SP's on/off-season log

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 226

I pulled the battery out of the car (easier said than done) and left it on the charger overnight @ 10A

Put it back in this morning and the thing roared to life...I'm hoping I just left the trunk or door open and it's not something more sinister

Went for a short walk but it was cold this morning so I came home and drove Mrs.SP to the coffee shop then dropped her off and hit the gym

My friend and my sister actually both came out so we had a fun but productive 3-person leg session followed by some posing, eats and now taking it easy before the next chore/task...


Sat - legs/calves (base - universe wk3)

warmup - incline treadmill

kneeling hamstring curl - one warmup then 8x working sets of 8 reps per leg, slower concentric portion
+++
superset glute kickback machine - 10 work sets, 8 reps per leg with a hard squeeze on every rep

HS V-squat machine - similar to last weekend's setup, pyramiding weight up doing sets of 8 then finished with a tough dropset

8 reps x 1 plate per side
8 x 2 plates per side
8 x 3 plates
8 x 4 plates
8 x 5 plates...quite heavy at this point, next went to the dropset
8 x 5 plates....then 6 x 4 plates, 5 x 3 plates...slowing the reps down here for extra tension, 4 x 2 plates and finally 4 + 2 + 2 reps with one plate per side

walking lunge - three sets of 10 paces per leg holding 25lbs plates in each hand
+++
superset sissy squat - four sets of six, slow and leaning back a little to really focus the top portion of the quadriceps

seated 'donkey raise' calf machine - three straight sets of 15 reps, heavy

seated hamstring curl - three sets of 15 reps with a hard squeeze, to the point of nearly cramping up
+++
adductor machine - one warmup then three working sets of 15 reps also


posing - ran through the mandatories and quarter turns, actually got these on video

Mandatories

Quarters (I'm much less comfortable with these, very rarely practice the side 1/4 turns)

Edit: went out for a bit of sushi, not a "cheat meal" (hate that term to be honest) since it fit the evening's macros but a nice change from chicken, rice and veggies

Afterwards me and mrs.SP stopped in at the rec centre


cardio - indoor track, 25-30mins of LISS...quick pace but nothing too crazy as it was leg day earlier

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 229

Usual sunday errands, met up with a client for a coffee/check-in and took a longer-than-planned nap

Put a new windshield in mrs.SP's truck and had dinner with some friends...they have a cute kid but damn, kind of glad we don't have one (yet...)

Home and straight to the gym for a light arms pump day, cardio then home for meal prep


Sun - arms/abs/calves (light day + cardio)

warmup - indoor track

supinated DB curl - four sets of 15/12/10/8 reps, pyramiding weight up, keeping palms up the whole time
+++
superset hanging leg raise - four sets of 16/17/18/20 reps respectively

cross-body DB curl - four sets, slightly increasing reps on each set but keeping the weight the same
+++
superset cambered bar pushdown - four sets of 20 with moderate weight and a narrow grip, aiming for a tricep pump

cable curl - two sets with moderate weight to failure to "finish" with biceps

rope tricep pushdown - four sets of 12-16 reps, relatively short rest periods
+++
superset standing calf raise - three sets of 15 straight reps, heavy


cardio - this was the main event tonight, did 10mins around the track to warmup then hopped on the stairmill for 25mins at fairly high intensity the whole time


weekly progress pictures - mrs.SP was on the ball this morning, but my stomach was off and I was spending too much effort trying to control my midsection so the rest of my posing suffered: Apr24/2016 - 9 weeks out - Album on Imgur

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 230

Decent monday morning and afternoon...even set up a workout with a friend who's also an ABBA judge in the evening

Then, my car was dead after work...I mean fuck, of course...so he came and picked me up and we got our workout in anyways

So now I'm back at work waiting for the AMA "battery service" truck to come test and probably sell me a new battery...at least I have meals here

If they get here soon enough I may still be able to get my cardio in at the rec centre...


