Born Again Gym Rat: Winter Bulk

Monday, February 29, 2016

Winter Bulk

I am not at all happy that I continue to put on weight as the weeks go by. I've been using my hubs bag of strawberry-flavored GNC brand Whey protein. But it's more than just protein powder, and that might be the problem. It's suppose to formulated to increase strength and has BCAAs (branch-chain amino acids) and other goodies like creatine. And although I feel as strong as an ox, I don't really want to look like one. The gym scale reads 112.0 lbs today. Ugh. I'm going back to my Optimum Nutrition (ON) 100% Whey Protein powder.

I didn't do max weight today. The sciatica still threatens to hamstring me with a leg bicep seizure. Leg cramps suck, but are exponentially worse when you're pushing weight when it happens. This alone has kept me from adding more weight to the bench, or even adding more sets. Because I should be able to get three sets if I can get 8 reps. I should be able to add another 10 lbs and get 6 reps. But the hamstring aches and threatens to spasm as I plant my feet and push the bar up. So I do whatever doesn't elicit this reaction. Push ups? Good to go! I knock out 100 reps per set today. I won't lie. The last set was hard. 21 reps has become standard for pull ups. I add crunches after planks for ab work because the Bird Dog plank variation is not sciatic-friendly. So after 300 push ups, I can still bench without any issues. Except for the sciatica.

I do RG BB Rows today too. Because I'm not all that tired. Even after push ups, 30 min of cardio and abs. I do space out my pull ups throughout my routine because my hands and elbows need recovery time. By this time I'm questioning whether I'll be able to do the heavy routine for delts today, but there's no way to tell until I try. And it's fine. I do 3 sets at 20 lbs and then 3 sets at 25 lbs, maintaining the 12/20 rep ratio between DB Laterals and Reverse Incline Flyes. My shoulders seem a tad tired afterwards, but I'd be disappointed if they weren't. I can move a lot of weight. The JeFit app, where I record all my workouts, tells me that I've moved 31,606 lbs today. Cool. Still, I wish I was a leaner and had better definition.

Today I do Program #3 on the elliptical for my 2nd cardio session. I need to mix this up more, but I can't bring myself to do Takata HIIT cardio these days. When I'm done, I finally remember to try doing Tiger Push Ups. I read about them on the social site of Bodybuilding.com. I like the people there better than on MuscleAndStrength.com. Tiger Push Ups are suppose to be a tricep-heavy variation. I stopped doing Diamond Push Ups because the clicking in my left elbow got more intense and I'm always cautious about my joints. Well, I managed to do about 5 of them before nearly falling on my face. I didn't even count them in my workout app. They are really difficult to do, and doing them at the very end of my workout didn't really give me a fair taste. Perhaps I'll try them again tomorrow. After I whack the machine.

Monday Workout
(6.33 miles; 31,606 lbs moved)