OVER 40 MUSCLE

I had a very productive workout today. I was finished with my chest workout in about 45 minutes, something I hardly ever do. I changed the format for my chest routine today. The first exercise was a pushing movement for 6-8 reps. The second was a fly motion for 8-10 reps. The third was another pressing move for 10-12. Fourthly, I did another fly movement for 10-12 and finished with another pressing move for 15 reps. By the time I got to the end of this one I was finished.

I have seen an increase in weight with my presses (as indicated with the *). This was the first time in about a month I had performed the bench press with the barbell. I had been doing all dumbell work for my presses. I think that helped a little since I was able to increase my bench by 20# and my DB press by 5#.

Throwing in a extra arm exercise on Mondays and Tuesdays has really made a difference. I do not think I am gaining a lot of size right off but my arms stay pumped longer and feel harder than they ever have. Size will come. Right now I am trying to build a great base.

CHEST
Bench Press - 2 warm-up sets, 3 working sets of 6 @ 135, 6 @ 146, 6 @ 155*
Incline DB Flyes - 1 warm-up set, 3 working sets of 8 @ 35
DB Press - 10 @ 45, 9 @ 55, 8 @ 65*
Machine Flyes - 3 sets of 10 @ 80 (very strict form)
Decline DB Press - 2 sets of 15 @ 35, 1 set of 10 @ 40

TRICEP
Rope Pushdowns - 25 @ 40, 20 @ 50, 15 @ 60

ABS
75 weighted decline sit-ups (35#)

CARDIO
30-minute intervals on bike

Tomorrow is hi-rep day for legs. I will also be adding a few sets of hack squats and sissy squats for the first time. That should be very interesting.

I was ready to get back into the gym today. Two days without weights really put me in withdrawals. I got my fix today and feel pretty good.

BACK
Reverse Grip Pulldowns – 2 warm-up sets of 20 & 15, 3 working sets of 12 @ 100
DB Rows – 1 warm-up set of 12, 3 working sets of 12 @ 55/60/65*
T-Bar Rows – 2 warm-up sets of 15 & 10, 3 working sets of 12 @ 135, 10 @ 135, 10 @ 135
BB Rows – 12 @ 106, 12 @ 115, 12 @ 115
Cable Rows – 3 sets of 10 @ 130

BICEP
Overhead Cable Curls – 3 sets of 12 @ 30#. This is my new favorite bicep exercise.

CARDIO
22 minutes on treadmill with incline intervals (1.0-6.0) every minute. Steady speed of 4.5 mph. This one was a real sweat maker.

* indicates a 5# increase from last week.

Tomorrow is chest day with abs and cardio thrown in along with a tricep exercise.

I got back to my normal “A” week arm workout today. I really like my current arm routine. The “A” routine involves the tri-set listed below. Every other week I do the same exercises but do straight sets and increase the total sets to 4.

The tricep routine does not change that much from week to week. I will alternate between overhead DB extensions and skull crushers each week just to keep it a little fresher.

Today we had a cookout at work. Since I am the resident chef, it was (and has always) been my job to do the cooking. I had known about this for about a week or so in advance so I was able to let today be my cheat day for the week. This was the first time I had bbq’d since last August when I started my transformation. It smelled good. I did eat a grilled hamburger (93% lean beef on a wheat bun with light mayo and onion and pickles) and a Nathan’s hot dog. I also had to eat some baked beans. But, two and a half hours after that big meal, I got right back on schedule. Maybe if I only do this every 6 months I’ll be ok.

I have to work this weekend so no more workouts or cardio until Monday. Here is the arm workout from today.

BICEPS
Tri-set
Barbell Curls  (8-50, 8-50, 7-60)
DB Preacher Curls  (12-25, 10-25, 10-30)
Concentration Curls (12-15, 10-15, 10-30)

TRICEPS
Overhead DB Extensions (12-50, 12-55, 10-60)
Close-grip Bench Press (15-60, 2-70, 12-81, 12-86)
Bench Dips (50)

CARDIO
20 minutes on elliptical at >160 strides per minute.

