TweetMonday

Squats 6 sets
Wide Grip lat pulldown 3 sets
Wide Grip cable row 3 sets
Alt. DB Curl 3 sets
Incline DB hammer curl 3 sets

Leg press superset with rope pulldown superset with preacher machine curl 3 sets
Standing Calve raises superset with high rope row 3 sets

Back at it. Felt like I had a solid workout. It felt good to get back in the gym and the gym was empty. I went pretty heavy for my last 3 sets of squats or what seemed to be heavy. I guess from being out of the gym I was moving really quickly between sets, which I'm fine with. I was able to add in some extra work at the end of my mandatory sets which I liked.

I did wear my new shoes to the gym. I usually start my new shoes in April and then they wear out after about a year. Anyway it's the first pair of crossfit type shoes and even though I wore them around the house the last few weeks it was interesting to workout in new shoes. Squats felt good. I think my heels might have come up on one rep or felt unbalanced on a rep but that's pretty normal with new footwear. What I didn't realize is the bottoms still had the shininess to them and I slipped alittle when doing incline hammer curls on the floor but nothing major. Running on the treadmill was a whole new experience. I'm not used to running with totally flat shoes, I must be so used to having the padded heel that it didn't feel right running at first. I walk and stand on my heels heavy so with these shoes I was striking with my fore foot and it threw me off at first but I think it's something I can easily get used to.

TweetTuesday

Flat DB press 4 sets
Incline Press 3 sets
Diamond bar shoulder press 6 sets
Straight bar extension 3 sets
Ez bar skull crusher into close grip press 3 sets

Rope extension superset with db side lateral raise 3 sets
Reverse peck deck superset with db behind head overhead press 3 sets

Workout started a bit rough. Chest strength was a little weak. I missed a rep or there and during incline press didn't increase the weight on the third set because my second set wasn't what I wanted. The stretch and squeeze were good just not the strength. Then I went and did a new shoulder press. Used the diamond deadlift bar and did standing presses. I was surprised with the weight I was able to push but also thought, what if my strength was better, what would I really be able to push. I liked it so much I just did 6 sets and wow did I feel the shoulder pump from it. The rest of the workout went fairly well. I didn't go back and do more chest as I think it's the best "looking" muscle I have on this day, so I wanted to do extra shoulders and triceps.

TweetWednesday

10 minutes HIIT cardio
60 crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
30 crunches

Had a terrible headache all day. If you've followed me over the years, I've had a terrible battle with my left trap muscle that gets tight and then causes pain from the back of my neck all the way up around my eye. Yesterday the pain was right behind the ear and even thought I hate pain killers like ibprofuren, I ended up taking one and it didn't do anything.

Anyway the training session was really good. I felt like I killed it. Usually the last 2 sprints I feel like I'm going to fall off the back of the treadmill because I can't keep up but yesterday even as I boosted the speed a bit I felt like I was keeping up nicely. I like doing the cardio routine like this because it breaks things up and your not just spending 25 minutes on the treadmill watching the seconds tick away.

I need to weigh myself because I feel like I'm looking leaner. Over the past few days I feel like I'm losing fat around my chest, shoulders, and legs more so than my stomach but those areas look tighter.

TweetThursday

Leg extension superset with lying leg curl superset with t bar row 3 sets
Bulgarian split squat superset with pull ups 3 sets
Reverse hack squats superset with close grip lat pull down 3 sets
Barbell curl superset with underhand close grip lat pulldown 3 sets
Preacher curl cable curl superset with standing calve raises 3 sets

Enjoyed this workout. The gym has been empty all week so it's great to be able to move around and move equipment as needed without disturbing anyone else. I also notice I work a lot faster when no ones around. Its freezing in the northeast but I was sweating pretty good during the whole workout. Not sure why, maybe the half scoop of PJE. It felt awesome though....only downfall was my endurance seemed to take a nose dive on the second exercise of the superset. At one point I felt good and then I was really breathing heavy and I think failing mostly to being worn out rather than the weight itself.

Time to start Epitome and Ammo. Lets get these abs out for the summer.

