OK!!! Condensing this post, since I think I'm the only one who actually reads this blog, I may not post on it everyday like I did with Cycle 1, not only do I forget to do it sometimes, but posting at midnight doesn't seem to get the notifications to anyone. So if someone out there is reading it, please let me know that the daily posts are something you would like to see continue and I'll set a reminder to do it in the afternoons.
A note on pre and post workout supplements. Unless noted, my pre-workout supplements will consist of Catalyst x 3, ThermoPlus x 2 and A-Supreme or O2 Gold. Post-workout will be OmegaPlex daily with Post-Workout Recovery on weight days.
Day 1 - Core Synergistics...just like last week!! Hammered through it and finished the entirety!
Day 2 - Weights!!!! Rescheduled!!! Since this week we are down a car (SAAB is in the shop) Tuesdays don't work for the gym - so CardioX!!! So far, still enjoy it...and it's cardio work....don't make any sense to me.
Day 3 - WEIGHTS!!! Back and Tris.
Now since we're on a new cycle, that means we have new rules in the weight room. This time there is only a single rule and that would be the rule of Super 2's!
What is the rule of Super 2's? Well it's 2 exercises supersetted with 2 other exercises - so 4 exercises per body part total. What's a superset? A superset is two exercises back to back with no rest between. You go straight to the second exercise. Typically it will be an opposing angle or motion to the first exercise targeting the same muscle.
So for Back here's what we did - yes we...the wife went this time!! Yea wife!
Seated Rows / Standing Upright Rows
75 x 15 70 x 12
150 x 12 70 x 12
These should be self explanatory - sit on a bench and pull weight to chest - keeping shoulders back and bringing shoulder blades together. Standing Uprights, bar bell held at waist and raised to shoulders.
Iso High Rows (Inverse Pull-downs) / Standing Reverse Fly
140 x 15 35 x 12
150 x 12 25 x 12
Iso High Rows is a free weight machine - seated with palms in, weights pulled from overhead to waist level. Standing Reverse Fly - 40 degree bend at waist, weights are raised out above shoulders with arms straight.
TRIS
Tri Pushdown / Seated Tri Raise
70 x 15 50 x 12
90 x 12 65 x 12
Standard single pulley pushdown facing away from weight stack - standard seated tri raise on flat bench, weight lowered behind head.
Tri-Dip / Standing EZ Curl Press-up
150 x 15 55 x 12
165 x 12 65 x 12
Seated dips - elbows in tight to keep all pressure on outer head of triceps. Standing EZ Curl - elbows locked at ears, bar lowered behind head.
There ya have it...the start of week 1!!!!
Tonight AbRipperX!!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Cycle 2 Mulligan!!!
Holy week of failures!! I got in 1 workout, yup just 1, with 4 of the 7 nights getting home after 9pm, 1 of which was well after midnight due to my car breaking down in Kalama, I have to basically call a 'do over' for the week. So starting fresh again...Cory Synergistics here I come!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Week 1 Day 1 - Cycle 2
Core Synergistics!!!
The wife comes downstairs while I'm in the middle of this workout and says 'I've never done this one...it looks hard.' - I can laugh now at this mild understatement, but lets just say that while I was in the middle of banana rolls, I didn't find it very amusing...specially since once again I'm working solo.
I did manage to finish the entire workout with a raging headache though...and the low back is a little sore today, but CS is a ton of core work...so it's kinda expected.
A weeks rest really was solid, I did more reps on most of the 'max reps' phases like most of the push-ups, I kept up on almost all of the ab work (had to take a little break on the superman bananas and the bow to boat as the boat is rough on my lower back) and powered through all the lunge and lower body work. Which means overall, I've shown myself a good amount of improvement in 4 weeks.
Pre-workout - tonight I put down the Arginine Extreme with the A-Supreme and Catalyst, I skipped the ThermoPlus as I already sweat buckets when doing CS.
