No pain, no gain.

It's Thursday and I am still sore from Mondays workout. I also may be sore from yesterdays also, but nonetheless I'm still very sore. Which brings me to a good point; after awhile when you start a workout program you get in the routine of doing the same things week after week. The first time you go through and workout every muscle group, you get your muscle pains knowing you worked out that region. You did something right because it hurts to get out of bed, correct? Well eventually that pain goes away, and your body gets used to it. Some people feel that the only way they are doing things correctly is if they feel muscle soreness the day after. That is most cases is not correct. Like stated before when you get into your routine your muscles adapt and can withstand the stress being put on them. The ideal thing to do to your body is called muscle shock. What muscle shock does is exactly what it sounds like, shock the muscles. Besides doing one of your regular routines throw your body a curve ball and do something completely different, higher reps and more weight are good examples. You can also do a strip set, a strip set is when you do as many reps you can with one weight and when you reach failure drop the weight slightly and continue to failure again. Complete this process till there is virtually no weight left on the machine or bar.

It's good to shock the muscles every now and then, I would suggest 1-2 times a month doing this. You can also do it on a regular basis by throwing out a lift and adding one that works the same muscle. What this does is workout the muscle you are looking to work but may incorporate other muscles, and stabilizers within the region.

2 weeks of hell.

For the next 14 days I am going to do a 4 day a week workout that will be similar to the MS (mini spartan) as stated in my earlier post. It's going to be more advanced and incorporate more lifts, and reps. Seeing that I can complete the MS in just over 6 minutes, I think it's time to make a more advanced workout. I was pondering what lifts I can do to make this a rigorous workout, also taking into consideration my ankle injury. So here are a few things that I came up with.

25 incline bench press at 115
50 dead lifts at 135
25 chin ups
50 dumbbell cleans into an over head press at 35 (25 each hand)
50 crunches
50 push ups
25 dips
25 sit ups. (updated 7/17/07)

Total 300 reps


I just got back from the gym and finished the complete workout. It was tougher then I expected, adding an extra 125 repetitions really packs the time on your workout. I think my time may be skewed a bit. I had too do 50 dumbbell cleans then go straight into the chin ups; due to someone being on the pull up bar when I needed it. I ended with a time of 28 minutes and 32 seconds. I found that the dumbbell cleans the dead lift, and dips were all a pain in the ass to do. Especially ending off with dips, my arms were dead as is. Try doing an already hard exercise, especially 25 of them in as few sets as possible when your arms are completely shut down.

Try this and let me know how it was, post your comments.

7/17/07 update (Added 25 sit ups to the workout, making it a circuit of 300 repetitions)

No weights, no treadmill, no problem. Be RIPPED away from home.

So yesterday my roommate and I decided to do the Spartan workout. I didn't get to my tricep workout in again (ugh) because we ended up doing 2 sets of the Spartan. Today I will get to them....I hope.

So this weekend I will be leaving for the west side of the state, probability of going to a gym...0%. For many of us we think that going away is an excuse to stop working out/training for those few days we are away from home. While sometimes it's good to have a rest, it's just as bad to stop. Stopping a workout can have a ill effect on future workouts, for example. Say you are leaving on a Friday evening to go away for the weekend; you most likely will miss a Friday workout to finish up things around the house after you get home from work or what not. Saturday and Sunday are days you will be gone on your trip. Monday you will feel the urge to unpack and probably lounge around because you are tired from the weekends festivities. There is the possibility of four workout days being cut from your regime. You may be saying four days is nothing, but it's the potential rut you get yourself into. Taking days off without working out starts an effect where you don't feel the need to go to the gym. This may lead to a cut off from going to the gym completely.

Here are a few things that you can do while you are gone for the weekend to keep your heart pumping and muscles toned.

Go for a jog in your new surrounding area. You will get to see new things that you don't see on your runs back home. People are more prone and alert in areas they aren't familiar with, you may be able to actually run farther than you do at home without feeling as fatigued.

Push ups and sit ups are the easiest workouts to do while away. Try to do as many as you can in 2 minutes back to back. Take a 10 minute rest and do it again.

Dips on the go are also quite easy. Find two chairs put your feet up on one and your hands on the other. Dip down as far as you can and return to the start position.

Create your own routine with different variations of things you know. It's doesn't have to be complex, just something to keep your body moving and on it's toes.

This is why you don't use steroids.

First, I would like to note the pure hilarity of this article I found. Second, the intelligence level of the person who wrote this is equivelant to that of an eight year old. I will bold the funny parts.

' Why Steroids ? '

1) There was a study done by the University of Michigan which showed
that Men who used AS (my note. AS=Anabolic Steroids) in college were had a (my note. were had a?) higher rate of salary's compared to their non anabolic steroid using counterparts. I believe the pursuit of BB (?) translates in the real wold (my note. WORLD!). Men who are driven enough to risk life and limb in the pursuit of their goals of physical perfection will no doubt apply the same fever to other arena's. (Worst sentence ever)

Please don't turn into this guy! Be cool, don't use steroids. They melt your brain also.

