Sporto's Contest Prep

[Sporto]

Ok - it's officially time for an update! Life has been really hectic the last couple of months. It's funny, you can go so long in cruise control, and then all of a sudden it seems like a ton of things are all just thrown at you at once. Things have settled back down now, and for the last couple of weeks I have been trying to get my strength back to where it was before I took a 2-3 week hiatus for my wedding and honeymoon. It was incredible and everything was beyond our expectations. We had a blast at our reception - several people came up and said how it was the most fun they had ever had at a reception before. I think the awesome live band we had there made it that much fun. They are a cover band that can play pretty much everything. The lead singer is a good friend of mine, so as a surprise for Kera, we had practiced a couple of songs together so I could get up in front of everyone and sing to her. My brother is a hell of a dancer, so in memory of the King of Pop, he made a collaboration of 4 Michael Jackson songs (Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Billy Jean, Beat It, & Thriller) and did the dancing moves from the music videos. It was hilarious. He even dressed up like him LOL. Then for the honeymoon we went to Bora Bora, Tahiti for a week. You know how you see postcards or advertisements and you know the water in the pictures are photoshopped to look so blue? Not here...the water was so crystal clear you could see your toes while being neck deep in the ocean. We did all kinds of things while we were down there, and as soon as I get some of the pictures loaded up on the laptop, I will share some.

Beyond that, I've just been spending the last couple of weeks settling back into things and trying to get my strength back up to where it was before we stopped. I've been feeling really good the last couple of days and my strength is almost completely back. It's a good thing muscle has a good memory I've got some good numbers to use for the next progression we will do. Tonight I have a heavy leg day to cap off the power workouts...a few more days of hypertrophy work and I'll start back up a progression.

I'm also officially in "contest prep" mode as I am currently dialing in my nutrition and incorporating a little cardio to start to prepare for the diet. When it's not tax season, I don't have very active days for the most part, so calorie wise I sit pretty low. It's time to get the activity going again and boost the cals up so I have room to play with when I need to drop cals. I'm really focused on bringing an all time best to the stage this year and I'm kind of excited to see the improvements I've been able to make over the last few years. I'm hoping that I can top out the light heavyweight class with striated glutes...which means I will have needed to put on a good 8-10lbs of muscle (very doable over 3 years). So this next year is my year - I've been waiting for it patiently and now it's time to get back on stage and see the fruition of my hard work. One thing is for certain, I'm very focused right now. I know there will be guys with better structure, better muscle density, better symmetry, more vascular, etc. But, if they want to win, they are going to have to bring their "A" game in all areas because I am simply not going to be outworked - you can take that to the bank!

Some notables over the last couple of weeks:

BB Incline Press - 315 for 5 reps (almost back to where I was)
DB Incline Flys - 100s for 10 reps
BB Pendlay Rows - 315 for 8 reps
Rack Chins - +200 for 5 reps
EZ Skull Crushers - 170 for 5 reps
BB Decline Close Grip Bench - 315 for 5 reps
EZ Preacher Curls - 140 for 5 reps
DB Standing Curls - 70s for 9 reps each arm
DB Walking Lunges - 120s in each hand for 10 steps each leg
Hack Squats - 16 Plates for 5 reps

So that's about where I am at now - I have a little bit more time left to get just a little bit stronger before the diet starts, so it's time to get all I can get and then hang onto as much of it as possible before the shredding starts.

So let us begin...

Sporto

 

[Quinc]

Congrats! looking forward to following along. Your logs always make for good motivation. I'd say good luck but you don't need it!

 

[Sporto]

Congrats! looking forward to following along. Your logs always make for good motivation. I'd say good luck but you don't need it!

Hey...we can all use a little luck! Especially when guys like Doug Miller are who I have to go up against!!!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Leg Day

Good ol' heavy leg day Man, I gotta say that legs are probably the most uncomfortable burn out of any other muscle group...I mean, not only does the actual burn itself hurt, but you got the blood rush from top to bottom that makes you feel light headed for a couple minutes following a hard set as well! We were going to start off with A2A Squats today. I did ok...problem is, I get a really bad pain in my upper hips (t-band area). I handle the weight fine, explode out of the hole fine, and then when I get to the top of the lift, my t-bands are in a lot of pain. I was able to bust out:

BB A2A Squats: 455 for 5 reps

But, when I tried to bump the weight up, the pain was too much. Oh well, there are plenty of other exercises that can get the job done. Next, we hit up hack squats. My strength is finally back to where it was before the hiatus - I managed to get:

Hack Squats: 8 plates each side for 5 reps

I tried to throw on a 25 to each side and maybe do it for a double/triple, but it was a little much for this point in time as my legs were pretty tired lol. Then we bounced over to the straight leg deadlifts. Now, I normally call these a SLDL/RDL hybrid because my knees are just barely bent, but it KILLS my glute/ham area so that's what counts. I was able to bust out:

BB SLDL/RDL Hybrid: 475 for 5 reps; 495 for 4 reps

Feeling good at this point! Strength is SO close to where it was. Then to get an overall thigh movement, we did some DB walking lunges. Holy hell. I finally graduated to the heaviest dumbbells that the gym carries. Pretty soon, I'll have to figure somthing else out or just buy my own dumbbells to have there! Here I got:

DB Walking Lunges: 125s in each hand for 8 reps with each leg, 8 reps each leg

Talk about your lungs being on fire! Those sets literally took the life right out of me! It took me a few sets of seated calves to recover from those death sets...calves went just fine though. Using my tempo, I was able to get:

Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 8 reps, 6 plates+20lbs for 6 reps, 5 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The stack+45 for 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

To top off the workout, we added 1 set of 8-10 reps with a single leg quad extension, a standing single leg curl, and our very own glute exercise we do on the abductor/adductor machine. My legs are pure toast - in a good way though

Ah, it feels great to get back to (or at least close to) where I was. I have one more final push before the real journey begins...

Off day from weights tomorrow...just some light cardio to get the activity level up. Nothing big and not doing HIIT yet, just some moderate intensity, good sweat, good circulation...you get the idea.

Sporto

 

[jumpshot903]

Very nice detailed log im deffinately following love whatching contest prep logs.

 

[oufinny]

Subbed, looking forward to following along on the journey. BTW, you move some CRAZY weights Sporto!

 

[triplewhammy]

Tommy, what supps you using these days?

 

[Sporto]

Chest & Back Hypertrophy Day

I will normally not post an update on a cardio only day, which yesterday happened to be, so with that being said I will move right into today's workout. The day started off a little frustrating - I had to have a tire special ordered for my car, took it a week to get in, and when it finally did, it took the people at Sam's Club about 2 hours to get my car in and change one tire LOL. Then I headed straight to the one of the top golf courses in Indiana for a round of 18. It was beautiful out for it being November and I wasn't letting it go to waste! I shot pretty decent - 93 - had some incredible drives and greening a couple of 330+ par 4's. My chip shots are getting better, and the speeds on my putts are a lot better enabling me to 2-putt most holes. I'll be spending the better part of the spring next year working on the iron game! So, after the round, I was pressing for time since we got caught behind a slow 4-some...so I rushed home, pounded 2 scoops of Vaso in about 5 seconds (holy beta alanine tingles batman!) and headed off to the gym. Today was hypertrophy work for chest and back. Normally on these days I aim for top work sets of 8-10 reps or so. First up was good ol' dumbbell incline press...my strength is finally back! I was able to rep out:

DB Incline Press: 125's for 13 reps, 10 reps

My endurance lacked a little on that second set, but that's ok. They were strong sets and I felt it right where I wanted it to. After that got the blood flow going, I headed over to the t-bar station. I was in a zone at this point! I geared up for the first set...

T-Bar Rows: 4 plates + 25lbs for 10 reps; 5 plates for 12 reps!

The first set felt a little lighter than usual, so I threw on 5 plates and was able to rep out a couple more reps. Hey, sometimes I surprise myself! Next, we headed back over to the incline to do some flys. Oh what a day...

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 8 reps; 9 reps

I decided to push it a little bit because I was feeling really good at this point. For the second set, I had a buddy of mine come over and get hype in my face for the set. It looked a little silly, but I got an extra rep, so what the hell. THen we hopped over to some hammer strangth equipment for the next back exercise. Energy was good at this point (thank you super xtend!) and had another couple of monster sets...

