6 pack Abs, Barbell Squats, High Jumps from hell!

I’m not going to lie.

Don’t you hate it when people start off like that? Well, I’m not going to lie either. (as opposed to the other times when I made the whole damn thing up) This workout, although it didn’t have much weight lifting, killed me. I would love a nap right about now.

“So, what did you do that was so hard?” Ok, Biff, I’ll tell you— you sarcastic bastard! I am on my mission to raise my squat. So I’m adding 10 lbs every week. I’m talking about a REAL squat, with a real barbell, placed on your real shoulders, and squating so your ass lands on your ankles. That’s right—all the way down, baby! Just like 10 in 30 tells ya to! I managed to gather enough strength to do 3 sets of 6 reps with the added 10 lbs. It was really hard.

Doesn’t help that there was a hot chick behind me doing the leg press machine with what appeared to be more weight! But you know what, Biff? That doesn’t compare to a REAL squat, you innocent and confused little man. I’d like to see that chick do 6, ass-to-ankles squats with HALF the weight I used. I don’t think she’d be able to do 3. Don’t cheat yourself by only using the leg press instead of doing squats and thinking you  squat 3 plates when you’re actually squatting much less.

Here it is:

Squats: 3 sets. √
2 sets incline Hammer bench press (I noticed my shoulders and back were looking great but my pecs were lacking)

calf raises galore
^super: seated calves galore
^super: chaser of HIGH JUMPS (blast them calves by jumping as high as you possibly can, letting your knees hit your chest way up in the air!)
run outside for 17 minutes (not really any sprints. shins hurt)

Hanging Leg Raises of death. <– 4x fail
^ 2 sets

Box crunches w 25#
^super: crunches w 25# 2 sets
+ 1 set of reg crunches

Plank Madness 2x each side.

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Scoop and a half of Optimum Nutrition Whey in water. And around 25 minutes later, I had lunch: 2 chicken breasts and mixed vegetable of green beens, peas, carrots, and corn. Drank a grapefruit juice for the simple carbs and vitamin C. Now I need Green Tea, and then a nap. Did I already mention I’d like a nap?

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Gain muscle in the arms: Blasting of the Arms!

Today was an intense hell of an arms workout. All arms. No shoulder. I did the 10 in 30 Shoulders/Arms on Friday, so 3 days later, I was ready for another arms blasting mofo workout! I’m really trying to gain mass in my arms and making them wider by doing the 3 types of barbell curls.

So, today was:

The Great Bicep, Tricep Massacre. A bunch of super sets of double biceps and double triceps with 30 seconds rest in between.

Barbell curls wide,
^super: rope curls
Tricep vbar pushdowns HVY
^super: overhead bb ext

Barbell curls normal, drop set
^super: rope curls
Tricep vbar pushdowns
top cable rope ext

Barbell curls narrow super drop set 4X! wide, normal
Ovrhd EZ bar extensions
top cable rope ext

seated DB hammer twist curls
DB reverse narrow to wide curls
Overhead single DB ext
bilat cable tricep pushdowns

standing DB hammer twist curls drop sets
DB reverse in2out curls DPST
Overhead single DB ext
bilat cable tricep pushdowns

go ahead and ask if you have any questions about what the heck any of that means. I was sweating a ton while only working the arms! I see most people work out so lethargically and are not sweating at all. My freaking workout was so intense it pretty much took care of cardio too! And my biceps looked like they’d burst out of their skin. Triceps were pretty swollen as well.

Tried to run afterward since it was such a beautiful day but I started getting a pain on my head/neck so I stopped early. No run today.

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Blast them arms! {Biceps, wrist curls, triceps blaster}

Today, I did the Arms portion of Shoulder/Arms day. I refrained from shoulders because my neck muscle seems to be pulled. So, only the biceps and triceps for me today. Did the whole Superset and finished with my favorite ab exercise; Hanging Leg Raises from the Abs workout. Pretty quick workout, but the arms got a slammin!

Note: if you feel like you didn’t get much of a workout, you probably didn’t use enough weight to max out at the indicated reps. You probably could have done 10 but stopped at 6-8 and moved on to the next one which might have not been enough either. I’ll admit I sort of did that on some myself. So, after it was over, I added the forearm exercises, Wrist Curls and Reverse Wrist Curls. After 2 sets of each, I did a set of seated concentration curls with super slow return (negatives).

