Gym Routine

Went to the gym Wednesday night.  Did the usual routine, which I need to update

Start out with 15 to 20 minutes on the sideways elliptical machine, which usually works out to about 150 to 200 calories (according to the machine).  If I'm feeling extra sore or tired, I might do more on the elliptical and skimp out on downstairs gym stations... or it might energize me to do a full routine.

Downstairs... 

One point of all these exercises is that they are "super-sets", meaning I should do a set of A) (say, presses), rest 10 seconds, then do a set of B) (say rows), rest, and then repeat two more times.  They're supposed to compliment each other by alternately compressing and stretching the same muscle sets.  


A) 3x12x20lbs dumbbell presses

It's hard to mess this one up... that's not saying I probably don't.  I need to keep the dumbbells over my pectorals and at shoulder-width.  The idea is to go straight up and push with my pectorals and not my shoulders.


B) 3x12x20lbs dumbbell rows

If I do this one wrong, I feel it in my lower back.  I need to keep my feet closer together, keep my bent knees behind my toes,  flex my quads and not my back, then let the dumbells hang straight down from my shoulders, and row up with the dumbbells following the slope of my legs.  My  forearms and quads should be parallel, as should my trunk and shins -- and to get that position I need to "lead from my butt." 



A) 3x12x50lbs barbell press

I've increased the weight on this from 45.  As a reminder, the barbell needs to be even with my pectorals so on the contraction there's a bit of a stretch and the press is coming from my pectorals and not my shoulders.


B) 3x12x50lbs barbell row

Mostly right.  Good form has the bar starting touching just above my knees and then pulling up and back in a straight line to touch the navel.  (Note to self, re-read this before going to the gym for good form.)  Engage the quads, not the lower back (or shoulders).  Make sure the elbows at the top of the row are bent so that they point across the middle of the back (not the top of the shoulders).



A) 3x12x20lbs low cable fly

I've upped the weight from 15lbs. I had been performing this too high, like it was a press.  I need to grip the pulls to engage the forearms (I'd been hooking them in open hands between my thumbs and index finger).  The push should come (you guessed it) from my lower pectoral muscles, not my triceps.  Start with elbows bent, then end with hands low in a sort of Arnold flexing pose.


B) 3x12x10lbs low back cable fly

I increased the weight from 5lbs.  It's easy for me to forget to grab the pulls by the webbing if I go away on a vacation.  So I managed to pull some odd muscle groups in my hands in August.  The grip should be squeezing the ropes above the pulls, my elbows should be bent in a frozen position.  The cables should cross at head level.  Instead of straightening my arms, which turns this into a triceps/shoulder stressor (oops), I should be stretching my chest open and energizing my lower trapezius muscle group.

3x12x10lbs cable twist

I've got to remember to keep a wider stance to insure that I'm twisting my trunk (and activating my core) not twisting my hips and knees.



60+70+80lbs lat pull-downs
This used to be in my old set, and I added it to keep my lats wide (which Mark likes).  I looked at the pictures on the lat station, and I've probably been leaning back a little too much.


A) 3x12x30lbs rope triceps extension

Oh my god, doing this the right way is going to kill me.  Mostly, it's about bending forward (engaging the core) so the weights don't come back down on their stack, keeping my elbows in position near my ears, then straightening my arms so that the rope-pull travels in a straight line (not a curve) which is an extension of the cable's vector.  And not flexing my wrists.  I should be thinking of the motion as a pushing forward with my hands and not as a rotation around my elbows. 


B) 3x12x20lbs overhead rope bicep curl

Another form that I was doing with elbows too low and too far leaned back.  So... sit on the bench, raise the arms and grab the rope pull in a reverse hold with thumbs facing my face, lean back a little to raise weights off of their stack, bend elbow (keeping it near my ears), pull rope pull behind my head, focus on activating the top part (elbow half) of my biceps. 



Roman Chair Curls

If things are going well and the station's free, I'll try to sneak this in.  On a good day, I can do about two sets of fifteen curls.  Lately, I've been curling with my legs straight(-ish) under the vague notion that it will target my lower abs more. 





A) 3x12x25lbs barbell inline overhead triceps extension

I've set the incline to 37 degrees.  This one was throwing me because the grip on the barbell always felt wrong.  My hands should be about as far apart when my extended thumb tips are touching (or to put it another way, if my hands are naturally falling palms out with relaxed arms, rolling my hands inward should bring them the same, naturally relaxed distance).  Lean forward in the incline bench in a demi-crunch (which I kind of forget to do), the barbell behind the head and between the bench, push up and a little back (not directly over head or chest) to keep the triceps engaged.


B) 3x12x25lbs barbell incline hanging bicep curl

One form that I was actually mostly doing correctly.  Remember to keep biceps engaged (don't "rest" weights at the top of the curl).



I've been doing this routine (more-or-less) since last January.  On ideal weeks, I manage to get in three times a week, sometimes four if you count the week as Saturday to Friday.  I had an enforced break for about three weeks after I pulled my back out while shoveling snow ("Look at me.  I'm a stud.  I work out").  My arms and chest have responded well to the routine, but I was hoping that I'd get an eight-pac -- instead I seem to have a two-pac and a bicycle tire.  

I'm going to meet with my trainer again for some suggestions for mixing things up a little in the hopes of getting abs of steel and finding some alternate exercises that are a little easier on my joints.  I think I haven't aged past the stage where I can build muscle mass, and I'd like to take advantage of that while I can.

It may be that I need to meet with a dietitian to work out meals that are less fatty and have more vegetables or something that will very likely make Mark say, "I told you so."