Day 62 continued

Just worked out, it was good.  Not much else to say.  Onto the comparisons! 


Day 1 - Beginning of Month Two
- 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
- Tricep Extensions - 3 X 10 - 45 lbs.
- Tricep Dips - 3 X 15

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) - 17.5 lbs
- Tricep Extensions - 3 X 10 - 50 lbs.
- Tricep Dips - 3 X 15 - no weight
- Diamond Push-ups - 3 X 10 - no weight

Notes: Alright, so you can see a slight improvement here.  This is what I did today, so it is the most current.  At one point, I was doing Tricep Kickbacks but it wasn't really doing anything for me, so I started doing Diamond Pushups instead; I like 'em.  At one point, I could do 3 sets of 7 Bicep Curls, and I could do 3 sets of the Bicep Superset, but that week-long hiatus sort of put a damper on that.  I should be able to do 'em soon.  Overall, not a huge improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

Day 2 - Beginning of Month Two
- 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

Day 2 - Current
- Dumbbell Press - 3 X 10 - 35 lbs
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 X 10 - 35 lbs.
- Dumbbell Fly - 3 X 10 - 20 lbs.
- Crunches - 3 X 25
- Bicycle Exercise - 3 X 15

Notes: I moved up 5 lbs for most of my chest stuff, so that's nice.  Halfway through the month, I decided to stop doing Leg Lifts, because they also feel....weird.  Sometimes, I would get this pain in my thighs when lifting them, like my body was just telling me not to do it.  And even when I could do them, my legs would click when they lowered.  The whole thing just gave me a bad vibe, so I stopped doing the exercise.  I need another ab workout to fill that in though.  Suggestions?

Day 3 - Beginning of Month Two
- Shoulder Shrugs - 3 X 15 - 35 lbs.
- Dumbbell Overhead Press - 3 X 12 - lbs.
- TVOs - 2 X 10 - 7.5 lbs.
- Ref Calls - 2 X 10 of each section - 7.5 lbs.
- One-Armed Rows - 3 X 15 (each arm) - 15 lbs.
- Dumbbell Lying Rows - 3 X 15 - 15 lbs.

Day 3 - Current
- Shoulder Shrugs - 3 X 10 - 45 lbs.
- Dumbbell Overhead Press - 3 X 10 - 25 lbs.
- TVOs - 3 X 8 - 10 lbs.
- Ref Calls - 3 X 10 of each exercise - 10 lbs.
- One-Armed Rows - 3 X 15 (each arm) - 25 lbs.
- Dumbbell Lying Rows - 3 X 15 - 25 lbs.
- Pull-Up Negatives - As many sets as possible (up to 10) X 8 (I can do 5 as of right now) - no weight

Notes: Looks like I've seen the most improvement here.  It's not quite as much as it looks like - I amped up the weight for the two rows pretty early on in the month - but it's still quite good.  Note the extra TVO and Ref Call sets.  I haven't been able to try the pull-up negatives along with the other back stuff in the same day yet, so I've gotta do that.  I've flirted with the idea of switching the order of workouts a bit, making Day 2 Back and Shoulders and Day 3 Chest and Abs, so that I can use my rest day as "pull-up day" instead.  Thoughts?  Help me out!

Soooo, that's it!  If you've got any suggestions for me, please comment!  Any and all advice will be much appreciated!


-Daniel

P.S: in regards to Cardio.....well, I've basically stopped doing it.  My bike ride to and from work's got me covered, for the most part.  I do it when I can, but it's not too often.


P.P.S: according to my scale, I'm anywhere from 182.5 to 186.5 lbs.  So I haven't really lost any weight, but I'm working on it.  My girlfriend and my mom both think I've gotten thinner, so that's gotta count for something......right?

 

Day 55: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe

Yes, it's been a week since I've updated.  And this time it's actually because I hadn't worked out in a week.  Due to pull-up negatives raping my ass and being in Ottawa for four days, I just couldn't work out.  But I watched my eating in Ottawa to make up for the lack of cardio (though I find I'm watching my diet a lot more these days anyways), and now I'm back in action.  Workout was good today; I could only do 2 sets of my Bicep Superset (instead of the usual 3), but otherwise everything is hunky-dorey.    Actually, my triceps haven't seen any sort of degradation at all, which is pretty surprising.  Anyways, biceps should be back to normal soon.  Shame that I had to take the step backwards, but what can ya do?  Sometimes, things are just beyond your control.  That's all for today.  Update soon.

-Daniel

Day 48: Elementary, Dear Watson!

Hi!  I haven't worked out yet today (more on that later), but I felt the need to update, because it's been a while since I've updated on either of my blogs.  Busy busy busy!

