Element Fitness - Naturally Strong

Wednesday Nov 2nd - CF WOD

2011-11-02T22:17:00.002-04:00

General Warm up

Skill:

10 min

L-Sit Progressions

WOD:

4 Rounds for Time

500m Row

12 Wall Balls (20 lbs)

15 Release PU

Completed in: 13:14

Cash Out:

100 Abmat Situps

Completed in: 3:47

Tuesday Nov 1st - CF WOD

2011-11-02T22:13:00.003-04:00

First official day of classes at CF Free!

General Warm up

Strength:

Front Squats

5 x 5

185 x 5 / 225 x 5 / 245 x 5 / 255 x 3 + 1 fail / 255 x 4 + 1 fail

________

Rest 2-3 min

________

WOD:

"The Opener"

Pyramid

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

MB Cleans (20 lbs)

Burpees

Completed in: 8:43

Monday Oct 31st - CF WOD

2011-11-02T21:58:00.002-04:00

So after a long two weeks and very little training CrossFit Free is finally open! Tonight marked the opening with an awesome Halloween Bash!

There were a number of WODs that took place, below is the one I took part in:

General Warm up

WOD:

5 min AMRAP

5 x MU

5 x Power Cleans (155lbs)

Completed: 3 rounds + 2 MU

5 min rest

5 min AMRAP

25 x DU

10 x Rig Wall Balls (20 lbs)

Completed: 2 rounds + 15 DU

WOD 2:

Team workout

5 min AMRAP

Hanging Rig Walks

Box Jumps (30")

Completed: Cant remember

Cash out: Pumpkin Head Beer & Steak!

Awesome night!

Monday Oct 24 - CF WOD

2011-10-24T23:39:00.003-04:00

Workouts have become scarce as the opening of CF Free gets closer. There is still work to be done before the doors open.

www.crossfitfree.com

Excited for Brandon and Justin...their dream is being realized!

So, since I havent trained since Friday, I did a little extra today.

Warm up:

DU work

Hip mobility

________

Strength:

Front Squat

185 x 5 / 225 x 5 / 245 x 3 / 265 x 3 / 275 x 3 (PR) / 275 x 3

________

Rest 2-3 min

________

WOD 1

20-18-16-14-12-10 C2B Pull Up

10-12-14-16-18-20 Abmat Situp with 14lb MB Overhead

Put a 10 min cap on it...but when the bell rang I only had the final set of 20 situps to do...so I wasnt gonna stop. But as a result I dont know what the final time was.

________

Rest 15-20 min

________

WOD 2 Part 1

Run 4 x 400m

Rest 1 min between each 400m

Completed with rests: 8:17

________

Rest 3-5 min

________

WOD 2 Part 2

"Laffy Taffy"

12 min AMRAP

5 Hang Power Cleans (95lbs)

5 Box Jumps (30")

10 Burpees

Completed: 10 rounds + 5 PCs + 1 BJ

________

All in all it was a great workout.

Friday Oct 21 - CF WOD

2011-10-21T22:54:00.005-04:00

Had a great workout tonight...and it was much needed since I havent had a chance to train all week.

Warm up:

DUs

Mobility

__________

Strength:

225 x 5 / 275 x 5 / 315 x 2 / 365 x 1 / 385 x 1 / 405 x 1 / 415 x 1 (PR)

__________

Rest 2-3 min

__________

WOD:

Troy and I schemed up a little workout, Troy definitely came through with the bulk of it all...and I contributed a new movement to wrap up the workout. Troy dubbed the new movement J-Chops: One pullup right into one T2B = one rep.

5 min to complete

500m Row

Max seated box jumps in time remaining (12 inch bench to 30 inch box)

rest 1:30 min

5 min to complete

500m Row

Max stone shoulders in time remaining (95 lb atlas stone)

rest 1:30 min

5 min to complete

500m Row

Max J-Chops in time remaining

Completed: 34 Jumps and rowed 1:38 - 1:42/500m pace

Completed: 21 Stone Shoulders and rowed 1:46 - 1:48/500m pace

Completed: 20 J-Chops and rowed 1:40-1:44/500m pace

Freaking great workout!

Cash out:

DUs

Sunday - CF WOD

2011-10-16T22:19:00.003-04:00

Did a little team WOD on our final day of learning at the Level 1 seminar down at Reebok CF One.

8 Min AMRAP

3 Man Team

Lunges (Time Keeper)

Push Ups (Count Reps)

KB Swings (Count Reps) (56 lb)

Total Reps: 394

Saturday - CF WOD

2011-10-15T20:27:00.001-04:00

Attended my first day of my level one training today down at Reebok CrossFit One.

Met a bunch of great people today, and learned a bunch.

At the end of the day we did Fran, it wasnt a PR...but it was fun.

Fran:

21-15-9

Thrusters (95 lbs)

Pull Ups

Completed in: 4:19

Thursday - CF WOD

2011-10-15T20:20:00.002-04:00

General Warm Up

WOD:

3 Rounds for Time

21-15-9

Row (kcals)

Overhead Squat (95 lbs)

Burpees

Complete in: 10:18

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-10-15T20:15:00.004-04:00

General Warm Up

WOD:

5 Rounds for tim

10 DB Hang Cleans

10 DB Push Press

20 DU (Sup 60 SU)

50 T2B (After 5 rounds of the above are complete)

Completed in: 9:56

Tuesday CF WOD

2011-10-11T22:01:00.003-04:00

General Warm up:

-----

Skill:

Snatch complex

Double Unders

-----

Rest 2-3 min

-----

Strength:

5 x 3

Power Cleans (185)

-----

WOD:

8 min AMRAP

10 Box Jump (24")

10 Wall Balls (20 lbs)

10 KB Swings (1 p)

Completed 8 rounds + 10 Box Jumps + 4 Wall balls

Rest of the crew went to the gymnastics facility...I had to go home and work. :(

Monday - CF WOD

2011-10-10T22:13:00.002-04:00

Did a nice little team WOD today. Had a good turn out at the box, and I think all had enjoyed. Listened to nothing but Michael Jackson during the entire workout...lets just say there was plenty of dancing going on before the workout started. :)

Warm up:
EMOM -
6 Burpees
6 Air Squats

9-7-5
Pull Ups
Box Jumps

-----
rest 2-3 min
-----

Team WOD:
(Me and Brandon Petersen, who has a cast on his broken leg)

2k Row (250m intervals)
1k run (100m intervals)
175 Abmat Situps
150 Release Pushups
100 20lb Slam Balls

Completed in: 24:40

Since BP has a broken leg, I ran the entire 1k m, as such, he did the last two intervals of 250m row consecutively, as well as the first 125 Abmat Situps.

Thank you BP.

Cash out:
Reverse lever work
Double under work

All in all it was a great little team WOD.

Thursday - CF WOD

2011-10-06T22:58:00.002-04:00

Got to Evansville Indiana this afternoon...got a chance to hang with some good friends...and then it was time to train

Warm up:
Run 600m
Hip and shoulder mobility

Strength:
Box squat 3 x 5
315 x 5 / 315 x 5 / 335 x 5

----------
Rest 5-10 min
----------

WOD
"The Good Doc"

Run 600m
15-12-9
Hang Clean & Jerk (115)
Burpees
Box Jumps (24")
Run 600m

Completed in: 12:53

---------
Rest 2-3 min
---------

Cash out:
50 Toes 2 Bar

This was my second attempt at programming, and it was the first exposure for the 3 others WNBF Pros I trained with...they loved it.

Then it was time to help run 2 functional training classes at The Diet Doc, tons of great people doing great things.
All in all, it was a great day

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-10-06T22:55:00.002-04:00

General (rushed and truncated) warm up

WOD
150 air squats
2k row
150 air squats

Completed in: 16:07

Sunday - CF WOD

2011-10-02T18:21:00.003-04:00

So, today was the first day that I decided to give programming a try. My main goal was to create something that was going to give my shoulder another day to recover, so the workout is intentionally lower body biased. The following is what occurred:

Warm up:

400 m Run

3 min of Double Under Practice

----------

Strength:

Deadlift 3 x 5

365 x 5 / 335 x 5 / 365 x 5

Dynamic DL x 20

205 + Green Band x 20

----------

Rest 10-15 min

----------

WOD:

"Hip Check"

12 min AMRAP (With weighted vest - 16lbs)

10 x GHD Situp

15 x Box Jump (30")

200m Run

Completed 5 rounds

----------

I was pretty pleased that I only missed one box jump, resulting in a bloody shin.

Also, pretty happy that I feel like this was a good first attempt at programming.

Saturday

2011-10-02T17:23:00.000-04:00

Rest day

Did some double under practice

Friday - CF WOD

2011-10-02T17:20:00.002-04:00

General warm up

WOD:
10 Rds - 30 seconds rest between

10 Butterfly Pullups
6 Pistols (alternating legs)
10 Sec HS Hold (no wall)
Rest = Winner Wins

Cash out: double under practice

Thursday - CF WOD

2011-09-29T23:43:00.005-04:00

Today was another double WOD day.

WOD 1:

Fran

21-15-9

Thrusters (95 lbs)

Pull ups

Completed: 4:05 (PR)

----------

Rest 1 hour

----------

Skill:

Double under work

----------

WOD 2:

100 Double Unders

21-15-9

Handstand Push Ups

Toes 2 Bar

100 Double Unders

Completed in 21:20

Im still struggling with the DUs, the vast majority of these 200 were done double-single style.

---------

Cash Out:

2 rounds with 2 min rest between of

2 min Abmat Situps

First round - 70 Situps

Second round - 59 Situps

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-09-27T22:27:00.004-04:00

Today was day 2 of mimicking the garage games from this past weekend.