HS Unilateral Lat Pulldowns: 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 10 reps, 4 plates for 8 reps

Cheers! Here's to making weak points strong ones! It was incredible...my workout partner helped a tad on rep 8 with the 4 plates for the final squeeze and when he let go, the initial pull felt like it tore the lat a little (in a good way!), but I still lowered it a good 3-4 seconds as always. I always concentrate on slow eccentric on hypertrophy days - that's where most of the cellular damage occurs! back over to chest, we hopped on the Machine for some more flys...

Machine Flys: 290 for 8 reps, 290 for 4 reps

The thing was, I didn't really get the right setup for a good feel on this exercise. It was using too much shoulder no matter how much I was keeping my shoulder blades pinched together. So I hopped off and did a different machine to finish out the set. We then tried something a little different...we walked over to the seated row machine for some more back. I haven't used this machine in a while! But that didn't stop me...

Machine Seated Rows: Stack (300 I think) for 10 reps; Stack + 25lbs for 8 reps

What a great feel in the lower lat area! Hopefully that bottom part of the Christmas Tree will really thicken up and look sick when I diet down! Back over to chest, we finished up on a machine that mimicks a most muscular pose. I have no idea what to call it, but that's essentially what it does LOL.

MM Machine Flex: 140 for 10 reps; 150 for 10 reps

It's just a little different from the cable crossovers, which I am sure we will go back to at some point...we just wanted a little change of pace. Last exercise to finish it all up was the hammer strength plate loading pullover machine. I love ending the workout with this exercise - it KILLS! Time to keep pushing the envelope!

HS Machine Pullovers: 6 plates + 50lbs for 12 reps; 8 plates for 8 reps

Strength tailed off towards the end, but it still made for an awesome workout! Things seem to be firing on all cylinders again. I almost snapped a few pics tonight at the gym towards the end, but I forgot to before we left. Ah well...maybe next workout! I'm going to make a few phone calls tonight and then try to hit the sack early. My legs still ACHE from 2 days ago! They always recover in time for the next workout it seems like, but damn they ache for at least a couple days!

Weight is still hovering around 225 - I plan on nailing nutrition and recomping here until the diet officially starts...god I can't wait....

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Very nice detailed log im deffinately following love whatching contest prep logs.

Thanks! I'll try to make it as interesting as possible!

Subbed, looking forward to following along on the journey. BTW, you move some CRAZY weights Sporto!

Thanks! It's been an accumulation of progressive overload over 12 years! I wasn't always this strong, but I knew if I kept hammering away that one day I would get there eventually!

Tommy, what supps you using these days?

In a nutshell, Just about everything from Scivation, Primaforce, & USP Labs...

I mean I don't take the entire lines of products, but I stick to those 3 brands to cover all my bases...

Sporto

 

[Trig]

haha

 

[Sporto]

haha

LOL!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Shoulders & Arms Hypertrophy Day

What a day yesterday...the strength is completely back in a lot of areas now - THANK GOD! What a drag that is not being at full strength, it can really play mind games with you! But, there isn't a single thing right now that can shake my focus...I went into the gym yesterday and initiated an attack on the right flanker of the dumbbells (where all the heavy ones are at lol). First exercise was as expected, I was feeling good and the set proved it...

DB Seated Military Press: 110s for 10 reps, 8 reps

A great start!

DB Standing Alternating Curls: 70s for 9 reps, 8 reps

One thing is for sure, my endurance is jsut about back to where it was! Normally after one all out heavy hypertrophy set, my endurance drops at least a couple of reps for the next set, but here I busted out close to what I did for the first set.

BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 305 for 8 reps, 8 reps

These felt alright. I'm not going to lie, they are pretty tough to do after doing a couple of all-out shoulder sets since they are used a bit during those sets. It's funny too, because once they fail, they FAIL. I mean, I will cruise through 6 reps like nothing, and then all of a sudden my triceps just disappear! LOL

DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises: 50s for 8 reps, 8 reps

My rear delts are feeling stronger all the time. I am finally able to get these 50s up for 8 reps without it getting trappy. It's such a relatively small muscle group, that it's hard to bump up the weight 5lbs on each side with the dumbbells...so you really have to be patient with this one.

DB Single Arm Preacher Curl: 50 for 10 reps, 9 reps

I'm starting to really like this exercise. On this particular one, I try to take as much forearm out of the movement as I can by leaving my wrist bent in the opposite direction that it does when doing a wrist curl. Hard to explain, so maybe I can get a video of this...

EZ Skull Crushers: 160 for 8 reps, 8 reps

All weights that I report with the EZ bar are assuming that the bar weighs 20lbs. I think it weighs 22lbs because technically it's a 10Kg bar, but I just call it 20lbs and call it a day. So that makes this exercise having a plate and a 25 on each side. I leave it here because any heavier and my elbows feel like they will tear off the bone! It's bad enough throwing a 5 on each side for power days!

Machine Rear Delt Raises: 215 for 10 reps, 220 for 8 reps

This one is basically done on a machine that is also what we use for Machine Flys on chest day...you just sit in the opposite direction and use the rear delts. This is a great machine to use to concentrate on the eccentric part of the lift...those dumbbells get awfully heavy after a few reps to try and lower them slow! LOL

DB Incline Curls: 45s for 10 reps, 9 reps

This is another exercise I am really starting to like. The way you lift against gravity gives this a great feel (and different from your typical bicep exercises) and the pump afterwards is just sick. I also try to keep the wrists bent to take the forearm out of the movement so it is as much bicep as possible. By this time, I am starting to ge a litle fatigued, but one more exercise to go!

Machine Tricep Extensions: Stack for 10 reps, 10 reps

I like this machine over the rope extensions now because I get a much better feel and squeeze from it. It's a great way to top off a shoulders/arms workout as well, and by this time I was ready for my post-workout shake and some kareoke in the car on the way home.

Now it's Monday, and it just so happens to be leg day. While all the other bros in the gym will be doing bench on National Chest day (which is what Monday is), I will be in the power rack trying to develop some sick *ss legs to bring on stage. So don't mind me, I'll just keep to myself, have Disturbed screaming in my ears and be lifting some heavy weight...

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Legs & Calves & Abs Hypertrophy Day

Is it leg day again already? Damn...lol. I must say that I was actually happy with today's workout. I was a little leary about my t-bands still being sore, so to start off the workout, we went over to the leg press to SLOWLY warm up and see how it felt. I ended up taking about 6-7 warm up sets, slowly adding weight each time, stretching between each set, etc. and by the time the weight got up to as many plates as the leg press could hold, I was ready to do some work sets and the t-bands felt ok! So I ended up doing...

Hip Sled/Leg Press: 22 plates for 10 reps, 10 reps

It was weird..about rep 3 or 4 on each set, it looked like I was about to fail and just give up the set. But, I didn't. I ended up getting all 10 reps for each set - what a way to start a workout! And how do you continue a great workout? LUNGES! So, I went and grabbed the heaviest DBs the gym has and set them up for my sets...

DB Walking Lunges: 125s in each hand for 8 steps each leg, 8 steps each leg

I really wanted to try and get more than 8 steps each leg, but hell, after the leg press, there just wasn't enough left in the tank. On the scond set, my last steps for each leg about gave, so I knew it was all I had lol. After those DEATH sets, We went and did a few isolation exercises to top off the workout...nothing major, just some extensions, curls, and a weird looking exercises that KILLS the glutes...

Machine Single Leg Extensions: 140 each leg for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Standing Single Leg Curls: 80 each leg for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Adductor Glute Squeeze: Stack + 45lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps

Other than that, we did our normal calf routine - one seated raise and one standing raise to get both gastroc and soleus activated. The seated raise I have room to move up in weight, but with the standing raises I may have to start doing them on a leg pressor something. Anyway, with my tempo of course (and yes, they are cows now! I'm working on turning them into bulls!)...

Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The stack+45 for 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Nice! And last, but definitely not least, we finished of the workout with some ab work. Nothing fancy, because nothing fancy is needed Just a couple weighted sets of 2 different exercises I like...