Post-workout - OmegaPlex and Joint Promotion.
Tonight is gym night, but I have a HUGE AdvoCare event to attend, so I may not make it...if I don't gym in the morning!!!
The wife comes downstairs while I'm in the middle of this workout and says 'I've never done this one...it looks hard.' - I can laugh now at this mild understatement, but lets just say that while I was in the middle of banana rolls, I didn't find it very amusing...specially since once again I'm working solo.
I did manage to finish the entire workout with a raging headache though...and the low back is a little sore today, but CS is a ton of core work...so it's kinda expected.
A weeks rest really was solid, I did more reps on most of the 'max reps' phases like most of the push-ups, I kept up on almost all of the ab work (had to take a little break on the superman bananas and the bow to boat as the boat is rough on my lower back) and powered through all the lunge and lower body work. Which means overall, I've shown myself a good amount of improvement in 4 weeks.
Pre-workout - tonight I put down the Arginine Extreme with the A-Supreme and Catalyst, I skipped the ThermoPlus as I already sweat buckets when doing CS.
Post-workout - OmegaPlex and Joint Promotion.
Tonight is gym night, but I have a HUGE AdvoCare event to attend, so I may not make it...if I don't gym in the morning!!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Cycle 1 Recap
Alright! So what did I learn from the first Cycle?
Well first thing is this - if I don't have to write a blog...well I probably won't, so easy to forget about.
Working out 7 days a week is really hard, both physically and mentally.
Doing it alone is even harder, that's right with the exception of 2 or 3 workouts that the wife decided to join me on, this whole process has been solo. And not one single comment on my blog, so I'm curious, is anyone reading this thing? If so, let me know!!!
Other things learned:
Doing AbRipperX the day after leg day is damn near impossible
Going to the gym every night on the weekend takes absolute and sheer dominate will power (as in it's really really hard to do).
Putting your body through 7 days of workouts requires a lot more food.
Things I noticed:
Loss of body fat in my body fat heavy areas (the loooove handles).
My brand new jeans are loose (don't tell the wife).
More vascular in the arms when working out (this means veins are popping out).
More defined areas of the body - legs, arms and back.
So last Cycle went like this (after a first week adjustment)
Monday - AbRipperX
Tuesday - Cardio X
Wednesday - XStretch
Thursday - Core Synergistics
Friday - Back and Shoulders - Gym
Saturday - Chest and Arms - Gym
Sunday - Legs - Gym
So round 2 here we come - new Cycle new rotation, and taking the things we learned from Cycle 1 into account we'll be splitting our gym days and keeping AbRipperX away from Leg day and Core Synergistics. We'll also be upgrading XStretch to YogaX!!
Monday - Core Synergistics
Tuesday - Back and Tri's - Gym
Wednesday - CardioX
Thursday - AbRipperX
Friday - Legs and Shoulders - Gym
Saturday - YogaX
Sunday - Chest and Bi's - Gym
So there it is...the road map to the next Cycle - so tonight after Tom Tyson's super terrific mixer - Core Synergistics!!!
Well first thing is this - if I don't have to write a blog...well I probably won't, so easy to forget about.
Working out 7 days a week is really hard, both physically and mentally.
Doing it alone is even harder, that's right with the exception of 2 or 3 workouts that the wife decided to join me on, this whole process has been solo. And not one single comment on my blog, so I'm curious, is anyone reading this thing? If so, let me know!!!
Other things learned:
Doing AbRipperX the day after leg day is damn near impossible
Going to the gym every night on the weekend takes absolute and sheer dominate will power (as in it's really really hard to do).
Putting your body through 7 days of workouts requires a lot more food.
Things I noticed:
Loss of body fat in my body fat heavy areas (the loooove handles).
My brand new jeans are loose (don't tell the wife).
More vascular in the arms when working out (this means veins are popping out).
More defined areas of the body - legs, arms and back.
