So, if I need to build a new application or work on a home improvement project, and I plan in advance the entire scope of the project, all the way out to the end some number of weeks or months from now, starting it requires more commitment and becomes more daunting.
But if instead I chunk it down into smaller, self-contained tasks, those tasks are maybe a day's worth of work individually and not so bad. I can start one in the morning and feel better about the state of things by the afternoon.
My gym is right behind my desk, I have 0 excuses to workout almost everyday
There's a few things to note about myself though. I couldn't do a girly pushup in college. My beginner gains ended up on what most people's beginner gains start at. I can do a full pullup and dip now, but I couldn't previously in the last year. So my gains aren't really all that crazy impressive but I've been noticing a lot of incremental gains in the last few months.I still have issues controlling my dietary plans though.
- This is what I used to look like ~7 years ago https://i.imgur.com/jtbidKK.png.
- This is me climbing the italian/swiss dolemites ~1 year ago https://i.imgur.com/YThLh7u.png
Anyways, this is my routine that works fairly well for me
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## EQUIPMENT SETUP
My gym is behind my desk. I use a ironmaster superbench as my full gym. I use this chinup attachment as well
- https://www.amazon.com/Ironmaster-Super-Bench-Adjustable-wei....
- https://www.amazon.com/Ironmaster-1007-Chin-Up-Attachment/dp...
I use 90lb adjustable powerblock weights
- https://www.amazon.com/PowerBlock-Elite-5-90-Silver-Stand/dp...
I don't have space for a olympic bar or powerracks
## GYM SETUP
- Here's my whole gym, its messy https://i.imgur.com/WasHSdk.png
- Here's an angle of my gym and treadmill desk https://i.imgur.com/IXgouwd.jpg
- Here's vertical view of my gym and desk https://i.imgur.com/f0VtDwv.jpg
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## WORK OUT DAILY PLAN
I use reddit's recommended routine bodyweight fitness as a starting point. https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend.... ... I've done 5x5, 5/3/1, I used to follow it rigorously, but I find either it was too tiring to enjoy or just too hard to remember what exercise to do on what day.
This is what I use, I keep stuff simple. I use PPL (push pull legs) on a 3 day rotation.
- 1 day is legs / abs / form workouts (LEGS)
- 1 day is upperback / biceps (PULL)
- 1 day is chest, triceps, shoulders (PUSH)
I completely ignore working out on certain days like Monday for LEGS, Tuesday for PULL, etc. Because my schedule is kind of really varied, I just make sure I finish a full PPL before going onto the next PPL
For instance, if I do PUSH, I'll make sure I do PULL and LEGS on the following days. It could be over the next 2 days or next 5 days, depending on my schedule. Then I repeat back to PUSH.
I try to workout at least once every 3 days though
I aim for every workout to be 40 minutes long. This is from the start of warmup to the end with post foam roller massages. I usually hit this consistently.
I aim to do a grand total of 9 sets total max per workout day.
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## BREAKDOWN BY WORKDAY
### WARMUP (applies to all workouts)
The first part of my routine is usually popping open anime / youtube / TV show. I usually prefer these videos to be 20 minutes long ,because that's roughly how long all 9 sets of rest periods total up too. This way I can be entertained while working out. Its a way to reward myself for putting hard work
The other alternative is to fire up rocketleague.
I have these habits intentionally because it baselines my psyche & adrenaline level when I go workout, so I have more consistent results
First 5 minutes I'll do some light jogging on my treadmill desk. Usually, 2.6 mph is what I find to be enjoyable
After that, I will start doing 3 light warmup sets with 1min30sec breaks inbetween
- PUSH -> On push day, I will just do standing pushup on my standing desk. Wide grip, diamond grip, and then shoulder presses with 3 lb dumbbells to practice deep forms.
- PULL -> On pull day, I will just take a rope, loop it around my adjustable bench. I will do standing rows, and then assisted pullups with my legs
- LEGS -> On leg day, I will do pike walks and L-sets as my warmups
## PUSH DAY
On the workout itself, my pushday is 9 sets total. It looks like this:
- 3 sets of chests, following chest progession - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pu...
- 3 sets of triceps, following dip progression - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/di...
