Sat., 8/31/13, Calves 10 Weeks 'til World Championships

I got in an excellent calf workout this morning. I did  a total of 10 sets of calf presses, 3 sets of seated calf raise and 1 set of machine calf raises. They were  pumped.
The progress report: I weighed in at 174 this morning, which is where I've been hanging all week, so progress is slowly, but surely. At 10 weeks out, I'm very happy with my progress. I know that I could be in my best shape 6 weeks from now, so baby steps.

Fri., 8/30/13, Shoulders

I'm still using the same technique with the behind the neck press- 10 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds of rest between sets. I did these followed by machine laterals, bent over rear lateral, dumbbell shrugs and finished with 1 set of lateral raises. It was a great pump and low impact on the joints.

Thur., 8/29/13, Legs

I destroyed my legs today. I've been playing with ways to both use heavy weight and incorporate high reps. So, for squats today I got 2 spotters, the manager/owner of the Outer Banks Sports Club Stu Goliday, and my client and long time friend Wes Stepp- one on each side of the bar. And I started with 2- 45lb plates and 4- 25lb plates on each side, that's 425lb. The plan was to do sets of 5 reps with each weight 'til I ran out of weights, with no rest at all. I did not accomplish that, but it was an excellent pump and I feel like I really stimulated the thighs. Here's the whole thing:

squat: 45-20; 135-5; 225-5; 275-5; 325-5; 375-5; 425-3+375-3+325-4+275-4+225-3+135-?
leg press: 450-10; 720-8,10
walking lunge: 95-23 steps each leg
leg curl: 90-10; 120-10; 150-2+ 3 drop-sets
  super-set with leg extension: 90-20,15,11
standing leg curl: 60-12 + stiff leg dumbbell deads: 45's-12 

Wed., 8/28/13, Arms

I got in a killer arm pump this morning. It was definitely the best pump I've had in a long time. The workout didn't have too much volume, once I was warmed up. There was a total of 12 sets each bi's and tri's including warm-ups: 6 sets of bar curl s/s with rope pushdowns, 2 sets 1-arm preacher curl with seated rope extension, 2 sets hammer curl with seated dumbbell extension, and 2 sets concentration curl with lying 45 degree extensions.

 

Tue., 8/27/13, Back and Calves

This morning was all very basic stuff. The focus was on the upper back- thinking about the rear double biceps shot. I started with pulldowns with a grip just beyond shoulder width and only brought the bar to my chin, really focusing on the upper back. I did sets of 12 increasing the weight each set until I couldn't get 12. Next up was T-bar rows. These kill the upper back- I did 4 sets increasing the weight and decreasing reps each set, starting with 12 and ending with 6. Then came V-grip-pull-downs. I did only 2 sets, the 1st 10 reps and the 2nd failing right at 10 reps. I ended the  lats with bent over rows- 3 sets increasing the weight each set, the last to total failure. I hit a couple sets of back extensions to pump some blood in the lower back. For calves, I did 7 sets of 1-leg calf presses and 2 sets of seated calf raise. They were pumped full, and the veins were popping.... one step closer.

Mon., 8/26/13, Chest

Wow. I got a killer chest pump  this morning! It was very similar to last weeks workout, just a few rearrangements:
Several sets of cables flyes to pre-exauste the chest; then 4 sets of incline dumbbell presses; next was flat dumbbell press with 3 sets drop-set style with no rest; 1 set of machine flyes + rest-pause; 1 set of pullovers; and finished with 3 sets of dips with only 20 seconds of rest between.

 

Sat., 8/24/13, Calves/ 11 Weeks Til World Championships

This morning 175lb.- well on my way to my best shape ever- pumped up about the contest! My calves are looking better and better. This was my day totally devoted to making them better: 17 sets total, with 11 sets on the leg press, 4 sets on the seated machine and 2 sets on a standing position machine. They were pumped.

Fri., 8/23/13, Shoulders/ Diet Update

I got in a great shoulder workout this morning. It was very similar to last weeks, the only difference was for rear delts I did incline raises and for traps I did dumbbell shrugs.

