Rantorcha's AAEFX Training Journal - Road to...

Time to update…this weekend was quite a whirlwind! I had my girls from Friday evening until Monday evening. There is NOTHING better than hanging out with them and I seriously lose track of everything else – including updating my log…lol. So Friday’s workout kicked serious buttock. Saturday, while my oldest was in her dance class, I went to the gym to “get in” my mini-chest, calves and abs workout.

I did not go to the gym yesterday, since I was with my kids, so today started my workout week. I am also moving around my split a bit to coincide with when I have my girls.

CARDIO – 20 min in the morning on the Treadmill

BACK-Width
Chin ups
BW/12, BW/9 (every rep was taken with a pause at the top and at the bottom)
Underhand Smith Bent Row
205/18, 255/11, 295/6..drop..205/9
CG Pulldowns
195/14 (too light), 225/8+1, 225/7
Rev Hammer Pulldown
90each side/13, 115each/8 (cord for my music got caught an RUINED my set!)
Rope Stiff-arm Pulldown
130/10, 130/10

Mini-DELTS
Seated Side Laterals ss/ BB Upright Row
30/10..65/13
30/9+1..65/11
30/8 + 5-XReps..65/10

CALVES (still a little sore from Sat, but went ahead and did a mini-calf)
Seated Raises
4plts/8..drop..3plts/10..drop..2plts/12..drop..1plt/15
 
With the holiday on Monday and me being able to spend more time with my girls, I had to push everything back in my workout week. That, plus the fact that I am in the process of switching my workout weeks, and that means I am training 5 days straight. Looks like I’ll be taking some extra LG5 (Glutamine)!!

Yesterday’s workout was crazy! I hit Chest somethin’ fierce and followed it up by some very pump-inducing biceps. Of course, cardio was done in the morning!

CHEST
Incl DB Press – low incline
90/6, 90/6, 80/8…65/6
High Incl Smith Press
185/9, 185/9..drop..135/8 + 2 XReps
Dips
bw/13, bw/10+1
Star Trac Flat Mach Press
165/18

BICEPS
Incl DB Curl
35/13, 40/6 (SERIOUS pump!)
Stand Alt DB Curl
45/8, 45/7
EZ Bar 90 degree Preacher
65/9, 65/9

ABS
Lying Leg Lifts ss/ Decl Crunch – 2 sets each

Today was equally insane!! I hit legs today and I really felt completely spent by the end of it. I honestly had to take longer-than-usual rests between sets.

HAMS/GLUTES
Lying Leg Curl ss/ Butt-blaster using leg curl machine (in reverse)
140/10…40/12
125/11…50/12
125/10+1…60/15!!
QUADS
Leg Press (1-1/2 Reps)
5plts each/10
5plts each/9

Rev Hack Squats
3plts each/12
3plts each/12

Leg Ext
110/15, 110/13+1

Although my numbers aren’t very big – and not even close to the old days! – I can assure you that the effectiveness IS and the intensity is through the roof! Walking will be fun tomorrow and thereafter.
 
Boys and girls, today's workout was INSANE! I shredded every muscle fiber in my back and continued the onslaught with my mini-chest. I got some news today about my kids living situation with my ex that pissed me off so much (for my kids) that I took out all of my frustration on those poor weights!

BACK-Thickness
T-bar Rows - I'm pretty sure this was a PR for me!
5plts/12
6plts/6
6plts/5..drop..5plts/6..4plts..7..3plts/8 (could've stopped here!)

Rack Deads
365/10
365/9

High Seated Cable Row - using horizontal D-bar
195/13
225/8+2

One Arm Row
105/13
115/9

Mini-CHEST
Incl Hammer
90each side/13
115each/8..drop..90each/7

Incl Flyes
50/11
50/11

DONE!!! I'm already sore and sleep tonight is going to be AWESOME!!!

On deck tomorrow - training with the ONE (literally and figuratively), the only...our very own - NATURAL FREAK! - ERIC BROSER I always look forward to it and tomorrow is no different
 
Ok, so if you read my training journal, you know I had to train 5 days in a row...for a couple of reasons. Although I have no intention of doing that again any time soon, I must say that I had an unreal week of training. So much so that I pretty much slept all day today (Sunday). I must have napped for about 4-5 total hours throughout the day!

So, yesterday afternoon, I met up with my coach & Natural Freak fearless leader (ERIC BROSER) and trained delts and tris. I will tell you right now that I have been CRUSHING my delts lately, but I have not been this sore in them for a LONG time. And my tris don't feel much better. We started with Smith Delt Presses - which both of us didn't quite feel comfortable on for some reason. But we moved on to side laterals and broke through some serious mental and physicial barriers stimulating serious fiber damage. Up next were barbell upright rows which pumped our delts somethign fierce. And to top it all off, we ended things with front raises using a 35 pound plate for some seriously high and effective reps - all of these for 2 sets each. We pushed each other more than we ever have and we ended up going past all of the rep ranges we set for ourselves. That to me was a sign of a GREAT workout!!

