MAXHAVOC’s BodyBlog

so, i found this great workout a couple of years ago. you should only do it once a year as it violates the weider principles and if you do it for too long you will over train. but the 4 week program is great for getting past those plateaus. it is pretty simple. it is 4 week program, but when you get done you be glad because it WILL wear you out.

week 1 (eights) everything is 8 sets of 8 reps. this week will seem pretty easy, but dont be fooled it only gets worse.

day 1 - bench press, dummbell flyes, leg press, leg curls

day 2 - wide grip pulldowns, cable rows, nose breakers(triceps), seated dumbbell extensions(triceps)

day 3 - shoulder press, upright rows, barbell curls, preacher curls

day 4 - incline dumbbell press, decline press, squats, leg curls

day 5 - close grip pull downs, bent over barbell rows, cable press downs, reverse cable press down

day 6 - lateral raises, front raises, dumbbell curls, concentration curls

day 7 - rest

week 2 - (tens) same exercises but now 10 sets of 10 reps

week 3 - (twelves) 12 sets of 12 reps

week 4 - (Fifteens, if you make it) 15 sets of 15 reps

nothing is harder than staying disciplined while you travel as so many will testify. i have been on the road for 2 weeks now and staying true to my diet has been a test of strength on its own. trying to eat clean isnt the issue…eating regularly is the real trouble. but so far i have been pretty good considering. it has given me great respect for those professional bodybuilders that travel regularly and still manage their nutrition to the perfect science that got them where they are. knowing that not only do these inspiring athletes train hard in the gym but also eat clean and regularly with all the distractions has helped me stay focused and keep my eye on the prize. so to all who display this discipline thank you for showing me it can be done!

so the last couple of days i have just been drained. i havent lost any strength but my mental state has been exhausted. i just want to sit on the couch and take ANOTHER day off. but i dont. i continue on…pushing the iron…forcing myself to push farther. then on sunday, i broke through. and did i ever! i came into the gym feeling awesome…i had back and biceps scheduled and broke through all my plateaus. i had so much energy i had to pace myself. my body never felt so good. i guess the point of sharing this with you is that there are always going to be days when you ask…why. well i will tell you why…cause when your sunday comes and you punch through that rut you will remember why you put yourself through the pain.

…but nowhere in that cliche does it say how hard it is to get someone to take a picture. you spend 30 minutes trying to get the right angle and then the flash is left on…ugh. the worse part is…you feel like such a dork taking a picture. and then when you post it you worry whether or not some jackass will come along and share their negative opinion. luckily everybody on this site is sitting in the same boat and everybody is very supportive. but i know…it is just a matter of time before some poor innocent well meaning victim comes along and says "you need to work on that peak" or "one of your lats looks smaller than the other". then it is game on! LOL

so my friend went to China, which is pretty cool. And he brought me back a shirt. the size says XXL. and so i put it on…and i was feeling pretty darn good as this particular shirt was very tight. little did i know that the Chinese are not very big people. but i dont think i am going to tell anyone that…im just gonna walk around and talk about how huge i am…LMAO!

well i was gonna wait a bit before i wrote my next blog. but i had to share my morning. so in my next blog i talked about how sore my shoulders were, well let me tell you about this morning. 2 days ago i had legs. my routine consists of doing 3 sets of leg extension at 25 reps a piece. then i do 3 sets of leg presses at 25 reps a piece. so by now my legs are burning. my quads are full of blood and i am already starting to walk funny. so then i move over and do some hack squats and then i finish off my quads with 4 sets of heavy squats. you know the kind that make you sit down after each set. then i worked the hell out of my hamstrings. needless to say my legs are just absolutely worn out. so this morning i am headed out to the track to meet up with a couple of guys i am helping get into shape. i realize i am running a little late so i decide to pick it up and run…or maybe not. i made it like two blocks before i realized my legs are still exhausted. i could here them screaming at me "what the hell are you doing". it was awesome.

there is nothing like waking up to feel the soreness from a workout you did 2 days ago. so there i was…two days ago working shoulders. i knock out my first warmup set. feeling good…feeling strong. mentally i’m getting worked up. last time i did dumbbell presses i did 6 reps of 80 pound dumbbells on my last set. so now i’m getting pumped up to do better. i knock out my first set with the 70s. feeling good…feeling strong. next set, 75s reps 9 and 10 were a little hard. here we go, can i do the 80s for 6 or better. i grab them and hoist em up. feeling good. then its one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and n…i…n…e. oh yeah! the rest of the workout would prove to be on track with that same intensity. so here i am today…i wake up to the alarm clock…beep…beep…beep. i attempted to reach over to hit that elusive button marked "snooze". but no such luck. i cant lift my arms. my shoulders are so worn out. as i lay there paralyzed by fatigue…a smile forms on my face. satisfaction.

i love that saying. i got it from a friend of mine and it is amazing how applicable it is. so with that being said, i thought today i would talk nutrition. nutrition is a lot like practicing medicine. it is not an exact science. there is a lot tweaking and changing until you find what works. So, i was so interested to find i dont see too many blogs out there talking about nutrition. maybe there is and i dont see them, if so I apologize. But i decided to talk about a great find. The history behind my find is simple and short. I started having a protein shake first thing when i woke up to replenish my body after sleeping. But i needed some kind of carb also. so i decided i wanted a bagel (who doesnt love bagels?). So there i was standing in the bread isle looking at bagels. the first one says it boasts 9g of protein, 8g of sugar…yuck. so i move on, next one is 12g of protein, 25g of sugar…and so on. and finally i found the holy grail. hiding among all the high sugars and low protein. Giant store brand cinnamon flavored bagels…22g of protein, 8g of sugar, 57g of carbs…EUREKA! so, if your in search of bagels…that is the one.

today i tried something a little new. I had chest/back today and although i had a great day with lots of gains i decided to try to get an extra burn out of my chest. So after doing 5 sets of incline (that includes warmups) and 4 set of dumbbell presses, i went straight to flyes. i did 2 sets traditional but on my third set i did a "drop set". basically, i started out at the heaviest weight i can do 10 at, then as i felt fatigue, i dropped weight and kept going with no rest. i did this 5 times. my chest was burning so bad. it was great. if you have never tried drop sets i highly recommend them.

its been awhile since i have updated the workout tracker. but i have been focusing on getting past that plateau. tomorrow i have chest and back. i have been stuck on doing chest/back, biceps/triceps for awhile. i love the pump feeling you get. i first started it when i read an article by Arnold. he talked about how he always liked doing opposite muscle groups on the same day. so i thought i would try one day and have been hooked since. now dont get me wrong, i am a strong advocate for changing up your routine when you hit a rut and i do. but when i can i get back to the opposites. chest/back is a very challenging day…it takes a lot to push yourself on that day. but afterward it feels great.