Started a New Upper Back Workout for the Month of May

I started a new workout for the month of May. It's an upper back workout designed to work the smaller supportive muscles required to build bigger arms and shoulders. It's part of the Men's Health 2009 Poster Series, so I want to wait until the next issue before posting full details of the workout. I'm also keeping up with my running routine. Although I haven't been keeping a regular schedule, I'm trying to run as much as possible (I'm teetering on the edge of shin splints).

My New Workout Routine: Navy SEAL PT

I've started doing a Navy SEAL calisthenic workout routine that takes about 60 minutes and consists of a warm-up, various types of pull-ups, dips, various types of pushups, various ab exercises, a very tough lying neck rotation exercise, and finally lunges, calf raises, and 250 squats.

The only thing I can keep up with is the warm-up, pull-ups, and leg exercises. However, after two weeks I'm definitely seeing huge improvement. I do this workout three days a week and mix in 4-mile, 35-40 min cardio sessions in-between.

I've never done this much running before (15 - 20 miles a week) and my calves and knees are still adjusting to all the pounding on the treadmill. I'm ignoring the pain, but I need to be careful not to injure myself (I'm crazy enough to push myself to the point of injury; I've done it before).

I rarely feel the need for inspiration when it comes to fitness, but the Navy SEALs have given me a benchmark from which I can compare my own fitness. In fact, after reading so much about them the past few weeks I have undergone some profound changes mentally. But I'll leave that for a separate post. 🙂

Starting the P90X Workout Routine

A few days ago a friend told me he was starting the P90X workout program. (I remembered seeing an infomercial for P90X and thinking it would be an interesting routine to try, but I knew nothing would convince me to buy something I saw on an infomercial.) I've always used my own self-designed programs or followed 30-day workout routines that I find in health magazines. However, it's a new year and I need a new routine.

When I inquired how much he paid, he said he downloaded the entire thing free. Doh! Why didn't I think of that!? A quick search of mininova.org and a day's worth of downloading later and I have 4gb of videos and the entire P90X program on my laptop.

Having a workout routine (any routine, really) is important to maintaining a consistent level of difficulty and for maintaining consistency. The P90X routine has a lot of variety, including things like yoga, kenpo, and plyometrics, so I'm going to stick with it for the next 90 days. I strongly agree with the methodology it preaches: constant changes in the workouts are necessary to keep your body constantly adapting and growing. I just finished the Back & Chest + Abs routine and all I can say is wow. I can already feel the results just from the first workout!

Started running again

I had a good workout tonight. I felt energized as ever, which I'm crediting to my high complex carbohydrate intake throughout the day (whole wheat pasta with my own sauce (fresh onion and mushroom)).

I also decided to start running again and ended todays workout with a 15 minute interval circuit:

15 Minute Interval Circuit

00:00 - 5 mph warm up
02:00 - 9 mph sprint
02:30 - 7 mph run
03:30 - 9 mph sprint
04:00 - 7 mph run
05:00 - 9 mph sprint
05:30 - 7 mph run
06:30 - 8 mph sprint (tired as hell!)
07:00 - 7 mph run
08:00 - 8 mph sprint
08:30 - 7 mph run
09:30 - 9 mph sprint
10:00 - 7 mph run
11:00 - 9 mph sprint
11:30 - 7 mph run
12:00 - 6 mph cool down
13:00 - 5 mph cool down
14:00 - 4 mph cool down
15:00 - end

It's really amazing how long 15 minutes seems when you're enduring such physical stress, and as much as I wanted to stop, I kept telling myself to overcome the pain. I'm glad I did, because I felt good afterwards.

There's a sense of accomplishment I feel after completing a tough workout. Even if I've had a very unproductive day, finishing it with a tough workout would make the entire day seem worth it. A tough workout is also an excellent stress releaser -- no matter how hard my day was, finishing it with a good workout makes me feel as if I could start the whole day over, and go through it all over again.