Next up - Triceps.
CG Smith Rack Presses
BB Incl Extensions
Rope Pushdowns
Bench dips for as many as we could until we each almost fell on the floor!
This was followed by our usual cardio session of 20 brisk minutes

Now...here's the good part!! After our grueling workout, we went to a place that Eric has been teasing me with taking me for months now - a cheeseburger place that will knock your socks off! As you can see, we both we were in cheeseburger HEAVEN! Even the damn fries were insanely good. What a great ending to an kick ass workout!

Later that night we even got to get together and have dinner all together with our girlfriends. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!
 
After not doing a DAMN thing all day yesterday except eat, go to the bathroom and SLEEP, it was back at it today. To be very honest, I was DYING today. I was still sore from head to toe from last week's hardcore workouts, but I pushed through. I plan on taking it easy a bit tonight - even though I have to do some cooking and cleaning.

Here was today's workout...
Cardio - done 1st thing in the morning at home.
Training - in the afternoon...

BACK/LOW BACK
CG Pulldown
225/13, 240/9, 240/8
Smith WG Row
225/13, 245/11+2, 255/10+1
Underhand Machine Row
205/18, 235/13+2
Rope Stiff-arm Pulldown
130/12..drop..100/9
130/12..drop..100/9
Hyperextensions
BW/20, 25/15, 25/14

TRAPS
Seated DB Shrug
110/15, 110/14+1
Behind-neck Pulldown to top of head
120/20

What another fantastic muscle-building extravaganza! I went into the locker room to change back for work and I could feel my lats just hanging there...like two slabs of beef. The mind is a powerful tool, ya know!
 
I woke up this morning, and man was it difficult to get up! But, I had a job to do and that’s get my fat ass on that treadmill! I took my L-Carnitine & my Nytric Pro and off I went.

CARDIO – 20 min in the morning

Training in the afternoon…
Pre-workout supps - 2-Nytric Pro; CellRush, LBA, Kre-Alkalyn Pro

CHEST
Hammer Press – Iso Flat
90each side/8; 80each/9
(for some reason, these were heavier weight-wise than the incl machine)
High Incline Rack Smith Press
185/10, 185/7, 175/10 – these were AWESOME!
Dips
bw/ 13, bw/11
DB Incl Flyes
45/16 (obviously too light), 50/12
Star Trac Machine
180/10..drop..150/5+2..120/5+2

BICEPS
Life Fitness Preacher Curl Machine
110/13, 110/11
These blew my arms the-F-up!
Incl DB Curl
35/10, 35/8
And these pretty much made my arms fall off
DB Hammer Curl
35/10, 35/10
I’m lucky to lift THAT much weight.

That was it for me! I can already tell that I am going to have to go to sleep early tonight. I am really loving sleeping lately. I guess that's a good thing...it means I am pounding my physique into new growth and it means I am recovering!
 
Today is my well-deserved day off. I decided not to even do any cardio this morning...even though I feel like I need to. Sleep has turned into one of my favorite pastimes. I can't get enough. And after last week's serious thrashing, I need the extra rest. Today is all about eating right and recovery!
 
I had a pretty extraordinary day today at the gym. Of course my day started off with cardio first thing (blah, blah, blah). But by noon, it was time to kick some ass. It was my bi-weekly thrashing of legs!

I am not sure why, but every time I do legs recently, I have this undying urge to hurl almost after each set. Maybe it’s because I am putting all of my effort into each set, I don’t know. Regardless, I know that even though I am only training them once every two weeks, they are getting a severe pounding.

But I’m not doing legs just to throw-up weight. Every exercise is with the end in mind – my next show. I am making sure to squeeze each ham rep; I’m making sure to emphasize glute work; I’m emphasizing a certain type of further quad development.

HAMS
Seated Leg Curl
175/13, 175/10, 175/9
Lying Leg Curl ss/ Upright Leg Curl-Glute Crunch
125/9..50/10; 125/8+1..50/10; 125/8..50/10
Stiff Leg Deads
275/10; 275/10..drop..225/5

QUADS – did Quads in FD/FS fashion
Leg Press (6/1/X) 3x4-6
7plts each/6; 7plts each/6
Sissy Squat (2/3/X)
25/8, 25/8
Smith Lunges (1 leg at a time)
135/10each leg; 135/10each leg
Cross-body Leg Press (for glutes)
50/15, 50/13
Last set superset with Abduction – 115/30!!!

Needless to say I will be walking gingerly for the next couple of days.
 
How I feel you on the naseau. I end up throwing up on leg day at least avery 3 weeks and then just feel like it the rest of the days..makes it awful when you have kids at home to feed dinner too. Back day has been that way as well.

Whens the next show?
 
crader said:
How I feel you on the naseau. I end up throwing up on leg day at least avery 3 weeks and then just feel like it the rest of the days..makes it awful when you have kids at home to feed dinner too. Back day has been that way as well.

Whens the next show?
Click to expand...

That must be the question of the week!! A ton of people have asked me that for some reason this week. Pretty funny.

