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My Contest Prep/Workout Log

Got the camera charged and ready to go! Looking forward to this one more then last time. I feel I'm much better prepared this time around as well.

Steve said to bring home a trophy or no supps for you(in soup nazi voice:D)
 
Steve said to bring home a trophy or no supps for you(in soup nazi voice:D)

lol, yes sir! I'll do my best.


So I've dropped 5 pounds of water weight so far and tightening up. I weighed in at 195 this morning so I'm not going to do anything drastic like last time to try and drop the weight. I decided early this time to just diet and focus on proper conditioning and not care about weight or where I end up competing at, weight wise. So I will be competing as a heavyweight in the novice division (yes I'm a little intimidated by that one since there's not cap on the max weight for this one) and as a light heavyweight in the open division.
 
Since this is my log, I'll go into a little more detail here. I ended up getting 4th place in the Novice Heavyweight division. I also got 4th place in the Open Light Heavyweight division. I'm happy with that because I had some good competition and still did better then my first time. My first competition I placed 6th as a Middleweight, so not only did I move up in rankings, but I also moved up a division.

I talked to all the judges afterwards and the main thing they said I needed was more size and said that my height hurt that. They said my symmetry was excellent and that my back was well developed. A few of them actually remembered me from my first show a earlier this year. They said that I had made great progress and that my posing was far better. I talked to all the judges after the show then too. Helps me get their perspective of what I need to fix or focus on. It was also nice because I had several friends who came out to support me. My individual routine went much better this time. I was more confident and felt adequately prepared for it. Now I need to make more tweaks and work on performing better for next time.

Afterwards I rushed to the closest Red Robin with some friends from the show and pigged out on riblets, burger, milkshake, and apple crisp! Man that tasted so good! I felt kinda bad since we all got there half an hour before it closed and were there for almost on hour after they closed...but the food took those inhibitions right away! :p Today I'm lax on my diet and tomorrow I start back up full swing in preparation for the State Championships in three weeks. I'm hoping to bring a tighter more conditioned package with ever improving posing and presentation.

Enough rambling...here's some show pics!



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Here I am on stage




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Side tri pose, sorry about the angle but I don't feel like paying $100 bucks for a handful of pictures when my wife was right there taking them too.




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Award presentation after night show




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This one is backstage right after the show. This one is probably my favorite pose.




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No rest for those that seek victory! Back in full swing today.


Diet is perfect today. Only had my first meal since I'm still doing the Lean Gains diet. That consisted of Chicken breast, Oatmeal with some raisins in a cup of fat free milk, and a protein shake, all right after my workout. Macros were: P 83, C 53, F 7 all in grams of course. That equates to 55% pro, 35% carbs, and 10% fats. This isn't how the day will end but is exactly how I like my post workout/initial lean gains meal to be. Reasoning for the higher carbs and lower fats is to help expedite the nutrients to the body without slowing absorption since I'm coming off both my workout and ~16 hour fast. Plus, carbs induce insulin secretion which is a storage hormone and I want to limit the amount of fats available in the blood stream for conversion to adipose tissue. My second meal will be a more balanced structure, and my last meal will have few carbs and higher in fats. This is because I will be going to bed and won't use up the extra carbs as energy expenditure, and the fats will help slow the absorption of my protein intake which will provide a longer release of amino acids as well as helping me feel satiated and full longer since I start my ~16 hour fast again after that meal.




I started with my chest routine today. I warm up each body part and then pyramid the weight down.


Incline DB press: went up to 100's but they still felt heavier then usual


Flat BB Bench press: went up to 275 and while I was able to do the set, they also felt heavier today


Wide Grip HS chest press: went up to 4 plates each side.


Finished with Cable Pec Flyes.


So I felt much better today and had tons of energy from all my carbing up. I also got a good pump pretty quickly. I'm holding alot of water too but that usually happens for a couple days after I practically dehydrate dropping water for the show.


I then did an hour of cardio and then stretched out. I'm feeling pretty good today. Much better then I felt last week.
 
Got up early today and finally busted open my can of Animal Cuts that I've had for a least a year. Figure its time to give it a shot. I took that with my usual morning supps and some Focus XT, I then realized I had just taken half a gram of caffeine! Crap. I got up early just to get some morning cardio in since I have decided to continue two-a-day cardio sessions 6x per week until comp time. I gotta get shredded, no slacking off for me! I did 45 minutes of moderate cardio on my home elliptical with several high intensity intervals since I was feeling unusually energetic! :p This was done in a semi-fasted state, which mean only intake was BCAA's prior.


