammer Strength medial delts raises:

15 lbs x 10

15 lbs x 10

Standing Laterals:

15 lbs x 10

15 lbs x 10

Standing Front Laterals:

15 lbs x 8

15 lbs x 8

Upright Rows:

60 lbs x 8

70 lbs x8

Dips

bodyweight X 6

"   "    "       x 6

Lying Triceps Extension :

30 lbs X 10

40 lbx X 8

45 lbs x 5

Seated Overhead Tricep Dumbell Ext :

35 lbs X 10

40 lbs X 7

Standing Triceps Pushdown:

40 lbs x 10

50 lbs x 7

Free Squats:

100 lbs x 12

120 lbs x 10

150 lbs x  9

160 lbs x  7

Smith Machine Lunges:

50 lbs x 8

50 lbs x 7

Leg Extentions:

50 lbs x 10

60 lbs x 10

80 lbx x 10

80 lbs x 10

Lying Hamstring Curls:

50 lbs x 12

70 lbs x 10

85 lbx x 8

85 lbx x 7

Stiffed Leg Dumbell Deadlifts:

40 lbx x 10

45 lbs x 8

Seated Calf Raises :

100 lbs x 12

150 lbs x 10

150 lbs x 10

Standing Calf Raises :

160 lbs x 10

180 lbs x 10

200 lbs x 09

220 lbs x 09

Make it a point to finish my workout within 45 mins. My heart was pounding throughout the workout . Could hardly walk up/down stairs throughout the night. Feel ‘good’ sore today. Awesome!!  

So chest and shoulders is pretty much my weak point. to rectify that, I’ve learnt to strengthen my triceps a bit. Based on expert advice here, I’ve started incorporating dips into my workout.

Chest:

Dips bodyweight 3 set x 10 reps

Incline bench dumbell :

35lbs x 10

35lbs x 8

40 lbs x 6

35 lbs x 6

Flat dumbell

35 lbs x 7

35 lbs x 6

35 lbs x 6

Machine incline bench

70 lbs x 12

90 lbs x 10

Decline bench dumbell fly’s

25lbs x 10

25 lbs x 7

Biceps :

Precher machine curls

30lbs x 15

35 lbs x 12

45 lbs x 10

50 lbs x 8

 Seated concentration curls :

15 lbs x 10

15 lbs x 9

Sunday :

20 mins of HIIT followed by some stretching.

So I had the best workout of the week last night. Legs, legs & more legs. No surprises there !! It is my favourite body part to train simply because it can lead to so many different challenges. For some reason, I catch myself pushing harder everytime I do legs. After a gap of a month & half I was pleasantly surprised to knock 4 sets of legs press, 400lbs for 9-10 reps after squatting 120lbs. I know its light compared to leg presses but nonetheless my quads were burning and reaching complete exhaustion. I had trouble doing lunges which is something I need to improve. Anyways, I’ll get back to it soon.

so this is how my back workout went :

Back & rear Delts :

Rear Delts:
Leaning rear delt laterals
set 1 8 lbs * 15
set 2 10 lbs * 10
set 3 10 lbs * 8

T Bar
set 1 45 lbs * 12
set 2 55 lbs * 9
set 3 55 lbs * 8
set 4 80 lbs * 5

Wide grip lat pulldown
set 1 80 lbs * 10
set 2 90 lbs 8
set 3 100 lbs 6

Smith Machine front lat pull downs
set 1 70 lbs * 10
set 2 70 lbs * 9

Seat Machine Rows
set 1 80 lbs * 8
set 2 80 lbs * 8

Olympic bar good morning
set 1 * 10

Lower back hyper extension
2 sets of 10 each.

Forearm curls

I am surprised at the amount of strength loss in the past month. 2 months ago I was slowly building my strength to a respectable standard where I could try lifting hard & heavy. Fast forward mid January, I heard of my layoff in March. So, while doing close grip bench press, I was barely able to lift 50lbs times 6reps. As a result of that, I need to increase my carbs and protein. Continuity will be key in strength building. I must go to the the gym regularly. So this is what I accomplished last night:

Smith Machine Press:

set 1 50 lbs * 10

set 2 60 lbs * 8

set 3 70 lbs * 7

set 4 70 lbs * 5

Lateral Raises

set 1 10 lbs * 8

set 2 10 lbs * 8

set 3 15 lbs * 7

Front delt raises (plate)

set 1 35 lbs * 8

set 2 35 lbs * 8

Shrugs

set 1 40 lbs * 10

set 2 45 lbs * 8

set 3 45 lbs * 8

Close grip bench press

set 1 25 lbs * 8

set 2 45 lbs * 6

set 3 25 lbs * 6

Tripcs plley pushdown

set 1 40 lbs * 10

set 2 45 lbs * 10

set 3 45 lbs * 9

Some lower ab raises and crunches. totaly workout was completed in 50 mins.

March 12 2009

31 mins of eliptical maintaining my heart rate around 140. Later did some more crunches and leg raises. Total workout time 45 mins.

                      
            I have read and learnt not to train more than 45 mins. tomorrow I plan on working my back and rear delts.

So my lay off has finally come. After almost years at a job i’ve been sent home. Lately, I’ve been depressed, diet has been down the drains and workouts have been non existent for over a month now. I don’t even want to know how much muscle I’ve lost.

                      
  From tomorrow I plan on making a fresh start, at least to go to the gym and take care of my diet. There is no point going down this path. Ultimately, the loss is mine and it would be suicidal not to take care of my own self. Whatever has happened in the past, stays there and from tomorrow starts a new chapter of reviving my carreer and life.