Thursday, February 28, 2008

Working Out With the Kids

Most of the days I work out, I'm working out with my kids. They are learning proper safety, form, and the joys of working out, in addition to gaining some strength and self-confidence. I don't force them to work out with me, and some days they choose to play racquetball or go down to the skate park and ride skateboards. It is good they can see the benefits of exercise and are enjoying it.

Thursday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 90lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 90lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 6 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 195lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 62.5lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 87.5lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 87.5lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 137.5lbs

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Week Four

Another week, and it feels like a smaller jump in weight. I'll have to chart the changes and compare...

Tuesday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 100lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 85lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 6 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 195lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 62.5lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 87.5lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 87.5lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 137.5lbs

Saturday, February 23, 2008

End of the Third Week

Another week passes and I still don't want to weigh myself. Things are going well, I feel well, I see increases in my weight training, why jinx it?

Saturday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 95lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 80lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 6 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 195lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 62.5lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 87.5lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 75lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 137.5lbs

Thursday, February 21, 2008

What "Assisted" Means

The "assisted" exercises I've been doing, dips and pullups, are using a machine that counters your body weight with weights that help lift you. For someone who is overweight, like myself, or simply whose strength to mass ratio is not enough where they can do a full set of dips or pullups, having an assisting machine helps you do a full set of exercises. While this may seem like cheating to some, I feel it is far more effective to do 12 proper pullups with assistance than 3 pullups struggling and kicking.

Thursday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 95lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 80lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 6 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 195lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 62.5lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 87.5lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 62.5lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 137.5lbs

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Week Three

The beginning of week three of my new workout regimen and once again I'm going to increase some weights.

Tuesday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 90lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 70lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 6 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 195lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 62.5lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 87.5lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 62.5lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 137.5lbs

Saturday, February 16, 2008

End of the Second Week

Second week over and things are going well. I'm not sure when I'll start weighing myself again, however, because I'm worried the lack of weight loss, or even weight gain, will be discouraging. Even though I know in my head that by building lean muscle mass, which is denser than fat, will cause a short term gain.

Saturday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 80lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 55lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 5 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 190lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 56lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 81lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 56lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 131lbs

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Second Week Workout

The workouts are feeling great, and the new weights appear to be working well.

Thursday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 80lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 55lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 5 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 190lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 56lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 81lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 56lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 131lbs

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

First Jump

After the first week, I've decided to try to move up a little in specific exercises that were getting too easy at 12 repetitions. Also, I was doing pullups with my arms in front of me instead of the harder method, with the arms out to the side, so I've changed. This required a drop in the level since they are much harder this way.

Tuesday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 13 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 80lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 55lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 5 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 190lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 56lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 81lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 56lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 131lbs

Saturday, February 9, 2008

One Week Down

This is the last workout of the week. It feels good to be lifting weights again. I haven't done any weight training since I was in the Marines 14 years ago. I intend to go into detail on specific muscle groups and why I chose the workouts I have, but for now I'm just detailing what I'm doing for my own tracking.

Saturday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 14 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 14
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 75lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 50lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 4 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 170lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 50lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 75lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 50lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 125lbs

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Thursday's Workout

The choice of 12 repetitions is explained in more detail here: How Many Sets? This is a test of that, and we'll see how well it works.

Thursday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 14 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 14
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 75lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 50lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 4 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12reps at 170lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 50lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 75lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 50lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 125lbs

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Achieving a Good Baseline

It is recommended to constantly increase the number of repetitions or weight with a workout to continue to stress the muscles, creating an increasing gain. Currently, however, I am attempting to reach a baseline where I can perform all the exercises to a full 12 repetition set, with muscle fatigue. This will be my baseline, and from there I can see how best to advance.

Tuesday's workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 14 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 14
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 75lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 50lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 4 (weight unknown)
Seated Leg Press: 12r at 170lbs
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 50lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 75lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 50lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 125lbs

Sunday, February 3, 2008

New Exercises

On February 3rd, 2008, I signed up at the local YMCA and am starting an exercise routine. Here's my first day's workout:

Seated Leg Press: 12reps at 170lbs
Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 14 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 14
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 75lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 50lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 4 (weight unknown)
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 50lbs
Glute Extensions: 12r at 75lbs (each leg)
Seated Flys: 12r at 50lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 125lbs