Tag Archives: cheap workout

Cheap Workout Sunday Report 5

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Okay, I slipped again to Monday instead of Sunday as I normally would.  I was feeling various aches and pains in my pecs and shoulders, so I decided to give my body extra time to recover.  Currently, I’m doing all major body muscles on the same days and it’s taking it’s toll on my body.  Eventually, I’ll break it up doing pecs and legs on one day, then curls, back  on the other day.

Again I decided to keep it quick and heavy, below is what I did on this fine Monday…

    • 45 lbs –   the bar for 8 reps (felt okay today, no clicks).
    • 135 lbs – 8 reps warmup, felt good but not light yet.
    • 185 lbs –  8 reps (felts good, kept it at 8 today because I want to go for reps with 205).
    • 205 lbs –  5 reps (felt strong, but I decided not to go for 6 because I probably wouldn’t have made it.)
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (8 reps, did this set slowly but it felt better than last week.)
  • Curls (Switched to Barbells this week) – Had weird clicking sounds when curling last week so I went barbells this week.

    • 25 lbs – for 10 reps, each arm
    • 45 lbs – for 6 reps, each arm
    • 35 lbs – for 8 reps (still heavier than I thought).
  • Rows
    • 135 lbs – 6 reps (very heavy)
    • 115 lbs – 10 reps (135 zapped me so I was glad to lessen the weight).
  • No weight squats
    • 2 set of no weight squats for 10 reps each.  My right leg hurt a bit where I have a muscle tear from the past.
  • Goals
    • Be able to bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year (I’d be happy if I could get 225 by the EOY). – I’m pretty sure I can now get 225 for 1 maybe 2 reps, but I’ll stick with 205 since my pecs continually feels sore.
    • Curling goals already met and can be ignored now.

Felt strong, but I’m cautious because I’m sure my joints and tendons aren’t ready for heavier weight yet.  I would like to build my base before trying to go too heavy.  Shoot I might not even go heavy at all.

That’s it for this week,

Don

Cheap Workout Sunday Report 4

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Today, I shifted my workout to Monday instead of Sunday as I normally would.  The reason I did this was because some of my muscles were still sore form last week, so to present injury I decided to wait an additionally day.

So to keep it short today, below is what I did on Monday instead:

  • Bench:
    • 45 lbs –   the bar for 8 reps (weird clicking sound in my left arm, so I’m taking it careful)
    • 135 lbs – 8 reps warmup.
    • 185 lbs –  10 reps (no real problems, but I felt it… no straining this time though).
    • 205 lbs –  4 reps (felt strong again today, I might have been able to get 5 reps, but I’m still sore.)
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (8 reps, did them slowly because my right pec felt weird, hope it’s not a pull.)
  • Curls
    • 45 lbs – for 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – for 10 reps
    • 95 lbs – for 10 reps (weird clicking sound so I took it easy this week.).
  • Rows
    • 95 lbs – 2 sets of 10 reps
    • 115 lbs – set of 10 reps (no problems, but tired so no increase).
  • No weight squats
    • 2 set of no weight squats for 10 reps each.  My right leg hurt a bit where I have a muscle tear from the past.
  • Goals
    • Be able to bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year (I’d be happy if I could get 225 by the EOY). – 225 might be possible now, but why push it?  Once I can do 205 for 8 reps, I’ll think about trying 225 for 1 or 2 reps.
    • I already met my curling goal, so maybe I’ll try to go for 115 for 10 reps instead.

Working out is definitely not the same as it was even 6 years ago.  I’m making decent progress, but still very weak overall.

That’s it for this week,

Don

Cheap Workout Sunday Report 3

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While I’m sure I’ll be sore in a few days, I can tell that my muscles are starting to respond by coming back to life.  They have been dormant for so long that I’m much weaker than I imagined I would be.  I’m trying to keep my progression under control because I’ve had shoulder issues in the past and don’t want that problem to rear it’s ugly head by increasing the weight I’m pushing too quickly.

So why is this a “Cheap Workout”?  Because I’m in the basement with a cheap bench and weights that could be found on craigslist or freecycle for a pretty decent deal.

I’m walking too during the week and doing a few light sets of varying exercised during the middle of the week, just to keep my muscles growing.  I’m hoping that I can improve my health by making my body more active.

