OVER 40 MUSCLE

I had a pretty grueling leg workout today. This was the first "real" leg workout since I hurt my back so I was pretty proud just to be there. The back is back to normal (normal for me anyway) and I think I will be fine.

June will start being my most difficult month from now on. I am traveling again this weekend (for the third weekend this month). I leave out tomorrow and will be back sometime Monday. My main concern is sticking to my RRC nutrition plan. I am taking some food but I have no way (or the room) to take enough food for 5 days (6-7 meals per day). I would need another trailer just to carry my food. I will do the best I can. There is a Y in the town I will be staying in so I am taking my gymbag and will hit it Saturday. Thursday will be a travel day and Friday will be too busy for a workout. Saturday is it!

I do not have my journal with me so I will have to give you the workout from memory. I’ll go to bodyblog timeout if you think it will help me remember to do better next time.

QUADS
Superset#1
Bodybuilder Squats - 3 sets of 30 (3-3-3 rep speed)
Plie Squats - 3 sets of 30 (3-3-3 rep speed)

Leg Press - 3 sets of 10

HAMSTRINGS
Leg Extensions - 3 sets of 10 (3-3-3 rep speed)
Lying Leg Curls - 3 sets of 10 (3-3-3 rep speed)

CALVES
Superset #2
Standing Calf Raises - 4 sets of 15
Bodyweight Calf Raises - 4 sets of 15

I was glad to get back in the gym this morning. When I stay out for the weekend it seems like forever. Anyway, I had a pretty good workout today concentrating on chest, triceps and abs. this week I am doing the basic (or compound) movements first.

I noticed that my weight stayed the same in the BB Press as last week but my DB incline press went up. Not sure if that means anything but I’ll take any increase I can get.

CHEST
Barbell Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 135, 10 @ 155 and 7 @ 155
Incline DB Press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 40, 10 @ 50 and 10 @ 50
Incline DB Flye – 10 @ 35, 2 sets of 10 @ 40
Cable Crossover – 10 @ 40, 2 sets of 10 @ 50

TRICEP
Close-grip bench press – 10 @ 50, 10 @ 70, 10 @ 80
Bench Dips – 2 sets of 15
Cable Press downs (v-bar) – 2 sets 10 @ 80 and 10 @ 100

ABS
Reverse Crunch – 3 sets of 15
Crunch – 1 set of 50, 1 set of 25 with 35# plate

Nutrition has been going pretty good. I have been able to stay on target with only a few bumps in the road. When I can remember to bring everything I need with me to work I do very well. Saturday I forgot my “greens” so I just had to do without. Sunday I remembered everything and it went off without a hitch.

I normally don’t write posts like this because I do not like to sound like I am bragging. And I am not meaning for this post to be a brag session either. But this week has been rather unusual – in a great way. Let me explain.

I have been on this transformation journey now for about 8 months. In that time I have been able to drastically change my appearance. As of yesterday I have dieted, sweated, pushed, pulled, ran and cried off almost 56 pounds. Along the way many of you have given me words of encouragement and support. For that I am grateful. However, when I get those same words of encouragement from people I live with work with and see everyday it means just as much or even more.

This past week I have received more inquiries and complements regarding my transformation than any week I can remember. As an example, there are two “professional” guys who come to the gym every morning. These guys literally worship the cardio room. They do anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour every day of cardio then go to the weight room and lift for a few minutes. One thing I had noticed about them is that they look the same they did 6 months ago, belly and all. One of them approached me between sets and asked how much weight I had lost. When I told him he was floored. It was like you could see the wheels in his head turning. Maybe he got the message that it is not all about cardio. It’s about the entire package (cardio, eating clean and resistance training). After the obligatory congratulations, I moved on with my workout.

The next day another strange thing happened. There is this older lady at the gym that I have seen every morning for these past 8 months. We talk, exchange pleasantries and have small talk but we have never really had a conversation. She approached me (after hearing the above exchange the day before) and began asking questions about my program. Questions from how much weight I had lost (and if I was planning on loosing anymore), how I handle carbs to what my daily schedule included dominated the conversation. Now this is a 52-year-old woman who is in the gym every time the doors are open and looks great. And she is asking ME questions? At the end she said, “Well, what ever it is you are doing, it is working and you look great!”

