NOTES: right front delt still sore and since this is the first of a change in exercises for the program, I started off light on the decline bench; flyes and weighted dips. I had to really concentrate on the dips to make sure I was getting the proper stretch in the pectorals and not triceps. Also had to make sure I babied my shoulder which we all know dips can kill.
The decline bench was supposed to be db's according to the program, however I have interchangeable db's and to use them both for the press and flyes would take too much time between to change the weight and there is not supposed to be any down time between the main exercise and the secondary.
My motivation for this workout was very high, a 10. I really like today's new exercise combos. A great workout.
front squats - 135; 155; 155; 185; 185
ss w/
step ups - 25's all 5 sets
swiss ball ham curl - bw; bw+10; +25; +25; +25
ss w/
lying leg curl - 60; 70; 80; 90; 90
deads - 225; 275; 295; 305; 310
ss w/
1 leg deads - bw all 5 sets
standing bb calf raises - 225 for 4 sets
Good workout. Motivation was a 10 again. I got my goal written out and intend on trying to get it typed everyday here to make it more concrete.
Deads went up real easy, not sure why but I could have attempted my 405 again which would be a first since on my ketosis diet.
I've written this on an index card and will carry it with me everywhere. I'm also going to type it here daily.
I will see all of my abs, upper and lower. I'll see my oblique muscles. I'll see the striations in my chest, arms and legs. My body fat will be 8% or lower. I will make myself as strong and healthy as possible. I will be happy with what I see in the mirror. I will be proud of myself!
I will be proud of myself!
I will be happy with what I see in the mirror.
I will make myself as strong and healthy as possible.
{I consider the rest to be blah, blah, but if it's important to you then you should include it.}
I will see all of my abs, upper and lower. I'll see my oblique muscles. I'll see the striations in my chest, arms and legs. My body fat will be 8% or lower.
I've written this on an index card and will carry it with me everywhere. I'm also going to type it here daily.
I will see all of my abs, upper and lower. I'll see my oblique muscles. I'll see the striations in my chest, arms and legs. My body fat will be 8% or lower. I will make myself as strong and healthy as possible. I will be happy with what I see in the mirror. I will be proud of myself![/quote]
Have you been watching Oprah again? Actually, I've started to do the same thing which is an idea I stole from Galya. (Thanks!)
Gymrat...with all you're dealing with and to still put this much effort into your workout...all I can say is you rock!
__________________
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
EZ curls - 60; 80; 90; 100; 100
ss w/
zottman curls - 25's all 5 sets
db preachers - 30's; 35's; 35's; 40's; 40's
ss w/
1 arm cable curl - 25; 35; 35; 35; 35
overhead tri rope ext. - 50; 70; 80; 50; 50 (form started sucking, back down to 50)
ss w/
1 arm tri pressdown - 25; 35; 40; 40; 40
lying tri ext. - 95; 105; 105; 105; 95
ss w/
cable pressdown - 50 all 5 sets
motivation was at a 10 again. I was hugely pumped up in the arms after this workout. Felt great. I'm slowly coming around to isolation workouts in this routine. I'm gradually starting to enjoy them. With my diet and this arm routine I'm really starting to see my bis "pop".
Had a scheduled "cheat meal" tonight. Felt kinda good after everything I've been up against this week. But that's it. Back at it again tomorrow. It's funny, everytime I have my cheat meal I always feel leaner in the morning. I think it's psychological but there might actually be something to it. It's like a re-feed and throws my body's metabolism into shock.
I admire you for conquering OVT. I remember doing OVT, lol. It was a tough program!
It's important to set goals and you've certainly shown commitment and desire. I want to suggest, though, that you set goals based on behaviors rather than end results. You might find that you get the look you're after when you're at 9% or it might take getting to 7% before you like your look. It's really the look that you want, right? Not 8% specifically.
This is a great tip one of our readers learned from Charles Staley (although Charles has credited this to our good buddy Jeff Smith, author of Stress Free Success).
Now, before I go on to describe this one, I want you to make sure your brain is ready for it. Read through this tip and make sure you can make it concrete immediately. It might just be the most important thing you can do to achieve your goals.
Most people set goals like this:
"I want to lose ten pounds in ten weeks."
"I want to make $100,000 next year."
"I want to sleep with two fitness models at once."
Yet these are outcomes — and outcomes are beyond your control. After all, you can’t control your fat cells and their rate of fat mobilization by just hoping they’ll shrink. You can’t force someone to pay you $100,000 per year. And you can’t just hope your way to a fitness model sandwich. But you can control your behaviors.
