Sunday morning I went to the gym. I would usually train legs after a big carb load-up, but I've been having a few niggles with the left knee so I'm keeping legs light for a couple more weeks. So this time I trained back and biceps. I began with 4 sets of wide-grip overhand chin-ups. I went OK with these, but not as good as I'd expected given the amount of carbs I'd consumed on Saturday. So I was a little disappointed to only get 9 reps on my first set. Mind you, I was about 5lbs heavier than my normal weight due to the carbs making me hold water. Anyway, just as I was doing my 3rd set the girl with the best ass in the gym decided to get a drink at the bubbler and as she bent over I turned to get an eyeful and twisted my neck. Ouch! Damn that ass, it's perfect! She then decided to do lying hamstring curls on the machine right next to me. Her tiny shorts were riding right up into her ass-crack and I could barely contain the urge to walk up and bite it - no wonder my concentration wasn't 100 percent.
Anyway I then did 4 sets of close-grip underhand pull-ups which again were a bit disappointing. I only managed to get 10 reps on my first set, then 9, 8, and 6 on the final one.
For my third exercise I turned to bent over rows, working my way up to 220lbs for 9 reps.
Having pre-exhausted my biceps, I then did straight-bar preacher curls, starting at 66lbs for 15 reps, and maxing at 88lbs for 9 reps. I finished with standing cable curls, again going from 15 reps down to 8 for my final set.
Total time 35 minutes.
Tuesday: shoulders
I like to train shoulders on their own and usually do 5 exercises. This time I only did 4 because I was going so well on the shoulder press that I did a few extra sets.
I began with shoulder press on the Hammer press machine. I like the feel of this machine. I always do a shoulder press to the front, never behind neck because behind neck press does not suit my shoulder joints and never has. I used to use the Smith machine a lot for my shoulder press but in this gym the machine is not bolted to the floor and once you get above 2 plates the machine tends to move on you when you push. Anyway, after a couple of warm-up sets I worked my way up to 2 1/2 plates (110 lbs) each side for 8 reps. I did 7 sets in total because I was feeling pretty good on them - even though I only got 5 hours sleep.
I then did 4 sets of upright rows, only instead of using the smith machine like I normally do, I used the rope (with an overhand grip) in the cable machine. Like most of my exercises I began at 15 reps and decreased them with each set as I increased the weight until i was doing 8 reps.
I then did side lateral raises with the Hammer machine. I used to go heavy and use dumbells on the side lateral raises, but over the years the tendonitis in my elbows has gotten worse and lateral raises especially used to hit them hard. So now I push from the elbow and the hammer machine is ideal. Again 4 sets working up to 1 plate (44 lbs) each side.
Finally I did another set of side lateral raises, again using the elbow, this time on a dedicated cable machine. I lowered the weight and kept the reps up around the 15 mark, just to get a good pump in my delts.
At this point I would normally do either front raises or a rear delt exercise but because I'd done a few extra shoulder presses I called it a day and went home.
Total time 35 mins.
Wednesday: legs
I've just had 2 weeks off training legs. This is because an old knee injury (courtesy of my younger motorcycling days) flared up again. It felt OK yesterday, so I thought I'd give them a go today. The idea was to start slowly and do lots of warm-up sets, gradually increasing the weight until I approached my normal weights.
I started with a few sets of leg extensions on the cable machine. These went OK so feeling good I went over to the leg press. The first few light sets went fine, but as I increased the weight I felt the knee, so I backed off and stuck to lighter weights at 15-20 reps for 4 sets. At this point I would normally do some front squats or lunges but given that the knee was causing me a little concern I decided to do some lying hamstring curls instead. After 4 sets without a problem I thought I'd do some more leg extensions on the Hammer machine instead of the lunges. I put a half plate on each side to start with, but even this was too much. Damn! reluctantly I went back and finished off with 4 more sets of extensions, slow reps, hold & squeeze at the top.
Finally calves, 4 sets raises, 20-30 reps, hold at the top and squeeze. Ouch!
Total time 45 mins. Disappointed!
Thursday: chest and triceps
Chest is not a bodypart I have to train very hard, so I only do 2 exercises.
I began with dumbell press, a couple of warm sets, then 4 sets up to 110 lb bells for 8 reps (jeez, I can remember doing 150 lbs for 10 when I was a younger man). Then it was bar dips, 4 quick sets, little rest, for 15 reps down to 10 for the last set (again, I remember doing thee with 120 lbs hanging off my belt).
For triceps I did 4 sets of seated dips on the Hammer machine working up to 3 plates (132 lbs) each side for 10 reps. Then it was cable push-downs, 4 sets: higher reps, say 15. By now I was really feeling depleted and lacking in energy because I hadn't had any carbs since Sunday morning. Finally I did rope pull-downs, again for higher reps and to finish with a pump.
