The conversation went on for some time talking about the charity that this Mona Vie company supports, and the massive amount of money that they give. One of the many ingredients of the juice comes from South America and that is where they are sending millions of American dollars. I believe that helping others is of the utmost importance, being from Michigan I see the economy in a downward spiral and charity is wonderful. People in Michigan, in our community, our neighbors and people I see everyday need help and I believe charity starts at home. I also believe in the statement “think globally – act locally”. I am not sure we saw eye to eye on this subject and in the heat of the conversation I lost my focus and set my keys down somewhere.

One and a half hours later, I had totally given up; my keys reappeared sitting on top of a Monopoly game. The keys just blended in so well that even though I had looked right at them multiple times, I did not see them. Well, anyway, I got off to the gym being two hours behind schedule. Everything at the gym went great and some how I managed to keep a positive attitude (breath in through the nose and out through the mouth) even with my schedule being thrown way out of whack.

On to the next day. Because of the unfortunate previous day key fiasco, I set my goal to leave the house at the same time the kids would be leaving for school on the bus. I had everything in order and when the kids got on the bus, I went directly to my car in order to get to the gym quickly. I could not believe it – my keys were nowhere to be found. How could this be? I was very calm, after I closed my eyes and took many deep breaths. I used to have this problem, losing my keys all the time, and it is a situation that I thought I had remedied, first of all by putting one of the remote finders on my key chain.

As luck would have it, when I pushed the button to activate the beeper on the key chain, I remembered the battery was dead, so there was no beeping sound for me to chase down. Oh well, not a problem. I have two spare keys that should of worked, but there is a computer chip in each key and the two extra keys I had in my possession would only turn on the radio they would not turn the motor over. So I call the dealership to find out how to program the keys that I had. They told me what to do, so that’s what I did. Turn the key to the on position; let set for ten minutes; try to start the car. The dealership said that I may have to try three times before the car would start. Mind you, it is a Michigan winter and the air was crisp. In fact, you could hear the squeaking of your shoes on the snow it was so cold. After about five tries with the two different keys that I did have, the car still would not start. Well, at least I could sit in the freezing car and listen to the radio. After all the tries – the battery started to die.

Not a problem, I have a battery charger! So I hooked that up and waited until I could continue to try to program the keys. I can’t even start to explain how many times I tried. So, the whole day, from 8:45 to 6:00 at night was spent ripping through the house; then cleaning; then attempting to program the keys; then ripping; then cleaning over and over and over again to no avail. It was not until the 17th of January, 5 days without a car, that the keys finally were found – stuck to the back of the laundry hamper.

In the days without a vehicle I did not get to the gym. So I did a lot of sit-ups, pushups, pull-ups, and dips. When I was not working on physical activity during my forced hiatus, I was working on my presentation’s for some of my other businesses. I have now been back at the gym for two full rotations through my entire body that I have intentions to someday back blog about. I am sorry that people will have to wait for that information, but the good news is that tomorrow, January 26, 2009, I will continue to blog work out for health – journey day 32

Are you hungry?
Team nextBrad Swartz

Today’s work out: back and bicep start 11:30 end 11:55

Hammer Strength machine Set 1 90lbs/12 reps
Pull downs for whole back: Set 2 160lbs/8 reps
Set 3 210lbs/6 reps
Set 4 180lbs/8 reps

Flat bench one arm rows Set 1 35lbs/12 reps
With a dumbbell: Set 2 65lbs/8 reps
Set 3 65lbs/8 reps
Set 4 65lbs/8 reps

High cable pull downs with Set 1 60lbs/12 reps
Special narrow overhand grip: Set 2 120lbs/8 reps
Set 3 120lbs/8 reps
Set 4 120lbs/8 reps

Standing dumbbell alternating Set 1 15lbs/12 reps
Hand with a twist curls: Set 2 20lbs/8 reps
Set 3 25lbs/8 reps
Set 4 25lbs/8 reps

