Upper Body Weights

As the title says, my current routine twice a week, not specifically aiming for any targets at the moment, but if I get stronger & leaner in the process, then that's fine. Just maintaining the physique as it is for now.

It must be noted that this is not a completely set routine, as I tend to change things around a little from time to time, for example, instead of doing dumbell shoulder pressing, I'll do a barbell press instead, or simply alternate from each workout doing pressing one day, then lat raises the next.

So here is the basic layout;

Warm up by doing a few non-weighted exercises such as press-ups, squats, squat thrusts and also incorporate some stretching etc. Bear with me as I don't have the exact name for all the varying ab exercises!

So in this order is exactly what I did one day last week, with no more than 30-60 sec rest between each exercise:

I incorporate Ab work between each muscle exercise, as you will see

Phase 1
Sit-ups x 30
Flat Bench Press (barbell) 60kg x 10
Side Crunches (lying on side, rasing head & body toward ceiling) x 15 per side
Flat Bench Press 75kg x 10
Hanging Leg Raises x 16
Flat Bench Press 60 kg x 10
Leg Raises (from lying on back, straight legs up to ceiling) x 20
Incline Bench Press 50 kg x 12 (Not always done, just an "extra")

Phase 2
Raised side crunch (Side plank, twisting free arm / body floor to ceiling) x 15 per side
Pull-ups (Chins, hands facing towards yourself) x 13 (Max!)
Dumb-bell Flyes 14.5 Kg (per arm) x 12
Russian Twists + 5kg plate x 20 (10 to either side)
1 Arm rows (using bench to stablise with knee & arm on) 14.5 kg x 15 per side
"side" sit-ups (Sit-ups twisting, right and left) x 20 (10 per side)
"Normal" Dumb-bell curls (stood up, alternating), 14.5 kg x 12 per side (Similar to, but not hammer curls)

Phase 3
Reverse Woodcutters using 5Kg plate (ground to ceiling from outside left foot to above right shoulder & vice versa) x 10 per side
Dumb-bell Flyes 14.5 Kg (per arm) x 12
Hanging Leg raises x 12
1 Arm rows 14.5 kg x 15 per side
Normal Sit-ups x 30
1 Arm Dumb-bell curls (concentration curl, elbow pivoting on inside leg, sat down) 14.5 kg x 12 per side

Phase 4
Side Crunches x 15 per side
Dumb-bell Flyes 14.5 Kg x 12
Elbow-to-(opposite)knee sit up twists, alternating, dropping leg straight out each time x 60 (30 each side)
1 Arm rows 14.5 kg x 15 per side
Leg Raises (from lying on floor as in Phase 1)
1 Arm concentration curls 14.5 Kg x 12 (as in Phase 3)

Phase 5
Alternating Front and Side (Dumb-bell) Lateral rasies 12 kg x 12 (6 to front, 6 to side)
Overhead single arm Tricep extension 12 kg x 12 per arm
Repeat lat raises
Repeat tricep extension

Stretch out worked muscles / groups & enjoy protein shake!

I have labelled the phases to highlight that basically, P2, P3 & P4 are the same with small variations.

This routine takes approximately 45 - 60 minutes and is a continuous workout. Time variables are due to less/more reps, less/more exercises or sets, time taken to change plates and specifc resting pauses.

It may look like a lot, but when you are filling in what would normally be a longer rest period with Ab exercises, it isn't too much.

As I said, this was only ONE speicifc day, and I often vary the workout by changing exercises such as:

Pull ups for 3/4 sets to replace curls
Over head Dumb-bell or Barbell Pressing to replace Lat rasies
Not always do Flyes or extra incline Bench Press
Ez or Barbell curl to change from other curls, sometimes reverse grip
Not always add-in Tricep Extensions

And also playing around with the weights & sets, i.e. Bench Press 3 x 60 Kg for 12 reps or 75 Kg 1st set x 10, 70 kg 2nd set for 8, then 65 Kg 3rd set until failure.

Loads of Ab combinations to do to.

I would llike to incorporate dips but no apparatus as yet at home for this!

The Leg Weights

Ok, as it says.

Tuesday night is generally reserved for legs, simply because I'll have probably ridden over the weekend, monday is upper, and I'll need time to recover for the end of the week for any other rides.

So the current system:

Barbell, 50 Kg total,

Squats (Weight on back of shoulders) x 20 reps, immediately followed by calf raises x 20 reps
rest ~ 1 min
Deadlifts x 20 reps, ~1 min rest
Alternating Dumbell lunges x 10 per side (14.5kg / DB) ~ 2min rest

Repeat above two more times, totalling 3 sets for each left.

It may not sound like much, but it is very hard work. Certainly gets you warm!

Reasons for these lifts:

Trying to increase power (Bike Sprinting) without compromising stamina / endurance.

This is for both the Quads and the Hamstrings, both of which can be effectively utilised whilst clipped in to the pedals on the bike - Quads for pushing on the downstroke, Hams for pulling on the upstroke.

Calf endurance and power is not as critical, but the difference in cycling whilst seated or standing up utilises different portions of the leg muscles, and standing up recruits more calf muscle.

Deadlifts are certainly good for increasing grip strength and also gives the lower back an often neglected workout - partly an opposing move to sit-ups, which also provides assisted core strength.

I will stick with this basic plan for now and assess whether my cycling performance is compromised or, hopefully improved upon.

A full recovery!

Well, after being house-ridden for nearly a week, the itching / craving for some exercise was begining to take hold, as it does. I merely needed to get out of the house! So I went for a bike ride on the 8th (Friday), nothing strenuous, but I felt good.
So, once I had gained some confidence back, the weights regime was back in play the next Monday (Upper only).
And as of the following week, I began again with the legs.

This was the real test, and to my astonishment, felt fine, and even the two days afterwards, just the general buzz & pump from a weights session.

All in all, back to full strength and working my ass off.

So the back is still tender!

Well, after crippling myself I intend to get back into some light weights exercises this week. And during my return to the iron world, I am aiming to compile a bit of a health / fitness / weights knowledge somewhere, giving the basics of certain aspects of training out, not only for begginers but also to look back at myself. It will help me to identify and set new goals, especially as my holiday is closely approaching!