Wed., Oct. 31, 2012, Arms

Arm day! It was a good workout. I didn't do a crazy amount of volume, I just focussed on feeling the muscle and getting a great pump. I did:
6 super-sets of curls and rope pushdowns;
2 super-sets of hammer curls and lying triceps extensions
2 super-sets of preacher curls and seated 1-arm extensions
2 super-sets of cable curls and 1 arm under-grip pushdowns

TUE., 10/30/12, BACK/ CALVES

Great workout today! I started with my back, and did calves last, for a change. Here's what it looked like:

row: 45-30; 95-12; 135-10; 185-8; 225-6; 275-8 + 2 drops
Free Motion pulldowns: 150-12; 170-9,8
seated row: 180-?, 8
deadlift (just feeling it): 135-10; 225-8; 315-6; 405-6
calf presses:90; 180; 270; 360; 450; 520; 590; 660-(I did not keep track of reps, most sets around 15)
seated calf raise: 90-12; 140-12; 190-10 + 2 drops

10/19/2012, Chest

Well, I'm done with the super-set, chest-back, split. Today I start a new split: Mon-chest; tue-back, calves; wed-arms; thur-legs; fri-shoulders, calves; off sat and sun. Today's workout was great:
Incline db press: 20's-15; 35's-10; 50's-10; 65's-10; 80's-10; 90's-10; 100's-10
flat db press: 55's-10; 70's-10; 85's-9
incline hammer press: 90-10; 180-10; 270-6
dips: 10; 8; 8 + 1-set machine fly: 180-?

This video is only the last feel set. I meant to get this one and the work set, but my battery died..sorry.

Fri., Oct. 26, 2012, Calves/ Shoulders

I got a good pump this morning. I started with abs, then did calves (really focussing on my week point) and finished with shoulders. I'm still being really cautious with my neck, so not too heavy or intense on the shoulders. I did make one a critical mistake this morning: I started with seated calf raises. The weight resting on my INCREDIBLY SORE QUADS was pretty painful (yes yesterday's leg workout was highly effective.) So I didn't go crazy on them, just did a few good squeezing sets and went on to the press.

bosu crunch: 20, 20, 20
seated calf raise: 25-20; 50-?; 90-15; 140-10; 190-10
calf press: 450-15, ?, 10
lateral raise: 5's-?; 15's-10; 25's-10; 35's-11
incline rear laterals: 30's-15; 40's-10,8
hammer strength shoulder press: 90-20; 140-15; 190-10
seated shrugs: 50's-20; 60's-15; 70's-10

10/ 25/ 12, Thursday/ Legday

I still did not want to put a bunch of weight on my neck(though it is feeling much better.) So today I went to the gym with the idea of constant tension in mind and also not resting long between sets, so as to not be able to use the same weights. If you have been following me long you know that my base squat strenght is so I can squat 365lb for 20 reps or more when properly warmed up. Today I stretched throroughly and then began my leg work with squats:

*The key notes for this workout are that I used a more narrow stance for squats than usual; I used the Constant Tension Technique (which is keeping the muscle tensed throughout the intire range of motion and never stopping or pausing); and also I only allowed about a minute between sets (which I usually do a bit more on leg day.)

Squat: 45-20 ; 95-12; 135-12; 225-12; 315-20 (I think)
leg press: 450-12; 630-10; 840-6
leg curl: 60-12; 90-12; 120-6
1-leg reverse lunges: 50's-6, 10
leg extension: 120-18
....and they were so tight it was stupid, and I struggled not to throw up.... Yeah Buddy!

Wed., Oct. 24, 2012, Rest

Today is a scheduled rest day. I decided to do some light weight work, to help recover the muscles. I just did some abs, light stretching and three exercises for chest and back with half the weight that I usally use.
To give you a diet update, this is what I ate yesterday:

meal #1-  5oz chicken breast; 1c oatmeal; apple
post workout:  50g whey protein
meal #2- 5oz chicken breast; sweet potato
meal #3-  5oz chicken breast; sweet potato
meal #4-  5oz chicken breast; 1c oatmeal
meal #5-  6oz chicken breast with bbq sauce; baked potato fries; broccoli with cheese

Tue., Oct. 23, 2012, Arms

I got a great pump this morning. I'm still not using crazy weights yet, but the intesity is cranked- the pump is awesome! I 've been taking 1-3g L-arginine before my workouts, and this has increased the pump I feel. I started with calves, always prioritizing my weak points. here's what the workout looked like:

seated calf raise: 25-?; 50-?; 90-15; 140-15; 190-10,10

calf press: 450-12, 15, 13

alternating dumbell curl: 10's-20; 15's-?; 20's-20; 30's-15; 50's-10
superset with rope pushdowns: 50-25; 70-15; 90-20; 110-15; 130-11

concentration curl: 35-9,5,5

lying 1 arm dumbell extension: 35-12,8,6

cable curl: 100-20,?,?
superset with under hand 1 arm pushdown: 60-??? awesome pump!

