Sergio Merino USP Labs Log

Awesome workout today despite getting stuck with the thick bar in the gym. Got an awesome pump in the upper body and finished strong. Happy with the increase in reps on underhand pressdowns and uneven pushups. Elbow started to act up during incline dumbbell and still feeling a bit of pain, tomorrows a HIIT day so it should be all good after tomorrow.

Flat Bench w/ thick bar- 6 sets
Incline DB - 4 sets
Uneven Pushup - 3 sets
DB Extension - 4 sets
Underhand Pressdown - 3 sets
 
Looking good in here Sergio. Sometimes it's good to switch up to that thicker bar for a change anyway - I love change!
 
Awesome leg workout, legs were fried by the end of the workout and had a killer pump. 8 days out!!!

Squat - 6 sets
Leg Ext - 4 sets
Hack Squat - 3 sets
Step Ups - 2 sets
Standing Calf Press - 4 sets
 
Peak week started up as of yesterday.
Feeling pretty solid even with cals being dropped down other than energy being a bit up and down. Hitting it hard so I plan on bringing my best this saturday and its just gonna get better in 2.75 weeks at the Yorton.
 
Last day in the gym today. Going to spend tomorrow resting and starting the carb up. I'll be updating with pics on saturday. Its almost go time!
 
Update
Weighed in 146.6 on their scale, was 145.6 this morning on my scale. Felt as though I could have been a bit tighter, more pumped up, and vascular, which happened about 10-15 minutes after getting off stage.
CT Lightweight: hearing 1st place all the way from a competitor i know who is competing, would not blow smoke up my a** but said it would be very hard to see me placed second.
Open Lightweight: 2nd or 3rd, the first place guy was insane, awesome conditioning, symmetry, and muscularity. So its a toss up between me and the other guy, I think I got him on presentation and symmetry, but he might outmuscle me and we got similar conditioning so we'll see what the judges go for.
Pics will be loaded up tomorrow and I'll update once I get home before going out.
 
Trophy #2
 

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You look like you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar, LOL!

Other pics??

Lol, she caught me off guard.
They're on my fiancee's computer, as well as videos I have to upload to youtube of the awards and judging for the overall CT title. I'll post them after I get out of class tonight.
 
Good posing dude, very fluid & polished looking. You're a very smiley guy aren't ya? That's a good thing bro, I'm not knocking ya. Always been my weak point - I don't like smiling in the first place, let alone when I have to.. you make it look easy tho. Nice work.
 
Good posing dude, very fluid & polished looking. You're a very smiley guy aren't ya? That's a good thing bro, I'm not knocking ya. Always been my weak point - I don't like smiling in the first place, let alone when I have to.. you make it look easy tho. Nice work.

Thanks man. I always get complimented on my posing cause I make it look easy, if only people knew how much it sucked holding it, lol.
 
Peak week #2 officially underway. Have definitely tightned up a bit more. Was posing at gold's last night in their aerobics room (even had angled overhead mirrors to be able to check your rear poses) and after a quick pump up definitely noticed some changes, vascularity in the middle of my chest, small veins begininng to run through my quads, and vascularity in the middle of my upper back, hams have tightened up a bit as well.
Got some more pics from the show here

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My pics start at the 2nd to last picture on the bottom of page 3. Hitting double posing sessions. No-one is going to out pose me this saturday.
 
OCB Nationals
Placed last in each of my classes but I came in at my all time best. I got tons of comment on my awesome posing, symmetry, and balance.
Post contest eats were amazing. Went to Glory Days after the show and got down on 2 pieces of corn bread, a philly cheese steak w/ sweet potato fries, bbq chicken quesadillas, and the warm molten chocolate lava cake. Next morning, had a bacon, egg, and cheddar from au bon pain w/ a scoop of whey. Lunch was 2 scoops whey with peanut butter, pudding style. Dinner, had a sunshine roll along w/ some fried ice cream and 2 empanadas my fiancee brought me. Got hungry later on and decided to split a chicken club panini with a piece of tiramisu with my fiancee.
Today, basically got back on the diet other than dinner after my flag game (schooled a couple of 190+ lb dudes on the line).
The one thing I really miss on my diet is my peruvian food, so I took my first trip to a local peruvian restaurant and got my favorite dish, lomo saltado (steak w/ tomato and onion, baked french fries, and rice), washed it down with chicha marado (some type of juice, and i don't like to drink cals but this was an exception). And i'm only up 3 lbs :)

I weighed in around 142 on friday, never weighed myself after that, either way its time to gain some serious lean mass.
The plan of attack
1. Diet year round!
Off-season nutrition must be kept under control and the only difference will be larger portions as I begin to reverse diet and increase macro's as needed. Without a doubt keeping lean will only make the next cut much easier.

