A Top 40 Weightlifting Blog

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Cardio in the Garage

Got out in the garage again this morning for some empty stomach cardio. Nothing intense, just getting the my heart rate up first thing.

Treadmill Walk - 10 minutes (4%incl, 3.4mph).
Stretching.
Stability Ball Sit Ups - 2 sets/30 reps.
Treadmill Walk - 30 minutes (4%incl, 3.4mph)
(Last 10 minutes 3.6mph, 6%incl)
Stretching.
Stability Ball Sit Ups - 2 sets/30 reps.

My main focus was to do some core work. It's been a week or more since I worked my ab :-P

Snowdaddy

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Jogging at the Base Gym

The total work out today was really good but I'm still a bit disappointed with my endurance while jogging.

Walk - 2 laps.
Jog - 6 laps (5 min, 50 sec/lap).
Walk - 4 laps.
Stretching.
Walk - 6 laps.
Walk 75m / Sprint 50m - 4 laps.
Walk - 2 laps

Total Laps - 24 (3km, 28 minutes)

Bench Press
warm ups
Power Phase - 4 sets/2 reps/315lbs.
Pump Phase - 3 sets/8 reps/225lbs.

Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets/8 reps per side/80, 100, 110lbs.

I was hoping to go a bit farther for my jogging. Maybe 8-9 laps. My speed for 6 laps is faster than in past years of jogging on the indoor track. Next week is my last week of jogging before my PT test on the 10th Jan. The sprinting was much easier than any other time this year. I was able to get up on my toes and step quickly. Next week everything should fall into place.

Snowdaddy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Treadmill Work in the SANCTUM

Why is it that the holidays are always the busiest time of the year. Even with my gym in the garage I still didn't have time to hit the gym on Tuesday. Today I really wanted to go to the base gym indoor track but my wife had some errands to take care of. I was left at home to watch the kids. Nap time is work out time.

Treadmill Work
Walk - 1 min (2%incl, 3.4mph).
Jog - 5 min (2%incl, 5.4mph).
Walk - 4 min.
Stretching
Walk - 11 min.
Jog - 3 min.
Walk - 2 min.
Jog - 1 min (2%incl, 6mph).
Walk - 3 min.

30 minutes total on the treadmill and I feel pretty good. My left knee which has been a bit of a worry feels good. The only sore spot is the top of my feet. I'm sure it's because my 330lbs BW is not meant to jog. I'm glad to see my efforts are getting easier. Tomorrow I'd like to get over to jog on the indoor track. We'll see.

Snowdaddy

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Morning Cardio

It's been since Thursday since I worked out so I had to do something today. I got up at 0500hrs, opened up the SANCTUM, made a fire ( cuz it was chilly), and hit the treadmill for 45 minutes of continuous walking (3.4mph 2%incl, 250+cal). I find it funny how a few weeks ago 15 minutes of continuous walking almost killed me. Now, it felt very comfortable. I could have gone for an hour but I was starting to feel blisters. Sinse I'm not training for a marathon I decided to stop there. On Tuesday I'll be going to the base gym to jog on the indoor track. I hope it goes as easy as the walk today.

Snowdaddy

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Work Out @ Work AM

Got up at 0430hrs and drove into work for an empty stomach work out. Here's how it went.

Elliptical Trainer - 5 minutes.
Stretching.
Stationary Bike - 5 minutes.
Stretching.
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 135lbs/12 reps.
Elliptical Trainer - 5 minutes.
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 135lbs/12 reps.
Treadmill Walk 3.4mph - 10 minutes.
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 135lbs/12 reps.
Treadmill Walk 3.4mph - 10 minutes.
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 135lbs/12 reps.
Stretching.

Got a shower and shave and was ready for work @ 0630hrs. Slow day at work so I almost went back up to the gym. Maybe I'll go out to the SANCTUM tomorrow morning.

Snowdaddy

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Two Work Outs

Got up early again this morning for some empty stomach cardio.

Stationary Bike - 15 minutes.
Stretching.
Stationary Bike - 15 minutes.
Stretching.

The Sanctum was cold this morning so I fatigued sooner than I thought.