Mini Spartan

So most of you who watched the movie 300 probably walked out of the theater wanting to either
A) stab something with a spear.
B) do every kind of abdominal workout possible or
C) If you're a woman find a guy who had a body that looked like any of the characters in the movie. (even the old dude that followed around the queen was ripped) No excuse about age guys

Guys if you are worried that your wife/girlfriend happened to agree with choice C then I have something that can get you feeling great and eventually looking better.

Right now I am working on a bum ankle and have been really itching to do the whole 300 workout. (Note: I have a link under the Men's Health tabs with a complete explanation of the 300 workout. Do not try it if you aren't already in good-amazing shape, you will throw up.)

I came up with a preparation routine that will eventually get you into the ball field that is the 300 workout. My roommate and I did it in the gym the other day and didn't have much of a problem with it. It consists of 150 repetitions done consecutively with five different moderately easy to medium skilled lifts.

Here is the complete routine we completed.

Bench Press: 25 reps at 135 pounds
Chin ups: 25 reps
Sit Ups: 50 reps
Barbell Curls: 25 reps at 65 pounds
Push ups: 25 reps

Total Reps: 150
Total time to complete: 6 minutes 54 seconds

Today's new time 1st set 6 minutes 26 seconds 7/11/07
Todays 2nd set 8 minutes 16 seconds 7/11/07

It looks easy on paper but if you do it fast enough it will get you dizzy, so if you really are out of shape I suggest taking your time and splitting up some of the reps on the harder lifts. Also feel free to manipulate this workout. It's fun to do, easy to track your performance. Perform this workout twice a week and bring a stop watch with you. You can also make this a complete workout if you perform it twice. Take a 10 minute break between sets. Or just continue with a different routine of your choice, or go home.

A lesson on the Tricep

Today the triceps are going to be worked out. I really haven't hit my triceps lately, at least not an exercise that primarily focuses on the major tri muscle. My word of advice to you guys out there who are curling yourselves to death in the weight room. Stop! If you really want to increase size in your arms focus on the triceps. The tri is larger than your bicep muscle, IE it grows larger when worked out then the bicep does. This is due to the muscle having three different heads, hence the name TRIcep. Don't get me wrong curls are good, but too many people just curl themselves into submission and don't get the gains they should be seeing.

Here are few good workouts that will increase strength and size. (Results vary blame genetics)

Skull Crushers- If you are new to this workout always use a spotter!
Using a preacher curl bar load an appropriate amount of weight onto each side. Be sure to clip the weight on so it doesn't slide off. Extend yourself horizontally on a flat bench feet flat on the floor with the curl bar extended over top of your body. Keeping your hands about a foot apart slowly bend at the elbows and bring the bar to your forehead. (hence the name skull crushers) be sure to keep your elbows in. Return to the start position; that is one repetition.

Dips-
Dips are an amazing workout for your arms as well as your chest. Find a dip machine (ask if you don't know what one is) and hoist yourself up. I like to cross my feet behind me and bring them up a bit to help with balance. This workout can put some strain on your shoulders so go down and find the right distance that feels best for you. Once you go down come back up that is one complete repetition. Eventually if it starts to get easy, if you can do more than 10 in 3 consecutive sets ask for a modified belt at your gym that you can connect weight plates to. It will have a chain hanging on it.

Chin ups-
This is what has been the best for me thus far. I do chin ups like it's my job. This exercise has helped me gain an inch on my arms the past month, plus the overall strength that helps me with other lifts. This workout is better than curls! (proven fact) It ignites all your muscles in your bicep and triceps. This exercise is performed by using an underhand grip. I space my hands about 8 inches apart, cross my feet and extend them upwards just like a dip. I go as far as I can go down while doing this workout (go big or go home) by going all the way down it makes the workout that much tougher, which makes your bicep and tricep work harder. Try not to swing your weight while doing this workout, keep your body stabilized and look straight ahead. This inhibits you from swinging upwards and cheating.

While there are numerous more exercises, these three I feel have the best overall outcome you would like to see in the end.

My track to fitness,

I currently am on a 2 month stint of a workout regime that I created for myself to stop hitting the many plateaus that I seem to encounter during working out. I been tracking progress and monitoring the gains of the past few months, I can say I have been semi pleased with the results. I am now ready to increase those gains, and step it up a notch. Until my broken ankle heals I will have to keep on keeping on with the current program.

A lot of emphasis has been on the upper body. In fact I guess you can say all the emphasis has been the upper body. The lower half has been harshly neglected and I plan to change that when my ankle heals. It's hard to have overall core strength when one of the most important muscles in the whole body (Quads) have seen no love in several months now.

I'll post a workout later.

-Tom