Body Building – Arms/Abs/Cardio – Day 43

Day 43

Holy supersets, Batman!
I’ll give you my routine for today then explain a little about supersetting below!

Ka-Boom!!

Superset:
Narrow push-ups: 4 sets of 15 reps
Seated triceps press: 20 lbs. dumbbell –  4 sets of 8 reps
End of Superset:

Superset:
Cable one-arm triceps extensions: 20 lbs. –  3 sets of 8 reps
Triceps pushdown: 60 lbs. –  3 sets of 8 reps
End of Superset:

Superset:
Skull-crushers: 20 lb. barbell – 3 sets of 8 reps
Close-grip barbell bench press: 45 lb. Olympic bar – 3 sets of 8 reps
End of Superset:

Incline Dumbbell curls: 12.5 lbs  –  4 sets of 8 reps

Alternating Dumbbell curls: 4 sets of 8 reps – I went lighter to heavier – 12.5 lbs., 15 lbs., 17.5 lbs and last set was to failure @ 20 lbs.

Barbell Curl 21s: 20 lb. barbell – 2 sets 21 reps

Stability ball crunches: 3 sets of 25 reps
Jackknifes holding stability ball: 3 sets of 15 reps
Stability Ball reverse crunches (ball between feet): 3 sets of 15 reps
Cardio: – 30 minutes medium intensity cardio (running, elliptical, step-mill, etc)

Supersets 101
Conventional weight training is done using “straight sets.” A straight set consists of a series of nonstop repetitions, usually somewhere between 6 and 12, followed by a rest interval of one to three minutes. A superset is an advanced training technique where you perform two exercises in a row with no rest in between exercises. Supersets are an excellent technique for muscular hypertrophy, especially if you are short on time. Not all types of supersets are ideal for building maximal strength, however. Let me explain why…

When you perform two exercises in a row with no rest in between, this will reduce the amount of weight you can handle on the second exercise in each superset pair. Notice above how my recorded weights were lower than usual today. Your strength will also decrease from fatigue with each subsequent superset. Because supersets don’t allow you to use maximal weights, they are not always well-suited to building strength. However, supersets are always a great body building or hypertrophy technique.

Below are some great combo’s if you want to try them in your routine.
Do 10 repetitions of each exercise (20 reps per superset in total)

An isolation exercise + a compound exercise = 1 superset
Cable crossover + Flat bench dumbbell press = Bigger chest
Cable reverse flys + Wide grip pull-up = Wider back
Leg extensions + Front squat = Larger quads
Hamstring curls + Stiff leg deadlift = Powerful hamstrings
Concentration curls + Underhand pull-ups = Massive biceps
Parallel bar dips + Tricep pushdowns = Tighter T-shirt sleeves
Standing dumbbell press + Lateral raises = V-shape shoulders
Barbell deadlift + Back extensions = Stronger glutes

What are the best fat-burning combos?
Superset one Front squats + Leg extensions
Superset two Standing barbell shoulder press + Overhand grip pull-ups
Superset three Underhand grip pull-ups + Close grip bench press
Superset four Back extensions + V-ups

How to do them:
Weight 70% of your one rep max
Reps 10  – Sets 4
Rest after each superset 60 seconds

Week 7 Nutrition:
Up to this point, the focus on this program in regards to eating has been to consume adequate calories to support your weight training goals. Moving forward, it will be necessary to determine a specific calorie range to increase your fat burning potential while maintaining your hard earned muscle.

Follow this simple formula to determine the number of calories you should consume moving forward, using the foods included in the meal plans:

Multiply your goal weight by 10 to arrive at your baseline.
Add between 200 and 500 calories to determine the ideal calorie range that will support the rest of your Phase Two and Phase Three workout routines. (So, for me, that would be 110 (lbs) X 10 + 200 = 1300 and 110 (lbs) X 10 + 500 = 1600).

On rest days and lighter days (arms, shoulders, abs), eat in the lower range (1,300 calories). On heavier days (chest, legs, back), eat in the higher range (1,600 calories).

Once we arrive at Phase 3, the lower number will become the starting point for the carbohydrate cycling we’ll do!

Body Building – Legs – Day 41

Day 41

I posted the above picture because I thought it was a great visual of the way your form should be during a deadlift. You should always make sure that back is straight with shoulders back.

UP your game!

Superset:
Seated Leg Curl: 3 warm up sets at 30 lbs. x 10 reps
Seated Leg Curl: 3 working sets at 50 lbs. x 10 reps
Leg Extensions: 110 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps
End of Superset:

Superset:
Barbell Lunge (long stride): 30 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps
Abductor Machine: 35 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps
End of Superset:

Superset:
Lying Leg Curls: 45 lbs. – 3 sets of 15 reps
Adductor Machine:35 lbs. – 3 sets of 15 reps
End of Superset:

Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 70 lbs barbell – 3 sets of 10 reps
Single Leg Barbell Squat: 30 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps
Sitting Leg Press (wide stance): 1 giant drop-set to failure – 200 lbs, I got to 40 reps
Seated Calf Raise: 45 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps
Standing Calf Raises: 130 lbs. on a leg press machine – 3 sets of 20 reps

I had 1,179 views on yesterday’s post. Yay!

