9/27/2011

Ok, I have really been slacking with this blog thing and I am going to try and get back in the habit of posting regular updates.

My weight has been fluctuating a lot lately mostly due to me going overboard on the weekends, but I am done with that now. I am currently slightly over 170lbs and I will steadily be adding quality mass over the next few months. My first goal it to get back to 180lbs, from there 190lbs will be the next goal, and then 200lbs. I would like to get to 215lbs+ @or below 8% body fat before I have to start cutting again.

 I have been having really good workouts and my strength keeps going up, so that is definitely a good thing. I have pretty much been lifting by myself for some time now but starting today I will go back to lifting with my training partner once a week on chest day, this works out pretty well because now we can get back to hitting barbell bench-press.

Hello again.

I have not posted for about 2-3 weeks now, I was on vacation for a week and I got out of the habit, but I am back now and I should be posting 1-3 times a week. Like I said I was off on vacation for a week, and I enjoyed some time off from the gym and my diet. I am back now and I have been hitting it hard in the gym and as a result of my time off and my relaxed diet my strength has gone through the roof, not only am I lifting heaver weights but I am able to perform more reps  as well. My goal is to reach 200lbs+ at or below 8% body fat before I will start cutting again, this should give me somewhere around 6-8 months to do so, it’s not impossible but it’s going to take some serious dedication. My current weight is a little over 170lbs so that means I need to gain about 30lbs in the next 6 months, that sounds like a lot but when you break it down week by week that means I will need to gain about 1.25lbs per week, this is doable I just need to make sure I am putting on quality size and not just body fat. My current daily caloric intake is just under 3000cal, and I will slowly up this to about 3500cal until my progress slows, then I will up it again and continue this cycle until I reach my goal weight or until I notice that I am putting on excess body fat . I have not made up my mind yet but I may incorporate carb cycling into my diet, I will decide in the next week or so and proceed accordingly.

NOT GREAT DEADLIFTS!!!!

Well I was not pleased with my deadlifts at all last night, my legs were still extremely sore from Friday so I was not able to hit the weight or the reps I wanted to. Other than that it was an ok workout, not spectacular but not bad either. If leg soreness continues to interfere with my deadlifts I will have to switch leg day and back day and see how that works.

WEEKEND RECAP!!!

Ok, so Friday I managed to have a pretty good leg day even though I was not feeling it. I decided to up the weight and drop the reps on squats, and then I kept the reps a little bit higher on everything else. This worked out pretty well, in fact my legs are still so sore that I can hardly walk, this is no good because I was supposed to deadlift tonight with my back workout. I will try to deadlift if I can loosen up a bit, if not I will forgo deadlifts this week.

On Sunday I hit shoulders, which was also a good workout, I actually managed to get shoulders sore which I have a hard time doing so that’s good as well. I also upped the calories this weekend so now I will be over 3100 calories per day so I should start seeing my body weight going up pretty consistently.

SO HUNGRY!

I hit arms last night and had a pretty good workout, I mixed it up a little and threw in some different exercises so that was a nice change of pace. Tonight I have to hit legs, and I have to say, so far I am not feeling it, I hope in the next 8.5 hours I can get it together and get ready for a big leg day because ready or not I will be squatting tonight. I will check my weight tonight and decide if I will up the calories again tomorrow, or if I will wait until Monday for the next increase. I have been eating every 2 hours now, and even though I have increased my intake and decreased the time between meals I am getting hungrier and hungrier.

WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF?

It’s not what you do when everything is going well and you are on top of the world that counts, anybody can be positive in these situations. What really counts and speaks to the strength of your character, or lack thereof, is how you react in the face of true adversity, it’s what you do when the chips are stacked against you, when you have been kicked, beaten, knocked down, when you have nothing left to give and when no one believes in you anymore. Then and only then will you understand what you are truly made of. So it’s your call, will you rise to the occasion, will you prevail against all odds, when everything seems hopeless will you press on with your head held high with nothing more than sheer willpower and determination driving you tirelessly forward, or will you become a prisoner of your circumstances, take the path of least resistance and surrender to defeat?  

Off Day!

Yesterday was an off day, so there is not a lot to write about, however I did spend some time setting up my next diet change which will take place today. I increased the calories by a few hundred and I am now slightly over my T.D.E.E. so the weight should start to come on a little bit quicker now. I addition to the increase in my caloric intake I am also testing out some new supplements and some different food sources, so I t will be interesting to see how my body responds to these changes.

Chest Day!