Today is a recovery day from lifting so cals will be lower and no carbs. Diet has been spot on today. Just tuna, chicken, greens, and olive oil.


Tonight I will play some basketball as is my usual routine but...I'm not sure how long I can play for since my leg hair is starting to grow back and is quite uncomfortable!
 
Congratulations!! I was thinking about you yesterday, wondering how it went, but I've been so busy. You did a great job man! and excellent feedback from the judges. You friends and fam must be really proud. And the back looks great, wide and defined.
 
Congratulations!! I was thinking about you yesterday, wondering how it went, but I've been so busy. You did a great job man! and excellent feedback from the judges. You friends and fam must be really proud. And the back looks great, wide and defined.

thanks! yeah they were happy too. I just need to continually try and progress and I'm sure I'll do even better.


Thanks!
 
Last night I played full court basketball as planned. I ended up playing for 2 hours and my legs were so done with me at the end! I dosed BCAA's both before and after playing to keep aminos high and cals low.

This morning I did 30 minutes of cardio on my upright bike and then 30 minutes on the elliptical. Later this afternoon I'm going to hit the gym for another hour of cardio and my back routine.
 
Well...things have unfortunately come up that take precedence over the State show I've been so looking forward to. So state is out but I have one last one I think I will shoot for at the end of next month.


Diet over the weekend was abysmal. I've been dealing with alot of stress and not having the state show to focus on for my diet, I kinda just ate whatever. The good news is that I had a much better workout yesterday because of it! My glycogen stores were full to the brim and more. My feet and ankles are a little bloated so I knew I needed to go back on my diet and did so today. My weight is up to 218 today! :eek: But alot of that is water retention.


So yesterday, I did chest. I also tried two packets of Cellucor's C4. I tried it to try out the creatine nitrate. It was orange flavor which sucked. But then again, I don't like orange flavored things so something to keep in mind! I got incredible pumps though. I actually felt that they were so intense that they actually interfered with my workout. However they weren't painful like the ArA pumps were for me.


I did 95 lbs DB's on incline and they felt so light! So I decided to go up. Well, my usual gym was closed cause it was the 4th, so I had to go to another one. They only had one 100 DB so I just went to the 110 pounders. I was surprised with how easily I got them up for a full set of 8. Those felt good, much better then they have being in the caloric deficit for so long.


I then did flat bench and hit my usual numbers but reps started going down as I got more pumped. I then finished with cable flyes.


So, here's a couple pics of the post workout pump...and the water retention too! :D


End report, I was impressed with the pumps from creatine nitrate, however, I must also take into account the oversaturation of glycogen, in which state I haven't trained in quite awhile as well. I would venture that this was a combination of both.




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Today was back. Bad part is that I woke up with a sore throat. Uhg. I had a good workout though.


I did several sets of t-bar rows up to 225 pounds. Not sure if that's any good but it felt good.


I then did rack pulls for the first time in several months. Since its been so long I only did 315, but didn't need straps. Good news is that it didn't hurt my lower back that was previously aggravated so I think I can add those back in, albeit in slower increases in weight.


I compound setted those with back extensions which really got my erector spinae pumped.


I then did lat pulldowns
supersetted with
behind the neck pulldowns


I then did an hour of cardio.


Other notes: Focus XT really came through today and I needed it since I had plenty of strength and endurance but I didn't sleep to well and needed the stim and focus boost that I got. My chest is still sore from Monday.
 
Alright, I'm revamped and refocused and ready to make some contest prep progress! My next show (and last one of the year) will be August 20. It looks like it's going to be a great show and has lots of other things going on including an expo. Here's the link if anybody is interested in checking it out. Invalid Link Removed


Today was legs.


Started with Box Squats and did 4 sets


Hamstring Curls, alternating each leg without any rest (besides what they got from switching legs back and forth)


Smith Squats. I was worried about this one because regular squats kill my knees and these were only marginally better. I've been doing box squats for awhile now though without problems so I decided to give it shot. They felt ok, we'll see tomorrow.


I decided to try something new today, something I've tried before but never really committed to hitting completely and fully during my workout. The Power Squat also known as the Wide Stance Squat. This is for my hamstring, glute, and hip flexor (TFL) involvement. I gave it shot and did a full set. I liked them and felt my hamstrings tightening up alot. Later on when I did my static stretches afterwards, I couldn't complete them because my glutes and TFL started seizing up, so I know I hit them good! I found a good article about what they incorporate, how to do it properly, and other pertinent info here: Invalid Link Removed


I then ended with Seated Calf Raises. Unfortunately, during both sets I attempted, my calves seized and cramped up viciously and forced me to stop.


