Day 20

Today was legs...my favorite muscle group (not really). My legs feel like rubber. We focused more on squat exercises than anything else. We were using the smith machine most of the time, but spotting is still important so no supersets today (except for the last part).

Exercises

• Squats - 90 Ibs (smith machine), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Reverse lunges - 50 Ibs (smith, alternating), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Good mornings - 50 Ibs (smith), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Calf raises - (on a 45 Ibs weight), 25-30-35 reps/set
• Hip abductions - 90 Ibs (outward then inward superset), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs

• Side-to-sides - (w/ 4 Ibs medicine ball), 25-30-35 reps/set (each side)
• Ball drops - (2 inches in the air above the abdomen), 10-12-15 reps/set

Cardio

• 20 minutes on treadmill

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - bowl of butternut squash soup
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 x chopped steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, baked fish, 2 pieces of fried catfish, steamed carrots
Feeding 5 - cup of applesauce
Feeding 6 - 4 small peanut butter crackers

Not sure what tomorrow's workout will be...I'm thinking biceps.

Until then..

Day 19

Today was just abs/cardio. My workout partner had a dinner engagement so I decided to just burn some fat.

Abs

• 15 decline situps (warmup)
• Vertical leg raises - weighted, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lever twist - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each side)

Cardio

• Weight loss program on the Crossramp

Diet
Feeding 1 - Fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - grilled chicken breast (8 oz), mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, 2 slices of Texas toast
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 5 - 1 cup of applesauce
Feeding 6 - Hawaiian bread (handful), 1 tbsp peanut butter

Tomorrow is legs...yay

Until then..

Day 18

Backity back! All in all, I think this was one of my weakest workouts--sometimes you just don't feel it. Today was one of those days.

Exercise 1 (warm up)

• Back Extensions - 130 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 1

• Close Grip Pulldown - 60 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• One Arm Standing High Row - 30 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2

• Pullovers - 30 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Shrugs - 60 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 3

• Seated Shoulder External Rotation - 15 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)
• Seated Shoulder Internal Rotation - 15 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)

Abs

• Caterpillars - 5 circuits. (1) all fours touching the mat (hands and feet--no knees); (2) push up position, bottom low to the ground for 5 seconds; (3) walk hands back toward legs as close as possible, hold for 5 seconds; (4) back to original position, bringing right knee to left elbow, left knee to right elbow, twice. Repeat
• Crunches - left side, forward, right side, 20-25-30 reps/set

Cardio

• Due to time constraints today, I only did 10 minutes on the bike

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - cheat meal (two words, "endless shrimp")
Feeding 5 - 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (original)

Tomorrow will probably be another abs/cardio day since my workout partner will most likely not show up due to work plus I'm trying to cut weight anyway so I have no problem interspersing abs/cardio days with weight lifting days at this point.

Until then..

Day 17

Today, I just did abs & cardio. As I thought, my shoulders are pretty sore (will be even worse tomorrow) and my workout partner couldn't make it. Since I had been doing water aerobics on Wednesdays, I was going to continue until they cancelled the class on Wed nights...

Abs

• Regular crunches and side crunches - 30-40-50 reps/set middle & each side

Cardio

• 30 minutes on elliptical--weight loss program again, 15 min forward, 15 back

Diet

Feeding 1 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 2 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 chopped steak (about 6 0z per), mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed rice, two pieces of sliced turkey, green beans, carrots, 3 pieces of fried catfish
Feeding 5 - 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (regular)

Tomorrow is back day...yay.

Until then..

Day 16

Today was shoulders & forearms day. I can already start to feel the soreness in my shoulders so it was a good day. I've also started ramping the cardio to the full weight loss program length (about 27-30 minutes). Here's today's regimen:

Superset 1

• Arnold Press - 20 Ibs (dumbbell), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Front Lateral Raise - 15 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2

• Rear Delt Row - 20 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
• Suponated Forearm Curl - 15 Ibs (dumbbell), 20-25-30 reps/set

Superset 3

• Incline Lateral Raise - 15 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Pronated Forearm Curl - 15 Ibs (dumbbell), 20-25-30 reps/set

Abs

• Push Crunch - 20 Ibs (dumbbell, decline bench), 20-25-30 reps/set
• Cable Twist - 22.5 Ibs (cable, each side), 10-12-15 reps/set

Cardio

• 30 minutes on the Cross Ramp, 15 minutes forward, 15 backward, 2.00 miles, 300 calories burned

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - chicken crispy taco plate (all rice)
Feeding 5 - baked apple pie from McDonald's
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (regular), 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers

Tomorrow is probably back since my shoulders will be extremely sore. Day after that is shaping up to be legs, then the following two days will be chest and triceps. However, I may switch these around and intersperse them with legs...depends how I feel.

