I hit a little wall today and I decided to go lighter with my workout today. After squats and stiff legged deads, I put a halt to my workout because I felt I would be digging a deeper hole into my recovery abilities. The previous two workouts earlier in the week went as planned and I hit a couple more personal records, so I knew making it through the end of this week and trying to sustain the high pace I have been on for the past 8-9 weeks was going to be rough. Later today, I will be discussing with Eric what the next phase of what our training will be. We have been performing HIT for the past couple of months and I believe it has run its course. I have noticed some slight pain in my left IT band and also in general a bit more fatigue. More than likely we will be eliminating the negatives, static holds and the really tight form we have been performing. I would like to run something that will now focus on improving overall strength and then resume back to HIT at a later date, but with this being in the middle my contest prep, I will have to really gauge how I recover with future workouts.

Bodyweight
Starting Weight 12/06/10 – 206.5lbs Target weight: 160lbs

12/13/10 – 204lbs
12/14/10 – 202lbs
12/15/10 – 202lbs
12/16/10 – 201lbs
12/17/10 – 201lbs
12/18/10 – 200.5lbs
12/19/10 – 201.5lbs

*Note – Still need to get a new scale, but for now these numbers are as accurate as I can tell. Visually I am starting to notice some contour to certain muscle groups, but still have a very long road ahead.

Nutrition
My initial protocol of 200p, 300c and 50 fats in week 1, I was able to determine my maintenance level. I decided to adjust my macros to 200p, 275c and 45 fats and with that came a slight loss of weight. On Saturday, I added in a re-feed to keep my metabolism firing. This is the reason for the slight increase in bodyweight form 12/18/10 to 12/19/10. I will keep the scheduled re-feed in on Saturdays as opposed to my last prep in which I only had re-feeds when I felt a decrease in strength, excessive weight loss or fatigue.

Target Macros - 200p, 275c, 45f  Re-feed Target Numbers – 180p, 450c, 40f

12/13/10 – 198p, 274c, 39f
12/14/10 – 201p, 275c, 41f
12/15/10 – 199p, 271c, 45f
12/16/10 – 200p, 276c, 46f
12/17/10 – 200p, 281c, 43f
12/18/10 – 181p, 447c, 39f (Re-feed)
12/19/10 – As of now I have only had 1 meal

*For week 3 I will maintain these numbers until I feel a change is in order.

Cardio
I got in two cardio workouts this week and I jogged/walked on Monday and Wednesday for 20 minutes. I alternated between 90 second jogs with 120 second walks. This week coming up it will be more of the same, but I am aiming to get in 3 workouts.

Week 2 Training
Tuesday – Lower Body 2
Deadlifts - 445 for 4 (personal record)
Smith Machine Hack squats - 365 for 5, 5 (maybe a personal record- I cant recall)
Leg Curls – 70 for 6 static hold to negative
Smith Machine Toe Press - 455 for 8, 6, 6
Decline Sit Ups (holding weight overhead with arms fully extended) - 12 ½ lbs for 4 static hold to negative

Thursday – Upper Body 1
Slight Incline Dumbbell Press - 95 for 2, 90 for 5 static hold to negative on both sets
Barbell Pendlay Rows - 245 for 7, 250 for 6
Close Grip Pulldowns - 192 ½ for 4, 5 static hold to negative on both sets
Seated Military Press - 175 for 5, 5
Dumbbell Side Laterals - 30 for 8, 5
Barbell Curls 100 - for 5, 4 static hold to negative on both sets
Close Grip Bench Press - 225 for 5, 5

Sunday –Lower 1
Squats - 315 for 8, 8, 8
RDL’s - 315 for 10, 10

*Note – With deadlifts I attempted a second set with 425lbs and I only managed 1 rep and I realized I did not have anything left after the 445, so I wisely chose to move on to the next exercise. With incline dumbbell press I quickly learned that Gold’s Gym where Eric trains; their dumbbells are a bit light compared to mine and that is the reason I only managed 2 reps with 95lbs this week. Today, my gas take hit empty after the RDL’s and for this week coming up, a new training plan will be in order and I will update what that will be next time.

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