SP's on/off-season log
- Thread starter snowpatrol123
- Start date
snowpatrol123
New member
Hah - glad you found it eventually
Lots of sweat in this one...a surgery, competition(s) and engagement...soon marriage...lots going on 
Weight 206
Good workout this morning, had a partner (soon to be brother-in-law) who needed to get to work early-ish so we pushed it pretty hard and got everything done in just over an hour, except cardio of course...
Tue - chest/delts/abs (optional/pump day)
warmup - indoor track
flat DB hex press - warmup then four working sets, twelve reps each squeezing the DBs together the whole time
hanging leg raise/v-ups - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps respectively
wide/neutral grip HSPL chest press - about 8 sets of 10, pyramiding the weight up each set...working pretty hard on the last three or four sets
superset over-and-backs with band - 10 reps immediately after each chest press set
machine flyes/pec dec - three sets of 10-12 reps with a flex/squeeze at full contraction on each rep
superset over-and-backs with band - 10 reps after each set of machine flyes
delt "giant set" - one warmup and four working sets, no rest between exercises...just between giant sets ~2mins
-reverse pec dec (rear delts) - 12 reps with a 2 second hold on each rep at full contraction
-seated DB lateral raise - 8 strict reps
-band face-pulls/pull-aparts - 10 reps with a 1sec flex on each rep
-seated DB press - 8 reps
Pretty insane shoulder pump from that setup, liked it a lot and it's a pretty quick way to exhaust your delts...finished with some rope crunches then over to the torture machine
AM Cardio:
30min LISS/HIT - stair mill (same as before, moderate intervals but HR was essentially 140-150 the whole time)
snowpatrol123
New member
Weight 209
Weight's up...energy is down, not the best feeling but I did have some maki rolls instead of a prepped meal with a bunch of regular-salt-soy sauce due to a client site visit yesterday so that may have something to do with the scale...
Yesterday night after discussing with the BCABBA rep I got sort-of/confirmation that I will be able to compete in Victoria in two and a half weeks, so it looks like it's really game-on/crunch time....
Weds - arms/abs
warmup - indoor track
rope pushdown - warmup then four working sets, 12 straight reps each
superset tricep pushup (elbows tucked) - immediately after rope pushdowns, did the pushups to failure (~30/25/20/20 reps)
hanging leg raise / v-ups - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps each
weighted bench dips - three second eccentric portion with no lockout at the top, 15 reps / four sets
decline skullcrusher - focusing on a nice tricep stretch, 12 reps per set immediately after each set of bench dips
supinated grip alternating DB curl - 8 reps per arm, with a 3 second descent on each rep
superset BBcurl - 6-8 strict reps after each set of DB curls
rope crunches - four sets, heavy...16/17/18/20 reps per set
reverse-grip BB curl - partial reps (to 90 degrees elbow bend) for 15 reps, four sets
superset cross-body DB curl - 8 reps, alternating arms
AM Cardio:
30min LISS - stair mill
Weight's up...energy is down, not the best feeling but I did have some maki rolls instead of a prepped meal with a bunch of regular-salt-soy sauce due to a client site visit yesterday so that may have something to do with the scale...
Yesterday night after discussing with the BCABBA rep I got sort-of/confirmation that I will be able to compete in Victoria in two and a half weeks, so it looks like it's really game-on/crunch time....
Weds - arms/abs
warmup - indoor track
rope pushdown - warmup then four working sets, 12 straight reps each
superset tricep pushup (elbows tucked) - immediately after rope pushdowns, did the pushups to failure (~30/25/20/20 reps)
hanging leg raise / v-ups - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps each
weighted bench dips - three second eccentric portion with no lockout at the top, 15 reps / four sets
decline skullcrusher - focusing on a nice tricep stretch, 12 reps per set immediately after each set of bench dips
supinated grip alternating DB curl - 8 reps per arm, with a 3 second descent on each rep
superset BBcurl - 6-8 strict reps after each set of DB curls
rope crunches - four sets, heavy...16/17/18/20 reps per set
reverse-grip BB curl - partial reps (to 90 degrees elbow bend) for 15 reps, four sets
superset cross-body DB curl - 8 reps, alternating arms
AM Cardio:
30min LISS - stair mill
snowpatrol123
New member
I think sodium/potassium manipulation are risky at best (with regards to your 'look') so I don't plan on doing anything drastic in that regard - I will just keep sodium in the 3g/d range straight into the show
As for the rest of my plan (or lack thereof) I will reduce carbs midweek and probably cut water thursday at noon to drop as much weight as possible & try to make it into the light heavies
Between now and then I'll keep the cardio up and slightly drop my calories as well to try & precipitate another pound or two of real weight loss
I have some dyazide, aldactone and of course lasix but wasn't planning on using them in victoria...