Bodybuilding on a Vegan Diet

It's been about six weeks since I last worked out regularly. I have no excuses. For the past two months I have been vegan (no meat, fish, poultry or dairy) with the exception of occasional dairy (cheese/whey). I feel a lot healthier without any dairy in my system, however the vegan diet has dramatically decreased my protein intake. I feel as though I've lost a ton of muscle mass in the past six weeks -- but after checking the scale, I believe it's mostly a psychological effect. I'm still 164.2lbs and 13.5% BF -- not at all much different than six weeks ago. Still, I feel physically weaker (again, could be psychological!).

I haven't done any research on vegan bodybuilding, but I know there are successful vegan bodybuilders out there, so it can be done. My brother has done considerable research on the topic and he says there isn't much scientific information available. I'm going to spend at least the next two months concentrating on my workouts and seeing what results I can obtain while on a vegan diet.

The workout routine I'm doing is the same routine I started back in June. It's designed to build muscle, while keeping your metabolism fired up by varying the exercises and hitting many different muscle groups in each workout. There are four parts to the routine which are completed in a single week, with the first half completed back to back (A and B), then a days rest, and then the second half back to back (C and D). I'm using the same weights as I was in June, however I will probably increase the weight over the next two months. To save you from having to view the old posts, I'll copy the workouts here:

    Workout A (Monday)
    Bench Press, 3 sets, 5 reps, 170 LBS
    Dumbbell Row, 3 sets, 6 reps, 45 LBS
    Dumbbell Bench Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
    Snatch-Grip Barbell Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 90 LBS
    Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets, 12 reps, 40 LBS
    Dumbbell External Rotation, 3 sets, 10 reps, 8 LBS

    Workout B (Tuesday)
    Squat, 3 sets, 6 reps, 100 LBS
    Rear-delt Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 20 LBS
    Romanian Deadlift, 4 sets, 8 reps, 100 LBS
    Dumbbell Split Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps 35 LBS
    Swiss Ball Jackknife, 3 sets, 10 reps
    Bicycle Crunches, 3 sets, 50 reps
    Swiss Ball Rollout, 3 sets, 10 reps

    Workout C (Thursday)
    Pullup, 4 sets, 8 reps
    Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 45 LBS
    Weighted Chinup, 3 sets, 5 reps, 16 LBS
    Lateral Raise, 3 sets, 8 reps, 25 LBS
    Bench Press, 3 sets, 6 reps, 160 LBS
    Barbell Curl, 3 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
    Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extention, 3 sets, 8. reps, 30 LBS 30 LBS
    Incline Dumbbell Curl, 3 sets, 12 reps, 20 LBS

    Workout D (Friday)
    Deadlift, 3 sets, 6 reps, 140 LBS
    Side Plank, 3 sets, 20 second hold
    Front Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
    Good Morning, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
    Overhead Squat, 3 sets, 5 reps, 30 LBS
    Calf Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 35 LBS
    Swiss Ball Curl Up, 3 sets, 15 reps

I'm reading a really good book right now called Pain Free, by Pete Egoscue. It contains exercises designed to get your body back into it's correct alignment and function. I'm starting to incorporate the exercises into my morning yoga routine. I'll write a review of the book once I've given the exercises some time.

Delayed once again!

Two weeks ago, I took a week off from my workout regiment to let my body recover from a cold. Then last week, I was excited to be starting an entirely new routine. Unfortunately, I was unexpectedly busy on Monday, so I missed my workout. "No problem, I'll just do it on Tuesday." Tuesday came, I pulled a muscle in my back, but worked out anyway. There was a little pain and discomfort, but otherwise it was great. I need a day's rest in between workouts, so the next workout was on Thursday. But Thursday turned out to be extra busy as well, and then I went camping over the weekend. I did as much intensive mountain biking as possible over the weekend, and looked forward to starting my workouts fresh on Monday. Monday morning I woke up, sat down in the chair in front of my computer, as I do every morning, and suddenly felt a sharp pain above my right shoulder blade. Great. I couldn't even move my arms or neck in any direction without feeling extreme pain. So I went to my chiropractor, twice. He helped, but I was still unable to look over my shoulder. So once again, no workout. It's now Tuesday evening and my back feels better, but still sensitive. I have a craving to workout, but I'm giving my body time to rest.

