Laziness sets in

Due to copious amounts of alcohol consumed on Saturday night I completely bugged out from going to the gym.
Laziness had truly set in as it's now Tuesday and I'm only now working out.

As part of this new workout schedule, today is cardio day.
The set for which is some good old fashioned running... and not that much of it.

Interval training with 30seconds walking and 30seconds running. x8 rounds.
Tomorrow it's back on the weights and physical workout!

Half Way through

I'm quite enjoying this half-way break. But I can't wait to get back on it.
I've not done any form of exercise, except my usual walk to and from work (5 miles).

Another couple of lazy days and I'll be back on it on Sunday.
The last 30 days workout is looking to be rather excessive. 6 days a week work out with 1 day of rest.
The workout plan I am devising is going to stretch my limits.

Expect more detailed workouts and timings for the last home-stretch.

Tues-Day off

Having a recovery day today, my lats are in agony from Sunday.

Got a decent program from a friend in work who used to be a body builder.
I shuld be changing my routine once I've managed to make head or tail of it all.

Monday Cardio

I realised I'd not really done much on the bike recently so decided to dust it off.
24.32km is a good amount for first day back on it :)
Before that though i did a cheeky bit of dumbbell work:

Bicep curl
10kg 35reps x1

Overhead tricep press
10kg 25reps x1

Extended shrugs
10kg 20reps x1

Gym visit (week 7)

Back to the gym for a heavy workout.
Been lazy this past couple of days.

My aim is to push myself a little further. Heavier weights with lower reps in a shorter amount of time should do it.

Lat Pulls
100kg 8reps x8
Extended shrugs
15kg 10reps x8
Leg Press
130k 12 reps x8
Chest Press
60kg 8reps x8



Add on my normal cardio of walking to the gym and protein shake.

Saturday squeeze.

Took the babies to Chessington today so didn't have much time today.

Managed to squeeze in some bicep curls whilst making my lunch.

Bicep curls 10kg 20reps x8


Tomorrow is Gym day, so I'll end up making up for lost pain.

Half way through

Day 45, can't quite believe I'm here already.
It's Friday again, so no workout. Straight from work to Scouts and home.

Thursday hurtday

Traps are hurting today, seems the shrugs are working.
I'm at a stage where it's not only me that's noticing the change in my body.
A couple of people in work have commented also :)

Squeezed in an epic home workout tonight:


Tricep overhead press 10kg 20reps x8
Dubbell curl 10kg 20reps x8
Extended dumbbell shrug 10kg 10reps x8

Double-workout tonight to make up for no workout tomorrow.

Wednesday workout 3

Only managed to 2 meals today due to manic workloads.

Just got Lego Batman 2 for the xbox so squeezed in a quick dumbbell workout.

Tricep overhead press 10kg 20reps x4
Dubbell curl 10kg 20reps x4
Extended dumbbell shrug 10kg 10reps x4

Tuesday troubles

Still having a nightmare in work so skipped meals again today.
Again, only a small workout at home to tide me over.

Armor Abs II.
10 minutes left twist crunch
10 minutes right twist crunch
10 minutes Central crunch

Tricep overhead press 10kg 15reps x4
Dubbell curl 10kg 20reps x4
Extended dumbbell shrug 10kg 10reps x4

Melancholy Monday

Horrific 11 hour shift in work resulting in a mentally drained workout!

Work stressed me out so much that I only had time to have 1 meal.
Only managed a small workout session at home as well.

10 minutes on AAII working on direct ab crunches.
10kg extended shrugs 10reps x3

Followed by my daily protein shake (This new brand is rank!!!) and a shower before bed.
Really poor form on my part.
I need to make up for it tomorrow with some Cardio.

Sunday worship

Got to the gym today really enthusiastic, jumped straight into the rowing machine for a 30minute session.
I started to feel a pull on my legs whilst rowing, seems that the 6+ miles a day I walk isn't really that strenuous.... Enter squats and leg presses (Muscle group Below)!

So there we have it, I am now no longer on the course I set myself over a month ago. I have deviated further than I thought I would.
The initial toning-up with basic exercises swiftly changed to home gym equipment workouts, then just as swift changed to full gym workouts.
And here I am.... Working on all muscle groups at least 4 days a week, with Cardio in between and a full gym visit every weekend.

I never dreamed I'd enjoy it as much as I am doing. I get quite smug when I catch a glimpse of myself, to see all the hard work paying off is brilliant!!

Today's workout at the gym looked like this:

30 minutes rowing (5.3km)
60kg Chest Press - 8reps x10
70kg Lat Pull - 10reps x6
130kg Leg Press - 10reps x6
20kg Barbell Squats - 10reps x2

I'm probably going to feel it on my legs tomorrow during my walk into work!