TweetSaturday

Incline Bench superset with standing shoulder press 6 sets
Dips 3 sets
Cable side raises superset with underhand extension 3 sets
low cable crossover superset with db kickbacks 3 sets

It was a rough workout. I woke up ready to go, I knew I had some stuff to do during the day but I overslept a bit so I ran to the gym. I kept waiting for the pump juice to kick in but it never did. I was a bit groggy the whole time. I didn't have a bad workout but it wasn't the best workout either. I was happy with my incline presses so instead of failing at 3 reps, so I did 3 sets of the same weight with the goal of hitting 3 reps each time.

I walked in my house after the workout and sitting on the counter was my glass of PJE, I was in such a rush I totally forgot to drink it. It explains why the workout didn't feel the same.

Started Epitome and Ammo. I'm down 3lbs over the last few weeks and I feel pretty good. I don't feel sluggish or bloated like I was about a month or two ago.

TweetTuesday

Flat DB press 4 sets
Incline Press 3 sets
Standing shoulder press with diamond bar 3 sets
Side lateral raise 3 sets
Ez bar skullcrusher into close grip press 3 sets
V bar extension 3 sets

Rear delt fly superset with behind head db press 3 sets

Average workout is the best way to describe it. I got up pretty heavy on my DB presses but couldn't improve on reps from my last go around, I may have even lost a rep. However my last go at incline presses I struggled so I went after the same weight and got like 3 extra reps, sort of mad I didn't go heavier. I did go up in weight on the diamond bar press, almost killed myself reracking it though, it barely fits on the cage and the plates were to thick so if I didn't re rack is perfectly it wouldn't rack. I had some guy see me struggle rush over but I got it racked on my own. Worked up a nice sweat fairly quickly but afterwards I was thinking I need to find something to do my HIIT cardio on, running on a treadmill left me with a slight headache and some knee pain yesterday. I wish the guy would fix the elliptical.

Pump juice really seems to bring on the sweats during the gym, which I'm fine with as I'm trying to lose weight at this point anyway.

So I've been updating my training lately I figured I'd update my supplements that aren't the staples:

Pump Juice extreme
Abilderate Ammo
Epitome
Physillium Husk Fiber

I take the ammo at like 10am and 3pm, I take the Epitome with breakfast and right before bed and the fiber with my breakfast. So far so good. Had some trouble sleeping last night and then an hour before my alarm went off this morning the wind was nuts. I thought some serious damage was happening outside, I thought I could feel my bed shaking but nothing to bad from what I saw.

TweetTuesday

Squat 6 sets
Lat pulldown 3 sets
High cable rope row 3 sets
Barbell curl 3 sets
Seated Hammer curl 3 sets

Leg press superset with t bar row superset with preacher curl machine 3 sets
Rope Pulldown 3 sets

By the end of the work day I didn't want to squat. I was dreading loading up the weight and going heavy even though I still wanted to go to the gym. Just one of those days when I didn't want to do a main exercise. I forced myself to squat and to put a twist on things. I lowered the catch bar and squatted down until the barbell hit the bar, paused a second and exploded up. Couldn't go super heavy doing it this way since I was getting really low and coming to a complete stop but it was tough and effective. Woke me up to finish the rest of my workout.

I took over my gym's speaker system yesterday too. The owner was in his office cursing like crazy because the Iheartradio on his computer wouldn't play any music, so I played with it and it wasn't working so I went to Pandora and signed in. Put on the hip hop bbq channel and he was ok with it since we finally had music. I didn't even need my headphones, it felt good not to have death metal playing in the background.

Monday night I felt I was really making improvements in my stomach, top 2 abs were really visible. Last night wasn't too good though so it comes and goes. At this point I don't really eat any starchy carbs until my postworkout meal. I need to add some extra fat into some of my meals and stick with this diet for while.

TweetWednesday

5 minutes HIIT cardio
60 ab longue crunches
5 minutes HIIT cardio
60 ab longue crunches
5 minutes HIIT cardio
60 ab longue crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 ab longue crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 ab longue crunches


Switched up the routine a bit. I didn't go 10 minutes to start, in my 10 minutes I usually do 6 sprints which equal to 2 minutes. This time I did 3 sprints the first 5 minutes, 2 sprints the second 5 and 2 sprints the 3rd 5.....no real reason of why I did it, just figured I'd break it up a bit. Whats the gym if you can't have fun or enjoy it.

