Culmination of 13 weeks

 

13 weeks ago

5am The morning of the photo shoot, after 6 cheeseburgers and half a pizza

It's been a full 2 weeks since I've gotten to login and share on here.  But during that 2 weeks, the amount of effort to diet and training has been very dense.

Last week was the final week leading into my photo shoot appointment and also the last week of my "lean out" phase.

The final week was complex as Shelby had me follow a prep schedule that I would assume is similar to a bodybuilding pre-comp plan.

Here's what it looked like:

Monday, Tues - Low carb days, High sodium (salt all meals heavily) and consume 2 gals of water per day.

Wed- Start of Carb-up, all meals were 1 6oz chicken breast and carbs alternated between plain oats and waxy maize 60g each.  Consumed meals every 1.5-2hrs from waking till bed.  High sodium, 2 gallons water.

Thurs- ZERO Sodium, all meals were 7 oz of grilled flank steak and 50g of carbs from plain rice cakes with 2 tbs of sodium free natural peanut butter. I consumed a meal every 2 hrs from the time I woke till I went to bed.  Last meal was 12oz of flank and 6 tbsp of sodium free PB.  1 gal water before noon and 1.5L from noon til 8pm, no fluids after 8pm.

Friday- No Fluids! 4am pizza and cheeseburgers, as much as I could eat.
8am- 4 whole eggs salted heavily, 1/2 banana muffin, No fluids
Just before the photo shoot I started to munch on salty fritos and then during the "pump up" I took 2 tsp of honey.

Photo shoot was pretty cool.  The company we used was top shelf.  I can't wait to see how things turn out and I will share a few shots on here for sure.  Posing for pics is hard work.  They push you around into odd positions and you sweat your ass of under the lights.

Leaning out was officially over and Sarah and I celebrated my 31st b-day with a huge plate of ribs and fajita meat for supper.  Shelby had me get right back on track saturday and now things are focused on packing on some quality lean mass.

Training was also pretty decent considering I was all over the map with nutrition and dry as a popcorn fart on thursday night.

Here's what the week looked like:

Tuesday Dec14/10
A.M. Session 30 mins treadmill


PM Session- MAF


Feel good shoulder circuit X2


Military- 135X5, 135X5, 135X5 Felt good, pain free, was able to push hard and feel confident


Deads- 225X8, 315X5, 405X4, 495X4 touch & go, 495X4 touch & go, 495X4, 495X4, 560X2, 630X2 Belt, 495X11


Chins-2 sets of 10
DB military- 2 sets of 10 @ 60


Lat pull downs- 1 giant drop set

Thursday Dec 16th, 2010
MAF (upper movements only on this particular session)


Shoulder rehab circuit X2


Box jumps-3X3 to 39"


Swiss bar bench-180X6, 180X6, 270X5, 320X3, 360X1, 380X1 (last set was a great rep, hard work from start to finish, but kept the bar moving)


T-bar rows-3 plates X18, 3 plates X18, 3 plates X15


DB Military-60X10, 60X10, 60X10


Decent sesh, despite being reduced workload






Saturday Dec 18th 2010


DE Log- 190X3 X 6 sets, 240X3 X3 sets. All lifts were pain free and felt pretty good. Stability and speed were poor, which is to be expected with the layoff but my execution of the split felt like it was decent.


Squat-worked up to 405X10, 405X10


Pwr cleans-215X5, 215X3




Sunday Dec 19th 2010
ACC


Shoulder rehab circuit X2
Box Jumps X3X2 @ 39"


GHR-2 sets of 12
Grappler abs-2 sets of 20
Reverse hyper- 2 sets of 15
Band ham curls- 3 sets of 20 (purple)


DB incline- 4 sets, 90lbs, 30 secs on, 1:30 rest. Avg reps - 10


Lat pulldowns-4 sets, 180lbs, 30 sec on, 1:30 rest, avg reps - 10


DB side raise- 3 sets of 12
SLPR- 3 sets of 10/arn
Band pull aparts- 3 sets of 20

Gorilla Bash 2010

Sat Dec 11/2010
Gorilla bash @ UCC

Axle-worked up to 3 singles @ 305. This was my first go at overhead in 3 weeks, it was succesfully pain free. My cleans and press stability were another matter altogether. Nothing special, but very happy to be pressing overhead again.

17" DL (off blocks)- worked up to 675X1 suit bottoms, 765X1 suit on and straps, 815X1 Suit and straps (solid rep), 855Xfail
815 went well and I expected to get a good go at 855, but it was stapled to the blocks.

Sandbag loads- 2 sets of 5, 1 set of 8

Really fun session. Got a bad case of Bruce Wayne Syndrome (tight neck, imobile neck) during the axle press.
Great cheat meal afterwards.

$115 (I ordered 3 entrees and had some apps as well) worth of fish and steak tacos at Chipolte's (good authentic mexican)

An 8 piece salmon combo from sushi rock

Apple Fritter and venti caramel frappacino from starbucks

Coffee caramel ice cream from cold stone creamery. (couldn't finish it, I hit the wall big time after the starbucks)


Sunday Dec 12th 2010
Acc
(Still cruising around like Bruce Wayne)

Shoulder rehab circuit X2

Power cleans- (wanted to try out my new bumpers) 135X5, 185X5, 225X3, 225X3, 225X3 (they work)
GHR X15 X12 X12
Spread eagle sit-ups- X20 X20 X20

DB bench-60lbs X1 minute, 60lbs X1 minute
Lat pulldowns- 120X1 minute, 120 X1 minute

3 way shoulder circuit- 2 sets of 12/dir
Band pull aparts- 2 sets of 20

Blue Band GM's - 2 mins

Enjoying being in the weight room.

Thurs Dec 9th 2010
MAF

DE Deadlift-worked up to 475 for 6 singles. All sets were crisp and felt great. This was a big breakthrough for me as I usually end up doing doubles on DE night due to my first rep not being satisfactory.

Bench Press-(Worked in sets of 10 chins after all work-up sets) 135X10, 135X10, 225X5, 275X3, 315X1 working sets- 340X1, 340X1, 350X1, 350X1, 360X1, 360X1(this was my best rep of the night), 360X1

DB rows-150X15/side, 150X15/side
DB incline press- 100X10, 100X10

DB extensions-35X15+10 presses, 40X12+10 presses
Chins-X10, X10 (the total sets for the night was 6)

Good sesh, felt very good on everything tonight.

Destroyer

I refuse to let being busy interfere or even cause me to drop this blog like I did my old one.  I will keep it alive by any means necessary. (If anyone knows and easy way to update blogger from a blackberry please send me a message)

I'm getting near the end of the line for the lean-out.  I will be pushing it down for only another week and a half.  On the 17th of Dec (my birthday)  Sarah and I are getting photos done in a studio with a professional photographer that does work with fitness and bodybuilding models so I'm sure he can make us look good.

After that it will be time to realize the rebound that's been the main purpose of this diet in the first place. 

My diet looks pretty much the same, I've no longer got any high carb days, only lows and mediums and I find myself drinking a shit-tonne of coffee and diet pop to get me through.

