Today's training was interesting because I was looking forward to it and did not feel rushed, necessarily. After toughing it out through the Lower Body workout yesterday, this felt like a treat.
Workout Time: 1 hour, fifteen minutes
Warm-Up:
5-minutes foam roll
Crocodile breathing reset
Hamstring stretch
Floor Slides
Decline Dumbbell Press (slight angle)
Performed several warm-up and low-rep feeder sets to get to working weight, which I selected as 90 lb. dumbbells.
1x8x90
1x6x90
dropped to 60 lb. dumbbells and squeezed out another 6 reps
Incline Close-Grip Barbell Press
I used a very slight incline on these and had forefingers about 2" outside of the smooth.
1x8x115
1x5x145
1x4x165
1x3x185
2x2x165 *performed with a 3-second negative ea. rep
The weights used here seemed just about perfect.
Slight Incline Dumbbell Press
At this point I didn't have a lot of 'press' in me. I performed a feeder set w/ 60 lb. dumbbells then used 70 lbs. for the working sets.
1x8x70
1x6x70
dropped to 50 lb. dumbbells and performed another 6 reps
Assisted Dip Machine
I fully knew that I should use the assisted machine for dips, if nothing else for safety's sake. I minimized assistance as much as I could though, with only 20 lbs. of lift from the machine.
1x8
2x6
All reps were performed to positive failure
Now, onto shoulders and triceps...
Heavy Partial Side Lateral 'Swings'
Probably my favorite shoulder exercise that John Meadows introduced to me years ago. I feel like I am getting more in-tune with form as I go and this strictly isolates side delts.
3x20x35s
Reverse Pec Deck
My upper body can get easily thrown into 'dysfunction' within any push workout. With these I was careful to create a range of motion that was acceptable for my left shoulder but still hit the rear delts perfectly. I found it pretty easily, I'd say.
3x15/12/12x55 lbs.
Kettlebell Tate Press
I strictly used my 'memory' to decide how to do this exercise, and it had to be very close because it was working the way it should. This exercise is performed single-arm.
4x12/12/10/10x15/15/20/20 lb.
Lying DB Triceps Extensions
My triceps were done before this exercise started, but still it was fun working them to this point of fatigue. Lol
3x8/6/6x17.5s
*final set was RPE 10
As much as I enjoyed not feeling rushed, I could tell that my attention was starting to drift when I got to triceps. I enjoy bodybuilding training because of the challenge and how it makes me feel afterward, but it does get repetitious at times and it is absurd how much attention each body part receives. Still, this is the way to truly maximize growth. Along with eating plenty of food...next journal entry will highlight some of that!