Great Upper Body Days!

I remember when 5 sets for my upper body muscle groups was a great workout. Now that's a day that I'm just being quick because I'm short on time. Now 7-8 sets are the norm.

Last week, 2 of my 3 upper body days were big.

I was at a college gym on Tuesday (where I used to teach... I still have access!), and I've been going there to normally do 8 sets that look like this:

8x chest/back
4x lats/shoulders
8 minutes of some PT shoulder exercises
4x lats/shoulders
8x bi/tri

= about 70 minutes total

But on Tuesday I did 9 sets (which feels TOTALLY different, I swear), and then I did an extra 10th set for biceps and triceps. I focused on doing movements where I can move more overall weight: for example, I could do 8 pull-ups and move 1280 lbs (160 lbs x 8), or I could do 12 lat pulldowns and move 1680 lbs (120 lbs x 14). I do that sometimes to see how much weight I move as a fun random comparison between workouts. A very solid workout is usually around 55,000 lbs. A really good one creeps into the 60,000+ territory. But this one was 71,090 lbs! I think that was my first time over 65,000!!

Thursday was a quick 6x upper body day as I was short on time. I had to get my wife to her colonoscopy!

Saturday was another big day! I went back to the gym, and I did circuits (which is what I usually do on Saturday at home, but this time I went to the gym because I knew it would be dead within a week before Christmas, so I could "spread out" and take up space doing circuits... I was the only one there). My circuit routine is chest, back, lats, shoulders, biceps, and triceps... then repeat. I usually do 7-8 sets, but I did 9 this time! I did each exercise in a minute, so I'd get through each circuit in 6 minutes (6 muscle groups). So I did 9 circuits of this in 54 minutes before doing some PT shoulders and some forearms to make it 69 minutes total. Whew!... good burn!!

The only issue is that my right shoulder felt a little tight during that workout, and then it was quite sore for a few days after that as well. It feels like the impingement that I had years ago (why I do "PT shoulder exercises" from my old physical therapist EVERY time I lift weights!). So I took it real easy lifting 2 days ago (and also did NOT do any shoulder exercises), and I'll take it easy today as well.

p.s. Here's my cute wife getting ready for her big moment on Thursday:

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Two Big Days of Lifting Weights

I posted about some big weight lifting weeks back in early March. April was pretty good too. May has been decent as well, and I had some big days over these last 10 days!

I've maybe had 3-4 times in my life that I've done 9 sets for every muscle group in my upper body. And most of those have been in the last few months. And I MAYBE did 10 sets ONE time before.

Well, last week I did 10 sets for my main upper body day.

And then THIS WEEK I did that again! Two weeks with long upper body workouts of 10 sets for each muscle group. Here's what last week's workout looks like in my training long:

8x everything as alternating muscle groups, and then 2 extra circuit sets for everything at the end.

Bench: 135x8 for all 8
Cable row: 90x15 for 4, 105x15 for 2, 90x15 for last 2.
20:00

Pull-ups: 8, 8!
Shoulder press: 65x15, x15, x13, x13!
Lat pulldowns: 135x11, x12!
10:00

PT Shoulders: 8:40

Lat pulldowns: 135x12, x11, x11!, x10!
Dumbbell shoulder flies: 20x12 for all 4 (! at end)
10:00

Bent bar bi curls: 65x15 for all 8.
Cable tri pull downs: 55x18 for 3, 60x13, x13, 65x11!, x10, 55x16!
20:00

EXTRA:
Two circuit sets for everything:
Bench: 135x6, 6 (MAYBE could have done 7)
Cable row: 90x15, x15
Lat pulldowns: 120x11, x10
Shoulder dumbbell flies: 15x15, x20 (alternating two to the side and two to the front for the last set)
Iso bi hammer curls: 20x30, x30!
Tri cable pulldowns: 55x16, x16!
6:00, 6:10

1 hr 21 mins total!!

And here's what this week's workout looked like:

8x everything as alternating muscle groups, and then 2 extra circuit sets for everything at the end. Focused on moving heavier weight for the normal workout, and then lighter weights for the 2 circuit sets.

