As I mentioned in my post on May 15, I decided that the time off from exercising that I was forced to take when I hurt my back would be a perfect time to evaluate my current strength training routine.  You'll notice that I haven't made major changes, but I have made some changes which I think will be beneficial.

I'll still only be doing strength training Monday through Friday.  I take the weekends off from weightlifting in order to rest.  I plan to add cardio to the routine and do that every day (including weekends).  Since I recently disposed of my old bike, walks will have to do until I have a chance to get a new bike.

My routine is to get up at 4:00 AM each weekday, stretch for 30 minutes, then go through that day's routine.  After my workout, I have a protein drink with my morning vitamins.  Since my morning vitamins contain 1000 mg of vitamin C, this is the best schedule (since vitamin C is important for repairing muscle tissue).

I will still be varying my workout each week by shuffling the exercises around.  That is, to keep my body from learning the routine and growing accustomed to it, I move the first exercise to the end of the routine each week, so it's normally several weeks before I perform the same routine again.

Monday	Chest, Abs, Obliques
	Set 1 Reps Set 2 Reps Set 3 Reps Crunch Twist/Leg Lift 16-20 16-20 16-20 Bench Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Decline Bench Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Incline Bench Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Pec Deck Fly 8-10 8-10 8-10 Dumbbell Fly 8-10 8-10 8-10 Decline Push-up* 8-10 8-10 8-10 Incline Push-up 8-10 8-10 8-10 Chest Dip 8-10 8-10 8-10 Push-up 8-10 8-10 8-10**
Tuesday	Upper Back, Lats, Abs, Obliques
	Set 1 Reps Set 2 Reps Set 3 Reps Twisting Crunch 16-20 16-20 16-20 Crunch 16-20 16-20 16-20 Rear Pulldown 8-10 8-10 8-10 Bent-over Row 8-10 8-10 8-10 Front Pulldown 8-10 8-10 8-10 Bench Row 8-10 8-10 8-10 Straight Back Rowing 8-10 8-10 8-10 Pull-up*** 8-10 8-10 8-10
Wednesday	Lower Back, Legs, Abs, Obliques
	Set 1 Reps Set 2 Reps Set 3 Reps Side Bend 16-20 16-20 16-20 Incline Hip Raise 16-20 16-20 16-20 Squat 8-10 8-10 8-10 Standing Calf Raise 8-10 8-10 8-10 Deadlift 8-10 8-10 8-10 Leg Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Stiff-leg Deadlift 8-10 8-10 8-10 Leg Extension 8-10 8-10 8-10 Lying Leg Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10
Thursday	Shoulders, Traps, Abs, Obliques
	Set 1 Reps Set 2 Reps Set 3 Reps Incline Twisting Crunch 16-20 16-20 16-20 Hip Raise 16-20 16-20 16-20 Military Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Behind Neck Press 8-10 8-10 8-10 Shrug 8-10 8-10 8-10 Upright Row 8-10 8-10 8-10 Haney Shrug 8-10 8-10 8-10 Lateral Fly 8-10 8-10 8-10
Friday	Arms, Abs, Obliques
	Set 1 Reps Set 2 Reps Set 3 Reps Crunch Twist/Leg Lift 16-20 16-20 16-20 Pushdown 8-10 8-10 8-10 Barbell Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10 Tricep Dip 8-10 8-10 8-10 Dumbbell Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10 Tricep Extension 8-10 8-10 8-10 Concentration Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10 Hammer Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10 Wrist Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10 Reverse Wrist Curl 8-10 8-10 8-10

* I perform the decline push-ups in a progressively more difficult manner by inclining my feet higher for each set.

** I normally follow the last set of push-ups with an immediate drop-set.  That is, once I fail on the last set, I immediately put my knees on the ground and do a set that way.  I know — sissy push-ups.  All I have to say is try it once after you've done three sets to failure on the last set.  You'll understand.

*** For the pull-ups, I try to change the type of pull-ups I'm doing, sometimes from set to set and sometimes from workout to workout (weekly).  There's no science to it — it's all based on how I'm feeling and whether I think I'm up to a challenge.  The pull-up types are wide-grip, close-grip, and rear (behind the head).