snagency’s BodyBlog

Okay, today’s progress pics are the last I’ll put up until after the show.  Gotta go into hiding… just in case some of my competiton is out there keeping tabs on me, don’t want anybody knowing where I’m at shape-wise!  I’m moving into a more shred-focused diet, as well moving my training gradually to more supersets/tri-sets with less rest.  Time to FOCUS (as if I haven’t been already…)

Coming up on the 5-week out mark, and time is also limited for these posts.  So some of the changes I’ll be making in diet/supplementation will have to wait to be discussed till after comp.  One thing I have added starting today is a liitle more BCAA/Glutamine supplementation intra-workout.  Got a buddy who runs a health/nutrition shop, and he’s really tied in with Universal.  Now, I’m not a big U fan; in fact, all I’ve ever really cared for is their Animal Pak multivite for stressful training situations.  But he recommended I try the BCAA Stack (w/ glutamine) for intra-intake purposes, so I’ve added this along with a scoop of Purple Wraath to sip throughout my workouts.  Everything else remains unchanged; again, diet becomes slightly less food.  Weight this morning was 184, so I’ve accomplished my goal of slowing that down momentarily.  I do believe I’ll shoot for middleweights tho; on the other hand… well, I’ll keep ya’ll guessing…

I’m very impressed with the PurpleWraath product (ControlledLabs).  I tried this during a little cut cycle last summer & got great results.  Prior contest prep always included the Beverly BCAA’s & Glutamine Select w/ BCAA’s.  Fantastic products to be sure, and I’ll even say Glutamine Select is THE BEST in this line of products.  Period.  I’ll also say that, the way I believe you need to use BCAA’s, Glutamine Select becomes the MOST EXPENSIVE in this line of products - PERIOD.  I’m not one to skimp on supps, especially precontest, but…
I subscribe to the theory that you need to have BCAA intake level at 30g or higher surrounding w/o for maximum anabolic/recovery effect (at my weight).  Use the GlutSelect product at that level and you’ll be spending a small car payment monthly.  I get great results from the PurpleWraath, and combine it w/ AST’s BCAA’s to get my total intake where it needs to be.  The AST product is very economical, and it’s good quality.  Great combination.
If $ were no object, then yeah I’d stick w/ the GlutSelect.  I will still use Beverly’s Muscularity BCAA’s when I get to about 4 weeks out, and I think the Density product they just dusted off & brought back out recently is awesome; I’ll use that up until the 4-week out mark.  ControlledLabs has impressed me with their products too; I also like the White Blood for a pure N.O. use, without all the added "this & that" everybody wants to use in their formulas — which really is just another way to get more $.
Ah, gotta love the supplement industry…

I should add (if it’s not understood) that i add my glutamine in to the Wraath/BCAA combo, so we’re comparing apples to apples w/ Glutamine Select. Been using VPX, just switched to GL3 (AST).

I throw creatine mono (AST again) into that same mix, so that eliminates the need for, say, Creatine Select by Beverly, again saving some bucks. Mono’s cheap, works just fine for me, no bloating or stool issues. So w/ my before & after mixes, i get 20g glut, 20g creatine, & 30+ grams bcaa, and it doesn’t break my wallet.

Off day from the weights today, time to rest.  Did 30 minutes cardio tho, 8 sets of abs, and posed for about 20 minutes.  I’ll pose for another 20-30 minutes here this afternoon as well.

Daily changes are in full force; I’m actually dropping weight too fast at this point (!!), down to 182 this morning.  My goal was to come in at the lightheavy class; I need to restructure my diet at this point if I hope to accomplish this.  So, the carbs are going up for the next couple of weeks.  I’ll vary them from 200 to 300 a day, possibly throw in a couple of 3000 calorie days (clean cals of course), see what happens at that point.  Prior to this experience, if you had even suggested consuming 300g of carbs a day to me at the 6 week out mark, I’d have keeled over in delirious laughter.  Remarkable, the things the Anabolic Pump/P-Slin combo are doing to me.  Definitely a HUGE learning curve here.

Trying to pick out a song to do my night routine to.  My first show back in ‘04, I chose the song "Won’t Back Down" by Fuel, figuring that would be a safe song.  Sure enough, 2 guys before my turn to get out there, I hear my music…  oh man, that sucked.  I think a couple of guys after me, someone else had the same song too.  Don’t want to see that happen again.  There are a lot of possibilities here, but my fav at this point is "Remember The Name" by Fort Minor/Linkin Park.  My fear tho, once again, is if this is too popular of a song right now to use; will somebody else do it too?

So I need some feedback.  If anybody has any views or suggestions on this topic, I’m listening.

Started the SuperCissusRx last Tuesday (6 days ago), and I’m feeling enough of an effect to offer some feedback on it.
In summation: good stuff! I’ve been pretty blessed as far as training as long as I have & not having any injuries, but I had noticed over the last 6-8 months or so, a little tenderness in my right elbow, and a slight clicking sound in my right shoulder, especially when doing incline benches. This noise did not produce any pain, but it was just something I was aware of.
Well, in this morning’s workout (in which I accomplished some PB’s in strength & endurance for this period in contest prep, I should also mention), I became aware of how strong my joints seemed to feel, which led me to realize that I didn’t have the tenderness in my elbow (again, despite pushing max weight) and the clicking noise was gone when I did inclines, despite max weight & all-out reps. Pretty phenomenal stuff. I can only wonder what this product could do for someone with joint issues more serious than mine. And the medicinal purposes for which this extract is used range pretty far & wide - definitely looks like something that should be in every bodybuilders’ supp stack… very impressive product.