I have to say that I am pretty pleased with my workouts lately, everything seems to be going well and my strength is rapidly increasing on all lifts. This was epically evident last night when I was training chest, my numbers were up a good bit and I was pushing weight that I have not been able to in some time. On the other hand I am also looking a little bit smoother, it’s not a huge difference but I am decently seeing less vascularity and striations in the different muscles. That is to be expected as I up the calories and put weight back on. I am hoping to get over 200lbs for the first time ever in the next 6 months. I am currently taking in about 2367 calories per day, this is still a little under what I would need to maintain my current weight, and I am slowly working it up to 3189-3492 calories a day, which is the amount I would need to take in in order to start putting weight back on. I am planning on continuing to up the calories about every 2-3 days until I hit those numbers, from there I will only up the calories when my weight plateaus.

First day of new split!

Ok, so I have decided to go with a different split than the one I listed yesterday. The split I will be following now is: Monday-back/traps, Tuesday-chest, Wednesday-off, Thursday-arms, Friday-legs/calves, Saturday-off, Sunday shoulders/abs. I will follow this for the next 1-2 weeks and see how it goes, and if it’s not working I will change it, and if it is working out well then I will follow it for the time being.  So with the new split I hit back/traps last night, I was still a little sore from training back on Friday but I was able to work through it without any issues. I also managed to add 10lbs on my deadlift over what I did on Friday, so that is not horrible considering I only had 2 days of rest between the workouts. I think this split should work out pretty well and I am excited to see how my strength and body weight change over the next few months.

 In addition to the changes in my workout I have also added more carbs into my diet, I am now taking in close to my T.D.E.E. and by this time next week I should be exceeding my T.D.E.E. thus allowing my body weight to increase. The plan is to try and pack on as much lean tissue as possible over the next 6-8 months, then it will be time to start getting ready for the next show, this show should be some time around November 2012. I will hopefully come in not only bigger and fuller but also leaner.

Friday, big back day!

Friday I hit back, and I did deadlifts for the first time in a few months. I only went up to 405lbs because even that was feeling pretty heavy, but at least everything went smoothly. I did feel my tendonitis’s start to flare up a little so I may have to start training back and biceps on the same day to try and avoid overuse and allow more rest for my biceps, that being said I guess I will start a new split today and see how that goes. I think I will do something like this: Monday-back and biceps, Tuesday-Chest and triceps, Wednesday-traps, abs, and calves, Thursday-off, Friday-legs, Saturday-off, Sunday-shoulders and arms. This is just a tentative split and I may tweak it as I go, but I think for now this is what I will try.

Shoulders/Abs!

Last night I hit shoulders and abs, and it was yet another great workout, my energy levels are increasing, I am getting stronger, and my endurance is increasing as well. Today I will hit back and I will attempt to deadlift as well, that is if my hams will allow me to do so,(they are still sore from leg day). I am going to see how I feel come Monday and decide if  I will keep my split 5 on 2 off (training Monday-Friday, with weekends off) or if I will shift it to 4 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off (training Sunday-Wednesday, off Thursday, on Friday, off Saturday). The main benefit in training on Sunday is that it puts more time between some muscle groups, thus allowing for more time to rest and repair damaged muscle tissue.  I am also increasing my carb and calorie intake again today by adding in another 3oz of brown rice, this will give me about an additional 30g carbs. By the end of next week my caloric intake should be back up to my T.D.E.E. (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), and then from there I can continue to increase my intake to promote lean tissue growth.

ARMS!

Yesterday I hit arms, and it was an awesome workout, I had someone come up to me and say that I had gotten noticeably bigger since my show. That was a huge boost seeing as how the show was only 4 days prior. Everything is going great, I am having great workouts, I am getting bigger and fuller and I have only just started to increase my calories and carbs, I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring. I also found out that I qualify to compete for my Pro-card for all of 2012, so that is good because this means that I will not have to rush and get ready for a show in November. I have also been discussing the possibility of receiving a sponsorship with a major supplement producer and distributor so I am very excited to see how that turns out as well.

Legs!

Last night i hit legs and I had a pretty good workout, it all went pretty well and my weights are defiantly coming back up. I am also planning to get back to doing deadlifts so I am looking forward to seeing how that is going to go. After thinking it over and seeking some advice, it looks like it would be my best bet to take about 4-6 months off and try to bulk up a little and bring up any weak points and then look for a Pro-Qualifier around this time next year. So that is what I will do and hopefully I will come in closer to the upper limit of my weight class than the middle.

My first day back!

So I hit chest last night and had a pretty good workout, my numbers were up a little but nothing y too crazy seeing as how I was still hurting from all the junk I ate after the show. I am back on track with my diet and I am planning to slowly bring the calories and carbs back up over the next few weeks.

