I have been hitting it hard in the gym over the past few days and had planned today to be a complete rest day, although I woke early (as I normally do now as my body clock has settled back into its old routine), so I decided I would just go to the gym and do cardio, and possibly some abs, depending how I felt after.
As per usual, I drink close to half a liter of water when I wake, and then take 5g of L-Glutamine along with 5g of BCAA's, 6g L-Glutamine, and 2 capsules of LA FatStripper Intense.
I knew even before I had got into the gym that it was perhaps not the best idea to had come, as I had that feeling just behind my eyes that I get when I feel my body is over stressed - often in the days before coming down with a cold, but I hoped that that was not the case.
I was in no mood to do any type of interval training, so figured at least if I sat on the bike and kept my HR at least above 60% (MHR) then it would be worth coming for.
When doing steady state cardio, I normally read, and today I continued reading a book that I have read many times before, and was one that had I of not read before, would have written one almost word for word. The book is called 'Everything you need to know about fat loss' by Chris Aceto. If you have't yet already read it from cover-to-cover and then re-read it time and time again, I strongly urge you to!
No much to write about for my cardio. Just 60mins on an upright bike with an intensity level ranging from 12-14 and an RPM of around 60. Then I went home, and ate breakfast (oatmeal with added coconut oil and sweetened with Stevia), and a Chocolate-Mint, BSN Syntha 6 shake.
Plus a further 5g L-Gluatmine, 5g BCAA's, and my multi-mineral supplements, and as of today - 8g of EFA's
I feel well rested today. Check back tomorrow for another double-gym session, and a heavy legs session. I'll try and get some video of it too.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Calves & Forearms
I didn't think I would make it down to the gym again tonight.
I had a stressful day in the editing room preparing programs I have been involved in for the launch of LA Muscle TV on Sky TV early next month, but I seemed to be on auto-pilot as I found myself at the entrance to the gym thinking to myself - What am I doing here? I have too much work to do, and am feeling drained from my morning cardio/ab blast, and stress of the day.
But I continued on auto-pilot into the gym and started my calf workout. I soon found the energy and strength within to somehow turn around what could have quite easily been a missed workout, into what was probably my best calf workout I think I've ever had!
I'm never without my iPod in the gym, and can always be heard listening to either Trance from such DJ's as Tiesto, Armin Van Burin, and Deadmau5, or hip-hop/rap, mostly going through the entire catalog of Lil' Wayne's songs. (I mostly have on Trace during cardio because the fast beat, and europhic state of mind it puts me in, helps me keep to a rythmn during such workouts, and Hip-Hip/Rap when weight lifting, which has a slower beat that I usually lift to, and melody's that just get me pumped. If you've heard some of Lil Wayne's latest mix tapes then you'll know what I mean!)
Ok, so here is the workout that I did this evening, and as always, you can check out my bodyspace for a full listing of the sets, reps and weights.
As always before training, I took 5g of L-Glutamine, and 5g of BCAA's to help protect from the breakdown of muscle , which is especially important as I am dieting and want to try and keep as muscle muscle as possible whilst losing fat. I also took 2 tablets of Norateen Hollywood Body. A natural testosterone booster that helps give me focus and a greater sense of strength when training. For a full listing of supplements, check out my post on my fitness website.
Calves:
Standing Calf Raises
Seated Calf Raises
Bent Donkey Calf Raises
I couldn't even find enough weight to hit muscle failure!
Incline Donkey Raises
Rotary Calf Machine
Forearms:
Each exercise performed as a tri-set with no rest between exercises.
Pronated Dumbbell Wrist Curls
Seated Barbell Wrist Curls
D-Grip Squeezes (aka: Ivanko Super Gripper)
I had a stressful day in the editing room preparing programs I have been involved in for the launch of LA Muscle TV on Sky TV early next month, but I seemed to be on auto-pilot as I found myself at the entrance to the gym thinking to myself - What am I doing here? I have too much work to do, and am feeling drained from my morning cardio/ab blast, and stress of the day.
But I continued on auto-pilot into the gym and started my calf workout. I soon found the energy and strength within to somehow turn around what could have quite easily been a missed workout, into what was probably my best calf workout I think I've ever had!
I'm never without my iPod in the gym, and can always be heard listening to either Trance from such DJ's as Tiesto, Armin Van Burin, and Deadmau5, or hip-hop/rap, mostly going through the entire catalog of Lil' Wayne's songs. (I mostly have on Trace during cardio because the fast beat, and europhic state of mind it puts me in, helps me keep to a rythmn during such workouts, and Hip-Hip/Rap when weight lifting, which has a slower beat that I usually lift to, and melody's that just get me pumped. If you've heard some of Lil Wayne's latest mix tapes then you'll know what I mean!)
Ok, so here is the workout that I did this evening, and as always, you can check out my bodyspace for a full listing of the sets, reps and weights.