Overall, I think I got a very good, well balanced, and productive workout in. My legs are sore everywhere but my knees aren't inflamed so definitely a win for me today!


Before I began my legs routine, I rolled my legs out thoroughly on the black roller (the hardest type). The problem is that instead of loosening them up, it made my legs tighter and my right quad started cramping. I said no way and pushed through and had a great workout anyways. I also decided to only roll them out afterwards!


I then did about an hour of cardio.


This was all done in my semi-fasted state of only 10g BCAA's for the day...and tons of water...and my Focus XT, according to my Lean Gains/IF dieting protocol.


I'm newly amped up and more motivated then before to condition well and succeed at this next competition. I got 6 weeks to bring about the changes I want to see. This morning I weighed in at 220 pounds. I think that I depleted some of my glycogen stores today though and am not taking in any carbs (other then from veggies) today. I imagine that will also help with the recent bloating and drop my weight back down a little bit.


I finally had a really good night's sleep last night and feel great today.


My diet has been decent the last couple of days but after remotivating myself, it has been impeccable.


Here's what it looks like today:


Post Workout, Meal 1:
I had 2 cans of tuna fish and one can of albacore white meat tuna fish. I don't like the albacore only because its even drier then the regular tuna but I have it and need to use it and macros are good on it. I then had an entire can of green beans to help keep hunger cravings down so I would be less likely to cheat on anything.


That brings me these results:


Cals: 480
Pro: 101 g
Cho: 14 g (all from the green beans)
Fat: 5 g


I'm about to have my second meal consisting of 6.1 oz of steamed shrimp.


Tonight's meal #3 will consist of homemade rotisserie chicken and asparagus.
 
Today I did arms and delts.


For pre workout I did somethings different. I did Focus XT Black Cherry. WOW! That flavor is amazing! I was truly impressed. I then did 1.5g creatine nitrate, 1 g Agmatine sulfate, 2 g GMS, 5 g Citrullene Malate, 250 mg Norvaline, 10 g BCAA's, and lots of water. Yep, pumps were stellar! Oh and for addition stims I added in 2.5 mg Yohimbine, and 30mg Synephrine.


Started with delts. Start was slow as I didn't feel like being there for some weird reason.


-Seated DB shoulder press


-HS shoulder press


-Front raises (cable)


-Side lateral raises (cable)


-Rear delts (cables)


Started feeling the stims kick in here. Wasn't anything sudden, just a nice gradual boost that made feel better and better.


Did a monster superset for arms.


-Tricep cable pushdowns (rope attachment)


-Drag Curls


-Tricep Kickbacks (separate cables for each arm---need to get a video of this cause it's such a good exercise)


-Front double bicep curls (cables)


I did 4 sets of this ^^^ with about a minute and a half rest in between sets all heavy and to failure. No rest at all between any of the individual exercises.


I did 16 sets in 16 minutes and my arms felt like they were going to explode and then fall off! :p


I then did my cardio session.


Going to head out for a walk with the wife for a bit now and then do some posing and stretching when I get back.
 
I weighed in at 222 lbs today. :eek: So needless to say, I just revamp and stepped up the diet today. Today is a "burn/hypocaloric" day so I've only had BCAA's and green beans so far! I'm add in chicken and maybe some crab later. And probably more green beans...man I miss asparagus! Was that as weird sounding as I think? I gotta stay away from salads though. Not because they are inherently bad but because I make them that way! I end up adding cherry flavored Craisens, maple brown sugar pecans (these are amazing!), and then a raspberry basalmic vinaigrette.


Yesterday I hit mah backness.


I decreased the amount of exercises but increased the sets and still got a good workout in.


Here's the deeds:


-T-bar rows


-Rack Pulls


-Lat Pulldowns


-Straight Arm Pressdowns


So a even mix for back thickness and width.


I then did an hour of cardio.










