Hitting it

[intenceman]

LEGS 1 1/2 weeks to go! Last heavy leg workout before the contest! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGS------------------------------------------------- 1. Smith Machine Squats - (W/u bar x 2 sets several reps, 1 pl, 2 pl, 3pl x 1, 4pl x 1,f 5pl x 1 , up to 6 pl a side x 1), - 7 pl ea side - 630 in plates 670 total x 8!- up 2 reps. Very strong!, great set! - couldnt have done it better! (Repped 8 times with a weight I could only do 4 RP reps two months ago! .--------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Hammer Leg Press (w/u 3 pl, 6 pl, 10pl, 13 pl, 12 pl), 14 pl ea side + 60 - 1435 x 7 + 1 FR! - up 5 lbs. ---------------------
3. Flex Leg ext (w/u a few reps working up to 320) stack+ 15 - 310 x 8 + 2 FR+ 3 neg ea leg!- up 10 lbs and since I did static and negs only last time, can't even calculate the increase!, --------- pre ex with Hammer Leg Press again- 13 pl ea side + -1285 x 6 Neg act reps! (3 reps ea leg) - up 40 lbs for only 1 less neg rep ea leg! great superset! Just 4 working sets for quads, but very heavy and intense! . ......................................... Hamstrings ............
4. Seated Leg curl (w/u up to 287.5), stack+32.5 lbds 287.5 x 8 NA ( 4 neg ea leg)! - up 5 lbs and 2 reps, 1 neg ea leg! , 287.5 x 8 + 3 FR. 5. Stiff Legged deadlift on Smith machine (w/u 1 pl ea side, 2 pl ea side, 4 pl ea side - 400 x 6! - up 40 lbs for 3 less reps!. Very painful, but I have hamstrings now! ....................Calves.............................................. 6. Toe Press- on hammer leg press 14 pl ea side+25-1400 x 7!-up 25 lbs and 1 rep!, 10pl ea side + 25 x 12 NA (6 neg ea leg)! - up 25 lbs and 2 reps- 1 neg ea leg! 7. Seated Calf Raise on Smith Machine (a few wu reps) , 7 pl ea side (670) x 8+ 1 FR!- up 2 reps!
Abs--------------------------------------------------------------7.Flex ab machine stack+ 7.5- 150 x 39!-up 7.5 lbs for 1 less rep. 150 x 20. 8. Hanging Leg Raises-- 12 straight legged, then continued on with 8 more bent knee- up 2 reps ea style, 4 total. .................................................. ......................... Awesome workout!, Very strong, high intensity, PR's on every exercise (11)! Increases, sometimes big ones, on every working set, Lots of intensity variables, great focus! BW before w/o- 240 lbs- 11 lbs heavier than last year at same time (with better conditioning)! ----------------------------------------------------------------
Post workout Cardio
Treadmill 30 min, 1.44 mile, 225 cals, worked up to maximum incline, held for a minute, pushing off with heels, calves, hams, and glutes, then backed down gradually to flat over 15 min, continued on for distance calorie burn. Avg spd 2.9, avg incl 3.0. _____________________Will be going back this evening for another hour of (moderate) cardio, probably a bike ride just to burn calories later. I was very happy with this one! Exceeded last weeks even! ______________________________ ___________________________________________________ PM Cardio------ Recumbent bike 55 min, 8.72 Mile, 240 cal. Avg spd 9.49 mph. BW before cardio 238 lbs- was very hot, didn't drink enough water in the afternoon. TOTAL Cardio today 1 hr 25 min, 465 cal.

[intenceman]

Cardio - Morning (Fasted, coffee and water only)---------
Treadmill 60 min, 2.74 miles, 354 cals, avg spd 2.7 mph 1.38
BW before cardio 235 lbs- lowest this prep. Was a bit depleted and dehydrated, drank plenty of water during cardio.. ........................................................................ PM Cardio- . Recumbent bike 60 min, 11.7 mi 318 cal avgs spd 12 mph -i---------------------------------------------------------------- Total-------------------BW before cardio 237 lbs, . ................................................................................................. TOTAL CARDIO 2 hours , 672 cals. _____________________

[Roger]

You are the Beast on the weights and cardio too.

