Instead of switching between squat and dead just do trap bar deads. Its the perfect lower body move that hits everything. Also very lower back friendly so it helps prevent injury. CT loves them
@ Colin
Well, I take Sunday off most weeks although I might drag my tire sled.
And Saturday is my free day, meaning, I do what I want or feel like. Ironically, I enjoy the HFS so much that it often involves doing basic compound movements for a few sets, but sometimes its a “beach” day or occluded legs day.
Best of luck with your cut, don’t worry about the calendar, just cut until you are as lean as you want to be.
@ Ryan
Trap Bar will be a future investment. Until then, I’ll alternate between deadlift and squat. Definitely can tell how much CT enjoys them from the spills. Can’t blame him. I tried simulating them with my cambered bar, they feel good.
CT’s new prowler protocol for legs:
Dang! I just tried it this afternoon. (That’s how I celebrate the new year) What a pump! And in just under 15 minutes. It was awesome.
I have to admit, I was skeptical of the holds doing much but after 1 round I could tell they were integral to the whole protocol. CT is a genious.
I think this will be a nice addition to my routine.
Tim, check craigslist in you area for a trap bar. I ended up picking one up on there for $60.
Great thread. Also, I’m really curious as to how you feel about the IF. I’ve been doing it since Thanksgiving and am loving it. But I made a mistake of doing it almost everyday. Now I do it 4 days a week. Much better.
Good luck to you man!
@ Colin
Good idea. May have to do that.
@ Wallstrt
Thanks for checking in. I like IF, very convenient and an easy way to adjust for social events/parties. I do IF everyday, but the length of the fast varies. I train at 11 am, on most days so it actually isn’t very long. From 9pm to about 11am, 14 hours. On the weekends, I may train later or not train at all, and I will extend the fast until dinner sometimes depending on where I am with my weight goals.
I’m the same way with IF, so at this point I just say I don’t eat breakfast. I used to be strict with 16/8 but saw no difference in breaking the fast early or extending it later.
[quote]ColinD624 wrote:
I’m the same way with IF, so at this point I just say I don’t eat breakfast. I used to be strict with 16/8 but saw no difference in breaking the fast early or extending it later.[/quote]
Some days I don’t eat after dinner, on those days it is from 6pm to 11am, 17 hours. And on the weekend, it is up to 20 hours sometimes. That said, like you, there isn’t much difference, it comes to down to eating when you need to (i.e. after training hard) and not eating (or only eating a little) when you are not placing demands on your body. It is convenient and I believe good for the digestive system to get a slight break.
Definitely looking thicker overall man, good work. Been following you for some time now as you know, and the quads are looking very nice. Look forward to the finished product man!
[quote]misterjaydubyoo wrote:
Definitely looking thicker overall man, good work. Been following you for some time now as you know, and the quads are looking very nice. Look forward to the finished product man![/quote]
Hey JW, thanks for checking in. Glad that there is some concensus on the legs. I hope I can add a little up top before the show.
I am looking forward to the finished product as well. This journey is going to be very different from my last cut. Last time, I had no deadline, no pressure. I know how to get lean, but the question is, can I dial it in within a set time line. We shall see.
Bodyweight at 190. I’m on target thus far. Strength is stable and/or improving as I continue to make small jumps in weight on my strenght lifts.
Also, noticing I can get lower in the maltese cross practice position. That feels good.
Just looked at the application for the bodybuilding show. I am a little disappointed because the posing routine was cut from 70 seconds on last years application to just 60 seconds. I had a 68 second routine planned. Now I have to cut it down 8 seconds.
[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Just looked at the application for the bodybuilding show. I am a little disappointed because the posing routine was cut from 70 seconds on last years application to just 60 seconds. I had a 68 second routine planned. Now I have to cut it down 8 seconds.[/quote]
Ahh… I had gotten so used to 90 second routines, and then I entered the America last Spring and was told of a 60 second limit. So I picked a new tune, retimed my best poses, and fit it all in. Then I saw some other guy stay onstage for about 5 minutes and I smacked myself on the forehead for even thinking anyone would care -lol.
S
@ Stu
So you think it won’t matter? I e-mailed the promoter to see what he says.
When I went to the show last April, there was one guy on stage for what seemed like an eternity, it was probably 3 minutes. I don’t know if the technical/sound guys forgot to stop his music or what, but there didn’t seem to be any fuss over the time limit.
@ Stu or anyone with bodybuilding experience:
When/Where do you buy trunks? 'Cause right now, I still have some junk in MY trunk, so I figured it would not be good now, but of course, it’s not like I can try them on right? I was going to order from bodybuilding.com but earlier in the thread it was mentioned that online might not be the best route due to sizing/fit. I’d love to get your opinion.
I think emailing the promoter’s a good call. highly doubtful that an extra 7-8 seconds will cause the judges to be upset with you.
I’ve always gotten my trunks from Cherrybombs.net They have some pretty basic stuff, as well as some fancier work if that’s what you want. Cheri had actually made a couple of custom jobs for me, and is very friendly and helpful about everything. As far as sizing, just remember how much less you’re going to weigh come game day!
S
Thanks as always Stu, you are very helpful.
Update:
Just got an e-mail from the promoter, they give 60 seconds but will not shut off the music until 70 seconds.
Yes! I am good to go with my routine. I plan to video it and put it on here for critique.
@ BBB
Mine is actually April 21, sorry if I posted wrong. So even closer together than you originally thought, we will definitely be with each other in spirit.
Do you have a log going for your prep?
