Today, I made an effort to get my workout done early. Early enough so that I just have enough time to go home and clean up before going to work. I have to admit that I'm not an early person at all and waking up at 5 a.m. is not an ideal time for me (maybe for some people, it is). So in spite of the early hours, managed to get up and get ready but no matter what I did, my body takes longer to respond.
What I have been doing however is to take some pre-workout energy supplements to get me going. I also use caffeine either in form of coffee or just a sugar-free Rockstar. Once I get to the gym, my warm up sets are probably 3 times my normal at night. So instead of doing 1-2 sets for warm ups, I might end up doing around 6-7 and sometimes, this is not even enough. The very first sets takes a lot of will-power and pure strength of course. I can see myself doing any form of cardio and still be OK since there is only one single motion involved in it, as oppose to progressive increase of weight-load due to weights.
I worked out my shoulders and traps today and this is what I did:
Shoulders/traps
* Shoulder press machine - 4 x 12-15 reps (warm up-100lbs, 140lbs, 140lbs, 140lbs)
* Dumbbell press - 4 x 8 reps (50lbs, 60lbs, 70lbs, 75lbs) - I would usually go up to 100lbs each arm on this but I have to hold back since I'm aiming for at least 8 reps here)
* Smith-machine behind-the-neck press - 4 x 8 reps (90lbs, 90lbs, 110lbs, 110lbs)
* Barbell upright row - 4 x 8-10 reps (80lbs across)
* Cable rear laterals - 4 x 10 reps (45lbs across)
* Side-lateral machine - 4 x 10 reps (90lbs across)
* Dumbbell shrugs - 4 x 8 reps (140lbs, 160lbs, 180lbs, 200lbs)
I did exactly the same workout that I would usually do at night except my mass exercise have less weights. I've learned in the past that you can't be strong every time you workout and for that reason, you have to make up for it somewhere else. So for days when my strength is down, the technique is to rest less. If normally I rest for 1 1/2 minute per set, I would cut it down to 45 seconds. This ensures that the muscle being worked on are being challenged even though the weights are down.
By doing my workouts early, I don't have to do it after work anymore and I feel a sense of relief by doing that. My metabolism also is in full force, which means that all the food that I eat all day are burnt more efficiently. Since I use high amounts of carbohydrates after my workouts to replenish glycogen stores, I don't have to worry about it night. Honestly, I'd rather eat a high-carb meal during the early part of the day than night. Also, in order to get the maximum energy during the early workouts, sleeping early is a must which should be at least 7 hours. The night prior, I have to also add a mental reminder that I will need to wake up at exactly 5 a.m. In the end, the hardest part really is waking up-and accepting the fact that my strength is down. The sacrifice that I made was worth it.
- Dennis