BPS...the man, the myth....the sponsored athlete!

The Rebirth of the Phoenix?

So after a lengthy hiatus I am now back in the mix. Although I've been training the entire time I recently (4 weeks ago) started ramping it up again, diet is back in check, cardio is on point and the workouts are awesome as always.

My decision to start killing it again was bascially due to 3 things, 1) I'm getting married next year and I don't want to be a fat slob for that, 2) I figured that if I'm losing weight for the wedding I might as well do it smartly and participate in some bodybuilding contests as well, and 3) I reached an all time high of 285lbs not too long ago and in weighing that much my quality of life really started to suffer.

Anyways, long story short, I'm happy to be back at it and will be updating this log my routinely from now on. I'm also just waiting for my next cheque so that I can make my next order from MST (gonna be a big one).

:djparty:
 
Had a couple awesome workouts this weekend inbetween coaching a couple hockey games. Highlights were as follows:

315 for reps on both Incline and Flat Bench Press
495 for reps on Deadlift
45 minutes of cardio (both days) split between the treadmill and eliptical.

Obviously there was more to the workouts than just the above but I felt these were the most important as they're numbers/reps that I haven't hit in awhile. BTW, I'm also under 270lbs for the first time in a long while (268 this morning).
 
Leg workout was right after work yesterday, no hockey to tire me out and the gym wasn't too busy either so I was able to use the equipment that I wanted when I wanted.

Diet:
Low Carb Day

Workout:
Squats

10@135
10@225
10@315
8@405
5@425
5@455
5@475

Stiff Legged DL's

10@135
10@185
10@225
10@225
10@225

Single Leg Press ss w/ Sled Calf Press

10/10@180 / 20@180
10/10@270 / 20@270
10/10@270 / 20@270

Leg Extensions ss w/Hamstring Crul

10@150 / 10@80
10@180 / 10@90
10@200 / 10@100

Standing Calf Press

20@460
20@550
20@640

Cardio

Done post workout
30 min on the recumbant bike, hills setting, level 8.

Energy Level: 8/10, Felt great going in, was dead coming out.

Workout Rating: A, Great workout, in fact, my legs were completely thrashed after just squats and sldl's, either else was just topping on the cake.

Post Workout Musings: Everything felt pretty good, I'm happy that I still have the majority of my strength although I have noticed that it is dropping some what. It's hard to expect otherwise though as my diet and activity level makes it nearly impossible to keep it all.

Macros:
Calories: ~1966
(P) ~ 300g
(C) ~ 95g
(F) ~ 50g

Water intake:
~6 litres

Supplements:
1 Multi-Vitamin
1 Fish Oil
1 Cal/Mag/Vit D
 
Chose not to lift last night, after work I had to go coach a practice, after that I had to run a dry land session for the team, after that I had to go to the other end of town to pick up the fiancee from her work, by the time I got home the decided that any workout I did would lack the requisite intensity so instead I decided that I'll do some shoulders and biceps tonight, with chest and triceps tomorrow and then some back on Saturday. FYI, I'm getting into some uncharted territory on my belt :D my waist has come down so much that I'm on belt notches that have never been used since I bought the belt. :afro:
 
Had practice this morning, then went and got 30 minutes of cardio in and now I'm at work.... today is going to be one hell of a long day....
 
Was doing deadlifts to start my workout last night and on my 2nd set of 405 I felt something "let go" in my lower back (right side spinal erector), had some immediate and excruciating pain, and had to end the workout right there. Spent all night on the couch, after taking some extra strength Ibuprofen. I actually felt a whole lot better this morning until I bent over to pick something up, it almost felt the same as during me deadlifts the night before just not as excruciating. It's been very tough sitting at my desk this morning (had a couple extra strength Advil as soon as I got here) however I can't see myself making it through the day, sitting is just way to aggravating on my lower back right now.
 
I tried some Greek Yogurt for the first time this morning, I mixed it with a scoop of chocolate protein, it tasted just like a chocolate mousse. It's kind of pricy compared to regular yogurt but definitely awesome for a tasty/health treat. I think I'll check if Costco has a bulk size for cheap.
 