- 3 sets of shoulders, following handstand progression & pike pushups. I use paralletes though - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnQU_lLBFW0
## PULL DAY
On the workout itself, my pushday is 9 sets total. It looks like this:
- 3 sets of outter upperback, following pullup progression - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pu...
- 3 sets of inner upperback, following row progession - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/ro...
- 2 sets of biceps, usually dumbbell concentration curls / hammer curls -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3REno4u6U
## LEG DAY
Leg day, I don't have a olympic or squat bar. I don't actually do 9sets on leg day, I just do 6 sets + whatever I feel like afterwards.
- 3 sets of hamstrings / quads - I use a TRX suspension band similar to this, but I have 35+ dumbbells in each hand - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bmjTIyi7sI
## AFTER WORKOUT
After workout I do foam roller massages on that body part. This way I have faster recovery times
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## LOGGING THE WORKOUT
I log each set I do throughout the workout.
I don't use fancy apps. I am really lazy. I find that since I workout frequently enough, I'll know what where I'm at in terms of progress generally, because I'll have logged how much weight I used in previous workouts. Usually I won't change weights until at least 2 PPL cycles anyhow
I use a moleskin journal. Each page is divided up as follows
- Top of page = Legs
- Middle of page = Pull
- Bottom of page = Push
This is what 2 full PPL cycles look like. https://i.imgur.com/IeR1UJW.png
I use a journal mostly to just keep track of which workout I need to do. So I don't accidentally skip out on any specific exercise
I don't bother doing data analytics or use fancy spreadsheets. Just too lazy, it adds 0 value in the long run anyhow.
Really I should just be taking more video shots from early progression stages but I haven't which is a bummer. But I've been taking regular selfies though for progression updates
## PROTEIN
I use vanilla whey isolate + 50% soymilk original flavor + 50% water. It actually tastes pretty good and has low carbs / high protein, with fairly balanced nutritional content. Doesn't cost that much either
This is kind of like my soylent in the morning for breakfast as well
I'm on a cut-phase right now, I usually drink a lot more water to reduce my apetite.
When I bulk I take creatine and have to creatine load myself for a few days.
## OTHER / REASONING
I can't find the source, but there was an article on reddit detailing which fitness instructors were considered the most authoritative. Based on science and experience in shaping other's people's fitness goals. The gist I got off of it is that stretching is wasted oppurtunity cost and that doing light sets based on what muscle group you will work out is much better, as a warmup. Since you work on better form too.
I chose only to do 9sets at most per day because I think having anything over that adds too much friction to workout everyday.
I did not do any fullbody workout routines like https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend... verbatim, because that's too tiring for me. 3 full body workouts in a week will leave you really sluggish and tired all the time. Its good for starting off, but when you plateau its better off doing other routines later. I usually found following those routines that stated it was 40-60 minutes long, to be actually 1hr30min long on average. Some days I couldn't hit it consistently due to my busy schedule or lack of sleep, so it was really hard to upkeep.
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## SUMMARY
In summary
- I workout at least once every 3 days
- I follow a PPL (push pull legs) routine
- I flatout don't care what day it is
- I do 9 sets max a day
- I do 3 lightsets to warmup preventing injuries
- I do post muscular foam roll massage to prevent further injuries
- I baseline my psyche and adrenaline level by watching TV and playing rocketleague
- I usually finish watching a 20 min TV show in 40 mins of working out all at the same time
- Workouts are guaranteed to be 40 mins or less, from warmup, 9sets, cleanup, and post-muscle massage
- My gym is next to my desk so there's 0 reason for me to workout almost daily.
- I think micro-iterations of workout is better in the long run
- I log all my workout logs in a moleskin journal. 1 page = 3 days of workout = 1 PPL cycle
I think http://repl.it is my favorite so far, but a lot of cool ones are popping up recently.
My goto will always be codepen though if its purely frontend. It just has the nicest UX interface and works really well.
Funny thing about codepen is I also use it as a CDN too.
I'll grab my compiled single CSS file from my main github repo, and paste it into a new codepen file. Then on a new codepen, I'll link that CDN codepen so I can isolate and make a webcomponent, while still adhering to my original CSS. I use the commit# / merge# to keep track between the main git repo VS the codepen CDN file