[quote]alphaSC wrote:
You bodybuilders are masters of dieting. I don’t know how you guys do it. Training on low carbs is miserable. I have always thought about getting on stage some day. I compete in power lifting. Very different goals and training methods but we share a passion for doing battle with the iron. [/quote]
To be honest I do not use a strict low carbs approach with these guys anymore For most of his prep Daryl had roughly 2 cups of rice every day and Workout Fuel. In the 10 weeks of his prep he had a total of 4 low-carb days.
Alex respond badly to low carbs… he actually get leaner with carbs in his diet. So he never went before 200g per day, except for a few deplete days.
Regarding powerlifting, it has been my experience that when dieted down, powerlifter look awesome because of the thickness and hardness they bring to the stage. The biggest problem is often bringing up lagging muscle groups like the biceps, lats, calves and sometimes quads (if they are hamstrings dominant in their lifts).
Carb cycling. Were do you shop? natural foods? are guys worried how animals were feed or raised? Do you check to see If the body is in a state of ketosis? I’m not sure if it’s posted but what type training split was being used?
Alex, if you train by yourself now (not with CT) which principles that he has taught you remain with you most and how would this influence your training?
Can the approach be summed up loosely as ramping sets with relatively low reps of exercises that one feels comfortable with, with the odd max reps set at the end of an exercise? what are the other crucial things training with him has taught you, maybe exercise choice or nutrition, whatever?
[quote]bud moody wrote:
Alex, if you train by yourself now (not with CT) which principles that he has taught you remain with you most and how would this influence your training?
Can the approach be summed up loosely as ramping sets with relatively low reps of exercises that one feels comfortable with, with the odd max reps set at the end of an exercise? what are the other crucial things training with him has taught you, maybe exercise choice or nutrition, whatever?[/quote]
I send them their program on a weekly basis and visit them one week per month.
@bud moody: Like coach said bud, he sends us our program and diet so that we can still follow his methods even when he’s not around! Still, neural charge exercises, volume work using ramping and max reps and eccentric less exercises are the foundations and the bulk of our workouts.
As for nutrition, high protein, moderate carbs and healthy fats are pretty much the making of what I eat. Carbs are mostly taken around workouts, Workout Fuel and Surge Recovery providing me with energy for my workout and recovery fuel after, fats consist of FA3 and Flameout pills, 2 of each at every solid meal, and protein consist of turkey patties, chicken breast, Metabolic Drive Growth Formula (3 shakes a day) and protein bars (cookie dough my favorite!!!).
On top of that, supplementation like Alpha GPC, Superfood, Mag-10 and Anaconda and Curcumin are taking every day, twice a day as for Mag-10 abd Anaconda, since we workout twice a day.
Keep in touch, stay focus and keep pushing hard!!!
Hey guys!!! Just got back to Colorado Springs on sunday, after couple days in Vegas last week, and a couple more in Detroit two weeks ago, it really felt good to finally come back home!!! I had a blast though, thanks again to Biotest for making this possible!!!
For those of you who didn’t heard, Darryl finished 10th in the 202’s, compare to 15th, tied for last, last year, which is very good! We were pleased with his showing, his condition, and the fact that he was better than Detroit.
Now, it’s back to work for us…training twice a day, dieting…the works!
On a lighter note, a receive a very gooooood news today…Im getting the operation for my tore tendon done on monday at 2h00pm, Im so anxious it’s crazy!!! A big thanks to my boss Tim Patterson and Dr. Tim Hall for getting this done so quickly, Im very pleased and blessed, I really feel like T-Nation is behind me, helping me big time!!!
We are behind you Alex, this thread is the very first thing that I look at when I turn on my computer. I hope that the surgery goes smoothly and the recovery goes just as well. All of you at Biotest are a huge motivation for us.
@StraightEdge: Thanks a lot man, it means the world to me!! And for those of you who worry I might take things more lightly and slack off my grueling training sessions, think again!!! Just for example, it’s been 3 weeks since my accident, and yesterday I did some deadlifts, 5 reps with 500lbs, and today some shoulder presses, 5 reps with 275lbs…so I’ll be back on my feet in no time, even better than before!!!
In the mean time guys, keep sending me your good energy, it’s contagious and I feed on it big time!!! Stay focus and keep pushing hard!!!
I was watching the video of you and daryl training and was impressed with your shoulder definition. just wanted some feed back as I am lacking in that department.
@jbald: Well, my shoulders were always my strong points, but my rear delts were lacking a bit. I started to do lots of rear delt movements, but what helped me the most was training my rear delts seperatly, on the low pulley, and then doing that movement in a superset with some dumbell rear delt.