Move ahead to Friday. After leaving the gym I went by the payroll office to pick up paychecks for the office. I go to this office twice a month and see the same people every time. This time was different. The girl who hands out payroll said, “Have you lost some weight?” I gave her the nutshell story and she commented that she wanted to loose some weight too. As I was leaving, she said, “Keep it up, you look great!”  

Please do not think I am blowing my own horn here. I started not to write this at all. But then I decided that if nobody got anything out of it that was fine. At least I would have something I could go back and read later when I hit a wall or get discouraged because of a bad weigh-in or workout.

DELTS/TRAPS/ABS

I got a late start today do I had to rush a little more than usual. Today starts week 3 of my 12-week workout routine to go along with the Ripped Rulez Challenge. This week I will combine basic and isolation movements in the same workout - basic movements being performed first in each muscle group. Basic movements will get 3 sets of 8-10 reps while isolation movements get 2 sets of 8-10. Next week the movements swap.

I almost gave in and had a “cheat meal” today but I was able to resist. I have to remain very strict on my eating for the next few days. I am going out of town next weekend and know I will not be able to stick to the plan 100% on my trip. If I stay inline for 7-10 days maybe 3 days of “off the chart eating” will not hurt too much.

Today’s numbers are not that impressive (I certainly have put up bigger numbers in the past) but lately I have been concentrating on form over ego. That being said here is today’s workout.

DELTS
BB Shoulder Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 70, 10 @ 80 and 10 @ 90
Wide-grip Upright Rows (Charles Glass style) – 3 working sets of 10 @ 50
DB Lateral Raise – 2 sets of 10 @ 20
Bent-over Lateral Raise – 2 sets of 10 @ 30

TRAPS
Barbell Shrugs – 1 set of 10 @ 135, 2 sets of 10 @ 185
DB Shrugs – 2 sets of 10 @ 45, 10 @ 55

ABS
Hanging Leg Raises – 2 sets of 15
Decline Crunch – 2 sets of 15

No cardio today. I am dropping back on the cardio some. I want to see just how much the RRC nutrition plan reduces my BF% with just weight training. After I get my BF% checked next month I will have a better gauge of how much cardio I need to be doing.

Have a great weekend and take good care of yourself.

LEG/CALF DAY

I had an early leg workout today. I did not move a ton of weight but the exercises I did really pumped some blood into the old quads and I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. After the weights I had to come home and cut the yard. To get in a little cardio I used the push mower instead of the rider. We have not had a lot of rain here in my part of the world so it did not take too long to cut the high parts and blow the dry parts in the neighbors yard.

Always one to add a twist to my workout today was no exception. Because of my back I have been instructed to stay away from squats for a while. However, I did do a form of squat today that gave me more pump and worked the quads more than any weighted squat has in the past. Then I added another twist to the leg extensions. After these two I knew I had been through a pretty good leg workout. If both are done right, 3 sets of 10-12 is all you want. Check out this video for more information.

QUADS
Bodybuilder Squat – 3 sets of 20
Superset with
Plie Squat – 3 sets of 20

Leg Extensions – 3 sets to failure with 50#

CALVES
Standing Calf Raise – 15 @ 180, 15 @ 270, 15@ 320

On my trip out of town last weekend I was able to do something that I could and would not do on last years vacation. I have entitled my blog “The Year the Shirt Comes Off”. Well, this vacation that is what happened. I felt totally comfortable taking my shirt off around the pool. For once, I was not the fat guy floating in the shallow end. I am not where I want to be but I am well on my way. And being able to do this is an accomplishment I will enjoy for a while. My wife even commented on how much I had changed. Also, the past two days at the gym I have had people ask me, “Are you loosing some weight?” I was happy to let them know how much and that I was not through with my transformation. Little things like that mean a lot and go a long way in motivating me to keep on.

I had a great back and bicep workout today. My back is feeling a little bit better every day and I can feel some of the strength coming back. I really felt the burn in my arm workout. I decided to superset my bicep routine and it felt great.

