Intensity for immensity - Sickness for Thickness - sizeBIGGER!



Monday, February 28, 2011

My Legs are not the ones to burn like this...

Alex screams out after finishing his last set with 9 plates on each side of the press machine, as he reaches failure, we strip one plate at a time, until we get back down to where we started at 3 plates... Yeah man!
This is what happens when you go on a cruise and mis a leg workout... who am I kidding, my legs were burning too and I didn't do a big drop set!

So I get this phone call the other day from an old time ex-bodybuilding friend of mine Big Bobby O'Brien. He just found out we lost a close friend Vinny (Powerhouse Gym) Greco and was looking for away to reach out to Cheryl so he could express his condolences. The next thing you know he's banging out legs with us on Sunday and it's went something like this...

We started with leg curls and leg extensions going back and forth between the two for 5 sets, then to leg presses starting with 3 plates aside. I was going to try to do 100 reps, but Alex started making fun of me around 30 reps and I don't normally count so it's easy for me to lose track of where i'm at, so I did.  I know it was more the 40 but I don't know where I ended. Then we went to 6 plates and I manage to get to 30 reps without losing count and the last set was 9 plates and i didn't' count but it was around 15 reps. Then it was off to the squat rack for 1 plate, 2 plate, 3 plates to failure as always, from there we hit the hack machine for 3 sets to failure, then to stiff legs for another 3 sets to failure, ending on the Donkey machine

Break me down...

5sets/Legs Curls
5set/Legs extensions
3sets/legs presses
3sets/Squats
3sets/Hack Squats
3sets/Stiff Legged Dead lifts
5sets/Donkey Calf
5sets/Wrist Curls

Awesome leg workout and nice seeing an old friend. Big Bobby who had such an awesome workout with us, he wants more damage next week, how could we say no... we love sharing the damage!

Legs today gone tomorrow!

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

All in

Alex is back just in time to bang out some Shoulders and Biceps with us.

Orange Carbo Force (400 calories 100 grams of carbs) plus 2 scoops of vanilla whey, makes a nice 700 calorie, 50 grams of protein pre-workout drink, giving me the fuel needed to kick some ass...

and it went something like this...

Scale/234.4
5sets/Seated Calf
4sets/Seated rear lateral Dumbbell raises
4sets/Seated side lateral Dumbbell raises
4sets/Standing Barbell Shoulder press
3sets/Reverse Grip Standing Barbell Shoulder press
4sets/Machine side laterals
4sets/Standing Barbell Curls
3sets/Preacher Curls
3sets/Dumbbell Hammers
4sets/Reverse wrist Curls
Abs

Awesome workout as always!

size BIGGER!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Tipping the scale

Last night at the gym I weighed in at 235, this is the heaviest I've been. 234 was where I left off last year, before I took it down to 209 to compete.

I'm planning to hit 240-245 before May where I'll start to take it down again. If my calculations are correct, I should come in around 215 this next time competing, which should be nice for my 5"10 frame. But as always, weight doesn't matter on the stage, it's condition, so I'll weigh whatever it takes.

Monday night, Chest and Triceps was solo. It's hard sometimes to drive to Arlington and train at 550 when you have the day off from work and live in Natick

And it went like this...

5sets/Seated Calf
5sets/Free weight machine Incline Bench
4sets/Smith machine Flat Bench
4sets/Incline Dumbbell Flies
4sets/Cable Crossovers
4sets/Scull Crushers
4sets/Triceps Push Downs
4sets/French Curls with rope on cable machine
4sets/Wrist curls
Abs

Last night John and I hit Back, Alex is still on his Cruise looking large

And it went like this...

5sets/Standing Calf
4sets/Standing legs curls
4sets/Dead Lifts
4sets/Barbell Shrugs
4sets/Bent Over Rows
4sets/Lat Pull Downs
4sets/Dumbbell Rows
4sets/Reverse grip Pull Downs
4sets/Wrist Curls
Abs

What a Back pump you get when you go from Dead Lifts, to Shrugs, to Bent Overs, I felt like I was carrying  around a Backpack after that.

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Always be training

I want everyone to know, just because I'm not blogging, doesn't mean I ain't training, we've been having some sick workouts!

One night while banging out Shoulders doing side laterals, we started at the 35's for 10reps and without resting, we did drop sets right down the line..30,25,22.5,20,17.5. We did that again for 6 reps. Then for the last set, we went up the line for 6 reps. This was definitely a growing day! Come to think of it, every workout we have are growing workouts. You know the ones that release your hormones because of the intensity is so high and you get such a huge pump. You can tell with the right amount of good food and enough sleep, you will be growing!

Speaking of growing, I'm waking up these days around 230, though my abs are not in contest shape, I'm still under10% BF.

The plan this year is to compete in a National show at the end of July in PA. This will be my first attempt to capture a pro card.

Come April 1st, I will be about 120 days out. This is when I will start to make changes in my diet, where as, I will drop red meat and stop overeating. Eating just enough to continue growing and thinning my skin at the same time, but in the meantime, I'm hoping to climb my way up to be around 240-245

Yesterday for legs, I trained solo. The Animal aka Big John, was entertaining his family and trained Friday and the Hawk aka Alex, flew the coop and is on a big boat right now somewhere out at sea. I'm sure he's looking pretty sick right about now too. For the past 5 day before taking a Cruise, Alex's dropped his carbs to just about to zero (only eating carrots for carbs) pulling all the water out of his skin and muscles. Now when he starts to eat carbs again, he will have a nice big tight look for a couple of days, just in time to show off on the boat. He went from 230 to 223 and from not seeing his lower abs, to now seeing his intercostals, way to go brother!

