Back At It Again. At Least For Today. Back and Bicep Workout.

Taking two days off from the gym does a body wonders.  With longer work days and early morning starts to those days I had to take two days off in a row from the gym.  Now it's so easy to take a day off and another and another.  It could have been so easy to crawl back into bed instead of going to the gym.  I was so groggy at first.  But once at the gym and moving I had a great workout!

Back and Biceps at gym. 15 min Pop Ride at home. Close to my goal with 6 more rides to 350 by my birthday. pic.twitter.com/kr9GN1xAYs

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) February 3, 2023

FRIDAY
5 minutes warm up
Asst Wide Grop Pull Up 1 2 3 4
Curlbar Preacher Curl 1 2 3 4
Widegrip Cable Pulldown 1 2 3 4
Cable Hammer Curl 1 2 3 4
Seated Cable Row 1 2 3 4
Ezbar Drag Curl 1 2 3 4
Ezbar Upright Row 1 2 3

Back and Biceps at the gym then quickly home for a 15 minute Pop Ride.  I got about 7 rides left to I hit 350.  I made it my goal to get to 350 by my birthday on Feb 14th.  That shouldn't be a problem.  Hopefully can make it a live class and take a live class on my birthday.  I'll be skipping the gym again tomorrow since I'm working from open to close.  I'll hit the gym later on Sunday.  

Can't Skip My Morning Workout - Chest, Triceps and Shoulder Day!

Chest Day!  I so wanted to skip this morning.  When I got out of my bed this morning I so wanted to go back to bed.  But I know I may not work out again to Friday or Sunday!!!  Tonight I may have to cover an event so I'll work late which means my 7:30pm bedtime will be missed.  Hopefully my coworker will feel better and do their own event. If so and I get to bed early I'll do a Back and Bicep Day.  Thursday I gotta open a facility and Saturday I'm opening one and closing another.  So workouts this week can't be missed when I don't have a good excuse.

Chest, Tri and Shoulders at the gym. Home for a 10 min Lanebreak pic.twitter.com/nh2OTgWLYY

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 31, 2023

TUESDAY
5 min warm up cardio
BB Incline Chest Press
10x EB
8x at 82.14% of 1RM
8x at 82.14% of 1RM
6x at 82.14% of 1RM
6x at 82.14% of 1RM
4x at 82.14% of 1RM
Flat Bench DB Fly 1 2 3
Flat Bench DB Skullcrusher 1 2 3
Seated DB OH Press 1 2 3
Seated Machine Pec Fly 1 2 3
SS - Rope Tricep Pulldown / Facepulls 1 2 3

Then quickly home for a 10 minute Lane Break Class.  Every time I take a Lanebreak Class I'm heart broken by the count of people who have taken that class.  Some of the Lanebreaks have less than 100 rides done with them.  I get it most people pay Peloton for the Instructors and motivation but sometimes just riding to the music is what one needs.  

Been Too Quiet, I'mma Get Loud and Trust The Process Leg Day Workout

Abort the morning workout was my first reaction when waking up.  Last nights sleep was meh.  An Oura Ring Sleep Score of 70 which is Good but I felt not so good.  Ugh! Got to the gym and did a 10 minute Incline Power Walk to wake up the legs.

Leg Day capped with a 15 minute Low Impact Ride. 103 Week Streak w/ @onepeloton pic.twitter.com/OYs8iamq3N

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 30, 2023

MONDAY
10 min Power Walk
5x EB Good Mornings
5x EB Bottom Half Squat
5x EB Good Mornings
5x EB Bottom Half Squat
BB Back Squat
6x at 75% of 1RM
6x at 75% of 1RM
6x at 75% of 1RM
6x at 75% of 1RM
5x at 75% of 1RM
4x at 80.55% of 1RM
2x at 80.55% of 1RM
Leg Extensions 1 2 3 4 5
Calf Raises on Leg Press Machine 1 2 3

The focus today was my Back Squat.  Felt okay but not great.  I say that knowing not everyday is going to be a PR day.  Some day's it's hard to sit back and respect the process.  I'm getting stronger and I'm looking stronger.  After the workout at the gym it was home for a 15 minute Low Impact Ride.  Just to flush it all out.  Today is going to be a good day.  Easing my way into the morning and a Pickleball League starts today.  I'm not playing just the organizer.  Learning to play pickleball is one of my goals for 2023.  Just basic play nothing crazy.    

Tomorrow will be Chest, Triceps and Shoulders and Wednesday will be Back and Biceps.  

 

 

It's Me, I'm The Problem, It's Me, My Workout Agrees And Other Musings From My Workout

It's my fault.  Everyone Agrees.  It's Me!  I self-sabotaged my workout with one too many White Claws last night.  I slept good but I woke up feeling like crap.  I needed to blow off some steam but should have left that for the gym and not for White Claws.  Oh well I got my workout in.  It was meh at best.  Just not in the right mindset.  I also skipped a few movements and did my workout out of my regular order as I was working around others.  The advantage of waking up early allows me to do more of my workout.  But due to White Claws I had a later start. 

