Today marks the end of my first week of my first bodybuilding "off-season." I'm still in powerlifting offseason, too, obviously -- I plan to do a meet at 198 in February and then a bodybuilding show in April. If those goals seem a bit far off, it's because I competed in three meets in the last six months, and need a break to build myself and my strength up!

Sunday: Off

Monday: Bench/Deadlift Lockout & Arms
Great day today.  Kept bench and deadlift light and fast, mostly working on technique.  Right now on bench I’m focusing on keeping tight lats through my descent without a big arch.  Deadlift grip is a constant struggle, but the hook felt solid today, and I’m hoping some high-volume work with the Fat Gripz will help bring up my grip strength as well.

Bench with Full Boar Slingshot
405x1
435x1
375x3x3
375x6

Block pull from mid-shin (hook grip)
515x1
605x1
700x1
(Switch to double overhand)
425x1
465x1
485x1

3 sets each:
Hammer curl with Fat Gripz
Reverse barbell curl with Fat Gripz
One-arm Tate Press
Pulley pushdown
Dips

Tuesday: Squat & Quads/Glutes
My first bodybuilding leg day: just brutal.  I don’t have the slightest idea how many sets and reps I did on any of the exercises after squats, but I know my feet were shaking and it was a full two hours after the workout before I could leave the gym.  The hard work will pay off, though, because I need to improve my glute activation on squats in a big way.

Squat with sleeves
585x1
635x1
405x20

Lots of sets each:
Reverse hyper
Leg extension
Hammer Strength Iso leg press

Wednesday: Off (25 minutes cardio)

Thursday: Bench Press & Chest/Triceps
Moved some things around to make sure I’m 100% for Sunday deadlifts with Rob “Da’Savage” Hall, plus quads were still torched from Tuesday.  Quick one today, about 90 minutes total.  I’m going to stop mentioning how many sets and reps I do for the bodybuilding work, because I’ve stopped counting altogether (it’s a lot).

Bench press
275x20
315x10

Flat machine bench press, alternating parallel/regular grip
Partial dumbbell press, with ‘bells held together for the entire rep
Incline dumbbell press
V-handle cable pushdown
Overhead pulley extension
Hammer Strength machine dip

Friday: Squat Bottom End & Shoulders/Calves
Squats with the elitefts Yoke Bar felt incredible, and shoulders felt incredibly frustrating.  I’ve had some issues with shoulder pain in the past, and I’ve largely neglected to train them, so it’s very difficult to now attempt to not only activate my shoulders as a whole (without using my chest or lats) but to also isolate the front, middle, and rear delts.  I understand that it’s a process, and I’m certainly gaining a lot of respect for bodybuilding as an art.

Squat with elitefts Yoke Bar
515x1
555x1
605x1 (this is 50 pounds more than I’ve ever attempted without a belt)
Add belt
565x4 (easy, stopped here to save energy for deadlifts on Sunday)

Seated machine shoulder press
Rear delt raise with dumbbells
Machine reverse flye
Middle delt raise with dumbbells
Seated calf raise
45 degree calf raise

Sunday: Deadlift & Back
Honored to get in a session with Rob Hall and his crew today at Big Tex Gym.  Supposed to do hamstrings today, but we wanted to shoot some videos with the car deadlift so pushed those to Tuesday.  Check out the full video from that session here!

Deadlift
645x1
725x1
750x1 (straps)
600x15

Lat pulldown superset seated cable row
Barbell row
Car deadlift

In the comments: let me know if you have any questions about my programming or goals!