Was able to do some light cardio on the recumbant bike last night and on the eliptical this morning. The bike session was 45 minutes on the random hill setting, level 6. The eliptical session was 45 minutes on the random hill setting, level 10. Both sessions were completed without any pain, although I do still have some lingering soreness however I am able to walk/move without any extra pain. I think that I will try a little upper body workout tonight after work, it will probably just be Biceps and Triceps and all exercises will either be seated of laying down to ensure that the lower back is not being strained. Hopefully all this is going in the right direction so I can get back into training for this contest

NOTES: Weighed in at 265 this morning and that was after a large meal last night. So hopefully I'm even a little bit lighter than that. :D
 
So I was able to do some workouts over the weekend (4 day weekend due to the holiday). I opted for volume over heavy weight in order to protect my back from any further injury and actually ended up having some unbelievable workouts. You know, it's always funny the extent to which switching from heavy weight to volume can affect your workout. Every time I try some volume I leave feeling like a million bucks, now granted it's not like I'm going super light or anything like that I'm still going as heavy as I can for the alotted amount of sets but geez the pain/soreness/DOMS that such a change brings to me are INTENSE. I've played around with the idea for awhile of switching back and forth between weeks, doing a volume week and then doing a heavy/power week, so this is something that you might see more of when I start my actual prep log.

BTW, less than 2 weeks before I start my actual contest prep (i.e. 20 week out prep) and I'm already the leanest I've been in over a year, that doesn't say much about what I did to myself over the last year but it does make me feel good going into a prep fully prepared.
 
Wow, this week has absolutely been flying by.... I played hockey on Tuesday and Thursday (no time for workouts on either day), which ended up being grueling cardio sessions as well only had 7 guys show up for each game, if you've ever played a faced-paced game of hockey with only 7 guys you know what I'm talking about, the other teams had 11 or 12 guys. On Wednesday I did a light back workout, most high rep, lighter work with lots of stretching. I could definitely feel some soreness in my lower back, I'm pretty sure that playing hockey aggravated it somewhat so I made sure to take it easy during the workout, also got a pretty good cardio session in post-workout on Wed (60 minutes on the eliptical, random hills level 10). I'll be doing shoulders tonight and then hopefully chest and arms over the weekend. I say hopefully as I am travelling to Cape Breton Island as we have a couple hockey games up there, the hotel has a "fitness room" but I'm not too sure what that will entail (probably just a treadmill and a couple DB's). Didn't see much in the way of weightloss this week so I'll just have to re-double my efforts next week, only 2 weeks before the "official" contest prep starts.
 
Supplements arrived towards the end of last week. 3 Cre-02, 3 Carnage and 1 Shred-XS is the current pre-workout stack that I am using and thus far it is awesome!
 
Was finally able to do some actual leg work last night, or should I say SQUATS, as I had previously done some leg press, etc, since my back injury. I didn't go too heavy on squats (slow and steady wins the race right?) and I made sure to belt-up from 315 on (i.e. 315 for 10, 365 for 8, 405 for 5). After squats I did my leg presses, SLDLs, extensions, hamstring curls and calf press. It was a pretty solid leg workout all things considered, not as heavy as I was previously doing but very successful in terms of getting some great work in while ensuring that my back was taken care of.

The back is actually feeling good today, I have some slightly overall soreness due to the workout but that's to be expected.
 
Went in and did shoulders last night, no workout tonight though as I'm running a dry land session after work, then coaching practice and then heading off to my own game. So basically I left home this morning and won't be back until 12:30 tonight....

Diet:
Low Carb Day

Workout:
GIANT SET
DB Shoulder Press / DB Lateral Raise / DB Bentover Raise

20@50's / 10@35’s / 10@35’s
10@60's / 10@35’s / 10@35’s
10@70's / 10@35’s / 10@35’s
10@80's / 10@35’s / 10@35’s
10@90's / 10@35’s / 10@35’s

GIANT SET
Upright Barbell Rows / DB Lateral Raise / DB Front Raise

10@135 / 10@25’s / 10@25’s
10@155 / 10@25’s / 10@25’s
10@185 / 10@25’s / 10@25’s
10@205 / 10@25’s / 10@25’s
10@225 / 10@25’s / 10@25’s

Barbell Shrugs

20@225
10@315
10@365
10@405
10@365
10@315
20@225

Cardio

Done post workout
40min on the elliptical, random hills, level 12.

