Cuerpo Aztlan

I didn't get to the gym on Saturday. Had a lot of stuff going on. I think with the A B approach allows me flexibility to choose when to workout or not. I'm not in training officially and even if I was I don't feel the pressure to force myself to workout 6 days a week. 4 to 6 is enough. I'm going up in pace for the treadmill time. I did 4.1 two weeks ago, and 4.2 this past week. Starting tomorrow I'll be doing 4.3 which is a 13:57 per mile pace.

Here's what I ended up lifting and got on the treadmill Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The next time will be 4 sets, then 5. I'll see how this works for volume.

A -
Deads 165x5 for three sets. I ended with 25 second pauses and couldn't hold on last set. I'll drop to 20 second pauses. 
Good Mornings 45x10, 10 on second set and 12 on third. 
Ham curls 65x10 for 3 sets. 
Seated Rows 105x10 for 3 sets, then I think I'll go to 8 or 9 when I increase weight.
Lat Pull downs 80x10 for 3 sets.
Hammer Curls 15x10 for 3 sets.

B -
Squats 145x8, then I dropped to 135x10 for two sets. I'll stick at 135.
Lunges 5x5 for 3 sets.
Incline Bench 110x10 then 105x10, and 95x10. I'll stay at 95 for the first round. 
Shoulder press 45x10 for 3 sets.
Lateral raises with cables 10x10 for 3 sets.  
Tricep Pulldowns 40x10 for 3 sets.

I don't know if I just overcalculated for the "B" workout or if I was having a bad day. Either way I'll be staying with this weight through this round. Worst case is that I'll make slower progress. For sure I'll get progress. 

Aside from weights I've started working on music more. I've been studying/practicing every day since October 7 and I'll see how long of a streak I can keep going. I think I'm on 17 days now. 

KEEP GRINDING!!!

# posted by Cuerpo Aztlan : 6:42 PM  0 comments

So long story short. I didn't make it to the gym on Thursday so I only lifted twice. I'll post what I lifted later. I also decided to change to a volume workout. Google said there wasn't a good match when I searched for CuerpoAztlan and 1RM calculator. I still found this though - 1RM Calculator so below are estimations based on last heavy lifts. The way I'm going to do volume is 3 sets one week, then 4 sets the next, and 5 sets the following, then drop back to 3 sets and add 5-10+ pounds depending on how the lifts are going. Last sets will be AMRAP (as many reps as possible). 

I may only lift for sets of 8. Goal will be 10 reps though.

A -
Deads 165x5 with long pauses for grip work
Good Mornings 45x10
Ham curls 65x10 
Seated Rows 105x10 
Lat Pull downs 80x10   
Hammer Curls 15x10

B -
Squats 145x10
Lunges 5x5  
Incline Bench 110x10 
Shoulder press 65x10   
Lateral raises with cables 10x?   
Tricep Pulldowns 50x10

# posted by Cuerpo Aztlan : 7:38 PM  0 comments

Below is what I lifted last week. I've been trying to figure out how to advance at running. I finally decided I'm going to use the kind of MPH rating on the treadmill. So this week I will stick to 4.1, which shows as 14:38 on the pace. I did 30 minutes today and I'm feeling it on my lower back. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help.

As a non-exercise health thing I've started practicing music with the goal of going daily. So I'm on 5 today. Whether I have 5 minutes or an hour I hope to play every day for a while. I'll keep track somehow. 

 Below are my lifts for last week, and below that intended lifts for this week. 

Tuesday B -
Squats 160x5, 140x8, 120x12
Lunges 20x5, 15x5, 10x5  
Incline Bench 130x5, 110x8, 90x10 
Shoulder press 85x5, 75x6, 65x7  (on the power rack now) 
Lateral raises 25x5, 20x6, 15x8, 12x15   
Tricep Pulldowns 65x6, 50x10, 40x12 (I used a handle shaped like a "w")

Thursday A -
Deads 205x5, 185x8, 165x10  
Good Mornings 55x5, 50x8, 45x10
Ham curls 90x5, 75x6, 65x7 
Seated Rows 120x5, 105x8, 95x10 
Lat Pull downs 110x5, 95x8, 80x10, 65x12   
Curls 35x3, 30x5, 25x7, 20x10, 15x12 (dropping back to 25)

Saturday B -
Squats 165x5, 145x6, 125x8
Lunges 20x5, 15x5, 10x5 
Incline Bench 135x5, 115x7, 95x13 
Shoulder press 85x3, 75x5, 65x6  (13 on bench may have hampered this. Try 85 again next week.) 
Lateral raises 25x5, 20x8, 15x10, 12x20 (stay at 25 until 8 good ones then do 30)  
Tricep Pulldowns 70x5, 55x10, 45x12  (stick to the "w" bar) 