So last Cycle went like this (after a first week adjustment)
Monday - AbRipperX
Tuesday - Cardio X
Wednesday - XStretch
Thursday - Core Synergistics
Friday - Back and Shoulders - Gym
Saturday - Chest and Arms - Gym
Sunday - Legs - Gym
So round 2 here we come - new Cycle new rotation, and taking the things we learned from Cycle 1 into account we'll be splitting our gym days and keeping AbRipperX away from Leg day and Core Synergistics. We'll also be upgrading XStretch to YogaX!!
Monday - Core Synergistics
Tuesday - Back and Tri's - Gym
Wednesday - CardioX
Thursday - AbRipperX
Friday - Legs and Shoulders - Gym
Saturday - YogaX
Sunday - Chest and Bi's - Gym
So there it is...the road map to the next Cycle - so tonight after Tom Tyson's super terrific mixer - Core Synergistics!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Week 4 Day 7 - End Cycle 1
Sweet!!! I made it through the first cycle without dying...missed a couple of workouts and learned quite a bit from this new experience. I've never worked out 7 days a week before. Ever.
I'll go over my last leg workout right quick and sometime in the next couple of days, I'll recap and post my thoughts, what I've learned and what I have planned for Cycle 2.
Lying Leg Press - standard leg press machine with the seat in the bottom position so your body is at a 90-100 degree bend, feet are shoulder with apart and in a mid/neutral position on the sled, or what I call a relaxed position on the sled. The sled on this machine weights 60lbs and I stack it with 45lb plates.
4 plates x 20 (240lb)
14 plates x 12 (600lbs)
16 plates x 12 (690lbs)
Seated Leg Extension - neutral seating position on the bench, legs are roughly 8-10 apart on the pad. Follow the instructions on the machine you are using to make sure you are seated correctly (or ask a trainer).
130 x 20
145 x 12
160 x 12
Seated Leg Curls - same as leg extensions - neutral position but with feet together on pad this time.
115 x 20
130 x 12
145 x 12
I know I know...it's the same workout I did week 1...well too bad, that's what I did! :D Honestly I wasn't in the mood to get creative and since I write everything in a journal I take with me to the gym, I had a roadmap.
Pre-workout consists of Arginine Extreme, Catalyst x 3 and Thermo x 2
Post-workout - Post-Workout Recovery immediately after final set and OmegaPlex on the arrival at home.
Recap to follow soon!!!
I'll go over my last leg workout right quick and sometime in the next couple of days, I'll recap and post my thoughts, what I've learned and what I have planned for Cycle 2.
Lying Leg Press - standard leg press machine with the seat in the bottom position so your body is at a 90-100 degree bend, feet are shoulder with apart and in a mid/neutral position on the sled, or what I call a relaxed position on the sled. The sled on this machine weights 60lbs and I stack it with 45lb plates.
4 plates x 20 (240lb)
14 plates x 12 (600lbs)
16 plates x 12 (690lbs)
Seated Leg Extension - neutral seating position on the bench, legs are roughly 8-10 apart on the pad. Follow the instructions on the machine you are using to make sure you are seated correctly (or ask a trainer).
130 x 20
145 x 12
160 x 12
Seated Leg Curls - same as leg extensions - neutral position but with feet together on pad this time.
115 x 20
130 x 12
145 x 12
I know I know...it's the same workout I did week 1...well too bad, that's what I did! :D Honestly I wasn't in the mood to get creative and since I write everything in a journal I take with me to the gym, I had a roadmap.
Pre-workout consists of Arginine Extreme, Catalyst x 3 and Thermo x 2
Post-workout - Post-Workout Recovery immediately after final set and OmegaPlex on the arrival at home.
Recap to follow soon!!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 4 Day 6 - ARMageddon and some chest too!
Last chest and arms workout...and I can say that I'm actually very happy about it. :D
Man does my body hurt, looking forward to the break fo sho!