2. Train hard and heavy with intensity!
Going to hit every workout with an insane amount of intensity. Planning on using a split from Joe that looks pretty intense and should slap on some lean mass.

3. Use a killer USP stack (AP, PF, Prime, Jacked, Super Cissus and P-Slin) to keep fat gain minimal and increase lean body mass.
Currently off of Prime for 2 weeks. Will start back up after next week. Powerfull, I'm cutting out the pre-workout dose of 3 caps for 2 weeks but still keeping in 2 caps pre-bed for the deep sleep.

Macros are currently @ 60 g fat, 150 g carb, 200 g protein. My body took quite the beating tonight so I am not sure what I will train tomorrow. I'll listen to my body and go off of what feels freshest.
 
N'tls are tough dude, for sure. Great job on finishing strong..

Question: you list your current macros @ 2000 cal/daily. I know you want to stay lean this off-season, but is this enough to fuel the growth you're looking for?
 
N'tls are tough dude, for sure. Great job on finishing strong..

Question: you list your current macros @ 2000 cal/daily. I know you want to stay lean this off-season, but is this enough to fuel the growth you're looking for?

Not planning on keeping the macros there, just trying to let my body adjust back to a normal intake from the freebie meals of this weekend. As weight stabilizes, macro adjustments will take place to fuel growth.
 
11/18 - Chest & Arms

Crushed it today! Had the most mind blowing pump ever, arms felt ready to explode they were so pumped. Workout included flat bench press, incline db press, incline flies, cable curls, rope press downs, and a hammer curl/dips super set. Finished it off with a 10 min cool down on the treadmill.
 
11/19 - Legs

Solid leg workout today, took a bit of a hit in strength over the past 3 weeks, but my legs gain strength back very easily. Did leg extensions, squats, leg curls, db lunges, and seated calf raises followed by a 10 min cooldown on the bike.
 
11/20 - Back & Delts

Awesome workout today, rest of my body is sore as hell. Really focusing on form over just moving the weight like I have in past off-seasons, definitely feel it will make a huge difference especially for my back, need to grow me some wings! Kicked off the crushfest with underhand pulldowns, t bar rows, rope pulldowns, db shoulder press, and a front lateral raise superset w/ seater lateral raises. Delts were on fire. Did a 10 min cooldown on the treadmill.

Tomorrows a rest day but going to do a small hiit session, 5-8 sprints, depending on how the legs feel.
 
11/21 - Cardio & Abs
Weight - 144.8

Went in and did some light cardio (legs are experiencing some serious DOMS) to get some blood flowing to my legs then did some various ab/serratus/oblique work

15 minutes on recumbent bike
16 sets for abs (15-20 reps)
 
11/22 - Chest

Legs are still sore as hell so decided to start off the 5 day with chest. Felt strong as hell and had an insane rock hard pump going. Hit up flat bench, incline dumbbell, incline dumbbell flys, and uneven pushups to failure followed by a 10 min cooldown on the treadmill. I really miss my pre-workout stims but I needed the break, can't wait to get Jacked. 21st birthday this weekend, going to keep things under control and hopefully my friends won't try feeding me drinks all night, lol, still gotta train tomorrow morning before heading to the casino!
 
11/23 & 11/24
Killer workouts both days, even without my usual pre-workout stims i've been getting pretty jacked up for my workouts. Had an awesome workout the morning of my birthday, even after the night I had, must have been the glycogen increase from my cold stones cake, lol. Day of my birthday, indludged a bit on fried calamari, some pizza, and sushi, one day won't kill me. Back @ it today (other than some coldstones with my fiancee after my flag football game). Definitely killed it in the gym both days.
Did hammer curls, close grip curls, 1 arm cable curls, stiff leg deads with separate cables, leg curls, and crunches. Next day was side laterals, incline delt presses on the smith machine, upright rows, front rasies, close grip tricep press downs, lying bar extensions, and 1 arm rope presses.

