<p>I’ve now been visiting the gym casually for about a year now. I feel I’ve seen some differences in the way my body looks, but haven’t really noted anything in terms of actual gains in specific exercises. Two reasons (that I can think of) for this:</p>
<ol>
<li>I am a numbers person. A good part of why I run and bike is because I love logging the numbers, love seeing things add up over time. I do not do this at the gym. I go, I workout, I come home, and I go a few days later with no real focus. Conclusion? I need to start logging my workouts. Solution? <a href=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gym-buddy/id292672627?mt=8″ target=”_blank”>Gym Buddy</a>. I spent a fair amount of time wading through the numerous apps available before settling on this one. I could do without its “bubbly” theme, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty, it seems to be the best available. I do look like a bit of a douche, grabbing for my iPhone after every set, but whatever. The alternative is a notepad and pen. The problem with that is I go to the gym at random times; sometimes at lunch from work, sometimes from home on weekends, sometimes after work… I always have my phone with me. I will not always have that journal with me. Now that I’m accumulating data, I’ll see my gains in realtime… I’ll know on which rep I failed last time… I’ll know when it’s time to add weight.</li>
<li>I don’t go regularly. I’d say I averaged one visit per week last year. That’s simply not enough to see gains. I need to be getting there 2-3 times at the very least. I think this logging stuff will motivate me quite a bit, but I’ve also started attending a weekly spin class that not only gets me riding, but also gets me to the gym a mandatory extra time per week.</li>
</ol>
<p>I currently have two workouts I do regularly (I have a leg routine that I do pretty rarely; interferes with my cardio too much)… As I don’t do single rep maxes (need a spotter… I lift alone), I’ll track my progress via sets. Each workout takes approximately an hour. I’ll probably add new exercises from time to time, but the below hits the basics:</p>
<p><strong>Chest, Arms, and Abs</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Bench Press – 3×6@135, 1×5@135</li>
<li>Incline Press – 3×6@90, 1×5@90</li>
<li>Decline Press – 3×6@110, 1×5@110</li>
<li>Cable Tricep Pulldowns – 2×10@70, 1×8@110</li>
<li>Cable Bicep Curls – 2×10@40, 1×10@50</li>
<li>Ab Glider – 2×30@20</li>
<li>Plate Leans – 1×20@45, 1×20@35</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Back and Shoulders</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Lat Pulldowns – 2×10@80, 1×9.5@80</li>
<li>Overhead Press – 3×10@90</li>
<li>Seated Row – 1×10@60, 2×10@70</li>
<li>Shrugs – 3×10@180</li>
<li>Back Extensions – 3×10@25</li>
<li>Pull-ups (with what I have left) – 2</li>
</ul>
<p>I also throw in miscellaneous crunches, leg raises, bicycle crunches, etc. at the end of each workout, but they’re pretty random based on how I’m feeling so I’m not going to bother logging them.</p>
<p>I’d also like to incorporate a more dynamic workout into my weekly schedule, but we’ll start with this for now. Will try to get to the gym 3-4 times a week for now, which will get me doing each of the above 1-2 times a week… Enough to see gains.</p>