Tue., 9/30/14, Back

verse of the day: Mat. 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

Today's back workout was very fast paced, with medium volume (I did 17 sets total for back.) My intensity was pretty high- I really pushed the muscle to the limit and beyond on a several sets. I've been incorporating a wide variety of grips to bring out more lines and "fill in" the holes. I really focused on the upper back today (after starting with the basic barbell row- I just can't get away from that one.) Here it is:

row: 45-25; 95-12; 135-6; 185-6; 225-6; 275-6+2; 225-10
wide pull down: 225-10,8
fixed bar pull down (facing away from the machine): 160-8; 145-12
machine row (each set with a different grip): 100-15; 115-10; 130-?; 160-10
close-grip-underhand pull down: 225-8,8

Mon., 9/29/14, Chest

verse of the day: Mat. 5:8- "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

I got in a great chest workout this morning. It was very much by instinct/feel. Here's how it went:
incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-15; 60s-10; 85s-6; 110s-9,6
flat dumbbell press: 110s-6; 90s-12,8
dip: 15,15,15
cable fly crossover: 80-10; 60-14
   super-set with pullover: 60-12,12

Sat., 9/27/14, legs 7 weeks out

Verse of the day: Mat. 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy."

I got in a great leg workout today. It was all the basic stuff. The real difference was that I did hams and calves 1st. Here's how it looked:

lying leg curls: 45-25; 80-15; 125-6; 170-6; 200-5+2 drop-sets
smith machine calf raise: 90-25; 180-20; 270-15; 360-12; 410-10
seated leg curl: 140-18
seated calf raise: 90-15; 140-15,12
   super-set with standing leg curl: 25-15; 55-12; 70-8
squat: 45-25; 135-25; 225-20; 275-20; 325-10
leg press: 450-31
walking lunge: 110-15 (steps each leg)
back extension: 12 

Fri., 9/26/14, Shoulders

verse of the day: Mat 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied,"

As my hands are shaking while I type, I realize that, I made a little bit of a mistake over the last 24 hours. Yesterday I ate a little less than 2500 calories (at least 200 short for me), and this morning/ afternoon I went 4 hours without eating any carb, worked out, and didn't have any carb for an hour 15 minutes after. It was a total of 7 hours without carbohydrates. This was a big mistake. I am an active person, so the energy is essential.... But, onward. I did get in a great shoulder pump, and I'm sure jacked the GH levels through the roof (when your body runs low on carb there is a temporary spike in growth hormone production.) Here's how it looked today:

lateral raise: 10s-25; 20s-15; 30s-12; 40s-12,10
bent over lateral raise: 30s-15; 40s-12; 50s-12,8
hammer strength shoulder press (sit facing pad): 90-15; 180-12,12,9
laterals: 1 run-the-rack-drop-set starting with the 45s and ending with 15s
dumbbell shrug: 75s-10; 110s-10; 130s-10

Thur., 9/25/14, Arms

verse of the day: Mat. 5:5- "Blessed are the gentle [humble], for they shall inherit the earth."

I got a great arm workout in this afternoon. My friend Joe trained with me again, and we pushed each other a bit. It was good. Here's how it went:

cambered bar curl:                                   30-25; 50-12; 70-6; 100-6; 135-2+2; 115-10; 65-18
   super-set with lying triceps extension: 30-25; 50-15; 70-12; 100-10; 135-8; 115-10; 65-20

hammer curl:               35s-12,11
  s/s seated extension: 150-6; 110-10

rope pushdown: 110-???
  s/s cable curl:   120-???

seated rope extension: 90-15, 12; 110-10
  s/s spider curl:           60-8,8,6+9

Wed., 9/24/14, Back

verse of the day: Mat. 5:3- "Blessed are those who morn, for they will be comforted."

