Never-ending Quest to be Leaner, Stronger and Faster.

[GG300]

Friday March 28 5:15 AM scheduled full body session

Tri Sets with 30 seconds between exercises and 1 minute between Tri sets

DB Bent Over Rows 12@35# 12@40# 12@40#
Goblet Squats 3 sets of 10 @ 65#
Tri Cable Extensions 12@110# 12@110# 12@120#

Full Rest

DB Flat Bench Press 12@50# 12@50# 10@50#
Alt DB Shoulder Press 8@35# 7@35# 8@30#
Full Crunches on Bench 3 sets of 15 @ BW

Side Raise 15@8# 12@10# 112@12#

Todays workout was inspired by the NROL FL programs but freelanced a little. I was able to hit all the important stuff and really cranked through the work. I added the side raises at the end trying to improve on the weight range while keeping the arms staright out to my side and my wrists straight. Even with the lower weights I can really feel these now that I am doing them the right way again. Now I am off to Madison for the weekend where I will be engaging in interval walking as well as some arm isolation exercises(walk a few blocks stop and curl a few beers) Wisconsin plays Davidson in the tournament tonight and the town will be going crazy. Hopefully we will live on to play Sunday. Then I have Monday off for the Brewers opener in Chicago. We decided not to go to thw windy city and freeze are asses off but the crew will be getting together to throw down some chicago style wings and hot dogs. Tuesday is back to sobriety and clean eating for at least 6 weeks and maybe until my first run of the year at the end of May. We'll see.

[GG300]

Tuesday April 1 5:20 AM Scheduled lower body work and intervals Day 8 of this friggin cold.

Super Sets with no rest between exercises and 2 minutes after

Bulgarian Split Squats 3 x 10 x 30#
Standing Cable Crunches 3 x 10 x 170#


Goblet Squats 3 x 10 x 65#
Full Crunches on Bench 3 x 10 x BW

The cold is still kicking my butt so this is where the workout ended. I worked up a fairly good sweat even though it didn't seem like that much lifting. I took a 5 minute steam afterwards to clear my head and even while I am typing this I have a slight bit of sweat on my brow. Must be the cold because it is only 37 degrees outside.

Madison was a great time even if the Badgers got blown out by Davidson and that I was hacking or blowing my nose most of the time I was there. Hopefully the May 31 outing will be more pleasant.

[GG300]

Wednesday April 2 5:00 AM Scheduled Session with Trainer

Straight set with 90 seconds rest between Trainer Assisted Reps

Bench 8@135# 4@185#/2@185# 3@205/2@205# 2@225#/1@225# 1@265#

Tri Set no rest between exercises 3 minutes between sets

Incline DB Bench 8@60# 8@60# 8@60#
Incline BB Bench 8@95# 9@95# 8@95#
Pec Deck Flys 12@145# 12@160# 12@160#

Straight Sets with 2 minutes rest

Cable Shoulder Press 12@80# 12@90# 12@100#

Underhand Close Grip Lat Pulls 12@130# 12@135# 12@135#

Standing Cable Concentration Curls 12@100# 12@100# 12@100#

The workout went well but I was just not all that into it today. Not sure if it's this cold, frustration with my lack of dietary controls recently or if I am just ready for spring. Not that I would quit but recently I have been questioning myself as to why am I really doing this heavy lifting program. I am sure a few workouts a week and some cardio would keep me in some kind of shape. Then on my way into work I saw this guy running with a really good pace who was in good shape and it hit me, I wasn't going to be happy unless I am in better shape than just average. In my mind when I am getting my ass kicked by 3/4 of the field in races this summer have to justify that fact by thinking at least I can lift more than them. Knowing that, a couple of workouts a week with some pink dumbells and a walk around the park are not going to cut it. Plus I will be seeing those same guys for the first 5K of the year in just a few weeks that I had better be ready for.

[UpNorth]

Sorry to hear about your mom Gregg but I'm glad she's pulled through OK and is home and feeling better. However your workouts are looking great and...

Originally Posted by GG300

So I think the Gods are trying to tell me something, the first day after I start up running outside again the sky opens up and dumps 12 + inches of snow on us.

