Yes sir! Thank you for checking in! I have missed you guys! I guess it’s been a while since I’ve used the website. I have just lacked the motivation to log my sessions as there just hasn’t been much to share lately. The break basically started because I got food poisoning really bad 2 weeks ago (thankfully on a rest day so I didn’t have to miss any workouts) and after getting out of the habit, I just never got back to it. I’d like to get back to it!
I’ve still been taking pictures of my training log every session. I’ve probably had 14 or so sessions since my last post, I won’t post them all up but I’ll catch up what I’ve been doing this week.
I’ve been inspired by some of John Jewett’s videos lately with my exercise selection, particularly on lats. Really been enjoying the one arm cable Pulldowns and rows. I’ve also started putting back calories to get a much earlier start on show prep than last year. I should start practicing posing soon as well.
My last arm session May look a little weird because I pulled out any presses as well as anything that hits the long head of the Tricep because I was dealing with some extreme elbow/long head soreness. Doing a lot better now, but had to make some modifications just to get by in that moment. Advanced lifters need flexibility in their training to get the most out of their sessions and still recover.
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Thank you sir! Glad to be back!
I’m playing around with my split a little bit to more of the Lee Haney style push/pull split as I am in the early stages of prep now, about 16 weeks out. Going a little heavier, with fewer total sets. But it’s more “Hard sets”. I’m just playing around to see how recovery is One Vs the other and I’ll roll with that throughout prep. I will say the pump I had last night was amongst the most unreal I’ve ever had. I’ll need to get pictures next time!
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Back and shoulders last night. Moved pull-ups to third and it definitely was much harder because my lats were already fully smoked. I hit Y-Raises in a way that really focuses on scapular depression which just hammered my mid and low traps. After the session it was hard to hold good posture because they were so sore haha! On pretty much all of my back and shoulder work, I tried to hold in the contracted position for a second or two. Brutally tough, but definitely enhances the pump and mind muscle connection. Also trying to implement slower eccentrics across the board. Legs tonight!
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Insanely tough couple of sessions here. More of a Hamstring focused leg day (my Number area needing improvement) and a good old chest and arm session. It’s been fun and different reducing the total number of sets and just pushing them Balls to the wall. When you do the same thing for a long time, the change feels really nice. This workout was powered by breakfast for dinner!
If you’ve never done kickstand squats, you’ve got to give them a try and let them humble you. I think single leg work is really fantastic and I’ve been using a lot of it past few weeks. I’ve also been doing a very low incline for my incline presses(a la John Meadows) which has just felt phenomenal, keeps a lot more tension in the chest and less on my front delts. Training vigor and enthusiasm and motivation are all at all time highs and I’m so excited to see how much I can improve in this years show Vs last years!
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Absolutely torched back and shoulders tonight. Nothing fancy right now. No intensifiers; no drop sets, no supersets, no rest pause, no Cluster sets. Just cluster sets taken To and very close to Failure. I am trying to use slow eccentrics and holding in the contracted position, especially on back and delts like I did today. Getting up earlier tomorrow to hit legs! Excited but scared honestly haha! I’ve been training with a partner this past week and it’s been fun! I feel like that always ramps up motivation and intensity.
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Really, really fantastic leg session today! It was pretty crazy going heavier on squats but it felt really good. Really took the eccentrics slow and focused on getting just insane tension in the quads, and was doing holds at the top of leg extensions. Hoping to really keep pushing Training hard throughout prep. I think my legs are so many miles ahead of where they were last year. Getting better at quad training and targeting the quads has been massive for me. Glutes and lower back used to really take over but I have learned and applied so many different things with my technique that has made a world of difference. Never discount mind Muscle connection, because it can really tell you a lot about the muscles you’re hitting.
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Exactly 15 weeks out as of today! Weight is already right around where I was when I competed last year so I’m way ahead of where I was before. Should come in so much more dialed this year. I think I’ll try to push the next off-season even harder to try to further max out off-season mass gain.
