Today I workout with my good Buddy, Dave Catudal at the Gold's gym that he works at in North Hollywood. I always love training with Dave as we both have the same mentality when it comes to 'all or nothing' so we always push each other and motivate each other to often more than we can when we train alone. Plus, Gold's Hollywood is a different gym than I am used to training in, and so that also kept my motivation high, and helped get me through my workout, which are now becoming increasingly more difficult - as I push for every last muscle fiber to be taxed before ending my workout, as every session really does count now that it's down to the final 10 weeks.
For the full breakdown of my workout - check out my Bodyspace link here.
Made some great gains this workout, and lifting with someone different (on the same page as I am when it comes to training), and switching up the locations every now and then can really help towards pushing your workouts, and therefore your progress into an entirely new level.
For full updates on my training progress, check out my fitness website: www.robrichesfitness.com
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Back @ Gold's Gym, Venice
The race is on! I'm telling you, I am back on track, no, in fact, I'm on a whole new track.
I dont remember ever being this focused for a competition, and with 10 weeks left, and my 6 (or more like 8) pack starting to become clearly visible, I'm now more motivated than ever!!
I'll be posting a few new pics soon!
I met with my friend today at Gold's Gym in Venice. No, we're not dating or anything, we just both share the same passion for fitness, and as she's looking to do her first competition in August, we are helping each other stay highly motivated.
Today's focus group was Back - the Lats and middle-upper back to be more precise, as I felt after a heavy quads session the day before, any lower back work such as deadlifts and hyperextensions would somewhat aggravate my legs, and impact their recovery.
You can see the full breakdown of my exercises, sets, reps and weights on my Bodyspace, as well as all my other previous workouts to date (I've only recently started using it again overthe last 2 weeks, but I'll try and keep it updated as often as I train).
Today was a fairly quick workout - mainly because my friend had to drive back to babysit her nephew, and I had to get back home to finish some more editing.
After a couple of light warm up sets on the Lat Pulldown machine, I strapped up (wrist straps), and loaded up the stack. After just 2 sets, I was lifting the heaviest weight I can remember doing - 240lbs, with control and good form for each rep, finishing off with a couple of underhand pulldowns with even more weight - 260lbs.
After feeling a great pump in my back, I moved onto Bent Over Rows, and once again, loaded up the weight for a couple of overhand sets, followed by 2 more sets of close-grip underhand rows. Using straps on each set to ensure my hands would not be the weak link in the chain, and force me to rack the weight before my back had fully fatigued.
By now, my gym vest was feeling tight on my body, as my lats had flared out and delts and traps were pumped full of blood. I decided to make full use of this pumped effect, and knock out some heavy sets of machine pulldowns (Iso Lateral - Fixed angle pulldown) and managed - with a little help from my friend who was spotting, to pull down 300lbs for 8 solid reps. If you'd have seen her spotting, it would have put a smile on your face, as there I was, nearly 190lbs pulling down 300lbs, with my friend weighing little over 100lbs (she's built well, and is by no means skinny), holding onto the top of the bar with al her might! I swear, had I of let go quickly, it would have flung her half way across the gym!!
I finished off with seated cable pulls, using two handles attached to the cable (so that both arms were pulling an equal weight, and not compensating for the weaker side by using a fixed grip or bar). Again, I went heavy-ish, and loaded the stack up to 210, with a solid 10 reps. I still feel as though I could have done more though! One of the many benefits of keeping records each time you lift - so that you can make necessary changes to each workout, and look back and see when you hit a plateau, what can be changed or modified!!
Although it wasn't a very long workout, and only 4 different exercises in total, I actually felt better that I lifted as heavy as I could for as long as I could, then got out of there before I started to become catabolic, and waste my time trying to do more exercises when I should be refuelling, and letting my body start the recovery process.
As soon as we were out of there, I took my supplements (5g L-Glutamine, 5g BCAA's, a further 2 Norateen Hollywood Body, and had an Orange, Carrot, Lemon and Ginger smoothie, plus a few cubes of Papaya fruit - great source of anti-oxidants, fiber and free-radical fighting properties, followed by about 6oz of chicken on the drive home. Not my usual post-workout meal, but sometimes you just need to make the most of what you have available to you, and when I'm with friends, I'll always try and accomodate them first, rather than grab a protein shake, and leave them feeling like they shouldnt be eating anything! Just make sure that what you do eat is within your daily nutrition plan. Once you know your numbers, its easy to modify and be able to continue a successful training plan no matter where you are.