[intenceman]

--------------------------------------- PECS------------------- 1. Smith Machine Bench Press medium grip - elbows wide-different gym, different machine, no counterbalance, bar 15 lbs here) (w/u bar x 2 sets, 1 pl 105. 2 pl 195, 3 pl 285, 3 pl+25 335, 4 pl ea side 375 x), 405x1, 425 x 2 RP- very heavy (4 pl+ 25 ea side) was toasted. ------ ---------------------- 2. Dips (w/u Bw 238, Bw+125) BW +250 x 5 neg! BW + 225 x 4 + 2 neg-- these were tough, prob due to doing negs first.
3. Pec Dec Bodymasters (new) (a few warmups) stack 290 x 6! ------------------------------------------------------------4. DB Flyes (break in, hadn't done in year or more) w/u 65's, 80's, 100's) 125's x 5! GREAT PEC SESSION- pecs pumped and aching! DELTS-----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Smith Overhead Press (w/u 1 pl, 1pl+ 25, 2 pl -195, 225 x2, 245 x2, 2 pl+ 35 ea side- 265, 3 pl ea side - 285 x 3 RP!, 2 pl+ 25 -245 x 5.- strong on these today! --6.Machine Laterals stack+5 lbs - 195x 15 ea delt unilaterally . 7. DB laterals 100's x 6 ! - up 1 rep . 7. 8. Bentover DB Laterals 125's x 5! up 25 lbs ea DB, 50 overall for 4 less reps! (Weren't any DBs between 100 and 125 in gym) 4 sets for delts, strong, tighter form, ............................ ................TRIs..................................... 8. Pushdowns couple warmup reps with stack., stack+ 10/ 160 x 17! 9. Eagle Machine extensions (new) ( a few w/' s) stack x 4 RP, stack+ 15 x 4 RP! 3 sets for tris, but 2 were RP
Looking better, freakier arms- 21 1/8" pumped!
Awesome workout! Very Strong, several PR's! (Hard to total them as used several different machimes, but some huge weights, big increases on a few sets. Very Intense- lots of intensity and focus! Ran thru mandatory poses a few times, relaxed stances, ........................................................... .......................... Post w/o CARDIO TREADMILL 30 MIN , 1.32 mile, 167 cal, avg spd 2.7 ...................................,................ ........ . ........................ BW before workout 238.4 lbs (electronc scale)----

[Roger]

#arockon6ha# #bbenchpress4zy# GOOD JOB!!!

[intenceman]

Thanks Roger! I love the graphic, that was cool. One more regular workout to go, tommorrow, back and bis. Then start doing depletion workouts Sun., travel on Weds, starting carb up Weds also. That's less than 3 full days of carbing, but I'd rather be a bit undercarbed than overcarb and spill over. I think it will be enough anyway. Very depleted and tired- exhausted today. Did morning cardio for an hour and am just out of gas. Will pose as much as I can later to practice and further harden up......... Cardio - Morning (Fasted, coffee and water only)---------
Recumbent bike (easy pace) 60 min, 9.58 miles, 255 cals, avg spd 9.6 mph. BW before cardio 235 . Was very depleted, drank plenty of water during cardio.

[intenceman]

Back- 1 week to go! Weighed in at 236 lbs at start. (Not real hydrated) Down 2 lbs since last Fridays back workout. _______BACK---------------------------------------------------------1. Rack Deadlifts (from top) (w/u set bar 3 x15, 135, 225, 315x 3, 405x1, 495 x 1) 545 x 6! Up 15 lbs! , 'continous tension' style, no touch, no reset, blood and guts!. Great set! .................................................................................... From knees (225 x1, 495 x1, 585 x1, 675 x2, 765 x 1) 875 x 3! - up 15 lbs and 1 rep! Strongest ever on deads, both full and partial. __________________________________________________ 2. BB rows (w/u 405 x2, 455 x2), 515 x 4, 525 x 6!- up 15 lbs!
3. Cybex Puldowns (wu a few reps) stack+ 15 - 305 x 10 bilateral+ 2 unilateral+ 2 FR + 2 neg! Great pump!o 4. T bar (PreCor supported torso) Rows 3 pl x 10
-full stretch and conrtraction. .......TRAPS-------------------------------------------------------. 5. BB Shrugs (w/u 525 x 4, 585, 675) 725 x 6! 2 sets. ------------ Lower back------------- 6. Hyperextensions - BW x 12- 2 set. Didn't go for weight or max resistance, focused on tightening lower back and glutes (got the heavy work with the deads and rows) ---------------- ----------------- ------------------. BICEPS ------------------------------------------
8. Alt DB Curls (40's, 65's, 80'sx2) 100's x2 ea arm, x 2 1/2! up 10 lbs ea arm, 20 overall for 1 1/2 less reps! tried a 3td lighter, set, too toasted . --------------------------------------------------------------- . 9. BB cheat Curls 225 x 6, x 7! Awesome workout! Very strong, several PR's!, very intense. Arms looking the best they ever have, What a difference from last year! Taped nearly 21" and looked ripped! Delts and traps up, couldn't get a good look at back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

