George Papakostas 8 Week Workout Blog

 Happy Friday, Today I did some low-medium intensity continuous cardio and trained legs. The aerobic part was from the biking I did (20km total--10km to school, 10km to home). I went to the school gym for 45 minutes with my friend Matthew to train legs. The leg workout: Squats: 225lbs; 5 sets; 6 reps, 4 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps, respectively; RPE = 9/10 deadlift: 185lbs: 3 sets; 8 reps; RPE = 6/10  Bulgarian Split squats: 3 sets; 6 reps; 45lbs dumbbells; RPE = 6/10 Here are the YouTube links to the workout: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uZzZ8hq2I9c https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hsJ4YhdQeFU  Have an awesome Friday!

 Happy Friday! This workout was actually completed on Wednesday, but I kept forgetting to upload it onto Blogger LOL! Wednesday was an aerobic activity specific day. I began by biking to the gym (about 8 km).  Here is what I did at the gym: Aerobic circuit training: sled push (back and forth with 4 plates loaded); 15 medicine ball slams (30lbs); 10 burpees; 3 x sprints, 3 x backward sprints, 3 x side shuffles, 3 x forward leaps (jumping as far as possible each time); 1 minute battle ropes; 10 box jumps. I did this circuit twice total. Here is the link to view a part of the circuit on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qua0NsIDYRQ

 Happy Tuesday! Today, I did a mix of many different exercises. First I biked for 8 km from school to the gym. Then I had a workout which targeted the back muscles, chest, and core. I had a good time. Here is the workout at the gym: Exercise 1 = David Goggin's "Nickels and Dimes" (a warm up consisting of 5 pull ups followed by 10 push ups--hence nickel's and dimes): 5 sets; on the 2 last sets I was only able to complete 3 pull ups maintaining proper form. Exercise 2 = 3 sets of explosive pushups (8 reps) Exercise 3 = 1 set of bench press: 135lbs; 10 reps Exercise 4 = Lat pull down: 3 sets; 6 reps; 115lbs Exercise 5 = Core circuit: 3 sets; starting off with sliding kettlebell while in a push up position (core stability) for 15 reps; second is 10 reps of hanging knee raises; and last is 10 reps of ab rollers on the knees (the last set I was only able to complete 5 reps without collapsing). Here are the YouTube links for some footage: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FGQVC...

I had this desire to go for a morning bike ride. So on Sunday, before my 8:00 shift, I decided to bike to work. I biked for 1.5 hours—since it was 20 km away roughly. It was a great continuous cardiovascular exercise and leg endurance exercise. The atmosphere was also beautiful, especially the rising sun. Here are some photos: 

 Happy Friday,  today I did a quick leg training day with a 12 minute cardio session at the end. Here is the list: Exercise 1 = Bulgarian split squat: 4 sets; 50lbs dumbbells for first two sets, 55lbs dumbbells third set, and 60lbs dumbbells fourth set; 6 reps, 5 reps, 3 reps, respectively. Exercise 2 = Squat: 4 sets; 185lbs first set, 225lbs second set, 275lbs third set, 225lbs fourth set; 8 reps, 5RM, 1 RM, and 3 RM, respectively. Exercise 3 = High intensity interval circuit training (cardio): 3 repeated circuits: sled push (back and forth); 20lbs medicine ball slams 10 reps; 5 burpees; 1 sprint, one side shuffle, and 1 backward sprint (all back and forth); 40 high knees on a low box; 10 box jumps. Goal is to complete each circuit as quickly as possible. About a 2 minute rest between circuits.  Have a great weekend! Below is a video on YouTube and a few photos. Thought it would be funny to show a BEFORE and AFTER workout LOL             ...