Body Building – Shoulders/Cardio – Day 40

Day 40

4 Biggest Shoulder Training Mistakes

#1: Straightening Your Arm on Lateral Raises
Lateral raises targeting the middle delt are done with a slight bend in the elbow. The problem arises when the elbow isn’t locked throughout the movement. Straightening the arm is called elbow extension, and the triceps — not the delts — is responsible for this action. Keep it locked in a slightly bent position.

#2: Straightening Your Arm on Rear Delt Exercises
The same blunder involving elbow extension frequently makes its way over to rear-delt exercises, most commonly bent-over lateral raises with dumbbells or cables. When you extend at the elbow, you turn a perfectly good rear-delt exercise into one for triceps. Again the key is to lock your arm in a slightly bent position for the duration of the set.

#3: Positioning Your Hands Too Close on Upright Rows
To target middle delts, your upper arms should travel out to your sides during upright rows. That’s not what happens, however, when you use a close grip. Your elbows are drawn forward as your shoulders are internally rotated. That movement isn’t kind to your shoulder joints.

#4: Neglecting Your Rotator-Cuff Muscles
A smaller group of four rotator-cuff muscles also work in tandem to help stabilize your shoulder joint (and that includes during presses for the chest). As your delts grow stronger over time, and if you’re not also training your rotator-cuff muscles, a strength imbalance arises that makes the rotators much more susceptible to injury and chronic pain.
Article from Muscle Magazine

Smokin’ Shoulders

Barbell Military Press: 20 lbs. for a warm-up set, 3 sets of 10 reps

Superset:
Upright Dumbbell Rows: 15 lbs. –  3 sets of 10 reps
Standing Dumbbell Military Press: 10 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps
End of Superset:

Incline Bench Front Dumbbell Delt Raises (go light): 3 sets of 10 reps. I did 1 set at 10 lbs. and 2 more at 7.5 lbs.

Seated Rear Delt Cable Flyes: 2.5 lbs. (WTF) 3 sets of 10 reps

Lateral Raise: 10 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps (Last set is a drop-set.)

Rear Delt Raise: 10 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps (Last set is a drop-set.)

30 min medium intensity cardio

Body Building – Arms/Abs/Cardio – Day 39

Day 39

Absolutely!

Barbell Curls: 30 lb – 3 sets of 10 reps

Superset:
Overhead cable curl: 12.5 lbs. each side – 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable hammer curl -Rope attachment: 40 lbs – 3 sets of 10 reps
End of Superset

Alternating Hammer curls: 17.5 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps

Tri Dips (bench with 35 lb. plate): 3 sets of 15 reps

Skullcrushers: 30 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps

Seated triceps press: 27.5 lb dumbbell – 3 sets of 10 reps

Triceps Pushdown – rope attachment: 60 lbs. – 3 sets of 10 reps

Leg lifts in Roman chair: 3 sets of 10 reps

Air Bike: 3 sets of 25 reps

Jackknife sit-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps

Body Building – Leg Day – Day 38

Day 38

Training your leg muscles doesn’t only work your lower half; it actually works your entire body, increases your heartbeat and gets your blood flowing to help burn fat and work your cardiovascular system.

Working out your legs is also crucial to maintain a nice symmetry, which is simply the proper balance between the size of each and every one of your body’s muscles.

Quad Killer

Leg extensions: 2 warm-up sets with lighter weight (50 Lbs.) for 30 reps
           Extra Credit: Leg Extensions  3 sets of 110 lbs. x 10 – added another 10 lbs. this round

Wide stance barbell squat: 2 lighter sets of 15 reps (45 lb. Olympic Bar) , 2 heavier sets to failure (100 Lbs x 8) – added another 5 lbs since last time. Next time all add another 5 for a total of 110 lbs.

Leg press: 230 lbs. – 4 sets of 8 reps – added 15 lbs since last time

Walking Barbell Lunges: 30 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps – went down 10 lbs from last week. I was shaky during this set.