Preacher bench with Set 1 40lbs/12 reps
Curl barbell: Set 2 60lbs/8 reps
Set 3 60lbs/8 reps
Set 4 60lbs/8 reps

At the very end of my speed weight lifting to be ultra lean I did one SOS set of standing bicep curls with 95lbs. I had planed to do my triceps’s and my calves but a man that I had never seen before was watching me perform my SOS set and when I completed he started asking me questions. I was happy to answer all of his inquiries to the best of my ability. We quickly went over proper stance, getting ones lower body in the right position in order to work ones upper body to its maximum potential. As I was showing what exactly I was doing I introduced my self as Brad he said his name was Mark and by the time the mini lesson was complete we had exchanged phone numbers so we could keep in touch. How cool! A new friend. Many friends and success to us all.

Are you hungry?
Team next
Brad Swartz

Well, two straight days out of the gym. So much is going on that, even with my dedication to the next six months of working out for health, I absolutely had to miss yesterday. Trevor and I planned our first meeting to be held at my house. I was really nervous and anxious first because my house is somewhat small and I do have a toilet downstairs but the room has been under construction for the last few months, so it’s a bit of a mess. I was nervous mostly because this would be the first time I was introducing our health and wealth building business to friends.

I spent a good portion of the day working out kinks in my part of the presentation and on the phone confirming who was going to be able to make it. I had personally invited Claudia, Sue, Andy, Garrett, Shaun, Joe, Scott, Gary, and Brian and his wife. I left a message for Gary and Brian but Brian did not get back with me in time, However Gary was on it, and called me back, right quick and said that he was committed to a church group Wednesday night. Although I was a little bummed he would not be able to make it, I think it is wonderful that in today’s society young people are still willing to help others. Scott also called me back to say he would be on the other side of town working. Sad, but again I felt joy that with this Michigan economy my friends are working and getting paid, and so of course I let him know. I arranged for Joe to ride with Shaun, but unfortunately when Shaun showed, no Joe, but Shaun did bring his better half – Amanda. Also, Claudia and Andy were able to make it. Of the orignal eight that I spoke with, four people came to see what Trevor and I were offering (health and wealth).

100% of the people were extremely interested to know more and Andy signed up on the spot! I guess he knows that when a great opportunity is offered to jump on it. Wow! I knew Trevor and I had something here, but 25% immediate enrollment – incredible. Claudia talked with me this morning with excitement and a lot of great questions, and by the time we had finished talking, she was chomping at the bit to show her father and the members at her father’s country club. 50% enrollment within 24 hours – unheard of! I am so excited about next weeks get together. I hope everyone can make it!

I have been reading over the blogs that I have written so far and am working on a way to make the information more interesting. Some may find it fascinating to read about how many reps and sets I do for each exercise and how my strength is progressing. But I do fear that there are a percentage of people that will not be captivated reading just that information for my six month journey of working out for health. Because of this fact, I will be changing how I communicate the details of my daily work out as follow:

Today’s work out: chest, shoulder, traps start 9:30 end 10:30

Flat bench press: Set 1 30lbs/12 reps
Set 2 40lbs/8 reps
Set 3 40lbs/8 reps
Set 4 40lbs/8 reps

Incline bench: Set 1 135lbs/12 reps
Set 2 175lbs/7 reps
Set 3 165lbs/8 reps
Set 4 165lbs/8 reps

Standing cable crossovers: Set 1 60lbs/12 reps
Set 2 100lbs/8 reps
Set 3 100lbs/8 reps
Set 4 90lbs/8 reps

Pectoral fly machine: Set 1 75lbs/12 reps
Set 2 105lbs/8 reps
Set 3 105lbs/8 reps
Set 4 105lbs/8 reps

Standing dumbbell deltoid side raise: Set 1 15lbs/12 reps
Set 2 20lbs/8 reps
Set 3 25lbs/8 reps
Set 4 25lbs/8 reps

Palms up forward deltoid raise bar: Set 1 10lbs/12 reps
Set 2 20lbs/8 reps
Set 3 20lbs/8 reps
Set 4 20lbs/8 reps

Shoulder shrugs trapezoids: Set 1 185lbs/12 reps
Set 2 185lbs/12 reps
Set 3 185lbs/12 reps
Set 4 185lbs/12 reps

Hopefully, between a good inspirational story or two and some great workout tips, readers will be excited and wanting for more. Until next time…be happy.

