“You know, all that really matters is that the people you love are happy and healthy. Everything else is just sprinkles on the sundae.”
~Paul Walker

Last week my wife and I drove up to Oregon to visit my stepdad, Tim and his bride to be, Terrie, for a few days. Terrie is such an incredibly nice, hardworking and loving person and I’m really glad he found a terrific individual to share his life with. As many of you know, I’ve dedicated this contest season in my stepdad’s honor as he battles cancer. To go through contest preparation might seem inspirational for some people because of what a bodybuilder goes through to get in such great shape by restricting their calories, performing strenous weight training sessions and let's not forget about the tedious bouts of cardio. In my mind however, it’s insignificant in comparison to what someone with cancer is facing. As a bodybuilder all the things we put ourselves through during contest prep are all self-inflicted, so the reality is we have a choice to just stop what we are doing whenever we feel like it without any dire circumstances. But someone with cancer…well there simply is no choice to make it just go away. Cancer is there 24/7 and my stepdad has courageously faced it head on with such a positive outlook. His fighting spirit simply inspires me day in and day out to keep pushing along with my own humbled journey. He was first diagnosed back in December 2010 and just recently his latest CT scan showed no signs of tumors, so right now he is winning a very tough battle. I’m extremely happy about this latest news and I hope he makes a full recovery.

On August 20th, Tim and Terrie will be making the trip down to Modesto from Oregon so he can watch me in action at my first show of the season (The NPC Central Valley Championships). I'm dedicating my posing routine to him and the song I will be using is called “The Battle”...a perfect fit for the occasion and I can’t wait to perform it on stage. During this last trip in Oregon we talked a little bit about my expectations for this first show and neither one of us were talking about victory, but rather just doing the very best I can do. As long as I make that happen, I think both of us will be pretty dang proud. If I do happen to win or place high…well that’s just sprinkles on the sundae :)

Okay...so what did we do during the trip to Oregon? We do what Oregon boys do…


 
we shot some guns…

 
and chilled on the river!

Of course it wasn’t just play time and I did manage to get in a leg workout and 3 cardio sessions. On Thursday night we went out to a very good Taqueria and let’s just say I enjoyed myself with everyone that night with a huge burrito and some chips and salsa. Plus when we got back to the house I indulged in some more grub. I think Terrie and Tim were in shock by the amount of food I ate that night LOL. You can say it was one of my bigger refeeds. I didn’t even bother to count my macros, but I guesstimated it to be around 600 carbs, my usual protein intake and a little too much fat LOL. Oh by the way...probably around 11grams of sodium too! On Saturday morning I weighed myself for the first time since I left for the trip and I was a bit bloated at 175.6lbs. Not too bad considering, but after getting back to normal and having two very solid days on Saturday and Sunday I hit a new low of 171.8lbs for Monday’s weigh in. Like I blogged a couple of weeks back…prep doesn’t have to be so dang psychotic. It’s okay to enjoy life every once in a while and still make progress as long as everything remains balanced and accounted for.

Now on to my progress...

Weight
Start of Prep: 12/06/10 – 206.5lbs.
7/12/11 – 171.8lbs
Goal Weight: 160ish

*Note – My last two weigh-ins have been consistent at 171.8, but I’m more satisfied with how I’m looking and feeling. I’m still amazed by just how relaxed I am with my prep as of late. I’m feeling no pressure whatsoever and I don’t feel the need to train like there is no tomorrow. I know it seems kind of uneventful, uninspiring or maybe a bit uncommon, but in experiencing a much more conservative and less aggressive prep this year, I don't ever see myself looking at this sport so seriously as I once did. Especially with the gains I've made since my last season back in 2009. This season has been the most enjoyable to date for me and I haven't even stepped on a bodybuilding stage yet. It's simply because my priorities have changed from trying to win shows to simply enjoying what I'm doing on a daily basis. Also, having the 3DMJ family to share my experineces with has made this sport even more enjoyable for me. I just love the family feel we have here at3DMJ and that is so much more rewarding to me than getting shredded or winning a bodybuilding title. 