11/25
Solid leg workout today even though my body is pretty beat up from last nights game. Definitely slowly gaining back the strength i lost and hitting the desired rep ranges pretty easily.
Leg extensions, squat,s leg press, and step ups.

11/26
Great workout, had a killer pump in my back by the end of the workout and was psyched about hitting deads for 15 on my first set. Did wide grip pulldowns, bent rows, 1 arm cable rows, deads, and standing calf presses.

11/28
Weight: 145.8
Waist: 29.5

Sick workout today, made gains across the board and was in the zone. Started up Prime and Powerfull after a 2 week lay off. Leg extensions, squats, leg curls, db lunges, and seated calf press.
 
11/29 - Chest & Arms

Awesome strength gains from last weeks workout. Left bicep was feeling really awkward during chest movements and rope pressdowns when I was returning the weight stack to the starting position. Probably just sore and will pass. Hit up flat bench, incline db press, incline flys, cable curls, rope press downs, and a hammer curl/dip superset. Thought the rep range for hammers were 8-10 so when I remembered it was 12, tried making up for it on the last set and ended up killing the 25's for a set of 16. Finished up with a few hiit sprints, tear drops were on fire especially after yesterdays leg workout.
 
I suck at updating, lol.

11/30
Went in and killed it today. Kept things moving quickly and made solid gains on every exercise, especially db shoulder presses.

Underhand Pulldown - 3 warms, 140/6/6/5
T Bar Row - 2 warms, 125/10/10/8
Rope Pulldowns - 1 warms, 105/10/12
DB Press - 2 warms, 65/6/6/6
Front DB Raises - 15/11/10/10
super set w/
Seated Side Laterals - 10/11/10/10
Crunches - 20/20/20/20

12/2
High rep death workout. Legs were so pumped i could barely get in the starting position for leg press and almost busted my ass on the last set of step ups. Made some awesome gains in reps.

Leg Extensions - 1 warm, 85/10/10
Squats - 145/20/15/15/15 (65 total)
Leg Press - 1 warm, 500/12/12/12
Step Ups - 30/12/12/10
Knee Raises - 20/17/15/15

15 min on treadmill @ 4% incline and 3 mph.

12/3
Had a paper and powerpoint to finish before 1:30 so kept the workout short. Got a killer pump in the chest and had some freaky shoulder veins coming through. 10x10 sounds a lot easier than it actually is, but then again, my bench sucks, haha.

Flat Bench: 1 warm, 145/10/10/10/10/10/8/8/7/8/6

12/4
Gains just keep coming. Couldn't fit a 5 lb on the cable row so i had to jump up 10 lbs but still killed it. Really solid workout and wrapped it up with 5 sprints.

WG Pulldown - 3 warms, 120/6/6/5
Bent Row - 2 warms, 135/8/8/8, drop set
1 Arm Cable Row - 40/12/12/10
Deads - 195/15/15
Standing Calf Press - 3 warms, 215/12/15/15

warm up, 5 sprints on the bike, cool down
 
Crushed, Smashed, Demolished, absolutely killed it in the gym today. I took last weeks numbers and destroyed them, no sloppy reps what so ever. The pump I had going was ridiculous while intensity and focus were sky high. Definitely feel Prime and the Asteroid stack kicking into full effect and just getting into my 3rd week on it. The crazy thing is I decreased the amount of BCAA's i take from 12 scoops to 2, and i didn't even bother to add beta alanine and creatine back in.

Hammer Curls - 2 warms, 40/6/6/ Left-5 Right-4
Close Grip Curls - 2 warms, 55/8/8
1 Arm Cable Curls - 20/12/12
Stiff Leg Deads w/ Separate cables - 2 warms, 110/9/8/10
Leg Curls - 2 warms, 65/10/10
Crunches - 2 sets for upper and 2 sets for lower

6 min cooldown on the treadmill
 
Awesome workout. All the movements felt very solid and reps were in control the entire workout, really focused on stretching the delts at the bottom of the movement with incline delt presses. Shoulders and arms are a weak point imo so I'm hitting them with everything I got.