[intenceman]

5 days to go! Did a full body 'depletion' workout yday for an hour and a hour of cardio. On basically no carbs for 2nd day of 3. Was typically going to do another full body depletion workout, but for several reasons, I wasn't happy. So I decided to hit legs (the bodypart its been the longest since I trained) hard heavy then burn off the rest of glycogen in them with faster cardio. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGS------------------------------------------------- 1. Smith Machine Squats - (W/u bar, 1 pl, 2 pl, 3pl x 1, 4pl , 5pl x , 6 pl a side x 1), - 7 pl ea side - 630 in plates 670 total x 9!- up a rep. Went as deep as I could, lower back didn't like it, but wanted good ROM. .--------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Hammer Leg Press (w/u 7 pl, 10pl), 14 pl ea side + 100 - 1475 x 7 + 1 FR! - up 40 lbs! ---------------------
3. Flex Leg ext (w/u a few reps) stack+ 85 - 370 x 12.
Hamstrings ............
4. Seated Leg curl (w/u up), stack+ 60 305 x 8! ....................Calves..............................................
Standing Calf Raise 505 x 12, 505 x 9. Abs--------------------------------------------------------------7.Flex ab machine stack 150 x 50! .................................................. ......................... .......... BW before w/o- 237 lbs- 12 lbs heavier than last year at same time with much better conditioning! ------------------------------------------------------------------`-----
Post workout Cardio
Treadmill 30 min, 1.5 mile, 230 cals, ed on for distance calorie burn. Avg spd 3.0, avg incl 2.5.
I was happy with this one, Performance on key exercises exceeded last weeks! No more leg work (except posing, til the show) ______________________________

[intenceman]

Last day of carb depletion. Will start carb loading weds or tomorrow if I'm looking too flat. --------------------------------------- PECS------------------- 1. Smith Machine Bench Press medium grip - elbows wide) (w/u bar x 2 sets, 1 pl -105 x 2 sets. 2 pl- 195, 3 pl 285, 3 pl+25 -335, 4 pl ea side 375 x 1 , 4 pl+ 15 ea side - 405x2. ------ ---------------------- 2. Dips (w/u Bw 234, Bw+100) BW+ 200 x 6, BW + 225 x 5! Up 1 rep.
3. Pec Dec Bodymasters (warmup 150, 180, 220, 260) stack 290 x 8! - up 2 reps! DELTS-----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Smith Overhead Press (w/u 1 pl, 1p , 2 pl -195, 2 l+ 25 ea side - 245 x1)-245 x 6- up 1 rep, 3 pl x1 .- 6. DB laterals 100's x 7! - up 1 rep . 7. Bentover DB Laterals 125's x 6! - up 1 rep ............................ ................TRIs..................................... 8. Cybex Tri ext - break in (w/u 90, 130, 170, stack 190 x1) stack+ 15- 205 x 8!
9. assisted Dip machine minimum setting- 2 pump out sets to further deplete glycogen. Felt like crap, was actually strong despite the deplted state, Looking better, more ripped. Energy way down, but was strong, actually set 5 PR's! Ran thru mandatory poses a few times- looking big and ripped!, ........................................................... .......................... Post w/o CARDIO TREADMILL 30 MIN , 1.44 mile, 194 cal, avg spd 2.9 ...................................,................ ........ . ........................ BW before workout 234.2 lbs (electronc scale)----

[intenceman]

Went to early weighin. Liked what I so went ahead and weighed in. 237 lbs, up 9 lbs from last year and in much better condition. I was carbing up since yesterday, drying out since this morning. Going to carb up through tommorrow, keeping fluids low. 24 hours til prejudging!

[Roger]

Well it is all over now. Hope you did well and had a GREAT time.Great job getting ready James

[intenceman]

Thanks Roger. had a good time, hit my best so far- was 11 lbs heavier than last year and considerably more defined, but am far from satistified. It was good meeting and hanging out with Neal- great guy!