Bench: 135x8 for 3, 155x6, x6!, 165x4!!, 135x8 for final 2
Cable row: 90x15 for 2, 105x15 for 2, 120x15, x13, 105x15 for final 2
20:10

Pull-ups: 6, 7, 7, 7
Shoulder barbell press: 65x15 for 3, x13!
10:30

PT Shoulders: 8:55

Pulllups: 8, 7!, 7!, 7!
Barbell shoulder press: 65x15, x13, x12, x12!
10:35

Bent bar bi: 65x15 for 3, 75x15 for 3!, 65x15 for final 2
Tri cable pull-downs: 55x18 for 3, 60x15 for 2, 65x12, x11!, 55x16!
20:10

EXTRA:
Circuit style sets of everything with slightly lighter weight:

Bench: 135x5!, x6!!
Cable row: 90x15, x15
Lat pull-down: 120x11, x10
Shoulder dumbbell flies: 15x15, x20 (alternating last set)
Iso bi curls: 20 lbs x34, x34
Tri cable pulldowns: 55x16, x16
6:40, 6:50

1 hr 24 mins total.

I took a gratuitous selfie after feeling "the pump" last week:

Sorry not sorry. :)

Back with some "Friday Funnies" tomorrow!

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Another Big Upper Body Week!

At the end of January and beginning of February, I had 2 big back-to-back upper body weeks where I ended up doing 23 and 22 sets during those weeks (3 days the first week were 7, 8, and 8 sets, and the 3 days in the 2nd week were 8, 7, and 7 sets).

After 2 smaller (busier) weeks since those 2 big weeks, I'm now coming off another NICE week!

This week, my 3 upper body days were 8, 8, and 8 sets! A total of 24 sets for the week! And I did 2 extra sets for my lats and back on Tues, and 2 extra sets for biceps and triceps on Thurs!

I also got in some other good workouts this week, like 2 VERY DIFFERENT (for me) trainer workouts, and a good track workout. More on those in a day or two!

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BIG Back-to-Back Upper Body Weeks

I posted recently about doing a LOT of upper body sets last week - hitting 23 sets (with extra sets for forearms and 2 extra sets for lats and shoulders as well).

Well I kept that going last week as well! I set a new PR for a 2-week stretch of upper body workouts. Back in 2021, I had a 2 week stretch with 20 and 22 sets, and these past 2 weeks I did 23 and 22 sets! And not included in those set counts last week were some "extra" sets for 3 different muscle groups too - that count of 23 and 22 sets are sets I did for EVERY muscle group, when it's been common over the last year to do an extra set for a muscle or 2 about once/week at the end of a workout.

TUESDAY I did 8x everything at the gym and then 2 extra sets for bi/tri. THURSDAY I biked to the gym and did 7x everything. And then SATURDAY I did 7 circuit-like sets for everything, as well as an extra set for my forearms at the end.

Like I said in last week's weight lifting post, it's not surprising that I had 2 big weeks here as we just got back from Mexico (see my "workouts in Mexico" post and some family photos from Mexico post) as I tend to shoot for a bigger week after a crappier week. And now this week is going to be a bit smaller as well, so these last 2 weeks were a nice intense push between 2 smaller weeks!

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Great Weight Lifting Week!

This was a pretty normal week after being in Mexico for a week (see my "workouts in Mexico" post and some family photos from Mexico post). This past week was a VERY GOOD training week, which I feel like often happens subconsciously after a "smaller" or "not normal" week of training. My strength work is really where I worked extra hard this past week!

My “normal” upper body workout is probably 5-6x every muscle group, done as chest/back for 5-6 sets, pull-ups/shoulders for 5-6 sets, and then biceps/triceps for 5-6 sets. (And I also do 8 minutes of my old physical therapy back/shoulder exercises in the middle of my workouts that I’ve been doing regularly since I had a slight shoulder impingement when I started swimming after some time off back in 2016.)

Tuesday I had a good upper body day at one of the college gyms where I used to teach (I haven’t taught there for a few years, but my card access still works!). I did a normal routine of 7x everything, which is extra killer when I’m at a gym vs just doing it at home. Then I ended that workout with 2 extra sets each for my shoulders and lats. That was 67 mins of hard work.

Thursday I did a bike workout really early (which is unusual), so then I had time to get to the gym AGAIN (twice to the gym in one week is rare!). This time, I did 8x everything, which was great! I started with a better-than-average workout of 7x everything, and then added a final circuit set for everything at the end. That was 70 mins of wonderful torture.

