new bench and deadlift achievements

here is my workout for Thursday, 31 October 2019

treadmill warm-up: Fast 1/2 run

deadlift
the bar x 5 reps
135-lbs x 5 reps
185-lbs x 5 reps
225-lbs x 5 reps
245-lbs x 5 reps

bench press
the bar x 5 reps
135-lbs x 5 reps
135-lbs x 5 reps
155-lbs x 5 reps
175-lbs x 3 reps
185-lbs x 1 rep (1 more rep assisted)

pull-ups: 5
chin-ups: 4

Leg lifts
forward - 20
left - 20
right - 20

counter strike conditioning

For some time now I have been exercising at counter strike conditioning with a trainer that used to be my high school gym teacher. Been focussing on squat, bench, deadlift and some bodyweight exercises. I have shown improvement over a short period of time and so far my best lifts have been

bench: 155 lbs three times
squat: 215 lbs five times
deadlift 235 five times

have also continued hiking and walking but will soon be adding sled drags both before and after weight training

need to work on squat form. keep back more straight.

goals

bench: 185 lbs five times
squat 360 lbs five times
deadlift lbs 400 five times
100 push-ups in a single set
100 sit-ups in a single set
1 mile run in 8 minutes

The Edge Fitness

Today I traveled to the Northeast Philly to look into a membership at the Edge Fitness. Great gym and great atmosphere. Did a squat, bench, deadlift type of a workout. Was really pumped about becoming a member after my workout. Only thing that stopped me was their policy requiring I give them my checking account and routing number rather than just taking my debit card for payment. This seems dishonest to me. Despite the gym being a disappointment my workout was overall productive. My back is a little sore and I think before I attempt deadlift again I'm going to need some more education on form. Looking forward to finally finding a gym to call my home.

Workout:

SQUAT
1: bar 5 xs
2: 65 lbs 5xs
3: 95 lbs 3xs
4:105 lbs 1x
5: 125 lbs 1x

DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
1: 20-Lbs dumbbells 5xs
2: 25-Lbs dumbbells 5xs
3: 30-lbs dumbbells 3xs
4: 40-lbs dumbbells 1x
5: 50lbs dumbbells 1x

DEADLIFT
1: Bar 5xs
2: 65-lbs 5xs
3: 95-lbs 3xs
4: 115-lbs 1x
5: 165-lbs 1x

PULL-UPS TO CHEST
5 Parallel
3 wide arm
3 Parallel

PUSH-UPS
10 hands back towards waste
8 hands back towards waste
8 hands forwards past head
5 regular push-ups

SIT-UPS
10
8
8

weighted hike and push-ups

Decided to make my hike today a little more intense. Only about 1.5 miles but wore a weighted vest. Didn't really think much of it while I was hiking but I'm sore now that I've showered and had time to rest. Probably gonna do this more often now.

push-ups
11
9
10
3
5
2
2
3
3
2
3
2
---
total: 55

push-up, sit-up, hike

push-ups
10
8
12
8
12
----
total: 50

sit-ups
10
14
10
10
14
---
total: 58

Hike with friends dog: approx. 1.5 miles

one step forward two steps back

So in my journey back to strength again I have taken a slight step backwards. While I continue to hike I haven't done my exercise challenges in a while now. Additionally I recently dropped some weights on my knee at a planet fitness when the leg press didn't fully lock and was just sitting down to start my next set. About 130 lbs fell just above my knee cap. It's starting to feel better with no major bruising or swelling so I'm thinking by next week I should be healed up and will look into a gym in the northeast part of Philly. Besides hurting myself on their shitty equipment planet fitness near me didn't have a single barbell which is essential for the major lifts I will need to be doing. Hopefully by next week I will have some cool updates. Here is some laetiporus sulphereus (chicken of the woods mushroom) I found on one of my hikes...

pre shabbos hike 19 and 22 July 2019

My pre shabbos hike this past Friday was once again in extremely hot weather. I'm not sure the length but by the end I was melted into a pool of water and my legs felt like jelly. I hiked until I could hike no more. The purpose of my hike was not only for the exercise but in search of Chantrels, a delicious mushroom that is highly prized by chefs and foodies alike. Hopefully in the coming months while we still have summer and light fall weather I will find my prized gourmet mushrooms during my hikes. While I didn't find these particular ones I took lots of pictures which included some pretty but non edible species as well as other scenery and a golf ball.