Side Laterals - 3 warms, 25/6/5/5
Incline Delt Press on smith machine - 1 warm, 125/8/8/8
Upright Rows - 1 warm, 60/12/12/12
Front Raise w/ plate - 35/10/10
Tricep Press close grip - 3 warms, 120/8/8/8
Lying Bar Ext - 1 warm, 55/10/11/11
1 Arm Rope Pressdown - 40/12/10

10 min cool down on arc trainer
 
12/9 Chest & Arms
Solid workout today. Pretty satisfied with how strength is progressing especially on bench press. Holding off on legs until tomorrow. Think I pulled something last night but it doesn't hurt all the time so I figure I should be good to go by tomorrow.

Flat Bench: 3 warms, 190/5/5/5
Slight Incline DB Press: 1 warm, 65/10/9/8
Incline Fly: 1 warm, 35/12/12
Cable Curl: 2 warms, 90/10/10
Rope Pressdowns: 2 warms, 115/9/8
Hammer Curls: 30/11/10/10
super set w/
Dips: bodyweight/12/11/11

12/10 Legs
Awesome workout today. Definitely pulled something in my calf because when i got into the starting position for leg extensions I had a shooting pain in the top of my calf, but i still did it anyways. Killed the rest of the workout and still gaining strength on squats. Nailed my knee into the ground on my 16th step for lunges but gutted out another 4 steps. Skipped on calf presses because of the pain, hope with another 2 days rest it will have passed.

Leg Extensions - 1 warm, 90/10/10
Squats - 3 warms, 265/5/5/5/5
Leg Curls - 2 warms, 85/6/6/5
DB Lunge - 1 warm, 45/10/10
 
Killer workout today. Made some good jumps in weight and hit my target reps. Threw in a drop set on db shoulder press, my legs were so sore I couldn't kick up the db's to the starting position by my 3rd set.

Underhand Pulldown - 3 warms, 145/6/5/5
T Bar Row - 2 warms, 125/10/10/10
Rope Pulldowns - 1 warm, 107.5/12/12
DB Press - 2 warms, 70/6/4, 50/8
Front DB Raises - 15/12/10/10
super set w/
Seated Side Laterals - 10/12/10/10
Leg Raises - 15/12
Crunches - 30/30

10 min cool down on Arc Trainer
 
DA-MN!!Jacked is the truth. Been off of stims, creatine, beta alanine, and arginine for the past 4 weeks so I was really able to tell what this product can do. Took 3 scoops with 3 powerfull (been taking this for the past 2 weeks so I now what effect this has on my focus and mind-muscle connection) about 15 minutes pre-workout, taste reminds me of diet sprite. 10 minutes into it, I felt the energy aspect full throttle on the drive to the gym, I was amped to crush some legs. I could barely rest between sets on leg extensions. I was ready to crush some heavy squats but my glute-ham tie in and inner quads were telling me hell no, some serious doms on the negative so I went with high rep squats (I normall have 3 days rest between squat sessions but I only had 2 this time around), I noticed I was catching my breath much quicker and there was not as an intense burning sensation as usual. I was crushing it so hard my legs were twitching by the time I hit the 8-10 rep mark on my last 2 sets. Workout was completely fast paced and it was the most intense quad workout I've had since prep ended. Focused beyond belief, it was all about destroying my quads and killing the weights. Even my forearms didn't fatigue as quickly as they do when holding the db's on step ups. which let me jump up 5 lbs from the previous workout and still hit my target range. The pump in my legs was f*cken intense. I've done this high rep workout before and the pump was at an entirely new level. Time to take this sh-it to a whole new level. JACKED = WORD!!!

Leg Ext - 1 warm, 92.5/10/10
Squat - 1 warm, 145/20/20/16/15 (used thick bar so probably 150)
Leg Press - 1 warm, 540/12/12/12
Setp Ups - 35/11/10/12
Crunch & Knee Raise superset - 30/20, 35/20

20 min on treadmill @ 3% incline and 3.5 mph.
 
