# Davesky's journalism



## Guest (Nov 19, 2009)

It seems odd that all the journals are in this section, but as they are, here's another.

Some basic stats:

45 years old

70kg

5'8"

Chest 38" Waist 34" (but measure 39" round hips - want to change that) Biceps 14"

Apart from weights my main physical activity is cycling. Been going to present gym (Harrow Leisure Centre) a couple of months. I'm effectively a newbie trainer. Tried all this stuff before, years ago, but gains were small, though to a certain extent permanent. Of course, I didn't have the benefit of all this UKM help then

Goals are to gain mass, particularly upper body, and to loose some fat from around my middle. There are some pics in my profile.

Been to the gym today and halfway through got the idea to note down what I was doing so I could post it here. Consequently I couldn't remember some stuff so it won't be perfectly accurate. Also I don't know the proper names of some of the machines. Also I can't read what I wrote in all cases. Also there is some simplification for brevity. I may have done 12 reps in a first set and 8 in a final, but written down "4x10" or some such.

I was concentrating this session on chest, triceps and shoulders (but also did leg curls), but haven't really got a proper split worked out at the moment that can go forward long-term. I am tending to go to the gym once a week and use free weights at home two other days. This may not work long-term as I am finding I take about a week to recover from many exercises. But I haven't joined the gym so I pay on a one-odd basis each time and try to make the most of that. Anyway, to get down to business:

Cycled to gym, so that's 25 mins cardio. 6 miles mostly on the flat.

5 mins on rowing machine at 100W output average (not sure there's much point in this)

Tricep sitting pulldown machine 6x10x40kg

Seated chest press Technogym machine 1x8x40kg, 4x8x30kg

Seated shoulder press Techogym machine 5x10x30kg

Seated low row Technogym machine (close grip) 3x10x40kg, 2x10x50kg

Seated pull-down Techogym machine 2x20x40kg, 3x8x60kg, 2x6x70kg

Pec cable machine 5x10x30kg

Leg curl machine 4x10x35kg

Standing tricep pulldowns 2x10x20kg, 3x5x22.5kg

Deadlift with empty bar (experimental as never tried this before) 3x8

Cable flyes 4x12x15kg (total)

Cycled back, so that's another 25 mins cardio.

Here is what I have eaten today:

Pre-breakfast: bowl oats, 25g whey, satsuma

Breakfast: Cornflakes with milk, banana, satsuma, crumpet with cheese, Seven Seas cod liver oil one-a-day

Pre-work out: 25g whey

Lunch: Salad and bread and potatoes with paté, a bit of tuna

Supper: Breaded plaice done in oven, potatoes, carrots

Bed-time: will probably have 25g whey

I don't intend to put exact quantities of food down or calculate calories. This day is fairly typical, but has too much fat I am sure. I am aiming for 120g protein a day, which this is probably, though a lot of people say that's not enough protein to build, it seems as much as I can manage at the mo.

This journal/recoding business is quite time-consuming:rolleyes:

I'll see how it goes.


----------



## Guest (Nov 20, 2009)

Addenum, anyone who's interested, before I went to bed I also did 4x8x32kg deadlifts in the garage, then had to pick Helen up off the floor as she fell while I was out there & couldn't get up (she has MS), and had a Jaffa Cake Mini Roll. 

This is as bad as Twitter..


----------



## Guest (Nov 21, 2009)

Well, no comments so far...OK, no reason why there should be any. If someone else had written it I probably wouldn't have commented either.

Exercise today restricted to sweeping leaves. Not really sore from yesterday, so can't have been that intense. I can feel a bit in my pecs and tris, but didn't do much damage...unlike when I did squats last week (only 22kg, about 50 of) and had great difficulty walking down the stairs for several days afterwards. In meeting all tomorrow so nothing more until Sunday.


----------



## Guest (Nov 22, 2009)

Went for a 30 mile bike ride with some people today (according to the gadget which I am not convinced is accurate) but it was not a good day, it looked OK at first but started pouring with rain, and then someone had a puncture and so we were waiting about in the rain for them to fix it. Had to go to a cafe to warm up, where I had a burger with bacon/cheese/onion/fries and hot chocolate (with cream!!) which obviously completely negated any cardio benefit of the ride. Was thinking of doing some weights in the garage tonight but feel washed-out now with the exposure to wind and rain so am inclined to wait 'till tomorrow.


----------



## Jem (Mar 5, 2009)

Good luck with your journal Dave !

Keep at it - it's worth the hard work


----------



## Guest (Nov 22, 2009)

A reply! Excellent. Nice to hear from you, Jem.


----------



## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Good luck with the journal mate


----------



## Guest (Nov 22, 2009)

Thanks WRT.


----------



## Guest (Nov 24, 2009)

Well, gotta keep the journal going.

Today was a barbell day in the garage. There's enough sawdust in there (no spit though) 

45 mins for back and biceps consisted of:

Barbell bent-over rows 4x10x32kg and 4x8x36kg

Z-bar curls 4x12x16kg and 4x10x20kg

Deadlifts 4x10x26kg

Behind the body barbell rows 3x10x26kg and 3x20x26kg

The last is an exercise I may have invented, I don't know, but it is a bit similar to shrugs.

Weights are totals including the bar.

When you train at home it can be hard to actually get round to it - other things get in the way. One advantage of the gym is that, when there, you can do nothing else. It took me until 10pm to get round to this rather short workout.

The main workout of the day, though, was plunging the kitchen sink. Pipes were full of horrible stuff!


----------



## Zee Deveel (Nov 5, 2009)

Hey dude, keep it up. I used to have a journal on bb.com, it's really useful for staying focused, I should make one here soon really!

I think it's important to get your strength up to a reasonable level before you start doing too much hypertrophy work. Although you can't lift as much as some bigger guys, a lot of that is because your nervous system isn't fully adapted to handling large loads yet. Even if "Deadlifts 4x10x26kg" is the max you could lift, I think the load your putting on your muscles isn't going to be enough to cause much damage and therefore supercompensation (hypertrophy).

I'd focus a little more on gaining strength initially and then switch to higher rep ranges when you're capable of putting greater strain on your muscles. I think it's a more efficient way of doing things.

Saying that I find strength training alone rather dull so what I like to do is mix it up. I train for strength on my big compound lifts: Bench, Military Press, Deadlift, Squat and then up the rep ranges on the assistance exercises. As an example, you could do something like this for chest day:

Bench Press: 3x5

Dips: 3x6-8

Incline DB Press: 3x6-8

Incline Flyes: 3x8-10

This way you're building up your maximum strength a lot quicker, I think it'll help you progress faster.

Also these "behind the body shrugs" sound very bad for your shoulders, I'd recommend not doing that hehe.


----------



## Guest (Nov 24, 2009)

Very interesting comments, Zee, thanks.

So basically you think I should do more low-rep sets with heavier weight on compound exercises at my stage. I suppose I have been thinking that most sets should be in the 8-12 rep range with only the occasional attempt at a heavier, shorter set, and I have been particularly cautious with deadlifts as I have only been trying them for a week, so I have no idea what I could do for only a few reps.

As you say it's always good to mix things up, so perhaps your comments will push me towards being less cautious with the weight.

Actually the "behind the body rows" are quite comfortable, though only a small range of movement is possible. There may be a proper name for this exercise.

Thanks again.


----------



## Zee Deveel (Nov 5, 2009)

Davesky said:


> Very interesting comments, Zee, thanks.
> 
> So basically you think I should do more low-rep sets with heavier weight on compound exercises at my stage. I suppose I have been thinking that most sets should be in the 8-12 rep range with only the occasional attempt at a heavier, shorter set, and I have been particularly cautious with deadlifts as I have only been trying them for a week, so I have no idea what I could do for only a few reps.


Yeah I definitely think train for strength on your compound lifts until you're benching say 80kg and deadlifting 120kg or so. Then you can go back to full hypertrophy training.

Like I say though, you can still keep training at higher rep ranges in your assistance and isolation exercises, so you'll still gain plenty of mass.



Davesky said:


> Actually the "behind the body rows" are quite comfortable, though only a small range of movement is possible. There may be a proper name for this exercise.


Well just go careful, behind the body / neck movements tend to put a lot of strain on your rotator cuffs, so I'd double check they're a legit exercise before continuing.


----------



## Guest (Nov 25, 2009)

Hit the gym fairly hard today, stayed 1h20m, which is perhaps a bit long, but I like to get value for money General upper-body workout.

Here is the list, sets x reps x total weight:

Shoulder press machine: 4x5-6x40kg, 6x4-5x35kg

Flat chest press (barbell) 4x8x30kg, 4x6x32.5kg, 4x5x35kg

Seated cable pull-downs in front, narrow grip, 4x10x30kg, 4x5x40kg

Low row machine, narrow grip, 4x6x40kg

Chest press machine 4x6x40kg

Triceps (arm extension cable mach) 2x16x30kg, 2x8x40kg, 2x6x50kg

Pull-up machine, wide grip, with 10 counterweights against body weight (don't know how much weight that is) 4x6

Overhead barbell press from shoulder using rack 4x6x30kg

46 sets. Usual 20 minute bike ride the and back.

No very obvious strength increases yet, but it's very early days.

Taking creatine mon tabs BTW, 3g on workout days, 2g on rest days.


----------



## ba baracuss (Apr 26, 2004)

Davesky said:


> Hit the gym fairly hard today, stayed 1h20m, which is perhaps a bit long, but I like to get value for money General upper-body workout.
> 
> Here is the list, sets x reps x total weight:
> 
> ...


Way too much volume mate.

I wouldn't bother with any tricep isolation and only one shoulder exercise needed if any as front delts get hit by bench press and rears by rows.

If you're doing chins you don't need pulldowns either.


----------



## Guest (Nov 25, 2009)

Good advice, I am sure ba. Just having got there I tend to go overboard...


