Shoulders, arms and core

Fridays workout

Shoulders, arms and chest recovery:

Military press-3 sets 8-10 reps
Arnold press Superset with
Straight bar curl 3 sets 8-10 reps

Shoulder flies superset with front, side and press 3 sets 8-10
Hammer curls Superset with 
tricep kick back
Eazy bar curl on Bosu ball superset with
Bench dips 3 sets 8-10

Legs/core

Hill sprints- 6 sets (run up steep hill as fast as possible, then walk back down)
Medicine ball side toss
Squat thrust with medicine ball 3 sets 10 reps (this is a squat jump, but at the end of a jump throw a heavy medicine ball as high and as hard as you can)
Kettle ball swing long jumps 3 sets 10 reps (take a kettle ball between your legs. swing it forward and leap forward at the same time)

Chest recovery: 3 sets light bench press then drop set of dips followed by 100 reps. Lean forward to activate chest muscles.

Remember, the idea here is to move quickly with little rest to get aerobic activity engaged too

Workout of the day

With all the different workouts out there, one begins to wonder which one is best for you. I've noticed that many have a theme and that theme is intensity. We've found that planning weight lifting routines ahead of time reduces rest time and increases intensity. Super setting routines also cuts down on time in the gym and keeps the metabolism fired up. With that in mind, I'll post here some routines that will target certain muscle groups and keep a good cardio going. Here's Thursdays- Tuesday was leg intensive and you'll see that the last set is a recovery set- the idea being that light weight helps reduce the acid and speeds recovery.

Abs and core:
Plank 90 seconds
Seated leg in and out 25 
Plank 90 seconds
Cruches on Swiss ball 50reps
Plank 60 seconds
Human flag 45 seconds each side

Trunk twists 

Side plank 45 seconds each side
Lying butt raises

Chest/lats: 

Benchpress- 1 warm up, then 3 sets 8-10 Superset with

            Incline pull up to bar (feet on the floor, bar at about 48")

Basketball push ups 3 sets Superset with 

            Pullups as many as you can, then staright to seated pull ups

Incline dumbbell press 3 sets 8-10 Superset with

            Standing wide grip pull downs arms outstretched 

Machine fly crossover past centerline (have to do this unilaterally) Superset with

            Cable flies from low pulley up to chin level

Legs recovery set:5 minutes
Squats in rack 50 reps

I'll post more here later

Foam Rollers

About a year ago, a trainer at the gym had me spend about 20 minutes with a foam roller. He explained to me that using this thing correctly would help stretch my muscles and tendons and break down soft tissue adhesions.

We started out rolling my calfs and it hurt like hell in certain spots. He explained that the superficial fascia, a soft connective tissue located just below the skin can adhere to the muscle tissue and become stuck. This can cause restrictive motion, cramping and muscle knots or trigger points.

In my case, my calf muscles were so knotted that it had affected my stance and stride. I couldn't do a squat without turning my knees out. The trainer had me roll the knots out in my calfs and I found I could balance better and do my squats correctly.

I should of gotten into a regular habit of rolling my muscles out, but I'm too impatient for that kind of thing. Lately though, my hamstrings, calfs and glutes are all knotted up and I've been rolling them out the last couple of days. It makes a big difference and I found that I could squat a lot more weight after a few sessions. 

Theres a great article here about using foam rollers and detailed instructions in running times showing how to use them. There's also plenty of good vids online.

 SPRI 36 " High Density Black Foam Roller - FR-366BLACK (Google Affiliate Ad)

Water!

Wow, have I ever underestimated how much water it really takes to run a human body efficiently!
For the last two weeks I've been drinking over three quarts a day and its done wonders.

Our bodies are estimated to be about 70 to 80 percent water. Our muscles, lungs and blood are mostly comprised of water. Water regulates our body temperature, transports oxygen to our cells, cleans out impurities and believe it or not revs up the metabolism.

Without enough water, we become dehydrated, which reduces blood volume, that in turn means less oxygen is getting to our muscles. Unfortunately our bodies are slow to warn us of dehydration; the saying goes that if you're thirsty you're already dehydrated.

A good rule of thumb is to drink one half ounce of water for every pound of body weight. So while the old eight glasses that we're used to might work for many people, its not enough for the likes of a 200 lb guy like me.

So go ahead, have a glass of good clean water, or two or ten- its refreshing, cheap and really good for you!

How many reps and sets should I do

There is an old adage that more reps/less weight equals more fat loss and less reps/more weight equals muscle growth. While the former is true, there's some question about the latter; in fact studies have shown that using different rep ranges builds more muscle.

There's lots of routines that call for 5-8 reps, and many that call for 8-15. The correct answer though, is that both are right. In fact recently I've been varying my reps and I seem to be benefiting from changing it around. But here's what I do: I make sure to do about 25-30 reps total per routine. So if I'm doing 5 reps, I'll do 5 sets but if I'm doing 8 reps, I'll do 3 or 4 and so on.

Obviously if I'm doing more reps per set, I'm using a lighter weight than if I'm doing 5 reps. But one thing I try to focus on is not only the positive (lift) but also the negative (return). Especially on lighter weights, I'll lift quickly and forcefully, and then lower the weight slowly, focusing on the muscle in both directions.

For example If I'm doing a hammer curl, I'll literally imagine that I'm trying to hammer a nail in upside down in front of me  and push the weight accordingly. Then lowering the weight slowly, the muscle is still working on resistance, rather than letting the weight fall.

Try it- it makes a difference, and don't forget to have fun!

Yoga?????

Going to try some Yoga for real tomorrow. I've fooled around with it a bit lately, mostly when I have some time before a work-out and only by following pictures in a book, so who knows if I'm even close to doing it right.  But I am finding that 20 minutes or so seem to really help limber me up and my work-out is way more energized.

So, I'm going to my first ever class tomorrow evening and see if I can do some of the poses without making a complete fool of myself. If nothing else I'll learn the form and benefit from the stretching- we'll see.

Rotator cuffs- don't ignore them

Before I started exercising it seemed like I had to see my osteopath almost monthly. I'd pull my shoulder out or my hip and be in agony, until my doctor would straighten me out and align my frame. He'd always start with my feet and comment how one leg was longer than the other or some such stuff. Then he'd begin his manipulations and if I wasn't feeling better when I walked out of his office, I was by the next day.

Since I've been exercising regularly, I don't need to see my doc so often, but I do try to go every three months or so to make sure I'm keeping everything lined up. This is important for me, it's sort of a check in to make sure I'm in good muscle balance.

I went a few weeks for one such check in and actually had a shoulder that was complaining (an old injury that likes to flare up every now and then). He fixed me right up, but it made me realize that I had been forgetting to exercise my rotator cuffs. Its an easy thing to forget, they seem so insignificant but if your rotators are weak, it compromises other exercises too like bench presses.

Speaking of forgetting to exercise small muscles, there are others you shouldn't ignore. Here's a great link for how to exercise often forgotten muscles, including rotator cuffs.