Thursday 2/4/10

Workout A - (modified a bit)

Squats 75lbs
(skipped extensions today - I read yesterday that this is an exercise that can cause injury? And since I'm so paranoid of injuring myself, especially my knees, I decided that I could build my quads just fine with squats)
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - decided to give these a whirl. I usually do Romanian Deadlifts, where the knees are bent, simply because I have tight hams. But, I did a good warm up set with light weight and them attempted them. I used 60lbs for my "actual" set and it was doable. I do really need to work on stretching EVERY day so that I'm not so tight. Anyway, the reason for the change was that I read (again with the reading LOL) stiff deads build the hamstrings better. Plus, I'm getting up to some pretty heavy weight on Romanians and I was starting to get worried (again with the worrying LOL) about sacrificing form. Slow and steady wins the race!
BB Bench Press 50lbs (seriously, I canNOT believe I'm benching 50 pounds! Remember...I'm fairly little)
No chest flyes either, sticking with bread and butter moves.
BB Row 50lbs
BB Shoulder Press 40lbs - this is where I'm a wuss, could only do 4
BB Bicep Curl - didn't move the weight up to 40 even though I got 10 reps out of 35lbs last time. See, the thing is, to get all ten reps, I had to go fast and furious, arching my back to get those last few reps up. And in those cases, where form was sacrificed, it doesn't count. I read that it is easy to over train biceps so you should build up the weight slowly and gradually, or you will see very limited gains in size and strength. The frustrating thing is that it seems as though I've been hovering around 30-35lbs FOREVER! Seriously, before I got a weight bench I was using 15 pound dumbbells for my curls. Granted, I was easily getting all 10 reps, it seems like pushing it higher isn't producing gains in strength. Maybe my biceps have plateaued. In that case, I better come up with a plan for those little buggers!!
Lying Tricep Extensions 20lbs - this is different from my original workout also. I read that these are great for building triceps (which are the biggest muscle in the arm). It reminds me of skull crushers except with the bar instead of dumbbells. Same principal of keeping elbows up straight and bringing the weight to the forehead. These are TOUGH! Could only get 5 (with shaking arms). I attempted a 6th but had to drop the weight behind my head.
Donkey calf raises - with Eden on my back, she's a bit light though. Maybe I'll try with Hanna next time. She almost weighs as much as me now, I'm only 15 pounds heavier! And she's 12! Told you I was little! Hence, the weight lifting. Hoping it will help. I want to gain muscle though, NOT FAT!
Abs - crunch 25lb plate, lower ab leg lift, bicycle

And that is the "new" workout. I'm sticking to what should be the "bread and butter" of a workout. Compound movements (and yes, I know I have some isolation in there too).