Thanks man! That’s exactly the approach I’m taking. Contest prep is very much uncharted territory for me, so I’m really trying to learn from the great champions that I’m trying emulate and recreate the look of.
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That last set of incline press/barbell rows was impressive. Excellent job.
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Thank you very much!! I’ve really been connecting well with those movements! It’s funny to think how much slander I see the Barbell Row receive online compared to what my experiences with the movement are! It nails my lats and upper back, especially trying to hold at the top for a second or so.
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That is true. Strength training (just a universal term) is circular (lifts just keep coming around). I have to look up half the lifts people do now. But, barbell rows, incline press, pretty straight forward, and a good pairing for a super-set. Keep moving forward.
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Thank you sir. Really hard to beat these traditional exercises! I do some less traditional ones on leg day to compensate for lack of machines (somersault squat and reverse Nordic curls instead of leg Extension and single leg Cable curl and Dumbbell hamstring curl instead of hamstring curl machine and Dumbbell belt squat instead of leg press) but they aren’t unheard of and don’t reinvent the wheel. Onward and upward!
Had my first not great night of sleep in a while last night. Going to try to get a nap in before Easter dinner tonight (we’re celebrating a day early). Regardless, today’s workout was fantastic! My delts were crazy smoked after laterals which led to me not really pushing the weight up on behind the neck press. The arm supersets all felt really fantastic today and my arms just felt like they were being blown up like balloons! Got the standing twists done at the end of the workout. I’ll hit the sit ups before bed and May also hit some calf raises too.
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Happy Easter everyone! Another superset focused session! I’m really in an awesome flow here, I’m kicking my butt to the extreme every workout and getting a phenomenal pump, but I’m never too sore or exhausted to hit the muscle group when it comes around in the rotation again. Great recovery, great sessions! Super grateful for how things have been going. Switched to Donkey Calf Raises today, the exercise which brought Arnold from Skinny calves to being accused of implants! l do think these are a bit more challenging. Hope everyone has a great day!
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New low weight this morning 190.4! Chest and back today. Pulled back to 3 supersets because I only had about 50 minutes to train today but I definitely made them count! Really was able to connect with the chest extra well with really good protraction on the positive and it cooked my chest a little quicker than usual. That’s a cue I really need to keep perfecting. Behind the neck Pulldowns felt really good too. Going to keep rocking those. Rest day tomorrow then shoulders/arms Wednesday!
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Rest day today but still hit 3 sets of 50 sit ups, 50 leg raises and 100 seated twists. With the competition getting ever closer, I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. Will probably hit some bodyweight Calf raises this evening as well.
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Shoulders and arms got pumped to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion today! This is essentially the same Shoulder/arm day that I’ve been using except I swapped shrugs for upright Dumbbell Row today. I liked them! Also progressed the weight a little bit where I felt like it was warranted. The Mind muscle connection is really on point with all of these movements. Posing trunks came in today. Finally something better to do my tanning and posing practice in! Legs tomorrow and I’m planning on it being a top tier session!
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Another superset oriented leg day was what was needed today because I had to spend several hours working on tax stuff. Made the most of my time today though and really pushed hard, kind of giant setting some of these moves together. Also posing trunks are a little too small. I’m probably going to order a large and see which one fits better around Show time.
Also got the Zane Bodybuilding Manual in today and to my surprise, it’s autographed! Very hyped to learn from another of the GOATs!
That picture of Zane just reminds me of how far I still have to go haha
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Another massive chest and back day. I’ve really been incorporating the stretches between sets like Arnold and Zane recommend which has really been helping to improve my pump. Really gave this session everything I had. I added a rest pause set of both dips and chinups at the end to really ensure I had finished off both muscle groups and a weekend of rest days coming up, I needed to ensure that I’ve earned them.
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Shoulders and arms is always an amazings day. Today was seriously no exception. The pump was unbelievable and I was feeling exceptional by the end of this session. Pushed crazy hard and hit a few drop sets as well. It’s crazy how much my conditioning and work capacity has improved. These workouts were killing Me the first few weeks and now I’m thriving!!
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Well about 7 weeks out so I’m continuing to ramp things up a bit with my training. Pushing more towards a Serge Nubret-inspired protocol with even higher volume but not going quite to failure. My body has seemingly been responding brilliantly to the volume increases. I’m not quite at Serge’s level with the 2000 sit ups a day but I’ll give my all towards sit ups tonight. I know not too many people employ these training strategies anymore but how many people walking around today are looking like the Golden Era greats? That’s what I’m trying to replicate.
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I had fallen behind but I’m all caught up now—SUPER excited to track along with your show prep: You’re already a monster, and lean, too, so it’s going to be awesome to watch you really polish that physique.
Oh, and I know I say it almost every time I comment in here, but I continue to find your seemingly unbounded energy, enthusiasm, and positivity to be infectious!
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That’s amazing to hear man! That makes me really happy! It’s Been exciting to push myself harder than I ever have in my life. I really feel like I’m training with a purpose!
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I fixed that for you. Bloody young people. LOL
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Absolutely hellacious leg day today! I certainly see why Serge split up quads and hams, but honestly, I’d rather just get all of the misery out of the way in one session rather than dragging it out. There’s something fun about just pushing yourself to the limit. The leg pump was just absolutely insane here. I have a feeling it will only get crazier as I Perfect this training style!
These super dense sessions with short rest times and supersets and high volume have really been getting me in better shape. My resting heart rate is down to 49 bpm! Weight hit a new low this morning of 189 flat! Muscles are still feeling full and large. Definitely hoping to find the right blend of conditioning and size for this show so I can present myself in the image that I envision. Stay tuned!
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Is that the new program name? 
8 sets of 12 Zerchers, you’re a madman, and a beast!
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Hahaha that’s great! That’s what I’m trying to do!
The hardest part undoubtedly was the pace and powering through the sets while the pump in my quads continued to get more and more gnarly! My legs are so sore today lol
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Back to Chest and Back today. Really nailed it better than I did on the last one. Was pumped to the extreme and really connected so well with every exercise in this rotation. Dumbbell Press was feeling magical. So were the barbell rows. Today was just one of those days were everything was flowing brilliantly. Dips and Chins supersetted is a match made in Heaven. The stretches with deep breathing between sets was awesome and helped me feel recovered more quickly between very brief rest periods. I have a rest day on tap for tomorrow (will probably just do abs) and the Shoulders and Arms Saturday, Legs Sunday then Chest and Back again on Monday before I rest again Tuesday.
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