WEEK # 9 (11 WEEKS OUT), Sat., 8/30/14, Calves and Hams

Verse of the day: Psalm 25: 6- "Remember, O Lord, Thy compassion and Thy lovingkindness, for they have been from of old."

At 11 weeks out, I'm feeling good about my progress. The waist is about an inch and a half away from where I'll be on contest day, and the weight is 12-14lb away. With 11 weeks to go- no problem.
The workout this morning was good. Again my hamstrings are still sore from Thursday's quad workout. So, after a solid 8 weeks of my hams being sore every time I train them, I will probably change my split around a bit so the hams won't be within 48hrs of quads.
Here's the workout today:

7 sets of calf presses
3 super-sets of seated leg curls and smith machine calf raises
3 sets of 1-leg curls
2 sets of standing leg curls
3 sets of crunches + 1 sets twisting crunches (I've been hitting abs pretty much every day.)

Fri., 8/29/14, Shoulders

Verse of the day: Psalm 25:5 "Lead me in Thy Truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day."

I got an awesome shoulder pump today! It was very fast (I only had 30 minutes to do it in.) My lateral raises are getting stronger and stronger. The 40s feel light, though the 50s feel very heavy. I'm seeing improvement. It was fairly simple:
6 sets of laterals
4 sets of bent over laterals
4 sets of hammer strength presses
2 sets of dumbbell upright rows
1 sets of barbell front raises
4 sets of barbell shrugs
The majority of the sets were 10-12 reps with a couple 6-8s and a few 15s. My shoulders seem to respond to a slightly higher range, where I'm more 6-10 on other upper body muscles.

Thur., 8/28/14, Quads

Verse of today: Micah 6:8- He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.

I moved down a notch in my weight lifting belt today. That's always nice, but it does change the feel of the squat. As the waist gets smaller the weight seems to feel heavier.
I added a couple light sets of curls and extensions and an extra 5 onto some of my warm-ups to get the blood flowing. It enhanced the burn and took off a couple reps of my heaviest set of squats, so I added 2 extra sets of squats to make up the difference. So, the workout ended up looking like this:

1 set of leg curls
1 set of leg extensions
7 sets of squats
2 sets of leg presses
4 sets of 1-leg presses (With the foot high up on the platform, for the glutes.)

Wed., 8/27/14, Arms

For my last couple of contest preps, I have written a Bible verse every morning in my training log. My theory is that you have to strengthen the inner man before you can really strengthen the outer man. So, I thought I'd start sharing these verses with ya'll, and help you strengthen your inner man as well as the outer. Today's verse is from the book of Jonah, 2:2- "I called out of my distress to the LORD, and He answered me."

And the physical workout: bi's and tri's. They were pumped! I've been adding an extra set or 2 for the triceps more than the biceps. The theory here is that your triceps is actually 2/3 of the arm, so it is bigger and needs more work. Most guys miss this. I have prioritized my triceps since I was 15, so at this point they're well balance. But, I'd rather them be too big than too small. So, here's todays workout:

rope pushdown super-set with seated alternating dumbbell curl: 7 for tri's and 6 for bi's
3 sets of concentration curls
3 sets of lying 45degree extension
3 super-sets of hammer curl and seated 1 arm extension
3 super-sets of under-hand pushdowns and cable curls

The rep range here was mostly 6-8 for biceps and 6-10 for triceps, though they were all over from 5-15. Heavy weight, short rest periods, tight muscle!

Tue., 8/26/14, Back

My lats are trying to cramp up on me from the workout I did about 2 hours ago. I guess that means I put the work in! The volume was a little higher again, trying to hit it from all angles and get as much blood in the muscle as possible and bring more details out. It is working. I can see improvements. Here's how the workout went today:

wide pulldown: 90-15; 135-12; 180-12; 225-12; 255-8
wide chin: 12
row: 135-10; 225-8,8,9
wide chin: 12
close-grip-pull-down: 255-6; 210-12
wide chin: 10
T-bar row: 135-8; 115-12
seated row: 170-8 + 2; 150-10

...18 sets for back, and they were pumped tight!

Mon., 8/25/14, Chest

I sit here having eaten 8 times thus far, and will finish the day off with 30g of p4p muscle Iso-whey. With about 305g protein, 275g carb and 71g fat so far, it is obvious that it takes a ton of nutrients maintain muscle mass.... I had a lady that I train ask today why I get 1 1/2c oatmeal and she only gets 1/2c (she was obviously joking.) I just smiled and flexed my bicep.
Any way training is going well, with an awesome workout this morning with 5 exercises for chest and a total 18 sets for chest. It was fast paced and intense as always.

Week # 8 (12 weeks out), Sat., 8/23/14, Calf/Ham, Progress Report

Here we are 12 weeks from the date of the contest (the day that most people start their prep, and I'm starting week 8!) As of this morning, having taken 1 1/4" off my waist and 12lb., my waist is now 30 1/2" and I'm weighing 180lb. I'm feeling very confidant that I will be my best on contest day. So, let us continue....

Fri., 8/22/14, Shoulders

My legs are SORE today. I believe this particular quad workout is very effective. This is the 4th time I've done the same basic workout and they've been sore every time.

