GYPSY,
I just read what you said about the gym..i was lmbo
i just joined a gym and im scared to death
tomorrow will be my first day hope it goes as well as yours.

Tuesday.....

Treadmill... 7 minute warm up... speed 3.5... incline 2.5
Leg press (nautilus)... one legged... 100 lbs... 3 sets each leg... 20 reps
Leg Curl... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 20/15/15 reps
Knee ups... body weight... 3 sets... 10 reps
Shoulder press on floor... 7.5 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Incline chest press... 7.5 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Ball crunches... body weight... 3 sets... 20 reps
Front and side raises... BOSU ball... 5 lbs... 3 sets... 10 reps
Bicep curl... BOSU ball... 5 lbs... 3 sets... 20 reps
Pull down... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 20/15/15 reps

Todays observation at the gym..... men should not wear skin tight stretchy pants. No matter what shape they're in...

I know you're supposed to rest muscles but is it bad to do a couple sets of crunches every day?

Hi Tokyorose...
Thanks for the note! Yes going to the gym has been interesting! I hope you find that you like it. Just remember people are too busy thinking about themselves and checking themselves out in the mirror to really care what you or anyone else is doing. LOL!
I don't know if you'll see this... hope you start a journal or a gym log for people to visit!
Gypsy

LMAO!!!! Ewwwwwwww............


Hmmm.......... the conventional answer is they should have alternating rest days, too. However, IMO, they're like the calf muscles......very strong, as they are constantly being used for support. So they need more work...it takes alot of heavy work to get a response.

I do one of 2 things...... if I do a really hard ab workout, hard enough that the next day I'm sore, then I skip abs that day and let them rest. If they're not sore, then I do them again. Depends on the intensity....... and sometimes I'll do crunches, oblique work one day, then lower ab work the next. I'm not too concerned with them experiencing their full growth potential, ya know?

I was too tired to type this morning after work and the gym. Let's see if I remember what evil Brad put me through this morning. I'll pick up my sheet tomorrow to check the weight and tweak the list.....

Treadmill... 10 minutes... level 3... incline 2.5
Lever Leg Extension (singles)... 30 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Lever Seated Leg Curl... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Ball crunches... body weight... 3 sets 15 reps
Wide Grip Front Pull Downs... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Straight Back Seated Row... 40 bs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Cable Curl... 50 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Kick Backs... 7.5 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Incline Bench Press... 7.5lbs... 3 sets... 15 lbs
Incline Fly... 7.5 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Dumbell front raise/lateral raise... 3 lbs... 3 sets... 30 reps
Knee ups... body weight... 2 sets 10 reps

A couple different exercises this week... lever leg extension, seated row, cable curl, incline fly. And I don't know what was up with the gazillion reps of 3 lb dumbells doing the raises. That was different. I told Brad I felt like a wimp using little 3 lb weights... but the weights didn't feel very light by the end. LOL!
Next week I've been informed that it's time to increase the weights on the bench press and fly. I don't totally disagree with that. Maybe the pull downs as well. It is nice to see how the weight gets lighter as time goes by. LOL!

edited to add weight amounts and forgotten kick backs...

Well I have been exercising... just not posting. LOL! The 16 hour shifts have severly limited my posting time and have made my exercise suffer some. Still trying to get to the gym 4-5 times a week and I've managed that. But work is exhausting me! I'm getting old....

Anyway... here's some updates since I posted on Thursday as well as I can remember...

Saturday... treadmill at home x 45 minutes... speed up to 3.7 incline up to 3.5


Monday... to the gym for cardio...
treadmill... 20 minutes... speed up to 3.6... incline up to 3.0
bicycle... 20 minutes... climbing program... level 3
elliptical... 15 minutes... level 3 x 7 minutes then level 2 for the rest


Tuesday (today)... to the gym for lifting

Lever Seated Leg Curl... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Ball crunches... body weight... 3 sets 15 reps
Lever Leg Extension (singles)... 40 lbs... 3 sets each leg... 15 reps
Close Grip Front Pull Downs... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Straight Back Seated Row... 40 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Cable Bi Curl... 50 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Kick backs... 10 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Incline Bench Press... 10 lbs... 3 sets... 15 lbs
Incline Pec Fly... 10 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Dumbell front raise/lateral raise... 3 lbs... 3 sets... 30 reps
Knee ups... body weight... 2 sets 10 reps

Tomorrow.... gym for cardio

Morning!
Looking great! It's really fun to look back and see how far you've progressed.........it should be a goal to increase either reps or weights with each workout. Try to push yourself, a little, too. But I must say, I admire you for getting it done, even with the crazy work schedule!

OK... lets see if I can remember todays workout with Brad.

