Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 345
Day 345 For today's workout I didn't manage to get a lot done. After the last couple workouts my lower body had undertaken a lot of work. To give my legs some rest, I decided to focus on some upper body strength. I didn't do a lot of exercises, but the work I did do was still productive.
Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to push myself a bit more with the weight. Today I think I made some strides in the right direction. I was recently reading an article on the many methods to increase muscle growth. Typically the focus for increasing the size of a muscle is on the volume of work. The more volume the more muscle growth. Usually and increase in volume requires and decrease in intensity. The method I tried today allowed for a high volume while still maintaining I relatively high intensity. I was quite interested to give it a try.
Today's Workout:
Exercise 1: Barbell Bench Press 8 sets / 5 reps (8 rep max) / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 195lbs x 5 Set 2: 195lbs x 5 Set 3: 195lbs x 5 Set 4: 195lbs x 5 Set 5: 195lbs x 5 Set 6: 195lbs x 5 Set 7: 195lbs x 5 Set 8: 195lbs x 5
Exercise 2: Seated Cable Row 8 sets / 5 reps (8 rep max) / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 160lbs x 5 Set 2: 160lbs x 5 Set 3: 180lbs x 5 Set 4: 180lbs x 5 Set 5: 180lbs x 5 Set 6: 180lbs x 5 Set 7: 180lbs x 5 Set 8: 180lbs x 5
I've done high volume strength protocols in the past but never any with quite same amount of intensity. It didn't present too much of a challenge in the beginning, but as I got deeper into the later sets I definitely got the sense that I was working quite hard. Using a heavier load for that many sets left me with a really deep muscular fatigue. I'm interested to see if I'm sore tomorrow. The workout was something new, so my body may or may not have been ready for it. I guess I'll know tomorrow.
I kind of feel guilty for not getting a decent sweat today, but I'll do my best to make up for it tomorrow. I officially have only 20 days left until I've completed my goal. Pretty crazy how fast this year has gone by. When you're actually keeping track of the days it's interesting how time seems to go quickly and slowly at the same time. That being said, I'm still not finished yet. Have to keep my head down and soldier through.