Just as the men did on sunday, I did the 2 workouts in the same order, but I only had time to rest 1 hour in between as opposed to the 2 hours the competitors were supposed to have, although I think a large number of them didnt get that full 2 hours either.
----------

General Warm Up
----------

WOD 1:
"The Chipper"
1 Round for time

20 Toes Through Rings
30 Thrusters (95 lbs)
40 Burpees to Target
50 Box Jumps (24")

Completed in: 8:05
----------

Rest 1 hour
----------

WOD 2:
"The Row"
5 Rounds for time

Row 500m-400m-300m-200m-100m
20 Deficit Push Ups
100m Sandbag Carry (80 lbs) - games was 60 lbs, but we didnt have that
Double Unders 50-40-30-20-10

20 min time cap

I didnt complete all 5 rounds this time, the double unders killed me, I did double-single-double style, and struggled with that even.

I completed 3 rounds, plus the 200m Row and the 20 Push Ups in 20 min.

A little bummed I didnt finish, but I know that it just means I need to get those double unders in control...if I do, I think I will be good with this workout.

Monday - CF WOD

2011-09-26T21:23:00.003-04:00

I was rather disapointed about not being able to get registered in the garage games this past weekend, but after helping out and judging at them this past weekend I am totally pissed I didn't compete!

So I decided to do all of the WODs that were at the games in the same time frame over today and tomorrow.

Today was the first two WODs with a 1 hours rest between, which is half the amount of time that the competitors had to rest. The following is what went down:

General warm up

WOD 1:
In a 4 min time frame, establish a 1 RM Overhead Squat
Immediately complete as many Muscle Ups as possible in 3 min

OHS - 185 lbs
MUs - 13

----------

Rest 1 hour
----------

WOD 2:
3 rounds for time

16 Power Cleans of 155 lbs
600m run

Completed in: 10:58
----------

I felt pretty good about these two workouts. Not sure what the average times were of the male competitors and where I stack up, but I'm happy with my performance.

Saturday -CF WOD

2011-09-24T20:41:00.002-04:00

Still trying to work on my Double Unders.

Decided to do Annie

50-40-30-20-10 DU

50-40-30-20-10 Abmat

Completed: 17:56

Couldnt string any DUs together, had to resort to single - double. And even then, I was struggling.

Friday - CF WOD

2011-09-24T20:33:00.002-04:00

Pretty bummed out that I was not able to register for the Garage Games, so as a very distant conciliation, I plan on performing all of the WOD scheduled for the games.

Tonight was WOD #4

General Warm up

WOD:

"Row/Sandbag"

Row: 500-400-300-200-100

30 Release Push Ups

100m Sandbag carry (80 lbs)

50-40-30-20-10 Double Unders (Supplement 150-120-90-60-30 Single Unders)

Completed: 24:12

Great WOD!

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-09-21T00:03:00.004-04:00

Double WOD today

General Warmup

WOD 1:
15 AMRAP
10 Ring Rows
10 P-Bar Push Ups
10 V-ups

Completed 12 rounds + 9 Rows
-----

rest - 10-15 min
-----

Skill:
10 min
Handstand Walking
-----

WOD 2:
"Dizzy Lizard"
3 rounds for time
Run 400 m
7 Deadlifts (50-60% 1 RM) - 225 lbs
14 Box Jumps - 24"

Completed: 7:16

Monday - CF WOD

2011-09-19T23:42:00.003-04:00

Took a few days off to travel down to NYC and shoot the WNBF Pro Universe bodybuilding & figure competition, then a gym shoot the following day. Great fun! Will post a few pics.

Back at it now!

General Warm up

Strength:
Front Squat 5x5
225x5 / 245x5 / 255x5/ 265x5 (PR) / 265x4 (missed the 5th)

5 rounds of resisted sprints - 40 yards

WOD:
10 min AMRAP
300m Row
15 x 30lbs DB Thruster
15 x Abmat situps

Completed: 3 rounds + Row + Thursters (did the situps anyway even though clock ran out)

Good welcome back

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-09-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

Short but sweet workout tonight.

Warm up:
400 m run
2 rounds of:
10 box jumps
10 squats
10 toes to bar
-----
Hip mobility
-----

WOD:
3 rounds for time:
10 x Dead lift - 275 lbs
20 x Pull ups

Completed in: 4:00

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-09-13T21:07:00.003-04:00

Great workout today...

Strength:

Weighted chin ups - 1 RM

Worked up to 95 lbs

-----

Warm-up:

750 m Row

2 rounds of:

7 Burpees

7 KB Swings

7 Pull ups

Shoulder Mobility

-----

WOD:

21-15-9

Pull-ups

Ring Push-ups

400m run (after each round)

Won

Completed in: 7:02

-----

Monday - CF WOD

2011-09-12T22:03:00.004-04:00

After a little extra rest for the shoulder over the last couple of days, it was back to the box.

General warm up:

with a little more focus on the shoulder
-----

Strength:

Split Jerk - worked up to 1RM

I did 6 total working sets resulting in a new 1 RM of 225 lbs
Shot for but missed on 235

-----

WOD:

400m run
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 burpees
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 ground to overhead (115 lbs)
400m run

Won and completed in 13:12

Did the first 5 rounds of 'ground to overhead' as power snatches, the final 5 rounds I completed as clean and jerks.
It was a rough WOD.

Sunday

2011-09-11T21:21:00.002-04:00

Took Saturday off as a much needed rest day...

Only did a trail run today:
3.54 mi of uneven terrain
Completed in 25:58
7:20 min/mile

Friday - CF WOD

2011-09-09T23:21:00.005-04:00

Finally forced myself to take a day off yesterday, and realized that I probably need more than just one day...shoulders are being an issue.

Anyway, went to TUFF today and hit a WOD, then the whole crew relocated to a local gymnastics facility and played around for an hour or so.

Warm up:
400 m run
2 rounds of:
10 pull ups
10 push ups
10 square
10 v-sits
-----
Prayer squats
Hip and shoulder mobility
----------

WOD:
Team
Tabata - 8 rounds:
Toes to bar
Double unders
KB swings (53 lbs)

Completed 220 reps

Double unders killed me...I really need to work on this skill.
----------

Cash Out:
30 sec hand stand holds for 5 min
----------

Off to gymnastics where we worked on back flips, kongs, hand stands, hand stand walks, box jumps (I got a 52" jump tonight!), and just all around goofiness.
:)

Good times!

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-09-07T21:08:00.003-04:00

General Warm up

WOD:

Max Pull ups

-----

Deadlifts - 5 sets of 3

365 x 3 / 365 x 3 / 365 x 3 / 365 x 3 / 365 x 3

-----

50 Burpees for time

Completed in: 1:44

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-09-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

Took Monday off...finally.

Well, actually, I was forced to take it off. As we were playing football on the beach, warming up for a beach WOD, I tore off pretty much the entire bottom of my big toe. Still not sure how that one happened. I did take the rest of the day off however.

After todays workout, I am thinking that perhaps I am still in need of a bit more time off from the gym, my shoulders are simply not recovering. So tomorrow may be day off number 2 this week.

Anyway...on to tonights WOD.

General Warm-up

Frequency Squatting:

Front Squats - 225 x 3 / 245 x 3 / 245 x 3 / 255 x 3

Overhead Squats - 5 sets of 95 x 5

-----

rest 5 min

Box Jumps - 42": 5 sets of 5

-----

rest 2-3 min

Rolling Pistols into a box jump: 5 sets of 5 on each leg

----------

Rest 5 min

WOD:

7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (reps)

Hand-stand Pushups

Ring Dips

Air Squats

Each round followed by:

15 Burpees

Completed in 14:01

----------

Sunday - CF WOD

2011-09-04T16:15:00.006-04:00

Today was all about Grace.

Had a nice little gathering of members turn out to test their clean & jerk skills...or which mine apparently need some fine tuning. :)

Warmup:

Row 500m

3 x

10 Box jumps

10 burpees

10 pull ups

---

Hip & Shoulder Mobility

---------

WOD (Grace):

For time

30 Clean & Jerk (men 135lbs/Women 95 lbs)

Completed in: 3:05

My first attempt at Grace...Im not happy with 3:05, I need to get it under 2:30 in my next attempt, then under 2:00...then I will be semi-happy. :)

Saturday - CF WOD

2011-09-03T21:26:00.004-04:00

Just as expected...even though today was supposed to be a rest day, I found myself at the box anyway...

5000m

Completed in: 19:39

Rest

----------

40 min of Mobility

Friday - CF WOD

2011-09-02T22:24:00.004-04:00

After a nice day at the beach with friends, and a promise that I was going to take a rest day...I of course hit a workout anyway...

General Warm-up:

Frequency Squat:

225 x 20 / 225 x 20 / 225 x 10 ( with a 2 count hold at the bottom - explode up)

WOD:

12 min AMRAP

12 x Deadlift (185lbs)

12 Push-ups

12 cal Row

Completed 7 full rounds

Definitely taking tomorrow off from lifting...may do a 5k trail run in the morning.

Thursday - CF WOD

2011-09-02T22:07:00.002-04:00

Multi-Day WOD

General Warm-up

WOD 1:

Bench - 1 Rep Max

225 x 1 / 245 x F / 245 x F / 245 x 1 / 255 x F

(felt pretty much every rep in my shoulders, as they are still toast from the last couple of days)

Cash Out:

Snatch Technique

----------

Rest 1 hour

(Traveled to Gymnastics Facility)

General Warm-up

WOD 2:

1 round for time

1 x 20' Rope Climb (No Feet)

20 Burpees

2 x 20' Rope Climb (No Feet)

15 Burpees

3 x 20' Rope Climb (No Feet)

10 Burpees

4 x 20' Rope Climb (No Feet)

5 Burpees

(Cheated on the final rope climb 3rd round, and final 2 rope climbs 4th round - used feet)

Completed in: 5:25

----------

Rest 15 min

----------

WOD 3:

3 rounds for time

10 x Parallel Bar Dips (down to biceps)

30 sec Handstand Hold

15 Air Squats

Completed in: 4:41

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-09-01T14:38:00.005-04:00

Warm up:
2500m Row (Easy): Completed in 9:51
(2000m split time was at 8:01)
rest 5 min
-----

Core work:
50 Abmat Situp
Max hold reverse lever
30 Abmat Situp
15 Toes to bar
20 Abmat Situp
Max hold 'L'-sit
50 Abmat Situp

Score is your total time minus the added "max hold" times
Reverse lever held for 5 sec.
'L'-sit held for 5 sec

Total time: 7:44
Score time: 7:34

rest 5 min
-----

Cardio (cont.)
Row 2000m (Moderate): Completed in 7:34

rest 3-5 min
-----

Core (cont.)
3 rounds of:
GHD Situp x 16
Hip&Back Extension x 10

rest 3-5 min
-----

Cash Out
General Mobility

----------
All in all, this was a good workout which left our shoulders alone to recover from the brutal Tri-WOD from the previous day. My abs feel it a little today. :)

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-08-30T20:14:00.005-04:00

Today was a Tri-WOD day.
I went to CrossFit Full Potential with Brandon Petersen for a full day of training. Joy!