Slow day at work today so I headed to the gym an hour before work ended.

Elliptical Trainer - 30 minutes (average heart rate - 127 BPM).

Bench Press - 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/10 reps, 315lbs/2,2,2,3 reps.
Push Ups - 4 sets/12 reps.
Alt Dumbbell Curls - 45lbs/12 reps, 50lbs/12 reps, 60lbs/12 reps.
Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 sets/12 reps/20lbs.

The Elliptical work was really good. During the last 5 minutes my heart rate got up to 155-165BPM. I'm really surprised that my bench strength is sticking around. normally when I'm getting ready for a PT test my strength disappears. I'll continue to work it if it wants to play.
Tomorrow morning I'm heading into work early for an empty stomach work out. I'll focus on the Elliptical trainer, stationary bike, and upper back work.

Snowdaddy

Monday, December 19, 2011

Morning Cardio

This morning I wanted to jog for at least 6 minutes continuous with an empty stomach. My left shin / knee felt good so away I went.

Treadmill Work - 1 min walk, 7 min jog (2 incl, 5 mph), 2 min walk.

Stretching.

Stationary Bike - 10 min.
Push Ups - 12 reps (dynamic).
Stationary Bike - 5 min.
Push Ups - 12 reps (dynamic).
Stationary Bike - 5 min.
Push Ups - 12 reps (dynamic).

Treadmill Work - 10 minutes walk.

Total 40 minutes of cardio with some fun stuff thrown in. I still know my knee is bothering me but it's behaving it's self. I'm pleased with the 7 minutes. My breathing was heavy but it wasn't that difficult, 8 minutes would have come if I would have pushed.

Snowdaddy

Friday, December 16, 2011

Treadmill Walking

Plan for this morning was to get on the treadmill and walk for time. I noted that one of my deficiencies is hamstring endurance. After the first ten minutes of walking I had to stop and stretch. Pretty poor performance but I have time to change that.

Walk - 10 minutes, 4% incline, 3.4 mph.
Stretching.
Walk - 20 minutes, 4% incline, 3.4 mph.
Stretching.
Sit Ups - 40 reps (my abs started to cramp up).
Walk - 15 minutes, 4% incline, 3.5 mph.
Bench Squats - 3 sets/12 reps/135lbs.

I'm still a bit concerned about my left knee so I kept my squats light and on the bench. Right now I know I worked my knee but it doesn't feel injured. I don't know why my abs cramp up after sit ups. I'll have to research this.

Snowdaddy

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Jogging For Time

Today on the indoor track I was going for time, again with an empty stomach. My knee felt much better this morning.

Warm Up
Walking and Stretching.

Jogging - 6 laps of indoor track in 5 min 20 sec (each lap 53:33)

Stationary Bike - 5 minutes.
Walk 1 lap, 20 sit ups, Walk 1 lap.
Stationary Bike - 5 minutes.
Walk 1 lap, 20 sit ups, Walk 1 lap.

By this time my left knee was really throbbing so I decided to stop there and do some back work. Nothing heavy or too taxing but after all that cardio on an empty stomach every set of weights really got me winded.
I was getting quite concerned with my jogging. Today made me feel much better. Friday I'll do some distant walking. Monday I'll work on speed. Wednesday I'll go for time again. I'll continue this untill the test Jan 10.

Snowdaddy

Monday, December 12, 2011

Work Out @ The Base Gym

On an empty stomach again this morning I really hit it hard. Mostly cardio training with a touch of bench press.

Walk / Run - 8 sets/walk 75m, run 50m (1km).
Stretching.
Stationary Bike - 5 minutes.
Walk / Run - 8 sets/walk 75m, run 50m (1km).
Stretching.
Stationary Bike - 5 minutes.

Arch Trainer - 10 minutes, alt 3 x 2 min + 12 incl push ups.

Bench Press - 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/8 reps, 3 sets/1 rep/315lbs.

My left knee was still bothering me a bit but the shin splints felt much better. I didn't feel any serious pain untill the very end of the last run. Once the kids go to bed tonight I'll head out to the garage for some more fun.