Tuesday Dec 7th 2010

AM session- 30 mins treadmill

PM session- MAF (Modified)

Feel good shoulder circuit X2

Squats- 135X10, 225X5, 315X3, 405X1, 495X1, 515X1, 515X1, 535X1, 560X1 PR, 495X5
These destroyed my life.  The 535 was a smokeshow and 560 was a greasy, good morning type squat.

SSB GM's-225X10, 245X10, 245X10
Weighted sit-ups- 25lbs behind neck X15, X15, X15  (I dropped the weight down quite a bit in attempt to avoid ab cramping that has been causing a quick end to my training sessions lately.  It worked.)

DB Lunges- 85X20 strides, 85X20 strides
Push-ups- X20, X25
Chins-X10, X10, X10

Battle ropes, 4 rounds, 40sec on, 40 sec rest


Awesome session, it was a destroyer.  I drove home in haze, dizzy and wobbly legged.  I didnt sleep well and still had a squat hang-over the next morning.  I obviously worked to the best of my capacity.

Solid Ideas

Quick, Zero Cal Iced Capp

I drink a boatload of coffee.  I started drinking it because I wanted the perc, but now I've come to enjoy a quality cup of cafe americano just a straight espresso shot.

On my recent epic cheat meal I had an iced capp supreme and not only was it coffee, it was very dessert like and tasty.

Here's what I've come up with to substitute for the sugar loaded, sub-par quality iced capps you get at a drive-through window.

Ultimate Zero Cal Iced Capp

Double espresso shot (or regular black coffee if you don't have an espresso machine)

4 ice cubes

2-3 tbsp of splenda

dash of cinnamon

1 tsp of Walden Farms Zero Cal Chocolate syrup

Blend (Magic bullet works best)

Pretty Damn Good

Deadly

Tues Nov 30/2010
AM session- 30 mins treadmill

PM Session- MAF (sort of)

Feel good shoulder circuit X2
Shoulder rehab circuits X2

DL- 225X10, 315X5, 405X4, [485X4, 485X4, 485X4, 485X4 (2 sets touch and go, 2 sets deadstop)], 540X2, 615X2 (belt), 485X11 (no belt)

Squats-225X10, 315X10, 365X10
GHR-X12, X12, X12 (black band for all sets)

Pulldown abs- 120X15, massive cramp attack FML, opted to not irritate it further. This is becoming a regular occurance on weighted ab work.

battle ropes X5 rounds
250m row

Forgetful Fridays

Fridays are the day that I do shop work. AKA: build equipment to fill orders or for myself.

The last 2 fridays in a row, I've been working on a new bench press bench for my Renfrew Gym.  Its off the charts!  Its a very sick bench.  But it has caused me to work late into the evening and forget about doing my interval cardio.  Damnit! 

I completed the bench and its now on the floor at the new Renfrew Facility.  So fridays are mine again.

Thursday Nov 25/2010

AM session- 30 mins treadmill

PM session
MAF

DE Deads-worked up to 455 for 6 sets of 2
Box Jumps-  2 sets of 3 jumps to 39"

2 board press- 225X3, 275X3, 315X1, 365X1, 385X1, 400Xfail, 275 to chest X9
Pressing was not feeling super strong tonight but I went for it anyways.  The down set is an indicator of where I was at this night, compared to the previous week.

T-bar rows-3platesX15, 4 platesX10, 4 plates X 13 drop 3 platesX5, drop 2 plates X 6, X3, X3, X3
Incline DB press-90lbs X12, 90X10, 90X10

Chins-3 sets of 12
face pulls 3 sets of 20

Saturday Nov 27th 2010

Squats-worked up to 545X1, 545X1, 545X1, 545X1, 495X7  (all squats were legit deep, performed at the JNI)

Box Jumps- a few sets of 3 to 42" (used a step in)
Chins- a few sets of 12
Power cleans- 4 sets of 3 @  100kg

Sunday Nov 28th 2010
AM- Hockey 1 hr

PM- ACC

Feel good shoulder circuit X2 rounds

GHR-2 sets of 12 (blk band)
DB side bends- 2 sets of 15/side
Bulg split squats-2 sets of 15/leg +25lbs

Blast strap p-ups-2 sets of 20
Chins- 2 sets of 15

DB shoulder side raise
Rear raise

Opinion Time

If you were a follower of my old blog, you remeber how it was my open forum to post opinions etc.  I've so far kept this one to training posts, but today that's about to change.

I work full time in the fitness business, I train clients in my gyms 5-6 days per week.  I've been doing it for 5 years.  And for the most part doing a damn good job.  In the fitness business, you aren't selling training, you're selling results.  Most of the folks I work with could care less about bangin' weights and getting the prowler flu, they just want to reach their goals. 
Every once in a while you get a breakthrough with a client and they just "get it".  This always makes me feel good.  They pass beyond just wanting to "tone up" and start to enjoy the process.  When this happens, the results usually take off.

What I'm trying to get across with this ramble, is that we all need to focus on the process and enjoy it.  It's still very neccessary to have specific goals, but don't let them be the only reason you train.  Enjoy the process.

Thurs Nov 18 2010

AM session 30 mins treadmill

PM session MAF

DE Squats- (Straight bar, no box, Blue bands) 225X2, 275X2 for 6 sets

2 Board press- 235X3, 275X2, 315X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1 (the plan was to go until I had 2 consecutive grinders, grinders never came so I just moved on)

DB Rows- TUT 40 sec, Rest 1:30, 120lbs X 3 sets (avg reps 18/arm)

DB incline- TUT 40 sec, rest 1:30, 90lbs X 2 sets (avg reps 10)

Prone retractions-X15
Cable push-downs-X20
DB curls- X10/arm
Chins-X12

3 rounds


Sunday Nov 21
Events

Thick DB press- Fail

Stones-320 to 54" 3 sets of 5 reps

Tire flip- X5, X12 alternating reps with Rick.

 

 

Monday Nov 22nd 2010

15 mins bike sprints intervals

 

 

Tuesday NOv 23/2010

AM session 30 mins treadmill

 

PM session
MAF

Feelgood shoulder curcuit X 2 rounds

Squats-135X10, 225X10, 315X5, 405X1, 495X1, 525X1, 535Xfail, 495X1, 495X1, 495X1, 495X1
Drilling 525 and then missing 535 was frustrating as fuck, but I made some good adjustments during the singles at 495, should be a better result when I work up next. Mostly a case of not have a heavy squat single in a long time.

Front squats-225X10, 275X8, 275X8

Buf Bar GM's- 225X10, 225X10, 225X12
Weighted sit-ups-45X10, 45X10, 45X7 drop BWX8
GM's kicked my ass, and left me very grizzled the next day

Battle ropes-5 rounds (45sec on, 45 sec off)

Prowler- 3 singles

Battle ropes-5 rounds (45 sec on, 45 sec off)
This was my first legit bout on the ropes, they were decent, good conditioning work and an insane upper body pump,

Epic Cheating

Friday Nov 19th 2010

Squat-315X10, 315X10, 315X10
GHR-X12, X12, X12 (all with red band)
Pulldown abs-120X15, 120X15, 120X15


DB side raise X20
DB rear raise X20
Chins-X12
3 rounds

Saturday was an off day, I spent the day coaching lifters (mainly my wife) at a powerlifting meet in Ottawa.  We had 7 lifters from the UF team lifting in the meet.  Good day, long day, and the best was saved for last when I found out that after 8 weeks I finally would be having a cheat meal.

