Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 325

Day 325 Today's workout involved some pretty general upper body work, focusing on shoulders and arms. I decided to use a format I call crazy 8's. The idea is to perform 8 reps per exercise with very little rest between sets. The distinguishing variable is that the load you use is quite a bit less than you're normal 8 rep max for each exercise. The main benefit of this training protocol comes from the fatigue accumulated from the high volume of work and the short rest periods. Another benefit, although less significant is the metabolic effect. The short rest periods keep the heart rate high, creating a high calorie demand on top of the muscular fatigue.

Today's Workout:

A1. Barbell Overhead Press: 4 sets / 8 reps / no rest (95lbs) A2. Barbell Bicep Curl: 4 sets / 8 reps / no rest (70lbs)

B1. Tricep Pushdowns: 4 sets / 8 reps / no rest (130lbs) B2. Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 4 sets / 8 reps / no rest (35lbs)

C1. Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 4 sets / 8 reps / 30 seconds rest (25lbs)

D1. Reverse Cable Fly: 4 sets / 8 reps / 30 seconds rest (20lbs)

E1. Single Arm Cable Tricep Extension: 4 sets / 8 reps per arm / 1 arm rests while the other is working (30lbs)

F1. Reverse Cable Curl: 4 sets / 8 reps / 30 seconds rest (80lbs)

This protocol won't exactly make me Hercules but it certainly gets a lot of work done in a short period of time. My goal this year wasn't specifically to pack on a bunch of muscle but I was hoping to gain some muscle mass as well as strength. Over the course of this year I've managed to lean out quite a bit and get stronger but any gains in muscle haven't been as significant as I had hoped. With that in mind, I think I'm going to try and throw in a little more hypertrophy work (muscle gain) from now until the end of the year. I think I might also enjoy a little more food here and there.