For more updates and everything health and fitness - join up a free fitness account at www.robrichesfitness.com
I dont remember ever being this focused for a competition, and with 10 weeks left, and my 6 (or more like 8) pack starting to become clearly visible, I'm now more motivated than ever!!
I'll be posting a few new pics soon!
I met with my friend today at Gold's Gym in Venice. No, we're not dating or anything, we just both share the same passion for fitness, and as she's looking to do her first competition in August, we are helping each other stay highly motivated.
Today's focus group was Back - the Lats and middle-upper back to be more precise, as I felt after a heavy quads session the day before, any lower back work such as deadlifts and hyperextensions would somewhat aggravate my legs, and impact their recovery.
You can see the full breakdown of my exercises, sets, reps and weights on my Bodyspace, as well as all my other previous workouts to date (I've only recently started using it again overthe last 2 weeks, but I'll try and keep it updated as often as I train).
Today was a fairly quick workout - mainly because my friend had to drive back to babysit her nephew, and I had to get back home to finish some more editing.
After a couple of light warm up sets on the Lat Pulldown machine, I strapped up (wrist straps), and loaded up the stack. After just 2 sets, I was lifting the heaviest weight I can remember doing - 240lbs, with control and good form for each rep, finishing off with a couple of underhand pulldowns with even more weight - 260lbs.
After feeling a great pump in my back, I moved onto Bent Over Rows, and once again, loaded up the weight for a couple of overhand sets, followed by 2 more sets of close-grip underhand rows. Using straps on each set to ensure my hands would not be the weak link in the chain, and force me to rack the weight before my back had fully fatigued.
By now, my gym vest was feeling tight on my body, as my lats had flared out and delts and traps were pumped full of blood. I decided to make full use of this pumped effect, and knock out some heavy sets of machine pulldowns (Iso Lateral - Fixed angle pulldown) and managed - with a little help from my friend who was spotting, to pull down 300lbs for 8 solid reps. If you'd have seen her spotting, it would have put a smile on your face, as there I was, nearly 190lbs pulling down 300lbs, with my friend weighing little over 100lbs (she's built well, and is by no means skinny), holding onto the top of the bar with al her might! I swear, had I of let go quickly, it would have flung her half way across the gym!!
I finished off with seated cable pulls, using two handles attached to the cable (so that both arms were pulling an equal weight, and not compensating for the weaker side by using a fixed grip or bar). Again, I went heavy-ish, and loaded the stack up to 210, with a solid 10 reps. I still feel as though I could have done more though! One of the many benefits of keeping records each time you lift - so that you can make necessary changes to each workout, and look back and see when you hit a plateau, what can be changed or modified!!
Although it wasn't a very long workout, and only 4 different exercises in total, I actually felt better that I lifted as heavy as I could for as long as I could, then got out of there before I started to become catabolic, and waste my time trying to do more exercises when I should be refuelling, and letting my body start the recovery process.
As soon as we were out of there, I took my supplements (5g L-Glutamine, 5g BCAA's, a further 2 Norateen Hollywood Body, and had an Orange, Carrot, Lemon and Ginger smoothie, plus a few cubes of Papaya fruit - great source of anti-oxidants, fiber and free-radical fighting properties, followed by about 6oz of chicken on the drive home. Not my usual post-workout meal, but sometimes you just need to make the most of what you have available to you, and when I'm with friends, I'll always try and accomodate them first, rather than grab a protein shake, and leave them feeling like they shouldnt be eating anything! Just make sure that what you do eat is within your daily nutrition plan. Once you know your numbers, its easy to modify and be able to continue a successful training plan no matter where you are.
For more updates and everything health and fitness - join up a free fitness account at www.robrichesfitness.com
Morning Cardio/Abs Blast
Woke feeling good today. Alarm went off at 5.45, but I hit sleep for another 15 minutes. (I gotta be getting out of bed by 5.30 so that I can get to the gym, do my morning cardio, and be back home ready for my first meal, so that I can stay on track with smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day to help burn off these last few pounds of body fat).
Usual supplements taken prior to gym.
5g L-Glutamine
5g BCAA's (mixed in with a little low-cal sports drink to aid uptake, plus to make it taste a little better!)
2 LA FatStripper Intense
6g L-Carnitine
and about half a liter of water.
For more information about these supplements, check out this link here.
If you've been keeping up with my blogs, you'll know that I trained legs hard yesterday, and so cardio sprints just didn't seem an option for me this morning.
Instead, I did upright bike for 20 minutes at an intensity of 12 (12 out of 20), with a speed of 70 rpm, and then a brisk walk on the treadmill for another 20 minutes at a speed of 3.6 mph and an incline of between 6.5 - 8. Again, my HR watch ceased to work, but I would guess I burned close to 500 calories from cardio alone.