Mon., Oct. 22, 2012, Chest/ Back

Continuing on this split, today I supersetted chest and back. I'm still being really careful of my neck, so I didn't go crazy heavy. I warmed up thoroughly and stuck with rep range: 20, 15, and 10(or failure), for the most part. Here's the exercises I did:

6 total super-sets of incline dumbell press and rows

3 super-sets of  flat dumbell press and T-bar rows

3 super-sets of free-motion pulldowns(a machine our gym has with individual handles that are way out to the sides, it give a very wide pull that is unique) and dips

And finished with 1 super-set of machine flyes and straight-arm-rope-pulldowns

FRI., OCT. 19, 2012, SHOULDERS/ ARMS

I'm still going light, taking care not to put too much stress on the neck. But it is feeling pretty good. I've got good range of motion, it's just a little sensitive. So here's todays pump:

laterals: 5's-15; 10's-15; 15's-20; 20's-15; 25's-15; 30's-15

hammer strength shoulder press: 90-20; 140-15; 190-9

machine rear laterals: 100-20; 120-15,10

seated dumbell curl: 10's-15; 15's-15; 20's-12; 25's-12; 30's-12; 35's-9
superset with rope pushdown: 40-15; 60-15; 80-15; 100-12; 120-8,8

1 arm machine curl: 65-10,9,8

1arm machine triceps: 80-15, 12, 10

hammer curls: 30's-12,9,6
superset with 1 arm lying triceps extension: 30-12,8,6

Thur., Oct. 18, 2012, Legs

I got  great pump in my legs today. I did not do any squats... that's the 1st leg workout that I have not done any squats in about 3 years. Because of the ting in my neck (it is much better today), I did not want to put any weight on it. So I did just 5 exercises:

 calf presses: 90-30; 180-30; 270-25; 360-20; 450-12,9

leg raises: 20, 20, 20
superset with back extensions:20, 20, 20

seated leg curl: 65-15;95-15; 125-10; 140-8

leg press: 90-25; 180-25; 270-10; 360-10; 450-10; 540-10; 630-10; 720-10; 810-8 + a drop set with   5-10 reps with each taking 1 plate off each time. (there was no rest at all except adding and taking off weight...crazy pump!)         

Wed., Oct. 17, 2012, Update

I have been working on my car- laying on the concrete, holding my head and arms in weird positions- for about a week. It is finished! However, on Monday during my chest and back workout I had a sharp ding in my neck (lower left trap) and could not turn my head yesterday. Today I really feel it but it's not nearly as bad. I just hit core (abs and lower back) lightly and did 20 minutes interval training on the stepmill yesterday and today. I am letting it heal up before I put anything on it. I plan on hitting legs tomorrow as scheduled, though I may not if I feel it would hurt me.
So that's where I've been!
Here's what I've been eating:
(Yesterday: Tue., Oct. 16, 2012)
meal 1:  5oz chicken breast; 1c oatmeal; apple; 1tbs olive oil
meal 2:  5oz chick brst; 1c rice
meal 3:  5oz chick brst: 1c oatmeal
meal 4:  8oz ground turkey; 1c rice, salsa, spinach
meal 5:  50g whey protein powder (in water); apple; 1tbs olive oil

I got about 230g protein which is about 40g less than usual.

Mon., Oct. 15, 2012, Chest/ Back

I had a good chest and back workout this afternoon. I misjugded the weight on my first excercise, as you can see from this video. I weakened myself a little more than I thought with my first sets:
Incline hammer press: 20-20;50-12; 90-10; 180-20; 270-15; 360-3+2drops
superset with pulldowns: 60-20; 90-?; 110-20; 160-15; pullups: 10

flat dumbell press: 50's-20; 75's-15; 100's-8
superset V grip pulldown: 135-20; 150-15; 195-6

dips:     20; 15; 10; 10
s/s row: 135-20; 155-15; 225-6

pullover: 30-20; 40-15; 50-10

Fri., Oct. 12, 2012, Arms

   This is the easy day, the fun day, the day that's kind of like taking a day off. I take all working sets to failure; I work hard and intense. But training biceps and triceps just plain does not take it out of you like legs, back, chest or even shoulders. The weights are not nearly as much and you're not tearing up nearly as many muscle fibers.
   That being said: I got a killer pump! Icould not touch my thumb to my shoulder for about 15 minutes after the workout. I started this rep scheme (20 not so hard reps; 15 challenging reps; and a set shooting for about 10 to total failure) with the idea of recovery- pump the blood in the muscle and weaken it before my work set so that I cannot use as much weight, not putting as much strain on the joints- but it is an incredible pump!
   I did 3 exercises for biceps supersetted with 3 exercises for triceps. First was alternating dumbell curls and lying triceps extensions; then concentration curls and seated 1-arm extensions; and finishing with dumbell preacher curls and pushdowns.... short and sweet! Again all exercises were: 20, 15, 10(or failure.)

