Picture Time - Week 9
Here is evidence of the "stall" I've been in for the past few weeks. I'm a little bummed by this shot because I had a great picture taken earlier with a different camera... but I want to be faithful to the process. My weight reflects the lack of change in the 5 and 9 week photos.


Break In
No - not the "burglary" variety. This is the first weight training that I have done in a while, so I needed a good break-in routine. For this, I turned to "The Body Sculpting Bible for Men" (there is one for Women, too). A great way to welcome your body to the world of weight training is with modified compound supersets.

Didn't catch that? Never fear. If you liked my math talk, then get ready for more fun with bodybuilding terminology! *laugh*

Sets and Reps
I know that starting here is beyond basic, but if these two terms are vague, then what follows won't make any sense at all.

A rep or repitition is one complete exercise action. Imainge a dumbbell curl. Raise the weight up, then lower it. You have completed one rep.

A set is a series of reps. A typical bench press set might consist of 8-12 reps.

For a little advanced terminology: the concentric phase of a rep is when your muscles are contracting, and the eccentric phase is when the muscles are lengthening. The point at which you change from contracting to lengthening is known as the peak

Modified Compound Supersets
If we dissect this fantastic buzzword, you end up with a pretty simple idea.

First, a superset is simply doing two different exercises by performing 1 set of exercise #1 followed by 1 set of exercise #2 - usually with little rest in between.

A compound movement is the opposite of an isolation movement. Exercises generally target a specific muscle or group of muscles. An isolation movement focuses on the target muscles while a compound movement engages supporting muscles.

Together, a compound superset is the pairing of two exercises in alternating sets that involve target muscles and supporting muscles.

The modified part has to do with the way muscles are targeted. When supersetting, there are three basic categories: same muscle group (cooperative), opposing muscle groups (antagonistic) and staggered sets. Modified means that this will be an antagonistic superset.

In a cooperative superset, the same muscle group is tageted by both exercises; bench press followed by dumbbell flyes is a cooperative superset for the chest.

In antagonistic supersets, opposing muscle groups are targeted. Think pushing vs pulling muscles - biceps and triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings, chest and back.

A staggered set engages a major muscle group and a minor, unrelated, muscle group. Major muscle groups include chest, back, abs, quads and hamstrings. Minor muscles include calves, biceps, triceps, and forearms. A typical staggered superset is abs and calves.

So.... all together - a modified compound superset is the pairing of two exercises in alternating sets that involve target muscles and supporting muscles in opposing (antagonistic) muscle groups!

See? A long way to go for a simple idea.

Why is This a Good Way to Start? It Sounds Complicated!
Compound exercises are good for beginners because you have supporting muscles assisting out the out of shape target muscles. A modified superset allows one muscle group to rest while you work another.

I'm allowing myself a minute and a half to rest between sets, too. (As I get in better shape, I'll go straight from one exercise to the next without rest.)

Some "break-in" routines try to cover the whole body with every workout. I prefer to split the body up so I can do more exercises for each part.

Day 1: Chest/Back, Biceps/Triceps
Day 2: Quads/Hams, Calves/Shoulders
Day 3: Abs

(This will be in addition to 20+ minutes of cardio.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 1 Break-In Routine
Warm Up
Rowing - 6 minutes (31spm, 2:08/500m)

(The weight training portion is straight from the Body Sculpting Bible)

Superset 1
One Arm Rows: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs (rest)
Push Ups: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs

Superset 2
Two Arm Rows (T-Bar): 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs
Dumbbell Flys: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs

Superset 3
Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs
Tricep Extensions: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs

Superset 4
Hammer Curls: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs
Overhead Tricep Ext: 2 sets, 12-15 reps, 90 secs

Cardio
Treadmill - 15 minutes (3.5mph, incline 2.0)

STRETCH!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burn
I was glad to see my Polar tick up to 400 calories today... though I have to believe I have burned more. I was RAVENOUS after my workout. After breakfast I was still REALLY hungry. I ended up eating an apple on the way in to work.

The workout today really felt good! (Though, I know I'm going to pay for it tomorrow...) Even though I was using weights that were nowhere near my max when I was in shape just a few years ago, I probably went heavier than I should have on several of the exercises. (Believe me - I wasn't out to prove anything - When I say "heavier", I didn't risk hurting myself... I'm just going to have a lot of muscle soreness in the next few days.)