Exercise Log 1.25.14 (Back Day, No Cardio)

The weather this weekend was abysmal and I found myself skipping the gym completely, just wanting to get home for fear of letting the roads get any worse. So I was stuck at home on what really needed to be a back day and I was iffy on whether or not I could make this happen. My primary back day exercise is deadlifts, and my secondary exercises mostly all use substantially more weight than I even have at home. I gotta say the end result made me very happy, though. It was a creative and fun back day for me.

Pull-ups: I can do pull ups in my doorway in my room, but the grip is uncomfortable (it’s a support beam that runs through the floor). So I took a slower approach and did 5 sets of 8 reps. Felt pretty good.

Deadlifts: I can’t do conventional deadlifts at home as my heaviest load here is only 65lbs. However I decided if I can’t go heavy load, why not go high volume? After 6 sets of 20 reps per set, I felt pretty good. Definitely worked my body in a different way than conventional deadlifting, but sometimes that’s good!

Good Mornings: Putting the ez curl bar on my shoulders I dipped down for good mornings, which work the low back and hamstrings. Went for 5 sets of 8 reps @ 65lbs.

One-Armed Curl Bar Rows: I realized if I grabbed my curl bar by the center pivot and was careful, I could row it just like an oversized dumbbell. 65lbs is a fair weight to row, so it worked well. 4 sets of 10 reps each arm @ 65lbs.

T-Bar Rows: Next I loaded my curl bar with all the weight at one end, jammed the other end in the corner and did some t-bar rows. So the weighted end was 50lbs, which is alright but low for a t-bar row, so I focused on form a lot to hold it right and pushed the volume up. Did 4 sets of 16 reps.

Bent-over Rows: Simple way to wrap up, since it’s a light weight I did 4 sets of 20 reps.

Felt real good after this one, and liked some of the ingenuity that went into setting it up (big back pats for this). Goes to show if you get creative you can work out even with limited gear. Although when my tax return comes through, I need to invest in some extra equipment!

You won’t see a log for Sunday, it was a rest day, the weather was hideous again and I used the opening to go home. It would’ve been chest day in the rotation which is hard to do at home. It was nice to have a relaxing day, and I feel like the body needs it sometimes.