Well, to answer your question, there are a couple I am looking at. I may do the November NGA show here in South Florida. That'll give me a full year to work on the things I feel I need to. I've also been looking at an NGA show in August, but that may not be enough time for me. OR...I might bag the whole thing and wait until next year! lol We'll see. I'm kinda keepin' things open right now.
 
Sometimes we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do. My boss mentioned that we might end up working through lunch, so I asked him – so, should I workout in the morning – and he said yes. So, this morning I woke up at 5am-ish, EFX supps (CellRush, 2-Nytrics, & LBAs), got my meal in about 20 minutes later and off I went to the gym.

I have to say that after training midday as I have been for the better part of a year now, going back to the morning was rough. I am just not good in the morning and I’ve been fooling myself that I was good for about 10 years. My training day wasn’t great…just ok.

Hopefully I did a good enough job to stimulate some growth.

DELTS
Side Laterals – strict/straight fr sides…once failed, I brought them in front and did more
25/10…/8; 25/10…/8
DB Presses – once I did side laterals the way I did them, the weight I could use for DB Press was limited!
65/9, 70/7
Rev Pec Dec
135/20, 165/12, 165/10
Alt DB Fr Raise-Hammer Grip
25/12each, 25/15each

TRICEPS
EZ bar Pushdown
150/13, 160/11, 180/6
Dip Machine
210/10, 201/10, 210/10+4 XReps
One-arm Rev Cable Ext
20/12, 20/12

ABS
Lying Leg Lifts – 2 sets
Cable Crunch – 2 sets
Top Cable side crunch – 2 sets

CARDIO – the only good thing to come out of training in the morning was that I could do cardio on the Stairmill…this was also the worst part! LOL
20 minutes on that blasted thing.

Now, a fun cheat meal tonight with my girlies and rest!!
 
Strong Work

Strong work. Caught up with your log and I am impressed. I have a 7-month old at home and have considered competing as a natural over the past year. With things settling down I am starting to train like it. In doing so I can truly understand and recognize the hard work and devotion all this entails.

Stay Anabolic!
 
TheWhiteRhino said:
Strong work. Caught up with your log and I am impressed. I have a 7-month old at home and have considered competing as a natural over the past year. With things settling down I am starting to train like it. In doing so I can truly understand and recognize the hard work and devotion all this entails.

Stay Anabolic!
Click to expand...

Thanks Rhino! Doing a show is a fun, yet anxious, decision to make. Good luck. If I may offer some words of advice, though...make sure your wife is on board with that idea - especially with a baby in the house. Sometimes, your time can/will be affected with the family, so you need to make sure you aren't opening "cans" you don't want to! lol

Good luck & stop by if you need any help!
 
I had a nice weekend with my girls! We went to the mall to hang out, took the older one to dance class, went out to dinner, had ice cream, watched a movie (Up…btw, a gut wrencher!), played Wii and rested! My legs were STILL hurting this morning from last Thursday. Don’t know why…I guess I thrashed them that good!

I’ve been doing some higher reps than normal (I usually do Power, Rep Range, Shock) recently for a couple of reasons. First, I’ve been noticing that I have been paying more attention to the rep ranges and making sure I hit them rather than feeling the muscle. I had also been using too much weight (IMO) on certain exercises to be Mr. Bad Ass.

Since I’ve decided to go off-the-map so to speak, I feel like I’ve had some pretty decent results. I’ve been pushing past mental barriers…I’ve been giving myself a fuzzy rep range to try for and I found that I was able to go past that range most times. However, if I tried to go heavier on most exercises, I found that my “feel” wasn’t great and I felt like I was just managing the weight…NOT GOOD.

Well, fast forward to now and I think I am ready to take a step forward…I want to try to hit a modified Power Week (6-8 reps, instead of the usually 4-6). My shoulder and forearm issues are the primary reason for the higher reps, but I am hoping to get use out of the Power-mentality. Hell, I may even decide to do 2-Power Weeks in a row.

LATS-Width
Weighted Pullups
25/9, 35/7, 35/6+1
Rev Grip Pulldowns
240/7, 225/9, 225/8 – not great feel for some reason…too much biceps, which was the reason I don’t necessarily like going too heavy
CG Pulldowns
225/7, 225/7+1
One-arm rows
115/12, 120/10
Stiff-arm Pulldowns
140/12, 140/8

Mini-DELTS
WG BB Upright Row
115/9, 115/8+1, 115/7+1
Cheat Side Laterals
45/10, 45/9, 45/8

CALVES – I haven’t done these since last Saturday…they’ve hurt THAT much.
Seated Raises
2plts/20; 3plts/15; 4plts/9
Leg Press Machine
230/13, 230/11, 230/10+1
 
Last night was a true whirlwind. I went to Publix for my normal groceries and BJs for my meat stuff (chicken, lean ground beef, fish, etc). Then I went home to cook some chicken and beef. Tonight we cook fish and brocolli (but I digress!) So, needless to say I got to bed a little later than normal, but that's ok. Since I didnt' have the girls, I was able to sleep in a little. I was still tired in the morning, but it was all good. I had a great night sleep. I was sore as hell in my lats rom yesterday, but I guess that's to be expected. I can only imagine how sore I would be if I didn't take my daily-double-dose of LG5!