Until then..

Day 15

Today, I did abs & cardio. I am still sore in my upper and lower body but it should subside tomorrow so I can resume strength training. Additionally, I'm not as far along as I had hoped in terms of cutting weight so I have tried to cut down on my diet and increase my time on the cardio machine. Here's the regimen for the day:

Abs

• Cable twists - 22.5 Ibs (first one direction then the other), 20-25-30 reps/set (each)
• Jack-knife crunches - 15-15-15 reps/set

Cardio
Today, I did the full weight loss program (about 25 minutes). In that time I think I traveled 3 miles and burned 300 calories (according to the machine).

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" chicken terriyaki sandwich (no chips)
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 6 oz. chicken breast, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, texas toast (2 slices)
Feeding 5 -8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 small peanut butter crackers

We'll see what is sore and what is not tomorrow--that will decide which muscle group I work.

Until then..

Day 14

Chest & Triceps day--one of my favorite days. My workout partner struggled through a lot of the exercises. He's new to using proper form when working out so I helped him perfect his form which takes a little time. All the exercises we have been doing are new (we have yet to repeat a single exercise I think) so it takes more time to explain, demonstrate, etc than it would if we just repeated a few exercises every day or week. Here's the regimen:

Superset 1

• Arm extensions - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep extensions - 20 Ibs (sitting on ball, dumbbell), 10-12-15 reps/set
  

Superset 2

• Standing fly - 50 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lever chest dip - 90 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 3

• Lever chest press - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
• Kickbacks, modified - 15 Ibs (standing, bent over, both arms simultaneously), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs
This was the really difficult part. There were two exercises. The first one took a long time to correct the form.

• Control exercise (I made this up) - consists of four positions. 1) lie flat on the mat with feet together and a few inches off the ground. 2) bring your knees up to your stomach. 3) straighten legs fully so they are pointing up to the ceiling. 4) lift your body except for shoulders, neck, head and arms, off the ground toward the ceiling. Then, return to position (3) then (2) then (1). Do 10 of these.
• Oblique crunches - crunch as normal except instead of rising straight up, rise first to the left and then to the right. Do 10 of these.

Repeat this circuit three times without changing the reps.

Cardio
No time for cardio today because it took nearly 90 minutes to correct the form on various exercises.

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich w/ 100 calorie pringles
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - Jack Daniels chicken sandwich @ Friday's with crispy green bean fries (cheat meal if you didn't guess already)
Feeding 5 - 8 x whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers

Now, I have the weekend to rest since my entire body now is sore. I'll upload some pictures and write an evaluation post for the past 2 weeks.

Until then..

Day 13

Today, I had my entire workout planned out and was ready to go. When I arrived at the gym, I noticed that there were no foot straps for the cable machine. At this point, over half my workout was not doable so I had to improvise. Because the machines I used were far away from each other, I had to do regular sets instead of supersets. Here's what I did:

Weights

• V squats - 140 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Isometric kneeling leg curls - 45 Ibs each leg (alternating legs), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated calf raise - 90 Ibs, 15-20-25 reps/set
• Seated leg curls - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set - weight was too light

Abs

• Abdominal crunches, 30-40-50 reps/set (I made sure to keep my knees off the floor, touching elbows to knees every rep).
• My exercise partner and I sat back-to-back and passed a 10 Ibs weight back and forth, first one direction, then the other. This exercise is really meant for a medicine ball..

Cardio

• Always treadmill on leg days

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich. 100 calorie pack of baked pringles
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - peas, mashed potatoes, ground beef w/ grilled onion
Feeding 5 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers, 1 oreo cookie (my wife couldn't eat her three)
Feeding 6 - 5.5 fl oz. can of V8 (low sodium), 8 x whole wheat wheat thin crackers

Tomorrow is chest/triceps day, RAWR!

Until then..

Day 12

My shoulders were not too sore today, so I did back/biceps. Again, I continued with the supersets (save two exercises--they were at opposite ends of the gym) then followed with abs and then cardio. All in all, it was a pretty decent workout:

Superset 1

• Close grip pulldown - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated concentration curls - 22.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set each arm
  

Superset 2

• Seated row - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
  
• Standing alternating curls - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set each arm

Exercise 5

• Incline pull down - 70 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
  
• Decline curls - 45 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too heavy on final set so I stopped at 6 reps and slowly lowered the weight down over 30 seconds

Abs

• Floor sweepers with variation: basically, take a straight barbell, throw 2 x 45 Ibs weights on each side (total of 180 Ibs counting both sides) and place the barbell at the edge of the mat. Lie down with your hands gripping the barbell. With your knees straight and feet together, raise your feet upwards to the left, back down (do not let your feet touch the mat), straight up, back down, upwards to the right, back down--that is one set. 1st circuit = 5 sets, 2nd circuit = 8, 3rd circuit = 10.

