28 Days of Christmas: Day 2

Xmas Day 2-…SUPER detailed: “Upper Body, ABS and Intervals”

Start with a warm up~ I like to do 10 min of the Recumbent bike(r-bike).

EXERCISE #1- BENCH :Then I head over to where I am going to do a little warm up for my first exercise. BENCH or Chest press: I start by doing a warm up set that I don’t count as a real set. Bar x20 reps and then stretch and maybe do a few more reps- It’s always good to be “lubed up”.

·         Set 1 of Bench: 95# x 10 reps…then move right into doing my abs

·         Set 1 of ABS: The ABS exercises are up to you~ I’ll do knee ups on the bench first: 30 focused in eccentric….then go right back to bench. Remember “I am buffing”, so I want little rest between sets and I want to keep my heart rate up.

·         Set 2 of Bench: 115# x 10 reps

·         Set 2 of ABS: 25 knee ups- 15 to the front 5 each side

·         Set 3 of Bench: 115×8…I died, so I didn’t make 10 reps. BUT that’s okay J

EXERCISE #2– Pull ups: I like doing these a variety of ways… starting with the hardest way first- full body weight. Then assisted and then some inverted ones.

 ·        Set 1 of Pull ups: 10 reps..YAY!! that’s a good number for me!

·         Set 1 of ABS: Old School sit ups x60 reps

·         Set 2 of Pull ups: 20# assited x10…slow and controlled full stretch lifting my chest to the bar (think Proud Rooster)

 ·        Set 2 of ABS: Old School x45 reps

·         Set 3 of pull ups: Inverted x10 reps really focused on biceps—MY PIPES!

Exercise #3– FLYS: you can do them as flat bench, incline or cable

 ·        Set 1 of Flys (incline for me): 30 # dumbbells x10

·         Set 1 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x25 reps

·         Set 2 of Flys: 35’sx10

·         Set 2 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x15 reps

·         Set 3 of Flys: 35’sx10

EXERCISE #4– Rows- An important tip when doing these keep your chest lifted and squeeze your should blades together at the end of the movement…if you don’t have access to this machine you can do bent over rows with DB’s or a weight bar.

·         Set 1 of Rows: 100×10

·         Set 1 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

·         Set 2 of Rows: 110×10

·         Set 2 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

·         Set 3 of Rows: 110×9…I couldn’t do any more than 9.

BURN OUT EXERCISE! Push ups 15 reps or to failure

·         Set 1 of Push ups: 20 military style

·         REST for about 1-2 min…do some stretching

·         Set 1 of Push ups: 15 military style+ 3 on knees~ whew!! That burned!

NOW it’s time for intervals…doing your intervals RIGHT after a lifting workout is a good way to burn extra fat. You’ve used up most of your glucose stores from your lifting so your body is now set to burn more fat for fuel.

Here is a breakdown of my interval run:

I took my time warming up then did 8 intervals all recovery mins were at 7.5 and the incline was at 2% the entire time:

*be sure to note your CYCLE DAY also!!! It makes a BIG difference!If you really want to get detailed you can use this is a super detailed STATs list…I like taking a ton because I don’t change much at this point plus some of the measurements really help me gauge if I am gaining muscle and losing fat 🙂

Today’s Date:_________ height:_____________ weight:___________ age:_______
Today’s cycle day-

Please list the following measurements:
Bust (around breasts the biggest part):
Chest- relaxed (just under armpits above breasts with arms down at your sides):
Chest- flexed back and chest (just under armpits with arms down at your sides):
Waist- relaxed (the smallest part):
Waist-sucked in (the smallest part):
Hips (the largest part of your butt):
Shoulders (around the outside of your shoulders with your arms at sides):
Biceps (relaxed at midpoint of upper arm):
Biceps (flexed at midpoint of upper arm):
Thigh-mid (about 8” above knee cap):
Thigh- upper (about 12” above knee cap):
Calf (about 7” below knee joint):

Pictures- Aim to produce photos that will be most comparable with the next set of progress photos you take. Photo are best taken in good lighting (during the day), the same suit on, from the same distances and angles, on a light background and in heels. It is best for you to take following poses all full body*:
1. straight on arms at sides
2. straight on arms up and flexed
3. from behind w/arms at sides
4. behind with arms up flexing biceps
5. from the side
6. model or movie star pose- have fun!
* do them both relaxed and flexed. Have fun and SMILE.

Caliper measurements (*these are the ones I like to track on myself and use to calculate my body fat, for further info on body fat measurements here is a link http://www.linear-software.com/online.html)
*Tricep:
*Thigh:
*Iliac:
Abdomen (I do this one for kicks, since I am an apple):