Sunday 10th May
Week 1 - Workout A
- Chest, Back & Shoulders

[Improvement over previous workout in brackets]

Warmup = 5mins on X-trainer + 5 mins various bodyweight exercises

Incline BB Bench - (WU=6x40, 6x60) 9x80(f)
Incline Hammer Machine - 8x70(f)
Incline DB Bench - 7x35's(f)
Flyes - 15x15's
Hammer Lat Pulldowns - (WU=12x50) 6xstack(f)
1-arm D'Bell Rows - 11x40(f)
Low Cable Row - 11x72.5(f)
Rear DB Raises - 12x20's
DB Laterals - 11x12.5's(f)
Seated Arnold Press - 10x20's(f)
DB Shrugs - 14x42.5's(f)
Roman Chair Leg Raises - 2 sets of 15 reps (30 sec rest)
RC Cable exercises - Row to face, internal and external rotations

Total Workout Time = under 40 mins

Ok started a new routine today, it's a bit of a HST/DC hybrid. I'll be hitting each muscle group every 48-72 hours and I'll be swapping the exercises around each workout, so if it's a heavy 5-7 reps today, it'll be a lighter 8-12 reps or maybe higher next time.

Every rep is performed under full control with a slow eccentric, pause and fast concentric 3/1/0. Each set is taken to failure, no forced reps or anything I'm just try to cause maximum muscle tissue damage with minimal CNS stress... the idea being I should be recovered enough to do the same workout again 48 hours later.

Today was a bit of a trial run as I need to workout the weights needed, infact all week will be trial and error. Got a few things wrong today but wasn't too bad. Really enjoyed it and felt fresh after I'd finished. Hopefully each workout will always be under 40 mins.

Glad to hear you are back in the gym. How many times a week do you plan on training and will you pay careful attention to your injury? So you don't make it worse...and yes I am aware I sound like your mother.

Haha I'm thinking 5 days depending on how I get on. Injury has made me turn to something like this as it's flared up again, I can always drop another day if it gets too much for it.

Good to hear. Sometimes, how ever annoying it is, it pays to listen to your body...Mine is saying I am a fool. Will I listen? Probably not.....must learn to take my own advice.

You still training for hypertrophy rather than strength?

Sod it, it's good to let your hair down every once in a while

At the moment my biggest priority is protecting my joints and tendons so I can keep training but yes atm I'm aiming towards hypertrophy and also to lean up. I think this is possible for the first few months at least, it's like beginner gains all over again

I going to be doing my old psycho circuit training again but I'm unsure how I'll fit it in. Shouldn't be too much as it only lasts 10-15 mins but it's one of the most effective things I've ever done.

You can definately achieve your goals and protect joints by using drop sets and higher reps.

This routine also seems to use pre-exhaustion. Notice the raises before the shoulder press and todays workout has Squats as the last quad movement and Leg Curls before SLDL's.... that's going to be interesting!

I'm bloody sore today, lats and chest are wounded.

Pre - exhaust............. my favourite - don't tell Martin M

Tell me more about this 'psycho circuit' of yours, I'm curious...

What you do is pick 10 exercises and then you'll perfrom them in this format...

10 Jack Knife -> 2 laps of the gym
10 Jack Knife -> 10 Squats -> 2 laps of the gym
10 Jack Knife -> 10 Squats -> 10 SLDL's -> 2 laps of gym
10 Jack Knife -> 10 Squats -> 10 SLDL's -> 10 Lunges -> 2 laps of gym
and so on finishing with 10 sets of 10 reps of all exercises.

Jack Knife - 10x10
Side Squats - 9x10
SLDL into Calf Raise - 8x10
Lunges - 7x10
Press Ups - 6x10
Burpees - 5x10
Reverse Pull Up - 4x10
45 degree decline situp - 3x10
ATG Squat Jumps - 2x10 (from ATG squat positon jump into the air as high as possible and bring the knees upto chest, land in squatting position)
Twisting Crunch - 1x10

It's 10-15 minutes of pure hell, if you're feeling particularly brave choose exercises like Burpee's as exercise number 1, then ATG Jump squats No.2, etc.... OUCH!

Very effective at boosting fitness and burning fat. Once you get fit enough you can add exercises. Some of the cage fighters at my old gym used to do 20x20

^^ Bloody Hell

lol.... sure beats the shit out of walking on the treadmill

It's good because you can change the exercises to target whatever you want, I'm thinking of making it more core heavy than above and that will allow me to drop abs from my weight training workouts, making them even shorter.

Sounds horrendous. Does the 15mins include a puking time allowance?

LOL of course! If you don't puke first time you're either a slacker or in bloody good shape already. I've done that with a bitch of a hangover... I swear I lost several pints of fluid but I felt good as new after

Monday 11th May
Week 1 - Workout B
- Legs & Arms

[Improvement over previous workout in brackets]

Warmup = 5mins on X-trainer + 5 mins various bodyweight exercises

Leg Press (1 leg at a time) - (WU=6x50, 6x100) 9x130(f)
ATG Squat - 15x90
Leg Ext (1 leg at a time) - 11x40(f)?
Leg Curl (1 leg at a time) - 15x35(f)?
SLDL - 15x60
Hammer Preacher Curls - 11x35(f)?
Seated Hammer DB Curls - 10x15'5(f)?
Rope Cable Curls - 16x25(f)
EZ-Bar Skullcrusher - 12x35(f)?
1-arm overhead extention - 10x10(f)?
Rope Pressdowns - 15x30(f)?
Calf Raises - 18x87.5, 18x102.5(f)

Total Workout Time = 45 mins

To be totally honest a lot of those reps are guesses, I was giving it my all and seeing stars on a couple... I can't remember much on a couple of them lol.