WOD # 1
Squatting Frequency - Front Squats 5 x 5
Snatch 10 x 1

FS - 205x5 / 225x5 / 235x5 / 245x5 / 265x4 (used a belt on the final set)
Sn - 3 sets at 115lbs, 7 at 95lbs

-----------
Breakfast & Beach
-----------

WOD # 2
Hero WOD - "Nate" (with slight modification - done as team rather than individual - complete 1 round, wait while other member completes 1 round, then resume - do this for 30 min)

2 Muscle ups
(alternative = 6 pull ups + 6 ring dips)
4 Hand Stand Push Ups
6 KB Swings (70lbs)

Completed 18 rounds
(Realized that I hate Brandon Petersen)
:D

------------
Lunch
------------

WOD # 3

3 rounds
15-12-9 (reps per round)

Power Snatch (95)
Burpees
400 m run

Completed in 10:04

-------------

All in all it was a great day in the box today. Realized that I need to work on my muscle ups big time...mostly technique.

Monday

2011-08-29T21:58:00.001-04:00

Day off from training...

Played golf...poorly.

Sunday - CF WOD

2011-08-28T21:19:00.002-04:00

WOD:
3 Rounds for time

15 Handstand Pushups
20 Wall Balls (20lbs)
25 Pull Ups

Completed in 13:29 (The final round or 15 HSPU absolutely killed me)

Cash out:
4 Rounds
Row 300 Meters, Rest 90 sec in between
0:57 / 0:58 / 0:59 / 0:59

Friday - CF WOD

2011-08-27T22:36:00.003-04:00

Warm up

Frequency Squatting (not to failure):
285 x 3 / 315 x 3 / 335 x 3 / 345 x 3 / 345 x 3

Rest 40 min

WOD:
5 Rounds for time
10 Power Cleans (135lbs)
10 Burpees

Completed in 5:51

Core Work:
Reverse Levers x 3 (max hold)
Hanging 'L' Sit x 1 (max hold)
GHD Sit-ups x 20 x 20 x 30

Practiced Turkish Get Ups (45 lbs KB)

Thursday - CF WOD

2011-08-25T20:41:00.002-04:00

WOD:
For Time
21-15-9
Overhead Squat (95/65)
Box Jump
Toes to Bar

Completed in 6:55

Did some double under work (got 15 in a row alternating with single unders)

2nd WOD:
Sprints (2 min rest between each)
800 m - 3:16
200 m - 0:47
600 m - 2:36
200 m - 0:51
400 m - 1:46
200 m - 0:51

Sprint time were awful...my shins were in some pretty rough shape from the past few days.

Wednesday - CF WOD

2011-08-25T10:36:00.001-04:00

Buy In:
400m Jog
Some shorter sprints

WOD:
800m Run
Rest 5 min
800m run
Rest 5 min
400m run
Rest 1 min
400m run
Rest 1 min
400m run

Times: 2:36 / 2:32 / 1:05 / 1:20 / 1:15

Cash Out: 5 Sets
10 T2B (on field hockey goals)

Tuesday - CF WOD

2011-08-25T10:31:00.002-04:00

General Warmup

WOD1: Squat (frequency)
Few sets, worked up to 235 x 5 (no failure here - worked on stance changes)

WOD2: Overhead Squat
Worked up to 95#. Still terrible with these
Rest 30 min

WOD: AMRAP 20
20 KB Snatch (10 each arm) 53#
15 Pullups
10 Ring Dips
= 4 Rounds Complete + 15 KB Swings

Monday - CF WOD

2011-08-25T10:27:00.003-04:00

WOD1: Bench Press
4x4
205 x 4 215 x 4 220 x 4 225 x 4
Rest 10 Minutes
WOD2: "Itch"
3 Rounds For Time
10 Deadlifts #275
50 Double Unders (Supplemented 150 Single Unders)
Time: 5:37

PM Workout
Split Jerk Work
Worked way up to 205# x 1

Saturday & Sunday

2011-08-25T10:27:00.001-04:00

OFF!

Friday - CF WOD

2011-08-25T10:25:00.003-04:00

Barbara
5 Rounds For Time (Resting 3 min between rounds)
3 Minutes Rest in Between Rounds
20 Pullups
30 Pushups
40 Abmat Situps
50 Squats

Split times 3:02 / 9:14 / 15:50 / 22:59 / 30:19
Lifting time 15:19

Thursday - WOD

2011-08-25T10:22:00.002-04:00

Buy In:
General Warmup

WOD1: Deadlift
5x3
315x3 335x3 365x3 385x3 385x3
Rest 5-10 Minutes
WOD2:
400m Run
12 K2E
Complete Each Round every 3 Minutes

Rest 1.5-2 hrs
Then GymKen
Played on PBars and Flips

And Im back

2009-07-17T10:14:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't posted up an entry in a while, as I have been pretty darn busy trying to help my good friends Dr. Joe Klemczewski and the rest of the Diet Doc team get ready for the 2nd annual INBF/WNBF Mid America Pro/Am. This has been a lot of work, both in the way of increasing exposure, as well as logistically. We have added a lot to the show this year; 5K road race, power lifting strength challenge, all day health expo, and of course the Pro and Amateur Bodybuilding & Figure portion. FYI, we have about 40 of the top WNBF pro currently registered in the event...checkout the list and pics of them here

Other than that, my training has been going pretty well. I have recovered from my superspinatus injury (mostly) and my hamstring tendon issue. I am glad to say that I am gaining my strength back, and have been able to start benching and squatting again. In fact today will be a nice heavy squatting day. I will be lifting with a new lifting partner that competes in the OCB as an amateur who has done just won show (finishing 2nd), but you wouldnt know it looking at him...he is a monster!!

My recovery came just soon enough, as last week, one of my on-line training clients flew into town from Puerto Rico to train with me for 2 days. Legs and chest were on tap, and it was a great couple of days.

Day 1 was set aside for legs, and I decided that we would start off with some serious 100 rep squatting! We did 100 reps of 225 lbs in as few sets as possible (each set going to failure). I got it in 4 sets. My client didnt quite make it all the way, but believe me when I say he when to failure on each set...it was awesome. We then did a little giant set with plenty of forced reps, and finished off with some high rep lunges.

Day 2 was chest with some shoulders...this was a great workout, as chest was a lagging body part for my friend. He latter told me that in the following days he was experiencing some great muscle soreness there.

All in all, the visit was a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to my next client visit.

** For further information on my online personal training, please contact me via email at jordan@thedietdoc.com

Biggest Natural Bodybuilding & Athletic Event in the Mid West!!

2009-07-09T11:05:00.005-04:00

This August 1st, the Evansville based INBF/WNBF Mid-America Pro/Am is returning to Indiana. Only this year a few things have changed.

Instead of just being a WNBF Pro-Qualifying event, it has gain "Advance Qualifier" status, this is the only show of its type in the INBF/WNBF.

This means that instead of just the overall winner in each division receiving their pro card, the TOP TWO overall winners will!!

Additionally, due to last year success with the show, new events have been added to the days activities. These include:

- Powerlifting Strength Challenge (kids division as well)
- 5K Road Race (kids fun run included)
- All day Health expo with tons of great vendors

Not to mention the Pro and Am divisions of one of the biggest natural bodybuilding events in the country.

There is something for everyone!

Tix are now available. All seats for the finals are assigned, and VIP Packages are available as well. Contact Sean McCauley @
sean@thedietdoc.com
or
812.868.8710

Additional information regarding the show, and a highlight reel from last year can be found here:
http://www.midamericaproam.com

This show is head promoted by Dr. Joe Klemczewski, you can listen to Dr. Joe's interview with John Hansen from earlier this year @
http://naturalbodybuildingradio.com/bodybu...joe-klemczewski

What keep me motivated...

2009-04-05T14:11:00.002-04:00

This is easy…competition. There is no better motivator in my mind than competition, good and healthy competition, not cutthroat competition. I know that when it comes to stepping on stage, especially now that I am a pro, there is no room for error, and that is a pretty big motivator. What some people may not realize is that a bodybuilding competition victory starts years in advance. You can’t expect to get serious about a show 2-3 months out and be the victor. As such the motivation of competition extends deep into the off-season when you are going after those big gains. It continues and perhaps amplifies once the contest diet begins (even though the off season diet should be controlled as well), and crescendos all the way up to the day of the show.

It is not uncommon for me to think about a competitor whose physique I admire as I am getting ready to perform a big lift. Thinking that they are likely doing the same thing or perhaps more tends to light a fire under my ass, if I don’t push myself outside of my comfort zone, then I know with certainty that I will be disappointed come the day of the show. It is mandatory for me to leave zero doubt in my mind that there was anything else I could have done to prepare better for a competition.

At times the competitor that drives me under that bar is a familiar one. I am my own toughest critic; I am constantly striving for some level of improvement in the gym and with my physique. So when getting under that squat bar, or strapping in and preparing for a big deadlift, I will often times take a long look at myself and commit to something more than I had done on the previous lift.

Life is about striving for improvement, pushing yourself past that point where you feel comfortable, and achieving something that you may have thought was unattainable, and doing so without any doubt of success. That notion itself can be a pretty powerful motivator.