@ all with more experience than me (i.e. pretty much everyone)
OK, call me a dork, a worry wart, whatever, I am just trying to get my ducks in a row.
Questions:
- Tan
I was thinking about going with dream tan. However, my wife will be with my two boys the morning when I go to pre-judging. Is it possible to find someone to help put it on? Or should I recruit a friend to come backstage with me? (warning: I don’t have any friends who are into fitness that would have a clue about any of this stuff or be helpful at all, lol!)
- Eating on Contest Day
During my mock contest prep, I ate a high carb/fat/sodium meal containing approximately 75-90 g of carbs, 20-30 g fat, and 1000-2000 mg sodium about 1 hour prior to pumping up. It worked well, meaning it seemed to do what it was supposed to, bring out that last bit of vascularity. I also had a small carbohydrate snack earlier in the day with about 45g carbs.
My prejudging is at 12 noon. I recently read that the meal prior to pumping should be more like 2 hours before. Therefore, my tentative schedule would be:
8am - Wake, 45 gram carbhoydrate snack, only bite of protein, sip of water, low sodium
Make sure I have towel, bands, food packed
9:25 - depart for show
10:00 check in
After check in complete, eat above mentioned higher fat/sodium meal
11:15 contestant meating
Once contestant meeting done, pump up
12:00 prejudging
a) How does that schedule look? How long should the higher sodium/fat meal be before pumping up?
b) And any advice on eating after the prejudging?
c) Just a small snack again maybe at 2pm (like the 8am snack)?
d) Should I do another meal higher in fat/sodium prior to the Finals (like the 10am meal)? Maybe at 4:30 with the finals at 6:30pm? Or will I have a better idea of when I go on stage and adjust my meal accordingly. For example, if I don’t go on stage until close to 7:30, than eat at 5:30pm.
e) Immediately before pumping up, do you guys ingest anything? I have read about having a few sips of wine, syrup or an energy gel packet.
@ BBB
Well, I am doing a full depletion and load protocol (3 days each), so I should already be full come contest morning, just eating enough to maintain energy at that point and keep stomach content minimal/avoid any type of bloat. During my load, I will be taking in 500 to 600 grams of carbs each day, broken into 6 meals with posing after each meal to facilitate proper loading.
Thanks for your thoughts on backstage food. I appreciate it.
Last night, I was out in the dark, in snow pants and two winter hats, pulling my tire doing CT’s Prowler Leg Protocol.
Why? Because hopefully, the guys who will be stepping on stage with me aren’t going the extra mile and don’t want to drag a tire in the freezing cold.
Out in the cold and dark again last night, dragging my tire…did I mention I really like CT’s leg prowler protocol?
And thanks to Serge A. Storms, browsing his log inspired me to try L-sits. I had been doing them a bit on the rings, but then I tried them on the floor after hearing about his experimentation. Turns out, I actually prefer them on the floor. I believe they are harder on the floor because you MUST get your legs up and keep absolutely tense, otherwise your heels touch and you lose the effectiveness of the exercise.
I’ve been supersetting L-sits with serratus crunches (see here: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/exercises/exercise_of_the_week_the_serratus_crunch )
Anywhere from 5 to 10 supersets depending on the time I have to spare (I do abs when I have a few extra minutes to spare here and there, not during my regular lunch break workout…too rushed then). They leave my abs toasted and pumped. My hypertrophy has always been weak in the upper abs/serratus region which makes me look bigger toward the waist, not the perception you want with your waist/abdominal region.
I really believe this superset to be helping that problem. I’ve been doing every couple days for the last few weeks and my wife could see the difference. Excellent.
@ BBB
Sure, no problem.
Monday, December 19, 2011 Training Lab:
http://www.T-Nation.com/strength-training-topics/1590
In chronological order as they appear in the spill:
Chris Shugart -
I try to contract the glutes, hams, and quads myself when in the deep squat, but it’s tough to do given the accumulated fatigue. Good trick though is to hold onto the Prowler for the deep squat to really focus on that final hold.
Regarding the squat and lunge holds with the Prowler work. I often joke about “going somewhere else” when the pain and burning kicks in. I think there’s a video of me somewhere saying “Find a special place and convene with your spirit animal” or (more appropriately) “Find an angry place.” But honestly, you need to be in the moment so you can contract as hard as possible. As CT notes, it would be easy to “fake” the holds – hold, but not contract, which of course defeats the purpose.
This is pretty general, and CT can coach it better than I can, but here’s the gist of the new Prowler work: Push a light weight forward, arms out, at a moderate pace (not a sprint at all.) At the end of the push, hold a lunge position, contracting the muscles by “pulling” the front foot back and pushing the back leg in. (Legs won’t move of course, it’s just about the hard contraction.) Rest a bit then do it again.
On the 3rd Prowler push, push it backward, then do squat holds just above parallel. Then drop into a deep catcher squat and hold again. I do this for 6 to 9 total pushes: always 2 forward, 1 backward.
CT -
Regarding the lower body holds… It is NOT about maintaining the lunge or squat position BUT about actively contracting all the muscles involved as hard as ypu can. On the lunges hold for example you try to pull the back leg forward and pull the front leg back
CS -
@Christian: I know you don’t like thinking about time when doing holds, but do you have a general recommendation for the squat and lunge holds with the Prowler? I tend to get 10 to 15 seconds of hard contraction, but I could probably go longer if you were standing there eyeballing me all mean-like
CT -
@ CS… normally up to 20 seconds is acceptable, but the goal is maximum pump in the legs. If the holds prevent you from doing the next prowler set optimally, it is not a good investment. Plus, you are doing the prowler and holds every day… it adds up!