Tue., 4/30/13, Back Training

I got a great back workout today- killer pump. The warm weather is nice, it helps warm the muscle and make me sweat. I just did the basics today, nothing crazy. I got in some good intense sets and really stimulated the muscle. Here's how it went:
warmed up with stretching, hyper extensions and Swiss ball crunches
row: 45-15; 95-15; 135-12; 185-12; 225-12; 245-7
wide pulldown: 180-12; 195-9
seated D-D row: 200-9 (not really sure how many); 150-13
super-set with straight-arm rope pulldown: 120-12, 12 + 1 drop set (again not too sure about reps here)

Weak Point Training

Today was calves- the muscle I have training, over-trained, annihilated, pushed and done everything I can think and read of for, and seemingly to no avail (until one of my clients recently saw me in shorts and cursed and said, "Man I've never seen you not wearing sweat pants. Your calves are insane!") Yes, I was blessed by my God with many things- nice round muscles, a good shape.... But my calves are genetically sad.... Ha Ha, a challenge!
So I'm doing a semi- Dorian Yates style for my calves here for a little while and see what happens. Yates style is low volume and HIGH intensity. This is the workout this morning:
calf press: 90-30; 180-10; 270-10; 360-10; 450-27 good reps to total failure plus 2 drop-sets
Smith machine calf raise: 180-10; 270- 13 good reps to total failure + 2 rest-pause sets
seated calf raise: 70-15; 140- I don't know how many, around 15 + a bunch of assisted reps

Fri., 4/26/13, Arms

I got in a killer arm pump today. I didn't do anything all that exciting- just the basic stuff:

5 sets barbell curl super-set with lying triceps extension 2 sets to failure
3 sets of concentration curls with no rest between to failure
2 sets of seated rope extensions 15 and 10 or 12 reps
2 super-sets of hammer curl and pushdown to failure
1 super-set of preacher curl and seated overhead extensions to total failure

Thur., 4/25/13, Legs

So, if you've been following, you know that I pulled a groin about 12 weeks ago and have been working around it trying not to aggravate it. Last week I did not train quads, I just did calves and hams. It has been feeling good- just playing it safe. So today was my first quad workout since the Tournament of Champions. I did not go crazy, but got in some good work sets and really focused on the muscle. Here's what it looked like:

leg curl: 30-20; 60-15; 90-12; 135-6 + 2 drop-sets
standing leg curl: 90-6, 75-6, 60-10 (no rest)
squat: 45-20; 95-10; 135-10; 225-10; 315-11
leg press: 270-20; 450-15; 660-10
walking lunges: 50-17 (steps each leg); 80-17; 110-17

Diet Update

I'm not eating exactly the same thing everyday right now. But this is a good example of what my current off-season diet looks like (it's what I ate yesterday):

meal # 1 - 8oz egg white; 1 cup oatmeal; apple
meal # 2 - 5oz chicken breast; 1c oatmeal
meal # 3 - 5oz chicken breast; 1c brown rice
post workout shake: 40g whey protein with bcaa's
meal # 4 (1 hour 10 minutes after workout) - 5oz chicken breast; large sweet potato; orange
meal # 5 - 5oz chicken breast; 1c oatmeal
meal # 6 - 8-10oz split chicken breast; 1c white rice; asparagus; broccoli (little butter on rice...oooo)
meal # 7 (just before bed) - 1c 2% milk, 25g whey protein
The numbers are about: 330g protein, 390g carb, and 100g fat (3700-3800 calories.)

Tue., 4/23/13, Back

I got in a killer back workout today. It was not crazy long, but got the job done nicely. Here's what it looked like:
knee ups, Swiss ball crunches, back extensions and stretches
wide grip pull-ups: 12,12,12,10
T-bar rows: 90-12; 135-8; 180-6 + 2 drop sets
rows: 225-8, 8, 8
incline dumbbell rows: 60's-13 or 14

Mon., 04/22/13, Chest and Calves

I got in a killer chest workout this morning. I'm still working my way up in intensity- not wanting to hurt myself after having been depleted from competition. Here's how it went:
calf press: 7 sets increasing weight 'til I couldn't get 15 then took some off
seated calf raise: 3 sets
1-calf press: 3 sets
incline Hammer Strength press: 7 sets up to 360 then dropped for the final
high incline dumbbell press: 3 sets
machine fly: 3 sets
dips: 3 sets with 30 seconds rest between
pullover: just 1 set to failure

Sat., 4/20/13, Shoulders

I got a killer deltoid pump this morning. It was short and sweet. Here's what it looked like:

laterals:                                                10's-10; 15's-15; 20's-10; 25's-10; 30's-12
super-set with seated dumbbell press: 20's-15; 35's-15; 50's-12; 60's-10,  8

bent over rear laterals: 35's-15; 50's-10, 9
shrug: 135-20; 225-15; 315-10

Fri., 4/19/13, Calves and Hams

I took quads off this week to let my groin fully recuperate (I pulled it several weeks ago and have not been able to do wide squats or lunges, which are the bread and butter of my workouts.) It feels good, I have full range of motion- just wanting to be careful and I had decided weeks ago that I would take off a little while from quads after the contest.
So... calves and hams today:
I  started with calf presses super-set with leg curls: 6 sets for calf and 5 for hams heavier each set.
Then a tri-set: Smith machine calf raise, seated leg curl and hyperextensions 3 sets through.
The pump was killer. I have a friend who is a 74 year old retired marine, he says, "If you aint walkin' like you got a corn cob stuck up your butt, you didn't have a good leg workout."... I had the walk.
BOOM! Short, sweet, and effective.