Mon - chest/delts/abs/calves (base day - universe wk4)

slight-incline DB press - pyramided up doing sets of 8 until I almost couldn't get 8, went approximately like this
8 x 50
8 x 65
8 x 80
8 x 90
8 x 100
8 x 110
8 x 120
8 x 130
8 x 140...my friend got a video of this actually: https://youtu.be/SphvFirCp7A

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15 reps
+++
superset rope crunches - 15-20 reps after each set of leg raises, trying to get a mini-vacuum on every rep

incline BB press - similar idea, but did sets of 6 with a bit bigger of a jump here
6 x 135
6 x 185
6 x 225
6 x 255
5.5x 275...I mostly had it but anytime someone touches the bar I wouldn't technically count the full rep

HS chest/flye combo machine - three sets of 12-15 reps with a deep stretch and not locking out
+++
superset machine flye - three sets of 12 with a hard 1-2sec squeeze on as many reps as possible

chest dip - three bodyweight sets to near-failure, really focusing on getting the deepest stretch possible
+++
superset reverse pec dec/rear delt machine - three sets of 20 reps, moderately heavy so the pump was pretty real after this

seated lateral DB raise - three sets of 8 with a 1-2sec hold/flex at the top of every rep
+++
superset seated DB press - three sets of 8 with no lockout for constant tension

standing calf raise - four sets of 12 full reps + 12 partials from the stretched position + 12 second stretch, full stack/heavy
+++
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight to failure after each set of calf raises

ab-roller - three sets to failure, which was about 12-15 slow reps
+++
superset plank(ing?) - as long as possible after the ab roller which was probably only 30-40 sec per 'set'

weighted/seated ab crunch machine - four sets of 15 slow, emphatic reps again focusing on trying to vacuum but at the top of each set here instead


posing - went through all the mandatories and got pointers on a few tweaks/adjustments to make

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 231

Well so far my day and evening have gone a lot better than last night...

Work was ok, met my brother in law for a quick back workout then did my cardio and some posing

Heading out to meet another friend for coffee and discussing a potential business venture in about ten minutes


Tue - back/abs/calves (base day - universe wk4)

warmup - indoor track

regular/floor crunches - four sets of 30

HSPL chest-supported row - two warmup and three working sets of 10, pyramiding weight up...focusing on keeping form perfect for max tension

supinated one-arm pulldown - three sets of 10 reps per arm, pyramiding weight again and really contracting the lower lats hard at the bottom of every rep

seated neutral-grip cable row - three sets, pyramiding weight up but keeping perfect form by sitting perfectly upright so ended up losing a few reps...12/10/8 per set respectively

DB pullover - three sets of 12 reps, shortened ROM for constant tension

hyperextension - wanted to do barbell hyperextensions but the machine/bench was still broken so used the machine with max weight and did four sets of 10 reps with minimal rest

standing calf raise - four sets of 15, pyramiding weight up and finishing each set with a 10 sec hard stretch


cardio - 5 mins warmup on the track, then 25 hard minutes on the stair mill and another 10 min cooldown around the track

posing - ran through the mandatories twice, practiced quarter turns and then remembered how disgusting a sopping wet tank top is to put back on...

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 228

Good day at work, took a nap afterwards before heading to a different gym than usual

Met up with a friend, another guy I competed with last year who's doing provincials too

He might make it down to the light heavies, otherwise he'll be tough to beat (he was the only heavyweight that edged me out in 2015)

Anyways it was a great workout, always nice to have someone who keeps up and pushes you through the mid-week hump during diet/prep


Wed - legs/calves (pump day - universe wk4)

warmup - indoor track

seated adductor machine - two warmup and four working sets of 15 reps, pyramiding weight up slightly

prone hamstring curl - three warmup and four working sets, 8 strict reps per set with a set weight (heavy)

plate-loaded incline leg press - fairly simple, pyramiding up doing sets of 10 but we went really heavy here
10 reps x 4 plates per side (360lbs)
10 x 6 plates (540)
10 x 8 (720)
10 x 9 (810)
10 x 10 (900)
10 x 11 (990)
10 x 12 (1080)
10 x 13 (1170)
10 x 14 (1260)
10 x 15 (1350)

highbar ATG squat - three sets of 15 reps, not locking out...just did two plates a side and it felt plenty heavy at this point

box squat - I've honestly never done these, or at least don't remember doing them...did three sets here too
10 x 315
8 x 405
5 x 495...this is pretty heavy!