Cardio

• 20 minutes on non-arm elliptical machine (forgot the technical name). 10 minutes front, 10 minutes reverse. From 7:30 to 10:00, I tried closing my eyes and removing my hands from the machine. Because you do not have visual or tactile balance, your abs work extra hard to make sure that you do not fall off the machine. I kept my hands very close to the machine, however. I did not try this in reverse.

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 3 crispy chicken taco plate
Feeding 5 - 8 x whole wheat wheat think crackers
Feeding 6 - 60 calorie double chocolate Jell-O pudding snack

Tomorrow is water aerobics day followed by Legs on Thursday.

Until then..

Day 11

Today was Shoulder/Forearms day. All in all, the workout went fairly quickly despite the fact that I tried out a lot of new exercises today.

Superset 1:

• Front Raise - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Upright Row - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2:

• One Arm Standing Cross Row - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Wrist Curls - 22.5 Ibs (cable, sitting on ball), 20-25-30 reps/set

Superset 3:

• Upright Row - 22.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Reverse Curls - 12.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs:

Again, I did five circuits beginning with 10 seconds on each exercise:

• Bicycles
• Hovers (have no idea what the technical name for these are--you just keep your feet and head 6" off the ground)

Circuit 1 = 10 seconds, circuit 2 = 15, circuit 3 = 20 seconds and so on.
Each circuit = Bicycles for x seconds immediately followed by hovers for x seconds then rest. The first circuit or two weren't bad, but by the time I reached circuit #5 it was very difficult to do.

Cardio:

• 20 minutes on the elliptical machine
  

Diet:
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich, bag of baked lays chips
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - roast beef sandwich, provolone, mayo, grilled onions & bell peppers, white bread, minimal au jus, dilled pickle, cup of broccoli cheese soup
Feeding 5 - baked apple pie from McDonald's (yah I know--only real bad thing in it is the fat)
Feeding 6 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers

Tomorrow should be back/biceps day but we'll see how sore my shoulders are...I may have to put that workout off until Thursday and do legs again tomorrow.

Until then..

Day 10

As promised, today was chest/triceps day. Beginning today, I tried isolating specific muscle groups as well as supersetting so as to cut down on inactive time between sets.

1st Superset:

• Incline Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep Pushups, 10-15-20 reps/set

2nd Superset:

• Cable Rope Pulldowns - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Cable Tricep Extensions - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
  

3rd Superset:

• Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Decline Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs:
Again, I am just making these names up as I go (along with the exercises themselves). Here's the circuit:

• Planks - 10 seconds
• Right Side Plank - 10 seconds
• Reverse Plank - 10 seconds
• Left Side Plank - 10 seconds

5 circuits, increasing the duration of each exercise by 5 seconds. So, the second circuit will be 15 seconds for each exercise, the third circuit will be 20 seconds, and so on.

Cardio:
20 minutes on the treadmill.

Diet:
Sorry, but I cannot remember what I ate. This was last Thursday and it is now Sunday. I will try to update this Blog immediately after workout rather than late at night.

Day 9

Water aerobics day. Many people think this is for those too weak to handle strength training in the gym. However, water aerobics is just like any other type. True, you are building resistance under the water, but you also weigh much less under water and it is consequently easier to perform exercises. I do not compare water aerobics to weight lifting because they are two different things. When done right, water aerobics serves as a nice cardio routine. Additionally, it can tone your body a little especially when paired with swimming. But, to be realistic, you will never see a muscular body as a result of only doing water aerobics.

That being said, it was a nice break from weight lifting which is why I've placed it in the middle of the week. A lot of the exercises are spontaneous except for the laps around the lazy river--with and against the current, forwards and backwards, side-to-side, etc. If you take it seriously and ramp it up to the best of your ability, you can really benefit from these exercises.

As for diet:

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 2 hot dogs (pork, whole wheat buns) and green beans
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - terriyaki chicken breast (around 10 oz), 1 cup of steamed rice, mashed potatoes & gravy, dinner roll, steamed broccoli, carrots and zucchini.
Feeding 5 - glass of V8 juice (normal)
Feeding 6 - 6 Oreo cookies, small glass of 2% milk

Tomorrow is chest/triceps day.

Until then..

