Showing posts with label leg raises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leg raises. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 August 2007

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.

ExerciseWarmupSet 1Set 2Set 3
Dumbbell Bench Press15×12kg12×26kg10×28kg8×30kg(+25%)
Dumbbell Bent-over Row12×12kg12×24kg10×30kg8×36kg(+10.8%)
Medicine Ball Incline Crunch40×3kg40×3kg
Lying Straight Leg Raise30×0kg30×0kg
Medicine Ball One Hand Snatch10×7kg10×10kg
Stability Push-up1512158

†: 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.

Tuesday, 3 July 2007

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!

ExerciseWarmupSet 1Set 2Set 3
Cable Pushdown15×20kg12×45kg10×50kg8×55kg
Triceps Dip12×-40kg10×-30kg10×-20kg
15×6kg
15×20kg
12×12kg
12×30kg
10×14kg
10×35kg
8×16kg
7×40kg
Medicine Ball Incline Crunch30×3kg30×3kg
Weighted Lying Straight Leg Raise20×2kg20×2kg20×2kg
Overhead Medicine Ball Lunge20×4kg20×4kg20×4kg

†: 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.