Moving Up A Weight Class

[joedemarco]

wow..that's aggressive nutrition plan, you don't need any carbs to stay full?
I'm with ya on leg day, it's like the Holy Grail around here!

I have been feeling really good with the limited carbs I've been taking in. Haven't been feeling hungry either. I will actually go full keto over the next 2-3 weeks. Depends on how things are going.

Yeah, today was suppose to be a heavy squat day so instead of doing it this morning at 5 a.m. and having a shitty workout, I'll just do it tomorrow afternoon. I could actually use the extra day as my back is still a little sore (in a good way) from all the deadlifting I did Friday.

great start...well you been doing this awhile, but great start on the new competitive endeavors.

Thanks, Ax. It should be fun. I'm gonna be doing a little experimenting on this contest prep in order to work out a few kinks for the 2011 season.

[joedemarco]

This afternoon was my primary leg workout. I have another day that I do some extra hamstring/glute work.

I was in a squatting mood today. I started squatting, it felt good, so I just went with it.

Squats

135 X 15, 225 X 15, 275 X 5, 315 X 5, 365 X 5, 405 X 3. 455 X 3, 405 X 8, 405 X 8, 365 X 12, 365 X 12, 365 X 12

Leg Extensions

120 X 15, 140 X 12, 140 X 12, 140 X 12, 120 X 12, 120 X 12

Single Leg Cybex Squat Press

6 Plates X 15 (each leg), 8 plates X 10 (each leg), 6 plates X 15 (each leg), 6 Plates X 15 (each leg)

I perform a lot of deep myofascial type stretching between sets.

Legs were cooked when I left the gym. It felt great!

[Hammerfit]

This afternoon was my primary leg workout. I have another day that I do some extra hamstring/glute work.

I was in a squatting mood today. I started squatting, it felt good, so I just went with it.

Squats

135 X 15, 225 X 15, 275 X 5, 315 X 5, 365 X 5, 405 X 3. 455 X 3, 405 X 8, 405 X 8, 365 X 12, 365 X 12, 365 X 12

Leg Extensions

120 X 15, 140 X 12, 140 X 12, 140 X 12, 120 X 12, 120 X 12

Single Leg Cybex Squat Press

6 Plates X 15 (each leg), 8 plates X 10 (each leg), 6 plates X 15 (each leg), 6 Plates X 15 (each leg)

I perform a lot of deep myofascial type stretching between sets.

Legs were cooked when I left the gym. It felt great!

Holy Smokes!!!!! How did you walk out of there?! Great Job!

[joedemarco]

Holy Smokes!!!!! How did you walk out of there?! Great Job!

LOL...Thanks. Yeah, my legs were pretty beat. Thank God there's only a couple of stairs out of my gym....

[joedemarco]

Today was chest day. I have been very busy recently with various business commitments. Today was no exception so I was really looking forward to my workout this afternoon. It's really my only mental relaxation and escape from reality each day.

Bench: 135 X 15, 225 X 5, 275 X 2, 315 X 2, 345 X 2, 315 X 5, 315 X 4, 275 X 8, 275 X 8

Flat DB: 85 X 8 (acclimate), 110 X 8, 110 X 8, 110 X 8

Smith Machine Incline Bench (low incline): 4 plates X 10, 4 plates X 10, 4 plates X 10

Hammer Uni-lateral Flat Bench (plate load machine): 6 plates X10, 6 plates X 10, 6 plates X 9 (couldn't get 10 again).

I was pretty beat by the end of the workout. I think the benching wiped me out pretty much for the remainder of the workout.

Nutrition is going well. My energy and strength is fine. Still avoiding cardio. Will see what changes I need to make over this coming weekend.

[axioma]

Looking at the workout...it seems power heavy! What I am saying is that you went heavy on the flat bar bench...that I would lose the ability to squeeze and concentrate on the contraction of db bench and hammer press.
If I go that low rep...then I tend to keep the whole workout that way and maybe finish with a FST-7 for fascia stretch. jUst my .02.

[joedemarco]

Looking at the workout...it seems power heavy! What I am saying is that you went heavy on the flat bar bench...that I would lose the ability to squeeze and concentrate on the contraction of db bench and hammer press.
If I go that low rep...then I tend to keep the whole workout that way and maybe finish with a FST-7 for fascia stretch. jUst my .02.

Thanks for the input, Ax. I always appreciate it. I actually didn't plan on benching that heavy yesterday, but when I started I felt really good and just went with it. I do that sometimes...just go with my instincts and how I feel. Other days, I plan to go heavy, feel like shit, and adjust my workout accordingly.

[KevinCouch]

Joe,
I just did the Master Nats this year and won my class welters and I weighed ini at 164. As you know, you don't usually end up weighing what you thought you would onstage..you're always several pounds lighter. I'm five foot five and I was pretty hard at 11 weeks out at 185. I'm 43 (no excuses) but my training differs from yours in that I do as much weight as I can to stimulate the muscle but I use slow controlled reps to really feel the muscle working. You look like you've put on good size but IMO (just an opinion) you might want to back off of the weight you're using and concentrate on the rep and not getting the maximum amount of weight up. This helped me out tremendously for this year's Master Nationals. This helped me etch out the detail in the size I had already built in the offseason...still goin heavy but not so low of reps.
Good luck this fall!
Kevin

[joedemarco]

Joe,
I just did the Master Nats this year and won my class welters and I weighed ini at 164. As you know, you don't usually end up weighing what you thought you would onstage..you're always several pounds lighter. I'm five foot five and I was pretty hard at 11 weeks out at 185. I'm 43 (no excuses) but my training differs from yours in that I do as much weight as I can to stimulate the muscle but I use slow controlled reps to really feel the muscle working. You look like you've put on good size but IMO (just an opinion) you might want to back off of the weight you're using and concentrate on the rep and not getting the maximum amount of weight up. This helped me out tremendously for this year's Master Nationals. This helped me etch out the detail in the size I had already built in the offseason...still goin heavy but not so low of reps.
Good luck this fall!
Kevin

Congratulations on your victory this year, Kevin. I have seen some pics and you looked great.