Okay, so first off, yesterday I upped my shoulder weights a little bit.  Now I'm at 50 lbs for shrugs, 8 for TVOs, 10 for Ref Calls and 25 for Overhead Presses.  I also increased my back weights a bit to 25 lbs for both One-Armed Rows and Lying Rows.  I've also mustered up the courage to try my hand at Bent-Over Rows; I'm not quite sure about them yet, but they felt good yesterday overall.  I'm doing it with a barbell at 50 lbs (I think; I don't know how heavy my actual barbell is, but I'm preeetttyyyy sure it's 20 lbs).  And I was able to get to a park and do some Pull-Up negatives.  Nice, fulfilling workout.

In other news, I'm still biking every day to and from work, and thanks to the splendiferous weather here in Toronto, it's been a pleasure.  I've noticed that while my bike ride isn't necessarily EASIER, I'm able to do it FASTER - it used to take me half an hour to get to and from work, but now it only takes me about 20 minutes.  Not too shabby.

Now I'm at a bit of a dilemma.  I got a bit lazy over the long weekend (though to be fair, I was quite busy - on Saturday my band The Stems (www.myspace.com/stemsnoseeds) started recording, so that ate up my whole day), so I shouldn't have a break day today, as I would normally.  However, due to the negatives yesterday, most of my muscles are in a slight bit of pain; my chest and abs still hurt from two days ago, and my biceps, back and shoulders hurt from yesterday.  So I'm not sure whether I should work out today.  Unfortunately, I'm also going to Ottawa on Friday until Monday, so that means I'm going to miss an entire cycle this weekend.  My intuition says that if I'm still in pain, I should probably refrain from working out, but my determination tells me suck it up and stop being such a pussy.  I suppose I'll try it, and if it hurts too much, I'll just stop.

That's all for now.  Update soon!

-Daniel

Day 39: So about that.....

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't do a double post yesterday as I promised I would.  Funny story behind that; I was all ready to start working out before visiting a friend of mine who recently got his wisdom teeth out, and - WHOOPS - I fucking fell asleep!  What the hell!?  A full-time job will really suck the energy out of you, let me tell ya.

Aannnyyyyways, workout today was good.  I didn't have time to do cardio (too much show preparation), but Biceps and Triceps were good.  I didn't feel like doing Kickbacks, so I did a few sets of diamond push-ups.  Need to start doing those more.

Well, at least now that I don't have any shows coming up (JOKES!  June 3rd everybody!), I'll actually have time to work out properly.  Except that work is starting to get busy, so I'll probably have to go in every day this week.....and that I need to replace the heads on all my drums......and that my band is going to be beginning to record an EP next weekend.....Goddammit.

Now I must go; Super Street Fighter beckons.  Update tomorrow.

-Daniel

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!

Day 27: Smooth Sailin'

Pretty short post today.

I've decided to just trash regular cardio.  It's all interval training for me now, baby (thank god)!  Actually, I think I need to upgrade my interval training a bit.  I'm still getting damn sweaty, but I feel like it should be making me feel like dying, and instead it's just making me tired.  I feel like a treadmill would alleviate this, but oh well.  Instead, I'll just lower my rest periods tomorrow; not sure by how much yet, but I'll let you know.

Weight work was good.  I upped my weights for curls to 35, but it still might be too much for me - my form is pretty bad, there's too much swinging going on.  I could lower my reps to 6 instead of 8, but that just seems odd to me for some reason.  I guess it's fine though - yeah, next bicep exercise I'll do reps of 6 for each arm.  Word. 

No complaints for triceps, though I really wish I had a cable machine.

Annndddd that's it!  Post tomorrow as per usual.

-Daniel

Day 23: Perfect 5th

Yo.

I started interval training today.  I like it a lot!  It's a lot more interesting than regular old cardio for me, and makes me just as sweaty.  I only did it for 16 minutes today, alternating between 30 second sprints and 90 second jogs.  I definitely need to up it to 20 minutes next time, but otherwise it was really really good.  I really wish I had a treadmill though - as previously documented in past blog posts, if you go too fast on my elliptical and veer off-center even a little bit, one of the foot things WILL fall off it's rail, which is really unfortunate.  Also, I just imagine interval training just works BETTER on a treadmill, because you can move more naturally.  Either way, gotta stick with the elliptical for now, and it's still feeling good.

Weight work was great today.  Having that little bit of time off must have energized me a bit; my form was better than ever and I attempted to move my weight up (though I've decided that it's not quite time to do that yet).  Tricep kickbacks were feeling a little weird; the actual set would be good, but then when I was done, my arm would get this weird soreness for like 2 seconds.  So I only did two sets instead of three.  Regardless, overall good workout today.  I'm starting to see some pretty solid results in my arms; I'm gonna need to lose some fat before I start seeing results anywhere else.

