I competed in NPC Junior Nationals on June 12-13. I came in with a much bigger and leaner package than years past. Since July we have slowly transitioned from a bodybuilding split to more of a powerlifting/strength focus, while still hitting lots of volume to build mass. Scott Paltos has been doing my programming since March. We've added quite a bit of muscle and are continuing to work some technical things with my raw lifts. Possible raw meet in May and a physique show later in the summer.

My last PL meet was in March and my last show was in June. This is the first time since starting competing in 1999 that I've taken this much time between comps (aside from my 2 pregnancies). I have a LOT of thoughts about how it went. I learned a lot about my body and my own training as well as always taking new ideas to my own clients and athletes as well.

1. Lots of retracing steps for me.  YEARS of geared lifting and everything had to change. I could write a lot about this subject... not because I think people are interested in geared vs. raw lifting (we all know raw has the upper hand right now) but because the differences I noticed in my own training would be extremely helpful to lifters and coaches.

2. I enjoyed training. In the past, I would find myself only motivated when I was training FOR something (a meet or a show). But even though I wasn't preparing for something right away, I was enjoying training. Why? Partially because it was different than any other off-season work I had done. Partially because I still had goals (abstract ones like "put on size" or "fix squat"). Partially because I was fixing and improving and fixing and improving.  Really boiled down to having a good team. Scott Paltos, who had been doing my training since March, made sure that it was still enjoyable WHILE I fixed everything.

3. I'm a volume whore (most days).  Bring it on.  Not only do I love training it, but we found (and I realized) just how well my body responds to high volume, especially for certain body parts.

4. Nutrition in the off-season needs to be a tad flexible.  I lost my appetite and choked down food for about 2 months before finally changing some things around. And even after that, I still couldn't eat like before.  I'm glad to say I'm back to normal and can down a pub burger and fry in no time.  So, off-season diet can stay good quality food, but I need more variety (egg bakes instead of just eggs, chili instead of just ground meat, oven-fried/almond meal chicken instead of plain, beef stew instead of steak and potato).  I also allowed myself a little more flexibility of having some pasta and bread once in awhile as carbs, which I normally don't do.

5. I need regular soft tissue work. Plain and simple.

6. It's been pretty cool to see how my body has changed these past 10 months.  Both aesthetically and technically. As I've gained mass in certain areas, and as I've gained strength in certain areas, I've noticed how I've had to adjust my bench or squat or pull. I've also noticed that sticking points changed and then new weaknesses develop. From a physical standpoint... I am BEYOND thrilled with the way I look. 3 years ago, I thought I was big/muscular.  And 3 years from now, I'll probably look at 2015/16 and laugh as well. I've gained a shit ton of thick muscle.... granted my back has always been a strong point, but it's even thicker now.
*Shoulders - HUGE improvements. I'd still like to see a little more roundness, but this has probably become my new fave body part.
*Biceps - probably one of the hardest to put size on, but we did it. And now they are even with my big powerlifter triceps.
*Quads - brought these up pretty well and anxious to see what they look like leaned out.
*Hamstrings - These are the hardest for me to see the improvements.  But I saw a pic the other day of myself doing pullups, wearing my shorts and my hammies were thicker and wider. So overall my legs have come in nicely and should balance out my rear end pretty well.

So these are the last 2 training days of the off season.  Meet prep will start Monday and I'll be on more of a set schedule with lifting days, much like I used to be with powerlifting.

As always, if there's anything you'd like to see in more detail or have me talk about more in my training log, leave a comment.  I'll be show casing some of my athletes and clients as well.

 

Friday
A1. Seated cleans 4x12
A2. Standing  laterals 4x10
B. BB push press 4x6-8
C. Lean away cable laterals 3x20
D. Machine shoulder press 4x12
E1. Rope face pulls 3x15
E2. Rope upright rows 3x12
F. Abs 5mins

Saturday
A. Box squats  8x3 @ 185-195 
B. Stiff DB deads 4x8
C1. Pulsed Lunges 3x20ea 
C2. Leg extensions 3x10 
C3. Seated Hamstring 3x15
D. Pull-ups 3x8
E. Rope slams w ab contraction x100 total
F. Abs 4mins