So here's my full supplementation now:


-CL Orange Triad, 4 tabs ED (yes I know the full dose is 6 but I'm not a wealthy man so I gotta make it last!)
-Fish Oil, 3-6 caps per day
-SNS TTA-500, 3 caps ED
-SNS RK Xtreme 500, 2 ED
-SNS Green Tea, 2 caps ED (with the best extract available at such a low price --- yeah, slight shill! :D)
-Animal Cuts, 1 pack in the AM (dosed on an empty stomach which makes me feel the slight stomach burn that I always get from capsaicin but it goes away after several minutes)
-NOW COQ10 with Hawthorn Berry extract, usually 2-4 caps ED which translates into 200-400mg of CoQ10 and 800-1600mg of Hawthorn Berry.
-SNS Liver Assist XT, 3 caps ED
-SNS Magnesium Creatine Chelate, 3 caps ED, but might bump to 6 soon.
-SNS Reduce XT (our version of Lean Xtreme for cortisol control), 2-3 caps ED, I do one AM/PM and the third is when I do semi-fasted (BCAA only) training in the afternoon when cortisol is more likely to be increased.
-SNS ALCAR, 3 caps ED
-NOW AlphaSorb C (vitamin c with bioflavanoids)


All doses are usually split as follows: AM empty stomach, PM empty stomach (some supps vary with this one, such as OT, fish oil, Liver Assist, and MCC are taken with food). Then on training days, whether it's cardio or lifting or lifting and cardio, I'll take another dose of the synergistic fat burners such as the TTA, Green Tea, RK Xtreme, and Reduce XT.


-SNS Yohimbine 2.5, as needed (usually 2 ED)
-SNS Syn-30 (synephrine hcl), as needed (usually 2 ED)
I'm playing with these two right now together and separately to see how I like it best. I usually dose one in the AM before school, and the other pre workout in the afternoon.


-My pre workout concoction which consists of this:
>1 scoop Focus XT
>10 g BCAA (with 5g being from Leucine)
>2 g Beta Alanine
>One scoop Labrada Elasti-Joint
>and either Yohimbine or Synephrine (I'll eventually figure out which one I like best for pre!)
This makes a potent and very effective pre workout. I get all the stims I need for a good session and the combo keeps me from having any sudden crash, I get the cognitive/mental boost from the Focus XT, the endurance and maximizing carnosine levels with the beta alanine, the joint health and protection from the Elasti-Joint, and the anti-catabolic and muscle protein synthesis enhancing effects from the BCAA's.


-Protein comes mainly from whole food sources, however I do take shakes as well because it's an easy and effective way to stay on track for my diet, keep my macros where I want them, and keep my protein intake high. I like various brands such as XF, Dymatize, Muscle Pharm, ON, and a few others.




-Only other occasional supps are:
Nutrient partitioner like Glycobol, Recompadrol, or Slin Sane (all of which I currently have but only use one brand at a time to better evaluate effectiveness) with high carb meals...at least the planned ones! ;)


-Myogenix Pro Fiber with digestive enzymes




Wow that's a lot of crap! That's not my typical supplementation but my contest prep supplementation.
 
Today was legs. Oh man it was good today!


I started with some dynamic warm-ups and that helped loosen me up. Again I did fewer exercises but more sets and heavier weight and got more out of it.


-Box Squats


-Laying Hamstring Curls (rest-pause style)


-Smith machine squats (varying foot positions)


-Sumo Squats (wide stance for hamstring emphasis)
on these ones I went up to 315 and did the full set. I wasn't sure if I could at first since it was only the second time I've done this variation. I think I can do more though and they felt good.


-Donkey Calf Raises
My calves seized up and cramped bad during the second set so I only got those two sets in.


-Tibialis Raises


By the time I was done with my legs, they were shaking just standing!


-Super decline sit-ups (raised one side of a decline bench up all the way and then put that part up on a box)
Did 21's with a 45 lbs plate




Afterwards I immediately had a post workout shake of Dymatize Isolate and Dymatize Egg protein. I then took a shower and afterwards had my post workout meal, consisting of 3 cans of tuna fish and half a cup of oatmeal with some raisins. Here's the macro breakdown of the whole thing:


Calories: 911 (True Lean Gains style where your first meal of the day is after your workout and is your biggest of the day as well---I done good here)


Fats: 8 g
Carbs: 80 g
Pro: 140 g


Perfect macros! After my workout is when I want the majority of my day's carb intake, a high amount of protein (I like various sources), and little fats, allowing for faster absorption and minimizing the amount of fats that are available for storage in the blood stream with the associated insulin spike from the carbs.
 
I got the hookup from Gaspari yesterday. Got a full tub of SuperPump MAX, the new Uncle Richie's Sour Apple flavor. Odd name but I like the novelty and the different flavor. Got a few other things too. I tried the SP Max for today's workout and really liked it.


Delts then arms day.