As always before training, I took 5g of L-Glutamine, and 5g of BCAA's to help protect from the breakdown of muscle , which is especially important as I am dieting and want to try and keep as muscle muscle as possible whilst losing fat. I also took 2 tablets of Norateen Hollywood Body. A natural testosterone booster that helps give me focus and a greater sense of strength when training. For a full listing of supplements, check out my post on my fitness website.
Calves:
Standing Calf Raises
Seated Calf Raises
Bent Donkey Calf Raises
I couldn't even find enough weight to hit muscle failure!
Incline Donkey Raises
Rotary Calf Machine
Forearms:
Each exercise performed as a tri-set with no rest between exercises.
Pronated Dumbbell Wrist Curls
Seated Barbell Wrist Curls
D-Grip Squeezes (aka: Ivanko Super Gripper)
Morning Cardio/Abs Blast
Up at 6.15am today - a little later than I wanted to, as I normally set my alarm for 5.30, but I had a bit of a late night last night watching Slumdog Millionaire. If you haven't already seen this film, I urge you to watch it. One word. Incredible.
Ok, so back to the training, which is why you guy's follow me, and not to hear about which films I watched last night :-)
Right, so upon waking, I consumed 1/2 liter of water, with 5g of L-Glutamine, plus 5g of BCAA's.
I also took 2 LA Muscle Fatstripper Intense and 5g of L-Carnitine.
Once at the gym, I did 20 minutes of HIIT on the upright bike:
3 min warm up @ Level 7 Intensity (out of 20), and 70RPM
then 10 x 1 minute sprints, where I turned the intensity up to level 12 and maintained an RPM of no less than 100. During my recovery times, I dropped the intensity back down to 7 and allowed my RPM's to drop to about 60.
After my 10 sprints, I did a further 3 minute cool down to allow my HR to return to a near normal level.
Once done, I embarked on my new Ab routine, in which I've cut out doing any side bends, so as to focus on a smaller, more muscular waistline, without building up my side obliques quite as much.
Here is the workout routine, which took me about 35 minutes to complete.
Performed as supersets:
Hanging Knee ups. (Using Aboriginals) 50/50/50
Cable Crunches: 50/50/50
Lying Leg Raises (only up to a 75degree angle) 50:50:50
Ab Crunhes (10lb plate on my chest): 50:50:50
Seated Rotational Twists (using a light barbell - no weights) 50:50:50
Oblique Cable Crunches (Single arm to knee) 30:30:30 (each side)
Hyper Extensions (holding a 10lb plate): 30:30:30
Towards the end of each workset, I may only be able to do 30 reps, rest for a few seconds, and then complete a further 20 reps.
Unfortunately, my Polar Heart Rate watch wasn't working today, so I cannot post how many calories I burned, but form past experiences, I know it was between 700 - 900 calories.
I sipped on water throughout, and made sure I consumed another half liter once done, along with taking a further 5g of L-Glutamine, and 5g BCAA's.
Once home, I prepared the following meal:
Egg White Scramble (6 egg whites, 2 yolks)
Cooked with a little coconut oil
1 slice of slightly toasted dark Rye bread.
1/2 a small avocado
Plus my multivitamins and 1 capsule of EFA.
If interested, you can check out my nutrition planner and create your own options, with full nutritional breakdown
Stay tuned for my weights workout later this evening.
Ok, so back to the training, which is why you guy's follow me, and not to hear about which films I watched last night :-)
Right, so upon waking, I consumed 1/2 liter of water, with 5g of L-Glutamine, plus 5g of BCAA's.
I also took 2 LA Muscle Fatstripper Intense and 5g of L-Carnitine.
Once at the gym, I did 20 minutes of HIIT on the upright bike:
3 min warm up @ Level 7 Intensity (out of 20), and 70RPM
then 10 x 1 minute sprints, where I turned the intensity up to level 12 and maintained an RPM of no less than 100. During my recovery times, I dropped the intensity back down to 7 and allowed my RPM's to drop to about 60.
After my 10 sprints, I did a further 3 minute cool down to allow my HR to return to a near normal level.
Once done, I embarked on my new Ab routine, in which I've cut out doing any side bends, so as to focus on a smaller, more muscular waistline, without building up my side obliques quite as much.
Here is the workout routine, which took me about 35 minutes to complete.
Performed as supersets:
Hanging Knee ups. (Using Aboriginals) 50/50/50
Cable Crunches: 50/50/50
Lying Leg Raises (only up to a 75degree angle) 50:50:50
Ab Crunhes (10lb plate on my chest): 50:50:50
Seated Rotational Twists (using a light barbell - no weights) 50:50:50
Oblique Cable Crunches (Single arm to knee) 30:30:30 (each side)
Hyper Extensions (holding a 10lb plate): 30:30:30
Towards the end of each workset, I may only be able to do 30 reps, rest for a few seconds, and then complete a further 20 reps.