hip machine - three sets of 8 reps per leg, and when we got off held front-relaxed for 20 seconds flexing thighs hard
+++
superset standing calf raise - three sets of 'calf killers'....10 reps + 10 sec iso hold, three times per set followed by a hard 10 sec stretch

seated leg extension - three sets of 8 reps with a 3 sec flex/hold at the top of each rep to really burn out the quads
+++
superset DB SLDL - three sets of 20-25 reps with moderately light DBs, repping it out to finish the hamstrings after the killer quad extensions


No cardio other than some walking around the grocery store for steak and veggies afterwards

 

[snowpatrol123]

I drank so much water along with that leg workout yesterday night and afterwards to make sure i didn't get crazy cramps

Woke up feeling/looking pretty dry (and happy about it) this morning despite barely being able to move my legs...also, weight is like 222-224 in the AM (vs 228+ PM)

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 229

Typical work day, managed to squeeze in a medium nap which was nice...my legs are fucking destroyed from yesterday's leg workout

Straight to the gym after work for weights and cardio, then home to get mrs.SP's truck

Changed her rims/tyres and back to the gym for some posing practice

Eating my pre-bed greens now, then do it all over again once more


Thu - chest/delts/tris/abs (pump day - universe wk4)

warmup - indoor track

unsupported hanging leg raise - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps per set

flat chest machine press - pyramiding up doing sets of 8, really focusing on contracting hard at the top of each rep...actually got 8 with the full stack today

pec dec - four sets, first two were sets of 10 with 20sec stretches afterwards, then 10 with 5 partials from the stretch position and finished with 10 full + 10 partials + 10 sec iso hold

chest dip - three bodyweight sets of 8, going super deep to stretch as hard as possible
+++
superset stretch pushup - bodyweight to failure on these immediately after each set of dips

one-arm rope tricep extension - four sets of 10 per arm, keeping the elbow locked and getting a really good stretch then hard contraction at either end of the repetitions
+++
superset seated side lateral DB raise - five sets of 12, really strict form on these only waiting long enough between sets to do the tricep extensions

rope tricep pushdown - four sets of 15, slightly bent over so I could get a good stretch at the top of every rep
+++
superset rear delt cable pull-apart - three (or four?) sets of 20 with minimal break, again just enough to do the tricep pushdowns

slight-incline skullcrusher - three sets of 10, nothing too fancy just to finish the triceps off
+++
superset HSPL shoulder press - three sets of 10, slightly increasing weight on each set while maintaining a full ROM


cardio - warmup on the track then 25mins postWO on the stairmill, pretty hard pace then another few laps on the track to cool down

posing - met up with yet another friend who is a Masters' competitor for a few more tips/tweaks to the mandatories...
- making the ham drop bigger on side poses
- leaning everything towards the judges
- shoulders back while keeping lats flared
- legs not too far apart, knees slightly bent (knew this...just needed slight adjustment)
- big changes on the top half of the side poses, how to square the shoulders and twist super duper hard at the waist
- few tweaks on the legs for back poses
- BDB change to how to get into it, same with rear lat...just a bit of flair more than anything

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 227

Slept in late, it was a short day at work but not much to do so it felt LONNNNNG

Home for a quick nap and snack before heading to meet my brother in law at the rec centre for weights and cardio

Straight to the post office then jam/practice session afterwards...finally home and eating my dinner now (mmm...berries+oats+casein!)


Fri - back/biceps/abs/calves (pump day - universe wk4)

warmup - indoor track

wide grip pullup - bodyweight, three sets of 10 with slow descent and a hard pull/concentric...did these to start since the smith machine was busy
+++
superset regular/floor crunches - four sets of 30

smith bent over row - two warmup sets then three working sets, pyramiding weight up for 12x205, 12x245, 9x275 (weird plate setup today)

lying-incline bench straight-arm rope pulldown - these are basically a bent over straight arm pulldown, but lying on an incline bench rather than bending at the waist...three sets of 12

two-arm kettlebell row - four sets of 10, pyramiding weight up slightly on each...this is doing both at once, not like a one-arm DB row

hyperextension machine - again the bodyweight bench/thing is still broken so we did two sets of 25 reps on the machine

hammer DB curl - one warmup and three working sets of 12 reps with a hard squeeze at the top and three second eccentric phase

one-arm cable curl - done a few feet forward from the pulley, bent at the waist doing 10 reps with one arm then 10 with the other..really feeling the tension/stretch through the whole rep

preacher cable curl - they don't have a preacher curl machine so we pushed a bench up to a low pulley and did four sets of 10-12 with a forced negative, aiming to get the bar at or above forehead height

standing calf raise - four sets of 20 reps followed by a 10-12 sec hard stretch, very heavy (full stack)


cardio - few laps on the track to get warmed up because my legs are still really damn sore, then almost 30 hard minutes on the stair mill postWO

