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· Date: Sun September 4, 2005 · Views: 4821 ·
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Poster: descarado
i see i really haven't updated this in a while: thanks, davelacb, for pointing that out! need reminders now and then.
anyway these days i've moved back to the split body workout; recently however i feel like it might do my body some good if i "shock" it a bit. i'm thinking of a split-body workout, alternating with full body.
now my question is: what advantages are there to doing a 3-day full body workout (http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23676)
as opposed to a 4-day? (and vice versa, of course).
i'm trying to set this up, really not sure how it's gonna work. right now i'm more inclined to do a 3-day full body workout, as it fits my schedule better.
so: once i get back to SD:
- cleaner diet (diet's horrible at home)
- more regular sleeping hours (forced by school)
- split workout
- six small meals per day, aiming for 140-160 g of protein on workout days. (i weigh 140 right now.)
this coming week i'm going to see if i can find out my approximate one-rep max for the 3-day full body workout exercises. i'm just going to have to use old_fart's one-rep max calculator to this effect, because i have no spotter at the gym...
also, can anyone tell me just how useful the exercise mentioned in "michelangelo muscle" is? LOL.
http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/t34353.html
no comments
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· Date: Mon July 25, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
finally hit the gym the other day at UCI. great gym really, even better than the one at UCSD. they even provide free towels for use!
anyways, because i went with a friend i changed my workout routine. i'll be going back to manfred_man's routine come fall.
this time, i did:
2 sets of 6, incline press @ 70 lbs total.
3 sets of 10, bench press @ 40 lbs total. the reason for the light weight is because my friend advocated a VERY wide grip. he claims that this may be a more effective workout. any ideas, anyone?
3 sets of 10, dumbbell flyes @ 20 lbs per side.
3 sets of 10, cable seated fly (forgot lbs).
took the regular pre and post-protein shake, but i made the mistake of gulping down my post-protein shake and scarfing down my PB&J sandwich- and then running a mile. stomach felt like exploding afterwards, NOT the brightest thing i've ever done.
worst thing about summer is that as i don't have a car, trips to the gym become intermittent and therefore, not as useful, i think.
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· Date: Sun July 17, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
well, guys, i'm back and unfortunately less fit than i have been in a while. however, nothing some time in the gym won't cure! i'll be looking forward to catching up on all the threads that i've been missing out on for the last 3 weeks.
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· Date: Sun June 12, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
well, well,
finals week is now over at UCSD, and i'm staying around one more week before i go back home to irvine for the summer. that means only two more days of workout (monday and wednesday), and then five days in irvine, and then off to east asia i go!
so basically, no more real workout for about a month or so until i get back to irvine and UCI's gym, 'cept for maybe some side bridges, pushups, crunches, that sort of thing...
anything i should do for the last two sessions?
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· Date: Fri June 3, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
well, nothing hugely interesting today; went to the gym to hit the bi's and tri's again.
in a way today was a redemption from the other week: because i promised myself that i would push harder, i increased my E-Z bar curls from 8 reps @ 55 lbs, 6 reps @ 55 lbs --> 8 reps @ 55 lbs, 6 reps @ 60 lbs. also, i added another 5 lbs to the last set of hammer curls (12 reps, 30 lbs). also completed the farmer's walk (finally!) without dropping it unexpectedly out of pure forearm fatigue...
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but the interesting thing for today is pythonpower's little edutainment thread over at the strength-training forum, the "don't be that guy" thread.
http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2589&page=1&pp=15
check it out, everyone, if you haven't done so already!
it was funny, looking at all the descriptions- sometimes it fits to a T the people at my gym. more embarrassing, though, is the realization that -i- used to do some of those things.
yes, it is a reveal all. descarado, when he first started hitting the gym some three years ago (almost four now) used to be:
Mr. Scream - No matter what weight this guy is using, or what rep he’s on, he feels the need to share his pain with us. A certain amount of noise is understandable, and even expected on certain movements (i.e. squats), but nobody wants to hear you yell through 4 sets of pushdowns.
The Hurler - Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with puking. This guy feels the need to launch any weight he’s just finished using, especially dumbbells, onto the floor. Not only is this a hazard for anyone near him, it breaks down the dumbbells. Losing control when lowering weights might happen once in while, but launching the weights so everyone can look and see how much you used is pathetic.