Back on the damn treadmill to start my day! And, since I woke up later than normal, I decided to play around with my meal timing a bit. So far so good.

This afternoon was Chest and Biceps and I really tore things up. There is such a fine line between going heavier and doing quality muscle-building reps. Plus, going heavier puts great pressure on my injuries, so I was very careful. After heavier-than-normal back yesterday, I already felt my elbow acting up more than usual.

I must say I was feeling a little extra-aggressive today in the gym. I'm not sure if "life" is affecting me or what, but if it is, I am taking it out on the weights.

All movements - trying to stay in 6-8 rep range

CHEST
DB Incline Press
95/6, 90/7, 90/6-1/2
Incline Smith Press - I can't normally do much weight on these, but after DB Incl, I was sapped
195/8, 205/6, 205/5..drop..185/3
DB Pullovers
100/8, 100/7
Incl Hammer
125each/5, 115each/6

BICEPS
Alt DB Curl
55/6, 50/7
EZ bar 90 degree Preacher Curl
80/9, 80/7
Low Cable Curl
160/8, 160/7

ABS
Vups - 3 sets
Decl Crunch - 1 set

I immediately threw down a shot of LG5 knowing full well that recovery will be key after this one. I'm not looking forward to it, but it might be a good thing that my day off from training is tomorrow!
 
Yesterday was my day off from training and thank goodness! I woke up incredibly sore from my Monday and Tuesday workouts.

As for today, I screwed up with my split. I was supposed to do Delts and Triceps; and the workout I did today, I was supposed to do tomorrow. And to add to that, I was supposed to do Back-Thickness & Mini-Chest. And I couldn’t even get to mini-chest. Oh well. No worries. I’ll figure things out for the rest of the week and weekend.

I didn’t even do cardio this morning! I woke up with a headache and didn’t want to push it.

BACK-Thickness
T-Bar Corner Rows
5plts+25 (250)/7
5plts (225)/11 – not sure what got into me on these
5plts+25 (250)/7+2
Smith Rack Deads – each rep done to below the knee & stopped at the bottom of each rep except on the last set. I didn’t stop at the bottom on that set!
435/8, 435/8, 435/9
Rev Grip BB Row
265/8, 265/7+1
Row using Lat Pulldown – to chest
150/12, 150/10

I would have loved to hit mini-chest, but I was a) too sore from Tuesday still, and b) didn’t have enough time. So, we’re back at it tomorrow and Saturday!!
 
Ah I didn't know you had a log on here..

I've got a question... on your rep range days, how many reps do you do?
Right now I do 10-12 reps but I was thinking about doing 15-20 to try and get more muscle tone. Do you think this would work?

Thanks
 
TAIFUN said:
Ah I didn't know you had a log on here..

I've got a question... on your rep range days, how many reps do you do?
Right now I do 10-12 reps but I was thinking about doing 15-20 to try and get more muscle tone. Do you think this would work?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hey, Taifun. Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. Been a busy weekend! Anyway, since I am what you might call a "veteran" of PRRS, I usually do a few different things. However, for you (depending on the bodypart you're working of course), you can do it a couple of ways.

For example, for Back - #1
Pulldowns - 7-9
BB Row - 10-12
Seated Row - 13-15
Stiff-arm Pulldown - 16-20

OR, #2
Pulldowns - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
BB Row - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
Seated Row - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
Stiff-arm Pulldown - 16-20
You can even do the rep ranges backwards down the line as well.

I hope that helps!! Let me know if you need anything else.
 
Ok, so its been a couple of days since I've been able to update so I'll try to catch everyone up. Friday & Saturday were both fantastic days in the gym! Friday was Delts and mini-Chest, then Saturday morning was Triceps and Hams/Glutes. I didn't have time to really post over the weekend because I was enjoying life. I went out to dinner with friends on Fri night, hung out with my sister on Saturday during the day and went bar hopping with a couple long-time friends on Sat night. Then, on Sunday...NOTHING!!! I sat my fat ass on the couch and didn't move...again. There is really something to be said for this new-found enjoyment.

Anyway, after the craziness of the weekend, I was still a bit tired, but I woke up and cranked out my morning cardio. Then in the afternoon, I hit the gym. I decided to stick with the heavier 6-8 rep scheme this week - like a modified Power Week of the PRRS Training system. And, all I can say is thank goodness for my EFX supps!!! I'm not sure how it would have gone if I didn't have my CellRush and Nytric Pro to jump start me for my workout.

