Post edited 4:56 pm – January 11, 2010 by john-bravo

Ok so today marks the start of a new training routine. Last year I managed to injure my knee playing five a side football so was unable to train as much as I would have liked. I was however able to complete an 8 week program of strong lifts. Squatting with the barbell and increasing the weight each session helped to strengthen my knee so fingers crossed 2010 will be an injury free year (Famous last words!!!)

It's worth mentioning that I train with my friend Minster who is also recording his own journal of the same workout – He has aptly called it 'Mintsters body of a god journal!' which I guess in essence is what most blokes strive for – the body of a god………..My main goals  are to cut body fat and tone up my existing frame. I'm already quite well built so I'm not interested in bulking up. The plan is to workout three times a week and add in some additional cardio in the form of squash and five a side football.

The workout starts with:

Military Press

Quick warm-up set of 10 reps using just the barbell with no weight followed by:

x5 reps @ 40KG

1minute rest

x5 reps @ 47.5KG

1minute rest

x5 reps @ 52.5KG

1minute rest

The goal for the last set here was to do at least 5 reps with a view to doing more if possible. In fairness I struggled with this last set and pretty much failed at 5.

Moving onto:

Barbell Upright Row

Quick warm-up set with a 10kg barbell followed by:

x10 reps @ 30KG

1minute rest

x10 reps @ 30KG

1minute rest

x10 reps @ 30KG

1minute rest

x10 reps @ 30KG

This was a comfortable weight for me so no problems there. 

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Quick warmup set with 8kg dumbbells followed by:

 x 12 reps @ 14KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 14KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 14KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 14KG

Struggled with this one a bit towards the last two sets. Minster managed to help out a bit by supporting my arms on the way up. With 12 reps it definitely helps to count in sixes or even 3's. Psychologically it makes a difference. I felt strong at rep 6 in the final two sets but after that the arms were giving way a bit. Hey ho still managed to crank them out…..just. Worth checking out  Sean's  sports psychology post, certainly helped me.

Bent over Dumbbell Row

Quick warm-up set with 4kg dumbbells followed by:

x 15 reps @ 10KG

1 minute rest

x 15 reps @ 10KG

1 minute rest

x 15 reps @ 10KG

1 minute rest

x 15 reps @ 10KG

Trick here is to really squeeze the shoulder blades together. I think I'm gonna feel this in the morning. My form was good up until the last set.

Dumbbell Curls

Quick warm-up set with 4kg dumbbells followed by:

x 12 reps @ 8KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 8KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 8KG

1 minute rest

x 12 reps @ 10KG

The change in weight for the last rep wasn't too bad here and I felt I could comfortably lift more.

Overall the session only took about an hour to complete. I think I will definitely feel this tomorrow morning in the shoulders. One thing I will say,  training with someone else really helps. For me it adds that little element of competition and also motivates me to push that little bit harder.

Today's workout seemed more challenging which I really enjoyed.

Deadlifts

(Break of 1 minute between reps)

Quick warm-up set  followed by:

5 reps @ 82.5kg

5 reps@ 95kg

6 reps @ 107.5kg

The final set was as many reps as I could do. Mintster managed an impressive 12 but my grip let me down. The liquid chalk is a must have to improve your grip on the bar but even then my hands were blistering up.

Chinups

(Break of 1 minute between reps)

10 reps x 4 sets

Managed to do 3 sets unassisted and then required assistance for the final set after about 6 reps.

One Arm Dumbbell Rows – Alternate Arms

Quick warm-up set  with 14kg dumbbell followed by four sets of the following:

15 reps @20kg

The warm-up set felt quite challenging at 14kg but I managed the 20kg surprisingly well.

Back Extension

25 reps x 4sets

This on paper seemed pretty straight forward however it is by far the most challenging exercise I've had to do for a long time. I think myself and Minster were prepared to call it a day after set 3 but we managed to push through the pain and squeeze out a fourth. The small of my back was certainly aching after completing four sets.

Barbell Roll-Out 

15 reps x 4 sets

Getting the correct form on this one seemed tough at first but I was managing to get my chest low to the ground which really made a difference. Again this was quite challenging as they were fairly high reps but managed to complete them all.

Overall a great session and a new exercise which I have to admit I haven't done for a few years was the back extension. It was really difficult after about set 2 and no doubt I will be feeling it tomorrow morning.

Today's workout started with:

Bench Press

1 minute rest between sets

10 rep warm-up set using 40kg

10 rep warm-up set using 50kg followed by:

10 reps 57.5 kg

10 reps 67.5 kg

14 reps 77.5 kg (Failure set)

Dumbbell Bench Press  (26kg dumbbell each arm)

1 minute rest between sets

4 sets of 10 reps @26kg

The last set was pretty tough

Tricep Dips

4 sets of 10 reps 1 minute intervals

Managed to fail on pretty much the last rep of this set

Dumbbell Fly

1 minute rest between sets

4 sets of 10 reps @14gk

Tricep Pull Downs

1 minute rest between sets

4 sets of 10 reps @21.25kg

Today's workout really hammered the chest and triceps and I was left feeling pretty pumped. Struggled on the dumbbell bench press and needed help to squeeze the last few out.

So its the end of my first week. It's been really good training with Mintster. Next week I'll be training on my own which will be interesting to see if I can maintain the same level of determination. Having someone there to spur you on and to compete with adds something extra.

Tonight was meant to be a gym workout but its turned out to be a rest night instead. I am planning on doing Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday this week as training days with a game of squash on Thursday.

Played 45 minutes of squash tonight against Mintstser. This time I managed to leave victorious 3-0. Next week I will probably loose 4-0. Swings and roundabouts but a fantastic cardio workout nevertheless!!!

Military Press

4 sets of 3 reps @ 45KG

4 sets of 3 rep 50KG

2 reps x 57.5KG

Managed to screw up the sets and repetitions on this first workout and did way more than I was meant to hence why my failure set was particularly poor. I was meant to do 3 reps of each exercise once.

Barbell upright row

1 x 10 @ 40KG 

3 x 10 @ 30kg

40kg was a little too much so dropped it down to 3okg which was more manageable.

DB Shoulder Press

4 x 12 @ 14KG

Bentover DB Raise

4 x 15 @ 8KG  

DB Curl

2 x 12 @ 10KG

2 x 12 @ 8KG

Quite a quick little workout in the end although as mentioned I over did it with the first exercise which left my shoulders feeling pumped.

Rest day today. Went to a prodigy concert last night with Mintster and a mate from work. Awesome experience. Sweat fest would be an understatement. Mintster was going nuts and I stupidly thought a jumper was a good idea.

Military Press

5 reps @ 47.5KG

3 reps @ 52.5KG

5 reps @ 60KG

This was certainly a lot easier than the last time I did this as I managed to get the reps correct this time.

Barbell upright row

4 sets x 10reps @ 40KG

I think this was harder last time around as I over did it with the first exercise but this was far more comfortable for me.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

4 sets x 12reps @ 14KG

Bentover Dumbbell Raise  

4 sets x 15reps @ 8KG

Dumbbell Curl

2 sets x 12reps @ 12KG 

2 sets x 12reps @ 10KG

Once again arms and shoulders feeling pumped. I was planning a weekend of rest but tomorrow is a squash match with my 12 year old followed by swimming.