Weighted Ab Crunches: 80lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Leg Raises+Hip Lifts: 20lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps

Other than it hurting to BREATHE, it was a nice finish. I'm back now, finishing up my shake: 2 packets of oatmal + 2 scoops of whey - MONEY! I've got some emails to do, a couple of phone calls, one more meal, and then it's time to hit the sack (after a good rogering of course!)

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Great log Tommy. I appreciate the detail that you provide. Recently, I have been employing Layne's Power/Hypertrophy split.

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Chest & Back Day

This is great - I feel like I am at just the right body fat level to continue to slowly recomp, get stronger and maintain close to where I am at now. I feel good in the gym, my energy is up all day, I'm hitting my macros, getting stronger...things are just flowing right now. I'm in the preverbial zone and my focus on the stage is still as strong as ever. First up, the incline bench press to start off the heavy stuff...

BB Incline Press: 315 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 4 reps + 1 negative; 365 for 2 negatives

For whatever reason, we just decided to throw in some negative work on this exercise. I always go on feel each and every workout. This just felt right, so we did it LOL. Started off great, this is just about where my strength is going to hold steady, so I will progress from here. For back, we hit up some heavy rack chins (mainly to keep lower back out of at least one heavy movement - one of the perks of rack chins).

Rack Chins: 200 for 5 reps, 220 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps

Yes, we got some weird looks loading up 2 100lb dumbbells and a 20lb dumbbell in my lap, but hey, I'm trying to improve my back here! It felt better than I thought it was going to! By the time we were done with these, my lats felt a couple inches wider on each side lol. From there we went right back over to the incline for some flys...

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 8 reps; 8 reps

No other exercise burns the living hell out of my chest like this exercise does. I love it. I go super slow on the eccentric, more precautionary than anything, and a set of 8 takes about as long as a set of 12-15 lol. Still, I can feel every fiber of the pec working on each set....which is exactly what I'm after! Afterwards, we headed ove to the power rack for some Pendlay's!

BB Pendlay Rows: 315 for 8 reps, 325 for 8 reps

The first set at 315 was flawless and just ripped apart my back...no trap shrug, no upright movement, just simply lat flexing. It was great! The next set though, I started to tire out about rep 4 or 5 and the last few were a little jerky - still felt it good in my back where I wanted, but the form was a little sloppier than pristine. It was still effective enough to get the job done though! To wind down the workout, we walked over to the hammer strength equipment...

HS Wide Chest Press: 4 plates each side for 8 reps; 4 plates + 25 each side for 7 reps and 1 negative

Again, didn't have quite enough in the tank for the last rep on the last set, so I had my workout partner help me up with it about half way and I just turned it into a negative. No biggie THat actually kind of fits right into max strength work anyway. Last up for back, we stuck with the hammer strength...

HS Lat Pulldowns 4 plates each side for 8 reps, 7 reps + 1 negative[/B]

That's when you know you're out of gas! Again, just quite didn't have enough for the last rep of the last set, so it became a negative rep...a great way to end the lift! Ah, but the workout wasn't quite over - remember, a LONGER muscle is a STRONGER muscle...

DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 80s for 60 seconds
Machine Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 45lbs for 70 seconds

For the chest stretch, we just take some dumbbells, hold them in the fly postition and let the weight stretch the chest as deep as possible. For the back, we strap in the pulldown machine, add some weight to the stack, and then bring our legs under the pads and let the weight pull for about a minute. Let me tell you, it's an incredible way to end a workout!

I'll be at the OCB Midwest States again this year, so for any of you that lurk in here and happen to attend the show, be sure to find me and say hi!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Great log Tommy. I appreciate the detail that you provide. Recently, I have been employing Layne's Power/Hypertrophy split.

Sure thing! How do you like that split so far?

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Sure thing! How do you like that split so far?

Sporto

I am seeing solid and consistent results from PHAT. However, it is a radical departure from traditional HIT/Mentzer routines I have used. Whatever the case, I am consistently getting bigger/stronger. I love it!

In your older logs provided a lot of insight regarding the framework for the program (volume for Power and Hypertrophy AND Power day progressions). What form of overload do you employ on your Hypertrophy days (volume, density, load etc.)?

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Shoulders & Arms Day

I was looking forward to today - Paul (fltallpaul) is in town and and we will be leaving here tomorrow to head up to Dekalb for the OCB Midwest States - Pauls' final pro-qualifier. I'm really looking forward to it as it will be my 3rd year in a row attending the show! As for today, a nice little shoulder and arms heavy day - LOVE IT! Strength is back and in full force - the first exercise proved it to me!

Smith Seated Military Press: 305 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 315 for 3 reps

Ah...finally! I was wondering when these would be back to full strength! That just set the tone for the rest of the workout. I decided to try and push it for each of the exercises today. heading over to the Preacher Curl, I turned up the heavy music and went for a PR...

EZ Preacher Curls: 145 for 5 reps, 155 for 5 reps, 4 reps

That was a first for me! Wow - NoelFuller would be so proud that my 14" arms could lift this kind of weight! Huh...who would've thought? Now, my triceps were a little cooked from the pressing on the smith machine, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! Let's go for another PR...

EZ Skull Crushers: 175 for 5 reps, 5 reps; 185 for 4 reps

Ouch! I mean...in a good way! There's nothing like being in a zone, nailing nutrition, and jsut feeling like everything is working together! After I took a breather form all the max strength work, we walked over to the incline bench to do some rear raises. It's going to be hard to keep going up in weight on these, so I will probably be at these weights for a while...

DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises: 50s for 8 reps, 8 reps

No biggie - just a couple sets of 8, jsut trying to make sure the form is good and the rear delts are burning! Now, onto the death sets! It always seems like there is one exercise that feels like pure death and on this day, this is it! I was able to bump up the weight though and break another PR!

DB Standing Alternating Curls: 75s for 8 reps, 7 reps

Welp, I was cashed after these sets. In fact, I wasn't really able to do much with the close grip bench, also because of the heavy military presses, but still. The reps went down a tad here, but they were still good reps..

BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 305 for 7 reps, 6 reps

Again, once they started to go, they were completely gone! We were still feeling good at this point, so we added on a couple of sets of 8 with another auxiliary exercise for each muscle group to finish off...


DB Lying Incline Curls: 45s for 8 reps; 50s for 8 reps
Machine Rear Delt Raises: 220 for 8 reps, 230 for 8 reps
Machine Tricep Extensions: Stack + 25lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps

Ah...and finally done. I walked out of the gym feeling euphoric, drinking my post-workout shake, and ready to call it night. Another day of training and nutrition in the books - every day is going to count from now until I stand on stage again. Paul got here and we took a couple of back shots - mainly because I wanted to see what it looked like. I was actually surprised, I think I looked better than I thought I was going to - which is a good thing! I'll see if I can get the pics from his camera and load them up here...

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

I am seeing solid and consistent results from PHAT. However, it is a radical departure from traditional HIT/Mentzer routines I have used. Whatever the case, I am consistently getting bigger/stronger. I love it!

In your older logs provided a lot of insight regarding the framework for the program (volume for Power and Hypertrophy AND Power day progressions). What form of overload do you employ on your Hypertrophy days (volume, density, load etc.)?

Nothing fancy at all at the moment...just basic 8-10 rep ranges, with maybe one top working set on each exercise to failure and the rest 1 rep shy and just constantly trying to beat the last workout's numbers.

Nothing special!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

A few progress pics - I'm ok with these...I just wanted to see what my back looked like at this point. I'll have to compare these to some older pics to see any differences. Posing needs work!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Nothing fancy at all at the moment...just basic 8-10 rep ranges, with maybe one top working set on each exercise to failure and the rest 1 rep shy and just constantly trying to beat the last workout's numbers.

Nothing special!

Sporto

Nice. That is similar to what I have been doing. Your advice about stopping shy of failure prior to top working set is golden. Honestly, this has worked wonders for me while using PHAT.

What are your personal thoughts regarding post-workout nutrition?

 

[Sporto]

Nice. That is similar to what I have been doing. Your advice about stopping shy of failure prior to top working set is golden. Honestly, this has worked wonders for me while using PHAT.

What are your personal thoughts regarding post-workout nutrition?