Barbell Step-ups: 25 lb. barbell – 3 sets of 10 reps

Plie Dumbbell squat: 45 lbs. – 3 sets of 15 reps

Sitting calf raise: 90 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps, last set to failure

Leg press calf raise: 190 lbs. – 3 sets of 20 reps, last set to failure

Body Building – Chest/Abs/Cardio – Day 37

Day 37

Wide-grip barbell bench press: 45 lb Olympic Bar –  5 sets of 10 reps

Wide stance push-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps

Cable crossovers: 13 lbs on each side – 3 sets of 10 reps

Incline bench press: 45 lb. Olympic bar – 3 sets of 10 reps

Side to side push-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps

Superset:
Toe touches: 3 sets of 20 reps
1/2 Crunches (legs straight in the air): 3 sets of 20 reps
End of Superset

Roman Chair leg raise: 3 sets of 10 reps

Cable crunches: 60 lbs – 3 sets of 10 reps

30 Min of cardio

Body Building – Back and Cardio – Day 36

Day 36

Wide grip overhand pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps using weighted assist machine at 95 lbs

Superset:
Bent-over Barbell row: 45 lb – 3 sets of 8 reps
Seated cable row: 60 lbs – 3 sets of 8 reps
End of Superset

Wide grip Lat Pull-down: 60 lbs – 3 sets of 10 reps

One-armed row: 30 lbs – 3 sets of 8

Hammer Strength Pull-downs: 3 sets of 10 reps – one set at 45 lbs then did last two sets at 35 lbs

Hyperextensions: 3 sets of 8 reps with 35 lb plate

Body Building – Legs – Day 34

Day 34

Superset:
Seated Leg Curl: 3 sets of 10 reps Warm up with 20 lbs / Working set 40 lbs
Leg Extensions: 100 lbs – 3 sets of 10 reps
End of Superset

Superset:
Barbell Lunge (long stride): 40 lbs – 3 sets of 20 reps
Abductor Machine: 35 lbs – 3 sets of 20 reps
End of Superset

Superset:
Lying Leg Curls: 50 lbs – 3 sets of 15 reps
Adductor Machine: 35 lbs – 3 sets of 15 reps
End of Superset

Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 70 lbs – 3 set of 10 reps

Single Leg Barbell Squat: 30 lbs – 3 sets of 10 reps

Leg Press (wide stance): 215 lbs –  1 giant drop-set to failure

Seated Calf Raise: 90  lbs – 3 sets of 20 reps

Standing Calf Raises:  3 sets of 20 reps – Had to substitute for calf raises on a seated leg press – 190 lbs. –  3 sets x 10 reps

Body Building – Shoulder Training and Cardio – Day 33

Day 33

Today’s focus is training shoulders. Aside from looking great, your shoulders are involved in just about everything you do so exercising them will make daily functioning that much easier. Your shoulder muscles are fairly small, so you may not be able to use as much weight as you can for your chest or your back. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t lift for 10 perfectly executed reps with a heavier weight. Go lighter and go for form and intensity.

Tip of the day. Make sure you are squeezing your muscles! This squeeze is usually at the end of your rep. For instance with the military press, squeeze when get the barbell completely over your head with arms fully extended, pause and squeeze. Sometimes it is easy to forget when you are so focused on your form or trying to just get through a tough set.

Toughen Up!

Barbell Military Press: 1 warm-up set with 30 lbs, 3 sets of 10 reps with 45 lbs.

Superset:
Upright Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets of 10 reps with 15 lbs.
Standing Dumbbell Military Press: 3 sets of 10 reps with 15 lbs.
End of Superset

Incline Bench Front Dumbbell Delt Raises: (go light): 3 sets of 10 reps with 10 lbs.

Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10 reps with 12.5

Rear Delt Raise: 3 sets of 10 reps with 10 lbs

Cardio:
15 min on Elliptical – 8 incline / 7 intensity
10 min on Stairmill – level 7
10 min on Treadmill – walk uphill (15 incline) – run uphill (15 incline)

Body Building – Arms/Abs/Cardio – Day 32

Day 32

This weekend I am going to add in some yoga. I’m pretty excited about it because I haven’t done yoga in almost nine months and I truly miss it!  Friday night I am planning on going to candlelight hot yoga and Saturday I may go again if I’m up for it. Pose by pose, breath by breath

Find your strength!

Barbell Curls: 30 lbs. –  3 sets of 10 reps

Superset
Overhead cable curl: 12.5 each arm – 3 sets x 10 reps
Cable hammer curl -rope attachment: 70 lbs – 3 sets x 10 reps ( up 10 pounds)
End of Superset

Alternating Hammer curls: 15 lbs – 3 sets x 10 reps ( wasn’t feeling 17.5 lbs. tonight)

Bench Dips with 25 lb plate in lap:  3 sets x 15 reps

Skullcrushers: 30 lbs. – 3 sets x 10 reps

Seated triceps press: 25 lbs. – 3 sets x 10 reps

Triceps Pushdown – rope attachment: 60 lbs. – 3 sets x 10 reps

Air Bike: 3 sets x 25 reps

Jackknife sit-ups: 3 sets x 10 reps

Hanging leg raises on Roman chair – 3 sets x 10

30 Minutes of cardio – I did 15 on the elliptical and ran for 15