The cheat meal required some careful planning. I took down a few notes and eliminated anything that wasn't going to contribute to the most epic cheat meal.  A few stops at the grocery store and some well known fast food outlets and I had acquired everything I felt I needed.

Here's the list that I finalized for the blowout:

McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers X2
Wendy's Bacon double Cheeseburger X1
Tim Horton's Ice Cap supreme caramel X1 large
 Zio Nicolas "zio special" large pizza
BBQ pringles
Ms Vickies Sea Salt and malt vinegar kettle chips
Reese Peanut butter cups X4 packs
Vachon Pink Billot logs X 1 box
Home made Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Here's how it all went down:
I was only permitted to eat for 1 hr.  As much as I want, of whatever I wanted, but only for 1 hour.
I started with the burgers, the Mcdoubles didnt even make it home, I ate them in the car on the way back from picking everything up.  The wendy's double bacon went down next, followed by a slice of pizza. I was moving pretty fast because I was really excited to be plowing  back this tasty junk.
While I downed the burgers and pizza slice, I was munching on the pringles and kettlechips.  I wasn't too concerned about eating all the chips or pringles, they were mostly as a bonus side order.  The main focus was to plow as much pizza as possible after the burgs were done.  I took a break from the salty and moved onto the sweet for a bit.  I flew through the box of billot logs.  They are easy cheat food as they are moist and taste good so they go down fast.  Speed is crucial on a big cheat, if you don't move quickly, you feel full and its over.
From the vachon logs I moved right into the reese peanut butter cups.  These were a good choice but got too sweet neat the end, I had no milk, but I did have the iced cap, so it came into play here to help me finish all the cups.
I was still feeling okay after all this so I went back to the pizza and hit another slice, and followed it up with home made cookies, not sure how many I ate but it was at least 5-6 of them.
I was now starting to slow down and feel the bloat.  I nursed through the ice cap and had a few more pringles.

Game over.Only about 37 mins of total eating time.

For the next four hours I was in absolute agony, my guts hurt, my head was pounding and my heart beat felt like it was in the middle of my stomach.  Not fun, but I wanted it.  Next time a cheat comes it will definitely be more conservative.  Epic cheats like this only come on the end of a sharp diet period.

4 Days of Glory

It's been a mighty good week.  I often measure my week by how well training went, how much sleep I got, or by other immediate positive factors.

This week has been 4 days of glory because I have super busy.  Super busy means I pay all my bills on time, super busy means I get a paycheck, super busy means (most importantly) that I'm doing a good job at what I do for a living.  This all pleases me.

With all that in mind, I had some solid training sessions.

Monday Nov 15th
Bike sprint intervals 15 mins

Tuesday Nov 16th

AM session- 30 mins treadmill

PM session-
MAF

Military-135X8, 135X5, 165X3, 185X3, 210X5 (These were not very good, I am going to leave overhead press out for a week or two to hopefully rest up and get over this shoulder issue)

DL- 135X5, 315X5, 405X3, 475X4, 475X4, 475X4, 475X4, 540X2, 540X2, 475X11
(First 2 work sets were touch and go)

GHR-X12, X12, X14
Weighted sit-ups- 3 sets of 10 w/45lbs
Push-ups X10, X10, X10
Chins-X10, X10, X12, X15

Prowler- 3 singles


Wednesday Nov 17th
Bike sprint intervals 15 mins

Turds-day Nov 18th

AM session- 30 mins treadmill

PM session

MAF
DE Squats (reg bar, no box)  Blue bands + 275 X2 (6 sets)

2 Board press- 235X3, 275X2, 315X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1, 355X1
 Down set, No boards-275X11

DB rows- TUT 40sec, Rest 1:30  3 sets @ 120lbs (avg 18 reps)

DB incline- TUT 40sec, Rest 1:30 2 sets at 90lbs (avg 10 reps)

DB external rotations/retractions-3 sets of 12
Cable pushdowns-3 sets of 20
DB curls-2 sets of 20
Chins-3 sets of 10
Lat pulldowns-1 set of 15 (narrow grip)

Good times!

Road Trip

Friday Nov 12th 2010

Missed my interval bike sprints.  Didnt even realize it until I was getting into bed.  This day was a whirlwind of chaos, building equipment, packing and preparing food for my road trip (2 coolers worth so I had no excuses to cheat), and helping my wife get her equipped squat opener dialed in.

Saturday Nov 13th 2010
Events at UCC in Toronto
Thick DB 150lbs

A bunch of singles (was feeling things out, I had no expectations but it went well)

Clean and press each rep- X2 right, X2 left, X4 (2 right and 2 left in same set)


Farmers deads-worked up to 330/hand X5
Farmers walk-330/hand X50' down, drop turn, 50' back (aprox distance)

Hand over hand prowler pull- 2 sets

Heavy prowler push- 3 sets working up to 550, all pushes aprox 70'



Sunday NOv14th 2010
ACC

45 deg back raise-3 sets of 20 w/purple band
Machine leg curl-3 sets of 20
DB side bends- 100X15/side, 160X15/side, 160X15/side

Blast strap p-upsX20, X20
CHins- X12, X12
DB side raise- 20X15, 25X12, 25X12
Rear delt machine-3 sets of 20

DB curls-45X10/arm, 45X10/arm
Green band pushdowns-2 sets of 20
Machine calf press- 3 sets of 20

Just having some fun using different stuff while at UCC, a good pump and change from the usual.


Sunday PM cardio session
Treadmill 30mins


Here's a detailed list of what food I packed for my trip so there was no reason to deviate from my plan:


2 prepared meals for the drive down (high carb) 7oz ground chicken, 1-3/4 cups rice


1/2 loaf of ezekiel bread


4 fillets of tillapia (pre-cooked)


2 - 8oz round steaks (pre-cooked)


2 - 500ml containers of liquid egg whites


1 jar of natural Peanut butter (obviously I didnt eat the enitre jar over the weekend)


10 scoops of whey protein (just put them in a giant freezer zip lock so I didnt steal the whole jar on sarah)


2 servings of cabbage and vinegar


Bottle of fish oil 


Bottle of evening primrose oil


Jar of creatine


Jar of Beta Alanine.

A bit of pain in the ass to pack, but well worth it when it came to getting all my meals.