Treadmill... warm up... 5 minutes
Leg press (normal)... 120 lbs... 3 sets... 20 reps
Lever chest press (singles)... ___ lbs... 3 sets each arm... 15 reps
Knee ups... body weight... 2 sets... 10 reps
Ball crunches... body weight... 3 sets... 15 reps
Bent-over row... 15 lbs dumbbell each grip... 3 sets... 15 reps
Kick backs... 10 lbs... 3 sets each side... 15 reps
Concentration curls... 10 lbs... 3 sets each arm... 15 reps
Pop squats... body weight... 3 sets... 15 reps (these were squats just to bench level.... don't know what they're really called but that's what Brad called them)
Front Pull downs (wide grip)... 50 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Cable Curl... 50 lbs... 3 sets... 15 reps
Lever Shoulder Press... 20 lbs (I think)... 3 sets... 15 reps
Dumbell front raise/lateral raise... 5 lbs... 2 sets... 15 reps

I think that was it. I'll check my log tomorrow. I'm not sure why I had to do concentration curls and cable curls. Looking at exrx it shows that cable curls target the biceps brachii and concentration curls target the brachialis. I didn't think about it at the time to ask Brad. Maybe he forgot I had already done the concentration curls. Or maybe not. I don't know.
He put me on more lever machines this week. Said it was just for a change. He likes free weights better though. And I upped the weight on pull downs. I also upped the weights earlier this week on shoulder press, bench fly and chest press. But I don't know how the weights compare when on the machines instead which I'll be on for this week.

Good morning!
Those pop squats sound like half squats.......but no matter, as long as you know what they are. I think it's great that Brad's introducing you to machines and free weights, not just one or the other. I started out on machines only, and wasn't until years later I figured out how great free weights are. Now I do both......I find the different styles affect your muscles a bit differently. All good.

I love concentration curls. I don't have a good pulley set-up, but if I did, I'd do cable curls, too.....all curl exercises will hit the brachialis, as well as biceps, but each in a slightly different way. So it's good to have variety. Plus, once you get a good grasp of all the variations, you can pick a few as your favorites.

You'll probably find that you can lift much more weight on a machine than w/free weights.

Hope you have a wonderful, peaceful, and relaxing weekend..... gearing up for your busy week ahead!

I'm a Gym Log slacker.....

Friday was cardio...
Saturday and Sunday I ddin't exercise
Monday was weights... I should have logged it in here because now I can't remember the exact order. It was my workout from Thursday but switched around a little due to availability of machines...

Today (Tuesday).... cardio after work this morning...
Treadmill... 20 minutes... speed 3.3... incline 0-1.5
Bike... 25 minutes... climbing program... level 3
elliptical... 10 minutes... level 3 constant

Tomorrow I will do the weight program in the afternoon.

Morning!

It's all about consistency! Great to see you getting it done! Also, I read the other day about varying the cardio machines during a session, just as you're doing. It's supposed to be ideal for keeping the body from adapting too quickly. A good excuse for me to buy more equipment, anyway,

I didn't have time to drive to the Y today but did make it to the basement. I bought my sister a weight bench for her birthday and since she lives with me I get to use it. (Love those kind of presents). It's not fancy... basically just an adjustable bench incline/flat/decline. It's for her to use for basic dumbbell work. She just started a new program.

Anyway...

Treadmill… warm up… 5 minutes
Half squats with 5 lb dumbbells… 3 sets… 15 reps
Ball crunches… BW… 3 sets… 20 reps
Ball crunches… obliques… 3 sets 20 reps each side
Incline Chest press… 10.5 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps
Incline fly… 10.5 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps
Shoulder press… 8 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps
Concentration curls…10.5 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps
Kickbacks… 8 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps each side
Dumbbell lying row… 10.5 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps
Dumbbell front/lateral raise 5 lbs… 3 sets… 15 reps

I didn't think it was bad for a basement workout. I miss the cable pull downs. I thre the dumbbell lying row in to do something for my back. I would love to get a decent cable set-up. Maybe when my membership expires at the Y next year I'll think about looking into them.

Friday... Visit #7 with Brad who was apparently feeling creative today...

Treadmill... 10 minute warm up... speed 3.2... incline 1.5
45 Degree Leg Press... 135 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Ball Crunches... BW... 15 reps... 3 sets
Alternating Single Arm Chest Press... 10 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Incline Curls... 10 lbs... 15 reps...3 sets
Shoulder Press... 10 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Knee Up... BW... 15 reps... 3 sets (up from 10 reps :thup
Lever Pullover... 70 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Lever Seated Hip Adduction... 60 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Lever Seated Hip Abduction... 80 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Lever Oblique Twist... 40 lbs... 15 reps... 3 sets
Half Squats... BW... 15 reps... 3 sets

Some new machines today. I really liked the 45 degree leg press more than the seated leg press I've been doing. I may have to up some weights on some of the machines. I'll see how my muscles feel tomorrow and then up them if I feel I need to. I didn't feel like I was pushing as hard as I could have been and not feeling it as much at the end of the sets.

Tomorrow morning will be cardio after work. I swear the treadmills at they Y seem slower than my treadmill at home. When I'm at 3.5 on mine I feel like I'm about to start jogging. 3.5 at the Y seems like a fast walk but not almost jogging. I wonder if they slow down some or aren't as accurate the more they're used. Not that it matters.... just an observation.

Saturday...Cardio... at the Y...

Treadmill... 20 minutes... speed 3.0... incline 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 (raised every 5 minutes)
ArcTrainer... 20 minutes... level 3 (kind of like the eliptical but a little different.. more like a glider. Pretty cool)
Bike... 10 minutes... climbing program... level 3

I get off work at 7 tomorrow morning and the Y doesn't open until 9. So it will either be an off day or I'll just exercise in my basement.