To be honest I was kind thinking of just dandelion root extract + tea, and maybe some hydroxycut OTC stuff to see how I look without serious diuretics and no funny business with carbs/fat-loading etc.
China_Wall
New member
you're still knockin around the 210 range and looking incredible... if you fill out even a little bit next time around you'll be entering a realm of real possibilities
Dirkmcgirk
New member
SP, if you don't mind what were your measurements at 240 and what are they now?
snowpatrol123
New member
Yeah, I've got some OTC diuretics... chucking them in from tonight...
I'd think twice about sodium manipulation next time - it's been a real head fuck to be honest
Yeah, like I was saying...for me at least, when it comes to messing around with water, electrolytes and even carbs I think there's drastically more potential downside than upside...I just want(ed) to be ready ahead of time and kind of breeze into the show, fret/worry about my posing etc. rather than conditioning and water/carb/salt loading
you're still knockin around the 210 range and looking incredible... if you fill out even a little bit next time around you'll be entering a realm of real possibilities
Appreciate it buddy! I probably won't have enough time with the wedding to do much growing between now and october, but I'm planning(hoping) to add some lean size between then and provincials in spring 2016 & be a solid HW next season...
Weight 206
Did about 30-40mins of light cardio (brisk walking outside) with Mrs.SP last night but can't edit my previous post so I'll just mention it here...
Loving having these additional ' optional ' workouts to throw in that came along with the new omega beam program...still finishing up my third round through the main Devourer exercises but instead of the same optional ones I'm switching it up every week so far...
Rep scheme on almost all exercises this morning was 12/10/8 for working sets, increasing the weight (by guesstimate) on each progressive set while dropping two reps
Got to work -starving-, pounded back some oats/whey and had to hit the road right away to get over to a clients' site...same one I ate sushi at last time (decent quality, pre-made stuff from the grocery store close by) and I decided fuck it I'm having some again...macros are right on the packaging and they weren't too far off from the meal they replaced (8oz tilapia, 2/3c rice + veggies) so I don't feel bad in the least
And the nice thing about coaching/prepping yourself is...you don't have to explain yourself to anyone else
Gonna be a long afternoon / evening though with the piddly amount of food I have left...
Thu - back (pump/volume)
warmup - indoor track
HSPL seated row - warmup and three working sets, used different grip positions on each and nice controlled eccentrics
one-arm DB row - regular, not dead-stop...contracting the lat as always not pulling with the arm/bicep...three work sets
weighted, supported hanging leg raise - four sets with a 15lbs DB between feet, knees straight the whole time
wide grip lat pulldown - three heavy work sets, 160/180/200lbs with the above rep scheme
narrow/neutral grip lat pulldown - three work sets as well, same weight/reps as wide grip
rope 'chest'(face)-pull - modified version of a face pull, four sets...as demonstrated by JM here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6shuaJl__A
straight arm double-rope pulldown - interesting change where you use two tricep ropes (one per arm) to make a much wider V than usual...three (or four?) work sets...15/12/10/8 reps I think
hyperextension machine - just did three high rep sets, not quite to failure since tomorrow will be a heavy leg day...
AM Cardio:
35min LISS - stair mill
A few shots from this morning when I got up (no I don't sleep in my posing suit, yet): Jul 30/2015 cut/prep - 2.5wks out - Album on Imgur
I'm not unhappy with the way I look but I can't say I notice a huge difference from mid-week, last week...would actually appreciate input/opinions: Jul 23/2015 cut - Album on Imgur
That brings up the worst/toughest part about prepping yourself...it's so hard to be objective and "trust the process" when it's your own body and process...