Here's what I did today:


-DB Shoulder Press


-HS Shoulder Press
I was feeling good and decided to really push it today. I went up 50 pounds and tried to do 285...fail. I guess I was overly optimistic! I dropped it down to 245 and got the full set in.


-Smith machine Shoulder Press


-Front Cable Raises


-Rear Delt Flyes




Then a few minutes rest and then on to arms:


My triceps were a little sore so I decided to try and keep things as evenly worked as possible so I did a monster set with 3 bi and 2 tri exercises. Did several sets of it.


-Seated Bicep DB Curls (not alternating)


-Weighted Dips on BOSS (went up to 10 plates which felt good---so 450 lbs dips for working sets!)


-Drag Curls


-Tricep Cable Pressdowns


-Front Double Bicep Cable Curls


I did this entire portion supersetted with no rest in-between exercises for each rotation.


I then did my cardio on the treadmill. I had some more BCAA's for this because my workout lasted pretty long.


Following, I had a protein shake of whey and casein. Shortly afterwards I had my post workout meal consisting of 3 cans of tuna fish and half a cup of oatmeal in almond milk.


Here's the total macro breakdown:


Cals: 794
Fats: 13
Carbs: 39
Protein: 144


Here's a couple pics from today.


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Today was a catch up day so I supersetted chest and back. I haven't done this in true ss fashion in awhile and remember now why I don't do it much...it's EXHAUSTING! I did this workout in a semi-fasted state...only 2 scoops of Gaspari's SuperPump Max (2 scoops to get the full 4g of leucine and plenty of stims!). That's was it. SP Max did the job again and it worked great. One of my favorite pre workouts.




I did this in exactly this order:


-Warmed up a little differently. I walked outside around the block (at the gym) twice and did some dynamic warm-ups for upper body while I did it. That took up 15 minutes but felt good and worked well.




-DB Incline Press
Used the hundo's and they felt heavy so I didn't go up. That kinda disappointed me at first cause I was hoping for better. Oh well, gotta push on and keep moving forward.


supersetted with:


-T-Bar Rows
Only went to 150 today cause I found doing these without rest from heavy chest was hard enough. Stayed within the 10 rep range throughout.


I did that for four sets then moved on to the next sequence.




-Flat Bench Press
Warmed up with 225 lbs cause I wasn't sure how strong I'd be after the Inclines feeling heavy today but these were surprisingly light.


I debated going to just 255 instead of my normal 275 lbs but then decided to not wuss out and go for it regardless. I used a buddy to spot me just in case but I ended up killing it for 8 full reps.


So with that feeling so good I decided to shoot for 295 lbs (my previous max being 300, video provided a couple months ago in this very log). My buddy who spotted me told me that I needed to do 315. Well...I've only tried that once before and failed. I decided, what the hell, I'll go for it. I shocked myself and was able to do 315 lbs for 4 reps (1, maybe 2 with help---he claimed only 2 fingers...I wasn't paying attention to that though). PR! My long arms are not very conducive for heavy weight presses so this felt great!


supersetted with:


-Wide Grip Pull-Ups


Did that for four sets




-Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Rows
did 315 lbs each arm


supersetted with:


-Hammer Strength Wide Grip Chest Press
did 400 lbs


Did three or four sets of that, can't remember which.
 
Today was legs.

Did:

-Box Squats

-Standing single leg hamstring curls

-Smith Squats

-Sumo squats, but this one I did differently cause my shoulders were really tight from yesterday and started seizing up from gripping the oly bar. I stepped up on some even boxes and used a DB. They actually worked really well.
 
Yesterday I went to support some of my friends from my gym who participated in the Rocky Mountain State Games held at the Olympic Training Center. Here's a couple pics from the show.

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Charlie, who lifted more weight then the weight class above his!



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Al who decided to compete in the event just a few weeks ago.



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Both of them won Gold Medals for their class!



Afterwards, several of us went out and had some delicious burgers and Cold Stone ice cream follow by watching Captain America. Not too worried about the impromptu splurge, diet is back on 100% today.
 
Today I did split cardio. I did half an hour before on the elliptical. Then hit the weights. I did chest today but wanted to change it up a bit.

-Smith Incline Press
Only the second time I've done these but I'm able to do more weight on these then DB's or Bench. I went up to 245 for 5 today.

-HS Wide Grip chest press

-HS Incline Press

-Barbell Decline Bench Press

I then finished up with another half hour of cardio. It was a nice day so I did it around the block of the gym. I varied the pace from walking to jogging and did another half hour.

-Finished up with extreme stretches and then practiced my posing. I need to do my posing more.

