1 JAN: Abs and arms

I'm finally making the kind of progress I've always wanted to make on my arms, in both strength and size.  Once every 5 days is about right for my direct arm work, and doesn't hurt my compound pressing and pulling - seems to be helping in fact.

  1. 5 mins on treadmill
  2. played on TRX with lots of functional stuff. The high tension holds seemed to ingnite my nervous system - weight felt easy today
  3. Warm-up super-set:
    a. incline dumbbell curl;  25s x 12, 10
    b. overhead dumbbell extension:  50 x 12, 10
  4. EZ-bar curl: 75x7; 85x7; 95x2; 80x7; 90x5; 95x2
  5. EZ-bar skull crusher: 65x7; 75x5; 85x3; 70x7; 80x5; 90x4
  6. Super-set going for 'pump':
    a. Machine reverse curl: 60 x 20, 15, 12, 10
    b. Machine tricep extension: 65 x 20, 15, 12, 10
  7. lots of TRX ab work.  Much harder than normal panks and whatnot.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consistency is greater than Intensity

 That's my mantra for 2023. I've reached a new chapter in life.  I'm married.  My kids are grown and living their own lives.  My career is meaningful but not consuming me 24 hours a day.  I have time to pursue excellence. My pursuit of excellence has led me to activities I never enjoyed before.  I never enjoyed low intensity cardio.  I never enjoyed treadmills.  I never enjoyed group workouts / cardio classes. I never wanted a TV in my garage gym. All of those things are part of my daily routine now. I am lifting 6sixdays a week (Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull). I am doing 30 minute group workouts from Beachbody On Demand six days a week (Pilates, bootcamp, yoga). I am doing 30 minutes of steady state treadmill walking every night. None of this alone is particularly interesting.  What is interesting to me is that by lowering my intensity I am able to get in 3 exercise sessions six days a week and still have time for big outdoor adventures...
Read more

Optimal Progress Is Slower Than You Think

The pursuit of strength and health have taught me that consistent and sustainable efforts beat inconsistent heroic efforts every time.  The last 2 years especially have been a game of progressing by inches instead of miles, but I have covered many miles none the less. It has taken me 18 months to fully recover from donating a kidney, concurrently with 13 months to recover from major knee surgery.  I have found the following to be the safest and most consistent way to build durability, strength, work capacity, and mobility. Principles of Optimal Progress Durability: You need repeated exposure to a specific load to build up your connective tissue.  Your tendons, ligaments, and cartilage strength more slowly than your muscles Work on stabilization: targeted core exercises help some. Controlling the rep speed and movement quality helps most Strength: Double progression is all you need to avoid plateauing for many years.  My favorite approach is Volume Accumulation. ...
Read more

1MAR: GASP!

Phase 2, wk1, day 3.  Friday.  "GASP!" about sums it up. kettlebell get-ups:  5 mins with 25lb kb, constantly switching arms/sides front squat:  135x10; 165x8; 185x6; 205x6 (all sets easy) back squat:  135 x 20, 20 (now I'm feeling it! Back and legs burning.  Chest starting to pump some O2) MetCon: This about did me in a. 1-arm KB swing:  35lb x 10 per arm b. Treadmill sprint: 30sec sprint at 6.0mph / 10 degree incline completed 6 rounds.  No idea how long it took.  Heart felt on the verge of exploding.  Entire body in agony.  When I got home:  Tire sled drag This was just plain stupid.  45lb weight in tire, connected to my harness I ran 3 trips (Down and back =  1 trip).  Distance one direction = ~15yards.  So 3 x 30 yards. This was the king of all suck.  It will pay dividends.
Read more