Today (the 22nd) while I didn't do any formal exercise my work was walking up and down three flights of stairs with trash and boxing up books in very hot weather without air conditioning with exception to the short break I took on the first floor. I did this for 6 hours today. I think I can count that as exercise though. Tomorrow will be the same but possibly longer hours.

first circuit training

Today I was still sore my sunday so I wasn't up for my usual 2 days of the exercise app as my workout so I instead made a smaller circuit training workout. This was the first time mixing it up since I started training again. The order of exercises was push-ups, sit-ups, and squats with a ten pound weight and each round went as follows

10 push-ups
10 sit-ups
16 squats

7 push-ups
12 sit-ups
18 squats

10 push-ups
10 sit-ups
13 squats

7 push-ups
10 sit-ups
13 squats

9 push-ups
12 sit-ups
18 squats

10 push-ups
12 sit-ups
19 squats

This came to a total of 53 push-ups, 67 sit-ups, and 79 squats with a 10 lb weight.

new exercise challenge milestone and long hike

Yesterday I reached a new milestone in the most amount of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats done during my exercise challenge workout. I was especially pleased with my push-ups progress as I was also able to push myself to continue until reaching failure which at that point I continued to do more push-ups with one rep sets to complete my intended goal for the day. My push-up sets went as follows 5, 7, 4, 4, 6, 7, 5, 8, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 = 71 push-ups My sit-up sets went as follows 8, 10, 8, 8, 10, 11, 8, 12, 8, 8, 12, 7, 6 = 116 sit-ups My squats sets went as follows 13, 16, 10, 10, 13, 14, 16, 16, 11, 11, 16, 17 = 163 squats Today I went on a hike and during my hiked I traversed a from point on the Wissahickon Trail to Devils Point then from there to the end of Cresheim Valley Creek. It was truly a beautiful hike to appreciate the beauty of G-d's creation. I am not sure the distance but was a solid several hours of almost constant movement. It was a wonderful time and I hope to do this more often. I plan on traveling by train the next time on my own so I can start figuring out the direction of the trails on my own.

day 6: progress not perfection

Today was my sixth exercise day in my long journey back to strength. Today my exercises consisted of the couch to 5k as well as the sit-up and squat challenges. Something I noticed during my running were legs legs getting tired before my lungs did. Probably b/c in order to meet the minimum of 3 runs per week I had to put two days next to each other and having one day rest in between runs may help. On the other hand it does show progress in terms of my cardiovascular health. My sit-up sets today: 5, 6, 3, 5, 6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 6, 8, 9 = 74 sit-ups my squat sets today: 6, 8, 5, 5, 10, 11, 7, 11, 7, 7, 11, 12 = 100 squats

Work out day 5: A small push-up milestone

I am still working on a gym membership and will likely start one after I have car in the next week or two. Until then I am doing my challenge workouts and couch to 5k. I will continue those when I have a gym membership as well but until then these will be my main focus. Yesterday's exercise was push-ups and couch to 5k with a small milestone in my push-up challenge routine to celebrate. Yesterday I did 50 push-ups! My push-up sets: 3 4 3 2 4 5 4 5 4 4 5 6 4 As far as the exercise challenges I have decided to make them slightly more challenging by doing two days at a time and at the end of each "day's workout" to add one more set with one additional rep than the highest rep that "day" although yesterday ended with a 4 so I could reach 50.

day 4: couch to 5k, exercise challenges, and supplement regiment starts

Today was my fourth day of exercise in my long journey back to strength and the beginning of lots of exciting things! Today I started... -A 100 push-up challenge: Free app that gives you small intervals of push-ups to do each day with the eventual goal of being able to complete 100 push-ups -A 200 sit-up challenge: Free app that gives you small intervals of sit-ups to do each day with the eventual goal of being able to complete 200 sit-ups -A 200 squat challenge: Free app that gives you small intervals of squats to do each day with the eventual goal of being able to complete 200 squats -Couch to 5k: Another free app which gives you a daily or every other day running regiment with the eventual goal of being able to run a 5k (3.1 miles) -Started my supplement regiment. While many would argue against supplements and for very good reasons I have chosen to go with some that I think have sufficient research showing that they are effective. These are tribulus and zma. Both supplements aim at increasing testosterone and are cycled for 8 weeks on followed by 4 weeks off. The schedule being tribulus in the morning and zma before going to sleep. So todays workouts started with push-ups and squats in the morning and in the later afternoon the running and sit-ups. I did the sit-ups following the run as I felt I would be better stretched and more limber which would help me do those better given my mini keg of a stomach situation. Lots of exciting new beginnings today. I intend to follow these easier workouts and the running on days that I'm not lifting which with G-d's help be... lifting 2 days a week and running/challenge exercises 3 days a week.

Day 3

Today is the third workout in my journey back to strength. As I struggle to do even 7 pushups at a time. I am amazed at the level of physical strength I had before and the lack of gratitude I should have had. Today I am at the beginning again and this is my humble journey forward.

A long road back to strength

Recently I have decided to start my journey on the long road back to strength. After years of neglecting exercise and becoming disgusted by the state of my fitness and overall physical well being I stepped back into the gym last week. My journey will start with two days a week of exercise and then increase from there. Thursday night getting ready for bed and lying down I was so sore I realized the literal meaning of "get swole" as taking off my shirt required the help of my wife and once I was lying down I couldn't move without great effort. Feeling like a turtle on its back I regretted even getting to this point in my life but at the same time was determined to succeed and not let temporary discomfort hold me back. This week I will be back to the gym again to conquer my weakness.