Return to strength update: Smith Machine Tho

15 January 2019
45 min., 150-180 bpm
warm-up: feeling out weights and motions of coming workout

Three sets of A1-A3, then three of B1-B3. Feels good man.

A1: seated shoulder press - 80# x 15, 90# x 15, 100# x 12
A2: db bench press - 40# x 15, 50# x 13, 55# x 8
A3: Smith squat - 135# x 8, 9, 10

B1: seated pulldown - 100# x 15, 120# x 14, 140# x 13
B2: spider curl - 50# x 15, 60# x 13, 60# x 13
B3: Smith squat (wider stance) - 155# x 10, 10, 10

Return to strength update: "para-workout" edition

January 13, 2019
130-160 bpm for 40 min. 

I refer to supplemental workouts like as "para-workouts." I suppose it might also count as "greasing the groove." Either way, I always enjoy tying shrug work and farmer carries into my larger workout regimen. I'm keeping my neck warm tonight, for fear of neck kinks tomorrow.

ski-step machine:
12 min.

shrug circuit: 
1) farmer carry - 60# dbs x 100, 105, 110 steps
2) Kelso shrug - 135# x 12, 12, 12
3) stiff leg DL - 135# x 12, 12, 12
4) bench shrug - 185# x 12, 12, 12

Return to strength update...

January 10, 2019
140-180 bpm, 38 min.

erg:
5 min., 1240m, 23 spm

dumbbell complex: 35, 30, 25 lbs.
lunges - 10/10, 10/10, 10/10
curl-press - 10, 10, 10
row-good morning - 10, 10, 10
squat - 10, 10, 10
bent tricep extension - 10, 10, 10
calf-shrug - 10, 10, 10

neck press: 115 lbs.
15, 15, 15

Mid-life gym workout updates...

December 20, 2018
Heart rate: 160-200 for 30-40 minutes.

So, I joined Planet Fitness. It's very cheap per month, and is on my way to and from work, and not even ten minutes away from home, at that. 

I ate the humble pie and started with the "Planet Express", which is a full-body, 30-minute station exercise area that has you alternate between a minute of cable resistance machine exercise, 30 seconds of rest, a minute of step-platform movements of your choice, cued by a red and green light overhead.

At the end of it, I did

5 minutes of erg work: 1174m @ about 24 spm.

December 29, 2018
Heart rate: 160-180 for 30-40 minutes

I did the Planet Express workout again, followed by

5 minutes of erging: 1204m @ about 24 spm.

January 6, 2019
Heart rate: 155-180 bpm for 35-40 min. 

Today I sallied forth into the hallowed old realms of weightlifting. There are no free-weight barbell stations at Planet Fitness, which is a bridge I may have to cross when I get that strong again. For now, I remain firmly convinced that there's almost no need to use a barbell until you are able to manhandle heavy dumbbells for all the key movements at a respectable volume. And I see myself learning to love the much maligned Smith machine. More on that later, as things progress... the following is me working myself back into an Even Keel and HIT routine:

Erg -
5 minutes: 1220m @ 25 spm

Dumbbell complex @ 30, 25, 25 lbs. dumbbells -
lunges: 10/10, 10/10, 5/5
curl-press: 10, 10, 8
bent row-good morning: 10, 10, 8
squat: 10, 10, 8
bent tricep extension: 10, 10, 8
calf raise-shrug: 10, 10, 8

Smith machine neck press - 
15, 15, 15 @ 95 lbs.

Get back on the good foot...

9/10/2018 (Monday)
224 lbs.
25 min.
140-160 bpm

1) 8 lb. sledgehammer drills: saggital chops 7/7, golf swings 7/7, log splitters 7/7
2) 35 lb. KB swing: 10/10
3) decline "perfect" pushups (feet 8 in. off the ground): 12, 12, 12
4) 35 lb. KB swing: 10/10
5) skip rope: 60 skips
6) 35 lb. KB swing: 10/10
7) repeat for a total of three sets
8) decline "perfect" pushups (feet 8 in. off the ground): 10

Spud no more...

Day 2 of a program to get myself back into shape to return to proper weightlifting.

7 Sept. 2018 (Friday)
220 lbs.
20-22 min.
160-190 bpm

warm-up...

1) 8 lb. sledgehammer drills: 6/6 saggital chops, 6/6 golf swings, 6/6 log splitters
2) 35 lbs. KB swing: 10/10/10/10
3) 45 lbs. (?) curl-presses: 10
4) 35 lbs. KB squat thrusters: 6/6
5) with 30-60 seconds of rest between exercises, repeat steps 1)-4) two more times

8 Sept. 2018 (Saturday)
222 lbs.
35 min.
140-170 bpm

warm-up: light erg for 3 min.

1) erg: moderately intense 3 min. (rating 27-31)
2) chin-ups: 8, 8, 8
3) Hindu squats: 20, 20, 20
4) CoC 1.5 for reps; finish with infinite grip machine set at 2/6: 8; 20, 8; 20, 7; 20
5) repeat for three sets

Three years a spud...

Well, let's hope that's the end of that.

By that I mean the three or so years of aimless-exercise-slash-shiftless-aimlessness that the period between this post and the previous one suggests.

Have I not done any exercise since March 2015?

No, but, except for a brief, fairly consistent stint at a local gym, and some very random calisthenics every few weeks or months, I haven't spent much time or mental effort on personal fitness.

Fortunately, decent genes, decent eating habits, and physically demanding work and hobbies have kept me in, well, decent shape.

Be that as it may, my cardiovascular stamina is deplorable, and I have probably lost up to 20 pounds of muscle over the past three years (but probably only about 15).

A few weeks ago, I got a stomach virus/gastritis, and I think I went from 225 to 215. Since then I have eaten and active-lifestyled my way back up to maybe 220.

Starting Sunday, I somehow convinced myself to begin an old standby program I learned about years ago from Rich Bryda's e-books. Today at work I manged to convince a coworker to try it out with me, and by the end of the day we had agreed to get back into a proper fitness regimen.

And so it begins.

Almost as soon as I got home, I put on my sneakers, dug up some old training equipment from the forgotten recesses of my garage, and battled Old Man Entropy once again. I hope this marks a serious return to regaining strength and fitness as "40" looms less than a year away.

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

weight: 218 lbs.
time: 25 min.
pulse: 150-180 bpm
warm-up: basic movements to activate muscle memory

1) 8 lb. sledgehammer smash: 5/5 sagittal chops, 5/5 golf drives, 5/5 log splitters
2) jump rope: 50 skips (various)
3) 25 lb. KB swings: 20/20
4) step 2
5) 25 lb. KB press squats: 5/5
6) step 2
7) repeat steps 1-6 two more times