Energy Level: 9/10, Felt great heading into the gym and felt just as great leaving the gym.

Workout Rating: A+, This was an awesome workout, it definitely helped that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and was able to see more separation between my delts than I've ever had before (and I haven't even started my actual prep yet). That was definitely a motivating factor that helped push me through this workout.

Post Workout Musings: As I mentioned above the difference I'm seeing in my delts alone makes me think that I might have found something that works for me (superset and giant set for shoulders). A big reason why I was even able to see any separation is due to the diet that I've been staying pretty strict on. Although I haven't been dropping as fast as I would like I am definitely starting to notice big changes in the mirror.

Macros:
Calories: ~2100
(P) ~ 235g
(C) ~ 60g
(F) ~ 105g

Water intake:
~6 litres

Supplements:
1 Multi-Vitamin
1 Fish Oil
1 Cal/Mag/Vit D
3 MST CRE-02
3 MST Carnage
1 MST Shred Ultra
 
Strained my M*THER F*CKING back again attempting squats. I dont' know what's going on, I didn't even go heavy. I was able to do squats last week and then I turn around and attempt them this week and now I'm going to have to shelf squats (and deadlifts) for awhile (again). I don't know if my body is too tired or if there is something else going on it just doesn't seem right that I'm fine one week and then the next it's like I didn't give my back enough time to recover. Guess I'm going to have to avoid squats and deads like the plague for a little while in order to recover 100%, might have to go see a physiotherapist about this.
 
I took some time off after injuring my back again but have now started to get some solid workouts in again. Last week was pretty much a test week, to see what I could do, how heavy I could lift, etc. It went pretty well and I even got a decent leg workout in (most light weights) so I'm pretty stoked about that. I've alsp been able to keep the cardio up, so really the only thing that I slacked on over the last couple weeks was the dieting, not that I ate badly I just had more carbohydrates than usual and although I haven't gained any weight (score!) I haven't lost any either. The diet is now back in full effect and I'm ready to get back at it. Saturday is 25 weeks out from Provincials and the "switch" has been turned on! :sgrin: Logging will begin very soon, as I have fulfilled my other commitments on a different forum, so stay tuned.
 
Some really good volume workouts have been had recently so things are once again looking up. I even got up for 50 minutes of cardio at 6am this morning, the fiancee is on board as well so hopefully we can continue to motivate each other. I guess this is a good a time as any to start logging the progress.... so I will be posting my stats, diet and planned training/cardio schedules today, followed by my first "contest prep" training session (after I do it tonight). It's on like Donkey Kong!! (and yes I still use that term all the time.... give me a break I'm old...)
 
The BEGINNING.....

As I said above it's about time to get this all started again. Basically I'll be logging my workouts, diet, etc as I have done previously but with 2 goals in mind

Mar.19/11 - East Coast Natural Classics (Neutron Sports/INBA)
May.07/11 - Nova Scotia Provincials (NSABBA)

Everything after that is just shadows in the mist as I do not plan on making any other decisions until both these goals are achieved. Now unfortunately due to the recurring back problems I've had I feel like I'm a bit behind, although the good thing is that even though I was on the shelf for a bit I didn't gain any weight. I didn't lose any during that period but I very happy that I didn't gain.

Diet changes:
Currently I'm using a carb cycle diet plan but have also been experimenting with low/zero carb diets.

Workout:

DB Shoulder Press

10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's
10@65's

Barbell Upright Row

8@135
8@135
8@135
8@135
8@135
8@135
8@135
8@135

DB Lateral Raise

20@30's
20@30's
20@30's

DB Bent Over Raise

20@30's
20@30's
20@30's

DB Front Raise

20@20's
20@20's
20@20's

DB Shrugs

20@110's
20@110's

Crunches

10 sets of 10 crunches

Cardio

6am
50 minutes eliptical, "hills" setting, level 16

Post-workout
20 minutes eliptical, "hills" setting, level 16

Energy Level: 9/10, Great energy for a great workout.

Workout Rating: A+, The pump during and after this workout was intense.