----------



## Guest (Nov 26, 2009)

As this is the "photos" section, some photos...


----------



## Guest (Nov 27, 2009)

Yesterday, only activity 4 miles cycling plus some gardening.

Today, some sets for legs and biceps in the garage.

I'm having to be very careful with the barbell as I still have a pain in the right wrist from an incident with a too-heavy barbell in the gym a couple of months ago. So I can't put much on my shoulders for squats or lunges. It's the raising it though chest height that is the problem, once its up there its OK. Hence feeble numbers.

(sets x reps x total weight)

Barbell lunges 2x10x22kg, 2x10x26kg, both legs

Deadlifts 2x10x26kg

Squats 2x8x26kg, 2x6x30kg

Deadlifts again 2x8x30kg, 2x6x40kg, 2x6x50kg

Bicep curls 2x10x16kg, 2x8x20kg

(20 sets)

I'm getting into the deadlifts, prefer them to squats, more comfortable, I could do much heavier I think, but actually I will run out of weight with my garage set about 60kg, so I'll have to do it at the gym, or buy more.

A couple of hours later, quads certainly feel as if they have been hit, despite wrist issue.

I also look forward to trying the Myprotein unflavoured Impact whey which arrived today. I found the Nutrisport 90+ vanilla quite unpleasant.


----------



## asl (Jan 25, 2009)

Hi mate. Thought I'd pop in and check out your journal. Haven't got time to read through properly but will come back in when I have some spare time.

Keep up the good work

What sort of cycling do you do? I'm into road cycling in quite a big way but haven't been out since the weather turned!! DO you go on cyclechat as well??


----------



## Guest (Nov 30, 2009)

I cycle mainly on roads, ASL (which stands for Advanced Stop Line in the cycling world), for utility and touring. I've got 2 touring bikes, 1 hybrid and a Brompton. I go out with various London-based groups or organise my own tours. Normally 30-50 miles in a day, most I ever did was 135 miles in a day. I agree the weather has been appalling, I was out last Sunday and it was not good.

I don't go on cyclechat, but probably my girlfriend Helen does, she is on most of them, but mostly YACF (Yet Another Cycling Forum).

I cycled up to see an alternative gym on Saturday, the Aspire Centre at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. It's at the top of a huge hill, so the issue would be I would be exhausted before starting training! The advantage of it is that I could use it very cheaply as it's a pro-disability place and Helen's registered disabled so we could get a joint card.

I am definitely planning to stay natural WRT. I really don't think mucking with your hormones is worth the candle, and Helen, being a doctor, would be absolutely against it. She is rather expert with syringes though...:laugh:


----------



## rs007 (May 28, 2007)

Hey mate, good you have started a journal.

Right, my opinion - ignore if you like, I don't offend easily.

You stated your goals as you want to gain mass, but you want to lose fat around your middle.

Screw that. Well, not screw it, but one thing at a time.

Concentrate on gaining mass - keep it lean if poss.

this does two things. It gives you some actual muscle to appear lean in the first place, and more muscle = more metabolically active tissue which will give you better capacity to burn fat, and may end up taking care of what little fat you have anyway.

If you keep concentrating in trying to do both at the same time, you are going to keep chasing your tail, and getting nowhere.

Protein, way to low, I don't care if its all you can manage. You don't try to build a 3 storey house with a bungalows amount of bricks, and then say its all you can manage - but you are still going to build the 3 storey house regardless. How is this possible.

Gain muscle, you arent fat, stop panicking about it - with extra lean tissue, you will find that fat much easier to shift. Just ask any big competitive bber - experts at losing fat - how their diets have changed over the years as they have grew in muscle. Hell the biggest guy I know has to force feed himself with up to 1000g of carbs PER DAY on toip of massive protien intake, just to hold wieght, in the closing stages of his show diets.

Your cycling could be counter productive to your mass gain goals, but thats just the way it is, depends on the intensity etc, but certainly with your diet its going to be a hinderence, without meaning to be cruel, the evidence of this attempt to do everything at the same time is showing in your pics - not a lot of muscle (this we can fix) not a lot of fat at all, BUT even with that low fat, a total lack of a lean or toned appearance...

You can sort this, the key is in the training tweaks that some guys are coming in with, maybe knocking back your cycling a bit, and critically, sorting that diet out.... once you have a bit of extra size, you can then concentrate on holding that while improving endurance and burning fat... cycle it.

I know a guy on another board who has to do a similar thing, everyone tells him, he needs to sort his training and sort his fkn diet (I think he is scared of food lol), but will he hell do it, he keeps doing the same thing, expecting the results to somehow magically change...

Question is, are you the same???


----------



## Guest (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to write all that RS, much appreciated.

I hear what you are saying, and others say, that one can't do everything at once. That I accept. I certainly wouldn't mind putting on weight if it's mostly lean.

I think the cycling is unlikely to be enough to prevent mass gain - it would have been when I was cycling every day, but not now, and even less likely over the winter.

We shall see.


----------



## Zee Deveel (Nov 5, 2009)

Davesky said:


> Thanks for taking the time to write all that RS, much appreciated.
> 
> I hear what you are saying, and others say, that one can't do everything at once. That I accept. I certainly wouldn't mind putting on weight if it's mostly lean.
> 
> ...


The cycling will never "prevent" mass gain, just look at professional rugby players, they do a hell of a lot of cardio and remain huge. You just gotta make sure you eat BIG to compensate for any cardio you're doing.


----------



## rs007 (May 28, 2007)

Zee Deveel said:


> The cycling will never "prevent" mass gain, just look at professional rugby players, they do a hell of a lot of cardio and remain huge. You just gotta make sure you eat BIG to compensate for any cardio you're doing.


Zee has hit it exactly IMO - if the nutrition falls short, then even modest cycling or exertion could compromise results - with ample calories to fuel you, and ample proteins/fats for repair/building, you should be fine :thumbup1:

Good luck mate!


----------



## Uriel (Oct 14, 2008)

Zee Deveel said:


> The cycling will never "prevent" mass gain,


Mate, it can.

When you do cardio beyond about 60% of you VO2 max (from memory) and enter higher ranges - you deplete glycogen and start cortisol reactions to catabolize muscle for fuel.

Thats is why it is couterproductive to muscular gains.

It isn't noticable on an already muscular frame as sometimes you'll be anabolic and others catabolic (hence Rugby player stay a certain size - they don't keep growing mass).

On a small low muscled frame starting out - it is bad.

I used to cycle 50 km a day when I started training at 11 st 4lb and knocking the cycling on the head (and adding food) got me up to 13st 7lb natty in 1 year


----------



## Zee Deveel (Nov 5, 2009)

Uriel said:


> Mate, it can.
> 
> When you do cardio beyond about 60% of you VO2 max (from memory) and enter higher ranges - you deplete glycogen and start cortisol reactions to catabolize muscle for fuel.
> 
> ...


Haha well ok cycling 50km a day would probably do it, that's pretty extreme though! Obivously any form of cardio is going to negatively impact on your mass gains to a certain extent, but I think unless you're a really hardgainer, you can still afford to do a fair amount of it and see good results if you eat right.


----------



## Propper Joss (Aug 22, 2009)

Dave, it is good you have started a journal, but mainly because you need alot of help.

Firstly you need to cut out all the sugary high refined carb rubbish like bread, corn flakes and crumpets . Replace with eggs, fish and meat, and lots of green veg.

Secondly, I reckon that you need to drastically reduce the volume of the work-outs.

Try this 2-3 times a week.

Leg press - 3 sets (set 1&2 for 8-10reps/ set 3 try to set the weight so you get to failure in 10 reps or less)

Squats- 3 sets of 5 reps. Go as heavy as you can in good form, but no belts or wraps.

Chins- 3 sets to failure

Dips - 3 sets to failure (for the chins and dips aim for 8 reps on each set, when you can do this either add weight with a belt, or switch to pulldown and bench press.

Roman chair hyper extensions- 3 x 10

Weighted crunches - 3 x 12.

Stick at this for a couple of months, if the weights are not increasing, then do less sets, untill they do, then add the sets back in before you increase the weight.


----------



## Uriel (Oct 14, 2008)

Zee Deveel said:


> Haha well ok cycling 50km a day would probably do it, that's pretty extreme though! Obivously any form of cardio is going to negatively impact on your mass gains to a certain extent, but I think unless you're a really hardgainer, you can still afford to do a fair amount of it and see good results if you eat right.


The best advice I got that day I started seriously training (after fuking around for years) was - Work hard in the gym, totally intense then do fuk all else - be a right lazy cnut - eat well and grow...

TBH it was music to my male ears:lol:

Oh and 50 klick on a bike is fuk all - it was just p1ssing around, anyone who trains to cycle would laugh at it


----------



## Uriel (Oct 14, 2008)

Davey boy it is worth me mentioning you no longer have much in the way of testosterone left at 45.

You ought to seriously consider starting at least a TRT dose or you'll put next to fuk all mass on. Trust me on this.

You actually have a decent amount of activity in your life but your lean body mass and musclature is very low.

I'm 42 mate and trained naturally for 12 years before taking any gear, I know the facts


----------



## Guest (Nov 30, 2009)

Feeling a bit fluey at the moment but this is probably the weather and the fact I don't get enough sleep. Recently I have tended to wake up after 3 hours and get hungry, so then I eat something, and can't go to sleep again for 3 hours (this is very fixed), and then there isn't much time to sleep any more. I think this may be more of a problem than food.

I had an induction at the gym at the Aspire Centre today which was not necessary because I know how the machines work, but they insist on it, and a by-product was that they measured my body fat at 18.4%, or 12.9kg of 70kg, lean weight 57.1kg, BMI 23.4. In fact I don't believe this as they measured it on the arm, and my fat is around my waist and bottom. So I think my fat is really higher than this.

I got a fair amount of cardio pushing Helen up and down the slopes in her wheelchair. She wanted to visit a severely injured cyclist in the spinal injuries unit.

