Hi CT,
First off, thanks for all the incredible articles/blogs/information you supply in this forum/site (T-Nation). Can’t tell you how much it helps. Which is why as I am seeking advice for a personal long term goal, it is only right, I seek your suggestions/advice/opinion.
As an current bodybuilder, my goal is to get a pro-card. In the past month, I have competed in 2 contests, in the Men’s Open MiddleWeight class (167lb-176lb) and I have come in around 173lb. I want to take off all of next year to improve my weaknesses, which I feel are:
- lower body (mass, calves)
- upper back (lack of thickness)
- Abs
My main goal is my lower body. Leading up to my contests, I was training them 2x a week and 3x a week I was coming in during the mornings and doing additional leg work (5x10 of hack, 5x10 of leg extensions). My legs were (and still are) pretty fatigued from that kinda volume.
For the initial first month, I plan on doing a basic 1-2x a week leg routine. Focusing on getting my strength back. I felt I lost strength as I dieted for about 5 months for my 2 contests. But after this initial period (1-2 months), I’d like to start a serious Hypertrophy/Mass building lower body routine, and I would really appreciate any suggestions you may have. After reading through all your articles and blogs/posts, there is plenty of information to get me started (i.e. “Skinny Legs cure”, “Growth Factor Training”)
So there is plenty of info as far as workouts go, but I was hoping you could help provide assistance as far as the programming of the workouts and suggest which one I should incorporate first, and recommend how long to stay on it before considering changing the workout stimulus and doing a different routine.
Of course my nutrition is important, and I plan on gradually reverse dieting my calories back up. Using a macro breakdown of 45% carbs, 30% protein and 25% fat (if you have any suggestions to this, I would also greatly appreciate it).
I am providing some front and back pics from my contests to show you were I am currently at (physically) and hopefully you can assess and help provide guidance to me as I work on adding muscle mass to my lower body. Gaining weight in my lower body has always been difficult for me.
Any suggestions on how I should go about my goals of increasing my muscular development in my lower body, would be extremely appreciated from you CT!
thank you in advance!
parrao