Big week, medium weights

Monday Nov 8th/2010
Bike interval sprints 15 mins

Tuesday Nov 9th/2010
A.M. 30 mins treadmill

P.M.  MAF

Box jumps- 2 sets of 3 to 39"

Military Press-135X8, 150X5, 175X5, 200X5 (very careful and controlled reps, lock-outs were not complete)

SSB Box Squats- 135X10, 225X5, 315X5, 405X1, 465X1, 475X1, 485X1

Barbell squats-315X10, 315X10, 405X10
Buf bar GM's- 225X10, 225X10, 225X10

Weighted sit-ups- 45lbs X15, 45lbs X10 (these cause my abs to cramp up super hard, never able to complete all sets)

Prowler-2 singles, 1 double

Wed Nov 3rd/2010
Bike interval sprints 15 mins


Thurs Nov 11/10
MAF

DE Pulls-6 sets of 1 @445

2 board bench press-225X8, 275X3, 315X3, 345X2, 365X1, 385X1, 395X1, 275X13

DB rows-120X35sec/arm, 3 sets, 1:30 rest between each set (averaged 15 reps)

DB incline-90X35sec, 3 sets, 1:30 rest between. (averaged 10 reps)

BB Curls- 75X35sec, 3 sets, 1:30 rest between (avg 10 reps)

Rope pushdowns-100X35sec, 1:30 rest (avg 12 reps)

Just changing up a bit to keep things interesting. very difficult to complete the last set of each exercise, and massive pump.

Threw in a few extra sets of lat pulldowns X12 @160 here and there.

What's Your Excuse?

After 7 weeks of adjusting my diet, adding in an hour and half of cardio (spread out over 5 sessions) per week, and simply sticking to the plan, I've managed to drop my body fat quite significantly while maintaining muscle and performance.

Okay, so I spend some of my hard earned money on a nutritionist, it's not cheating, because you can hire the exact same guy to build you a custom diet too.
One of the biggest benefits of using the nutritionist is the accountability.  When I spend that money, I feel very motivated to stick to the plan.

And sticking to the plan is what created this transformation:

No cheat meals
No Beers with the boys
Never missing a work-out
Never missing a cardio session

7 weeks flys by, and I really didn't miss any of the cheat foods or drinks that much. 
No food or drink tastes as good as I feel after getting into a super lean state.

I took action and made things happen.  I hope that I've set an example and motivated others.



WEEKEND TRAINING:

Saturday Nov 6th 2010
Events

Truck pull simulator (rope and harness)- 3 X 75' pulls- prowler + 10 plates + 3 gorillas, still a bit too light, not enough friction from just one prowler. Droeske let his feet drag on the ground for my last pull which made it fairly difficult.

Axle pwr cleans-200lbsX3, 200X3, 200X3, 200X3, 250X2, 250X2
Haven't done these in a long time, felt pretty rusty.

stones- a couple warm-ups, 3 stone run : 300 to 56", 320 to 54", 350 to 51". Did 3 sets of this run, then did it once in reverse, but started with a 285 that was laying around at the time (285 to 51", 350 to 51", 320 X miss to 54", 300 to 56"

Decent session, got some work in.

Sunday Nov 7th (AM)

Hockey 1 hr

Sunday Nov 7th 2010 (PM session)
ACC

GHR- (monster mini) X10, X10, X12, X12
DB side bends- 150X15/side, 3 sets

DB Incline Bench-80X10, 100x10, 120x12 (Shoulders felt fine on all sets)
Weighted Chins- +20lbs X12, 3 sets

DB side raise-25X12, 25X12, 25X12
DB rear raise-15X15, 15X15, 15X15
DB Shrugs- 90lbs X20, 90X20, 90X20
DB curls-45X8/arm, 3 sets
Lat pulldowns- various grips and handles 5 sets of 15 @ 150

Good pump, good sesh, shoulders feel great on horizontal pressing, but overhead still needs to be avoided.

The Week in Review

This week was  week 7 of the dieting to get lean operation.  The first 2 weeks brought about the biggest change, then everything seemed to be stalled for about 3 weeks, and now the body fat has taken another dive.  I can definately notice that I've dropped some more fat.  While I feel pretty jacked, I also feel small.  I'm looking forward to heading back up again soon.


I've said this before, and I'll say it again, dieting down to lose body fat is WAY EASIER than force feeding yourself multiple times a day to try and gain weight.  I've done both, and cutting down is a piece of cake.


Tuesday Nov 2/2010  (medium carb day)
MAF

Military (deload)-135X5, 145X5, 155X5
Box jumps- 2 sets of 3

SSB box squat- (DE) 6 sets of 2 @ 295lbs

Hack squats-3 sets of 10
SSB GM's- 3 sets of 10 @ 225

Pulldown abs- 3 sets of 15 @ 120
Cossacks- 3 sets of 20
Split squats- 3 sets of 20/leg @ bw 


Wednesday Nov 3rd 2010
(Low carb day)

Interval cardio was skipped and replaced with 6 extra hours of sleep.  I was feeling pretty sick, I left work and went home at 2pm and slept off the sickness.
Meal #1-  2/3 cup of oats, 1 cup of egg whites, 1.5 scoops whey fusion vanilla, dash of cinnamon, splenda to taste, 3g fish oil

Meal #2- same as meal 1

Meal #3- 3 fillets of tilapia (aprox 10 oz), 2 slices of ezekiel bread, 3g fish oil


Meal #4 - 9oz Strip loin steak, 1 cup of chopped cabbage in vinegar, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter


Meal #5 - 9oz extra lean ground chicken, 3 large dill pickles, 2 tbsp natural PB


Meal #6 - 2 cans of boneless, skinless salmon, salt, pepper, mustard, 3g evening primrose oil, 5g fish oil


Thursday, Nov 4/10 (High carb day) (feeling jacked on high carbs)
MAF

Bench Press- 135X10, 135X10, 225X5, 275X3, 315X3, 335X3, 345X3, 345X3

Deadlift-135X10, 135X8, 225X5, 225X3, 315X5, 405X5, 495X2, 585X1, 660X1 Gym PR, 600X1, 600X1, 600X1, 600X1 (All sets performed with no belt)

DB Military- attempted 1 set with light DB' and this seems to really irritate my shoulder so I will leave them out a while longer

Banded Pin press-135X5, 185X5, 185X5 (orange elite short bands, pin height was equivalent to aprox 1 board) Used close grip on all sets
DB Rows-120X20/arm, 120X20/arm, 150X12/arm drop 120X8/arm

Cable pushdowns-3 sets of 15 @ 100
Push-ups- 3 sets of 15

Decent sesh.

Friday Nov 5th 2010
(Low carb)


15 mins interval bike sprints, 6 rounds of battle ropes 30sec on, 30 sec rest




Decent week, really leaning out, I hope that I am getting close to the end of the lean out, so I can smash on some lean mass very soon.

Cardio?

Cardio doesn't suck as bad as everyone says it does.

Tonight I hit 15 mins of interval sprints on the lifecycle

Tuesday morning I will get another 30 mins of steady state work in on the treadmill.

15 mins intervals on Wednesday, 15 mins of intervals on Friday and 30 mins of steady state on Sunday morning.

That's been my cardio weekly schedule for the last 6 weeks and it seems to be working well.

What I do to make the time pass quickly and easily while doing this work is simple.

Steady state is a moderate pace and pretty much a glorified walk.  During the 30 mins on the mill, I've been reading various books to help me improve my training and business knowledge.  I see this time as personal development time. 
Lately I've been reading "Block Periodization - Breakthrough in sports training" by Vladamir Issurin.

