Day 18

Today was a chest and triceps day.  For chest we bench sometimes and I really like to use the bar, but it actually shapes your chest better if you use dumbbells.  Just a little something my friend told me, but we prefer the bar for some reason...

Our first exercise was the incline bench press.  We went fairly heavy today because I want to improve my strength.  My bench is an exercise that has plateaued quite a bit since I first started lifting.  It might have been because I've lost weight, but I feel like it should be better than what it is.  Today I added a little more weight than what I usually do.

2 Warm up
4 Sets 5-6 reps

Jeff (115,135,135,145)

Our second exercise was dumbbell flyes.  Another one of my exercises that has kind of plateaued.  I do similar weights almost all the time, but the motion is a little bit harder to go heavier and still have really good form...  That's why it's always good to have a spotter when you go heavy.

4 Sets 8-10 reps

Jeff (35,40,42.5,45)

Our third exercise is my favorite chest exercise and I always do it.  The cable crossover.  I like it because it gives you good stretch on your chest and I think it really digs into your muscle fibers.  By far my favorite chest exercise.

4 Sets 10-12 reps

Jeff (45,50,50,60)

Our fourth exercise is dips.  This is an exercise that, if you have really strong triceps or if you are really light, it might be too easy.  You can add resistance by holding a weight in between your feet, like a 20 pound dumbbell.  Also there are belts you can buy where you can put on 45 plates... which is ludicrous...  We are not that strong yet so we just do body weight dips.

4 Sets until failure

Our fifth exercise is bench dips.  These we can do with weight.  You just put the weight on your lap and do the exercise like you normally would.  We also did drop sets to burn ourselves out as much as possible.

2 Drop Sets until failure

Jeff (45, 45)

Now let's take a look at what I ate today.

 Salmon and String Beans

Beef Tacos

The first meal was good, extremely healthy and leftovers from the day before.  Salmon with some string beans.  The second meal was not as nutritious, but it tasted great.  Tacos from the taco truck probably don't use the leanest of meats, but I like to enjoy my food.  So yea....  Tomorrow is a back day.

Day 17

Today was a rest day.  I didn't even do cardio, but one thing that is good to do on rest days, is focus on your diet.  Probably one of the most important things that people don't think about, is their nutrition.  Eating the right things is really what puts you above many other people at the gym.  Now lets take a look at what I ate today.

 Hambuger Patties and leafy green vegetables

Salmon and green beans

Today was a rest day so I carb depleted.  Energy was not a huge requirement for my day so I don;t want to eat too many carbs and have them just sit in my stomach.  I ate extremely healthy today.  I had great lean proteins, in the hamburger patties and salmon along with healthy greens.  Also my food didn't have any sauce on it.  I think sauce is one of the trickiest things out there because people just don't think of it.  They just think of how it tastes and it probably adds a huge amount of bad calories to their diet.  Overall a good nutrition day for me.

Day 16

Today was a leg day, but we made the workout extremely short.  We only did 2 exercises with a lot of sets, but medium reps and not too much rest in between.  With leg day we always do squats.  Squat is one lift of mine that is really weak and I want to improve it dramatically.


Our first exercise is squats because we don't want to do other lifts and then make our squats more difficult because we are tired.  To squat properly is one of the least natural and difficult things in the gym.  Most people don't go all the way down and that's how I used to squat, but you should almost be in a seated position when you are at the bottom.

2 Warm Up
5 Sets 6-8 reps

Jeff (135,135,135,155,155)

Our second exercise is leg press.  Leg press isolates the quads, but can also workout the hamstrings if you move your feet up on the press.

4 Sets 8-10 reps

Jeff (2 plates, 3 plates, 3 plates, 4 plates)


Probably one of the shortest workouts ever, but this week is hectic and we don't always have a ton of time.  Let's take a look at what I ate today.

 Pepper Crispy Chicken

Pork spare ribs, potstickers, brown rice

Today was a pretty unhealthy day.  The only good thing I can say about it was that I had good carbs in brown rice.  The chicken and pork spare ribs were both fried and contain a lot of fat.  I try not to eat fried foods, but it's mainly what is available at work and sometimes you just have to eat what you can, even if it's bad.

Day 15

Today was a rest day.  I hate rest days, but they are necessary.  I also need time to study this week so more rest days and shorter workouts.  Rest days are when your muscles grow, so keep that in mind when you want to workout 6-7 days per week because it might lead to overtraining.  Now lets take a look at what I ate today.

 Fish, Potstickers, Egg whites

Sausage, Greens, Fish, Brown Rice, Spareribs 

Since it was an off day, I tried to keep my carbs lower.  Carbs are your bodies preferred energy source, but on a rest day, I try to eat less because I don't need it as much and when I do cardio, I hope to burn off my bodies stored fat rather than the carbs I'm eating.  These meals aren't too bad, but the fish is fried.  Other than that, I feel they are pretty healthy.  Tomorrow is a leg day.  See you all tomorrow!

 

Day 14

Today was a great workout, probably my best in awhile.  It was a shoulders, biceps and triceps day.  I decided to change it up by including super sets and drop sets to keep up intensity.  There will be no videos until Thursday because I have to study.  Super sets are when you do 2 separate exercises, but back to back.  This workout contains 3 and its a great way to get through your workout quicker and increase your heart rate.

First we started with Seated Military Press.  You need seat with a back and a bar to do this exercise.  Hold the bar to around your chin and push up, that is the basic Military press rep.