I love starting fresh with that Donkey Calf machine, I don't know which is growing faster, my Calves or my Forearms, since we started hitting them every workout

Legs curls and then leg extensions on that Hoist equipment were next and I really really like the seated legs curl machine, boy does that deep burn really creep up on you right at the end, you can't get out of the machine fast enough!

I then did Leg Presses, super setting with Stiff Legs and ended on the Hack machine

5sets/Donkey Calves
5sets/Seated Legs curls
5/sets/Leg Extensions
4/sets/Leg Press/Stiff Legs
4sets/Hack Squats
5sets/Wrist Curls
Abs

On a side note; What Alex did was only to temporarily change his look and to learn himself. You need to know what food does to you, if you are to ever compete. Please understand that this is not a way to lose fat, nor is it a way to grow muscle, you MUST eat Protein and Carbohydrate with EVERY meal to grow and lose body fat and to be HEALTHY

Stay tuned, come April I will start to document my journey

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Sometimes one sets does the trick

Legs today (favorite day) and we had a special guest, Ripp'n Rodney came to Natick Golds (home of the Donkey calf machine) to blast legs with us.

We decided to run everything backwards, so the Donkey machine is was, followed by a leg curl machine and a leg extension machine, where we went from one to the other, resting one person in between sets. After we got the blood pumping all through the legs, we moved to Stiff legged dead lifts to finish off the hams.

Then we took a Roman Chair device where you lock your feet and calves into it and sit back and did Sissy Squats on it, with a barbell across the shoulders like we where squatting, climbing the weight up to185 pounds.

My quads are on fire as we head over to the strip of the AstroTurf. and do walking lunges with the 45's on the bar. 25 lunges down and 25 lunges back, for one set. NOW my quads a screaming!

After I no longer felt the need to walk around in circles praying to the "stop the pain gods" we ended legs on the hack squat machine.


5sets/Donkeys
5sets/legs extensions/leg curls combo
3sets/Stiff legs
4sets/Roman Chair Squats
1set/Walking Lunge
4sets/Hack Squats
5sets/Wrist curls

Workout time 1.45min 


Did I mention I love leg days...

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Just another one

The snow only kept us apart for one workout, we were back banging it out the next day. After seated calves we started with standing shoulder presses, then seated dumbbell laterals, then lying on a incline bench for rear dumbbell laterals, ending shoulder with a few front raises.

Biceps started with standing barbel curls, then machine Preacher curls, then machine reverse grip Preacher curls to hit the forearms and end the biceps, since we just did wrist curls the night before, we opted out this time

Lately I've been getting some sick pumps and this was just another one!

5sets/Seated Calf raises
5sets/Standing Shoulder Presses
4sets/Seated Dumbbell laterals
4sets/Incline Rear Dumbbell laterals
3sets/Front Raises
5sets/Standing Barbell curls
4sets/Preacher curls
4sets/Reverse Grip Preacher curls
 
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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Flying Solo

The snow may stop the gang from training together, but it's not going to stop us from training

Back and Traps at Natick Golds worked for me, right after I cleared the path to get out...

It all started with my favorite machine, the Donkey calf machine. Back started with wide grip lat pull downs, into a free weight machine row, where i started with the seat at it's highest position and each set I went down a notch, to change up the angle and hit the Back a little different each time. 100 pound one arm dumbbell rows was next followed by reverse grip pull downs. Back to the 100's for Dumbbell Shrugs for 3 sets and on the last set, I did giant set where i when from the 100's to the 80's to the 60's as many reps on each as i could do. Wrist curls and Abs ended everything...

Breakdown

5sets/Donkey calf
5sets/Wide grip Pull downs
4sets/Free Weight machine Rows
3sets/Dumbbell One Arm Rows
3sets/Reverse Grip Pull downs
3sets/Dumbbell Shrugs
3sets/Wrist Curls
Abs

Shoulders and Biceps tonight

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Nice way to start the week

Monday night, Chest and Triceps and for the first time, in a long time, (months) I was able to bench press with hardly any shoulder pain. Taking time off these past 6 weeks by training real light, is starting to paid off.

The three of us had such a fast pace intense workout, doing forced reps, going past failure into the growing zone on almost every set. The pump was so big and I was feeling real good, ripping out dumbbell pullovers with the 105's without any shoulder or elbow pain, it felt so nice!

Pullovers are a staple and really work the whole upper body, working your Back, Chest, Rib Cage, Traps, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs, even your Forearm's. We chose to do this on Chest day, but you could also do this on your Back day too, one or the other

and it went like this...

5sets/Seated Calf raises
5set/Flat Bench
4sets/Smith Incline Bench
3sets/Dips
3sets/Wide Dumbbell Flat Flies
3sets/Pullovers
4sets/French Curls
3sets/Skull Crushers
3sets/Push downs
4sets/Wrist Curls
Abs

Workout time 90 min. 

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