Another six week period has passed and so it is time to summarize what I have learned in the weight room.

I have steadily been increasing the volume of my workouts during the past couple of months from 1-2 sets per exercise to 3 sets per exercise and I even stepped up to two full body workouts per week. The increase in volume has been taxing and I feel that it is soon time to take a short break and a de-load to restart the progress but seeing how I’m still making beginner gains I will keep going with my current routine and volume for a couple more weeks until I stall on the majority of my current exercises.

Since I had a mix of both new and old exercises in my third routine, it doesn’t make sense to talk about gains in “total weights lifted” anymore as some of them started off scratch and some from a level close to my previous best. Also, as the weights go up the reps start to vary from one workout to the next so that also makes it harder to talk about progress in these terms. So starting with my next routine I will be logging reps/sets as well as weights lifted. I will also get started on free weights based exercises, which are easier to benchmark against.

That said, I did increase the weights (for 8RM) for the new exercises by a bit more than 60% in six weeks, which is in line with previous gains on new exercises. As percentages work in mysterious ways this obviously doesn’t mean much, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve done with the Underhand Pulldown at the very least. I can really feel that exercise in my lats so it stays for another round. The Lying Leg Curl is also a lot better at targeting the hamstrings than the seated version, so it too qualifies for a second round. I’m not a big fan of the Calf Press machine as it has some of the same issues as the Seated Leg Curl machine. If I choose to target the calfs in the future I think some kind of Calf Raise exercise might be a better option.

What I can say with certainty is that I have been steadily increasing my weights and hitting new personal bests every week with the majority of my lifts. Both the Chest and Shoulder Presses have progressed very nicely but are now coming to a stall. The Seated Row however has been progressing slower which is a bit of a disappointment. Deadlifts or Back Extensions may be a better choice for me for targeting the lower back.

As I’ve been progressing with smaller increments (5-10 pounds instead of 15-20 pounds per week) I have been able to maintain form with all of my exercises, which was one of the primary goals of this cycle.

I also note that it feels like I’ve outgrown the Core class so I probably need to change my strategy, drop the Core class and include some heavy lifting work if I want my abs to grow past this point. And before anyone says anything, I’m fully aware that a six pack is a result of more things than a large Rectus Abdominis, it also involves getting your total body fat down, something which is better accomplished by dieting than by trying to “spot reduce”. Which is not what I am trying to do. But I digress. When it comes down to core endurance and balance Core Pulse class is sufficient I believe.

While the weights have been going up the reading on the scale has not been going anywhere. But this is no mystery. It’s as simple as Calories in = Calories out. Even though I try to eat 7-8 meals per day I somehow end up screwing up one or two days of the week so that the average calories over the whole week ends up at roughly maintenance levels.

I also realize that I do too much cardio, which is why I have stepped up to 2 strength training sessions and gone down to 3 group training sessions per week. Eventually, I may have to progress to a 3:2 split of strength:cardio.

However, for the first time in my life I can actually see a faint definition of upper abs and I think I can see a slight increase in size and definition in my “beach muscles”. If the weights go up in the weight room, at some point the muscles have to grow larger as well. I realize I won’t be able to make “lean gains” forever, but progress against the odds is what being a beginning weight lifter is all about so I’m quite happy with these results.