Hahaha seems reasonable!
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Nothing or double
Working out with my niblings fell through Monday and Tuesday, which was ok with me, because I’ve been doing 10-hour painting sessions. Things finallly worked out to go with my niece tonight and, I kid you not, just as we were finishing our last ab reps, my nephew and his friend arrived.
My nephew said, “OK Uncle Zack, will you work out with us and help me get strong and ripped?”
How could I refuse? I did two complete upper body workouts back to back 
9/25/19
Warm up - 7 minutes treadmill, all directions, 5.0 incline
Seated chest press machine / seated rows
50 x 10 / 50 x 10
70 x 8 / 75 x 10
80 x 8 / 85 x 10
90, 70 x 4, 5 / 95, 75 x 7, 7 (drop sets)
Pulldowns
140 x 10
150 x 10
160 x 8
DB OHP (strict)
40 x 9
45 x 9
50 x 10
Four more reps than last week.
DB curls
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10
Two more reps than last week.
Triceps pressdowns w/ rope
57.5 x 8
57.5 x 8
57.5 x 6
The rope feels best on my elbows.
Flutter kicks x 200
V-ups x 70
Round two!
Incline DB press
45 x 8
55 x 8
65 x 8
75 x 12
60 x 5
I’m pleased with the 12 reps after doing a full workout. Too bad planet fitness doesn’t have any larger DBs.
Seated cable rows
60 x 10
70 x 10
80 x 8
90, 70 x 6, 7
DB OHP (strict, again!)
50 x 8
55 x 6
60 x 4
My OHP strength is improving. Perhaps a body weight push press is attainable after all.
Pulldowns, redux (different machine)
60 x 10
70 x 8
60 x 10
Low pulley cable pec flyes / dips
17.5 x 9 / bw x 7
17.5 x 8 / bw x 7
17.5 x 8 / bw x 7
I’m stoked; the dips felt good again!
Chest supported rear delt flyes
15 x 10
15 x 10
15 x 15
EZ curls
50 lbs, I Go - You Go, 1 rep up to 7 reps back down to 1 rep
Standing triceps ext
30lbs x 3 sets x 20 reps each
Rowing machine
500 meters x 2:05
500 meters x 1:56
The second round of rowing was the last thing I did, even after the elliptical. I think I can do better, if I’m fresh when rowing. @Frank_C, I’m coming for your time!
Elliptical x 12:10
3 Likes
You’re already there! Five seconds is nothing.
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My goal is the 1:41 that article talked about. Vomit-inducing, but the glory makes it all worthwhile Imagine being the only person to projectile vomit across a Planet Fitness cardio floor after beating some internet fitness author’s criteria for a “good row time.” Lol
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9/26/19, Thursday
Warm-up
Treadmill, 5 mins, sideways and forward
Smith machine squats
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
165 x 6
185 x 6
205 x 4
225 x 4
Donkey kicks
90 x 12
100 x 12
85 x 12
Seated leg curls
130 x 10
140 x 8
150 x 6
Slow negatives.
Leg extensions
130 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 10
Single calf press
60 x 12
60 x 12
60 x 12
Leg press (weight stack machine)
175 x 20
175 x 20
175 x 20
I prefer the ROM on this machine over the plate-loaded leg press, and so did at least one of my niblings. We’ll probably stick to this one.
Sit-ups
bw x 3 x 20
Hanging leg raises
bw x 3 x 10
Straight arm seated ab “press”
110 x 3 x 10
Elliptical
16 minutes
A good, machine-based leg workout. Once again, the Smith squats were as tough as barbell squats for me and left us all exhausted. Good exercise choice 
I’d like to do more cardio in future sessions. We may delve into deadlifts on the Smith machine sometime this weekend.
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That can be tricky depending on how you’re built. I can do RDL’s just fine though. If you get the bar away from your shins a bit then it just makes you work harder.
Yep, very true. The Smith machines move at a slight angle, so I think pulling with the bar moving slightly towards the body will keep the weight close and help us move in a more natural path.
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Doing good TnT. That’s some quality time you’re getting in there.
For how long time were you at the gym on the double workout?
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Thanks, Mort. I’m enjoying this opportunity. The double workout lasted three hours! My evening was open, so the time was well spent. I normally like to keep my lifting sessions to an hour, and lately I’ve done a couple sessions of just one lift, which really cuts down time.
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9/28/19, Saturday
Just deficit deadlifts
Warm-up - laying side leg raises.
Burned more than shoe weight should’ve. Warming up while laying on my bedroom rug has gotta be as lazy of an exercise as one can do
Deficit deadlifts
115 x 10 (snatch grip)
155 x 5 (sg)
195 x 5 (sg)
235 x 5 (sg)
255 x 5 (regular doh)
275 x 5 (doh)
275 x 5 (doh)
275 x 5 (doh)
275 x 5 (doh)
This week’s exercising was split between two days at home of a single lift and two extensive gym days. I did each target lift this week without burning out or overdoing things and hope to repeat the consistency in the coming week.