 This Friday My friend Matthew and I had a really fun time at the gym. We did a challenging strength training and HIIT workout. Below are the descriptions: Exercise 1 = Inclined bench press: 3 sets; 135lbs for first two and 155lbs for the last one; 11 RM, 8 RM, and 4 RM, respectively; RPE = 7/10 Exercise 2 = barbell shoulder press: 4 sets; 90lbs; 3 RM; RPE = 6/10 Exercise 3 = Experimental weighted push up (hanging weight): 3 sets; 44lbs first set, 66lbs second set, and 88lbs for the third set; 8 RM, 6 RM, and 3 RM, respectively; RPE = 8/10 Exercise 4 = HIICT (high intensity interval circuit training): 1 sled push run (4 plates loaded); 15 medicine ball slams; 5 burpees; 3 back-and-fourth-sprint, 3 back and forth backwards sprints; 3 back and forth side shuffles, 3 back and forth box jump obstacle course drill, 30 second battle ropes; and 1 sled push. Time = 3:30 seconds. No breaks in between each exercise. 3 sets performed with my friend Matthew (when I work, he takes a break, vice...

 Today at the gym, I did a quick 30 minute upper body workout (back and chest). It consisted of 4 exercises: pull ups; lat pulldowns; bench press; and alternating dumbbell presses + push ups as a superset. The focus of this session was training for endurance. Here's some more details about each exercise: Pull ups: 4 sets of maximum repetitions (6, 3, 3, 3 reps, respectively) with an RPE of 7/10. Bench press: 3 sets starting with 115lbs for first set, then 135lbs for two proceeding sets (15, 10, 8 reps, respectively) with an RPE of 6/10. Lat pulldown: 2 sets of 15 reps at 85lbs with an RPE of 4/10 Superset: 3 sets of 10 reps of dumbbell presses with each hand (alternating), followed by 5 reps moving both arms in unison, and followed by 5 pushups (no rest during the exercise), with 25lbs dumbbells and an RPE of 5/10. Have an awesome day! Stay tuned for tomorrow's workout (core training + HIIT) Below are the videos for each exercise, respectively: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YV...

 Today was a 45 minute leg day. I focused mainly on strength training today (but also a bit of endurance and plyometrics! Strength training is with higher weights and sets with a lower repetition range. I only completed 4 exercises this workout; however, there was a high volume per exercise. Below is a description for each exercise: Exercise 1: Bulgarian split squats; 4 sets each leg; 6 reps; 90 second rest in between sets; progressed from 35lbs dumbbells each hand to 50 lbs dumbbells each hand. (Strength; RPE=8/10) Exercise 2: Barbell squats (endurance); 2 sets; 20 repetitions; 90 second rest; 1 plate (135lbs). (RPE=5/10) Exercise 3: walking lunges (strength); 3 sets; 12 reps both legs combined; 90 second rest; started with 45lbs and ended with 60 lbs dumbbells on each hand. (RPE=7/10) Exercise 4: explosive back lunge jump + high knee (plyometric); 3 sets; 8 reps each leg; 60 second rest; 25lbs dumbbells each hand (RPE=8/10) That sums up this workout. It was difficult since my rat...

 Today, this Sunday, I went for a bike ride with my dad since the weather was perfect. We biked for roughly one hour, at an RPE scale of around 2-3. It was also continuous cardiovascular exercise.  We biked just shy of 9 km. There were some steep parts of the bike path when we crossed small bridges. All in all, we had an awesome time! Here are some photos:

 Here is the youtube link for the workout video with commentary:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unh7FKpBX8M Today was a leg day (muscular condition of the legs). I focused on strength training (higher weight, lower repetitions) and some explosive leg training. Here is a descriptive list of the workout: 1) Bulgarian split squat > 25 lbs dumbells > 3 sets > 12 repetitions 2) Barbell squats (A) 185 lbs >1 set > 8 repetitions                                   (B) 225lbs > 2 sets > 3 repetitions 3) Front squats (barbell) > 135lbs > 3 sets > 10 reps 4) Explosive bulgarian split squats > 12lbs dumbells > 3 sets > 10 reps