FamilyBeer's Battle Logs

[Guest]

Heyo Jules, workout B looks good. Am curious, is there a reason why the reps are going in increasing number for the dead lifts and pull downs?

[FamilyBeer]

Heyo Jules, workout B looks good. Am curious, is there a reason why the reps are going in increasing number for the dead lifts and pull downs?

 

The workout plan I'm following is to do 3 sets of 8-10 reps/set (for most of the exercises, not all of them as you can see).

 

In both cases you're asking about, I moved to new weights so I figured I might only be able to 8 reps each set so for the first 2 sets, I did the 8 but on the last set, I thought that I might have more in me so I pushed it as far as I could and got 10. If I had tried 10 first such as 10/8/8, I might not have had enough in me to complete 8 in the third set so I add more at the end. Next time, I might try 8/10/10 or 9/9/9. When I'm well able to do 3x10 at a particular weight, I move up to the next weight and start (or at least, try to start) with 8/8/8.

 

Also, one of the reasons I "talk about" reps in the form "8/8/8" but my completed numbers are comma separated such as "8, 8, 8" is because if I can't do 8 in a particular set, I'll take a brief rest and then continue until I've reached 8 so if I did 8 on the first 2 sets but managed 8 in the third set only because I did 4, rested, did 2, rested and then did the final 2, I'll write this out as "8, 8, 4/2/2".

 

Sorry, am I being a bit too OCD for you? 

[FamilyBeer]

Tuesday September 9, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

[FamilyBeer]

Wednesday September 10, 2014

 

Cycling:

• to work, 25km

• to home, 5km (in the rain)

Gym Workout “Aâ€:

• Squats, 3x10@35/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • tough but did it, legs didn't cramp this time but keep the weight the same for next time

• Bench Press, 3x10@25/side

  • completed: 10, 8, 7

  • tough also, but good weight to continue with, next time, try to complete 8/8/8

• Dumbbell Rows, 3x10@35/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • good weight, stay at this one for next time

• Overhead Triceps Extensions, 2x12@15/side

  • completed: 12, 12

  • tough and did it, stay at this weight for a bit longer

• Calf Raises, 2x12@35/side

  • completed: 12, 12

  • tough also, keep at this weight for a bit longer

Notes:

• this was a better workout than the first time I did it (that shouldn't be a surprise) and I think I've got the weights right for now, won't move up any of them just yet, want to feel more comfortable with these weights

[FamilyBeer]

Thursday September 11, 2014

 

Cycling:

• to work, 5km

• to home, 5km
  • it was a cold day so I just took the short routes
  • tomorrow morning will be colder, forecast 2C for the morning's ride

Cardio:

• dog walk, 2km

[FamilyBeer]

Friday September 12, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

Cardio:

• walk the dog, 2km

Gym Workout “Bâ€:

• Deadlifts, 3x10@45/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • very good feeling, move up to 3x8@50/side

• Lat Pull-downs, 3x10@90

  • completed: 10, 10, 8

  • not happy with form, not pulling completely to chest, go down to 3x8@80 till form is better

• Shoulder Press, 3x10@30/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • good weight, stay here for next time, try 3x9@30/side

• Alternating Zottman Curls, 3x10@25/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • good weight for now

• Abs, 2x12@4 notches + 10lbs

  • completed: 12, 10

  • stay at this weight for a bit

[FamilyBeer]

Sunday September 14, 2014

 

Gym Workout “Aâ€:

• Squats, 3x10@35/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • still tough, but stay at this weight

• Bench Press, 3x8@25/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • try to complete 9/9/9 next time

• Dumbbell Rows, 3x10@30/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • not tough enough, move up to 40/side next time to test limits

• Overhead Triceps Extensions, 2x12@15/side

  • completed: 12, 12

  • did it, move up to 20/side next time and change to 8/8/8 routine

• Calf Raises, 2x12@35/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • switch to 8/8/8 routine and move up to 40/side

Notes:

• didn't take dog for walk today as we went to camp and he had lots of running around time

[FamilyBeer]

Summary: Week 2

Cycling to/from work:

• 5/5 days

Gym Weight Training:

• 4x (I went on Sunday, yesterday, because I won't be able to go this Friday so my M/W/F routine has changed this week to Su/Tu/Th)

Exercise Days:

• 6 days (didn't take the dog out for a walk on Saturday because I got too busy and the weather was awful, he doesn't mind getting wet, I do, especially when it is 6C/43F)

Notes:

• Pleased with this week's efforts

• I'm changing the challenge slightly, rather than keeping record of cardio, I have realized that what I need to maintain and keep record of is daily exercise so biking to/from work and gym workouts are exercise, primarily done on week days, so I need to ensure that I get exercise on weekends and any other days that I don't either bike commute or go to the gym.

[FamilyBeer]

Tuesday September 16, 2014

 

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

Exercise:

• walk the dog, 2km

[Guest]

 

Sorry, am I being a bit too OCD for you? 

 

Not at all I've still trying to create a workout for myself with machines/dumbbells etc. so kinda want to try to follow you hee. I'm slowly getting there, learning all types of exercises, hope to create a sample workout by end Oct haha!

 

 

 

 

tomorrow morning will be colder, forecast 2C for the morning's ride

 

 

Wow that's cold. Must be negative with the windchill factor??