Two leg workouts...Two different styles

2009-03-28T11:47:00.004-04:00

Last weekend while I was in Buffalo to help some friends compete, I managed to squeeze in a pretty sweet leg workout that I haven't posted up on here yet. Yesterday, a week later, I did another leg workout. Both were awesome, as I am typing this I can feel the soreness throughout the entirety of my legs and glutes. Both however where different from the other in style. The workout in Buffalo was a higher volume workout focused mainly on muscle hypertrophy, whereas the workout I did yesterday was focused on increasing strength. Both have their place in the bodybuilders training regime, the key is to know when to incorporate the different types of workouts.

High Volume Workout.
Warm up - 3 sets of squats with increasing weight (reps kept at 20 per set)

Giant Set
- Squat 225 x 20
- Lunge 40 lb Dumbbells x 10 steps each leg
- Prone Leg Curl 100 x 10
- Lunge 40 lb Dumbbells x 6 steps each leg
- Hack Squat 45 lb plate each side x 15 reps

Repeat that rotation 4 times
This should cause your heart to race as though you just sprinted a 5K!!

Superset
- Leg Extension heavy x 15 reps
- Leg Curl heavy x 12-15 reps

Repeat this rotation 4 times

Granted as far as "high volume" leg workouts go, this isnt the most volumous (is that even a word!!??), but after the first giant set I think you will find that you are toast. In the past I had done workouts consisting of 3-4 sets of 225 for 20 reps on the squat and was spent, now try adding all the rest of that onto it with no rest! The key is to pick weights that will make you have to dig deep. I found that by the second set of 225 for 20 on the squat that I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make the full 20 reps. So you can imagine how I felt on the 3rd and 4th set!

Strength Workout
Warm up - 3 sets squats

Exercise 1
Squat - 7 sets total after warm up
225 x 15
275 x 12
315 x 6
365 x 5
385 x 5
405 x 3
405 x 3
315 x 12

Exercise 2
Dumbbell Walking Lunges
60 lb DBs x 10 steps each leg
70 lb DBs x 8 steps each leg
80 lb DBs x 6 steps each leg
80 lb DBs x 6 steps each leg
85 lb DBs x 5 steps each leg
85 lb DBs x 5 steps each leg

SuperSet 1
Leg Extension ss Prone Leg curl
3 total sets increasing weight each time.
reps kept between 6-10 on each.
All sets to failure.

Competition Recap

2009-03-23T21:28:00.007-04:00

This past weekend I traveled to Buffalo NY to help a good friend compete in the INBF Northern States Super Natural. In addition to Sean, there were a few other Team Klemczewski members there competing, and for many of them it was their first show. Team K pulled in 6 top 5 place finishes out of the 5 competitors we had there, among them, there were 2 1st place finishes, a second place finish, and one Pro Card! It was a landmark day for a couple of the girls competing under the coaching of Dr. Joe Klemczewski, as Jennifer Morakis picked up the ever sought after WNBF pro card, and looked amazing doing it!

There was also newcomer to the sport of extreme physiques, Melissa Broderick, who at her competitive debut finished 1st in the novice class, and took a very respectable 2nd in the open figure to the Overall winner and new WNBF Pro Jennifer Morakis.

Both girls looked great on stage, Jennifer will make a fine addition to the very competitve stable of figure pros that the WNBF boasts, and Melissa has proven herself a natural in this sport and will have a very bright future in it for as long as she wants to.

My good friend Sean McCauley, finished 4th in what was a tough class, and another newcomer to the sport Claudia Gold took home top 5 trophies in both the bikini class as well as in the novice figure.

I dont know what the competitive plans are for the entire team, but I would expect to see at least a couple of these stars in the near term at various shows around the country.

I am so proud of the entire team, we represented ourselves well this past weekend, and I think that we all grew closer as friends, and made some new ones, this is one of the best perks of this sport...it is chalk full of awesome people!!

Jennifer Morakis

Melissa Broderick

Sean McCauley

A Friends Pro Card Attempt & a Sweet Back Workout

2009-03-18T12:24:00.003-04:00

I have a good friend by the name of Sean McCauley, he is the Online Training Program Director for the very successful Diet Doc Contest Prep & General Population Nutrition Experts ( www.thedietdoc.com www.perfectpeaking.com ). Sean has been competing for some time now, always finishing in the top 2-3 in his class. There is no doubt in my mind that Sean is an extreme physique, and an amazing competitor, and this weekend he is going to make that known to all as he makes a run for his pro card at the WNBF Pro Qualifying show in Buffalo NY. I will be leaving tomorrow morning to meet Sean out in NY to help him as he preps for the stage. This is an exciting day, as it is the culmination of a 2 year off season, where Sean let his weight get up to about 220 if I am not mistaken, in an effort to add some additional mass. I have to say, I am very excited, Sean is looking better than ever, he is fully ripped! No question, one of the leanest dudes I have ever seen.
I will be taking plenty of stage shots, so stay tuned for some pics to be posted in the coming days.

On Monday Judy and I did a solid high volume back workout. It went like this:

Warm-up: seated cable row - 3 sets
Superset 1:
heavy cable rows (failing in the 5-8 range) SS with Lat pull down (10-15 reps)
4 sets of this getting progressively heavier

Superset 2:
Heavy Lat pull down (failing in the 8-10 range) SS with Sumo Deadlift (15-20 reps)
4 sets of this

Superset 3:
Heavy Deadlift (failing in the 8-10 range) SS with DB pull over (Failing 8-10 reps)
3 sets of this.

My back was smoked. The key here is in the reps to failure...picking a weight that is heavy enough, and still allows you to TRULY FAIL at the set ranges.

Enjoy.

Contest Prep Seminar

2009-03-15T18:16:00.013-04:00

Yesterday I traveled down to Oxford Mass and help Nancy Andrews (4x Women's World Bodybuilding Champion) hold a contest prep seminar. We had 4 WNBF Pros on hand, of course Nancy Andrews was there, along with WNBF Figure Pro and 2008 World figure 2nd runner up Melissa Kelley, WNBF Female Pro Bodybuilder Bonnie LeFrak, and WNBF Pro yours truly.
The camp consisted of an overview of everything you need to do during a contest prep, from training, nutrition, and tanning, to suit selection, posing, and how to maintain balance in your life during this time. We spent a couple of hours talking, and then went right into the posing practice. As any competitor knows, you can NEVER practices posing enough, but you can certainly practice too little.
We had a great group of attendees covering a wide range of experience. Based on the conversations that we had after the seminar was over, I feel like everyone was able to take something positive away from the afternoon. I really enjoy working with athletes new to this sport. To me, having your first experience with something be a good one is very important, and I enjoy trying to provide people with that first enjoyable experience specifically when it comes to Bodybuilding.
Aside from the camp, Judy (my fiance) and I had a pretty solid leg workout the day before (Friday). I subscribe to a form of periodization in my training, and keeping that in mind, Friday was my heavy/core lift leg day. So Judy and I performed some adequate warm ups under the squat bar, and then proceeded to get into it. We performed 6 working sets. For my final two sets I was only able to get up to 385lbs for 3 and 4 reps respectively. This was more than likely due to performing a max lift on the deadlift 4 days earlier (I got 425 for a single on monday), and not being fully recovered from it. We then moved on to the hack squat, where we did 4 sets total. I maxed out with 335 for 5 deep reps. We wrapped the workout up with 3 supersets of prone leg curls and leg extensions. We went heavy here as well keeping the reps between 6-10 on each.
That was it, the core lift days in my mind are easier than the high volume workouts, those knock me right on my butt, but I love them too!

Nancy Andrews

Melissa Kelley

Bonnie LeFrak

Jordan Chabinsky

Attending the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival

2009-03-10T14:42:00.005-04:00

Never have I been witness to such a dense concentration of muscle and...um...silicone...than at the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival. I have been wanting to attend this benchmark event for years, but due to various conflicts I haven't been able to make it there until now. Granted this time there was an ulterior motive; to make contacts and secure sponsors for the 2009 WNBF Mid America Bodybuilding and Figure Championships ( www.midamericaproam.com ). I still managed to find plenty of time to enjoy myself and watch a bit of the show.

I showed up mid morning on Friday, at this point the festival had already begun, amatuer womans figure had hit the stage the night before, and the expo had started at 9 am (I believe) Friday morning, so when I walked through the doors of the expo hall everything was already in full swing. I couldn't believe the lines that had already formed at certain booths, the bodybuilding.com booth in particular, I would have to estimate that there was at least a 30 min wait just to get whatever freebie they were offering there. Each direction I turned there was a pretty evenly mixed sea of muscle tees, and tightly stretched sports bras. I was however rather surprided at the amount of patrons there that quite clearly have never lifting a weight or ran a mile a day in their life. I always attributed the bodybuilding world to one that was very niche, a subculture even. But that was the beauty about this competition, it was not limited to that of the boydbuilding portion. There were events ranging from powerlifting, to table tennis, and everything in between, all surrounded by the ever famous Fitness Expo, which was simply AWESOME!!. This was literally like a mini-Olympics, and if you have been keeping up with my blog (unlike I have been lol), you would know that I whole-heartedly believe that the sport of Natural Bodybuilding should be inclulded in the Olympics.There was so much transpiring at this event, that it literally took me at least an hour of walking the whole expo just to recover from the scatter-brained state that triggered in me before I could compose myself to speak with any intellegence to a vendor about sponsoring the show I am helping to promote. Once I did though, it proved to be the ideal place for networking!
Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for all three days of the Festival, I left mid day on saturday, so I missed the pro finals, the after party, and the rest of the expo on sunday, with the remainder of the events, but I do not feel as though I missed out in the slightest! I will definitely be making a trip back to the Arnold every year that I can, and I will also be planning to add the Olympia to my schedule later this year.
What an experience!!

I would recommend it to any and all that are passionate about fitness.

On the road...again...

2008-10-12T09:19:00.003-04:00

So now that I am finally gotten back into writting on here, I am told that I have to go on travel for work. I will be on travel for about a week. Normally this is not an issue, in todays age of technology driven everything...but I am going to a remote location with at best a dial-up internet connection...a what?!?! I cant even remember the last time I was subjected to such slow speeds. Anyway...I will try to get on here and write something while I am gone...but no promises.