So tonights workout was rough, back was a bit stiff from the back/shoulder workout, and my neck is just giving me fits (that happens when I do dumbbell shrugs).
But I muscled through it anyhow...HA nice pun!!! OK fine...but I laughed.
Here's the breakdown -
Chest
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flys - arms bent and lowered out to your sides and then pulled together, this is a FLY not a press.
30 x 20
42.5 x 12
45 x 12
Incline Dumbbell Press - Standard (no rotations, just straight pressing to the ceiling here)
40 x 20
52.5 x 12
60 x 12 - almost didn't finish this set
Cable Cross-Overs - nothing special here but it's another cross/fly type movement, I wanted to get a good stretch in the muscle and this always feels good for that.
50 x 20
60 x 12
60 x 12
Bi's
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls - the basic standing one arm at a time curl...make sure to get a good supination at the top.
25 x 20
35 x 12
40 x 12
Straight Bar - Squat Rack - Standard Grip - this one uses the long bar on the squat rack - standard grip shoulder width apart....it hurt.
65 x 20
70 x 12
70 x 12
Standing Cable Cross-Body Curls - I really like the Freemotion all in one machine - so for this one, bars are at the floor and wide, elbows in tight to the sides and curling across the body...so right hand to left shoulder, alternating.
7.5 x 20
12.5 x 12
15 x 12
Tri's
Push Downs - Inverted V bar - back to pulleys - for push downs you have single pulley machines with your back to the pulley or 2 pulley machines where you face them. This one is harder and forces some minor ab work. Elbows in tight to the sides and arms never go higher than parallel to the floor.
50 x 20
70 x 12
90 x 12
Rope Pull Over - double pulley machine - rope attachment - facing away from pulleys you bring the rope over your head, lock your elbows to your ears and extend your arms to straight and flex your wrists down.
70 x 20
110 x 12
130 x 12
Seated Behind the Head Kick Backs/Ups - sit in the small chair, elbow at ear and lower weight behind head...kick it up.
20 x 20
25 x 12
25 x 12
Pre-workout - A-Supreme, Arginine Extreme, Catalyst x 3
Post-workout - Post-Workout Recover immediately following last set, OmegaPlex upon arrival to house.
Legs and I'm done for the first cycle. I'll be doing a 'post cycle wrap up' this week to let ya know what I've learned and my thoughts on how things went.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Week 4 Day 5 - Back to it!
So no Core Synergistics last night, the wife hogged the TV til midnight...stoopid FBI shows...finally I can blame someone else for me being a slacker!!! Oh wait...um...for interrupting my wonderful schedule!!! Yea that worx.
OK tonight is back and shoulders for the last time (I'll be switching things up next cycle) - so I went in with the 'combo' approach, meaning that I wanted compound movements where possible to work both back and shoulders with each exercise. So effectively each muscle got 6 exercises tonight.
Back
High - Seated Rows - "H" bar - no this does not mean sitting in a high chair. When you look at a seated row machine you can place your feet on a high platform or a low platform, most gyms should have both, if not...well this one might be tough. Sit at roughly 80degrees with the "H" bar - this bar is set so that your arms are shoulder width apart and your palms are facing each other. Pull straight back to chest arms parallel to floor - this arm/hand placement brings more work to the read shoulders and upper back.
105 x 20
150 x 12
180 x 12
Seated Reverse Fly - you want to raise the seat so that your hands are right at armpit level - keeping your arms straight you swing the weight back as far as you can - literally a reverse fly movement.
60 x 20
90 x 12
105 x 12
Standing Upright Rows - EZ Curl bar - I used the EZ Curl bar as it's not as rough on the wrists and allows me to pull the weight higher. Knees bent, straight back, weight starts at the hip and is pulled straight up the body to the chin.