Thanks for these latest comments, particularly the suggested routine from Joss. I mentioned to Helen the idea that I "no longer have much testosterone left at the age of 45". She was highly amused and expressed the opinion I had plenty. Take that as you will.:laugh:


----------



## Uriel (Oct 14, 2008)

Davesky said:


> I mentioned to Helen the idea that I "no longer have much testosterone left at the age of 45". She was highly amused and expressed the opinion I had plenty. Take that as you will.:laugh:


baby boys get hard-ons too bud but they have less test than you :thumbup1:


----------



## Guest (Dec 4, 2009)

At last I have become a "bronze member", having been some sort of non-metallic nothing before. Perhaps I will celebrate with a protein shake or something.

It's not going very well as I've got a head cold again (3rd one since Summer) and am too feeble to do any training. I am getting so many interruptions from viruses the programme is hardly getting going at all.:sad:


----------



## asl (Jan 25, 2009)

Keep ya chin up mate. I've been fighting injuries and a hectic lifestyle but it's worth it in the end!! Feel the pump baby!!


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2009)

Thanks ASL.

Feeling a bit better this week so trying to ease myself gently back in. Would have gone to the gym today but it was pouring (like every day) so I did some leg work with weights in the garage - but I got stuck under the barbell a couple of times so I won't do this again probably - a gym with a proper squat rack is much better, I have concluded.

Sets x reps x total weight

Deadlifts: 2x10x32kg, 2x8x42kg, 1x6x52kg, 1x10x52kg

Calf raises: 23x8x52kg

Barbell lunges: 2x10x32kg both legs

Squats 1x7x32kg, 1x10x22kg


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2009)

I don't normally do weights two days in succession, but I did today & yesterday because I can't do tomorrow and I was getting fed up not having been to the gym in more than a week.

So I gave the new gym, the Aspire Centre, Stanmore, a go. Not too happy about it. It's not a big place, basically only one of everything, and late afternoon it was getting crowded, so it was hard to do the things I wanted to do. I never got to use the barbell rack, or an inclinable bench, and I found that, though they have a huge number of dumbbells, going up in 2kg increments from 2kg up to something absurd that no-one is going to use, there are ONLY TWO OF EACH. So, of course, all the guys want pretty much the same ones, in the 10-16Kg range (all the guys there were small like me), so it's a fight to get sensible dumbbells. You would have thought they would get more pairs of the low-mid range ones. And it was hard to find room to move - one kept having to make room for people.

Well, I'll try earlier in the day next time. But I might go back to Harrow Leisure Centre, which is much more roomy, if that fails.

This is what I did, mostly shoulders, triceps and chest. The machines are all different to Harrow, so numbers won't be comparable.

Seated low row machine 2x20x23kg, 2x12x33kg, 2x8x43kg

Lying bench press machine, close grip 2x20x25kg, 2x6x40kg, 2x3x45kg

Standing rope pull-downs 1x10 x position 7, 2x 8x position 8 (what weights these corresponded to was could not be discovered)

Triceps press machine, close grip 2x20x25kg, 2x16x40kg, 2x12x45kg

Dumbbell standing o/h press 2x16x6kg (each), 2x8x8kg, 2x5x12kg

Flat bench d/b press 2x8x12kg (each), 2x10x14kg, 2x3x18kg (could not find two 16kg dumbbells)

Pec deck 2x12x17kg, 2x5x20kg

37 sets, but most very light. At least I have some baselines for the equipment here now.


----------



## Guest (Dec 11, 2009)

Got to the Aspire gym earlier today, mid-afternoon, much quieter. Still, I noticed the things they don't have. They actually do not have a simple barbell and plates, so there is no way to do deadlifts. They do have a Smith machine, and dumbbells up to about 45kg. I found the squats with the Smith machine very difficult at first, being used to the free weight version.

I am trying to do only a few exercises but go heavier.

Leg press machine 2x12x70kg, 2x8x80kg, 1x6x90kg, 1x6x100kg

Preacher curls 2x10x10kg, 1x8x12kg, 1x7x12kg

Smith machine squats 2x8x30kg, 2x8x35kg, 2x6x40kg

Bent over dumbbell row 1x16x14kg, 2x10x16kg, 2x8x18kg, 1x8x20kg, 2x4x24kg (all both sides)

24 sets total.


----------



## Guest (Dec 15, 2009)

Chest, shoulders and triceps day today:

Incline dumbbell shoulder press 2x16x8kg, 2x8x12kg, 2x5x14kg (could not do one at 16kg)

Chest press cable machine 2x16x26kg, 2x16x33kg, 2x10x40kg, 1x8x47kg, 1x6x54kg

Close-grip chins 3, 2, 2 (can hardly do these at all)

Decline BP (Smith) 2x10x25kg, 2x10x30kg, 2x6x40kg, 1x4x45kg

Flat BP (Smith) 3x8x45kg

Shoulder press behind neck (Smith) 2x5x30kg

Triceps press 2x8x55kg, 2x8x60kg, 2x5x65kg

Pec deck 2x8x20kg, 2x5x23kg

39 sets total. A bit long, next time I will try to spend less time building up to maximum weight, now I know what is what with the stuff in this gym.

Lifts seem to have gone up since I started recording. Apparently up 20kg on BP, but I can't exactly compare the Smith exercises at this gym to the free barbell work I was doing before.

I have been trying to walk more, as Helen tells me the cycling I do will not burn fat, it burns glycogen, particularly the cycle to this gym which is up a very steep hill. (If you go up the A5 from central London, this is the steepest hill you come to before you get to Wales apparently.) I do not appear to be loosing any fat, though I am getting stronger.


----------



## Guest (Dec 17, 2009)

Too cold to go anywhere today!

I have a paraffin heater in the garage, which makes a bad smell, as they do, but doesn't seem to have poisoned me yet. I think it might do in a smaller or better sealed space. Just did some rows and deadlifts today in there.

Barbell bent-over row 2x10x36kg, 2x6x40kg, 2x5x42kg

Deadlift 1x10x52kg, 2x8x56kg, 2x6x60kg

Dumbbell bent-over row using bench 2x5x25.5kg, 2x5x26kg (both sides)

(15 sets)

The recording here is in fact very helpful, as knowing what I have done before I can push the weight up by small degrees each time.  The deadlift I am still getting used to and am not at what I could do for low reps I am sure, but in fact I only have about 65kg in weights. Perhaps I will get some more.

I don't often post diet as it isn't very consistent or good. Today I had:

Porridge made with milk with a pear, 1 egg, croissant

Shake with 1 scoop whey and Nesquick

Sweetcorn cob, tomato, half tin of tuna

Rice pudding plus 1 scoop whey

Later I will have:

Salmon fillet, potato, carrot

Possibly something else before bed

Likely to total 120-140g protein. Feels like enough for me.


----------



## Guest (Dec 20, 2009)

Leg/bi day today.

Cardio from pushing 70kg Helen up the hill in her wheelchair.

Smith squats 2x8x40kg, 2x5x45kg, 1x4x50kg

Leg curl 2x10x30kg, 2x8x35kg, 2x5x40kg

Preacher curl 3x8x12kg - could not do 14kg at all

Leg press 2x10x90kg (seat pos. 3 - max range motion) 2x8x100kg, 1x8x110kg, 1x6x120kg (seat pos. 4, knees less bent so easier) 130kg not possible.

Leg extension 2x9x30kg, 2x8x35kg, 1x6x40kg, 1x6x45kg, 1x6x50kg, 1x5x55kg

28 sets.

Got some pain in the ankles from the Smith squats until I put my feet further back, in line vertically with the bar or even behind. Unfortunately free squats are not possible at this gym (they are at Harrow).

Pleased with gains except biceps not progressing much. My legs are my (relatively) strong feature. I am basically training for strength, starting each time at a weight slightly below the last maximum, and working to beyond it. I just hope I can carry on making gains without injuring myself. Being lightly-built, age 45 and not on anything, it requires care.

Helen & I stuffed ourselves later at the Weng Wah Buffet - at all you can eat for £10.


----------



## Gazbeast (Oct 30, 2009)

Dedication is the key mate, you look like your going well. A change every now and then will also shock your body into growing even if it is a little bit. And is a chinese a cheat meal if you get plenty of king prawns down you? :lol:

Keep it up fella. :thumb:


----------



## Guest (Dec 20, 2009)

Gazbeast said:


> Dedication is the key mate, you look like your going well. A change every now and then will also shock your body into growing even if it is a little bit. And is a chinese a cheat meal if you get plenty of king prawns down you? :lol:


Thanks Gaz, that's how I look at it! In fact you could choose quite a healthy meal at the Chinese buffet, just the tastiest things don't seem to be the healthiest! 

I can certainly feel it in my legs today.  I'll probably leave some longer intervals between workouts over the Christmas period. There are one or two niggling things building up that need more than a week between working the same bodypart to settle down. I think that's how it gets when you are older. I should do some more cardio or abs work or stretching instead. Never enjoyed situps, though.


----------



## Jem (Mar 5, 2009)

Just a quick fly by to let you know you have readers.

You are doing ok honey - just being consistent is half the battle

Hope you all enjoy christmas

Jem x


----------



## Guest (Dec 21, 2009)

Thanks for saying "hi" Jem. I hope you have a great Christmas. One does wonder if anyone reads, but there are still benefits if nobody does.

I did 60 sit-ups today and spent time stretching. I know that's not a lot of sit-ups but I haven't done them for a long time and I find them very boring.