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 227

Woke up still quite sore, but hungry...had some oats and went back to bed for a few hours

Woke up again a little less sore, this time I got up and went out to get a coffee and a few groceries

Home for a big ass eggwhite omelette then took mrs.SP to meet friends at montana's for a bite before seeing the jungle book

Great movie, you don't have to love the original to enjoy this one but I would say that it's probably a bit intense for young kids...8-10 I think would be fine though

Afterwards I had mrs.SP drop me off at powerhouse and met a couple of friends to help them with their posing, both are looking well on track for their show in six weeks

After that, my youngest brother and the sister who competes came and met me for a leg workout, and my friend/old posing coach joined in as well so I couldn't let soreness stop me...

John's team universe-prescribed workout for the day was basically a massive giant set that looked really cool but just wouldn't have worked that well with four of us using different weights

I decided to set up a more standard mountain dog leg day, with usual exercise order and for myself kept the reps quite high, encouraged but didn't tell anyone else exactly what to do for reps


Sat - legs (pump day - non-universe but mountaindog-style workout)

seated hamstring curl - pyramiding weight up doing sets of 15, about three easier warmup sets and three challenging/working sets
+++
superset adductor machine - one warmup and four or five working sets of 15 reps each

highbar ATG squat - nothing fancy here, literally just pyramiding weight up doing sets of 12...I didn't go that heavy, butt was still killing me...
12 x bar
12 x 135
12 x 185
12 x 225
12 x 275
12 x 315...I know I would've had one more jump in me but didn't want to completely gas out 2-3 exercises in, so stopped here...these were deep, deliberate reps anyways

plate-loaded hack squat - four sets of 16 reps, moderate weight (only two plates per side) but nice and deep without completely locking out at the top to keep tension the whole time
+++
superset sissy-squat - they have the proper ankle-grabber so I did 5-6 reps immediately after each set of hack squats, just bodyweight but leaning back significantly to put extra tension on the top of the thighs

walking lunges - holding 35lbs plates in each hand, did three sets of 10 paces per leg (alternating legs)

BB SLDL - three sets of 12 reps to finish here, I actually wanted to see how my hamstrings were coming in (or if..) so here's a picture + video of my "moon pose" while doing the exercise:

And a few videos of posing...note I was pretty fatigued by this point so I wasn't incorporating all the changes I've made unfortunately but still an idea of where I'm at...

Mandatories:

Quarter turns:

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 225

Had a bit of a shitty sleep, it was too hot...I installed the a/c today so hopefully it won't be an issue again

Met a friend/client for a training session, I'm doing nutrition stuff for him so I had to gather some information

Didn't feel like doing cardio afterwards, actually ended up going home and having a pretty long-ish nap before going out for groceries with mrs.SP

Hit the rec centre for some pre-dinner cardio then over to her parents' place for a birthday dinner...small piece of steak, chicken breast and veggies for this guy

No key lime 'cake' unfortunately, but honestly it didn't look that good anyways...my black decaf coffee was probably wayyyy better than that crappy looking dessert...


Sun - arms/abs/calves (pump/optional - mountaindog-style workout)

supinated DB curl - both arms at the same time, pyramiding up doing sets of 12 til I got to a heavy weight for 12 then did three more sets

bent-over one-arm cable curl - really liked these from last time so I did them again, four sets of 12/14/15/16 reps per arm with moderate weight

unsupported hanging leg raise - four sets of 15 reps
+++
superset rope crunch - 15-20 reps after each set of leg raises

cross-body hammer DB curl - three sets of 8, heavier on these with really slow/controlled eccentrics

rope tricep pushdown - pyramiding weight up, did 20/16/12/10/8/6 reps per set respectively

