Something New

Good Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I changed up my weight training routine today because I was getting bored with my old routine. I enjoy perusing the workout database from bodybuilding.com to find workouts that fit my goals and needs. I found a great workout, but will make a slight tweak to the leg routine. I will increase reps and sets to make it a T-Rex certified workout. I love the upper body days. It includes exercise I have done before, but changes up the order and days. Change is good, and is really what I need right now. I feel that I have increased in strength, and I need a new challenge. Some may call this a plateau. In lieu of the cardio routine outlined, I will continue with cardio by running with my after work group and core conditioning. I am really enjoying running with Mary, Leslie and Lisa after work as they train for their 5k in December. They are such bad-asses or should I say “bad-lasses”, and push me to success on the runs. I have to give them a lot of credit for helping me complete my first 5k without stopping to walk.

Here’s the new weight routine:

What is the best intermediate split-training routine for gaining mass? You’ve finally built enough strength & size to change it up. Here are several workouts to continue that growth and a look at the different skill levels. Learn more. By: Workout Of The Week Jul 10, 2009 Email More SHARE TOPIC: What Is The Best Intermediate Split-Training Routine For Gaining Mass?   1st Place – soundcheck129 View This Author’s BodySpace Here. You have finally built enough strength in your muscles to move on to a more intermediate program to push yourself to a new level of growth. Congratulations, you’ve made it – you’re no longer a “newb.” You’ve started to know what you’re doing in the gym, and now people are looking at your arms because they actually have muscles and don’t look like sticks. No time to party though – this is where the hard work begins. Without being able to rely on “newb gains,” making progress can be more difficult, so you’re going to really have to challenge your body. Click To Enlarge. No Time To Party Though, This Is Where The Hard Work Begins. At this point, you’ll probably want to adopt a body-part split, so you can give more attention to each muscle group and spur some real growth. But while you’ll be doing a little more specialization here, don’t neglect the big lifts that got you to this point – squats, bench press, and deadlifts. These are still phenomenal for gaining muscle and you won’t want to stop doing them. And if you haven’t been doing them up until this point… you’d better start now! RELATED ARTICLE What Is The Significance Of The Big 3? Most bodybuilders don’t brag about how much they curl, or what they do on the tricep machine. Bodybuilders are discussing the big 3 lifts. [ Click here to learn more. ] What Is The Best Intermediate Split-Training Routine For Gaining Mass? At the intermediate level, a body-part split is pretty standard. Usually, this involves working just one or two muscle groups per day and hitting each of these groups just once each week. Additionally, because you can’t really rely on “newb gains” anymore, I think it’s important to add some cardio or conditioning work if you haven’t been doing any up until this point. This will help keep your metabolism red hot and prevent unwanted fat gain, as you’ll need to be eating a lot to progress. I’m a fan of lifting heavy, so most of the rep schemes will be kept low. You may also want to incorporate some drop sets or supersets to kick up the intensity. RELATED VIDEO Superset Video Guide! This is a good way to train if time is limited. Supersetting involves doing two exercises with no rest in between. There are a number of different types of supersets. Click The Play Button To Start The Video. Or Download Here: WMV (7.9 MB) MPEG (6.2 MB) Video iPod (.8 MB) [ Intensity Building Techniques ] In a drop set, you perform the first set as normal, and then drop the weight and perform additional reps with no rest. In a superset, you alternate between sets of two (usually antagonistic, or opposite) exercises. These challenge your body and provide some great pumps. Sunday: Legs TERMS YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW Failure – That point in an exercise at which you have so fully fatigued your working muscles that they can no longer complete an additional repetition of a movement with strict biomechanics. You should always take your post-warm-up sets at least to the point of momentary muscular failure, and frequently past that point. [ Learn More About Reading Workout Logs ] Leg Extension: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Lying Leg Curl: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Squats: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Calf Raise: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Leg Press: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Get A Printable Log Of The Sunday Workout. Printable Page PDF Document Monday: Chest And Shoulders Dumbbell Shrugs: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Decline Press: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Military Press: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Bench Press: 4 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Dumbbell Flyes: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Lateral Raise: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Get A Printable Log Of The Monday Workout. Printable Page PDF Document Tuesday: Cardio 10 Minutes LISS 20 Minutes HIIT 10 Minutes LISS What Is LISS Cardio? LISS cardio is Low Intensity Steady State. This involves activites that have you at about 65-75% of your maximum heart rate for an extended period of time. For example, a slow jog or very fast walk for 45 minutes. Or Deck Of Cards RELATED ARTICLE [ Click here to learn more. ] Jamie’s Plyo Card Routine! Perform 2 sets of the following exercises all in a row. Use a deck of cards, with the jokers still in the deck, and flip 3 each time. This can be a fun way to get through your Plyometrics! Author: Jamie Eason Wednesday: Biceps And Triceps Skull Crushers: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Chin Ups: 3 Sets To Failure Overhead Triceps Extensions: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Barbell Curls: 3 Sets Of 5-7 Reps Close-Grip Bench Press: 4 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Concentration Curls: 3 Sets Of 5-7 Reps Get A Printable Log Of The Wednesday Workout. Printable Page PDF Document Thursday: Cardio 10 Minutes LISS 20 Minutes HIIT 10 Minutes LISS OR Body Weight Circuit (repeat as desired): Squats: 1 Set Of 50 Reps Pushups: 1 Set Of 25 Reps Mountain Climbers: 1 Set Of 25 Reps Bicycle Crunches: 1 Set Of 50 Reps Burpees: 1 Set Of 25 Reps Pullups: 1 Set Of 15 Reps Get A Printable Log Of The Body Weight Circuit. Printable Page PDF Document Click Image To Enlarge. Mountain Climbers. Video Guides:  Windows Media – RealPlayer Note: Video Conatins Mountain Climbers And Power Jumps. Click Image To Enlarge. Dumbbell Burpees. Video: WMV (700 KB) Friday: Back Lat Pulldown: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Good Mornings: 3 Sets Of 6-8 Reps Deadlift: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Chin-Ups: 3 Sets Of 4-6 Reps Get A Printable Log Of The Friday Workout. Printable Page PDF Document

And speaking of new, remember my very pregnant friend Roxanne from this post?

Sexy mama to be, Roxanne.

Roxy is no longer a mama-to-be, but she’s now a mama! She welcomed a healthy baby boy in the world on Saturday night! This wee guy was early and I think he was more than ready to get here.

Like I said, new is good. Welcome baby Caleb Anthony.

Mom, dad and baby are all doing just fine.

Resources used/work cited: www.bodybuilding.com