I think I am evolving a training routine that works for me and hopefully I can maintain consistently. One thing I think I have had to get over, and this probably applies to some other people as well, is the idea that you have to repeat on a 7-day cycle. It's kind of convenient to think in weekly cycles (Monday is chest day, that kind of thing) but there is nothing magical about the 7-day period, and some of the most experienced people on here don't do the same bodypart even as frequently as once a week. I find if I hit a bodypart hard it does take very slightly more than a week to fully recover - not just talking muscles, but joints and tendons as well. So I am evolving to a routine along these lines:

Day 1: Chest, shoulders and triceps

Main exercises: Decline BP, flat BP, Dumbbell incline shoulder press, chins, Smith press behind neck, triceps press, pec deck. Walking or cycling

Day 2: Walking or cycling

Day 3: Back

Main exercises: Deadlifts, bent-over barbell rows, dumbbell rows. Walking or cycling

Day 4: Walking or cycling

Day 5: Legs and biceps

Main exercises: Squats, leg curl, leg press, leg extension, preacher curl. Walking or cycling

Day 6: Walking or cycling

Day 7 Situps. Walking or cycling.

Day 8 Rest

Day 9 repeat from day 1.

I may put a few other things in to vary it, but I think these are the main ones I will be concentrating on. I am trying to restrict exercises to a small number so I can do them all 100%, and I don't think I have left anything vital out. Things to note here are that it is calculated so that I only need to go to the gym twice in 8 days - the back exercises and situps can be done with what I have at home, and I don't see the point of gym cardio. There are hundreds of miles of roads and pavements that are free of charge to use!

As always, we see how it goes, and opinions that I am doing it wrong will be considered.:laugh:


----------



## Guest (Dec 23, 2009)

*Chest & shoulders day*

Decline BP (Smith) 2x10x40kg, 2x5x50kg, 3x5x55kg

Flat BP (Smith) 2x5x55kg, 1x3x60kg (poor ROM)

Lat pulldowns 2x10x28kg, 2x8x35.5kg, 1x6x43kg, 1x5x50.5kg

Chest press machine (horizontal grip) 2x10x54kg, 1x6x61kg, 1x3x68kg

Close grip chins 3x2

Dumbbell incline shoulder press 1x8x14kg, 1x6x14kg, 2x4x16kg

Pec deck 2x8x23kg

(29 sets)

Found a mistake in my earlier reporting - now corrected. I thought I had done 55kg Smith presses before but I think that was an error and the max I went to last week must have been 45kg. Now pushed it up to 55, 60 arguably, but range of motion was poor at that weight. A young guy shared this machine with me. He looked lighter than me and more slightly built, but could do more. Just shows you can't tell by looking at people how strong they are. But it helps with the motivation.

The gym supervisor corrected the way I was doing the pulldowns - told me to put my elbows in more as I was tending to bang the stack into the top of the machine. That fixed it. Nice that he is taking some notice of what is going on in his gym, anyway.

Also pleased I can shoulder press with the 16kg dumbbells now, but I am getting a slight pain in the right shoulder when I do this, so I had better leave off this one for a while.

You see some funny things in that gum - like an elderly disabled man who put a fair bit of weight on the Smith - 80 or 90kg - and did a couple of flat presses with a terribly upward-arched back. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't do that, but it's not my business.

I was pushing Helen in her wheelchair up and down the ice and slush covered slopes again, which added that essential cardio element. We later found there was a connecting corridor from the gym to the hospital we could have used (marked "no entry") which would have saved a lot of effort. :cursing:

We went to an Italian resaurant in Edgware which was noisy, and I had a Chicken Kiev, which was a decent big bit of chicken, but nothing special for the money. More rain and slush on the way home.

My impact whey protein & creatine order arrived from Myprotein earlier. Their creatine mono powder is far more economical than the Nutrisport capsules I was buying from a shop before. Saving money can't be bad.


----------



## frowningbudda (Dec 16, 2008)

Saving money is always good pal 

Always gives me a feelgood factor when the weights go up as well, nice progression on the bench.

If the shoulder presses are causing agro try arnold presses.

I partially dislocated my shoulder a while back and found these a good way to train delts when recovering.


----------



## Jem (Mar 5, 2009)

Dave - you went for an Italian and had chicken kiev :confused1:  Didn't you fancy going native then :whistling:

Glad you're gettin some help in the gym now :thumb:

Arnold press is nice for the delts - I have incorporated them recently and seen some progression


----------



## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Something I like for delts is the FST-7 (fascia stretch training) approach. Have found it's brought them up to scratch somewhat.

Basically you do 7 sets of lateral raises with a weight you're comfortable doing 10-12 reps with, and only have 30 seconds rest between sets. My shoulders are completely fried after doing this


----------



## Guest (Dec 24, 2009)

frowningbudda said:


> Always gives me a feelgood factor when the weights go up as well


Yup! :bounce:



frowningbudda said:


> If the shoulder presses are causing agro try arnold presses.
> 
> I partially dislocated my shoulder a while back and found these a good way to train delts when recovering.


Thanks for the tip. I've not tried the Arnold presses, I'll give them a go some time. Have a rep! :thumbup1:


----------



## Guest (Dec 24, 2009)

WRT said:


> Basically you do 7 sets of lateral raises with a weight you're comfortable doing 10-12 reps with, and only have 30 seconds rest between sets. My shoulders are completely fried after doing this


I used to do lateral raises but not recently. Having long arms for my stature I found them really hard with all but the lightest of weights. It's another idea though, thanks. :beer: Having done more of the compounds since, I might now be in a better state for them.


----------



## Guest (Dec 24, 2009)

Jem said:


> Dave - you went for an Italian and had chicken kiev :confused1:  Didn't you fancy going native then :whistling:


It had an Italian name on the menu! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.:laugh:


----------



## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

Everything is closed today, but I have some weights and a bench in the garage, so here goes:

*Back day*

Deadlifts: 2x10x57kg, 2x8x62kg (this is all the weight I have)

Barbell Rows: 3x8x41kg, 3x6x45kg, 2x5x49kg

Dumbbell rows using bench: 2x6x26.5kg, 2x6x27.5kg, 2x5x28.5kg

(18 sets)

With the barbell rows I was getting a slight pain on the outside edge of my right wrist, but I solved it in the later sets by making sure my hand was curled more towards my body.

Having just watched the barbell row demonstrated on the Stronglifts website, I see I have been doing it wrong, according to that. It says there you should return the barbell to the floor between reps, which I have not been doing. However, other videos on the net show it done not returning to the floor:confused1:

I left a 3 day gap on this occasion between my "shoulders" and "back" days because I did lat pulldowns and chins (probably wrongly) in the "shoulder" day and there is an overlap between those and rows. Longer gaps seem to suit me, anyway, with my long recovery times, and I do seem to be gaining using long gaps.

Deadlifts and squats both give me a sort of aching feeling in the leg just above the ankle, not exactly a pain, but a slight discomfort which persists long after the exercise. I wonder if other people get this, and is there a remedy?

Diet today:

9am: oats with 20g whey, milk, banana, clementine

12am: glass apple juice, 2g creatine mono, 1 slice toast & two rashers of bacon, fish oil tablet (finishing off the bacon, not going to get more, substituting mackerel in future)

3pm 20g whey plus Nesquick

5pm Half tin tuna, chicken drumstick, salad vegetables, olive oil, small amount of dressing (followed by part of chocolate santa because it's Christmas)

9pm Salmon fillet with potatoes & carrots, mayo. Might have a pudding

12pm 20g whey, 2g creatine mono and a few almonds, maybe another fruit

Something like this has been typical & consistent recently though on some days I have 2-3 eggs. Water and tea not listed.


----------



## Guest (Dec 29, 2009)

Today was a horrible day, cold and raining, but I was determined to get to the gym for my "leg day", so put on all my waterproofs to cycle up the hill. As a challenge I also decided not to use bottom gear to get to the top, where the gym is situated, which I managed, though I was really breathing as hard as I could to do it.

The gym was quite crowded, people obviously still off work and having nothing better to do, and the results of my workout were a somewhat "mixed bag".

Smith squats: 2x9x40kg

Preacher curls: 2x12x14kg, 2x5x16kg

Leg press, seat pos. 4, 2x9x110kg, 2x8x120kg, 1x6x130kg

Leg curl 2x10x35kg, 2x8x40kg, 2x6x45kg, 1x5x50kg

Leg ext. seat pos. 4, 2x8x50kg, 2x8x55kg, 2x7x60kg

Smith squats again 1x5x45kg, 1x3x45kg

I say it was a "mixed bag" because on all the exercises I managed to surpass my previous maximum weight except the squatting, which was feeble and a disappointment. What went wrong here was that I did a warm-up set, and then a man asked me what I was doing, so I explained. Then he asked me "Do you do any sports?" and this led to a conversation about cycling. However, another guy was getting impatient to use the Smith, I was embarrassed about wasting his time, so I did one more set and then left it to him and he changed it around to do chest. I couldn't get back on the machine until the end of my session, and I could not get back into the squats - I was too tired by that time, so the most I got to was 45kg (compared with 50 last time), and then I only managed 5+3 reps before a "prang" in my lower back caused me to desist sharpish and leave.

Actually, I find squats on the Smith are very difficult and have a very awkward feel and I am not sure I am getting the method right. I can't decide how to place my feet. I would prefer free squats but the Aspire gym doesn't offer that possibility - no free barbell and rack. The other gym I go to has them, but it's more expensive.

On the positive side, I was particularly pleased to shift the 16kg on the preacher for 5 reps as I could not do one last time, and to get to 130kg on the leg press for 6 reps, where I could not do one at 130kg last time.

My weight has gone up to 72kg, having been consistently 70kg for some time, and chest is now at least 40" compared to the 38" it was just over a month ago when I measured it for the start of this journal, so things are changing.


----------



## Gazbeast (Oct 30, 2009)

Davesky said:


> My weight has gone up to 72kg, having been consistently 70kg for some time, and chest is now at least 40" compared to the 38" it was just over a month ago when I measured it for the start of this journal, so things are changing.


