Yesterday, I began my 6 months out high protein high carbs diet. I hope to gain a few pounds in the next three months before it’s time to begin cutting for the Shredder on June 3, 2008. It consists of 6 meals a day, and about 300 grams of protein. I am still working out heavy trying to put the protein in the places it belongs, in the muscles.

Hamstring Workout Rating: 9.9 out of 10

·       Barbell Walking Lunges: 185lbs x 16 paces, 185lbs x 16 paces superset w/

·       Leg Press (high foot placement): 540lbs x 20, 540lbs x 17

·       Lying Leg Curls: 180lbs x 14, 180lbs x 14 superset w/

·       SLDL: 135lbs x 16, 135lbs x 16

·       Single Leg Curls (no rest between sets): 90lbs x 10/10, 90lbs x 8/8, 90lbs x 6/6, 90lbs x 2/2 drop 45lbs x 10/10, 45lbs x 8/8, 45lbs x 6/6, 45lbs x 2/2

·       Hybrid Calf Training: 4 sets

·       Cardio: Precor Elliptical 30 minutes

This was one of the best hamstring workouts I‘ve ever had. I became light-headed during super setting the lunges and the leg presses which was pretty sweet. All in all my legs were destroyed after this workout and are now pretty sore right now.

Shoulder Workout Rating: 9.3 out of 10

·       Seated Dumbell Laterals: 40lb’ers x 20/20, 40lb’ers x 20/20 40lb’ers x 20/20

·       Upright Row: 135lbs x 16, 135lbs x 16, 135lbs x 14

·       Hammer Strength Military Press: 270lbs x 1, 270lbs x 15, 270lbs x 15

·       Bent Over Dumbell Laterals: 30lb’ers x 16/16, 30lb’ers x 16/16, 30lb’ers x 16/16

·       Dumbell Shrugs: 100lb’ers x 20, 100lb’ers x 20, 100lb’ers x 20

·       Crunches: 30, 30, 30 superset w/V-Ups: 15, 15, 15

·       Cardio: Precor Elliptical Cross Trainer 20 minutes

·       Cardio: Stepmill 10 minutes

I went high volume repetitions today to give my joints a break. I’ve had some rotator issues in the past so if I don’t feel up to pushing weight I don’t. That’s why I love these higher volume weeks because they do indeed give the joints some rest and offer a different form of stimulation. Believe it or not, these volume workouts are much more tiring than the power training workouts which precede them.

Back Workout Rating: 8.8 out of 10

***I’m excluding all warm-up sets***

AM Cardio Fasted: 40 Minutes Precor Elliptical

Hammer Grip Pull Ups: BW x 24, BW x 22, BW x 21

Full Stretch to Neutral Wide Cable Rows: 160lbs x 15, 160lbs x 15, 160lbs x 15

Dumbell Rows: 100lb’ers x 16/16, 100lb’ers x 16/16,

Dumbell Pullover: 100lbs x 14, 100lbs x 14

Sarcev Style Wide Grip Deadlifts: 135lbs x 20, 135lbs x 20

Cardio: 20 minutes Precor Crosstrainer

Cardio Workout Rating: 9.9 out of 10

·       Cardio: 25 minutes on the Precor Crosstrainer

·       Cardio: 25 minutes on the Stepmill

·       Cardio: 20 minutes on the Precor Stationary Bike

If you haven’t already noticed I do a lot of cardio while bulking up. This is definitively not for everyone but works well for me. It allows my metabolism to remain high and helps me put on quality mass.

I feel that no cardio approach to bulking is severely flawed. First off, when you metabolism is low you are utilizing nutrients less efficiently. Either they are stored as fat or expelled as waste

Secondly, a lot of people don’t realize between type II (fast twitch) and type I (slow twitch) muscle fibers. In your legs you will find a mixed population of both but they are mostly fast twitch muscle fibers. Typically when you train legs using weights you are not really using an applied force which allows you to move fast. So in essence, you aren’t training them properly. This is why sprinting is great for leg development and if anything, so is resistance based cardio. This is just my theory but I have noticed when I did more cardio to bulking my lower body remains much more balanced with my upper than not.

I should also mention that during my cardio session I’m not just going through the motions. I’m usually moving to music that is about 140-160 beats per minute so when I’m on an elliptical machine or bike I’m matching the tempo. Believe it or not, my cardio sessions are just as hard as the weight sessions if not harder.

