It’s getting serious again. I haven’t been great at going to the gym every day, in fact, I’ve been pretty terrible. But I’m starting to believe that my strength can come back. I have somehow managed to be there for chest day most weeks. Today I was finally able to push a little harder. It felt really good.

Flat Bench:
12 x 135
10 x 185
4 x 205 (+1 with help)

Incline Bench:
12 x 135
8 x 155
4 x 165 (+1 with help)

Skull Crushers:
8 x 65
5 x 65 (couldn’t hold form on #5)
8 x 45

Incline Dumbbell Press:
12 x 35
10 x 45
5 x 55 (+1 with help)

Bar Dips:
8 x -100 (machine provided 100 pounds of lift)
8 x -100 (machine provided 100 pounds of lift)

Needless to say, my arms feel like Jello. Tomorrow will be an interesting day.

Yesterday we pushed the sled across the parking lot. There wasn’t a lot to say about it, so I didn’t blog it.

Today we were inside. I have a long way to go to get back into shape, but I feel like I may be starting to make some progress. We’re guessing my one-rep max on flat bench is about 225. We based the rest of my weights off that max. We had to cut out a little early today, because someone scheduled a meeting for 1:00.

Flat Bench:
12 x 135 (60% of max)
5 x 170 (75% of max)
5 x 190 (85% of max)

Incline Bench:
12 x 135
5 x 155
5 x 175

Skull Crushers:
6 x 65
6 x 75
6 x 75

Bar Dips:
0 (+6)
1 (+5)
1 (+5)

Upright Fly:
8 x 90
8 x 100
8 x 110

I had to meet an old friend and landscaper at lunch today, so I asked Sam, Tom, and Micah to go to the gym a little late. I barely made it back in time to jump in on the flat bench. Because we started late, we tried to hurry and didn´t end up doing as many different exercises as usual. At this point, I´m sort of glad that we didn´t, because, once again, I can barely lift my arms.

Flat Bench:
12 x 135
10 x 155
8 x 155

Bar Dips:
2, 3, 3

Incline Bench:
5 x 135
12 x 115
10 x 115

Skull Crushers:
6 x 65
6 x 65
5 x 65

Today was legs day at the gym. I really overdid my first chest workout last week, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t overdo it on legs today. I started off doing it right, keeping the weight light, but at some point I still pushed beyond the capacity of my legs. I think it’s been about 5 years since the last time I did any of these exercises. I guess I’m lucky I can still walk.

Squat:
45 x 12
135 x 12
155 x 10
155 x 8

Leg Press:
12 x 380
10 x 400
10 x 420

Standing Calf Raises:
12 x 240
12 x 300
12 x 300

Hamstring Curl:
12 x 80
12 x 100
12 x 120

Seated Leg Extension:
12 x 120
12 x 120
12 x 120

I am not a strong man. I used to think I was a strong man, but I am not nearly as strong as I was when I used to think that. You don’t realize how quickly your strength fades away when you stop working out. That all became crystal clear today. It was chest day.

I started off feeling really good, but after just a couple reps at 185 on the flat bench, I was done. After I finished making a fool of myself on the flat bench, we moved to bar dips. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to do any at all, since I had always had a hard time with dips, and my arms were clearly out of juice. To my surprise I was able to do a few without cheating, but soon I could barely extend my arms on their own power. It was pretty sad.

Flat Bench:
135 x 12
185 x 5
205 x 3
205 x 1

Bar Dips:
3, 3, 2

Pec Fly (machine):
80 x 12
80 x 10
80 x 8

Standing Tri Extension (machine):
160 x 12
150 x 10
150 x 8

French Curl (skull crushers):
65 x 6
65 x 5
55 x 6

Incline Dumbbell Fly:
30 x 12
30 x 10
30 x 8

We went to Carl’s Jr on our way back to work. The only way I could drink was to balance it on my leg and bend down to the cup. There was no way I could hold it up. It will be interesting to see what happens next week.