The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy! Christmas and then New Years made it really hard for me to find the time to write my blog. First off, I want to say my stepfather’s surgery went really good and he is on his way to recovery, so I am very happy about that. I want to thank everybody who sent their thoughts and prayers his way and it is truly appreciated.

Since my last blog I have transitioned into a new training program and so far it has been working beautifully. I put HIT on the shelf and I am now focusing on improving overall strength with a progressive loading scheme. With this change I eliminated the static holds, negatives and the extremely slow rep speeds. I am now using normal rep speeds, but still maintaining a lot of control with my form.  I am also conforming to a targeted rep schedule, which at times is difficult for me to do simply because I am so used to pushing myself to failure. Here is an example of what my progression looks like:

Example:
Week 1 - Bench Press 225 x 7, 215 x 7, 205 x 7
Week 2 – Bench Press 235 x 5, 225 x 5, 215 x 5
Week 3 – Bench press 245 x 3, 235 x 3, 225 x 3

Week’s 4 – 6 would then start the progression over again, but the poundage would increase by 10 lbs. in this example. So, I would then start at 235 x7 in week 4, 245 x 5 in week 5, and 255 x 3 in week 6. This progression is applied to all of my exercises, but the poundage increase will vary on certain exercises. I feel this will definitely maintain size, but more importantly increase my strength which will be very beneficial when it comes time to transition back to HIT.

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

12/19/10 – 201.5lbs
12/25/10 – 200.6lbs
12/26/10 - I’d rather not say :-P
01/03/11 – 198.2lbs
*Note – I finally bought a new scale and I can now say my weigh ins are highly accurate…yeaaa!!

Nutrition
Man!!! Christmas killed me! I knew when I started my prep in early December I was going to enjoy the holidays and that is exactly what I did. On Christmas morning I weighed in at 201 and after a day of eating whatever and whenever I must have gained 5lbs! But I did not even attempt to get on the scale because I knew that would just mess with my mind and bring me down. I enjoyed the holidays and I did not want to punish myself for it, so I just resumed my prep the next day and I am now down a couple more pounds. I ate all kinds of crap…I mean great foods which included a mixture of nuts, homemade cookies in which we decorated ourselves (BTW…I won 3 ribbons for my creative decorations), my mother-in-laws famous spaghetti, garlic bread and many other tasty foods. It was a re-feed for the ages! To counter all that heavy carb bloat, I reduced my carb intake the following day to 100 grams. That seemed to do the trick and then for the remainder of the week I adjusted my macros to the following: 200g protein, 250g carbs and 50g fats. Yesterday I had my normal re-feed 180p, 450c, 40 f and so far with these adjustments I am doing very good and my energy levels are still extremely high.

Cardio
Guilty as charged! In weeks 3 & 4, I missed all of my scheduled cardio sessions. I plan on resuming cardio in week 5 where I will more than likely increase carb intake to make sure I am fueling those sessions and to prevent any excessive weight loss. In the past, I have cut cardio at certain points in my prep simply because my metabolism starts to take off and the weight starts to melt off like an ice cube under hot water.

Training Weeks 3 & 4
12/21/10 – Upper Body
Bench Press 225 x 7, 215 x 7, 205 x 7
Pendlay Rows 245 x 7, 235 x 7, 225 x 7
Lat Pulls (Wide Grip) 192 ½ x 7, 7
Seated Military Press 165 x 7, 155 x 7, 145 x 7
Skull Crushers 110 x 7, 7
Hammer Curls 50 x 7, 7

12/23/10 – Lower Body
Deadlifts 415 x 7, 405 x 7
Hacks Squats 4 pps + 25 x 7, 7, 7
Seated Leg Curls 3 sets of 7 (don’t remember weight)
Seated Calf Push 3 sets of 7 (don’t remember weight)

