Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Well, they don't call it a "dreadmill" for nothing, Floydy!

You were wise to listen to your body on the concentration curls, but what, pray tell, exactly are they? It does indeed sound like a an interesting workout, and I know you must feel accomplished when you leave the gym.

The dreadmill and elliptical are my equipment of choice today with temperatures well below zero and plummeting wind chill factors. I always feel like a stranger in a foreign land when I go into a gym , but it's a welcome option on arctic days like this. There is always a good vibe and motivating music...

Thanks to a year of good weather and a looser calendar than usual, I was gratefully able to accomplish my annual goal yesterday of 1,500 miles. I'll be taking it a little easy for the next few days, but too much though - it was the desserts, I tell you!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

1500 miles is unbelievable, Surfermom! Good on you for achieving that

Concentration curls are a great bicep exercise. Basically lifting a dumbbell to the shoulder from a low level right up the shoulder. Thus:

That isn't me by the way.

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Great Stuff Surfermom......

That's certainly put Foxy in his place with a mere 1100 miles.......

However........This mornings run was fantasmagorical!...

Just when I thought I was chucked on the scrapheap after a few poor and below average runs I managed to pull this one out of the bag......Just one degree above freezing and plenty of frost adorning the roads out in the country, I had visions of slipping and sliding my way round a six mile run. Not at all, frost on dry roads made for decent traction and I powered out of the blocks............

Well not really......I took it very cautiously for the first mile or two until I realised it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be...My legs didn't mind at all about being thrust out in the cold after languishing in a warm comfy bed, and they felt strong and springy as I danced along deserted lanes and byways.

After adding a few faster paced sections I was surprised to find that after only a few hundred yards of steady recovery pace they were ready for action once again, and so it continued all the way home. Although not a best time, an exceptional run and enough left to go round again.......But I didn't...

Just a short three mile time trial to do in the morning then it's off to Scarborough on Saturday to see in the New Year with a three night stay at one of Scarborough's finest........No run on Sunday...but God willing......a six miler at the crack of dawn on New Years Day, taking in the stiff climb of Oliver's Mount (it's traditional) despite a night of singing, dancing and the regular administration of copious amounts of beer....

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Bob, a great run for you today. I'm sure it's the 'getting back into things' scenario after Christmas. We all feel ropey the first day, but after that it's business as usual.

Have a great break in Scarborough, bud. Oliver's Mount? Running up that hill will put a motorcyclist to shame!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Back into the gym again early this afternoon with a legs workout. Sticking to my usual 5-6 exercises (five today as I didn’t do calves), I decided to crank things up a notch by adding some quite considerable weight to the existing high rep sets plus doing some extra sets to the usual single sets. Going quite heavy on some exercises, I’m definitely regaining the strength I lost whilst, importantly, not affecting the knees. As long as I keep myself strictly symmetrical as I lift.

As these sets didn’t take very long to complete, I decided to add a few exercises solely for the biceps, which I didn’t manage to fulfil yesterday in my upper body session. On those, it was purely to harden and build the muscles with heavier sets, which worked very well after so long just performing lighter weights. Deliberately, I left all work using tricep and chest muscles for tomorrow’s session, where I will be focusing on just three or four exercises containing multiple sets.


Thursday 28/12/17

LEGS

Incline press:
30x180kg, 30x200, 20x220
*Heavier than I’ve gone for a long time, I was cautious to only lower my legs about half way to my chest in order to push with my thighs rather than put too much pressure on the knees. Very pleased with this.

Horizontal ‘sled’ press:
25x150, 20x180, 18x190

Ham curls, seated:
20x45, 10x60, 6x65, 6x70, 25x40

Good girls:
25x60, 15x60

Bad girls:
20x60, 15x60

All in all a very satisfying legs workout. The strength is still easily there in the quads and I’m capable of lifting a whole lot more but I just have to remind myself not to overdo things on the knees, so it’s best to take things slowly for the time being.


BICEPS

Concentration curls, alt. (each arm):
5x16, 5x18

Seated hammer curls, alt.:
6x16, 6x18

E-Z preacher curl, low pull, close grip:
6x28, 6x38, 6x43, 5x48, 30x18
*Going very heavy on the bar with almost 50kg loaded onto the biceps, it felt great to pull this sort of weight again. The final high rep set of 18kgs felt like lifting a feather afterwards!

Double DB curls, preacher bench:
6x32, 6x32, 6x32
*Something I haven’t done for ages. Two dumbbells held end to end and curling together seated on the preacher bench. You must ensure that the ends stay together as you lift. It’s a great exercise for training the ‘belly’ of the bicep (i.e. front rather than the peak), and is a great alternative to merely lifting a weighted bar.

Finished off with ab crunches: 40x40


Time: 1hr. 05mins.

Very pleased with that little lot. I’m happy that I can now be safe knowing I can go heavier with the legs without the weight damaging the knees – quite honestly it hurts them more walking up a flight of stairs than doing these weight training exercises. Everything in moderation though it’s hard to resist going heavier.

Nice also to isolate the biceps for a change. Came away from those exercises feeling a good, solid pump in my upper arms with size to match

Training: It’s what I do and it’s hard to change the habit of a lifetime I guess!

**NB. If anyone needs to know more about the terminology
I use, or an explanation of what a particular exercise involves, please do not hesitate to ask. I'll try to explain and perhaps add a picture of the exercise involved.**

Thanks for reading

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Well done, Floydy! It sounds like you are already reaping the benefits of being back into the swing of things. I know you want to go heavy, but listen to that voice of wisdom inside your head .