Progress is great. I've kept the diet between 2900 and 3050 calories. Here's what it looked like yesterday:

meal 1: 8 oz. egg white; 1/2 c oatmeal; 6 oz. sweet potato; banana
meal 2: 5 oz. chicken (all chicken is breast); 6 oz. sweet potato
meal 3: 5 oz. chicken; 1 c oatmeal
post workout: 40g whey protein
meal 4: 5oz. chicken; 12 oz. sweet potato; apple
meal 5: 4oz chicken; 1/2 c oatmeal
meal 6: 5 oz. chicken; 2 eggs; 3/4c brown rice; veg.
meal 7: 25g whey protein; spinach

Thur., 8/22/13, Legs

I destroyed my legs this morning! It was great. I did drop-sets on squats, leg presses and leg curls. I meant to make a video of the working set, but my camera battery died! Here's what it looked like:

squat: 45-20; 135-6; 225-6; 315-6; 405-7 + 315-6 + 225-8 + 135-12
leg press: 450-6; 630-6; 900-6 + 8 drop sets (awesome pump)
alternating lunges: 95-6; 115-6; 145-6
leg curl: 75-12; 105-10; 135-7 + 5 drop-sets (this hurt)

They were swollen.

Wed., 8/21/13, Arms

Today I split up biceps and triceps. I did biceps early this morning and triceps this afternoon. I got an excellent pump in both. This was to stimulate the metabolism. Here's the rundown:
am bi's:
6 sets of seated dumbbell curls
3 sets of concentration curls
3 sets of spider curls
3 sets of 1 arm machine curls
1 set of cable rope hammer curls

pm tri's:
5 sets of rope pushdowns
3 sets seated rope extension
2 sets lying triceps extension
1 set pushdowns + 3 sets  of 1 arm pushowns no rest

Tue., 8/20/13, Back and calves

I got in a killer back pump this morning with the basics:6 sets bent over rows, 2 sets V-pulldowns, 3 sets T-bar rows, and 2 sets medium-grip-pull-downs.
And for making progress on the great weak point: just the 1-calf press with 90lb. for 30, 30, 20, 20, 20, and  20 with no rest- an excellent pump.

Mon., 8/19/13, Chest

My chest was swollen this morning after a great workout. Always playing with new things to keep it out of the shoulder joints and in the pectorals, it was a little different than the typical bodybuilding chest workout. Here's how it went:

cable fly: 30-25; 50-15; 70-12; 90-10; 110-7 + 3 drop-sets
incline dumbbell press: 50's-12; 60's-12; 70's-10; 80's-7; 65's-10
free motion cable press: 90-8; 70-8
machine fly: 160-9
dip: 15,10,10 (20 second rest between sets)
pullover: 70-15

Boom! It was pumped.

Sat., 8/17/13, Calves/ 12 Weeks Til World Championships

Well, at 12 weeks out I'm ahead of schedule and on target to be the very best I've been so far. This morning I weighed in at 175 1/4 lb. I'm taking it slow and keeping the calories about 3000 per day- feeling good.
Today was totally focused on calves- just bringing up my weak point. And I believe there will be a visible difference in them. The workout is very much focused on feeling the calf muscles, not just moving weight. I did 8 sets on the leg press machine, 3 sets on the seated calf machine and 3 sets on a pin loaded leg machine that I like to use for calves. It was a great pump.

Fri., 8/16/13, Shoulders

Got a good shoulder pump this morning, it was all low impact on the joint. I went through my old training log and dug some stuff out:

seated behind the neck press: 45-30; 65-15; 95-12; 115-10,10,10,10,10,10,10,9,6,6 (30 seconds rest between sets- no more.)
machine lateral: 80-15; 100-15; 120-12
machine rear lateral: 140-15; 170-15
   super-set with cable rears: 50-12,?
dumbbell bent lateral: 50's-12
shrug: 135-15; 185-15; 235-12; 285-8

Thur., 8/15/13, LEGS

I got an awesome leg workout this morning. It was very hard, I put a lot of weight on the muscle and definitely stimulated some growth, but did not annilate to the point where they won't recover- which I have been known to do on occasion.

squat: 45-20; 95-10; 135-10; 225-10; 315-10; 405-6 + 3 drop-sets
leg press: 360-10; 540-10; 720-10
standing leg curl: 75-10,10,10
   super-set with leg extension: 105-12,12,12
leg curl: 105-12
walking lunge: 95-20 each leg

Wed., 8/14/13, Arms

I got in a great arm workout this morning. It was nice to be doing some normal stuff, after having done all the crazy high rep sets the last 4 weeks. They were super tight and pumped. It was very basic:
dumbbell curls super-set with rope pushdowns
hammer curls super-set with seated 1-arm extensions
preacher curls super-set with pushdowns
cambered bar curls super-set with skull-crushers with the elbows back at 45 degrees

Tue., 8/13/13, Back and Calves/ Diet

I got an excellent workout in this morning. The pump was great. It was pretty basic: machine calf raise; seated calf raise; pull downs; T-bar rows; V-pull down; rows.

