My Workout(s)
The following documents my workout schedule for myself. I weigh 135 pounds, my 170% is benching 230 pounds, which is slightly under my one rep max on bench. Why am I sharing this? It’s certainly not an ego trip, this is just a convenient place to record this all. If you aren’t interested, (I know I wouldn’t be) then don’t read. Either way, I guess the world can see what my workout schedule is:
Workouts are every other day, alternating between the following two workouts.
Non-Leg Day
Bench Sets:
* 10 down-angle push-ups
* 8 reps with bar only
* 4 reps at 135 pounds
* 3 reps at 155 pounds
* 4-5 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 5 reps at 195 pounds
* 3-4 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 175 pounds
* I recently stopped arching my back by lifting my butt off the bench, so I’ve lost reps on the top of every set; the above took that into account. Because of the form change, I frequently end up repping 6 at 185, resting quickly, and then finishing up with 3 more reps. “See these games I have to play with myself?”
Compound leg raise and chin up:
(Before the slash, the reps are done by lifting the legs straight out from the body so your quads make a 90 degree angle with your abs, and then doing a chin-up in this position. The number after the slash represents holding a chin-up with the upper arms parallel to the floor and doing leg raises only.)
* 28 reps (16[rest]/12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (8/4[rest]12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (7/5[rest]12) at bodyweight
Military Press: (behind the head)
* 9 reps at 85 pounds
* 4-6 reps at 105 pounds
* 2-3 reps at 115 pounds
* 2-3 reps at 115 pounds
* 3-5 reps at 105 pounds
Shoulder raises while face-down flat on bench (lead with the elbows):
* 15 reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 10 reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 15 reps at 35 pounds per arm
* 10 reps at 30 pounds per arm
Shoulder lift; straight out in front of body:
* 12 reps at 20 pounds per arm
Weighted dips:
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight
Chair biceps:
(Before the slash are hammer curls, after are preacher.)
* 14-15 (6/8-9) reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 6 (2/4) reps at 45 pounds per arm
Incline biceps:
(While sitting on an incline bench, curl dumbbells. This eliminates cheating with shoulders.)
* 4-5 reps at 40 pounds plus 4 half-reps (50% lowered on negative) after final full rep
* 5-6 reps at 40 pounds
Compound leg raise and chin up:
(As before, with a delay of a half hour between this set and previous leg raises)
* 27 reps (7/8[rest]12) at bodyweight
Chin-ups:
* 12 reps holding 30 pound weight
Goofy-final chin-up sets:
* 4 deep chin-ups
* All in one set: 2 shallow chin-ups followed by 5 leg raises followed by holding bodyweight with upper arms parallel to floor for 12 seconds
Total time for non-leg day: 105 minutes
Leg Day
Bench Sets:
* 10 down-angle push-ups
* 8 reps with bar only
* 4 reps at 135 pounds
* 3 reps at 155 pounds
* 4-5 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 5 reps at 195 pounds
* 3-4 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 175 pounds
(Eliminating that extra 185 pound set really sped things up; now I can usually complete this bench series in just over 20 minutes.)
Compound leg raise and chin up:
* 28 reps (16[rest]/12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (8/4[rest]12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (7/5[rest]12) at bodyweight
Incline bench:
* 10 reps (7 quick rest then 3) at 135 pounds
* 5-6 repst at 145 pounds
* 4 reps at 155 pounds
* 3 reps at 165 pounds
* 1-2 reps at 175 pounds
Calf sets:
(Lately, I’ve begun to work these in between the incline sets, because these muscles are physically so far from one another - it saves time well.)
- Plate loaded boom calf machine (the boom stretches out far from the pivot of the machine and thus works to multiply the weight loaded on your legs; in short, it hurts more with less weight)
* 20-21 reps at 100 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 100 pounds
* 12-15 reps at 115 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 115 pounds
- Cybex calf
* 20 reps at 280 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 280 pounds
Chair biceps:
* 5 (2/3) reps at 50 pounds per arm
* 6 (3/3) reps at 45 pounds per arm
Incline biceps:
* 4-5 reps at 40 pounds plus 4 half-reps (50% lowered on negative) after final full rep
* 5-6 reps at 40 pounds
Weighted dips:
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight
Compound leg raise and chin up:
(As before, with a delay of a half hour between this set and previous leg raises)
* 27 reps (7/8[rest]12) at bodyweight
Chin-ups:
* 12 reps holding 30 pound weight
Goofy final-chin-up sets:
* 4 deep chin-ups
* All in one set: 2 shallow chin-ups followed by 5 leg raises followed by holding bodyweight with upper arms parallel to floor for 12 seconds
Quads:
- Cybex machine
* 17 (14[quick rest]3) reps at plate 11 [i’ll figure out what that weight is here soon]
* 12 reps at plate 13
* 12 reps at plate 12
Hams:
- Cybex machine
* 15 reps at plate 11
* 12 reps at plate 12
* 12 reps at plate 11
Leg press:
(Don’t let the weight throw ya, this machine loads heavy by nature.)
* 12 reps at 180 pounds
* 12 reps at 270 pounds
* 12 reps at 360 pounds
* 12 reps at 450 pounds with up to 8 reps after that (presses get deeper later in the set)
The quads, the hams, and the leg press all work in between the sets preceeding them. This is because upper body and lower body don’t overlap and the sets can be run almost consecutively as one muscle group can recover while the other is working. This is how I have chopped 30-40 minutes off these leg days.
Total time for leg day: 120 minutes, 125 minutes max
That schedule has been evolving as I have worked out every other day for the past couple years and I need to keep it at those times or under because it is starting to get cumbersome. From now on, if I add a set, I’ll need to drop one somewhere else just to maintain the total times. So that there is the work-out schedule for both types of days, reported for posterity and in case I suffer amnesia but still need to exercise someday. *whew*