A Day at the Gym For the Old Dog
March 22nd 2007 10:04
The regal Chow-like the old gym guy?!
Here is an account of my last encounter with the gym and my commentary on what I am doing as I do it. Follow me.
I arrive at the gym at 40 minutes past the hour. I check the clock,because I have given myself a half hour and that's it. Today I intend to train back, biceps,and abs. I will begin with chest because it is the largest muscle and requires the most attention. I line up the movements in my head. I will be doing a giant set: all the back movements for the day in a big cycle on after the other as fast as I can move from one to the other. I will be using a machine that mimics a wide grip chin in front of the head. I will then move to a rowing machine to work the other major portion of the back. Both muscle groups thus get two movements each.From there I will use a machine that mimics that close grip chin. Then its off to the t-bar for some bent over rows. I make the circuit 3 times for a total of 12 sets. It is now about 52 minutes past the hour.
While I am doing the back work I am concentrating on extending each set to failure. I also use partial repetitions at the end of a set to extend the stimulation. On the chin movements I practice an isometric contraction when I can no longer do even a partial repetition. That means I try to move the weight and the muscle contractions like it did when we moved the weight,but this time we cannot move it. This way I get some extra muscle stimulation instead of quitting.
On the row machine I use a narrow grip and keep my back straight. I continue to do reps until failure and add a couple half reps at the end to go the limit. The t-bar has wide and narrow handles and I start wide and when I fail out there I switch to the narrow and continue to work. I am conscious that the tendency on a t-bar is not to maintain the bent over position and sort of rock up when the weight comes up, thus using momentum to actually move the weights. I hold my line.On the last set I drop the weight a little or the set will never get off the ground. That I consider a sign that I have been working fairly hard.
From back I go to biceps. They are already hurting from their participation in the back work. I do six sets in the next six minutes. I begin with preacher bench curls and discover that its all I can do to haul up a smaller than usual weight. I begin with a wide grip and when that fails I switch to the narrow handles and keep on. I move from preachers to a flat bench where I do simultaneous curls from a seated position. I concentrate there on keeping my upper body slightly bent forward to increase the torque on the biceps as I raise the weight and I emphasize the turning of the wrist to peak the biceps. Every set is to failure and on the preacher bench I practice isometric contraction when I can no longer do a full rep.
At sixteen minutes I realize that I have enough time to grab some calf training. I alternate between donkey raises and seated raises so that I hit both the muscles of the calf. I work to failure on every set and grind out eight sets as fast as I can move from one to the other.
At 25 minutes I do my abs. Their training involves rotating between three ab machines- all of which are variations on the crunch theme. I go to failure on every set,but part way through I realize that my concentration is waning. This confirms my theory that 30 minutes is a natural human task delimiter. I hurry on and after nine sets I am off to the shower. Forty five minutes after I entered the gym I am in the car and out of there.
Later in the day my back is sore and my calves are talking to me. My biceps are sore right at the elbow:the preachers are working. Your servant, as always.
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