And then today (Saturday), I did my normal “Saturday circuits” at home: I do 30-35 push-ups, 20 dumbbell back rows (per side), 8 pull-ups, 30-36 bicep curls, 30-35 tricep dips, and 10-15 shoulder flies... then I repeat that 7-8 times. I did that 8x today.

That means with 7 sets Tues + 8 sets Thurs + 8 sets Sat = 23 sets for my upper body this week! That’s a PR! (And that's not including the extra 2 sets I did for shoulders and lats on Tuesday as well - they got 25 sets this week!) There was a 2-week stretch in 2021 when I did 20 sets one week and 22 the next that felt huge, but I’ve never done 23 sets in 1 week. (Which is funny because I don’t deviate from the norm too much: a week of 18 sets would seem pretty small [5+6+7 sets], but 22-23 is huge.)

Happy training!

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Good New Year's Eve Workouts!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yesterday, I biked to the pool early. I got in 3000 yards of my "broken 3x400 and 3x200" workout that I like. Leaving the pool at the University, the view I saw heading into the weights area showed it was DEAD:

It only looks like this in the summer!

So I stayed and lifted. I finished my workout up in an area that I had completely to myself:

That's my red bike helmet under that bench in the middle
(next to my bar for finishing up biceps).

Then I made it back out to my bike:

300 yard swim, an hour of lifting, and 8+ miles of biking.


Something about those workouts lifted me out of "maintaining" to "productive!"

p.s. I know this is about to add lots of words to my "semi-wordless" post, but here's my standard gym workout that I did all summer, and that I occasionally do at another college where I used to teach and still have access:

Bench: 135x8 for 6 sets.
Cable row: 100x15 for 6.
15:00 (with extra 2:15 getting to pullup area and checking for balance balls)

Pull-ups: 6, 7, 6
Shoulder flies: 15lbs x14 for 3 sets.
7:30 (with extra 0:50 getting up to balance ball)

PT shoulders: 8:40 (with extra 1:20 getting back down to pullup area)

Pull-ups: 7, 7, 6
Shoulder flies, alternating two to the side and two to the front: 15lbs x20 for all 3 sets.
7:30 (with extra 1:45 finding and loading the bent bar)

Bent bar bi: 65x15 for 6 sets.
Tri cable: 52.5x20, 62.5x15 for final 5
15:00

EXTRA:
Bicep machine: 70x12, x13
Shoulder press machine: 50x12, x11
5:05

65 mins total

I do pairs of muscle groups, so note that I start doing bench, back, bench, back, bench, back, etc for 6 total sets, then onto pull-ups and shoulders. I roughly take 2.5 minutes for each set (doing "bench and back" and then starting my next set of "bench and back" at 2:30, 5:00. 7:30, etc.). I've noted some of the "breaks" are longer as the U of M gym is big and it takes a while to get from place-to-place. And generally, after 6 or 7 sets for everything (it was 6 yesterday), I often will do some extra exercises at the end - yesterday it was 2 sets on a bicep machine and shoulder machine (different than the free-weight exercises I did in my main sets). I've been trying to get to a gym 1x/week, and then I do similar exercises at home the other 2x/week, only with more reps (30-35 push-ups for example, instead of benching with 135 lbs).

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Biking Finally Slowing Down for 2024

I've had a great summer on my bike! September ended with 4 out of 5 months in a row with 300+ miles of biking. And I've only had 5 months of 300+ miles since keeping track online over the last 15 years, and 4 were this past summer.

Going back to early April, I only had 1 week with less than 41 miles of outdoor riding (through the TC 10 Mile a few weeks ago), and that's when we were away for a family wedding for 4 days. It's been consistent. Most weeks were between 60 and 90 miles.

But on Halloween 2 days ago, we started getting some snow. And it stuck around:

Our side yard Oct 31st.


Road conditions around the state that day.

So my bike ride that day was on the trainer - just an hour of spinning. And then it was cold this morning (41 degrees when I wanted to ride), so I hit the trainer again. I did a workout of efforts of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 minute:

Middle of a 2 hour ride, with some efforts!


I had a good lift this morning too, so while on the trainer,
my HR for the last 4 hours showed both workouts.


