Week 15 was a great one as I am progressing nicely. Weight training is going as planned, cardio is on par and so is nutrition. I’m in the middle of Week 16 as I write this and everything seems to be right on schedule.

Weigh Ins
Goal Weight – 160lbs
3/10/11 – 185.4
3/12/11 – 185.4
3/13/11 – 185.4
3/14/11 – 187.6 *day after huge re-feed
3/15/11 – 186.2
3/16/11 – 184.8
3/17/11 – 184.8
3/18/11 – 183 *slight dehydration
3/19/11 – 184 *re-feed of 450carbs
3/20/11 – 185.6
3/21/11 – 183.8
3/22/11 – 183.8
3/23/11 – 182.6

The trend has been going just as I want…very satisfied and happy. I still have 22lbs to go and I’m now starting to see some of my hard work finally showing up. I’m highly motivated!



Nutrition
I made some adjustments last week.
On training days (2x per week) – 180p, 300c, 40f
Non training days (5x per week) – 200p, 260c, 40f
Re-feed day (1x per week) – 150p, 500c, 40 f

Cardio Training
I did 3 sessions in Week 15…1 at 50 minutes LISS, 1 at 20 minutes HIIT (just because I was pressed for time and needed to get it done quick) and 1 at 60 minutes LISS.

Weight Training - 2 days per week
“Why am I training just 2x per week?” I know many reading this might be thinking…it sounds so crazy! To help maybe shed some light…here is a little history as to why I’m so confident in this.

Back in ‘03 & ‘04 I found it extremely difficult to balance my 8-10 hour workdays, 3 hours of commuting, family life and at the same time to try and enjoy a bodybuilding lifestyle. A typical day for me would start at 3 am and it was extremely tough to crawl out of bed, but just like everyone else I had to pay the bills. I usually would force myself up, grab a Cup of Joe and hit to the highways at 4 am on a long and downright crazy a** 70 mile commute. After spending 8-10 hours of assembling cars as an autoworker, it was time to jump right back into my car for another 70 mile drive. It wasn’t until 13 hours later I arrived back home. For some the day would be history and the only thought would be to maybe grab a bite to eat and then plop down on the couch. I wanted to train, but finding the energy and more importantly the time for family life was hard to come by. My typical workouts would last up to an hour…plus tack on another 20-30 minutes of additional driving to and from the gym...my day would finally wrap up around 8 o’clock. I know that doesn’t sound too late, but for me, it truly was when I knew that alarm clock would be going off in my ear at 3 am. Not to mention, I had yet to spend some quality time with my wife. That wasn’t an ideal situation and I missed the balance I needed at that time in my life.  

I knew in order to participate in competitive bodybuilding and to find the right balance I needed to make some changes. I didn’t have the luxury of creating my own work schedule or choosing how far my commute was, but what I did have control of was my workout program. I needed to construct a training program where I could still compete at a high level, but also reduce the training time in which to do it.  No small feat… but I managed to do just that at the 2004 INBF Capital City Naturals where I won the middleweight title by reducing my training to just 2x per week. Was I at my very best at the Cap City? To be completely honest…I wasn’t because I didn’t commit myself to the contest early enough and I started my diet about 12 weeks later than I should have. I was good enough to win my class because I had the size and symmetry, but I just needed more conditioning in order to be at my very best and maybe have a shot at the overall. What I learned about that experience other than I looked like I still had a couple of cheeseburgers to lose LOL...is I could drastically cut back on my volume and time in the gym without the fear of any muscle loss. The key to maintaining my size with those 2 workouts per week was the amount of intensity I applied during those workouts. With the focus on intensity and the reduction in volume it helped me to find the right balance I was looking for.


In '04 I had size, but definitely lacked the conditioning. 

