Dylan Thompson Senior Project

 Day 12 5/25/21 Today was the last day of our project and Mitchell and I decided to test our max back squat. We started with a 10-minute bike ride and a dynamic warmup. We went 135 for 5, 185 for 3, 225 for 3, 275 for 1. Mitchell and able to put up 300 for 1 with ease but could not do 315 which was surprising. I hit 300 for 1 and then hit 315 for 1. 315 is my new max and it was exciting to do it for the first time. We finished it out with sled pushes and a cool-down stretch and roll. The whole thing took about an hour and a half and now we are working on our presentation and finishing up the project. Hours: Gym 9:30-11 Project work: 12-3

 Day 11 5/24/21 Today I arrived at the gym at 9:30 after going to Jake's for breakfast. Following the Arnold split today we worked arms and shoulders. We started with a warmup of arm movements and stretches and then jumped into working our shoulders and arms. The workout took about an hour and a half not counting the warmup and cooldown. We started with shoulder press for 5 sets of 8 reps. Then we did a superset of twist curls to target both shorthead and long head bicep and overhead tricep extensions both for 5 sets of 10 reps. We then moved into a superset of heavy bicep curls with low reps and light bicep curls with high reps. For the heavy curls, we did 5 sets of 5, and for the light curls, we did 5 sets of 15. Then we did another superset of skull crusher tricep extensions lying flat on a bench with a barbell and standing cable extensions both for 5 sets of 10 reps. We finished with two burnouts of crazy eights for bicep curls and a drop set of cable extensions. We finished wi

 Weekly Summary 5/23/21 The second week of senior project is done! This week Mitchell and I tried out the Arnold split program and compared it to last week's PPL program. They both had different effects on my body because in the Arnold Split your muscles have less time to rest because you work similar muscle groups closer together. With the PPL you work different muscle groups every 2 or 3 days. Mitchell and I like the Arnold split more and we have decided that will be the basis for our program that we will create. The end of the week was not as productive as I would have liked because I couldn't finish the week's program due to games. I did not lift on Friday or Saturday but I did do research on nutrition and fitness and started making the plan for our program. I would be uploading photos but this website doesn't allow me to upload any of the photos I take to the blog. 

 Day 10 5/21/21 Today I arrived at the gym at 9am. I had a baseball game today so I decided not to lift. This was mainly to save my strength and energy for the game. Instead I did a day of aerobics and research. I did a 10 minute bike ride to loosen up my body and then did 30 minutes of ladder work for agility and mobility. Mitchell and I did a wide variety of ladder drills like icky shuffle, forward in and out, scissor hops and more. We did each one four times and worked both forward and backward. We did a medicine ball core workout going from a straight sit up pass and into lateral passes like a Russian twist movement on each side. I finished with 30 minutes of stretching and rolling out. Once I got back to the dorm I did a few hours worth of research on nutrition and worked on our plan in google sheets.  Hours: Gym: 9am-10:30am Research 12pm-2pm

 Day 9 5/20/21 Today I went to the gym earlier to make our senior seminar at 11. I went to breakfast at 8:45am and arrived at the gym at 9am. Today I exercised my shoulders starting with clean and press for 3 sets of 10 reps, then moving to Arnold press for 5 sets of 6 reps. This one is where you lift two dumbbells starting at your chest facing in and as you raise the weight you rotate it out. I then moved into a superset of bent over lateral raises for 5 sets of 8 reps and side lying lateral raise for 5 sets of 12 reps. I finished off Arnold's shoulder workout with one arm cable raises and dumbbell front raises. The former for 5 sets of 12 reps and the latter for 3 sets of 12 reps. In my research I found that to build hypertrophy the rep scheme should be about 6-12 reps for 3-6 sets so these all fit right in. I started the workout with a bike and dynamic movements and finished with a stretch and a light core workout. In the afternoon I went for a run and did more research on nutri

 Day 8 5/19/21 Today Mitchell and I hit legs. I started with a 5 minute bike warmup and some dynamic movements to get the blood flowing and our heart rates up. I started with back squats for 5 sets of 8 reps, then I did front squats for a more quad focused exercise for 5 sets of 8 reps. From there I moved into a superset of hamstring curls and calf raises and we finished it off with sled pushes. These ones really get me and they're a great way to end the workout. I did core afterwards and cooled down with a bike, stretch and roll. In the afternoon I did some more research on food groups and rep schemes. Hours: Gym: 9:30-11:30 Research: 1pm-2pm

 Day 7 5/18/21 Today I arrived at the gym at 9:30 after a much-needed sleep-in. Today was arm day and it was tough after yesterday's workout. My chest and back were pretty sore going into it so that made it a lot harder. The Arnold split has been taking a lot more time than we anticipated. I started with a 5-minute bike and some arm warmups and got right into it. The focus was biceps, triceps, and forearms and we did a long workout and got a good pump. I finished with some stretching and rolling. Afterward, I did research on food groups for a healthy diet and looked into hypertrophy. Tomorrow is leg day so I'm excited to try the new workout. Hours: Gym: 9:30am-11:30am Research: 1pm-2pm