Here’s to a good week for us all!
4 Likes
9/29/19, Sunday
Walk/jog
Around 35 minutes, will edit later with distance
1 Like
9/30/19, Monday
Upper body, Planet Fitness
Warm-up
Face pulls - red band x 4 x 15
Curls, laterals, tri ext, OHP - 10lbs x 15
Low incline DB press
55 x 10
65 x 8
75 x 12
75 x 9
75 x 7
60 x 12
Good weight for working sets, aiming for 3 x 12 with the 75s.
Seated cable rows, wide neutral grip
120 x 10
140 x 8
160 x 6
180 x 4 (3-sec. neg.)
180 x 4 (3-sec. neg.)
140 x 12
Ahhhh, finally the machine and handle I’ve been wanting!
DB OHP (strict)
50 x 7
55 x 6
60 x 5
45 x 11
Pullups
bw x 24 total
Pec deck / dips
130 x 8 / bw x 8
130 x 8 / bw x 8
115 x 8 / bw x 8
Dips are still feeling good. I’m creeping up the reps and hope to be dipping double-digit sets soon enough.
Rear delt flyes, chest supported
17.5 x 12
17.5 x 12
17.5 x 12
EZ curls
50 lb pass-around, 2 reps to 8 back to 2; did a burnout on the last set for 70 total reps.
DB Suitcase carries
50 x 1 lap
55 x 2 laps
We needed to do SOMETHING for abs, but no one wanted to. I’ve meant to try these and figured it was a good opportunity. All if us enjoyed these more than crunches! It was just three dudes tonight, so I had us down the exercises we most enjoy. I went a little light and will increase weight next time.
Treadmill
1.09 miles, 14:00, 2:00 walk 4.0 incline, 1:15 jog 0 incline
2 Likes
You’re now looking at (or, reading from) the newest (more or less) member of Planet Fitness 
At $10/month and with family wanting to work out with me, it was a deal I couldn’t pass up.
Since they don’t have barbells and their dumbbells only go to 75lbs, I’ll have to adjust my routine somewhat. I might set aside one day a week to push press, squat, and deficit deadlift at home. Or I might do a barbell lift at home then go to the gym. It’ll come down to whether I’m training non alone or with family.
With the return of autumn temps and early nightfall, I’m actually looking forward to indoor exercise. As much as I enjoy outdoor workouts, going to a gym is simply easier, especially when it’s less than a mile from my house. I’m excited for this new undertaking.
4 Likes
The bar I have is better than the one at the gym so a couple days a week I have been doing the barbell lifts in the morning and finishing at the gym in the evening. Seems to work okay
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This might be my favorite grip for rows.
Congrats on the gym membership. As much as I enjoy cables and machines for upper body work, I think PF could be a good place. Like you said, you can squat and deadlift at home.
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10/2/19, Wednesday
Lower body
Warm-up
Multi-directiobal treadmill walk, 7:00
Face pulls / Back extensions
20 x 15 / bw x 15
20 x 15 / bw x 15
Smith machine deadlifts / pullups
110 x 10 / bw x 5
200 x 5 / bw x 5
250 x 5 / bw x 5
270 x 5 / bw x 5
290 x 5 / bw x 5
310 x 5
Though not surprising, that was a bit of a disappointment. Deadlifts on a standard Smith machine are awkward. The upside is they’re like a low rack pull, so I might keep them in for high weight reps. We’ll see.
Single leg press
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 10
Selectorized machine; much harder than when using two legs!
Seated leg curls
130 x 8
140 x 8
150 x 8
Seated hip addiction / abduction
160 x 15 / 160 x 15
170 x 15 / 170 x 15
180 x 15 / 180 x 15
Single calf press
65 x 15
65 x 15
65 x 15
Decline crunches & sit-ups
bw x 75
Arc cardio machine
30:00, 1.59 miles, resistance 4
2 Likes
Yep, you and the Bulgarians are inspiration for me doing the same method. There are things I like about a gym and also things I like about home workouts, so why not do a bit of both?
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Yep, I’ve developed a love for the wide neutral grip, too. And it turns out that’s just what my body needs. At shoulder PT a couple years ago, the therapist told me ovwrhead work strengthens the uppdwe traps, and wide grip rows work the lower traps. The wide grip is necessary for scapular depression correcting strength imbalances.
Is it just me, or do cables and machines feel easier on the joints than free weights? My theory is cables and machines relieve some stress because the body’s joints aren’t the sole fulcrums for force.
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Yes. They also reduce some of the strange loading curves. I can do all of my upper body training on cables.
I’ll keep that in mind. I’m really struggling to keep my right shoulder depressed when in raise my arm. The scapula is supposed to elevate but mine does it too early. It’s irritating. I think some incline or cable Y raises could help, too.
The PT had me eliminate all overhead work, including pulldowns, for a couple months, so I could correct the strength imbalance. At PT, some of the major exercises I did were wide rows, pull aparts, and standing band straight-arm pulldowns, keeping my hands from going above shoulder height.
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