Once again, I got in a great shoulder workout. The shoulders are feeling better than they have in a long time. And again, it's the same basic workout, with a slight change here and there:
5 sets of laterals
3 sets of machine laterals
3 sets of incline rear laterals
4 sets of Hammer Strength shoulder presses (this time seated forward.)
3 sets of dumbbell shrugs 

Thur., 8/21/14, Quads

Today's workout was hard. It was one of those mental decisions to just suck it up and do it in spite of feeling tired and weak. But, that's where the work gets done! For the first time in a while I recorded all but two sets (the first warm-up and the last set- walking lunges out behind the gym; it was too hot, the camera fogged up.) So here it is:

Wed., 8/20/14, Arms

Wow, I got a killer arm pump today! I used a technique that a friend showed me, called the choo-choo train. But, before I got there, I pre-exhausted the biceps and triceps with several good, heavy super-sets of spider curls and rope pushdowns. Now that they were good and pumped they were ready for the intense stuff... So, the choo-choo train: I was taught this technique with lateral raises, but have found many other effective uses for it. Today was a cambered bar curl. We have fixed cambered bars in 10lb increments from 20 to 110. You start at the lightest weight and do 5 reps of each bar until you can't get 5; heave a few extras and do a drop-set with each to failure back down the rack. All this without resting. The forearms are screaming, the biceps so full you can't touch your nose, and you're a little scared because now you must do the very same thing on the skull crusher. I only made it to the 80 for the curl, but I got all the way to the 110 for triceps. I finished with 3 sets of dumbbell preacher curls and 1 arm rope pushdowns.

...yeah that weight was a little much today.

Tue., 8/19/14, Back

As I sit here with a pile of steak, peppers and potato on my plate (about 45g protein, 40g carb and 10g fat), I am right on point. I weighed in at 181lb this morning (about 15 pounds from the goal.) This morning was a pretty normal back workout (except I didn't start with barbell rows.) From start to finish it was: 3 sets rope crunch, 5 sets wide pulldown, 1 set wide chins, 4 sets barbell row, 3 sets V pulldowns, 1 set wide chins, 2 sets machine row, 1 set wide chins (30g p4p muscle iso-whey), 15 minutes posing and 20 minutes treadmill. It took about an hour and a half with stretching and all. Boom! Another one in the book.

Mon., 8/18/14, Chest

Another week, another pound, one step closer to the goal....
I got in a great chest pump this morning. I definitely put some heart in it. The reps are still a bit higher than usual, with most of my sets being in the 12-15 range. It was all the same exercises: incline dumbbell presses (7 sets with warm-up and all), flat dumbbell presses (4 sets), incline Hammer Strength presses (3 sets), cable flyes (3 sets) and cross-bench pullovers (2 sets.) These are my bread and butter, the most stress on the muscle and least stress on the joints.
The last couple of weeks I've started playing with the posing for 10-15 minutes a day and I'm putting a little more focus and intensity in starting this week.

Sat., 8/16/14, 13 Weeks Out

This morning I'm right on target. At 13 weeks out I'm feeling good. The fat intake is still fairly high (60-80g) and protein and carb are pretty much normal for me (280g and 280g+ respectively.) My progress has been very satisfactory. I've shaved off 1 1/4'' from my waist and about 8 pounds. I am on point to be my best ever for the WNBF World Championships on November 15.

Thur., 8/14/14, QUADS

I had one of the best quad pumps I've gotten in a long time. It was awesome! My legs were so tight I could barely walk. And I didn't even throw up! It was very similar to last weeks'. Here it is:
squat: 45-20; 135-20; 225-20; 275-20; 325-9
leg press: 450-31,20
smith machine lunge: 100-11,8

Wed., 8/13/14, Arms

Today's workout was a little different than usual with fewer super-sets and a slightly off-balance ratio of bi's to tri's. I did more sets for my biceps, but I destroyed my triceps like few do. From beginning to end here it is:
6 super-sets of barbell curls and rope pushdowns
4 sets of concentration curls
3 super-sets of seated overhead triceps extensions and hammer curls
2 sets of 1-arm dumbbell spider curls
5 sets of reverse grip 1-arm pushdowns
1 set of cambered bar curls
...So 16 sets biceps and 14 for triceps. Typically I recommend more for the triceps if not balanced, because the triceps is 2/3 of the arm. But, my tri's were so pumped it was ridiculous.

Tue., 8/12/14, Back

My back training has been a little higher volume the last few weeks. I have been trying to bring out more detail and create a demand for more muscle, specifically in the upper back. The focus for me is always on creating a greater illusion of being bigger, by having a greater ratio of waist to shoulders... tiny waist/wide shoulders is the goal. And back training is how you do this, not just deltoid work. So, Here is the back workout of the week:

6 sets of barbell rows with reps between 6 and 10 (you gotta row to grow)
3 sets of Hammer Strength pulldowns in the 7-12 range
2 sets of seated low rows 10 reps and 9+2
1 set of wide pull-ups to failure (about 10 after all that)
2 sets of wide pulldowns, 8 reps each
and I finished with one more set on the seated row with a little less weight for a set of 14.