I'm on a strictly vegan diet this week, which means no dairy and obviously, no meat. I'm also off coffee for the entire week (replaced with green tea). I've been coffee-free since Monday morning. The caffeine headaches have been kicking in, and combining those with the extreme ache in my neck and back, today was by far the hardest day physically. I've also had a weird allergic reaction the past few days, possibly caused by whatever moved in my back. Red, itchy eyes and a tingling nose. Oh and a pimple on my forehead that won't go away! OK, I think that's it.

I've been surprised at the amount of muscle mass I have retained, despite not working out for two weeks. I suppose it's due to the fact that I've been eating a good amount of calories, and with the right ratios of fat/carbs/protein. I've created a daily routine for workouts/yoga:

Monday - Sunday (7 days a week)

  • Morning
    1. 30 min Yoga
      20 min aerobic (rowing, running, biking)
  • Evening
    1. 30 min Yoga
      20 min aerobic (rowing, running, biking)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday (3 days a week)

  • Evening
    1. 60 min weight workout

I'll post updates on my progress. The yoga and aerobic part of this regiment I will start tomorrow, however the weight workouts will start Monday, September 4th. Please post any comments or suggestions on this routine. Any advice you have to offer would be much appreciated!

Workout Routine for July 2006

The workouts are done in pairs as alternating sets, with a 30 second rest after the first exercise and 60 seconds after the second (so one set of the dumbbell bench press, rest 30 seconds, then one set of the dumbbell row, rest 60 seconds, and continue until all sets are complete for that pair). Also, you might notice that all of my weights are even heavier than my previous routine (55lb dumbbells for the bench press!). I can’t believe how light 55lb dumbbells feel!

Workout A (Monday)
Dumbbell Bench Press, 4 sets, 6 reps, 55 LBS
Dumbbell Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 45 LBS
Incline Dubbell Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
Wide-Grip Seated Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 200 LBS
Chinup, 3 sets, 15 reps
Dip, 3 sets, 15 reps
Kneeling Cable Crunch, 3 sets, 15 reps, 100 LBS
Bicycle Crunch, 3 sets, 60 reps

Workout B (Wednesday)

Wide Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps, 110 LBS
Dumbbell Shrug, 4 sets, 10 reps, 50 LBS
Barbell Forward Lunge, 4 sets, 10 reps, 20 LBS
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, 4 sets, 8 reps, 35 LBS
Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat, 3 sets, 10 reps, 25 LBS
Rear-Delt Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 10 LBS (plates not dumbbells)

Workout C (Friday)
Dumbbell One-Arm Press, 4 sets, 6 reps, 45 LBS
Snatch-Grip Barbell Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 90 LBS
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension, 3 sets, 6 reps, 60 LBS
Dumbbell Decline Triceps Extension, 3 sets, 12 reps, 30 LBS
EZ-Bar Curl, 3 sets, 6 reps, 70 LBS
Dumbbell Alternating Incline Curl, 3 sets, 12 reps, 25 LBS
Slow Swiss-Ball Crunch, 3 sets, 15 reps

Also, I can't forget to mention the aerobic workouts. This routine is, after all, designed to cut fat. There are three aerobic workouts, each done on the days I don't workout. They are interval workouts and can be performed on either a bike, or treadmill (or just plain running outside, but that's harder to keep your sprinting pace the same each time). I prefer the treadmill, simply because it forces me to be consistent with the speed and time. There's a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool down. For the last three minutes of the cool down, I usually decrease the speed by 1 mph until I'm at a walking speed after my five minutes are over. This gradual cool down actually helps keep your body revved up for hours after the workout! Each of the sprints should be sprinting as fast as you can for prescribed number of seconds. The speeds listed are just what I use. If you're taller or shorter than 5'8 (or in better aerobic shape), then you'll need to use different speeds. OK, enough talk, here's the three aerobic workouts.

