This past week I have had some really great training sessions. I have turned up the training and notch and am fully back into the swing of things with my cardio, diet, training and therapy. All systems are a go and my eyes are set on some show in the near future…
I’ll leave you guys in suspense: It could it be Orlando, Toronto or will I go back to my old faithful and try one more crack at taking home the Tampa trophy? Ideally, the Olympia or next years Arnold would be the two shows I am looking at but I have an itch to hit the stage again and I’m just not sure what to do yet. I’ll keep you guys posted I promise.
So this past Monday was back and hamstring day and it’s always an eventful day for me and my training partners. When setting up my workouts I always try and keep things interesting and fresh for everyone so we’re constantly learning from each other what works. Training with two other guys who have there own ideas can work out well sometimes also because doing different things so often keeps us all sore from hitting new and different angles week to week.
This Monday was a little different though. I decided I had to see if my partners were still in it for the long haul or if they had lost any of there will to stick it out. We started with four sets of pullovers, and then moved to four sets of wide grip pulldowns. No biggie, we were warm and had a little pump but just regular work so far. Then we started doing dumbbell rows, always a favorite..lol. My partners use straps and I don’t. We started with 130lb DB’s, set two, 150’s, set three, set four, set five, all 150’s.
I thought I would have heard some complaining by this time (normally I would have) but I think my partners knew I was trying to make them tap. So I kept going, set six, set seven, set eight, all with 150’s and mind you they’re using straps and I’m not. I didn’t want to let them see me weaken but my forearms were F-ING KILLING ME! I had to make them quit, set nine, set ten both with 150’s and finally we all looked at each other and started laughing. They looked at me and said, “we’re not gonna f-ing quit, so do what you have to.”
In the end it was me who quit, I couldn’t pick up the weight anymore. My grip would not stick and I didn’t want to wear straps so I chalked it up to a draw since they had straps the whole time. It was a good test of wills, by the end we were all drenched and my back is still sore three days later.
That wasn’t the end though; from there we did four sets of deadlifts (off the floor) and then moved onto Hamstrings. Admittedly we were there for way to long but sometimes its just fun to get in there and get stupid and try and out do each other. The gym is my office and it is all business but the trick to keeping things fresh is always knowing when to interject something different to remind yourself why you started lifting in the first place….because you love it!!
Sacrifice Without Regret, Fouad ‘Hoss’ Abiad www.fouadhossabiad.com
