Johnny Twelve Pack

www.johnraper.co.uk

2007-06-20T11:53:00.000+01:00

I'm online! :-)

Keeping the dream alive

2007-06-12T14:24:00.000+01:00

Hello all. :-)

Been a while hasn't it? Hope everyone is well. Dissertation and exams are over, university is over and I'm being summoned to enter the real world.

All good in the hood though. :-)

Got my fleshless torso down the gym on Sunday for all of half an hour. Pesky foreigners were shouting across the gym to each other so I went home. Grrrr. But what I did manage to accomplish was this:

Chest Press (flat): 1x10 @ 12kg, 1x10 @ 10kg, 1x5 @ 10kg.
Chest Press (incline): 3x8 at 8kg.
Shoulder Press: 1x10 at 8kg.

Rowing - 500m... a struggle to say the least! Unlike last time I did this at the end. Last time after I hadn't been for ages I got quickly exhausted doing this first, which dented my entire workout!

Now for the bad news... I'm moving back home in a couple of weeks as my accommodation runs out on my flat... subsequently this means I've had to cancel my gym membership. :( But I had to give a month's notice, so it doesn't run out till June 30th.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll pay it a visit again before I leave for good! It's been a rollercoaster year, it's just a shame that university got in the way of gymming from March onwards. Anyway, I'll be posting now and again!

Keep it real monkeys. See you soooooooooooooon. :-)

The Unincredible Hulk

2007-05-06T18:06:00.000+01:00

Well, well, well... where to begin! Got my lazy backside down the gym last night for the first time in six weeks, what an absolute joke! I've lost most of my strength but I'm not sure doing what I did in this order helped matters...

Rowing - 500m - as usual I had it on the hardest setting (10). I was pretty worn out when I'd finished, and rowing the final 100m at the fastest possible speed was tough. I managed a time of 4:38 which is about 10 seconds slower than normal.

Had a rest and hit the bench press which actually wasn't too bad. I did 2x10 at 20kg and 2x5 at 25kg, pretty pleased with that.

Chest press was next, had a dodgy bench which didn't help and by the time I was able to move benches I'd got no energy left! Managed 2x10 at 8kg (crept up to 12kg before), then attempted 12kg which felt damn heavy. Managed 2 reps... then went back to 10kg and did an extra 6 reps.

Shoulder press wasn't too bad, I did 2x10 at 8kg.

Lat pulldown - 2x10 at 25kg.

That was all, I was drained. Less reps and one less set for most of these! Just shows you what happens when you suddenly stop exercising. Oh well, at least there were no stalkers around!

Since my 1-year gym membership doesn't expire like I thought it did, I'm going to try and continue to go in and around my exams, which are this month. I'd love to get back to the levels I was at before. I'm going to try and keep going until I find graduate employment/no longer live here. Hope y'all keeping well and fitter than I am!

Generic words

2007-03-20T20:10:00.000Z

Greetings digital world, I've got nothing to blog tonight about but I thought I'd make a post anyway! It's all work and no play at the mo - dissertation's due in at the end of April so I'm writing and coding like a dog (at least I should be :P) trying to get it done. 2 weeks off at Easter (bizarre but nice) to wrap that up.

Then 2 exams spread over two months between May and June... then finito! This year has flown by.

On the gym side of things, I've hit a bit of a dead end and I'm not really going anywhere at the minute, but hopefully when I start going regularly again (rather than max of 2 times a week) things will improve. I can't wait to get back in to full swing mode again!

Anyways, hope you're all fine and dandy, it's back to the typewriter for tonight... yuck.

Ciao for nowza!

Currently listening to: The Music - Disco.

If music be the food of love...

2007-03-15T02:58:00.000Z

Write about it. :-)

If I'm not in the gym, chances are I'll be embracing the other thing I love - music. I love music in every shape and form... be it guitar, singing, iPods or otherwise. So with this in mind, I'll be adding music-related posts every now and then (hopefully one per week) which will talk about any new bands I've heard of and discovered, and reasons for you to go check em out. Rolling out the first...

Artist: Tinariwen
So, what's the story, morning glory?
Well, I was sat in a hairdressers last week, flicking through the shiny pages of a music mag. There was an interview on Thom Yorke, and after a near-fatal groin accident, I managed to settle and contain myself. I saw the printed words "...I like Tinariwen..." and promptly slapped the name into my phone. They're from the country of Mali, Africa and consist of Arabic vocals, African guitars and blues-infested rhythms. And I bet they sound even better with Cannabis. Go and jump head first on the bandwagon here.

Stalker-free workout

2007-03-14T22:51:00.000Z

(For a change!)

DAY ONE

Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 12kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 2x7 @ 10kg, 2x6 @ 10kg.
Shoulder press: 1x8 @ 8kg, 1x6 @ 8kg, 1x8 @ 8kg.
Seated bicep curls: 1x10 @ 6kg, 1x7 @ 6kg, 1x4 @ 6kg.
Lat pulldown: 2x10 @ 30kg, 1x10 @ 25kg.
Cable grip press: 3x10 @ 7.5kg.
Cable grip curl: 2x10 @ 5kg, 1x10 @ 7.5kg.

FB Balance: Pete attempting to push me off when I'm holding a bar across my shoulder blades. Three times. Suceeding once. Not impressed.

Rowing: 500m.

Had a "nice" session tonight. The Peternator insisted he was accompanying me around for the evening so I had to put up with his immaturity, similar to that of a 5-year-old. Other than that, it was muchos funos! And some girls in short skirts on the way home made for pleasant eye candy.

Oooooh, by the way... I was booked in for SPEED DATING tonight but it got cancelled (an excuse to go to the gym instead, you see!) :-( Rubbish! I was looking forward to chatting up some 35-year old slop badgers, but I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to do that again sometime!

Words on a screen. See you next time!

Roadrunning stalker

2007-03-10T00:36:00.000Z

Yeah, you heard me correctly. Well I wouldn't really call him a stalker but he freaked me right out! I went to the gym today at 2.30 so I could do a massive workout to make up for my inactivity over the past week.

I get there. All is calm and bright. After about an hour, having done most of my usual Day One plan, an Asian guy's watching me do my shoulder presses, and I'm aware of him out the corner of my eye.

"You do that good" he said... (LOL!) To which I replied "thanks" and gave the nod, like you do.

So then he starts making small talk about protein powders being the be-all-and-end-all holy grail of achieving muscle mass. I told him NADAS, unless taken with the right food you'll get nowhere. Did he listen? Course not. So he goes...

"I take PROMAX" he said. "You got car? I show you a shop after here. I drive you." LOSER!

"No thanks mate, I've err... I've gotta be somewhere."

"Where you going?" I thought like telling him to F-off at this point, and I should have done, it was none of his business where I was going. I said "university" and I wish I hadn't.

"Oooh, I can go that way!" he replies. Anyway, after I told him I wasn't up for any dogging, he leaves me alone for a short while... until I hit the mats to do some planks and stuff.

"You do back?" he said. "Can I show you back?" My brain said "NO" but my mouth said "Sure!" So he shows me the back machine. MACHINE. I hate machines now! He's 2 months into gymming, he's excusable. :-) "Give me 15 reps" so I did, hoping he'd leave me alone if I commanded his wishes. Why was I playing this game?! After he blabbed on some more about protein powders, he disappeared. I thought to myself, "I'm calling it a day, I'm gonna get outta here."

Are you still with me? Here's the exciting part. In between the resistance room (where I am) and the cardio room, there is a mats area (where I thought he'd gone to). There's a side door near the resistance room, which, when passing through, can lead one to a handy staircase, which then leads to the changing rooms. So I decide to make a run for it. I manage to execute this perfectly, and get to the changing rooms without him seeing me. RESULT! So I go in the changing rooms...

"Oh, you finish now?" .................

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

After some more small talk I said, "I have to go now, bye!"

Luckily he didn't follow me.

Have a good weekend all, and stay clear of anyone who looks like they want to have your babies x

I'm off...

2007-03-09T14:09:00.000Z

...to the gym NOW! First time in over a week. Had LOTS to do.

Update when I get back.

Love you all xxx

New girlfriend

2007-03-03T23:39:00.000Z

Isn't she lovely? She's called MAMMOTH 2500, 2 scoops of her finest assets equates to 485 calories, and I'm taking her 2-3 times a day, along with what I normally eat... sandwiches, pasta and chicken - plenty of protein and carbs!

She's pretty lethal though, first time I took her I thought my bowels had burst, luckily it was just a temporary brutal explosion and nothing more. :-)

More information about this sugary lactose packed full of a ridiculous number of calories can be found here.

Filth

2007-03-01T23:47:00.000Z

Rubbish tonight. :-( Too busy, I was on and off benches too fast to have a proper workout so I don't really know how many sets/reps I've done... but I can be pretty sure it doesn't come close to what I normally do. I bashed out 3 sets of just about everything, in drips and drabs, but nothing concrete enough to make me happy with it... 12kg flat bench chest press felt really heavy for some reason, so after the first set I dropped down to 10's. :-( But going out last night drinking tart fuel probably didn't help much!

I think Thursdays and Mondays are probably busiest in the evenings because most people are either approaching, or have just had, an alcoholic weekend of pure drinking filth... so going to the gym is their "doing a good deed" factor. Tonight's philosophy lesson.

I've found a secondary gym buddy for the days that Pete decides to lose 8 pints of blood, his name is Olly, or Oliver, and is also a tall thin thing like myself... only he's about 2½ stone heavier than me!

So yeah, all in all, not the best of sessions! But you can't win 'em all!

Busy weekend...

2007-02-25T21:48:00.000Z

...but quite a fun one! :-) Yesterday I met up with an old friend and went to watch The Number 23 movie at the cinema, which was excellent... I was skeptical about how good Jim Carrey would be in a serious role but he pulled it off well... go see it! Today... Meadowhall... shopping... with my mum... I made delightful conversation to the pretty sales assistants while waiting outside changing room after changing room...

Anyway, on to the more important stuff!

DAY ONE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 12kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 2x7 @ 10kg, 1x6 @ 10kg (+2kg increase, not sure I am ready yet but it was well worth a shot!)
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 1x8 @ 8kg, 1x7 @ 8kg.
Seated bicep curl: 1x4 @ 8kg (+2kg), 3x6 @ 6kg.
Lat pulldown: 1x5 @ 30kg, 2.5x10 @ 25kg.

Rowing: 500m.

Hope you all had a good weekend. ;-)

12 pack... 12 flat!

2007-02-19T23:57:00.000Z

A big up to all my sexual readers of the blogger generation! I hope you are all funky. I had an almighty session this evening, at least it felt like it, although I didn't do pull-ups... but did attempt the chin-up bar... and got further than I thought! Practice...

DAY ONE

Seated row: 3x10 @ 45kg.
Lat pulldown: 2x10 @ 30kg, 1x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x8 @ 12kg (not 3x10... but... YEAH!)
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg.
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 1x7 @ 8kg, 1x5 @ 8kg.
Seated bicep curl: 1x10 @ 6kg, 2x5 @ 6kg.
Cable lift curl: 2x10 @ 7.5kg, 1x10 @ 5kg.

Rowing: 500m.