Intervals is short and sweet and the pace is very fast.  For this I either put on all 3 sports channels at once and try to read the closed captioning (Arnprior). And in Renfrew, I've been borrowing my wife's Ipod and blasting my ears.  This is my playlist of choice for the 15 mins of glory.

Misfits - Dig up her bones
Misfits - She
Misfits - Crawling eye
Misfits - Helena
Misfits - Die my darling

This one get the fastest RPM's out of the whole group.



Gets the job done

Weekend Recap

We hosted our annual bootcamp games at the Renfrew location on Saturday, and additionally, my training partner Pete lost his mother this week so we called off training at the garage and I drilled it at the gym instead.

Saturday Oct 30/2010
Improv in place of events

18" rack pull- warm-up with quaded monster minis, 225X5, 315X5, 405X5, 495X3, 585X3, 675X3, 705X3 Drilled 705, it felt better than 675, but that was the plan so I stuck to it and didn't go beyond.

JNI approved squats- 225X5, 225X5, 315X5, 405X10, 405X10, 405X10, 405X10, 405X10 (used a belt on all 405 sets)

Weighted sit-ups-1 set of 12 with 45lb plate behind neck, abs cramped up like crazy and ended my sesh.

1st time crushing out a gym sesh with thee Dave Droeske in at least a year or more. It was totally by chance that he showed up and I was just about to lift. Good timing, good session.

*JNI: Jay Nera Institute



Sunday Oct 31st
ACC 

GHR- 3 sets of 15
Weighted sit-ups-3 sets of 10 w/ 45lbs behind neck

Incline DB press-80X12, 100X12, 100X12 Shoulder felt fine on these, was careful and controlled during the entire set.
Chins- 5 set of 10

DB side raise- 20X15, 25X15, 25X17
DB rear raise- 15X15, 15X15, 15X17
DB Shrugs-80X15, 80X15, 80X15
DB curls- 40X10, 40X10, 40X10
Lat pull downs- 6 sets of 15 @150 (various bars and grips)

Diet is going well, starting to feel a bit better about strength after the rack pulls on Saturday.

The plan is to continue to lean out until I reach single digit body fat percentage and then force a big rebound.  We are planning on reaching the end of the lean out sometime in early December to allow enough time for the rebound to occur.  Shelby has assured me that I will bounce back bigger and leaner than when I started the cut.  My job is to train hard and smart to maintain as much strength as possible.

High Carb Day

Thursday was a high carb day.  I was unfortunately out of ezekiel bread and didnt have time to make a batch of rice so it was all oats, all day.

Meal #1- 1 cup of egg whites, 1-2/3 cups of oats, splenda, cinnamon, 3/4 scoop of whey fusion vanilla

Meal #2- 8 oz of tilapia fillets , 1-1/3 cups of oats, splenda, cinnamon

Meal #3- 8 oz of extra lean ground turkey, 1-1/3 cups of oats, splenda

Meal #4- same as meal 3

Meal #5- 1 cup of egg whites, 1-1/4 cup of oats, splenda, cinnamon, 3/4 cup of whey fusion

Meal #6- (post training) 2 scoops whey fusion, 1-2/3 cups of oats, splenda

Meal #7- 1-1/4 cup of egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 8 dill pickles, 3 evening primrose caps, 2 teaspoons of fish oil.


Training:

Thurs Oct 28/10
MAF

DE Deads-6 sets of 1 @425 (nice and crisp, good opportunity to do a tech check)

Bench-135X10, 135X5, 205X5, 225X5, 250X5, 285X5, 325X5 presc reps only

T-bar rows- 3 platesX15, 4 platesX10, 4 plates X10 drop 3 plates X5+5 drop 2 plates X10 +3+3+3
Rope pushdowns-100X15, 100X15, 100X17 drop 80X5 drop 60X8

DB side raise- 3 sets of 15
DB rear raise- 3 sets of 15
DB curls- 3 sets of 12/arm
Lat pulldowns- a shitload

Good pump, no shoulder irritation, neck is still pretty destroyed.

_________________
www.ufgyms.com
www.totalfitnesssolutions.ca




Ontario's Strongest Man

Canada's Strongest Man 105kg

Train Wrecked

Tuesday Oct 26/2010
MAF

Simple 6 shoulder warm-up

Military Press- 135X8, 135X5, 170X5, 195X3, 215X2 (the plan was to just do a single at 215 and move on, but the first 2 reps were super crisp, on the 3rd I experienced a loud snap in the right side of my neck and then set was over in a hurry. Instantly my neck tightened up and now I cruising around like Bruce Wayne, with the full upper body head turns.  Luckily my lovely wife got me an appointment with my chiro, Dr. Shawn Bulger, tomorrow morning.)

SSB Box squats (parallel box)-135X10, 225X5, 275X3, 315X2, 365X1, 405X1, 405X1, 405X1, 405X1, 405X1, 405X1, 425X1, 425X1

DB walking lunges-65lbs X 3 sets of 12 per leg
SSB GM's- 135X10, 225X12, 225X10

Weighted sit-ups- 25lbs plate X15, 45lbs plate X10, 45lbs plate X 7 drop bwX5

prowler- 3 trips

High/Low

Sat oct 23/2010
Events

Jumps- 2 sets of 3

DE Log-worked up to 3 sets of 3 @ 235

Stones-300 to 60", 350 to 56", 350 to 56", 350 to 56" X2, 350 to 56"X2

Tire flip-75 seconds- 6 flips


This session was absolutely frustrating and definitely a low point in the training week.



Sunday Oct 24/2010
Hockey 1 hr 8:30am

ACC 7pm

DB side bends-150X15, 150X15, 150X15, 150X15
GHR-4 sets of 15

DB bench-80X15, 80X15, 100X12 (no shoulder issue if scaps remain retracted)
Chins-3 sets of 15

DB side raise-3 sets of 20 @ 20
DB Shrugs-3 sets of 20 @ 80
Barbell curls-3 sets of 15 @65
Lat pulldowns-4 sets of 20 (2 narrow grip, 2 wide grip)

This session was decent, mostly due to the fact that I was on mission to make up for Saturdays shitshow.

Overall this was a great week, I had zero deviations from my plan, I got all cardio sessions completed, the meal plan was followed perfectly and I was able to implement some extra shoulder prehab/rehab work.

4 weeks of the diet plan and I am now down 20lbs.  Fat loss doesnt have to be dragged out, extreme dicipline and execution make it happen pretty fast.  And I stick to my opinion that losing fat/dieting is easier than gaining weight.  This has been so much easier than all the force feeding that I was doing previous to the lean out.

