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.
Little catch up on the ol log here. Kids started school last week (why the midwest starts so freakin' early while the rest of the country starts after Labor Day is beyond me.) So with school back in session, we are finally getting back to a normal routine.... whatever normal is. Back to school does mean the end of the incessant whine.... "Mom, can we go swimming??"
Life is taking some major turns ahead. There's a lot coming up with plans of hustling on the business side of things. Time to put my nose to the grindstone and make things happen. Stress seems to come and go... in fact, I just had a conversation with a gal about stress and how it's affecting her body composition and performance. Despite her eating "spot on", she's been struggling with stress and the addition of birth control (yep, another factor too).
So yeah, stress is huge. Affects a lot of aspects... physical, mental, emotional. Worrying does not change the situation at hand. And oftentimes just makes things worse. It puts you in a frame of mind that is unproductive and unhealthy. When a challenge arises, face it. But things that are out of your control are better left out of your head.
LEGS
A. Regular stance squats - 5x3 @ 195, 205, 215, 215, 225
B. Narrow stance Pistons 3x12 @ 135
C. Hamstring curls standing 4x15
D. Lying hamstring curls 4x20, tempo last few
E. Hacksquat 2x25 hold every 5 reps
F. Pulsed lunges x25 each leg
This was a decent day. Nothing crazy. Squats are finally coming around. I'm not overarching like I was and we've found a stance that will become my new "normal" raw stance. Again, I need to change shoes. Gonna try something with a bit of a heel and see how that helps.
BACK
A. DB Rows, mixed grip, pronated/neutral- 4x8/8
B. Wide grip pulldowns - 4x8-12
C. Hammer Row - pronated grip - 3x10
D. Rope Pulls/Straight Arm Pull/ Face pulls - 3x15-20 each
E. Inverted Pullups - 4x4 with holds every few reps
BENCH/SHOULDERS
Worked a lot on some technical issues - foot placement, leg drive, a few other small things. Seems to slowly be coming together. Good session working on these things. It's funny because when you've been training for 20 years and competing for 15, you would think you'd be better at some of these things. Unfortunately, years of just doing things one way make it hard to change in just a few weeks. Add to the fact that I've been a geared lifter (squat suits and bench shirts) and you add a whole new factor to changing mechanics.
A. Bench - 5x5 @ 135, just working foot position and leg drive.
B. Close grip bench - 5x10 @ 115
C. 3 level lateral raise - 3x10 each
D. Rolling pushups - 3x12 w/ micro band
E. Single Arm KB Arnold - 3x10 each
F. Piston shoulder press - 3x20
G. Lateral Raise - 1x a bunch
ARMS
A. Standing EZ curls close grip/wide grip 4x8/8
B. Machine dips - 4x15
C1. Concentration curls x12 hard squeezes
C2. Single arm lying tricep extension, cross body x12
4 sets
D. Rope curls - 5x8-12
E. Rope pushdowns - 5x15-20
F. Abs - leg raises 3x15
Arm day was a quick swole workout. Felt good to get some blood moving, especially after food being a bit off base on Saturday. Training days were moved around a bit, so schedule wise things are off. But looks like we are going to hit it hard this week.... ready for it!