Men's Help

2007-02-14T17:21:00.000Z

I absolutely love a good read of my monthly Men's Health subscription (thanks - you know who you are!) but I don't quite think any issue comes quite as appealling as this one. This is my healthy coursemate Paul's latest creation, and little does he know that I'm sharing it with you all here. :-)

Lone soldier

2007-02-14T00:38:00.000Z

The Peternator has gone back to Fish City for a few days so I went alone and got my ass down town for some solo body abuse tonight. Normally I aim to get there for around 8-ish but it's always mega busy at that time so I purposely left half an hour later and got there at 8.30... still mega busy! Managed to rattle off the following, in a completely different order to this:

DAY ONE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated row: 2x10 @ 35kg, 1x10 @ 45kg (weight seems to vary each time I go!).
Lat pulldown: 2x10 @ 30kg, 1x5 @ 30kg, 1x5 @ 25kg (couldn't quite manage to do all 30 reps @ 30kg but that gives me something to aim for).
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg (knackered by the time I got a bench but gritted my teeth and Derren Brown'ed the pain from my mind. Even tried to take on 12.5kg before leaving tonight as I've planned to test it for a while, did 5 reps as a practice, although I don't know if I could stomach 3x10!)
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg.
Cable lift curl: 2x10 @ 7.5kg (get in!) and 1x10 @ 5kg.
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 1x6 @ 8kg and time was running out so I grabbed the 6kg dumbells to finish off the three sets!

Rowing: 500m.

Oooh before I forget..... last time I was at the gym, the northern geordie geezer who was waiting to use my bench gave me some advice on my shoulder presses, saying I didn't need to drop my arms as low as I was doing on each rep, which I thought was a good tip. Anyway I saw him on the way out tonight and he's offered to train with me next time we're both in together. Top stuff. :-)

Spot the free bench

2007-02-07T23:34:00.000Z

Firstly, I'd just like to give a huge thanks to the pretty boy twonk donkey in the blue UMBRO t-shirt who sat on a bench, texting (!!!!!!) for about 10 minutes, sat on a bench, looking in the mirror, sat on a bench, stayed on the bench... looked around... stayed on the bench... thanks a million, I love you more than you could ever know. Love and kisses. And sharp needles poked through your eyes.

Right, where to start?!

Was it busy tonight? Nope.
Should I have been doing Day 2? Yep.
Did I do Day 2? Nope.
Could I get a bench within half an hour? Nope.

Moral of the story? Do the routine you're supposed to do!

DAY ONE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated row: 1x10 @ 30kg, 1x10 @ 35kg, 1x10 @ 40kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg, 2x10 @ 30kg (2 separate visits - too much waiting around! Pleased I did 30kg though - sod 25, it's 30 from now on!)
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg.
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 1x5 @ 8kg :-( and 1x8 @ 8kg.

Bench press: 1x7.5 @ 25kg (I counted 7, Peter Peter Compulsive Eater counted 8!) and 2x7 @ 25kg. :-)

Rowing: 500m.

Pretty happy... I guess... but by the time I'd waited about 50 minutes for a bench I wasn't exactly gunning for glory on my dumbell flys/shoulder pressing, but rattled through 'em nonetheless! Bench pressing went down a treat, I was pretty pleased with doing 25kg right the way through, all thanks to Peter Peter Compulsive Eater who was able to spot me and look at the ceiling at the same time. SAFETY FIRST!

Monday riots

2007-02-06T02:01:00.000Z

Quick post as I'm off to bed! Extremely busy in the gym tonight but managed to roll through the following craziness:

DAY ONE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated row: 3x10 @ 30kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.
Cable lift press: 2x10 @ 7.5kg, 1x10 @ 5kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg.
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 2x8 @ 8kg.

Rowing: 500m.

Laters!

Ache!

2007-02-03T21:17:00.000Z

After having one of those laze around and do nothing days I thought I'd get down the gauntlet, especially as I said I'd go last night too. DAY TWO saw the light of day for 2007..... :-)

Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 @ 10kg.
Squat: 3x12.
SB squat: Attempt 1 minute x2.
Press-ups: 3x7. (I'm rubbish at these but I tried).
FB press-ups: 3x5. (I'm rubbish at these but I tried).
FB balance/squat: Attempt 3x5 (I'm rubbish at these but I tried).
Plank: Attempt 1 minute x2.

Rowing: 500m.

Bench press: 1x10 @ 20kg, 2x5 @ 20kg. (I couldn't resist the urge, plus I thought it would be a good idea to show the extremely pretty blonde on the machine next to it, how manly and strong I am). LOL!

Afterthought..... I still don't really enjoy doing Day 2, I don't feel like I'm getting much out of it as I'm not using many weights, even though doing press-ups for example knackers me out. I'll keep it going for now and maybe ask Lance how I can make it more appealling! I'm gonna watch UNBREAKABLE later, sounds like a wicked film. :-)

Friday HARDCORE!

2007-02-02T23:00:00.000Z

Got my flimsy torso and its sorry ass down Fight Club tonight, after refusing an invite to the pub! I must be going mad. No rest for the wicked! It's been pretty mild all day but tonight turned icy cold here, so I wore my gym gloves there and back to add to my chav-outfit factor. Pleased I went though as I had a wicked sesh, the best for quite some time. I just kept on going!

DAY ONE

Pull-ups (biceps): 2x10 @ -20kg, 1x10 @ -15kg.
Seated row: 2x10 @ 30kg, 1x10 @ 35kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.
Cable lift press: 3x5 @ 5kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg.
Shoulder press: 2x6 @ 8kg, 1x6 @ 8kg.

Bench press: 1x10 @ 20kg, 1x6 @ 20kg, 1x5 @ 20kg.

Rowing: 500m.

Next update: tomozza, where I'll be doing Day 2! (I think I'm addicted again!)

:-D HAPPY DAYS :-D

...with extra-added...

2007-02-02T00:57:00.000Z

Who needs Promax when there's VODKA!

It's been a while.....

2007-01-30T19:23:00.000Z

Well it really is about time I got myself to the gym - and yesterday I did just that. I would have gone on Sunday but simply didn't feel anywhere near 100%! Yesterday's session was quite exhausting, so although I'm still going to go for 22 reps per set, I think I'll have to delay this until I'm back into the regular habit again. I'll be hitting it tomorrow though, for sure!

It was toooooo busy yesterday, so I didn't manage to get a bench until an hour had passed, so rather that committing myself to one of the routines, I did a mixture of the two.....

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated row: 2x10 @ 30kg, 1x10 @ 40kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg (dropped 2kg till I get back into it).
Tricep pulldown: 3x10 @ 10kg.
FB squat: 3x5 (a successful first time! Magic...)
Plank: 3x30 seconds.
Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 8kg, 2x8 @ 8kg.

Rowing: 500m.

Two little ducks.....

2007-01-25T21:06:00.000Z

Hello!
How is everyone?
Don't give me that stern look.
I've been slacking again this week.
I know.
Busy.
So busy.
So I keep saying!
I know.
But really...
Next week.
ALL CHANGE!
After Wednesday, realistically.
Presentation to prepare for.
Dreading!
But it's my...
Birthday tomorrow!
I'll be 22.
Old man.
So that's 22 reps per set on Sunday.
That's my challenge for each exercise; per set.
I don't think I will achieve it for EVERY set.
But I want to see how far I CAN go.
And I'll let you know.
Until then...
Take care.
Ciao!

xx

(1) Yesterday.....

2007-01-21T22:37:00.000Z

Better late than never for the update! I went yesterday afternoon and just about made it home in one piece, even if it did mean getting smacked in the face by freezing cold wind and rain, not to mention getting one of those painful ice-cream headaches just afterwards.

Lazy git that I am - I'm stopping copying/pasting the routines into each post when the link is just on the right - "Tweaked routines" - and instead what I will do is paste from this exactly what I did do... if that makes sense... at least that way it's a truer reflection and doesn't mean I have to faff with green YESSES and NO words any more against each thing. :-)

Bicep curls have got harder - deliberately :-) so I'm doing less as a result. I've made this difficult by 'locking' the top of my arm to my side when I do it... so my forearm is more like a pivot, rather than using my whole arm to lift the weight. Also I didn't do the cable lift stuff as that thing gets used more than the average Amsterdam prostitute, and I couldn't grab it (the machine, that is). So, it went like this...

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x7 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 30kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 10kg.
Shoulder press: 1x9 @ 8kg, 1x8 @ 8kg, 1x5 @ 8kg.

Modified routines (2)

2007-01-18T23:07:00.000Z

S'up homies! A ridiculously windy Thursday night has given me the incentive to tweak my routines ever so slightly. You see, I feel Day 1 was giving me too much to do, and Day 2 wasn't giving me enough... so this is why I've been neglecting Day 2 a little and favouring Day 1, since this whole new amazing thing began. :-)

OK so what have I changed, I hear you ask, cry, yell, shout and scream?! Not a lot really. Seriously!

FB balance | Plank | Sit-ups | Ab cycle | Leg extension

Supposed to have carried out the above for both routines, but this hasn't always been the case (naughty boy - spank my ass if you're pretty and female, if you like). Usually it's been a case of FB balance, plank and leg extension, with the whereabouts of the other two gone astray!

So I've moved these five over to Day 2, and doubled the reps/timings on almost all of them. Essentially this is working me out the same, I'm just trying to even things out more to give me a better balance and more of an incentive for Day 2! Also I've moved the squats to Day 2... haven't been doing this at all as the squat bar is hard to come by... but on the days that I find it, I'll carry this out.

Just a heads up... ciao for nowza! ;-)

Modified routines (1)

2007-01-18T23:05:00.000Z

DAY 1 ROUTINE (UPPER BODY)

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 30kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.

Added 17/12/2006:

Cable lift press: 3x5 @ 5kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x5 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x5 @ 8kg.
Shoulder press: 3x5 @ 8kg.
Shoulder rotation: 3x20 fwds, bwds @ 2kg per arm.

DAY 2 ROUTINE (LOWER BODY (MAINLY))

Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 @ 10kg.
Squat: 3x12.
SB squat: Attempt 1 minute x2.
Press-ups: 3x7.
FB press-ups: 3x5.
FB balance/squat: Attempt 3x5.
Plank: Attempt 1 minute x2.
Sit-ups: 3x10.
Ab cycle: Attempt 3x20.
Leg extension: 3x10.

Early bird

2007-01-15T10:19:00.000Z

Hello! I got back to muscleland yesterday and didn't waste any time abusing my body. :-) Stupid o'clock came round way too quick this morning and I dragged my lazy ass out of bed at 6.30am to go to the gym. Pete came too, or rather he was the logical soul that thought going this early would actually be a good idea. I can't remember the last time I went in the morning, but there were a few people milling about... not too busy though. I set the ball rolling with my ever enjoyable day 1 routine below:

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg. Nope.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x10 @ 10kg. Just realised this is 5 reps per set more than what I should be doing... nice!
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x10 @ 8kg. Did the last set with 8kg weights.
Shoulder press: 3x10 @ 8kg. Hard but I got through it... just.
Shoulder rotation: 3x20 fwds, bwds @ 2kg per arm. No. Rubbish. But I'm not too concerned about these...
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5. No, for some reason I keep forgetting this!
*Ab cycle: 3x20. Attempted when Pete wasn't around cos I look like a tw*t when I do these. :-)
*Leg extension: 3x5. Nope. :(

EXTRAS

Rowing: 500m.