I appreciate your input on my training. I think our philosophies differ slightly. In regards to weight, I always use a weight that I can perform good controlled reps with a full range of motion. I never just pile weight on a bar to just try to get the weight up in some uncontrolled fashion. In regards to the number of reps, I kind of cycle my training. I have periods of training in the 4-6 rep range while other times I'm in the 8-10 rep range. On occasional days, when I'm feeling good, I enjoy pushing out a single or double rep. It's not a regular part of my training, but I feel that it helps increase my overall strength for future training.

I have found that training heavy, right up to the time of the show, helps maintain thickness. I'm not one to start performing high reps (12-15+) just because I'm prepping for a contest. Some guys do that thinking that it helps get them ripped. My philosophy is that diet and cardio (when needed) is what gets you shredded. Weight training is for muscle size and thickness.

By the way, good to see you posting in the masters forum!

[Hammerfit]

Congratulations on your victory this year, Kevin. I have seen some pics and you looked great.

I appreciate your input on my training. I think our philosophies differ slightly. In regards to weight, I always use a weight that I can perform good controlled reps with a full range of motion. I never just pile weight on a bar to just try to get the weight up in some uncontrolled fashion. In regards to the number of reps, I kind of cycle my training. I have periods of training in the 4-6 rep range while other times I'm in the 8-10 rep range. On occasional days, when I'm feeling good, I enjoy pushing out a single or double rep. It's not a regular part of my training, but I feel that it helps increase my overall strength for future training.

I have found that training heavy, right up to the time of the show, helps maintain thickness. I'm not one to start performing high reps (12-15+) just because I'm prepping for a contest. Some guys do that thinking that it helps get them ripped. My philosophy is that diet and cardio (when needed) is what gets you shredded. Weight training is for muscle size and thickness.

By the way, good to see you posting in the masters forum!

I agree, everyone has to find what works best for them, no two trainees are alike therefore no two can have the same training schemes. I have been studying Dante's philosophies lately and really like some of the things he has to say. The thing I like the most is focusing on the negative portion of the rep to force more stimulation and doing rest pause to prolong the working set into a state of absolute failure and doing what he refers to as extreme stretching. His funny ass comment on the subject is, "the only thing the positive part of the rep is for is to get to the negative portion.

[joedemarco]

I agree, everyone has to find what works best for them, no two trainees are alike therefore no two can have the same training schemes. I have been studying Dante's philosophies lately and really like some of the things he has to say. The thing I like the most is focusing on the negative portion of the rep to force more stimulation and doing rest pause to prolong the working set into a state of absolute failure and doing what he refers to as extreme stretching. His funny ass comment on the subject is, "the only thing the positive part of the rep is for is to get to the negative portion.

Good points, Hammer. I also enjoy incorporating rest/pause type training into my workouts. I definitely agree with that statement about the negative portion being the most important part of the rep.

[Scoobysnacks]

Looking good Joe, Id say more adductor meat would really benefit your legs from the front and in your rear shots along with more lat width in the FDB and RDB. Overall well done.

[joedemarco]

Looking good Joe, Id say more adductor meat would really benefit your legs from the front and in your rear shots along with more lat width in the FDB and RDB. Overall well done.

Thanks for popping in, Scoob. Your input is always highly regarded. Thanks for the critique. I agree and am working my ass off every day trying to bring up all weak areas of my physique. I'm gonna post some new progress pics over the weekend. Let me know what you think if you happen to see them.

[joedemarco]

Just finished my workout a short time ago. Friday is usually back and calves, however because of a screwed up schedule this week my training got a little screwed up. I therefore added in a little extra hamstring work today.

I am still feeling real good in the gym. Getting great pumps and feeling strong. I feel like I'm growing every day (which is funny cause I know I'm slowly losing weight).

For those of you who don't deadlift on a regular basis, all I can say is that you are missing out on one of the BEST overall (and back) exercises known to man....lol. After deadlifting, my back is soooo pumped, I feel that I could literally just go home after just doing that exercise.

Deads: several warm-up sets followed by 3 working sets: 455 X 4, 405 X 8, 405 X 8

wide grip chin-ups: 3 sets of 10 (really slow reps)

Hammer pull downs (plate loaded machine): 4 plates for 2 sets of 10 followed by a rest/pause set of 10 reps, 5 breaths, 6 reps, 5 breaths, 5 reps

Seated rows (body master machine that has a chest pad): 170 X 10 (slow neg), 170 X 10 (slow negs), 170 X 10 (slow negs)

wide grip cable pulldowns: 180 X 10, 180 X 10, rest/pause set 180 X 10, 5 breaths, 180 X 8, 5 breaths, 180 X 5

Standing ham curls: 100 X 12 (3 sets each leg)

Prone leg curls: 120 X 10 (3 sets)

All ham movements really concentrated on negs.

Standing Calves: 345 X 15, 450 X 12, 540 X 12, 570 X 10, 570 X 10, 570 X 10

Nothing but a good time today......what's better then lifting weights?

[Baldiewonkanobi]

You train similar to HDG. Heavy to the end. Can't knock it.


Baldie