CGBP - one feeler set then three working sets, 12x185 + 10x225 + 8x275
+++
superset standing calf raise - four sets of 12 reps, heavy with a 10 sec hard stretch
+++
superduper set dorsiflexion - bodyweight to failure after each set of calf raises

slight-incline skullcrusher - they have plate-loaded EZ/cambered bars here so I was able to go heavier...two sets of 10 reps to finish off

posing - ran through the mandatories a few times while cooling down


cardio - few laps to warmup on the track as usual then 25 hard minutes on the stair mill, and a few more laps to cooldown on the track


weekly update/progress pictures - mrs.SP was on the ball again this morning, got a decent set of pictures before I had to take off to train my friend/client: May1/2016 - 8 weeks out progress/posing - Album on Imgur

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 229

Standard Monday...nothing terrible to report, happily...even fit in a nap at work before heading to the gym afterwards to meet my brother in law for weights + cardio


Mon - chest/delts/abs (base day - universe wk5/8 weeks out)

warmup - indoor track

chest machine press - pyramiding up doing sets of 8 with a hard lockout on every rep this time, got 8 hard reps just shy of the full stack and decided to move on

incline BB press - same as the last few weeks here, pyramiding up doing sets of 6...what I thought was going to be my top set felt kind of light so I did one more
6 x 135
6 x 185 (feeder sets)
6 x 225
6 x 245
6 x 275...decided not to stop yet
5 x 295

pec dec - four sets, first two were straight sets of 10, then for the third and fourth did 10 regular, 5 partner-assisted then 10 partials and on the last set added a 10 sec iso hold

reverse pec dec - three sets of 15 reps plus 7 partials on each set

seated DB press - five sets of 8 explosive reps
+++
superset band pull-aparts - using a quite heavy (thick) band, 15 after each set of DB presses

lying 'vacuum' crunch - did these per john's instruction, lying on your back exhale out all the air in your diaphragm then do about a 3" crunch and try to vacuum on each...four sets of 20 reps


cardio - did 25mins postWO on the stair mill and a few laps to cool down / get my bearings as I was feeling a bit lightheaded and didn't want to shower or get on the bike straight away


I liked these pics better, postWO on sunday with a pump and a few carbs in me vs the fasted ones in the morning: May1/2016 - postWO - Album on Imgur

 

[Macedog24]

Your quadz make me sick!! Seriously SP, amazing! You look incredible. The seperation is just bad ass!! Keep up the hard work .

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 230

Good day at work, probably drank too much coke zero so my weight was really high by the time I got to the gym

Hungry but pushed through a pretty tough leg workout, including some (unusual) preWO cardio and home watching the walking dead episode I missed on the weekend now


Tue - legs/calves (base day - universe wk5)

warmup - indoor track

HS kneeling hamstring curl - three warmup sets then five working sets of 8 reps per leg, leaning forward so that when I fully extended the hamstring was completely stretched
+++
superset BB SLDL - one feeler set then five working sets of 8 reps also, 3/4 reps to keep constant tension on the hamstrings throughout the entire set

HSPL leg press - pyramiding weight up doing sets of 15 reps until I almost couldn't get 15 (had to rest/pause the final set)
15 reps x 6 plates per side (540lbs)
15 x 7 plates (630)
15 x 8 (720)
15 x 9 (810)
15 x 10 (900)...starting to get heavy, belted up here and noticed I'm now on my "competition" belt loop (30" waist)
15 x 11 (990)...heavier but all clean reps
10 + 3 + 2 x 12 (1080)...took a brief pause at lockout after 10, got three more then had to help slightly with my hands on knees for the final two reps

platz-style hack squat - four sets, very moderate weight increasing reps on each (8/10/12/14 per set)...really feeling the tension on the quads and going super deep on every repetition
+++
superset wide-stance, feet out smith squat - four sets of 8 reps immediately after each set of hacks, did these instead of adding a bunch of weight to the hack squat to accomplish the same foot position

stationary lunge - stepping forward onto an aerobic step ~6-8" off the ground, 15 reps per leg for three sets to really feel the stretch and finish off the glutes

standing calf raise - four sets of 10 full reps + 10 sec hard stretch, full stack then pinned more weight on for subsequent sets


cardio - since it was leg day I didn't want to kill myself on the stairmill afterwards, instead I spent 30mins walking the track at a good pace preWO as a warmup / light cardio session

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 228

Headed straight to the gym after work, smashed back out fairly quickly as it wasn't an overly complicated workout then got my cardio in