Team next
Brad Swartz

The first day the kids are back in school (hurray)! I feel so lucky that these wonderful children are mine. This morning everything went off with out a hitch with getting them up, fed with smiles on their faces and to the bus stop. After I got them off, I had my coffee, but some how forgot to take my hand full of fish oil pills. Oh well, next time.

I saw George from the gym at the bank while I was making a deposit and exchanging some Jackson for some hundred dollar bills. He was quite friendly, but always is. I was going to see him again in just a few because he was on his way to the gym too. Before I even pulled into the parking lot I could tell the gym was packed – only a few parking spots even left. I thought how wonderful it was to see the place packed; I knew a lot of the people were here because of New Year’s resolutions. What a beautiful thing to see, people having follow through for their success.

Today would be an upper back, triceps, biceps and calves day – in that order. First exercise to do was pull downs on the Hammer Strength machine, done as follows: Set 1 – 90lbs repeated 12 times; sets 2, 3, and 4 at 180lbs, repeated 8 times (up 40lbs for my third time working out my back). Quickly to a flat bench to do one arm rows, with a dumbbell weighing 35lbs, for a warm up set of 12 repetitions. Starting with my left arm – 3 sets using a dumbbell weighing 65lbs, then repeated with my right arm. Finally, to add width to my back, 4 sets on a Hammer Strength machine – performed as follows:
Set 1 80lbs/12 reps
Set 2 120lbs/8 reps
Set 3 120lbs/8 reps
Set 4 120lbs/8 reps

Most days I would do biceps directly after doing back, as they are the secondary muscle used when doing back exercises. But, today I did two separate triceps exercises. First cable push downs with the rope handle attached to a high cable pulley – 70lbs selected for 12 repetitions, then three sets at 110lbs for eight repetitions. Moving to a flat bench I did my first set of scull crushers with 45lbs for 12 repetitions. The remaining sets I used 75lbs.

Dr. Norm, another gym member, recognized me and came over to talk for a second. He was very gracious with his praise of my ideas surrounding cardio workouts for fat loss and asked if I was still doing my Health Information Presentations at a Matter of Taste Restaurant and Banquet Hall. I had to admit that I have been so busy that they were temporarily put on hold, but assured him that I would start doing them again very soon. He was also inquisitive if I had released my book to the public. I explained to him of my current blog about working out for health journey and how “The System” the manual for health and success is going to be released to the public on June 24, 2009.

I continued to work out moving to my biceps using the preacher bench with 45lbs to warm up, then 3 sets at 55lbs.
These are completed with a high level of concentration on keeping perfect form. While I was completing these set I thought, “Dr Norm just asked to buy a copy of my book and I told him he was going to have to wait five and a half months! Brad, are you crazy?” I almost said it out loud. But I didn’t. Instead I asked if he would like me to put a copy of my book in my car for him and bring it to the gym the next day. He liked the idea, so tomorrow (my day off from the gym) would end up being another day at the gym.

The final exercises for my biceps were standing dumbbell curls with a twist as follows:
Set 1 15lbs/12 reps
Set 2 25lbs/8 reps
Set 3 25lbs/8 reps
Set 4 25lbs/8 reps

I was going to do calves today, but with Dr. Norm being interested in my book and my decision to be at the gym tomorrow, I would be back with a copy of “The System” and then I could really give my calves an exclusive work out tomorrow. Finally finished!

Follow me again tomorrow. We will be successful.

