The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

Saturday got off to a pretty good start.  I got to the gym early enough to do an upper body training session, before getting into a 45-minute spin class to chalk up a cardio session as well.

I was a little discouraged by the weight I was pushing today, but a quick glance back through my log shows noticeable progress even from a few weeks ago so I guess there's nothing to get bummed about.  In case anyone is interested, my upper body routine lately goes something like this, completed in 40 minutes or so if I'm really humping:

1A  Bench press.  Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 115/135/135
1B  Cable row.  Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 135/150/150
(Superset 1A and 1B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

2A  Dumbbell Flye.  Three sets of ten at 2 x 35/2 x 35/2 x 35.  Usually don't go to failure, instead focus on holding form
2B  Cable pulldown. Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 105/120/120
(Superset 2A and 2B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

3A  Dumbell shoulder press.  Two sets today, ten reps (or to failure) at 2x35/2x35
3B  Bent-over lat raise. Two sets today, ten reps (or to failure) at 2x20/2x20.  Focus on form
(Superset 3A and 3B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

Threw in some swiss ball crunches at the end as well - 35 reps)

I've come to the conclusion that my triceps are weak and limiting my other compound moves, so I usually try to add some tricep-specific stuff like pullovers.  Not today though due to time constraints.  I bounce between cable and free weights depending on my mood and the availability of equipment, and throw in dips and pull-ups once in a while as well, but this is the general form of my upper-body work.  Gotta work on my bench press - I just started doing BP's again over the past few weeks and I'd like to add some significant weight to it.