Thought it was time to show an update on the wheels.  They’re coming along, got a ways to go yet but I’m fairly pleased at this point.  I really expect to make the most progress of any bodypart here during my prep.  Got some new formats I’m busting out to beef these suckers up!

Well, I’m finally hitting my stride (yes, finally).  I’m hitting that point where I wake up every morning & see body comp changes - the most exciting time of all!  Check out today’s pic in the progress pics section; for some reason, the site won’t let me download it here right now.  For an all-natural show, I’ve been told that, all things being equal, leanness rules the day, so I’ve been waiting for the body to adjust to my newfound diet & start shedding bodyfat the way I’m accustomed to seeing.  I was starting to worry (anyone who knows me knows I’m good at that), but now I’m reassured.  In fact, for the 7 week out mark, I’m feeling pretty comfortable — heck, at this rate I might have to diet back up!

A couple additions to the supplementation regime (from USPlabs):

PowerFULL (gh increase)

SuperCissusRx (joints & tendons)

P-Slin (more potent version of Anabolic Pump, specifically for higher carb load preworkout)

Recreate (brand new fat loss/preworkout energy product)

Everything else is remaining pretty constant; I have fluctuated my carb intake recently, rather than remaining constant at 200-215 carbs/day.   

April 5th is coming quick.  The NPC Natural Ohio drug tested show is in sight; this looks like it will be an unbelievable experience, certainly bigger than anything I’ve ever participated in.  The promoters have done an incredible job organizing and preparing this event to cater to the competitors; Jay Cutler will not only be the guest poser, but will be doing a seminar as well – are you kidding me?  If you can’t get excited about that, well…  Wow,  I am just psyched!  If you live nearby (Cleveland, OH), this would be a great event to attend.  Very classy production.  Kudos, Dave Liberman & Todd Pember!

http://www.daveliberman.com/april-08-contest-entry.pdf

The last day in this routine looks like this…

 DAY #7:  ARMS/BACK/ABS

Chin-Ups: 4xmax reps (60-75 seconds rest), then

EZ-Bar Curls:  5×12-15 (supersetted with)

Behind-Neck Pulldowns:  5×12-15 (60-75 second rest), then

Pulley Curls:  5×10-12 (supersetted with)

Lying Extension:  5×12-15 (60-75 second rest), then

D-Bell Pullover:  3×15-20 (60 second rest)

Abs: 6-8 sets of 2-3 different movements, 120-200 total reps, concentrating on squeeze at top; target rest 45 seconds between sets.

As I stated before, during this period my workout changes quite frequently, but no day in the routine changes throughout as much as this one.  I use a lot of different techniques & exercises on this day, i.e. I’ll throw in different angles like hammer curls, exercises like wrist curls to define the forearms, etc.  The main idea on this day is to rest as little as possible between sets and sweat like a dog!

That takes me to day #8 in the cycle — REST & GROW!  

Repeat the cycle. 

Now for the hardest day of this routine (for me anyway).  It’s a killer; the results are oh so nice tho…

DAY 6  LEGS

Leg Extensions: 4-5×12-15 (quick, powerfull raise; supersetted with)

Squats: 4-5×10-12 (60-75 second rest between supersets)  then

Leg Curls: 6×12-15 (toes pointed toward shin; supersetted with)

Deadlifts: 6×8-12 (I use Romanian style here; 60-75 sec. rest)  then

Standing Calf Raises: 5-6×20-25 (toes on blocks, feet pointed straight all sets, 60 second rest)

If you do this right, it should take you no longer than about 40 minutes to complete.  Kinda reminds me of former Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson’s assessment of his up-tempo game-plan to wear down the Razorbacks’ opponents: "40 minutes of Hell".  The results are worth it.

Someone has commented about the simplicity of my exercises.  Two things form the basis of my plan: first, because I work out in my garage, I don’t have room to put all kinds of machines or equipment in there.  Second, while it might be nice from time to time to do utilize different things, I’m an old-school kinda guy who believes basic exercises are the best for development.  And I don’t believe in long workouts either; get in there, hit it hard with max effort, and go recover.  If you are truly going all out with max effort, you just can’t sustain that load over extended periods of time.  Overtraining & burnout are not what I’m trying to achieve.

Okay, now for the next three days of the routine.  The first three days were focused on heavier weights while shifting to a slightly lower rest scheme; the next three are focused on lighter weights with some super-setting, cutting the rest periods a bit more as I ultimately transition to tri-setting & double-doubles (two sets of supersets with no rest) toward the end of prep.  The objective to this method is to bring out definition, deep cuts, vascularity, and burn fat – this is my preferred method of fat loss, rather than mindless cardio.

DAY 5  -  CHEST/SHOULDERS

Incline D-Bell Press: 4×12-15  supersetted with

Bent-Over Laterals: 4×12-15  (1-minute rest between superset)

Flat Bench: 4×12-15  supersetted with

Upright Row: 4×12-15 (1-minute rest between superset)

Flat Flyes: 4×12-15  supersetted with

Straight-Arm D-Bell Pullovers: 4×12-15 (1-minute rest between superset)

1-2 sets of speed push-ups to failure.

If I did not come in yesterday on my off-day and do abs, I would do 6-8 sets consisting of 3 different abs exercises here to finish up.