Monday, July 23, 2012

Chiseling Chest

What's up everyone! Well today was my first day to getting back into the routine. Today I worked on chest along with half of America who usually does chest on Monday.  I worked on the upper part of my pecs today since I need a little more mass. I got to the gym and started of with stretching out my chest and warming up my shoulders (Rotator Cuff). After stretching and warming up I did a set of push ups to get my blood running.


Incline Dumbbell Presses: 4 sets of 15,12,8 Dropset 10


Flat Dumbbell Presses: 4 sets of 12,10,8 Dropset 8


Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 10,10,10


Incline Hammer Strength Chest Press: 3 sets of 12,8,6 (My shoulder wasn't to good on this exercise so I went alittle easy on this one)


(PUSH UPS IN BETWEEN)

Hammer Strength Chest Press: 2 sets of 12,10


(PUSH UPS IN BETWEEN)


Pec Deck Flyes: 3 sets of 12,10,8


Cable flyes: 3 sets of 12,10,8


Well this is what I accomplished today. My rotator cuff wasn't on my side today but I managed to get my workout in. Remember!!! to squeeze your chest at it's peak of the exercise and do your sets till failure. Stay hydrated and eat something within 45 mins after your workout.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Back in the routine with back

What's up everyone! Today I went in to do back. Again I took today as a light workout since I been gone a week from the gym. Today I usually do Abs and Cardio but since I missed back on Tuesday and I lack in back I decided to do it today. Next week I will get back into the normal routine.


When I got to the gym I loaded my bottle with water as I always do. Hydration is really important when it come's to being in the gym. Keep's your muscle looking filled and replaces the fluids your losing by sweating and it's just good for the health. After I got my water I went and stretched for 2-3 mins. After I was done stretching I went into my routine.


Warm up: 20 pullups


Seated Lat Pull Downs: 4 sets of 15,12,10 Dropset 10

Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Rows Machine: 3 sets of 12,10,10


Bent Over T-Bar Rows: 2 sets of 15,12


Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral High Pull Downs: 3 sets of 12,10,8


Bent Over Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 12,10,8


Cable Rows: 3 sets of 12,10,8


This is the workout I did today for back. Like I said I went light today to get my body back in the routine. I would off added calf workouts but the machines were taken. Remember to contract the muscle to feel the burn and to dig into those muscle fibers. 

Friday, July 20, 2012

Shoulder's are exhausted

What's up everyone! Well I'm back from the mini vacation I had away from the gym from working on my car to having little side jobs here and there. Today I woke up and had my protein shake with slices of bananas and a bowl of oatmeal. I waited about an hour to let my food settle and I drank my pre-workout and then I was off to the gym.


I got to the gym and I started up with stretching and the warming up my right shoulder with exercises my physical therapist showed me to get my rotator cuff going. Then I went straight to the workouts.


Side Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 12,10,10,8


Front Lateral Raises (Dumbbell): 3 sets of 12,10,8


Front Lateral Raises (Cable&Rope): 3 sets of 12,10,8


Upright EZ Bar rows: 3 sets of 12,10,8


Shoulder Shrugs (Dumbbells): 4 sets of 12,10,8 DropSet 10


This is the workout I did today. I didn't add more exercise because I just got back into he routine and I wanna start off easy so by next week I should be back in my normal routine. It allows my body to get adjusted again. Anyways stay hydrated and stretch!!!! 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Sorry Again!!

I've been really busy working on my car and barely have time to type. I will update soon. Thank You

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Working on Lat's/Back

What's up everyone! Well today was back day and it actually went smooth. The gym was empty when I arrived so I didn't have to wait for any machines or worry about being crowed into a little space. I took my morning protein shake (I missed my breakfast which was going to be oatmeal but the shake should make up for it).  I took  a Fish oil and Vitamin C tablet also.

 I got to the gym and filled up my water bottle ( I drink atleast a gallon a day) and then I started of with my stretches. After stretching for about 2 mins I performed 15 pull-ups to get my blood running through my body. Then it was off to exercising.


