Week Six: Training

It's a great feeling to know I've passed the halfway mark of my pre-contest diet and training regimen.  It's an even better feeling to know that, as I type this, I've got just over five weeks to go before I eat way too much of something delicious.  Now that, my friends, is the sweetest possible light I can imagine at the end of any tunnel.

Before lunging into my battles waged in the weight room during Week Six, let's take a look at the weekly war I'm winning with my scale, first:

May 17: 162.6 pounds
May 24: 154.2 pounds
May 31: 152.2 pounds
June 7: 149.8 pounds
June 14: 148.4 pounds
June 21: 148.0 pounds
June 28: 144.6 pounds

My actual scale weight, of course, is pretty much meaningless.  After all, no one's gonna whip out a scale on August 7 in Connecticut to help determine our placings.  However, knowing that I'm losing 1-2 pounds per week without losing strength in the gym lets me know that I'm shedding fat at the appropriate rate--without losing muscle.  Most importantly, of course, the difference in my physique as the weeks have passed is extremely pronounced, and I'm feeling quite confident about where I am at the moment.

This blog entry, of course, should be less about where I am at the moment, and more about what I did during week six.  Let's explore that, okay?

Monday, June 21: Quads and Abs (C)

     (1-2 performed as a superset, with no rest between exercises)
1) Leg Extensions, 3 sets of 20 reps

2) Full Barbell Squats, 2 warm-ups, 3 sets of 4-6 reps

Full barbell squats

3) One-Legged Horizontal Leg Presses, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

4) One-Legged Leg Extensions, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

     (5-7 performed as a triset, with no rest between exercises)
5) Hanging Leg Raises, 3 sets of 5 reps

6) Lying Leg Thrusts, 3 sets of 10 reps

7) Crunches, 3 sets of 20 reps

• The superset for quads was done "pre-exhaust"-style, in which an isolation exercise (leg extensions) was performed immediately before the multi-joint movement (squats) in order to increase the workload of the quadriceps.

Tuesday, June 22: Chest and Shoulders (A)

1) Incline Barbell Presses, 1 warm-up, 5 sets of 4-5 reps

2) Flat-Bench Barbell Presses, 5 sets of 5 reps

3) Incline Rear Lateral Raises, 5 sets of 12-20 reps

7) Incline Side Lateral Raises, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

• Incline rear lateral raises are lateral raises for the rear deltoids performed lying prone on a low-angle incline bench.
• Incline side lateral raises are alternating one-arm lateral raises for the side deltoids performed lying on one side on a relatively high-angle incline bench.  They're a great exercise that require very little weight to hammer the side delts.

Thursday, June 24: Back and Hamstrings (A)

1) "Top Down" Deadlifts, 2 warm-ups, 5 sets of 4-5 reps
2) Weighted Chins, 5 sets of 4-5 reps
3) One-Legged Back Extensions, 3 sets of 12 reps
4) Lying Leg Curls, 3 sets of 10-12 reps 

• The top-down deadlifts involved starting with top-half deadlifts (a.k.a. rack pulls), which are performed in a power rack with the pins set so that the barbell is being pulled from a dead stop right around knee level.  With each successive set, the weight was lowered ten pounds, and the starting point of the barbell was lowered, as well.  On set number two, the pins in the rack were lowered so that the deadlifts began a few inches below knee level. The third set was a standard deadlift off the floor.  Set four was performed with the weight on the floor while standing on 35-pound plates lying flat on the floor, making the deadlifts much deeper.  Finally, on set number five, I performed the set while standing on an aerobic step (with the barbell still on the floor, of course), making the final set very deep.  This "top-down" approach of going shallow to very deep felt fantastic, and I can't wait to do it again.

Friday, June 25: Biceps and Triceps (B)

     (1-2 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)

1) Smith Machine Incline J.M. Presses, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 4-6 reps

2) Incline Hammer Curls, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 4-5 reps

     (3-4 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)

3) Seated Barbell Curls, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
4) Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions (a.k.a. "Headbangers"), 4 sets of 20 reps

     (5-6 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)

5) EZ-Bar French Press, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
6) Machine Curls, 3 sets of 20-25 reps

EZ-bar French presses

     (7-8 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)
7) EZ-Bar Preacher Curls, 3 sets of 10 reps
8) Overhead Cable Extensions, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Overhead cable extensions; photo courtesy of Elysa Woodhead.

With the conclusion of Friday's arm workout, I was officially halfway through my scheduled pre-contest training sessions.