Good early morning burn - shirt sweated through!

I love getting in 2 solid workouts by 10 a.m.!!

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Bench Press Fail

It has been a long time since this has happened!

I was lifting in one of the quiet college gyms where I teach (it's often DEAD in there), and I loaded up the bench a bit. I started with sets of 8x135 lbs, and then upped it to 155 lbs near the end after a few sets.

Well, I THOUGHT I could get one more rep... but I couldn't. I had to roll the bar down my chest and pick it up off my lap. I hope the security guard watching from the camera in the ceiling had a chuckle.

Below is not some sort of "sexy abs" shot as I don't care for my abs, but it's just me showing my red belly after rolling a bar with 155 lbs on it off my body so I wasn't trapped under it:

Oops. Oh well.

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Adding More "Randomness" to my Weight Routine

My average/normal upper body routine is around 5 sets for everything, and it usually looks something like this:

- 30 push-ups / 20 dumbbell back rows x5
- 8 pull-ups x3
- 8 mins of old physical therapy back exercises
- 8 pull-ups x2
- 12 shoulder dumbbell flies x3
- 30 bicep dumbbell curls / 30 body-weight tricep dips x5
- 12 shoulder dumbbell flies x2

= around 50-55 mins

That's all done at home in my living room. Pre-Covid, it was quite similar: bench instead of push-ups, cable tri pulldowns instead of tri dips, and lat pull-downs instead of pull-ups. And what I was doing at the gym was a bit shorter: I would maybe average 3-4 sets in 2018/2019, and now I'm averaging around 5-6 sets.

My routine above looks more complicated than it is - it's just basically chest and back, then pull-ups and shoulder exercises, and finally biceps and triceps. I've just found myself breaking it up like this over the years.

I've been looking to mix it up lately. So this fall after my "A race" which was the cancelled TC 10 Mile and then the Fall Classic Duathlon the following weekend to test my fitness, I figured it was time - I had no races on the horizon (I'd end up throwing in a last minute 8K cross country meet), so I felt "safe" in trying newer things. I mean, my old way of doing things over the last few years has been treating me well, so even thinking about a subtle shift made me a bit nervous.

So starting October 12th, I told myself I'd add some extra sets to my upper body workout for random muscle groups if I had time. So for example, on October 12th I did 6 sets of everything much like above (totaling about 58 mins), but then I threw in another 3 sets for shoulders and lats at the end. That MAY have been the first time I did 9 sets of pull-ups in a workout! (The first 8 sets were 8 reps, and then 9th set was only 7 as I was DONE! 71 pull-ups!)

Oct 17th was again 6 sets of everything, but I did 2 extra sets of rows for my back. This hardly felt like "extra."

I had a break from anything "new" in later Oct as we spent a few days in Chicago. But on Oct 26th, I did a short workout, but used slightly heavier weight or more reps than normal throughout that one.

Oct 31st was 6x everything with extra 2 sets "circuit-style" at the end for back, bi, and tri. And this kicked off a good stretch of adding a few sets to a muscle group each week (not every workout, but shooting for one workout/week). And I posted a selfie at the end of this workout in this post last month.

Nov 9th was 6x everything with an extra 3x lats at the end and an extra 4x shoudler flies at the end.

Nov 21st was (AGAIN) 6x everything, and I THOUGHT I'd do 2 more sets for bi, tri, and lats at the end, but I ended up doing 3 more!

Nov 28th was 7x everything, and then an extra 2 "burn out" sets of tri presses followed by elbows-in chest burn-outs. Ouch.

Dec 5th I mixed it up in a way that I did once a few years ago. I did a normal 4 set version of what you see at the very top of this post (skipping my physical therapy back exercises). THEN I did my PT back exercises after those 4 sets. And then I started all over again and did 3 more sets of everything. So it feels like 2 "shorter" days stacked on top of each other. It leads to a different burn because when I finish the first half with bi/tri (which is where I normally finish), I then have to start all over again which my body isn't used to.

And then on Dec 12th, I did 6x everything and 3 extra "burn out" sets of tri presses followed by elbows-in chest burn-outs. (So like Nov 28th, but with an extra set of each at the end).

