Break: Changing Jobs

In the run-up to changing jobs just over a week ago, I've let my weight training lapse rather badly. Kept up boot camp up until I left my old place, but that's obviously not enough to keep me in shape, as these numbers show:

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Chin-up	12×-40kg	12×-25kg	6×-15kg/4×-20kg	8×-20kg(-20%)
Decline EZ Barbell Curl	12×12.5kg	12×15kg	10×17.5kg	8×20kg
Dumbbell Bent-over Row	12×17.5kg	12×22.5kg	10×25kg	8×27.5kg(-23.6%)
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	12×5kg	12×7kg	10×8kg	8×9kg

The decline barbell curls are much harder than regular curls, especially at the top of the movement.

Even though I didn't come close to my PBs, this session was really punishing. I could barely lift my arms to wash my face afterwards, and they still hurt now!

Hopefully I'll be back on form in a couple of weeks.

Killer Abs Workout

We started off with a pretty good set of weights. The pec deck holds - literally just holding out a pec deck handle for as long as possible - were surprisingly hard.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Triceps Dip Chin-up	15×-35kg 15×-35kg	12×0kg 12×-15kg	10×4kg 5×-10kg/5×-15kg	8×8kg 8×-10kg
Barbell Decline Triceps Extension	15×10kg	12×20kg	5×22.5kg/5×20kg	8×20kg
Pec Deck One Arm Hold	30s×28kg	30s×63kg	30s×70kg	30s×77kg

We finished off with Andy's killer abs workout, which consists of:

• Plank, 30s.
• Side plank, 30s each side.
• 15 swiss ball crunches.
• 15 reverse crunches.
• High-to-low cable wood-choppers @ 64kg, 15 each side.
• Low-to-high cable wood-choppers @ 64kg, 15 each side.

It doesn't sound like much, but the last set of wood-shoppers cane. Oh, and you do the whole thing twice.

Knackered

After the PBs of Monday, and the knee-tuck jumps, frog jumps, walking lunges and burpees of Boot Camp on Tuesday - with my right calf, left forearm, glutes, pecs, abs and especially quads aching - I felt far too knackered to attempt any big lifts. The warmup set of incline dumbbell presses hurt so much that I didn't even do any work sets.

Instead we did some boxing, which was surprisingly enjoyable - though it probably didn't help me recover any for today's Boot Camp.
After two mornings of having to slather myself in Tiger Balm just to leave the house (and no doubt annoying everyone on the tube), I was quite relieved when Andy cancelled it because only 5 people hadn't dropped out (2 of whom had missed Tuesday anyway). I feel better knowing he slaughtered everybody!

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press	15×14kg	-
Dumbbell Lying Rear Lateral Raise	12×6kg	12×10kg	10×12kg	8×16kg(+33.3%)
Dumbbell Hammer Curl	15×6kg	12×10kg	10×12kg	8×14kg(+16.7%)

Smashing my Personal Bests

Very happy with this session; I smashed my PBs on both the dumbbell bench press and bent-over row.

Also, having checked my BF with calipers, I've lost 1.48%, which means a 1.22kg fat loss and 0.52kg FFM increase.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Dumbbell Bench Press	15×12kg	12×26kg	10×28kg	8×30kg(+25%)
Dumbbell Bent-over Row	12×12kg	12×24kg	10×30kg	8×36kg(+10.8%)
Medicine Ball Incline Crunch †		40×3kg	40×3kg
Lying Straight Leg Raise		30×0kg	30×0kg
Medicine Ball One Hand Snatch		10×7kg	10×10kg
Stability Push-up ‡	15	12	15	8

†: Throwing the medicine ball and catching it between crunches.
‡: First set with feet on a Bosu ball, hands on a swiss ball. Second set with feet on a swiss ball, hands on the floor. Third set with hands on a Bosu ball, flat side up. Fourth set with hands on a Bosu ball, flat side down.

I even tried some one-arm push-ups towards the end. Unfortunately, I could only do one, with my right hand. Also, after the leg raises, manoeuvring my legs to give the required stability for a one-arm push-up caused a twinge around when I have a hernia.

We finished up with some boxing, where Andy repeatedly punished me for leaving my left chest open.

Some combination of the strain 36kg dumbbells put on my grip, bashing the back of my forearm while swinging a medicine ball overhead, and boxing has left my wrists feeling rather sore. Lets hope today's boot camp doesn't require using them.

Climbing

Last night, in lieu of an upper body workout, I tried climbing for the first time at The Castle in Stoke Newington, with Andy (by design) and James (by accident). Andy, who treats it as a form of working out, climbs like a gorilla; all upper body strength and dynamic moves. James, who climbs every week, has a single figure BF% and a 6'4" armspan, climbs like a monkey; balancing, contorting and gripping with only his fingertips.
I managed several 4a and 4b runs, but found 4c far too difficult. Andy fared slightly better; James was climbing 6a runs and bouldering using only features.

I'm not sure whether it was adrenalin or my muscles giving out; but after every roped climb my limbs were shaking.
By the end, my fingers and forearms hurt like hell, and my left knee had taken quite a bruising - which didn't help any with this lunchtime's boot camp.

I'll probably do it again, even though my physique seems quite maladapted to it.

Drop sets

For variety, we tried drop sets this session - a set where you go to failure, then drop (reduce) the weight, and go to failure again; until you're practically lifting air.
We probably didn't set the initial weight high enough for the lat pull-downs, but I don't think Andy was impressed. It was an interesting variation, but I doubt we'll be doing it again.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Triceps Dip	15×-25kg	12×2kg	10×4kg	8×6kg
Barbell Curl	15×20kg	7×35kg / 5×30kg / 10×20kg / 15×10kg
Dumbbell Arnold Press	15×6kg	12×8kg	10×10kg	8×12kg
Cable Rear Pulldown		12×56kg / 10×42kg / 12×28kg
45° Side Bend †		25×10kg	25×10kg

†: Dangling a weight plate with lower arm.

The 'Terminator' Press

Andy's taken to devising new combination exercises to pummel our muscles. Yesterday's creation, the 'Terminator' press, is simply brutal. The sequence is; Clean, Press to behind neck, Squat, Behind Neck Press, Inverted Reverse Curl, Inverted Deadlift. Reverse curl bar back to shoulders and repeat from press.
Given there's no chance of any exercise website having an animation for all that, you'll have to rely on that description, at least until I decide to bring a video camera to the gym and start making my own.

Overall, I wasn't too happy with this session. I still feel knackered after being ill last week, and have yet to shake the cough it's left me. Couldn't push myself at all.

The box jumps really cane your quads, too. I was expecting today's boot camp to hurt, and sure enough it did.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
'Terminator' Press	15×10kg	12×20kg	7×22.5kg	8×20kg
Dumbbell Bench Press Barbell Decline Triceps Extension	15×12kg 15×20kg	12×18kg 12×20kg	10×20kg 10×22.5kg	8×22kg 8×30kg
Dumbell Curls(21s)		21×10kg	21×10kg	21×10kg
22" Box Jumps		50
Box Lateral Shuffle		30s / 30s †

†: Both legs moving together, symmetrically.