Saturday, December 30, 2017
Last 2017 Workout Check In
Welcome! If you have not visited before there is an "about" section at the bottom of this post.
Today was the last workout of the year. It was tough yet felt good to get through it. Restarting the blog has been interesting. There are definitely more people reading it than before. Doing well in dealing with diabetes has been good. I've become much stronger than I expected for the first year back into it. I think using the Daily Undulating Programming (DUP) over the summer helped. Now using some stuff adapted from 5-3-1 had helped as well in going on after doing DUP. Sets of 5 seem easier to recover from though they were done before I knew my 1 rep max for my main lifts. I may do proper 5-3-1 program after this current routine.
Challenges in life are still challenges yet I'm a little more confident on some of those and know that some will be there long after I'm gone. Hopefully next year will continue with the positive motion in life. OK, on to the blog.
So Monday and Wednesday I did High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with the exercise bike set to 21 for the sprints. I didn't do any cardio on Friday.
I lifted Tuesday, Thursday, and today (Saturday). I was tempted in skipping today and figured that might not be a good way to end the year. This week I weighed in between 155-159lbs. A bit higher than most of the year and not high enough to worry about.
Here's what I lifted this week:
Tuesday
Deadlifts 180lbs for four sets of 10.
Squats 145lbs for four sets of 10.
Assisted pull-ups with 40lb assist for three sets of 12 and one set of 9.
Overhead press with 30lb dumbbells for three sets of 12 and one set of 9.
Barbell Curls with 25lb dumbbells for three sets of 6 and one set of 5.
Thursday
Deadlifts 180lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 11.
Squats 150lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 11.
Body weight Pull-ups three sets of 3. The first time trying body weight pull-ups in a long time!
Overhead press with 30lb dumbbells for three sets of 12.
Barbell Curls with 25lb dumbbells for three sets of 6.
I realized that I didn't need to do 4 sets of the accessory lifts so only the first three lifts get 4 sets for the next 6 weeks. I'll see how I do after that.
Saturday (today)
Body weight Pull-ups two sets of 3 and one set of 4.
I'll keep at it next year. Next week is deload week (a week with low weight in order to recuperate). I will keep the bike at 1 resistance for the HIIT sprints and here's what I plan to lift.
Body weight Pull-ups
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
Today was the last workout of the year. It was tough yet felt good to get through it. Restarting the blog has been interesting. There are definitely more people reading it than before. Doing well in dealing with diabetes has been good. I've become much stronger than I expected for the first year back into it. I think using the Daily Undulating Programming (DUP) over the summer helped. Now using some stuff adapted from 5-3-1 had helped as well in going on after doing DUP. Sets of 5 seem easier to recover from though they were done before I knew my 1 rep max for my main lifts. I may do proper 5-3-1 program after this current routine.
Challenges in life are still challenges yet I'm a little more confident on some of those and know that some will be there long after I'm gone. Hopefully next year will continue with the positive motion in life. OK, on to the blog.
So Monday and Wednesday I did High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with the exercise bike set to 21 for the sprints. I didn't do any cardio on Friday.
I lifted Tuesday, Thursday, and today (Saturday). I was tempted in skipping today and figured that might not be a good way to end the year. This week I weighed in between 155-159lbs. A bit higher than most of the year and not high enough to worry about.
Here's what I lifted this week:
Tuesday
Deadlifts 180lbs for four sets of 10.
Squats 145lbs for four sets of 10.
Assisted pull-ups with 40lb assist for three sets of 12 and one set of 9.
Overhead press with 30lb dumbbells for three sets of 12 and one set of 9.
Barbell Curls with 25lb dumbbells for three sets of 6 and one set of 5.
Thursday
Deadlifts 180lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 11.
Squats 150lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 11.
Body weight Pull-ups three sets of 3. The first time trying body weight pull-ups in a long time!
Overhead press with 30lb dumbbells for three sets of 12.
Barbell Curls with 25lb dumbbells for three sets of 6.
I realized that I didn't need to do 4 sets of the accessory lifts so only the first three lifts get 4 sets for the next 6 weeks. I'll see how I do after that.
Saturday (today)
Deadlifts 180lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12.
Squats 150lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12.
Squats 150lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12.
Body weight Pull-ups two sets of 3 and one set of 4.
Overhead press with 30lb dumbbells for three sets of 12.
Barbell Curls with 25lb dumbbells for two sets of 6 and one set of 7.
I'll keep at it next year. Next week is deload week (a week with low weight in order to recuperate). I will keep the bike at 1 resistance for the HIIT sprints and here's what I plan to lift.
Deadlifts 145lbs
Squats 120lbs
Squats 120lbs
Body weight Pull-ups
Overhead press with 20lb dumbbells
Barbell Curls with 15lb dumbbells
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out such as pull-ups and bicep curls. I'm currently still doing full body workouts.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C between 4.8 and 5.0 on the next test.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C between 4.8 and 5.0 on the next test.