After all of those slight "extras," I don't know if I'm doing it right. I was only a little bit extra sore after the Oct 31st workout. None of the other workouts made me sore after. I think I need to mix it up even more. But it's been fun working in some extra upper body lately!

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Random Workouts From the Week

I'm still biking to work at one of the colleges where I teach:

View from earlier this week. Biked every trip there since mid-Sept!
We got some icy snow yesterday, so we'll see how long I can keep it up.


Cutting through the State Fair grounds earlier this week riding home: 34 degrees!

Yesterday, I found that my ID card still works for a college that I taught at a few years ago, so I used their weight room for a quick/hard upper body workout:

It's been over a year since I posted a flexing selfie. Sorry not sorry.
Also: pit sweat. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh, and that gym workout had the WORST gym music playing.  This is NOT "pump you up" music:

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Back at the Gym

I mentioned in Monday's post that the boys were gone for a few days last week. So on Thursday, I hit the gym at one of the schools where I formally taught:

Feeling the post-workout burn.


Later: red spots under my calluses from using a heavy bar for the first time in a while!...

I hit the gym at a different university back in April, and this was my first time properly benching (not just pushups) and doing heavier curls since - it's been 4 months!

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: a Quick and Sweaty Workout

After finals were done last week, I had a quick and sweaty workout in the extra little makeshift gym near my classroom:

I had a quick circuit-style workout of 30 push-ups, 45lb 1-armed dumbbell rows (x16/arm), 50lb straight lat pull-overs, 35lb hammer curls (x22 reps), 50 lb tricep overhead extensions (x20 reps), and 15 lb dumbbell shoulder flies (x12 reps). And I did that rotation through 5 times. SWEATY.

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: A Back-at-the-Gym Selfie!

I stepped foot in the weight room at one of the colleges where I teach last week. It was the first time in that space in 25 months! I had to celebrate with a post-workout selfie:

My hands weren't used to handling so many roughly-textured bars:

The calluses are normal. The sore red marks under them were new.

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A New Weight Set

We had this 110 lb box dropped off in our driveway this past weekend:

Two dumbbells (strapped to their bases) taken out on the right.




Adjustable weight, from 5 to 52.5 lbs.


Sitting by our front door near our other workout gear.

My wife has gotten back into lifting weights over the last month or so since before COVID. And she wanted to be able to do more than what she could with our 2 sets of (borrowed) dumbbells. So she ordered these. I was pleasantly surpised with how easily they switched between weights, and then how secure the weights feel once they are "locked" on (the plates jingle a little, but aren't all that loose). It's adjustable every 2.5 lbs up through 25 lbs, and then every 5 lbs above that (and technically adjustable by 1.25 and 2.5 lbs if you make each side slightly different weight).

The only real "cons" are that you need to be deliberate and make sure you're setting down the dumbbells straight down into their base because of the other weight plates. And even though it's quick to change the weight, it's still slightly annoying to be doing it a LOT. So when I first tried them on my "circuit-like" workout last Saturday, I didn't waste time constantly adjusting the weight. But when I did a more "traditional" weight routine by muscle group Tuesday and Thursday, I didn't mind dialing in the right weight for one group of exercises, and then changing it 15 minutes later when I moved on to the next group. That worked well and didn't feel like it was slowing me down.

Now that I've used them a few times, the only other "issue" that I've noticed (which isn't really a big deal) is how big the grips are. They are bigger than my other 2 pairs of dumbbells. Here they are lined up side-by-side-by-side:

Noticeable in person, but not as noticeable in the photo.


I used this piece of paper to measure the circumference of each of those dumbbells:
the all silver set is 3.25", the 40 lbs set is under 3.75", but the new Bowflex ones are 4.5".

I love the flexibility, and I'm happy if it helps get my wife lifting weights more often again!

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Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Working Out with My Boys

Sometimes when I head downstairs to hop on the trainer, my boys come to run and row with me for a few minutes:

My bike is just out-of-frame to the right.


Henry's stride looks better here, but Charlie's face makes him look 50 here! Ha!

Charlie will row 1500-2000 meters, and Henry will cover 1-1.5 miles.

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Big Workout Day: 25 Mile Ride, 1600 Yd Swim, and Hard Upper Body Before 10 a.m.!

Thursday was a big day of working out. Honestly, it was probably my biggest day in 3 years or so!