Not too shabby! As I imagined, I haven't been able to get through everything in a single session, although I do get through most. I'm a bit annoyed I didn't do the leg extension today, or any sit-ups! But next time is day 2 so I'll make up for it then. :-) Merci beaucoup and adios for now!

Five and counting

2007-01-08T16:41:00.000Z

It's true! Five visits to two different gun-busting emporiums over Christmas and new year, which is four more than I expected!

I've been sticking to my main routines as closely as possible, and have been doing a lot more upper body work with weights than anything else. I managed the flat and incline chest press with 10kg weights in each hand, which I couldn't manage when I got my new review sorted... big positive! :-)

Can't wait to get back to uni in some ways, then I can start eating like a horse again. Gosh I'm missing my chicken curry dishes! I'll definitely be out of Fish City on Sunday (14th) and back where I belong!

Happy New Year (again) and thanks for playing catch up on my blog with me... regular posting will resume from Sunday!

Cha-rar for now. ;-)

Happy New Year!

2007-01-08T16:37:00.000Z

Howdy all!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and hope you all had a great Christmas, which come to think of it seems ages ago now!

Rock on '07. ;-)

One hundred posts! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

2006-12-20T20:39:00.000Z

Well, here we are! This is the last post of 2006 as I'll be heading back home tomorrow, so it's very nice to end on a high. :-) Our very own sexy Santa sitting pretty to our left (isn't she a delight to the eye) wishes everyone a glamorous and fabulous festive season!

A HUGE THANKS for reading my blog over the past 7 months, if it wasn't for writing this I doubt I'd have made the progress I have done. I've really enjoyed the challenges I've set myself, and I know I'm still in contest with being skinnier (and better looking) than Kelly Brook, but that's about to change! :-)

Anyway, nuff'er that, hope you all have a Happy Chrimbly and an even better New Year, and see you in 2007! By the way, the picture is of Pete, we often train together. ;-)

2006-12-20T20:36:00.000Z

Too much to do tonight and too little time to do it. No show. :( But hopefully I can get to a gym over Christmas. I'm determined!

Bush kangaroo

2006-12-19T22:19:00.000Z

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg. 1 set at 7.5kg
Cable lift press: 3x5 @ 10kg. A bizarre technique which I failed at 10kg, and even 7.5kg was tricky. 5kg's for me next time! This is in each arm.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x5 @ 10kg. Didn't think I'd be able to manage 10kg so dropped this to 8kg. 3x5 was then do-able!
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x5 @ 8kg. Was ok :)
Shoulder press: 3x5 @ 8kg. Difficult! I was shattered after the incline chest stuff... methinks I'll do shoulder pressing first next time.
Shoulder rotation: 3x20 fwds, bwds @ 2kg per arm. Just about there :-)
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Without a squat bar this is becoming a bit too easy... mystery of the missing squat bar.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5. No no no
*Ab cycle: 3x20. No no no
*Leg extension: 3x5. No no no

EXTRAS

Rowing: 500m.
Boxing (Punchbag Pete)
Skipping

Not a bad effort, though I need to re-order a few of the harder things to the front. Luckily the Peternator has had a review and is joining me in some dumbell exercises. Bonus. ;-) Tomorrow'll be the last workout before heading home Thursday... MUST go (somewhere) over Christmas. :-)

Review part trois

2006-12-17T14:28:00.000Z

Sunny sunny sunny! How's that for a Sunday afternoon in coldest December? I love it when it's icy and sunny, you get the best of both worlds! Anyway, I had the third and final review (before Christmas) with Lance today and have added some more hootenanny to my workout:

Dumbell flye (flat): 3x5 @ 10kg.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x5 @ 8kg.
Cable lift press: 3x5 @ 10kg.
Shoulder press: 3x5 @ 8kg.
Shoulder rotation: 3x20 fwds, bwds @ 2kg per arm.

Dumbell flye is basically the chest press exercise... I practiced with 8kg weights for the flat bench which felt ok but he recommended I go for 10kg... the incline one was even harder and 8kg might prove too much but I'll give it a bash. Cable lift press is basically the same as the cable lift curl but in a slightly more forward position so it targets the chest. Shoulder press is on a flat bench, and was pretty tricky with 8kg! Finally the shoulder rotation involved small circle movements with 2kg weights in each hand.

Will update the routines post (link - right) with these new exercises... I have opted to add these to day 1 making it now officially a killer! As before, I doubt I'll have time to complete everything but as long as I complete most of it I should be ok. :-X

Overcurl

2006-12-14T22:35:00.000Z

It's difficult enough walking to the gym in the gales this time of year, never mind running in them! Today hasn't been half as bad but recently I've had half a workout even before reaching the gym. Anyways, today was a lot more productive than yesterday, my leg is slightly better but not completely... still twinging a bit, but I can put up with it for now.

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm). Did an extra set. :-)
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg. Nope, it appeared to be broken. :(
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg. Did one set at 7.5kg again, with better form this time round.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. With some ish-squats...
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Ab cycle: 3x20. No - cause of injury. :(
*Sit-ups: 3x10. Nope. I actually forgot. My workout's gone walkabouts at the gym so have had to print off a personal copy!
*Leg extension: 3x5. No - again cause of injury. :(

EXTRAS

Rowing: 500m.

Definitely a better day than yesterday, and I nearly didn't go tonight as I had a feeling it a) would be packed and b) I felt pretty tired... Pete's teethmarks engraved in my wrist prove that he wasn't going to go it alone! Now I've just gotta wait till this leg gets better... I have another review with Lance on Sunday, job's a good'un! ;-)

Rubbish

2006-12-13T22:11:00.000Z

Well, tonight (Day 2) was my least productive session for some time, mainly because I somehow managed to strain the top part of my right leg. :-( Serves me right for not warming up properly but it's only a small twinge... however it was enough to put me out from doing the Leg Extension. :-(

Boooooo! Hope it wears off sharpish.

I did do both types of tricep exercises (pull-up and extension) and the plank, balancing (with some quick squats, for a change) so all was not lost completely!

That's about all that is newsworthy and newsish on this day of news. If anything remotely exciting happens I'll be sure to let you all know! Thanks for your eyes and cheerio til next time. ;-)

Get looky

2006-12-12T21:04:00.001Z

Couldn't keep myself away!

2006-12-11T22:11:00.000Z

I'm addicted to the gym! No point keeping the cat at home while the dog's away! There's a saying in there somewhere but I can't quite put my finger on it. I figured I may as well try and adopt the Tues/Weds, Fri/Sat routine after Christmas... as I'm heading back to Fish City next Thursday so gym time will be limited over Christmas until I'm back here... probably soon after New Year... but I'll keep you posted on that. Anyway, enough talking jive, on to tonight's crab crunching...

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg. Nope, it wasn't free. :-(
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg. Tried 7.5kg on the last set and just about managed it, but with bad form, so I'll stay on 5kg for now.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Tried with squats (barless (not braless!)) and improving. ;-)
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Ab cycle: 3x20. I just can't do them (properly)!
*Sit-ups: 3x10. I did a few, flat.
*Leg extension: 3x5. 3x10.

EXTRAS

Bench press: 3x5 @ 20kg, 1x10 @ 20kg (at speed), 1x5 @ 25kg, 1x1 @ 30kg... pushed myself to the limits on this tonight!
Rowing: 500m.

Ab-solutely

2006-12-09T21:40:00.000Z

DAY 2 ROUTINE

Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 @ 10kg.
SB squat: Attempt 1 minute x2. 30 seconds, 30 seconds.
Press-ups: 3x7. 3x10.
FB press-ups: 3x5. 3x7.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Tried squatting, it's very difficult to do and my legs shake like crazy, practice...
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5. 3x10, flat.
*Ab cycle: 3x20. Not sure how many I did, but I did quite a few, 3 sets.
*Leg extension: 3x5. 3x10.

EXTRAS

Shoulder press: 1x6 @ 15kg, 2x10 @ 12.5kg (machines, unfortunately, but better than not at all).
Pectoral machine: 1x10 @ 25kg, 1x10 at 27.5kg.
Rowing: 500m.

Pleased with tonight's session, my stomach is taking some flak so I must have killed my abs! Hitting the gym on Tuesday again I'd imagine... as Mondays and Thursdays are always very busy. Looking to roll into a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday routine. Thanks again for reading up on my quest to become the world's strongest man. ;-)

Vendredi

2006-12-08T22:22:00.000Z

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Yes indeed, and added some twists into the mix today.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Ab cycle: 3x20. Managed about 10 or 11 before falling all over the place.
*Sit-ups: 3x10. Avoided using the bench, going to get past the stage where I can do them flat first! Pete standing on my feet worked a treat (I could almost be a poet there).
*Leg extension: 3x5. Very pleased with this, I could actually do them today, for a change.

EXTRAS

Rowing: 500m.

Pretty pleased with how this went, definitely making another trip either tomorrow or Sunday to carry out day 2. ;-)

Littlejones, your request

2006-12-05T23:50:00.000Z

As promised...

SB (Swiss ball) squat - Only my arms are down by my sides.

FB balance - Only this is flipped upside down (so I stand on the flat bit) and just stay stood, balancing for as long as possible. I found this extremely hard on Sunday but it's since become very easy, so I'm going to introduce some twists and squats soon.

FB press-ups is again using this thing in the flipped position, just doing standard press-ups... my arms tend to shake like a leaf though, but I guess that'll reduce with practice. :-)

Boxing, anyone?

2006-12-05T23:43:00.000Z

DAY 2 ROUTINE

Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 @ 10kg.
SB squat: Attempt 1 minute x2. 30 seconds, 30 seconds.
Press-ups: 3x7.
FB press-ups: 3x5.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Yep, but it's become too easy too soon! :-( Doing twists/squats on this next!
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5. Nope.
*Ab cycle: 3x20. Nope.
*Leg extension: 3x5. Nope.

EXTRAS

Shoulder press: 1x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Bench press: 4x5 @ 20kg.
Rowing: 500m.

Reason for the "nope's" is because I'm aching far too much after yesterday... too much pain! Abs are hurting loads, so I'm just taking it steady with these exercises to see how things go. Pete noticed the studio room was free... and hung up were two punch bags and a store cupboard filled with boxing gloves... we put two and two together and did some "training" :-) Just had chicken with rice in korma sauce. Mmmmm!

Balancing acts

2006-12-04T22:47:00.000Z

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Squat: 3x12. No, couldn't find the bar!
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute. Yes! For 5 minutes. Such a big improvement just from yesterday, and my legs weren't shaking like a leaf nearly as much.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds. Just about... only by the third set my abs and arms were pretty dead.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5. Again, sort of... this was the last thing I did though. I did many many sit-ups but lost count. Oops. :-(
*Ab cycle: 3x20. Yeah right. It's impossible.
*Leg extension: 3x5. Again, tricky but I made a decent attempt.

All in all not bad, I'm especially pleased with being able to balance on the FB much better than before. I caught Lance tonight and asked about shoulders/chest pressing... he suggested some exercises to try so I did 1x10 shoulder pressing with 6kg in each hand, which was pretty tough going. Also I took on the SB squat whilst waiting for a machine and managed 45 seconds, 30 seconds on both attempts. Slowly but surely.