Okay back to my progress...LOL!

Wednesday  7/06/11 – Lower Body (higher rep focus) *In Oregon
Smith Squats – 225 x 12, 12, 10, 10
Stiff Legged Deadlifts – 225 x 10, 10, 10 *I didn’t have straps, so I had to go light because I was losing my grip.
Hyperextensions – Bodyweight x 12, 12, 12
Calf Raises – Weird machine, so I don’t recall the weights I used, but I did 4 sets of 10’s.

Friday 7/08/11 – Upper Body (higher rep focus)
Smith Decline Bench Press – 205 x 12, 12, 11, 10
 
Seated Cable Rows – 175 x 12, 10, 10
Close Grip Pulldowns – 160 x 12, 12
Upright Rows – 115 x 12, 12, 10
1 Arm Triceps Pressdowns – 35 x 15, 15
Alternating DB Curls – 45 x 10, 8

Monday 7/11/11 – Lower Body (heavy  focus)
Smith Squats – 315 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 *I wasn't feeling it today, so I lowered the weight down from 330 I used last week. No need to kill myself at this point. 33 weeks into my prep I don't want to risk any injures.
Rack Pulls – 445 x 3, 3, failed on my 3rd set *Just wasn't feeling it this workout.
Standing 1 Leg Curls – 40 x 10, 10, 10
1 leg DB Calf Press – 100 x 8, 8, 8
Decline Sit ups – Bodyweight x 12, 12, 10

7/12/11 – Upper Body (heavy focus)
Incline Dumbbell Press – 90 x 5, 5, 5, 5 *My right shoulder has been bothering me since last week, so I decided to go to dumbbells instead of bench press. 
Pec Dec – 100 x 3, 3, 3
Bent Rows – 260 x 5, 5, 5
1 Arm Pulldowns – 117 ½ x 3, 3, 2
Military Press – 155 x 5, 4, 4
Triceps Pressdowns –  117 ½ x 5, 5, 5

Alternating DB Curls – 50 x 5, 5, 5
DB Hammer Curls – 50 x 5

Cardio - LISS (light intensity steady state)
7/05 – No cardio/on the road to Oregon (9-10 hr drive)
7/06 – *20 min HIIT (10 intervals)
7/07 – 60 min am
7/08 – 60 min pm
7/09 – 60 min pm
7/10 – 60 min am/60 min pm
7/11 – 30 min am/30 min pm
7/12 - 30 min am/30 min pm

*Doing HIIT is very uncharacteristic for me and the only reason I’ve done two sessions so far this prep is due to lack of time on those particular days. I’m not a big fan of HIIT for my setup simply because it’s harder for me to recover from it than LISS. From now on I will do my best to avoid HIIT LOL! 

*Note - Might be doing a 60 mile ride this Sunday since I've been inspired watching a little bit of the Tour De France :)

Nutrition
This past Saturday I switched my macros on low days to 170p, 250c, 25f and on Wednesdays I will be going to 170p, 600c, 25f. The only significant change I’m making is dropping my reefed down from 800-900c to 600c, but I took the difference in carbs and just spread them out evenly amongst the lower days. Since I made this change on Saturday things have been tightening up quite a bit.
 

In Other News
My teammate, Alberto Nunez and some of our 3DMJ clients will be competing this Saturday at the IFPA Pro USA/NANBF California Mayhem in Sacramento, Ca. It’s going to be a terrific show and 3DMJ will be well represented. I just wanted to say good luck fellas and have a great time!

Also, I want to give a special shout out to my brother, Paul Alberts who is also competing in the pro division this Saturday. In an era where prep coaches are pretty valuable and called upon quite often…my brother has always navigated his own contest preparations and his results are consistently right on the money! 
 
Yup he gets diced! I’m very proud of him and I can’t wait to watch him hit the stage this Saturday!

Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!