The Mature thread

[njflex]

chest

fdb press..60/75/80/85
inc db ,,60/70/70
decline press x4
pec deck x3
dips x2x20

tris
close grip bench superset with overhead rope extensions x3
reverse pushdowns
x3
lying db extensions x3

abs

[Donny]

Legs this morning.

squats 4 sets
Seated leg 4 curls sets
Seated leg press 4 sets
Stiff legged Deadlifts 4 sets
Smith machine standing calf raises 5 sets
Abs: machine crunches 3 sets

[njflex]

Legs this morning.

squats 4 sets
Seated leg 4 curls sets
Seated leg press 4 sets
Stiff legged Deadlifts 4 sets
Smith machine standing calf raises 5 sets
Abs: machine crunches 3 sets

standing smith on wood block calf raises ..burn..

[Donny]

standing smith on wood block calf raises ..burn..

Donīt have a wood Block so i use a Reebok step board...

[njflex]

Donīt have a wood Block so i use a Reebok step board...

that too,jane fonda

[Donny]

that too,jane fonda

quite useful too when you have a short person who does not fit in a machine due to short legs. i use it a fair bit for mainly women on the seated Bench press machines.

[Primemuscle]

legs heavy'duty

legs press warmed 2 plates per side,,,then 4/5/6/7,,12/12/10/10

squats close stance 225/275/315/365

walking lunges dbell heavier 60 lbs instead 50's x2

extensions 205/250 all 12 reps

hams
sldl 135/185/225/245
lying legs curls 140/155/165

calves
seated calf raises x4 2.5 plates /3/3.5/3.5
standing calf raise 200 on stack x2 sets 12

part of our tree...cats and little boy are getting at it..i'm a fanatic i keep rederecting ornaments..drives me nuts..lol..

Beautiful tree, Steve. Ours in still in a box up in the attic. We are trying to decide whether to put our tree or our daughter's tree up. Both of them are fake trees. Pretty funny huh? We live in the land of trees and we have two fake trees.

Our son-in-law brought down all the decorations from the attic. They are still in the Rubbermaid tubs on the dining room table and the floor around it. We have way to many decorations.

I need to snap into the Christmas mood pretty quick. We'd planned to put the tree up on the 13th....Twelve days of Christmas and all that.


I worked Chest on Saturday.

Incline bench press, 5 X 12 - 8
Flat bench press, 4 X 12 - 8
Decline bench press, 4 X 12 - 8
Pullovers on Nautilus, 4 X 12 - 8

Missed getting to the gym on Sunday because we went to a friend's open house.

Worked legs on Monday.

Leg press, 5 X 20 - 8
Hack squats, 4 X 12
Leg extensions, 4 X 15 - 12
Leg curls, 5 X 12 - 8
Reverse hack squats, 4 X 12 - 8
Seated calf raises, 5 X 20 - 15
Standing calf raises, 4 X 20 - 15

[Donny]

Great to hear from you Jay 

[njflex]

Great to hear from you Jay 

IT IS.....NICE WORKOUT HE MUST BE SORE 

[Donny]

IT IS.....NICE WORKOUT HE MUST BE SORE 

Great shape ... he is our wise Owl

[Donny]

 

[Primemuscle]

IT IS.....NICE WORKOUT HE MUST BE SORE 

Yup! I awoke with some mean "Charlie horses" last night. -Drinking tons of water today to help with this.

Remember, I am not using much resistance. I went especially easy on the resistance because my knee is acting up. It actually felt a little better following the workout. I'm wearing a knee brace today for good measure. All those reps of calf raises caused me to experience some shin splints for the first time. They were painful but short lived.

I feel like I didn't do enough for chest, but my pecs are mildly sore so that's a good sign.

[Primemuscle]

Great shape ... he is our wise Owl

Interestingly enough, I just found out that Stephen Hawking is a relative by marriage. His mom is my late aunt's sister. -Pretty wild. The things you learn from those Christmas letters. No wonder my cousin David is so smart.

[oldtimer1]

This should be titled rant for the day.  

I've been neglecting putting my workouts on this thread. I do have this thought watching people in the gym and especially a friend of mine. Why do so many guys look for the easiest way to perform an exercise? If you are looking to work the muscle wouldn't you find the hardest way to make the muscle work for adaptation?

Using my friend as an example. He's proud of his huge bench number. Over 400lbs at under 180lbs body weight. He uses every trick in the book.  First he arches in the most ridiculous way so the top of his belly is sky high. He touches his sky high belly with the bar. He also takes a wide grip. He puts on one of those bench shirt but brags it not the good kind they use in competition. When he benches the bar barely moves. Never measured it but I bet it barely travels over 12". It's like that with all exercises. Cut the range of motion to handle the heavy ego weights.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I try to make the exercise hard to actually make the muscle stronger and not my ego. An example of this is pull ups. It means going to a dead drop in pullups and pulling all the way up till my elbows are completely down. Ten pull ups like that are worth more than 25 of these slop things I see in the gym.