Gone too long

2008-10-09T08:25:00.002-04:00

So it has been entirely too long since I have posted anything up here. My apologies. I had gotten away from the blog during the six weeks between my last two shows, as energy was at a minimum, and simply staying focused on the upcomming show was all I could do. Immediately after the final show, which was almost 4 weeks ago at this point, I had to get ready to travel to NYC to help a couple friends compete themselves, then it was on to some birthday celebrations for myself followed up by a trip to San Francisco with my girlfriend...now fiance :)

So I am back now and on the "off season" track. I am planning an extended off season during which time I am focusing on bringing up some lagging body parts...namely my hamstrings and lats. Since I am taking the extra time during this off season, I plan on putting on some serious weight. I would like to get about 30 pounds above contest weight...which should put me in the 185-190 range, this would be the heaviest ever for me. but there is no reason not to take full advantage of the time off from the stage.

Anticipate frequent updates and entries to this blog, as I plan on having a lot to talk about in the near future...think PR's, new workouts, lectures, new website and hopefully a whole lot more!

Thanks
JC

High Volume Arm Routine

2008-08-14T07:14:00.001-04:00

So typically I dont do a whole lot of high volume training for my arms, as they tend to respond better to a lower volume training protocal, but as I subscribe to a Non-Linear Training philosophy, I do work in some higher reps stuff. Plus, a friend of mine asked for some ideas on a good high volume arm routine. Well…ask, and you shall recieve.

As with any effective workout, the key, at least in my mind, is to maintain a high level of intensity. Doesnt matter if you are running through more of a "Strength" routine, or a "Hypertrophy" one, keep that level of intensity up there. I say this, b/c in the routine I am about to outline, I will not specify any weights, as it is obviously specific to the individual, but you should be selecting weights that allow you to FAIL (that means you can NOT perform even one more rep to completion with proper form) at the prescribed rep ranges. It is important to make a note of this last statement and clue in on one sailient point; I said "with proper form". This is key, as without maintaining good form, you will most likely miss out on the some of the hypertrophic benefits of what good muscle contraction provides. I am a huge advocate of the "mind muscle connection" (as you might have noticed in some of my other posting). So, the take away here is to make sure that with each rep you preform, whether it is the first one or the last, that each one gets a good contraction at the top of the movement. This may require a slight pause, and an emphasis that is basically isometric in nature.

On to the workout. High Volume Bis & Tris Routine #1:

Note: this workout should be done at a relatively rapid pace, that is not to say you should race through it, but you shouldnt be screwing around either. In my opinion, the gym is NOT for socializing, keep the talking to a minimum, maintain your focus, and make some gains! Let the talkers talk…Ill be lifting.

Warm up - 2-3 sets of lightish preacher curls (20 reps)

Monster Set (Biceps) - Preacher curls (Close Grip) (15 reps) / DB hammer curls (15 reps) / Straight bar curls (standing with a wide grip) (15 reps) / back to preachers curls with less weight (15 reps)

Do that 4 times…trying to keep the reps in the 8-15 range…although you will find that gets pretty tough. The early sets should be up in the 15 rep range, but as you get on in sets (Since you are keeping the weight the same or going heavier!) you may end up dropping the reps as far down as 8 by the time you get to the later sets.
The last 2 sets of those 4, do the first set of preacher curls as a drop set, so…Preacher (8-10 reps), drop weight (6-8 reps), drop weight (10-12) (all of these drops are done to failure) / DB hammer curls / Straight bar curls / preacher curls.

At this point your biceps should be so smoked and so full of blood that you should barely be able to move them. In fact, if you can still touch the back of your head, then you did something wrong!! So get back on there and repeat!! lol

Now, time for some tris:

Monster Set (Triceps) - Close grip bench on a smith machine (15-20 reps) / DB overhead extension (12-15 reps) / Close grip bench (8-10 reps)

4 sets of this

Super Set (Triceps) - Cable skull crushers (15-20) / ‘V’ bar push downs (15-20)

4 sets of this

The entire workout should not take more than 60 min. And you should feel an unbelievable pump upon completion. No go and eat some fast acting Carbs and have some high quality Whey Isolate, make sure you get every benefit of that workout.

Let me know what you think.

I have been waiting for this my whole life!!

2008-08-13T07:09:00.001-04:00

I am an addict! I will be the first to admit it, I am hopelessly at a loss for self control when it comes to the matter of…Peanut Butter!! Ok, maybe I am not at the total mercy of PB, but it is difficult for me to resist it. I am pretty certain that at least in the bodybuilding world I am not alone here. I am sure that if I were to ask 10 bodybuilders back stage after weeks and weeks of dieting, what one food they missed/cant wait to have after the night show, that at least 8 of them would respond without hesitation: Peanut Butter. I mean that shit is magical!! Dont know what it is, creamy/crunchy, on some bread or on its own, it doesnt matter, Peanut Butter is the bomb!! lol

Unfortunately, there are some concerns with it. Whereas PB is a great source of some good quality unsaturated fats, it is just so dam riddled with fat that you cant eat too much of it, at least not during a contest prep. I tend to limit my intake of it even during the off season, due to the amount of oil in there that causes my face to breakout terribly. But there is no denying the lure of the PB, I could honestly live on that stuff. I am happy putting it on just about anything. I even have been know to put it on a hot dog! You may think that sounds nuts, but give it a try, it is surprisingly good. So, how do you get around the desire to eat something that contains more fat than you ideally want to be having. Well, you could go to the super market and pick up a "low fat" PB, which to me in all honestly is a flipping joke. Peanut Butter typically has 16g of fat per serving (serving size = 2 tblsp), and most "low fat" Peanut Butters contain…what…12g of fat. Ok, at least it is moving in the right direction, 25% less fat is cool and all that, but at the amount of that stuff that I want to be eating, 4g of fat less really isnt buying me much of anything. So now what? I guess you could just…not…eat…much of it, but that would be crazy!!

You could get down on your knees and thank god for the best food product on the planet!! PB2. There is a company in Georgia (Bell Plantation), that has learned of a way to exploit everything you love about Peanut Butter while holding back the parts that you dont (the fat). PB2 is a powdered version of Peanut Butter. Basically Bell Plantation squeezes all of the oil out of the peanut, and what is left over is a powdered version that has 85% less fat than when it started! All you have to do is add a little water to it, and you have a creamy butter that you honestly could not tell the difference from any other natural peanut butter. Simply amazing.

I discovered PB2 just a couple of months ago, and I cant stop putting it on things, it is great mixed in with your oatmeal and some chocolate protein powder, in your shake, or just mixed up and put on a piece of toast. Looking back now, I have no idea how I ever made it through a contest prep without this stuff. It is pure powdered gold!!

Check out their site: www.bellplantation.com they are coming out with some new products too. But if you do end up ordering some, put the following address in the referral field…I would appreciate it: jabberjaw000@yahoo.com

God Bless the PB2!! lol

The 2008 Olympics and Natural Bodybuilding

2008-08-09T08:14:00.001-04:00

I watched the opening ceremony last night for the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, and despite the hype the commentators made about how grand the show would be, I was completely blown away. What impressed me most wasn’t quite how grandiose of a spectacle they made it, or the obvious fortune that was spent to pull something of that level off, but rather the creativity that was shown by the orchestrator. Simply amazing!

That said, I still have beef with the Olympics. Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to watching as much of the 2008 games as I possibly can, in fact I currently have the US vs Japan womens soccer game on the TV as I write this (we are up by 1!), as well as a live feed going on the computer of the Mens Judo competition. But I cant get by one simple irritation; why in the world has the sport of Natural Bodybuilding not made it into the list of Olympic events yet? I know this is a tired subject, I have read many articles on it and sorry attempts to justify why it is not included, but with the onset of these 2008 games, the feelings and questions are renewed in my mind, and I wanted to resurface the topic.

Let me start by stating the obvious, at least the obvious in my mind. I am specifying the sport of NATURAL Bodybuilding, in no way do I believe that the untested side of this sport should be even on the table for discussion. That fraction goes against everything that the spirit of the Olympics stands for, and the IOC has gone to extreme lengths to uphold this standard. I am going to leave the remainder of that debate to someone else, as I feel it is a waste of time to include here. Never will the untested Bodybuilding athlete be included in the Olympics, so just give it a rest.

On the other side of the table you have the Natural, tested, bodybuilder. Now this athlete exhibits the very essence of what the Olympics is all about. This is not to say that the bodybuilder is above another Olympic athlete, there are many events that I feel embody the true spirit of the Olympics; Wrestling, the Triathlon, Gymnastics, Weight Lifting, Cross Country Skiing, Swimming, just to name a few. But in my mind it is insulting to know that Natural Bodybuilding is left at home while some events are included that in my mind have no business being part of the Olympics, I wont call out which ones I am referring too, as that would be unsportsmanlike, but I strongly feel that if some of these sports are present then there are a myriad of sports that deserve inclusion in the Olympic games as well.

The Natural Bodybuilder displays a level of athleticism, will, dedication, strength, intelligence, perseverance, and focus that was made for the Olympics, not to mention the physique aesthetics that embody what most of the world picture the ideal athlete to look like. Does it get any more tailor made than that?! Then WHY does this sport continue to get overlooked.

Aside from the fact that the Natural side of the sport gets lost in the shadows of the freak show that is its untested sister side of the sport, the most common argument I hear is that is is just too subjective of an event. WHAT!? Then how in the hell did events like, figure skating, diving, equine, synchronized swimming (don’t even get me started on this one), and gymnastics make it onto the scene?!?! These are all sports that are completely dependent on judges scoring an athletes performance, not unlike that of Natural Bodybuilder. So to me, that argument is simply ridiculous and holds no water.