Last night, I saw a forum posting about the new show featuring Charles Glass. It is called,"Getting Cut with Glass“. So I checked it out. Once again, Mr. Glass did not disappoint me. Every video I have seen, article I have read or podcast I have heard that included him taught me something new. He has a way of taking the obvious and making it make sense.

I was so fired up after watching this video that I changed my entire delt routine for today and based it on the show. Not that he was featuring any new miracle exercises for delts. In fact, I was already doing all but one of the already. In the video, Glass teaches how to isolate the specific deltoid muscle needed for each exercise. That was where I was missing the mark. I was doing heavy weights (for me anyway) and getting the reps but my form was off, thus not working the desired muscle to it’s fullest.

I followed his instructions to the letter. I did not even get close to the amount of weights I had been using but I could definitely tell a difference. My form was still not perfect (a couple of cheater reps at the end because my delts were about to explode) but now I have something to work with. Just the changing of grip positions, angle of the exercise (how ever slight) made all the difference in the world. I cannot wait for the next one to come out. I wonder what part of my body Glass will annihilate next?

DELTS
Side Laterals – 3 sets of 12 @15, 1 warm-up set
Front Raises – 3 sets of 12 @ 15
Smith Presses – 3 sets of 12 @ 70
Upright Rows – 3 sets of 12 @ 95 (2-25#’s plus bar)
BB Shrugs – 4 sets of 12 @ 185, 10 @ 205, 10 @ 205 and 10 @ 225

CARDIO
I also was able to hit the cardio again today - 20 minutes on the elliptical at >160 strides per minute.

Tomorrow I will go back to my tried and true arm routine. Tri-sets for biceps and a tricep routine that is sure to have my arms crying. All this before 7am. What a country!

Today was leg day. Up to this point I have not followed a scripted workout. I would go in and do some presses, hamstring curls, extensions and the like but I did not do anything serious. There were a couple of times I tried to max out on the press but that was more ego than anything else.

Well, today things changed. I found a leg routine last night while surfing the web @ work and said to myself, “Now here is something that will challenge me and still be fun.” I wrote the workout down in my journal and thought nothing else about it. I did not want to talk myself out of it. So this morning I hit the gym, opened my journal and did this power leg workout. You will notice that these are all quad exercises. I will have to do hamstrings tomorrow and calves Friday but I think it will work out fine. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Leg Press – 2 warm-up sets of 10 with 6 and 8 plates respectively. I followed that with 3 hard working sets of 10 reps with 10 plates, 7 reps with 12 plates and finished with 5 reps with 14 plates.

Squats – 1 warm-up set with 2 plates. Then, 10 reps with 140#, 7 and 5 reps with 4 plates.

Lunges – (I have not done these in a long time so I went easy on the weight) 3 sets of 10/7/5 with just the 45# bar.

Leg Extensions – 2 warm-up sets of 25 @ 50 and 15 @ 75. I then cranked out a set of 10 @ 125, 10 @ 150 and then did a drop set on the final set. 10 reps @ 150, 10 reps @ 125 and 10 reps @ 100.

After this I stumbled around the room for a few minutes. I looked like a baby taking his first steps. I took a few minutes to catch my breath and allow the room to stop spinning and then wandered to the cardio room for more torture. I put in 20 minutes on the elliptical with a stride rate of >160 per minute. By the end of that one I felt like I was going to have to steal ole man Johnson’s walker just to get back to the locker room.

I think this will do me until next week for quads. I was able to take some pics and will post them in my progress page later this afternoon. Tomorrow I experiment with a new delt workout and hit the hams. If I can still walk after that – more cardio.

Last night I sat down with my training journal and made out my routine for today. For the last few weeks I have been doing pretty much the same thing every Tuesday. This morning when I got to the gym I changed everything. I just felt like doing something different.