I first headed out for a 25 mile ride early in the morning before taking the boys to school. I didn't know if it was going to happen because it started pouring around 5 a.m., but then it quickly stopped, so I got out there just before 6 a.m.

Storm clouds moving out near Hwy 5 and Shepard Road.


Selfie and my turn-around on Big Rivers as "proof."


A sign of the drought along the Mississippi: all that 3-4' brush right below
me has never been then before - it's usually solid mud from a little drainage pipe.

My Gamin died 2 weeks ago, but by timing it with my watch and mapping it out after, it appears I was around 19.88 mph overall, which seems about right. I went hard-ish at times, but it was NOT a hard ride. (I had raced just 4 days before and I didn't want to be stupid.)

Then I took the boys to school. And I went straight from school drop off to go swim at the U of M. I thought I'd get in for free now that I'm teaching there, but it turns out I'd need to join which isn't very much per month, so I might. (I got in free one last time.) It was weird wearing a mask and JUST a Speedo:

Through the tunnels, approaching the Cooke pool.

When I hit the pool 2 weeks ago to see if I could race a triathlon, I did a few 200s. So I did the same workout (because I knew it wasn't going to hurt me), only I did more repeats and I brought the rest time down to more of a "normal" time (instead of pretty long like I did 2 weeks ago). Here's what went in my training log for my swim:

200 warm-up: 1:34, 1:43
1:13 rest

5x200 with 0:30 rest:
1:35 + 1:37 = 3:12.55
1:34 + 1:35 = 3:09.55
1:32 + 1:36 = 3:08.89
1:32 + 1:34 = 3:06.88
1:33 + 1:32 = 3:06.32

0:40 rest

3x75 kicking (25 mod, 25 hard, 25 easy) with 0:20 rest between:
1:57, 1:56, 2:00 (then no break and right into kicking another 0:44 back to start to make it 250 yards kicked).

0:22 rest

200 cool-down: 1:39, 1:46

Those 200 times were me TRYING, and after feeling a little pooped after 3, I was happy I kept descending them for the final 2. (I didn't know what those final splits would bring.) My Garmin died 2 weeks ago during that swim, but my new watch held up fine:

Out of the pool (displaying my final 100 cool-down split and overall time).

After that, I had a little time left on my parking meter, so I quick went upstairs to the weights area. There were a LOT of "Chads" lifting weights, and it was pretty crowded. But I remembered seeing a cable stack of weights up by the little indoor track. So I went up there and found 1 other person using kettlebells in the area. But I had this stack pretty much to myself:

I used the 2 stacks right in front of me: triceps on
the left, pull-ups in the middle, and bicep curls on the right.

And I did push-ups for my chest and 1-armed kettlebell rows for my back. So I was doing random circuts of those 5 exercises: tricep pull-downs, bicep curls, pull-ups, push-ups, and rows. I'VE NEVER WORKED SO FAST. I knew I was short on time, and thought maybe I could get in 4 rounds. But I worked fast enough to get in 5 rounds in 25 minutes! To compare, the week before I did 4 rounds in 30 minutes! (So down to averaging 5:00/circuit instead of 7:30/circut - that's huge!) I was dripping sweat by circuit 3, and I looked like this when I was done:

This is NOT how I normally look after lifting!!


Hard to see, but I came back out to find 3 minutes left on my meter. Sweet!

So that was 25 miles of biking, 1650 yards of swimming, and an intense upper body workout all before 10 a.m.! And I wasn't quite done!

It was my 4th day of class this semester, and I decided to try to bike to class as it's just about 3 miles away. So I loaded up the big backpack my wife recently got me with pants, a shirt, nice(r) shoes, and my laptop:

Ready to go!


In my classroom about 15 mins before class.


The only problem: I started teaching with some boob sweat. Or "humidititties."

I realized I was pushing decently hard to get to class (being I wasn't sure how long it would take and I didn't want to be late), and I got quite sweaty. I need to allow just a bit more time and MORE IMPORTANTLY take a bit easier on the ride there.

Ready to head home a few hours later.


To class, and home from class. I took took a different
(better) route home where I stayed off University Ave.

I had planned on maybe adding in a few easier miles on the way home, but the wind had really picked up out of the south (and it was 90 degrees that day!), so I just spun home and stretched my legs after a solid day of fitness.