Personally, I just worry about getting in protein and carbs. Period. Everyone else out there can worry about all the GI, insulin spike, and blah blah blah. I either drink or eat protein+carbs. Then, I carry on with the rest of my day. I still grow just fine when I'm in the offseason, I still lose fat jsut fine when prepping for a show, and I sleep easier at night knowing that I don't stress out about the details that hardly make a sh*ts worth of difference

Hope that helps LOL

Sporto

And holy hell! I just noticed how huge my calves look in these pics! I mean, I never really paid attention to how well they were growing these last couple of years, but after implementing my calf tempo to all my calf exercises, these suckers have exploded! I look like I have fat man calves!

 

[spiderduncan]

I don't stress out about the details that hardly make a sh*ts worth of difference

:deal:

Thanks. I agree. My football coach in college use to say, "Don't get paralysis by analysis!" More often than not, I have to repeat this mantra to myself. Thanks.

I look like I have fat man calves!

Great adjective! While on the topic of calfs, I have been using a pseudo "sporto tempo" pause of 2 in the stretch position with my Donkey Calf raises.

Lastly, may I ask you some more questions regarding your interpretation of PHAT?

 

[Sporto]

Lastly, may I ask you some more questions regarding your interpretation of PHAT?

Certainly! Ask away!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Certainly! Ask away!

Sporto

Ok, when you said, "...maybe one top working set on each exercise to failure and the rest 1 rep shy and just constantly trying to beat the last workout's numbers."

Did you mean...?:
A. Failure on first set, 1 rep shy of failure on remaining sets.
B. Or the converse. 1 rep shy on work sets, with failure saved for last set.

From what I have read, you will say that progress over time is the biggest factor, but a guy just has to know.

 

[Sporto]

A quick update! This won't be much of an update because of the time I will be spending with my family over the next few days, but when I get back, I will start right back up - along with a new progression. The last couple of days, the internet was down at my house, for some reason, so I am just going to post the last three workouts as I remember them and then start back up with the commentary Sunday! The week went well - broke some PRs and had great workouts - just a few more days logged in on the road to the stage...

Chest & Back Hypertrophy Day

DB Incline Press: 125's for 14 reps, 12 reps
T-Bar Rows: 5 plates for 12 reps, 10 reps
DB Incline Flys: 105s for 10 reps; 9 reps
HS Unilateral Lat Pulldowns: 4 plates for 8 reps, 6 reps
Machine Flys: 290 for 10 reps, 290 for 9 reps
Machine Seated Rows: Stack + 45lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps
MM Machine Flex: 150 for 10 reps, 10 reps
HS Machine Pullovers: 6 plates + 50lbs for 12 reps, 10 reps

Shoulders & Arms Hypertrophy Day

DB Seated Military Press: 110s for 11 reps, 9 reps
DB Standing Alternating Curls: 75s for 9 reps, 8 reps
BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 305 for 9 reps, 9 reps
DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises: 50s for 10 reps, 10 reps
DB Single Arm Preacher Curl: 55 for 9 reps, 8 reps
EZ Skull Crushers: 165 for 9 reps, 9 reps
Machine Rear Delt Raises: 215 for 10 reps, 10 reps
DB Incline Curls: 50s for 9 reps, 8 reps
Machine Tricep Extensions: Stack + 25 for 10 reps, 10 reps

Legs & Calves & Abs Hypertrophy Day

Hip Sled/Leg Press: 22 plates for 10 reps, 10 reps
DB Walking Lunges: 125s in each hand for 8 steps each leg, 8 steps each leg
Machine Single Leg Extensions: 140 each leg for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Standing Single Leg Curls: 80 each leg for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Adductor Glute Squeeze: Stack + 45lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps
Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The Stack + 70lbs for 10 reps, 9 reps, 8 reps
Weighted Ab Crunches: 85lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Leg Raises+Hip Lifts: 20lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps

I hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving has a wonderful and safe holiday! And you better be ready to come back after the weekend and crush it again!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Ok, when you said, "...maybe one top working set on each exercise to failure and the rest 1 rep shy and just constantly trying to beat the last workout's numbers."

Did you mean...?:
A. Failure on first set, 1 rep shy of failure on remaining sets.
B. Or the converse. 1 rep shy on work sets, with failure saved for last set.

From what I have read, you will say that progress over time is the biggest factor, but a guy just has to know.

I would recommend A over B - that's what I do!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Certainly! Ask away!

Sporto

Are your heavy days, the same as power days on PHAT? If so, do you still employ progressions based upon your 5RM?

Do you have a general strategy for overload on Hypertrophy days (example - increase load when predetermined number of reps has been achieved etc.)?

What are you thoughts on rest between sets?

Since starting PHAT I have continued to gain strength, despite working out with more volume and greater frequency. Is there a point of diminishing returns when it comes to volume, or should one strive to increase volume?

Happy Thanksgiving!:veryhappy:

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Chest & Back Day: 70%

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over (and I am still full from all the food!), it's time to get back on the macros and workout regime. I roughly 228-230 at the moment, and plan to just slightly lose/recomp here for a while and focus on getting stronger in as many areas as I can before the plunge of the contest diet starts. After a few weeks of going all out on power days, Ryan, John and myself felt it was time to start working in the progression and give the CNS a break. It was a nice change of pace and made for a great workout!

BB Incline Press: 225 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

The sets go up as intensity goes down. We kept the sets moving with not much rest in between the sets other than the other person going for their set and switching the weights. We focused on form above all, explosion during the concentric, and control during the eccentric. It's an excellent combo - I highly recommend it!

Rack Chins: +85lbs for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

We played around with the angle a little on this one yesterday so that it was a little more upright. I felt it a bit more in the outer part of the lats, so we will keep the angle where it is at for the remaining time we do this exercise.

HS Wide Chest Press: 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 8 reps; 3 plates + 35lbs each side for 8 reps - Sporto Tempo

Here we dropped the weights a bit so we could focus more on form and squeeze in the appropriate rep ranges. It really fits right into our 70% day rather well, so we may do these with our auxiliary sets on the sub-max days from now on.

BB Pendlay Rows: 275 for 8 reps, 285 for 8 reps

Very strict and controlled reps! Upper body didn't move an inch during these and my back was on fire afterwards. I deloaded each rep, but I made very rep count! It's about impossible to do these with a slow eccentric unless you are using light enough weight to do so, but I have found that the weight you need isn't enough to do what I need the weight to do during the exercise, so I just control it down the best I can (sort of like DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises)

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 8 reps; 8 reps - Sporto Tempo

This is one of those exercises I normally do slow anyway just to be careful with the amount of weight that I use for these. These are usually done with my tempo anyway, so I just used the amount of weight I knew I could get in these rep ranges. Nothing makes every fiber of my chest hurt more than this exercise right here!

HS Lat Pulldowns 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 8 reps, 8 reps - Sporto Tempo[/B]

Again, dropped the weight here and went for a slow and controlled tempo, especialy on the eccentric. By this time, this particular weight was feeling heavy - I was able to do the sets with my tempo though and finish out the workout nice and strong!

DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 80s for 60 seconds
Machine Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 45lbs for 60 seconds

It's funny, these feel easy the first 15 seconds or so, and by the time the last 15 seconds hit, they are extremely tough and pretty painful! Then, you release from the stretch and as the blood all goes back to the limbs, you feel like a million bucks again. It's a weird minute and a half, let me tell ya! LOL

I hope everyone had a great holiday for those who celebrate it! It's time to get back on track and hit this last part of the year with al cylinders firing!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Are your heavy days, the same as power days on PHAT? If so, do you still employ progressions based upon your 5RM?

Do you have a general strategy for overload on Hypertrophy days (example - increase load when predetermined number of reps has been achieved etc.)?

What are you thoughts on rest between sets?

Since starting PHAT I have continued to gain strength, despite working out with more volume and greater frequency. Is there a point of diminishing returns when it comes to volume, or should one strive to increase volume?

