In my last blog I was a little down in the dumper with my training. My shoulders, stamina and self doubt were creeping up on me and my mind was going a mile a minute. I received a few emails from other athletes, my brother, WNBF Pro Paul Alberts, Eric Helms, Tony Hartman and Ken Stevenson who provided me a lot of encouragement and support. I just wanted to say thank you to you guys for taking the time to write to me. The support and advice was well received and it has truly helped me to re-focus on my training and my goals.

As of late I have been updating this blog monthly, but I plan on journaling more often to keep myself on track and motivated.

Shoulder Update
As of my last upper body workout my shoulders still are bothering me, but I have learned to really warm up my shoulders with lighter weights before thinking of going with the heavy stuff. In the past on dumbbell bench press for example, it would be very common for me to do 1-2 warm up sets with 50lbs and then jump right into the 90-100 pounders and bang out 2 sets. Now I have learned my shoulders seem to adjust better to more warm up sets done in a pyramid fashion. As I perform each set the pain seems to fade as I go. So, on my last workout the sets went as follows:

30lbs for 10, 50 for 10, 50 for 10, 80 for 5, 80 for 5, and then 90 for 6 hard and very controlled reps.

My shoulders seem to bother me only on pressing movements, so I just have to use my better judgment when to use high intensity and when to back off on the intensity and the amount of weights. No need for my ego to make the decisions. That will just lead to injuries that I definitely do not need at this point. I have a good amount of muscle from my years of training, so backing off now and then will not lead to muscle loss, but will ensure I stay injury free to make it to the stage in 2011.

A Time to Rest
After the frustrating time I was having with my training, my shoulders and my mental state the best thing I could have done was to take a break away from training and that is exactly what I did. I stayed out of the gym for a couple of days and also with the trip up to Washington to see my friend Luke Ehlis compete, it was good to get away. I hung out with my fellow teammates Eric Helms and Alberto Nunez and also Alberto’s girlfriend Melissa and also natural bodybuilder and friend Paul Tomko. I cant forget WNBF Pro Scott Kluth!  We had a great road trip! We talked shop and enjoyed the trip immensely. The icing on the cake was watching Luke get his IFPA Pro card. Congrats Luke!!! I am very glad we took the trip up there to see Luke as it was very inspiring and highly motivating.


New IFPA Pro - Luke Ehlis

New Motivation
On the way back from Washington Eric and I talked in great lengths about training, motivation and other great topics. After that terrific discussion we have decided to start training together at least 1-2 times per week starting in October, but maybe sooner. I feel training with him will benefit me and also benefit him because we both train with 100% effort and there is nothing like a great training partner who is on or above your level. I know Eric brings a lot to the table when it comes to weight training programs, so I look forward to learning from him and also sharing some of my knowledge with him. It will be highly motivating and I can’t wait until we start killing each other in the gym. Also look for some great videos to come out of those training sessions.

No More Pressure
Lately I have been putting an enormous amount of pressure on myself concerning my offseason bodyweight. It seems like after every contest season I always have in my mind I am going to stay within a certain bodyweight and it never really happens. This year is no different as my goal was to stay around 185-190lbs. I am now at 195lbs and it is mainly in my midsection. I walk around with fairly lean legs and arms, but my gut is bigger than I want. I hate looking in the mirror with my shirt off and I know I can get rid of my gut if I really wanted to, but without a real goal in the close future it is hard for me to stay focused. I wanted to enter Brad Loomis’ powerlifting meet on October 9th with the idea to get down to the 181lb weight class, but powerlifting is just not my cup of tea and I have a very hard time getting motivated for it. I thought if I made that goal I would be able to focus on getting to 181lbs by October 9th. I may just do the meet anyway at a higher bodyweight (I owe you $5 bucks Eric, lol) just to do it with my friends and for the fun of it, but I will more than likely not be very competitive. But that’s okay because after my recent problems in the gym and my recent mental state with my training I decided to let that pressure go. As much as my weight makes me feel uncomfortable and at times depressed about carrying it around my gut, I decided to let that pressure go as well. My main focus is on bodybuilding and that is where my true passion is. I know for me, dropping weight for the next 6-8 weeks will slow down what muscle gains I can make in those same 6-8 weeks. Since I decided to not drop the weight, the pressure I was putting on myself has subsided substantially and my head is a lot clearer to see what my true goals are…the 2011 contest season. This is not an excuse for me to gorge on all kinds of food, but at the same time it allows me to eat and enjoy myself without the added pressure. This is what works for me. I know some may see this as weakness, but for me it is a sign of experience. I know myself and when I put pressure on myself without my real goal in mind it tends to slow down my progress.

Current plans August –November
With just a few months left in my offseason it is very important to devise a good plan to make sure I enter my 2011 prep in a good position. As far as my bodyweight is concerned, I am going to maintain 195 lbs up until the beginning of December. I feel maintaining this weight and keeping my nutrition levels where they currently are will allow my training to be productive and stress free. My current nutrition macros are around 200 protein, 350-400 carbs and 50-80 fats. These numbers vary as I am not as precise as when I am in contest mode, but they are very close on a daily basis. After my latest issues I have decided to put last year’s training program back in to use. I am now using an upper/lower split and I am training 3 days per week in HIT fashion. One week I will do 2 upper body workouts and 1 lower body workout and the next week will be the opposite. I just rotate from week to week.  I have 2 different workouts for both upper and lower body. This program works very well for my recovery abilities as it allows for adequate time in between the HIT workouts. At times I may need more than one day off in between workouts and if I feel I need it I will take it. I will be performing one to two sets per exercise and 1-2 exercises per body part. I am also incorporating some static holds and negatives on occasion depending on how my body is feeling. The past few months I have been using more volume and I feel it is one of the factors for my recent problems, so switching back to HIT for the next phase (August –November) of my training will probably help some of my training issues because of the lower volume. Back in 2004, I won the middleweight class at the INBF Capital City by training only 2 days per week on Tuesdays and Fridays and I had only about 8 weeks of dieting because of a late decision to compete.

2004 Capital City

The show was in July and from December to February I wasn’t even training at all. At that time I was building my home gym and all my free time was invested into that. It wasn’t until March after I completed my gym that I resumed my training. My time was still limited because of work and commuting, so I managed to get in two workouts per week. However those two workouts were very brutal! I was doing forced reps, negatives, static holds, rest pause, etc. Whatever it took to get my intensity as high as possible I was doing it. I would perform 1-2 sets per exercise and 1-2 exercises per body part. Looking back I truly enjoyed that type of training as it allowed me to train hard, get the proper rest and it also allowed me to have more free time away from the gym for some other things. I am looking at 2004 and 2009 as a guide for 2011, but of course every season is different so I know I will have to make the correct adjustments when it is needed.

As far as when I will start my contest prep? I still do not know. I know the contest schedule will come out later in the year so until then it is hard to determine timelines. If the schedule is similar to this year then I will more than likely compete in the WNBF California in San Diego in July 2011. If that is the case then I will start dropping weight at the beginning of December. By late May, I should be where I need to be as far as body fat levels and then I will have a month or so to slowly eat myself up into the show. My plan is to get even leaner than last year and to be a tad fuller. I have no idea what my body weight will be and it really does not matter as long as I continue to improve from last year. When December does come around it will be like turning on a light switch as my dedication, desire and discipline will be in full force! I look forward to it! Until my next blog… keep training hard and naturally!