My first workout was Lat Pulldowns I did 4 sets of 15,12,10 Dropset 10

Second exercise is Bent over rows with a T-Bar I did 3 sets of 15,12,8 

Next was Seated Row Machine I performed 3 sets of 12,10,8

Seated Cable Rows and I did 3 sets of 15,12,10

I used the Hammer Strength Back Pullover machine and did 3 sets of 12,10,8

Last was Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown I did 3 sets of 12,10,8


In all this was my workout for today I usually add bent over rows with a dumbbell but I'm going to switch it up every week to confuse my body. Doing the same exercise over and over and over your body will start to recognized your routine and soon or later you will hit a plateau which means your body basically hit a stage where is just stop growing. So you can workout out for weeks but then stop seeing results. To stop this you need to change up your routine and let your body keep guessing. 


Remember to stay hydrated and rest in between sets and push yourself while working out and do sets usually the last set to failure (till your muscle can't lift anymore).

NOTE::::: Dropset is a technique for continuing an exercise with a lower weight once muscle failure has been achieved at a higher weight. <--------- I got this from Wikipedia. 


Monday, July 9, 2012

Sorry I havent posted in a couple of day's

I have been alittle busy. Now I'm back on track and ready to start updating again.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

4th of July Arms!

What's up everyone! I just wanna start off by saying happy 4th of July to everyone. I hope all of you enjoy your day and stay safe!. Anyways today's agenda was Arm's. Lucky it is a holiday and the gym was empty. I woke up a little late today but managed to make a protein shake and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I waited about an hour to let all that settle in my stomach before I headed to the gym. 


I got to the gym and realized I left my water bottle at home. Got me a little mad but I just compromised by just walking my lazy self to the water fountain in between exercises. So I started of as always stretching for a couple of minutes to get loosened up.  Then I started my rotator cuff exercises to warm up which my physical therapist recommended and showed me how to do. After this I went to my routine and I started of with Tricep's first.


I started of with Tricep Rope Pull Down's I did 4 sets of 15,12,10 Drop set 12


Then I went to Skull Crushers I did 4 sets of 12,10,6 Drop Set 15


Next was Tricep Cable Kick Backs I did 3 sets of 12,10,10


After this I went to Seated Tricep Over head Dumbbell extension. I did 3 sets of 15,12,10


After this I was done with Triceps and I went on to Biceps.


First Bicep workout was Preacher Curls. I did 4 sets of 12,10,6 Drop Set 6


Next was seated Dumbbell Biceps curls. I did 3 sets of 15,12,10 and SuperSet it wil a set of Hammer curls


Next was Bicep Cable Hammer Rope Curls. I did 3 sets of 15,12,10


My final Bicep exercise was Double bicep cable curls. I did 5 sets of 15,12,10 Drop Set 12 and the last one was 9 which I concentrated on the negative (Lowering/Returning the weight back in it's starting position very slowly) portion.


After Biceps I did Fore Arms. I did  Fore Arm Curls (palms up &palms down) I did 3 sets of 15,15,15

Anyways I was gonna add Ab's into the routine but I was really tired and I really didn't want to come to the gym today but I can't go through the day normally if the gym wasn't part of the day so I went. I will make up ab's twice as hard tomorrow along with a leg workout.


NOTE: Remember to always Squeeze!!!! your biceps  at the peak of the exercise. After your done working out your arms will look swollen and you will feel it. Have something in your stomach after your workout preferably a Protein shake!  


HAVE A GREAT 4th OF JULY AND STAY SAFE AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Learning.

I've picked up a lot of knowledge over the years about fitness and it's benefits. I started off by just walking around in the gym and using every machine in the gym. I had no idea what I was doing but I did it. I then started reading articles in the internet and just taking my time reading and absorbing a lot of info about how exercises work, what part of the body the exercise is targeting and how they should be performed. Sometimes I would learn from the people that go to my gym. A lot had a number of years of experience in the gym and built their bodies over time. They would explain to me if I'm doing the exercise wrong or if I should tweak the exercise a little. These are the times when you just gotta learn when to shut up and just take the wisdom from people. There are a lot of people that are out to help. Just don't try to think your better than them because you just started lifting or for some other reason. But in all I just wrote this little post to explain how I got my knowledge in lifting and building my body. Don't get me wrong I'm still learning and I still have people give me advice. No one is perfect and information is always out there and it's constantly updating. 

Back Day!

What's up everyone?? Well today was a great day at the gym and I worked on Back today. As always I started my day off with a protein shake and a bowl of oatmeal to give me the protein and carbs I need to fuel my muscles throughout the workout.  So after about an hour and a half I took my pre-workout drink to get me pumped. I would name the company and name of the pre workout I take but since none of them are sponsoring me I will not name them. 