After the workout I was pleased with what I felt and what I had accomplished. Here is what I did for my chest workout today:

CHEST TRI-SET
DB Press –  15 @ 45, 12 @ 50, 10 @ 50
Incline DB Flyes – 12/10/8 @ 25
Pushups – 3 sets to failure

DB Pullovers – 12 @ 60, 8/8 @ 70
Decline DB Press – 12 @ 40, 10/10 @ 45

TRICEP
DB Kickbacks – 3 sets of 12 @ 25

The tri-set really got the day started off great. Each exercise by itself is not much of a challenge. Put all three of them together and your chest and arms are rags by the end of the third set. I did the pushups gripping a pair of dumbbells on the floor. That really put a burn in the chest.

Tomorrow is leg day. I might even go against my plan and hit a cardio session afterwards. It all depends on how the sticks feel when I get through torturing them.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter. I know it sure was busy around out house. I went to Marietta, GA Saturday for the SNBF show and then drove straight home for a family thing at the in-laws. Diet was not too bad. I took some food with me but ended up being there longer than I thought so by 1:30pm my food was gone. I stopped on the way home long enough to get a chicken wrap from Chick-fil-a and then back on the road. At the in-laws, I was able to eat some veggies and chicken and rice. I think my new way of eating is rubbing off on them. BTW, I did manage to eat 2 slices of fat-free cheesecake while I was there. I guess I’ll count that as my cheat meal for last week

I had a decent back workout today. I was still pumped from going to the SNBF show Saturday so I fed off of that to get through the workout. in keeping with my new routine I also threw in a bicep exercise today.

BACK
Reverse-grip Pulldowns – 2 warm-up sets, 3 working sets of 12/10/10 @ 100

Superset #1
Barbell Rows – 1 warm-up set, 1 working set of 12 @ 95, 2 working sets of 10 @ 105
Cable Rows – 3 sets of 10 @ 150

DB Rows – 12 @ 45, 12 @ 55, 8 @ 60
T-bar Rows – 2 plates for 12, 3 plates for 8/8

Superset #2
Straight-arm Pushdowns – 3 sets of 12 @ 80
Barbell Shrugs – 20 @ 90, 2 sets of 12 @ 140

BICEP
Seated DB Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 25

As hard habits are hard to break, I forgot to attempt the chin-ups today. I will not forget next week. Got to get my chins going.

Nutrition for today so far:

Wake - protein shake, 5g glutamine, multi-vitamin

Workout

PWO shake - RecoverX and water, Vitamin C, E, Betacaratine, CLA, GABA and Flaxseed Oil gelcaps

Meal #1 - 1 cup of egg whites, protein powder, 5g glutamine

Meal #2 - chicken breast and 1 cup english peas,  1 serving of almonds, Vitamin C, E, CLA, Flaxseed, Thermozyme gelcaps

Meal #3 - chicken breast and 1 cup of veggie medley (green snap peas, roasted red peppers and red potatos)

Meal #4 - same as meal #2

I have one more meal @ work today and it will be…you guessed it…chicken and veggies. Before bed I will have a Muscle Milk shake as my last meal.

Tomorrow is chest and a tricep exercise. Keep lifting!!!

Yesterday, I had the chance to go to the 2007 SNBF Georgia Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Model competition in Marietta, GA. This was the first time I had ever attended a competition. I was quite impressed with the operation that Bruce and Carol Johnson have created. Everything seemed to run flawlessly and if you ask Bruce he will say it was all because of Carol. Due to family obligations I was only able to make the pre-judging but to say it lit a fire under me and got my competitive juices flowing would be an understatement.

With it being Easter weekend, I was not sure what kind of crowd or participation the event would draw. When I got there I found out there were 93 competitors and the Men’s 40-49 class was the largest with 14 entrants. Not to be outdone, the ladies were represented with some quality looking competitors as well. Check out a small slideshow I put together.

I also got to meet Scot “Old Navy” Hults. This dude is the real thing. He is a personal trainer and earned his Masters Pro Card at the 2006 NGA National Bodybuilding & Figure World Championships in Georgia in September and a second Masters Pro Card at the 2006 IDFA Canadian Classic II in Toronto in November. He called me on the way over Friday and we got to talk a little and we have emailed and talked corresponded on the forum a little but this was our first face-to-face meeting. He has offered to help me when (and if) I ever decide I want to compete. That may come sooner than later. If you have not checked out Old Navy’s website or body space page, please do so. You do not have to read his writings or talk to him long before you realize what his real passion is.