When doing rear delt movements, I never go for the weight, but rather for the pump, trying to squeeze 12-15 reps every set, controlling the eccentric part of the movement. Try it and let me know how it feels!!!
@PB Andy: Yes I did, but by the time I tried it, my rear delts were already pretty good, so I can’t attribute my growth to this exercise solely. Still, a good exercise, if you have access to bands. Thanks for the “Q” man!
I really enjoyed watching the videos and your blog is pretty inspirational. Glad to hear you recover so quickly. The weights you mentioned using only 3 weeks after your accident are pretty amazing!
7 weeks ago I was hospitalizied and had to have some kind of “tumor tussue” cut out of my chest. Nothing bad and the probability that it’ll ever come back is close to zero.
For the past 4 weeks I was able to train again and I could very much profit from all the extremely valuable information in the live spills and the videos. My stength is (almost) back to where it was pre-surgery. With the exception of my bench press, which sucks right now at 345 pounds. Hit doubles with 429 before the surgery and 470+ for top-half bench presses.
Thank you very much for all you are doing and all the info you are sharing. Great job you guys are doing here!
In 20 years of bodybuilding, this is the coolest and most motivational stuff I’ve ever come along.
Cheers,
Para
Just wanted to thank you for all your post. You always try to find the good in any given situation. I just lurk around the site but your posts are a pleasure to read. GOOD LUCK and THANKS!!!
@ParagonA: Thank you bud for the good words!!! Hope you have a speedy recovery too!!! Yes seriously, it’s really strange what’s happening to me, I mean this week, I did deadlifts with 500lbs x 5reps, bench press with 425lbs x 5 reps, squat 455lbs x 5 reps, shoulder presses 275lbs x 5reps, and close-grip bench presses 405lbs x 4 reps…but was only able to curl 35lbs dumbels!!! hahaha!!!
In couple weeks I’ll have my tendon reattached, so my right bicep will come back to normal. I just hope that your chest muscle will do the same and heal properly! Don’t rush into things though, I know I know, were all alike, we want to come back to normal asap, but still, sometimes we need to listen to what our body is telling us. If it hurts or doesn’t feel right, Im not doing it, period! That’s why Im not doing lat pull downs, upright rows, and most bicep exercises…it just doesn’t feel right yet!!!
And has for the job Im doing at Biotest and on our site, well, it just doesn’t feel like work guys, it’s a passion of mine, Im living a kids dream right now and want you guys to be a part of this. If by any chance I inspire, help or guide some of you, that makes me even happier, I would’ve like to have someone do so when I was younger. Im just trying to give something back to the sport I love, because it gave me so much so far!!! Thanks guys!!!
@RoNYC: Thanks bud, indeed, I always try to find positive in any situation!!! I guess it’s one of my strong points…there’s people who crumble when something bad happens to them or when they fall down, while others fight thru adversity and find ways to get back up!!! Of course, like anybody else, I have bad days, when I feel like crap, when I feel like I want to quit or like life is unfair or whatever, but then, I think about one of my good buddies, who couple years ago had a accident at work…
He was in vacation, but his boss wanted him to come in overtime. Since his gf was working all week, he decided to go. When his shift ended, some guys in the locker room were kidding around, and two of them decided to push against the lockers, to the point were the lockers fell down. My buddy was on the other side…the lockers fell on his chest, breaking his spinal cord in 3 places. He was conscious the hole time, his hole body crushed underneath the lockers, while only his head was coming out. He’s now paraplegic, can’t move without his electric wheelchair, lost his gf, lost his manhood, his dignity, everything. But he doesn’t pity himself, not at all, in fact he just move into a nice big loft, customized just for him, and still stays positive despite everything that happened.
So you see, even when things aren’t going that great, it’s never that bad either, and after the rain, the sun comes back, always!!!
Amazing story Alex and thank you for sharing it. I have always felt you have two ways to look at any situation; 1. You can pity yourself and let the world push you down or 2. You can look for the positive and make something out of the situation! Your body is a great example of what the right attitude and will power can accomplish and I strive to reach your level!
Also, I am sure you have addressed this before and I know every individual is different but how often and how much do you work out abs and cardio? I am always looking for a way to establish my mid-section and know diet is huge, but I was just curious of your program. Thank you so much for the time you dedicate to this forum.
@DaveRigatoni: You can look me up in our archives videos, I appear in many of them, and most of them were during my last pre-contest week. Go on the Training Lab, then on archives…
We’ll do many more videos in the future, so stay tuned!!! All the best!!