No run this morning as baby kept me up late and I was very tired. Went to Letchworth gym and did chest and abs today. Shoulder press with 12,14,16kg all heavier than I have done before, then Military press front and back, and lateral raises, cable raises then abs.

Curls with arms by head – 10 reps x 4 sets
Curls with legs raised – 10 reps x 2 set
Double leg raises on a bench – 10 reps x 2 sets
Knee lifts – 10 reps x 2 sets

Another early morning run out to Letchworth and another good trot out. Same time as yesterday with a slightly higher HR. Was more windy than yesterday and I was probably not as recovered as I would like to be.

Concentrated on legs at Letchworth gym – Squats, Ham curls on a swiss ball, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, adductor, abductor, calf raises, leg press.

The leg press was the big surprise. I have always been doing 60kg 10 reps and 2 sets, but today wanted to push more and ended up doing,

60kg x 10
70kg x 10
80kg x 8
90kg x 6
100kg x 6
110kg x 6
120kg x 4

So double the usual weight

Following yesterday’s exam success I was full of motivation and drive today so up at 5am for a 5 mile run up to Letchworth and back which, whilst it felt harder than I expected for a low intensity run, felt fantastic to be out again in the mornings on a weekday.

5.15 miles in 46:59. Average pace 9:07 and average HR was 146 or 68%, perfect fat burning run.

Went to Letchworth gym at 9:30am and I did feel the lack of energy from the run, but the porridge I had was working.

4 sets of..
Incline Dumbell Press – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest – followed by
Chin Ups – managed 9,8,7,6 (1 min rest)

4 sets of..
Flat Dumbell chest press – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest – followed by
Single Arm row – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest

4 sets of..
Inclined dumbell flies – 10 reps, 6kg, 30s rest – followed by
Single arm cable pull (seated) – 10 reps, 12.5kg (both arms), 30s rest

4 sets of..
Tricep Dips, 10 reps, 1 min rest
Cable bar pull down, 10 reps, 30kg, 1 min rest.

Tricep dips were again all done on the full tricep deck, and this week managed 10,10,10,9 and they were a lot deeper dips as well. Definately seeing the progress now, and particularly as I have slowed all my reps down.

Running with a partner offers a lot of benefits, not least of which is the added incentive to train. I was looking unlikely to do anything today until Nick phoned out of the blue asking if I fancied 6 easy miles. Definitely – so 9pm we set off for 6 easy miles up to Letchworth and back through Norton to Stotfold. Another big benefit I find is it is literally a lot easier running with a partner. When you are not solely focused on pace and HR etc, but chatting to a friend you tend to relax more, HR goes down and speed increases.

As we approached 5 miles I offered up a fast last mile which Nick took and we sped up. Aiming for 8:00 pace we were cruising along at 7:30 without knowing it, speed work is so much easier with 2 as you tend to relax so much more.

Back in Letchworth Gym today after the half-term break, and it was time to up the weights. I’ve been using 10kg for a while now and I was getting to the end of this particular Super-set routine more easily, so moved up to 12kg.

4 sets of..
Incline Dumbell Press – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest – followed by
Chin Ups – managed 8,7,6,6 (1 min rest)

4 sets of..
Flat Dumbell chest press – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest – followed by
Single Arm row – 10 reps, 12kg, 30s rest

4 sets of..
Inclined dumbell flies – 10 reps, 6kg, 30s rest – followed by
Single arm cable pull (seated) – 10 reps, 12.5kg (both arms), 30s rest

4 sets of..
Tricep Dips, 10 reps, 1 min rest
Cable bar pull down, 10 reps, 30kg, 1 min rest.

For the first time I tried the tricep dips as full body ones as opposed to doing them off a bench, and was more than surprised to see I could do 10 in both the first 2 sets and then tailed off to 7 then 5 in the last 2. I have never been able to do them so it just shows ho building up slowly over time can have a big effect.