A total of 15 sets. It took about 30 minutes, the rest periods were short. Sometimes people will tell me what they did in the gym and that it took an hour and a half. WHAT?! How do you keep a pump?

Mon., 8/11/14, Chest/ Deit Update

I got in a great chest workout this morning. I continued the change I made last week in shorting rest periods and increments of weight and increasing the reps. It was a good pump.
My diet has been pretty much the same: fluctuating between 2600 and 3200 calories. I have been eating a` little more fat than I have in past preps. Here's an example of what it has looked like:

meal #1: chicken; oatmeal; olive oil
meal#2: chicken; almonds
post workout: P4P Muscle Iso-Whey
meal#3: chicken; sweet potato
meal#4: chicken; almonds; sweet potato
meal#5: chicken; sweet potato; almonds; olive oil; raisins
meal#6: chicken: brown rice; vegetables
meal#7: chicken
The total was 3020 calories: 280 protein, 295 carb and 80 fat.

Fri., 8/08/14, shoulders

I got in a great shoulder workout this afternoon. I'm able to handle more weight without joint pain on lateral raises than I have in a long time. It's still not a ton and I used to handle more when I was younger. But these are nice and controlled in the muscle, and I feel the delt head. I'm not just swinging the weight. The big difference in my training from others is the press. The only press I've been using for a while is the plate loaded Hammer Strength shoulder press, and I've been facing the pad. Here's how it looked today:
laterals: 10s-15; 20s-15; 30s-12; 40s-12,10
incline rears: 40s-12; 50s-12,9
face down Hammer press: 90-15; 180-12; 230-8; 180-12
shrug: 135-?; 225-?; 275-12; 325-9

Thur., 8/07/14, Quads

Today was one of those fateful days... the tempo too fast, the reps too high... I threw up- all over the only shoes I squat in (I guess that was bound to happen, surprising it hadn't happened yet.) It was a great quad workout, very focused and intense. The focus was again on not stressing the knees, but hammering the quads. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-20; 135-20; 225-20; 275-15; 325-9; 225-20
alternating forward lunge: 95-10
leg press: 360-43 (this was a controlled, focused constant tension set, keeping a smooth, controlled range of motion)
...That's it. And, alas the CNS could not stand the pressure, the pukeometer read a full 10.0. 

wed., 8/06/14, arms

I got an awesome pump today. It was all the basics: curls/ pushdowns; preacher curl/ seated extensions (only with a rope- that's not quite so basic I guess); hammer curls/ lying dumbbell extensions; and concentration curls by themselves and 1 arm rope pushdowns by themselves to finish it off. It was a can't touch my shoulder, hand shaky workout... One step closer to the goal...

Tue., 8/05/14, Back

Today's back workout was a little different. I only had 30 minutes to train, so I had to come up with something fast and effective. Here's what it looked like:
Giant Sets (4 times through with a minute between giant sets to stretch. And they were pumped! The last set I changed a few exercises and added a couple to further the pump and hit more angles. The rep range went from 6 to 12, basically just hitting each exercise until the lats failed and the biceps and shoulders were taking over.)

bent over row;
wide grip pull down;
Hammer Strength pull down;
Nautilus iso-lateral pull down;
machine row;
seated cable row;
and straight arm rope pull down

Mon., 8/04/14, Chest

I got an awesome chest workout this morning. For a long while I've been doing lower reps with a ton of weight for chest to really force it to grow. I could tell the last few weeks that this is starting to wear on the body. So, today I changed it up a bit- shorter rest periods, higher reps and smaller jumps in weight. The pump was killer this morning and came with a nice burn because the body isn't used to it. Here's how it went:
incline dumbbell press: 20s-20; 35s-15; 50s-12; 65s-12; 80s-10; 90s-10; 100s-10
bent over cable fly (for upper chest): 60-15; 80-12; 100-6
flat dumbbell press: 60s-12; 70s-12; 80s-8
cable fly (for lower chest): 60-12; 80-15
pullover: 60-12; 70-10; 80-6
  s/s reverse crunch: 20,20,15
This took about 30 minutes. There was no hanging around.

Fri., 8/01/14, Shoulders

Today's shoulder workout went nicely. It was all the basics: laterals, Hammer press, incline rear laterals, smith press and finished with something a little different- laterals using the 21's technique.
Just an update on the diet: It's been pretty consistent with 2700-3200 calories. My main food sources remain the same- chicken breast, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, potatoes and eggs. Here's what I ate yesterday:
meal1: 8oz egg white; 3oz sweet potato; 1/2c oatmeal; banana; 1tbs olive oil
meal2: 5oz chicken; 1c oatmeal
meal3: 5oz chicken; 1c oatmeal
post workout: 38g P4P Muscle Iso-Whey and 5g creatine
meal4: 4oz chicken; 10oz sweet potato
meal5: 5oz chicken; 1c oatmeal
meal6: 7oz chicken; 1c brown rice and corn; 4 grape tomatoes; 1/2 avocado
before bed: 30g P4P Muscle Iso-Whey