[intenceman]

First workout back after contest (7 days since last workout- 9 dayssince last leg workout)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGS-------------------------------------------------
1. Smith Machine Squats -different Smith machine (W/u bar x 2 sets several reps, 1 pl, 2 pl, 3pl x 1, 4pl x 1, 5pl x 1 , 6 plx 1 . 7 plx1. 7 pl+ 25 x1) 8 pl ea side - 720 in plates - 735 total x 4!- up 1 plate ea side! (cant be sure of exact increaes becuase the dodnt know exactrly what bar on the other machine was)- quads were screaming after -=this really nailed them especialy outer head and hips.
2.BB Squats- partials (w/u 585, 765) 945 x 2!- (45 lbs more than previous best)! might have eked out one or two more but bar was bending a lot and dont know what it was rated for.
3. Cybex Leg Press (NEW) (w/u a few reps up to 8 pl a side, 121 too heavy) ), 10 pl ea side - 90 in plates x 4 RP---------------------
4. Leg Ext ((NEW (kind of crummy model) w/u a few reps) stack- 200? x 8+ 2 FR+ 2 neg
. ......................................... Hamstrings ............
4. Cybex Leg curl (new0 stack + 15- 205 x 8, 130 x 10 NA (5 neg ea leg)
....................Calves..............................................
5, Atlantis Standing Calf Raises (NEW) ( a few w/u) stack- 600 x 15!, 500 x 4 +2 FR each leg!

Awesome workout!, Very strong (Several PR's), Intense-went in with an attitude. Goals to pack on another 15 lbs of muscle and hitr next years stge at 250 ripped.

[mrky03]

James, you really showed a lot of improvement this year! Your hard work paid off even though you probably didn't place as high as you would have liked.

You are a winner in my book anyway! You have the heart to train like an animal and diet hard as well as compete at the highest level!

Keep up the good work my friend and don't give up!

Joel

[intenceman]

Thanks Joel! that was much appreciated. I'm setting my sights on the over 50 next year since I turn 50 the month before. seeing the direction the over 40 went and being on the tall side of that age group. I've decided to leave that to them, and conquer the over 50"s with another 12-156 lbs of muscle and even lower bf% next year, Shoukld be around 248-250 ripped, That should put me in a good position for a top spot, Nerxt, is this journal getting too long>? debating whether to start a new one.

[intenceman]

Changed some stuff up today. Was a bit bored with what I was doing before- and hadnt done free weight benches or inclines in a very long time so I wanted to see where I was a with those. Alos two of the top[ 5 that I know of were former powerlifters, so itaking a cue from that.
PECS-------------------
1. Bench Press (break in) medium grip - elbows wide. bar, 135, 225, 275x1, 295x1- testigng strength, 315x1, 335x1*, 355-x1 neg (to much for a postiive) * PR
2. Inclien BB Press 135, 185x1, 225 x1, - agian testing strength, 245x1, 265x1, 285x1, 295 x1, 295 x4 + 2FR! * PR, 305 x2 +2FR*
!
3. Dips (w/u BW 240, Bw+125) BW +250 x 4 neg- off a rep here, BW + 225 x 3 + 2 neg-- off a rep.
4. DB Flyes 125's x 3- off 2 reps,
DELTS-----------------------------------------------------------------
5. BB Clean anbd press 135, 155, 175 x 3 - joints hurt a little on this one.
6. Smith Overhead Press (w/u 1 pl,, 2 pl -195,) 2 pl + 25 ea side- 265 x 3 + 2 FR! .
7. DB laterals 100's x 5 ! off a rep rep .
8. Bentover DB Laterals 125's x 5 form, ............................ ................TRIs.....................................
9. Pushdowns couple warmup reps with stack., stack+ 10/ 160 x 20! - up 3 reps
Hard to totally assess this one as did several thigns new or different- and the exercises that were the same came after. (also was a rough past couple of days lot going on, going wrong, doggies were clingy after we got home, and lot of stress), ........................................................... .......................... BW before workout 240.4 lbs (electronc scale)----

[mrky03]

Good one James! You're starting back with a vengence!

[Roger]

Good job James. Great plans for next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fit]

Congrats James and keep banging away!

[intenceman]

Thanks guys! One thing I've learned is at that level, you have to have a plan, and pull it off as best you possibly can. Even then, its tough! My internet is down, so I have to access via other computers- for the time being. will try to catch up with everyone when things get back to normal. whatever that is, lol.