OVER 40 MUSCLE

I had the best chest workout I have had in a while this morning. The ab work was really a gut buster too. I tried to do all 4 ab exercises as a giant set but could not pull it off. I, reluctantly, changed it to straight sets but I still got in all the reps.

Nutritionally speaking, I have been able to stick to the plan without a hitch since getting back home. Tonight will be my cheat meal for the week. My wife and I are going out to celebrate our 15th anniversary (the actual anniversary is Wednesday but I have to work so we moved it up a day) and she wanted to go to the new Italian restaurant just down from our house. So tonight the diet gets another challenge – pasta, pasta and more pasta!

Tomorrow will be back and calves then twelve hours at work. Yippee for me!

CHEST/ABS
————
Flat Bench DB Press – 3 warm-up set of 20 @ 30, 15 @ 35 and 12 @ 40. 3 working sets of 10 @ 45, 8 @ 55 and 6 @ 65
————-
Incline BB Press (Smith Machine) – 3 working sets of 10 @ 70, 8 @ 75 and 6 @ 85
————-
Flat Bench DB Flye – 3 working sets of 10 @ 30, 10 @ 30, 6 @ 40
————-
Dips – 3 sets of 10/8/5
========
Knee Raises – 25/25/20
————-
Crunch – 25/25/20
————-
Side Crunch – 20/20/20
————-
Vacuum – 3 sets of holding for 1 minute
========

I decided to make some changes in my workouts. The program I was doing was just not giving me the results I desired. It was worth a shot but I have to go with what has worked for me in the past. I am still doing the RCC but that is focused on nutrition more than a standard workout. So today I started my new split.

Monday-Quads/Hams (heavy)/Traps
Tuesday-Chest/Abs (giant sets)
Wednesday-Back/Calves (heavy)
Thursday-Delts/Hams (hi rep)/Abs (mega reps)
Friday-Arms/Calves (hi rep)
Saturday & Sunday-rest

*I will do cardio on my days off from work.

Here is what today’s new workout looked like:

QUADS/HAMS/TRAPS
————
Leg Extensions – 1 warm-up set of 25 @ 25, 4 working sets of 15 @ 50, 15 @ 55, 12 @ 60 and 10 @ 75 (using 3-3-3 rep pace)
————-
Leg Press – 3 working sets of 6 plates @ 20, 8 plates @ 15 and 10 plates @ 10 (using 3-1-3 rep speed)
————-
Hack Squat – 1 warm-up set, 3 working sets of 2 plates @ 12, 4 plates @ 12 and 6 plates @ 12
=======
Lying Leg Curls – 1 warm-up set, 3 working sets of 15 @ 50, 12 @ 60 and 10 @ 75 (using 3-3-3 rep speed)
————
Seated Leg Curls – 3 working sets of 15 @ 50, 15 @ 70 and 10 @ 90 (using 3-3-3 rep speed)
=======
Barbell Shrugs - 1 warm-up set of 20 @ 135, 3 working sets of 15 @ 205, 15 @ 205 and 10 @ 225
————
DB Shrugs - 20 @ 55, 15 @ 65 and 10 @ 70
=======
I followed this up with a 20 minute cooldown stroll on the treadmill @ 3.5mph.

I also had my BF% checked today. It was down (thankfully) but not down to where I had hoped. Just something to make me work a little harder next month. I’ll post that info later today.

Q. How many bodybuilders does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A. Four. One to screw in the bulb, one to spot him and two to tell him how big his arms look in the new light.

Complements of the August issue of FLEX Magazine

I like doing the isolation moves first because I can really feel the muscles working better. I guess there is a scientific principle in there somewhere but someone smarter than me will have to decipher it.

After my week of bad eating I still dropped 2.6#. See the last sentence above because I am sure it relates to this too.

CHEST/TRICEPS
————
Incline DB Flye – 3 sets of 10 @ 40
————-
Pec Deck Flye – 10 @ 80, 2 sets of 10 @ 100
————-
Incline DB Press – 10 @ 40, 10 @ 45
————-
Decline Smith Machine Press – 2 sets of 10 @ 90
=======
Cable Rope Pressdowns – 2 sets of 8 @ 100, 1 set of 7 @ 100
————
Seated Overhead DB Extensions – 2 sets of 8 @ 50
__________
Bench Dips – 3 sets of 15 (bodyweight)

I really screwed things up this past weekend. I had to travel out of town again and failed to prepare for this trip like I have my other ones this month. Because of that I ate all the wrong things, my times were all over the map and I came home feeling like I had gained a ton. I missed two days of workouts and, although I had full intentions of making then up while on the road, I did not do anything that would remotely be confused with a workout. When I step on the scale Friday morning I hope just to break even. Even though I regret what happened this weekend I did learn a very valuable lesson. Intentions do not accomplish much.

One part of the Ripped Rulez Challenge is that I have to keep a nutrition journal and send it in once a week. Last weeks journal was not my best and my journal this week is going to be horrible. While on the road I received an encouraging email from Michael. There was one word that stuck out more than any of the others – CONSISTANCY!

None of us have a problem with consistency. We are either consistently good or bad. We do things on a daily basis that impact our overall performance. Our problem (I am including me in this one as well) is that we need to get into the habit of doing the RIGHT things, consistently. For many years I did the WRONG things and did them over and over again. Last year I decided that I was going to make a change. I am still in the changing process.

From here on out my commitment to the RRC will be all out! I do not know who else is in this competition but they better look out. I’m in it for the long haul.

After preaching consistency in my last post I did not get to workout Wednesday because the gym was closed for the holiday. I was able to get back in there yesterday and get in a great shoulder workout. This week’s exercises emphasize Isolation Movements first in the rep scheme. After this one, my shoulders were feeling pretty good.

DELTS/TRAPS/ABS
————-
DB Lateral Raise – 6 @ 25, 6 @ 25 and 6 @ 30
————-
Cable Front Raise – 6 @ 20, 6 @ 25, 6 @ 30
————-
Wide-grip Upright Row – 6 @ 115, 6 @ 135, 6 @ 155
————-
DB Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 6 @ 45
=======
BB Shrug – 2 sets of 6 @ 225
Superset w/
DB Shrug – 2 sets of 6 @ 70
=======
Hanging Leg Raises - 3 sets of 15
__________
Ab Machine Crunch – 3 sets of 15 @ 110