Snowdaddy

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Much Better

Tonight was more like it. I've been struggling with cardio that any longer that 35 minutes. Tonight was much better. I actually feel like I'm starting to transition from Powerlifting (anaerobic) to Cardio Monster (aerobic). Of course I'm exaggerating extremely with the "Cardio Monster" comment.

alternate the following
Stationary Bike - 3 sets/15 minutes.
Sit Ups - 3 sets/25 reps.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to the base gym to walk / jog around the indoor track. Hopefully my left leg holds up. If not I'll jump onto the arch trainer.

Snowdaddy

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Training With The Kids

Every Friday me and a fellow lifter train some local high school kids. We did deadlifts  yesterday.

Stationary Bike - 10 minutes.

Deadlifts - 135lbs/5 reps, 225lbs/5 reps, 315lbs/3 reps, 405lbs/2 reps, 495lbs/ 1 rep.

No belt or straps. I should have tried 585lbs because 495lbs went up that easy. I'll do some more cardio this week end.

Snowdaddy

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Treadmill AM

Got up early again this morning for some treadmill work. With some core work.

Treadmill - Walk 1 min, Jog 3 min, Walk 2 min.

By this time my left leg (shin) is hurting so much I have to stop.

Stability Ball Sit Ups - 25 reps.
Treadmill Walk - 6 minutes.
Stability Ball Sit Ups - 25 reps.
Treadmill Walk - 2.5 minutes.
Vibration Table - 5 minutes.
Treadmill Walk - 2.5 minutes.
Stability Ball Sit Ups - 25 reps.
Stationary Bike - 8 minutes.

A bit of a "dog's breakfast" if you will. I was kinda all over the place with training. My shin is still a huge issue that I need to clear up sooner than later.

Snowdaddy

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Twice Today

That's the great thing about having your own gym. Today I managed to train twice. Cardio this morning before work and weights after supper.

Cardio @ 0445
Walk / Jog around block - 10 minutes.
Stationary Bike - 6 minutes.
Walk / Jog around block - 10 minutes.
Stationary Bike - 6 minutes.

With the transfers from the street to my garage the whole work out took about 35 minutes. My shins felt better this morning. I thing the cold water icing from the day before really helped. I'll be sure to ice every morning even if I'm not jogging. My next jog will be tomorrow after work at the base gym indoor track. I want to do more than 5 minutes.

Weights @ 1930
Bench Press Warm Ups.
Bench Press - 6 sets/1 rep/315lbs.
Bench Press - 6 sets/5 reps/225lbs.
3 minutes rest after every set.

The Bench tonight felt quite light and after my PT test I'm looking forward to getting back into heavy training. All six heavy singles went up very controlled. The six pump sets after were dynamic, pressing explosively.

Snowdaddy

Monday, December 05, 2011

Jogging :(

Have I mentioned before that I HATE JOGGING!!! Right now my left leg from the knee down feels like it's going to fall off. Still getting ready for my PT test in a few weeks. This morning I wanted to jog for at leats 5 minutes. I did exactly that 5:04. After that I continued a walk / jog to finish up 15 minutes total.

Snowdaddy

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Jogging This Morning

Testing myself this morning to see how long I would go before stopping. I managed 4 minutes. Not too shabby considering I haven't had much practice yet. My left knee and shin are ouch! I iced and now feel much better. Cardio didn't stop there I continued to walk / jog for another 40 minutes. Not bad but I would like to go for an hour. My goal is to do an hour of cardio 5 days a week. Maybe then I'll drop some pounds.

Snowdaddy

Thursday, December 01, 2011

More Cardio

I probably shouldn't post "More Cardio" because over the next while that all there will be. This morning was a much better work out. Jogging was much easier. Not saying is was easy but it was easier.

Stretching
Alternate Walk / Jog - 16 laps.

I threw in some other fun things like 2 sets of 10 push ups, sprinting 50m x 4, inclined dumbbell press. The whole work out took about 45 minutes. the walk / jog portion was about 35 minutes. My left knee was still bothering me. I'll give it a break for the week end. I'll ride the bike tomorrow morning. Next week I hope my knee will feel better.

Snowdaddy