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snowpatrol123
New member
I haven't measured anything besides my waist lately, and that was just out of curiosity...I can tell you this much though:
244lbs: 6' tall...33.5" waist, 29.5" quads, 18" neck/arms/calves (+/- 1/2" on each), chest I have somewhere but don't remember unfortunately
206-209ish: Still 6'...30" waist (actually 29.5-29.75 if I go fairly tight, but I don't think I was going that tight at 244)...I'm curious about how much "size" I'd have lost from my calves, arms and quads but haven't measured yet
snowpatrol123
New member
I typed this out for a friend who's been bugging me for a meal plan...I said listen I don't really want to do them for free, but here is what I eat (last six months or so)...
Dirkmcgirk
New member
Thanks for making me feel like a complete fatass (6'3 220 w/ a 33.5" around the belly button) golden boy LOL j/k. My one is excuse is maybe if i hadn't had the double knee surgery in January I might have 27 thighs instead of 25inchers from muscle atrophy
snowpatrol123
New member
You're on track though, right? That's the main thing...plus the journey is what makes the end result that much more satisfying
Weight 207
Well...I haven't dragged ass through a leg day like that in I don't know how long...I made it through, but damn near two hours to get everything done and didn't even fathom doing postWO cardio just limped to the shower then took a quick nap in my car before driving to work, lol...
Fri - legs (heavy)
warmup - indoor track
seated hamstring curl - two warmup and four work sets, 15/12/9 full reps on the first three, increasing weight (~100/130/160 I think) then the fourth set was 6x190 + THIRTY partials out of the full-stretch **********..pump city
highbar ATG squat - the instructions were "just above parallel" but honestly I have more trouble stopping there than doing a full ROM, it's something I do plan to work on but for now I just wanted to keep it (fairly) simple...
8xbar
8x95
8x135
8x185
8x225
8x275
8x295
8x315...belted up then went for three more work sets @ 315: 12x315, 12x315 then 9 (failed at 9.5) x 315....hate hate HATE failing on squats, but at least I had the pins set...didn't bother redoing it, knew I was <done>
incline leg press - four working sets, reps were 40, 30, 20 and 10 respectively...weights were (per side) 4, 5, 7, 10 plates (so...10x900 for the top set) - varied foot position on each set, no locking out whatsoever, just pumping but full ROM
superset leg press calf raise - did these for three sets after the third, fourth then did one more...to failure, full ROM probably in the 15-25 rep range
leg extension - feeler set, then three work sets that were 10 full reps with a hard flex at the top and 8 partials from the bottom/stretch position each
SLDL - four sets with a 80% ROM, deep stretch (using 25lb plates for more ROM) then not quite locking out at the top, just keeping tension on the hamstrings the whole time
cooldown on the track, did a few laps and a few stretchy lunges to hopefully prevent any weird lag cramp issues later today...
PM Cardio:
30min LISS - indoor track (walking moderately with mrs.SP)
Also did some pump-type arms stuff (mostly tris, with a few barbell curls) and light delts stuff to get a pump for
15mins posing...god that's tiring, need to keep it up right to the show at this point though.
And choreograph/practice a damn routine....taking suggestions for songs!
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snowpatrol123
New member
Weight 208
Got a decent sleep, narrowed down posing songs a bit but still haven't picked anything Found a really interesting thread over at promuscle that's taken a few hours to read through: Ask a PRO - Professional Muscle
SatAM - chest/delts (heavy) + abs/calves
warmup - indoor track
HS machine press - four pyramid/warmup sets of 12 reps, then a heavy 12 rep set, increase weight...10 reps, one more bump and 8 reps....not quite locking out on each rep for constant tension
hanging leg raise / v-ups - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps apiece
reverse-banded incline BB press - few feeler sets then three sets of 5 explosive, two sets of 4 a bit slower/heavier and two final triples (sets of 3) that were very near failure
smith decline press - did a few feeler reps to find my approximate six-rep max, then did 10 consecutive sets of 3 reps with 20sec pauses in between....so 3reps - 20sec - 3 reps - 20sec..... 10 times in a row
front DB raise - four sets of 12
seated DB press - four heavy sets of 8 reps, failed on the 7th or 8th on the last two...so I was going right to failure for sure
superset rope crunches - three or four sets of 20 reps
machine rear delt (reverse pec dec) - four sets of 15 reps with constant tension (no hitting the stops etc)
superset banded facepulls - immediately following the pec dec did 8-10 reps with a 1-2sec hold/flex on each rep
seated calf raise - five sets of 10, increasing weight each time until they were getting sloppy
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight heel raises immediately after each set of calf raises
AM Cardio:
30min LISS - indoor track
PM Cardio:
30min LISS - stair mill
Need to get some posing in later today, but first a nap then watching the UFC fight with some friends...