Hearing what guys use as weight in bodybuilding is just about worthless unless you see the performance. How many guys say they use 405 in squats then you watch them and they barely bend their legs. They are also delusional about how deep they go. Put 225lbs on the bar and sink it like an Olympic lifter instead of doing what isn't even half squats.

Enough of the rant.  It's just that bodybuilding attracts insecure people who prop up their ego by delusion-ally lying to them self about how strong they are. That's why I like Olympic lifting. Can you lift this weight over head or not? I don't want to hear a verbal explanation of why you can't. Can you do it?

[Donny]

This should be titled rant for the day.  

I've been neglecting putting my workouts on this thread. I do have this thought watching people in the gym and especially a friend of mine. Why do so many guys look for the easiest way to perform an exercise? If you are looking to work the muscle wouldn't you find the hardest way to make the muscle work for adaptation?

Using my friend as an example. He's proud of his huge bench number. Over 400lbs at under 180lbs body weight. He uses every trick in the book.  First he arches in the most ridiculous way so the top of his belly is sky high. He touches his sky high belly with the bar. He also takes a wide grip. He puts on one of those bench shirt but brags it not the good kind they use in competition. When he benches the bar barely moves. Never measured it but I bet it barely travels over 12". It's like that with all exercises. Cut the range of motion to handle the heavy ego weights.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I try to make the exercise hard to actually make the muscle stronger and not my ego. An example of this is pull ups. It means going to a dead drop in pullups and pulling all the way up till my elbows are completely down. Ten pull ups like that are worth more than 25 of these slop things I see in the gym.

Hearing what guys use as weight in bodybuilding is just about worthless unless you see the performance. How many guys say they use 405 in squats then you watch them and they barely bend their legs. They are also delusional about how deep they go. Put 225lbs on the bar and sink it like an Olympic lifter instead of doing what isn't even half squats.

Enough of the rant.  It's just that bodybuilding attracts insecure people who prop up their ego by delusion-ally lying to them self about how strong they are. That's why I like Olympic lifting. Can you lift this weight over head or not? I don't want to hear a verbal explanation of why you can't. Can you do it?

you having a Bad Day Rich... but very true.

[Primemuscle]

This should be titled rant for the day.  

I've been neglecting putting my workouts on this thread. I do have this thought watching people in the gym and especially a friend of mine. Why do so many guys look for the easiest way to perform an exercise? If you are looking to work the muscle wouldn't you find the hardest way to make the muscle work for adaptation?

Using my friend as an example. He's proud of his huge bench number. Over 400lbs at under 180lbs body weight. He uses every trick in the book.  First he arches in the most ridiculous way so the top of his belly is sky high. He touches his sky high belly with the bar. He also takes a wide grip. He puts on one of those bench shirt but brags it not the good kind they use in competition. When he benches the bar barely moves. Never measured it but I bet it barely travels over 12". It's like that with all exercises. Cut the range of motion to handle the heavy ego weights.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I try to make the exercise hard to actually make the muscle stronger and not my ego. An example of this is pull ups. It means going to a dead drop in pullups and pulling all the way up till my elbows are completely down. Ten pull ups like that are worth more than 25 of these slop things I see in the gym.

Hearing what guys use as weight in bodybuilding is just about worthless unless you see the performance. How many guys say they use 405 in squats then you watch them and they barely bend their legs. They are also delusional about how deep they go. Put 225lbs on the bar and sink it like an Olympic lifter instead of doing what isn't even half squats.

Enough of the rant.  It's just that bodybuilding attracts insecure people who prop up their ego by delusion-ally lying to them self about how strong they are. That's why I like Olympic lifting. Can you lift this weight over head or not? I don't want to hear a verbal explanation of why you can't. Can you do it?

There is a difference between exercising with ease and using bad form. What you are describing is mainly bad form and using crutches that can be habit forming instead of assisting them in their maximum lift. Weight belts are a great example of this. You often see folks wearing them throughout their routine. Most people don't need the assistance of a weight belt for every lift particularly not lifts that are challenging in terms of resistance.

It has not been my goal to be the strongest person in the gym. Power lifting is not my sport; bodybuilding is. It fascinates me how much you can achieve using good form and modest resistance when lifting for bodybuilding. Did you know that when doing Nautilus crunches you should keep your head straight or look slightly towards the ceiling as opposed to looking down towards your stomach? Although I never paid attention to what I did with my head position when doing crunches, I am now, since I heard this and it feels really good. What position do you think is best when doing cable triceps push downs? Is is better to bend forward at the waist, positioning yourself over the bar or is it preferable to bend your knees slightly, keeping your back relatively straight? I bend and the knees instead of at the waist. Most folks seem to bend at the waist.

[Donny]

Back workout last night...