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First Weight Room Workout in 3 Months

Last spring, I went to the weight room at one of the colleges where I teach a few times. But when it started to get a bit busier and they removed their masking rules, I kept the workouts at home.

My boys just came back from a few days at Grandma's, and besides a lot of house projects, I also snuck away to try hitting the gym again. Campus was DEAD. I got to park right outside the door. I got there 5 minutes after it was supposed to open, and it was still locked up. I had to walk a block to the security office to have someone let me in. These were all good signs that told me I'd have this gym to myself. The guard who let me in said "Close the door when you're done. And you're here all alone... so don't do anything dangerous..."

A dead weight room.


My water bottle and mask got their own bench.

I like to do circuit workouts on Saturdays, but normally that's not a workout I'd do in public as I end up jumping around and hogging lots of the equipment. (My "normal" workout is just 2 muscle groups at a time [like chest then back x6], but this circuit workout is doing each muscle group once and then repeating it all 6-8 times.) But being I had the place to myself, I hogged everything. Sweet.

I worked FAST too: normally at home I'm doing 30-35 push-ups, but here I was doing 8 reps on the bench of 135 lbs. At home, I'm doing 20-22 dumbbell rows PER ARM, but here I was doing 15 total on a cable machine. I looked back in my training log, and the last 3 big circuit days were:

- 8 rounds in 72 mins
- 7 rounds in 58 mins
- 7 rounds in 56 mins

But today, I was working about TWO MINUTES FASTER/ROUND! I was flying, and it was hurting! I did 8 rounds in 53 minutes, as well as my PT "prescribed" shoulder exercises. I might feel dead tomorrow.

I'm glad I wore this shirt as it doesn't show sweat much - my chest was sweated through.


My arms felt extra big. Feelin' pumped.

Whew. I needed that workout after some wimpy upper body days in the last 2 weeks. Happy weekend!!

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Pushing My Upper Body Routine

When quarantine struck in March of 2020, I started exercising at home with 2 sets of dumbbells. After a few months, I was doing more and more reps. For example, I started by doing 20-25 push-ups at a time, but I've been doing 30 for each set for about the last year. I started with 15 reps of a 40 lb dumbbell for one-armed back rows, but I quickly worked that up to 20 reps. And some tricep dips worked their way from 20 reps up to 30 by the end of last summer.

Well, those numbers have pretty much been stuck there for the last 9+ months or so, and I figured it was time to "reset my normal" for lifting weights.

So for last week's workouts, I changed the rep count of my normal sets to this:

- Push-ups: from 30 up to 35
- One-arm dumbbell rows (back) with 40 lbs: from 20 up to 22
- Pull-ups: from 8 up to 9
- Bicep hammer curls with 30 lb dumbbells: from 30 up to 36

So no BIG jumps, but still adding 10-20% to everything, which seems like plenty. I didn't change my triceps dips, but those are at the end of my workouts, so I usually just do what I can - I figured if I COULD do more, I'd START doing more.

The first time I tried this was on Tuesday for a "normal" workout of 5 sets of everything, and I felt the extra work! (My normal workout is push-ups/back rows x5, then pull-ups x5 [with a break in the middle to do some PT shoulders], then bi/tri x5.) I was only able to get the extra pull-up on my last 2 sets. And my arms and back felt extra good/sore the next day!

On Saturday, I did my normal "circuit" workout where instead of doing super-sets of similar muscle groups (like I usually do on Tues and Thurs), I instead do each muscle group for a set and keep repeating. So it looks like: push-ups, back rows, pull-ups, bicep curls, tricep dips, REPEAT. That was KILLER with the new numbers. I could only do the newer/higher numbers for push-ups and pull-ups on the first set, but was able to keep back rows and biceps at the newer/higher numbers for all 7 rounds. And here are two selfies from when I was done:

Feeling pumped. Ignore the pitted 110-year-old mirror.


I cut off my feet, otherwise you'd see I was lifting in my slippers.

It's no surprise that I decided to work harder in my upper body workouts when I'm coming off a running injury. I find that I like to make sure I'm pushing myself physically in at least 1 or 2 areas at a time: I started biking harder on the trainer once I was injured from running, and now I'm working harder while lifting. All while having to run easy. Not shocking.

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