For bigger upper arms, be sure to use heavy enough weight so that you barely make it to 6! And then, cheat for a couple of reps using momentum. Be sure to vary your grip on the Barbell Curls as indicated in the Arms workout. Standard, Wide, Narrow. This will give width to your biceps. combine that with proper form on the triceps exercises and you’ll have bigger arms in no time. And to make sure your biceps are being properly isolated, use that BICEPS BLASTER I raved about.

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LOVE YOURSELF, DAMNIT! (Chest Day + Abs)

Today, Monday, January 3 was Chest Day. I am doing the 10 in 30 plan again with slight modifications as necessary. Hey, I know what I’m doing, ok?? Anyway, it was a great workout and I am definitely seeing major improvement in the mirror! Even when my core is relaxed, I can see a good deal of abs, and my shoulder/rear delts are looking awesome from doing the Rotator Cuff exercises. Not to mention my Lats. They really stick out from my waist. Yes I look at myself a lot. That gym mirror is good to me. But that’s the only way to judge how you’re doing, right? Plus—don’t you love yourself? You should. Seriously. You are your best friend. So LOVE YOURSELF, DAMNIT! You’ll get more respect from others, anyway, if you really love yourself.

My workout:
Incline Press on Bench
Straight Bench Press
Crossovers (high to face level for upper pec development)
Incline DB Flies (only 20#, 12 reps)
Incline DB Press
Bent Over Rev Flies (standing, sitting)
Side Rotators
Top Rotators

ABS:
Hanging leg raises
Leg Raises on Vertical Leg Raise Bench, knee raises

The reason I said this was “modified” is because I am working on lowering my fat percentage as well. I am doing ab work after most workouts on top of doing HIIT in the morning on an empty stomach. Remember, I already did the 10 in 30 and gained 10 lbs, then I did only circuits for a while with lots of cardio, so I went down on fat a little. Unfortunately, I also lost some muscle from that plus getting sick with the flu, so that’s why I’m back in the 10 in 30 plan. The morning HIIT cardio is really paying off as far as leaning me the hell out. I also plan on running (HIIT of course) after my workout for 2 days of the week on top of the morning HIIT.

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Wed Dec 23: Chesters, “Straight Arm Pullups”!

Today was a smaller workout due to time constraints. Chest day.


Incline Hammer press 4x
Straight Hammer press 3x
Both followed by pushups for maxing out.

Hanging legs lifts, knee lifts. 3x
Box crunches 2x

Calf Raises 3x
Seated Calves 3x

Did the abs and calves work in between chest exercises for efficiency. The Hanging Leg Lifts are awesome. Try lifting your legs all the way up to the bar by using your lats as well as your entire core. Your body won’t hang vertical the entire time; only until your legs reach around parallel to the floor, then your lats take over and curl your body the rest of the way up. Keep your arms straight—this aint no pullup! Eventually, you’ll be able to do what I call STRAIGHT-ARM PULLUPS.

Straight Arm Pullups are a super badass version of pullups where you concentrate on ONLY using your lats to lift yourself up, rotating at the shoulders and keeping your body and legs straight. These are fantastic for exploding your lats and giving you that insane V shape on your core. They are also useful for not injuring your biceps by overworking them. They are similar to the “Front Lever” but there seems to be much confusion as to what exactly that is. Web videos have guys holding, while others do what I call “Horizontal Pullups”, and others do some kind of bicep-only horizontal pullup thing. Do them like this guy; straight armed, lats only, straight body, repititions ’til failure. His first example, except, he calls them, “Front Pulls”. Don’t do the second ones he demonstrates; that’s entirely something else.

The gym I go to finally got some better workout music. They used to play classic rock which is NOT  the best music for working out. Great music for smoking out, or shooting up or whatever they did in those times, but it pretty much puts me to sleep! Some of it is ok but during my workouts, I want something that’s going to pump me up! So I was using my Sony wireless earplugs listening to music from my Droid phone. Worked great. But it’s still better to not have to get the phone out, go through the menus, select a track, and have to wear the earplugs. With enough sweat, they eventually slip out.