Oh, do I ever know the feeling of solid ground when expecting a good skate, OGF! I imagine you must be thoroughly satisfied with a solid run when the conditions are oppositional. I don't know about you, but all this running around sure makes enjoying the bounty of the season much more guilt-free...except for Floydy putting me to shame as he picks up the pace with his own determined and thorough regimen. Thank you most kindly for your congratulatory note - I have to say that I those miles came with a greater than usual amount of work this year, and your distance per run ever leaves me in awe.

As usual, I have a quiet New Year's Eve ahead, but I will happily spend it getting my running gear ready to go, setting my running watch to 0.0 miles. and running smack into 2018!

While it's a few days premature, you all have my sincerest wishes for a happy and healthy year. One of the more enjoyable aspects of 2017 has been being introduced to the interesting and bright people here. Thank you for the thoroughly enjoyable camaraderie, encouragement, and conversation.



Enjoy your days in Scarborough, OGF, there is a brand new starting line just around the corner, OGF!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Another awesome workout Floydy, but I have to ask, don't you ever get stiff muscles? If I break out the dumbells and do a few curls I can't straighten my arm for a few days afterwards.
Just a nice steady jog up Olivers Mount will win you the top and a view over Scarborough to die for......Perhaps not the best choice of words to describe the view.......

That's true Surfermom, people sometimes gaze open mouthed at the quantity and quality of food that I can get through at one sitting without putting on an ounce of weight....It certainly was a masterstroke by the Great Creator when he made me a decent runner and gave me an appetite to match......

Thanks for your good wishes Surfermom, I believe we'll arrive in 2018 a little bit sooner that you, and by the time your year notches up to the next digit I hope to have a six miler under my belt. Although I hope to keep posting while in Scarborough, I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you and Floydy an injury free and peaceful New Year, and thanks also to you guys for keeping me honest and giving me some added enthusiasm to push a little bit harder and go a bit further when occasionally all I want to do is stay in bed.....

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

It's all about streching and using a good technique when lifting, Bob. The term 'DOMS' you may have heard of - Delayed onset muscular syndrome. That is the strange happening that causes stiffness in the muscles usually a day or two after exercising, being worse if the muscles are not being kept active. This is why we shouldn't train the same muscle group on consecutive days - the body needs to rest and that's what promotes growth and recovery.
I get the DOMS worse in my thighs for some reason, and sometimes in my chest, but luckily my arms don't suffer too much. Only around the inner elbow joint oddly enough. I'm feeling fine today and looking forward to another workout later.
And with you Bob, you probably won't succumb to any of this muscle pain as you keep yourself regularly active with your running. Likewise with Surfermom too.

Thanks for the well wishes, both of you.
I too wish you, your families and anyone who pops in this thread the best of health and happiness for 2018. Take care all☺

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

A good hour’s workout on the chest and triceps this afternoon, ditching the high rep sets in favour of a gradual progression up the weights instead.


Friday 29/12/17

Smith medley:
60° bench: 20x20, 6x40
45° bench: 10x40, 6x50
30° bench: 6x55, 4x60
15° bench: 3x70, 3x70
Flat bench: 12x30, 12x30, 12x30, 12x30, 25x20
*I’ve never been keen on the standard bench press as it doesn’t really do a lot for me, much prefer the Smith machine. Began with a 60° shoulder-type press and moved the bench down the inclines and adding weight and finishing off with some flat press drop dets. Haven’t done this set up in quite a while.
The Smith machine:


DB press:
5x26
*Sacked these off after the one set, Arms too tight after the Smith work.

Incline chest press:
10x50, 10x50, 10x50, 6x50
*A cross between a standard chest press and shoulder press, i.e. at an angle of 45°.

Forward delt fly dec:
20x50, 12x80, 12x95
*Really strong with these on this new machine. Like them a lot and I’ll be doing some back flys next time.

Tricep pulldown w/backrest:
10x35, 10x40, 4x45
*More difficult to manoeuvre than the standard pulldown, this involves pulling down from above the head whilst positioning the back against the pad.

Tricep extensions:
10x40, 10x50, 10x60, 7x65
*A favourite of mine. Quite often I’ll push the full stack of 90kg, but my arms were just about wasted by this time.


Time: 1 hour.

Thoroughly enjoyable session. Tomorrow I’ll be doing some more leg work, plus other stuff tbd, but probably back and lats.


Thanks for reading

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Thanks Floydy. Yes you're right, it's been a long time since I suffered any muscle stiffness after running. With endurance running lactic acid builds up in the muscles and makes them less efficient and eventually they grind to a stop, followed by a few days of stiffness. The more training you do the longer it takes for the muscles to fail. I always thought that with weight lifting you deliberately break down the muscle so it repairs stronger than before?

Ever since I started running almost forty years ago I realised that my body needed to recover after a run, because of this I have never run on consecutive days except on rare occasions. I believe this is responsible for my longevity when many of my companions have fallen by the wayside and are no longer runners.

For the last couple of weeks though, I have been running on Thursdays and again on Fridays. After yesterday's excellent effort the run was still apparent in my legs and this mornings three miler was a struggler, a sprinkling of overnight snow didn't make it any easier, and what should have been a speedy outing turned out to be a very sluggish pace.

A couple of rest days now as we make our way to Scarborough first thing in the morning and running will commence on New Years Day. So I'll be moving over to 'Bob's Bits' now to keep you updated on the Foxes shuffle into 2018.....You lucky people....