Workout A (Tuesday)
Warm-up: 5 Minutes @ 7 MPH
Sprint: 30 seconds @ 10 MPH
Jog: 90 seconds @ 7 MPH
(repeat the above pair 6 times)
Cool Down: 5 Minutes @ 7, 6, 5, 4.5, 4 MPH
Total Time: 22 Minutes

Workout B (Thursday)

Warm-up: 5 Minutes @ 6 MPH
Sprint: 45 seconds @ 9 MPH
Jog: 60 seconds @ 6 MPH
(repeat the above pair 6 times)
Cool Down: 5 Minutes @ 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5, 4 MPH
Total Time: 22 Minutes

Workout C (Saturday)

Warm-up: 5 Minutes @ 6 MPH
Sprint: 60 seconds @ 8 MPH
Jog: 90 seconds @ 6 MPH
(repeat the above pair 8 times)
Cool Down: 5 Minutes @ 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5, 4 MPH
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Sore II

I'm still very sore, maybe even more sore, from my workouts this week. I can feel big changes already though. If I can keep up this workout schedule for the next 6 - 8 weeks, I'm sure I can pack on huge amounts of mass. I've been drinking non-fat yogurt shakes with pineapple, whey, and flax oil. It's the perfect recovery shake for repairing damaged tissue. I've been trying to consume lots of good carbohydrates during the day and increase my protein intake to add extra calories to my diet. The weight's I'm using are definitely the heaviest I've ever used on a consistent basis.

Here are the remaining two days of my workout (Thursday and Friday). The same rules mentioned at the bottom of the original post still apply. And again, the 35 LB Olympic size bar bell is not included in the weights listed.

Workout C
Pullup, 4 sets, 8 reps
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 45 LBS
Weighted Chinup, 3 sets, 5 reps, 16 LBS
Lateral Raise, 3 sets, 8 reps, 25 LBS
Bench Press, 3 sets, 6 reps, 160 LBS
Barbell Curl, 3 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extention, 3 sets, 8. reps, 30 LBS 30 LBS
Incline Dumbbell Curl, 3 sets, 12 reps, 20 LBS

Workout D
Deadlift, 3 sets, 6 reps, 140 LBS
Side Plank, 3 sets, 20 second hold
Front Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
Good Morning, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
Overhead Squat, 3 sets, 5 reps, 30 LBS
Calf Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 35 LBS
Swiss Ball Curl Up, 3 sets, 15 reps

Sore

I started a new workout regiment yesterday, a four day split: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I'm going heavy to put on some mass. My bench press is the heaviest I've ever used on a regular basis; 37 LBS more than my own body weight. Statistically speaking, the average man can bench press 93% of his own body weight one time (one rep max). I knew I would feel sore the day after, and boy, do I feel sore, especially my chest. Below is the workout I completed yesterday and today. I don't know what weights I'll be using for Thursday and Friday's workouts, so I'll post those workouts on Friday.

The Olympic size barbell that I use is 35lbs. To make it easier while I'm adding/removing weights during the workout, I do not add that weight into the numbers below. I felt like puking after the AB workout today. ABs are certainly the hardest muscle to work, and the rarest to see in full view.

Workout A (Monday)
Bench Press, 3 sets, 5 reps, 170 LBS
Dumbbell Row, 3 sets, 6 reps, 45 LBS
Dumbbell Bench Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
Snatch-Grip Barbell Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 90 LBS
Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets, 12 reps, 40 LBS
Dumbbell External Rotation, 3 sets, 10 reps, 8 LBS

Workout B (Tuesday)
Squat, 3 sets, 6 reps, 100 LBS
Rear-delt Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 20 LBS
Romanian Deadlift, 4 sets, 8 reps, 100 LBS
Dumbbell Split Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps 35 LBS
Swiss Ball Jackknife, 3 sets, 10 reps
Bicycle Crunches, 3 sets, 50 reps
Swiss Ball Rollout, 3 sets, 10 reps

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: The first two exercises in each workout are done back to back, one set of each exercise with a 60 second rest in between until all sets are complete. The remaining exercises are done in pairs as supersets; one set of each exercise without rest in between, then a 60 second rest, until all sets of those two exercises are complete. The only exception to this rule is on Workout B: the last three exercises (the AB workout) are done one after another without rest until one set of each has been completed, then a 60 second rest.