First Contest ~ My Prep Log

[quote]EyeDentist wrote:
Re leg training–Have you read John Meadow’s TN article on the subject? JM has built quite a set of wheels, so he clearly knows what he’s talking about. I did a 12-week training program with John, and the Legs component was gawd-awful (in a good way). Take a look; it just might inspire you to higher levels of pain and anguish:

[/quote]

Wow ~ there’s a lot of information there. Even if you limit the information to just the order of work.


"Hamstrings
Do high intensity leg curls before doing leg presses or squats, and you'll improve hamstring development.

Do your stretching type movements for hams (stiff-legged deadlifts, Romanian deads, etc.) after your hams and quads are fully pumped.

Quads

Do leg presses or squats before you do hack squats.

Do at least two movements for quads before you do lunges.

Don't do any kind of lunge or hack squat first in your routine because you won't engage the muscle sufficiently, and you could beat up your knees in the process."


Unfortunately, I don't have a hamstring exercise that I can do in my garage is not a lunge or a straight leg deadlift variation ~~~~ bummer.

[quote]iplan wrote:
I wish my garage was equipped with a hamstring curl machine and a quad extension machine.

Best,
J

[/quote]

If you have some straps you can hang from somewhere you can do a nice leg curl substitute:

Also, some good options for isoloating quads more:

  1. If you can drag something, you can isolate the quads effectively by walking backwards dragging it.
  2. Somersault squats: Joe Daniels Somersault Squat : Focused Quad Building for Physique - YouTube
    (can also be done with just bodyweight, gets brutal with high reps)
  3. Paused Squats - don’t have to heavy when you are hitting 2 to 5 second pauses, it will light up your quads.

Quick Update:

Feeling stronger, and leaner this week ~~~~ still a long way to go.

This morning the scale read 203.1 lbs. ~ so the diet tips are surly helping. Thanks for everyone’s input in that area. I feel like I’m getting a basic understanding of what I’m doing in that department.

Today’s workout is supposed to be Back & Bis as listed:
Chinups: 5x10
T-Bar Rows: 5x12
1 Arm DB Rows: 3x12
Cross Face Hammer Curl 3x10
EZ Bar Curl (Standling) 2x max

When I woke up, my back was a bit tight on the left side (which is never a good sign for me) ~ so I may end up scratching altogether ~~~~ After 15+ herniated disks (all on L-5) ~ I “always” error on the side of caution when it comes to training my back.

Best,
J

Workout went as scheduled. Had to lighten up on t bar rows - but not bad overall.

Tonight is Back, Shoulders. & Triceps ~~~~
Flat Bench 5x12
Incline 3x12
Shoulder Rehab Protocol (still in rehab with the shoulder) ~~~ I’ll work them until they catch on fire, then add another 5 minutes of pain.
Tricep Cable Press Downs* (w/ Rope) 5x12
Tricep Cable Press Downs* (w/ Straight Bar) 5x12

  • Done as a super set

Best,
J

You go Venice Beach, CA and every ninth guy looks like Frank Zane.

Swolle: Would you say that grapefruit (like Green beans) are a free food? Can you eat more than one a day, or do you need to account for those calories?

Tim: Thanks for that link on the hamstring curl option. I put it into use today. It works.

Today was legs day.
Hack Squats 5x15
Reverse Lunges 3x12
Hamstring Curls 3 sets
Squats 3x12 (I went too light here, and sort of lost my pump at this point in the workout)
Stiff Leg Dead Lifts 3x12 (tried to make up for the light squats, and went heavy on the SLDLs ~ which also backfired ~~~ so I dumped half the weight off the bar ~ waking my kids up in the process ~ as they sleep over the garage I work out in ~~~ then I did 5x12 ~ really focusing on squeezing, and feeling my hamstrings work through the whole movement). I might just do the squats at the end like I had previously done next time (I was trying the John Meadows formula).
Calves ~~~~ single leg calf raises. 5 sets max I’m not sure what’s going on with my calves. I’ve had huge calves my whole life (18 inches since I was 18 ~ I’m 45 now), and it’s like someone has poked a hole in them ~~~~ they’ve dropped to 17, and it doesn’t seem like any amount of calf work brings them back up.

Getinitdone: So, every 9th guy looks like Frank Zane on Venice Beach?
Note to self: “Stay away from Venice Beach.”

Best,
J

Well, my show prep continues on schedule.

I weighed in at 201 this morning. I’m hoping to break below 200 later this week. The waist is -1.5 inches in the last couple of weeks. Belts are mandatory.

As the weight is going down, some of my measurements are going up ~~~
I’m up to 26.5 on the quads (+1.5 inches since January and the decision to regulate squats to an accessory movement in favor of other quad & hamstring exercises). I can go much quicker ~~~ at one point I had 28 inch quads (and weighed less than 190lbs).

Biceps seem to have gotten over their flat funk, and are up 1/2 inch ~~~~ (as 16" this is still a major weak point though).

Today is Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps.

I’m pretty stoked about my progress on this day as my shoulder rehab is going well, and I’ve been adding about 20 pounds to the bar each week on the flat bench. The shoulder is certainly not ‘healed’ but it IS getting steadily stronger.

Best,
J

[quote]iplan wrote:
Well, my show prep continues on schedule.

I weighed in at 201 this morning. I’m hoping to break below 200 later this week. The waist is -1.5 inches in the last couple of weeks. Belts are mandatory.