BACK
Rev Grip BB Bent Row - 3 sets
WG Pulldown - 3 sets
Rope Seated Row - 2 sets
Rev Hammer Pulldowns - 2 sets with ss/One-arm Row on last set (120/11)
Hyperextensions - 3 sets

CALVES
Free-Motion Press - 3 sets
Leg Press Machine - 2 sets with dropset on last set
 
Today was another one of those days where everything seemed to go well. You don’t necessarily equate going heavier with getting good pumps, but I managed to feel strong (relative to me) and feel huge afterwards.

CHEST
Smith Incl Press (low incline) – slow moving, no bouncing.
235/6, 225/5, 215/6+neg
DB Incl Press (higher incline)
80/10, 85/7, 85/6+neg
Incl Flye
(hi position)-55/12; (lower position)-65/7
Dips ss/ Lower-Cable Crossover
BW/13…25/10

BICEPS
DB Curl
55/6, 50/6
Incline Seated DB Curl
40/9, 40/7
EZ-bar Lower Cable Curl
160/8..drop..130/4..drop..100/6

ABS
V-ups
3 sets of 15+
 
Yesterday was a pretty kick ass day of training. It was my bi-weekly session of Hams, Quads & Glutes. I tried to stay in the Modified-Power week range of 6-8 reps, but I came to realize afterwards that it may not have been the smartest thing to do. Since I am only doing leg once every two weeks, putting all of that pressure on my knees didn’t feel smart – at least not yesterday!

I felt a little strain and a small pop at different times during my quads movements and that scared the shizzz outta me! That’s one of my biggest fears actually. But, that’s what makes us bodybuilders the stubborn, knucklehead people that we are, because that fear didn’t stop me from training. Whereas a smart person probably would’ve stopped.

Lucky for me, I didn’t hurt myself – I’m just sore as hell! But, for next time, I’ll probably train them a tad lighter…but still with the same high intensity.

HAMS
Seated Leg Curl
190/12, 205/8..drop..145/6
Single-leg Leg Curl
70/7, 70/7, 65/7
Stiff-Leg Deads
275/12, 275/10
Jefferesons
135/8each side , 135/8each side

QUADS
Hack Squats
4plts each sd/10, 4plts each sd/10, 4plts each sd/9 – these tore me up!
Leg Press
7plts each sd/8* - got scared-heard a little pop I the knee
7plts each sd/12
7plts each sd/11
Walking Lunge
100/22 steps
Smith One Leg Lunge
165/8 each leg

I think that was good enough. Not my best leg workout by any stretch, but I think it was pretty effective!
 
What a great end to the workout week! Although I had ZERO desire to do a damn thing today, getting to the gym was my salvation. And it even took me a few sets to get my head and heart fully into the game.

DELTS
Side Lateral Machine
95/13, 95/12+1
DB Press – I started too light…I thought it’d be tougher after side laterals
70/10, 75/5, 70/6+neg (the first set zapped me!)
Plate Front Raises
35/22, 45/15
Side Laterals-DB
35/13..drop..25/10
35/13..drop..25/9

TRICEPS
Dip Machine
210/10, 230/12
Incline Ext (I had to watch out for these due to my ongoing elbow issue; I went lighter for a deep stretch, plus a hold at the bottom)
70/13, 80/9, 80/9
One-arm Rev Cable Pushdowns
15/12, 15/12 (hold contraction)
 
rantorcha said:
Hey, Taifun. Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. Been a busy weekend! Anyway, since I am what you might call a "veteran" of PRRS, I usually do a few different things. However, for you (depending on the bodypart you're working of course), you can do it a couple of ways.

For example, for Back - #1
Pulldowns - 7-9
BB Row - 10-12
Seated Row - 13-15
Stiff-arm Pulldown - 16-20

OR, #2
Pulldowns - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
BB Row - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
Seated Row - 7-9, 10-12, 13-15
Stiff-arm Pulldown - 16-20
You can even do the rep ranges backwards down the line as well.

I hope that helps!! Let me know if you need anything else.
Click to expand...


Thanks.. Ya I'll probably try and get more reps in on my rep range day to hopefully help me achieve a more cut look.. Thanks
 
This week started out fantastically! My girls were with me all weekend and through Monday (off from school) and we had a terrific time doing a bunch of Valentine’s Day activities & spending time with family. There aren’t too many things better than that in my opinion.

As for training, I had a phenomenal day yesterday. I took the girls with me and they played in the play area while I tackled Lats-Width, Mini-Delts and Calves. I am HURTIN’ today!

LATS-Width
Machine Pulldowns – this machine gives me an amazing crunch!
190/14, 210/9, 210/7..drop..170/5
Rev Pulldowns
195/10, 195/10, 195/9+1
Chins – after the first two, I was WEAK!
6+2 forced and 1 xrep
6+2 xreps
V-bar Pulldowns
180/12, 180/12
Rope Stiff-arm Pulldowns
130/9, 120/11

Mini-DELTS
Plate Front Raises ss/ Side Laterals (from the side/hips)
45/15..25/10
45/13..25/10
Rev Pec Dec
165/9, 150/11..drop..120/??

CALVES
Seated Raises
90/24, 115/16,
Final set – drop
135/??, 90/??, 45/??

