Day 34: More Results

Today's going to be the end of my slight hiatus. Surprisingly, I can STILL feel a bit of muscle ache around my back, but it's nothing intense enough to stop me from doing my workout. There should be another post later today about getting back on track, but before that, I thought I'd do a little comparison between my workouts when I first started and my workouts now:


Day 1 - Triceps and Biceps **original**
- Bicep Curls - 3 sets of 12 reps - 22.5 pounds
- Hammer Curls - 3 X 10 - 22.5 pounds
- Tricep Extensions - 3 X 12 - 35 pounds
- Tricep Dips - 3 X 15 - no weights

Day 1 - Current
- Bicep Curls - 3 X 6 - 35 lbs.
- Hammer Curls - 3 X 8 - 30 lbs.
- Bicep Superset Thingy - 2 X 10 (for each exercise) - 15 lbs (I used to do this at 10 lbs. I think)
- Tricep Extensions - 3 X 10 - 45 lbs.
- Tricep Dips - 3 X 15

Note: A definite improvement here.  I started lowering my reps a few weeks ago as recommended by a couple friends and some internet research, and it's really benefited me (as you can see above; remember, this is a mere MONTH from when I started!).  In terms of how I actually look, the arms have definitely seen the most improvement.

Day 2: Chest and Abs **original**
- Dumbbell Press - 3 X 12 - 22.5 pounds 
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 X 12 - 22.5 pounds
- Dumbbell Fly - 3 X 15 - 12.5 pounds 
- Crunches - 3 X 25 - no weights
- Bicycle Exercise - 2 X 12 (each side) - no weights
- Leg Lifts - 3 X 12 - no weights


Day 2 - Current
- Dumbbell Press - 3 X 10 - 30 lbs
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 X 10 - 30 lbs.
- Dumbbell Fly - 3 X 10 - 20 lbs.
- Crunches - 3 X 25
- Bicycle Exercise - 3 X 12
- Leg Lifts - 3 X 12


Note: Looking at this, I realize that I haven't really increased my ab workout too much.  In fact, the only thing I've done is add on an extra set of the bicycle exercise.  That being said, I can still feel my improvement i the ab department by the fact that I can now do the Bicycle exercise without having to take short breaks.  Still, I think I need some new ab workouts, or I need to increase my reps - without a medicine ball, it's really the only way to increase my ab workout.  I'm happy with my chest improvement, though I still wish I had the means to do a decline.


Day 3: Shoulders and Back **original**
- Shoulder Shrugs - 3 X 15 - 35 pounds
- Dumbbell Overhead Press - 3 X 12 - 17.5 pounds
- TVOs - 2 X 10 - 7.5 pounds
- Ref Calls - 2 X 10 of each section - 7.5 pounds
- One-Armed Rows - 3 X 15 (each arm) - 15 pounds
- Dumbbell Lying Rows - 3 X 15 - 15 pounds (I wasn't too sure about this one - I feel like my form is off.)

Day 3: Current
- Shoulder Shrugs - 3 X 10 - 45 lbs.
- Dumbbell Overhead Press - 3 X 10 - 20 lbs.
- TVOs - 3 X 8 - 10 lbs.
- Ref Calls - 3 X 10 - 7.5 lbs.
- One-Armed Rows - 3 X 10 - 20 lbs.
- Dumbbell Lying Rows - 3 X 10 - 20 lbs.
- Pull-up "negatives" - basically however many I can do


Note: For my back stuff, this was sort of an awkward time to do this results update, because I was going to move up my weights at next workout.  Oh well.  I'm still experimenting with negatives, so I don't have a set amount that I do quite yet - I'll update when I know.  In terms of shoulders, the only reason I haven't improved more with my Overhead Presses is because I  removed them from the workout after a few weeks (because they were hurting my back), and added on an extra set of Ref Calls AND TVOs to compensate.  I literally just put the Overhead Presses back into the workout, as I've gotten strong enough that I can do a full set without messing up my form, plus I'm keeping the same amount of TVO and Ref Call sets.  So it's actually a pretty vast improvement.  Still, I clearly need to work on my back more - it's the only reason I somewhat feel the need to go to an actual gym (I'm still not going to, though).  Hopefully, my quest for pull-ups will whip me into shape.


In terms of cardio, I started off doing half-hour runs on my elliptical.  I originally was only able to run 2.1 miles, but am now able to do 2.4 (and ALMOST 2.5).  However, I've given up doing regular cardio; it's all interval training for me now, baby!  As I just started doing it, I was doing 20 minutes, alternating between 30 second sprints and 90 second light jogs.  I think I'm going to change it to sets of 30 second sprints and only 60 seconds of light jogging though, as even though I'm getting quite sweaty, I don't feel like I'm DYING when I do interval training, and I feel like I should.  Doesn't help that doing interval training on an elliptical doesn't work as well as a treadmill.


Okay, so that's it!  Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Comment!