So then what other reason could there possibly be to overlook this sport that quite honestly is so fundamental that its very nature can be seen in the training of virtually every other athlete on the planet. Show me one athlete that does not have the goal of building muscle. Whether it be in a gym, on a track, or in the water, every athlete wants to be stronger, healthier and more athletic, and that is the very essence of Natural Bodybuilding. How insulting it is then, to have the entire sporting world discredit our efforts as athletes, and to deprive us the opportunity to compete on the most prestigious of world stages.

As I watched the opening ceremony last night, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in myself and in my sport as I watched the montage of athletes talking about what it means to them to be at these games. I almost teared up as I watched, because as I listened to them, it recalled the shared feelings that I myself had for what my sport means to me; the struggle of the countless reps in the gym, pushing past the point of comfort deep into failure, working towards something that you want even though the pain is almost unbearable because you KNOW it will be worth it, and because you KNOW not just anyone can do it. Isn’t this what the Olympics is all about, unwavering focus and drive to reach a level of elite athleticism that is anything but commonplace? And of course, the sportsmanship, respect and comradery among athletes across our various disciplines? Then I ask you…where is the respect and love for the sport of Natural Bodybuilding?

First Pro Show Under My Belt

2008-08-05T07:33:00.001-04:00

So, a little recap of this past weekend. The competition was held in Evansville Indiana, it was a WNBF Pro event, "WNBF Mid America Championships", and it was a first year show. For that reason, I had some concerns that the Pro mens line up might not be super competative, but lets face it, this is the WNBF, and these Pros are some of THE most competative physiques in the natural circuit. Regardless of my concerns, I showed up to find out that there were some big names and solid physiques present. World Class competitors like Tony Ruffin, Kurt Weidner, Roy Perry, and Martin Daniels just to touch on a few came to bring the quality of competion up a notch or two. For a first year show, the Mid America Championships were a stand out event. 21 total pros in the Mens division came to vie for the overall, and the heavyweight class winner Martin Daniels looking like an absolute freak was able to beat out the lightweight class winner, Tony Ruffin, to walk away with the overall trophy.

As for myself, I was able to secure a top three placement, which as this was my pro debut, I was very pleased with. As mentioned, Tony Ruffin took first in the light weights, and Vaughan Twigger landed second with quite possibly the most dominant set of lats I have ever seen…just unbelievable, his lats to waist ratio was simply stupid! There was a moderate seperation in points between the top three competitors, not a huge spread, but enough to make the placements clear cut. However there was a significant point spread from third to fourth (9 points), making my top three placement secure.

Honestly going into this show I had obvious confidence in myself, as any good competitor must have, but I maintained a level of concern with how I would handle the pro ranks. This is a different class of competitor now, and as such, there is now room for flaws in your physique or presentation, you have to be spot on.

The venue was awesome, the majority of Natural Bodybuilding shows are held in the most embarassing of places, school auditoriums, simply b/c there is just no money in the natural side of the sport (a topic/rant for another post!!), but this show was held in the Evansville Victory Theater. A beautifully crafted and maintained high end venue that just underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. It was refreshing to come compete in a show where there wasnt little kids fingerpaintings posted all down the hallways.

As usual, I was able to connect up with friends and competitors that I havent seen since the last show, or longer, and as usual I met a whole host of new competitors that continue to blow me away with how nice and genuine they all are. I maintian that the athletes that I have met over the years in the bodybuilding world are some of the nicest and coolest people I have ever been exposed to.

It was great to meet and talk with some of the pros that I have been following since I started competing back in 2004, like Kurt Weidner, and Tony Ruffin. And to meet up and joke around with guys from past shows and whatnot like Duke Bell, and Layne Norton.

This show had all the elements for me to be just an awesome experience; great people, great competitors, great venue, well run, and of course…great placement for me! lol

I have decided that I will compete in one more Pro Show before I go into a slightly extended off season. In just over 5 weeks I will take another crack at the stage in Kansas City and the WNBF International Championships. I am very excited for this one, as it has been around longer, has a great reputation, and as such will bring in a slightly more competative class of competitor. I am eager to see how I will stack up against a little bit deeper of a line up. But having just competed, I have a lot of feedback and things to go on to make my next outing that much better. It was clear to me that I brought my best package ever to the stage this past weekend, and I fully believe that in 5 weeks time I will move past that and take my physique to even new levels.

I would just like to mention in here quickly, that my girlfriend Judy is one of the critical reasons for my success this past weekend, with her taking care of my tan, food, and every little thing, I probably would have stressed out and burst a blood vessel!! lol, but with her help, the entire weekend was a breeze and completely smooth running for me.

Also, show promoters; Dr. Joe Klemzcewski, and Sean McCauley deserve some credit for pulling off an unprecidented success for a first year Pro show. Cant wait until next year.

1 Week Away

2008-07-26T06:32:00.002-04:00

Today marks the 1 week out point from my first WNBF Professional bodybuilding competition. Needless to say, I am feeling very excited for the event. Not only will it be a landmark day for me, for obvious reasons, but this will also be the first year that this show is being offered, and it promises to be a world class event.

I am in the best shape of my life, I have made all of the improvements to my physique that I set out to over the last 11 months. That is not to say that I have polished my physique to a point that it is complete. I was realistic with my goals over the past year, and set my sights to a level of improvement that is realizable in a natural forum. Within bodybuilding, as with any sport, and life in general for that matter, there is not perfection. You need to be constantly striving for something just outside of the current level of attainment. Otherwise you will stagnate, become lazy, sloppy, unfulfilled, and eventually, dissatisfied with life. And that is a devastating thought.

I feel confident with my level of conditioning, and the size that I was able to maintain through the dieting process. My posing is good, my routine and song I think are solid, just waiting on my new custom posing suits to arrive. Carried with the fact that this is my first Pro competition is the knowledge that this will be the first time that my night posing routine will be judged. As an amateur, that portion of the show is typically just for "fun", but as a Pro, it is judged and can certainly have an influence on the judging panels decision. So in the past, I have usually waiting to develop and practice my routine until closer to the show. This time, I was on the lookout for music from the moment I won my Pro card 11 months ago. I basically finished developing my routine about 4 months ago, but alas, I still waited probably longer than I should have to actually start practicing it. That is OK though, b/c I still feel confident with it, I am happy with the song, and the selection of posed that I made. That is one of the nice things about the routine, there are no mandatory poses to include. So you are free to leave out the ones that don't flatter your physique.

Anyway, I am at the 7 day mark, and I am feeling great! Food will start to come up even more than it has in the past 2 weeks, this will help me to "fill out" a bit more, and collaterally provide me with some more energy. My workouts will drop slightly in intensity, again providing me with some more energy. All in all the final week (peak week), is a fun time, your diet starts to feel less and less like one, and the anticipation of the contest grows and grows.

I cant wait to get to Indiana!! This is going to be awesome!

High Volume Back Routine

2008-07-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

I am a big fan of the Deadlift. For years I had ineffective back workout upon ineffective back workout. It wasn't until I started deadlifting that I was able to get some respectable lat development in my physique. However, I realize that I can not deadlift heavy every week. My body just cant take it. So even though I found what I considered to be the holy grail for lat work, I was forced to figure out why I was having such poor back workouts all these years. Bottom line is, that I was unable to consciously isolate my back muscles, I would overpower the exercise movement with my biceps for the most back, and even some shoulders. This is a fairly common scenario among lifters.

It was thanks to the biggest money winner in the WNBF that I was able to make this mind-muscle connection finally. I had the please of training with former WNBF Pro Dave Goodin last year, and it was worth every painful rep he put me through. Since our workout, I have had muscle soreness in my back after almost every workout, whether I am deadlifting or not. Perhaps in another post I will outline some of the isolation principles that Dave shared with me. But for now, I am going to share with you one of my deadlift free back workouts that I felt was very effective.

As my show approaches (less than 2 weeks away now), I am unwilling to perform some of the heavy compound movements, as my body is waring down, I don't want to risk injury. For that reason, I developed and performed the following deadlift free back workout the other day.

WARM UP - Super slow rep cadence - close grip lat pull down
perform these reps with a 5 sec count concentric portion, 2 sec pause fully contracted, then a 5 sec eccentric portion.
3 sets - 15-20 reps

Giant Set #1 - Close grip lat pull down/wide grip cable pull over/wide grip supported T-bar row/Wide grip lat pull down
Each exercise gets 25 reps with good contraction at the top of the movement for a total of 100 reps per set.
3 sets

Keep the weight the same or increase with each set, try not to decrease weight, but maintain good form

Giant Set #2 - Isolateral HammerStrength underhand seated row/Isolateral HammerStrength behind the neck pull down/ Isolateral HammerStrength neutral grip seated row/Seated bent over bilateral DB row
Each exercise gets 25 reps with good contraction at the top of the movement for a total of 100 reps per set.
3 sets

Keep the weight the same or increase with each set, try not to decrease weight, but maintain good form

Final Exercise - Isolateral HammerStrength plate loaded lat pull down
4 sets - increasing weight with each set. Starting your first set with 15-20 reps, and your final set having 8-12 reps.

Hopefully you will get as much out of this workout as I did.

My New Site

2008-07-21T08:15:00.003-04:00

A while back I purchased a domain with the intent of getting my own personal site up. It was intended to be a site that would cover my endeavours as a personal training, fitness model, and professional bodybuilder. It took me a little while to start building the site, but I finally got started yesterday. I currently have the "front page" up in a beta testing section of the domain. Please feel free to take a look at it and let me know what your thoughts are. Keep in mind though, that I have never designed a page before, so not only is this a first go around for this particular site, it is also a first go around for any web development for me.

Also, there are a number of links on there, but the only ones that will actually lead you anywhere are the ones in the bottom left hand corner. All the rest lead to pages that I have not generated yet. And I am not entirely sure when I will have those ready, as I have mentioned, my competition is quite close at this point, let than 2 weeks away, so that is where my focus is for now.

Again, all feedback is welcome.

I hope you like it.