I got in an excellent back workout this afternoon. I usually train alone, but today I worked out with a client/friend from out of town. Joe is in town for the week, and caught up with me today and we just decided to hit a good back workout and push each other a little. It was good. Here's how it went:

row: 45-25; 95-10; 135-10; 185-10; 235-10; 255-6+2
fixed-bar pull down (facing opposite the machine): 130-10; 145-10; 160-10
machine row: ?, ?, ? (it's a new machine, I was just trying out different grips)
medium-hammer grip pull down: 190-10; 210-6+2
seated cable row: 190-10; 150-16

Tue., 9/23/14, Chest

verse of the day: Mat. 5:2 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I got in a great workout this afternoon. I tried out starting with the flat dumbbell press, which is a huge step for me because my shoulders have not allowed it in YEARS. It felt good; I just had to be careful. Here's how it went:

flat dumbbell press: 35s-25; 55s-10; 75s-6; 95s-6; 120s-9; 110s-8
incline dumbbell press: 100s-8; 75s-12,10
incline hammer strength press: 180-12; 230-7; 180-8
dip: 15,12
pullover: 60-12,12

Mon., 9/22/14, Legs

verse of the day: Ps 127:1a- "Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build it labor in vain."

I got in a great leg workout today. This was the 1st time in a while that I've been able to do any lower rep sets for my legs (due to tendonitis in my right knee.) It was a big workout today, and actually spread over a few hours. I'm a personal trainer, so I often end up squeezing my workouts in between clients. Today I trained my quads and hams, then trained someone, then did cardio, then trained someone else, and finally did my calves after that. Here's how the workout went:

squat: 45-25; 95-25; 135-10; 225-10; 315-10; 365-6; 315-10
leg press: 270-25; 450-15; 630-12
reverse lunge: 95-10; 115-8; 135-7
seated leg curl: 95-25; 140-10
lying leg curl: 160-6+2 drop-sets
standing leg curl: 75-6+45-13
(break/20minutes stepmill/break)
smith machine calf raise: 90-25; 180-15; 270-15; 360-12; 410-10+2
seated calf: 90-25; 180-12; 230-9+drop-set
1-leg calf press(on leg press): 180-25,25,20

Fri., 9/19/14, Arms

verse of the day: Ps. 18: 48- "He delivers me from my enemies; surely Thou dost lift me above those who rise against me; Thou dost rescue me from the violent man."

I got in an excellent arm workout this morning. It was a little different than usual for me, because I did not do as many super-sets. It was more 1-arm exercises, going back and forth without rest. This was another of those "only have 35 minutes, lets get it done," workouts. So the pace was moving. Here's how it went:

6 super-sets of seated dumbbell curls and rope pushdowns
3 sets of concentration curls
5 sets of 1-arm lying triceps extensions
3 sets standing 1-arm preacher curls (leaning over an incline bench)
3 sets 1-arm reverse grip pushdowns
3 super-sets of cable curls and machine triceps extensions

I basically had no plan starting out, except to blow my arms up, and went totally by feel and availability. And they were tight!

Thur., 9/18/14, Back

verse of the day: Ps. 18:46 "The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation,"

Today I had 40 minutes to stretch and train my back. I love a challenge. So, the 1st 10 minutes was nothing but stretching and preventative maintenance stuff (I have an extensive list of stretches and exercises that I do before training, and it's different for each muscle group.) I also have a pull in my right trap, so this was a further limitation- again, a challenge is always welcome. So here's my 30 minute back workout:

row: 45-25; 95-12; 135-12; 185-12; 225-10; 245-7
wide pull down: 180-12; 200-9
fixed bar wide pulldown (facing away from machine): 130-12; 145-10; 160-8
standing rope low row: 160-12; 180-12; 200-9
V-pulldown: 195-13

Boom! That's it. It was a great pump, and I managed to avoid aggravating my trap.

Tue., 9/16/14, Legs

verse of the day: Ps. 18:35- "Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy right hand upholds me; and Thy gentleness makes me great."

