Today marks the end of my first week of my first bodybuilding "off-season." I'm still in powerlifting offseason, too, obviously -- I plan to do a meet at 198 in February and then a bodybuilding show in April. If those goals seem a bit far off, it's because I competed in three meets in the last six months, and need a break to build myself and my strength up! Sunday: Off Monday: Bench/Deadlift Lockout & Arms Great day today. Kept bench and deadlift light and fast, mostly working on technique. Right now on bench I’m focusing on keeping tight lats through my descent without a big arch. Deadlift grip is a constant struggle, but the hook felt solid today, and I’m hoping some high-volume work with the Fat Gripz will help bring up my grip strength as well. Bench with
Full Boar Slingshot 405x1 435x1 375x3x3 375x6 Block pull from mid-shin (hook grip) 515x1 605x1 700x1 (Switch to double overhand) 425x1 465x1 485x1 3 sets each: Hammer curl with
Fat Gripz Reverse barbell curl with Fat Gripz One-arm Tate Press Pulley pushdown Dips Tuesday: Squat & Quads/Glutes My first bodybuilding leg day: just brutal. I don’t have the slightest idea how many sets and reps I did on any of the exercises after squats, but I know my feet were shaking and it was a full two hours after the workout before I could leave the gym. The hard work will pay off, though, because I need to improve my glute activation on squats in a big way. Squat with sleeves 585x1 635x1 405x20 Lots of sets each: Reverse hyper Leg extension Hammer Strength Iso leg press
elitefts Yoke Bar felt incredible, and shoulders felt incredibly frustrating. I’ve had some issues with shoulder pain in the past, and I’ve largely neglected to train them, so it’s very difficult to now attempt to not only activate my shoulders as a whole (without using my chest or lats) but to also isolate the front, middle, and rear delts. I understand that it’s a process, and I’m certainly gaining a lot of respect for bodybuilding as an art. Squat with elitefts Yoke Bar 515x1 555x1 605x1 (this is 50 pounds more than I’ve ever attempted without a belt) Add belt 565x4 (easy, stopped here to save energy for deadlifts on Sunday) Seated machine shoulder press Rear delt raise with dumbbells Machine reverse flye Middle delt raise with dumbbells Seated calf raise 45 degree calf raise Sunday: Deadlift & Back Honored to get in a session with Rob Hall and his crew today at Big Tex Gym. Supposed to do hamstrings today, but we wanted to shoot some videos with the car deadlift so pushed those to Tuesday. Check out the full video from that session
here! Deadlift 645x1 725x1 750x1 (straps) 600x15 Lat pulldown superset seated cable row Barbell row Car deadlift In the comments: let me know if you have any questions about my programming or goals!
Full Boar Slingshot 405x1 435x1 375x3x3 375x6 Block pull from mid-shin (hook grip) 515x1 605x1 700x1 (Switch to double overhand) 425x1 465x1 485x1 3 sets each: Hammer curl with
Fat Gripz Reverse barbell curl with Fat Gripz One-arm Tate Press Pulley pushdown Dips Tuesday: Squat & Quads/Glutes My first bodybuilding leg day: just brutal. I don’t have the slightest idea how many sets and reps I did on any of the exercises after squats, but I know my feet were shaking and it was a full two hours after the workout before I could leave the gym. The hard work will pay off, though, because I need to improve my glute activation on squats in a big way. Squat with sleeves 585x1 635x1 405x20 Lots of sets each: Reverse hyper Leg extension Hammer Strength Iso leg press
Wednesday: Off (25 minutes cardio) Thursday: Bench Press & Chest/Triceps Moved some things around to make sure I’m 100% for Sunday deadlifts with Rob “Da’Savage” Hall, plus quads were still torched from Tuesday. Quick one today, about 90 minutes total. I’m going to stop mentioning how many sets and reps I do for the bodybuilding work, because I’ve stopped counting altogether (it’s a lot). Bench press 275x20 315x10 Flat machine bench press, alternating parallel/regular grip Partial dumbbell press, with ‘bells held together for the entire rep Incline dumbbell press V-handle cable pushdown Overhead pulley extension Hammer Strength machine dip Friday: Squat Bottom End & Shoulders/Calves Squats with the
elitefts Yoke Bar felt incredible, and shoulders felt incredibly frustrating. I’ve had some issues with shoulder pain in the past, and I’ve largely neglected to train them, so it’s very difficult to now attempt to not only activate my shoulders as a whole (without using my chest or lats) but to also isolate the front, middle, and rear delts. I understand that it’s a process, and I’m certainly gaining a lot of respect for bodybuilding as an art. Squat with elitefts Yoke Bar 515x1 555x1 605x1 (this is 50 pounds more than I’ve ever attempted without a belt) Add belt 565x4 (easy, stopped here to save energy for deadlifts on Sunday) Seated machine shoulder press Rear delt raise with dumbbells Machine reverse flye Middle delt raise with dumbbells Seated calf raise 45 degree calf raise Sunday: Deadlift & Back Honored to get in a session with Rob Hall and his crew today at Big Tex Gym. Supposed to do hamstrings today, but we wanted to shoot some videos with the car deadlift so pushed those to Tuesday. Check out the full video from that session
here! Deadlift 645x1 725x1 750x1 (straps) 600x15 Lat pulldown superset seated cable row Barbell row Car deadlift In the comments: let me know if you have any questions about my programming or goals!
