Nice & Quick

Weight still climbing up… I didn’t train last night, so the weight only when up a little, but after today’s workout and all the food I’m going to pound down afterwards though out the day, should put me up around 210 come tomorrow.



I’m still as lean as I was a week ago, just more filled out and thicker



Today damage will be Shoulders, Traps, Biceps and Forearms at 10am. It’s going to be a quick one, not much to do...



Start with standing Shoulder press, then to side laterals, rear laterals, front raises and upright rows. Barbell shrugs for the traps.



Biceps will start with standing barbell curls, then to a preacher curl, a reverse curl and for forearms just off the end of a bench I’ll do wrist curls reverse and regular to failure...



That’s it nice and quick, shouldn't take us more the an hour an a half



Time for a protein drink

Squat and Leg press Video

6:30am weigh- 208.4

As the weight still continues to climb with each passing workout, the muscles start to hold more carbohydrates and water due to the simulation from the weight training, the breaking down of the muscle is causing them to hold water and carbs again.

Remember I squeezed them out, like you would squeeze water out of a towel and now by training and giving them a reason to reach for and hold carbs and water, they are growing again and fast too, fast because they are returning to how they were

I started preparing for the show weighing 215 (8-10% body fat) when I get back to 215next week sometime, I won’t have over 5%bf, do you see what I just did to myself… I have grown…

You always grow after a competition. At this point I’m thinking that 8-10% bf weight should come in around 218-220, I’ll take a 3 pound lean body mass any day

Great leg work out last night, I started with 6 sets of squats and 5 sets of leg presses. I was able to get my training partner to video tape a set of each exercise to give you an idea of how I train. I was on my 5th set on the squats before coming down for the last and lighter set.

I like to do the last set lighter just to do that movement one more time, to try and get just a little more blood into the muscles. Form is ok here, I could have put the bar a little lower on my back which would help me to not lean over too much when passing parallel.

I usually only squat to parallel, but I think I need to start passing parallel to involve more legs and get the hamstrings to come in more. You want to at least have your hip joint pass your knee joint, but always make sure your legs end up at least parallel to the ground.

On the leg press video, this was my last set of 5, I didn’t do a lighter set, my legs had so much blood in them at that point, I didn’t feel the need and my lower back was screaming at me to stop, dead-lifts on Monday didn’t help…

Once I get use to doing dead-lifts again, my lower back should stop yelling at me, besides I got 15 reps with 11 plates (can’t get anymore on) going lighter for one more set, would not have gotten anymore blood into my legs

From there it was more movement from extensions to curls to hip flexor movements. I tried not to do the same leg curls machines as on Monday when I hit hamstrings.

I did end the workout on the calf machine even though they were still sore from posing, but the soreness was more so in my tendons then muscle, so it felt good to get a nice full calf pump…

Time for a protein drink

It all about the legs

6:30am weigh-in 207.4

Legs today gone tomorrow, yes tonight is legs and I can’t get to the gym fast enough, I can’t wait to squat my ass off, it’s been a couple of weeks

You really don’t want to squat the week of a contest, squats can take away your lines if done with too much intensity (is there any other way)

Last nights Chest and Triceps work out was just as I imagined… awesome huge pump with tons of energy (I love eating carbs) it is really the first time in two weeks as well, I’ve really got to train heavy, in fact that’s how this whole weeks going to be.

The week prior to competition, I was just doing a bunch of supersets running in-between exercises just to get a total body pump, not ever really hitting one muscle group and breaking it down completely as I normally would

With every passing work out, my body will slowly climb back up weight wise. I’m stimulating my muscles to hold more water again, filling them up with carbohydrates.

You can eat all the carbohydrates and drink all the water you want, but until you start training your muscles and breaking them down, they will not hold any water and fill out. They need a reason to grow and the gym (your training) is that reason

Notice how my weight is starting to climb faster after two workouts… nothing has changed since the weekend as far as how much I’m eating (a lot) except working out on Monday and yesterday and by the end of the week, once I’ve trained the whole body, I will weigh around 210, which is a 10 pound increase in one week. I am still just as lean as the day of the show, only now I’m much more filled out

Let’s start with squats tonight for 7 sets, then leg presses for 4-5 sets and the 3rd exercise is up for grabs, we will see what Rod wants to hit… definitely 3 pressing movements, before moving onto Hams and ending with Ass and Calves

When the damage is done, the legs will be gone and I will be happy!