Happy Thanksgiving!:veryhappy:

1) Yes, heavy is just the word I used instead of power.
2) Yes, I just now started back up the progressions.
3) Generally, when I can hit all sets at the top of a rep range, I increase the weight
4) Rest until you are ready to do the next set 100%. I don't time myself or get caught up into that. As long as you aren't wasting time talking or other things like that, it's a moot point.
5) Possibly a point of diminishing returns...you don't want volume to get too high though as it will mess up the balance. You will then have recovery issues more than likely and stall on alot of things. Just find that right balance, and keep it there. No need to fix something that isn't broke!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Shoulders & Arms Day: 70%

A bit of a long day today...had to wake up much earlier than I normally do to drive 1.5hrs away and shoot some commercials for my tax office for the upcoming tax season. Then, I spent some time there running some errands, visiting with my dad, and drove 1.5hours back home to catch a late workout. I don't always have the greatest workout after a long day of driving, but this was an exception It seems like Vaso+geranium extract is quite the magic fairy dust!

Smith Seated Military Press: 215 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

These felt pretty good - it's really nice giving the CNS a break. THese almost served as a heavy warmup of sorts for the auxiliary lifts. Good pump, blood flow, and form. Ryan and I worked back and forth pretty quick between these sets and then moved right over to the Preacher Curls...

EZ Preacher Curls: 105 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

Again, good control with the light weight. Nice and smooth - feeling each rep contract! Nice and slow eccentric and some good explosion up. Damn, by the time we hit our 4th set of these, it starts to get a little tough! We then hopped over to the flat bench with the EZ bar and set up for some skull crushers.

EZ Skull Crushers: 125 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sport Tempo

I thought these would be a little tough on the elbows to lower down slow, and the first set or two were a little tender, but as the elbows warmed up, it was a piece of cake. Sporto tempo the rest of the way! By this time, my arms were looking veiny and massive LOL that's a first for me! Especially tipping the scales at about two hundred and thanksgiving pounds!

DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises: 55s for 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps

Ok, I will admit that after the first set, the reps got a little sloppy after about half way through. I really just wanted to see what the 55s felt like. I was able to get the first set in really solid (made the rear delts burn to all hell!), but that set about gassed them out. I refused to go down in weight and instead just repped out the last few of the latter two sets the best I could. Still got a good burn though!

BB Standing Curls: 145 for 8 reps, 8 reps, 7 reps

These were money! I ended up doing 9 on the second set, but I know Ryan helped with it, so I'm just counting the 8 reps I got on my own. My biceps are coming along as good as they can. I will never have the nice baseball peak at the top of my biceps due to my poor insertion levels into the elbow, so I will have to make up for it with size! 20 inches here I come!

BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 305 for 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps

I was REALLY happy with these! I do believe that was the first time I got all sets of 8 with that weight! Time to bump the weight up next time and get these triceps to feather some more! I want those Jeff Rodriguez triceps at about 30lbs heavier on stage

A great workout...I've got a long night of emails to catch up on now that Thanksgiving is over with - so for those of you lurking, I will get to all emails tonight before bed! As for the rest of you - KEEP CRUSHING IT!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

For some odd reason, I did not consider this before. On power/heavy days, do you use a quick tempo (explosive concentric, quick but control eccentric) or do you maximize the eccentric load with a slower tempo? If the later, what tempo would you ascribe to? (the post above hints at slow eccentric - just want to be sure)

(I usually come to USP labs forum to read your logs...but apparently I have to spread around the reputation before I give more to sporto - sorry)

 

[Sporto]

For some odd reason, I did not consider this before. On power/heavy days, do you use a quick tempo (explosive concentric, quick but control eccentric) or do you maximize the eccentric load with a slower tempo? If the later, what tempo would you ascribe to? (the post above hints at slow eccentric - just want to be sure)

(I usually come to USP labs forum to read your logs...but apparently I have to spread around the reputation before I give more to sporto - sorry)

1) On power days of 70% and 80%, I use an explosive concentric followed by a 2-3 count eccentric. On days of 90% and 100%/PR, I try to explode as best I can with the heavy weight and then just control it down the eccentric (not trying to resist it to a 2-3 count). Does that make sense?

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Leg Day: 70%

Today was a real test for the t-bands. I spent a good deal of time warming up with light weight, stretches, and a simulated foam roll on a medicine ball. It seemed to do the trick as I had a lot less pain that before...so that's good news! For this block though, I'm focusing on some exercises that will give them a little break. For starters, we ended up deciding on the old SLDL/RDL hybrid to kick things off...

BB SLDL/RDL Hybrid: 345 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

My lower back was really feeling it even though this was light weight. It's really getting hammered with a lot of the exercise choices we've made lately. I think it will be fine, it was just getting fatigued really fast today and the SLDL/RDLs didn't help with that LOL. Still though, by the time the 4th and 5th set rolled around, the blood was moving and I was feeling good and loose. Now for the real test - to see how the t-bands feel on the hack squat...

Hack Squats: 5 plates + 5lbs each side for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

To my surprise, they actually felt good! I really think those simulated foam rolls helped! I took my time warming up slowly and by the time I hit the weight I needed to use, they were still good to go! Now, normally I would just do 3-4 sets of DB walking lunges after these, but I don't want to push it too much - gotta let the t-bands heal as much as they can and stop flaring up (which that exercise really nails them), so I jsut did a couple sets of some isolation exercises that I would normally do on hypertrophy days...

Machine Standing Single Leg Curls: 70 for 8 reps, 80 for 80 reps - Sporto Tempo
Machine Seated Single Leg Extensions: 130 for 8 reps, 140 for 80 reps - Sporto Tempo

Not bad, I kept the form slow and controlled and really just focused on the squeeze in the rep range I wanted. Sometimes you just gotta do what you can do! A couple of quick supersets later and I was ready to hit my calves...er, cows...

Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 8 reps, 6 plates+20lbs for 6 reps, 5 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The stack + 90lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps

I feel like my cows are really getting stronger...I'm constantly trying to push them to the limit like I do everything else so that when I turn around and it back poses, they really POP out with some density and definition. Only time will tell! Speaking of, how about some weighted ab stuff to get them to really thicken up and POP out when I get leaner???

Weighted Ab Crunches: +90lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Leg Raises+Hip Lifts: +25lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps

I raised the weight a little bit for these, but kept the form just as strict as I always do. Damn, these really take the breath out of me! Literally! It hurts to breathe for a good 10 seconds when I finish each one of these!

Another solid workout in the books...I'm back on my macros and ready to start trimming off this Thanksgiving blubber I picked up Tipping the scales about 230 right now. I don't look it, but it's only because I hide my blubber really well

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

1) On power days of 70% and 80%, I use an explosive concentric followed by a 2-3 count eccentric. On days of 90% and 100%/PR, I try to explode as best I can with the heavy weight and then just control it down the eccentric (not trying to resist it to a 2-3 count). Does that make sense?

Sporto

Crystal clear! Thank you.

In general, what repetition scheme do you employ on Hypertrophy days?

 

[Sporto]

Chest & Back Hypertrophy Day

Today was a very interesting (and entertaining) day! I was actually in Terre Haute for the morning getting stuff done at the office to get it ready for the season...nothing big, just all the little details to make sure we start of the season smooth. Weather was crappy, so when I was out and about running errands, there were a lot of just grumpy people everywhere. The weather tends to do that. That, and unemployment is way up, so normally half these people would have jobs LOL. Anyway, I decided to lift at a different gym in Indy for some different scenery (well, there was one other reason, but I won't get into that lol). It was a good change of pace. I met up with the workout partners and we started off to blast chest and back...

DB Incline Press: 125's for 15 reps, 12 reps

Nothing like starting off the workout with a PR Today was a little different...I had some extra motivation going into today's workout and was just feeling like today was going to be a strong workout. That's the most I've ever incline pressed the 125s (the heaviest DBs the gym has). I would have like to have stayed in the 8-10 rep range, but I am just working with what I got right now. I've got a few things on the Christmas list that will help with these though, so we will have to wait and see what Santa brings LOL

T-Bar Rows: 5 plates for 8 reps, 5 plates + 10lbs for 8 reps

Now, because I went into a higher rep range on the previous exercise, I decided to stay in the 8-10 rep range here and lean towards the heavy side. I couldn't remember what I did last time, so I jsut started off with 5 plates. When I got to eight, I knew I had more in the tank, but I wanted to bump up the weight for the next set, so I just racked it to see what I could get for the second set. Set was solid and the back was lit up after this.

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 10 reps; 10 reps

Again, I was on a mission today, so I aimed to better the last workout...which I was able to do by 1 rep. Hey! Don't laugh! It counts! Now that I have the form, tempo, and range of motion down on these, they KILL my pecs...I love it!