The main thing I need to figure out is when I am going to do my next show (this will be the Pro-Qualifier), there is one in November that I could do but that will only give me 3-4 months, this would allow for a short period to relax my diet and put back on some weight, but then it would be right back to cutting in a few weeks. The advantage to this is that I should be able to come in tighter than I did in Knoxville, the disadvantage is that it does not give me much time to bulk up and put on more size. If I don’t do that show I don’t know what the date will be because they have not listed the dates of the 2012 shows yet, but it will have to be before August of next year because I only have 1 full calendar year of eligibility from the date of the show that I qualified at. This is going to be a tough call, I will have to get some advice on this one.

8/6/2011 DAY OF THE SHOW!!!

8/6/2011

DAY OF THE SHOW!!!

1:54P.M. (After the pre-judging, before the evening show.)

Well after much tossing and turning, and about 1-2 hours of sleep last night I finally made it to 4A.M., this was the time I had to get up and start getting ready for the show. First I needed to get something to eat, then I needed to apply some more tanner, I managed to get in two final coats and this put me at a total of….  Hum… looks like I lost track, as far as I can tell it was between 16-18 coats I believe (thank you Caitlin, I could not have done this without you).  Then it was off to the pre competition meeting, after that it all went pretty quick, first, backstage, then pumping up, then oil, then there I was standing right by the entrance waiting to walk out on stage, time only stopped for a brief moment, just  long enough to take a deep breath, then next thing I know I am charging out on stage, from here it was all a blur, and it seemed that I was only out there for what was a few seconds, then I found myself back in the locker room wondering how it went by so fast. Although it was all in over in the blink of an eye it was freaking awesome. Now I turn my sights to the evening show, and my routine, the only thing standing between it and myself is time.

8/8/2011

Well the evening show did not go as quick as prejudging, I had to wait for about 3 hours in the locker room for my weight class, I had not accounted for this and did not bring enough food with me, but that was not a major issue. Once I finally got on stage I had a few massive and almost fell over, but I managed to hide it pretty well I think. Then after my routine they called us back out to announce placement, I took 2^nd, and this I is what I needed to do to qualify for nationals so I can compete for my pro-card next year. Qualifying for nationals was one of my goals so I am pleased with that. Now it’s back to the grind, it’s Monday and I think I am going to hit chest today so we will see how that goes.

1 Day Out!

Well, it’s about 5:30pm and I am heading out to weigh in in about 1 hr., other than that I just need to apply a few more coats of tanner and try to relax and stay off my feet, (this is probably the hardest part). It looks like I will be making the 2nd weight class,  Lightweight - over 143.25lbs and up to and including 154.25lbs, this is good because seeing as how I am fairly short  will have an advantage over taller competitors in my weight class. So other than that I just have to get up at about 3am tomorrow and get ready for prejudging, then it’s a short break in the middle of the day, then on the evening show, and then finally I can get this tanner off and get a solid meal.

2 Days Out!

Well, not much to do today, I just need to shave, apply  about  5-6 more coats of tanner, do some lite cardio, pose, go through my routine, pack my clothes, pack my food, make sure I have all the stuff in need back stage, make sure we bring everything that the dogs need, oh yea and relax. Let’s do this thing already, after six months of dieting and preparing I am ready to go.

3 Days Out!

I hit arms and abs today, and I am now 3 days out. Everything is going well but the tanning process is a huge pain in the butt. I am up to 6 coats of the tanning product and I look about 15 shades darker, like some jersey shore reject with liver disease, but that’s the name of the game. Another 6-8 coats and I should be good to go. I can’t wait to get up on stage and do some damage, get a hot shower and get this stuff off my skin, then get a good meal.

4 Days Out!

I am getting closer and closer, I feel like a child waiting for Christmas, I am 4 days out and already I am having trouble sleeping. Hope fully I will be able to get some sleep tonight because I probably only got 2-3 hours of sleep last night.  Yesterday I hit chest and back, it all went pretty well, I am still looking full and lean so hopefully this will keep up. Tonight I will hit shoulders and abs in addition to my cardio and posing. I am also going to start applying tanner tonight so that is an entire world of fun in and of its self.

5 Days Out!

Yesterday I hit legs and I went really well, I had a great workout and my physique was right where I wanted it to be, in fact it was so on point that I have decided not to change my diet to try and up the carbs like I had original planned. I figure it will be better to play it safe and come in solid rather than risk it and maybe come in a little soft. Tonight I will be hitting chest, back posing, and cardio, and I will probably be doubling up on the posing sessions this week. I am definitely feeling the excitement growing as I get closer and closer, its going to be hard to sleep soon if this keeps up.