Day 2 routine tomorrow... :-) Byeeeeeeeeeee.

Routines summary

2006-12-03T21:46:00.000Z

So, the journey takes another swift change of direction... I doubt I'll be able to fit everything in (below) but I'll do my best to do most of what's there... thing is, I don't want to stop bench/chest/shoulder press exercises either yet time doesn't really allow! I enjoy these a lot though so I'll fit them in somehow. Silly me forgot to ask about free weighting these so I'll have to drill into my little brain to remember to ask on 17th (next review).

Will attempt something along the lines of...

Monday = Day 1
Tuesday = Day 2
Thursday = Day 1
Friday = Day 2

Cheerzz ;-)

Split routines

2006-12-03T21:39:00.001Z

DAY 1 ROUTINE

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 40kg.
Lat pulldown: 3x10 @ 25kg.
Squat: 3x12.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 5kg.
Cable lift press: 3x5 @ 10kg. Added 17/12/2006.
Dumbell flye (flat): 3x5 @ 10kg. Added 17/12/2006.
Dumbell flye (incline): 3x5 @ 8kg. Added 17/12/2006.
Shoulder press: 3x5 @ 8kg. Added 17/12/2006.
Shoulder rotation: 3x20 fwds, bwds @ 2kg per arm. Added 17/12/2006.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5.
*Ab cycle: 3x20.
*Leg extension: 3x5.

DAY 2 ROUTINE

Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 @ 10kg.
SB squat: Attempt 1 minute x2.
Press-ups: 3x7.
FB press-ups: 3x5.
*FB balance: Attempt 1 minute.
*Plank: 3x30 seconds.
*Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5.
*Ab cycle: 3x20.
*Leg extension: 3x5.

*Both days

Pain game

2006-12-03T12:28:00.000Z

Crazy. Absolutely crazy. Had the second part of my review this morning - legs and abs... ERRORRRRR! Mission Impossible 4 is about to begin.

Squat: 3x12.
FB balance: 1 minute (standing on top of the half ball (harder than hard)).
SB (swiss ball) squat: 3x12 (2 attempts at one minute).
Plank: 3x30 seconds (raised press-up position with elbows at right-angles to the floor).
Sit-up bench: 1x10, 1x8, 1x5 (also harder than hard!)
Ab cycle: 3x20.
Leg extension: 3x5.

Lots to go at here! My abs were still hurting when I got home so this should and will really test me. He recommended I split this and the weight training over 2 days, with each exercises allocated to a particular day, or both days (will post each day's exercises later). The challenge begins...!

Busy bee

2006-12-02T16:48:00.001Z

Been mad busy all week again and had little time to stretch the muscles :( but Review Part Deux is in the morning and I'm looking forward to that!

Settled down to watch the World's Strongest Man yesterday, there was a 20-year old on! :o|

Well there's no point waiting around!

2006-11-27T22:56:00.000Z

I was aching quite a bit from yesterday's new introduction, and the pain got worse throughout the day... so what did I do? Hit the gym!

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 25kg (+10kg)... I found this easier than I thought compared to yesterday, and even 25kg felt quite light, and wasn't too challenging so I'll probably increase it to 35-40kg next time I go and see how that goes.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 10kg... hard work... harder than it felt yesterday.
Tricep extension: 3x10 at 10kg (+5kg).
Press-ups: 3x7.
Chest press: 5 @ 5kg, 10 @ 10kg, 15 @ 15kg, 20 @ 20kg. Thought I'd try something new and see how far I could go without stopping. Think I got to about 7 or 8 at 15kg before fatigue kicked in! But I made sure I carried out what I'd set out to do. On Sunday I'm going to ask about free weight chest presses though... ooo and shoulder presses too.
Bench press: 3x10 @ 15kg.
Rowing: 500m.

Didn't do any shoulder or leg work tonight, as I said before I'm looking to incorporate the shoulder work into the free weights area.

I've downloaded a load of pdf's from the Men's Health website, each one contains a few exercises for each body part, so a few new things to try out. Roll on Sunday. :-)

A new era (2)

2006-11-27T04:55:00.000Z

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg (per arm).
Seated row: 3x10 @ 15kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 10kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 at 5kg.
Press-ups: 3x7.
Press-ups (FB... Flat Ball?): 3x5.
*Shoulder press: TBA
*Chest press: TBA
*Leg press: TBA
Upper back: TBA
Vertical traction: TBA
Abdominal crunch: TBA
Bench press: TBA

Well, I'll never get through all that each time I go, so even combining the two properly isn't actually possible, BUT I'll aim to do everything green (new stuff) and pick and choose from the blue (existing) stuff... with a few definites (*) from the blue, per visit. Over time I'll aim to migrate the shoulder and chest press to using free weights anyway, as I consider these to be the most important out of the blue. I won't aim to bench press every time I go, but at least once a week... unless it turns out I'm benefiting more from the bench press than the chest press, of course.

So it's all happening in the Twelve Pack house. Thanks for looking and I'll keep you posted! ;-)

A new era (1)

2006-11-27T04:15:00.000Z

A 2½ hour performance last night saw me collapse ON the bed at around 10pm... well it's now 4 o'clock in the morning and I've just woken up... in my gym clothes... nice.

The first 30-45 mins was spent with Lance, who I was booked in to have my review with. "I know you from somewhere!" he said... now if Lance'd been a girl, I'd have been quite excited to hear that, I mean, it doesn't take much, but unfortunately he didn't convince me as being particularly feminine. The remaining 2 hours I spent doing a combination of my new-found routine and my existing one (this is what he recommended doing). So here's all the funky new stuff:

Pull-ups (biceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Dips (triceps): 3x10 @ -20kg.
Seated bicep curl: 3x10 @ 6kg per arm.
Seated row: 3x10 @ 15kg.
Cable lift curl: 3x10 @ 10kg.
Tricep extension: 3x10 at 5kg.
Press-ups: 3x7.
Press-ups (FB... Flat Ball?): 3x5.

You'll notice a few of the weights are quite light, he suggested I start off with low weights until I feel I can take more on. I doubt I'll be waiting around before that happens and I think I'll follow what Presto suggested (thankyou!) when I can get to grips properly with the above, incrementing the reps each week slightly, and then upping the weight monthly.

Pull-ups (biceps) and dips (triceps)
Involves climbing up a ladder, using a platform to go up and down. I'm not really sure how it works, somehow the less weight you do, the harder it is because you're lifting your own body weight minus the weight you set it to.

Seated bicep curl
Pretty self-explanatory I think, a 6kg dumbbell in each hand, with a raised seat at the back for lower back support.

Seated row
Involves sitting on the floor with your legs against a footrest, pulling a cable grip from an 'arms stretched' position in to your stomach, keeping elbows tucked in.

Cable lift curl
This is the one where you stand between two weights and grab a cable in each hand, making a T-shape, and bringing each arm inward to ear-level.

Tricep extension
Same as I normally do but I'm using the rope grip rather than the bar, which is slightly more difficult.

Press-ups
Painful but true. Will be using the hand grips for these... and I think the 'FB' part is 'Flat Ball' or something... again I can't read his handwriting! It's not a ball though... it's a sphere cut in half that you lean on with your chest... loads of stability required, heck of a challenge I tell you!

I think I've more or less figured out what weights I'm going to do when I increase things (well, I had to have a dabble with some higher ones) but I'm not going to start changing things just yet as I've got another review next Sunday with Lance again. Good times!

So there you have it, my new routine... lots of emphasis on the upper body, especially biceps and triceps... it dawned on me that many of the big guys in gyms must just use the free weights areas and don't bother with the machines. This is basically the opposite (in a way) of my current routine.

HAPPY DAYS! :-)

2006-11-24T19:40:00.000Z

WOWZERS! I just discovered that I'm ranked a very high 8th of 1,270,000 on Google under the web search (not UK search, strangely enough) 'twelve pack' ! That's pretty impressive to me, even if it's not to you! I doubt many people search for 'twelve pack' though... they're more likely to go to a beer/condom supplier. Still, it put a smile on my face. :-)

Comfortably numb

2006-11-23T23:03:00.000Z

Pretty pleased with how today's gone overall, although I must say I feel like I've lost a bit of direction/purpose at the gym mainly because of the little voices in my head telling me I need to change sets/reps combos! So I booked a review for Sunday evening, this'll hopefully allow me to discuss where I'm going next and what other factors (if any) are affecting my performance e.g. diet.

If I'm to find a new combination, I need to lower the number of reps, although parts of tonight kinda contradict this. So I'd be looking at something like 8 sets of 4, or 7 sets of 5. Or even keep the number of reps at 6 per set, but do more than 5 sets. In any case, I'll hopefully get the opportunity to talk through this on Sunday and get some new doors opening up. :-) Here goes:

Shoulder press: 4x10 at 10kg, 1x6 at 12.5kg, 1x4 at 10kg.
Chest press: 5x6 at 25kg.
Leg press: 3x10 at 70kg.
Upper back: 1x10 at 25kg, 2x10 at 20kg.
Triceps: 5x6 at 15kg.
Vertical traction: 3x10 at 32.5kg (I was knackered by this point!)
Abdominal crunch: 3x10 at 20kg.

Rowing: 1000m (5:04).

Stuck to 3x10 mainly, just to add a bit of variation and get away from 5x6 where possible. All in all not a bad game but I'm avoiding Thursday nights from now on... too many freshers wanting a fitness fix before a 3-day bender! Cheers for the eye.

Filling it large

2006-11-23T02:25:00.000Z

Yuck! I'm at the dentist tomorrow. Can I take my iPod to listen to while he does the filling? Least I won't be able to hear the drill. :-) I've got to have one tomorrow - my first one ever! Shouldn't be too bad as I've had teeth out before under the gum-prick but I've forgotten how much that bit hurts... or am I just being a wuss?

You're being a wuss, Johnny!

I'll let you know how it goes... :-/

Combinations

2006-11-19T10:56:00.000Z

Just a heads up on this! For now I've decided to plug on as I currently am doing, carrying out 5x6 on almost every machine. However, I haven't ran around the 'net yet to look for alternatives!

I thought about doing 4x8 across the board, but 6 reps per set on say, the shoulder press and chest press, pushes me to my limits at the weights I use... I couldn't manage 8 reps consecutively without lowering the weight, and that's not what I want to do.

I've always found the leg press and more recently the vertical traction easier, so have changed to 3x15 (like the good old days (see previous post)) and 3x10 respectively on these.

Over and out.

Sleeeeeep

2006-11-19T10:53:00.000Z

I finally got some. :)

After writing Thursday's entry, I hit the sack and slept from 5pm-3am... then got up... did productive things until dawn, hit the gym around 4pm and churned out a half-decent performance, then hit the hay at 10.

Shoulder press: 1x6 at 12.5kg, 4x6 at 10kg.
Chest press: 4x6 at 25kg, 1x6 at 20kg.
Leg press: 3x15 at 70kg.
Triceps: 5x6 at 15kg.
Vertical traction: 3x10 at 37.5kg.

Bench press: 3x10 at 15kg, 1x5 at 20kg.

Rowing: 1000m (4:56 - very quick, for a change (but I was racing the gorgeous girl next to me, and she knew it, ha!))