Team nextBrad Swartz

Last night my whole family went to the last holiday party for the season (yes!). Lots of people, lots of fun and a bit to drink – specifically margaritas! It ended up being a long night. I drank a lot of water when we got home, but this morning I could tell that I was not feeling 100%. Waking up to get going to the gym was a challenge this morning. After more glasses of water, a cup of coffee and of course my handful of fish oil pills, it was off to the gym to do a leg, abdominals and low back day.

Three separate exercises for my quadriceps. I started with 4 sets of squats, the first being 135lbs warm up set of 12 repetitions, followed by three heavier (185lbs) sets, doing 8 repetitions. Then quickly onto the leg press machine to put on 90lbs for my initial set, then 270lbs for the remaining sets. On to the leg extension machine, starting my warm up set with 20lbs, and then going to 35 lbs. – Twelve repetitions for all four sets.
Lunges, just the 45lbs bar for the beginning followed by sets of 75lbs. – now on to the secret ball hamstring burner. This exercise gives you the perfect burn in your hamstrings and glute’s! The regular 12 repetitions for all 4 sets is all that is needed. Hamstring curls started at 60lbs. for 12, moving the weight up to 110lbs. for the remaining sets. Great! Done with legs.

Al came in the gym. I hadn’t seen him since Jakes concert in Royal Oak over 6 months ago. He came up to me and started talking about a book he had heard about 2 separate times over a two week span. It was not a new book or a book on the top seller list, but I think he saw it as some kind of destiny the way he heard about it. He explained it was leading him to being a vegan. I know some people that have chosen the vegan life style and I am happy that it works for them; I have enough information about the subject to know that is not for me. Being from the gym, Al had asked me questions before about how I stay in the shape I’m in. In fact, he was one of the many gym members that have given me the encouragement and pressed me into explaining exactly what I do and what secrets I have that keep me in the best shape in the gym. All of the accolades and the praise I received are wonderful and I like to share, but the more I talked with people in the gym and the more detail I go in to, the less time I have to keep my body in the shape that I like to keep it in. This gave me the compelling reason that I needed to put everything that I have absorbed through the years to paper and into a book called “The System”. After I have finished the 6 months of my journey to work out for health, I am planning on releasing my book to the public.

I have not read the book Al was so excited about, called “The China Study”. But the fact that someone with all his years of experience was so excited inspired me to realize that all different people are willing to learn new ideas – no matter their gender or age or any physical attributes. Go Al!

To start my abdominal work out, I started with leg rounds – 4 sets, 6 repetitions (secret way to perfect obloquies). Then 4 sets of 8 ball sit ups after completion. The last thing to do was my low back. I start by doing my warm up set – dead lifts with 35lbs dumbbells and finished the last three sets with 50lbs dumbbells.

Have a successful day and be happy.
Team next Brad Swartz

My relaxation and rest day was not as much rest as I had initially envisioned it to be. With all the kids spending the night, I was up until 2:00 am and I could feel an incredible burn in my chest from the 41 (See blog 7). It was 8:30 before I got out of bed. Most of the girls were still sleeping on the floor, so I tip toed around them, collected the fish pills out of cabinet, and quietly snuck out the door into the bitter cold of a car sitting outside in a Michigan winter night.

I arrived at the gym and started my chest and shoulder work out by 9:30.  First I positioned myself on the flat bench and started my warm up set of 105lbs. By the time I had finished my twelfth repetition, I felt my chest was fully warmed up, so I upped the weight to 155lbs, but could only get 7 repetitions for my remaining third and fourth sets.  I dropped the weight to 145lbs so I could achieve the goal of eight repetitions. On to an incline bench to do incline bench press dumbbells – 30lbs in each hand for 12 repetitions, then up to 40lbs dumbbells for the remaining sets.