Lower Body

Thurs Oct 21/2010
MAF

Military-135X10, 135X5, 160X3, 185X3, 205X7
Box Jumps (39")-3 sets of 3 jumps

DE SSB Box squat- (parallel box) 6 sets of 3 @ 250

Leg press-5 plates X20, 6 plates X15, 6 plates X30 (focus on flexing the muscles instead of just moving the weight)
SSB GM's- 135X10, 225X10, 225X10

Pull down abs-120X15, 120X12, 120X1


Friday Oct 22/2010

Simple 6 shoulder warm-up
15 mins Bike sprints
Band stretch for hams and hips

Easy Wednesday

This is a copy and paste of the last email from Shelby (nutrition guy)

You're losing at a good rate.. the first month or so is just kind of the "blah" phase though as you usually don't look much leaner, you just look smaller.. lol.  I always hate the first 4-6 weeks or so.

  But after that you should start seeing the changes more visibly.

Let's continue as is.

 

 

Wed Oct 20/2010

 

Simple six shoulder warm-up

15 mins interval sprints'

 

Anti-Grover work

 

3 sets of 30 with neck harness

3 sets of 20 with plate on forehead

Pushing and Pulling

Tues Oct 19/2010 (6am)

30 mins cardio, treadmill level 7.3 (just trying to keep HR above 120)  This is my favorite cardio as I can read a book while power walking.

Tues Oct 19/10 (7pm)
MAF

Bench-135X10, 225X5, 275X3, 315X1, 350X1, 350X1, 350X1, 350X1, 315X3, 275X5 (last 2 sets were for tech adjustments)

Deads-225X5, 315X3, 405X3, 495X1, 585X1, 615X1, 650X1, 500X9 (pulls got better as the weight got heavier. 615 was much better than 585. All sets were without a belt)

DB military-75X12, 75X11, 75X12
DB rows-150X12/arm-3 sets (grip was the limiting factor)

DB ext-2 sets of 10 @ 50
Face pulls-2 sets of 25

Prowler-4 trips, 1 plate per post


Today was a "medium" carb day.
Meal #1 - 1.25 cups oats, 1 cup egg whites, 1.5 scoops whey fusion, splenda and cinamon to taste.  (this was consumed after the 30min cardio at 6am)

Meal #2- 3 tilapia fillets, 2 slices ezekiel bread

Meal #3- 10oz Striploin steak, 1 cup chopped cabbage, onions and mushrooms in vinegar, 2 tbsp natural PB

Meal #4- 10oz extra lean ground turkey, mustard, 2 large dill pickles, 2 tbsp natural PB

Meal #5 (post training)- 1.25 cups oats, 1 cup egg whites, 1.5 scoops whey fusion, splenda and cinnamon to taste

Meal #6- 2 scoops hydrolyzed beef protein (fruit punch tastes awesome), 3 evening primrose caps, 5 fish oil caps, 1 scoop veggie greens, 1 tsp creatine

Catch up

Everything is going as planned for my "lean out".  I've dropped a total of 18lbs now in the last 3-1/2 weeks.  Strength perhaps has taken a small decrease, its too early to tell, as there have been other factors affecting my performance in the last couple of weeks.  So far I've had an easy time sticking to the diet and the cardio is not fun but I'm getting it done.

                                            After 3 weeks, 18lbs lost

Thurs Oct 14/10

MAF

Military press- 135X10, 150X5, 170X5, 195X9, 135X17

.

SSB Box squat (Slightly below parallel)- worked up to 315X3, 405X1, 455X1, 495Xmiss, 405X5

.

Front squats-225X10, 225X10, 225X15

.

Buf Bar GM's - 225X10, 225X10, 225X12

GHR sit-ups- Blk Band, X15, X15, X10

.

_____________________________________________________________________

Sat oct 16/2010
Events

Weighted Jumps- (aprox 30") 3 sets of 3 holding 25lb DB's
.

DE Log- worked up to 235X3 for 3 work sets. Nothing spectacular but made some good improvements from set 1 to set 3
.

Farmers-(all runs turn @ 75') 200X150, 250X150, 300X150, 320X150 2 drops on this run, 370X10' drop to 320 to the 75' mark, drop to 250 and finish run. (drop set I guess)
.

Stones- a couple warm-ups with 285 (20"), 320 to 54" X3, 320 to 54" X3, 320 to 54" X4 (used and I go, you go rest period on the last set)
.

Tire flip-2 sets 75 seconds, 7 flips on each set.
.

This session was done in about 3 hours and it destroyed me. But that was the goal. Success.

___________________________________________________________________
Sunday Oct 17/2010 (am)
Played hockey for 1 hr
.
.


Sunday Oct 17/2010 (afternoon)
ACC
(the focus of these sessions is to get some extra posterior chain work and heavy abs, and then just a bunch of upper bodybuilding)
.
.

DB side bends-150X10/side, 120X20/side, 120X20/side
GHR-3 sets of 15 (these felt crisp and solid, good control)
It was neccessary for me to drop to the 120's due to my grip being fatigued from sat farmers session, I just couldnt hold on long enough to get the work in.
.
.

DB incline-80X12, 80X12, 80X10
Lat pull downs-160X20, 160X20, 160X20
.
.

DB curls-40X12/arm- 2 sets
DB Shrugs-80lbs X20  - 2 sets
DB side raise- 25X15- 3 sets
Push-ups-3 sets of 20
More lat pulldowns after each round
.
.

Trying out the new Facility

Although its not my first training session in the new Renfrew Facility, its the first session I've really wound up and hit the weights hard in the new place.  Let me tell you, this building is going to host some big things. I love it.

Tues Oct 12/10
MAF

Deadlift- 225X10, 335X10, 405X10, 405X10 Just getting some work in. Nice and easy as it should be. Back is still mangled moving left to right but seems fine front to back for deads.

Bench-worked up to 275X3, 315X1, 365X1, 315X5
Lat pull downs- sets of 15-20 after all sets and after all other accessory sets.

DB military-75X12, 75X10, 75X10
T-bar rows-2 plates X15, 3 plates X15, 4 plates X15

Barbell triceps ext- mini band and 55lbs bar weight- X15, X14, X14
2 way shoulders-20lbs X 10/dir (rear and side)

Prowler-3 trips

Feeling stiff afterwards. good sesh

Todays Meals look like this: (its a low day and I'm just about to jump on a bike for 20mins)
Meal #1- 1 cup egg whites, 2/3 cup dry oats, 1-1/2 scoops whey X, generic brand artificial sweetener.

Meal #2- 3 fillets of tilapia (aprox 10 oz), 2/3 cup oats in blender with water, 3 fish oil caps

Meal #3- same as meal #1

Meal #4- 10oz Ground turkey, 1 large dill pickle, mustard, 2 tbsp natural Peanut Butter, 3 fish oil caps

Meal #5- 10oz striploin steak, 1 cup chopped cabbage in vinegar, 2 Tbsp Natural PB, 3 fish oil caps

Meal #6- Not sure yet, likely 1 cup of egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 1 can of tuna scrambled, 3 evening primrose oil caps, 5 fish oil caps

Long Weekend Recap

Thursday Oct 7/10
Deload

Military press-3 sets of 5 @ 135

Squats-135X10, 135X10, 225X5, 315X5

Box jumps- 3 sets of 3 to 39"

3 way shoulders-2 sets of 12/direction

GHR- 2 sets of 10

Prowler- 3 trips, 1 plate per post



Saturday Oct 9th/2010
Octoberfest Strongman invitational

The events for the day were:
Truck pull
Log press
Car Deadlift for reps
Yoke walk
Keg loading

The diet has shown very little negative effect on my performance other than the fact that I got very bad cramping in my legs, low back and abs about half way through the show.  I will assume this is due to the low sodium content of the unprocessed foods that make up 95% of my nutrition.  I've since started super salting everything.

