Ur-Workout: 60 mins
89kg, BMI 25
0. Warmup: stretching
1. Bench press: 10, 8, 6, 6*, 8 @ 60-80kg (?)[* I got a spot on my 6th rep of my 4th set. Because a really big small guy was hogging the bench by the time I got to my 5th set, and I was under the gun to get to work on time, I did my last set on a Smith machine. Turns out my hunch was right: the Smith machine gives a slight handicap. But I just wanted to "get the thing done." Interestingly enough, though, this article reports a strength deficit on the Smith machine due to the angle of the tracks. Quote:
A study ... found that trained lifters were, on average, more than 15% stronger during their one-rep max bench press when testing with a free-weight barbell as compared to a Smith machine. In a follow-up study..., trained bodybuilders were about 10% stronger during the free-weight bench press compared to the Smith machine bench press when using a 10-rep max weight. The strength deficit on the Smith machine is due to the fixed, straight path of the bar in the Smith machine. In contrast, when pressing the bar up during a bench press, the strongest path is a curved one (heading toward your chin on the way up).
These results don't mean you should never use a Smith machine for bench presses. ... The bar path may be a biomechanical disadvantage, but it will hit different muscle fibers than the barbell version. In addition, a Smith machine lets you worry less about balance and focus more on the pectoral contraction. For bodybuilders training alone, a Smith machine offers the critical advantage of safety.]
2. Pullup: 12, 13, 14 @ bodyweight
3. Dumbbell military press (total weight, not per hand): 10, 8, 8 @ 30–45kg
[The big little guy was hogging the squat rack when I started, so I went for dumbbell presses on an adjustable chair/bench. These felt pretty good with a bench supporting my back so maybe I'll try it again this way. Then again, maybe I should use the Smith machine. Always good to keep tweaking.]
4. Barbell curl: 10, 8, 6 @ 30–42.5kg
5. Elbows-out dumbbell tricep extension: 10, 8, 6 @ 18kg, 18kg, 20kg
6. Leg extension: 20, 15, 15 @ 30kg, 45kg, 55kg
7. Leg curl: 20, 15, 15 @ 20kg, 30kg, 40kg
8. Standing calf raise: N/A
[Moratorium on calf raises, due to foot injury.]
9. Kneeling rope pulldown (+obliques): 30, 30 @ 73kg, 77.5kg
[I love these but could only fit two sets in today.]
10. Wrist curl: N/A
[I work wrists on off-days.]
I felt pretty drained by the middle of this workout. Partially this was due to the fact that I was moving pretty fast from exercise to exercise, so I could make it to work on time, but my recent "sophomoric" sleep pattern the past week or so hasn't helped at all. As the Chinese say, "You yin, you guo" (For every effect there is a cause). Part of the problem also was that I worked my wrists and obliques last night--gripping a heavy box just off the floor till failure for 3 sets, and hoisting a large bucket of water 35 reps per side for 3 sets--, so my wrists felt more fatigued even after my first set. I think I'll start having morning classes again soon, which will motivate me to go to sleep earlier, which is all for the better.
ADDENDUM:
I was feeling frisky––or maybe just melancholy––after work, so, after reading a stimulating review of The Case for Qualia, I scurried home for a small "cleanup" workout:
Dumbbell "flip" curl (per arm): 12, 12, 13 @ 16kg, 14kg, 14kg
[I can't recall the name of these curls––something with a Z-name but not Zercher––, but you begin with an underhand grip, rotate into a "beer mug" grip on the way up until you have an overhand grip at the top of the curl, and then lower the weight with an overhand grip until you rotate back into an underhand grip at the bottom.]
Dumbbell flye (per arm): 12, 13, 15 @ 20kg
[As Arnold insists, these are not presses: don't "flap" your arms and "clap" the weights together. Instead, lower the weights with semi-curled arms so as to stretch your chest and then squeeze the weights inward, not upward, until they are a few inches apart (again, not until they "clink").]
Seated elbows-out extension (per arm): 10, 10, 10 @ 14kg
2 comments:
I own this smith machine, and I agree you cannot lift as much. However, I seem to more readily get a good pump, and I'm more sore the next day. I use it for incline and decline BP. The gun rack is all kinds of useful.
http://bodysolid.com/Home/item.cfm?id=523
Hello, good doctor, nice to hear from you. How are you? I didn't know you lifted. Yet another way in which we have a resonant friendship despite our ideological differences. ;)
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