Hey, guys, don't know why you care, but I am starting on the Barely Legal program posted on Men's Fitness and thought I would post here with reports on my workouts. I think I will post after each of the first four workouts, then post again at the end of it all to report my progress.
First, since I'm more or less new here, I'll tell you a little about me. I'm 32 years old, 5'10", approximately 175 lbs. and around 20% BF (when last checked in July/August). I have been lifting weights on and off for about 5 years. It always seems like every time I start to make some progress, I find some excuse to quit. I'm hoping that this time it will be different. Even though I have worked out, I consider myself very weak and have for the most part been disappointed with any progress I have made.
Anyway, here is the report on my first day with Barely Legal.
Rack Lockout (basically a bench press)
3 X 5, first set I had 115 pounds total, second and third sets I had 125 pounds total
Dumbbell row
3 X 6, first set I used 35 pound dumbbells but really struggled, so I used 30 pound DBs for the last 2 sets.
The above two lifts were done as alternating sets with 90 seconds rest between sets. I felt pretty good after these. I was pleased with the amount of weight I lifted for the presses and felt pumped about continuing the workout.
Dumbbell bench press
4 X 8, first set I used 35 pound DBs, then 40 lb. DBs for the remaining 3 sets.
Snatch grip barbell row
4 X 8, 70 lbs for all sets
These exercises were done as a superset, with no rest before moving to the rows, and 60 seconds after the rows.
Well, I gotta say this one really bitch-slapped me. By the last set of presses, at least, my arms were starting to feel like jelly. The rows were hard but I didn't feel like I wasn't going to be able to complete any of the sets. At this point I was sweating pretty good and wasn't sure if I still had anything for the last superset. However, I pushed on.
Incline dumbbell press
3 X 12, first set I used 30 lb. DBs but only completed 9 reps, so pulled back to 20 lb. DBs and completed all 12 reps for each set.
Dumbbell external rotation
3 X 10 for each arm, first set I used 10 lb. DBs but completed just 7 reps, so I switched to 5 lb. DBs and completed the 10 reps on the second set but again only 7 on the last set.
These two exercises were again done as a superset in the same manner as the first superset. Again, I felt like this superset owned my a$$. On the second and third sets of the presses, I felt good through the first 8 reps, but the last 4 my arms suddenly became quite rubbery. For the rotations, the second set was tough but I was able to push through it, but the last set I just had nothing for the last few reps. I'm not disappointed with my performance on these, though, as I know my shoulders are a weak link and I'm just looking forward to the next time I come back to this particular workout to see if I improve.
At the end of it all, I felt like I had a good workout, one of the tougher ones that I've done in a long time. Mostly I just go to the gym and make up my own workout, so I can definitely tell a difference. And I also appreciated that the whole workout took only about 45 minutes.
Well, that's all for tonight. I'm hoping to go tomorrow to do the second workout of the program. Tomorrow is a lower body and abs day.
PM or email JP and ask if you can start a training log. You'll probably get more feedback there. Anyway, congrats on starting and keep it up! [img]smile.gif[/img]
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
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The reason you don't have big arms is because you're weaker than a baby's fart, not because you don't do enough arm curls. -- Tony Gentilcore, via thefitcast.com
[Your] biceps [comprise] just 3 percent of the amount of muscle mass in your entire body. Remember that number: It's a good way to keep a perspective on how much you train your biceps compared with your other muscle groups. -- from menshealth.com
Kaydubya, I just finished BL yesterday. It was a great program and I made some nice gains with it. Good luck with the program. I agree with Kevin - get this switched over to the Training Log forum so we can follow your progress. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to ask away. There's a number of us on the board who have done it.
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Hey, guys, thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to continue posting my log here until I hear back from JP. I'm afraid if I don't write it down then I will forget. I'll move my logs over once I have permission to post in the training log.
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Barely Legal, Day 2
This was a lower body and abs day. I know that my lower body is disproportionately (sp?) weak compared to my upper body (and that's not saying much, believe me!). The first exercise up was the squat, which is my arch enemy. However, the second set of exercises started with the Romanian deadlift, which is one of my favorite lower body exercises. So here is my report on how day 2 went.
Squat
3 X 6, first set with 135 lbs. total and remaining sets with 125 lbs. total.
Rear-delt raise
3 X 10, 10 lb. DBs
These were done as alternating sets with 90 seconds rest in between. Boy, I am just weak when it comes to squats. I really felt like I was struggling to get through the last couple of reps at 135, so I pulled back to 125 lbs. but still felt like I really had to force myself back up. As for the rear-delt raises, 10 lbs. was just about right, although on the last few reps in each set I didn't feel like I got the DBs up as far as I would have liked.
After these sets I was already feeling a bit wobbly. I came to the gym a bit tired and it was showing.
