jbd28

Along those lines, my favorite hands-down is the weighted pull-up. You should try those instead of the pulldown machine if more weight than your BW is what you're after! Nothing like putting a 90lb kettlebell on a chain belt around my waist and waddling to the pull-up bar like a fool and the looks I get...

While variation is key in a routine, as someone who suffers from excessive variation, I would recommend moderation in how much you switch things up. i.e. pick a set of exercises and do them for at least 2 weeks (if you're going to work bodyparts 2x/week) or a full month if doing a typical every-group-hit-a-week routine. The reason for this is because you need to ensure progressive overload. Its very hard to go from barbell flys to DB pullovers to low-high cable crossovers to barbell flat bench to decline DB bench every time you hit the gym and not ensure you're pushing yourself 1 step harder than the past time in the gym, you know? I would say, first of all, if you can, flip your routine on its head so your "torso" day is monday. No reason to fatique the secondary muscles of your arms early in the week, leaving you with less than 100% potential to hit such crucial bodyparts. (If it were up to me, I'd split up your "torso" days into more, but you didn't ask for that so I won't divert off topic...). Perhaps look into a compromise; for 2 weeks, pick a set of exercises. Do them and be meticulous about logging. The next week, ensure you're doing more reps at the same weight, or maybe 5lbs more all-across-the-board. After those two weeks, swap out some of the exercises (maybe 1 or 2 per bodypart) and move on; kind of keep a sliding-window type of idea going. Don't also forget you can switch up rep counts (and thus total weight...you wouldn't do a set of 6 with the weight you could do for 15, would you?), set counts, rest times, and even exercise order. /just my $0.02 //above all else, whatever you opt to do, good luck!

(I'm new here after finding this site via artofmanliness and can't get enough! Great blend of my nerdy tendencies (EE/CE) with the biggest hobby to clash with that; weightlifting.) 1) 6 pull-ups w/125 lbs of added weight around my waist. I currently can do 5 with 100 lbs (and that was at a bodyweight of 210, so I guess my goal should be 6 pull-ups at a total weight of 335) 2) Lose 5 lbs, while sparing as much lean mass as possible. 3) Buy VFFs and slowly acclimate to them to try to get back into running (currently hobbled by bad shin splints in normal shoes). 4) 5 knee-height rack pulls @ 425 lbs. (Can currently do 405 x 3) 5) Limit myself to one (1) Chipotle naked burrito per week (my lunchtime vice) 6) Salads w/fat-free dressing and lean meat the rest of the week for lunch.

(all below are iphone/ipod apps) Interval Timer - $1 - Great little app to set up intervals to prevent having to watch a clock while doing intervals on a track or bike. Interface is a little confusing at first glance, but easy once you figure it out. GymBuddy - $3 - Its gotten a little "busy" with feature-creep, but you can't complain at consistent updates for free. Great to set up exercises and log everything to keep a detailed track of workouts; I tend to forget my logbook but I never forget my music, so bundling the two is a no-brainer!

are you opting for an atkins-style diet? Because unless there was a typo in your challenge, i'm calculating over 50% of your daily calories from fat...