Now where do we begin..?

Many many moons ago i bought a weights set from argos that included a weider bodybuilding program.. It was a fantastic start, i was at college, i did martial arts 3 times a week and i was lifting weights. The weider program set the standard for my approach. As well as routines and exercises it had the pictures of the anatomy. I studied these and to this day believe that if you are to successfully lift weights (this doesnt mean only bulking btw) you need to understand how each limb works and which muscle connects to where, etc. It is only then that you can begin to appreciate how the body works. I have never understood why people still ask what exercise does what..... i always demonstrate using the analogy of an elastic band attached to a bone and acting against gravity, etc.

Anyway back to basics.....I found an old gym pass dating back to 1990 the other day and recalled going once (it was on a Uni campus and there were too many other distractions )

Years later i joined but never really stuck at it, a month or two here and there was all i could muster.

I finally decided that i needed to improve my health a while ago, the gym was a natural starting point. I have always researched anything that i have found interesting and weight training was no different.


So in mid December 2006 i kick started my training..... The start was tough as i wanted to push harder and heavier weights, often the cause of injury and a lack of motivation. I had my notepad (dont ever dis ppl with notepads, it often means they are more organised and will be more successful at this malarkey than the average person)., and my routine planned out. I had bough a healthy selection of the bodybuilding encyclopaedias and used these to refesh my memory on some of the exercises as well as motivate me.

I had a plan.....

The first 3 months were all over muscle groups, Month one was a set for each exercise. Month 2 two sets and month 3 was two sets but increasing the weight on set 2. Weider had served me well
This was accompanied with cardio that killed me to start with but soon because a likeable challenge....

I moved on to a 4 day split that i am still doing now. The system i have adopted is based on one muscle group per exercise day, broken down as follows:-

Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Back
Thursday - Shoulders
Friday - Legs

I want to increase the cardio to drop bf % so am inclined to reduce the leg sessions and take up some weekend jogging.

Anyhow here's the start of my DF progress journal... i hope you enjoy