I went on to do standing cable crossovers for my warm up set; I selected 50lbs on each cable and repeated 12 times. Then I moved the weight to 100lbs on each cable. I had difficulty getting in to the proper position with so much weight, but decided that I would attempt to get my eight repetitions. Well, I made it to three before I started to see stars! Usually I listen to my body and always if it screams at me. When I see stars, it means I am about to black out and I take that as my body yelling at me, so I immediately stopped and got down on one knee in case I blacked out and completely lost consciousness. Good, I did not push myself to blacking out! As soon as the stars had disappeared, I moved the weight to a more reasonable weight of 70lbs doing 8 repetitions.

Today I used a Hammer Strength machine for the warm up at 50lbs for 12, then three sets using 90lbs(up 20lbs from 4 days ago) for eight repetitions. Now a round of my secret cage cable deltoid crossovers. Each high cable pulleys poundage set to the following:

            Set 1 30lbs/12 reps

Set 2 40lbs/8 reps

Set 3 40lbs/8 reps

Set 4 40lbs/8 reps

Then Standing dumbbell deltoid raise:

Set 1 10lbs/12 reps

Set 2 20lbs/8 reps

Set 3 20lbs/8 reps

Set 4 20lbs/8 reps

Palms up forward raise with curl bar:

Set 1 10lbs/12 reps

Set 2 20lbs/8 reps

Set 3 20lbs/8 reps

Set 4 20lbs/8 reps

Last but not least, I was off to work my trapezoids, performed as follows:

Set 1 135lbs/12 reps

Set 2 135lbs/8 reps

Set 3 135lbs/8 reps

Set 4 135lbs/8 reps

Done! Quickly I drank 50grams of liquid carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen levels in my muscles.  Kyle ended up walking out of the gym at the same time as me and we talked a little about the fact that I had gotten the very first part of my web sight up so friends could follow me for their success. He congratulated me and asked the name of my web sight. I told him teamnext.org

Team next

Brad Swartz

My rest day today and I really need it. Last night Trevor stopped by my house to pick up some supplements and we were talking about where and what he was doing to keep in shape. He is working out with Mike and Gerry at their fitness studio. They have set up an obstacle course that hangs from the ceiling, so you have to use your upper body and core strength for the whole course – it sounds very cool. Well, anyway, what Trevor was explaining is that they have a friendly, on going competition to see who can complete the course quickest, followed by how many pull up’s and then how many pushups can be done. Trevor said that he had gotten to 44 pushups and 26 pull-ups.

My eyes lit up and my muscles start to twitch – my ego was screaming at me to jump up from my chair, throw myself to the ground and start whipping out as many push up as I could. Heck, I knew I could do more! To my wife’s surprise, I sat there and continued the conversation, pretending like my ego did not exist. I truly am trying to be a better person and no matter if (I could or couldn’t do as many push up’s) I believe part of being a better person is not trying to show up your friends or others that you come in contact with.

Well, if you had known me in the past, you might have guessed it wasn’t long before I was on the floor in position trying to show up my buddy. What may be a surprise is that it was close to five minutes before I got down. That might not sound like that long, but is an improvement for me. 1, 2, 3… In my head I was saying to myself: “Hey! Is this really necessary? Brad, you know you are at the beginning of a training program for yourself and the next 48 hours are supposed be rest and recouping time” 8,9,10… “and what need do you have to show up Trevor? He knows you can do push-ups”  15,16,17…”Alright, your already started let’s just get to 40!”   24,25,26…”If I don’t do more pushups than Trevor, I may be able to boost his self confidence and help him on his journey to having a better body.”  31,32,33…”Alright, your already started – let’s just get to 40 (if I can!).” Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth I squeezed out 41. I am still learning to be considerate of others and next time I know I will work even harder to be even more considerate. As a side note, if you are trying to be conscious of others, you will make more friends that will end up treating you with more respect, which leads to success for you both.