Diet has been absolutely perfect this week. Weight is currently at 212.8 lbs. BF, I dunno maybe 8%?
 
Did back today.

-T-bar rows

-Rack Pulls

-Pull ups

-Straight arm lat pushdowns

Then finished with an hour of cardio.


Here's a song that I just heard a couple weeks ago on the radio and wasn't sure about it at first but it grew on me like a rash. It's by a band that I really like but this song had a very different feel to it.




Oh and this was just put up too:
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Big thanks to Steve and SNS!
 
KJ i may need to hire you to help get my training and diet down again..............things just went to crap for the last year:(

lol, I'll help you anyway I can! You can always text/call me with any questions.
 
Yesterday was the dreaded leg punishment.

I kept it simple but pushed it still.

-Box Squats

-Sumo Squats
did a bunch of these and went up to 315.

-Squats with various leg positioning.

-Decline Situps with 45 lbs plate---did 21's

-Finished with an hour of cardio on the treadmill. Last ten minutes were brutal cause I cranked up the speed and the incline which I gradually increased to the max of 15%.


Later that night I had a nice date with my wife. We went to a sushi place (which I hate BTW) but I just had chicken, beef, and rice. Then we watched Thor at the the dollar theater. I really liked that one and have to say that it is on of the better Marvel movies.

Afterwards, I did another round of cardio. We walked around the neighborhood at about 1 AM. We did 94 minutes, went 3.7 miles, and burned 441 calories. I tracked it with a new app I like using GPS for greater accuracy.


Today I played Tennis for 2 hours and 26 minutes. I am SO dead right now! I haven't played tennis in years but I wanted that more fast paced cardio. I wore my heart rate monitor to track how I did. My avg heart rate was 123 BPM and my highest got up to 159 BPM. My total distance that I did playing was 4.44 miles. Pretty dang good for just staying on the court.


Here's my video of the day...yeah definitely not hardcore but I like it.
Jamie Grace featuring Toby Mac
 
I used yesterday as my carb load day. Felt great today because of it so I wanted to go heavy. Did chest as follows:


-Flat Bench Press:
Warmed up with 135 and 225 then wanted to try 315 again. Video of attempt:



Spotter helped with the first one but I was able to get it up!
Did negatives of 315 then went down to sets at 275 with negatives at the end as well


-Incline Smith Press:
went up to 275 for my heaviest set


-Incline Barbell Press:
did this one differently. Loaded plates on it up to 185 and then added chains. Set it up so that it got heavier as I pushed the weight further up. Don't know how much the chains weighed and even if I did it wouldn't be accurate with how dynamic this was and the fact that the full length of the chains never came completely off the ground. I really liked this one because it felt so different and it required me to push it differently.


-Flat BOSS Plate Loaded Advanced Chest:
This one is like a independent arm yet still leverage machine that can go from a chest press into a flye at the top. Great for simulating a DB press. Started getting tired from the heavy weights so I keep it at 225. Here's what it looks like:

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-Cable Flyes


-Hour of cardio on treadmill at various speeds and inclines.

-Extreme stretches and posing were then done afterwards.

I plan on going for a bike ride for my second cardio session tonight.
 
Last night I did my second cardio session before bed at around 11 PM. We went bike riding around a lake and surrounding areas. Sprinklers were on is a couple sections and I got blasted with it a couple times. I did 7.1 miles in 46 minutes and burned 419 calories. I also wore my heart rate monitor. My high was 131 BPM and my avg was 107 BPM.

Did another cardio session this afternoon and will do my high intensity basketball tonight.
 
Today I'm at 206 lbs.

Did my basketball last night. Took all four caps from a AI Motivate sample and it seemed to work well. Good solid energy and no crash.

Today I hit back, some light shoulders, and abs. Nothing new or special to note. Did 405 on rack pulls and I feel like I could do more but with the caloric deficit, I just felt too drained. I needed extra stims today so I reverted back to Maximize V2 and 15mg of SNS Yohimbine. Gave me a nice boost.

Did an hour of cardio this morning and will do my evening cardio hitting a bike trail tonight.
 
Last week I had a interim class, which is basically a full semester class taught all day for a full week with lots of fun homework every night. So it can be rough for a week a but it makes the next four month semester a lighter load. The class I took was pretty cool. It was Herbal and Dietary Supplements. The funny part was that the teacher actually had me talk to the class about the sports supplements section!