Straight home and went for a walk to the grocery store with mrs.SP...I was hungry as hell by the time I got home but managed to fill up on kale salad so that was alright


Wed - back/abs/calves (base day - universe wk5)

warmup - indoor track

seated ab 'crunch' machine - there are a few at the rec centre but this one allows you to full stretch out, blow your air out like an ab/thigh then crunch down...four sets of 15 reps like that

seated semi-supinated cable row - used the row machine with individual handles so I could semi-supinate my wrists and really feel the lower lats, two warmup sets then four sets of 10

seated narrow/neutral-grip row - switched to the other low row bench, and did four heavy sets of 8 (full stack + extra weight...had my belt with me)

straight-arm rope pulldown - one feeler set then four working sets of 10 reps, slightly increasing the weight on each...bent at the waist to get a really full ROM and good stretch at the top

smith deads - pyramding weight up, doing sets of 5 until I got to five plates per side then did kind of a slow dropset as I was putting the plates away, five reps per 'drop'
+++
superset seated calf raise - one warmup set then five working sets of 20 full reps with 140lbs + 10sec hard stretch after each set

hyperextension - two bodyweight sets of 20 while I waited to snipe the stairmill...
+++
supinated DB curl - one set of 15 per arm, alternating...as I was about to start my second a stairmill opened so off I went


cardio - 25mins postWO on the stair mill, as usual my cardio adapted pretty quickly so I'm having to punch it pretty hard to keep the BPMs up...cooled down with some laps around the track then posing

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 227

Long day at work, felt like I needed to recharge before hitting the gym so I stopped at home for a nap first

Decided to head to powerhouse for a change and got a good solid pump day in, shorter breaks than usual - energy was better than expected

Chatted with a few people I'd not seen in awhile, then saddled up and hit the rec centre for some cardio afterwards...home getting caught up on Gotham now


Thu - chest/tris/delts/abs/calves (pump day - universe wk5)

HSPL incline chest press - pyramiding weight up doing sets of 8, when it was a really tough 8 I kept it there and did three more sets...only going to 3/4 lockout on each rep and 30 sec breaks between sets

pec dec - kept the rest periods short at 30sec here too, and rather than going all the way back into a stretch I leaned forward and tried to squeeze with my pinkies...four sets getting about 15/15/14/12 reps

chest dip - bodyweight, four sets going all the way down to stretch and only up about 3/4 ROM with short breaks again...20/16/14/12 reps per set respectively

unsupported hanging leg raise - four sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunches - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

dual rope tricep pushdown - this is where you put two ropes on the cable and pull through so it's like a longer version of a regular rope...stand back and tilt forward with elbows pinned at the waist for a really full ROM...did one feeler set then four working sets of 12 reps each

seated overhead rope extension - pushed a chair up to a low pulley and extended arms overhead using a rope, the motion is similar to a tricep DB extension but much easier on the elbows...did four sets of 10 reps

reverse pec dec - kept the rest periods short again, 30sec and picked a weight where I could get 30 reps on the first set then lost some on subsequent sets...about 30/30/25/25 reps per set respectively

machine side lateral raise - did these focusing on going really high up, nearly to the upper stops...so not quite but almost the full weight on the stack, did four sets of 12 reps
+++
superset standing calf raise - four sets of 12, very slow and methodical full ROM then 10 sec hard stretch after each set

posing - 10 mins running through the mandatories after the weight training


cardio - not a fan of the cardio setup at that gym, so I hopped in my car and headed to the rec centre...warmed up on the indoor track then did 25mins+ hard on the stairmill, then a few laps to cooldown on the track

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 226

Easy day at work, I was invited for lunch and had my arm twisted into going but I just ordered coffee and was surprisingly unresentful

When we got back to the office I heated up my chicken/rice/broccoli/mustard/soy sauce meal and actually enjoyed it...