Back and Biceps at the gym. Sort of a Meh feeling. 20 min Low Impact Ride. Rest of the day is resting and reading. pic.twitter.com/9sXNkq1mg1

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 29, 2023

SUNDAY

15 minutes Warming Up and Stretching
Asst Wide Grip Pull Up 1 2 3 4
BB Bent Over Under Hand Grip Row 1 2 3 4
Curlbar Preacher Curl 1 2 3 4
Seated Cable Row 1 2 3 4
Ezbar Drag Curl 1 2 3 4
Ezbar Upright Row 1 2 3

Recently I was promoted and left the facility I’ve been at. The folks from one of the fitness classes signed two cards for me and had a little breakfast party. This is my proof that all the small things I do everyday mean so much to so many people. pic.twitter.com/DuejawTYR2

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 29, 2023

Back to 180 Gestures or Random Acts Of Fitness or My Random Thoughts In Between Sets (Read Part One HERE):

I recently posted I’d either be quitting my job in the next 48 hours or be there for 4 to 8 years. It seems I’ll be here for years to come. Why?

Well I know my Why? What drives me to wake up every day and show up. My Why…

To help others move through life and sport.

Simple enough. I may not be able to add years to someone’s life but I can add quality to those years.

How do you measure quality? You don’t have to because everyone around will. You just have to be open to hear and see it.

The 180 Random Acts of Fitness for me was as simple as making sure everything at my center was working so that residents could come in and do their activities without any worry. 180 in that they meet three days a week almost every week and been at the center since October 2022.

After the gym I came home for a 20 minute Low Impact Ride.  Tomorrow is going to be my LEG DAY!  Back Squats!  Tuesday will be back to Chest/Tri and Wednesday will be Back/Bi.  Thursday will be Recovery as I'm opening one of my work centers.  

Catching Up With My 2000’s Self And Other Musings From My Workout #iamicaniwillido

Tiny Dancer
Gym Dumps
Catching Up With My 2000’s Self And Other Musings From My Workout

My thought process.  I have little rant or post that I was typing into my Notes app in between sets.  So I'm writing my workout and typing a ramp.  First Tiny Dancer was on my FitRadio playlist and this lady at the gym is so great that she dances in the mirror in between her sets.  She dances like she doesn't care and I love her for that!  Gym Dumps, um, well let's just say my coffee and preworkout hit and I finished my Incline Chest Press Set just in time.  And finally...

My dumbbell chest movements are back to my mid-2000’s pounds.  The Workout:

Chest, Triceps and Shoulders capped off with a 20 min HITT Tread block. Once home will do some sort of ride. Then to one of my facilities to set up an office. Easy Day. pic.twitter.com/hEYEoVEDuh

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 28, 2023

SATURDAY
10 min cardio and about 5 min stretching
BB Incline Chest Press
10x EB
8x at 78.57% of 1RM
8x at 78.57% of 1RM
6x at 82.14% of 1RM
6x at 82.14% of 1RM
5x at 85.71% of 1RM
5x at 85.71% of 1RM
Flat Bench DB Chest Fly 1 2 3 4 (Increased Weight)   I did the weight with Dumbbells that I would do back in the mid-2000's when I was probably at my fittest.  
Flat Bench DB Skullcrusher 1 2 3 4
Flat Bench Close Grip Press 1 2 3 4
Seated DB OH Press 1 2 3 4
SS - Tricep Rope Pushdown / Face Pulls 1 2 3 4
Standing DB Lateral Raise 1 2 3

That was the workout.  I will say I've hit some great milestones that last few weeks in my strength.  Is this a comeback or don't call it a comeback?  Whatever I'm just happy to keep moving.  Oh and my in between set's un-edited rant..

Random Acts of Fitness Where Have You Been? A month ago I needed to reignite my Why in relation to my work. Since Im no longer Group Ex Coaching or Personal Training I was feeling lost. Maybe my Why had changed or needed to Change? On top of that I was working 6 days a week for three months in a row. My burnout was starting to simmer.

My solution at the time was to try and find “Random Acts of Fitness” in my day. I was in the Fake It To You Make It Mode. I was in the Build It and They Will Come Mode. I figured if I could something small everyday even unintentionally it would feed my desire, my Why.

Did It Work? It’s Been A Month Has My Desire Been Feed?

Well, Yes. But it wasn’t one big gesture that I did it was about 180 gestures over 13 months or so. Woah, 180 that’s a lot of stuff right?

And home for a 20 min Low Impact Ride pic.twitter.com/1wl8MqFVmf

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 28, 2023

So back to right now...actually skipping around a bit.  I had saved this post as a Draft and POOF my computer crashed.  I had earlier taken a 20 minute Low Impact and the Peloton Instructor invited everyone to take a class along with her this Saturday...TODAY!  It was an FTP warmup and FTP Test Class!  Hell Yeah I said.  So played on my phone to the class started.  

