On Monday I started my latest plan of attack which consists of 3 lower carb days followed by a higher carb day and then I simply repeat the cycle. I just wrapped up my high carb day on Thursday which consisted of 500 grams of carbs and I’m feeling pretty damn good…as I should be after eating all that good food LOL. I weighed in today (5/5/11) at 180.8lbs and that is about the same as early last week, but with that long trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico it really limited my productivity. I gained 3 lbs of bloat which brought me back up to 183.8lbs, so under the circumstances I’m very happy to be back down to 180.8lbs. I’m aiming for a 179 something by the weekend.

Quote I Relate To Right Now
Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

-Michael Jordan

Weight
Start Date - 12/06/11 – 206.5lbs
Current Weight – 5/6/11 – 182.4lbs
Goal Weight - 160lbs

*Note – I’m aiming for the NPC San Jose on July 9th and the IFPA Pro USA on July 16th and I’m hoping to be between 162-164lbs. A tall order and if I’m not on track in the next 3-4 weeks (hoping to be around 173 -174ish) than I will just bypass those shows and target something else at a later date, but I’m sure as heck going to continue trying!

Training – 1 on 3 off

Monday – Upper Body

Decline Smith Bench Press – 235 x 6, 6, 5, 5 *Very surprised as to how well my shoulders have been feeling lately. Supported Dumbbell Rows – 90 x 10, 8, 6
Lat Pulldowns wide Grip – 170 x 8, 7, 6
Upright Rows – 125 x 6, 6, 6
Single Arm Triceps Pressdowns – 42 ½ x 6, 5, 5
Dumbbell Hammer Curls – 35 x 12, 12, 12

Friday – Lower Body

Squats – 315 x 3, 3, 3, 3
Leg Extensions – 245 x 10, 10
Rack Pulls – 450 x 5, 5 *Personal Record (PR)
Stiff Legged Deads – 315 x 10, 8
Leg Curls – 100 x 8, 6
Smith Toe Press – 475 x 5, 5, 5
Leg Lifts – 10 x 6, 6

Cardio
Monday – 30 minutes LISS
Tuesday – 60 minutes LISS (30 am/ 30 pm)
Wednesday - 60 minutes LISS (30 am/ 30 pm)
Thursday – Off
Friday – 30 minutes LISS (PM)

Nutrition Targets
Monday – 200p/150c/50f
Tuesday – 200p/150c/50f
Wednesday – 200p/150c/50f
Thursday – 150p/500c/30f refeed
Friday - 200p, 150c, 50f

Here are some snapshots of yesterday’s refeed meals. I do not know why bodybuilders always want to post up pics of food…I guess it’s all in fun

Egg white and parmesan Cheese Omelet with Diced Russet Potatoes
Macros – 35p, 132c, 6f

 
4 english muffins with Peach & Strawberry Sugar Free Jelly and a Chocolate Whey Protein Shake
Macros – 44p, 139c, 5f 


4 Skinny Cow’s before I turned them into sludge


Skinny Cow Sludge – 4 Skinny Cows with 1 Scoop of Chocolate Whey…I know looks kinda gross, but it tastes soooo goooood!
Macros – 40p, 123c, 7f


Whey and Almond Butter Sludge with a Banana, Fuji Apple and 2 Oranges
Macros – 30p, 111c, 11f

Progress???
Well at 182.4lbs I’m not anywhere close to where I need to be just yet conditioning wise. That will come in the weeks ahead. I will say though at 39 years old (40 next month :-P) and with over 25 years in the gym, I was a bit skeptical and really unsure if I could make any significant muscle gains since my last outing in ’09. As far as I can tell, my entire posterior chain has definitely improved and I attribute that almost completely to adding in deadlifts, rack pulls and free weight squats to my arsenal this past offseason. I just want to say thank you to my teammates for talking me into adding them back into to my training. A key point was performing my deadlifts with a sumo style which really helped to target my glutes, hams, and lats. Thanks Eric for showing me great form with those and I remember the first time you showed them to me back in late 2009…315 for 5 and 5. Then early this year I hit…445 for 5. Nothing really spectacular and I definitely won’t be winning any power lifting meets anytime soon, but that’s a big improvement for me and I’ll take it to the bank. In years past, I used to do deads (conventional) and squats on a regular basis, but about 10 years ago I gave up on them out of fear of inuring myself. Now I wish I never would’ve never given up on them…kinda wonder what I would look like if I’d been doing them this whole time? Oh well…you live and learn…can’t beat myself up over it. Okay enough rambling…here are a few of pics from my first posing session of the season on 5/5/11. Oh…and please excuse the funny posing attire…this is a bodybuilding blog don’t forget ;)
 
Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!