I’m not the type that likes to get too out of shape.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t “eat for the abs” all year and I certainly don’t carry around a knapsack full of Tupperware. And while I may get hungry when I’m out, you’ll never hear stories of me stuffing cold cuts down my pants in case I get a hankering for a “clean” low carb snack at the club.
Still, if you earn a living in this industry — in any capacity — I believe you should look at least somewhat inspiring. You want Joe Q Public to think “Hey, that guy’s in pretty good shape. I bet he could help me with my own goals,” not, “Wow, that is one fat son of a bitch. You’d think being a trainer would require working out from time to time?”
So I stay on top of it. I’ll get a little bigger, then get a little smaller, and then repeat the process, without ever going too far in either direction.
This past fall and winter, however, was rough.
I got thoroughly caught up in being a New York foodie (did you know there are a couple of good restaurants in NYC?)
and
followed by
and let’s not forget a stack or two.
I also discovered a passion for the original 6 basic bar drinks — the Old Fashioned, the Side Car, the Daquiri, the Jack Rose (for the Hemingway fan in me), the Manhattan, and of course, the Martini.
My liver has since filed a restraining order.
Furthermore, last fall I’d decided to get a bit bigger and stronger. I was getting beat up in my martial arts class, so I thought perhaps gaining some leverage (weight) would help.
I put on about 15 pounds in 8 weeks — it didn’t make me a better fighter.
However, it was nice knowing I could still grow with relative ease (more on that later).
I peaked at about 227 pounds — too heavy for my frame, my activity level, my age, my knees, the look I want to portray, and certainly most of my pants.
So it’s time to come down to reality. I plan to get in (very) good shape by mid to end of May.
And to stay motivated, I’m going to start blogging my training. I may even blog my diet, should anyone be remotely interested.
Here’s today’s lift:
Chest, Triceps, Shoulder Supersets
A) Close-Grip Bench Press — 135 x 6, 185 x 6, 225 x 6 (warm-up)
Add Chains and do 225 x 6, 245 x 4, 265 x 2, 275 x 1, and then 225 x 7. (I’m not counting the chains.) My plan was to do 6-4-2-6-4-2 but since I was gassing kind of fast I just hit the single at 275 and did a back off.
EDIT: Why was I gassing? Cause I was in a rush and was forced to cut my rest intervals short. I should’ve just done this lift properly and perhaps came back later to finish the rest. #rookiemistake
I’m a huge fan of chains for extensors, even more than bands, the current rage today.
B) Flat DB Fly/Press — these are essentially a flye movement during the eccentric and a dumbbell press during the concentric. Awesome pec exercise. 3 x 8.
C) DB Pullover — a great move for the pec minor, if you do it right. 3 x 12-15.
D) Dips supersetted with Rope Triceps Extensions — My shoulder doesn’t love dips though my triceps do. I kept the eccentric tempo very slow and made sure not to go too low. 4 x 8 (dips), 4 x 12 (extensions).
E) Lateral Raise — I did seated l-lateral raises supersetted with standing lateral raises. Deltoids respond best to extended sets; more than any other body part I find.
F) Rear Delt Machine — I did 50 reps and called it a day.
Rest for 30 Minutes.
Krav Maga — 60 minutes — Today we did a lot of kicking and (mercifully) not much punching, as my upper body was shot.
Was this interesting? I hope so.
See you tomorrow!