... that's just the gods way of saying "we missed you this winter."

[GG300]

Thanks Jeff, The Doctors gave Mom some new meds as her chest stilll isn't totally clear but she is feeling much better. I am still concerned but at least her doctors are keeping a closer eye on her.

After my run the other day I realized how I missed the running. It makes no sense to me because when I am actually running I don't seem to be enjoying myself. Maybe it is just the solitude of being out there alone and having time to think. My cold set me back a week but I plan on hitting the road starting this weekend.

[GG300]

Friday April 4, 5:00 AM Scheduled Upper Body Work

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises NROL style

Bench Press 3 x 8 @ 160#
Cable Flys 3 x 8 @ 80#

Full Rest

Low Cable Rows 10@150# 2 x 10 @ 155#
Assisted Dips 10@60# 10@55# 10@50#

Full Rest

Wide Grip Lat Pulls 12@117.5# 2 x 12 @ 125#
Standing DB Curls Alternating 3 x 12 @ 30#

Still toying with different lifts using NROL style rest breaks. Next week I will start some pairings doing 2 lower body/Abs days and 2 Upper Body days. I will also be back to outdoor runs trying to get my endurance back for the 5Ks this season. I also have my last coctailing day for awhile with the Brewer Home opener today. Then next week it is back to the basics, Eating Clean 101. Which means No ALcohol, Caffiene, Processed Carbs and plenty of Vegtables, Fruits, Lean Meats and low fat dairy. That is the diet I have had the most sucess with so that is what I am going back to. I would like to hit that first 5K on May 31 20# lighter.

[GG300]

I have been having trouble in the past year or so balancing my personal life and the fitness side of things. On the good side I have been having a blast with Gail and enjoying life to the fullest. On the bad side that has compromised my workouts somewhat but the bigger problem has been my diet. So I decided to go back to my original program that I had the most success with. Clean eating, lifting 6 days a week and I have added 3 runs to get me back into condition for the 5K season. I will also be setting weekly goals that are simple at the start and get tougher as I get back in the swing.

So this weeks goal are simply to stay on track with my nutrition, workouts and runs. No cheats, no missed workouts or runs and NO EXCUSES.

[GG300]

Monday April 7, 5:15 AM Scheduled Back and Biceps

Straight Sets with 1 minute rest in between lifts and 2 minutes on changes

Inverted Rows 3 x 12 @ BW

DB Bent Over Rows 4 x 6 @ 55#

Wide Grip Low Cable Rows 4 x 8 @137.5#

Single Arm Barbell Curls 3 x 12 @ 30#

DB Incline Curls 3 x 8 @ 30#

Standing Cable Curl Drop Sets with Rope Handles 2 x 8 @ 80#, 70# and 60#

Swiss Ball Crunches 3 x 15 @ 14#

The workout went well but the DBs seem to be heavier than I remember from the old days of doing these workouts. I worked up a pretty good sweat but I think that was mainly due to this weekends activities.

[GG300]

Tuesday April 8, 5:20 AM Scheduled Legs and Shoulders

Straight Sets with 1 minute rest in between lifts and 2 minutes on changes

Deadlifts 12@155# 3 x 8 @ 225#

Romanian Deadlifts 3 x 10 @ 135#

Bulgarian Split Squats 3 x 12 @ 25#

DB Alternating Shoulder Press 12@25# 10@30# 8@35#

Side Raises 15@10# 12@12# 10@15#

Switching to the 1 minute rest breaks really makes a difference, once you break a sweat (which didn't take long) you just keep on dripping. The BSS took a toll as usual so I did cheat the rests to more like 75 seconds. I also took it easy on the shoulders today as I will be doing a bunch of presses on Wednesday and I don't need my shoulders sore for that. I will switch the workouts on Thursday so I don't run into that again. I also will hit the shoulders with more volume in the next workout.