6 Days Out!

It’s Sunday, which means it’s the start of peak week. First things first, I will be drinking only water and coffee until after the show, that means no more X-tend. Next I will be the change up in workout, I will be hitting legs today, chest and back tomorrow, shoulders and abs the following day and finally arms on wed, and from there I will be doing only cardio and posing. Then there will be the tweaks to the diet, following my workout today I will be increasing carbs and slowly tapering them down until Wednesday, then back up leading up to the show Saturday. In addition to all this I have to shave my entire body, both today then again closer to Saturday as well as apply copious amounts of tanning products. At that point there will be only one thing remaining to do, and that is to get up on stage and let my physique do the talking.

9 Days Out!

So I am now down to 9 days out counting today. I had a pretty good posing session last night and I am pretty lean and vascular. This morning I hit traps calves and abs, then some light posing and some cardio. I am done with the hill sprints my knees can’t them it right now. My workout went ok this morning but I was looking a little flat, it was not horrible but definitely noticeable. Tomorrow is an off day then I will hit legs hard and have a reefed on Sunday to kick off my peak week, from there I will taper the carbs down through mid-week, then back up leading up to Saturday, this will hopefully result in a full and thick look.

10 Days Out!

Last night I hit chest, arms and cardio and it all went pretty well other than an extreme lack of energy. I am really ready to get up there and show them what I can do, not to mention I am really looking forward to having a good meal after the show, but more than anything I am looking forward to having more energy because in my opinion that has been the worse part. Today marks 10 days out, and I have everything in place as far as peak week goes (thanks to Vaughan who has been a huge help).  At this point all I need to do is stick to the game plan and I should be good to go.

Back and cardio!

I hit back and cardio yesterday, I was supposed to hit abs as well but I wanted to lay off the abs a little to see if it will help prevent my hernia from becoming any larger. It was a pretty good workout, and to my surprise I had a good posing session as well. This was a surprise because I had no energy what so ever.  All in all I was a pretty good day as far as my workout was concerned, look out Knoxville, here I come.

ENERGY IS AT AN ALL TIME LOW!!!

Last night I hit legs, it was a pretty good workout but I was defiantly feeling the lack of energy. I was supposed to do hill sprints but my knee has been bothering me ever since I started doing them so I just did my regular cardio instead. I also hit my posing, it was a pretty lack luster session, and the strange thing is that everything looked really good but I just did not have any energy to put into it. All in all it was not a bad day but the lack of energy is really getting to me, and it’s pretty much 24/7 now.

Less Than 2 Weeks Out!

Saturday marked 2 week out from my show, and was an off day. Then on Sunday I hit shoulders and arms, I had a pretty good workout and a good posing session. This is the last regular week I have before I change everything for my peak week, the objective is to come in not only as full as you can but also as lean as you can. This requires changing workouts around as well as diet. I am really drained pretty much 24/7 and I think the only thing keeping me going at this point is sheer excitement.

2 Weeks Out In 1 Day!

Yesterday was an off day from lifting as well as a low carb day, I hit some cardio and posing and was wiped out. Then this morning I hit abs, calves, and traps as well as some hill sprints, then later tonight I will hit my posing. Everything is going well but I am really lacking energy, this does not really come as a surprise but I will be glad it bulk up a little after the show simply because I will have more energy. Tomorrow marks 2 weeks out, this means that I only have one more full week of lifting then I will be rearranging everything as far as my workouts to peak for the show.

Chest/arms/posing/cardio!

I had a great workout last night, I hit chest and arms and I was using super sets for almost everything. It was a fast paced intense workout followed by a great posing session and some cardio. I have not had a work out like that in at least a week. I was looking not only full and big but also shredded. I am almost down to 2 weeks and if I can keep this up I should do pretty well. So after this workout I was feeling great and I headed outside to get on my bike and head home, and when I got outside I found that it was raining profusely, I am talking about a torrential downpour, there was like 2-3in of standing water on the parking lot. Needless to say this was not a fun ride home, but I survived to lift another day.

Nothing spectacular!

I had a ok back workout last night then hit some cardio, nothing spectacular but I made it through the workout. Today will be chest, hopefully I can put in some time on posing as well.

Legs, hill sprints, and posing!

So yesterday I had a pretty good leg work out, I did not go particularly heavy but it was a pretty intense workout and I hit a few exercise that I don’t normally do, so that was a nice change of pace. From there I went on to hit the hill sprints, it was hard to sprint after crushing legs but I managed to get through it. Next I went on to hit my posing, and it was going great, I was hitting my poses hard, I was looking full and super lean, and just when I was really getting into it a bunch of high school kids lead by an adult came busting into the room I was working in, completely ruined my posing session. The thing that really makes me angry is that the room was supposed to be open for another 30-45 min. These kids and their leader have no respect for other gym members and they are constantly in the way taking up large areas of space every time they are in the gym, they also monopolize many machines and pieces of equipment all at the same time. All this displays poor gym etiquette and little respect for their fellow gym members.