Oh yeah…I’m sore!

I ended up doing my cardio at night before my last meal. I liked doing it at night. I might try this every once in a while

TODAY

CHEST
Incline DB Press (hold for 1-sec at bottom; squeeze at top for 1-sec)
80/11, 80/8, 80/6..drop..70/3
Decline Hammer Press
90each side/13
90ea/11
90ea/8..drop.45ea/8
Flat DB Press – don’t like these bc they f-with my shoulder. I tried it for one set, then moved on. Did NOT like how they felt
70/7
Flat Machine Press ss/ Cable Cross
165/16..30/10

BICEPS
DB Preacher Curl
35/12, 40/9
Alt. Hammer Curl
45/9each
45/8each..drop..35/6
Lying Top Cable Curl
140/11, 140/8

I had to ice my elbow after this one! I am bummed that tomorrow is my off day…but I really think I need it!
 
I must say, over these last few months of using exclusively EFX products, I can't even begin to tel you how my training has improved and, more importantly, how my physique has changed. I've been using supplements for well over 10 years now and have never gotten the effects that I am getting with the EFX line. I'm no scientist, but formulation and purity of the products they use HAVE to be the key!

Anyway, I plowed through another fantastic voyage in the gym today! It was yet another blood-pumping, muscle-inducing, plateau-breaking session. It was so much fun, I truly didn't want to leave. However, by the end of it all, my body was telling me, "that's it bro...enough!"

DELTS
Hammer Delt Press
100each side/13, 105/7, 105/7..drop..90/6
WG Upright Row (BB)
95/14, 115/10
BB Front Raises
60/20 (just kept going!); 70/15 - and I wasn't throwing the weight up either. I was "feelin' it!"
Side laterals - burn, baby burn!

TRICEPS
EZ bar Pushdowns
160/13, 170/9, 170/9..drop..140/4
EZ bar Overhead Ext
80/10, 80/9 - went slow on these bc my elbow has been really hurting. A month ago, I wouldn't have been able to do these at all!
DB Skullcrushers ss/ Between-bench Dips
27.5/8..bw/10
27.5/7..bw/9

ABS - to be done either tomorrow or Sat.
 
I need to give everyone a quick update. Since I wasn’t in town this past weekend, here a quick and dirty rundown…

FRIDAY
Mini-LATS/LOW BACK
Corner bar T-bar Row – 2 straight sets and 1 triple-dropset
One-arm Row – 2 sets
Smith Bent-Over Row – 2 sets
Rack Smith Deads – 2 grueling sets with 365 for 15 reps! There were tough as hell after the other stuff

SATURDAY
Mini-CHEST
Incline Hammer – 2 straight sets and 1 triple-dropset
Cable Crossover – 1 triple-dropset

Mini-LEGS
“Hoist” Seated Leg Curl – 3 sets
Lying Leg Curl (torso up) ss/ Reverse Leg Curl (Glutes) – 2 sets each
Hyperextensions (top half) – 2 sets
Leg Extensions – 3 lighter sets but squeezed out reps
Calf Ext – 2 straight sets and 1 triple-dropset

CARDIO – 20 min of Stairmill

TODAY!!!
Pullups (40-total – how eve rmany sets I needed to reach 40 total reps)
14, 9,9, 6+2=40
Rev Bent Row
255/9+1, 255/9+1, 255/8…225/6
CG Seated Row
210/10, 210/10
Standing Lat Pulldown (upper back like a row)
135/16; 165/7..drop…135/6 (165 was too heavy; almost threw me forward)
One-arm Row
120/14; 120/13
DB Shrug – my special way lol – 3 sets

I’ll be feelin’ this one tomorrow!
 
Another outstanding training experience today. I was stronger than usual today for chest, which was a pleasant surprise. Bringing up my chest is a goal of mine for the next show I do, so it was a good day. I felt big and full throughout the workout and that always makes the training session that much better.

CHEST
Incl DB Press – standard
90/9, 90/7, 90/7..drop..75/6
Hammer Flat Bench Press (this little machine is much heavier than the same version, but incline)
70each side/10, 70ea/10, 70ea/10
Incline Flye
50/12, 50/11
Cable Crossover (from the top ss/from the bottom)
Top-25/15; Bottom-25/14

BICEPS
Hammer Curl
45/11, 50/8+1
90 degree Preacher Curl
80/9, 80/7
Low Cable Curl (EZ bar)
160/8 (outer handle)
160/7..drop..130/5 (inner handle)

ABS – Alternating Sets
Lying Leg Lifts & V-ups – 2 sets each

CARDIO – I didn’t do any cardio yesterday, so I absolutely have to hit it later tonight.
 
So, yesterday was my bi-weekly leg day. I am always in NO mood to do legs when I get to the gym, but I always end up love going through it. Sometimes I even have to slow myself down because I go through the exercises so quickly. Now, yesterday’s legs weren’t the best ever by any means, but they did work effectively.