Machine Seated Lat Pulldowns: Stack + 25lbs for 10 reps, Stack + 45lbs for 10 reps

This gym didn't have the Hammer Strength Equipment that I was used to using at my normal gym, so we just did the standard seated lat pulldowns as a filler. I got some weird looks adding the plates to the stack, but I gotta do what I gotta do! Those machines need more weight!

Machine Flys: Stack + 25lbs for 10 reps, Stack + 45lbs for 10 reps

This machine was similar to the one at my old gym, so we went ahead and used it. The weight was lighter though, so I needed to add weight to the stack to hit my rep ranges...the weight looks deceiving as I write it, but it's very similar to what I was doing at the other gym.

Machine Seated Rows: Stack + 50lbs for 10 reps, 8 reps

This was the same exercise we had at the other gym and the weight felt about the same as well. I started incorporating a deeper stretch at the start and really activating my traps and rhomboids during the first part of the lift to get the most out of it. It really lit up my back more than normal, so that's a plus!

Cable Crossovers: 110 for 10 reps, 10 reps

They didn't have the weird most muscular flex machine, so we just did some cable crossovers as another filler exercise. Nothing fancy, Just good form, squeeze and hitting a rep range. It was a nice last set for chest though, I haven't done those in a while!

HS Machine Pullovers: 6 plates + 50lbs for 10 reps, 8 plates for 8 reps

I really tried going for it on the last set there with 8 plates loaded up, but by about the 6th and 7th rep, my lats felt like they were going to detach, so it was best to just call it a night LOL. Except, we still had fascia stretches LOL

Chest DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 85s for 56 seconds
Back Machine Lat Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 90lbs for 60 seconds

I couldn't remember what I did last time for the chest, but I could only hold the 85s for 56 seconds before I let them down as I started to feel it in my shoulder a bit. So to be safe, I just laid them down. The back stretch was easy with just the 45 last time, so I added another one and it reall hurt my wrists from the straps more than anything. I may have to think of another way to do this...

Very solid. The new scenery helped and it was nice to get into a different gym for a change. Tomorrow we are going to try and lift a little early, which is nice because NO ONE is at the gym on a Friday LOL (except the people who really want it). Hope everyone had a good evening and we will pick it right back up tomorrow!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Crystal clear! Thank you.

In general, what repetition scheme do you employ on Hypertrophy days?

I keep most sets in the 8-10 rep range with a few in the 10-12 rep range. A couple sets here and there to total failure with the majority 1 rep shy. Pretty simple, pretty basic, pretty effective!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Shoulders & Arms Hypertrophy Day

So...my phone broke last night at the gym - that's only the 5th phone I've gone through this last year LOL. Anyway, I had insurance this time and they are overnighting me one tomorrow - bad thing was I had no music to listen to for today's workout. I didn't let it effect my intensity, but it was a little harder to keep things moving and to gear up for sets though. Hopefully I will get it sometime tomorrow before the leg workout!

DB Seated Military Press: 115s for 8 reps, 7 reps

I really wanted to see where I stood on the 115s for this exercise. They are about right on par with what I thought they would be. I will probably use these from now on until I can bust out 10 reps...

DB Standing Alternating Curls: 75s for 10 reps, 8 reps

These are so tough for me...I was able to get 1 more rep than last workout on the first set, but the second set remained the same. Still, though, 1 rep is still progress! THe pain in the biceps stuck for about 5 seconds after the lift LOL...I was getting wierd looks because of the grimace on my face after the set!

DB Skull Crushers: 60s for 10 reps, 10 reps

A little change of pace here. We decided to try something different here and it turns out I really like this exercise! We performed these in the exact same way we do the EZ bar skull crushers, only we are holding dumbbells. The burn was a lot deeper! This is definitely a keeper for hyper days from now on!

Machine Rear Delt Raises: 215 for 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

I felt like just finishing out shoulders with this one exercise for 4 sets. I'm able to really control the weight on the machine through the eccentric part of the lift, so on hyper days, I may just stick to this exercise and leave the db reverse incline rear raises to being a power auxiliary exercise.

DB Single Arm Preacher Curl: 55 for 10 reps, 9 reps

Again, the pain after this exercise stuck for a good five seconds afterwards...It's kind of a good pain in a masochistic kind of way Anyway, I was able to best this set by yet another rep - hopefully that means progress in the bicep area and getting these 14 inch arms to grow! LOL

Rope Extensions: 200 for 10 reps, 10 reps

Just for a change of pace, kept a little lighter intensity exercise in the mix today to focus on form and squeeze. I hadn't done these in a while, but got what I wanted out of them no less.

DB Incline Curls: 50s for 10 reps, 8 reps

This is probably my favorite bicep exercise right now - I love the way gravity works during the range of motion on this one. I upped the reps another one here as well, but they quickly faded in the second set - at this point they were definitely CASHED!

Machine Tricep Extensions: Stack + 25 for 10 reps, 10 reps

Last exericse to top off the workout - nothing fancy, just a good machine exercise for the triceps to work on form and squeeze. Actually, after the db skull crushers, these were a lot mroe difficult than before...which says something about the db skull crushers!

So far so good...the intensity was still there, but I REALLY missed my music today! Hopefully I will have some for tomorrow...I can't imagine trying to go all out on a heavy leg set and not have Disturbed screaming in my ear Gonna take the wife out on a date tonight and then hit up some emails. Until tomorrow...keep crushing it!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Chest & Back Day: 82.5%

Another day in the gym without any music...this sucks! I can tune out the bogus fitness center music just fine, but I would rather have the kind of music I like to listen to depending on my mood. Anyway, lots to do tonight, so I will get right to it.

BB Incline Press: 265 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

Again, on both 70% and 82.5% days, I use the Sporto Tempo for my reps. Works well here and helps get a little more out of the lower intensity sets.

Rack Chins: +145lbs for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

We kept the angle to be more upright (and will ocntinue to do so) so that it mimicks more of a lat pulldown/pull up than a row. Great feel here, got some weird looks, but got done what I needed to get done. These lower intensity sets at that tempo really get the blood flowing in those areas...I mean, at this point I was looking rather large in the mirror (of course the excellent lighting helps too lol)

HS Wide Chest Press: 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 10 reps, 10 reps - Sporto Tempo

Here I kept the same weight and opted for a few more reps with the slower tempo. I'm trying different little things with this exercise each time to see how certain things feel. I went with a little wider grip on these today and got a little better burn in the chest. I will probably stick with that...

BB Pendlay Rows: 325 for 8 reps, 8 reps

Very powerful reps. My two sets were nearly identical. Reps 1-7 were with no upright body movement and great squeeze, and then on rep 8 I lifted a little just to complete the rep. These are getting stronger...hopefully that will translate to a more denser back when the time comes.

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 10 reps; 9 reps - Sporto Tempo

I was really gearing up for the first set here because I was trying to get it on video, but the camera had no battery left. No worries...just ended up doing the most ever reps with this weight and had my pec muscles cramp a little after the set. No big deal No strain on the shoulders either...which is a good thing with that kind of weight!

HS Lat Pulldowns 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 10 reps, 4 plates each side for 8 reps - Sporto Tempo[/B]

I wasn't sure how these were going to feel, but after I did the first set for 10 reps with a very slow tempo, I bumped up to 4 plates and gave it all I had. Sure enough, I'm was able to get 8 reps with a slow tempo and got that deep burn that Ron Burgandy talks about If people would have heard me counting, they would have known I did over a thousand...

DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 85s for 60 seconds
Machine Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 90lbs for 60 seconds

As always, a nice way to finish a chest/back workout...by this time, I was pretty euphoric and ready to head home. Got a lot of things to do today and tomorrow to help get ready for this weekend - our first of many christmas celebrations.

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Shoulders & Arms Day: 82.5%

Finally got my phone back today...I hate being without my phone! On top of that, Ryan let me borrow an iPod for some music until I can either find mine or buy a new one. So the day was off to a good start in spite for the HORRIBLE weather. Also, my mood was up from my high dose Vitamin D3

Smith Seated Military Press: 250 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

These are feeling strong...I didn't struggle near as much using the Sporto Tempo with this intensity level as I did the last time. I really think I might set a PR here on 100% day.