3 weeks and counting!

Saturday marked 3 weeks out, that means I only have a handful of workouts remaining before I am up on stage. Not only have my carbs been cut but I am also being stricter on my refeeds by reducing the amount of carbs and total calories in them as well. Yesterday was arms, shoulders, and posing, it all went pretty well, and my delts are pretty sore today. I also had my body fat % checked for the last time before the show, it was 3.7%. All in all everything has been going pretty well and I can’t wait to see how I do.

I survived my super low carb day!

Well yesterday came and went without major issues, and this is a pleasant surprise as it was my lowest card day as of yet. In addition to being a low carb day I also did some cardio, (it was an off day from lifting) and I also took the day off from posing. This morning I headed to the gym early for a pre work workout, then some hill sprints and some posing, everything went well but I am defiantly feeling the effects of the lack of carbs from yesterday. Tomorrow will mark exactly 3 weeks out, I am excited to see how I do, and I am really looking forward to the meal that will follow, as well as the opportunity to pack on some mass following this show.

Everything is going well!!!

For some reason even though I keep cutting carbs I am actually feeling better in general and I have more energy. I don’t know if it is all mental but I have been having good workouts and the lack of energy seems to be subsiding, whatever the reason I’ll take it. Today is going to be a low carb day (the lowest yet) other than that it’s just cardio and posing, today is an off day from lifting.

Good back workout, good posing session.

Well despite a complete lack of energy and drive as soon as I started lifting I was feeling great, I had a great back workout and a good posing session, and then I went home after my cardio and hit a 2^nd posing session. During the workout and the posing sessions I was feeling pretty good but in between and as soon as I was done it was right back to feeling drained. Hopefully my chest workout and posing will go as well tonight, but only the future can tell.

I WAS feeling good!

Yesterday was a pretty good day, I had a fair amount of energy and I was feeling pretty good. Then about half way through my leg workout I hit the wall. I guess I was still feeling good from the extra carbs I had on my reefed but came to an end. I did some hill sprints for cardio then went home and did some posing. The posing was horrible, I had no energy what so ever, it was all I could to stand there much less flex every muscle in my body. Hope fully I will adjust to the lower carbs, but I doubt it. I just keep telling myself that I only have to make it 3.5 more weeks then I will be home free.

3 weeks out!

With the start of this new week came another cut in carbs, at this point I am about as low as I can go for the carbs. I still have a little room to have a lower carb day but other than that there is not much else I can remove. This is ok seeing as how this weekend I will be 3 weeks out and I will stick to this diet until about 1 week out then I will up the carbs and slowly taper them off as I get closer to the show. I should also have my final body fat % check this weekend, so I am eager to see what that will be. Tonight I have legs to hit as well as cardio and posing.

This Week Has Turned Around!

Last night was arms, I had a pretty good workout and the ol’ pipes were looking pretty big and lean. Then I had a pretty good posing session and cardio was not to horrible either. This all came as a pleasant surprise seeing as how my energy and drive have been at an all-time low. Then this morning I hit shoulders before work, it was really hard to get going that early, but once I got started I managed to have a pretty good workout, all in all this week has turned around pretty well after being off to such a crappy start. I still have some cardio to do tonight but other than that I am home free for the weekend. With Monday will come another change to diet and I will be changing my cardio as well. I will be cutting more carbs, bringing them down to about 140 for regular days and about 110-120 for my low carb days. As far as the cardio goes I will be adding some cardio on the weekends and changing out some of my low intensity cardio for some sprints at the advice of a friend of mine who is a pro bodybuilder, (he has been a huge help to me as I prepare for this show). I had been having a pretty crappy week but with the last 2 workouts and a little pep talk from my friend I feel much better. This weekend puts me 4 weeks out and I got my NPC membership card in the mail yesterday, so I am all set to go show these guys what I have got, they better bring their A game, because I will definitely be bringing mine!!!

OK workout!

Last night I had an ok work out, it was chest day so that is always good. The gym was a little crowed so that was a little annoying, but I survived. Then it was on to posing and cardio, these were ok as well, not great but not horrible either, and at this point I will take that. When I was posing last night I noticed it looks like I have a small hernia in my upper abs, I hope not, but I fear I do. I am going to get a 2^nd opinion on it before I go to the doctors, as there is only one way to fix a hernia.

And I press on!

I managed to have an ok back workout in spite of having absolutely no energy, however cardio and posing were horrible, and for some reason I look unusually flat and less lean than I have been looking. It is getting really hard to make it through the days and good workout and posing sessions are few and far between.

Holiday weekend!

