11/21/2011 – Biceps/ Triceps pt. 1

Today I worked both biceps and triceps. The reason is did this, is I see that allot of the pros do this and I wanted to give it a try. I first fully exhausted my biceps and then did my tricep workout. This was awesome, it gave me an incredible pump, but it also made me focus on my triceps.

Biceps –

Concentraion Curls – 4sets of 10 at 30lbs Dumbbell

Hammer Curls – 4sets of 10 at 20lbs

Seated Dumbbell Curls – 4sets of 10 at 20lbs

Cable Preacher Curl – 4sets of 10 at 80lbs

One Arm Preacher Curl – 4sets of 10 at 36lbs

Triceps –

Rope Pulldown – 4sets of 10 at 60lbs

Overhead Dumbbell Extension – 4sets of 10 at 20lbs

Reverse Grip Pulldown – 4sets of 12 at 36lbs

There will be a day 2 of triceps later in the week, I am trying to bring out the heads of my triceps a little more. So I feel by splitting the workout I can hit them harder.

My vascularity is way up, I can see veins all the way around my forearms, and around my biceps, triceps, and elbow.

Cardio – 1 session today, my left ankle is hurting really bad, I also had some cramping in my legs during my run.

11/20/2011 – Sunday

Today was my relaxation day, no cardio, no weightlifting. I take both Saturday and Sunday off from lifting, and by Monday I miss it. We are usually gone most of the day on Sundays, so keeping my diet in order is hard. I mean by keeping my diet in order, its hard for me to eat on time. So I missed a few meals today, but I did manage to keep my diet clean. So tomorrow is a new day and the third week of my contest prep.

 

On another note, I enjoy all of the questions and comments I get in person from my friends and family.

11/18/2011 – Shoulders

Today was a great shoulder workout, last year I had a shoulder injury from throwing a ball. I am still extremly careful when I workout my shoulders, if I feel something start to pull or stretch I back off. This means when I workout my shoulders I really make sure I am contracting the muscles during the movement.

Front Cable Raise – 4sets of 10reps at 60lbs

Standing Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 4sets of 12reps at 30lbs

Upright Row – 4sets of 12reps at 105lbs

Rear Delt Rotation – 4sets of 12reps at 20lbs

Shoulder Press – 4sets of 12reps at 105lbs

I also wanted to give a big thank you to all of my friends on Facebook that are reading this blog. It means allot to me that you guys take the time to look at this.

11/17/2011 – Chest

Bodybuilders are frequently asked which bodypart is there favorite to workout, for me its all of them. I don’t think I have a least favorite. In the last couple of months I have noticed my upper chest was lagging so I made sure to give the upper chest a harder workout to bring them up, progress has been made almost to the point where I am happy with it.

 

Chest – 1warm up set flat bench – 150lbs at 15reps

Flat Bench – 4sets of 10reps at 205lbs

Dumbbell Flies – 4sets of 10reps at 40lbs

Cable Flies – 4sets of 10reps at 145lbs

Decline Bench – 4sets of 10reps at 175lbs

Overhead Cable Pulls (upper chest) 4sets of 10reps at 160lbs

I really felt good after this workout, I can begin to really see the definition starting to come through. I was hoping to see some striations in my chest, I am seeing a little bit but not as much as I would like. I am still early in the cutting game. So time will tell

11/16/2011 – Wednesday

Really trying to focus on my diet. When I was bulking I really didn’t do much diet research, I regret that now. The knowledge that I have now in regards to carb timing, foods that are better to eat certain times of the day. Has really helped me see some results, I have increased energy in the gym, and out of the gym. My vascularity is way up, you can begin to see the “road map” beginning to show up. My muscle seperation is beginning to come through, which is something I have never seen in myself before. Something that is truly amazing to me is that even though I am in a contest diet and I can see changes in my phyique I am not dropping weight on the scale.

