bench press

Upper Body Workout; Grn Boobs

Tri-Set 1:

Bench Press, Strict DB Laterals, and 1-Arm Tricep Cable Kickbacks

Tri-Set 2:

Floor DB Chest Flys, DB Skull Crushers, and Push Presses

Tri-Set 3:

Slingshot Push-Ups, Kneeling Tricep Extensions, and Seated Alternating DB Front Raises

Tri-Set

Prone Incline Rear Delt Flys, Barbell Upright Rows, and Seated Face Pulls

Heck yeah! Everything felt great today!! Even though my wimpy bench press was with only 85#, my 4 sets of 10 felt super easy! I didn’t bump weight because I’m being careful not to reinjure an old shoulder injury.

I knocked out 4 Tri-Sets today! A tri-set is when I combine 3 exercises to make a set. When I train upper body, I like to pick a chest exercise, a shoulder exercise, and a tricep exercise to make a set. I’ve bumped my weight and reduced my number of reps. So I’m now training sets of 10-12 with heavier weight. This is a change from a higher rep range of 3 sets of 15-20 or more. I’m now dipping my toes into muscle building. Yeah buddy!

I hope you got some cool exercise ideas!

Haver a killer day!

Elda

2014 USPA Jill Mills Alamo Classic Powerlifting Meet

I had a great time at this competition! I felt more nervous but more confident going into my 2nd meet. I’d like to acknowledge my family & friends, my training gym & lifting team, Metroflex Austin & Raw Talent Athletics, and sponsors, The Silva Method & All CenTex, for their support in my journey to the 2014 USPA National Competition in Las Vegas on July 19th 2014!

Goal for this meet:
Squat 210#, 220# & 230# – I got the weight up on all 3 but I double dipped on my third lift so the lift was bad.
Bench Press 125#, 135# 150# – 2nd and 3rd lift failed. I don’t know what was with me on the bench because I’ve pressed 135#, 145# & 155# many times in the gym. Bad day to be “off”.
Deadlift 225#, 245# 260# – all 3 lifts were good!

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Pin Presses, BP, Shoulders, Back & Core

Ahhh….sigh…..what a day! I woke up refreshed after my second night in a row sleeping 8-9hrs. I had an excellent 2hour training session in my garage gym.

This is what I did:
Pin Presses – I warmed up up to my workset which were singles of 130 3 times, just 5lbs shy of my body weight. I hadn’t pressed that much weight before so that’s why I laughed after my first set. To me, the bar went up very, very, very slowly….LOL!

I moved onto bench presses working with 3 different hand placements. I worked with 75lbs and did 3 reps at 3 different hand grips for 3 sets. This was really cool, I’ll probably add a little more weight next time.

Next were Bent-Over Rows. I did 5 sets of 3 at 120#. Could probably do a little more weight next time or add more reps.

My fourth exercise was the Upright Rows. I had to play with my hand placement because I kept feeling a nerve get pinched during the movement. I need an adjustment, I miss my chiropractor! I did 5 sets of 3 at 75#, could add more reps next time, maybe do a 5×5.

Next I did Lat Pull Downs with a close grip, one of my favorite back exercises! Today I did 5 sets of 3 at 100#.

Lastly, I did a little core. I wanted to go heavy and do just a few reps but I was a little fired up so I kept going. I used a 25# plate on my first set of 25, actually the video showed me I did 24, then I dropped the weight to a 10# plate for the last 2 sets of 25. It was tough on my shoulders, it burned so good.

On another note, I had my time to speak during “citizen communication” time at the Owners Association meeting tonight about proposing they implement an affordable rate for Fitness Instructors to host boot camps in our neighborhood parks. I only got just a few minutes but I did well getting my points across. They at least did not say no, instead they want to have a follow up meeting after discussing this topic amongst themselves…..fingers are crossed!

Powerlift Training – Week of 2/3/14

SONY DSCIf I can get off from work and my training goes well, my first powerlifting meet will be on March 29th! I’m really excited about it and a tad nervous because I’ve never even been to real competition meet. I have an idea of what it might be like from watching YouTube videos and following other lifters.
I’ve been weight training for many years but have only been focusing on the 3 lifts since Dec 2013 and more seriously in Jan 2014. I’m not working with a coach but it helps reading Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, the newest edition, which provides excellent tips on programming. I hope to also get a few pointers from friends like YOU!

This week my training will go like this:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – Full PL – max efforts
Wednesday – Bench Press 6 sets of 5 at 90%, Bent-Over Rows 6 sets of 5, High Pulls 6 sets of 5, Close-Grip Lat Pulldown 6 sets of 5
Thursday – Squat 6 sets of 5 at 90% – going low, Rack Pulls 6 sets of 5, Back Extension (reverse hyper) 5 sets of 10, Bulgarian Squats 5 sets of 10
Friday – Full PL – max efforts
Saturday – Trail Run (Spartan Race Training)
Sunday – Deadlift 6 sets of 5 at 90%, 3 x 100 Weighted Crunches, 3 x 100 Weighted Leg Lifts, 3 x 100 Weighted Russian Twists

So far…
Monday
I rested…and it was awesome.
Tuesday***Full PL***
Sq 95/5(2), 115/5, 125/3, 155/5(3)***may go for 165# next week***
BP 45/5(2), 55/5, 65/3, 85/2, 115/3(5)***go heavier next week, 125#***
DL 95/5(2), 115/5, 135/5, 155/2, 175/5(3)***175 was rough but I may increase the weight a tad next week***
Wednesday**BP Focus***
BP 45/5, 65/5, 75/5, 105/5(6)***tough so I may just add 5# next week***
Bent-Over Rows 45/5, 95/5, 195/5, 115/5(6)
High Pulls barbell/5, 55/5(6)
Close Grip Lat Pulldown 70/5(6)***go heavier next week***
Thursday***Squat Focus – WITH A BELT – first time using one***
Squat 65/5(2), 95/5, 115/3, 125/2 145/5(6)***Wow, using a belt felt amazing! I went low and now know that I can add more weight next time***
Rack Pulls***first time doing this exercise***
95/5, 125/5, 145/5, 155/5, 165/5(4)***I know I need to go heavier (heavier than what I can DL) so I will next time***
I was suppose to also do Back Extensions and Bulgarian Squats but I ran out of time***Make more time next week***
Friday***Full PL***
Did not get to this workout due to work schedule adjustment, boo.
Saturday***Trail Run***
My buddy Carol and I hit up Bull Creek and ran for almost 1 1/2hrs! We ran into a pack of wild pigs! They were huge! Oh and turned into a parking lot with scattered girls panties…CRABS!
Sunday***Deadlift Focus***
Deadlift 95/5, 115/5, 135/3, 155/2, 165/5(6-7)***with belt but this will need to take some getting use to b/c it hurt my ribs***
I actually spent quite a bit of time on the DL and ran out of time for some core work. Next time make more time!

Overall, this week was really exciting for me because of my new belt. I’m looking forward to new numbers on the squat next week!

Some Squats, Bench Presses and Deadlifting makes for an awesome day…

I set up the camera today to record my lifts.  It’s a good practice that allows you to see where adjustments are needed.  I see a few but thought I’d share anyways.  I’m ready to hit my PR in all three of the lifts very soon.  Gonna shoot for 175# in the back squat, 120# in the Bench Press and 185# in the Deadlift.  I’ll record and post those too.  Can anyone provide tips on choosing the best weightlifting belt? Leather? One or two prong? Thickness? Brand?  Please excuse my messy “gym”, it’s getting a facelift very soon 😀 Thanks and enjoy my video!