Yup. Core > all.

Happy NYE. My resolution is to get in the best shape of my life. Wait, does it still count as a resolution if you have been working on it since August?

Hope so, cuz I am otherwise perfect, and won't be able to come up with anything.

Chest and triceps day today. I felt weak. I think it is because I didn't have breakfast.

I had an Italian BMT from Subway, with baked lays, five fiery grilled KFC wings (very tasty). Then I had a protein shake. Then, had NO Shotgun, and my NO Synthesize.

Had one slice of Mellow Mushroom white pizza for dinner.

I am finding that it is a thin line between becoming impatient or complacent.

I want to get bigger, faster, stronger.... um... NOW. And, I have to balance that. I don't want to get discouraged, but I don't want to be one of those guys at the gym that lifts the same amount complaining about being in a rut when they aren't pushing themselves.

All in all, I have added 50lbs to my max bench in 4 months. I know that is good. I also know that is because I am just starting out.

But, I wish it were more....lol.

Anyways, Happy New Year. Tomorrow I break out the body fat scale and see where I am. Then, I set my goals for the new year.

I curled a 60-pound dumbbell for the first time Tuesday. Three sets, one each arm. I think I'm gonna keep doing that right at the end of my workout each time and see how much stronger/bigger I get. I do 8x3 sets of 50 pounds per arm earlier in the workout so maybe the little "boost" at the end will make curling 50 pounds easier eventually, until I can move up.

Biggest dumbbell at my gym is 65 lbs. Heh.

The easy answer is: Work harder. Up the intensity. Do more sets, and rest less, and you can put in more work without increasing your time in the gym. Do alternating muscle group sets to reduce your rest time. You might do flat bench, then rest 30 seconds, do bent over rows, and by the time you get back to the bench, you've already given your chest 1 1/2 minutes of rest. Easy way to up the intensity of your workout without sacrificing performance.

How many unassisted pullups can you do?

I dunno, it's been awhile since I did a pullup at the bar in the park. I do a lot of pulldowns on the machine though. I'll have to go try the park again...last time it was about 11-12.

so basically you are saying you can curl 120?

post is worthless without video.

*IMO* Pull-ups > bicep curls

You get a much better return on your time investment. Pull-ups work your biceps and your back, too. Biceps are always a stabilizer muscle, except in the curl. Plus, curls take a gigantic amount of concentration to keep the form right. I know once I get above 50 lbs, my form goes to shit. I'd rather do lower weight with the right form than be one of the dudes I see at the gym trying to curl way to much weight and start arching their backs and swinging the weights up using momentum instead of strength.

There was a study done recently in trained lifters. Two groups did the same workout, except one added bicep curls. At the end of 12 weeks, both groups gained the exact same amount of muscle. There was no advantage to adding the bicep curls.

I'm actually in the process of trying this myself. I didn't have any luck doing bicep curls a couple of years ago when they were in my routine. I dropped them and haven't noticed any change in progression or bicep strength. So, two weeks ago, I added them back in just to see. I'll re-evaluate in March, but I'm not very hopeful that they'll do much of anything.

Kudos to you if they work for you, but they sure haven't for me in the past. Good luck and let us know how it goes :)

No problem.

Damn, wish I had a pullup bar at the gym.

Shitty ass gym.

Anyway, either way I still need to do them. They are probably the part of my lifting I hate the most, because they are tough. Admittedly pullups are pretty tough too.

Iron Gym. I know it's hokey, but I've got one and it works really, really well. I take it with me when I go on vacation, because most hotel gyms don't have a pullup bar. Luckily, my gym has about 8 actual pullup stations.

Sweet. I'll look into it. I thought it was gonna break a door frame or something.

I did, too, at first. I first used it at a hotel in Florida, and was really nervous about causing damage. But it doesn't do anything to the door frame. Pretty cool design, actually.

First workout of the new year concluded. SOUNDTRACK OF CHOICE:

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