Hey ho, as they say... No pain, No body like a male stripper.
Obviously I'm paraphrasing ;)

NC

Saturday top-up

Up until now my workouts have been focused on 2 sets of muscle groups, Back and Biceps & Chest and Tricep. With the odd workout on my abs thrown in.
Today I add a third set, Shoulder and Traps.

Now that I'm starting to see results I feel I need to expand my workout.

I get a minimal amount of burn on the shoulder and traps from other exercises, especially when rowing.

But a direct exercise for this muscle group will do so much more.

Hopefully by working on 3 different sets I'll see a jump in my progress.

Today's workout has been quite a lot... Making up for a lazy day yesterday.

Tricep overhead press 10kg 15reps x10

Dumbbell Curl 10kg 20reps x10

Extended dumbbell shrug 10kg 10reps x10

30 minutes on the AAII, Seated crunches and twisted crunches.

Day off

Thanks to a horrific day in work resulting in me leaving late, then having to go straight to scouts I had my first full day off.

No workout or exercise at all, and no protein shake.

Think I'll have to make up for that in the Gym Sunday!

Thursday Treat

I managed to get a gym workout as the wife was off work.

As far as evenings go, a visit to the gym makes it much more enjoyable.

My midweek workout looked like this:

30 minutes of rowing 5.604km

Chest Press - 60kg 10reps x6

I think I need to have a gym visit to break up the week more often. Just once a week isn't enough.

*in 36 days I've gone from wanting to do this with basic exercises to wanting the gym 3 days a week.

If I'd known how much I'd start enjoying this lifestyle I would of started it years ago.

Wednesday Workout (Week 6)

Can't believe it's been 6 weeks already, but they do say time flies when you're having fun!

That's just what this is, fun. Not once have a thought "I can't be bothered" or "Do I really have to do this". In fact, I've moaned when I've not been able to do any workouts/exercise.

For most people it's the lack of motivation that gets them, especially if they're a loner in their workouts.
This hasn't been a problem for me, once the first few weeks had been completed and I could start seeing the results, it spurred me on to keep going.
After years of being called skinny, anorexic and the runt of the family I'm getting to a point where I have a physique to be comfortable with.

Tonight's workout with the dumbbells looked like this:


Tricep overhead Press -Seated 10kg 15reps x6
Dumbbell Curl - Seated 10kg 15reps x6
Tricep Extension - Supine 10kg 15reps x6


Couple more weeks with these dumbbells and I think I'll be ready to bump the weight up a notch.

*Not even sure if anyone is reading this blog, if you are and you're following the exercises/workouts then I hope it;s working for you as much as it;s working for me.
I'd love to hear comments or even tips from readers.

Tuesday Quickie

Quick dumbbell workout on the sofa in front of Doctor Who tonight. Just enough to feel a pull and to make sure I'm not going backwards.

Tricep overhead Press -Seated 10kg 15reps x6
Dumbbell Curl - Seated 10kg 15reps x6

 Polish that off with a protein shake and you have a productive evening.

Monday bike ride

Nice quiet night in on the bike with the xbox. Managed to beat my record by 0.7 of a mile. 50+kms in one sitting can be quite enjoyable. But I must get a better seat for the bike!!!

 Just as a dietary update, I am still eating 3 meals a day and taking 1 dose of protein shake about 20 minutes after each workout (2 shots on Sundays after the Gym).

Church visit

3 Sunday's in a row at the Gym, that's a better streak than church visits when I was younger! Heavy duty workout under my belt, which I thoroughly enjoyed!!! Split the workout into 3 parts, 2 parts Chest & Biceps with 1 part Back and Triceps.

Rowing 30 minutes - 5km
Lat Pulls - 12reps of 70kg x6

Chest Press - 10reps of 60kg x6
















 I've added the images of the muscle structure to help anyone who might be reading this identify what is being worked on for each exercise.

Lazy Saturday

Thanks to a long week in work and lack of sleep on Friday night I didn't manage a large workout. just a 30 minute workout on my Chest & triceps. 6x 15reps - Tricep Extension - Supine 6x 15reps - Bench Press - Hammer grip (inclined). 10 minutes on the AAII to finish off. Working direct on my abs was still quite tender so only managed to work on my obliques. I'm now seeing massive progress on my abs, just have to burn off the fat that I've put on over it.

