Exercise Log 5.13.14 (Dev Day & Run, Jump, Lift, Throw)

My second workout day of the new cycle was my new developmental day, but that took a back seat a bit to the fact that it was also testing out a new gym. The new gym was interesting, it had a lot of equipment, was very quiet in comparison to my normal gym so very ready access to things. Plus it has day visitor rates, so if I want to bring a guest or have a meetup here it’s possible.

Developmental day is about shoring up deficiencies but it’s also a day of general physical preparation. Key body parts to do on this day I think are definitely shoulders and core, if I have nothing else on the agenda. I have been wanting to learn a new exercise, the barbell overhead press, thinking about giving Dev Day the Overhead Press as it’s own special lift even. My shoulders are still impinged, ever so slightly, so I definitely took it with caution.

Here is a quick video showcasing the overhead press…

Omar Isuf gives you a quick view at this underrated exercise.

I had my workout in the morning because in the evening I planned on going to a fitness meetup function where I joined Eddy Jones for Run, Jump, Lift, Throw which is a great physical activity meetup if you live in the Pittsburgh area.

Anyways, first my usual log of the morning workout…

Overhead Press: This was a more challenging exercise than I imagined, but that’s logical given it’s a pretty big motion and it’s my first time. Plus I was very cautious due to the impingement issues. I think I did get through here without any serious shoulder aggrevation, so that was a good sign, but had to keep very strict to form so just took my time, kept the weight low. I really don’t think I’m super strong in this lift yet, mostly due to just not doing it ever. I’m hoping if this develops though my shoulders become stronger and more stable, and they support me better in my other lifts. Like I said, I may make this Dev day’s primary lift. Set 1) 3 reps @ 95lbs. Sets 2 & 3) 5 reps @ 85lbs. Sets 4 & 5) 8 reps @ 65lbs.

Side Lateral Raise: Tried these as an accessory shoulder exercise, made sure to watch my form keep my arms in and dumbbells out in front of me. Kept the sets light due to concern that I’d aggrevate impingement. 3 sets of 10 reps @ 20lbs.

Side Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps @ 15lbs. Slow and controlled form.

Reverse Delt Flys: Did these today with my head resting on a mat and leaned forward, felt like it did help isolate the delts and back. 3 sets of 12 reps @ 25lbs.

That wrapped up shoulders, and I did feel good about the form and weight levels being safe for not aggrevating the shoulder impingement issues. The week off helped a lot. Just gotta be careful as I proceed with the workout schedule and I think I will be good. I do a lot of stretching throughout the day, almost habitually now. Next I did some core work.

Cable Crunches / Stomach Vacuum: These are awesome for my core, and for the first time I had a reason to pin a plate to the weight stack to add weight. I also used dumbbells to keep my legs down. Set 1) 12 reps cable crunches / 5 stomach vacuums @ 150lbs. Sets 2 & 3) 12 reps cable crunches / 5 stomach vacuums @ 175lbs.

Oblique Chops: 3 sets of 10 reps each direction (up to down, down to up, each hand) @ 60lbs. *

* Update: After two days my obliques, especially upper, are real damn sore from these. This is definitely a very effective workout for the obliques and one of those rare ones I think I might go two sets on in the future.

So I didn’t want to run on the treadmill and didn’t feel like leaving the gym for cardio. So one thing I scoped in the new gym was a nice little room tucked in the back with a heavy bag hanging out. Well I don’t know any fighting technique training but I know how to punch and kick shit. So I decided to just work out at an intensity with the bag that would keep me in the “doing cardio” zone for 15 minutes. It was a fantastic time, basically did myself a flurry of punches on the bag 10 times then 10 hard kicks with each leg, and repeated for several cycles until I decided I had spent enough time. I got this idea from CT Fletcher, who put up a Youtube video where he talks about what he does for cardio that I saw earlier this morning… will definitely consider doing this as a “cardio fix” in the future. In fact I’ll link the video.

This guy is a little crazy I think, but it’s good to get a fresh perspective

So after that, I felt like I had to do something else so I did 20 pullups. Nothing fancy, I’m still kind of shitty as a pullup-er-er.

Alright so that’s plenty of a workout, but that was just the morning. After a few hours it was time to go out again. I always underestimate the workouts at Run, Jump, Lift, Throw and always wind up getting my ass kicked as a result.

First up was 5 rounds of 25 air squats with a 400m lap around the Schenley Oval. That was particularly tiring, took 14:27 (Eddy keeps time thankfully so yay for having the ability to log the madness of it). Then as many reps as possible of 50 jump ropes, 5 burpees and 5 mountain climbers… completed 4 rounds of that and got into 18 rope skips before time was up. Lastly was push-ups, I thought I did very well actually considering my shoulders are snapped to shit, 2 minutes of max reps to failure. I lasted almost the whole 2 minutes fell down finally probably 10 seconds away from it being over and clocked 47 pushups. I had always personally wondered how many pushups I could do in one go ever since last year, when – to attempt to impress some attractive lady I met at a party – I did 35 in one go… to hit 47 today, with extra cautiousness due to my still semi-snapped up shoulders, I think is a marked improvement.

Then as if that wasn’t enough there was 4 laps of jogging around the oval to wrap up, although I admit the last lap and a half I mostly walked.

All in all, busy busy day and a great excuse to have a nice big dinner by the end of it all. Had great fun and definitely earned a rest day tomorrow!