So week before last, I guess around the last time I posted, I got my bodyfat checked by the same guy I always do, and I was disappointed to see that I wasn't as close as I had hoped. I could probably push it, risk losing muscle, and compete this weekend anyways but not place very well, or just move on to my next goal, which is what I decided to do. I've been dieting almost all year and I need a break from it and need to work on adding some good quality mass that I can't do dieting for shows. So my next competition probably won't be till next spring. However, my wife is going to be doing her first show in bikini division this weekend so I'll still be there to support her and some friends.

With school about to start up and with my heavy load I'm taking, and because I've been doing the same routine for awhile now, I've decided to switch things up. I wanted to do Layne's PHAT training, but I think I'll try that in January when I have a lighter load and more time I can dedicate to the gym. So I'm looking at consolidation my workouts down to 3x per week. What better way to do that then DC Training! I started it up again last week but just did it light to get back into the groove. I really liked it and actually miss doing it. It's exhausting but I'm in and out of the gym in no time.
 
Love the detail in these!!!
 
I understand that last posts man. I decided to do the same thing, i killed my self with dieting, and it was pointless cuz i was lossing too much muscle and decided to start my bulk from now.
good luck.
 
Love the detail in these!!!

Thanks

I understand that last posts man. I decided to do the same thing, i killed my self with dieting, and it was pointless cuz i was lossing too much muscle and decided to start my bulk from now.
good luck.

That's how I felt. I feel that if I now focus on gaining LBM and having a caloric surplus for several months, I can add some size and then diet down and be more competitive next year without sacrificing too much.
 
It was quite an experience but I'm glad to be home now! Incredible turnout. My wife's class alone had 28 competitors.:eek: They only placed the top five and although my wife did get called out and was compared next to two of the girl's that placed, she wasn't one of top five. :( That's ok because she learned alot and got over all the competition jitters. She looked great and handled herself well. We got her a trainer and we're already getting her ready (after today) for her next competition in October which is a National Qualifier. Here's some pics...





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It was quite an experience but I'm glad to be home now! Incredible turnout. My wife's class alone had 28 competitors.:eek: They only placed the top five and although my wife did get called out and was compared next to two of the girl's that placed, she wasn't one of top five. :( That's ok because she learned alot and got over all the competition jitters. She looked great and handled herself well. We got her a trainer and we're already getting her ready (after today) for her next competition in October which is a National Qualifier. Here's some pics...





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Wait a minute, you mean you are not a good enough trainer for her:D
 
Wait a minute, you mean you are not a good enough trainer for her:D

lol, hey hey now! I got her this far, lol! I have no clue how to the do the "girl" stuff and that posing can be a beast. She's got an excellent trainer that will help her with all of that and I'll keep her on track at home!
 
I hit legs today with Andy. We did a giant set.
-Smith Squats, various leg positions
-Hamstring Curls
-Leg Extensions

Did several rounds of it. I did 315 on the squats and those felt good today. Had me sweating pretty good! Andy finished legs but I had to leave early because of class but I managed to take a few pics after I changed.



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I always have fun and a good workout with Andy!
 
So I thought I talked about my kiddos at the competition last week but...looks like I didn't. They had a Arm-wrestling competition there as well and we heard them announcing a kids division. So we went over there after check-ins and were just in time to sign up our boys. My oldest was the youngest in the division so he went up against some bigger boys (see pic). It was double elimination and didn't make it very far but tried. My younger son ended doing very well and made it to the Championship round where he then lost. He took second place which was exciting for him. He was so proud when he got to add his trophy to my own collection.


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My oldest boy is on the far right



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My youngest with his "trophy" which was a belt buckle




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I played two and a half hours of tennis yesterday with one of my buddies. My feet are killing me today with blisters but I had fun!
 
Today I worked out with an old work buddy of mine who wants to compete next year. We're going to do our contest prep's together next year to make sure we stay on track and for motivation.

Today we did chest and back in this order:

Bench Press:
15x135 warm up
8x225
3x315 Wasn't sure if I would hit this again but I felt stronger today
6x315 (Just negatives)
8x275
I think another set but I can't remember now...I know, old age!


Rack Pulls:
Warm ups
?x225
10ish x315
8ish x405
these felt pretty good and I was just feeling it today so I decided to push it
10x495 PR! Good and bad news. I got a PR which is awesome and I got video of it too. The bad news is that when I just now tried to upload the video from my phone for your viewing pleasure, it wouldn't pull up and won't work. :mad:


Hammer Strength Incline Press:
8ish x315
8ish x275
8ish x225


Bent Over Dumbbell Rows:
10x70
10x120
ARHG! Right side felt great and I was going to go up in weight but, on my left side I kinda adjusted my back position mid row and I tweaked my lower back so I stopped.