I'm down another lb on the scale which is fine, looked a bit flat last night, probably need a carb up meal which I'm sure I'll have this weekend to fill out. Other than that I'm looking more lean each week. not by huge leaps and bounds but noticeable. When I really get into the thick of things I'm sure the changes will be more rapid

TweetThursday

I didn't get to the gym last night and I wasn't happy. I got stuck with a customer at work. By the end I was basically dripping sweat because I was so frustrated with the person. Couldn't do anything because he wasn't really doing anything wrong other than telling stories over and over again. And at the end of the conversation he looks at me and says, I'm confused about the whole situation. *deep breath*

anyway that's my update, I'll be back at the gym Saturday morning, I'm down 4lbs over the last 3 weeks

TweetSaturday

Hack squat superset with lat pulldown 4 sets
Reverse Hack squat superset with close grip cable row 4 sets
Seated Calve raise superset with straight bar pullback 3 sets
Incline DB curl superset with weighted lower back extension 3 sets
Preacher ez curl wide grip superset with random leg work 3 sets
Standing DB hammer curl

Started off as a slow workout. The gym owner followed me around for like the first 15 minutes of the workout complaining that his grandson isn't getting playing time for his baseball team. I just went and continued to do my workout as he talked. I don't really like hack squats as it's tough to find a good spot where it doesn't hurt my knees. Same was the case for Saturday but after a few sets the sweat started coming and I was on a roll. Even though I only put in the supersets of what I was lifting I was also throwing in ab work.

Saturday after the gym I went home and washed and waxed my car in the sun which was some extra work. Nothing that's going to transform my physique but I was running back and fourth on the car....and the karate kid was onto something, the waxing it a good shoulder workout.

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon doing yard work. Cut my grass and then weed wacked and put down some top soil. I wore a hoodie the whole time just to increase the sweating. Felt pretty good.

Also might have to change my routine soon as I was informed I need to cut my grandmothers/aunts/uncles/parents/ and my own grass this summer. I might do HIIT everyday and use Wednesday as the day to cut grass as like a cardio as most of them live on a hill.

TweetMonday

Box jumps 1 set
Tire flips
Squats with safety squat bar 4 sets
Rope Lat pulldown 3 sets
Barbell curl superset with rope pulldown 3 sets
Barbell step ups 3 sets

Yesterday was the nicest day of the year so far. It hit 80 degrees I think and I was hoping all day that my buddy would want to tire flip at the gym. As soon as I walked in he asked if I was interested. We went back and fourth flipping the tire and wow was it intense. I was breathing heavy, my chest was on fire, my forearms were pumped and shot, my legs were shaking, and I had marks all over my body from the tire. But it was a good workout. However when I got back in the gym I felt really shaky and weak. Not weak because of lack of food but weak because the tire was a load for me to move. The tire is almost as tall as I am so it was a struggle because we didn't rest. My partner is like twice my size so it wasn't anything for him but for me it's rough.

The thing I like is the first movement is almost like a dead lift but you need grip so sometimes the tire lands and the grip is wide then the next time the grip is close so you need to adjust to it every time. The rest of the workout was a struggle, I didn't go heavy with squats as I felt like my legs could give out at any time but almost more like a finishing move. I literally could feel every muscle firing in my legs at different times throughout the squat.

I also found out that I was dosing my Epitome right before bed and it would keep me awake for like a half hour for whatever reason so now I dose it an hour before bed and falling asleep has really improved

Tweetdoing conditioning work to failure before training man. you sir are a freak and like me a glutton for punishment. i love it

TweetTuesday

Diamond standing shoulder press 3 sets
Facepull 3 sets
Rope Extensions 3 sets
Reverse underhand extension 3 sets
Hammer strength press superset with side lateral raise 3 sets
Incline press superset with straight bar extensions 3 set
Dips 3 sets
Cable rear delt flies 3 sets

Yesterday I was sore from the workout before, figured my legs and back would be sore but so was my chest. So instead of going into the gym I decided to go with shoulder presses first since I figured a sore chest didn't need a ton of work. I didn't increase weight on the standing shoulder press but I either got an extra rep or the reps I did just felt a lot smoother yesterday. The overall workout was heavier than I thought I was going to be able to go. All the cable work was really pushing the weight and I was impressed with the hammer strength weight I moved even with a fatigued chest. Toughest thing was the grip strength since my forearms were fried from the day before.

Yesterday I felt like I looked leaner with clothes on. I wore a tshirt to work and felt like even with the t shirt had a decent looking taper, wider at the shoulders with a visable V shape. Still have work to do without the shirt on though.