[FamilyBeer]

Wow that's cold. Must be negative with the windchill factor??

 

Probably but I didn't notice at the time when I read the forecast. Thursday is forecast to be 1C in the morning with a wind chill of -2C (not accounting for the wind chill generated by the movement of cycling). I'll have to dress up with tights and jacket, overmitts over my cycling gloves, maybe a light hat (my head gets warm once it has warmed up so I don't need anything too thick).

 

With regard to the workout, I'm using the 2nd beginner routine on http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/. It takes me only about 45-50 minutes and for me, the only holdups are the squats because we have only 1 squat rack at the gym that I'm willing to use, there are multiples of the equipment for the other exercises in this routine in the gym so there are generally no holdups after the squats.

[FamilyBeer]

Tuesday September 16, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

Gym Workout “Bâ€;

• Deadlifts, 3x8@50/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • tough but good

• Lat Pull-downs, 3x8@80

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • better form, try 9/9/9 next time

• Shoulder Press, 3x9@30/side

  • completed: 9, 9, 10

  • try 10/10/10 next time

• Alternating Zottman Curls, 3x10@20/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • move up to 3x8@25/side

• Abs, 3x10@4 notches + 10lbs

  • completed: 10, 10, 8

  • try for 10/10/10 next time

[FamilyBeer]

Wednesday September 16, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

Exercise:

• walk the dog, 2km

[FamilyBeer]

Thursday September 17, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 5km

[FamilyBeer]

Friday September 19 to Sunday September 22, 2014

Wine Tour:

• My wife and I went to the Niagara Region for a couple of days of wine tasting and touring the area (by car). We joined her sister, her husband and 2 others and had a great weekend. No real exercise was done but we certainly had fun.
• We plan to do this again next year.

[FamilyBeer]

Summary: Week 3

Cycling to/from work:

• 4/4 days

Gym Weight Training:

• 2x (I got lazy and didn't go on Thursday as I should have)

Exercise Days:

• 4 days (I don't think running from winery to winery tasting wine is considered exercise, LOL)

Summary:

• wasn't a great week for exercise but I had fun on the wine tour
• time to get back to it.

[FamilyBeer]

Monday September 22, 2014

 

Cycling and Exercise:

• none, got lazy, will do better this week

[FamilyBeer]

Tuesday September 23, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 22km

• am participating in the Clean Air Commute this week so I need to up my cycling distances to give my workplace a higher ranking

Exercise:

• walked the dog, 2km

[FamilyBeer]

Wednesday September 24, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 22km

Gym Workout “Aâ€:

• Squats, 3x10@35/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 8

  • seem to be tired from extra distance commuting

• Bench Press, 3x9@25/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 8

  • try to complete 9/9/9 next time

• Dumbbell Rows, 3x10@40/side

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • good weight for now

• Overhead Triceps Extensions, 3x8@20/side

  • completed: 8, 6/2, 5/1/2

  • did it with pauses, try for 8/8/8 next time

• Calf Raises, 3x8@40/side

  • completed: 8, 10, 10

  • good weight, try 10/10/10 next time

Notes:

• consider building stamina and going up to something like 15/15/15 at some point
• for squats, when I can do 60/side, consider adding reps
• for bench, when I can do 45/side, consider adding reps
• for calf raises, when I can do 45/side, consider adding reps
• for triceps extensions and rows, just increase weight and keep reps to max 10/10/10

[FamilyBeer]

Thursday September 25, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 22km

Exercise:

• walk the dog, 2km

Notes:

• Legs are sore from last night's workout, probably the squats, and also not really being allowed rest to recover because I'm cycling a bit more distance this week to participate in the CleanAirCommute challenge. I don't know if I'll continue the extra distances into next week and beyond, it depends on how the legs feel. Today's dog walk was a bit tough with sore legs.

[FamilyBeer]

Friday September 26, 2014

Cycling:

• to work, 18km

• to home, 22km

Notes:

• legs still sore from squats, decided to do gym workout tomorrow

[FamilyBeer]

Saturday September 27, 2014

Exercise:

• dog walk, 5km

Gym Workout “Bâ€:

• Deadlifts, 3x8@50/side

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • tough but good, try 9/9/9 next time

• Lat Pull-downs, 3x8@80

  • completed: 8, 8, 10

  • better form, try 9/9/9 next time

• Shoulder Press, 3x8@30/side

  • completed: 8, 8 10

  • good weight, try 9/9/9 next time

• Dumbbell Curls, 3x8@25/side

  • completed: 8, 7/1, 7/1

  • try 8/8/8 next time

• Lower Abs, 3x10

  • completed: 10, 10, 10

  • try different ab workouts next time; upper, lower, Russian

[FamilyBeer]

Sunday September 28, 2014

Cycling:

• fun ride: 15km

[FamilyBeer]

Summary: Week 4

Cycling to/from work:

• 5/5 days

Gym Weight Training:

• 2x (I got lazy and didn't go on Monday as I should have)

Exercise Days:

• 6/7 days (Monday was my off day)

Summary:

• not a bad week but missed a day at the gym and should have walked the dog on Sunday, especially since it turned out to be such a beautiful day but I got busy during the day and flaked out in the evening

[FamilyBeer]

Monday September 29, 2014

Cycling:

• to work: 18km

• to home: 5km