Time for a protein drink

Concentrating on weak body parts

6:30am weigh-in 204.6

As you all have heard me say, my legs need to come up to the next level, if I’m ever to make it to the Nationals.

My chest is another part that needs to come up. My chest used to be one of my stronger body parts, but when I left this sport in 92, I went into boxing for the next 12 years and boxers can’t have a thick massive chest, they need to put their elbow together to be able to block punches and protect their midsection. So one of the first things I had to do was make my chest smaller.

Now I need to bring it back to where it use to be, big and thick. The thing is, my chest may already be how it use to be, but since my shoulders and arms have grown since I was in my 20’s my chest doesn’t have that same look of being one of my stronger body parts

Tonight is chest and triceps, normally I would do two compound movements with two isolating movements, but years ago I would do three compound moments and two isolating, and also five exercises instead of four

Compound movements allow you to use heavier weights because you are involving more then just the chest. Shoulders and arms would be involved say if I was bench pressing or dumbbell pressing, as opposed to dumbbell flies, where it’s just the chest and no arms and not much shoulders

With that being said, tonight’s damage will start with flat benching followed by the incline bench, then incline dumbbell presses, and then dumbbell flies and ending on a machine: fly or cable crossovers.

I want to concentrate on my upper chest; it gives you a much better look to have well developed upper chest muscles as opposed to stronger looking lower chest muscles

For triceps I’ll start with close grip benching, this is a nice ending to the chest as well, really allowing you to squeeze your chest. Then onto scull crushers (lying down triceps extension) to triceps push downs, ending with over head extensions. I like to do three angles for my triceps. One with my elbow (mid range) to my body, one with my elbow by my side (full contraction) and one with my elbows over my head (full stretch) all three angles hit all three heads

Time for a protein drink

Back to the grind

6:30am weigh-in 203.6

Last nights workout was Back, Hams and Ass

My training partner and I decided to change things up a little.

We are going to hit hams on a different day than with legs (I may do them twice a week)

Day one: Back and Hams/Ass/Calves
Day two: Chest and Triceps
Day three: Legs and Hams/Ass/Cows
Day four: Shoulder and Biceps

This way here we can have shorter workouts and have more energy to concentrate on weaker body parts

I started yesterday with dead-lifts working my way up to 4 plates (405) for 2 set of 5 reps, then onto bent-over rows, going up to 2 plates (225) for 8 reps, then pull-downs for 4 sets, ending with close grip pull-down for 4 sets. Back is not a weak point for me, so you won’t see me doing too much in terms of sets or exercises

For Hams, I started with stiff legs going up to 150 pounds for 4 sets, then into that Ass exercise I talk about and finishing off with Standing Leg Curls. I would have probably hit my Calves too, if they weren’t so sore from posing at the competition

In hindsight, I realize the mistake I have been making for contest preparation. Years ago in my 20’s I would eat myself up to competition, but for some reason I’ve been eating myself down to competition, leaving me left with no muscles (It’s been a long time)

When I was in my 20’s I would eat more food while preparing for competition than I would when I wasn’t getting ready to compete… this is my problem, because what I’ve been doing now for contest prep, is eating less food and because of this, I have been coming in too small for my frame.

I can’t compete at less than 200 pounds; I'm not built that way anymore. I need to come in close to 210; this is where I’m nice and full with size

So the plan is, as I mentioned in my last post, to eat myself up to 235 and then depending on how fat I get (hoping not too fat) I will start to diet as early as 12 weeks out from May 2nd for the Jay Cutler Classic, only this time when preparing for competition, I will keep my calories over a 3000 minimum to start

Time for a protein drink

How I plan to grow:

6:30am weigh-in 203.8

Eating more and lifting heavy is the fastest way to grow.