[GG300]

Wednesday April 9 5:00 AM Scheduled Chest and Triceps

Straight set with 90 seconds rest between Trainer Assisted Reps

Bench 12@135# 6@185# 3@205/2@205# 3@225# 1@265# 3@225#

Incline Bench 3 x 10 @ 105#

Super Set with 2 minutes rest

Standing Cable Flys 12@90# 12@100# 12@100# 7@100# after last set of push ups no rest
Pushups on Upside down Bosu Trainer 3 x 8 @ BW

Straight set with 90 seconds rest between

Incline Skullcrushers with Hammer Grip Bar 3 x 12 @ 77#

Super Set with 2 minutes rest

Weight Assisted Dips 8@60# 8@70# 8@70#
Tri Push Downs 12@120# 12@110# 12@110#

Well the tris were trash when I finished and the chest will be feeling it on Thursday. That was always what I liked about these workouts as you could really feel it when you were done. Any time dips are paired with another tri exercise it kicks my ass. I was really happy with my pushes today on the bench as every one was solid. Even the assisted lifts were just a couple of fingers near the start and I was able to finish them. Next week I will try for a new PR, I think. It has been so long I wil have to do some research to even see what that was. I believe it was right around 280.

[GG300]

Thursday April 10 4:45 AM Scheduled Back and Biceps Workout B

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises

BB 90 Deg Bent Rows 3 x 12 @ 115#
BB Curls 3 x 12 @ 70#

3 minutes rest

CG Low Cable Rows 3 x 12 @ 130#
Over Head Cable Curls 3 x 12 @ 50#

3 minutes rest

Wide Grip Lat Pulls 3 x 12 @ 117.5#
Incline Cable Curls 1 x 12 @ 80# 2 x 12 @90#

3 minutes rest

Stamina Intervals 3 minute warmup @ 3.8 mph followed by 5 intervals of 3 minutes @ 4.6mph/2 minutes @ 3.7 mph, 5 minutes of varied hillclimbs at 3.7 then 5 minutes machine cool down.

The lifting went well and I worked up a decent sweat. As expected the running sucked but they are calling for heavy rain all day and I didn't think I would get my evening run in and I wasn't coming back to the gym to do this. Other than the boredom killing me my legs were preety tight from the Tuesday lower body session. Hopefully that was just due to lack of use. I know from expierence that I can't run any distance on those damn treads but the options were limited today. Hopefully I will get a decent run in on Friday or Saturday. I need to be up to 3 miles by May 31.

[GG300]

Friday April 11 4:45 AM Scheduled Legs and Shoulders

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises

Squats 3 x 12 @ 185#
Frreemotion Cable Shoulder Press 3 x 12 @ 50#

3 minute rest

Step Ups 3 x 10 @ 25#
BB Front Raise 3 x 12 @ 40#

3 minute rest

Full Crunches on Bench 3 x 15 @ BW
BB High Pulls 3 x 12 @ 60#

3 minute rest

20 minute hillclimb walk on treadmill with 5 miunute cool down 214 calories 1.51 miles

Step Ups SUCK just wanted to get that out there. These pairings worked well. I backed off a third leg exercise as I want to start in with more running and I don't really need to make that any more painful than it already is. Hopefully the weather will stay true to the forecast for this weekend and I can get in a couple of 3 milers.

[GG300]

Saturday April 12 6:00 AM Scheduled Chest and Triceps

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises

Bench Press 12@135# 12@145# 10@145#
Freemotion Tri Pushdowns 3 x 12 @ 60#

3 minute rest

DB Incline Bench 3 x 12 @ 45#
Seated DB Triceps Extension 3 x 12 @ 45#

3 minute rest

Freemotion Cable Flys 2 x 12 @ 70# 10@70#
Close Grip Bench 12@105# 2 x 12 @ 100#

Hillclimb Walk on Treadmill 15 minutes plus a 5 minute cool down 1.19 miles 169 calories

Chest and tris with a limited rest is certainly not fun. Th weights had to be dropped quite a bit to try to get near 12 reps and stick with 1 minute rest periods. I will stick with this plan for another week and when the weathre gets nicer I think I will switch back to upper and lower body splits. Also trying to get in any sort of running directly after knocking out a solid lifting session doesn't seem to be in the works for me. The weather is supposed to cooperate this next week and warm up so I definetly need to get out in the afternoon for some serious runs. I should be able to get a 3 miler in on Sunday even if it is going to be a little cool in the AM.