Hammer Strength Wide Grip Chest Press:
8ishx315 for all sets, three I think


Hammer Strength Iso Lateral Rows:
10x135 (each arm not total)
Left side was a little sensitive on the last couple reps so I decided to end my back workout to keep from making anything worse


Pec Dec:
2 sets, high reps, moderate weight, don't remember details of this one
 
Had my boys with me at the gym today and they wanted to workout with daddy. I showed them some things and they did a few exercises until they got board and then went outside to play on the monster tires.

Today was shoulders and arms. Here's what I did in about this order too.

-Seated DB Press

-Hammer Strength Shoulder Press

-Some machine Shoulder Press

-Rear Delt Flyes

did 3-4 sets of each exercise


Short rest and transitioning to arms...

Did all of these as supersets

-Tricep Pressdowns (cables with rope attachment)

ss w/
-Preacher Cable Curls
did about 5 sets of that


-Drag Curls
ss w/
-Boss plate loaded Dips

did another 5 sets or so with that


Actually had my shoulders and arms really pumped at the end. I took Focus XT, my Aminos, and Agmatine for preworkout.

Some post WO pics:

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Nice pix buddy, checkin in so you know I'm still following, was about a week without electricity after Irene hit us :/
That's great how u take the little guys with u to the gym, around how old are they?
Congrats on the PR :)
 
Nice pix buddy, checkin in so you know I'm still following, was about a week without electricity after Irene hit us :/
That's great how u take the little guys with u to the gym, around how old are they?
Congrats on the PR :)

Thanks! Must have sucked after the hurricane for you. I'm guessing it was miserable without power and ruined a lot of food? My boys are 6 and 8. They keep things interesting!
 
Yes it sucked, specially when all the mosquitos came out to party after the rains, and no fans. With the food we usually end up doing a BBQ or something, I was lucky that my grocery day was close to the storm so I just cooked up the meats I had left, chopped up the fruit and put it on ice then bought canned goods. So not much was wasted except a packet of ham and some cheese lol. Also I had some great luck that our Avocado tree and our Plantains lent use some good eats before and after the storm. My protein intake suffered but u just got to roll with it.
Those are fun ages lol, I think I see one sleeping in the background of ur pic :)

I'd like to mention that you wife looks great and it would be pretty cool if she logged her workouts here too, get some more women here :)
Congrats to ur boy for his trophy, love the pic with them standing on the wood slates lol too cute.
 
Yes it sucked, specially when all the mosquitos came out to party after the rains, and no fans. With the food we usually end up doing a BBQ or something, I was lucky that my grocery day was close to the storm so I just cooked up the meats I had left, chopped up the fruit and put it on ice then bought canned goods. So not much was wasted except a packet of ham and some cheese lol. Also I had some great luck that our Avocado tree and our Plantains lent use some good eats before and after the storm. My protein intake suffered but u just got to roll with it.
Those are fun ages lol, I think I see one sleeping in the background of ur pic :)

I'd like to mention that you wife looks great and it would be pretty cool if she logged her workouts here too, get some more women here :)
Congrats to ur boy for his trophy, love the pic with them standing on the wood slates lol too cute.

At least you got through it without too many setbacks! That would be my oldest on the bench waiting for me to get done with everything. Usually he's jumping on the benches and swinging on the doors and really testing my patience! Thanks, I told my wife (she posts occasionally at bb) and she said she'll consider it. Not sure if she'll do it on this site though because of the low traffic in this part of the forums.
 
Played just more then two hours of tennis yesterday and then went swimming with my family. Got plenty of cardio in that I actually enjoyed
 
Today I hit supersetted chest and back.
I didn't do as many exercise but I did more sets. I took it a bit easier on the type of back exercises as a preventative measure from last week, even though it's feeling pretty good now.


-Smith Incline Press
disappointing, only got up to 275


-Lat Pulldowns


-HS Wide Chest press
This is where it was at today, did full sets at 400 pounds. Had a decent size dude come over to me and comment on my strength (which I don't really like is that great)


-HS Iso Lateral Rows
These were feeling good so I kept going up in weight. Finally found my limit at 450 pounds (individual lever arms but this weight is total---5 each side) where I was only able to do three not-so-great ROM reps.




My wife did plyometrics but then wanted to go play tennis. So we got a couple people together and I played over three hours of tennis and even had a dinner break in between at the park benches. I'm pretty tired and I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow!
 
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