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12-20-10 Back 10in30: Pullups Madness!

Today was the first day that I had a full, complete workout in exactly two weeks since I had the flu. Nasty, nasty flu it is. during these past two weeks, I only did a minor Chest day that consisted of incline Hammer machine press, reg Hammer press, and pushups, plus Step Mill. On Saturday. However, I also did  a great workout of resistance band curls (many kinds), a ton of pushups including feet up and “perfect pushups”, lat and front delt raises, and tricep extensions. But that’s only 1.5 workouts in two weeks. I had also injured my forearms by using too much weight during forearm rollers and perhaps too many pullups/curls for my inside forearm muscles.

After icing my arms, taking ibuprofen, and resting them muscles for the two weeks, my arms are almost back and I was able to have a great workout again, finally. I went with Back, from the 10 in 30 plan with slight modification.

Uni-Lateral Rows + superset: Pullups + assisted pullups after maxing out on real ones. 3X
Pull downs wide. 3x
hanging leg lifts
Rows narrow 3x
Box Situps
Rows starship fighter 3x
1 set high jumps
1 set squat jumps

Then my calves started to cramp up, so that was the end of that. I did the Unilateral Bentover Rows first, so that I could get maximum results out of them in order to properly pre-exhaust for the pullups. I’m trying a method I learned about for upping your number of pullups. My max is only 12, so I’ll see how it went after 4 Back days doing this pre-exhaust method.

I think it will have to increase my reps since I maxed out multiple times during each set of pullups.  After doing the uni-lat rows, I immediately jumped on the pullup bar and could only do around 3-4 good ones, then moved to the assisted pullup machine subtracting 80 lbs and maxed out again, this time at around 6-8. Then I raised the weight some more, (lessening the load) to around 100 lbs, and did another 6, then raised it again to 110, and maxed out one more time at around 6 again. Then, after a minute rest, I go back to the next set of uni-lat rows and repeat!

When doing the pullups, I made sure to stop and hold myself at the top and really “crunch” my back muscles and lats, squeezing them tightly for 2-3 seconds before coming back down in a slow, CONTROLLED fashion. Don’t just let your ass drop like a fucking sack of potatoes! Remember that negative resistance actually gives better results than the positive. That’s why some people even do “negs only” sets. Try them with curls sometime or at least do a super slow return—slower even than the 10 in 30 suggested 3 seconds— take around 10 seconds to come back down during your negative. Your arms will burn like mad and you’ll be sore like a mofo again. Miss that feeling, don’t you?

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DECEMBER 14 Merry Christmas!

sprinter

The holidays are here, and this is the time when we eat like piglets and generally let go of our routines. There are always sweets in the office, hot coco, candies, etc. Well, it’s OK to eat some of that stuff, but remember that if you don’t work it off, it’ll STAY IN YOU and turn into fat. Like I’ve said before, you don’t want to appear like the prude that won’t have a little festive food, so have a bite or two but remember that tonight, you’ll have to account for it during your cardio.

If you’re in the 10 in 30 gaining phase and you do happen to eat badly that day, make that an exception to the “virtually no cardio” rule, and RUN using HIIT for that day. This is only to burn off the fat you ate today, so you’ll most likely not be losing weight. To make sure you aren’t burning valuable muscle, run AFTER you do weights, for at least 20 minutes. And, remember that HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training, is better for burning straight fat and keeping muscle than consistent-pace running. In fact, HIIT builds muscle, especially when doing your sprints uphill.

If you’re unfamiliar with HIIT, just look at competitive sprinters; see how buff they are, especially in the legs? Now look at long distance, consistent pace runners like marathoners. See how scrawny, yet fat they look? That’s because their method of running does the opposite of what you want. They are burning muscle which accounts for their low mass and skinny look, yet keeping a high amount of fat, which accounts for their flabby look. WORST OF BOTH WORLDS!
sprinter