Unfortunately, my Polar Heart Rate watch wasn't working today, so I cannot post how many calories I burned, but form past experiences, I know it was between 700 - 900 calories.
I sipped on water throughout, and made sure I consumed another half liter once done, along with taking a further 5g of L-Glutamine, and 5g BCAA's.
Once home, I prepared the following meal:
Egg White Scramble (6 egg whites, 2 yolks)
Cooked with a little coconut oil
1 slice of slightly toasted dark Rye bread.
1/2 a small avocado
Plus my multivitamins and 1 capsule of EFA.
If interested, you can check out my nutrition planner and create your own options, with full nutritional breakdown
Stay tuned for my weights workout later this evening.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Shoulders & Biceps Workout
Feeling like I'm really back on track now with my training. It's been about 2 weeks since I started really focusing on my competition approach by starting my early morning cardio training and Abs split, and I won't lie - it wasn't easy getting into such a strict routine, and my diet took almost as long for me to not feel like cheating or eating more. They say that a habit is formed over 3 weeks, but can be broken within 3 days. So if your embarking on such a training routine, or following my plan which I'll be posting daily, don't expect to stay on track from the get-go, but by staying as close to the plan as you possibly can, you'll be sure to form a habit that will allow things to get easier over time. That said, if you do go off track from your diet or training, except it, forgive yourself, and get back on the starting blocks the very next day. If you leave it for too long, you'll find it so much harder to get back on the track to success. Stay focused, forgive yourself for any minor set backs, and keep your eyes on the bigger picture!
Ok, so on to the workout! Before I layout my workout, let me first tell you about the supplements I am taking. For past competitions I have relied pretty heavily on supplementation (Natural ones that can be purchased from the shelves of any sports supplementation store), but whilst I cannot say that they did not give me an edge over had I have not taken any, I felt that I was becoming to reliant on them, which would not only effect my state of mind during workouts when I ran out of them, or forgot to take them during a few sessions, but was also a pretty heavy weight on my wallet, as I'm sure you've all found - supplements stacks are far from cheap. With that said, there are still a number of supplements that I wouldn't want to go without, and these are:
Glutamine, BCAA's, Whey Isolate, EPA, Multivitamin, in addition to ZMA and Melatonin (prior to sleep). More about these later on.
I felt really good going into the gym today. The weather was crazy hot - close to 100f, and I was already starting to look vascular from the drive to the gym.
Here is the overview of my workout for Shoulders and Biceps. I know it was a lot of sets, but seeing as though I was in the mood to keep going, I just kept going (I wouldn't normally train like this, and as a result, my workout tomorrow will no doubt be at a lower intensity, but I made some of my best lifts this year today).
Weight in lbs / Reps
For full sets, reps and weights, check out my BodySpace: http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/robriches/
Seated Military Press (Behind the head - to top of ears)
Seated Dumbbell Presses
Standing Dumbbell Front Raises
Bent Over Rear Dumbbell Flys
Standing Behind-the-back Lateral Cable Flys
Upright Rows
Olympic Bar Curls
Standing Alt. Dumbbell Curls
Cable Preacher Curl
Gave myself a 9.5 out of 10 for today's workout. One word. Awesome!
Ok, so on to the workout! Before I layout my workout, let me first tell you about the supplements I am taking. For past competitions I have relied pretty heavily on supplementation (Natural ones that can be purchased from the shelves of any sports supplementation store), but whilst I cannot say that they did not give me an edge over had I have not taken any, I felt that I was becoming to reliant on them, which would not only effect my state of mind during workouts when I ran out of them, or forgot to take them during a few sessions, but was also a pretty heavy weight on my wallet, as I'm sure you've all found - supplements stacks are far from cheap. With that said, there are still a number of supplements that I wouldn't want to go without, and these are:
Glutamine, BCAA's, Whey Isolate, EPA, Multivitamin, in addition to ZMA and Melatonin (prior to sleep). More about these later on.
I felt really good going into the gym today. The weather was crazy hot - close to 100f, and I was already starting to look vascular from the drive to the gym.
Here is the overview of my workout for Shoulders and Biceps. I know it was a lot of sets, but seeing as though I was in the mood to keep going, I just kept going (I wouldn't normally train like this, and as a result, my workout tomorrow will no doubt be at a lower intensity, but I made some of my best lifts this year today).
Weight in lbs / Reps
For full sets, reps and weights, check out my BodySpace: http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/robriches/
Seated Military Press (Behind the head - to top of ears)
Seated Dumbbell Presses
Standing Dumbbell Front Raises
Bent Over Rear Dumbbell Flys
Standing Behind-the-back Lateral Cable Flys
Upright Rows
Olympic Bar Curls
Standing Alt. Dumbbell Curls
Cable Preacher Curl
Gave myself a 9.5 out of 10 for today's workout. One word. Awesome!
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