I was disappointed with my second place finish, but felt I did put forth a decent effort.  I also planned a cheat night, including some beer and schnitzel during the octoberfest celebrations that were going on Saturday night after the show.

Sunday was back to business as usual, back to the diet plan.

Monday Oct 11th 2010
ACC

DB incline press- 2 sets of 12 @ 100
Chins- aprox 5-6 sets spread throughout the entire session

GHR- 3 sets of 15
Rev Hyper- 2 sets of 20

Lat pulldowns-2 sets of 20

DB side raise- 2 sets of 15
DB curls-2 sets of 12/arm

BB shrugs- worked up to 315X15 drop 225X20, 135X20

Decent session, just getting my body moving.

Long and Heavy Weekend

Weekend of Oct 1-2-3 2010

No training, no cardio

We moved our entire gym from a third floor commercial space (49 stairs, no evelator) to a new facility across town. (I will post a video tour of the new place soon)

Gym equipment duck walk- 100-800lbs X 49 reps X 150 sets
Back and legs were destroyed.

Good news is the new facility is ground floor and its AWESOME!



Mon Oct 4th 2010
Make up for missed events

Log push press-190X5, 250X5, 250X5, 290X1, 250X6
Decent press, legs are pretty dead, couldnt get any pop or speed. This is a product of the weekend no doubt. Just wanted to handle a log.

3 board press- 315X5, 365X3

Chins- a few sets of 10 mixed in with all the other work

20 mins cardio



Tuesday Oct 5th
Deload

Deadlift-245X5, 315X5, 365X5
Bench-135X5, 245X5, 275X5
Both lifts were crisp and easy, as they should be.

DB military-3 sets of 10 @ 75lbs
DB rows- 3 sets of 15/arm @ 120
(the 120 are easy as they have skinny handles)

DB ext-2 sets of 12 @ 40
3 way shoulders- 2 sets of 12/direction @ 12lbs

Prowler- 3 trips, not sure of distance, new spot, hard as fuck, 1 plate per post.

During all the moving and the crazy long days, I did manage to stick to the nutrition plan almost to the letter.  And by almost, I added a cold meat sandwhich on sunday that wasnt on the plan and a slice of pizza on saturday. The fact that I had the pizza really irritates me.  I hate breaking the plan.  The sandwhich was needed.  I was tapped and super hungry from all the moving.  Needed some extra fuel.

The Last of it's Kind

This will be the last training session for (or anyone for that matter) at what is now known as "the old Renfrew location".  We will be spending the next 3 days moving the Renfrew location to a new facility across town.

If all goes well hopefully I will be hitting my Sunday accessory session at the new facility.


Sept 30/2010 
MAF

Push Press (this was to be military deload but I will save that for next week)- worked up to 265X4, 265X3

Pwr cleans-225X3 X5 sets

Front squats-225X10, 225X10, 225X15

Buffalo Bar GM's-185X12 X3 sets
DB side bends-150X15/side, 150X10/side

Good sesh, last sesh in the current Renfrew location of my gym.

 

Today was a high carb day, and also one of 2 days during the week that I do not have to cardio.

 

Drilling some weights

Tuesday Sept 28th 2010
MAF

6am- 30 mins stair climber


7pm
Bench-135X8, 225x5, 285X5, 320X3, 355X3 (Decided not to be greedy, drilled 3 solid reps and hung it up) 225X10
Deadlift-225X8, 315X5, 405X3, 425X5, 495X3, 555X7

DB rows-150X10/arm, 150X17 per arm (straps)
DB military-75X10, 75X12

Barbell/band ext- 3 sets of 15
3 way shoulders-2 sets of 10/direction

Cardio and Progress

Monday Sept 27th 2010

Monday was a low carb day, and off day from training.

15 mins interval sprints on lifecycle


Tuesday Sept 28th (6am)

Morning Cardio: 30 mins stair climber, fasted. (Right out of bed, no food)

Will train MAF template later tonight.

Shelby Starnes, my nutritionist, has told me that we got rid of good amount of bloat in the first week and will keep the diet the same for another week.

Things are coming along nicely.

If all goes well, I will get some training video tonight so you can get a sneak peak into the MAF template.

Weekend Update

Friday Sept 24th 2010
ACC work

Push-ups 2 sets of 20
Chins-2 sets of 10

GHR-2 sets of 10
Cossacks-2 sets of 20

YTL's - 2 sets of 10 each
face pulls-2 sets of 20
Pulldown abs-2 easy sets

15 mins stair climber (this was supposed to be 30 mins)


Saturday Sept 25th 2010

Sarah and I spent the day at the Carp Fair putting on the 2010 Carp Fair Strongman show.  This is now the 3rd year that I have been the promoter of the show.  It was a good day, the weather held out just long enough for the competition to finish and everyone went home happy (I think)

It was also Sarah's birthday party at our home that evening, so a lot of food and drinks were out and available.

Despite the fact that I was at a fair and hosted a party at my house, I stuck to my nutrition plan. I followed it to the letter.  Here's what I ate, instead of cookies, pizza and liquor.

Meal #1- 2/3 cup oats, 1 cup egg whites, 2 scoops whey fusion, 3g fish oil

Meal #2- Same as meal 1

Meal #3- Same as meal 1
(these shakes were easy to consume while on the road and during the strongman show)

Meal #4- 8oz bbq beef, franks hot sauce, 1/4 cup cabbage salad, diet pepsi

Meal #5- 10oz extra lean ground turkey, 1 cup of cabbage, 2 large dill pickles, mustard, diet pepsi, 3g evening primrose oil

Meal #6- 2.5 scoops whey fusion, 1 tbsp macadamia nut oil, espresso double shot, 3g evening primrose oil


Sunday Sept 26/2010 (Happy Birthday Sarah)
No Template, this was fill in for missing events

Barbell push press- worked up to 255X5 for 2 sets, down set 225X10

Leg press-5 plates X15, 6 plates X40

DB side raise-20X10, 30X8 drop 20X8 drop 10X8

Cable curls-100X12, 100X20

Rope pushdowns-100X15, 100X20

Pretty decent weekend, missed 1 cardio session on Saturday.  Was supposed to be 15 mins of sprint intervals.

After just one week of following my nutrition plan very closely and adding in 4 extra cardio sessions, I have dropped the better part of ten pounds.
Check the difference in the photos after just one week.

 Before

After 1 week

Evening Lift

It's been a very long time since I did my lifts in the evening.  Tonight went pretty good, warm-up was a breeze body felt mobile (relatively), lifting was a different story.