Team next

Brad Swartz

A late start for the New Year. I celebrated New Year’s Eve with my family at home and had a wonderful time with all of us curled up together on the couch. We watched Ice Age 2 and Gremlins while we ate pizza (a treat I love to have once in a while). It was wonderful to get to midnight, watch the ball drop and kiss my kids and my wife knowing that the best is yet to come. I gave a lot of thought to what my New Year’s resolution was going to be. The best I could come up with was to help as many people as I could get the body and the life successes that they will be looking to achieve this year. I woke up late and knew I would be getting to the gym soon, but spent some quality time with my wife. Well, needless to say, I didn’t roll into the gym until a bit after 11:00, after my regular hand full of fish oil pills.

I could tell it was going to be a great day, even with this late start for me. On today’s agenda was upper back, calves, biceps and triceps – in that order. First exercise to do was pull downs on the Hammer Strength machine, done as follows: Set 1 – 50lbs repeated 12 times; sets 2, 3, and 4 at 140lbs, repeated 8 times (up 50lbs for my second time working out my back). Quickly to a flat bench to do one arm rows, with a dumbbell weighing 25lbs, for a warm up set of 12 repetitions. Starting with my left arm – 3 sets using a dumbbell weighing 35lbs, then repeated with my right arm. Finally, to add width to my back, 4 sets of close grip pull downs on a machine with a high cable pulley – performed as follows:
Set 1 80lbs/12 reps
Set 2 120lbs/8 reps
Set 3 120lbs/8 reps
Set 4 120lbs/8 reps

Most days I would do biceps directly after doing back, as they are the secondary muscle used when doing back exercises. But, today I did four set of super slow seated calf raises at 45lbs.

Duke saw me for the first time in a year and wanted to tell me what was up with him. I had no time to spare so I lent him my ear for a few minutes. Duke, in his late 60’s, had recently put on some extra weight. He told me he had some problems from a knee replacement and the doctors were giving him steroids for the pain. He also said that he had joined Weight Watchers and that over the period of the last 2 months had lost eight pounds. I quickly congratulated him and expressed that I was happy to hear that he was being successful in his quest to lose weight. He replied to me that he had quit Weight Watchers because the eight pounds lost in the two months was not good enough results for him. My response to that kind of thinking is to realize how long it takes to put on eight pounds, more than likely more than two months. One will get better long term results losing weight slowly than super quickly. If you lose weight faster than you put the weight on than you are doing better than most.
I continued to work my biceps on the preacher bench using 45lbs to warm up, then 3 sets at 55lbs. These are completed with a high level of concentration on keeping perfect form. The final exercises for my biceps were standing dumbbell curls with a twist as follows:
Set 1 10lbs/12 reps
Set 2 20lbs/8 reps
Set 3 20lbs/8 reps
Set 4 20lbs/8 reps

Lastly, to finish up my arms, I did two separate triceps exercises. First cable push downs with the rope handle attached to a high cable pulley – 70lbs selected for 12 repetitions, then three sets at 100lbs for eight repetitions. Moving to a flat bench I did my first set of scull crushers with 45lbs for 12 repetitions. The remaining sets I used 65lbs. Finally finished!

Follow me again next week starting Saturday. We will be successful.

Team next
Brad Swartz

Last night was a long night. I was working with Trevor on our business – how to make it easier for other people to get what they’re looking for out of life. I did not get home until way late into the evening, so waking up to get going to the gym was a real challenge this morning. After my glass of water, a cup of joe and of course my handful of fish oil pills, it was off to the gym to do a leg, abdominals and low back day. An inch of snow on the ground made the trip a little slow, but so beautiful with a fresh coat of snow on everything.

Three separate exercises for my quadriceps. I started with 4 sets of squats, the first being 95lbs warm up set of 12 repetitions, followed by three heavier (135lbs) sets, also doing 12 repetitions.