BACK
Wide-grip Pulldowns – 10×80 (warm-up), 3 sets of 10 @ 100
Seated Cable Rows – 10 @ 100 (warm-up), 3 sets of 10 @ 120
Straight-arm Pushdowns – 3 sets of 10 @ 80

BICEP (SUPERSET)
Cable Curls – 10/8/10 @ 80
Concentration Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 25

After a weekend get away with the family (and somewhat butchering the feeding schedules) I got back into the swing of things this morning. On a good note, I only added a couple of pounds with my weekend splurges so maybe I did not hurt myself too bad. In a sick kind of way I looked forward to getting back on track with my eating. Scary stuff I know!

This morning I continued the second week of my 12-week workout program concentrating on isolation movements. Today’s muscle groups were chest and triceps. Because of time I had to postpone ab work until tomorrow (insert sigh).

CHEST
Incline DB Fly – 1 warm up set of 10 @ 30, 2 working sets of 10 @ 35 and 1 set of 10 @ 40
Cable Crossover – warm up set of 10 @ 40, 3 working sets of 10 @ 50
Pec Deck – 1 working set of 10 @ 80, 2 sets of 10 @ 90

TRICEP
Cable Pushdowns – 1 warm up set of 20 @ 50, 1 working sets of 10 @ 80
Seated Overhead DB Extensions – warm up set of 10 @ 10, 3 working sets of 10 @ 25

Tomorrow will be back and biceps with abs. I really enjoy that workout.

If I have ever had “one of those days” it has been today. I was supposed to do legs today but the back is still a little tender. I could not do squats and was afraid to do presses. Since I did not get to do cardio yesterday I did it today. 20 minutes of intervals on elliptical. I did not a lot of energy. Was winded at 7 minutes and I was only pushing 150-165 SPM. I leveled off and got through the workout but still did not feel too energized.

Then I get to work and get screwed on my feeding times again today. I had it by myself today and I had a training exercise for new software and ended up going 5.5 hrs between feedings. When I did eat I loaded up with my whole meal + complex carbs. Now that the training is over, I can stay on my 2 hour feeding schedule.

I am not sure what will make the day get any better – maybe Maddi will post some new pics or something. :0

Had a good workout today. I have been able to stick to the nutrition plan (with a couple of bumps) today. I had a meeting tonight that messed up my times a little but I was on track for the most part.

Here’s the workout:

BACK
Wide-grip Pullups - 8/8/8
Barbell Row - 10 @ 95/10 @ 106/10 @ 106
DB Row - 10 @ 45/10 @ 55/ 8 @ 55

BICEP
Barbell Curl - 10 @ 45/ 8 @ 50/ 8 @ 50
Preacher Curl - 3 sets of 10 @ 30

Forearm
Barbell Wrist Curl - (bar only) 3 sets of 10

No cardio today due to time constraints. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day but I have to go out of town this weekend so I will be switching the program up a little. Tomorrow I will be doing a leg workout, Thursday will be Shoulders/Traps/Abs. I will travel Friday. The motel has a fitness center so I will be able to get in some cardio (and swimming) Saturday and Sunday.

Happy Father’s Day to all the lifting dads in our circle.

I am glad to be getting back to my regular schedule. I am a severe control freak and when things get messed up I cannot stand it. I had another doctor’s appointment for my back today and he said things were looking better. He is still cautioning me against squats (break my heart) but he said I should be able to do everything else. He wants to check me again in 2 weeks.

I had a good workout today. The power I lost while away is starting to come back. Maybe before too long I will be back to the weight level I was lifting when I got hurt. It was good to break a sweat again in the gym. This week will be all multi-joint movements shooting for 8-10 reps for 3 sets.

CHEST
Bench Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 135, 9 @ 155 and 6 @ 165
Incline DB Press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 35, 8 @ 40 and 8 @ 40
Decline Smith Press – 3 working sets of 10 @ 72, 8 @ 100 and 8 @ 100

TRICEPS
Close-grip press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 50, 10 @ 72 and 10 @ 72
Bench Dips – 45 total

ABS (performed as a superset)
Reverse Crunch – 3 sets of 15
Crunches – 3 sets of 15

CARDIO
20 minutes of intervals on elliptical

The nutrition side of things are going well. I had a scheduled cheat day on Sunday. However, I got off schedule today (just too busy on my days off) but I will try to salvage it. I have not eaten anything off the program, just got my times screwed up.

Tomorrow will be back, biceps and cardio.