Thurs Sept 23/2010
MAF

Military-135X10, 155X5, 185X5, 210X3, 235X2 (plan was to do prescribed single but the first rep was wretched so I did another and it wasn't much better)

Squats-135X10, 225X8, 315X5, 330 (misload) X5, 390X5, 440X3, 495X3

Chins-3 sets of 10
RDL-315X10, 315X15

DB Incline-120X9, 120X10 drop 90X5, drop 80X5
T-bar rows-4 platesX12, 4 platesX15 drop 3 platesX8, 2 plates X 10

GREEE-EASSY

Tues PM and Wed PM Sessions

Tuesday Sept 21st/2010
PM Cardio- 20mins stair climber
250m Rower (concept II)- 39.8

Heavy Rain shut me down on the planned prowler session


Wed Sept 22/2010
PM Cardio- 15 mins sprint intervals on Lifecycle

The Start

Just about everyday, I get asked questions related to fat loss.  No big suprise, its my job.  Questions like;
"How long will it take me to lose X ?"
"I'm eating really healthy, how come I'm not losing fat?"
"Whats the best exercise to get rid of fat on my X ?"

I'm not one to tell people what they want to hear just to make them happy.  I believe in telling it how it is.  Straight up, no bull, the facts and the truth.
That approach makes answering the above questions very tough.  The answers would be vague at best.
So I'm going to demonstrate the hows and the whys for the next little while.
My competitive season is just about done and I feel I need to make some changes. 
I'm going to be leaning out (Losing some fat), and hopefully adding some lean muscle mass.
I will be very transparent on here to the process and the methods I use. 
Hopefully it will put down a few good answers.

I will Post:
-Weekly pics (the same ones that I send to my nutritionist each week)
-Training summaries of my weight training, events practice, conditioning and additional cardio training. 
-Weekly nutrition plans and how well I follow or deviate from the plan.

Starting Point

This photo was taken on Sat Sept 18th in the morning. (I try to always take the pics at the same time of day)
Body weight 256lbs

Smeagol, with a grover neck

I received the weekly nutrition protocol from Shelby Starnes of troponinnutrition.com on friday sept 17th and went right to work.  I started following the plan on Saturday the 18th.

Here's what the weekly plan looks like:
2 days per week are high carb days (My 2 biggest training days, sat/thurs)
2 days per week are medium carb days (Also training days, sun/tues)
3 days per week are low carb days (Off days, cardio only Mon/wed/fri)

I'm not going to get into all the nitty gritty details of what I'm eating on a daily/weekly basis, as it is very long and boring, but I will give snapshots of random days.

Yesterday, Tuesday Sept 20th was a low carb day.
I ate:
meal #1- 1 cup egg whites, 2/3 cup dry oats, 1-1/4 scoops of Whey fusion chocolate.  Blended in blender with aprox 1 cup of cold water. 3 fish oil caps

Meal #2 Same as meal 1

Meal #3 Same as meal 1

Meal #4-10 oz striploin steak, 1 cup asparagus, 2 tbsp all natural peanut butter

Meal #5-10 oz extra lean ground turkey, 2 dill pickles, 1 cup of chopped cabbage soaked in vinegar, 2 tbsp all natural peanutbutter

Meal #6- 2-1/2 scoops of whey fusion chocolate, 3 evening primrose oil caps, 1 tbsp macadamia nut oil, 1 dill pickle.

Throughout the day I also consumed 1 gallon of water, and 3 cans of zero cal pepsi max. I started the day with a double shot of espresso.


Monday Sept 20th
Cardio- 5 min warm-up, 15 mins sprint intervals on lifecycle, stretching for hams and hips.


Tuesday Sept 21st
MAF

DE deads- 315X3 singles, 365X3 singles, 405X3 singles (10 secs between all singles at each weight)
Bench press-135X10, 225X8, 265X3, 300X3, 340X4, 225X18

Front squats-225X10, 315X5, 315X10 drop 225X15
DB rows-120X20/arm, 120X20/arm, 120X20/arm

GHR-2 sets of 12
GHR sit ups-2 sets of 15

A few small changes are required, the full throttle approach last week left me really  mangled and underperforming on just about everything including life.

Weekend Work

Sat Sept 18/2010
Events

Log push press- worked up to 255X5, 285X3
Viking press- 1 set X8

Yoke-worked up to 2 sets of 865 for aprox 60`

Car DL- 1 set of 10 with suit and straps

Stones-a bunch of various loads, 350 to 60`` (2 singles)


Sunday Sept 19, 2010
ACC

GHR- 2 sets of 15
Cossacks - 2 sets of 20

Lat pulldowns-2 sets (DC style)

DB side raise- 2 sets (DC style)

DB curls- 2 sets (dc style)

DB shrugs- 2 sets (DC style)

Face pulls-2 sets of 20
Band pushdowns-2 sets of 20

Last 2 work-outs

These 2 sessions are following the Dubreileville Pro Strongman (I will post a recap of the competition very soon and some videos to follow)

Tues sept 14
MAF

Deads-225X8, 315X5, 405X5, 460X5, 525X9
Bench-135X10, 135X10, 245X5, 285X5, 320X6
(didn't think bench was going to go well at all but it was deese, I just missed #7 also)

Squats-365X10, 365X10
DB rows-150X10/arm, 150X10/arm

GHR-X10, X10
Hanging leg raise-X10, X10


PM session- 250m row X4


________________________________________________________

Thurs Sept 16/10
MAF

Military-135X10, 175X3, 220X5
DB military-75lbs X15

Squats-225X10, 315X5, 365X3, 415X3, 470X5

DB unicef press-100X10, 100X14 drop 80X5 drop 60X5
Chins-X15, X15

GM's - 225X10, 225X10
Seated rows - 160X20, 160X20

Finally getting adapted and finishing the sessions.

Training

Last light lift before Dub'ville this weekend.  This has been a very boring week to start a training log here on the new blog.

LAX Ball for feet
PVC Pipe for everything

Dynamic warm-up

Shoulder circuit

Deload
Military Press-135X5, 135X10, 135X5
Feel good right now shoulder circuit- 2 sets

Push-ups X20, X20
Chins- X10, X10
GHR- X10, X10
3 way shoulder circuit X12/direction, X12/dir

Extra stretching for lats and pecs

After training I went directly to visit my chiro for an adjustment.

PM Prowler Session

On Tuesday evening I went out for a light prowl.  The last conditioning session before the Dub'ville Pro this weekend.

1 Plate per side

Single (down 30 yds, back 30 yds)
Double (down and back X2)
1.5  (down, back, down)
Single
Single

Rest periods were fairly short, only Dane and Sarah joined me on this.

Training 6am

Still following the MAF template that Foley and I have been working on, it should be ready to be published soon.

LAX ball for glutes
PVC pipe for everything

Dynamic warm-up

barbell complex X6 reps per movement
cleans to front squat
Overhead press
overhead squat
GM's

Deload week

DL-135X10, 225X5, 315X5, 365X5
Bench press-135X5, 185X5, 225X5

Squats-135X10, 225X10
DB rows-100X15/arm, 100X15/arm

Band pushdowns-2 sets of 25
High band abs-2 sets of 20
GHR- 2 sets of 10

Extra stretching for lats, pecs, hamstrings and hips

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