Shoulders and Arms.
(My home gym, pictured here, messy but plenty of room)
Since I have issues with some of the movements in the workout, namely the triceps kickbacks which are relatively ineffective in building any kind of triceps strength, I have decided to replace them with variations of laying triceps extensions. I have the bench at home and laying extensions with close grip bench press are great replacements for the kickbacks. I tried it tonight and other than having to adjust the weight a little, it  is going to work out really well. In other news I am up to almost 20 of each of the ab exercises not including the stupid leg climbers which I just hate and can’t seem to do at all. I finished my sets of the regular workout a couple of minutes early and got a head start on the Ab Crippler  and as such was able to accomplish much more over a slightly extended period. I didn’t rest more, I just completed more because I had more time. The other benefit was that I took a couple of minutes rest before I started which made a world of difference. However, my hip flexors are still pitiful when it comes to bicycles. It’s not that they are weak, I can do hanging leg raises no problem even with straight legs, but constant motion like the in-and-outs followed by bicycles just kill me.
At the end of this week, since it will be the end of the 3 week cycle, I will post my actual numbers for the movements to document my improvements. Next week is supposed to be a “rest” week but I see there is Yoga in there so it can’t be much of a rest! It’s interesting to see how my numbers are fluctuating, but also they are not entirely an accurate reflection of my improvement potential since I am restricted to the weights I have available. I don’t want to go out and buy more dumbbells so I think I am going to start using the barbell for some of the heavier curls and shoulder presses. As long as I don’t spend any time changing weights, it should work out OK.