EZ Preacher Curls: 125 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

These are feeling better every time I do this. I've really been doing my homework on how to effectively and optimally train the biceps and they really have come a long way. Now, I know I will never have great peaks because of factors outside my control, but hopefully I can make up for it with size.

EZ Skull Crushers: 150 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

This is by far the toughest exercise to use the Sporto Tempo on LOL. The first set always feels like my joints are going to snap in half! But after they warm up more, the last set or two is just fine. It's always that first one though!

DB Reverse Incline Rear Raises: 55s for 8 reps, 8 reps

After a couple of sets here, my shoulders were starting to fatigue. I do get some good burn right in the area I want, but I know the reps are a little sloppy towards the end of the set. I use really strict form on the machine rear delts, so I really believe I'm getting in a good mix of work to add size and detail in this area.

BB Standing Curls: 155 for 7 reps, 6 reps

I nice little PR here by 2 reps! The last time I attmepted this was when I took a video of me doing this 5 times. I decided to see what I could do with this weight now and was able to get 2 more reps tha before. PROGRESS!

BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 315 for 7 reps, 7 reps

Here I bumped up the weight as well. I can't remember if I've ever done this weight for this many reps, but either way, it really nailed my triceps in a good way. Thing is, my form must be really good because I don't feel this in my chest or my shoulders like some claim they do. Mine is all in my triceps, and damn do they get fried!

DB Incline Lying Curls: 60s for 8 reps, 7 reps

Here, I bumped up the weight even more to stick this in a certain rep range. By this time I was feeling good, so I used 10lbs more in each hand than I've ever used before. I was still able to bury 8 solid reps and receive the nice torture of the burn immediately following!

Cable Rope Extensions: 220 for 8 reps, 230 for 8 reps

Nothing fancy here....I added some weight to try and work on progressive overloead for some growth. Pretty soon, I should be doing the stack with these...but baby steps for now, especially at the end of a workout!

Good stuff today...finally got my BCAAs re-stocked and rocked out a few scoops during the workout mixed with some G2 and some other goodies. Ever since I have been using Super Workout ****tail, my workouts have been nothing short of AMAZING!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

I keep most sets in the 8-10 rep range with a few in the 10-12 rep range. A couple sets here and there to total failure with the majority 1 rep shy. Pretty simple, pretty basic, pretty effective!

Sporto

Yeah, from everything I have read about your lifting philosophy, is progressive overload over time = results. Looking back, I would have to say that I have spent a good amount of time, being progressive in spurts...due to impatience etc.

Ok, are you ready for a few more questions?

1. You mentioned the rep range above and have said previously that you go to failure on the first set, and one rep shy on remaining sets. At what point do you increase the load? :think:
a)When failure set exceeds top of rep range goal?
b)When sets following failure reach top of rep range?

2. I have followed the general template of the PHAT for two cycles now, progressing on power days over the period of 6 weeks. However, I have been contemplating a change in muscle group pairings.

Hypertrophy Day 1 - Chest, Biceps and Front/side delts
Hypertrophy Day 2 - Quads, Hams and Calves
Hypertrophy Day 3 - Back, Triceps and Rear delts

My goal was in this split:
a)Maximize antagonistic pairings without having to resort to a chest/back pairing.
b)Increase focus upon arms.

What are your thoughts/recommendations? :shrug:

Thanks Tommy!

BTW-I picked up Lyle's The Stubborn Fat Solution. Aside from the picture on the cover, he mentions you a lot in the book.

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Leg Day: 82.5%

Today was a MUCH better leg day...and probably the best leg day I've had in a while due to my IT-bands bothering me. Well, the massage therapy really helped! I had 30 minutes of work done on just the areas I needed it. Got to the gym, hopped on the bike, and felt loose enough that I didn't need it. Started to foam roll, same thing. Started to lift, stretched in between sets, and by the time I got to the Hack Squats, I had no pain. I had tension/strain, but no shooting pain like before...so I ended up being able to do lunges again which is very important to me. So let's start it off...

BB SLDL/RDL Hybrid: 405 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

These felt just fine on the legs, but my core didn't exaclty loosen up until the last set. I mean, it wasn't painful, just stiff. Since I was going slow with the Sporto Tempo, I was able to feel if something was going to tweak or not. No tweak, legs felt good, so I was off to the hack squat...

Hack Squats: 6 plates + 25lbs each side for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps - Sporto Tempo

I'm not going to lie, this was pretty tough to do with the Sporto Tempo, but I sucked it up and got it done. I think mentally too I was just "aware" that I might have pain, so I could have been distracted from the set a little mentally. But, to my surprise, no shooting pain. It's like, I could feel it stretch and strain a little, but no sharp pain. Thank God. This meant I was going to push it and do some lunges, which I have been missing for a couple of weeks now...

DB Walking Lunges: 125s in each hand for 9 steps each leg, 9 steps each leg

Finally...no pain! Now, this doesn't mean I stop here and just do massage therapy before a leg workout (which I am going to continue to do), but I am still going to work on correcting the root of the problem. I will soon be working with a chiropractor to see what all may be causing this (in addition to all the things some of you have posted for me to look into - which is much appreciated!). But, thankfully, I am back to lunges. After 2 sets, I was getting the good ol' fashioned feeling of the muscle tear (in a good way) all over the glute/ham area. That's exactly what I needed! To take a break and a breather, we did some calves...

Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 8 reps, 6 plates+20lbs for 6 reps, 6 plates + 30lbs for 5 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The stack + 90lbs for 10 reps, 9 reps, 8 reps

By this time, my calves literally felt twice as big with the blood pump I was getting...I was walking a little funny after the sets when going over to get a drink of water. The weird looks were worth it though...I've got work to do! And now, for the fun part of it hurting to breathe...

Weighted Ab Crunches: +95lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Leg Raises+Hip Lifts: +30lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps

Bumped up the weights a bit again and found my groove...I will probably be here for a bit for some solid weighted ab work...really hammered the core with these and felt really good after the 10 seconds post set when my stomach was stinging lol

Well, I'm excited...back to walking lunges without pain, so no more losing ground to my competition in the glute/ham department - because nothing fries that area for me like that exercise! It will be nice to see some development progress when I shed off the blubber in my ghetto booty...

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Yeah, from everything I have read about your lifting philosophy, is progressive overload over time = results. Looking back, I would have to say that I have spent a good amount of time, being progressive in spurts...due to impatience etc.

Ok, are you ready for a few more questions?

1. You mentioned the rep range above and have said previously that you go to failure on the first set, and one rep shy on remaining sets. At what point do you increase the load? :think:
a)When failure set exceeds top of rep range goal?
b)When sets following failure reach top of rep range?

2. I have followed the general template of the PHAT for two cycles now, progressing on power days over the period of 6 weeks. However, I have been contemplating a change in muscle group pairings.

Hypertrophy Day 1 - Chest, Biceps and Front/side delts
Hypertrophy Day 2 - Quads, Hams and Calves
Hypertrophy Day 3 - Back, Triceps and Rear delts

My goal was in this split:
a)Maximize antagonistic pairings without having to resort to a chest/back pairing.
b)Increase focus upon arms.

What are your thoughts/recommendations? :shrug:

Thanks Tommy!

BTW-I picked up Lyle's The Stubborn Fat Solution. Aside from the picture on the cover, he mentions you a lot in the book.

1) I think both (a) and (b) are both applicable here...and I would typically go by feel. You are going to be the best judge on when to push the envelope. I will say that the majority of the time that I do progress is when (a) happens. But, if (b) happens before (a), I would progress as well.

2) I think that split will work just fine dude - tweak the volume as you go based on how it feels and you will be good to go. Remember, the split is more personal preference...it's the balance of the volume/intensity/frequency that will determine the results!

It makes me very happy that I was able to add to your success through my journal and answers to your questions. That's why I am here! We are all in this together trying to be the best we can be. Keep grinding away and you will no doubt get the physique you want!