And now on with the workout:

  • Bench:
    • 45 lbs –   basically the bar for 5 reps (my pre-warmup, I’m beyond this set as a warmup set, which is great!)
    • 135 lbs – 1st set for 10 reps (now a cross between my warmup set and a real set…)
    • 185 lbs –  2nd real set for 8 reps (felt stronger today, may have even been able to get 9 reps, but why push it)
    • 205 lbs –  3rd real set for 3 reps (felt strong today, I might have been able to get 4 reps, but I’m still slightly sore for last time.)
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (8 reps, easier this time than last week.)
  • Curls
    • 45 lbs – bar basically, warmup for 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – 1st set for 10 reps
    • 95 lbs – 2nd set for 8 reps (could have went for 10, but why push it, my shoulder was making an odd sound anyway).
  • Rows
    • 95 lbs – 2 sets of 10 reps
    • 115 lbs – set of 10 reps
  • No weight squats
    • 2 set of no weight squats for 10 reps each.  I think this is hard for me because my legs get a pretty decent workout with the previous sets of rows.
  • Goals
    • Be able to bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year (I’d be happy if I could get 225 by the EOY). – 205 was heavier than I imagined and even this week I only got it for 3 reps..
    • Be able to curl 95 lbs for 10 reps by the end of the year. (I can probably do this now, but I’m in now hurry to increase the weight).

They say without your health you have nothing, and since my health hasn’t been optimal these past few years, hopefully this cheap workout series will help me improve it.

We’ll see,

Don

Cheap Workout Sunday Report 1

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My health hasn’t been in tip-top shape for years…  Ironically, I wrote an article a few years back called “Becoming Super” and of course the opposite happened, I’ve been practically anti-super ever since.  Not by own choice, mind you but instead I was hit by a number of illnesses that has had me on the decline ever since.  I’ve been hoping I could overcome the illness be myself, but I haven’t and I’m tired of waiting for my body to defeat my problems naturally.  So, I’ve decided to start to get back into shape, but in a slow and cheap manner.  So, thus the creation of this article.  I’m going to track my repeating fitness efforts in this Sunday post.  My equipment considers of a cheap bench and an Olympic bar and weights.  Both of these could be bought together second hand for less than two hundred dollars.

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I use to be pretty strong, so coming back after years off, I’m a little disappointed in the weight I’m working with.  Versus the average male, I still did pretty well.  In this effort I’m not trying to accomplish much so I decided to keep it short and sweet.  I’m recording this because a blog is much like a diary, and I decided it might be fun to look back someday and see how at did at certain dates.  It’s a cheap workout because I’ve decided to use equipment that I had in my basement that I received as a cheap gift over 5 years ago.

And now on with the workout:

  • Bench:
    • 45 lbs –   basically the bar for 10 reps (my warmup)
    • 135 lbs – 1st real set for 10 reps (years ago, this was my warmup set… disappointing…)
    • 185 lbs –  2nd real set for 5 reps (hoped to go for 10, but too weak currently)
    • 205 lbs –  3rd real set for 1 rep (I was hoping for 2 reps, but I failed this Sunday)
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (this was a hard 10 reps surprisingly)
  • Curls
    • 45 lbs – bar basically, warmup for 10 reps
    • 65 lbs – 1st set for 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – 2nd set for 10 reps (easier than I imagined)
  • Row
    • 65 lbs – set of 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – set of 10 reps (fairly easy too, time to increase the weight next time)
  • Sissy Squats
    • 2 set of no weight for 10 reps (making sure I got 90 degrees angle for the squat).  I almost didn’t include these, but they were hard for me so here they are.
  • Goals:
    • Lose 20 to 40 lbs by the end of the year (20 lbs seems possible, but 40 lbs might be stretching it).
    • Be able to bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year (I’d be happy if I could get 225 by the EOY).
    • Be able to curl 95 lbs for 10 reps by the end of the year.

Well, that’s all.  I kept it short and sweet as I mentioned above.  I’ve always worked my upper body but not my lower body because I wanted to be fast with my legs because I was in Tae Kwon Do years ago, so my legs are underdeveloped (sort of, I’m sure they are stronger than average, but not too strong, maybe around the 80th percentile…). I’m pretty goal oriented with working out, so it might be hard to keep it short.  I expect that I’ll be in a hurry to at least get to bench 225 for 1 rep.

I have to admit, I’m a little surprised that I’m as weak as I am, but hopefully I’ll recover quickly, especially in bench press (my favorite).

I hope I do much better soon,

Don