Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 309

Day 309 I've been doing a good job of training my lower body lately, so I decided a thorough upper body strength session would be a good idea today. For some reason my workout today took place over half my day. I started on the bench press with the plan of going reasonably heavy. One of my clients and I got our wires crossed so I started on the bench while I waiting to see if they would make it. Our session didn't happen. I managed to get all my bench press sets finished but I had to get to some paperwork and phone calls, so I had to finish the rest of the workout a little bit later.

Today's Workout:

AM Session

Exercise 1: Bench Press 5 sets / 6 - 8 reps / 2 minutes rest Set 1: 8 x 185lbs Set 2: 6 x 205lbs Set 3: 6 x 205lbs Set 4: 6 x 205lbs Set 5: 10 x 185lbs

Noon Hour Session

Exercise 2: Barbell Overhead Press 4 sets / 8 - 10 reps / 90 seconds rest Set 1 - Set 4: 95lbs x 10

Exercise 3: Neutral Grip Machine Chest Press 4 sets / 8 - 10 reps / 90 seconds rest Set 1: 10 x 130lbs Set 2: 10 x 140lbs Set 3: 8 x 150lbs Set 4: 8 x 150lbs

Late Afternoon Session

Exercise 4: Barbell Bent-Over Row (Wide Grip) 5 sets / 8 - 10 reps / 2 minutes rest Set 1: 10 x 135lbs Set 2: 8 x 155lbs Set 3: 8 x 175lbs Set 4: 8 x 175lbs Set 5: 8 x 175lbs

Exercise 5: V-Bar (Neutral Grip) Lat Pulldown 4 sets / 8 - 10 reps / 90 seconds rest Set 1: 10 x 140lbs Set 2: 10 x 160lbs Set 3: 10 x 160lbs Set 4: 8 x 160lbs

Exercise 6: Single Arm Cable Row 3 sets / 12 reps per side / 60 seconds rest Set 1 - Set 3: 12 x 120lbs per side

Exercise 7: Rope Face Pull 3 sets / 12 reps / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 12 x 80lbs Set 2: 12 x 100lbs Set 3: 12 x 100lbs

I finished up with some more upper body pushing movements about an hour after finishing up on the bench. For time's sake I would have preferred to have finished my workout all at once but It actually worked out pretty well. My chest and shoulders were pretty tired after the first session but an hour later they had recovered quite a bit. I felt that I was able to work a little harder than if I had done them right after the bench press.

Later in the afternoon, my client Ryan came in. My plan for him was an upper body pulling strength session. I had quite a bit of energy left and felt that I should put some more work in, so I joined Ryan. It worked out quite well. Ryan has been getting a lot stronger. Often when we workout together I modify his exercises from mine but lately I haven't had to do that as much. This also worked out well because it added balance to the workout I had done earlier. I often prefer to pair upper body push movements with pull movements. Today I didn't pair up push and pull but after doing the afternoon sessions both movements had gotten the same amount of attention.

My legs should be good and fresh tomorrow after getting a couple days break. I haven't done any Olympic lifts since last week, so I think that will be on the agenda tomorrow.