Also, I should really start weighing myself.  I haven't weighed myself at all - not even when this first started.  Hurm.

-Daniel

Day 17: Is It Safe?

I had a rather strange incident today whilst doing cardio. I popped in my Flaming Lips documentary, as I wanted to do a review of it but hadn't yet watched the special features, and started my cardio. Everything was good, I was running at my usual pace, and the Flaming Lips were entertaining me with their odd brand of sometimes spacey, sometimes kick-ass, sometimes psychedelic alternative rock. But then, when I had about 10 minutes left, my elliptical machine had a SHIT CONNIPTION. See, the way my elliptical works is that the two platforms to put your feet on are each on their own separate rail, and I guess I pushed it too hard or something, because the left platform actually FELL OFF the rail with an obscenely loud bang. I paused the machine, and kind of just stood there in shock and awe for a couple minutes, and then decided that I'd be damned if a piece of faulty equipment was going to stop my workout, so I put it back on the rail and resumed.

Besides that odd occurrence, everything else about the workout was fine. I upped the weight for my Bicep Superset thingy just a little bit, from 12.5 to 15, and it gave me a really nice workout. Everything's feelin' awesome, though I still need to work on the kickback form a little bit.  Otherwise, s'all good.

Unfortunately, I'll be going to Ottawa from Sunday to Tuesday visit my Grandfather while my sister is in from school.  This means that I'll be missing an entire three-day cycle!  D'OH!!!!!  I'll be doing whatever body weight stuff I can do, which isn't too much.  Obviously I'll get back to the workout on Tuesday, instead of taking what would have been a break day.  It blows though!

On another note, there was a hilarious episode of the Daily Show on today. Go here to check out the fantastic segment.

-Daniel

Day 13: Workin'

Props for getting the music reference in the title.

Today was good.  It's my first day doing cardio on the elliptical for about 3 days (as I've been using my bike riding as an excuse not to do it), but it's still good.  I got my 2.4 miles, and it seems like everyday I'm reaching that 2.4 just a little bit quicker.  2.5 by the end of next week?  We'll see.

40 Year Old Virgin was on TV.  Despite the fact that about half the dialogue was bleeped out for TV censoring, I really didn't give that movie enough credit when I originally saw it a few 4 or 5 years ago.  It's a hilarious, heart-warming film with a fantastic cast.

Anways, weights were good.  It was my first day for Biceps and Triceps lowering the reps and upping weight.  So now my workout for arms looks like this:

Bicep Curls: 3 X 8 - 30 lbs
Hammer Curls - 3 X 8 - 25 lbs
Bicep Superset thingy (see Day 5) - 3 X 12.5 (but this is gonna move up to 15 next workout)
Dips - 3 X 12 - no weight
Tricep Overhead Extension - 3 X 10 - 45 lbs
Tricep Kickback - 3 X 8 - 17.5 lbs (but need to work on form)

The kickback is a new addition, so I need to watch my form a little bit more.  To Youtube!

I noticed the other day that I'm pretty sure my arms have gotten a little bit smaller.  However, they're also getting more toned.  It's an interesting change but it's looking good!  It's nice to see some sort of improvement after only one and a half weeks.  I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

That's all for now,
Daniel

Day 9: Feelin' the Burn

Yo.  I forgot to update yesterday; whoops!  I had my first day of work today though, so I haven't worked out yet.  Thus, I'm going to update now about yesterday, and then later tonight, after I workout, I'll update again (post should go up around 10:00 or so).

I kept up my cardio goal of 2.4 miles yesterday!  What I've discovered is that I'm running 0.1 miles every minute and a half.  If you do the math, however, you'll notice that at 9 minutes and 20 seconds, I'm only reaching 0.7 miles.  That means that SOMEWHERE in there, about twice within every 10 minutes, I'm running 0.1 miles in one minute.  So, cardio question here; when people say they can run a 10-minute mile, does that mean over extended periods of time, or just for that 10 minutes?  I mean, does that mean that if they run for a half hour, they run 3 miles, or that if they only have to run for 10 minutes, they can do one mile?  Because if I only had to do 10 minutes of cardio, I'm pretty sure I could do a 10-minute mile.  Thoughts?

Anyways, workout yesterday was good.  A friend of mine suggested yesterday that I lower my amount of reps and put my weight up; after some research, I've found this to be true, so my workout is going to change somewhat drastically over the next couple of days (starting today, most likely).  I'll put up an updated version of each workout on my next break day (Friday).