 Day 6 5/17/21 Today we arrived at the gym around 9am. Our first day of the Arnold split was chest and back. Today's workout was harder than what we previously experienced in last week's PPL but we got a good burn across our upper body. Our sets today were mostly around 6-12 reps with 5 sets. During my research today I found that this rep scheme is proven to achieve hypertrophy meaning an overall increase in muscle size and strength. This is what we are trying to attain with our program rather than building only strength or endurance. We are going for a happy medium between the two. I also researched some reviews on the Arnold split and found that it is very effective but more time-consuming than most workouts. In the afternoon I went for a light run for cardio. Hours: Gym: 9am-11am Research: 1pm-2pm Cardio: 6pm-7pm

 Weekly Summary 5/16/21 The first week of my senior project is done and I am excited to move forward into week 2. This past week Mitchell and I did a six-day push/pull/leg workout plan. In this program, you go through a 3-day cycle starting with chest/triceps/shoulders, then moving to back/biceps, and finishing with legs. During the first cycle, you do workouts where you strictly push the weight and in the next cycle, you do workouts that are a pull motion. This can also be stated as concentric vs eccentric which have equal advantages. We also worked in core and cardio. In this program, each muscle group gets worked twice a week and they get two-day breaks in between. This coming week we will switch to the Arnold Split plan. This program is another 3-day cycle that is a rotation of chest/back, then biceps/triceps/shoulders, and legs. In the Arnold split each muscle group is given less rest time because you inadvertently work muscles on their 'off days. This week we will go through

Day 5  5/14/21 For today's workout, I did legs and lower back. I did a 10-minute bike warm-up in the gym with 10 minutes of a dynamic warm-up to loosen up my body. I went into my deadlift set of 9 sets of 5-10 reps each set. In between sets, I did Russian twists with a 25-pound plate. To finish it out I did a superset of calf raises, leg curls, and leg press for 5 sets of 10 reps each. To cool down I did 5 minutes of biking, stretched my lower body using the 5-way lunge variation, and rolled out. In the afternoon I did research on this week's push/pull/legs workout versus our next week's workout: the Arnold split.  Hours: Gym 9am-11am Research: 1pm-2pm

 Day 4 5/13/21 Today I arrived at the gym after breakfast of nature valley bar cereal at 9am. Today I worked out my biceps and upper back. We started with biceps doing seated hammer curls twist curls, two hand dumbbell curls, and regular curls all for 3 sets of 12 reps. For the regular curls, we did a fourth set until failure. For the upper back, we did farmer pulls (one arm dumbbell row) for 3 sets of 10 reps, wide grip pullups for 3 sets of 5 reps, and machine rows for 5 sets of 12 reps with a drop set until failure for the last set. After the workout, I spent a few hours researching our project. I looked into the difference between gaining strength and explosiveness and started to piece together a plan to increase both. It involves days of lifting heavy weight for 8-12 reps of 3-5 sets and doing explosive workouts on different days. Hours: Gym: 9am-11am Research: 1pm-3pm

 Day 3 5/12/21 Today Mitchell and I arrived at the gym at 9am. I started with a 10-minute bike and 3 minutes of the ski erg machine. Today was shoulder day so we started with overhead shoulder press for 9 sets and increasing weight. We then moved into a superset of shoulders with 3-way arm raises and shoulder shrugs for 5 sets of 10 reps. We then did seated dumbbell lateral raises and dumbbell front raises for 4 sets of 10 reps. I finished the workout with core and 20 minutes of stretching and rolling. Once back in the dorm I did some research on what workouts best complement the overhead press and started to piece together the idea for our workout program. Mitchell and I decided that on Sunday we would create a new 6-day workout regiment inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger. I finished the day with some more core and a stretch. Hours: Lift: 9am-11am Core/stretch: 4pm-5pm Research/project work: 6pm-7pm

 Day 2 5/11/21 Today Mitchell and I arrived at the gym around 8am. I started with a 10 minute warm-up with some dynamic movements. Today was chest day so Mitchell and I started with 9 sets of bench press moving up to 145 pounds with around 5 reps each set. I also incorporated machine rows and incline dumbbell bench press for 10 reps with 5 sets. We then moved into a tricep workout doing a neutral grip press on the ground and lying tricep extensions 5 sets for reps each. To finish triceps we did standing extensions and weighted dips 5 sets for 10 reps. We finished it off with some core and a stretch. Afterward, I researched plant-based diets and found that it does indeed help with nutrient absorption, recovery, and strength. I told myself that I was going vegetarian today but I failed at lunch with the burgers. I will try again tomorrow. In the afternoon I did another session of cardio and core. Hours:  Gym: 8am-10:00am Research: 2pm-3pm Cardio/Core: 6pm-7pm

 Day 1 5/10/21 Today all the guys in our lifting group arrived at the gym around 9am. I started by checking my weight which is currently 145 pounds. I hope to be up to above 150 by the time this project is over. Anyway, Mitchell and I hit legs today and we started with back squats. We did 9 sets starting at 135 pounds and moving up to 270 pounds. We then did Bulgarian split squats for 5 sets with 10 reps on each leg. These ones burn! We finished the session with sled 3 sled pushes for 30 yards. This all took about an hour and a half. We made sure to incorporate a solid warmup of 5 minutes on the bike with some dynamic movements. We also had a cooldown of 20 minutes of stretching and foam rolling with a 7-minute leg drain. After that, I watched and took notes on the film The Game Changers and found that plant-based athletes have a lot of advantages in strength, endurance and recovery compared to animal-based athletes. I plan to be a vegetarian for the duration of the project and see how