Got a decent sleep, narrowed down posing songs a bit but still haven't picked anything
Found a really interesting thread over at promuscle that's taken a few hours to read through: Ask a PRO - Professional MuscleSatAM - chest/delts (heavy) + abs/calves
warmup - indoor track
HS machine press - four pyramid/warmup sets of 12 reps, then a heavy 12 rep set, increase weight...10 reps, one more bump and 8 reps....not quite locking out on each rep for constant tension
hanging leg raise / v-ups - four sets, 16/17/18/20 reps apiece
reverse-banded incline BB press - few feeler sets then three sets of 5 explosive, two sets of 4 a bit slower/heavier and two final triples (sets of 3) that were very near failure
smith decline press - did a few feeler reps to find my approximate six-rep max, then did 10 consecutive sets of 3 reps with 20sec pauses in between....so 3reps - 20sec - 3 reps - 20sec..... 10 times in a row
front DB raise - four sets of 12
seated DB press - four heavy sets of 8 reps, failed on the 7th or 8th on the last two...so I was going right to failure for sure
superset rope crunches - three or four sets of 20 reps
machine rear delt (reverse pec dec) - four sets of 15 reps with constant tension (no hitting the stops etc)
superset banded facepulls - immediately following the pec dec did 8-10 reps with a 1-2sec hold/flex on each rep
seated calf raise - five sets of 10, increasing weight each time until they were getting sloppy
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight heel raises immediately after each set of calf raises
AM Cardio:
30min LISS - indoor track
PM Cardio:
30min LISS - stair mill
Need to get some posing in later today, but first a nap then watching the UFC fight with some friends...
snowpatrol123
New member
Weight 208
Stayed out much too late watching UFC last night, stomach was bugging me this morning so that weight is probably actually 1-2lbs too high...
I reduced macros again slightly this morning, I'll see how my weight reacts...would like to come into depletion next week with only ~4-6lbs to drop rather than 10+ to make the light heavies
Sun - back (heavy) + abs/calves
warmup - indoor track
one-arm barbell row - two warmup sets, four work sets of 8 reps, ending with a dropset on the fourth
superset regular crunches - four sets, really good "mind-muscle" connection on these lately, I can make 25 reps feel like 100
medium/neutral grip lat pulldown - four sets of eight, not allowing the elbows to completely straighten...instead on each rep, stop at 3/4 extension and hold/flex for 1-2sec then repeat
pronated-grip deadstop DB row - different grip than usual, hits more of the upper lats/rhomboids vs lower lat...four sets of 8 per arm
DB pullover - three sets of 12 reps, always the shortened ROM for constant tension
back hyperextension machine - three sets of 25 reps, relatively heavy on these
calf raise - three sets of 10 reps+10sec hold+10reps+10sec hold+10reps +10sec hold (3 cycles per set, 3 sets total)
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight flexing the tibialis standing on the heels immediately after each set of calf raises
Few 'progress' shots, my photographer is still asleep hah...so no FDB or good back shots yet: aug 2/2015 prep - <2wks out - Album on Imgur
Stayed out much too late watching UFC last night, stomach was bugging me this morning so that weight is probably actually 1-2lbs too high...