Bicep and Triceps felt pretty good yesterday - I'm going to be moving up in weight anyways, due to the lower reps, but if that wasn't happening, I'm pretty sure I would have moved up in weight a bit for curls in the next cycle.  Triceps are feeling good, but I'm glad I've got another exercise for them now (thanks Steve!).  Everything else is cool.

That's all for now, I think.  Check back tonight around 10:00 for another post!  Also, I recently put up some new stuff at Stuff That I Like, so go check that out too!

-Daniel

P.S. I was watching Survivorman while doing cardio yesterday.  Les Stroud is the man.

Day 5: Phlegm

Yo!  Technically, it's past midnight so we're actually in Day 6, but whatever, I'm gonna write about this morning anyways because I'm bored.

So, I'm still a teensy bit sick, but I'm on the 'out' phase.  Unfortunately this means that everything is starting to loosen up and I'm starting to get my post-cold cough.  This made Cardio rather difficult today; I actually had to stop briefly about three times so I could go hork out some green shit.  Anyways, still got it done, albeit with only 2.2 miles instead of my past 2.3.  It felt difficult today.

The weight work was fine.  Biceps and triceps today; I was a little bit worried that I still wasn't fully recovered from Day 1, but once I started everything was cool.  Instead of reverse curls, I've decided to do a superset type exercise that I learnt in Weight Room class.  Using a low weight, you do 10 "half-curls" (from rest position to halfway through curl, so your arm is at a 90 degree angle) with each arm, and then 10 "other-half curls" (from 90 degree angle to all the way up).  Then, you do 10 full curls on each arm.  It's a pretty intense exercise and it's a really nice way to finish off a Bicep workout strong.  Everything else was fine; if you didn't see it before, you can check out the Day 1 workout here.

Not much else to say.  Good day today; sweet episode of Mythbusters, beat God of War 3 (check Stuff That I Like soon for a review of sorts), watched Flaming Lips DVD (should also be something on Stuff That I Like soon - double post tomorrow?).

Word,
Daniel

Day 1: It Begins

Well, I just finished my first workout, and man, I am SPENT.  The cardio is what really gets me; I sweat like an old Jewish man in a sauna.  I turned on some Top Chef (I've got a TV in my workout room.  Huzzah!) and did a half hour on the elliptical, at Level 1 Resistance (there are 8 levels). I ran 2.2 miles and burned about 285 calories.  Not too shabby considering I haven't done anything resembling cardio besides walking to the bus stop for roughly a year.  In my prime, I would do 2.4 miles on Level 2 Resistance, and could pull off 2.6 on Level 1.  Still, not too bad.  Goddammit though, I was working HARD!  I was sweating so much that I actually had to take off my shirt for the last 10 minutes, and let me tell you, that was a good idea; I put my shirt back on after I was fully done my workout and it felt like I had dipped it in a lake.  I find that the first 10 or 15 minutes are pretty brutal, but during the last half I get into a groove and it becomes easier.  Anyways, I think my goal for cardio should be a 10-minute mile.  Is this realistic?

My weight work felt comfortable; I had to revise the workout just a little bit.  Here's the revised Day 1 workout: 

Day 1 - Triceps and Biceps **revised**
- Bicep Curls - 3 sets of 12 reps (technically 24 because it's 12 for each arm, alternating) - 22.5 pounds
- Hammer Curls - 3 X 10 - 22.5 pounds
- Reverse Curls - 2 X 10 - I'm not sure how much the bar itself weighs, but I'm pretty sure with bar and weights it was around 20 pounds.  This exercise is iffy for me - I need to look up some videos on form because I find that it hurts my wrist sometimes, which I'm aware should not be happening.  Might make more sense to do a different exercise that I know.  I'll keep you posted.
- Tricep Extensions - 3 X 12 - 35 pounds
- Tricep Dips - 3 X 15 - no weights
***I'm still looking for one more tricep exercise people!  Any assistance would be much appreciated!

So that's it really; I'm pretty used to doing weights, so that's not a problem for me.  Curls especially felt pretty good; I'm hoping to move up the reps by next week.  It's the cardio that's going to be a challenge to keep up.  Just gotta buck up and work my way through it.  The whole workout took me about an hour and a half, which is fine by me.  I feel great, actually!  It's really nice to be working out again; I can't even support myself on my arms right now, which means I've done my job.

Tomorrow, my first Chest and Back day!  I could still use some more Back exercises that I can do with just dumbbells.

Actually, I've got a question; what are the best things to eat after a good workout?  Protein seems to be the general response from what I understand.  Anyone?

-Daniel