Check out my previous blog posts to see what I do when running downhill after the uphill sprints. You don’t want to sprint downhill because it can be dangerous, plus since there is no uphill resistance, you’re cheating yourself. Not to mention, running downhill can mess up your knees and ankles. SO, I have done a rather silly looking style of “running” that prevents me from landing on my heels and instead works out the calves by landing on the balls of my feet. I basically keep my legs pretty straight, and kick them straight up in front of me, landing on the balls of the feet and propelling me up again. Kind-of like a German march on silly pills. And, I lean backward, toward the top of the hill slightly to engage the abs, and then I rotate my torso in sync with my legs. Don’t worry, I don’t do this at the gym. I’ve done it at night, after my workout, on a pretty lonely street by my house, and I usually wait ’til no cars are coming. Yes, it looks that silly. : ) BUT IT WORKS, BIOTCH! And, you feel your calves being worked. This works even better if you’ve done some calf raises right before.

BTW, I prefer to RUN instead of other cardio methods, although I do vary it all the time with the Stepmill or Spin bike. Running has been proven to burn the most fat and when running uphill, you actually work the abs. (info taken from FitnessRX magazine. Highly recommended)

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Get motivated, do a lot, work that body!

pushups

Great week (again)! Monday, the 29th, I had dropped to just under 170 (169), so I decided to eat more calories and do some of the 10 in 30 workouts again. In case you hadn’t read the previous posts, I had already reached my 10 pounds goal, so I am in my fat cutting mode for a while.

Therefore, I did the straight Back workout from the 10 in 30 manual. Fricken great! Felt amazing afterward. You know you get really great workouts with these, and you can feel them. I had been doing a circuit mix for the purpose of fat cutting so I never felt like my muscle were being pushed to the max and were gaining size. Perhaps maintaining, but not necessarily growing. With this Back workout, I clearly felt my back muscles completely worked out. I also saw my biceps trying to burst out of my arms the following days! Kick, ass.

Tuesday, I did Legs again from the 10 in 30 plan. Equally fantastic. Felt awesome going up the stairs at work.

Wednesday, was my mother’s birthday, and I was kind of underslept, so I rested with no workout.

pushups

She's going real high, real deep!

Thursday, I did 100 deep pushups at the gym using two high steps with my feet on a bench. In between sets I did the full NEW Ab workout. I really love PLANK MADNESS. I know it might look funny thrusting your hips up and down, especially during the straight planks but just try them! Do this after all of the other crunches as you should be doing them in order, and tell me how that feels!

Friday is the greatest day of the week; Shoulder Day! Again, straight from the improved 10 in 30 plan. As I write this, it’s actually Saturday and yesterday was Shoulder Day. Today, I can feel my triceps bulging out and my Bi’s are looking fricken great even when I’m not flexing! Not to mention, my forearm muscles are getting quite cut as well. This is mostly do to a new device I created for training the forearms. I did them a few times during the week while driving home. I feel like I’m strumming a guitar with my outer forearms muscles!

Saturday, (today) I did a light Circuit of Smith squats, standing calves, and leg raises on the pullup bar using the ab sleeves. 3 sets. I followed this by a run with 3 hardcore, leave it all behind, take no prisoners, “fuck! my heart’s about to burst” sprints. Sprints were in addition to around 10 minutes of regular running including downhill running on the balls of my feet (not the feet of my balls). I only sprint on an uphill to maximize the intensity, so I have to return by going downhill, right? See how that works? So, since there is little “resistance” going downhill, I resort to kicking my feet straight up like goose-step-running with only the balls of my feet hitting the ground. This strengthens my calves big-time despite looking ridiculous. I also lean back (toward the top of the slight hill) and rotate my upper body left and right in an exaggerated pump motion. This works out my core and yours too. In between sprints, I either jogged lightly or had to walk briskly but began running as soon as I could.

When you sprint while doing HIIT, be sure to USE YOUR ENTIRE BODY. “But how?” asks Biff, the perpetual questionéer.

  • Pump your arms forcefully up in front of you and lift your elbow high all the way back behind you
  • Tighten the hell out of your abs which you’ll have to do anyway if you’re running uphill as you should
  • Lift your knees up high in front of you to engage your lower abs
  • Land with your heel and rock to the ball of your foot which will launch you with great force (calves, baby)
  • Lift your leg high behind you (hamstrings and buttocks muscles)

Got it, Biff? You’re doing well. (pats Biff on the head)

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