# Working out with weights.



## Chris Hobson (Aug 19, 2018)

*Workout for Chris*
*(1) Bench presses – 38kg barbell – 3X12 + Inclined Sit Ups 3X40
(2) Behind neck presses – 20kg barbell – 3X12
(3) Biceps curls – 20kg – barbell – 3X12
(4) Upright rows – 26kg barbell – 3X12
(5) Bent over rows – 16.5kg dumbbell – 3X2X12
(6) Triceps kick backs – 9kg dumbbell – 3X2X12
(7) Lateral pull downs – 40kg – 3X12
(8) Half squats – 38kg barbell – 3X15*
*
Notes*
1. Five minute warm up and warm down on spin bike.
2. One minute on spin bike between sets.
3. Weight of empty barbell = 6kg.
4. Weight of empty dumbbell = 1.5kg
5. Weight programme started 17/08/2013.
6. Last revision 19/08/2018.

Having previously described how I built and equipped my home gym...

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/how-to-build-yourself-a-home-gym.70220/

...I thought that some might want to know what I actually do in it. My motivation for building it, as a newly diagnosed diabetic, was having learned that muscle to fat ratio was an important factor for dealing with the condition. Above is my routine as it now stands. For anyone not conversant with the names of the various exercises, here is a link to a website that has neat little animations to explain them all.

http://weight-training-exercises.com/

I started doing weight training five years ago now and have gradually evolved the routine in stages as I have become fitter and stronger and also in order to incorporate new pieces of equipment. I do the routine roughly every three days, the manuals that I have read advise leaving at least one recovery day between sessions. Being a bit ancient, I decided to make it two days to be on the safe side. Serious body builders train daily but work different muscle groups on alternate days. I did take a break from the weights for about six months during the first half of 2017 in order to train for the Outlaw Triathlon as there just wasn't enough time to fit it in between all the swimming, cycling and running.

The general all round set of exercises that I do came from a book, but I did go to a body building club for a while in the 1980s. I recall Private Investigations by Dire Straights playing on the radio if you need to know the exact year. It wasn't a very serious club and the guys that went there tended to use the spaces between sets to socialise and to go through their routines at a very sedate pace. I was more inclined to crack on and bang through my routine while working up a good sweat. When it came to devising a workout for my home gym, I wasn't going to be able to stand around chatting between sets so I decided that I would structure the workout and keep myself warmed up by doing a minute on the exercise bike between sets instead. Initially I used a spin bike but later changed to a single speed bike hooked up to a turbo trainer. The five minute warm up and warm down sessions plus the sixteen one minute sets between the weight based exercises adds up to 26 minutes. During this time I clock up eight imaginary miles at about 18.5 imaginary miles per hour. Since I bought it nearly two years ago I have clocked up 1500 miles on the single speed bike mostly on the turbo trainer but some on the road as well. The whole routine usually takes about seventy minutes. During the winter I do use the turbo trainer and the treadmill in order to keep going without getting cold and wet.

It all seems like a whole lot of effort but I think that the rewards have been fairly significant. My six monthly reviews are generally positive and I like to think that, at nearly sixty years old, I still look pretty good in Speedos. Mixing the weights with swimming, cycling and running also means that I can maintain a fairly high fitness level while avoiding injury.


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## KARNAK (Aug 19, 2018)

Well Chris what can one say? You`re regime is brilliant, it`s slightly better than mine. I`m sure you can appreciate the hard work I put into my exercise as I do yours . My main concern is whether I am doing enough, to start with I have to open the fridge pick up a can without dropping it and actually pull the ring without waking anyone else in the flat, what a bummer. Seriously  though you are a fit man and you deserve the respect of you`re fellow forum members, keep going love to hear you`re achievements thanks for sharing, take care.


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## Chris Hobson (Sep 13, 2018)

Update.
As mentioned below my post on building and equipping my gym, I have recently added some more weights and an extra barbell to it. I already had a spare barbell that I wasn't using so I have been able to make up three separate ones to 38, 26 and 20 kilos. This means that I can do my routine without having to swap the weights around in between the different sets. This has resulted in me getting through the routine about five minutes quicker. Unexpectedly it has also resulted in a small but noticeable increase in the intensity of the workout due to my not getting a breather while faffing around changing the weights over.


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## Taffyboyslim (Jul 19, 2022)

Again that's great !


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