I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Monday, December 25, 2017
Christmas Check In 2017
Happy Holidays Everyone! From Solstice to Christmas, or nothing at all, welcome!
Did my three HIIT workouts on the bike with resistance set to 21 for the sprints. I'm doing three 20 second sprints with 2 minutes in between. This is my Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine.
Lifted Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I'll just share the Saturday rep count. The routine was the same all week starting with 4 sets of 10s on everything except overhead press which was a struggle this week.
Deadlifts 175lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12
Squats 145lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12
Assisted pull-ups with 40lb assist, four sets of 11, the last set wasn't pretty
Overhead press 60lbs (I did 70 on Tues and Thurs), for four sets of 12
Barbell Curls 50lbs for four sets of 12.
I'll go up 5 pounds on the most of the lifts this week and maybe try unassisted pull-ups. If I'm not there yet I'll continue the assisted.
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
Did my three HIIT workouts on the bike with resistance set to 21 for the sprints. I'm doing three 20 second sprints with 2 minutes in between. This is my Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine.
Lifted Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I'll just share the Saturday rep count. The routine was the same all week starting with 4 sets of 10s on everything except overhead press which was a struggle this week.
Deadlifts 175lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12
Squats 145lbs for three sets of 10 and one set of 12
Assisted pull-ups with 40lb assist, four sets of 11, the last set wasn't pretty
Overhead press 60lbs (I did 70 on Tues and Thurs), for four sets of 12
Barbell Curls 50lbs for four sets of 12.
I'll go up 5 pounds on the most of the lifts this week and maybe try unassisted pull-ups. If I'm not there yet I'll continue the assisted.
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out such as pull-ups and bicep curls. I'm currently still doing full body workouts.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Weekly Check-In 12/17/17
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I did the HIIT routine on the bike with resistance for the sprint set on 20. Next week I'll use 21 then likely have a "deload" week after that.
I dedicated my lifting workout yesterday to UNM graduates, especially my Hijada Paloma! And also to my coach who is in the hospital recovering from serious injuries.
Here's what I lifted Saturday:
Main Lifts:
Deadlifts 170 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I was able to do an overhand grip on the first three sets and half way into the last set.
Squats 140 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12.
Incline Bench 105 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I wasn't sure I would get to 12. It felt hard at the beginning of the week.
Accessory Lifts:
Assisted Pull-Ups, -40 pounds for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I'm trying hard to engage my back muscles to get this up in a few weeks. I'm thinking of staying at this weight and just getting to where I can go to 12 reps slowly.
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for four sets of 10, This was hard to get to. I started the week with the last set only going to 7. I may do the same here as with the pull-ups.
Curls 50 with barbell for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. Same as the other accessory work.
For some reason my computer has been super slow the last couple of weeks. Makes posting on the blog a pain. I will try and keep up. Also kept me from adding links to topics mentioned above.
On Thursday I lifted the same with one or two reps less on the final set. So where I'm doing 12 I likely did 11. Where I did 10 I probably did 8 or 9. I dropped weight and increased reps in response to my coach's feedback on my feeling tired from lifting at 10% higher weight. Coach was right!
I received a "Loving Service" award from Native Health Initiative. That was a great honor. I've been nominated for 5 awards that I'm aware of this year and received 3. It's a bit overwhelming to get recognition in this way. This week also feels like I lost some connections to friends and family. So it's been emotional to say the least. I think I just have to be OK and recognize I'm more sensitive than I want to admit. Stuff at work was challenging as well. I don't think things will get easier quickly so I'm going to have to take my gym attitude and apply it in life. Lift a little more day by day!
I'll also have to apply patience and persistence to the changes I want to see. Wish me luck!
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
I dedicated my lifting workout yesterday to UNM graduates, especially my Hijada Paloma! And also to my coach who is in the hospital recovering from serious injuries.
Here's what I lifted Saturday:
Main Lifts:
Deadlifts 170 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I was able to do an overhand grip on the first three sets and half way into the last set.
Squats 140 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12.
Incline Bench 105 for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I wasn't sure I would get to 12. It felt hard at the beginning of the week.
Accessory Lifts:
Assisted Pull-Ups, -40 pounds for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. I'm trying hard to engage my back muscles to get this up in a few weeks. I'm thinking of staying at this weight and just getting to where I can go to 12 reps slowly.
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for four sets of 10, This was hard to get to. I started the week with the last set only going to 7. I may do the same here as with the pull-ups.
Curls 50 with barbell for three sets of 10 and one set of 12. Same as the other accessory work.
For some reason my computer has been super slow the last couple of weeks. Makes posting on the blog a pain. I will try and keep up. Also kept me from adding links to topics mentioned above.