This is what it's all about, well done dude:thumb:. I am still on Christmas break and my diet has gone to pot:beer:, as has my training:whistling:. New year, new start:rockon:


----------



## Guest (Dec 29, 2009)

Cheers Gaz, yes, there are lots of things to get in the way of training at this time of year, but so long as not too much :beer: comes into it you should remain roughly on course. I like your current slogan.:cool:


----------



## Guest (Jan 2, 2010)

The gym I have been going to recently (Aspire) was not open NY Day and not open today (staff training), so I was getting a bit fed-up not having done an upper-body workout for 10 days, so I went back to Harpers at Harrow Leisure Centre, which I last visited on Nov 25 according to this journal. I note the price for a session has gone up by 10p.

*Chest and shoulders*

Seated chest press lever machine 2x12x40kg, 1x10x45kg, 1x8x50kg, 1x5x60kg

Seated shoulder press lever machine 1x10x30kg, 1x7x30kg, 2x4x40kg, 1x3x42.5kg

Flat barbell chest press 1x8x40kg, 1x6x40kg, 1x7x42.5kg, 1x3x45kg

Incline dumbbell shoulder press 3x5-7x14kg

Max rack incline barbell chest press 2x6x40kg, 2x5x42.5kg, 1x5x45kg, 1x4x45kg

(22 sets)

I tended to leave long gaps between sets, I was there nearly an hour, but that tended to be because I kept having to search the place for the correct weight plates. 

I got a good tricep pump from the first 2 machines. In Nov I only got to 40kg on the chest press machine, so that's a big improvement. 

However, things went wrong with the dumbbells. When I tried to pick a pair of 16kg ones (which I have handled before) off the floor it re-ignited the slight lower back injury I gave myself last time on the Smith squat, which had been getting better. :sad: So a mixed bag again.

My shoulders and chest seem to be doing well now, and so are my legs, it is the bit inbetween that I have trouble with. :rolleye:


----------



## Guest (Jan 6, 2010)

Things not going too well on the home front, central heating has broke down the other day, then we had an electricity cut yesterday. Heating engineer came today and will fix it properly in 2 days time, but the heating is only full on or off now, too hot or too cold. Parts need replacing and the system needs draining down, will cost 1000 quid!

That's all by the by. Two 20kg discs I ordered from Fitness Superstore came today which I bought to use for deads and rows in the garage, but my lower back is knackered now, from a prang I had doing Smith squats last week, so I can't use them. I spent a long time sweeping the garage out instead and put a carpet in to make a nice little training area, but all I could do after that on my "back day" were dumbbell rows:

2x6x26.5kg, 2x6x27.5kg, 2x6x28.5kg, 2x4x30.5kg.

I hope my lower back gets better. Here is a pic of the garage "gym" conversion. The bench is a rubbish old York one which needs to be replaced with something decent. I don't really use it now.


----------



## Guest (Jan 9, 2010)

My programme has been in a bit of a mess recently what with holiday opening times, the snow, and injuring my lower back, but I am determined to get back into it, avoiding anything that could possible annoy the lower back, so today I went to the Aspire gym to do a mixed programme, since it is a week since I went to any gym.

I felt dissapointed at much of today's workout. Firstly, I could not get up the hill on the bike without getting off and resting half way, when last time I got up without even going into bottom gear (though I was on a heavier bike today as there is a slight fault with the usual one that I have not bothered to fix yet). So I was feeling before I got to the gym that my fitness seemed to have gone to pot.

Then at the gym, I could not get to the weights I had used before in several exercises: leg press, seat position 4, I could only do 110kg where I had done 130 before. Preacher curl I could not shift the 16kg stack at all, which I repped with last time, had to make do with 14kg - very poor show. I seemed to lack energy - perhaps I had not eaten enough carbs before. I seemed to do better later in the workout (after drinking my energy drink) with the leg extension and pull-ups (chins). I have never been much good at the latter, but I managed sets of 4 on this occasion for the first time.

Food was:

8am Porridge with milk, scoop whey, banana, tangerine

1pm Mackerel on toast, pear

3pm Scoop whey

5pm workout with carb drink.

So maybe not enough cals in retrospect. Maybe the ride on the heavier bike also did me down.

Details of workout:

Leg curl (ROM lever pos. 5, seat pos. 3, foot pos. 4) 2x10x40kg, 2x10x45kg, 2x8x50kg, 1x8x55kg, 1x3x55kg (poor ROM), 1x10x40kg

Leg press (seat pos. 5) 2x12x120kg, 2x10x130kg, 2x10x140kg

Leg press (seat pos. 4 (harder)) 1x9x100kg, 1x8x110kg

Lat pull down 2x10x35.5kg, 2x8x43kg, 2x5x50.5kg, 1x4x58kg

Preacher curl 1x12x14kg, 1x9x14kg

Leg extn. (seat pos. 4, foot pos. 3) 2x8x50kg, 2x8x55kg, 2x8x60kg, 1x8x65kg, 1x6x70kg

Close-grip pull-ups 3x4 at bodyweight

(37 sets)

-----

I guess one can't improve on every exercise every time. :mellow:


----------



## Guest (Jan 14, 2010)

Back to Harper's in Harrow today. It is more expensive than the other place but it was on my route to something else. I am still trying to work around the lower back injury.

Tried to up my calories in advance by eating a banana just before and swigging energy drink, but I think this workout was a bit disappointing, no real increases in strength and some exercises indeed not so much weight lifted as previously.

*Chest, shoulders and tris*

Seated lever machine chest press 1x8x50kg, 1x7x50kg, 1x4x60kg, 1x6x55kg, 1x4x55kg

Seated lever machine shoulder press 1x4x40kg, 1x3x40kg, 1x4x45kg, 1x3.5x45kg

Tricep seated pulldown cable machine 1x20x35kg, 1x13x35kg, 1x12x40kg, 2x8x45kg, 2x6x50kg

Flat barbell chest press 1x7x40kg, 1x6x40kg, 1x4x45kg, 1x3x45kg

Pec deck 2x14x30kg, 2x10x35kg, 1x8x40kg, 1x8x45kg

Standing tricep cable pulldowns 1x20x35kg, 1x13x35kg, 1x12x40kg, 2x8x45kg, 2x6x50kg

(33 sets)

Maybe I am panicking after a couple of lacklustre sessions, but it looks like to me I might have have plateaued (at a very low level). Eg. I have been hovering around a maximum flat BP of 45kg for a few reps for a while - not great at a bodyweight of 72kg. It could be the effect of the back injury, but I don't know what else I can do. Maybe try lower weights and higher volume for a while to try to stimulate some change?


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

I decided to change my routine round today, it has been:

chest/shoulders

back

legs and bis

on different days with rest days between, but the amount of overlap between the first two and the fact I don't recover in 2 days caused me to think of rearranging so leg day comes after chest day, allowing more time for shoulders to recover. So today was legs mostly, though it is only 6 days since I last did them. I was also starting to go more towards high rep ranges to try to counter the plateauing in weight I seem to have been getting recently doing low reps, and try to shock the muscles into more growth.

Leg press (seat pos 4): 2x16x90kg, 1x14x100kg, 1x12x110kg, 1x6x120kg, 1x4x120kg

Preacher curl 2x16x12kg, 1x10x14kg, 1x6x14kg, 1x5x16kg, 1x7x14kg

Leg curl (ROM lever 5, seat pos. 3, foot pos. 5) 2x8x45kg 2x8x40kg

Leg extension (ROM lever 3, seat pos. 4, foot pos. 3) 2x10x50kg, 2x8x60kg, 1x6x70kg, 1x7x75kg, 1x6x80kg

Ab crunches 2x20x10kg, 1x10x20kg

Close grip pullups 3x4 at bodyweight

Medium grip pullups 2x3 at bodyweight

(31 sets)

Pullups don't fit in today, I just have taken a fancy to them recently. The Technogym ab crunch machine (a new one) proved horrible, and I won't be using it again. It has a hard plastic harness thing which goes over the shoulders (as opposed to the leather straps I have seen elsewhere) which is really uncomfortable. :angry:

Overall quite good, an improvement on last time being able to do the 16kg preacher curl again, and leg press with good ROM going well up to 120kg, at which point I started getting a right knee pain, so left off. (I have done 130kg before). Leg extension strong but curl quite weak, might not have fully recovered from last time. Comes from being a cyclist I expect. :cool2: Still avoiding anything involving lower back.

Helen and I saw our friend in the hospital again afterwards and stuffed ourselves in the Weng Wah Buffet again later (at least I ate almost everything going).

Wore a T-shirt I got from ASDA, £4, saying "Perfect body under construction" on the front - excellent. May post a pic of this. :laugh:


----------



## Gazbeast (Oct 30, 2009)

Keep it up dude, it all takes time and effort and as long as you are doing that, results will come. PB's take longer to break each time you hit one:thumbup1:

PS I still got my Maiden slogan.


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

And here is the ASDA T-shirt....


----------



## DAZ4966 (Nov 9, 2009)

Davesky said:


> And here is the ASDA T-shirt....


I saw these t-shirts today when I was in ASDA, but only in s or xxl, so for me, no good. Based on previous cheap t-shirts from ASDA that I have bought, they lose their shape after a few washes, but for £4 who cares. You can use it for working out, then:thumbup1:


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

The had all sizes in my ASDA, including a medium, which I bought. It has proved to be quite warm.

Another interesting buy, they also had "Sport Whey" peanut-flavour bars half-price at 40p each - 12g protein, 18g carbs per bar. I bought a few, they are not at all bad.


----------



## rs007 (May 28, 2007)

Enjoying the journal mate.