Next would usually be the decline leg press to do my 4 sets, but another gym member named Frank was only half way through his set on the machine. If I need to use a workout machine and someone else that I know is already using that machine, I will always ask to work in with them (and almost always if it is someone I don’t know). My thinking is that it is good to ask people and try to make friends. I believe that making contact with others is just an opportunity for something better to happen for the both of us. People help people. Well anyway, I did not choose to work in with Frank because he had seven 45lbs plates on each side of the machine. That was more weight than I was going to do today – he was going to move more weight in one set then I was going to move for my entire workout. Wow! That’s a lot of poundage.

So on to the leg extension machine, starting my warm up set with 20lbs, and then going to 35 lbs., doing twelve repetitions for all four sets. By the time I had finished at the leg extension machine, the leg press machine was vacant. I put on 90lbs for my initial set, then 180lbs for the remaining sets.

Time to make my hamstring sing with pain….. Lunges, just the 45lbs bar for the beginning followed by sets of 65lbs. I was feeling a bit frisky, the decision was made, even though this was only the second time through my leg routine I was going to go for it! IT being the secret ball hamstring curl, taught to me by a fitness guru named Shaun. This exercise gives you the key to a perfect butt! The regular 12 repetitions for all 4 sets is all that is needed. Donkey kick backs started at 50lbs. per leg for 12, moving the weight up to 70lbs. per leg for the remaining sets. Great! Done with legs.

To start my abdominal work out, I did 4 sets of 8 repetitions of ball sit ups (secret way to a six pack). After completing all of the ball sit ups, I did 4 sets of side crunches with 25 lbs and four sets of knee lifts. The last thing to do was my low back. I start doing my warm up set – dead lifts with 35lbs dumbbells and finished the last three sets with 45lbs dumbbells. Have a successful day and be happy.
Team next
Brad Swartz

My chest was still sore from last weeks work out. As soon as I positioned myself on the bench and started my warm up set of 95lbs, I was aware of the tightness in my chest. By the time I had finished my twelfth repetition, I felt my chest had loosened up a bit, so I upped the weight to 135lbs for my remaining 3 sets of eight repetitions. I was going to do incline dumbbell flies, but all of the benches were being used. Instead of waiting, I went on to do standing cable crossovers – one of my favorite exercises and part of my chest routine. When I bring the cables across my chest I can always feel that I am getting a great chest work out. For my warm up set, I selected 50lbs on each cable and repeated 12 times. Then 3 sets at 70lbs doing 8 repetitions.

By the time I had finished my sets, the bench for the incline bench press had opened up for me to use. 25lbs dumbbells in each hand for 12 repetitions, then up to 40lbs dumbbells for the remaining sets. Next thing to do, shoulders, started with standing dumbbell deltoid raises, I warm up with 10lbs weights and used 25lbs for the rest of the sets. For great, full, wide shoulders, the shoulder press will really pump you up. Today I used a hammer strength machine for the warm up at 50lbs for 12, then three sets using 70lbs for eight repetitions. In order to be sure that I got every muscle fiber in every part of my shoulders, I finished with a round of my secret cage cable deltoid crossovers. Each high cable pulleys poundage set to the following:
Set 1 30lbs/12 reps
Set 2 35lbs/8 reps
Set 3 35lbs/8 reps
Set 4 35lbs/8 reps

Just as I was wrapping up my last set, Nick came over and talked with me for a while about what I have been up to. When I explained my plan to blog in order to help people get in better shape mentally and physically he was enthusiastic about the idea to say the least, and assured me he would follow my progress. Nick was in a bit of a hurry, so he wished me luck and I was off to work my trapezoids, performed as follows:
Set 1 105lbs/12 reps
Set 2 135lbs/8 reps
Set 3 135lbs/8 reps
Set 4 135lbs/8 reps

Done! Quickly I drank 50grams of liquid carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen levels in my muscles .On the way out of the gym, I talked with Sue for a while. She had the greatest new hair cut and it made her look about 10 years younger. She was really in a good space and said her holidays were a smashing success. It is always great to hear people being positive. Much success and happiness to us all!

Team next
Brad Swartz