So I packed my bag and was off to the gym in this Florida heat. When I got to the gym I filled up my water bottle (STAY HYDRATED!!!) and went off to stretch. After stretching I did a set of pull-ups and I managed to do 20 pull-ups without my shoulder's killing me. After pull-up I went straight to my routine.


First exercise is Lat Pulldowns. I start of very light to get me warmed up then add weight to perform to failure. I did 5 sets of 20,15,12,10,10
(LAT PULL DOWNS) 

Next is Bent Over T-Bar Rows I did 3 sets of 15,12,10
                                                                (BENT OVER T-BAR)


Then I went to Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Rowing machine I did 4 sets of 15,12,12,10 (I ended up doing Drop Sets For this one)

                                               (HAMMER STRENGTH ISO-LAT ROW)


NOTE:: Sorry after these exercises I got to much into my workouts I forgot to take more pictures. If anything you can type up the exercise/machine in google and it will generate how the exercise/machine looks like.

My next exercise is Sitting Cable Rows I performed 3 sets of 12,10,8

Next is Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral High Row Pull Down Machine I did 3 sets of 15,12,10

Next is Bent over barbell rows. I did 3 sets of 15,12,12

My final exercise is One Arm Dumbbell Rows. 3 sets of 12,12,12

I would usually do DeadLifts but I decided to do Bent Over T-Bars one week and DeadLifts another week and just keep switch off like that to keep my body guessing.

I also added Calfs today since I do Calfs 2-3 times a week. So I did 3 sets of 15,15,15 Standing Calf Raises.

In all remember to squeeze your back to get the full workout and full stretch almost locking your elbows as you  return the weights back to the beginning position to get the full workout. Stay hydrated and make sure you have some type of protein and carbs after your done working out. Your body needs to recover!! Maintain a proper diet and keep up the good work!



Monday, July 2, 2012

Chest!!!!

What's up everyone?? Well today was an alright day at the gym. I went a little late then usual and I try to avoid going late especially on Monday's because everyone gets out of work and the gym become  really packed. So because the gym was extremely packed today I couldn't take any pictures of the equipment but next time I will. So before going to the gym I drank a protein shake mixed with peanut butter then waited about an hour and drank my pre-work out.


I got to the gym and stretched alittle bit and began my rotator cuff warm up exercises to loosen my shoulder's due to this injury I got. Make sure to warm up your rotator cuff before training chest.





Chest Workout


I started off with Incline Dumbbell Press. I did 4 sets of 15,12,10,8


Normal Bench Press With Dumbbells. I did 3 sets of 12,10,8


I went back to Incline and did I performed Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 sets of 10 (I didn't want to stress my shoulders that much so I didn't push that hard)


I then went to the Pec Dec Fly Machine and did 3 sets of 12,12,12


Cable Flyes was next with 3 sets of 12,10,8


My final workout was Hammer Press machine and I did 3 sets of 12,10,8


At times I will do Push ups in between each exercise and get my chest pumped.

In all make sure that you SQUEEZE your chest at the peak of the exercise! This will stimulate the muscle to actually put in work. Make Sure when your are benching to squeeze your shoulders back together and arc your back just a little. This will take shoulders out of the workout and concentrate on the chest. Remember to use weight you can handle and make sure you perform the workouts till failure.


Anyways if you guys have any questions just feel free to leave a comment. Thanks

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Rest Day!

Well today is Sunday and it's my day off from the gym. I need to let my body recover from the workout I did this week. Usually people take two days off but I usually add an extra day of just ab's and cardio so I consider that a partial day off since I really don't push myself that hard on this day. But rest is really important in aiding in muscle recovery and gains. During a workout your actually damaging muscle fibers. During recovery you let your muscles recover and repair promoting muscle growth. Make sure to maintain a proper diet. I'm not going to lie, right now I'm in my bulking stage and sometimes I sneak in dirty food but that's because of money situation and I'm on a budget and eat healthy can be alittle expensive (But I'm not telling you to eat dirty either this can ruin your routine and I'm in pretty good shape). But I always have my usual foods. Tuna fish, Sweet Potato, Chicken breast, Turkey breast and my veggies. I never cook any of my foods with oil unless it's coconut oil. Neither do I cook it with butter. Make sure to stay hydrated all day and just enjoy your day off and stretch out alittle bit.