Word. Had a crazy pump going in the chest and energy and strength were threw the roof, almost got that 5th rep on flat bench but still very satisfied with the progress I am making on bench. Absolutely crushed my chest and definitely took some hits on the rest of the exercises but still felt good about the numbers.

Flat Bench - 3 warms, 195/5/5/5/4
Incline DB - 1 warm, 70/7/7/5
Slight Incline Fly - 40/10/10/10
Uneven Pushups - body/9/9/8
 
SLAMMED!! Crushed back this morning and made some huge gains. Took Jacked about 20-25minutes pre-workout and it hit me right as I was leaving for my 2 min drive to the gym. Lats were pumped up after pulldowns and kept it going the rest of the workout. Didn't focus as much on holding the row at the top of the movement but just focused on moving the weight strictly with my back, lets me use more weight, still keeping good form and it hits my back much better. Almost passed out after my last set of deads and took me about 5 minutes to finally recover, I was light headed for the first 5 sets of seated calf press. Best back workout I've had to date and the mind-muscle connection was spot on.

WG Pulldown - 3 warms, 122.5/6/6/6
Bent Row - 2 warms, 145/12, 155/11, 165/11, 135/12
1 Arm Cable Row - 45/10/10/10
Deads - 225/15/15
Seated Calf Press - 3 warms, 130/10/10/10

10 min cooldown on bike
 
WORD!!! Smashed it today, took 2 scoops of Jacked (wasn't that tired going into it) and went a little loose form with hammer curls and the bi's were blown the f up. Kept it going the rest of the workout but kept everything strict and making sure to get a good squeeze. 5 weeks ago when I first went to do sldl on the step ups cable machine, i could barely budge 140, that was a warm up! Making some crazy gains and staying lean!

Hammer Curls - 2 warms, 45/6/6/5
Close Grip Curls - 2 warms, 60/8/7
1 Arm Cable Curls - 25/10/10/12
Stiff Leg Deads w/ Separate cables - 2 warms, 130/8, 140/8, 160/10
Leg Curls - 2 warms, 70/10/8
Leg Raise & Crunch superste: 20/30, 20/30
 
Everything looking good in here Serg -- keep milking that zone you're in right now.. time to GROW! :bb:

Word!!! Its the Powerfull Pump Jacked Prime zone, can't be beat!

DESTROYED the delts and tris today. Completely crushed my last delt and tri workout by a long shot. 25's went up so freakin smooth and easy on side laterals and everything else was crushed afterwards. Delt's were so smoked by the time I got to front raises I think thats the only thing that kept me from hitting the higher end of the rep range. All tricep movements were smooth and controlled, arms were pumped up! Going to start the 3 day split tomorrow because I took wednesday off and unless my hammies end up with some DOMS, legs will be getting smashed. Its time to earn the freak status in 09. I freaking love Jacked (actually getting really good results w/ 2 scoops, I'll save 3 scoop servings for when I really need it).

Side Laterals: 3 warms, 25/6/6/6
Incline Shoulder Press on smith: 1 warm, 135/10, 145/9, 150/8
Upright Rows: 1 warm, 70/12/12/10
Front Raise w/ Plate: 35/10/10
Close Grip Tricep Pressdowns: 3 warms, 125/8/8/8
Lying Tricep Extensions: 1 warm, 55/12/12/11
One Arm Rope Pressdowns: 40/10/12

20 mins on treadmill, word.
 
Weight: 148.2 (no change)
Waist: 29.5 (no change)

Solid leg session today. Calf was still a little achey when i got set up for leg extensions but still crushed previous numbers. 275 went up pretty easy for the most part even though I was getting crazy light headed after my first 2 sets, that subsided after that. Switched up DB Lunges a bit, instead of going step after step, i did a step, brought my feet back together, took a step, etc.. Worked out well and liked how it felt. Took it light on calf press just to get a good stretch in the calf.

Leg Extensions - 1 warm, 95/10/10
Squats - 3 warms, 275/5/5/5/5
Leg Curls - 2 warms, 90/6/6/5
DB Lunge - 1 warm, 50/10/10
Seated Calf Press - 90/16/15/15
 
word, sick workout this morning. Got an awesome pump and was psyched about the improvements in weight and reps. All the movements felt real smooth and controlled. Numbers just keep moving up.

