Woo! Been working out and drinking....chocolate milk?

Actually, it has mostly been water.

I'll post the general program for Rob and Tori. Well, who else reads here? I don't hardly post here often anymore, myself.

Bear in mind that this program is not a traditional design. That is, it does not alter days between Upper Body and Lower Body. I designed it with my body in mind, and I have always been slightly more resilient than others when it comes to working with weights. Notice also that I have designed it with a deviation of the HIIT approach where the initial exercise in each muscle group is higher reps and the last is lower reps. As it pertains to HIIT, the initial set is normal intensity and increases to full intensity for the last one. You can regulate this on your own both by varying weights properly and by knowing your own intensity levels.

Before getting to the program itself, I should point out that I always take the extra time beforehand to properly warm up with calisthenics and a lengthy group of stretches designed to prevent injury and increase flexibility - particularly as it relates to my right shoulder.

The program itself is still being altered and rearranged to swap one exercise to a different day or before or after another to allow for fewer grip changes on the Vectra system, but also if I find a better substitute. The lower body section may be revamped soon and cut down because I am also biking a few times per week. I recently put the Abs section first on the list. This was because it was previously last and by the time I got to it I found I was rather worn out. The exercises themselves are not difficult, but when supporting muscle groups and the back are already worn out I found myself getting warnings not to continue.

Day 1
Abs
Floor Crunches 12
Oblique Floor Crunches 10
Decline Crunches 8
Decline Oblique Crunches 8

Chest
Barbell Bench Press 12
Barbell Incline Press 10
Dumbbell Bench Press 8

Shoulders
Seated Dumbbell Press 12
Front Raises 10 (killer!)
Lateral Raises 8

Back
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown 12
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows 10 (I swapped this to the machine instead)
Pull-Ups X - as many as possible

Triceps
Seated Triceps Press 12 (these three are all with dumbbells)
Lying Triceps Press 10
Triceps Kickbacks 8

Biceps
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 12
Barbell Curls 10
Preacher Curls 8

Quads
Barbell Squats 12
Leg Presses 10
Leg Extensions 8

Hamstrings
Dumbbell Lunges 12
Lying Leg Curls 10
Straight-Leg Deadlifts 8

Calves
Seated Calf Raises 12
Standing Heel Raises 10
Toe Raises 8
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Day 2


Abs
Hanging Knee Raises 12
Reverse Crunches 10
Cable Crunches 8
Cable Oblique Crunches 8

Chest
Dumbbell Incline Press 12
Dumbbell Flyes 10
Cable Crossover 8

Shoulders
Reverse Flyes 12
Upright Cable Rows 10
Upright Barbell Rows 8

Back
Seated Cable Rows 12
Straight-Arm Pulldowns 10
Back Extensions 8

Triceps
Triceps Pushdowns 12
Cable Extensions 10
Bench Dips 8

Biceps
Concentration Curls 12
Cable Curls 10
Hammer Curls 8

The lower body exercises currently repeat themselves for both days. Again, looking into how best to alter this given my ongoing and concurrent biking.

That's the general list. It might seem like not much since I am only doing one set of each exercise, but I am staying true to form and use a proper working weight. By the time I am done with each section, that muscle group is torn up.

This is an experiment for myself more than anything. Traditional wisdom says to alter upper/lower by days, and also to go for greater sets and reps. Reps I understand, but my thoughts are than by varying the exercise itself I can get a more complete working of the muscle groups in question. This is also early-on and I am just chipping the rust off. The entire program may completely change and evolve as I develop, and I expect it to. For now, it is absolutely effective if the feeling I have afterwards is to be judged. When I went nuts in 2005 and really threw myself into it, I realize that I was focusing on chest and arms and not enough all-around elsewhere. It is already evident that this new program is significantly improved over that one because I now feel my shoulders, back and abs as I never did after those former workouts. Thus far, I am entirely pleased with the program as I have laid it out.