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.

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.

Supersets 3: Pecs, triceps, back and legs.

Pretty happy with these numbers, and the fact that I don't hurt much today.
Never tried weighted dips or push-ups before. The latter are tough, but still easier than I expected. The former are brutal; simply balancing a 4kg dumbbell between your feet makes the exercise much more difficult.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Triceps Dip Chin-up	15×-20kg 15×-25kg	12×0kg 12×-20kg	10×0kg 10×-15kg	8×4kg 8×-10kg
Sled Seated Leg Press Sled Seated Calf Press	15×70kg 15×70kg	12×88kg 12×88kg	10×97kg 10×97kg
Cable High Push Pull Cable Pulldown†	15×56kg 15×56kg	12×70kg 12×70kg	10×77kg 10×91kg‡	8×82kg 8×82kg
Weighted Swiss Ball Crunch	50	50×5kg	50×5kg
Twisting Crunch	50	100	100
Weighted Push-up		13×20kg	13×20kg	7×10kg
Kneeling Push-up		11

†: Using a nautilus machine with one cable attachment in each hand, kneeling on a swiss ball.
‡: Andy put up the weight without me noticing.

Supersets 2: Triceps, Chest, Legs and Abs

I was dead chuffed with this session. I'd under-slept the night before, and wasn't even sure if I would make it to the gym, between that and how much my muscles still ached from the last session. Though knackered when I arrived, by the time we hit the skull-crushers adrenalin had kicked in (or perhaps the CEE I'd munched just before leaving the office), and the rest of the workout was brilliant. Never thought I'd lift that 40kg bar, even if my muscles gave out one shy of a full set. We were there for two hours, and even got in some boxing in the end. Class.

Today, I've got a burn in my chest, abs, and bizarrely, my upper back - but the part that really canes is my quads. I can barely walk!

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Cable Pushdown	15×20kg	12×45kg	10×50kg	8×55kg
Triceps Dip		12×-40kg	10×-30kg	10×-20kg
Dumbbell Fly Barbell Decline Triceps Extension	15×6kg 15×20kg	12×12kg 12×30kg	10×14kg 10×35kg	8×16kg 7×40kg
Medicine Ball Incline Crunch†		30×3kg	30×3kg
Weighted Lying Straight Leg Raise		20×2kg	20×2kg	20×2kg
Overhead Medicine Ball Lunge‡		20×4kg	20×4kg	20×4kg

†: Throwing the medicine ball and catching it between crunches.
‡: With a medicine ball held overhead (rather than a barbell on shoulders as illustrated). Last set with eyes closed to increase core stability work.

The numbers for the triceps dip are low because I was concentrating on perfecting my form, and using a full range of motion. My shoulders are sufficiently inflexible that I can't hold a barbell behind my neck comfortably - so this was hard work, and I felt it almost entirely in my shoulders rather than my chest or triceps.

Full-body supersets

Supersets are Andy's favourite new manoeuvre, which he inflicted to 'get me back up to speed'.
They hurt. A lot. Though caning my biceps the day before probably didn't help.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Dumbbell Bench Press Dumbbell Bent-over Row	12×8kg	12×14kg	10×20kg	8×24kg
Push-up†		8
Dumbbell Arnold Press	12×6kg	12×10kg	10×12kg	8×14kg(+16.7%)
Cable Twist‡ Cable Kneeling Crunch	15×20kg 30×20kg	12×25kg 24×30kg	10×30kg 20×40kg	8×35kg 16×50kg
Push-up		10	8
Kneeling Push-up				10

†: Balancing exercise, with hands on a 3kg medicine ball.
‡: Holding a cable attachment with both hands, arms straight out in front of chest (as opposed to the lever illustrated).

Supersets are market with a khaki-coloured bar to their left.

Partnered training

If anyone's in any doubt as to how much difference training with a partner makes, have a lot at these stats from my session last night with Andy - the numbers in brackets after the third set are the percentage improvement over my previous PB:

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Smith Bench Press	12×27kg	12×47kg	10×57kg	8×62kg(+32%)
Dumbbell Arnold Press	12×5kg	12×7kg	10×9kg	8×12kg(+33%)
Decline Skullcrusher	12×15kg	12×25kg	10×30kg	8×35kg (+113%)
Chin-up		5	5	5
Incline Crunch		20	25	30

As you can tell, we really pushed ourselves, and each other. His exercise log shows a similarly impressive improvement.
Tonight, we're going to pummel our legs. Tomorrow I suspect will be a day of rest - I probably won't even be able to climb stairs.

Update: After some discussion, I'm going to count the smith machine bar as 7kg, not 18. Though means my lifts aren't as impressive, it means my gains are more so, so it's all good.