I must say I was in the zone today!!
Warmup
My warm-ups usually consist of a 5 minute jog but my ankle is still hurt. So what I did was a short 5 minute bike warm-up. It didn't get my hear-rate has high has my jogging but it was good enough I would say.
Chest
I started my chest workout as usual with my bench press including my 2 warm-up sets. I did 4 sets and I actually did my 10 reps pretty easily with 45lbs on each side so I did increase my weight by 5 lbs on each side on my 2nd and 3rd set. I tried increasing on my 4th set but after 2 reps I had to bring it down again. this was my first weight increase... after 2 weeks - not bad! I continued with my other 3 sets for which I think I also increased my weights!!
Shoulders
I had a pretty good shoulder workout too. Overall, I also increased my weights on all sets.
Overall, I had a great workout. I was definitely in the zone and felt a great pump at the end of the workou.
Showing posts with label chest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chest. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Week 1 - Chest and Shoulders
Yesterday I worked out my legs and shoulders following my new workout program. I like the fact that the first muscle group exercise uses increasing weights and that there are 4 sets. This is a little more of an intermediate workout and hopefully it will push me to having a better body within 8 weeks.
It was also the first day of working in the gym after being out doing cardio for over 2 months. It initially felt great being back at the gym. For the first 30 minutes I felt pumped. I did my 5 minute warmup in the elliptical (light walking). I then did a little bit of stretching and then did 2 warmup sets at the bench press.
Afterwards, I went ahead and started my bench press sets. Per the workout, I am supposed to increase the weight after every set, but I was unable to do it after every set because it was just way to heavy after the 2nd set so I was hesitant. Which is ok because the sets weren't easy (that is the main idea, if you complete a set too easily, you need to increase weights).
I continued the workout as normal and once I finished my chest workout I moved on to my shoulder workout. By that time I felt a little burned and really just wanted to go home. It would have been very typical of me to do that but as it was my first day, I forced myself to stay. In the end I did all of the shoulder workout sets! yay!
In the end of the workout I wanted to do some cardio and abs (I added them myself) but I found it really hard to do HIIT training for 10 minutes. Instead, I did 6mph jogging for about 3.5 minutes and walked the rest. I think I am just not in that good of a cardio shape. I then did my ab workout which felt great.
Overall, I think it was a good first day :D.
It was also the first day of working in the gym after being out doing cardio for over 2 months. It initially felt great being back at the gym. For the first 30 minutes I felt pumped. I did my 5 minute warmup in the elliptical (light walking). I then did a little bit of stretching and then did 2 warmup sets at the bench press.
Afterwards, I went ahead and started my bench press sets. Per the workout, I am supposed to increase the weight after every set, but I was unable to do it after every set because it was just way to heavy after the 2nd set so I was hesitant. Which is ok because the sets weren't easy (that is the main idea, if you complete a set too easily, you need to increase weights).
I continued the workout as normal and once I finished my chest workout I moved on to my shoulder workout. By that time I felt a little burned and really just wanted to go home. It would have been very typical of me to do that but as it was my first day, I forced myself to stay. In the end I did all of the shoulder workout sets! yay!
In the end of the workout I wanted to do some cardio and abs (I added them myself) but I found it really hard to do HIIT training for 10 minutes. Instead, I did 6mph jogging for about 3.5 minutes and walked the rest. I think I am just not in that good of a cardio shape. I then did my ab workout which felt great.
Overall, I think it was a good first day :D.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Day 14 (post Insanity): Chest and Biceps
I can't believe I have been on the weight lifting for 2 weeks already - well, it is actually more like 4 weeks but the first 2 weeks were not real workouts as I wasn't on track.
Today was Chest and Bicep days. As usual, I did a 4-5 minute jog for warm-up and a 5 minute stretch. After that I went to the bench press and did 4 sets for 8 reps. Then I moved on to my incline exercises and also did 4 sets!
On my biceps workout I did 4 sets on the barbell curl but only 3 on the other 2 exercises as I felt I had a really good workout and was really pushing my muscles.