Front chins 4 sets
Close grip pulldowns 4 sets
machine rows wide grip 4 sets
ez bar bent arm pullovers 3 sets
medium Grip High pulls 3 sets

i decided to experiment with some Barbell High pulls. I felt it on my upper back. A good change from upright rows. Cardio was running outside about 45 mins.

[njflex]

daughter started to play basketball got home from work in time change rush and take her ,,got home ran to gym had 45 min to get done

back /bi..

trisets worked out good
tbar row chest to pad /reverse hammer pulldowns/low cable rows...x3..too bored to post weights used still pretty damn heavy considering ..trisets
superset behind neck pulldowns with 1 arm dumbbell rows used 90's x3..

bis ..trisets
premade barbell curls 70/80/80,,with rope hammers curls cable,and seated db curls 30's.x2
finished 2 sets 30/35 dbells concentration curls on knee,,

[Donny]

daughter started to play basketball got home from work in time change rush and take her ,,got home ran to gym had 45 min to get done

back /bi..

trisets worked out good
tbar row chest to pad /reverse hammer pulldowns/low cable rows...x3..too bored to post weights used still pretty damn heavy considering ..trisets
superset behind neck pulldowns with 1 arm dumbbell rows used 90's x3..

bis ..trisets
premade barbell curls 70/80/80,,with rope hammers curls cable,and seated db curls 30's.x2
finished 2 sets 30/35 dbells concentration curls on knee,,

Job Done...Good Drills Steve !

[Donny]

Tuesday Night i had a bit of a Drama at home. About 10 pm here my power went out.. did the normal fault finding stuff you do but could not find the problem. So Wednesday morning i had an Electrician here. Found out a plug socket in my Bedroom was the problem. A couple of wires were burned .. I thought i smelled something ... but did not see anything. Had to open a bit of the wall but not so bad as itīs like a round capped area made to open was going to Decorate soon anyway...as the wallpaper he cut away. Good job i still had my phone for getbig...    

[Donny]

Arms Today..

Lying ez bar extensions 3 sets Superset with Barbell curls 3 sets
seated single DB extensions 3 sets  Superset with DB incline Curls 3 sets
Reverse Grip cable pressdowns 3 sets  Superset with DB concentration curls 3 sets

Forearms: EZ Bar reverse curls 2 sets
               BB wrist curls 2 sets

Seated calf raises 5 sets.  

[njflex]

Arms Today..

Lying ez bar extensions 3 sets Superset with Barbell curls 3 sets
seated single DB extensions 3 sets  Superset with DB incline Curls 3 sets
Reverse Grip cable pressdowns 3 sets  Superset with DB concentration curls 3 sets

Forearms: EZ Bar reverse curls 2 sets
               BB wrist curls 2 sets

Seated calf raises 5 sets.  

off work today 3 day weekend

delts
shoulder press inner grip on stack weighted machinex4

trisets
side lateral
front raises
rear delt bent over ,,all seated set 1 with 20 lb dbls,,2/3 used 25's..

curl bar upright rows premade 80/90/90
2 sets cable behind back raises

shrugs dbell change ,,,85/95/105/110's 
2 sets x20 45 lb plate ea hand up/hold/squeeze

forarms
cable reverse wrist curls x3
rollups x3 with rope/plate  i use 10 and 2.5 only kills

[Primemuscle]

On Tuesday I worked back using the same routine as last week. I upped the resistance slightly.
On Wednesday I worked shoulders, increasing the resistance while sticking to the same routine
On Thursday I worked arms, increasing the resistance and keeping to the routine from the previous week.

Next week will be a challenge since the gym closes early on Christmas eve and is closed all day on Christmas day. I'd probably be too busy to go to the gym anyway on those days.

I've gained 5 lbs. since I restarted working out. This is not a huge surprise since I generally gain weight when I lift. I don't think I am eating any more than usual though and my waist is still tight. I'm going to watch this closely. Yikes, I might actually have to diet for the first time in my life if I want to be really cut.

Bought my wife a Microsoft Surface Pro for Christmas. She asked for a tablet to check email and play games on. Since she is familiar with Microsoft programs, including Windows and Outlook for email, the learning curve should be easy and quick for her. I'm holding off on buying the keyboard/cover since the main idea of a tablet is to use the touch screen for everything.

[Donny]

bit of a storm here last night. got caught in it cycling. was piss wet through when i got home.. I think iīll go to the local swimming Baths today. thinking of changing round my weight training split. Give it some thought in the whirlpool...

[Primemuscle]

bit of a storm here last night. got caught in it cycling. was piss wet through when i got home.. I think iīll go to the local swimming Baths today. thinking of changing round my weight training split. Give it some thought in the whirlpool...

We're having a bit of a storm here too this weekend. It's a good time to snuggle in, eat some popcorn and watch a movie. The good news is that the area of our yard that normally turned into a lake during rain storms is not flooded at all. The new French Drain is working!