Thur., Oct. 11, 2012, LEGS

I went out of town for the day to take my son to an eye doctor yesterday. So I got to go to a Life Fitness. It was pretty cool. I played with lots of different toys:

I started with 6 sets of squats (including warm-ups.) Next I hit a 40 degree leg press for 3 sets: 20,15,10 and supersetted it with lying leg curls same reps. Then I supersetted machine squats with kneeling 1-leg curls and I stuck with this same rep pyramid light weight for 20reps then a challenging weight for 15 and finishing with a set aiming for about 10 going to failure (when you truely go for failure, 10 is just a thought, it may be 8, 9, 10, 11 whenever there is no more left.) I finished my thighs and started my calves by super setting cybex leg presses with "hack" calf raises, but only 2 sets of presses and I don't no how many reps (between 10 and 15) calves were 20,15,10. I then went to seated calf raises: 20, 15, 10 and finished with standing calf raises: 20,10,10 (15 did not happen!)

AND THE PART THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT: immediately after the workout I had 55g whey protein, 5g BCAA's, and 1 scoop CellMass. About 1 hour later I had 4oz chicken breast, 2 slices of pizza, a small thing of fries, and 1/2 a vanilla milkshake from chick fillet...oh yeah, and an apple.

...my legs are sore today.

Wed., Oct. 10, 2012, Chest and Back

Killer pump this morning! I did the same as last week with reps: 20, 15, 10(or fail.) And it was intense! I didn't finish all that I intended, because I was nausiated and I felt it would be counter productive to go on (looking at my white face in the mirror)...ha ha! It was awesome. So this is what I managed to achieve:

Incline dumbell press: 20's-25; 35's-12; 45's-8; 60's-20; 85's-15; 100's-12
superset row:                 45-20;   95-10;  115-8; 135-20;  185-15; 245-8

flat dumbell press:  50's-20; 75's-15; 100's-8
superset T-bar row:   70-20;   90-15; 135-7

Wide pull-ups: 10;   8; 8
superset dips:   10; 10; 10+ pull-overs: 50-8

Lateral raises: 20's-20; 25's-15; 35's-8

incline rear laterals: 20's-20; 30's-6+3    I was done!

Mon., Oct. 8, 2012, REST

Well this is day number 4 of a 5 day weekend. I've eaten lots of food most of it clean, though I had a burger and fries yesterday and a couple random things over the course of the last few days. I'm weighing about 192lb with a 32 inch waist. I don't like my waist to get over 32" in the off season (its about 29" contest weight), I find it's just too much work to get it off if it's any bigger. On Friday I did 20 minutes on the stepmill (did some interval training) and today I did 20 minutes on the treadmill- so I'm keeping the blood flowing working on recovery.
This is Week # 16 of a 57 week off-season... only 41 weeks to go and I will begin my prep for the 2013 World Championships. That's the game plan...God willing.

Thur., Oct. 5, 2012, Legs

"Recovery week."...haha. I did my rep scheme (20,15,10) on everything but lunges. It was an awesome workout. The pump was insane, my legs felt like swollen rocks. Everybody should try this wokout, adjusting the weight accordingly, obviously. The volume is not too extreme; the intensity is not too extreme; the pump is awesome! Here it is:

squats: 45-20; 95-6; 135-6;  225-20; 315-15; 405-8

leg curl:                   75-20;   90-15; 120-8
superset leg press: 360-20; 540-15; 720-10

reverse lunges: 95lb 1 set no idea how many reps

.....yes they are sore today.

Wed., Oct. 4, 2012, Arms/ Calves

I got a crazy pump from this arm workout! I followed the same rep scheme: 20, 15, 10 (or fail.)
I also got a killer calf workout in with only 8 sets total the form was very strict and slow and they are sore today. here are a few clips from the workout:

Tue., Oct. 10, 2012, Chest/Back/Delts

This week is really focussed on recovery. I'm training Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and taking Fri- Tue off. My rep scheme is 20, 15, 10 (or fail) Here's today's wokout:

incline dumbell press: 20's-30; 35's-12; 60's-20; 80's-15; 100's-9
superset bentover row: 45-25;  95-12;  135-20;  185-15;   245-7

flat dumbell press: 50's-20; 75's-15; 100's-6
superset T-bar row: 70-20;  90-15;   135-8

pull-up: 10; 10; 10
superset dips: 10; 10; 12

lateral raise: 20's-?; 35's-10,10

rear laterals: 20's-20; 30's-15; 40's-10