For this coming week, I'm hoping for this:

Tuesday A -
Deads 210x5, 190x , 170x  
Good Mornings 60x5, 55x , 50x  (move to the rack)
Ham curls 90x5, 75x , 65x  (stay on this for form) 
Seated Rows 125x5, 110x , 100x 
Lat Pull downs 110x , 95x , 80x , 65x  (still want to improve heavy form)   
Curls 25x , 20x , 15x , 12x , 10x  (dropping back to 25 until good form for 8)

Thursday B -
Squats 170x5, 150x , 130x
Lunges 5x5 for 3 sets 
Incline Bench 140x5, 120x , 10x 
Shoulder press 85x , 75x , 65x   (see how this goes) 
Lateral raises 25x5, 20x , 15x , 12x    
Tricep Pulldowns 75x , 60x , 50x  (stick to the "w" bar) 

Saturday A -
Deads 215x5, 195x , 175x  
Good Mornings 65x5, 60x , 55x  
Ham curls 90x5, 75x , 65x  (If Tuesday goes well add 5) 
Seated Rows 130x5, 115x , 105x 
Lat Pull downs 110x , 95x , 80x , 65x  (If Tuesday goes well add 5)   
Curls 25x , 20x , 15x , 12x , 10x  

Alright. This takes a minute to note down yet it's worth it. Hope all are well and staying healthy during all this hectic changes with pandemic, climate change, and everything else going on. 

KEEP GRINDING!!! (still open to suggested changes for the tagline)

# posted by Cuerpo Aztlan : 8:55 PM  0 comments

Here's what I lifted last week:

Tuesday A -
Deads 195x5, 175x6, 155x7
Ham curls 85x5, 70x10 , 60x13
Seated Rows 110x5, 95x10, 85x12 
Lat Pull downs 110x5, 95x8, 80x10, 65x15 
Back ext 185x5, 165x10, 145x15 
Curls 30x5, 25x6, 20x10, 15x12, 12x15

Thursday B -
Squats 155x5, 135x8, 115x10
Lunges 20x5, 15x5, 10x6 
Incline Bench 125x5, 105x7, 85x8
Shoulder press 80x5, 70x6, 60x10 (I may move this over to a rack as pulling from the ez curl rack is getting harder to lift) 
Lateral raises 25x5, 20x6, 15x10, 12x12 
Tricep Pulldowns 65x4, 50x6, 40x8 (I noticed that on one particular pulley it is harder than the others with the rope. It's not too bad with the straight handle. Not sure why.)

Saturday A -
Deads 200x5, 180x6, 160x10 (Felt good to get to 200! Also, my grip on left hand was weak on rep 4 and 5 at max weight, did some pauses at the top with the rest of the weight.)
Ham curls 85x6, 70x10, 60x12
Seated Rows 115x5, 100x10, 90x12
Lat Pull downs 110x5, 95x8, 80x10, 65x12 (I'll stay at this weight because the 110 isn't best form yet)
Back ext 190x5, 170x8, 150x12 (I'm going to change this to "Good Mornings" right after deadlifts) 
Curls 35x3, 30x5, 25x10, 20x12, 15x15 (stay at 35)

This week I will try this:

Tuesday B -
Squats 160x , 140x , 120x
Lunges 20x5, 15x , 10x 
Incline Bench 130x , 110x , 90x 
Shoulder press 85x , 75x , 65x  (on the power rack now) 
Lateral raises 25x5+, 20x , 15x , 12x (not sure this is good enough form yet to move up)  
Tricep Pulldowns 65x , 50x , 40x  (Rope on the hard pulley, or just change altogether)

Thursday A -
Deads 205x , 185x , 165x  
Good Mornings 55x , 50x , 45x (start light and keep the form good!)
Ham curls 90x , 75x , 65x 
Seated Rows 120x5, 105x , 95x 
Lat Pull downs 110x5, 95x , 80x , 65x   
Curls 35x , 30x , 25x , 20x , 15x

Saturday B -
Squats 165x , 145x , 125x
Lunges 20x5, 15x , 10x 
Incline Bench 135x , 115x , 95x 
Shoulder press 85x , 75x , 65x  (90 if 85 went well) 
Lateral raises 25x5+, 20x , 15x , 12x (see how Tuesday goes before doing 30)  
Tricep Pulldowns 65x , 50x , 40x  (See how Tuesday goes also)

 That's all I have! Appreciate those of you who are into the blog.

KEEP GRINDING!!!

# posted by Cuerpo Aztlan : 8:29 PM  0 comments