Couple of lower weights here and there, partly cos I'd not been for a week and partly because of tired I was, but overall not a bad performance!

26 hours and counting.....

2006-11-17T16:22:00.000Z

Without sleep. :-/

Thursday morning I went to bed at 6am after spending most of the night awake... woke up at 2pm Thursday afternoon, I love having each Thursday off. Then I thought I'd add deja-vu to the extreme... spent 3pm-4am yesterday/today awake, and then decided to stay up... it's now 4.20pm on Friday afternoon so I make that pretty good going.

And the reason for doing this, I hear you cry?!?! Been writing a huge report (and proof-reading another)... a Professional Development Report (PDR)... I love uni! =)

So due to my lack of time management skills, I haven't been to the gym all week... but I'm going tomorrow!

I'll keep you po... zzzzzzzzzzzZZZZzzzzzzzz...

Saturday night fever

2006-11-11T23:09:00.000Z

After the Peternator kept me waiting for over half an hour, eventually we got to the gym... luckily we planned to go earlyish, so we both had an overwhelmingly hardcore workout! Below was my mission accomplished:

Shoulder press: 2x6 at 12.5kg, 3x6 at 10kg.
Chest press: 1x6 at 30kg, 4x6 at 25kg.
Leg press: 4x6 at 70kg, 1x18 at 70kg... just because!
Triceps: 5x6 at 15kg (first time I've done 5 sets all at 15kg).
Vertical traction: 5x6 at 37.5kg.
Upper back: 5x6 at 25kg.

Rowing: 1000m, 500m.

Cycling (don't ask): 10 minutes.

***ENCORE!*** we then stayed an extra 45 minutes!

Shoulder press: 5x6 at 10kg.
Triceps: 5x6 at 15kg.

Bench press: 4x5 at 20kg. I tackled 25kg too but I can't remember if I did a full set or whether it was just a couple of reps!

Abdominal crunch: 3x10 at 20kg.

Made max usage tonight, that's the way it should always be! Pete reckons I'm not getting enough out of doing a 5/6 sets/reps combination so I'm thinking about changing it... as some of the machines like the Leg Press I can go above and beyond 6 reps per set at 70kg. Plus your body gets more benefit from the whole thing if you work it when it becomes tired. So I'm thinking of a changeover to 4x8... I'll let you know what I decide. :) Cheers for reading!

Choosday

2006-11-07T23:32:00.000Z

Hello monkeys! Hope you're all fantastically well. Got back an hour ago, for some reason ever since I got ill, my workout not only takes longer but gets me more tired too! Anyway, tonight I rolled out the following:

Shoulder press: 1x6 at 15kg, 1x6 at 12.5kg, 3x6 at 10kg.
Chest press: 4x6 at 25kg, 1x6 at 30kg (+5kg). I suspect I've been struggling on this because I've been having the seat too high! I lowered the seat a bit for 30kg and it seemed easier, so next time I'll try 5x6 at 30kg with a lower seat and see how I go. :)
Triceps: 3x6 at 15kg, 2x6 at 10kg. Painful at 15kg, as always, but I made it to the end.
Leg press: 5x6 at 70kg.
Vertical traction: 5x10 (not sure why 10, but 10!) at 37.5kg.
Upper back: 5x6 at 25kg.

Bench press: 3x10 at 15kg (first time in about 3 weeks I think).

Rowing: 1000m.

Good times! Might be going again tomorrow, more likely Thursday as I'll have more free time. Thanks for dropping by to such an isolated place. :-)

Yesterday... all my troubles...

2006-11-03T18:17:00.000Z

Cutting the crap as I've got to leave to catch a train in a minute, but yesterday I did the following (I was exhausted so some weights were slightly lower!):

Shoulder press: 1x6 at 15kg, 1x6 at 12.5kg, 3x6 at 10kg.
Chest press: 5x6 at 25kg.
Leg press: 3x6 at 70kg, 2x6 at 60kg.
Triceps: 2x6 at 15kg, 3x6 at 10kg.
Vertical traction: 1x6 at 40kg, 4x6 at 37.5kg.
Upper back: 1x6 at 25kg, 4x6 at 20kg.

Rowing: 1000m, 500m.

Have a good weekend all... don't throw any fireworks will you :-) ... and see you on the flipper!

Spontaneous Sunday

2006-10-30T15:06:00.000Z

Hit the muscle-quenching emporium last night, first time I've been since I got better and properly felt like I was capable of putting a lot of effort into it! Churned out the following:

Shoulder press: 1x6 at 15kg, 4x6 at 12.5kg.
Chest press: 5x6 at 25kg (Finally! Long breaks between sets).
Leg press: 2x6 at 80kg, 3x6 at 70kg (ignoring 80kg from now on, it's a bit too big a step up too soon).
Triceps: 5x6 at 15kg.
Biceps (something new): 1x10 at 10kg, 1x6 at 10kg, 1x10 at 7.5kg.
Vertical traction: 1x6 at 40kg, 4x6 at 37.5kg.

Rowing: 1000m, 500m.

Supposed to be going again any minute now, but the Peternator isn't back from uni to go! I'll keep you monkeys posted. :-)

iMac'ed up!

2006-10-30T14:59:00.000Z

Bought myself a brand spanking new(ish) 20" Intel iMac last Wednesday. :-) After one or two problems with the shop supplying completely out of date software with it, I've finally managed to get it up and running! Ran a clean install of Tiger so I'm squeaky clean on the clutter front. All systems go! Happy Happy Happy :-)

Yarrrroooooaaah

2006-10-29T01:47:00.000Z

Well, thanks for all the 'get well' messages..... :-|

I went to the gym on Tuesday night but it was a bit of a struggle, VERY TIRING! Didn't do much.... and what I did do, I can't remember, as it was four whole days ago now! But there's the possibility of me going again tomorrow and hopefully it won't take long for me to get back in to the swing of things... will keep you posted.

Under the weather

2006-10-23T21:51:00.000+01:00

Hi all! Everyone! Yes, you! I'm looking at you! With the big afro! Yeah, you! You got it.

I've not been very well since Thursday, so haven't been to that muscle quenching arena that they like to call 'the gym'. Pete tried to drag me there tonight but I wasn't having any of it, even though I've started to feel slightly better these last two days. Once I'm officially better I'll head straight back!

Just thought I'd better post *something* so you know I'm out of action and not just purely bone idle. :-)

Deliciously suited and booted; naturally ;-)

2006-10-17T00:17:00.000+01:00

Got a presentation tomorrow... I hate presentations! It's more of an informal chat about my placement to first and second years and employers too... funny, I don't remember thinking about my placement in the first year!

As for the Dogs picture... well I was going to go in all black (I know it's a white shirt in the picture but we haven't had one of those for a while) but I bought a pink (yes, pink) stripy tie today to offset the dark and mysterious with a sprinkle of shazzaaaam. Ahem. Anyway, hopefully all will go well! Anyway, on to more important matters below:

Shoulder press - 1x4 at 17.5kg (+2.5kg), 2x6 at 15kg, 2x6 at 10kg. I think I was pushing myself too hard with the 17.5kg but it was worth a shot... I never used to be able to move 10kg! :-)
Chest press - 4x6 at 25kg, 1x6 at 20kg (took turns with Petester again!)
Leg press - 2x6 at 80kg, 3x6 at 70kg... 80kg really is a tricky one.
Tricep pulldown - 2x6 at 15kg, 3x6 at 10kg.
Upper back - 2x6 at 25kg, 3x6 at 20kg. J'ai deteste ca! :-X
Vertical traction - 2x6 at 37.5kg, 3x6 at 35kg.

Rowing - 1000m... and that arc is getting more like an arc with every stroke, until I hit my usual 30+ spm with 100m to go, then it's more like a pointed roof than a fluent arc! :-/

Apparently we're going again tomorrow... which technically should be a rest day! We'll see! Thanks for dropping by my little corner of the Internet. :-)

10.45 wasn't bad...

2006-10-12T11:52:00.001+01:00

Considering we apparently aimed for 9 o'clock... hahaha! Apparently it was my fault we were late for the gym... not in a million years! Light session this morning consisting of:

Shoulder press - 2x6 at 15kg, 1x6 at 12.5kg, 2x6 at 10kg.
Chest press - 1x6 at 25kg, 4x6 at 20kg.
Leg press - 1x3 at 80kg, 1x10 at 70kg, 2x10 at 60kg.
Tricep pulldown - 1x10 at 15kg, 2x10 at 10kg.

Rowing - 1000m.

And that's all... not bad though considering I was there again 15 hours ago! Attempted some skipping too, I haven't skipped for yonks... time to buy a skipping rope methinks, plus skipping's very good for you!

Just add muscle and mix...

2006-10-11T23:18:00.000+01:00

The Peternator came along with me today so I mixed and matched things up a bit... here goes:

Shoulder press - 1x6 at 15kg, 2x6 at 12.5kg, 1x6 at 10kg.

Chest press - 5x6 at 25kg (pleased with this, we took it in turns, so this made things much easier... don't think I've been able to do 5x6 at 25kg since August).

Leg press - 2x10 at 70kg, 1x10 at 80kg (+10kg (again!)). I'd be very pleased if I could do 100kg before Christmas... I thought 70kg was my limit but proved myself wrong today. :-)

Upper back - 4x6 at 25kg, 1x6 at 30kg (+5kg).

Tricep pulldown - 1x10 at 15kg (very painful), 2x10 at 10kg.

Vertical traction - 1x10 at 40kg (+5kg), 2x10 at 37.5kg (+2.5kg).

Abdominal crunch - 5x6 at 20kg.

Bench press - 4x5 at 20kg.

Rowing - 1000m - and a bit speedier today too at 5:04, if I remember rightly... must be that near-perfect new technique of mine...! :-)

The plan is for Pete to drag me out of bed early tomorrow morning so if I make it I'll update the blogster... if not I'll be going again probably Sunday as I'm in Lincoln again this weekend! Had a nice greasy chinese when I got home... carb/fat central...! :-)

Oh, I've booked myself in for a 1-2-1 session for Saturday 21st... looking forward to being shown the ropes again and it'll be a chance to ask some more questions.

Mammoth Monday

2006-10-09T19:58:00.000+01:00

Had myself a very good sesh today, consisting of:

Shoulder press - 1x6 at 15kg (+5kg), 4x6 at 10kg.
Chest press - 3x6 at 25kg.
Leg press - 5x6 at 70kg (+10kg).
Upper back - 5x6 at 25kg.
Tricep pulldown - 2x6 at 15kg (+5kg), 3x6 at 10kg.
Vertical traction - 2x6 at 37.5kg (+2.5kg), 3x6 at 35kg.

Bench press - 4x5 at 20kg.

Rowing - 1000m - trying to concentrate more on my technique from now on, the graph is very useful... I'm working on attaining the perfect arc.

Hopefully I'll get another session in on Wednesday or Thursday...

Thanks for reading!

Forgot to add!

2006-10-05T18:27:00.000+01:00

The Upper Back machine hasn't been a favourite of mine for quite some time now and today was the first time I've used it since I've been going recently again... out of choice really, as I should be using it more, to strengthen my back muscles for support to my non-straight spine. :-/

Did do 5x6 at 25kg, so am happy with that. Technique is everything, gotta keep your elbows high so the top part of your arms are horizontal!