Forty minutes later I'm done.  Ready to eat lunch and do some errands.  But what about the rant?  Did I Find My Why Again?  What prompted me to rant on today?  Stay tuned tomorrow.  I'll add that in between sets.  

 

Did my first FTP Test on the Bike+. Kinda cool that after you take the class the bike then shows your Zones. I had no idea! #peloton pic.twitter.com/lMpgaZHe6l

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 28, 2023

As for today's Random Acts of Fitness: I HIGH-5'd lots of people in the Peloton classes.

Stronger Than Yesterday Well Maybe Than Last Week. My Biceps Ain't Killing Me No More So I Increased My Weight.

Grrrr....I lost my post.  It was sort of funny or maybe it wasn't.  So here is today's workout post the second time and maybe not as funny or interesting:

Back and Biceps capped off with a 15 min Low Impact Ride. pic.twitter.com/jcXGx3OAWQ

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 25, 2023

Back And Bicep Day.  Sleep wasn't great.  Grrr... Woke up to pee and couldn't get back to sleep but refused to get up and hit the gym earlier.  Enough is enough.  Once up and at the gym it was a slow start.  My warm up and pull ups are sleep walking at best.  I was ready to hit in time for Preacher Curls.  In my Back and Bi Day's I've increased pretty much every movement between Sunday's and Today's workout.  On Sunday I went up on Wide Grip Pulldown but today went back to my old weight.  But as for the Cable Hammer Curl and Cable Row I did my new increased weight.  I added weight in the Preacher Curl and BB Row.  It was a struggle and I didn't make it to 8 for all the reps.  I'll be staying at the new weights for some time.  It usually takes me a long period before I'm ready to get to the next level

WEDNESDAY
6 min cardio warm up
Asst Wide Grip Pull-up 1 2 3 4
Curlbar Preacher Curl 1 2 3 4 5 (increased weight for last three sets so reps went down)
BB Bent Over Under Hand Grip Row 1 2 3 4 (increased weight)
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 1 2 3 4
Cable Hammer Curl 1 2 3 4
Seated Cable Row 1 2 3
AirPod died so workout was over and it was time anyways. Actually the one that stopped came back for no reason?!?

Came home for a 15 min Low Impact Bike+ Ride.  Since I'm trying to gain a bit of strength via muscle my cardio is going to be Low Impact Steady State.  Maybe my runs when and if I do them will be more HITT.  Speaking of HITT I was asked to sub again at the OTF nearby.  Well 35 minutes away nearby.  Right now is not a great time for me to do that with my new promotion.  Plus last time I did sub I never got to take any classes for myself so I gotta decide if it's worth it for me.  I love Coaching and Fitness but right now I'm focusing on me and my "day" job.  Maybe on the weekend I can take one class and then teach that last two of the day.  That way I get the best of both worlds?

 

 

Everyone's 2023 New Years Resolutions Declared Dead 4AM, Tuesday, January 24th

Quiters Day may have been over a week ago but I'm declaring this morning the official end of everyone's 2023 New Years Resolutions.  Why today?  Well today and yesterday while at the gym I noticed all of the new folks I had been seeing the last three weeks are gone.  Gone, vanished, quit, gave up, whatever they are done!  This morning for about 15 minutes around 5am there were only two of us at the gym.  Wahoo!  Hopefully they just moved to another time of day as I don't wish anyone to not workout.  I understand being at the gym at 4am is not for everyone but I'm use to it now and like it somewhat.  

As for today it was Chest, Triceps and Shoulders.  I wanted to get in as much movement in today so for the most part I only did three sets of every exercise.  That way I got in as much as I could in a shorter time.

Chest, Triceps and Shoulders. More movements. Less Sets/Reps. Home for a 20 minute New Wave Ride #IAmICanIWillIDo three hills for strength! pic.twitter.com/ruQG63daPT

— Joel McKenna (@the17thman) January 24, 2023

TUESDAY
5 min cardio warmup
BB Incline Press
10x EB
8x 1at 75% of 1RM
8x at 75% of 1RM
7x at 75% of 1RM
8x at 75% of 1RM
Flat Bench DB Fly 1 2 3
Flat Bench DB Skullcrusher 1 2 3
Flat Bench Close Grip w/ Rotation Press 1 2 3
Seated DB OH Press 1 2 3
Standing DB Lateral Raise 1 2 3
SS - Tricep Rope Pulldown/ Facepulls 1 2 3

I think I left some weight on the table as I think I should have done more then 75% of my 1RM for the Incline Chest Press.  Once home I did a 20 minute New Wave Ride on the Bike+.  The ride consisted of three hills so it was a strength ride.  After Leg Day yesterday it was a challenge.