Gym regimen - December 2010

A4: Tris, Shoulders, Traps
FRIDAY: 50+ mins
96kg, BMI 27.5

Warmup: Spin bike, stretching, delt flyes, tricep extensions

CIRCUIT:

Cable lateral raise 10, 8, 8 @ 9.5kg, 13.5kg, 16kg [LINK]

Cable reverse raise: 10, 8, 8 @ 9.5kg, 13.5kg, 16kg [LINK]

Standing barbell military press: 10, 8, 6 @ 40kg, 45kg, 50kg

Elbows-out dumbbell extension: 10, 8, 6 @ 18kg, 22kg, 26kg

Cable pushdown: 25kg, 30kg, 35kg @ 10, 8, 6

Lever bench press: 16, 15, 14 @ 60kg, 65kg, 70kg

Spin bike: 2+ mins, 2+ mins, 2+ mins

CIRCUIT:

Barbell shrug: 12, 9, 6 @ 100kg, 110kg, 120kg

CIRCUIT:

Alternating ab cable pulldown: 36, 32, 28 @ 30kg, 32.5kg, 35kg

+ + +
I had it in mind to do this A4 Saturday, but by Friday afternoon I was "itching" so much that I just left the cram school during a long break and worked out in my undershirt and pants. Then I went home to shower and "fuel up" and returned to the cram school for class. It felt good to work my shoulders again: my right shoulder is only mildly stiff and I felt no pain in the joint yesterday or today. It was also great to do shrugs again! I admit I was stunned at how big my sholders looked in the mirror when I did them. I have taken to working out in sweatshirts the last few weeks, but yesterday I was wearing a "wifebeater", so I got a chance to see some of my own gains. I prefer working out in long-sleeve shirts, first, because I like my muscles to be very warm when I train and, second, I like the psychological edge they give me. In more "modest" clothing, I'm not distracted by glances at my muscles in the mirro,r and even less distracted by other guys sizing me up. Call it the "gym burqa" mentality, but I prefer to focus on the feel of the exercise rather than my looks. Come summer time, however, when I am all but forced into cooler clothing, I can see the gains I made while my muscles "hibernated" in more concealing clothes.

My back is very sore from A3 this week and my forearms (inner) are extremely sore. That's what one day of deadlift, pullups, lever rows, followed by heavy shrugs, will do! The pain is all for the better, as I want to keep gaining grip strength. When I commence SMR in January––but, oh, how hard it is to part with my beloved 4-day split!––, I want to train my wrists/hands on off-days (say, Wednesday and Saturday). I've got one more week of A1–A4, which means SMR will begin Monday, January 7––God willing.

Stay tuned.