Gym was busy and had to wait for quite a few exercises. Was supposed to do the squats after leg ext but soon as the rack became free I jumped on quick!

Pretty much got all the weights wrong and rep schemes, just impossible to guess what each rep max was as I've not done a lot of them for years! Good workout though.

Hows the new Gym working out ?

Busy is good , but is it too busy ?

Good to see you back pal

Cheers dude. Well if there's more than me and a bit of eye candy in then a gym's too busy in my eyes

Nice work, hope you stay injury free and get that tight tush back. No-one likes fatty bovine.

I like these routines , will be watching this journal with interest ( and a hint of jealousy as I am currently injured !!)
Best of luck

Mark

That 'psycho circuit' looks very tough... superb for conditioning though (if you survive it!).

Is good to see you back on here and training again Bison, will be keeping an eye on this journal

Looks like a good routine for you. A guy at my old, old gym did something similar which worked very well for him. He went from 17 stone and big/lumpy to around 15 stone with excellent shape and conditioning in around 10-12 months.

Cheers fella's

Tueday 12th May
Week 1 - Workout A - time since last Workout A = 48 hours
- Chest, Back & Shoulders

[Improvement over previous workout in brackets]

Warmup = 5mins on X-trainer + 5 mins various bodyweight exercises

Incline BB Bench - spotter used minimal effort at sticking point
- (WU=6x40, 6x60) 5.7x90(f) [+10kg]
Incline Hammer Machine
- 10.1x70(f) [+2 reps]
Incline DB Bench - dropped from 35's to get reps up
- 12.1x30's(f) [-10kg][+5 reps]
Hammer Lat Pulldowns
- (WU=12x50) 6.4x87.5(f)
1-arm Rows
- 13.1x40(f) [+2 reps]
Low Cable Row
- 11.3x72.5(f)
Rear DB Raises
- 8x25's [+10kg]
DB Laterals
- 10.5x15's(f) [+5kg]
Seated Arnold Press
- 12.1x20's(f) [+2 reps]
DB Shrugs
- 13x45's(f) [+5kg]
Roman Chair Leg Raises
- 2 sets of 16 reps (30 sec rest)
RC Cable exercises - Row to face, internal and external rotations
- forgot to do these!!

Total Workout Time = 40 mins

As I'm going to failure on every set it going to be harder to judge progress so I'm going to try using a decimal point to rate how close I get to nailing the next rep.

Weights might be thrown off a little today as I trained at my old gym.... was supposed to be training with a mate but he never turned up. Now I know why I always train alone.

Very good workout had me really pumped up and feeling quite strong. As I was at old gym thought I'd use the pool as a warm down and did a few lengths but I felt my hammy twinge, not injured it but definately felt something.... might have a day off tomorrow as it's legs day.

Good session Gary... i always train alone too - have had people no show on days that were supposed to be max effort days - pain in the arse.

LOL, as i was reading was wondering what on earth those decimals were for... makes sense once you explained it at the end! Will be interesting to see how quickly your body readapts and strength increases again over the next month or so...

Yeah, it just messes with my head as I kind of mentally prepare before a workout and when they don't turn up or whatever it puts a kind of negative feeling on it... well maybe for a minute, then I just think **** 'em

As for readapting things are feeling good and I've slipped straight back into my old routines of getting ready and all that. I've already shifted a noticeable amount of bodyfat... just a bit sickening struggling with weights I used to warmup with lol!

Wednesday 13th May
Week 1 - Workout B - time since last Workout B = 48 hours
- Legs & Arms

[Improvement over previous workout in brackets]

Warmup = 5mins on X-trainer + 5 mins various bodyweight exercises

ATG Squat - Had to move to first as other machines being used
- (WU=6x50, 6x70) 9x110 [-6 reps][+20kg]
Leg Press (1 leg at a time) - Dropping these!
- 9x130
Leg Ext (1 leg at a time)
- 15.4x40(f) [+4 reps]
Leg Curl (1 leg at a time) - stopped short of failure due to hamstring twinge
- 12x40 [+5kg]
Romanian Deadlift - as above, cautious
- 12x60
EZ-Bar Skullcrusher - Too big jump in weight, crap. Probably drop these.
- 5.1x45(f) [+5kg]
1-arm overhead extention - So bloody uncomfortable, I hate these!
- 13x10
Rope Pressdowns
- 12.6x35(f) [+5kg]
Cable Curls - Misjudged the weight by quite a margin
- 18x40 [+15kg]
Drag Curls - No choice but to just do these on spur of moment.
- 7x30(f)
Seated Hammer DB Curls
- 11x15'5(f) [+1 rep]
Calf Raises
- 25x110(f) [+7 reps][+7.5kg]

Total Workout Time = 40 mins

Of the most frustrating workouts of my life! I was in a rush and the gym was packed so that's a bad start, especially for a routine were I'm only doing one set and then moving on.

Couldn't get on anything, didn't do a single exercise in it's planned spot and even had to totally drop preachers. A gang of kids on the preacher station the whole time I was there

Also I'm going to change a few things, some of these exercises are crap, I hate them so they're gone. How is it safe to do 1 legged leg press to failure? were am I supposed to put my other leg?? If I fail to get that weight up were does it fall.... on my resting leg! So changing that to normal aswell.