Also rowed 1000m and 500m. :-)

Imagine all the people..... living life in vanity.....

2006-10-05T18:00:00.000+01:00

Today was SOOOOOO busy... full of pretty boys with dyed hair in vests. So I spent half the time waiting around to use the machines whilst they spent half the time looking in the mirror. :-P

SHOULDER PRESS
5x6 at 10kg, with no real problems.

CHEST PRESS
3x6 at 25kg, 2x6 at 25kg. I had to come back to this towards the end of my workout as I couldn't manage it all at once... beginning to think the step up to 25kg (from 20kg) was too big a leap... should I persevere with 25kg and just do as much as I can, or lower it to 20kg so I can carry out 5 sets?

LEG PRESS
70kg is looking good from now on, at least I'm going to try it out. Today I did 3x6 at 60kg and 2x6 at 70kg.

VERTICAL TRACTION
3x6 at 35kg, 2x6 at 30kg. One of these days I'll hit all 5 sets at 35kg!

TRICEP PULLDOWN (and a Lucozade bottle)
I used a different set of weights and 15kg seemed ultra light, so I upped it to 25kg and did 3 sets of 10 reps. Bizarre, but at least it hurt. :-)

ABDOMINAL CRUNCH
Pain, pain, and more pain. Until I realised it was on 25kg and not 20kg. Pay attention next time Johnny! So, accidentally I can say that I did one set on 25kg, and 4 sets on 20kg. :-)

BENCH PRESS
3x10 at 15kg... puff... pant... I was knackered towards the end of the third set and had to stop at rep 6, but did do all 10. :-)

Pinch, punch, 1st of the month

2006-10-01T21:42:00.000+01:00

After running between the raindrops I managed to rattle out what's below. Will occasionally post a summary of each machine, just so when I look back I'm not just looking at a load of numbers. :-P

SHOULDER PRESS
5x6 at 10kg. Struggled towards the end a bit but I think the 500m rowing I'd done beforehand battered me because of the speed I did it at! Didn't attempt anything at 12.5kg because... erm... I forgot. Will remember for next time!

CHEST PRESS
5x6 at 25kg. Think my lack of September workouts has had the most effect on my chest. It really is an effort towards the end of every set at 25kg, but saying that, I had only increased it from 20kg at the end of August.

LEG PRESS
5x6 at 60kg, no prob! Will remember to carry out 1x6 at 70kg next time.

VERTICAL TRACTION
2x6 at 35kg, 3x6 at 30kg. Methinks I'm going to use this machine from now on, in place of the Lat Pulldown as they're very similar, and I'd much rather pull down two handles rather than an 'elastic' bar!

TRICEP PULLDOWN
5x6 at 10kg, will attempt 1x6 at 15kg next time I go, as before.

ABDOMINAL CRUNCH
4x6 at 20kg. Couldn't manage the fifth set because I'd done the four sets much slower than normal... PAIN!

BENCH PRESS
3x10 at 15kg. Have decided to start doing these in sets of 10 rather than 5 for a more effective workout and also because I don't normally have a spotter for this. Will do 20kg when I have a spotter by me. :-)

Come on Twelve Pack! Get off your arse and update your blog will you, you lazy scumbag student pittance of skin and bone!

2006-10-01T00:26:00.000+01:00

Well, at least that's the impression I'm getting! I hope the gazillions of you all who read my blog from all around the world are both fit and well, and living life to the max. :-)

Really sorry for the lack of updates, a broken computer (aaarrrrghh!) meant that I was unable to post! But a move back to uni has sorted me right out and has enabled me to start bashing the gym again – regularly!

I could tell I hadn't been for absolutely ages when I thought I'd mount the bench press with my usual 20kg... but SILLY ME put 20kg on each end – ERROR! I could barely move the bar so blamed this on my recent laziness rather than the fact that I just couldn't add up. :-P

Apart from that little blunder, everything else has gone fine and dandy. :-) I'm pleased I've managed to maintain 10kg on the shoulder press although he 25kg on the chest was a little bit of a struggle.. Still, 2-3 weeks time and things should be back to the norm completely.

I'm back at uni from Monday onwards although my gym buddy has agreed to get his lazy ass out of bed and start joining me again... rock on! :-)

Thanks for dropping by again. ;-)

New York, New York

2006-09-14T22:00:00.000+01:00

I'm back in one piece, and I had the best ever time out there, it was truely incredible! Took some amazing photos which can be found here. Hope you like them!

Highlights of the holiday were:

1. The pure fluke of getting Snow Patrol tickets, I'd heard they were touring a few days earlier in the US but when I found out it was literally across the road from the hotel we stayed at (Novotel), we HAD to try for tickets and luckily we got them!

2. Meeting Renée, my 'pen friend' who's currently at Temple University in Philadelphia. We had an amazing day out at the Statue of Liberty and she had never even seen herself so it was new grounds for her. We also went to a place called Applebee's for lunch and I had an oversized cheeseburger... think I ate better out there than I do here! :-/

3. The BB King Blues Bar on Monday night, our last night in NY. A guy called Jon Paris was playing and he was awesome, both the music and the food was great. He did renditions of Mustang Sally and Blue Suede Shoes as well as his own bluesy stuff.

4. Getting to Ground Zero was a mission in itself, and seeing the site was quite strange and eerie but I appreciated the experience. This is quite far downtown as it is, so we carried on past Ground Zero towards the Hudson River and saw the city across it. We tried walking up to Brooklyn Bridge but it was just too far and it was getting dark too.

5. Central Park, and seeing the John Lennon memorial (Strawberry Fields). I didn't see this last time I came to the park so it was fantastic to see, and people had left the Imagine lyrics and some photos on the memorial as well as what you can see in the picture.

The Big Apple

2006-09-07T12:46:00.000+01:00

A shade over two weeks without any gym activity, although Sunday afternoon was sunny so I ended up playing football for most of it... it was muchos fun, but probably not the best idea in the world as it's now Thursday, and my leg is still aching!

Tomorrow I'm jetting off to New York for a few days, my suitcase is just about packed and everything's under control. Apparently there's a heatwave over there, I think it's going to hover around the 28 degrees mark, which will be just lovely. I'm meeting a friend on Saturday (yes Rich, the real doll!) which I'm looking forward to loads! Just can't wait to get out there and see the city sights once again... it's truely remarkable. :-)

I'm back from NY on Wednesday (13th) but as my parents go away for a week on the following Saturday (16th) I'm thinking of heading over to Sheffield for a few days just so I can get to a gym. Then it's back to uni on Thursday 27th, not long left of the summer left now!

Anyways, once again, thanks to each and every one of you who pop along to read this, I'll be back with a vengeance (hopefully) with some proper blog-related news to post about! Thanks for reading! :-D

Lately updately...

2006-08-31T13:47:00.000+01:00

Hello all, hope everyone is good and well!

Just posting to say thanks for the comments on the previous post. :-)

I haven't had the opportunity to go to the gym lately as my parents haven't been... I've lost my routine of regularity a little bit, I used to go so much and this summer's been a killer for regular visits. Man, in some ways I can't wait to get back to uni, just so I can start going all the time again (to the gym that is, not to uni)!

Hopefully I'll be able to get a session in this weekend, all being well...

Will keep you posted!

I'd just like to say...

2006-08-19T20:03:00.000+01:00

I'd just to like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to read my blog! Thanks so much for the support, writing this diary is not only a great source of motivation, but knowing that people read it helps a heck of a lot too. :-)

Fixed for the weekend

2006-08-19T19:43:00.000+01:00

Well, the weekend is finally here, though it looks like this afternoon's sunshine has officially gone – it's thunderstorming as I'm writing this, and raining ultra hard! After legging it back from shopping in town, a swift change of clothes saw me quickly out the door again. :-)

Machines
Shoulder press: 1x8 at 12.5kg (+2.5kg increase), 2x8 at 10kg.
Chest press: 5x6 at 25kg.
Leg press: 1x6 at 70kg (+10kg), 4x6 at 60kg (strain has worn off now :-)).
Vertical traxion (lat pulldown): 1x6 at 35kg, 4x6 at 30kg.
Upper back: 2x6 at 25kg (+5kg), 3x6 at 20kg.

Rowing
Start: 500m.
End: 500m.

Running (!)
Walk/run for about 8 minutes.

Running certainly won't be a regular thing, but it's nice just to stretch those legs once in a while. I'm so out of shape though! I came off the treadmill nearly out of breath... can't be good for me to be this unfit!

Well pleased with the shoulder press, although I had to re-visit the third set later on - 1x8 on 12.5kg battered me so I might keep it constant at 10kg.

Gonna chill out tonight with a film... and a chinese. :-)

Today, I have been to the gym

2006-08-17T15:38:00.000+01:00

Back where I belong at last! Dad is WFH today which means I took up the golden opportunity and headed down there with him. I thought I'd make today as challenging as possible, so I increased weight on everything, to varying success levels...

Machines
Shoulder press: 3x8 at 10kg (+2.5kg) – ultra pleased :-)
Chest press: 5x6 at 25kg (+5kg)
Leg press: 1x6 at 70kg (+10kg), 4x6 at 60kg
Vertical traxion (lat pulldown): 1x6 at 35kg, 4x6 at 30kg
Tricep pulldown: 1x6 at 15kg, 4x6 at 10kg
Upper back: 2x6 at 25kg (+5kg), 3x6 at 20kg
Abdominal crunch: 5x6 at 20kg

Free weights
Shoulder press - 1x10 with 5kg in each hand (+2.5kg)

Rowing
Start: 1000m (5:19) - 100m slow, 100m fast, 100m slow, 100m fast, etc
End: 250m

I did myself an injury today. :-( I've twinged something at the base of my back, just off centre... think I did this on the leg press... bad form! It's not too painful though. Next visit: this weekend!

No show

2006-08-13T14:26:00.000+01:00

Anyway, tomorrow marks a slight turn as I'm heading down the gym in the morning. And now that I've said that on here, I will actually go, as this blog is a great motivation and inspiration for me. I really do love the gym, it's just been a bit of a hit and miss week in terms of staying sane. :-)

Didn't go. :-( The plan was to hit the gym with mother, but she had a migrane, so called off the shots. And now she'll just carry on complaining she's fat! I'm not sure which day(s) dad's working from home this week but whenever he is I'll definitely be bowling along.

Stalker talker

2006-08-13T00:50:00.000+01:00

Either something weird happened to this blog a while back without me knowing, or I've had someone watching me all along...! Hidden camera show? ;-)

Let me explain! I just took a moment to look back on some of the comments made by others since I started writing this blog. I checked out June (06/06) in the archives (scroll - below-right) and flew to the bottom, arriving at "May start/end reviews."

It would appear some bot of some sort has left me loads of comments, dated July, across many posts, at exactly the same time. Things like "Great site! Love the colours!" have been made... which is good! But, how or why has a bot left comments like that?!

Have a mooch around in May and June archives and you'll see what I mean... they're everywhere!

White noise

2006-08-13T00:38:00.000+01:00

After having a crack at some Flash tutorial and failing miserably, I thought I'd do some blog-editing... or bledditing... so I've changed this main block's background to white to make it fresher and easier to read. Yayzers! I'm soooooo going to the gym in the morning. :-)

Bad week

2006-08-12T20:08:00.000+01:00

Aaaaaarrrgh!