I reduced macros again slightly this morning, I'll see how my weight reacts...would like to come into depletion next week with only ~4-6lbs to drop rather than 10+ to make the light heavies
Sun - back (heavy) + abs/calves
warmup - indoor track
one-arm barbell row - two warmup sets, four work sets of 8 reps, ending with a dropset on the fourth
superset regular crunches - four sets, really good "mind-muscle" connection on these lately, I can make 25 reps feel like 100
medium/neutral grip lat pulldown - four sets of eight, not allowing the elbows to completely straighten...instead on each rep, stop at 3/4 extension and hold/flex for 1-2sec then repeat
pronated-grip deadstop DB row - different grip than usual, hits more of the upper lats/rhomboids vs lower lat...four sets of 8 per arm
DB pullover - three sets of 12 reps, always the shortened ROM for constant tension
back hyperextension machine - three sets of 25 reps, relatively heavy on these
calf raise - three sets of 10 reps+10sec hold+10reps+10sec hold+10reps +10sec hold (3 cycles per set, 3 sets total)
superset dorsiflexion - bodyweight flexing the tibialis standing on the heels immediately after each set of calf raises
Few 'progress' shots, my photographer is still asleep hah...so no FDB or good back shots yet: aug 2/2015 prep - <2wks out - Album on Imgur
Southernfish
New member
Progress in every new set of pics, awesome man. What type of music do you want to post to Snow?
snowpatrol123
New member
Thanks bro. For posing music I'm honestly not sure, I'd thought about doing something kind of novel like beastie boys/body movin' but for my first go maybe I should keep it simpler, some kind of slower 'thematic' music?
Again I can't edit yesterday's post so I'll put it here...:
PM Cardio: (SunPM)
30min LISS - indoor track (walking with mrs.SP)
Nothing too intense but a brisk walk before dinner at one of my sisters' places...
Weight 209
Good sleep as far as quality goes last night but too short; visited with my sister and her boyfriend for too long after dinner then had to buy fish, cook and prep meals still...
Made it through the workout but it was tough, just woke up from an almost two-hour nap at work
Mon - legs (optional - quad giant set / FST-7)
warmup - indoor track
The actual workout had leg extensions incorporated with 1-3 (as #4) but the double and isolateral machines are on upstairs whereas the hack squat & leg press are downstairs...so I split them off
1. smith front squat - subbed this in for BB front squat because I actually don't mind front squatting in the smith machine, each set was 8 reps
2. leg press - varied the foot position on each set but nothing fancy other than not locking out completely on each rep, each set was 10 reps
3. hack squat - quad emphasis so feet positioned lower on the platform but still moved them in and out, rotated toes a bit on each set as well for 6-8 reps (did a few more if I took a few breaths before starting)
So even without leg extensions as a fourth exercise, that was quite the exercise lineup...did two feeler/pyramid sets to get the weights right, then six (!) work sets...
1. smith front squat: 2x225, 2x185, 2x225
2. immediately into leg press, varied foot positions: 2x450, 2x540, 2x630
3. finished with hack squat, quad-emphasis foot position: 4x225, 2x275
That actually took awhile because recovery wasn't great between sets, at least 2-3 mins and sometimes felt like more...once I was finished I headed upstairs and was originally going to superset leg extensions with ham curls but one of the machines was being used by a couple of guys so I decided to do FST-7 sets on each...
HS leg extension - 7 sets of 10 reps, ~45sec rest between sets, on the 4th through 7th sets I had to drop the weight by about 5lbs each time in order to finish all 10 reps without pausing...approx 160, 160, 160, 155, 150, 145, 140
HS seated leg curl - 7 sets of 10 reps as well, same rest and approximately the same weight scheme but I don't think I had to decrease the weight until the sixth set
I was feeling a bit hypo and very exhausted by this point, and have done calves a few days in a row already so I lapped the track a few times, did a few static stretches for quads, hams and calves then hit the showers
Planning to go back for cardio, posing and maybe a bit of arms work tonight if I can...work is proving busy though (love working on a "civic" holiday...grrr)
PM Cardio:
45-60min LISS - brisk walk (outdoors)
So...we did go back to the gym, brought swimsuits too but it was closing up when we arrived (civic holiday - must be nice for city workers...)
I've run into that before when I wanted to hit the weights and it's incredibly frustrating, but after what I considered a pretty successful leg day I actually didn't mind too much...instead we went for a long-ish walk, weather was beautiful, almost no bugs and a sunset - nice evening afterall.
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snowpatrol123
New member
Looking good yourself brother! The amateur cameraphone pics look great already, can't wait to see the pro shots from your shoot...
Southernfish
New member
What about some melodic or some or mellow progressive trance. Dont know if thats your thing it there some pretty good shit that sould work well for a posing routine
