Training log 12.23.07
Despite saying I was going to totally rest today, I went to the gym. A whole day off from work spent alone in my house is a recipe for me to go bonkers, so I went to the gym.
I rode the bike for about 5 minutes, but it was hurting my hip so I stopped. I went down and stretched it out really good. My hip feels pretty good now, though it was sore this morning. I figured I would skip cardio today, as I did Legs on Friday, then lifted and ran yesterday, and then was back in the gym today.
I lifted for my chest and biceps today. I will say that I am getting over the intimidation part of lifting. I feel like I know how to do the lifts I do, so I am not as self conscious about doing them. I really don’t care that I was doing curls with 20’s while the guy beside me was doing dumbbell presses with 100’s (I am not kidding). What I do care about is not looking like someone who doesn’t know what they are doing and doesn’t care.
Training Log:
Biceps:
Dumbbell Curls: 15/15, 20/12, 20/12
Bent Bar Curls: 30/15, 30/15, 30/15
Preacher Curls: 25/15, 25/15, 25/15
Chest:
Bench Press: 65/15, 65/15, 65/12
Incline Press: 65/10, 65/8, 55/10 (I am going to start these at 55 next time)
Decline Press: 45/15, 45/15, 55/15 (I am going to start these at 55 next time)
Abs:
Ab machine: 30/15, 30/15, 30/15
Hanging Knee Raises: 15, 15
Hmm, I see I didn’t really do anything for the Obliques this time out. Have to fix that tomorrow.
Happy lifting!
I know I’m no expert in lifting, but I’ve had a lot of success abandoning the bodybuilding philosophy of weightlifting. The problem is most lifting literature is written by people who are focused on bodybuilding. Their only interest is in getting bigger and defining each muscle individually. The goal for them is hypertrophy, not functional strength. Bodybuilders can get huge, but an olympic lifter half the size of a bodybuilder can easily lift as much if not more than a bodybuilder twice his size. To think of the body as a collection of arms, pecs, bi’s, quads, etc is kind of flawed imho. Think about it; when do you do anything with just your biceps? When have you ever picked anything up sitting on a bench with your arms propped on a 45 degree incline? You use your whole body in any activity that you do in real life. Bodybuilding lifting teaches our body to work separately rather than as a whole. Muscles develop out of relationship with each other which leads to muscle strength imbalances which then leads to injuries. Plus you’re not as functionally strong as you could be. Drop me an email sometime and I’ll meet you at the gym and show you a few lifts that demonstrate what I’m talking about.
Sandblade, will do. FWIW, I think you make some interesting points. And I am far from an exercise guru myself, so I am up for learning anything new.