Daily Workout - Arms with Total Gym

 

I'm on the Total Gym this week and to finish off I just need to do my Arms. I don't really use my Total Gym for lower body stuff as I need to use a fair amount of weight for my legs and I find my Smith Machine and Bench Attachments work really well for me in this area.

Getting back to Arm on the Total Gym... What can I say, the Total Gym does a great job for Arms and if all I had was a Total Gym I could build great Arms with it. Since I have other gear I can use at home in at my local gym I use a variety of gear for all my different workouts - why not?

• 10 Minutes Elliptical.
• Biceps: Lying Down Curls with Total Gym. (3 Sets with an increase in the incline each time)
• Biceps: Seated Curls with Total Gym. (2 Sets with an increase in the incline each time)
• Triceps: Seated Overhead Extension with the Total Gym.
• Triceps: Lying Down Extension with the Total Gym.
• Triceps: Rear Extension with the Total Gym.
• Abs: Seated forward Side Twists with the Total Gym.

Total workout time: About 1 hour.

Daily Workout - Back and Shoulders with Total Gym

I took the Sunday off which is kind of normal as it's usually reserved as a family day. Once in a while I'll get a bit of cardio in if I'm lucky. So today I found myself working at home doing some file encoding for my Mac Video Training business and while I wait for videos to export, there's not much to do so in between is as good a time as any to do my workout!

Today was Back day but since I had a bit of extra time between encoding I did my Shoulders also. I'm using my Total Gym this week which I find to be one of my favorite workout tools (I hope to talk more about the Total Gym in detail either in a YouTube Video or a dedicated Blob Post).

10 Minutes Elliptical.

Total Gym - Seated Wide Row.

Total Gym - Seated Narrow Row.

Total Gym - Pull Downs (Lying on Back).

Total Gym - Seated Shoulder Press.

Total Gym - Reverse Shoulder Raises (Lying on Back Upside-down).

Total Gym - Seated Shoulder Raises (Front to Back).

Total Gym - Front Seated Shoulder Raises.

Total Gym - Abs: Seated Side Twists in Forward Position).

Misc. Stretching.

Total workout time: About 1.5 hours.

Daily Workout - MMA and Total Gym Chest

I didn't make it to my morning Strength & Conditioning at my MMA Gym, but I did get to the one hour of technical training and then a second hour of sparring. Today we worked on BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and then "rolled" it in to some more BJJ sparring which is actually referred to as "Rolling". Not really a lot of punching, it's more like wrestling but with chokes and submission moves like Arm Bars and Kimura's.

Since I didn't make the Strength & Conditioning class and I still had a bit of energy left in me, I quickly went home and did a 35 minute Chest workout on my Total Gym. I really noticed the lack of strength after doing two hours of MMA.

• Muay Thai & MMA Technical Class: 1 hour.
• Muay Thai & MMA Sparing Class: 1 hour.
• Total Gym - Chest: 35 minutes.
• Abs: Tortal Gym Side Twists.
• Misc. Stretching

Daily Workout - Late Night Legs

It's kind of late and I really don't want to do a workout, especially a leg workout as legs are your largest muscle group and therefore take the most energy to workout!

Maybe after my warmup I'll feel more into it? It's days like today that getting started is the hardest part, a mind over matter thing. I'm nearing the end of my Elliptical warmup and I'm more into this workout now... It will all be over in less than an hour and I'll be glad I did it.

• Elliptical Warmup - 10 Minutes.
• Squats with Smith machine.
• Calf Raises: with Smith machine.
• Leg Extensions: Bench with leg attachment.
• Leg Curls: Bench with leg attachment.
• Misc. lower body stretching.

Total workout time: About 1 hour done in my home gym.

YouTube Video - Fitness Training Over 40

When you hit 40 and beyond you can't expect your body to react like it did when you where in your 20s or earlier.

That's not to say you can't get a great workout or even get in the best shape of your life after 40! You just need to make sure not to over-do-it, listen to what your body is telling you, give it plenty of rest and don't make an injury worse by aggravating it by doing the wrong exercises.

Try changing up your program and finding alternatives that are more comfortable for your body and its quirks. Always start out light, even if you have to add a few sets in before you move up to heavier weights. And make sure you don't go too heavy and cause an injury that could put you out of action for a few weeks or even months, it's just not worth it in the end. Pushing mid level weight can build muscle just as well.

Make sure to stretch and not before you workout, do it during. The best time is right after you have done a light warmup set. After you finish up an exercise, stretch that muscle a bit more.

You do need to push yourself but there will be times when you just need to take some time off, you'll know, just don't take to much time off or it can get really hard to get back in the routine. I like to take two to three days off when I'm felling burned out, any more and for me it gets hard to jump back in.

There are some other points in the video so make sure to listen to it all and keep coming back for more Vids and Blog Posts...