So I had a few days off over the holiday weekend, I spent these days visiting with family and friends and getting some much needed R&R. This past weekend put me at 5 weeks out and this weekend (4 weeks out) I will have my body fat % checked again. I have no idea what percent it will be but I think that I am getting pretty close to as lean as I can get this time around. My energy levels are definitely extremely low and although I am still able to crank out some decent workouts it is making the posing and cardio harder. Tonight I have back and abs so I will try to amp myself up for that, then I will hit posing and cardio and hopefully that will go smoothly as well.

......

Crappy workout, crappy posing session, crappy cardio session!!!!

I Had a really, REALLY, good workout!

So I decided to watch some training videos before I lifted yesterday in the hopes of getting amped up, and guess what…. It worked…. And it worked really well. I started my back workout out with some supersets and that really set the tempo for the entire workout. I was slaying this work out and about the time I was ready to do 2 more exercises and call it I had already done 25 sets, so I had to end it there. From there I hit my cardio and went home and worked on my posing, that went really well also, this was all such a pleasant surprise due to the fact that I have had absolutely no energy of late. I am going to try to get all amped up for chest today by watching some training videos and see if that is what made the difference.

Another one bites the dust.

Even though they keep getting harder and harder, I managed to make it through yet another workout and posing session last night. I guess I can look at my total lack of strength and energy as a sign that I am getting close to where I need to be. I am going out of town this weekend so I have to cram all my workouts in Monday through Thursday, this should not be that bad because I usually train 5 times a week, and this week it will just be 4 times. I will just split up arms, biceps with back and triceps with chest and I will be good to go.  I did finally manage to get my posing routine all set for the evening show so now it’s just a matter of polishing it.

Finally dropped below 4%, but still much to be done!

I had a pretty good arm and shoulder workout yesterday, and then practiced my posing. It all went well and I am feeling pretty lean, however I had my body fat measured again and I am only down to 3.85%. I was really hoping to be 3.5% by now (6 weeks out), but I have made another change to my diet and I should be able to hit 3.5% by 4 weeks out. This is probably the last change I will make to my diet as far as cutting carbs and calories, from here I will hold for a few weeks then up the carbs and calories to fill out before the show.

Early workout!

Today was my early workout, I hit traps, calves, abs, and cardio, and later tonight I will work on posing.  It was a pretty good workout but I was really tired and lacking energy. Afterwards I met a friend for coffee and it was off to work. I don’t know what the issue was but on my way to work I felt really shaky and weak, this was really concerning as I was riding my motorcycle to work. Once I finally made it to work I had something to eat and chilled for a little while, it lightened up a bit but I still don’t feel that hot. I don’t know if it’s the diet or the caffeine, but if this keeps up I will not be able to ride my bike until after the show, I guess that is just another one of the sacrifices that will have to be made.

Crappy day….. Decent workout…..

I had another crappy day followed by a pretty good workout yesterday. I hit chest and arms, then a little posing and cardio. I am having a hard time making it through a full posing session after I lift due to lack of energy. With today being an off day (just cardio and posing) I hope to get a pretty intense posing session in.

Knocked out a good back workout!

Last night I had a pretty good back workout despite being pretty low on energy throughout the day. My weights were up and everything was feeling pretty good. By the time I got to the end of my workout I did not have much energy left, so my posing session was less than stellar but that’s ok it happens. From there I hit my cardio and headed home. This Sunday I will get my body fat checked again so I am really looking forward to that as I want to know how my latest diet change has affected my body fay percentage.

Yesterday SUCKED!

Yesterday was just one of those days, I was feeling like I was trying to function in quicksand. I could not wake up, I could not focus, and the day was dragging on ever so slowly. All I could think about all day long was the leg workout I had hanging over my head like the razor sharp blade of a guillotine. I finally made it through work, and then it was off to train my client. Just standing there while he lifted took almost all the strength I had,  and still I could not figure out how I was going to make it through the leg work out I was getting closer and closer to. On the way to the gym I thought about just doing cardio and counting it as an off day and shifting my week around to accommodate this.  When I arrived at the gym I decided that I was at least going to try to do legs, and even if I had to drop the weight I was going to give it an honest effort. So I began squatting, the first warm-up set was not bad, the second was feeling a little heavy for a warm-up, and by the third warm-up set I was certain I had been beat. Then all of the sudden it happened, I told myself that regardless of what happened I was not going to give up.  At that point it did not matter if I puked, it did not matter if I passed out, it did not matter if the gym was on fire, I was going to train, and train hard! This was awesome, I had nothing in the tank but I kept going, and I hit it hard, really hard.  I crushed squats, then went on to superset leg extensions and leg curls, from there it was on to weighted step-ups and weighted lunges (both of which are real but kickers). Finally I finished out with cardio and then had a pretty good posing session.  Needless to say that workout really turned my day around and put me in a great mood. Its training sessions like this that remind you what it’s all about and how everything you sacrifice to do this is well worth it. In situations like this I think you really learn something about yourself, you really learn what you’re made of and just what you are capable of.