Thur., 4/18/13, Back and biceps

I got in a great back and biceps pump this morning. The intensity and volume are not too crazy this week- just letting the body recuperate a little bit. Here's what it looked like:
rows: 45-20; 95-15; 135-12; 185-10; 225-10, 7
wide pulldown: 160-15; 190-12
seated row: 150-12; 200-7
V-pulldown: 180-12; 210-8
seated dumbbell curl: 20's-10; 30's-10; 40's-8
1-arm preacher curl: 30-8, 6 + 20-7 (no rest)
reverse curl:            40-12, 12
super set with curl: 40-12, 12

Wed., 4/ 17/ 13, Back in the Game

The last few days have been chill. I ate garbage 'til I felt like garbage, then I cleaned it up again. Yesterday I hit some light sets for each muscle just to sweat and did 30 minutes of cardio (again just to sweat out the junk in my system.)
Today I did chest and triceps. The intensity was not crazy, just a few sets to failure. Here's how it went:
incline dumbbell press: 30's-30; 45's-20; 60's-15; 75's-12; 85's-10; 100's-8
flat dumbbell press: 50's-20; 60's-?; 70's-8
cable crossover: 60-12; 80-10; 100-6
dips: 12, 12, 12
rope pushdown: 80-20; 110-10, 7
seated triceps extension: 75-15; 100-12, 9
lying dumbbell extension: 40-6
lying barbell extension: 110-6
30 minutes on the treadmill (just to sweat)
Time to grow!

Sun., 04/14/13, RESULTS

I won! All the hard work that went into this preparation paid off with a first place in the light weight division, as well as the overall victory this weekend at the 2013 WNBF Pro Tournament of Champions.
This was my first pro victory, so I am stoked!
I weighed in at 171 1/2 lb.- not quite as cut as at the Mr. Universe last summer, but on target.
The competition was stiff. I was standing backstage thinking, "Wow! these guys look awesome!" It was not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.
This was the best run WNBF contest that I have done. Rich Lauro, the promoter, did an awesome job- being a WNBF pro himself, he really takes care of the athletes... So THANK YOU RICH!

Mon., 4/08/13, Last Leg Workout

My hams were still a little sore from Thursday's leg workout, so the intensity was not crazy. I really just focused on feeling the muscle, getting a good pump, and totally depleting the muscle, which I believe I accomplished. Here's what it looked like:
20 minutes treadmill
squat: 45-20; 95-20; 135-15; 225-15; 315-12; 335-10
leg press: 270-15; 360-15; 450-15; 590-10; 660-10
1 leg step up: 95-10, 10, 10
leg curl: 90-15; 105-8; 90-10
standing leg curl: 60-10, 10, 8, 8
1 leg extension: 30-15, 12, 12
calf press: 90-30; 180-20; 270-15; 360-15; 450-13; 270-15
seated calf: 90-15, 15, 15
20 minutes treadmill

Fri., 04/05/13, Chest and Back

I got an excellent workout in this morning. The focus was on getting an awesome pump and feeling some weight- and I accomplished both. This is the workout:

6 progressively heavier sets of incline hammer strength press (up to 360lb for 6) super-set with wide-grip pulldowns
3 sets of crossovers super-set with straight arm rope pulldowns
2 super-sets flat dumbell press with seated rows
1 set pullovers
2 super-sets wide grip pull-ups with dips (no rest at all)
1 set pullovers

Thur., 4/04/13, Food Update

Here is an example of what I've been eating (this is yesterday):
meal # 1:  9oz egg white; 1 cup oatmeal; apple
train shoulders, drink whey protein isolate
meal # 2:  chicken breast; sweet potato
meal # 3:  chicken breast; oatmeal; sweet potato
meal # 4:  chicken breast; sweet potato
meal # 5:  chicken breast; potato
meal # 6:  chicken breast

4/03/13, Shoulders

I got in a great shoulder workout today. It was all basic stuff, just very focussed. Here's what it looked like:
seated dumbell press: 20's-20; 35's-15; 50's-12; 65's-10; 80's-6
laterals: 20's-12; 25's-12; 30's-12; 35's-10
incline rear laterals: 35's-15; 50's-8, 8
seated behind the neck press: 125-12,12
shrug: 135-20; 225-12; 315-11
Abs- swiss ball crunch: 30 + 30 twisting/ machine crunch: 140-15/ rope crunch: 150-12,12/ vacuums

Tue., 4/02/13, CHEST

I got an excellent chest workout in. I actually kind of expected to be a little weaker, because I've been doing a little more cardio and really keeping the calories down (between 2500 and 2700.) But I beat some of the numbers from last week, which always psychs you up when you're 11 day's from a contest. Here's what it looked like:
incline dumbell press: 20's-20; 35's-15; 50's-12; 60's-10; 70's-10; 80's-10; 90's-10; 100's-10
cable cross-over: 60-12; 80-8+2, 8+2
flat dumbell press: 75's-10; 85's-8 + machine fly: 160-9
cross-bench-pullover: 50-12; 60-12; 70-8
Killer pump!

Mon., 4/01/13, BACK

I got in a good back workout this morning. It was not a long workout, I spent more time on cardio than I did on back today. Here's the whole workout:
row: 45-20; 95-15; 135-12; 185-10; 225-10; 245-7
Free Motion pulldown: 150-12; 180-10; 200-6
close-underhand-grip pulldown: 180-10; 200-10
seated row: 180-6 + 2 rest-pause sets