The Workout Rating: 9.8 out of 10

·       Flat Barbell Bench: 315lbs x 15, 315lbs x 15, 315lbs x 14

·       Hammer Strength Incline Bench: 320lbs x 12, 320lbs x 12, 320lbs x 12

·       Pec Dec: 200lbs x 20, 200lbs x 21, 200lbs x 20

·       Decline A-Trainer Flyes: 70lbs x 12/12, 70lbs x 12/12

·       Speed Dips: BW x 30, BW x 30

·       Cardio: Precor Elliptical 20 minutes, Stepmill 10 minutes

My work out went extremely well as I expected. My chest was pounding because it was so pumped up. I should probably mention that on these Rep Range weeks and most others except for shock I’m not going to failure and never use a spotter. My theory is if you can’t control the weight well and stimulate the chest in a given rep range then you are doing something wrong and should drop your poundage down a bit.

The Workout Rating: 8.9 out of 10

·       Lateral Dumbell Raises: 70lb’ers x 6/6, 70lb’ers x 6/6

·       Hammer Stength Shoulder Press: 450lbs x 3, 450lbs x 3 (PR)

·       Rear Delt Cable Crossovers: 80lbs x 6/6, 80lbs x 6/6

·       Upright rows (to mid chest): 185lbs x 6, 195lbs x 3 (PR)

·       Dumbell Shrugs: 140lb’ers x 6/6, 140lb’ers x 6/6

·       Crunches: 20, 20, 20, 20

·       Cardio: 35 minutes Stepmill

Anyway, this workout was extreme. I never pushed up that type of weight on the Hammer Stength Shoulder press or upright rows. I’m noticing some increased strength after only the first week or at least I am feeling stronger and more eager to try pushing more weight.

The Workout: 9.3 out of 10

·       Cambered Bar Curls: 145lbs x 6, 145lbs x 6

·       Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 315lbs x 5, 315lbs x 3

·       Double Arm High Cable Curls: 90lbs (per side) x 6/6, 90lbs (per side) 5/5

·       Skull Crushers: 145lbs x 8, 155lbs x 5

·       Dumbell Hammer Curls: 70lbs x 6/6, 70lbs x 6/6

·       Single Arm Cable Extensions: 80lbs x 6/6, 80lbs x 6/6

·       Calf Press ( on a Leg Press): 540lbs x 30, 540lbs x 30, 540lbs x 30 superset w/

·       Standing Calf Press (flat): bw x 30, bw x 30, bw x 30 superset w/

·       Standing Calf Press (block): bw x 30, bw x 30, bw x 30 superset w/

·       Single Leg Calf Press (block): bw x 15/15, bw x 15/15, bw x 15/15 to the top with NO rest

·       Cardio: 30 minutes on a Precor Elliptical

Thoughts…

After a few warm up sets I was feeling pretty dang pumped and strong. This workout was about pushing some limits I never pushed before and moving some serious weight seemed easy. I also haven’t had any pre-workout stems in a while so the SAN Tight RTD definitely got me fired up. This with Octane and SizeON got my blood pumping and my mind was ready to go.

The Session: 7.8 out of 10

·       Leg Press (low foot placement): 1170lbs x 8, 1170lbs x 8

·       Front Squats: 315lbs x 6 (dropped the weights and they went BOOM! LMAO!!), 285lbs x 8

·       Seated Single Leg Extensions: 165lbs x 7/7, 165lbs x 7/7

·       Barbell Lunges: 135lbs x 30 paces, 135lbs x 30 paces

·       Smith Machine Standing Calf Press (on block): 450lbs x 20, 450lbs x 20

·       Cardio: Precor Bicycle (slow) 30 minutes

Further Thoughts

Going into today’s leg training I planned on skipping the squats because my lower back was feeling tight. I substituted in some front squats and on my first working set dropped 315lbs from an upright standing position. Woopsy.

Overall the workout was ok, but I definitely should not be training quads after back. Both just cause my core to feel cashed and which ultimately leads to a less effective workout.

This Workout Session: 9.5 out of 10

·       Low Cable Rows: 250lbs x 6, 260lbs x 4

·       Deadlifts: 405lbs x 5, 405lbs x 4

·       Close Grip Neutral Pull Downs: 230lbs x 7, 230lbs x 7

·       Dumbell Rows: 140lbs x 5/5, 140lbs x 5/5

·       Cable Forearm Curls (behind the back): 100lbs x 25, 100lbs x 25

·       Cable Bicep Curls (singles): 60lbs x 8/8, 60lbs x 8/8

·       Cable Hammer Curls (singles crossed chest): 80lbs x 7/7, 80lbs x 6/7

·       Cardio: Precor CrossTraining Elliptical: 35 minutes

Further Thinking…

I had a very good workout today. After my warm up on the elliptical and first few warm up sets on the rows my back was already pretty pumped. I have done heavy full range dead lifts for a long time now so pulling 405 multiple times felt really good. I can’t remember the last time did dead lifts this heavy due to a back injury I suffered a while back. Have a great day!