This is a big workout. Any way you do it, training quads, hams and calves is a lot of work. Today's rendition was a little less volume than what I've been doing, but I definitely nailed each muscle. I was "treading lightly" today because I've had this strange pain in my right calf since I woke up this morning. It hurt when I wrapped and bent my leg, but all calf movement was fine.... what in the world? Any how it was a great workout. Here it is:

squat: 45-25; 135-25; 225-20; 315-18 + 4
leg press: 450-31+3 (using the constant tension method)
reverse lunge: 115-6,8,6
leg curl: 125-12; 170-10
standing leg curl: 90-10
smith machine calf: 180-15; 270-15; 360-12
seated calf: 50-20; 90-15; 140-15; 190-8

Mon., 9/15/14, Arms

verse of the day: Zech. 10:12- "And I shall strengthen them in the Lord, and in His name they will walk," declares the Lord.

I got in an excellent arm pump this morning. I tweaked my neck out on Saturday, so the focus was low stress on the neck and just pumping the bi's and tri's as much as possible:

6 super-sets of rope pushdowns and dumbbell curls
3 super-sets hammer curls and 1-arm overhead triceps
4 super-sets 1-arm machine extensions and 1-arm machine curls
1 super-set rotating dumbbell curls and lying rotating dumbbell extensions

Fri., 9/12/14, Back

verse of the day: Ps. 18:2- "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Killer back pump this morning- it felt like my lats were going to explode! It was just the basics with medium-high volume and medium rep range:

warm up with 2 light sets of wide grip pulldowns
wide pull-ups: 12,12,12,12,9
barbell row: 135-10; 185-6; 235-6; 255-6
fixed bar-wide-back-pulldown: 145-12; 160-10,7
seated cable row: 150-10; 170-8,8
v-grip pulldown: 195-10,10

Thur., 9/11/14, Chest

verse of the day: Zech. 4:6b- "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.

I got an excellent chest workout this morning. I wasn't feeling quite on point, so I decided to just change it up a bit and really pump the muscle. There was no real plan except to pump the muscle and go by feel. Here's how it looked:

bent-over cable fly (for upper chest): 30-25; 50-15; 70-12; 90-10; 110-6
incline Hammer Strength press: 180-10; 270-10,9
flat dumbbell press: 75s-10; 85s-10; 95s-10; 110s-6
pullover:                                                                    65-10,10
   alternate with cable fly (upright for lower chest): 80-12,10
dip: 12

Boom! That's it- 17 sets total, and they were pumped!

Wed., 9/10/14, LEGS

verse of the day: Psalm 127:1- "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it: unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain."

Today's leg workout was a little shorter than last weeks. It was a little wacked in the focus area because there were a ton of people in the gym and it seemed like every time I went to use something it was occupied. Ha ha- the trials of a bodybuilder. But, alas, I got the job done. My legs were thoroughly pumped. The only complaint was a ting in my right knee on what would have been my forth set of presses. So, there ended the quad portion. Here's how it all panned out:

squat: 4 sets of 20, 1 set of 10
reverse lunge: 1 set of 18 reps
leg press: set of 20, set of 12, set of 6
3 super-sets of machine calf raise and standing leg curl all 20 + reps
1 set lying leg curl 6 reps
2 sets of 1-calf presses 20 each

Tue., 9/09/14, Arms

verse of the day: Hag. 1:4- "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate."

I destroyed my arms this afternoon. It was an awesome pump. I did a combo of mostly lower reps, but threw in a few sets with some higher reps toward the end to really fill them with blood:

6 super-sets of curls and pushdowns
3 super-sets of 1-arm concentration curls and lying triceps extensions
3 super-sets of cable curls and under-hand -grip pushdowns
3 sets of seated hammer curls and seated 1-arm overhead dumbbell extensions
2 sets of 1-arm reverse-grip pushdowns

Mon., 9/08/14, Shoulders//DIET UPDATE

verse of the day: Zeph. 1:7a- "Be silent before the Lord God."