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Chest & Back Hypertrophy Day

BB Incline Press: 275 for 10 reps, 285 for 9 reps, 295 for 8 reps
T-Bar Rows: 5 plates + 10lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps
DB Incline Flys: 105s for 10 reps; 10 reps
HS Lat Pulldowns: 4 plates each side for 8 reps, 8 reps
Machine Flys: Stack for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Seated Rows: Stack + 50lbs for 8 reps, 8 reps
MM Machine Flex: 170 for 10 reps, 10 reps
HS Machine Pullovers: 6 plates + 70lbs for 10 reps, 8 reps
Chest DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 85s for 60 seconds
Back Machine Lat Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 90lbs for 60 seconds

Since I am trying to keep within certain rep ranges, and the gym only goes up to 125lb DBs, I switched over to BB Incline Press to get what I needed. I haven't done these for 8-10 reps for a while, so this was kind of nice!

Shoulders & Arms Hypertrophy Day

DB Seated Military Press: 115s for 8 reps, 7 reps
DB Standing Alternating Curls: 75s for 10 reps, 9 reps
DB Skull Crushers: 65s for 9 reps, 8 reps
Machine Rear Delt Raises: 220 for 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps
DB Single Arm Preacher Curl: 60 for 9 reps, 8 reps
Rope Extensions: 230 for 8 reps, 8 reps
DB Incline Curls: 60s for 8 reps
Machine Tricep Extensions: Stack for 10 reps

Took a couple of quick pictures at the gym today - they were taken with my phone, so not the best quality, but at least it gives you an idea of what kind of condition I am maintaining at 225-230lbs:

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

Dude! Your side chest shot displays some quality thickness. I hauled my wife over and stated, "...and he is clean!"

 

[spiderduncan]

It makes me very happy that I was able to add to your success through my journal and answers to your questions. That's why I am here! We are all in this together trying to be the best we can be. Keep grinding away and you will no doubt get the physique you want!

I appreciate your input greatly. Thanks again.

Ok, I have been reviewing your entries from this log and have been wondering. Have you dropped the power movement (3x10@50%) from your Hypertrophy days (I hope that makes sense)? If so, I am curious as to why?

 

[Sporto]

Legs & Calves & Abs Hypertrophy Day

This workout was dedicated to a discussion that really hit me a certain way and brought out the best in me. The discussion was over the apparent progress one can make after the inital growth phase one goes through when first getting into working out. It was over an article that Dr. Joe wrote and discussed in a different thread. There are some things I like to "agree to disagree" with and this is one of them. I simply refuse to place any limit on what I can accomplish. I WON'T DO IT. I don't care how many people way smarter than me say that I can't still achieve the best gains of my life even though I have been lifting a long time. I don't care. I will continue to perservere, I will continue to pour my heart out into the gym, and I will continue to try and perfect my physique in every single possible way that I can. I refuse to believe that the road that lies ahead is a road of diminishing returns. I believe my best years of training, along with my best ever possible physique is yet to come...so with that, I went out to ANNIHILATE some previous bests...

BB SLDL/RDL Hybrid: 455 for 9 reps PR!



Hack Squat: 14 plates for 12 reps PR!



Machine Leg Extensions: Stack for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Single Leg Curls: 90 for 10 reps, 10 reps
Machine Adductor Glute Squeeze: Stack + 45lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps
Seated Plate Loading Cow Raises: 6 plates for 10 reps, 9 reps, 9 reps
Standing Machine Cow Raises: The Stack + 90lbs for 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Ab Crunches: 95lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps
Weighted Leg Raises+Hip Lifts: 25lb DB for 10 reps, 10 reps

Sorry guys, I am just not convinced that my best years are behind me. Mine are still yet to come...

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Dude! Your side chest shot displays some quality thickness. I hauled my wife over and stated, "...and he is clean!"

Thanks for that!

I appreciate your input greatly. Thanks again.

Ok, I have been reviewing your entries from this log and have been wondering. Have you dropped the power movement (3x10@50%) from your Hypertrophy days (I hope that makes sense)? If so, I am curious as to why?

I dropped that movement...yes. No reason other than it really didn't serve a purpose for me...

Sporto

 

[Sporto]

Heavy Chest & Back Day: 90%

Big Layne was in town with his wife...they spent the night with my wife and I since they were leaving from Indianapolis really early to go on their vacation. It was great to see them again and hang out for a while. I talked to Layne about a lot of things, I just hope he gave me the right advices Anyway, I'm just trying to squeeze in some workouts here before the holidays hit pretty hard. Things are continuing to rock and roll and I am hoping to carry this momentum into the new year!

BB Incline Press: 290 for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps

These felt solid and smooth for 90%...I was going to determine the volume here by feel since the weight is getting pretty heavy, but the first 2 sets went up without much struggle at all, so I did the normal 3 sets here.

Rack Chins: +180lbs for 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps

These, as always, felt incredible. Again, I have altered the angle to be slightly more upright to hit more of a pulldown movement and I feel that these just crush my lats! Bodyweight plus 225lbs here I come!

HS Wide Chest Press: 3 plates + 25lbs each side for 10 reps; 4 plates each side for 8 reps

Just a decent auxiliary movement. I focus more on tempo and squeeze here. I've bumped up to five plates before, but I lose the mind-muscle connection when I do that, so I will keep this exercise in the auxiliary range and focus on the squeeze.

BB Pendlay Rows: 325 for 8 reps; 315 for 8 reps

As you've noticed, I dropped back down to 315 for my second set here. I have done 325 with really strong reps before, but today I just wasn't feeling it. I think the heavier rack chins today took a little more out of me than usual, so I had to bump it down to 315 for set 2. The first set was to "trappy" with the pulls off the floor. With 315 though, the reps were solid and it right where I wanted them to.

DB Incline Flys: 105s for 9 reps, 8 reps

I will let the video speak for itself:



HS Lat Pulldowns 4 plates each side for 8 reps, 8 reps[/B]

By this time, my lats were toast. I did what I could here and moved on to the fascia stretching...

DB Fly Fascia Stretch: 85s for 60 seconds
Machine Pulldown Fascia Stretch: Stack + 90lbs for 60 seconds

And...I'm spent! Had dinner with Layne and Isabel, hung out for a bit at the house, and had a great time!

Heavy Shoulders & Arms Day: 90%

Worked out at the Greenwood LA Fitness today. I had a lot of things during the day that I had to take care of, and for some reason, developed a migraine headache around 3 o'clock that continued well into the workout. Now, I am the type of person that gets a headache (always a migraine, never a small one) about 2-3 times a year. I never take medication unless it is just making me sick, dizzy, etc. I decided to lay off any ibuprofen and just let my body take care of it - which I honestly feel like that's a big reason why I hardly ever get sick or anything. Anyway, sure enough, I was struggling during the beginning part of the workout, but byt the time I got towards the second half of it - the migraine was completely gone

Smith Seated Military Press: 270 for 5 reps, 5 reps

This Smith Machine was a little different than the ones we've been using. It also felt a little heavier...but we made do with what we had and got our work in.

EZ Preacher Curls: 135 for 5 reps, 5 reps

C'mon biceps...grow for me! They felt like what 90% is supposed to feel like, so we will see how the next power day goes.

EZ Skull Crushers: 160 for 5 reps, 5 reps

Again, felt pretty solid...took my time working up to it though to make sure the elbows were ready to go. A couple of solid sets...byt this time the headache was working itself out.


BB Standing Curls: 160 for 6 reps, 165 for 5 reps PR!

I decided to bump up the weight a little and do what I could:



BB Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 315 for 8 reps; 325 for 6 reps

No headache = bump the weight! Triceps are making solid progress, so why stop? I think I was more happy my headache was completely gone than anything else though lol

DB Incline Lying Curls: 60s for 8 reps, 7 reps

Looks like the 60s are here to stay...solid sets here and nothing but all out BURN!

Cable Rope Extensions: Stack for 8 reps, 8 reps

Just a solid workout finisher before my post workout shake and a drive home. With the holidays coming up, my journal might be a little hit and miss, but I will try to post as much as I can (mine starts early now that I have 4 families lol). I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Sporto

 

[spiderduncan]

I simply refuse to place any limit on what I can accomplish. I WON'T DO IT. I don't care how many people way smarter than me say that I can't still achieve the best gains of my life even though I have been lifting a long time. I don't care. I will continue to perservere, I will continue to pour my heart out into the gym...

This would be the singular reason why some become champions and others become spectators. A steadfast resolve overcomes many an obstacle. :deal:

Thanks Sporto!