EF Beta Site

A Day of Replenishmen

2008-07-19T06:59:00.003-04:00

Thank goodness for my higher CHO (carb) day. At this point in my contest prep I am starting to increase my CHO a bit to fill out. But I am still feeling depleted the majority of the week. That is because even though I am not on minimal levels of CHO any longer, my metabolic rate is going a bit nuts, and my fat intake is still quite low. As a result I am still having feelings of fatigue for the majority of the week...until now!
One day a week, I up my CHO significantly, this is meant to replenish my glycogen stores in the muscle so that I don't become stringy and waste away. And that day is today! I have been looking forward to it pretty much all week. But yesterday was especially tough. I am not entirely sure why. Most of my prep so far has been a relative breeze, over the last couple of weeks I was finally starting to "feel" the effects of the diet. but the past few days have really started to become a true test in will. It is times like this that I maintain that the sport of natural bodybuilding is without a shred of doubt in my mind, the most demanding sport I have ever taken part in. I don't want to put down anyone else's sport or belittle it, so I will keep that statement to my own experiences. I have played some tough sport though, a respectable second would probably be wrestling though, I also played football, rugby, and ran the 300m hurdles and the 400m in track and field. But when it comes to overall strength of will, consistency, coupled with athleticism and strength, in my experience, nothing compares to the sport of bodybuilding.
Anyway, back to the point at hand, aside from being the day signifying the 2 week out mark from my show, it is also my day to satiate myself through an increase amount of carbs. And I cant wait!!
I got up at 430 am and did my 40 mins of cardio just as any other day at this point in the prep process, but the rest of the day will be spent in a state of relaxation and food! Until of course it is time to hit the gym this afternoon. But until then, my girlfriend and I are heading north to checkout a Bison farm and stock up on some good lean meat, then relax at a nice state park and have a picnic. Notice how the whole day is revolving around food! Sweet!! Which reminds me, it is her high CHO day too, and as such, I need to start making her our very own formulated, low fat Protein Pancakes...mmm.

The Ideal Physique

2008-07-18T13:08:00.003-04:00

For me, the ideal male physique is embodied by one of the all time greats. 3 time Mr. Olympia; Frank Zane.

Aside from sharing some key principles on training philosophy, I feel that I can relate to Zane in that we share a common body type. I have, as he does, an ectomorphic body type with mesomorphic tendencies. One of the more preferred pairings for sure. Additionally, my build in general could be said to be akin to his. Having that common ground is surely part of the reason I look to his physique as one to strive for.

I also believe, and this was backed up by a poll that I think IronMan magazine did a few years back, that his is the physique that the majority of American fitness conscious males would most like to have themselves. Not the freak-a-zoid builds that many modern day competitors have. And there is good reason for that. Zane displays a form that is attainable and symmetrical, not overly developed and awkward.

As I start my pro career in 2 weeks and throughout the years to come, I will strive to polish my physique to be aesthetically pleasing in the same vane as the '77, '78, and '79 Mr. Olympia Frank Zane.

The Mind-Muscle Connection

2008-07-17T07:12:00.002-04:00

Next to safety, the most important aspect of weight training is arguably the Mind-Muscle Connection. This is what is going to increase the efficiency of your workouts, spark muscle hypertrophy, and for some, ensure that they are not completely spinning their wheels in the gym.
Allow me to elaborate, many gym goers approach a bench with one goal in mind, to move the heaviest amount of weight they can as many times as they can. Are these exercise enthusiasts ego driven? Perhaps, but also likely is that they are ignorant on the matter. And that is OK provided they aren't doing something that will result in someone getting hurt. I like to think that I will never stop looking for knew things to learn, that I will never assume that I have it all figured out. What I have come to learn during my years spent in the gym, is that it is NOT about how much weight you are moving. It is true however that one can mention arguments about total work done on a muscle and time under tension and all of that. All of which is valid, but none of which makes any bit of difference if you are not using the proper muscles and maximally contracting them. Think about it, what causes your muscles to grow? Is it the fact that there is a mass that is moving up and down? Of course not, it is the fact that your muscle, while acting on that mass which is moving up and down, are contracting. So why would you focus on the movement of that mass during your workout instead of the contraction of your muscle?
This is where the Mind-Muscle Connection comes into play. For every exercise you preform, there are primary muscles that are intended to perform the desired action and secondary muscles that are intended to act in support to the primary ones. When a lifter is overly concerned with getting that weight up at all costs and the primary muscles are incapable of doing this, it is entirely possible for the lifter to recruit force from other muscles by twisting the body in unsafe ways to achieve the completed concentric movement. This is a waste of time, not to mention potentially dangerous. Now you are not even working the intended muscles anymore, and over time this can result in an imbalance in muscle symmetry, and eventually a complete disconnect of the muscle from the conscious control of the brain. I know individuals who, even though they have muscle that is of respectable size, can not even control it well enough to flex it. The problem being, that when it comes time to do an exercise that calls on that muscle, they will not be able to effectively contract it and work it properly, resulting in an inefficiency in the ability to attain muscle hypertrophy and therefor progress.
So how do you ensure that you are getting maximal muscle contraction during an exercise. The answer is a simple one, the application of the answer is the difficult part. Most simply stated, one must focus on using the muscle intended to be worked while performing the concentric and eccentric portions on the exercise. Making the conscious effort to imagine that muscle flexing and contracting during the movement will help you in making the connection between the nerves and the muscles. But often times more effort it required to achieve this connection initially. One technique that I have found useful is to preform exceptionally slow repetitions. An example of this would be to perform a bench press where you take a full 5 secs to push the weight to the top of the movement (concentric portion of the exercise) and pause there. While you are at the top of the movement you squeeze the chest muscles for about 2-3 seconds (imagine you are flexing them), and then lower the weight (eccentric portion of the exercise) at the same 5 sec rate you pushed up with. Perform 15-20 reps in this fashion, and do about 3 sets of this. This is a great way to start your workout because it will do two things for you. First, it will serve to get you in touch with that muscle, so that while performing the remainder of your workout you will have a higher likely hood of achieving maximal muscle contraction. And Second, it will "pre-fatigue" the muscle so that during the remainder of your workout you are more likely to reach failure and spark muscle hypertrophy.
There are other ways to attain this connection, having proper form will aid in muscle isolation, such as keeping your shoulders back and chest out during chest pressing movements. But for the most part the simplest thing you can do to make that Mind-Muscle connection is to reduce the weight and perform the reps slowly so that you can focus on the muscle. You might be surprised how effective just imagining the motion can be, but it works too. Once you have that down, then start stacking on the weight...because everyone wants to lift heavy things, but don't you want to look like you can too?!

One of my favorite leg workouts

2008-07-16T09:59:00.002-04:00

Early on in my bodybuilding career I had, as many males in the gym tend to, ignored my leg development for the most part. Leaving the network of gyms across the nation to become ever increasingly more populated with buff upper bodied chicken legged meat heads. Now I am no hypocrite, at least not on this matter, so as soon as I smartened up, I embarked on a mission to bring my wheels up to par and beyond, with my upper body. I recognized the challenge that lay before me, and for multiple reasons. First, leg training is grueling, and that is why it gets so commonly overlooked, that and usually ones legs are covered up and you cant see them in the mirror, so the vain are not as apt to pay them any mind. But painful they are to train, if you train them right that is, the legs contain the largest muscles in the body (Quadriceps, Hamstrings, and Glutes), and as such, they require the most amount of energy expended to train. Second, the fact that I was looking down a road of playing catch up was not motivating. I had trained my upper body for years at that point, and had made some appreciable advances there. Now, since I was not planning on slowing my upper body development, I was going to have to work doubly hard to bring my legs up to match the rest of me.
I decided that if I was wanted to be successful, I was going to need a team. People to spot me was the biggest concern, as I was planning on training beyond failure in many cases, but also, having others to commiserate with I knew would helpful. Additionally, I knew I was going to have to make the realization that to achieve my goals, I would have to endure some significant amount of voluntary pain, which is the toughest kind. I was going to have to be ready to be uncomfortable, and in the midst of this pain and discomfort, I would have to tell myself to push even further into the torture. And believe me, there were countless times that I felt like I was going to collapse, pass out, and even vomit, but yet I pushed on. And before too long, I found myself "enjoying" those previous feelings of agony. They conveyed to me that I was doing something right, that I was moving beyond where I was. I was proving something to myself, and doing something that most people wouldn't have the will to push through. When it comes right down to it, these are the things that kept me going. Even though I was seeing results in my leg development, it was the soreness in the days to follow that served to remind me of what I was accomplishing, and that feeling of attainment through self sacrifice is what was satisfying.

So here I stand, two and a half weeks away from my Pro debut on the WNBF bodybuilding circuit, and I have been hitting my legs hard for the past 2 years, and mercilessly for the past 15 months, and I am please to say that I believe I will step on stage with wheels that truly look like they belong on a pro stage.

What were the workouts you might ask. I am a big believer in high volume training when it comes to leg development. I feel that this is the best way to achieve muscle hypertrophy. I do alternate my leg workouts (and my other body parts as well), to train heavy one week, and then more volumous the next. And it is those volumous weeks that really spark the muscle growth, whereas the heavy weeks promote strength gains. Anyway, in my quest for bigger legs, I would construct various routines that inevitably would consist of giant set after giant set. This proved to be a great way of reaching muscle failure from all different angles at high rep ranges while maintaining a moderately heavy weight. Although over time, I began to bore slightly of this workout blueprint, even though the exercises and rep ranges changed from workout to workout and I was continuing to achieve the sought after soreness, I felt like I was beginning to stagnate. It was at this point that I turned to high rep free bar squats, and completely fell in love!!

I have created various high rep squat routines, but the following one is probably my favorite. I am always looking to advance with my workouts, obviously I want to evolve this one as well, but with my contest so close, and my body fat so low, to pursue that at this point would be stupid, as I am at a heightened risk for injury in my weakened state. So, upon completion of my contest expect to find improvements to this routine.

I will also post other stand out leg routines that I have done, but I wanted to get this one up first, as I have never had such complete leg domination with any other workout. We are talking all four heads of the quads, total hamstring and glute soreness and fatigue. It was great!!