HAMS
Lying Leg Curl
140/14+1, 140/11+1, 140/9+1
SL Deads – concentrated on pulling the Hams on the way down; and pulling up with my glutes and Hams (slow and controlled!)
225/15, 225/15, 225/13
“Hoist” mach-Seated Leg Curl
Pos. 10/19, Pos. 12/10..drop..Pos. 9/4

QUADS
Hammer Squat
4 plts each/18
5 plts each/14
Reverse Hack Squat
3plts+25 each/11
3plts+25 each/11
3plts+25 each/10 last set superset with Leg Ext – 110/11

CALVES/GLUTES
Seated Calf Raises – 4 plts/8, 3 plts 16, 2 plts/19 (last set-hold for count of 2 at bottom)
Abductions ss/ Life Fitness Calf Press
130/28-240/14
130/28-240/9..drop..180/6

NO CARDIO
 
Good Looks

Good looks Rantorcha. I like to see that those gains keep coming. Upon my return from my week off I might consider switching up my routine to a similar approach as yours. Keep it coming!
 
Today started out with some morning cardio. Instead of the normal 20 minutes, I rationalized my missed session from earlier in the week by doing 30 minutes this morning. lol

When I hit the gym this afternoon, my mindset wasn’t quite where it needed to be, but I tried to break through that mental barrier to force myself to have a good training session. It certainly wasn’t easy, but I basically put my head down and went to work.

DELTS
Smith Behind-neck Presses
175/8, 175/6..drop..135/8 (didn’t want to push my luck with more sets)
Upright Row (using fixed-weight EZ barbell)
100/16, 100/14
Rev. Pec Dec – super strict…felt really strong and couldn’t reach failure, so I just kept going!
135/19, 150/14
Angled Side Laterals: I was reading an old Eric Broser article about “angling”. Basically, it’s performing an exercise at three slightly different angles in order to hit the muscle just a little differently during each set
Seated-straight up: 25/14
Slight incline back on pad: 25/12
Slight incline chest on pad: 25/11+1…rest/pause…standing: 25/6

TRICEPS
EZ bar Pushdowns
180/7, 160/10, 160/9+1
Incline Ext
80/12, 80/11, 80/9+neg
Dip Machine
210/14+1
210/12+1…drop 170/13

ABS
V-ups
Decline Crunches
 
Lemons…to lemonade!

After a nice weekend with the girls, it was “back” at it this afternoon. It was Back-width day (probably my favorite training day). It was an extremely focused and no-nonsense day of training. I had one of those “zone” days where it was on from the word go.

I also have to thank Dorian Yates, Kai Greene and MD for the Back Training video they put up recently. It made my focus that much more zoned in. I felt every muscle fiber working today.

But a funny thing happened in the middle of this great, intense session…the power went out in my gym as I was ending my lats session. I had a couple more sets to go and they went around telling everyone that for liability purposes, everyone needed to clear out of the gym! WTF?! I wasn’t going to leave without finishing at least the rest of my back, so I stayed! Haha

Still needing to do the mini-delt portion, I ran to my car and went 5 minutes to my complex’s (ever-so-limited) gym to finish what I needed to do! Now THAT’S making some lemonade!

LATS-Width
Pullups – slow, controlled, sqeeze (40 total reps)
11, 9, 8, 7+1..R/P..4
Rev Hammer Pulldowns
95each side/10+2, 95ea/9+1, 95ea/9+1
CG Pulldowns
210/10, 225/7, 225/7
Stiff-arm Puuldowns
130/12, 130/10, 130/9

Mini-DELTS
Side Laterals ss/ Alt DB Front Raises
30/10…20/12
30/12…20/10
Side Laterals (drop)
30/10…25/6…20/6

Done!
 
I had a kick ass workout today. Thank goodness the lights stayed on this time! I love this time of year because I get to watch videos of my favorite pros on MD.com. I watched the Branch-chest video before hitting chest today and it got me all jacked up. After today’s session, I am starting to feel run down…which means I am doing a good job in the gym. By mid-week, my body is really sore from back and chest and this week is no exception.

So here was today’s fun…

CHEST
Decline Smith (modified the bench)
225/10, 225/8, 225/6
Incline Smith Press
185/10+2, 185/9+1, 185/7+1
Wghtd Dips
70/6, 70/5
Pec Dec
165/13, 180/9

BICEPS (had to do these in Shock-Week style due to time issues)
DB Curl (dropset)
45/12...32.5/5
45/??...32.5/4 (lost count)
Sit-on-floor Cable Curl Leaning back
120/13, 120/10

CALVES
Seated Calf - 3 sets with triple-dropset on last set
Life Fitness Press - 2 sets
 
Ok, kids! I am on the eve of my first Arnold Classic! I can't even begin to say how happy and excited I am. As long as I make it to Columbus, I am taking it easy and having some fun hanging out with friends!!
 
What an incredible weekend!! It was my first Arnold Classic and I must say it did not disappoint. It started Thursday and Kyle, Jon (Hossjob & Jona) & I went to train Back. This was a real treat since a) I never see these guys but once or twice a year; and b) it was cool training with someone since I train by myself. Then we had our post-workout meal at Ted’s Buffalo (a place I never heard of before, but had really good food). It was my first bison steak.

