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.

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.

Last Saturday's workout.

This was a long way off the best workout. I lacked the energy or motivation to push myself really hard, so the numbers are pretty disappointing. I didn't even dare the last set of chins/dips, as my arms felt like they were about to give way. In retrospect, the lack of energy may have been an early sign of the illness that has laid me out for most of this week.

Also; the triceps press-up is from a youtube workout vid that Andy forwarded me. I can't find any other references to it though, so the image is pretty inaccurate.

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Sled Seated Leg Press Sled Seated Calf Press	15×88kg 15×88kg	12×106kg 12×106kg	10×124kg 10×124kg	8×142kg 8×142kg
Close Grip Chin-up Triceps Dip	15×-20kg 15×-20kg	12×-15kg 12×-15kg	10×-10kg 10×-10kg
Dumbell Curls(21s)		21×6kg	21×7kg	21×7.5kg
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	15×7kg	12×8kg	10×9kg	8×10kg
Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension	15×6kg	12×7kg	10×8kg	8×9kg
Stability Push-up †		12	7
Tricep Push-up ‡		8	8

†: Starting with both hands on a medicine ball; doing one push up, placing right hand two feet to the right, doing another, placing right hand back on the ball, doing another, placing left nad two feet to the left, doing another, and so on.
‡: Withg knees down, fists together under the body, palms facing each other, knuckles facing forwards. Push up from there.

Chest and triceps

Another training session with Andy, and another set of impressive gains:

Exercise	Warmup	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Dumbbell Bench Press†	12×12kg	12×18kg	10×20kg	8×26kg(+30%)
Barbell Military Press	12×15kg	12×25kg	10×30kg	4×35kg
Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension	12×3kg	12×6kg	12×8kg	8×10kg
Triceps Dip	15×-25kg	12	10	8
Medicine Ball Incline Crunch‡		30×3kg	35×3kg	40×3kg

†: On a Bosu Ball, rather than a bench.
‡: Throwing the medicine ball and catching it between crunches.

After utterly caning our triceps with the presses and extensions, I have no idea how I managed 3 sets of dips. I practically fell off the bars at the end, my arms were so close to failure. We can push ourselves much harder than we often think.
In the last set of medicine ball crunches, I felt tired after fifteen, knackered after twenty, and ready to give up at twenty-five. At thirty, adrenalin took over, and I hammered out the last ten reps with even more energy than I started.