Dave, I have to say, you're looking particularly "buff" from your new routine.
The ever-increasing-weight system sounds amazing: Perhaps you should sell the idea to Weider or York. Only problem I can see, if you need to drop in weight you'll have to starve her!
Avalon, I worry about neglecting my other exercise regime in favour of archery/reversals, because I'm afraid that shooting alone promotes asymetric musclature which in turn can lead to posture, spine and neck problems.
Most gym-based exercises can be replicated with a minumum of weights and aparatus, though obviously, you're more likely to injure yourself with free weights so extra care needs to be taken.
My first piece of advice is to work opposing muscle groups equally. I see countless muscle-bound, round-shouldered, skinny-legged blokes at the gym, all because they're only interested in pumping their chest and biceps!
So, if you do 3 sets of 10 reps on your bi's, do the same on your tri's.
Abs don't need anything like the amount of exercise people think, 3 sets of 10 sit-ups or crunches, leg raises is plenty. Just vary what you do and balance them with a lower back exercise such as dead-lifts or squats.
Here's a selection of the freeweight work I do:
Concentration curls - using 1 dumb bell, seated so thighs are parallel to ground, feet apart, elbow on inner thigh. Curl dumbell across body to chin. 3 sets of 10 on each arm. If possible, increase weight each set but reduce reps. EG: 10x12kg, 8x14kg, 6x16kg.
Opposing exercise, Tricep kick-backs - Start with LOW WEIGHT! (triceps are very small muscles). Start with left knee and left hand on the bench, back horizontal and right foot on floor level with left knee. Hold 4 or 6 kilo dumbell in right hand. Raise right elbow so upper arm is parallel with floor. This is your starting position. Now raise the dumbell backwards until arm is straight and horizontal. Return to starting position and repeat. Keep neck and shoulders straight throughout, mirror everything for left arm.
Dumbell Flies - Starting with 4-6 kilos, one in each hand. Keep back straight but bend forward slightly at the hips, feet togther, knees relaxed. Raise dumbells to a cruciform position, no higher than shoulder height. Remember to lower weights slowly, otherwise you're only doing half the exercise!
Lat Raises - Use similar weight to flies, back straight, feet shoulder width, knees relaxed. Whilst trying to keep spine verticle, shoulders horizontal, raise right dumbell straight in front to shoulder height, then return to starting position before raising the right dumbell. If you start to contort your spine/shoulders, reduce weight but try for 3x10.
Rear Delt Flies - START LOW! 2-4 kilos is plenty to start with. Sit on the edge of the bench, feet together and lean forward until your chest touches your knees. Try to look forward. Start with the dumbells in front of you, elbows in a relaxed position. Raise the dumbells simultaniously using the rear deltoids by squeezing the shoulder blades together (easy for archers!). Try and keep hands in line with shoulders. Again, 3x10 is what you're aiming for.
Shoulder Press - Nice and heavy dumbell in each hand, sitting upright, start with weights at shoulder level and push straight up. Try not to twist the dumbells - handles should stay parallel to shoulders. 3x10 or 10-8-6 and increase weight.
Military Press - same as previous but using barbell and start with bar behind head. Good for triceps as well, different muscles used to regular dumbell press.
Bench Press - A largely under-used exersise. Use barbell or dumbell but if possible, incline and decline the bench as well as using it horizontally. These can all be done on chest day for a complete workout: Declined bench presses use completely different muscles to inclined bench presses so don't worry about overtraining.
Don't forget legs - they're the biggest muscle groups in the body and working them stimulates the production of hormones which encourage muscle development throughout the entire body.
Quite difficult to exercise thoroughly without specialist kit but squats and calf raises are a good addition to jogging and cycling.
Don't forget to stretch before and after any weight training, and it's been proven that stretching between sets promotes development and minimises injury. Anything that gets you more results with less time in the gym can only be good!
Hope you find this useful - and not too long-winded. If anything's unclear, just give me a shout and I'll try and re-cap. It is Friday!