7AM – Protein shake (tomorrow going to mix in some oatmeal) added carbs

9AM – Cardio Session

10AM – Breakfast – 1cup Oatmeal, 6egg whites, 1whole egg, 2 strips turkey bacon

12 – Protein Shake

1:30 – Tilapia, 1 med. sweet potato

2:30 – 3:30 – Workout

3:45 – After workout Protein Shake

5:30 – Cardio Session 2

6:30 – Chicken Breast, either brown rice or sweet potato

9:00 – Chicken Breast (keep carbs low before bed)

11/14/2011 – Triceps/ Forearms

My workouts have felt stronger than ever. I can feel my body reacting to the diet changes, which is a good thing. I am still working on posing and trying to find music to pose to for the finals. I tried a few new workouts today to switch things up a bit. I am watching the weight I am lifting and not going heavy just working on perfect form.

Triceps –

Cable Pulldowns – 1 warm up  set and- 4sets of 12reps at 60lbs

Reverse Grip Cable Pullowns – 4sets of 10 at 36lbs

Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extension – 4sets of 12reps at 36lbs (this is a new favoriate)

Single Arm Reverse Grip Pulldown – 4sets of 10reps at 24lbs

Dumbbell One-Arm Tricep Extension – 4sets of 10reps at 20lbs

Forearms – Wrist Curls 4 sets of each at 36lbs – Palms up and Palms down

Cardio – So far I have complete one session today. I will complete the other session before dinner tonight.

 

 

11/13/11 – Sunday

Today I took a complete day of rest. Went to Church and spent time with family. Kept the diet in check except I had a single mini cupcake, but boy was it good.

11/12/2011 – Saturday – Cardio Only

Today was a test of dedication – during the past 2 years I did not do any cardio at all, this was a mistake. After the contest is over I will drop my cardio to 1-2 sessions a week. So today was the ultimate test not only is it the weekend (so I dont workout) but it was raining. I got up went out and did my run! It felt like the best one so far.

Some diet changes-

1. Dropping the bowl of cereal and replacing it with a shake

2. Dropping white rice and replacing it with brown rice

3. Including red bell peppers in 3 of my meals

4. Tried tilapia it was ok, I think I over cooked it by allot so it was like leather. I will be adding that it with more of my meals, I didn’t realize that when I eat 12 oz of turkey it contains 32 grams of fat. That is not what I need right now.

5. Replacing ground turkey with chicken breast and tilapia

Like I said this is a learning experience for me, changing things as I go is expected at this stage.

11/10/2011 – Thursday

Here is todays diet, I find my self hungry all of the time. I will start tracking weight next week.

 

7 Am – Bowl of Cheerios with skim milk (this will be changed to oatmeal soon)

9:30 – half hour cardio

10:15 – 1 Cup oatmeal, 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 3 strips turkey bacon

1:30 – 1-1.5 cups white rice, 8-12oz ground turkey

3:00 – Workout

4:30 – 1-1.5 cups white rice, 8-12oz ground turkey (will change to tilapia soon)

5:30 – half hour cardio

6:30 – 1-1.5 cups white rice, 8-12oz ground turkey

9:30 – Either a shake or another meal depending on hunger

11/10/2011 – Shoulders/ Calves

Another workout done! A day closer to my contest, time seems to be flying by. I see now why so few people auctually pursue bodybuilding contests, it takes a high level of dedication. There are lots of people that I talk to on the internet and in person that are in great shape, but they would never enter a contest. I always wondered why, you have to be able to control yourself. When you see someone else eating tacos, and you look down at your boring plate of ground turkey and rice. You just have to bear down at eat the meals you laid out.

Besides the workouts, diets, supplements, there is all of the diet research that I am doing. It took me 2 months to decide how I wanted to put my contest diet together. I tracked other peoples progress and took notes, it was nice because I got to see what worked for them and what didn’t. So enough with my mindless ramblings.

Shoulders – I have created allot of my own excercises that I feel target my shoulders. I won’t list those since I don’t have names for them.

Front Dumbbell Raise – 4sets of 10reps at 30lbs

Upright Row – 4sets of 10reps at 80lbs

Seated Row – 4sets of 10reps at 80lbs

Dumbbell Rotations? – 4sets of 10reps at 10lbs (you have to go light here, injury is easy)

Lateral Raises – 4sets of 10reps at 20lbs

Calves – Bodyweight Calf Raises- 4sets of 20reps

Cardio – Completed one session so far today