Mr. Smith - Have you ever seen anyone base his entire workout around the Smith Machine? Most savvy lifters are well versed in the limitations (and evils) of the Smith machine. However, Mr. Smith treats it like a long lost relative and tries to spend as much time on or around it as possible. Bench press? Check. Squat? Check. Incline press? Check. Upright row and lean way back? Check. Extra shearing on his joints? Check. Injury? On it’s way.
and horrors upon horrors, even
The Jackass - I couldn’t think of more appropriate name for the guy who loads up a bar or machine, does his reps and leaves it. The next person is then stuck with the task of unloading the 300lbs his friend just helped him bench. I get pissed just thinking about it.
thankfully i have to say that the former sad state of affairs have changed. one realizes that despite the exertion screaming is not necessarily desirable, hurling remains bad manners as well as an admission that you are probably doing too much weight, mr smith disappears once you learn that the smith machine ain't helpin' (although it DOES make it look like you can do heavier weights than you really can), while a fat balding middle-aged man lectured me on the last one (god, that sucked). but now i am a reformed man...with one last error to his ways.
right now i am trying to correct this mistake:
The Tag Team - I thought this one was over-stated by everyone, until I joined my latest gym. The team, as the name implies, is actually two guys working together to lift the same weight. This is almost always on the bench press, where one guy loads the bar up and his friend helps him pull every rep after the second one. I’ve even seen instances where a guy was helped on all of his reps. Rhetorical question time: If you need help to bench 400 lbs, do you really bench 400?
unfortunately, not sure how to change it. now, i'm not that bad. my bench press routine is 8-6-4 reps, usually @ 135-145 lbs or so (hey, i weigh 138). if i lower it all the way down to my chest, i usually need help by rep #6 on the first set, rep #4 at the second set, and rep #2 of the last set. yet i don't know how to change this. if i drop down to 125-135 range, it is way too easy; obviously if i go any more, i won't be able to do any. so, what to do, what to do....
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· Date: Sat May 28, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
well, friday was once again biceps/triceps day. and yet another litany of complaints. hmm, not a good sign. it's too bad too, because the other days were fine; my cardio is steadily improving and so are my shoulders. but TRICEPS. ugh.
i've noticed something now that i've been making note of the weight figures in my blog- they have remained the same!! this wasn't even a completely conscious act on my part; for example, on the triceps pulldown, i DO try to adjust as necessary to see if i can do more. in fact, this time for some reason i failed at doing the v-bar pulldown, 12 reps @ 60 lbs. i died on rep #9, which isn't a good thing. had to rest for a second, and then complete it. that was disappointing, as LAST week was supposed to be my bad week with the crappy diet and all- yet i finished the 12 reps @ 60 lbs! this time i thought i was prepared! next week i am going to push myself by adding on just a bit more weight, i hope i haven't hit the plateau *already*.
forgot to write this, but i also do back extensions too as part of the warm up...i hope three times a week isn't too much. later when i started to lift up the weights to begin to do the farmer's walk, my lower back started to ache. now it feels sore, wheee.
another interesting observation, didn't know my forearm muscles were so heavily affected by the workout: i did the wrist curls (both normal and reverse) first this time, and THEN i did the farmer's walk. now that i think about it maybe that isn't such a good idea, because i could only use 60 lbs instead of 70, and i failed a bit early. also noticed one of the bad things about gloves, too, i couldn't get as good a grip on the weights (or is it just because my forearm muscles were weak already? hm...). yet i don't want to abandon my gloves either, because just before i posted my second entry i had already scurried out and bought myself a pair of $15 harbinger gloves...argh.
well, as usual, comments and suggestions are more than appreciated!
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Friday's Workout
Warmup/Abs:
2 x 12 swiss ball crunches
60 second side bridges (both sides)
60 second two point bridge
2 x 12 hanging knee raises
2 x 12 back extensions (35 lb weight)
2 x 12 decline twisting crunches (both sides)
2 x 12 side bends (70 lbs)
Biceps:
E-Z bar curl: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set- 6) of 55 lbs.
Hammer curl: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set - 6) of 25 lbs.
Triceps:
Lying Tricep Extension: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set- 6), 45 lbs.
Tricep Cable Superset: 3 sets (12-9-6 reps)
Straight bar pushdown: 50 lbs.
V-bar pushdown: 60-50-50 lbs.
Rope pushdown: 50-40-40 lbs.
Finishing Exercises:
Crazy 21's with 45 lb barbell.
Wrist Curl: 2 sets (1st set- 10, 2nd set- 8) of 45 lbs.
Reverse Wrist Curl: 2 sets (1st set- 10, 2nd set- 8) of 45 lbs.
Farmer's Walk with 60 lb. dumbbells
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· Date: Tue May 24, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
Today was cardio and abs day, part of my rest from strength training. Nevertheless, I started with:
2 x 15 crunches
60 second side bridges (both sides)
60 second two point bridge
2 x 15 knee raises (not hanging)
2 x 15 decline twisting crunches (both sides)
2 x 12 side bends (70 lbs)
By the way, old_fart, why no gloves? Does it help train the forearm or something? I used to not have gloves several years back, but I would continually bleed from the calluses. And they didn't approve of that at the gym, for some reason 
Then I HIIT the treadmill (sorry, bad pun).