WTF, how come I never get any bargains like that on protein bars :cursing:

T-Shirt = awesomeness, I was in my local ASDA tonight and completely forgot to look :lol:


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

*Back day*

Low row machine narrow grip: 2x10x33kg, 2x8x38kg, 1x8x43kg, 2x8x48kg, 1x7x53kg 1x6x58kg

Dumbbell rows; 2x8x26kg, 2x6x28kg, 2x5x30kg, 2x3x34kg

Medium grip pullups 3x4 bodyweight

Lat pulldowns: 2x8x43kg, 2x6x50.5kg, 2x3x58kg

Squats 2x18 no weight, 2x12 Smith machine empty bar

(30 sets)

The 34kg dumbbell is the heaviest I have ever picked up, so that was interesting - and successful. No lower back problems this time. I may have learned my lesson on how to lift. The lat pulldown is a bit weaker than last time probably because I preceded it with pullups. The Smith machine squat is the thing that injured my lower back on 29 December, so the experiment with squats with empty bar at the end was to check up on that - and it seems to be OK. :thumbup1: I think I will be able to restart squats, deads and barbell rows next week, just using tiny weights, and see how it goes. Good news. 

Not impressed with the locker system at the gym - they have an electronic system which seems to spring open automatically about 10 mins before closing time!! Then I had to wait about 5 mins to see a receptionist to give me the £5 deposit back, and another 5 mins while she looked for the money! :cursing:


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2010)

Five large boxes arrived today. I ordered these on the 10th from Bodypower Sports, so they took 9 days to arrive. They said the delay was due to disruption caused by bad weather, which is fair enough. I suspect they have a lot of pressure at this time of the year anyway with all the new-years resolutionists buying!

As I said earlier I decided to replace my rubbishy old cheap York barbell bench which I have had for about 15 years with something good. I wanted a setup I could use for squats and presses in the garage that would be heavy-duty enough to never need replacing, hopefully. So after spending a lot of time looking at the options I bought Bodypower Sports' Multi Press Rack Package.

So the five boxes contain a bench, rack (two boxes), leg developer attachment and preacher attachment. Moving the boxes into the garage was a major effort for me - the one containing the bench alone weighs 50kg. Now to start the fun of unpacking and assembling the stuff!


----------



## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

Have flicked through Dave

Have you upped diet?

Have you changed volume?

Are you concentrating on a compound based routine?

Have you made any gains?

If you have, carry on :lol:


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2010)

tel3563 said:


> Have flicked through Dave
> 
> Have you upped diet?


Only slightly. I have put on 3kg since the journal started 2 months ago, but part of that is definitely fat. I don't think I need more calories, but I do need more cardio.



tel3563 said:


> Have you changed volume?


Yes, been doing low volumes generally.



tel3563 said:


> Are you concentrating on a compound based routine?


Yes



tel3563 said:


> Have you made any gains?


Yes. Comparing 25 November with 2 January, same machines in same gym:

Shoulder press machine: gone from 5-6 reps at 40kg to 5 reps at 60kg

Flat barbell chest press: gone from 5 reps at 35kg to 7 reps at 42.5kg

Chest press machine: gone from 6 reps at 40kg to 5 reps at 60kg

Bearing in mind these are not total newbie gains as I had been training before I started the journal (I was even weaker before I started), I think that's quite good progress. I never expected highly rapid progress, at my age and training naturally.

To me I don't look much different to before I started. I think that's because I have put on fat as well as muscle. But I am reasonably happy because it shouldn't be too difficult to get rid of the fat. :cool2:


----------



## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

Good stuff Dave, keep it up mate

Not so sure about the shouldn't be too difficult to get rid of statement


----------



## Guest (Jan 21, 2010)

Have not been able to assemble my new equipment yet, so back to the Aspire gym for a

*Chest and Shoulders Day*

Flat bench (Smith) 2x12x40kg, 2x10x45kg, 2x8x50kg, 2x6x55kg, 2x6x60kg

Decline bench (Smith) 2x6x60kg

Pec deck 2x8x23kg, 2x5x26kg, 2x10x20kg

Close grip pullups 3x5 bodyweight

Dumbbell incline shoulder press: 1x9x14kg, 1x7x14kg, 2x3x16kg

Chest press machine, horizontal grip 1x8x61kg, 1x3x68kg

Last time I did these exercises on this equipment was 23 December. Only marginal improvements since then, but improvements nevertheless, except with the shoulder press with 16kg dumbbells, which was a bit dissappointing.


----------



## Guest (Jan 24, 2010)

I was not able to write-up yesterday as I went to a concert with Helen immediately after going to the gym, and today (Sunday) I went for a 50 mile bike ride, Harrow to Windsor and back, with some people.

Stuff in the boxes is still not assembled fully. I have done the rack, but the bench is more complicated and will take longer. I went to the Aspire gym yesterday, routine was:

*Legs and bis*

Leg press, seat pos. 4, 2x14x100kg, 1x14x110kg, 1x10x120kg, 1x7x130kg

Preacher curl 2x12x14kg, 2x6x16kg

Leg curl (ROM pos. 5, seat pos. 3, foot pos. 4) 2x8x40kg, 1x8x45kg, 1x7x50kg, 1x5x55kg (poor ROM)

Leg extension (Seat pos. 4, foot pos. 3, ROM lever 3) 2x10x60kg, 2x8x70kg, 1x7x80kg, 1x6x85kg, 1x5x90kg, 1x3x95kg (machine max)

Squats 2x20 with empty 5' bar

This session was good, the strongest I have done all these exercises, except for squats obviously, which I am still not doing properly due to letting my lower back repair. I would have had a go at the squats using the Smith machine, very light, but if fact it was always occupied, so I just kept on with the leg extensions until I ran out of weight on the machine at 95kg! That has never happened to me before on any gym machine, so is quite satisfying. :beer: OK, I was not doing the largest possible ROM, so I will up the ROM next time and go back to lower weights.

Interestingly, my legs and upper body seem to respond very differently to training. I never get much in the way of DOMs from leg training (apart from with squats), but they improve relatively fast, and I can combine heavy leg training with cycling 50 miles the next day with no ill effect. On the other hand I always get bad upper-body DOMS which takes many days to go subside, and I make really slow progress with upper-body strength.


----------



## Guest (Jan 26, 2010)

*Back day*

Medium-grip pullups 4x4 bodyweight

Dumbbell rows 2x8x28kg, 2x8x30kg, 1x6x34kg, 2x2x40kg

Low row machine 2x10x48kg, 1x8x53kg, 2x8x58kg, 1x6x63kg (poor ROM)

Smith deadlift 2x14x20kg (empty bar), 2x12x25kg

Lat pulldowns 1x10x50.5kg, 1x5x58kg, 1x2x65.5kg

Not much to say about it really, it's going OK, weight or reps gradually increasing in all lifts. Going down to very low reps in some cases to push the weight up - seems to work. Only problem here was some pain in the right shoulder from pulldown-action moves. I'm left handed and my left side is always stronger. Trying to rebuild my lower back gradually with tiny weights on the Smith deadlift - not a true deadlift I know, but they don't have a free barbell at this gym.


----------



## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Davesky said:


> Five large boxes arrived today. I ordered these on the 10th from Bodypower Sports, so they took 9 days to arrive. They said the delay was due to disruption caused by bad weather, which is fair enough. I suspect they have a lot of pressure at this time of the year anyway with all the new-years resolutionists buying!
> 
> As I said earlier I decided to replace my rubbishy old cheap York barbell bench which I have had for about 15 years with something good. I wanted a setup I could use for squats and presses in the garage that would be heavy-duty enough to never need replacing, hopefully. So after spending a lot of time looking at the options I bought Bodypower Sports' Multi Press Rack Package.
> 
> So the five boxes contain a bench, rack (two boxes), leg developer attachment and preacher attachment. Moving the boxes into the garage was a major effort for me - the one containing the bench alone weighs 50kg. Now to start the fun of unpacking and assembling the stuff!


I've got the same, had it about 2 years but never gets used unless I can't be ar$ed going to gym:thumbup1:


----------



## Guest (Jan 26, 2010)

WRT said:


> I've got the same, had it about 2 years but never gets used unless I can't be ar$ed going to gym:thumbup1:


It's certainly solid stuff. I've got most of it assembled now. Not easy - instructions quite poor! I'm thinking of using it for about 50% of my workouts and going to the gym the other 50% of the time. It would save time travelling, though the gym I go to is quite cheap, so the saving of money isn't a big deal. It would also save me the effort of the uphill cycle to the gym. It's a really tough hill, so it doesn't represent cardio, it just means I am exhausted before I get there, glycogen down to zero! :mellow:


----------



## ostrain (Sep 8, 2009)

Well done on the 50 mile bike ride, you're a fitter man than me.


----------



## Guest (Jan 26, 2010)

Most I ever did was 135 miles (on a very hot day) but I didn't get home until 2am! These numbers though are nothing compared to what some of the proper long-distance cyclists I know do - 600k, 1200k, 1800k with very little rest. Mad!


----------



## Guest (Jan 30, 2010)

Short session at home Friday with my new bench and rack and light weights. Reasons for the light weights:

1) My right shoulder is giving some pain, and even leaving 8 days since last shoulder session, it wasn't right. I tried to do dumbbell flyes, but even with only 5kg dumbbells, this was not possible. Presses were not too bad however. I was feeling the pain on release of the press, not the press itself, so it is a pulling not a pushing injury.

2) I haven't bought the proper 7' bar yet, so I am making do with a 5' one modified with hose-clips, but that doesn't in fact leave much room for discs. Just as well really.

*Chest and shoulders*

Incline Arnold press: 2x16x8.5kg, 2x8x12.5kg

Flat barbell chest press: 2x16x25kg, 2x8x31kg, 2x8x35kg

Decline barbell chest press: 2x8x35kg


----------



## Guest (Jan 31, 2010)

*Legs and bis*

Leg press (seat pos. 4): 2x20x80kg, 1x15x100kg, 1x10x120kg, 1x10x130kg, 1x10x140kg

Preacher curl: 2x10x14kg, 2x6x16kg, 1x10x14kg

Leg curl (ROM lever 5 seat pos. 3 foot pos. 4): 2x12x40kg, 2x8x50kg, 1x8x55kg, 1x3x60kg (poor ROM)

Smith machine squats (to just above thighs horizontal) 2x16x20kg, 2x12x25kg, 2x10x30kg, 2x10x35kg

Following advice I'm now making more of an effort to incorporate good warm-up sets and do stretching before, between and after sets. I did some of this before (though I very rarely see people stretching in the gym) but now I am doing it more.

