1000 Reps - What happened next?..

Well, it's been a while since I mentioned the 1000 Repetitions Club but we've been busy.
Since my initial failure and Matt Lovett's (co-founder of The Thousand Rep Kru) break into the 1000 Reps Kru, I've also joined him.

It was AWESOME, we changed up the format and made it a little more interesting.

GONE:
- Shoulder specific weights! Hanging on to he dumbbells really takes its toll on your grip and shoulders as it is before adding in front/lat raises or shoulder press.

ADDED:
- A new format. Still 10 exercises, but split into 5 and 5. Ie: Do five exercises 10 times, then the other five, 10 times. This makes it more competitive as one set will inevitably be faster so you can't really gauge if you're going to finish ahead of others, it helps to keep you motivated
- Conditioning/cardio elements. One exercise in each group of five that's aimed at getting your heart going and gradually wearing you down
- Putting the dumbbells down. In order to give your shoulders a rest we've started using exercises without the dumbbells and just your body weight. Still hard and still very tiring

So the SECOND effort at a thousand reps looked like this...

CIRCUIT ONE:
- Floor chest press
- Alternate Side lunges (5 each way)
- Russian twists with one dumbbell
- Upright rows
- Mountain climbers

CIRCUIT TWO:
- Backwards lunges
- Reverse flys
- Ab crunches and single arm chest press combo (5 each arm)
- Squats
- Up/downs (plank to press up position and back to plan)

So, again, Matt beat me (35mins 32 Vs 37mins 47). Whatever, I finished it with 10Kg dumbbells and joined the club!

Speaking of the club, there are a load more members now!

We enjoyed it so much that we kept on discussing it with gym members after.
There was a lot of interest so we did a trial run and opened it up as a class format on the gym floor, one in the day time, one in the evening.

First time round over 20 people took place! It was AWESOME! Watching people go for it, sweat it out and feel a whole new level of tiredness!

People really went for it and it was the girls in fact who laid down some serious times!! (using 6kg dumbbells but hay, they were quick!!)

Check out some of the pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/home.php?sk=group_177144515630114&ap=1

Don't forget you can follow me on: www.twitter.com/MichaelD_PT

"WOW-WOW" 08/08/10: 1000 reps to make you a better person (or maybe just 800)

I'm forever telling people,
"You don't need any fancy equipment to have a worthwhile training session!"

Personally, I like traditional, old-fashioned, retro, old-school, minimal (call it what you will) training. No flashing lights, unecesary data, over-sized equipment or shiny things.

So.. I created my "10's workout". Here's the format:

- 2x 10Kg dumbells
- 10 exercises
- 10 reps on each
- 10 tmes through

Giving you 100 reps on each exercise and 1000 reps total.

I took a few minutes to scribble down 10 exercises that i could perform alone, in a studio with just me and my dumbells (and a swiss ball).

Here are the exercises that I went with (but not in this order)...

- Chest Press (on swiss ball)
- Squats
- Front raises / lateral raises (5 of each)
- Press ups on the dumbells
- Shoulder press
- Renegade row (5 each arm)
- Bicep curls (5 eacha arm)
- Skull crushers (on the swiss ball)
- Dynamic Lunges (5 on each leg)
- One leg Romanian deadlifts - 5 on each leg (straight leg deadlifts)

With a little peer pressure (thanks Matt), I stuck with it for 8 "laps" giving me 800 reps total. To be honest, I had one eye on the time, but the tiredness of my shoulders was becoming an issue. Looking back, I seriously regret cutting that corner.

This regret was amplified the next day when my friend Matt decided to try it out and pulled out the full 1000. FACT: He is a better man than me!

Review...
Personally, I wouldn't describe this workout as "enjoyable". It was hard work for sure. BUT, gave me a great pump! The veins were working overtime and I got a real sweat on. It wasn't particularly cardio-based but I gradually got more and more tired that day and slept like a trooper. If you try it you'll know exactly what I mean!

It's a very worthwhile workout, there are just a few things to consider.

Issues to consider...
I think the workout could do with a little re-think. The order needs adjusting and I'd chuck out a few of these exercises in exchange for some more core and to give the old shoulders a stretch out or rest.

Still, 40 something minutes that gave me an ace pump and all body workout! Try it, see how long it takes you.

NB: After Matt completed his 1000 we decided that we should try it again in a new format. I WILL join the gang!!.. further blogs, images and videos to follow...