The Road To Competition

Today was originally going to be nothing more than a double session of cardio for the day, but after my last client I was amped and ready to get a little leg work in! I haven’t really hit legs in some time. After the knee rehab and all that jazz I got into the whole ’scared’ mindset of working my legs hard again. Plus, as most people know, there’s nothing fun about not being able to walk all day afterwards! LOL. Honestly though, I have a love/hate relationship with legs and I wanted to get back to feeling excited and worked up over leg day again! So today I decided to scratch the ‘first’ cardio session of the day and hit the wheels!

For my Leg workouts I’ve decided to split my legs into two working sessions. A QUAD dominant leg workout and then a HAMSTRING dominant leg workout, working CALVES in on both days and giving myself a few days or so rest in between them. I’m planning on Sundays and Wednesdays for those workouts. This will allow me to focus on working hard and heavy on my legs twice a week. Since most Quad dominant exercises use Hamstrings for assistance, and vice versa this is a good way to bring them back up to par. Plus, as Layne Norton, Dave Goodin, and various other natural bodybuilders have stated in the past "If you want to build great legs, while staying natural, you have to learn to endure some pain!"

I started out with SQUATS (which, remind you, I haven’t done in almost 3 yrs since I wrecked my knee). I’ve been avoiding these for awhile, but decided today was the day to get over that fear! Started out with a couple of bodyweight squats to warm up, then worked in a set of 15 with just the bar before moving on to a few working sets. Threw on a few 45lb plates, got under, and banged out a nice and easy 10 squats for the first set. Yes, I could have done more, but I never have, nor probably ever will, take Squats past 10 on my rep range. Since they are ‘technically’ a full body exercise, they are very taxing metabollically and I’ve noticed (in the past and with clients) that when you start doing high rep squats, they give out first cardiovascularly before they reach muscle failure. So, for that reason I keep them in the 5 - 10 range. I do plenty of high rep sets with other exercises.

After the first set I felt good, so I threw on a couple of 10’s and banged out a set of 155 for 10. I wasn’t trying to rush into going too heavy yet. Want to make sure the form is still where it needs to be. Then I took the 10’s off, popped on a couple of 25’s and hit 185 for 10 without a hitch. At this point I noticed that my legs (quads, glutes, hamstrings) weren’t getting as much work as my lower back was. Not because my form was wrong, but because my lower back is a bit weaker due to the fact I haven’t worked it in a long time. The muscles were definitely tightening up on me! It felt good though. I know that I have to bring them up over the next few months.

After about 90 seconds of rest I was feeling a bit antsy, so I took off the 25’s and threw on another set of 45’s to give it a shot. Knocked out another 2 sets at 225 for 10 reps and 5 reps on the last set. I could have done more than 5, but again I felt that lower back tightening up and I didn’t want to overdue it. So that was it for squats. Not bad after such a long layoff.

After a quick water break I went on to LEG PRESSES. I figured this was where I was going to push myself and see what I could do since it’s been so long and this exercise is a lot safer than trying to kill myself on Squats for the first time again. Started with 270 and then 360 for a couple sets of 15 to warm up and then decided it was time to get to work! I was actually pleasantly surprised with myself. I actually got up to 810+ on my last set for 10 reps. I was going to try to push it a bit further, but I had one of those annoying guys standing right over me asking me ‘how many sets I had left’, so I decided to let him take over instead of having him breathe over my shoulder (I put 810+ because I’m not sure how much the SLED weighs at this gym. I’m guessing anywhere between 50-75 lbs or so, but you get the idea). Anyway, not bad considering I haven’t hit legs in God knows how long!

Then it was on to burn my Quads out with a few sets of Leg Extensions. Worked up to 190 for 3 sets of 15 and then I was toast! Did a little calf work, grabbed my bags and it was time to go! I did originally plan on finishing off with a few sets of LUNGES, but my legs weren’t having it. So I decided I’ll work those in over time.

Overall, a pretty decent workout. Today was primarily used to do a few things. 1) Get back into squatting and making sure my form was still where it needs to be. 2) Estimating the weights I could use on certain exercises, Squats, Leg Press, Leg Extension so I know how hard I can push myself for future workouts without having to waste 2 or more sets getting into it and 3) to burn the sh*t out of my Quads, which is what I did.

For the future I need to work on strengthening up that lower back and core so I can get back into squatting some weight again. I plan on alternating Squats and Deadlifts into my workouts until I feel I got the adequate strength to throw them both in during the week.

Now it’s time to do Laundry, do some prep cooking for the week, and then relax for the rest of the day! Have a great Sunday Funday!

This is the week it all starts. I’ve finally decided that it’s time to get back on the road to competiton I set out upon years ago, before the car accident, years or rehab, lingering injuries, as well as the dozens of excuses and overall laziness that once got in the way. I spent last week getitng my diet and nutrition plan all set and together as well as designing my workout routine and split for the up coming weeks. I also had my measurements brought up to date so I know my starting point and what I have to do to get from that point to my ultimate goal. I’m giving myself roughly a year to accomplish the task at hand. The plan is to spend the next 4-6 months getting back into the groove, while cutting down as much as I can to see what’s left underneath. After that, I’ll spend the next 4-6 months focussing on making the improvments in my physique that I feel are neccessary as well as bringing up lagging bodyparts and weak points before finally putting it all together, getting it fine tuned, dialed in, and taking to the stage

As of now I stand 6′3 297 lbs, and 28% bf. So I have a nice journey ahead of me, but nowhere near an impossible one. If I do the math, that puts my LBM around 210 lbs, give or take, as of now, so I feel like I have a decent starting point as far as that is concerned. Now it’s just working hard to whittle down what’s covering it and taking it from there. I’d love to be able to compete at a weight of at least 215 lbs for my first time out, but we will see. I have plenty of time to worry about that. One step at a time.