Then on to abs.. Here's my insane abs split!
performed as supersets with no rest between exercises, then 2 minutes rest before starting the next set of supersets with new exercises.
Superset 1
Bent Leg Hip Raises (on a decline bench) 50:50:50
Standard Crunches (Shoulders off ground) with 25lb plate on chest. 50:50:50
Superset 2
Lying Leg Raises (performed on a bench, hands by side, legs straight to 70-degrees up) 50:50:50
Cable Crunches. 50:50:50
Superset 3
Oblique Rotations (holding a plate close to my chest) 50(25lb) : 50(25lb) : 50(35lb)
Single Arm Cable Crunch (with a twist to work obliques) 30:30:30 (all with 90lbs - single cable pulley)
Hyper-Extensions (Holding a 25lb plate). 30:30:30
Total time in gym: 80 minutes
Total reps on abs: 1020
Total calories burned: At a guess, probably just over 1000!
As soon as I got home, I took the same supplements as I did prior to hitting the gym (minus the fatstripper's), and took my multi-vitamin packet with another 1/2 liter of water.
Plus 5g of Fish Oil capsules, high in Omega 3.
For breakfast, I kept it simple.
80g of Quaker Oats
60g of BSN Syntha 6 Chocolate Mint protein (mixed with water for a shake)
100g of frozen raspberries & blueberries (split 50:50) - good source of fiber.
Here is the total nutritional breakdown.
Total Calories: 611
Total Protein: 40
Total Carbs: 80
Total Fat: 15
I always have 25% of my total carb intake for my morning meal, and a further 25% of my carbs post workout, with the remainder 50% split throughout my other 4 meals of the day.
More on this later.
You can keep track and plan of all your nutritional meals by using my nutrition planner that I devloped for this very purpose. To be your own nutrition accountant!
Got work to do now.
Stay posted for my evening workout when I'll be hitting back and arms.
Usual supplements taken prior to gym.
5g L-Glutamine
5g BCAA's (mixed in with a little low-cal sports drink to aid uptake, plus to make it taste a little better!)
2 LA FatStripper Intense
6g L-Carnitine
and about half a liter of water.
For more information about these supplements, check out this link here.
If you've been keeping up with my blogs, you'll know that I trained legs hard yesterday, and so cardio sprints just didn't seem an option for me this morning.
Instead, I did upright bike for 20 minutes at an intensity of 12 (12 out of 20), with a speed of 70 rpm, and then a brisk walk on the treadmill for another 20 minutes at a speed of 3.6 mph and an incline of between 6.5 - 8. Again, my HR watch ceased to work, but I would guess I burned close to 500 calories from cardio alone.
Then on to abs.. Here's my insane abs split!
performed as supersets with no rest between exercises, then 2 minutes rest before starting the next set of supersets with new exercises.
Superset 1
Bent Leg Hip Raises (on a decline bench) 50:50:50
Standard Crunches (Shoulders off ground) with 25lb plate on chest. 50:50:50
Superset 2
Lying Leg Raises (performed on a bench, hands by side, legs straight to 70-degrees up) 50:50:50
Cable Crunches. 50:50:50
Superset 3
Oblique Rotations (holding a plate close to my chest) 50(25lb) : 50(25lb) : 50(35lb)
Single Arm Cable Crunch (with a twist to work obliques) 30:30:30 (all with 90lbs - single cable pulley)
Hyper-Extensions (Holding a 25lb plate). 30:30:30
Total time in gym: 80 minutes
Total reps on abs: 1020
Total calories burned: At a guess, probably just over 1000!
As soon as I got home, I took the same supplements as I did prior to hitting the gym (minus the fatstripper's), and took my multi-vitamin packet with another 1/2 liter of water.
Plus 5g of Fish Oil capsules, high in Omega 3.
For breakfast, I kept it simple.
80g of Quaker Oats
60g of BSN Syntha 6 Chocolate Mint protein (mixed with water for a shake)
100g of frozen raspberries & blueberries (split 50:50) - good source of fiber.
Here is the total nutritional breakdown.
Total Calories: 611
Total Protein: 40
Total Carbs: 80
Total Fat: 15
I always have 25% of my total carb intake for my morning meal, and a further 25% of my carbs post workout, with the remainder 50% split throughout my other 4 meals of the day.
You can keep track and plan of all your nutritional meals by using my nutrition planner that I devloped for this very purpose. To be your own nutrition accountant!
Got work to do now.
Stay posted for my evening workout when I'll be hitting back and arms.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Morning Cardio - No Abs
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.
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.
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.
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