Total time: 40 mins.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My Training Regime
As far as my training goes, I've always found that my body responds best to heavy but brief and intensive training. So most of my workouts go about 35-45 minutes, and I go 4 times a week.
I don't always stick to the same exercises either - just to keep things different and my body confused. I'll start with a couple of warm-ups, then all sets to failure. The 1st set I like to do for about 15 reps, the 2nd for 12, then 10, then 8, increasing the weight with each set until I max-out on the last.
For the moment I'm doing the following routine:
Back and biceps - 3 sets for back, 2 for biceps.
Chest and triceps - 2 for chest (my pecs don't need much!), 3 for triceps
Shoulders - 5 sets
Legs - 3 quads, 2 hamstring, 1 calves (my calves don't need much either!)
And that's it for the week. No cardio for the moment, although when the weather gets warmer I'll do some high intensity stuff 2 or 3 times a week.
As you can see I don't spent hours in the gym; there's no need. Just keep it brief but intense. I keep the rest down to a minimum - just enough to catch my breath - and then hit it again. The kind of people that stand around chatting and taking 5 minutes between sets never get anywhere! And believe me there are lots of them.
I don't always stick to the same exercises either - just to keep things different and my body confused. I'll start with a couple of warm-ups, then all sets to failure. The 1st set I like to do for about 15 reps, the 2nd for 12, then 10, then 8, increasing the weight with each set until I max-out on the last.
For the moment I'm doing the following routine:
Back and biceps - 3 sets for back, 2 for biceps.
Chest and triceps - 2 for chest (my pecs don't need much!), 3 for triceps
Shoulders - 5 sets
Legs - 3 quads, 2 hamstring, 1 calves (my calves don't need much either!)
And that's it for the week. No cardio for the moment, although when the weather gets warmer I'll do some high intensity stuff 2 or 3 times a week.
As you can see I don't spent hours in the gym; there's no need. Just keep it brief but intense. I keep the rest down to a minimum - just enough to catch my breath - and then hit it again. The kind of people that stand around chatting and taking 5 minutes between sets never get anywhere! And believe me there are lots of them.
The Diet
Firstly, I 'm trying the cyclical keto diet. I used a version of this back in the 90s and got good results with it. Eat fat to burn fat. I love carbohydrates, but there's no way my body will keep lean if I eat them everyday. So I'm eating carbs (carb loading) only on Saturdays and Sunday morning before the gym. For the rest of the week, no carbs!
I seem to maintain on about 3000 calories per day, of which I try to keep between 250-300 grams of protein per day and the rest of the calories I draw from fat. I try to keep the fat in my diet clean; in other words I take flax oil, avocado oil, fish oil and olive oil in preference to dairy and animal fats. I also try to keep my fibre intake up by eating broccoli, cauliflower and other high-fibre vegetables. I also use psyllium.
I prefer to cook and prepare my own food, that way I know exactly what's in it. I'll talk more about the diet in another post.
I seem to maintain on about 3000 calories per day, of which I try to keep between 250-300 grams of protein per day and the rest of the calories I draw from fat. I try to keep the fat in my diet clean; in other words I take flax oil, avocado oil, fish oil and olive oil in preference to dairy and animal fats. I also try to keep my fibre intake up by eating broccoli, cauliflower and other high-fibre vegetables. I also use psyllium.
I prefer to cook and prepare my own food, that way I know exactly what's in it. I'll talk more about the diet in another post.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
My Gym History
I have been training with weights for many many years now and yes, the avatar photo really is me! It was taken some time ago now. I am 5'7", 211lbs and in pretty reasonable shape for my age. At the time the photo was taken I was 220lbs and very lean. I reached my maximum bench press of 450lbs for 8 reps when I was 35 and yeah, I used a few drugs at the time, but by the standard of the day the dosages I used were very small and I haven't used anything for well over a decade now. I think that if you have used a bit of gear you shouldn't be afraid to say so. I never read any of the bodybuilding magazines or used any of the advertised supplements. The main reason was that I hated seeing the hypocrisy of champion after champion swearing that they never took steroids, but instead put it all down to hard work and Joe Weider's bullshit supplements. It was for similar reasons that I never entered any competitions. You are the one that puts in all the work and spends all the money, and if you are lucky win a cheap plastic trophy. Meanwhile they are the ones that make all the money.
Anyway, that was then.
Now here I am in my 50s trying to recapture some of what I had. I never stopped training, but over the last 15 years or so it has taken second place to that thing we call life. From here on I am determined to be the best I can for my age without drugs or supplements, just diet and exercise.
Let's see how we go...
Anyway, that was then.
Now here I am in my 50s trying to recapture some of what I had. I never stopped training, but over the last 15 years or so it has taken second place to that thing we call life. From here on I am determined to be the best I can for my age without drugs or supplements, just diet and exercise.
Let's see how we go...
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