Romanian deadlift
4 X 8, 115 lbs. on all sets
Dumbbell split squats
4 X 8 per leg, 25 lb. DBs for the first 2 sets and 20 lbs. for the last two. I only managed 6 reps on the second set.
These were done as a superset with no rest when moving from the DL to the split squats and 60 seconds after the split squats. After each of these supersets, I was gasping for breath and my legs were very shaky. For the first two sets of split squats, I did all reps for each leg right in a row, but the for the last two sets I alternated legs, so it actually was more like a lunge.
At this point I was pretty exhausted, but the lower body training was over and I felt good about the ab work I had to do.
Swiss ball jacknife
3 X 10, I managed sets of 5, 7, and 10
Bicycle crunches
3 X 50, I managed sets of 16, 9, and 9
Swiss ball rollout
3 X 10, I completed all 10 on each set.
This was another superset, with no rest between exercies and 60 seconds before starting over. I suffer from a bad back and so the jacknives were pretty difficult. I was surprised how quickly I ran out of steam on the bicycle crunches. The rollouts were not difficult and I actually enjoy it for the stretch it gives me.
Another good workout. It is obvious to me that I have a long way to go, but that's okay because that gives me plenty of room to progress and see results.
I'm off tomorrow and don't know if I will be able to do the third workout in the program on Tuesday or Wednesday. The rest will do me good, though. Hopefully by then I will have heard back from JP and I'll be able to move this over to the training log forum.
Thanks for reading, guys!
__________________
The reason you don't have big arms is because you're weaker than a baby's fart, not because you don't do enough arm curls. -- Tony Gentilcore, via thefitcast.com
[Your] biceps [comprise] just 3 percent of the amount of muscle mass in your entire body. Remember that number: It's a good way to keep a perspective on how much you train your biceps compared with your other muscle groups. -- from menshealth.com
Since I haven't gotten a definitive answer from JP yet on whether I can start a training log, I'm going to continue posting here.
Last night I did the third workout of the four per week cycle. This was an upper body workout, starting out as a vertical push-pull but ending with bench press and some concentration exercises.
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Alternating sets
Pullup, 4 X 8
I performed 4 reps on the first set, then switched to an assisted pull-up. I used 40 lbs. of assist on sets 2 and 3, and got 8 reps then 6 reps. On the final set I went to 50 lbs. and got 7 reps.
Neutral grip dumbbell press, 4 X 8
I started off with 20 lbs. and completed all reps, then moved to 25 lbs. and completed all reps, so I moved to 30 lbs. and completed all reps but just barely, so I stuck with 30 for the last set and performed 7 reps.
Since it's a day later, my memory is already a little fuzzy on how I felt after these exercises. I remember that my arms already felt pretty tired, and looking ahead to the supersets to come, I didn't have a good feeling.
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Superset 1
Weighted chin-up, 3 X 5
"Weighted"? Yeah, right. I knew there was no way I'd be able to complete 5 reps without weight, much less without assistance. However, I did try the first set without assistance and managed 3 reps. On the second set, I used 30 lbs. assistance and performed all reps. For the third set, I went to 40 lbs. assistance but only managed 3 reps.
Lateral raise, 3 X 8
I used 10 lbs and completed all reps. This felt like about the perfect weight, but I'm looking forward to bumping up to 15 next week.
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Superset 2
Rack lockout (bench press), 3 X 6
I started out with 95 lbs and completed all reps, so the next set I used 105 lbs total and again completed all reps, so on the final set I used 115 lbs. and completed all reps.
Barbell curl, 3 X 8
I tried 50 lbs. on the first set and completed 7 reps. For the remaining sets I used 40 lbs and completed all reps, although the last few on each set were a struggle.
I recall completing the bench press reps without too much difficulty, but the curls were tough. I attribute that mainly to poor breathing technique. As I was "pressing" the weight, I realized I was holding my breath and as such I was starting to feel lightheaded. Once I concentrated on my breathing, the reps became noticeably easier.
Decline dumbbell triceps extension, 3 X 8
I used 20 lbs. on all 3 sets and completed all reps. The only bad spot was on the second set when I lay back on the decline bench and my shorts started to get pulled down my body. I was getting quite worried that I was giving the gym a show, but I think my shirt provided enough cover.
Incline dumbbell curl, 3 X 12
I was going to try using the 20 pounders from the triceps extensions, but I knew before I tried even one rep that I wasn't going to be able to lift them, so I instead used 15 lbs. I managed sets of 6, 8, and 9. I thought it strange that I actually performed more reps in the 2nd and 3rd sets, but I was also trying to focus more and not give up as easily.
All in all, another good workout that I'm definitely feeling today. Tonight I hope to get a good night's sleep (something that I haven't gotten since I started Barely Legal) and I hope that means I'll have a lot of energy for tomorrow night's workout, which involves a lot of deadlifts and squats!
__________________
The reason you don't have big arms is because you're weaker than a baby's fart, not because you don't do enough arm curls. -- Tony Gentilcore, via thefitcast.com
[Your] biceps [comprise] just 3 percent of the amount of muscle mass in your entire body. Remember that number: It's a good way to keep a perspective on how much you train your biceps compared with your other muscle groups. -- from menshealth.com
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