Fast forward to 2011…no more 10 hour work days or 3 hour commutes and I do have a lot more balance now. So why train 2x per week? For the fact my joints just do not recover as fast as I would like them to. Pain has limited my training recently which has hurt my performance in the gym. The one question I seem to be getting lately…won’t you lose any muscle? Gauging from my past experiences…no. I didn’t lose any muscle size at all back in ’04, so why would I now? I know there are debates and research over what types of programs and frequency are optimal to maintain muscle size and they may point to my 2x per week training as less than adequate, but to be completely honest…it doesn’t bother me. It’s not that I don’t believe or appreciate good research or debates because a lot of my training is based from others research and experiences, but over my career I have always been one to do my own personal trial and error. What research may point out to be true in some cases…may or may not work out best for me. In the past 3 weeks since training 2x per week my performance has only improved and my joint pain has lessened substantially. Visually I do not look any smaller either…so far so good and I have no desire to increase frequency anytime soon, but you never know…I have to remain open minded. I do not advocate 2x per week training to anyone else as the one and only way to train, but for my own personal circumstances right now…it seems to be the perfect choice.

Instinctively Intense
My primary goal is to increase the intensity with each successive workout using a multitude of techniques whether it be adding weight to the bar, rest pause, static holds/negatives or altering rep speeds to generate enough stimulus to maintain muscle size. Training with these techniques does create an enormous amount of stress to my CNS, so volume will be monitored very closely. I also know I have 2-3 off days in between workouts to allow for plenty of recovery. I've also found that backing off the intensity at times is a must because of the issues I’ve been dealing with. So, it is imperative I keep my ego from dictating my workouts and to remain as instinctive as possible.

Tuesday’s are upper body and Friday’s are lower body.

3/15/11 – Upper Body
15 degree Incline DB Chest Press – 90 x 6, 4 w/static hold to negative
30 Degree Incline DB Chest Press – 90 x 4 w/static hold to negative
Pec Dec – 72 ½ x 9 w/static hold to negative
Pendlay Rows – 225 x 9, 9 *stopped at 9 reps
Seated Cable Rows – 172 ½ x 9 w/static hold to negative
Lat Pulldowns (palms up) – 180 x 10 *positive failure
Standing Military Press – 135 x 6, 6, 6 *stopped at 6 reps
Side Laterals – 30 x 9 w/static hold to negative
Rear Flys – 62 ½ x 8 w/static hold to negative
Lying Cable Triceps Press – 100 x 6 w/static hold to negative
Barbell Curls – 70 x 11 Rest Pause 5, 4, 3, 2
Rope Cable Hammer Curls – 60 x 9 Rest Pause 3, 3, 3

3/18/11 – Lower Body
Smith Squats - Warm Ups 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 295 x 3, Working Sets 320 x 3, 3, 4 *stopped at 3 reps, but went for 4 on last set
Leg Extensions - 225 x 12, 10 w/static hold to negative on last set
Rack Pulls (just below knees) - 425 x 5, 5, 6 *stopped at 5 reps, but went for 6 on last set
Smith Stiff Legged Deads – 315 x 10, 335 x 7 *positive failure on last set
Lying Leg Curls – 60 x 8 w/static hold to negative
Smith Toe Press – 455 x 5, 465 x 5, 475 x 5 *stopped at 5 reps
Decline Sit-ups – 10 x 4, 3 *Super slow rep speed
Leg Lifts – 10 x 3 w/static hold to negative

3/22/11 – Upper Body
15 degree DB Chest Press – 90 x 6 w/static hold to negative
30 Degree Incline DB Chest Press – 90 x 4 w/static hold to negative
Pec Dec – 75 x 8 w/static hold to negative
Pendlay Rows – 230 x 8, 8 *stopped at 8 reps
Seated Cable Rows – 175 x 8 w/static hold to negative
Lat Pulldowns (palms up) – 182 ½ x 8 *positive failure
Standing Military Press – 135 x 7, 6, 4 *stopped at desired reps
Rear Flys – 65 x 7 w/static hold to negative
Tricep Pressdowns 112 ½ x 6 w/static hold to negative
Alternating DB Curls 40 x 11 RP 3,3,3,3



Let’s keep it rolling! Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!