Week 5 session 2: Arms

standing barbell bicep curls - 30Kg*
tricep pushdown single arm - 15Kg with small amount of spotting
tricep pushdown both arms - 30Kg
bicep pulldown - 75Kg
forearm curls - 17.5kg
preacher curls single arm - 20Kg with some spotting
preacher curls both arms - 42.5Kg* with, er, heavy spotting
*barbell weight not included

Once again, I got worn out pretty quickly today. I was quite happy with the bicep exercises on both the preacher bench and the pull-down, the only thing that made it a worthwhile workout really.

Week 5 session 1: Shoulders, chest, lats

Military press - 43Kg
Full incline bench press - 43Kg
Gradual incline bench press - 48Kg
Dumbell rows - 30Kg
Lat pull down - 60Kg
Flat bench press - 53Kg
Decline bench press - 48Kg
Seated rows - 55Kg
Vertical rows - 27.5Kg
Shoulder press - 35Kg

I’m disappointed with this workout, I was tiring very quickly on all the exercises and rarely completed sets of 8 for any chest exercises, my shoulders felt very weak and tired.

Week 4 session 5: Arms

standing barbell bicep curls - 30Kg*
concentration curls - 17.5Kg
bicep pulldown - 65Kg
tricep pushdown single arm - 15Kg with small amount of spotting
tricep pushdown both arms - 30Kg
preacher curls single arm - 17.5Kg
preacher curls both arms - 35Kg
forearm curls - 17.5kg

*barbell weight not included

The exercises were worked hard, but I gave up too soon and missed a number of exercises.

Week 4 session 4: Shoulders, chest, lats

shoulder press - 47.5Kg
military press - 43Kg
fully inclined bench press - 48Kg
half inclined bench press - 43Kg
front raises - 10Kg
lat pull down - 65Kg
reverse cable flyes - 16.3Kg
flat bench press - 55Kg
decline bench press - 50Kg
shrugs (cable) - 50Kg
seated row - 50Kg
vertical rows - 25Kg
flyes - 12.5Kg
dumbell rows - 27.5Kg
pull overs - 20Kg

Pull overs were worked on very hard. Starting with a 20Kg dumbbell, as many reps as possible were completed, then without rest switching to a 15Kg dumbell, again completing as many reps as possible. This was repeated with the 12.5Kg, 10Kg and 7.5Kg dumbbells where 20 reps nearly finished me off! I thoroughly enjoyed this workout.

Week 4 session 3: Legs, abs, lower back

leg press - 160Kg
leg press (calf) - 160Kg
leg curl - 60Kg
leg extension - 55Kg
adductor - 60kg
abductor - 55Kg
ab crunch machine - 45Kg
hyperextensions - 20, 20, 20 reps
roman chair - obliques - 20, 20, 20 reps each side
bicycle manoeuvre - 15,15,15 reps slowly

Started with the cross trainer and finished with the treadmill, a very hard workout on the abs and obliques

Week 4 session 2: Arms

standing barbell bicep curls - 25Kg*
preacher curls single arm - 17.5Kg
preacher curls both arms - 32.5Kg
tricep pushdown single arm - 10-15Kg
tricep pushdown both arms - 30Kg
tricep bodyweight dips - 3×8 no assistance
tricep extension - 10Kg
tricep kickbacks - 12.5Kg
forearm curls - 17.5kg
concentration curls - 8×15, 5×17.5
*barbell weight not included

Elbow hurt slightly with concentration curls, and wrist curls were missed.  Also, I wasn’t happy with the first exercise here.

week 4 session 1: shoulders, chest and lats

shoulder press machine - 8×42.5, 8×45, 8×47.5Kg
military press (smiths) - 8×38, 8×38, 6×43Kg
bench press (smiths) - 8×43, 8×48, 5×53Kg
steep incline bench (smiths) - 8×38, 8×43, 8×48Kg
gradual incline bench (smiths) - 8×38, 8×43, 5×48Kg
dumbbell rows - 8×22.5, 8×25, 8×27.5Kg each arm
seated cable rows - 8×45, 8×47.5, 8×50Kg
shrugs (cable) - 8×50, 8×50, 8×50Kg
front raises - 8×7.5, 8×10, 8×10Kg
lat pull down - 8×60, 8×60, 4×65Kg
reverse cable flyes - 8×12.9, 8×14.6, 8×14.6Kg
pull overs - 8×12.5, 8×15, 7×17.5Kg
flyes - 8×12.5, 8×12.5, 8×12.5Kg
vertical cable rows - 8×25, 8×25, 8×27.5Kg

I got good sleep, good breakfast, and up a few hours before working out, today felt like a good session despite missing decline bench press.

Also, I think I’ll rate my performance out of 5 after each session.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we were going to look into the idea of getting a vehicle that was big enough to sleep in, but didn’t classify as a ‘commercial vehicle’ for insurance. I was recommended to check out the Renault Espace, which has seemed like quite a good idea, however, today I came across the Toyota Townace. There’s one selling on ebay motors for under £1500, and after getting a few insurance quotes it seems like a car of that size would cost about £1500 to insure for the year, allowing me and Martyn to both drive it in the EU. Of course, we won’t be paying a years insurance, and we’d be splitting the cost, so it’s not overly expensive.

I’m not actually considering buying the Townace I saw on ebay, it’s just to get an idea of the cost. This is a 1991 model that’s only travelled under 70,000 miles.
See the auction here: Toyota Townace Super Extra

Week 3 session 5: arms

concentration curls - 8×15, 5×17.5, 7×17.5Kg
preacher curls single arm - 8×15, 8×17.5, 8×17.5Kg
preacher curls both arms - 8×25, 8×27.5, 8×27.5Kg
standing barbell bicep curls - 32.5Kg*
tricep pushdown single arm - 15Kg
tricep pushdown both arms - 30Kg
tricep kickbacks - 12.5Kg
tricep bodyweight dips - 8×15, 8×10, 8×5kg assistance
forearm curls - 8×15, 6×17.5, 8×17.5kg
single arm wrist curls - 8×15, 8×15, 8×15Kg

* barbell weight not included

Concentration curls look poorer than last time but there was much better form, letting the dumbells touch the floor each rep. Similarly, the preacher curls used a full range of movement this time.

Week 3 Session 4: Shoulders, chest and lats

shoulder press machine - 8×40, 8×45, 6×47.5Kg
military press (smiths) - 8×38, 8×38, 8×40.5Kg
steep incline bench (smiths) - 8×38, 8×43, 8×48Kg
gradual incline bench (smiths) - 8×38, 8×43, 5×48Kg
front raises - 8×10, 8×10, 8×10Kg
reverse cable flyes - 8×12.9, 8×14.6Kg
vertical cable rows - 8×20, 8×25, 8×25Kg
dumbbell rows - 8×22.5, 8×25, 8×27.5Kg each arm
bench press - 8×45, 8×50, 5×55Kg
decline bench press - 8×40, 5×50, 7×45Kg
lat pull down - 8×55, 8×60, 6×65Kg
seated cable rows - 8×45, 8×47.5, 8×50Kg
flyes - 8×10, 8×12.5, 8×12.5Kg
pull overs - 8×12.5, 8×15, 7×17.5Kg
shrugs (cable) - 8×50, 8×50, 8×50Kg

I was getting really tired towards the end of particularly strenuous exercises, I think I may need to get more sleep. Hopefully next time (week 4 session 1) will yield better results.