For example: want to lose ten pounds in ten weeks? Then start by understanding what behaviors you can adopt immediately that'll lead to this result. Make these your goals. Here are a few examples:
• I will exercise for at least five hours per week.
• I will eat five to six meals each day, following JB’s 7 Habits article.
• I will eat vegetables with each meal.
• I will avoid alcohol this week.
And how about the financial thing?
• I will go back to school and get an advanced degree in my field.
• I will spend most of my time on big, high return projects.
• I will improve one aspect of my job performance each day.
• I will duplicate the behaviors of others that are making the amount of money I want to make.
And the fitness model thing?
• I will wear bad-ass sunglasses and a winter hat/toque in the gym.
• I will get a Superman tattoo on my shoulder.
• I will shave my head and grow a goatee.
• I will be sure to always carry a steroid bloat.
• I will pimp my ride.
In all seriousness, do you see what I mean about goals and behaviors? Make goals out of behaviors, behaviors you can control, and your external goals (things like your body composition, salary, sex life, etc.) will fall right in line.
Of course, at longer intervals (say monthly or quarterly) you'd still check your bf and record it, but make your daily and weekly goals behavior based. That's something you can measure and check off daily to make sure you're staying on track. Then, when you do take your bf and make subjective notes about your look, you can tweak those daily and weekly behavior goals to keep your progress moving forward.
Your index card idea makes me think more of affirmations, which I also think are very helpful. How about:
I AM proud of myself.
I like the look of my muscles in the mirror.
I am strong and healthy.
Those are true statements, right? They keep you wanting more, affirm what you're already doing, and motivate you to continue. It really works to repeat phrases you believe that keep the positive thoughts in the front of your mind.
You're on the right track. These suggestions are given with a desire to help you continue to succeed. You're made great progress already!
Great stuff, Lisa. I had read that JB article in December and it made me go back and totally change my goals for 2007. I'd been too focused on outcomes.
GR -- the workouts look great. Glad to see your motivation is there despite all the recent stress. I really admire that.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Thanks for the link Lisa. I don't have time right now to read it, but I promise I will and will comment. Heading to the hospital real soon, just wanted to post my workout.
Off weight day.
20 mins HIIT cycling
direct weighted ab workout. swiss ball style.
That's an interesting article Lisa. Thanks for posting it. It's true. 8% was just a goal I was shooting for. It may come at 9% it may not come til 7%. So true.
Thank you for posting it.
On a good note, I'm still holding steady at a weight of 184 and I know that I'm losing fat left and right. The pants I wore a mere 4 weeks ago are huge on me right now.
Today was to have been a shoulder day. However Monica got out of the hospital and we kinda wanted to celebrate. We both at an unscheduled cheat meal. Shame on me, but you know what? With what we've gone through the past week, I think I can splurge twice this week.
Back at it tomorrow. Hard core.
Today was to have been a shoulder day. However Monica got out of the hospital and we kinda wanted to celebrate. We both at an unscheduled cheat meal. Shame on me, but you know what? With what we've gone through the past week, I think I can splurge twice this week.
Back at it tomorrow. Hard core.
No shame on you! Good for you! Family first, always. There's still plenty of days/time to meet your nutritional goals. You're good at keeping those priorities straight.
Like Lisa said, and like it says in the self sabotage article, write your card in the PRESENT tense. Instead of 'I will see my abs,' write 'I see my abs,' and start acting the part. The idea is to convince your mind it's already happened so that when it does physically happen, you're not out of your comfort zone and your subconscious won't try to bring you back.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Like Lisa said, and like it says in the self sabotage article, write your card in the PRESENT tense. Instead of 'I will see my abs,' write 'I see my abs,' and start acting the part. The idea is to convince your mind it's already happened so that when it does physically happen, you're not out of your comfort zone and your subconscious won't try to bring you back.
That's actually a good point that I have overlooked. Thanks.
W5 D6
Shoulders.
db push press - 40's; 70's; 70's; 70's; 70's
ss w/
1 arm lateral raise - 20's all 5 sets
standing db shoulder press - 40's; 50's; 60's; 60's; 60's
ss w/
bb front raise - 45; 50; 50; 55; 55
seated cable row to neck - 50; 70; 90; 110; 110
ss w/
incline rear delt raise - 20; 25; 25; 25; 25
notes:
push press should typically be done with a bb but training in my basement gym I have to consider the low ceilings, therefore I used db's and can stand so that I raise them inbetween floor joists. However I see this being a problem when I get past 90lb db's which is as high as my Powerblocks go. Hmm.... something to ponder....