The 140kg was my biggest ever push on the leg press, so pleased with that, though I could not do another set. As mentioned before, while my legs get stronger my arms remain stubbornly much the same. Best try something different with them, I suppose. I am getting very gradually back into the squatting without any back pain, which is excellent, as I enjoy it.


----------



## Guest (Feb 2, 2010)

*Back day*

Single-arm dumbbell rows: 2x20x15.5kg, 2x10x25.5kg, 2x4x36.5kg

Bent over barbell rows: 2x20x16kg, 2x10x21kg, 2x8x31kg, 2x8x35kg

Deadlifts: 2x10x31kg, 1x8x35kg

Just a short session at home. Keeping exercises very light where they involve the lower back as this is the first time I have done the barbell rows or the true deadlifts since hurting my lower back at the end of December. Going well.

Getting my cardio from cycling about 10-12 miles a day and pushing Helen about in her chair. For those who like stories, we had a classic performance today with the local (contracted-out) branch of the Post Office. She needs her disabled travel pass renewing, and she has to go in person to a post office with a passport photo to do this. So we seek out a place to get a passport photo taken. I had one done last year for a visa, but at that time the post office had no photo booth, so I push her to that shop I visited before, down a hill. But it has gone. So I have to push her all the way back up the hill again. We find that the post office does in fact have a photo booth again, but it also has two high steps that the wheelchair cannot be got up. There is a thing by the door that says "Disabled, press for assistance" - but the button is broken. I go in and ask a man. He takes a while to understand my request in very clear English (this is in the London borough of Harrow where there are few native English speakers), then refuses to help, saying he is not part of the post office - his counter (within the post office) is a separate shop, he says. :cursing:So I have to push into the queue for the post office counters to ask for someone to help. Again little incomprehension. Remember, it is the regulations for this bus pass, Helen HAS to go into a post office in person! Finally a guy comes out. He says how can she get in? He seems to be expecting her to fly. Then he says can we lift her in? We try and fail, only succeeding in damaging the fittings of the wheelchair which cannot take lifting from above with a 70kg person in the chair. We do not seem to be strong enough anyway. Then he gets the aluminium folding ramp out. Why didn't he do this at first? :cursing: What training do these people have? It's now easy to get her in. But why couldn't the original man from the shop within the post office have helped, when he had nothing to do, rather than staff taken from the counters with huge queues? Then to get her out we have to get one of the busy counter staff again to put the ramp out again. And (I am sure this will be a familiar experience to all who have anything to do with disability), whenever I asked for help, in my very clear English, the reactions were as if I was speaking Chinese. A disabled person wanting to get into a post office? What ever next!! You get quite familiar with this kind of attitude and situation when you push a disabled person around.

Well, apologies for the digression, but maybe it was enlightening and even entertaining.


----------



## Jem (Mar 5, 2009)

Hi Dave - just thought I would pop in and see how the training was going. Cannot believe the crap you have had trying to get Helen into the PO though - that is ludicrous !

Hope all is well other than that though

Emma


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks Emma. That's the way it goes. Quite funny if you choose to look at it that way.

I see I've become a Silver Member. I doubt I'll ever become a Gold Member. I don't post that much here now.


----------



## Guest (Feb 6, 2010)

Short upper body routine today at home with one exercise I haven't done for a long time, DB lateral raises, and one I have never done before, skullcrushers, so nothing to measure them against. Was out most of the day, so these had to be performed rather a long time after lunch (7 hrs) with only a small snack between, so I think I was getting low on energy.

Dumbbell lateral raises: 2x12x5.5kg, 2x8x6.5kg

Skullcrushers with EZ bar: 2x20x14kg, 2x10x20kg

Decline barbell chest press: 2x20x23kg, 2x10x31kg

The unaccustomed abdominal work 48+ hours ago has made my abs pretty sore, so it was really difficult to get up off the bench after I had been lying on it. Caused no other problems, except I can't sneeze!


----------



## Dan86 (Sep 4, 2009)

It is shocking how you were treated in the post office i would make a complaint if i were you. Good progress mate keep it up!!!


----------



## Guest (Feb 7, 2010)

Oh Helen's made a complaint. She's a great complainer. :lol:


----------



## tonyc74 (Sep 2, 2009)

Davesky said:


> Short upper body routine today at home with one exercise I haven't done for a long time, DB lateral raises, and one I have never done before, skullcrushers, so nothing to measure them against. Was out most of the day, so these had to be performed rather a long time after lunch (7 hrs) with only a small snack between, so I think I was getting low on energy.
> 
> Dumbbell lateral raises: 2x12x5.5kg, 2x8x6.5kg
> 
> ...


Ive not done skullcrushers for a while as well and my triceps are killing today...must be good eh!


----------



## Guest (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks for looking in, Tony. Yes, they're the best isolation for the tris you can get with a bench and barbell. Maybe better done after benching than before.


----------



## Guest (Feb 8, 2010)

Used my garage gym fully for the first time today, with all the bits of the Body-Solid multi-press rack package I bought in January: the preacher curl attachment, the leg attachment, the rack and the bench. I only finished assembling the attachments yesterday.

*Legs and bis*

E-Z barbell preacher curl: 2x30x8kg, 2x10x10kg, 2x8x12kg, 2x8x14kg, 2x8x16kg (only short rests within pairs of sets)

Leg extension: 1x20x20kg, 1x12x20kg, 1x20x25kg, 1x16x25kg, 2x12x40kg, 2x12x45kg (+4 more hand-assisted)

Lying leg curl: 1x16x10kg, 1x12x10kg

Squats (shallow, to thigh above horizontal) 2x16x21kg

Static stretching

This was the first time I have done normal squats since I injured my lower back at the end of December, so just doing minimal weight.

I was quite sceptical of such a simple gadget as the Body-Solid bench leg developer attachment being a good substitute for the leg machines at the gym, but it felt as if it was working the muscles well, using much less weight than I use on the gym cable machines. We shall see what the DOMs are like tomorrow.

I really like being able to work out fully at home. It meant I did not have to cycle through snow flurries and a cold NE wind to get to the gym today, did not have to change at all, didn't have to put up with the gym's stupid music or work round other people using equipment, could have a proper meal immediately after my workout, could use part of the travelling time saved to do the stretches, with still a significant saving of time, and I avoided the pre-exhaust to the legs of cycling up the hill. I like it.


----------



## Guest (Feb 11, 2010)

I went to the gym Aspire today rather than trained at home because Helen wanted to go to the hospital where it is located to see her friend. I discovered at last they do in fact have a barbell and pates but it is kept hidden. It's poor-quality stuff though, bar is sub-standard width so that spring clips fall off it.

Anyway, did *back exercises*

Deadlift: 1x20x16kg, 2x16x26kg, 2x10x36kg, supersetted with

One-arm dumbell rows: 2x20x20kg, 2x8x26kg, 2x6x30kg, the last supersetted with

Bent-over barbell row: 2x20x26kg, 2x8x36kg

Lat pulldowns: 2x20x28kg, 1x8x35.5kg, 1x6x43kg, 2x6x50.5kg

Chins, medium grip, 3x3 bodyweight, poor ROM

Pullups, medium grip, 2x3 bodyweight, poor ROM

Static stretches

Did not seem to be very strong, attempts at chins and pullups rather disappointing, but I had rather exhausted myself with the initial supersetting of deads and rows. No PBs broken on this occasion, but no right shoulder pain from the pull exercises either, unlike last week, and lower back building back up gradually, so caution justified I think on this occasion.

About 14 miles cycling later in the day - very cold - goes through my fingers and makes them hurt whatever gloves I wear.

The work I did with my leg developer attachment last workout seems to have been very effective, judging from the DOMS, particularly the lying curl - although I only used 10kg, it seems to have done more for my hams than the 40 odd kg I usually use on the Technogym seated leg curl cable machine. I think this must be down to better ROM, but it could also be that the (uncomfortable) face-down lying position isolates the hams better, with less involvement from the hip flexors. Anyway, I am tending to stay at lighter weights now in many of my exercises and concentrating on getting full range of movement.


----------



## Gazbeast (Oct 30, 2009)

Just popped in to catch up mate, things look to be going well, hope your back stay's okay, the deads will soon tell you if there is a problem:lol:

I used to cycle for the Abercynon RC, I remember the fingers and toes always go first in this weather, not good when training for the opening 50 mile tt of the year:lol:

Keep it up :thumb:

Gaz

I gotta start me one of these, it does seem to keep you motivated if you log your progress.....


----------



## Jem (Mar 5, 2009)

Hi Dave - just popping in to say hi - glad to see you're still posting ! Hope you and Helen are well

All the best

Emma


----------



## Guest (Feb 15, 2010)

Thanks Gaz and Emma. Helen's just bought me some new fleecy cycling gloves (amongst a few other cycling bits and pieces) as we happened to be in Halfords the day before Valentine's day. She is very good to me. Let's see if these do the trick. I could also use them for weight training in the garage on days like this, when it is about 2C. I usually use gardening gloves for this.


----------



## Guest (Feb 15, 2010)

Friday's workout (he been away over the weekend)

*Midsection*

Reverse crunches: 2x20

Situps on decline bench, hands on abs: 4x10

Hyperextensions on decline bench, hands behind bottom: 6x12

Situps flat bench, hands behind head with 2kg weight: 4x10

Side to side bends holding a weight on one side: 40x10kg both sides

I got the reverse crunches idea from the Stronglifts 5x5 website, not tried it before, but it seems a good exercise.