Day off for scouting

Friday has come round again, and yet again it forces me to have a day off. Instead of working with dumbbells, or cycling for cardio I was forced to stand in a woods teaching kids how to set fire to wet firewood. Still, the weekend is here now, so only 2 more days until I'm back in the gym. NC

What a difference a month makes

I can be quoted as saying "I'm hoping that in the next 3 months I'll have at least a stone of extra weight" 1 month on and I've put on just under a stone and half and am getting bigger. I didn't really see much change from all this work, but looking at the before and after shots (posted a couple of blog-entries back) I can really see it paying off. I can't wait to see where I am next month Only had an hour to workout tonight so combined the two. Did 1 hour on the bike (30km) and did some work with the dumbbells at the same time. 5x 15 reps - Dumbbell curls 5x 15 reps - Arnold dumbbell press.

Wednesday workout.

With the wife in work I only had room for a small workout at home.
An hour with the dumbbells working on chest and triceps followed by 20 minutes on the AAII working on obliques.

5x 15 reps - Tricep Extension - Supine
5x 15 reps - Bench Press - Hammer grip - inclined
3x 15 reps - Tricep Kickback - Dumbbell
6x 15 reps Twist crunches with the AAII (3 sets each side).


Tomorrow is Scout planning meeting time, so I'm going to struggle to fit anything in. Might be able to get a little bit more tricep work in whilst on the bike for an hour?

The Itch

So last night was a night in with the Dumbbells, a small workout whilst I catchup with BBC iPlayer shows.
Just a handful of sets of each exercise to tide me over.

Dumbbell Curl - Standing
6x sets of 15 reps

Arnold Dumbbell press
6x sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell - Bent over row
6x Sets of 15 reps

The idea that I would actually enjoy exercising and working out sounds ridiculous, but here I am 1 month in and I'm loving it. So much so that I'm itching to get to the gym, but can't as the wife works nights.

Alternating days

After a great workout at the gym on Sunday my body is in dire need of some recovery. (My idea of recovery now, is a night on the bike).
I've got a nice little set up with the bike, it's out of the way as not to annoy the rest of my family and I'm able to stream media via my iPad. This keeps me entertained when cycling, which helps the time fly by a lot quicker.


Last night was a bit of a struggle though, my joints ain't what they used to be. After a 50km stint and a tumble whilst running in a game of rounders my knee has been given me some grief.
Because of this I was only able to manage an hour on the bike. In that time I did around 18 miles, then 10 minutes of throbbing.


Still...18 miles on the bike and 10 minutes with the AAII is a pretty good day off.
Just to alternate things I'm back to the dumbbells at home today, then maybe a couple of days off.

Gym level 3 (inc' progress image)

Sunday is now gym day, I enjoy it more on Sunday's as the place is empty.
Today I decided to level up a bit and ditch the Dumbbells completely.

This is what today's torture device looks like.

Working on my biceps and chest I pulled 60kg weights at 12 reps a set, 6 sets in total.
Then I went on to the rowing machine for 1km before repeating.

Here is the before/after comparison shot after 1 month of eating more and exercising:

Wish all these shots could be as HQ as the before shot, but it would cost me a fortune to keep going to a photographer each time!

New PB (aka Tour de lounge second leg)

Saturday is a day for cardio so it's back on the bike.
Managed to get a new PB for distance of 50km (31miles). in 101 minutes

Did a session on the AAII to work on the abs a bit.

Have calmed down a bit with my meals now. Still eating 3 times a day, but have stopped all snacking.
Need to try and maintain my weight where it is now.

More home equipment

Due to my wife working evenings and weekends I'm unable to get a solid routine to my gym visits.
To combat this I've invested in a stack of dumbbells.
These should help fill in the gaps when I'm stuck at home.

They're only 5kg each, so not too heavy. I'm doing larger amounts of reps and sets to compensate:


1 - Dumbbell Curl - Standing
Set 1: 20 x 5kg

2 - Dumbbell - Bent Over Row
Set 1: 20 x 5kg

3 - Arnold Dumbbell Press
Set 1: 20 x 5kg

4 - Dumbbell Curl - Seated
Set 1: 20 x 5kg

Gym take two

Left work a tad early yesterday to attend the gym. Managed to get a 40 minute workout on my chest and triceps. Before the place filled up. It was quite busy when I arrived but soon it got quite claustrophobic so I had to leave.
In the time that I was there I managed 5 rotations of the following exercises:


1 - Bench Press - Flat
Set 1: 15 x 10kg

2 - Bench Press - Hammer Grip (Inclined)
Set 1: 15 x 10kg

3 - Flys (Declined)
Set 1: 15 x 10kg

4 - Tricep Kickback (Dunbbell)
Set 1: 15 x 10kg