meal 1: egg whites; sweet potato; banana
meal 2: chicken
(post workout) whey protein; sweet potato; apple
meal 3: chicken; oatmeal
meal 4: chicken; oatmeal
meal 5: chicken; brown rice; black beans; banana
meal 6: chicken; oatmeal; 2 eggs
meal 7: whey protein

Mon., 8/12/13, Chest

I got in a great chest workout this morning. Here's the rundown:

incline dumbbell press: 20's-30; 40's-20; 55's-15; 70's-12; 80's-10; 90's-10; 100's-5 + 2 drop-sets
machine fly: 150-12,10,8 (30 second rest)
dip: 15,10,8 (30 second rest)
pullover: 50-12; 60-12; 70-12 + cable fly: 80-11

Sat., 08/10/13, Calves

Well, today begins week 2 of 14. I seem to be progressing nicely: weighed 177 this morning, with a quarter off my waist.
Just calves and abs today: did 3 sets of decline crunches; 1 set of knee-ups; 8 sets of calf presses; 4 sets of 1- leg calf presses; posing and cardio....boom- one step closer.

Fri., 8/9/13, Shoulders

This was my last workout with the incredibly high rep sets. It was good:

machine laterals: 50-15; 70-10; 90-50; 110-15; 130-12; 150-8
hammer strength shoulder press: 270-6; 230-8; 180-13; 90-30; 50-50
machine rears: 110-50; 150-20; 190-8
shrug: 135-50; 225-15; 315-8

Killer pump, they were tight.

thur., 08/08/13, legs

I did my legs in 2 workouts today: 
quads in the morning with- squats, hack squats and lunges. Only 1 failure set each and they were destroyed.
hams in the afternoon with- seated leg curls, lying 1-leg curls, standing leg curls and back extensions. 2 working sets each (though not all were total failure) with 10-15 reps.

Wed., 8/07/13, Arms

This week is the last of these incredibly high rep sets (which you may notice I'm not doing for back or legs.) It has been a nice break for my joints, but I'm looking forward to normal sets of 6-12 next week. I got in a great pump this morning with only 2 exercises for bi's and 2 for tri's. It was super-set style, not much rest. The super-set was barbell curls with rope pushdowns, with normal reps working up to just 1 failure set 6 and 10 reps respectively. The second super-set is where it got interesting: cable curls and seated rope extensions overhead. Sets were- 50, 25, 15, 14, 5, 5, and finished with 4 drop-sets super-set style....they were pumped.

Tue., 8/06/13, calves and back

Today was a pretty typical back workout for me: fairly low volume, high intensity, a killer pump. For the calves it was all high rep and I didn't do as much as normal because they're sore from Saturday:

seated calf: 45-20; 90-30; 140-20
smith machine calf: 90-30; 180-25; 230-16

back extensions: 20,20,20
  super-set with kneeling rope crunch: 130-30,20; knee-up: 40,30

row: 45-13; 95-10; 135-10; 185-10; 225-10; 275-5 + 1 drop-set
free motion pull-down: 140-10; 170-10; 200-6
seated row: 150-20 + wide pull-ups

Beginning Prep for The World Championships

This is day 3. Saturday was 98 days (14 weeks) out from the World Championships. I am pumped. Starting measurements have me in better shape with more muscle than when I competed in and won my first contest. I am on target to be in the absolutely best shape I've ever been in. And I need to be because I am going against the very best natural bodybuilders on earth.
Here is what I'm eating to get there:

meal #1: egg white; oatmeal; apple
meal#2: chicken; sweet potato
meal#3: chicken; grits
meal#4: (after workout) 40g whey protein; sweet potato
meal#5: chicken; oatmeal
meal#6: chicken; grits
meal#7: chicken; sweet potato; spinach
meal#8: whey protein

Thur., 8/01/13, Legs

Well, today was very busy. The only time I had to train my legs was a 30 minute window. SO... I'm always down with a challenge, so I quickly devised a circuit:

squat              :   45-20; 135-10;  225-6; 315-20
leg press        :  180-20; 270-15; 360-10; 540-10
lying leg curl :    30-20;  60-10;   75-10; 90-?
walking lunge:    40-16;  60-12;             110-10
seated leg curl:    80-10;  95-10; 95-10; 125-15 + (1-set each) leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses

There was no rest between exercises, and I rested between sets just long enough to stretch and add weight. Only the last set was to failure, and I couldn't breath, I couldn't see straight and could barely walk from station to station. It was good.