As the weight is going down, some of my measurements are going up ~~~
I’m up to 26.5 on the quads (+1.5 inches since January and the decision to regulate squats to an accessory movement in favor of other quad & hamstring exercises). I can go much quicker ~~~ at one point I had 28 inch quads (and weighed less than 190lbs).

Biceps seem to have gotten over their flat funk, and are up 1/2 inch ~~~~ (as 16" this is still a major weak point though).

Today is Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps.

I’m pretty stoked about my progress on this day as my shoulder rehab is going well, and I’ve been adding about 20 pounds to the bar each week on the flat bench. The shoulder is certainly not ‘healed’ but it IS getting steadily stronger.

Best,
J
[/quote]

Congrats dude, you are doing well :slight_smile:

Thanks for the encouragement raddlehead!

Today is the first day my shoulder has been sore in months of rehab. I might have pushed it a bit too much last night. I was able to keep my 20 lb increase, but it didn’t feel ‘comfortable’ on the last set on bench. I guess I either should have shut down 1 set sooner, or lightened the weights.

Regardless of the reason, I find it frustrating to be ‘struggling’ with weight that is still 20 lbs less than what I used to warm up with back in the fall…

[quote]iplan wrote:
Would you say that grapefruit (like Green beans) are a free food? Can you eat more than one a day, or do you need to account for those calories?
[/quote]

Grapefruits can’t be a free food because their calories come mostly from sugar(fructose), thus their calories can have an impact on your progress. Green beans, on the other hand, are mostly fiberous and don’t really contain many calories except for the minuscule amounts of carbohydrates and protein. The same can be said for all green veggies.

Although grapefruit have thermogenic properties I wouldn’t consider them free… I would eat 1 a day for these reasons… With the exception of the day before contest…my pre contest has me eating 1 with each meal the day before contest …

Okay ~ will limit the grapefruit intake to one a day for now.

My weight is hanging on at 201 ~~~~~ which is a bit frustrating, as I had planned to be less than 200 this week, but no BMs in the last 4 days (gross I know) but I think when that dam finally breaks, I’ll be back on schedule.

As I mentioned in a previous post: Sunday I worked legs at a very high intensity. Trained Chest, Shoulders & Triceps on Monday. Then on Tuesday, as I was watching the US play to an unlikely draw versus Mexico in World Cup Qualifying, my left quad began to tighten up ~ to the point that I decided to ice it. It got worse though an by Wednesday morning my quad was nicely knotted up ~ so I skipped my leg workout that was scheduled for that same night. I guess I probably could have worked my hamstrings, and calves.

Today is Back & Biceps.

Sunday is leg day again. I’ll back down on the intensity of quad training and see how it responds.

Best,
J

Happy Easter!

He has risen! He has risen indeed, and in this we place all our hope.

So I took inventory before my scheduled workout last night (which was supposed to be back & biceps). It was not all together not a picture of health.

  1. Pulled left quad

  2. Tight right calf

  3. Tight right triceps

  4. Right shoulder recovery (ongoing)

Last time I had a deload week was 6 weeks ago, so I figured my body is telling me I was over due for a layoff (and since I have not lifted since Tuesday), it’s only 2 additional days for an entire deload week. I hope the extra time will be enough to recover.

My wife wondered if I was getting enough potasium in my diet, thinking this may be the culprit. So I added a half a banana to my diet.

Weight this morning was 200.2 lbs. On the one hand, that is down about 1/2 lb from this time last week, but on the other hand, I was hoping to break the 200 barrier by a full pound this week.

4 days without a BM?

Are you getting enough water?

I personally BM several times per day. And even when I was dieting and consuming less calories I still was at least once per day.

@ Tim ~ all I drink is water. I try to ‘pee clear.’ Once every 4-7 day BMs is just one of those great side effects of being me ~ lol

Actually, this is something I picked up a long time ago in the Gulf War (I think). When I got back, the doctors told me (and everyone else in my unit) that we had all come down with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. No mention, at least publicly, of the particular strangeness that 90 men would come down with the exact same “issue” over a 6 month period ~ having just returned from a war zone where biological weapons were deployed by the enemy.

I don’t mind, I guess. I’ve not been normal for so long, that I can’t remember what it would feel like to have to go to the bathroom every day. It seems like it would be a hassle. lol

You mentioned “trying” to pee clear. Are you succeeding?

How much water are you drinking daily?

I can’t imagine not BMing daily, lol.

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
You mentioned “trying” to pee clear. Are you succeeding?

How much water are you drinking daily?

I can’t imagine not BMing daily, lol.[/quote]

Tim ~ When I recognize I’m a bit dehydrated (generally in the afternoons), I try to boost my intake, but I’ve never really gauged how much water I should be drinking.

How much water do you drink in a given 24 hour period?

BTW, I’m 12 weeks out and finally broke 200 this morning (199.6). The mirror is looking better and better, but I’ve still a very long way to go. I beginning to think I will not be in contest condition in time…

If you recognize you are dehydrated, than you are already WAY past the point of needing water.

You shouldn’t ever really get to the point where you feel thirsty, or have a dry mouth or performance is suffering for some reason.

I drink 1 gallon consistently and often times closer to 1.5 gallons per day.

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
I drink 1 gallon consistently and often times closer to 1.5 gallons per day.[/quote]

I would think that I would be drinking that much too, but I’m going to fill a gallon container tomorrow and get an accurate assessment.

BTW, what was your weight in your avatar?