Arms, shoulders and posing!

So I had a pretty good training session today, I hit arms and shoulders then I worked on my posing. It all went well, but I was looking pretty flat as I had not had my re-feed meal, but that’s how it goes. I also noticed that when I have my re-feed meal on Sunday I have really good lifting sessions and posing sessions, then as I get closer to the end of the week everything gets harder and heavier, but this is also to be expected. I will be getting my body fat measured again next Sunday and I would really like to see something below 4%. This should be reasonable seeing as how last time I was 4.02% and I have cut more carbs, but we will just have to wait and see.

OFF DAY!!!!!

Today is an off day, so not much to report. I am looking pretty lean and my posing is going well. Tomorrow I have arms and shoulders and hopefully I will get in a good posing session. Other than that, not a lot going on as far as my bodybuilding is concerned.

I had a another great posing session.

So last night was an off day from lifting, but I still had to do my cardio and my posing. I had a great posing session and I feel like things are going pretty good, now I am all amped up and ready to show Knoxville what I got! It’s Friday so I had to train in the morning, and I had a pretty good trap/abs/calves workout. One of my friends who I had not seen in a few weeks told me that I was looking pretty lean, so that is always nice and helps to keep me amped up. All in all things are going pretty well and I can’t wait to get on stage and see what I am made of.

Latest update!

Last night was the first time I hit chest and arms on my new split. I had a pretty good workout but my biceps were still sore from Sunday, and this morning I feel like my tendonitis is flaring up, I will give it another week and if it is still a problem I will have to change my split again. I did manage to log a pretty good posing session so that is a definite plus. Today is an off day so I will just be hitting cardio and posing, but this also means that today is a low card day. This weekend I will be sending in my application for my NPC membership card and the other necessary paper work to be able to compete, so it will be 100% official, we also booked our room and got the days off work, look out Knoxville here I come!

So far the new split is not bad!

Last night was back and abs, and I had a great workout. I think that I bruised the bottom of my foot deadlifting and squatting on Monday so I am limping around a little today, but life goes on. I am having a hard time getting in good posing sessions as my energy levels are getting lower and lower. I still have yet to come up with a routine for the evening show, I am hoping to finally do that this weekend as I am currently less than 8 weeks out. I have a feeling that from this point on things are going to be getting harder and harder, but that is what separates the champions from 2^nd place!!!

New Split!

Ok, so this is what my new split is going to look like: Sun- arms/shoulders, Mon- legs/deadlifts/calves, Tue- Back/abs, Wed- chest/arms, Thu- off, Fri- traps/abs/calves, Sat off.

I will test this out this week and if it goes smoothly then I will stick with this until my competition. So with the new split, last night was legs/deadlifts/calves, although I went heaver that I had been going everything was feeling really heavy, this resulted in less reps. I am plowing through my accessory movements really well but I am having a hard time with all my compound movements, I think this is due to lack of energy due to carb restriction.

New split, again....

Ok, so after yesterday’s arm and shoulder workout my biceps are pretty sore, so it looks like I will not be hitting back today. That means I need to move my days around yet again, but that how it goes. So I don’t yet know what I will be hitting tonight, maybe legs and deadlifts. I will post my new split as soon as I come up with it.

First Sunday workout!

Had a pretty good shoulder and arm workout today and had my body fat checked. This time I am down about .5% which brings me to about 4.02%, this is not all that bad but I am not really happy because I also lost over 2 lbs of lean body mass. However I know that this can happen when your body fat gets this low so I am trying not to let it bug me too much. This weekend makes it 8 weeks out and it is time for another diet change, I will be removing some more carbs, but I think I will keep the more aggressive re-feeds for the time being.

Off Day!

Today is an off day, but that dose not mean I get to rest. I was up early to do some work around the house and cut the grass. So even though it’s an off day from the gym I will stay pretty active. I am really looking forward to tomorrow, it should be a great workout and I am starting to feel more optimistic about my body fat percentage, I have been looking leaner and leaner as the days pass, and I am seeing more and more veins in my lower abs that I have never seen  before.

Not enough Sleep!

Well so much for the 8hrs of sleep last night, it was more like 5, but life goes on. Today was a quick workout, cardio, abs and traps, I was supposed to do calves but they were still too sore from Wednesday.  All in all a good quick workout, I struggled a little on cardio but managed to pick up the pace once I got started. I am really looking forward to the workout this Sunday, not only will I get my body fat checked but I also get to lift with two friends who are pro bodybuilders, they are going to kick the crap out of me, it’s going to be sweet.

