Max OT – Week 3

Posted By elissa on Jul 21, 2008 | 1 comment

It feels good to be off for a couple of days…

This is shaping up to be a good, grueling program, but by the time I get to the end of the 5th day, you can stick a fork in me…I’m done.  The nice thing about the routine is that it changes up every couple of weeks, so while certain exercises are repeated, they’re placed on different days and presented in a different sequence.  This week’s schedule looked like this:

Tuesday: Legs

• Leg Press – 3 sets
• Squats – 2 sets
• Leg Curls – 2 sets
• Stiff Legged Deadlifts – 2 sets
• Standing (Machine) Calf Raises – 2 sets
• Seated Calf Raises – 2 sets

Wednesday: Chest and Abs

• Incline Barbell Bench Press – 3 sets
• Flat Dumbbell Bench Press – 2 sets
• Decline Barbell Bench Press – 1 set
• Cable Rope Crunches – 3 sets (of 10 – 12)
• Incline Crunches (weighted) – 2 sets (of 8 – 10)

Thursday: Back and Traps

• Barbell Rows – 2 sets
• V-Bar Pulldowns – 2 sets
• Pullups – 2 sets
• Seated Cable Rows – 1 set
• Deadlifts – 2 sets
• Barbell Shrugs – 1 set

Friday: Shoulders and Triceps

• Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 sets
• Miltary Barbell Press (in front) – 2 sets
• Standing Side Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 2 sets
• Lying Tricep Extensions – 3 sets
• Cable Pushdowns – 3 sets
• One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Extensions – 1 set

Saturday: Biceps and Abs

• Straight Bar Curls – 3 sets
• Hammer Curls – 2 sets
• EZ Bar Curls – 2 sets
• Leg Raises (with added weight; 12 – 15 reps) – 2 sets
• Cable Rope Crunches (8 – 10) – 2 sets

I did have to make a small compromise on my leg day: my gym got rid of the old standing calf raise machine, so I subbed a couple of sets of calf raises using the hack sled…I figured that would be close enough (to be honest, calves are probably the body part I’m the least concerned with, anyway – they’re already quite well developed and very tough).  I’m also at the point where I have to have my husband help me out with getting the dumbbells in position for my shoulder presses, and need to use straps for the shrugs. 

Note to self: start packing my powerhooks, straps and platemates with me when I go to the gym.

Next week will be awkward: we’re off to Seattle for a long weekend next week, so I’m going to miss some workouts.  Since we’re driving, I’m going to bring a few odd exercise aids: my pushup bars, the medicine ball and our TRX Suspension Trainers.  So I’ll be able to get some mini-workouts in (along with a little cardio), but won’t be able to resume the full program until the following Monday.  So I’ll pick up on the program again on Week 4, rather than skip it and go on to Week 5.