55 x 20
75 x 12
80 x 12
Shoulders
Leaning lateral/rear delt raise - you will need to stand behind an incline bench elevated to its top position about 10-12 inches and lean forward. This is a single arm exercise with one arm/hand supporting the lean on the top of the bench. Weight starts at a neutral position in front of body and is raised sideways stopping and holding just above the shoulder. Keep your body flat to the floor. This is a more advanced movement so lighter weights.
25 x 20
40 x 12
40 x 12
Seated Dumbbell Press - just like what it says...sit in the little chair and press those dumbbells over your head, lowering them to your shoulders.
45 x 20
60 x 12
50 x 12 (normally start with this exercise, but someone was using the one and only small chair so I had to drop weight as I wore out the muscle in the previous exercise and knew I wouldn't finish 12 at 50 again).
Standing Dumbbell Shrug - this is more for the rounding the traps than anything else. It's not a building exercise, just a shaping one. Weights start at sides, slight forward lean, shrug shoulders to ears, keeping arms straight. DO NOT rotate shoulders with this exercise...bad bad bad!!!
90 x 20
100 x 12
100 x 12 (I was tired, normally I jump up again...but long week). :D
Pre-workout tonight was Arginine Extreme, Catalyst x 3
Post-workout - Post-Workout Recovery immediately following last set, OmegaPlex upon home arrival.
Chest and Arms tomorrow night!!! Last time there too!!!
OK tonight is back and shoulders for the last time (I'll be switching things up next cycle) - so I went in with the 'combo' approach, meaning that I wanted compound movements where possible to work both back and shoulders with each exercise. So effectively each muscle got 6 exercises tonight.
Back
High - Seated Rows - "H" bar - no this does not mean sitting in a high chair. When you look at a seated row machine you can place your feet on a high platform or a low platform, most gyms should have both, if not...well this one might be tough. Sit at roughly 80degrees with the "H" bar - this bar is set so that your arms are shoulder width apart and your palms are facing each other. Pull straight back to chest arms parallel to floor - this arm/hand placement brings more work to the read shoulders and upper back.
105 x 20
150 x 12
180 x 12
Seated Reverse Fly - you want to raise the seat so that your hands are right at armpit level - keeping your arms straight you swing the weight back as far as you can - literally a reverse fly movement.
60 x 20
90 x 12
105 x 12
Standing Upright Rows - EZ Curl bar - I used the EZ Curl bar as it's not as rough on the wrists and allows me to pull the weight higher. Knees bent, straight back, weight starts at the hip and is pulled straight up the body to the chin.
55 x 20
75 x 12
80 x 12
Shoulders
Leaning lateral/rear delt raise - you will need to stand behind an incline bench elevated to its top position about 10-12 inches and lean forward. This is a single arm exercise with one arm/hand supporting the lean on the top of the bench. Weight starts at a neutral position in front of body and is raised sideways stopping and holding just above the shoulder. Keep your body flat to the floor. This is a more advanced movement so lighter weights.
25 x 20
40 x 12
40 x 12
Seated Dumbbell Press - just like what it says...sit in the little chair and press those dumbbells over your head, lowering them to your shoulders.
45 x 20
60 x 12
50 x 12 (normally start with this exercise, but someone was using the one and only small chair so I had to drop weight as I wore out the muscle in the previous exercise and knew I wouldn't finish 12 at 50 again).
Standing Dumbbell Shrug - this is more for the rounding the traps than anything else. It's not a building exercise, just a shaping one. Weights start at sides, slight forward lean, shrug shoulders to ears, keeping arms straight. DO NOT rotate shoulders with this exercise...bad bad bad!!!
90 x 20
100 x 12
100 x 12 (I was tired, normally I jump up again...but long week). :D
Pre-workout tonight was Arginine Extreme, Catalyst x 3
Post-workout - Post-Workout Recovery immediately following last set, OmegaPlex upon home arrival.
Chest and Arms tomorrow night!!! Last time there too!!!
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