Straight to the gym when I left work mid-afternoon to meet my brother in law for a back+biceps workout and cardio


Fri - back/biceps/abs (pump day - universe wk5)

warmup - indoor track

wide grip pulldown - warmed up/pyramided up doing sets of 10 until it was very hard, then did four sets of 10 reps at that weight
+++
superset unsupported hanging leg raise - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps per set, respectively

DB pullover - three sets of 12, the usual/shortened ROM to keep constant tension on the lats throughout the set

narrow/neutral-grip pullup - used the cheater machine on these with 40lbs of "help" and did four sets of 10 with a really exaggerated deep stretch then chin wayyyy up ROM

deadstop DB one-arm row - four sets of 8 reps per arm, moderately heavy but honestly the DBs at that rec centre just don't go high enough for these to be great (125lbs max)

1.5 BB curl - these are one full then one half rep (= one rep) straight barbell curls, got a great pump and I'm still feeling it now while typing...three sets of 8 reps here

hammer DB curl - did these in a 'run the rack" style of six reps per pair of weights, from 45lbs down to 5lbs in increments of 5

skipped the final two sets of preacher curls since the machine was in use and a stairmill was available right away....


cardio - 30mins postWO on the stair mill then some posing, taught my brother in law the mandatories since he's interested in doing a show this fall now and ran through them myself hard at the same time

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 222

I kind of got enough sleep but was awake about a dozen times during the night, I even got up and went for coffee then felt tired enough that I came home and napped from 9-11am...

But, I think it evened out, I feel ok now. Dropped mrs.SP off at yet another friend's wedding thing so I've been flying solo today

Met some friends for a surprise birthday at a great sushi place, had a few sashimi before heading to train with my buddy

We did our usual leg workout, posed afterwards while exhausted, ate some warmed-up tupperware chicken/rice/broccoli then went and jammed

Which unfortunately, at this stage at least is basically me giving free guitar lessons...but I digress

Cooking some eggs now, uploading our posing video then I will chill, watch netflix or maybe just nap until it's time to pick up mrs.SP in four or six hours...


Sat - legs/calves (pump day - universe wk5)

warmup - incline treadmill (15mins preWO)

seated hamstring curl - two light warmup/feeler sets to figure out a tough weight for 8 reps, the 6 working sets of 8 reps
+++
superset adductor machine - one warmup set then 4 or 5 working sets of 15 reps each

steep-incline leg press - did sets of 20/15/12/10 reps, increasing weight to figure out a hard 10 rep weight, then started doing supersets with 90s breaks between rounds
1. smith machine one-legged squat/lunge - did 10 reps one leg then the other leg, alternating the starting leg on each of four working sets
+++
2. superset steep-incline leg press - used the hard 10-rep weight for 6-8 reps here, immediately after the smith lunges then waited 90sec to do 1+2 again

HSPL V-squat machine - the program called for smith squats but when I have access I really like using this machine...did three high rep sets (20 reps each)

seated leg extension - three sets of 10 reps with a 3sec flex/squeeze at the top of every rep
+++
superset sissysquat - again they have the little piece of equipment that your feet/shins slide into so 5-6 bodyweight reps immediately after the leg raises

standing one-legged hamstring curl - basically the same as a kneeling hamstring curl, did three sets of 20 reps per leg here instead of the 3x20 hyperextensions in the program
+++
superset donkey-calf raise - three sets of 10/12/15 reps, very heavy weight increasing each set and a 10sec hard flex after each set


posing - no videographer today so we relied on a sturdy chair, propped up on some very unsturdy foam blocks to get a decent angle: https://youtu.be/Yc_1ZyrpW0I

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 226

Busy day, went and played drums for my mom at my parents' church then headed straight back homeward for mother's day brunch with mrs.SP and the inlaws

Went home, intending to take a short nap before hitting the gym but overslept and had to go straight to my parents' for the mother's day BBQ

Good food, mom even cooked turkey breast for my sister and I and beef patties for everyone else's burgers...

And as a surprise my sister brought homemade protein (casein) icecream for us to eat while everyone else had a few homemade nut bars, real icecream etc

Afterwards mrs.SP and I went straight to the rec centre...I reluctantly decided to train arms and then dragged my ass through a pretty tough cardio session