I had a shoulder-focused push session today and my delts were just completely cooked by the time I got to the flys. Training has been going super incredibly well! Excited to hit another Pull session tomorrow!
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Building the barn door right today. This workout was moving pretty fast, and the pump was just unbelievable. I’ve lowered my fat a bit and upped my carbs to give some better fuel toward training performance. Really just super dialed in already. Feeling very much ahead of Schedule compared to last year.
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Hit some legs yesterday in a sleep deprived State! I thought those RDLs and Kickstand squats were going to kill me! Seriously, the eccentric tempo and holds out Of the bottom took everything out of me! Definitely have earned this rest day today. My legs have been thrashed and I need the rest! Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!
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The push day was insanely good today! The incline presses were so good, I’m still somewhat mind blown. I thought, if I can just 3 sets of 8 with the 95s, I’d be happy. Then set 1 happens and I get to rep 8, and it was pretty easy, so I knock out another couple of reps, then I’m able to eclipse 8 again on set 2! Bench didn’t really change in terms of reps, but definitely continued to slow the eccentric and demonstrate greater control. The laterals before Chest actually felt really good, getting a shoulder pump before diving into the chest work! Really enjoying the Change up and recovering really well between sessions in spite of the calorie deficit!
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Really nice Pull day with my buddies. I’m so used to training alone, it’s crazy having training partners again haha! I’m loving it! I’m really just in the zone right now. About to go hit some quads!
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Extraordinarily productive Leg day! Most notably, just way stronger on squat. I think it’s probably neurological adaptation and improved efficiency. Last week, 1 set of 315x8 really took me out and I had to drop to 275 for set 2. This week I had a couple of reps in the tank in set 1 and was able to get a second set with 315! Really cool how quick your body can adapt like that. Still kept the slow and controlled eccentric too. Went with some heavier bands on Leg Press as well, that was the right call, as this Leg Press is super light and doing 20 rep sets sucks!
Morning weight was 185.5 so I’m down almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks since I’ve started my diet for the show. The look in the mirror is definitely improving a lot. I need to start doing morning check in photos of myself in the mandatory poses to compare week to Week progression. Honestly, that should continue through the off-season just to help ensure I’m not gaining fat too quickly.
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Hit this push Day all by my lonesome. Really good workout though! Delts were absolutely cooked and pumped to the moon by the end! Have not yet gotten a great feel for the close Grip Press with the football bar. May try it with the straight bar or try the chest press machine next week. I’m one plate away from using the whole stack on the seated Overhead Tricep Extension. May have to switch back to one arm soon!
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Those dumbbell presses are impressive.
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Thank you! I expect to see them climb even more as I keep them around in my rotation. It’ll be interesting to see how my lifts maintain during prep. Bodyweight is already lighter than it got at any point during prep last year, including on stage, but everything is steadily improving at the moment!
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Absolutely sickening Pull day last night. The pump was just stupid from set 1! The bicep and forearm work was devious as hell as well! All of the Back work is done extremely strict with a pause in the contracted position and a slow eccentric. I think my back and my legs are for sure going to be my most improved body parts when I hit the stage this year. Posing should be improved as well.
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I notice a gigantic faux pas right off the bat, that I put leg extensions instead of leg curls, but I did indeed open the session with leg curls. This workout is so simple on paper and so unbelievably brutal in action. The leg curls are tough on the hamstrings but The paused RDLs and Kickstand squats are brutal on my entire system! They train the hell out of the hamstrings and quads respectively, but they also leave me absolutely exhausted. Such great, powerful movements that make me feel alive, in addition to getting a Psycho Circus Pump from them! Definitely looking forward to my rest day tomorrow!
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I’ll post up a few of my “check-in” photos I took yesterday morning. I’m 13 weeks out and miles ahead of Schedule compared to last year. Honestly probably already leaner than I was on stage last year.
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