On Thursday I lifted the same with one or two reps less on the final set. So where I'm doing 12 I likely did 11. Where I did 10 I probably did 8 or 9. I dropped weight and increased reps in response to my coach's feedback on my feeling tired from lifting at 10% higher weight. Coach was right!
I received a "Loving Service" award from Native Health Initiative. That was a great honor. I've been nominated for 5 awards that I'm aware of this year and received 3. It's a bit overwhelming to get recognition in this way. This week also feels like I lost some connections to friends and family. So it's been emotional to say the least. I think I just have to be OK and recognize I'm more sensitive than I want to admit. Stuff at work was challenging as well. I don't think things will get easier quickly so I'm going to have to take my gym attitude and apply it in life. Lift a little more day by day!
I'll also have to apply patience and persistence to the changes I want to see. Wish me luck!
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0. That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting to be working on this and I'm pleased people feel inspired by reading this blog.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out such as pull-ups and bicep curls. I'm currently still doing full body workouts.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Another Change-up 12/12/17
First of all Feliz Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe!
Did the HIIT on the bike yesterday with resistance for the sprint set on 20.
Here's what I lifted this morning:
Deadlifts 170 for four sets of 10.
Squats 140 for four sets of 10.
Incline Bench 105 for four sets of 10.
Assisted Pull-Ups, -40 pounds for four sets of 10.
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for three sets of 10, and one set of 7.
Curls 50 with barbell for four sets of 10.
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
Did the HIIT on the bike yesterday with resistance for the sprint set on 20.
Here's what I lifted this morning:
Deadlifts 170 for four sets of 10.
Squats 140 for four sets of 10.
Incline Bench 105 for four sets of 10.
Assisted Pull-Ups, -40 pounds for four sets of 10.
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for three sets of 10, and one set of 7.
Curls 50 with barbell for four sets of 10.
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out such as pull-ups and bicep curls. I'm currently still doing full body workouts.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 60% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Friday, December 08, 2017
Thursday Update - 12/8/17
There are new bikes at the gym. So I'm still using "19" on the resistance for the sprints and the new bike goes to 25. So I will just adjust and get up to 25 eventually.
Here's what I'm lifting this week:
Tuesday
Deadlifts 205 for four sets of 8 reps
Squats 170 for four sets of 8 reps
Incline Bench 130 for three sets of 8 reps and one set of 6
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 for four sets of 8 reps
Overhead Press 65 with barbell for three sets of 8 reps and one set of 12
Curls 55 with barbell for four sets of 8 reps
Thursday
Deadlifts 205 for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
Squats 170 for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
Incline Bench 130 three sets of 8 and one set of 7
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 for four sets of 8 reps
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for four sets of 8 reps
Curls 55 with barbell for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
I will workout Saturday with the same weight and Tuesday try what Lee Sillas, from the Power Plant, called a "Load by Feel" day.
I'll use the weight below to start my workout on Tuesday and go to form failure (to where my form starts to go bad, instead of to where my ability to lift fails).
Deadlift 170
Squat 140
Incline Bench 105
Assisted Pull-Ups -40
Overhead Press with barbell 70
Curls with barbell 55
I'll adjust set by set and go from there. I will
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting and I want to keep getting healthier.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
Here's what I'm lifting this week:
Tuesday
Deadlifts 205 for four sets of 8 reps
Squats 170 for four sets of 8 reps
Incline Bench 130 for three sets of 8 reps and one set of 6
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 for four sets of 8 reps
Overhead Press 65 with barbell for three sets of 8 reps and one set of 12
Curls 55 with barbell for four sets of 8 reps
Thursday
Deadlifts 205 for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
Squats 170 for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
Incline Bench 130 three sets of 8 and one set of 7
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 for four sets of 8 reps
Overhead Press 70 with barbell for four sets of 8 reps
Curls 55 with barbell for three sets of 8 and one set of 9
I will workout Saturday with the same weight and Tuesday try what Lee Sillas, from the Power Plant, called a "Load by Feel" day.
I'll use the weight below to start my workout on Tuesday and go to form failure (to where my form starts to go bad, instead of to where my ability to lift fails).
Deadlift 170
Squat 140
Incline Bench 105
Assisted Pull-Ups -40
Overhead Press with barbell 70
Curls with barbell 55
I'll adjust set by set and go from there. I will
KEEP GRINDING!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting and I want to keep getting healthier.
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out such as pull-ups and bicep curls. I'm currently still doing full body workouts.
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 70% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
Between now and mid-February I will be trying to gain muscle with 70% of my 1 rep max weight and 4 sets of 8 or more. Then from there until the end of April I will change to sets of 5 or less with higher weight. I may go up to 4 "sprints" at some point. I'm hoping for an A1C of 4.8 on the next test. I did 1 rep max testing with Lee from the Power Plant and here is what I pulled on 11/22/17
Squat 235
Bench 220
Deadlift 285
