A new fake bench press PR

Dec11
by Duf on December 11, 2017 at 6:51 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Today at the Gym

So today at the gym my bench press buddy and I were back on the Smith machine for another bench press marathon where we do nothing but reps at varying weight for the entire session.  I set a new personal best, pressing the bar off my chest with two 45 pounders, two 10 pounders and a 2.5lb plate on each side.  When you account for the reduced bar weight on a Smith it added up to 240 pounds which isn’t bad.  I have done more on the Smith but that was using a decline bench which is easier since your ROM is significantly less.  I tried this same weight last week and needed a very slight finger spot by my buddy when I stalled out.  I barely got it today with the bar traveling at a snail’s pace for the last half of the rep but he never touched the bar, so it counts.

There was a woman on the Smith machine next to us that seemed like a serious athlete.  I bet she was close to six feet tall and had broad, strong shoulders.  I did a double take when I saw her doing bench press reps with a 45 and 10 pound plate on each side, more than what I warm up with.  She continued to impress her entire workout including jumping squats where she would jump in between a wide and narrow foot stance position in between every rep. She surely was some sort of competitive athlete.

This past weekend I doubled up on my endurance training, doing a half hour of rowing on Saturday followed by a chilly 13 laps around the track on Sunday in 45 degree weather.  It felt good to force myself out there to run and complete it, even though I much rather would have been asleep in warm sheets.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Smith bench press – 105lbs x 12, 155lbs x 8, 195lbs x 3, 215lbs x 1, 240lbs x 1, 225lbs x 2, 195lbs x 5, 195lbs x 4, 195lbs x 4, 195lbs x 4, 155lbs x 12, 155lbs x 10

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Slam ball at Planet Fitness????

Dec06
by Duf on December 6, 2017 at 6:59 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Today at the Gym

So I was in my back corner where I normally like to do my stretching.  I was folded downward in a standing position, stretching my hamstrings/back when all of a sudden I hear repetitive and very loud slamming a few feet from my head.  I look up and see a gym member under the direction of one of the Planet Fitness trainers, slamming a rubber weighted exercise ball at terra firma as fast and as hard as he could.  It was part of a circuit the trainer was pushing the guy through that was much more CrossFit themed than Planet Fitness.  The one good thing from the experience is it pretty much confirmed the Lunk Alarm is not hooked up.  If that noise didn’t set it off, nothing will.

I did my normal Wednesday bi/tri work for my workout, trying to make my last set of bicep exercises overload my muscles significantly.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Explosive pull ups x 8

Bodyweight tricep extensions x 8

Seated dumbbell curls – 25lbs x 12

Bodyweight tricep extensions x 8

Seated dumbbell curls – 40lbs x 8

Bodyweight tricep extensions x 8

Seated dumbbell curls – 55lbs x 3

Seated one arm overhead tricep extension – 20lbs x 12

Seated concentration curl – 30lbs x 10

Seated one arm overhead tricep extension – 30lbs x 8

Seated concentration curl – 40lbs x 8

Seated one arm overhead tricep extension – 35lbs x 4

Seated concentration curl – 60lbs x 2

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Just drop it

Nov30
by Duf on November 30, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries, Today at the Gym

Today’s back/shoulder session was a little challenging because my lower back is still pretty jacked up from deadlifting on Tuesday.  Any movement that invovled bending down requires auxiliary support by one of my arms.  All things considered it worked out well.

I have a less than admirable trait where I can form a pretty strong opinion about someone very quickly without ever speaking a word to them.  Today was one of those days.  Some strong looking guy in his late 20’s/early 30’s wearing a tight red tank top and sporting Beats headphones (which is enough to make me dislike you on it’s own), sauntered into the free weight area.  His very first exercise was standing dumbbell bicep curls in which he admired his large but undefined arms with intensity.  All of this stuff however was not enough for me to generate a large amount of dislike for this person.

That happened later when I heard the sound of a water bottle dropping to the gym floor.  I look over and notice it is Beats wearing, mirror loving dude’s bottle.  I thought little of it, I guess he accidentally dropped it.  Well less than a minute later I heard it again.  I then kept the guy under light surveillance and saw that for some reason, despite the ability to do standing curls with 60 pound dumbbells, the effort to put his 8 ounce water bottle back on the floor after taking a drink was entirely too much to ask.  Instead after each set he would grab the bottle, take a swig like it was Jack Daniels and then drop it on the floor.

I tried to imagine what the purpose of this could be?  Does dropping the bottle mean you are really serious about your routine?  Does the sound of it hitting the rubber mats attract the glances of others so they can admire your tank top and Beats sound system or, are you just yet another Planet Fitness a-hole?  BINGO.

Welcome to the “Permanent Dislike Club” buddy.

Today’s Workout     

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Pull ups x 15

Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 40lbs x 12

Weighted pull ups – 25lbs x 5

Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 50lbs x 10

Weighted pull ups – 50lbs x 2

Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 70lbs x 5

Cybex seated front pull down – 160lbs x 10

Standing alternating dumbbell lateral raises – 20lbs x 12

Cybex seated front pull down – 200lbs x 8

Standing alternating dumbbell lateral raises – 25lbs x 10

Cybex seated front pull down – 260lbs x 4

Standing alternating dumbbell lateral raises – 30lbs x 8

 

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Did it again

Nov28
by Duf on November 28, 2017 at 6:51 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

Last week I tweaked my back pretty good trying to do deadlifts on the smith machine with a slight pitch angle. I had some pretty bad pain for two-three days but felt more or less normal by now.  This week I was able to secure one of the conventional Smith’s to do squats and deadlift.  When I was able to do 5 reps with three plates on each side, the set I hurt myself on the week prior, I figured I was in the clear.  I added another 50 pounds on the bar and of course pulled the lower left quadrant of my back, again.

I was angry at myself.  It would have been a wiser move to give myself a one week respite from deadlifts to ensure more complete recovery.  I never have claimed to be all that smart.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Pull ups x 15

Smith squats – 105 x 10, 155 x 10, 195 x 4, 215 x 1

Smith deadlift – 195lbs x 10, 285lbs x 5, 335lbs x 1

Seated leg extension – 110lbs x 10, 150lbs x 10

Seated leg curl – 100lbs x 10, 120lbs x 10

One legged calf raises – x12 x12

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Back to work

Nov27
by Duf on November 27, 2017 at 6:55 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

After a four day hiatus that did include a four mile fun run on Thanksgiving but also excessive calorie consumption, I was back at the gym today, ready to continue my never ending assault on the aging process.  My bench press buddy was there and we did nothing but bench on the Smith machine for a solid 45 minutes.  My strength felt on par which I guess shouldn’t surprise me since even with the short week last week I got benching in.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Smith bench press – 105lbs x 12, 155lbs x 8, 195lbs x 3, 215lbs x 1, 235lbs x 1, 195lbs x 5, 195lbs x 5, 195lbs x 4, 195lbs x 4, 155lbs x 12, 155lbs x 10

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