Well, I can't say it's been the most exciting week in terms of gymming..... I don't know what's wrong with me, I've had three opportunities to go since Tuesday and I haven't been. I've been physically exhausted, sleeping less, eating less (I know - bad) and even going out less. But, I have been thinking lots about my final year at uni, and about the future in general.

Anyway, tomorrow marks a slight turn as I'm heading down the gym in the morning. And now that I've said that on here, I will actually go, as this blog is a great motivation and inspiration for me. I really do love the gym, it's just been a bit of a hit and miss week in terms of staying sane. :-)

Think I need to stop worrying about things i.e. my final year so much and chill out. "It's only a year" albeit one of the most important ones of my life! But before that, I'm looking forward to my holiday in New York in September, which is now less than a month away! Hopefully the events of the last week will have calmed down by then, although if I see a dodgy-looking terrorist I'll swat his a$$. :-D

Yesterday's iron-pumping

2006-08-08T13:22:00.000+01:00

After a boxing match with the dirty receptionist, she let me use the gym. This time their excuse was, "well it's a new month BUT it is less than 30 days since you last came." I politely fought my corner and won!

Machines
Chest press: 3x10 at 20kg
Lat pulldown: 3x10 at 30kg (5kg lighter than normal)
Triceps: 2x10 at 35kg, 1x10 at 45kg

Free weights
3x10 shoulder press (2.5kg in each hand)

Bench press: 1x15 at 10kg, 4x5 at 20kg, 1x5 at 25kg
Squats: 1x10 at 10kg

Rowing
500m

I struggled quite a bit with the bench pressing, not really sure why but maybe it had something to do with the 1x15 'warm up' that I don't normally do, I think it hindered my energy levels. Still, I cracked out what I usually do, just with slightly more difficulty.

Next gym visit: Soon!

Dead-end situation

2006-08-08T03:36:00.000+01:00

I've been for a lovely meal and then back at a beautiful friend's chatting for 3½ hours. After getting home an hour ago I found myself checking stuff out online rather than actually going to bed like a normal person would.

So here I am. Tipsy and online. I went to the gym today, or rather, yesterday, so will post about the workout tomorrow after some much needed shut-eye!

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Grrrrr, if only. :-X

I'm nearly out of steroids!

2006-08-06T00:14:00.000+01:00

After a slow start on the PROMAX Extreme (courtesy of Joggerblogger) my arm is covered in cuts, I've ran out of needles, and most importantly I've nearly finished the fair chunk of what was left of the tub.

Now, I know all these supplements are only that - supplements. But, I want to be absolutely sure I'm munching on the correct one(s). Apart from possibly buying a tub of Extreme and continuing on that, I've been looking at two others - Progain and Cyclone. They're both more tailored for muscle and size, rather than for protein, although the quantities of protein in all three are very similar. From reading about Cyclone, it just seems to have that extra 'kick' to it, so I might try it out.

I don't know much about Progain though. But there can't be much between all three of them given they all have similar numbers and funny symbols and what not!

Any thoughts?

Happy 76th birthday Grandad :-)

2006-08-05T23:38:00.000+01:00

Today saw my first session in August, which in turn also embarked the beginning of the second three-month iron-pumping cycle. Incidentally, I thought the first quarter went well, and I'm pleased about the small improvements I've made so far. Anyhow, looking forward, today’s bishop bashing consisted of:

Shoulder press: 5x10 at 7.5kg (+2.5kg (extremely tough!))
Chest press: 3x10 at 20kg
Leg press: 5x6 at 60kg
Lat pulldown (not a bar): 3x10 at 35kg
Triceps (bar): 3x10 at 10kg
Upper back: 5x6 at 20kg

Plus 1000m rowing! Didn't do any free weight exercises today though...

I think by keeping the weight the same and doing 3x10 rather than 5x6 pushes my body that bit harder. As I get past half way on sets 2 and 3, I start to tire more, but keep going without breaking because the body ('cept between sets) gets more out of it if it continues working in a tired state! Least that's what I keep telling myself. :-)

Anyway, bring on Monday, I’m heading to Chris’ gym hopefully! Let’s hope the receptionists don’t act like crazy man-eating tigers around me like last time. Actually… :-P

Summary

2006-08-02T15:30:00.000+01:00

I feel great! Haha. I've noticed some small gains and energy levels are higher. But I'm still a night owl and wake up mostly mid-morning, doubt that will ever change. Besides, how many designers aren't night owls?

More importantly, my physique has changed slightly. Shoulders seem more defined - be it delts or traps, and so are my upper arms - triceps and biceps. At my Auntie's 50th birthday party on Saturday a couple of people said I looked slightly broader. Made me feel great because in yourself you don't really notice that much of a change. :-)

If I tense my stomach I can feintly see my six-pack but not from a relaxed stance or anything. I've started to do sit-ups daily, whether that will help matters, who knows!

My quads and hamstrings have grown and generally my legs feel more toned. Pretty pleased about that because a 40kg increase in 2 months on the leg press must have been tough on the legs!

Diet-wise, well I am trying to eat more and more and am 4 or 5 pounds heavier than I used to be. Still drinking PROMAX :-) and trying to cram in more smaller meals each day.

Three-month review

2006-08-02T15:00:00.000+01:00

July 2006 – end review

Now, here's for a great start... July is going to be slightly inaccurate because I've been going to two different gyms back home! When I head back to the land of university, as the machines are different there, some of these new machines will be taken off my list. Review's as follows:

Bicep curl: N/A
Chest press: 20kg (no change)
Lateral pulldown: 25kg (no change)
Leg press: 60kg (no change)
Shoulder press: 5kg (no change)
Tricep pushdown: 12.5kg - (+2.5kg)
Upper back: 20kg (no change)
Pectoral: 20kg (+5kg)
Abdominal crunch: 20kg (no change)

New machines:
Tricep machine (not a bar): 35kg
Lat machine (not a bar): 35kg
Bench press: 4x5 at 20kg, 1x5 at 25kg
Squats: 1x10 at 10kg

Free weights:
Shoulder press: 2x10 with 5kg in each hand
Chest press: 1x10 with 2.5kg in each hand

-----------------------------------

June 2006 – end review

By the end of June, I had changed my sets/reps combination. I increased the weight throughout most of the machines and lowered the number of reps. 3x15 became 5x6, reducing the overall reps by a third with the extra weight. FTS = From the start!

Bicep curl: N/A
Chest press: 20kg (+10kg,)
Lateral pulldown: 25kg (+10kg, +15kg FTS)
Leg press: 60kg (+30kg, +40kg FTS)
Shoulder press: 5kg (+2.5kg) - no change
Tricep pushdown: 10kg - no change
Upper back: 20kg (+10kg, +15kg FTS)

New machines:
Pectoral: 15kg
Abdominal crunch: 20kg

-----------------------------------

May 2006 – end review

To recap, I was doing 3x15 on all the below machines at the end of May. This was after 3 or 4 weeks of going to the gym. The number in brackets represent the increase in kilograms since I started (so, 3 or 4 weeks before this).

Bicep curl: 4kg in each hand
Chest press: 10kg
Lateral pulldown: 15kg (+5kg)
Leg press: 30kg (+10kg)
Shoulder press: 5kg (+2.5kg)
Tricep pushdown: 10kg
Upper back: 10kg

Bundled with energy

2006-07-28T16:56:00.000+01:00

My dad has worked from home today so that gave me the opportunity to saunter along to the beautiful gym with beautiful women in. It's a little cooler today but still HOT and every time I go the gym I'm knackered before I get in there because of the outdoor heat! However today I took a slightly different slant on things, I wasn't particularly tired, even after 3x10 on the shoulder press...

Bare in mind this gym is almost the same as the gym I go to in Sheffield. Today I achieved:

Machines
Shoulder press – 5x10 at 5kg, 1x10 at 10kg
Chest press – 5x6 at 20kg
Leg press – 5x6 at 60kg
Upper back – 5x6 at 20kg
Lat pulldown (machine) – 3x10 at 35kg
Abdominal crunch – 5x6 at 20kg

Free weights
Bicep curl – 3x10 with 5kg in each hand
Shoulder press – 2x10 with 5kg in each hand

As you can see, lots of shoulder pressing today. They're getting easier, hopefully sooner rather than later I will be able to increase the machine weights to 10kg.

I left the bench pressing and squats alone today, left my dad to go and do his own thing (two people are needed for the bench press IMO :-))

Oh, I did 500m rowing at the start and end too!

Ache-free!

2006-07-25T19:35:00.000+01:00

Indeed, ache-free today, which was strange really as I had a hard-ish workout yesterday. Anyhow, today's session was again good, consisting of the following:

Machines
Lat pulldown – 3x10 at 35kg
Chest press – 3x10 at 20kg
Fly (pecks) – 3x10 at 20kg
Triceps – 3x10 at 35kg
Shoulder press – 3x10 at 10kg

Free weights
Bicep curl – 2x10 with 5kg in each hand

Bench press – 4x5 at 20kg, 1x5 at 25kg

Sit-ups – 1x20, 2x10

Not sure when I’ll be going again, possibly tomorrow night if I can persuade mum to go, if not then the weekend looks distinctly likely. :-) Chicken for tea tonight, muscle growth alert, yum!

Ten pounds too much

2006-07-24T23:08:00.000+01:00

After some argy-bargy with the gym staff about how frequent I was using their gym, I had to pay £10 for two day's usage (today and tomorrow). I had a good hour today, consisting of the following:

Machines
Lat pulldown – 2x10 at 35kg, 1x5 at 45kg
Fly (pecks) – 3x10 at 20kg
Triceps – 3x10 at 35kg

Free weights
Shoulder press – 1x10 with 2.5kg in each hand
Bicep curl – 1x10 with 5kg in each hand

Bench press – 1x10 at 15kg, 4x5 at 20kg, 1x5 at 25kg. V. PLEASED! :-)
Squats – 1x10 at 10kg

Didn't have time for much else today, but I'm going again tomorrow for a marathon session so hopefully I'll be rushing to get home to post up the day's new achievements! Quite pleased with how today went though. :-)

Launch back into action!

2006-07-21T23:10:00.000+01:00

I LOVE THE GYM! :-)

Today I was there for 2 and a half hours. Sorry for the lack of updates, it's not that I've been lazy (no seriously) it's just I haven't had anyone to go with for a while. Today was the first time since last Wednesday... 9 days ago!

Anyway, ALL went well today. :-) I did most of my usual - 5x6 or - now another new combo - 2/3x10 sets on the shoulder press, tricep pulldown, etc... Chris also introduced me to the bench press, squats, and a few different exercises using free weights.

I love bench pressing... not that I could press much but it went well. Squatting was harder than I thought it would be; I found it hard to keep balance properly at the beginning and was scared to go too low, but found my feet quickly after.

So what did the 2 and half hours consist of?

