Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Quads & Calves - Heavy @ Gold's Gym, Venice, CA

After taking a day off yesterday to rest, and allow my body to recover from the previous two days of grueling workouts (except an hour of steady pace cardio yesterday morning), I felt refreshed and eager to get down the gym and hit my legs hard in the hope that I could shock the type 2b fibers into a growth spurt before my calories become too low to the point where it will be impossible for me to gain any additional muscle, and am purely just trying to hold on to muscle as my body sheds as much fat as possible.

For those of you who have been to Gold's gym in Venice, California, you'll know that it just has this atmosphere that motivates you to go above and beyond your usual level of commitment to the weights.

It was hot today, although not as hot as it has been for the past few days. (peaking at 100f), and whilst I like it when it's warm, when it's too hot, hitting the weights is one of the last things I want to be doing. In fact, my body just wants to shut down and sleep, but today was different.

I was focused, and had been looking forward to training legs since the last time I hit them hard, and found it difficult to walk the day after because my muscles were so sore! A sign (for me at least), that my workout was efficient, and my legs would have to grow in order to take on the increased poundages that I would unwaveringly subject them to until I was happy with them.
That, and I was once again training with a friend of mine - no, not some big beefhead who'll scream at me if I can't finish the set, but a woman I met at a recect fitness filming who is on a similar pathway to become a model. Although she may not be able to support me in the exercises that someone of equal size and strength may be able to do so, but just her being there is enough to get me pumped for some of the biggest sets I've attempted this year! Must be all those brain stimulants in the form of dopamine that are being realsed, and such a rush that even with nearly a 1000lbs on the legg press wanting to squash me into a pulp, I still didnt want to give up!

Seriously - give it a try. Train with your girlfriend, your partner, or just someone who perhaps looks to you for help, as you find your sudden conscious awareness of explaining form and technique translate into your workout, making sure that you get every last muscle fiber engaged in the set, and really make the most out of every exercise!

Ok, enough about that.. here's the work set that I did:
Sorry about not keeping track of the weights. I was so focused on helping my training partner with her form that I just couldnt keep track of everything. I'll keep better records next time.

Squats (2 sets warm up): 3 sets - I know that my main workset consisted of 8-10 reps of 315lbs
Leg Press: Straight into heavy sets. 4 heavy sets. My best being 8 reps at 900lbs
Walking Lunges (Barbell) 3 sets. I walked the length of the outdoor pen with 155lbs on the bar.
Knee Entensions. 3 sets. 12-15 reps.I maxed out the rack on my 2nd set, and so tied a 25lb plate to the stack for the 3rd set.

Calves - sweet and short here. I was starting to feel hungry and needed to refuel, plus my legs were starting to shake even when I was walking between machines.

Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets. maxed out at 195lbs
Slanted Calf Raises (like standing calves but on a machine at a 34-degree angle). 4 sets. 12-15 reps.

Not the most I've done for legs (quads) before, but certainly one of the most intense leg workouts I can remember.

As soon as I was out the gym, I took 6g of L-Glutamine, and took 5g of BCAA's mixed into a low-cal sports drink. I also took a multi-vitamin pack (2nd of the day).

We then both headed to the famous Firehouse restaurant to eat, which consisted of a shared bowl of turkey and egg white scramble, with cilantro and tomato (if you've ever eaten there - on the corner on Rose St and Main St in Venice, you'll know they have some of the best food you can ever eat post-workout), and shared a plate of buckwheat pancakes with added blueberries and chocolate chips - which we both needed to replenish delpleted glycogen stores.

Keep posted, as they'll be more tomorrow as I'm back at Gold's training.