Day 8

As promised, today I began my 20/20/20 workout.

1st 20 minutes (legs):

• Gluts - 50 Ibs (machine, alternating legs), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Decline leg press - 180 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated calf raise - 50 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set
• Hip Abductions - 50 Ibs (inside then outside), 10-12-15 reps/set

2nd 20 minutes (abs)

• Crunch circuits (right side obliques, center, left side, center, right side, switch), 10-15-20 reps/set(circuit). On these, I rested for 1 minute after each set or circuit. The "switch" means I began the next set with the opposite side. In other words, Set1 = right-center-left-center-right. Set2 = left-center-right-center-left. Set3 = right-center-left-center-right, and so on. After each circuit (or two sets), I increased the reps.

3rd 20 minutes (cardio)

• Bicycle machine for 20 minutes, fat burn workout, resistance adjusted accordingly.

Diet:

I have begun waking up earlier so as to place my workouts more in the middle of the day. As a result, I will now refer to my meals & snacks as feedings. I have cut back on my meals somewhat so they are closer to my snacks--at least close enough to all be subsumed under the label "feedings."

Feeding 1 - 16 oz fruit smoothie (5 strawberries, 1/2 apple, 1/2 peach, 1/2 banana, pineapple juice, orange/mango juice)
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - 3 crispy chicken tacos, rice, 2 flour tortillas, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese
Feeding 5 - 6 small peanut butter crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 oreo cookies, small glass (about 8 oz) of 2% milk

Tomorrow is water aerobics day..hope my legs aren't too sore.

Until then..

Day 7

Today was bicep/back/forearm day. Finally, the last of the introductory workouts to get my body used to lifting again. Here's the workout regimen:

• Frontal row - 50 Ibs, 10-20-30 reps/set
• Bicep curls - 20 Ib dumbbells (alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lower back extension (w/ 25 Ibs weight), 15-20-25 reps/set
• Forearm curls - 20 Ib dumbbells (standing), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Bicep machine curl - 30 Ibs (w/ hand rotators), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Palm up/palm down barbell wrist curls (2/1 sets, respectively) - 10-15-20 reps/set

Also did 20 minutes of cardio.

After Labor Day, I will ramp up the regimen a bit. This is the plan:
Mondays - Exercise group 1
Tuesdays - Exercise group 2
Wednesdays - water aerobics
Thursdays - Exercise group 4
Fridays - Exercise group 5

The exercise groups are: legs; triceps/chest; biceps/back; shoulders/forearms

Each day (except Wednesdays), I will try to divide my hour workout into:

• 20 minutes of weight lifting
• 20 minutes of abs and/or biometrics
  
• 20 minutes of cardio

This is not the idea workout, but if you have limited time and do not wish to spend all day at the gym, this is a quick, concise (yet precise) workout.

Until tomorrow..

Day 6

The abs feel much better today, so I decided to do shoulders (back/biceps scheduled for tomorrow). Here's the list of exercises:

• Standing shoulder press (dumbbells, alternating arms) - 15 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Dumbbell lateral raise - 10 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Rotator cuff side pull (cable, external rotation, alternating arms) - 15 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Shoulder rolls (dumbbells, forward then backward) - 25 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set (each)

Diet:

Meal 1 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Snack 1 - post workout shake
Meal 2 - chicken & beef fajitas
Snack 2 - slice of dutch apple pie
Snack 3 - 6 x peanut butter crackers

I am not even sore yet from the shoulder exercises. I plan to work more in advance in terms of setting up exercise regimens to make sure I hit every muscle group. This will prevent any plateaus and will ensure a better look.

Until tomorrow..

Day 5

The plan was to do either shoulders or back/biceps. Unfortunately, my abs still hurt so bad that I cannot even stand up straight. Not even rubbing Icy Hot all over my mid section really helped. I recently took some Midol--hopefully that helps.

Instead, I did water aerobics. The instructor didn't seem to have any real technical terms for any of the exercises. On top of that, we did too many things to list here (at least 20+ exercises). We also jogged 16 laps around the lazy river in the pool area (8 with current, 8 against). Tomorrow, I will definitely do one or the other strength training regimens--just not sure which one.

Diet:
Meal 1- 1/2 roast beef sandwich w/ cheese, white bread (yah I know), cup of fruid, cup of broccoli cheese soup
Snack 2 - post-workout shake
Meal 2 - 8 oz. pork chop (no gravy), green bean/broccoli medley, mashed potatoes with a little bit of cheese
Snack 2 - Jell-O double dark chocolate 60 calorie pudding snack, 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Snack 3 - Oreo Cookie 100 calorie snack pack