I haven't really noticed any change with my body so I am really hoping I am doing my workouts properly. I am also going to change my lunch meals but will still have about 500 calories with about 30 grams of protein. It should be posted sometime this week in an updated meal plan post.
Today was Chest and Bicep days. As usual, I did a 4-5 minute jog for warm-up and a 5 minute stretch. After that I went to the bench press and did 4 sets for 8 reps. Then I moved on to my incline exercises and also did 4 sets!
On my biceps workout I did 4 sets on the barbell curl but only 3 on the other 2 exercises as I felt I had a really good workout and was really pushing my muscles.
I haven't really noticed any change with my body so I am really hoping I am doing my workouts properly. I am also going to change my lunch meals but will still have about 500 calories with about 30 grams of protein. It should be posted sometime this week in an updated meal plan post.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Day 8 (post Insanity): Chest and Triceps
Summary: Increase in Sets
I had my hydrostatic test done early this morning which lead to my increase in motivation on today's workout. In addition to that it is one of my favorite workouts - the chest and bicep workout.
This workout routine for chest and biceps is great because you can feel it working out our muscles instantly. However, I was pumped and not feeling it as much as I should so I ended up challenging myself. I firstly increased my bench press by 10 lbs (total) which really did make a difference. I also increased the sets to 4 on all of my chest exercises. Which brings me to my next point
Workout modification: I am going to modify the workout such that for the first half (usually first 3 exercises), I will increase the sets to 4. An addition of sets will help me keep myself challenge and it is still within the muscle building range which is usually 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.
Tip: Once you can complete 12 reps without a problem it means it is time to add some more weight
Keep pushing.
I had my hydrostatic test done early this morning which lead to my increase in motivation on today's workout. In addition to that it is one of my favorite workouts - the chest and bicep workout.
This workout routine for chest and biceps is great because you can feel it working out our muscles instantly. However, I was pumped and not feeling it as much as I should so I ended up challenging myself. I firstly increased my bench press by 10 lbs (total) which really did make a difference. I also increased the sets to 4 on all of my chest exercises. Which brings me to my next point
Workout modification: I am going to modify the workout such that for the first half (usually first 3 exercises), I will increase the sets to 4. An addition of sets will help me keep myself challenge and it is still within the muscle building range which is usually 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.
Tip: Once you can complete 12 reps without a problem it means it is time to add some more weight
Keep pushing.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Day 1 (post Insanity): Chest/Bicep
For those of you just reading this blog, I am taking a 8-12 weeks off Insanity (as I have completed it) and mixing in some weight lifting for toning and building muscles.
My first day of being at the gym after been away for so long wasn't too bad. the workout was very doable. I actually finished it in 45 minutes. The chest workout didn't seem to be too hard - which means I should be adding weights. The bicep workout was good. My biceps were really pushing at the last 2 reps. Here is the summary, I also jotted down how much weight I lifted on each.
The weights actually seem pretty low and wimpy but oh well. Hopefully there will be improvements after 60 days.
My first day of being at the gym after been away for so long wasn't too bad. the workout was very doable. I actually finished it in 45 minutes. The chest workout didn't seem to be too hard - which means I should be adding weights. The bicep workout was good. My biceps were really pushing at the last 2 reps. Here is the summary, I also jotted down how much weight I lifted on each.
The weights actually seem pretty low and wimpy but oh well. Hopefully there will be improvements after 60 days.
| Chest | ||||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | ||
| Bench Presses (2 x warmup sets) | 2 | 15 | ||
| Bar bell Bench Presses (45lbs on each side) | 3 | 8 | ||
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses (40 lbs each side) | 3 | 8 | ||
| Incline Flys (30 lbs each side) | 3 | 8 | ||
| Biceps | ||||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | ||
| Barbell Curls (just the bar) | 3 | 8 | ||
| Dumbbell Curls (20 lbs) | 3 | 8 | ||
| Concentration Curls (15 lbs) | 3 | 8 | ||
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