I competed in NPC Junior Nationals on June 12-13. I came in with a much bigger and leaner package than years past. Moving into the off season I will be working on my raw strength and putting on size in my upper body. Competition plans are still to be determined with the possibility of some powerlifting in the late fall. I will continue to work with Amit Sapir on my off-season dieting, gradually increasing food and working to put on some good muscle. Scott Paltos will be doing my training, reworking some strength work in with some volume work for the added muscle during the rebound dieting phase.
Another full week of training coming. Body is feeling a little beat up. The heavier work is adding up and I'm getting more sore and joints a little beat. (Left hip is still a little sticky.) Scott adjusts the volume and intensity as needed because of that. He decided to push last week a bit more before coming back down. He also moved rest day up a day because by the time Saturday's squats rolled around, he knew I'd be beat to hell if I trained Sunday too. So Sunday became an off-day.
Bench and squats were solid this week. Not quite as smooth and "poppy" as the previous week, but still there, still on par and still solid. Fatigue and stress (life and training stress) caught up with me a bit, so he took that into account for this coming week. No need to kill me now... keep working technical and don't miss reps.
Still keeping an eye out for a meet this winter. Diet is on point other than not having an appetite for certain foods. Making a few switches here and there to keep me from going completely insane. I usually miss a meal a couple times a week so I need to get that back in there. Cardio has been walking, about 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes. Probably due for some updated pics soon. I put pics from March and September side by side and holy crap!! It's pretty insane the difference.
It's funny how things get put in your path. Things you never thought you'd be able to handle. Some say we create our own "destiny". We put ourselves in the position we are in through the decisions we make. We are who we are because of things that have happened in the past. But only because we chose to react and learn from those situations (or not react and not learn). If we continued to do and be the same person, we would be stuck in the same spot. Change is always hard. Change is stressful. But it can also make you stronger. Stronger doesn't mean you don't have emotions. Stronger doesn't mean you hide your feelings or pretend like everything is ok. Stronger means you face them, recognize them and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Stronger even means you lean on someone else for support.... asking for help doesn't make you weaker.
Week at a glance:
Monday - Light bench work and arms
Tuesday - Squats and legs
Wednesday - Back and a little extra hams
Thursday - off
Friday - Bench and shoulders
Saturday - Squats and leg volume
Sunday - off
MONDAY - Arms
A. Close grip bench press - 4x8-8-6-6 @ 135, 145, 145, 150
B. Straight bar curls - 4x12-10-10-8
C1. Decline DB tricep ext - 4x15-12-10-10 rest pause last set
C2. DB hammer curls - 4x15-12-10-10 rest pause last set
D1. Dips - 4x20-15-12-10
D2. Preacher close grip curls - 4x20-15-12-10
E1. Single arm rope pushdown - 4x10 last set of each drop set
E2. Cable straight bar curls - 4x10 last set of each drop set
F. Push-ups x100 fewest sets
TUESDAY - Squats and legs
A. Wide stance squats 6x3 @ 225
(Slightly wider than normal. Felt decent. Not quite as fast as I would've liked, and hip was a little sticky. Scott said it proved that the slightly narrower stance is better for me.)
B1. Close stance leg press - 4x10
B2. Wide leg press - 4x20
C. Single leg dead - 4x12
D. Goblet squats - 3x20 with holds mixed in
E. Single leg standing hamstring - 3x12
F. Abs 5mins
WEDNESDAY - Back, and a little extra ham work
A. Pull-ups 2x3 then work to weighted max x3., Then 2x3 bodyweight to finish. (used pronated grip
B. Neutral grip Pulldowns - 4x15-12-10-10
C. Single arm seated low cable row - 3x15
D. Underhand Plate loaded pulldown - 4x12
E. Lying hamstring curls - 4x20
F. Rear pec deck - 3x12 with holds
G. Single leg seats hamstring curls - 2x15
H. Reverse incline Row & shrug. 4x10
(Extra hamstring work gets thrown in... not randomly, but strategically. Just a little extra volume to help bring them up. Scott just mentioned the other day that my hamstrings are finally catching up so the volume of ham/quad ratio will start to adjust back a bit.)
FRIDAY - Bench and Shoulders
A. Bench press (comp grip)- 6x8-6-6-4-4-4
(@ 135, 145, 155, 165, 170x2, downset 155x8)
B. Incline close grip - 4x10
C1. DB seats shoulder press - 4x15-15-20-20
C2. Standing lateral raises 4x12
C3. Bent over seated raises 4x15
D. Cables laterals - 3x16
E1. Rope pushdowns w hard contraction - 4x20
E2. DB curls - 4x12
F. Machine shoulder press giant drop set 3-5 drops x8-15
SATURDAY - Squats and legs
A. Squats regular stance - 8x1 @225, 245, 245, 245, 255, 255, 255, 260. These felt decent. Not as fast as the previous week, but worked on getting everything tighter.)
B. Paused narrow stance - 5x3 paused 2-3 secs @185
C. Stiff deads narrow stance - 4x8 @ 225
D1. Leg Extensions - 4x20-15-12-20
D2. Lying hamstring curls - 4x8-20-8-20
E. Pulsed lunges from deficit x100 ea leg
F. Banded hamstring x100
G. Abs 10 mins
H. Air squats x100 afap
(I was absolutely CRUSHED after this workout. The first 3 exercises went real smooth... ok, not bad, feel good. Then the hurt came. Pushed the extensions and curls. Got to the lunges and my quads were so freaking pumped. Tack on some hamstring curls and the blood didn't know where to go. Oh, and the squats at the end.... yeah, thanks for the bonus, that was fun. I laid on the floor for a few minutes until my daughter said, "Mom, is it time to go yet?")