Chest, Biceps and a Quote from Lou Holtz

Our semester students have returned from climbing camp and they are getting ready to embark on their last section: The Independent Student Expedition. This is a culmination of all the skills they have learned on their NOLS Semester in the Southwest. The plan is that they will break into two smaller groups, plan their ration, plan their route and journey into the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. They will travel for a brief time with two NOLS instructors who will assess their backcountry skills, but in the end they will travel on their own and meet up with those instructors when they are done with their route.

It is very cool to see how far these students have come since their first day here at the base on January 19th!

Today's Quote is from Lou Holtz:

"You aren't going to find anybody that's going to be successful without making a sacrifice and without perseverance."

Weight Training: Chest and Biceps
Morning Routine:
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Flies
Push-Ups
Alternating Standing Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Dumbbell Curls
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers
Bench Press (Low Weight High Repetitions)
Weighted Dips

Evening Routine:
Heavy Bench Press (Maxed out a personal best again today!)
"21s" Barbell Curls
Heavy Weighted Dips

Have a Great Day!

Heavy Chest and Biceps Day

After the standard morning workout we had four folks for a quick, intensive weight lifting workout in the evening. No circuit. It was fun to hangout, casually lift heavy weights and laugh at each other.

Morning Weight Training: Chest and Biceps
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Push-ups
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flies
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Curls
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers
Bench Press
Dips

Evening Session:
Heavy Bench Press (Five sets ending with a maximum bench)
Dips (Three sets to failure)
Barbell Curls "Twenty-ones" (Three sets)

Have a Great Day!

Just a Good Old Weight Routine and Birthday Cake!

Rebecca turned 39 years old today. After work we went out with friends to a bar in Tucson called the Home Plate. It has pool tables, old school arcade games but most impressively a whole series of batting cages! It was a great time and gave folks a good break after a rough leg workout yesterday.

Weight Training: Chest and Biceps:
Flat Bench Dumbbell Chest Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Flies
Weighted Push-ups
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Dumbbell Curls
Barbell Bench Press
Weighted Dips

Have a Great Day!!

Multivitamins and the WOD!

Are there any health benefits to taking a daily multivitamin? There seems to be lots of conflicting information out there. It has been a tradition in my family to take vitamins everyday: Multivitamins, Vitamin C, Fish Oil, LOTS of vitamins. Do I need them? How do I know if I have a deficiency?

Recently, the Annals of Internal Medicine posted an article that states that multivitamins don't prevent any major disease (including cancer and cardiovascular disease) and people should stop wasting their money. This editorial article came out a little over one year after the Journal of the American Medical Association posted a study that stated taking a multivitamin daily reduced the overall risk of cancer in men. The Omega three fatty acids in fish oil seem to have preventative properties against cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men.

The best advice that I have gotten is to go see your doctor, have a blood test done and see if you have a vitamin deficiency. If that is not an option, eat a healthy, balanced diet, get outside and get some fresh air and vitamin D from the sun (for a light skinned person like me 10-20 minutes of sunshine a day is enough). For me, I take a daily multivitamin. Educate yourself and you decide what works best for you.

The WOD: Back!
Walking the dog one mile
Dumbbell Pullovers
One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Row
Upright Sandbag Row
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-Ups
Weighted Pull-Ups
Abdominal Work
One Mile Run

Have a great day! 

Stealing a Workout and the WOD!

Everyday, my two brothers and I exchange e-mails to share the things that we did for exercise. Today I got a great e-mail from my brother Kevin who is a general contractor, home builder and owner of Newphire. I think that it speaks for itself on ways that you can get a workout into your day.

"Unlike Brian, I rarely have or make the time to do a solid block of working out.  I do, however, steal a workout throughout the day without adding much time to my other commitments.  For example, yesterday I put my tea water on to boil and did a set of 50 pushups and a couple of TRX sets of shoulder and ab stuff.  I knocked out another set of pushups while cooking breakfast.  While bushing my teeth, I did 2 minutes of squats into toe raises.  At work, I spent about 30 minutes cleaning out footings by shoveling out loose dirt that had fallen in.  Bought a sack of chicken food and rather than lifting it once to put it away, I lifted it 10 times.  Got in a set of twisting bicycle crunches in the evening." 

"Far from an overwhelming amount, and I wish that I did more, but it beats the hell out of nothing and it literally took no more than a few "extra minutes" out of my day." 

"Today I am going to split well over 50 gigantic hickory logs.  They were knocked down in a mini twister in our backyard two summers ago and I need to get them split before they rot.  I broke down and got a splitter from the rental place (for free- perks of the contractor) as each log takes over 30 minutes to split with a maul.  Nonetheless, I will be lifting a shitload of wood to get it to the splitter and positioned right, then load it in the wheelbarrow, cart it across the yard, and stack it in the woodshed.  I will be worn out by the end of the day."

To me that sounds as good if not better than anything I do on a daily basis!

The WOD: Chest and Biceps

2.5 Mile Walk with the Dog "Ocho"

Dumbbell Chest Press

Suspension Strap Flies

Weighted Pushups

Alternating Dumbbell Curls

Suspension Strap Biceps Curls

Concentration Biceps Curls

Abdominal Work

Have a Great Day!