Flat Bench: 3 warms, 200/5/5/4/4
Slight Incline DB Press: 1 warm, 65/10/10/10
Incline Fly: 1 warm, 40/11/12
Cable Curl: 2 warms, 95/10/8
Rope Pressdowns: 2 warms, 125/9/8
Hammer Curls: 30/12/10/10
super set w/
Dips: bodyweight/15/12/11
 
Not even a blizzard could stop me from crushing back and delts. Gym was dead which was awesome, i guess its the calm before the storm of the hundreds of people who decide they're gonna work out the first 2 weeks of january and then pay for a membership they won't even use (ok, enough ranting). Really killed it today and kept rest short to change things up a bit. Finally nailed db shoulder press for 3 solid sets and got a few more reps on the delts super set.

Underhand Pulldown - 3 warms, 145/6/6/5
T Bar Row - 2 warms, 135/8/10/8
Rope Pulldowns - 1 warm, 110/12/12
DB Press - 2 warms, 70/6/5/5
Front DB Raises - 15/12/11/11
super set w/
Seated Side Laterals - 10/12/11/11
 
WORD!! 285 Squat! Was really pumped up to hit heavy squats and nailed all 4 working sets. Skipped out on calves again. Left calf is still feeling sore so I figure another workout off would do it good.

Leg Ext - 1 warm, 100/10/10
Squat - 3 warms, 285/5/5/5/5
Leg Press - 1 warm, 560/10/12/12
Step Ups - 35/12/12/8
 
Thanks bro!

Good workout, all the bench's were taken up so I got stuck with a smith machine, bar was fixed to go straight up and down so the movement was different from what i'm use to. Killed incline db and flies from last week.

Flat Bench (Smith) - 3 warms, 200/5, 185/5/4/5
Incline DB - 1 warm, 70/8/8/8
Slight Incline Fly - 40/12/12/12
Uneven Pushups - body/9/10/8
 
WORD!!! Smashed this workout on 6 hours of sleep. Took 3 scoops of Jacked and ended up finishing this workout in 25 minutes! Felt like I could just keep going and going. Had a nasty pump going in the back and felt like I was gonna hurl after the last set of deads.

WG Pulldown - 3 warms, 125/6/6/6
Bent Row - 2 warms, 185/8/8/8
1 Arm Cable Row - 45/12/12/12
Deads - 245/15/13
 
Solid workout today. Definitely killed my quads and hams and enjoyed getting stiff leg deads in the program. Focusing on a slow negative with a very explosive positive. Word

Leg Press - 4 warms, 630/8/8/8
SLDL - 2 warms, 275/8/8/6
Squats - 135/15, 155/15, 165/15
DB Leg Curl - 1 warm, 35/10/10/10
Standing Calf Press - 135/20/20/20
 
Felt like **** but still had a killer workout. Had some nauseousness going on the entire workout. word.

Slight Inc DB - 3 warms, 80/5/5/6
Chest Dips - 12/10/10/9
Flat Bench X reps - 135/12/12/11
BB Curl - 2 warms, 75/6/6, 60/7
Tricep Press downs - 2 warms, 135/6/6, 110/10
Rope Curls - 50/12/12/12
DB Ext - 30/11/10/10
 
Haha, I like the symbolism there dude: "WORD!!" when you're rocking & feeling great.. little puny "word" when your not.. :lol:

Hope it's nothing serious bro.
 
Snow storm this past weekend delayed starting up the 5 day split. Took monday off as well since we had a double header for flag football. Digging the new split and sissy squats are ill, loved the burn I was getting in my quads. Since focus is on the quads, kept feet low on the leg press and hitting parallel on squats. Calf still feels funny so not really sure whats up with it, been about 3 weeks where its causing pain whenever i sit down to do leg extensions. Since I can't think of a way to increase resistance on sissy squats I'll use a combo of increased time under tension and aiming for more reps. Word!

Leg Press - 4 warms, 650/8/8/8
Squats - 2 warms, 285/6/6/6
Leg extensions - 1 warm, 105/10/10/10
Sissy Squats - 12/12/12
3 sets of abs
7 sprints on the bike
 
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