[GG300]

Sunday April 15 6:00 AM Scheduled 2.5 Mile Run

I simply didn't feel like running in sweats today so I went to the gym and got in some decent work on the treadmill.

10 Minutes of jog intervals 1 min @ 3.8 mph/1 minute @ 6 mph
10 Minutes of run intervals 1:30 @ 3.8 mph/:30 seconds @ 7.5 mph
10 Minutes of Hillclimb Intervals 1 min 2 incline/ 1 minute at 5 incline
5 minute Cool down
2.53 miles 384 Calories

Came to the conclusion that I really need to knock the rest of this weight off before I seriously try to increase my endurance. I was all in on a lousy 1 minute of jogging then again I was always able to get in much more mileage on the road compared too the dreadmill.

[GG300]

Monday April 14 5:15 AM Scheduled Legs and Shoulders with Cardio

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises

Deadlifts 3 x 12 @ 205#
DB Alternating Shoulder Press 3 x 12 @ 35#

3 minutes rest

Bulgarian Split Squats 3 x 12 @ 25#
Front Plate Raise 3 x 12 @ 35#

3 minutes rest

Swiss Ball Crunch with Alternating Twist 3 x 20 @ 14#
DB Side Raises 3 x 12 @ 12#

3 minutes rest

Hillclimb Intervals 20 minutes of 1 minute @ 2 incline/ 1 minute @ 5 incline - 3.8 mph and a 5 minute cool down 1.55 Miles 240 calories

I don't know if I am just that out of shape or if the 1 minute rest breaks just make these things more difficult but I am really dead after these workouts. Normally I would look at this and go yeah thats fine but what about the other half of the workout. Until I did the NROL FL workout I never timed the rest breaks I just kept them brief or at least what seemed brief. Now that I am timing them it makes this much more interesting.

I hit my short term goals for last week by missing no workouts, getting in my runs (even if they were on treadmills) and I ate clean all week with no alcohol (which was pretty tough come Friday after work).

This weeks goals are to keep up with the eating plan but adding one cheat on the weekend (this ones for you Gail, no alcohol), hit the weights 6 times again this week and follow up with cardio on 5 of those sessions. For a bonus try to get in at least one outdoor run. I have also decided not to worry about the May 31 5K if I get it in fine but I focus on the Bastille Day run as my first serious effort for the year. I just have too many things gioing on with focusing on weight loss, work and endless spring clean ups at both my Moms and my place to stress over something that is supposed to be entertainment.

[GG300]

Tuesday April 15, 4:50 AM Scheduled Back and Biceps with Intervals

Super Sets with 1 minute rest between exercises

Underhand Close Grip Lat Pulldowns 3 x 12 @ 125#
Cable Curls with Rope Handle 3 x 12 @ 90#

3 minutes rest

Bent Over 2 DB Row 3 x 12 @ 45#
Leaning Preacher Curls 3 x 12 @ 60#

3 minutes rest

Wide Grip Low Cable Rows 2 x 12 @ 125# 1 x 12 @ 117.5#
DB Hammer Curls 3 x 12 @ 30#

1 minute rest

Full Crunches on Bench 3 x 15 @ 10#

3 minutes rest

Hillclimb Intervals 20 minutes of 1 minute @ 2 incline/ 1 minute @ 5 up to a 7 incline- 3.8 mph and a 5 minute cool down 1.55 Miles 255 calories

It is easier doing the upper body days in comparison to the lower body, shoulder days. I guess that makes sense because of using more compound movements on the later. I had more energy when I finished today but stilll decided to stick with hill intervals but step up the incline range. By switching from 5 up to a 7 incline for each interval. This makes it much more difficult and still only burns an extra 15 calories. Hopefully it has a greater metabollic effect later in the day. It is much easier to eat 15 calories then it is to burn them. That's life, easy come hard to go. Fat must be one of the only things in life that follows that rule. Ughh