Who turned the gravity up?

I am having good workouts for the most part but everything is getting heavier and heavier the leaner I get. Last night was leg and deadlift day, and although I had a good workout everything felt like it was 100lbs heavier than it actually was, but I just dug deep and hit it hard in spite of how heavy everything was feeling. My legs and low back are just starting to tighten up and get sore so I guess I managed to log another good one.  With my new split, today is an off day from lifting so that also makes a low carb day, throw in some cardio and posing and I should be home early and I should even manage to get 8 hours of sleep, which is awesome because I have to get up at 5:30am to lift before work tomorrow.

I am back on track, I had a pretty good workout!

Had a pretty good workout last night, which is awesome seeing as how Monday’s workout sucked. I was late getting to the gym again but I did not let it affect my workout this time, I was able to crush chest and abs, then practice my posing, and hit my cardio, all in all a great workout. My posing seems to be getting better and better, but I am still a little worried as I have not managed to choreograph a routine yet. Also I am having a hard time telling how my more aggressive re-feeds are working for me, I definitely look fuller but I am afraid that I am not still losing body fat, but I will know for sure come Sunday when I have it measured.

Well that workout sucked!

Due to many different factors, last night I had a less than stellar workout. I was late getting to the gym, I had a hard time getting amped up, I had tweaked my hamstring, etc. It just seemed like an uphill battle the entire time. However I worked through it and logged another one down in the books.  Sometimes I think that workouts like that are the ones that really test you willpower, determination, and dedication, so if you can make it through these workouts that says something, and as far as I am concerned, an crappy workout is better than no work any day of the week.

New week, new split!

Well another weekend has come and gone, and I am getting closer and closer to my competition. I have been trying a more aggressive method for my re-feed meals on the weekends and I will see how that pays off come this Sunday when I get my body fat % measured again. For those of you that don’t know, a re-feed is a meal where you increase your macronutrients for that one meal to try and jumpstart your metabolism again and help fill your muscles out so you don’t get to flat from dieting. In addition to this more aggressive re-feed, I am also going to try changing my training split this week. I had previously been doing a pretty basic 5 day split Monday-Friday with the weekends off, now I will be trying a 5 day split where I will shift one of my off days to the week and I will shift one of my on days to the weekend, this way I no longer have 2 days off in a row.  It’s hard to give up my weekend but it should be well worth it, because I will be training that day with 2 friends who are pro-bodybuilders so this will also help inspire and motivate me.

Show Prep, Weeks 1-13.

Ok, so I am obviously starting this blog late as I have already been training, dieting and prepping for this show for 13 weeks already. I am currently 9 weeks out, and I will try to bring everyone up to speed with this first posts. I began my journey the first week of March, at the time I was about 171lbs at 8.9% body fat. The first changes were rather small, mainly just cleaning up how I was eating on the weekends as I had been pretty strict during the week, but slacking off during the weekend. Other than that I added some light cardio, and switched from whole eggs to egg whites. All of my carb sources were already complex carbs so there was not much to change there. I continued in this manor until the end of the month when I had my body fat measured again. At this point I had dropped 1% to 7.9%, although this was a decent change I felt that I could do better. So from here I tweaked my diet some more, changing out my whole grain bread for oatmeal. Up until now I had still not increased cardio at all, just focused on tightening up my diet, and rather than going 4 weeks between having my body fat measured I switched to every 2 weeks.

This time I managed to do better in 2 weeks than I had in the last 4, I was down to 6.3% in only 2 weeks. I always say if its not broke, don’t fix it, so I did not make ant changes, another 2 weeks passed and I was down to 5.4%, almost another percent in 2 weeks, man I could get used to this. The next 2 weeks passed much like the last 2, and I lost about .8% bringing me down to 4.6%. This was still good progress but it was starting to slow, this was to be expected and was met with another change in the diet. Out went the milk and protein bar, in came the protein shakes (they have fewer calories and carbs). This time to my displeasure after 2 weeks my body fat only dropped to 4.5%......... 4.5%, I was unhappy to say the least, but the lower you get, the harder it is to get lower, and for 10 weeks out 4.5% is not really that bad.

So here we are, 1 week later, 9 weeks out, I have had some good days, I have had some bad days, I have had some good workouts, I have had some bad workouts, I am still alive and I am shooting for first place.

I know that this is not very detailed up to this point as I am only tiring to summarize the past few months, from this point on I intend to write daily updates on how my diet, conditioning, posing and workouts are going, as well as detail how I feel all the way up to the show and after it.