I got in an incredible shoulder workout this morning. I seem to be holding on to my strength and even gaining some in my shoulders- which is awesome as I consider delts to be a weak point for me. It was all basic:
7 sets of laterals
4 sets of Hammer Strength presses
3 sets of bent over rear laterals
3 sets of hammer grip front raises
3 sets of barbell shrugs

My diet has included more fat than what I've used in the past. My calories have been around 3000 a day. Here's what yesterday looked like (it's a bit more than this normally, as yesterday was a rest day and I slept in 3 1/2 hrs later than usual):

meal 1: p4p muscle iso-whey; oatmeal; banana; olive oil; fish oil
meal 2: 4 eggs; potato; apple
meal 3: chicken breast; sweet potato, natural peanut butter; peas
meal 4: chicken breast; peas
meal 5: 80/20 ground chuck, corn, diced tomato, beans (chilli sort of)
meal 6: p4p muscle iso-whey; fish oil

Sat, 9/06/14, 10 WEEKS OUT

Here I am starting the 10th week of my prep, at 10 weeks out. This morning my waist was smaller than it's ever been at 10 weeks out, at 30 inches. I've only got about an inch left to lose. And with 10 weeks to go, that's nothing! The weight this week has fluctuated between 177.5 and 178.75 (the weight is always checked after one meal and some water so it will very a bit.) I am stoked. I believe I will be the better than I ever have on stage.

I got an excellent back workout this morning, and was just plain happy not to be training sore hams and calve. This split has proven true in the past. It provides what for me seems to be the best combo of frequency and recovery time.

Fri., 9/05/14, Chest

verse of the day: Habakkuk 2:4- "Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith."

I got in a great chest workout this morning. It was similar to Monday's, but I changed the weight and reps a bit. I have really found the exercises that work my chest the best and stick with them for the most part, though I'll throw something different in here and there. Here's today's rendition:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-15; 60s-10; 80s-10; 100s-10; 120s-8
flat dumbbell press: 80s-10; 90s-10; 70s-12
bent over cable fly (for upper chest): 80-12,8,8
dip: 15,9,10
pullover: 60-12

Thur., 9/04/14, Legs

verse of the day: Nahum 1:3a- "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,"

I destroyed the legs today. This was the 1st workout in 10 weeks or more that I trained quads and hams- and I added calves as well. So it was a big workout tying in the entire leg. Here's how it looked:

5 sets of squats
3 sets of leg presses
3 sets of leg curls
1 set of reverse lunges
2 super-sets of smith machine calf raises and seated leg curls
(And finished it off with 20 minutes on the stepmill.)

Wed., 9/03/14, Arms

verse of the day: Psalm 25:12- "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose."

 I got a killer pump this morning. It was all basic stuff- just hard, intense work. People ask me all the time how to get big. That is always the answer: basic, hard, intense work. Here's what it looked like:

7 super-sets of seated (flat palm) dumbbell curl and rope pushdown
2 super-sets of overhead triceps extension and hammer curls
2 super-sets preacher curl and lying extension
6 sets 1-arm concentration curl
7 sets 1-arm rope pushdown

Tue., 9/02/14, Back and Rear Delts

verse of the day: Nahum 1:7 "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He know those who take refuge in Him."

No. I did not take the day off yesterday. It was actually so busy I never touched my computer. I got in a killer chest and delt workout. It's sore today.

I'm transitioning to a new split that will involve a little more frequency. The game plan is:
day 1- chest
day 2- back
day 3- arms
day 4- shoulders
day 5- legs
I will just rotate the days, with Sunday as a rest day. So each muscle will be hit every 5-6 days.

Today was back, traps and rear delts. It was mostly basics with one newby: we recently got a fixed handle, pin-loaded Hammer Strength pulldown. I did this one facing away from the machine. Here's how it went:

wide pulldown (warm up): 90-25; 135-15
wide pull-up: 12,12,12,9
row: 135-10; 185-10; 225-10; 245-6
pin-loaded- fixed-pull-down (facing away): 140-12; 170-6; 140-9
seated row: 150-10; 170-10; 190-8
bent-over-rear lateral raise: 30s-15; 40s-12; 50s-10
barbell shrug: 135-15; 225-12; 315-10