So, here it is:

First thing is first - WARM UP adequately, for me this is usually 5-10 mins on a recumbent bike at a moderate pace, followed by 3-4 sets of controlled squatting starting with a light weight and slowly increasing with each set, but never getting too heavy, and keeping the reps within the 15-20 range.

100 rep Squatting - This might seem a little different than what you are used to, this is not a single set of 100 reps. This is picking a weight that is heavy, but that you can get somewhere in the 30-40 rep range out of when you reach complete failure, and then getting all 100 reps in as few sets as possible.
This is how it went for me:

225 lbs x 35
225 lbs x 25
225 lbs x 22
225 lbs x 23

After each set I would drop to the floor with my heart rate at something like 180 bpm. Each one of these sets were done to complete failure, and that is key. I also realize that I did 105 reps instead of 100, but I chalk that up to the fact that the majority of the blood in my body was contained within my legs and not in my brain at the time. lol

Giant Set - Hack Squats / Prone Leg Curl / Leg Extension
3 total rotations of this were completed each exercise failing in the following rep range:

Hacks: 15-20
Leg Curl: 12-15
Leg Ext: 12-15

And that was it...complete leg soreness for the next week was to follow, along with a tremendous feeling of self-satisfaction.

A few things to note: This is what I would consider to be an advanced workout. If you are not an advanced weight lifter, do NOT attempt this routine. If you are an advanced lifter and are capable of competing this routine, make sure that you have an adequate spotter with you, especially with the squatting. Additionally, for squats with this sort of weight and at these rep ranges and levels of failure, I would highly recommend a quality power lifting style belt to help protect your core and lumbar region.

Other than that...Please...Do enjoy!!

Natural Bodybuilding vs. the "Other" Side of the Sport

2008-07-15T07:20:00.004-04:00

Since this blog is entitled NATURALLY Strong, I figured I should get a post out there dealing with the insane state of the professional bodybuilding world. Many people do not realize that there are multiple federations out there in which physique athletes compete. Some of which self impose mandatory strict drug testing policies that are on par with those of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), one such federation is the WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation), this is where I compete. Others mascaraed around acting as though they care about this matter and have so called "random" drug screening. The most prevalent of these in the IFBB (International Federation of Body Builders). The fact that they do not have mandatory drug testing is not so much the issue, but rather the blind eye that gets turned to the glaringly obvious abuse of anabolic steroids, growth hormones, diuretics and other dangerous performance enhancing drugs that their athletes "must" use in order to be competitive in their organization. Some may beg the question; "Who cares", if it isn't something you subscribe to then pay it no mind. Well the problem is, that in the growing popularity of the subculture of bodybuilding, the IFBB reigns king. Why? Perhaps it is because this is the federation in which Arnold Schwarzenegger was a part of, and without a doubt, he is the most identifiable bodybuilder of all time. Kids still idolize "The Austrian Oak", and he has been out of the competitive scene for decades, and doesn't even posses the extreme physique any longer for which he was so well know. Or perhaps it is due to the ironically ever growing obsession the American public, who insist that in order to be better, it must be bigger! Either way, there is no denying that the "enhanced" athletes in this sport are the ones who the kids are turning to as idols. This is arguably worse than professional athletes in more well know sports using drugs to give them an edge. Not because it is more acceptable for them to use, but rather due to the blatant abuse shown in the bodybuilding community. The health risks in this arena are much more extreme and dire simply because of the perverted use of anabolic steroids and the like.
Looking back to why I got involved in this sport, I realize that it was a motive seeded in the desire to attain a healthy body and achieve as close to the ideal male physique as possible. The operative word in the last sentence being; healthy. I doubt that any IFBB Pro can honestly say that they are driven in any way by the concern to remain healthy. IFBB champions are capable of making a very comfortable living competing. This is due to the sponsorships that they receive, but also the prize money for winning big shows like the Mr. Olympia. Last year first place at the Olympia walked away with over 150,000 dollars with prizes sitting on top of that. Even 10th place earned almost 15,000 dollars. For comparison, the 2007 WNBF overall world champion walked off the stage with 6,000 dollars, and no one under 3rd place received a dime. And they all did it completely drug free. That displays the sort of sacrifice, commitment and hard work that the youth of America should really be looking up to. So you tell me, are our principles in the right place here? Shouldn't we be rewarding the athletes who are exemplifying the true passion for the sport and the qualities that we want our children to learn, with the sponsorship contracts and the greater prize money. Instead we are telling our youth that we hold cheating, drug abuse and winning at all costs with no regard for health as our highest concern. To me that is completely irresponsible and sad.

This sport used to be one that showcased what could be achieved physically if you were patient and willing to work hard for something, and it was shown through grace and aesthetics. Today, this sport showcases physiques that are beyond extreme, through cheating and drug use, and it is shown with disproportion and a distended stomach.

2007 WNBF World Champion -
Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder

8 Time IFBB Pro Mr. Olympia

High Volume Chest Routine

2008-07-14T08:03:00.002-04:00

As my contest grows closer, I have been hitting high volume training with more frequency, mostly because as my body fat continues to drop and stay at these minimum levels, I am at a higher risk for injury if I were to train heavy too often. Plus, my strength has waned slightly, not too much, but at this point I am not looking to be making any personal records in the gym. So I will hit my more hypertophic high volume training a little more often.

This is a workout that I hit last week with two of my lifting partners. I found it pretty effective, and part of the reason I put the first part in here is b/c one of my training partners has trouble getting that mind muscle connection with his chest. As it turns out, this was effective for him as well.
Enjoy...

Warm up: Extremely slow rep cadence flat bench Dumbbell press
Select a moderate weight (I used 50 lbs dbs), and perform 10-15 reps in a slow manner, the concentric and eccentric portions of the movement should each last approximately 5 secs each (i.e. the up part and the down part), when you have the weight fully up, flex and squeeze your chest for a moment to really feel that muscle contraction.
While doing this, remember to keep your shoulder blades pulled back and stick your chest out, this will help to isolate the chest from you anterior delts in the movement, ensure that you maintain this posture during all chest exercises throughout this routine, whether it is a pressing movement or a fly movement.

Perform 3 sets like this. The point of this part of the workout is to first provide a nice slow and controlled warm up for the rest of the routine so that you can prevent injury. But also to focus on the muscle contraction part of the movement, even though this is a warm up, it should serve to actually get the muscle very pumped up and somewhat fatigued, so that when you continue with the rest of the workout at a "normal" cadence the muscle will not only be getting tired already, but the muscle will also "remember" what that squeeze felt like and hopefully get a better contraction during these "normal" reps.

Giant Set 1: DB Flat bench press / Decline cable flys / Decline DB Bench press / DB Flat Bench Flys
This should be done with a minimum amount of time between exercises, just enough time to walk from one station to the next, so pick out your weights ahead of time, and know any adjustments to the equipment that will need to be made to expedite the process.
Select weights that will allow you to fail on each exercise within the following rep ranges for the first rotation through.
DB Flat bench press: 15-20
Decline cable flys: 15-20
Decline DB Bench Press: 10-15
Decline Flat bench flys: 10-15

Keep these weights the same for the next 3 rotations through, for a total of 4 rotations all together. Your reps ranges on the following sets will begin to drop since you are using the same weight and your beginning to fatigue, just make sure that you are reaching failure with each set.

Giant Set 2: Incline Chest Press (weight stack machine) / Pec Deck Flys (weight stack machine) / Push ups / Push ups on knees
Just as with the last giant set, this should be done with a minimum amount of time between exercises.
Also, as with the previous set of exercises, pick a weight for each that you will fail within the following rep ranges and keep that weight through a total of 4 rotations, each time your reps more than likely will be decreasing.
Incline Chest Press: 10-15
Pec Deck Flys: 10-15
Push ups: As many as possible
Push ups from knees: As many as possible

I hope you like it.
JC

Just getting it off the ground

2008-07-13T14:31:00.004-04:00

So this is the first post in what will become a long line of bodybuilding and fitness related posts in the time to come. I figured that it would be in poor form to spend the time creating this blog only to stop short of at least generating a maiden post once I finished the account.

What to blog about for the first time? Well, there is only one thing I can think of, my upcoming WNBF Pro debut. Last September at the INBF Naturalmania Nationals, I earned my Professional Natural Bodybuilders status, and as such, I was under agreement to compete as a pro within 1 years time of earning my pro card. So the show I choose to compete in is the brand new WNBF Mid America Championships, located in Evansville Indiana. Yes, Evansville! Unfortunately there are a limited number of shows offered at the pro ranks, and I wanted to take the full 1 year to put on as much size as I could going into this new level of competition, and the Mid America show was the show that offered that to me.

At this point I am 1 day under 3 weeks out from the contest, and I am right on schedule. And by right on schedule I mean that I am ahead of schedule. If I get my body fat down to contest weight early, this will allow me to take some extra time and start eating more food as the show approaches, all the while getting my muscle bellies to fill out more and more so that I will appear bigger and fuller on stage. Since I am right on schedule, I am feeling quite confident. As I look at my progress in the mirror, I see a physique with a level of muscularity and conditioning above and beyond anything that I have been able to produce in the past. This show will without a doubt showcase my best physique to date. And lucky for me, as I will be competing in a second show just four weeks after that, which means I will have an opportunity to best myself again!

Its funny, I am not the kind of person that has ever really felt comfortable getting up in front of crowds, but from my very first competition I have never been nervous stepping on stage. I have actually felt quite comfortable. When I realized that this was going to be my pro debut and started thinking about the quality of the physiques that would be present there I started letting my thoughts get away from me for the first time. But thankfully I made a friend in the current WNBF Mr. Universe, Clarence McGill, and he grounded me, and told me that no matter what show you are going into, or no matter what in life you are preparing for, train like a champ and go in there with your guns blazing and looking to win. That is all it took to get me back on track.

So here I am, 3 weeks out, looking right on and feeling great. I am so excited for this competition I can hardly contain myself.

Just for reference, in the future these posts will have more content pertaining to training principles in general, in addition to my own progress and perhaps some posted routines that I feel are stand out. Well, it is time for another meal, then a workout, and some posing practice. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Train hard, and stay focused.