Workouts are going to consist of a lot of compound core lifts, such as Deadlifts, Squats, Overhead presses, Bench Presses, etc. etc. Back to the basics! Plus, since it’s been years since I’ve been able to do them I’m kind of antsy to get my weights back up on those lifts as well. Cardio is going to be done twice a day. After my resistance training workouts, which will consist of heavy to moderate reps as well as low rest periods (30 - 60 seconds in between sets on most ses and up to 90 seconds the most on heavy compound lifts) I’ll be finishing up with 15 - 20 minuts of HIIT cardio and then, later in the evening after my last appointment, I’ll through in 30-60 minutes of lower/moderate intensity cardio to finish off my day. The reason I say 30 - 60 minutes is because it depends on my day. On busy days, where I have 6-10 clients, I get a lot of extra calorie burning work in, so I don’t want/or need to burn myself out. On slower days I’ll do more cardio at the end of my day to make up for that. My workouts will most likely follow a 3 or 4 days split, depending on how I feel, energy lvl-wise, that week.

Tomorrow will start day 1. I’ll be spending most of the day fine tuning my plan for the up coming weeks, cooking and preparing food, and doing some last minute, up to date, prep and research. Besides that, I will be right on tack with my nutrition as well as getting in 2 cardio sessions.

I’ve updated whatever measurements I can on my profile and I plan on updating them a least once a month, as well as keeping track of my workouts, max lifts, and updated blogs to keep anyone who feels like reading up to date on the situation. You can never have too much support

In the past I have done my research on many different diet and nutrition programs. Not neccessarily because I’m looking for help (I went to school for health and exercise science with a minor in nutrition) but because I find it interesting to read about new hints, tricks, and fads. The one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of ‘relatively new’ people on bodyspace.com lately is the quick jump to the Velocity Diet.

Personally, in my opinion, from what I’ve read, research I’ve done, and testimonials I have seen, it is a diet that can work if done correctly. However, it is an EXTREMELY difficult diet to follow! It’s difficult to follow for 5 days, nevermind 28 actual days of, more or less, no solid food whatsoever. I, myself, would never recommend it to anyone, based on the fact that I don’t believe anyone should give up solid food. I have my share of protein shakes throughout the week, mostly used as meal replacements on busy days, and post workout meals. But on my off days, I tend to stick to as many solid food meals as I can and limit the amount of ‘liquid’ meals I take in.

Here’s my rant about all of this. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, have never truly been on an ‘exercise’ program, and have horrendous nutrition habits, going on this diet (again in my opinion) is one sure fire way to set you up for failure!

Don’t look for the QUICK FIX! If you don’t know ‘what to eat’ now, then what are you going to do in 28 days (if by some miracle you make it that long) when you have to go back to eating whole food? Instead of jumping right to the extreme you should work on cleaning up you eating habits the old fashioned way. Read magazines, articles, the forums on bodyspace.com, post blogs asking questions, etc. etc. Learn to make the little changes throughout the day that add up over time and give you the results your looking for while teaching you how to live a healthy life! So without getting too crazy, here are a few easy tips:

1) Drink more water! (I shouldn’t even have to explain the benefits of this. you already know! a gallon a day is the old stand by for most people)

2) Cut out empty calories! (sugary drinks such as sodas and sweetened iced teas, high calorie coffees, etc. etc. They add up!)

3) Eat more protien! (build your meals around lean sources or protein: Chicken, turkey, egg whites, lean beef, etc.)

4) Choose Whole Grain Carbohydrates! (whole grain pastas, wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice)

5) Eat lots of Veggies! (high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, LOW in calories. Who gets fat eating too many veggies!? Noone!)

6) Choose Condiments wisely (lose the high calorie condiments and dressings and make smarter choices. Mustards, low fat/non fat mayo, low fat/non fat dressings)

7) Eat 4-6 times a day! (smaller, more frequent meals will keep you full and keep you from overindulging later in the day. 3 main meals, 2-3 snacks a day is perfect. Aim to take something in every 3-4 hours you’re awake)

8) Snack Smart! (opt for lower calorie snacks in between meals, such as fruits, veggies, mixed nuts, string cheeses, yogurts, healthy sandwiches, protein shakes, protein bars, etc. etc.)

9) Eat Breakfast! (Still the most imporant part of the day! Starts the day off right, gives you energy to get moving, and also prevents you from overindulging later in the day)

10) Eat out less/Eat in more often! (if you want to control how many calories you’re taking in, don’t eat out every night. When you’re in charge of what you’re putting in your food you have noone to blame but yourself. Control your own calories!)

11) Make Smart Choices When Eating Out! (Tell the waiter/waitress how you want your food prepared and make sure you get it the way you want it. Put dressing on the side, skip dessert and alcoholic beverages, and make sure to make good use of the doggie bags are a few good tips to remember)

12) Prepare in Advance! (If you know what you’re going to be eating throughout the day and you prepare your food in advance to getting your day started you have no excuses to fail! Invest in a lunchbox, a cooler, or a mini fridge if you have your own office. There’s nothing wrong with packing your own lunch! You’ll control what you eat, and you’ll save money!)

Now there are a few more tips and tricks you can learn. However, I guarantee that if you follow these simple tips and tricks listed here, you’ll get the results you’re looking for and you’ll keep your sanity in the process. Once you gain control over your own nutrition and eating habits, you’ll see there’s no need to go on these extreme diets that , more often than not, lead to failure. Add all of this to a proper Resistance training program and there’s nothing that can stop you from achieving your goals!

All comments, concerns, and questions are more than welcome