Machines
Shoulder press: 3x10 at 5kg
Chest press: 5x6 at 20kg
Fly (pecks): 3x10 at 20kg, 2x10 at 20kg
Lat pulldown: 5x6 at 30kg (5kg increase from normal, felt lighter)
Triceps: 3x10 at 35kg, 2x6 at 35kg
Tricep (bar grip - same as what I do at my normal gym - 3x6 at 15kg)
Bench press - 2x5 at 10kg, 1x5 at 15kg, 1x4 at 20kg
Squats - 2x5 at 10kg

Free weights
Incline chest press: 2x10 - 2.5kg in each hand
Bicep curl: 2x10 using a 10kg barbell

Sit ups: 2x10, 2x10

No rowing today! Unfortunately I doubt I'll be able to go to Chris' gym again until August. They told us he can bring the same guest only once a month. Today they waivered this, which was nice of them! Hopefully mum'll keep complaining she's too fat, so I can head down with her.

Guinness fish

2006-07-12T22:40:00.000+01:00

Last night was the night I lost what I'd call my "virguinnity" (geddit?!) Tasted half a guinness for the first time ever, and it won't be the last! This was probably a little too full on for a "starter" drink, but it followed to be a very good night (filled with double V+C's). Getting home at 4.00am was an added bonus. :-)

Wicked Weasel Wednesday

2006-07-12T22:23:00.000+01:00

As planned from Monday, I soldiered along to the gym with my mum tonight, although convincing her to go was an effort in itself!

As she sauntered off to do some aerobicky stuff, I checked out the eye candy on show. Second to none, it was tonight. Yes I know I'm a pervert but it's all good! There were a group of young girls all on the weight machines (which meant I had to wait a little, but that didn't bother me, did it?) and then they wondered off to the mats and made some female loving together. They did a heck of a lot of stretches, too, much to my likening.

So, I completed my 5x6 on the usual machines, without many problems. The shoulder press was easier than normal, as was the chest press, and I burned some steel doing free weights too, although looked a bit outclassed stood in front of a guy deadlifting (first person I've ever seen deadlift in a gym!).

Came home and surprisingly had some pasta, with a little bacon and leeks mixed in. Delish! Next session will probably be Friday or if not the weekend. :-)

Free intro

2006-07-10T23:32:00.000+01:00

Took the plunge and visited another gym today, although I was lucky to get in, as we (Chris, my mate, and I) didn't phone up in advance to book me as a guest! "If anyone asks, you booked!" So that was that. :-)

A strange gym, I have to say. Rowing machines upstairs :-/ laid out very closely together, too closely really... but at least it helps make sure elbows are kept in!

Tried out some free weight shoulder pressing too, and also some free weight bicep curls. Must say it's a lot different from using a machine... it requires a lot more control. Was going to do some bench presses as well but it got really busy and we didn't get chance in the end.

Anyhow, I did complete my usual 5x6 on nearly every machine I normally use, so at least I've had a similar workout.

We bought some chicken and pasta on the way home and waffled it down, I expect we'll do the same on Friday when I next visit Chris' gym, but I'm intending on using my mum's gym when she goes bodypumping Wednesday. Such a nice gym! :-)

Dogger blogger

2006-07-08T11:47:00.000+01:00

Took my dog, Jake, for a walk this morning, with the sun beating down on us and not a single person in sight. :-) He loves being out, although makes a habit of stopping in his tracks at every empty crisp packet or chocolate bar wrapper! If I can root out my digi-cam I'll post some pics of Jake on here.

My hayfever has calmed down a lot too and I'm surprised it didn't start because the fields are full of overgrowth and loads of corn. Touch wood it won't get bad again this summer.

Dog-walking is even more of a reason for not doing cardio at the gym! Bout time I went again... :-)

Curvy dot com

2006-07-04T21:25:00.000+01:00

...And following on from the last post, here is a picture of a Z4. If I had a choice between having one of these or one of the girls in the gym I saw today, I'd have both. :-D

Roll out the red carpet...

2006-07-04T21:11:00.000+01:00

After an eight day break whilst getting entangled in moving all my gear back home, today I found time to hit the gym again! I remembered how great it feels to have a hard workout. :-)

So my dad took me along to the luxury-filled gym he belongs to, and I ploughed through most of my normal workout - it helped that nearly all the machines were exactly the same. Only at my gym there aren't little digi-boxes on every machine that tell you what speed you should be doing your reps at. There aren't A-list fitties on the running machines with more curves than a Z4 either!

The shoulder press was the only machine I had problems with, I've gotten used to the idea that a weight increase on this isn't likely until... probably/hopefully around Christmas time... but it's a marathon anyway, not a sprint!

So, 15 guest passes left to use here, I'm trying to spread these out a bit, but I'll keep updating this diary regardless!

Adios amigos

2006-06-30T22:00:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of posts on here this week!

It's been my last week as an online web monkey on placement, and so have been rushed off my toes trying to cram in packing bags and boxes in-between the joys of an end to an era. :-P

We went on a team day out to Center Parcs, and, after a 2½ hour minibus adventure forever circulating the busy streets of Nottingham, we finally got there just after sunset.

It was a great day out, and Preston thinks I should become a professional ten-pin bowler after showing glimpses of high-class mediocrity. Cheers Boultmeister. =) Also the food was good in the evening, chicken was top-notch! Nearly as top-notch as the waitress, who happily took a bite of my toblerone. ;-)

Anyway as far as training goes, my parents have managed to get hold of eight lovely guest gym passes between them, so I'll be able to pump some guns for sweet sixteen times back home. Wicked! ;-)

On that note it's time to do some more packing and watch Big Bro, Italy have just beaten Ukraine and we face Portugal tomorrow. Oh dear!

I'll keep you posted..... :-)

Mind philosophy

2006-06-27T00:36:00.000+01:00

When I go to the gym now, I try remember the following golden quote I read on a forum the other day:

"Make sure your workout is an hour of hard graft, not an hour and a half of nonsense."

So this is what I bare in mind now every time I have a workout. And it works; it helps to keep me focussed and encourages me not to do silly things that are easy to slip into the habit of doing - like partial reps. Slower reps are better too, and I try and maintain the same speed throughout creating a constant flow pattern.

"Pain is only weakness leaving the body" - and pain is only temporary, plus if it hurts it shows that muscles are being worked hard.

In addition to this, when I'm feeling pain and I'm only say, a third the way through a set, I've started to think of it as an aeroplane coming into land from a great height. So for every rep, the plane descends slightly, and the plane HAS to land, which it does, on the very last rep of the final set. Obviously, the plane can't land unless all the reps are completed, hence all reps MUST be completed in order for the plane to drop. Clever eh ;-)

Power, strength and PAIN :-)

2006-06-27T00:26:00.000+01:00

So I broke a sweat and headed down t'gym for around 8.45pm, worked my ass off until 10pm and then took a reccie back home. Once home I gulped down the post-workout shake, much to my tastebuds likening now, whilst frying chicken and boiling pasta - yummy!

Workout was solid, hard work, and I felt good after it. After just a 500m row warmup I thought I'd give the shoulder press a bash... 1x15 no problem... 1x8 no problem... then had to stop, and finish the rest off in little drips and drabs. Still, the quantity is what's important and I always make sure I complete each set fully.

Oh, and I wished someone would have told the strange hairy guy in the grey OSAKA vest to stop grunting so loudly. Sweat dripping down his every pixel... euuuurrrgh!

Chest press, again, all good, although a little more strainage than norm. Pleased though, as I'm managing to keep both my ass towards the back of the pad and my head slapped against the headrest, so I know my back is sturdy and in the correct position. I guess there's little room for error if your posture's right.

I've started to quite like the leg press because when I think I've "won it over" on a certain weight it creeps up on me and gives me a hard time. I like a machine that gives me some grief. Tonight I did struggle, particularly on the last set. Expected though (slower pace) and I get a better fulfillment out of it like this.

Lat pulldown - all good, although I do struggle on a wide grip at 25kg - staying still more than anything is my downfall here. So it's either 20kg (wide) or 25kg (narrower/natural) grip from now on. :-)

Tricep pulldown was great tonight, again I did this much slower and felt the benefits from it. It's almost like doing double the reps at half the speed!

Upper back was a challenge, I don't like this any more because I'm cream crackered by the time I reach it and it requires quite a lot of movement. So I'll move this closer to the start.

On the abs-crunch I did 1x20 at 15kg and thought, "this is too easy!" So, upped it to 20kg (usual weight) and did 5x6. I've never felt so much stomach pain in all my life. :-)

Finally ("Yay!" I hear you cry!) I've replaced the pecks machine with the biceps machine (newly discovered this beauty) purely because I WILL be getting my pecks working on the chest press even if I have my doubts. Yet to decide on 5kg or 10kg bicep weight... 10's do-able but not sure about 5x6... we'll see...!

Mine's a double vodka and coke!

2006-06-25T01:14:00.000+01:00

There's nothing better than going to a pub, getting a little bit merry with one of your closest mates from back home, and talking absolute bollocks (girls, football, relationships, football, life) for 2 hours, is there? Just had a fantastic night, lifted a couple of glasses of the usual V+C and so at least got some light bicep curl work out of it. Hah! =)

As I write this I'm actually drawn to thinking of raiding the fridge. Starving hungry. I need protein dot com.

Rush hour

2006-06-23T18:26:00.000+01:00

Yep, only had an hour today but managed to cram everything in with very short breaks in-between each exercise.

No real problems other than the lat pulldown testing me.

As I said in the previous entry, I did double the number of tricep pulldowns – I’d have liked to have done 5x12 but did 2x12 then 4x6 instead.

Sorry this is such a short post only I’m in a bit of a hurry... jumping on a train shortly!

Going back to the Land of Fish this weekend… next workout will be on Monday! :-)

Abs about that!

2006-06-21T22:16:00.000+01:00

Woohoo! Got the rest of the week off work. :-) Have just got home, and was full of energy after an enormous lie-in this morning! Although it's bloody windy outside, I nearly got blown over! British weather is pants, I can't wait to go on holiday this summer. The sooner that sunshine comes back the better. :-)

So what did I do tonight? Well, after my usual rowing warm up (1k step-plan) I started off with the chest press and nailed 5x6 without a single problem. I feel the reason I struggled last time on this was because, frankly, I was knackered! Pecks machine all went swimmingly well too, doing the usual 5x6 at 15kg.

Anyway, I then bounced along with much strength and enthusiasm to the shoulder press, completed my 5x6, and even had the courage to step it up to the tune of 10kg to which I managed 4 reps. Result! :-)

Leg press (5x6) was pretty easy, although it does hurt on 60kg... but that's the way I like it!

Lat pulldown was more difficult tonight, I'm not really sure why, perhaps it was because a) my hands started to blister half way through from the grip and/or b) because my grip was slightly wider than normal. Still, I completed all the reps, I just wish there was a mirror for this machine so I could tell if my back was straight (that's annoyed me from the start!)

I couldn't do the triceps tonight because some thief had stolen all the hand bars and so there was nothing to pull down! So next time I'm doing double reps. That's if a lovely person returns them pronto, with a polite gesture of good will.

Upper back was alright... although for half my sets the seat was too high, so it kinda felt weird... I'm not too keen on this machine as I was at the beginning! Oh well.

Finally... the abs-crunch. Now, don't get me wrong, there's a certain degree of vanity involved in the reasoning behind me tackling this manly piece of equipment. Which is why I increased it to 20kg, and it HURT! It's the one machine where I can actually feel the pain IN the muscles both during and after each set. Love it.

Finished off with some light rowing (1k). And after downing my protein drink, I'm going to pour myself another. :-)