12/25/10 – Upper Body
Incline Dumbbell Press 90 x 7,7,7
Pendlay Rows 255 x 5, 245 x 5, 235 x 5
Lat Pulldowns (Underhand) 200 x 7, 210 x 5
Side Dumbbell laterals 30 x 10, 10
Rear Flys (pec dec) 60 x 7,7
Tricep Pressdowns 120 x 7, 115 x 7
Barbell Curls 100 x 7, 95 x 7

12/28/10 – Lower Body
Squats 355 x 7, 345 x 7, 335 x 7
RDL’s 365 x 7, 375 x 7, 7 *Note – 1st set was a bit light
Smith Machine hack Squats 315 x 7,7
Standing Toe Press (Smith Machine) 465 x 7, 455 x 7 445 x 7
*Note – Over did it with this workout. I strained my lower back and I am still sore from this workout 5 days later.

12/30/10 – Upper Body
Bench Press 235 x 5, 225 x 5, 215 x 5
Lat Pulldowns (underhand) 225 x 3, 3, 3
Hammer Curls 55 x 5, 50 x 7 *Note – 2nd set was a bit easy for 5, so I did 7.
Skull Crushers 120 x 5, 110 x 5

*I avoided pendlay rows due to my lower back strain. I had to skip my last lower body workout because my lower back is still not fully recovered from my previous leg workout. I am going to give it a couple more days to prevent any injuries.

Why do I write this blog?
People who know me very well know I am a very quiet individual and writing a public blog is something I would have never imagined doing in my past. Before starting this website in January 2009, most of my contest prep’s went under the radar. I am truly an introvert by nature and I tend to keep most of my feelings hidden away. I have never been one to say “hey look at what I am doing!” but I decided to chronicle my training because of the encouragement from my uncle-in –law, Miles Nelson. This blog was mainly for my family and close friends to follow along with my journey and it has steadily grown since I started it in 2009. It has helped me to remain motivated, express some of my feelings and to stick with my plans. I have had a lot of individuals out there who have supported me along the way and I sincerely thank them for that. I have had the opportunity to meet new friends through this platform and for that I am grateful. So many positive things have transpired from a simple blog and I am still amazed to this very day. I have learned a great deal from other athletes who have offered their advice and I have reached out to many of them who have learned from me as well. It is truly an honor to share knowledge with my peers through this public forum.

But with the positive there is always a negative. Putting yourself out there in the public eye leads to many individuals who can be very judgmental on what you are doing. Because I chronicle my training in a public forum does that mean I am egotistical? Does it mean I am seeking attention from others? Everyone has their own personality and I know there are many individuals out there who are quiet and tend to keep to themselves. Some of them believe you just need to put in the work without showcasing it...be modest. They might say "no need to shout out loud how much you bench or how ripped you are." For me, if someone chooses to publicly talk about themselves in that manner than I say, "to each their own!" Whatever makes an individual feel good and happy...more power to them. For those who have to point out how modest they are, I just think to myself, “If they are truly modest, do they really need to say out loud they are modest?” If individuals do not share their knowledge and experiences, whether it is bodybuilding or any other topic of interest for that matter, this world would be very dull and uneducated. How else are you going to learn if you don’t have the access to any information? If we all decided to train in isolation without any exposure in the form of public books, magazines, bodybuilding forums, etc. natural bodybuilding would not be anywhere close to what it is today. Just because someone is in the public eye does not mean they are doing it for selfish reasons. I write this blog because I want to give back to the sport in which I have been a part of for nearly two decades. If you are someone who tends to place judgment on someone simply because they are in the public eye…just ask yourself this one question, “where did I learn what I know now?” I would probably guess it was someone who was in the public’s eye.  

Lately, I have been a bit discouraged and I have thought to myself a few times to not write in here for a while. However I have realized that this blog has inspired not only me, but others as well. I will not let the negatives outshine the positives! I will continue to write this blog simply because I ENJOY IT! Let’s keep the sport of natural bodybuilding growing by sharing with each other as much knowledge as possible.  

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