Post Workout Musings: As you can see I've had to switch gears and focus on volume due to my injuring, when I feel that I'm ready I will be returning to some heavier weights but will not be ignoring volume either. This is just the first of many but I'm very happy with the result.

Macros:
Calories: ~2500
P: ~240
C: ~200
F: ~80

Water intake: ~4 litres

Daily Supplements:
1 Fish Oil
1 Cal/Mag/Vit D
1 Mulit Vitamin
3 Carnage
3 CRE-02
2 Shred Ultra
 
Was able to do some heavier legs yesterday. Went lighter on squats but heavier on presses. 3 sets of 10@135 and 2 sets of 10@225 for squats, 1 set of 10@360, 450, 540, 630, 720 for presses, followed up with higher rep quad extension, hamstring curls, and calf presses.

I wouldn't call it a complete leg workout but definitely a good start as my back actually felt good afterwards. I'm going to go for a quick chest workout after work, before going to the rink to run a 2 hour practice, followed by heading to a different rink to play in my own hockey game (I love playing hockey as my cardio session for the day).
 
Did a nice chest workout last night, followed by running a 2 hour hockey practice which was then followed by playing in my own game of hockey. Needless to say it was a long and busy night and I'm suffering for it today. :snooze:

Diet changes:
Low carb day

Workout:

DB Incline Press

10@60's
10@70's
10@80's
10@90's
10@100's
8@110's

HS Bench Press

10@45/side
10@90/side
10@115/side
8@135/side

Pec Deck

10@205
10@235
10@265

DB Decline Flyes

10@35's
10@35's
10@35's

Cable Pullovers

10@100
10@110
10@130

Cable "Reverse" Pullovers

10@100
10@110
10@130

Decline Bench Crunches

3 sets of 20 crunches

Cardio

Hockey was my only cardio yesterday, but between being on the ice for practice and then playing an entire game I think I got enough in :D

Energy Level: 9/10, It felt great to to some heavier lifting again, just the thought of it gave me energy for the workout.

Workout Rating: A, All things considered it was a pretty solid workout.

Post Workout Musings: The numbers may have been a little off of what I would normally lift at but it's been awhile since I've done anything heavier so I am very happy with the results from yesterday's workout. I will continue to push further though to once again get to where I was once at and then push further. Once good thing to note is that even though I'm about 25lbs lighter I'm close to putting up the same numbers. :eek:

Macros:
Calories: ~2100
P: ~240
C: ~100
F: ~80

Water intake: ~4 litres

Daily Supplements:
1 Fish Oil
1 Cal/Mag/Vit D
1 Mulit Vitamin
3 Carnage
3 CRE-02
2 Shred Ultra
 
From Wednesday, man the week is just flying by because I've been so crazy busy....

Diet changes:
Low carb day

Workout:

EZ Bar Curls - sets alternating with
Close Grip Bench Press

12@115
12@225
12@115
12@225

Alternating DB Curls - sets alternating with
EZ Bar Skull Crushers

12@45's
12@115
12@45's
12@115

Cable Curls - sets alternating with
Cable Pressdowns

12@120
12@180
12@120
12@180

Forearms

12@40 - wrist curls
12@40 - wrist raise
12@40 - wrist curls
12@40 - wrist raise
20@20's - wrist twists
20@20's - wrist twists

Cardio

45 minutes on the eliptical, random hills setting, level 12.

Energy Level: 8/10, Felt pretty good for the workout.

Workout Rating: A, It was a good workout, great pump in both the biceps and triceps.

Post Workout Musings: The workout was obviously composed of working antagonistic muscle groups (i.e. biceps and triceps) and truely created a great pump, I normally work these two muscle groups together however this time I was actually alternating each set between them rather than doing all biceps first then triceps second. It really did produce a different effect and the pump and burn were intense. I'm going to be trying this for awhile, the workout actually consists of 4 days on with 3 days off, which I will use 2 of for strictly cardio days...... we'll see how this all goes.

Macros:
Calories: ~2100
P: ~240
C: ~100
F: ~80

Water intake: ~4 litres

Daily Supplements:
1 Fish Oil
1 Cal/Mag/Vit D
1 Mulit Vitamin
3 Carnage
3 CRE-02
2 Shred Ultra
 
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