I’m not looking to get fat; I will continue eating a clean, high protein, high carbohydrate, low fat diet.

I’d much rather over eat my carbohydrates and get fat that way, than to eat fat. Chances are the carbohydrates will never have a chance to turn to fat, because they will give me the energy to train even harder and burn fat efficiently, keeping my muscles big and full

Caloric intake values will be 60% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 10% fat.

I’m going to start with 300 grams of protein a day, equaling 1200 calories 30% of the caloric intake.

I’ll double the calories for carbohydrates to 2400 equaling 60% of the caloric intake and the remaining 400 calories will come from fat at 10% of caloric intake, totally 4000 calories, eating 6 times a day

I’m going to start here and see what happens. I should grow pretty steadily around one pound a week, that is, once everything slows down.

I’ll most likely be around 218 in a couple of weeks, 3 pounds heaver from where I left off. You always end up growing a few pounds more after you compete.

Now all I want to do is eat around 500 calories more than what I need each day, so that by the end of the week (7 days) I’m one pound heavier, this will assure to me I’m growing and it’s not fat

For training, I plan to concentrate on the basic movements and try to get as strong as possible. I plan to try and keep increasing the weights a little every time until I plateau and then go from there. The heavier I get (body weight wise) the more weight I will be able to move.

Everything works hand-in-hand, the more you eat, the bigger you grow; the bigger you grow, the more food you need to eat. The bigger you get, the more weight you can push; the more weight you push, the bigger you get.

But it all starts in the kitchen; you need to eat food first, good clean healthy whole foods

Time for protein drink!

2009 NPC New England’s contest day

Eveie dropped me off at 8:30am, I checked in, got weighed (197.4), and received my number 51, which I lost within an hour…

They decided to run things a little backwards, having the men’s bodybuilding before the fitness and figure competition, which caught a lot of us off guard.

Shortly after the event started I decided to go backstage to stretch and warm up. As soon as I put my bag down, I hear “masters get ready” WHAT… I basically stripped down, put some posing lotion on, grabbed a few push-ups and without really having a pump, I was on stage competing in the over 35 division.

I won the heavy weight over 35 class, because I was the only person in that class. They put me in with the 3 contestants in the lightweight class so I could at least have a pose down. The over 35 class had 2 divisions, lightweight and heavyweight.

Then it was time for the open, I was able to get a better pump, but everything was still moving really fast.

I was the first one out leading the line of seven, we hit our compulsory poses and they moved some people to the middle, I wasn’t one of them. They moved more people, I wasn’t one of them. Then they moved people one more time and again, I wasn’t one of them. Each time a move was made we would hit more poses to compare.

They then asked 3 guys to step off the stage which left 4 of us. We hit a front double bicep and they moved me into the middle, well from 4th spot over to the 2nd spot over (kind of the middle) they were now comparing me with the other 3 and trying to decide who was taking 4th place and 5th place

I didn’t place in the open lightheavy weight class, which kind of shocked me because looking at the other guys, I was in much better condition. Oh well, it is what it is and there is always next year!

I think it’s my legs that hold me back. They have grown a lot in the last 2 years, but they still lack the thickness to match my upper body. They were completely separated in a way they have never been and are bigger then ever, but they still need to be bigger and thicker

As I mentioned in my last post, I am already a winner, after not touching a weight for over 15 years (back only 2.5 years) and to bring myself to this condition, which is the best condition of my life, at 44; it is an incredible wonderful feeling!

Time to do some growing before the Jay Cutler Classic May 2nd 2010. I’m planning on packing on some pounds this winter, I’m going to see how heavy I can get and maintain a 34” pants waist ( I don’t want to buy new work clothes) I’m thinking around 235’ish and at 5’10” I should be able to carry that weight well.

I believe the only way I’m going to get thick legs is to put on some weight, which at a heaver weight you are able to lift heavier and the more weight you can lift, the bigger you can become (giving your muscle a reason to grow bigger)

I want to thank everyone for their support and interest in the world of bodybuilding; you made my road to competition a wonderful experience

Time to grow