1st min: 5 mph
2nd min: 5.3 mph
3rd min: 5.6 mph
4th min: 3.0 mph, rest + water
5th min: 5.9 mph
6th min: 6.2 mph
7th min: 6.5 mph
8th min: 3.0 mph, rest + water
9th min: 6.8 mph
10th min: 7.2 mph
11th min: 7.5 mph
12th min: rest
13th min: 7.8 mph
14th min: 8.1 mph
15th min: 8.4 mph
16th-18th min: 4.5 mph cooldown
In the end, 18 minutes, 166 calories burned, 1.66 miles.
Sort of proud of that, just the fact that I finished all the way. I've been doing HIIT for about, what, a month? And this was the first time which I finished all the way without either stopping early or slowing down the rate of speed increase.
So it goes on. I really hope my advances in both strength and endurance don't evaporate (as it tends to do) when I go on vacation for a month or so.
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· Date: Mon May 23, 2005 ·
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Poster: descarado
Hey guys,
Thanks for checking out my blog. This first one is going to be a bit more personal and lengthy, just cuz it's the first, bahaha.
Even though I've been hitting the iron (and the iron has been hitting ME) for the past three years, it's really a blog of a newbie: I only found out that I was making more mistakes than some of the darwin awards (http://www.darwinawards.com) people after coming here. So thanks to everyone who have helped me out thus far, and if you see anything that I post here that needs changing, please comment!! On the flip side, if any of you want to know the exercise form I'm doing, I'll be sure to inform you as soon as possible.
So a quick aside about myself, then off to the real meat of the matter:
Well, I'm a third year college student at UCSD, majoring in history/poli sci with a music minor. Until last summer I was another biology clone here, but I found it too boring, working in a lab all day...
I'm 20 year old, 5"11, and a 140 lb Chinese/Taiwanese man (born in Taiwan, but moved to Cali at age 3). Pretty thin, but actually I got the Freshman (or perhaps Sophomore) -10, as when I moved out of the house I actually lost weight as my mom cooks pretty big meals back home. Not something that I can replicate here (because I don't have her skill, nor the budget, nor the ability to go grocery shopping everyday).
And the last year and a half or so I've turned into a nutrition nut: the whole 5 fruits and vegetables a day, water water water, limit red meat intake and all that good stuff.
I have a bit more fat to burn off, but now I'm trying to get more muscle!
After coming to this site I've realized a lot of the stuff I was doing was wrong. I used to do full-body workouts day in day out, had only one protein shake after workout, and some of my forms were atrocious...so that's been fixed. And hopefully I'm going to see some real improvement.
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I do strength-training MWF, and cardio TuThu. I usually limit my workouts to an hour, both as a good time constraint and because that's what's been advised...
My last workout was Friday. Biceps/triceps day! Because of the more limited/isolated aspect of these muscles, I actually enjoy this as opposed to today (chest and back day) because those days just make my whole body hurt.
Felt bad on Friday because old_fart2 and manfred_man had just given me good comments on my progress, and I just went and blew it that day. To begin with, a professor had extended an invitation to lunch, which one doesn't just reject out of the blue. But unfortunately we went to Panda Express, cheap and crappy Chinese food filled with fat and sodium. Thus I was already feeling sort of nauseated when I began my workout an hour later...upon which I realized I was missing one glove. So I really didn't do a good job of it: didn't think I hit my biceps hard enough, for example. I'll do better next time.
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Friday's Workout
Warmup/Abs:
2 x 12 swiss ball crunches
60 second side bridges (both sides)
60 second two point bridge
2 x 12 hanging knee raises
2 x 12 decline twisting crunches (both sides)
2 x 12 side bends (70 lbs)
Biceps:
E-Z bar curl: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set- 6) of 55 lbs.
Hammer curl: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set - 6) of 25 lbs.
Triceps:
Lying Tricep Extension: 2 sets (1st set- 8, 2nd set- 6), 45 lbs.
Tricep Cable Superset: 3 sets (12-9-6 reps)
Straight bar pushdown: 50 lbs.
V-bar pushdown: 60-50-50 lbs.
Rope pushdown: 50-40-40 lbs.
Finishing Exercises:
Crazy 21's with 45 lb barbell.
Farmer's Walk with 70 lb. dumbbells
Wrist Curl- 2 sets (1st set- 10, 2nd set- 8) of 45 lbs.
Reverse Wrist Curl (1st set- 10, 2nd set- 8) of 45 lbs.
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So, anything that needs improving?
Past that, today's chest day, after I punish myself I'll update later!
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