Two days later, hardly had any DOMS from this workout, whereas last abs session, with less volume, left me unable to get up from a lying position. That's the big difference between doing a routine for the first time and doing it for the second time.


----------



## Guest (Feb 15, 2010)

*Chest & shoulders day*

Warmup: dynamic stretches

Flat barbell bench press: 1x30x20kg, 1x25x20kg, 2x8x30kg, 2x6x40kg, 2x4x42.5kg

Dumbbell lateral raises: 2x8x6.6kg

Incline barbell shoulder press 2x15x20kg, 2x7x25kg

Skullcrushers 1x8x16kg (workout interrupted at this stage)

So only got round to 15 sets, but felt good - no joint problems, and first time I have used my Olympic bar & plates, which are easier to use than the 1" stuff. I have to reconfigure a shelf in the garage which is in the way of doing shoulder presses straight up with the Olympic bar - more DIY!


----------



## Guest (Feb 17, 2010)

*Legs and bis day*

At home

Warm-up with skipping

Squats (to thighs just above horizontal) 2x25x20kg, 2x16x25kg, 2x10x30kg

Hammer curls (arms simultaneous) 2x20x6.5kg

Lying leg curl 2x20x7.7kg, 2x10x12.5kg

Leg extension 2x16x20kg, 2x10x40kg, 2x8x47.5kg

(18 sets)

Static stretches

All feels good, no lower back problem on squats.

Still need to move that shelf.


----------



## Guest (Feb 20, 2010)

*Back day* (Aspire gym)

Warm-up pushing Helen there (running downhill and using the wheelchair handles as sort of jumping-up bars)

Lat pulldowns: 2x30x28kg, 1x8x35.5kg, 1x6x43kg, 2x6x50.5kg, 1x4x58kg

Pullups (medium grip) 3x4 bodyweight

Seated lever row (narrow grip) 1x16x38kg, 1x16x43kg, 2x10x48kg, 2x8x53kg

Chins (medium grip) 4x4 bodyweight

Low pulley arm curl 2x12xposition 6 (weight unknown)

Dumbbell rows: 1x25x16kg, 1x10x20kg 1x8x26kg

Smith deadlift 1x20x20kg, 2x10x30kg

(28 sets)

Static stretches

Good session, no joint or lower back problems. And good "burn" in the lower back from the high-rep deads. But I prefer training at home, I have decided. Don't have other people getting in the way there or making silly comments (like a guy today who said I looked "lost" - when I was just trying to work out the weight numbering on a machine:angry.


----------



## Guest (Feb 21, 2010)

*Midsection*

Skipping warm-up

Situps on flat bench, hands holding weight behind head: 1x10x6.5kg, 4x6x6.5kg

Hyperextensions of decline bench: 3x20

Reverse crunches: 4x12

Situps on dec bench hands on abs: 5x8

Static stretches

Then decided I had not done enough so did:

Leg lunges with Oly bar (20kg) 20 for each leg

Have not done lunges recently so this was a tryout for doing them with weight on my next leg day.

The skipping is improving (slightly). Maximum run this time was 16 without tripping over the rope.


----------



## Guest (Feb 23, 2010)

*Chest, shoulders and tris*

(Skipping warm-up)

Decline barbell chest press: 2x20x20kg, 1x8x30kg, 1x6x40kg, 2x6x42.5kg

Seated front BB press: 2x8x20kg

Incline seated BB press: 2x12x20kg, 2x6x25kg

DB front raises hands together 2x10x6.5kg

Flat BB chest press 2x12x25kg

(Static stretches)

(16 sets)

Only problem that has been presenting itself here is a slight right shoulder pain I have had for some time that makes itself felt in raises away from the body towards the front. Is this what is referred to as rotator cuff pain? It's not too bad but it is making me avoid flyes.

I think I have mastered the skipping as I can now continue without interruption for more than 20 strokes reliably but I am not doing the fast running-skipping, I am doing a slow hop skip, as Helen has pointed out. Maybe I will be able to progress from this, it is early days.


----------



## Guest (Feb 25, 2010)

*Legs and bis*

Deep squat 2x15x20kg, 2x10x25kg, 1x10x27.5kg

Dumbbell hammer curl (arms together) 2x20x6.5kg

Lying leg curl: 2x25x7.5kg, 2x12x12.5kg

Leg extension: 2x20x12.5kg, 1x16x20kg, 1x20x20kg, 3x12x40kg

EZ bar preacher: 2x12x14kg, 3x8x18kg

(23 sets)

Knees/thighs quite hammered by that. Didn't get round to lunges as intended.

In my garage I have now shortened the shelf, which was getting in the way of the Olympic bar at the top, and also got rid of a ladder, which was getting in the way at the bottom, allowing me to do the squats right down with it. I'm doing the full squats at similar weight to the partials but with lower reps. I will probably alternate them in different leg sessions as I think the fulls and partials have different benefits/impact.


----------



## Gazbeast (Oct 30, 2009)

Flyby catchup. Keep it up man, your doing good. :rockon:

Looks like you've settled into a routine. Long may it continue.


----------



## Guest (Feb 25, 2010)

Thanks Gaz. Yes, for me, having the equipment at home really helps with the routine. Might not be so for someone in a different domestic situation though. And I can still go to the gym if I want, but I am doing so less and less.

I usually do weights every other day. I should do cardio on the other days, but have not been doing much. Weather is so terrible, I haven't been out on the bike for a couple of weeks.


----------



## Guest (Feb 27, 2010)

*Back day*

Skipping 5 mins

Medium grip pullups: 1x5, 4x3-4

Deadlifts: 2x20x20kg, 2x12x30kg, 2x8x40kg, 1x10x45kg

Barbell rows: 2x20x30kg, 2x8x40kg (poor ROM at end)

Dumbbell Rows 1x20x16.5, 1x12x20.5

Close grip chins: 1x4, 3x3

(22 sets)

The skipping is going well and I am now limited by running out of breath, after about 30 seconds, rather than failure of coordination.

I am also happy with how the weights are going. It felt good and I am pretty close to being able to say the lower back is better. I am back to about where I was before with the rows and I should soon be back to where I was with the deadlifts, which was at most 2x8x62kg.


----------



## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

*Midsection (and some legs)*

Skipping

Situps dec. bench hands on abs: 3x20

hyperextensions dec. bench: 3x24

Situps flat bench hands behind head with d/b: 12x6.5kg, 9x6.5kg, 3x8x6.5kg

Reverse crunches: 3x20

Leg BB lunges 2x20x20kg, 2x16x25kg

Calf raises 1x40 bodyweight, 1x20x25kg

(20 sets)

I am gaining in stamina on the midsection exercises and I am sure they are improving my control in weight training.

I decided to fit the leg work in here because I don't seem to have time for these on my leg/bi day, which is always 4 before/after this session in my 8 day cycle, so far enough away for recovery. I don't know if I will keep this practice long-term though.


----------



## Guest (Mar 3, 2010)

*Chest & shoulders*

Skipping-warn up

Flat barbell press: 2x20x25kg, 1x12x30kg, 1x8x40kg, 1x7x40kg

Dumbbell lateral raises 4x10x5.5kg

Incline barbell shoulder press: 2x10x25, 1x7x27.5

(interrupted by phone call at this ponit)

Incline dumbbell flyes: 3x12x5.5kg

Decline barbell press: 1x20x27.5, 1x12x30, 1x10x30, 1x10x35

(19 sets)

Reasonable session and some gains, surprisingly if fact as I was tired as I had had to get up early (for me) for a meeting and had already cycled about 6 miles that day. Plus I had had a tiring day the day before, trying to move a shed which then collapsed on me and gave me some big bruises (don't ask), and I had had to pick Helen up off the floor in the middle of the night


----------



## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Good session. At your age though (no offense) I'd seriously consider looking into TRT although I think you said you'll be staying natural, would do more good than anything. Looking at the weight being lifted (again no offense) you probably have low test levels.


----------



## Guest (Mar 4, 2010)

It's been suggested before in this journal (near the start), but I am still intending to stay natural. I am happy just to try to reach my natural genetic potential. I have no evidence on what my test level is. Helen, as a female doctor, sees no evidence that there is anything wrong with it and sees no reason to have it tested.

I have still only been training seriously for about 4 months, and only really systematically for about 2, so I still think it's early days to be thinking that where I am is being limited by test level. If there was not much change in, say, another six months, that I accept that might be the conclusion then.


----------



## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

*Back and bis day*

(At Aspire gym)

Warm-up pushing Helen up the hill

Smith squat (to horizontal) 2x20x25kg, 2x10x30kg, 2x8x35kg, 2x10x40kg, 1x10x45kg

Preacher cable curl: 1x20x14kg, 1x8x16kg, 1x7x16kg, 2x10x14kg

Leg curl 2x16x35kg, 2x10x40kg

Low pulley arm curl 2x14xpos 6, 2x6xpos. 7

Leg press: 1x20x80kg, 1x10x110kg, 1x12x130kg, 1x12x140kg, 1x12x150kg

leg extension: 1x10x60kg, 1x8x80kg, 2x5x95kg

(31 sets)

Good intense session. Personal bests on leg press, 150kg for 12, leg extension, 95kg for 5, machine max., and cable preacher, 16kg for 8.

Smith Squat was also in reps, not weight terms, beyond what I was doing before I hurt my back with it in December, and I could have gone heavier than 45kg, but had spent enough time on it. I now see that what I did wrong back then was to put my feet too far back, under the bar, as if it was a free, balanced squat, which it is not. It's a completely different exercise, and having the feet that far back puts a severe strain on the lower back.

With Helen, I visited the spine-injured friend at the attached hospital for the last time before he goes home. I may therefore not go to this gym at all again, as I can get a perfectly good workout at home now. Afterwards we visited the Weng Wah Buffet again, and I got stuffed again.

This being a time for endings, another - this will be the last update here, as I am maintaining this journal on another site now.


----------