Motivation today? About a 6. Unfortunately it just wasnt there today as it has been lately. However I did get a good session in and my diet was spot on today.
I can see all of my abs, upper and lower. I can see my oblique muscles. I can see the striations in my chest, arms and legs. My body fat is 8% maybe lower. I'm as strong and healthy as possible. I'm happy with what I see in the mirror. I am proud of myself!
weighted calbe curls 10 reps ea. 50; 70; 90; 90
weighted oblique cable crunches 8 reps ea. 50; 50; 50
back ext. - 2 sets holding 45's 10 reps
side bridge - 2 sets holding for 30 sec. ea. side
20 mins. HIIT doing dos' Mens Health Malegrams cardio or as I like to call it: dos' quick 5. I just checked MH's site but couldn't find a link for them. Involves 5 different exercise which basically involve lots of jumping; tucking legs, going into squat position; landing on balls of feet; etc.
Motivation down today. Not feeling it. Maybe a 5. Ugh.
Notes: after talking with Lisa~ and telling her of my right front delt still aching, she suggested that I go with db declines and try ss with pushups. It was ok, but I just didn't feel much in my chest. The shoulder is feeling much better tonight strangely enough. I think next week, depending on how I feel, I'll go back to bb declines and decline flyes. I did flat flyes and it didn't bother my shoulder at all. The weighted dips caused more problems but I just wasn't doing it right. Couldn't feel it in my chest, was feeling it more in my freak'n traps of all places!
That said, before I even started my training tonight my left trap leading up my next was sore. Damn, OVT shoulder day! I think I pushed it to far on Tuesday. Gotta remember that for next week.
Motivation was HORRIBLE today. I'd say a 2. I was fighting sabotaging myself during the whole session. I was seriously considering ditching the whole damn thing; my goals, my eating, everything. But I worked through it... was a difficult, but I remembered that perils become worst just before the summit. I'm on the edge right now. Depression setting in.... I think all the stuff with Monica over the last couple weeks has hit me harder than I thought. I'm struggling to keep at my goals. I think I can still do it. I've got to "stay the course".
Hang in there, bro. You said, "I think I can still do it." I KNOW you can. And I'm sure you know you can, too.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Hey man, I'm ignorant as far as your specific personal problems right now, but I can tell you I've had my times where my motivation is zero as well. Times where I just think 'why I am doing this?' Why don't I just sit home, order a pizza and play playstation, why go to the gym? It's rough when you start feeling like that, and personal depression has got to make it worse. Hang in there, man! I think most people go through stages like that, it's really hard to push through, but it's so great when you do and you come out on the other side and realize you're stronger now than you were before, and you think about what you just went through and you're proud as hell you beat it. It makes it sooo worth it, and you'll wonder why you ever questioned it, and you'll wonder how your motivation for something so great dropped in the first place. And I'm not just talking about lifting weights, but just life in general. Like anything else, it has it's highs and lows, times when you feel great and times when you don't, it's beating the crappy times that makes the great times even better. And the way to beat the crappy times is with a positive outlook first of all, but also just doing what makes you happy. Take your lifting for example, is this OVT program really what you want to be doing in the gym? I mean really want to be doing? Ignoring results of any kind, what do you want to do when you're at the gym? Sometimes when you're not feeling so great personally, you should drop programmed lifting for a while and do what's fun to you. You have to manage mental and emotional stress with physical stress. When other parts of your life are weighing you down, lifting (or exercising of any kind) should serve as a break from that stress, not add to it. And trying to complete a tough training program, set PR's, and accomplish challenging goals is not a break, that's stress in and of itself. See what I'm saying? You can certainly be serious about your training right now, but (for me, anyway) the most important thing when life isn't treating you well is to get your breaks where you can and HAVE FUN!! Try something new at the gym. Get some people together and play basketball or racquetball or something, whatever you really enjoy, and don't worry about goals right now. Just my .02.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
I felt like a million bucks after this workout! Great motivation; a 10!
Felt so good to get back at it.
Watch out, folks... GR's back! If you're a piece of iron, be very afraid!
Glad to see the motivation is back up. I knew you'd spring back!
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Gymrat's Training Log
Actually, I've started to do the same thing which is an idea I stole from Galya. (Thanks!)
- 25; 35; 35; 35; 35
Linear Mode