1 Warm Up
3 Sets 10-12 reps

Jeff (65,85,95)

Our second exercise was a super set.  We did cable side raises and dips.  Cable side raises are just like side raises except you have a cable in a lowered position and you pull it across your body.  This works out your shoulders.  Dips works out your triceps and if you don't know what a dip is, I'll make a video next time.  If you can't dips, there's a machine you can use that helps reduce weight resistance.  I used to use that because I couldn't even do 1 dip.  Remember these exercises are back to back and then you rest.

3 Sets 10-12 Reps

Jeff ( 20,20,25)

3 Sets Dips Until Failure

Our next super set was Bench dips and dumbbell curls.  For these exercises we also included drop sets.  If you can't do bench dips with weight then, you can do regular bench dips until failure and to reduce resistance you put your feet on the ground and do as many as you can afterwards.  After the  bench dip drop set we went straight into dumbbell curls and this was also a drop set.  Do the amount of reps you want with your curls, drop the weight, and do as many as you can.

3 Sets Until failure drop Until failure

Jeff (body weight, 45, 45)

3 Sets 6-8 reps drop Until failure

Jeff ( 20, (30,20), (30,20) )

Our final super set was rope extensions and barbell curls.

3 Sets 12-15 reps

Jeff (40,50,50)

3 Sets 6-8 reps

Jeff (65,65,65)

So that was our workout which was 7 exercises, but put into 4 sections.  It's a pretty good way to keep yourself moving and pumped because you don't really slow down or rest too much.  Now let's take a look at my diet for the day.

 Eggs

2 Burger Patties and wheat bread

Salmon Curry with vegetables and white rice

My diet wasn't too bad for the day.  I only ate the egg whites in the morning which is a great lean protein.  I'm still trying to lean out which is why I only I ate the whites, but if you are trying to bulk, throwing in a couple of yolks doesn't hurt.  I did say beef includes a lot of fat, but if it's home cooked, you can cook it a certain way to reduce the fat and make it much leaner.  Also I got good carbs in my wheat bread as well.  Salmon Curry wasn't the best of meals, but salmon is a great protein.  The white rice isn't so great, but it was right before my workout so I needed my carbs for energy.  Tomorrow will be another rest day.

Day 13

Today was a rest day, but we got some good cardio in.  We played a few 5 on 5 basketball games and it was awesome.  Basketball is a great for of cardio because it has intervals.  Believe it or not, but intense cardio with intervals is great for burning fat and basketball is the perfect sport for that.

Today I want to talk about your nutrition if you are trying to gain mass.  So for calories, you are supposed to multiply your weight by 15 and add 200-500 calories per day.  Since I weigh 160, my calories per day would be around 2600-2900.  It is also suggested that your diet split should be around 40% protein, 40% Carbs, and 20% fats.  These should be lean proteins, good carbs, and good fats.  Your lean proteins would be fish, egg whites, chicken, lean beef, protein shakes, etc.  Your good carbs would be brown rice, sweet potato, wheat bread, wheat pasta, vegetables, etc.  Your good fats would be like peanut butter, almonds, and avocado.  Nutrition is key in any program whether you are trying to gain mass or burn fat.

Now lets see the foods I ate.  I didn't have much time today, I was on the run for most of it and I just ate whatever I could find in the fridge.  When I didn't even have time for that, I threw in a protein shake.

 Pork ribs, Roast beef sandwich and fries

Hamburger Patty with white rice

Not my best of days, but could be worse.  The fries and white rice are probably the worst carbs I could have eaten, but they're still carbs when nothing else is available at the moment.  Protein and carbs go together and you should be eating meals like these at least 5 times a day.  Even if you are not trying to gain mass.  Tomorrow is a shoulder and bicep day and we'll see you at the gym.

Lift With Us Day 12

Today was just a back workout.  We both had work in the morning and decided we should make it a short workout.  It was the same lifts we did last time, but in slightly different order. 

Of course we started with the deadlift.  My legs were dead and my drive was weak today.  My form looks the same as last time, but one tip that was helpful from a friend was taking in big air just before you go up.  That actually helped quite a bit.

2 Warm Up
3 Sets (4-8) reps

Jeff ( 225, 275,315)
Mike(135,185)

Second lift was the Wide grip pulldown. 

4 Sets 8-10 reps

Jeff (120,135,150,165)
Mike(120,135,150,165)

Our third lift is the Single Arm Row.  You can either do this on a bench or by the weight rack.  Remember to do both arms and not just one.  In the video you'll notice that I'm kind of jerking the weight.  It's kind of a sign that it's a little too heavy for me.  I believe it should be a slower smoother motion.

3 Sets 8-10 reps

Jeff (55,70,70)


So that was our short workout for the day. Tomorrow will be a rest day.  Most of my body parts are killing me right now, so I might have to take 2 rest days.  Let's take a look at what I ate today.

32 Ounce Ribeye Steak and Sweet Potato

BBQ Chicken and Broccoli

Beef is a great source of protein, but it contains a huge amount of fat so it's not necessarily ideal.  It will get you big if you eat a lot of it though.  Sweet potatoes are actually one of the best carbohydrates you can eat.  It's up there with brown rice and I think it tastes much better.  Chicken is an ideal protein because its lean and broccoli is pretty good for you too.  The video is short and boring, but watch it anyways...

Day 12