After another long day at work I managed to get out to the gym for a little bench press work. Still trying to get back to where I was a few months ago, but I'm getting there. Same old Precor warm-up then some stretching and warm-ups on the bench. Then the following: 8x230, 6x260, 5x280 and them 3 sets of 4x300. I did a single at 320 and it felt ok so I did another single at 335. Not back to 345 but it won't be long.
Hopped over to incline on the Powertec for 6x230, 6x270, 6x320, 4x340 and 3x360. Then supersets of dumbbell presses and flys, 12 reps in each set. Felt pretty good overall.
Weight was up a few pounds this morning as expected. Ate a really light dinner after lifting so I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. I got off track last week. I was lifting heavy and was hungry all the time. It'll be hard to stay on track during Christmas but I'm going to give it a shot. If anybody has any (helpful) suggestions I would appreciate the insight.
- AJE
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday Squats
Another cold afternoon in the gym, made a little worse by Grossman's late pick. Did anybody really think that he was the better option? Anyway, after watching that game and seeing the worst onside kick ever in the Colts/Jags game, I made it outside to do some squats. After warming up on the Precor and doing a few warm-up sets and some stretches, I did the following: 6x230, 5x260, 5x290, 4x315 and 2x345. Felt good and since I hadn't tried a 1RM in a month or so I went heavier and managed to get 1 good rep at 375 for a new (modern era) personal record. Pretty good day overall.
Not sure how the weight will be in the morning. We had a babysitter tonight and went out to do a little shopping and then grab dinner at Bonefish Grill. Too many bang bang shrimp and then a big ole piece of grouper. It was great but I'll see how it looks on the scales tomorrow. I've been more successful having larger breakfasts and lunches and then smaller dinners either right before or right after lifting.
Hope everyone is doing well and that you're ready for Christmas next week.
- AJE
Not sure how the weight will be in the morning. We had a babysitter tonight and went out to do a little shopping and then grab dinner at Bonefish Grill. Too many bang bang shrimp and then a big ole piece of grouper. It was great but I'll see how it looks on the scales tomorrow. I've been more successful having larger breakfasts and lunches and then smaller dinners either right before or right after lifting.
Hope everyone is doing well and that you're ready for Christmas next week.
- AJE
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Deadlifts on a Snow Day
Since I'm working from home this afternoon, I took an hour off to go do deadlifts. After a 10 minute warm-up on the Precor, I did a couple of light warm-up sets. Then jumped into the work sets: 6x325, 5x365, 4x405 and 2x445. 445 was my previous 1RM. I was feely froggy so I decided to try a new personal best and managed to squeeze out a single rep at 455. Thought I would document it with a photo (taken after I finished the rep lest I jinx it). Now I officially need another set of 45s for Christmas.
More Pictures
Here's the main working area, with the dumbbell rack against the wall and the entertainment section (very important).
Pictures
My lovely bride tells me that I need to personalize this thing by giving my readers an idea of where I spend all my time in the gym. Since the only four followers I have all have actually been in my garage, I don't really see the point. However, for those of you that stumble across my blog and wonder where I am and what I'm doing, I'm going to post a few pictures to give you a feel for what I am working with. Unfortunately you can't tell that it is about 30 degrees out there right now. But there's nothing I can do about it aside from whining a little bit. I think I'll have to do three different posts because I can't figure out how to do multiple pictures in one post.
This picture shows the back corner of the garage where the cage sits, with the plates to the left. More pictures to follow.
Catching Up
It's been busy at work and home and I just haven't spent a few minutes to update this thing since the beginning of December. But I thought I would take a minute to get up to speed since the weather is terrible and our office is closed. Things have been progressing nicely since Thanksgiving. My weight is down about 4 pounds since I started the blog and that puts on pace to be where I need to be next December.
Lifting is going well also. My right shoulder is basically pain free for the first time in months and that means I've been able to bench harder over the last couple weeks. I'm still not quite back to where I was before it began hurting, but I'm getting closer. I benched on Monday and got the following sets in on the flat bench: 8x230, 6x260, 5x280, 3x4x300 and 1x320. Then went heavy on inclines on the Powertec and finished with some dumbbell work.
Worked my back on Tuesday. Stuck with 4 supersets of 6-7 pull-ups followed immediately by 12 rep sets of lat pulldowns. Then did close-grip cable rows and tried a new exercise for wide-grip barbell rows. I wanted to rest my lower back so I used a slight incline on the bench and leaned over the top to do wide-grip rows. Actually felt it across my upper back and my rear delts and there was no pressure on my lower back. I may incorporate those more often.
Was supposed to do deadlifts last night but it was just too darn cold in the garage. I'm going to work them in this afternoon hopefully.
I'd like to thank all the folks that have offered their encouragement and support recently. Despite the fact that a few people at work (who shall remain nameless) have given me a hard time, the overall response has been positive. I appreciate the encouragement and I look forward to you keeping tabs on my progress as the next year passes. I'm just under a year from my self-imposed deadline so I better get off my butt and get to work.
- AJE
Lifting is going well also. My right shoulder is basically pain free for the first time in months and that means I've been able to bench harder over the last couple weeks. I'm still not quite back to where I was before it began hurting, but I'm getting closer. I benched on Monday and got the following sets in on the flat bench: 8x230, 6x260, 5x280, 3x4x300 and 1x320. Then went heavy on inclines on the Powertec and finished with some dumbbell work.
Worked my back on Tuesday. Stuck with 4 supersets of 6-7 pull-ups followed immediately by 12 rep sets of lat pulldowns. Then did close-grip cable rows and tried a new exercise for wide-grip barbell rows. I wanted to rest my lower back so I used a slight incline on the bench and leaned over the top to do wide-grip rows. Actually felt it across my upper back and my rear delts and there was no pressure on my lower back. I may incorporate those more often.
Was supposed to do deadlifts last night but it was just too darn cold in the garage. I'm going to work them in this afternoon hopefully.
I'd like to thank all the folks that have offered their encouragement and support recently. Despite the fact that a few people at work (who shall remain nameless) have given me a hard time, the overall response has been positive. I appreciate the encouragement and I look forward to you keeping tabs on my progress as the next year passes. I'm just under a year from my self-imposed deadline so I better get off my butt and get to work.
- AJE
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