He was an “unofficial” judge for this event. He is going for his judging certification and he had to judge this contest along with the regular judges. His marks did not count but they did have to be within a certain range of what the other judges scored the contestants. I talked with him during the intermission and he said it was one of the tightest contests he had ever seen. I guess it is easy to pick out the last place folks but when you get down to the top 3 or 5 it has to be tough. Even I could pick out who was not going to win. I had my favorites in each category but I am not sure if I was looking at the same thing the judges were.

All in all, it was a great day. I would have loved to hang around for the evening show and awards. Maybe next time I can. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll even be on stage. Only the shadow knows!

04/08/07

“With my log, I pay more attention to tracking the intangible elements, like my energy and motivation, than the actual workout specifics." – Michelle Jones, 2000 Olympic silver medallist, triathlon

CARDIO NOTES – I had three good cardio workouts this week. On Tuesday I took a brisk 20-minute walk around the park near the Y. On Wednesday, I hit a hard 20-minute interval on the elliptical. Finally on Friday, I did my 1-mile fun run on the treadmill in 10:53 with a speed range of 6.0-7.0 mph.

It is getting time to up the interval numbers on the treadmill for the inclines. This coming week the range will be 1.0 to 6.0. I also have a goal of hitting cardio another 3 times this week. To do that I will have to keep on pace with my workouts so my time does not get away from me.

STRENGTH NOTES – My Friday arm workout ruled. Also, my chest workout was a winner this week. I have added 1 arm exercise to back and chest days in an effort to spur some growth. I am interested in seeing how well this works. I also did not do legs this week. I used Wednesday as a rest day from weights and did cardio instead. However, this week I will hit them hard and fast.

SUPPLEMENT NOTES – I think it is time to cycle off the creatine for a month or so. I have not gained any weight (no more than the 2-3 pound fluctuation I have from time to time) but I feel bloated and sometimes my stomach feels (and looks) huge. I feel this is the creatine retaining water in my midsection. A month off won’t hurt me anyway.

GOALS – I am still not able to do pull-ups. In times past, I have tried but have never done them. I got away from trying the last few months. Well, it is time to get that ball rolling. If I am going to have the back development I want I am going to have to put the time in and get them done. Starting tomorrow, I will attempt to do 1 pull-up. When I can do one, the next time I will do two and so on. Hopefully within a few weeks I will be able to crank out a complete set of full pull-ups.

I am trying everything I can to get out of this training rut. Today, I might have turned the corner and got a little more drive. I went into the gym this morning with one thought in mind: When I leave this place, I want my arms to be fried! If I can wash my hair in the shower afterwards, I have not completed my task. Well, just between you and me, I could not even take a shower because my arms were numb. Mission accomplished!

I only did a total of 4 exercises today (1 bicep and 3 tricep). However, when those exercises were finished, I had churned out 260 reps. Here is how I did it…

Barbell Century Curls – 50# + EZ Bar, 100 reps. I forgot how many sets it took but I would do as many as I could, rest for 30-45 seconds and pump out some more. I did change my grip after 50 to a wide grip to work the inside of the arms as well. My first set was 18 reps my last one was 3. In between there was a lot of sweating, grunting and pain. I loved it. I was able to increase the weight from the last time I did these about a month ago by 8#.

Close Grip Bench Press – 20 @ 50, 15 @ 61 and 15 @ 72. No spotter so I had to go a little light. I could have had heavier work sets with a spotter.
Pushdowns – 3 sets of 25/20/15 @ 70#
Bench Dips – 50 reps

I followed this with a mile run on the treadmill. I finished in 10:53 with the speed range of 6.0 to 7.0. It was ugly but I did it.

I am off to see my first bodybuilding contest tomorrow. I will post some pics (if they let me take some) and my thoughts later this weekend.

HAPPY EASTER!