Sun - biceps/triceps/abs/calves (extra/pump - 7wks out)

warmup - indoor track, what I did here was laps interspersed first with supinated-grip chins (focusing on squeezing biceps) then more laps with a set of abs...20-25mins total
+++
narrow-grip supinated pullup - four sets of 10, bodyweight...really full ROM and pulling hard to the top to squeeze biceps rather than focusing on the back
+++
short-ROM/exhale situp - same as a week or two ago, forcefully exhale all air then crunch in an ab-thigh fashion only 3-4" off the mat and holding then repeat, four sets of 20

rope tricep pushdown - leaning forward, one higher rep warmup set then five or six working sets of 12 reps with a flex/squeeze at the bottom of each and good stretch at the top

standing calf raise - three "calf killer" sets, where I do 10 reps + 10 second isohold, three rounds of that per set (10r+10s+10r+10+10r+10s)...for three total sets
+++
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight to failure, got 60 reps after each set of calf raises

supinated-grip DB curl - four sets, pyramiding weight up doing both arms at the same time...full ROM with slower eccentrics
+++
superset CGBP - four sets, pyramided weight here too...16x135, 12x185, 8x225, 6x275 (tough set)


cardio - this was probably the toughest cardio session I've done so far in terms of difficulty not necessary caloric expenditure, not 100% sure why...~30mins on the stairmill postWO


weekly progress pictures - mrs.SP is getting used to this now, she was more ready than me this morning: May 8/2016 - 7 weeks out progress - Album on Imgur

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 225

Pretty typical monday...slept in a bit, went to work and hit the gym afterwards with my brother in law

Weights, cardio then posing...


Mon - chest/delts/abs (base day - universe wk6/7 weeks out)

warmup - indoor track

unsupported hanging leg raise - 16/17/18/20 reps per set respectively

flat DB press - pyramiding weight up doing 2 partial + 1 full reps, three times per set (partial/partial/full/partial/partial/full/partial/partial/full) with a hard squeeze on full reps
9 x 50lbs
9 x 70lbs
9 x 90lbs
9 x 105lbs
9 x 115lbs
9 x 125lbs

flat BB press - five sets of 6 reps with 45sec rests in between, used 245lbs for the first three then 225 for the last two sets...started out easy then the last two sets were tricky

pec dec - three sets of 10 full + 8 partial reps from the stretch position

HSPL shoulder press - one warmup set then four working sets, pyramiding weight up...16/12/10/7 reps per set
+++
superset side lateral DB raise - 8 heavy reps per set

band pull-aparts - they only had a heavy band, so couldn't quite get the 25 prescribed reps with 1 sec hold, more like 15-16 per set for three sets

...a pair of stair mills opened up so we skipped the final exercise (two sets of chest dips to failure) and some calf raises


cardio - 25 minutes postWO on the stair mill + warmup & cooldown, actually 'accomplished' more according to the readout than yesterday without it feeling half as grueling

posing - 10 minutes after cardio, teaching the classic physique poses (essentially the bodybuilding mandatories minus the lat spreads)

Speaking of lat spreads, I wasn't happy with mine yesterday so I worked on getting them better (without a mirror): May9/2016 - lats

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 226

Had a terrible sleep last night, meant to wake up and hit the gym this morning but just couldn't fathom it...

I finally caught a few zzz's around 3 or 4am so when my 5am gym alarm went off I just couldn't

Early-ish to work, ate a few meals then hit the gym after lunch for a solid back day

I'll hopefully get some cardio in tonight after going to see the new capt. america


Tue - back/abs/calves (base day - universe wk6)

smith bent-over row - two feeder sets then four working sets of 8 reps, letting arms hang straight down then lifting the bar all the way up to lower ribs and holding for a second before repeating

seated neutral/narrow cable row - four sets of 12, heavier here than usual with less strict form...incorporated some lower back to get the stack moving

seated one-arm supinated row - four sets of 8 reps per arm, switched to a single-handle attachment and really focused on squeezing the lower lats on these

nautilus pullover machine - did these instead of the EZ-bar pullovers that were prescribed since I love that machine, three sets of 12 heavy and really stretchy reps

wide grip pullup - using the cheater machine, did four sets of 8 going really far up (chin way above the imaginary 'bar') and squeezing hard on each rep

unsupported hanging leg raise - four sets of 15 reps
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps immediately after each set of leg raises

hyperextension - bodyweight to near-failure, which was about 20 reps for three sets
+++
superset standing calf raise - two feeder sets and four working sets of 20 partials from the stretch position, really heavy on these


posing - still working on my lat spread, hard to take your own picture while doing that though so I just vainly snagged a few postWO 'swolfies' while I was at it: May10/2016 - postWO - Album on Imgur