I just 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. 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.
Training this week has been good. I need to take and send pics to Amit as I didn't do it yet this week. I'm not overly concerned, but after last weekend's "off plan meals" and "informal cardio", I'm sure he'll make some adjustments. We already talked about backing off on the carbs a bit so I'm sure that's coming.
Training overall has been good and FUN!! I'll be honest... I prefer to have someone else do my training program, for a few reasons. 1. So I don't have to think about it. I write programs every day for people so it's nice to not have to worry about mine. 2. I'm forced to do things (exercises, sets, reps) that I probably wouldn't do for myself. And yes, I'm one of those that has to do the program exactly as written. I've never missed a set or rep. 3. It's nice to have eyes on me to see any imbalances, technical issues and weak points that I may not see.
Strength work is slowly being worked back in. In the past, I've kinda just jumped right back into heavy work. I like the build up as it keeps some volume work in, build some mass and get my joints and body ready for the heavy work. Plus, I'm not in a rush. And I can actually fix the stuff that I need to fix.
Wednesday - Arms
A. Straight bar curls - 4x8
B. Skull crushers, slight incline - 4x10-12
C. Plate loaded machine curls - 4xtempos
D. Dips - 4x10-12 loaded
E. DB hammer rack attack curls - x8 going down the rack
F. Rope pushdowns- 4xtempos
G. Hamstring curls - 4x15
Friday - Back
A. Lat Pulldowns 4x12-15
B1. Pullups 5x5
B2. Rope Stiff arm Pulldowns 5x20-25
C. Low cable rows DD handle 4x10 (hold last rep 8-10 secs)
D. Hammer Pulldown (supinated grip) 3x6, rest pause 4th set
E1 Incline facing shrugs 4x12-20
E2. Incline facing rear raises 4x10-15
F. Single leg DB deadlift 2x12ea
Saturday - Legs
A. Box squats 10x2 (think speed) @ 185-195
B. Stiff leg rack pulls mid shin 5x6 @ 245
C. Single leg hamstring curls 4x8
D. Alternating leg extensions 4x12ea
(this was good. hit my quads way more than doing both legs together)
E. Close stance hack squats 4x15
F. Lunge walks x100 steps
(Pretty sure Scott's notes said something like, "no stopping unless to curse me".... which I may have.)