On Friday, we started at the crack of dawn and hit the expo. Wow, what a scene! Very cool stuff. It was great to meet Aaron and his wife, Sara, for the first time.

Also, a special thanks to Greg from VPX – you are the best!! It was fun hanging out with you and Megan, chit-chatting and BSing…not to mention the photo shoot we were spying on!

At night, we went to dinner. There was so much laughing and carrying on that night and the whole weekend, my face and abs hurt.

On Saturday, it was more expo during the day and at night, me and the boys went to the Arnold after-party hosted by ALRI, which was a great time.

And, finally, it was the expo again on Sunday morning and straight to the airport in the afternoon. It was good to get back home, but after looking through all of the picture

A couple of weekend super-highlights…Eric interviewed me for the AAEFX website (details to come) which was very cool. I got to talk to the tech-guru of EFX (Chris) who now has a really fun way of saying my name…lol. I took pictures with Jaime Eason and Jennifer Nicole Lee – two of the hottest chicks in the industry!!!

I must thank Jon for hanging out with me all weekend since I was by myself for the most part. And a very special thanks to Kyle. He not only let me stay with him, but he also introduced us to the crew at ALRI – very generous, cool, nice people. They are officially my DUDE-BROs.
 
I looked for you Sun when I finally got out of the booth, but never saw you. I had booth duty Fri, Sat and half of Sun.
 
crader said:
I looked for you Sun when I finally got out of the booth, but never saw you. I had booth duty Fri, Sat and half of Sun.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was bummed I wasn't able to meet you (and a few other folks). But with that sea of humanity, how can you find ANYONE! lol

What a great time, though. Maybe next year, I'll actually see the contest! :nervous:
 
Today is my scheduled off day, but since my cardio schedule has been screwed up by the Arnold weekend and my extreme tired-ness (is that a word??...lol), I got up early and hit cardio this morning.

I am tipping the scales at around 202 these days, but it is by far the leanest 200+ pounds I've ever been. I am really looking forward to hitting the stage again soon. I have been really trying to build my weaker bodyparts and I want to see if what I've been doing has worked.
 
I woke up early this morning and stayed current with my cardio…20 min on the Treadmill.

As for my training this afternoon, words can’t express the level of training that took place today. It was yet another purely fun ass day in the gym. I put on my headphones and from the word “go”, it was on! Just to give you an idea of how good it went, I was sweating so profusely that a towel wasn’t helping me at all. My body temp must have been closer to 150 than 98.6! My legs were so pumped after this one, that I was actually starting to fit snug into my pants for work!!

Here’s how it went…

HAMS
“Hoist” Seated Leg Curl ss/ Abduction Machine
Pos. 10/19; 130/25
Pos. 12/13; 130/25
Leg Curl (torso up w/ glute crunch at top)
70/15, 70/11+1
DB Stiff-Leg Deads
110/15, 115/14

QUADS
Leg Press ss/ Sissy Squat
7plts each/11; 25/7
7plts each/10; 25/6
I could have stopped here and been fine for quads! There were already smokin’!!
Walking Lunges
90/20, 90/20
Rev Hack Squat ss/ Jeffersons
115each side/10; 115/6 reps each side
2nd round-did Jeffersons first – 115/6each side; 115each side/6

I had to finish with some MAJOR stretching after this one.
 
I had my girls since Tuesday and it was a blast, but man was it tiring too! lol After making sure all of out work was done, Saturday morning was dance class. Then we went to see family and later I took the girls to dinner and cold stone afterwards (hell yeah I had some, biatch!). Sunday was a rest day, but as anyone with ids knows, it wasn’t total rest. MAN, I already miss them. Thank goodness I get them again on Wednesday.

Anyway, that’s a sneak peak “into the life”. Back to bodybuilding!!! After the Arnold and hanging out with Jon and Kyle, I had a thought to start looking at possible shows to do. So, last week I started my search and may have come up with a plan. I’ll probably be talking in depth with Eric this weekend (and hopefully training), so I may have an announcement next week sometime.

Now, here’s today’s fun! And, if anyone cares, I AM TIRED NOW!

BACK (Width)
Chins (50 reps)
14, 12, 9, 8, 7
Rev Hammer Pulldowns
125each side/8+1
125each side/8
125each side/7
One arm Row
120/13, 120/12
Stiff Arm Pulldowns
130/13, 130/10, 130/9

TRAPS
Shrugs
70/10, 105/10, 105/12, 105/12

Mini-DELTS
Stearing Wheels
10 each side + 10 straight up=30 reps
10 each side + 8 straight up=28 reps
Side Laterals (dropsets…down the ladder)
40/10…30/8…20/8…10/hold at top to failure
30/12…20/11…10/hold at top to failure

Need to finish the day with some cardio later this evening and some calves too. Back just took a little too much time during lunch.
 
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