Weeks Seven and Eight: Training

As I type this, I am exactly four weeks out from my fifth amateur bodybuilding competition, taking place in the beautiful (as far as I know!) Enfield, Connecticut.

The Connecticut River, as seen in Enfield.

Though I have been battling some pretty severe bouts of self-doubt during my preparation, I am cautiously optimistic that I will stand on stage in Enfield at my best.  Those of you following along at home know that my fat loss over the course of this prep has been slow and consistent.  Below are the stats for each of my "official" Monday morning weigh-ins:

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

July 5: 143.8 pounds
July 12: 142.2 pounds

The most crucial element of my preparation, of course, is my diet.  For an up-to-date report on how my nutritional plan is progressing, check out my previous blog entry right here.

Speaking of diet, one of the highlights of preparing for a bodybuilding contest is the post-show celebratory pigfest.  After twelve weeks (or more) of hard, mind-numbing sacrifice at the dinner table (not to mention in the car, at the office, in the gym, and wherever else I might eat; my day pretty much must revolve around my meals), there's nothing quite like breaking from the plan and eating as much of whatever the hell I damn well please!  With that in mind, I'm happy to say that I'm (nearly) positive that I've made my decision about which restaurant in Enfield will house what will be my first cheat meal in twelve weeks' time on August 7: The Royal Buffet, located approximately three miles from the contest's venue.

Items at The Royal Buffet.

This should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me even a little bit, as my love for the crab rangoon is so strong that I named my cat after the delectable treat!  Sadly, the post-show meal I enjoyed after my most recent competition in March left me a bit disappointed; please don't let me down, Royal Buffet!

Let's move on, shall we?  We've got two weeks of workouts to detail, so let's hop right to it.

Week Seven

Monday, June 28: Quads and Abs (A)

1) Squats (descending depth), 2 warm-ups, 6 sets of 3-5 reps

2) Barbell Hack Squats, 4 sets of 5 reps

3) Hanging Leg Raises, 3 sets of 5 reps

4) Decline Leg Raises, 3 sets of 12 reps

• A-workouts are of the lowest intensity, usually using a 5 x 5 set/rep scheme for my primary muscle group, going as heavy as I can for five reps, and using ample rest time (approximately three minutes between sets).  
• When using "descending depth" squats, the first set after the warm-up and stretch is my heaviest set, and my thighs reach a depth just above parallel (I squat back until my butt lightly touches a stack of seven aerobic step risers that assure the proper height).  Before my next set I remove ten pounds from the bar as well as one riser from the stack.  So, although the weight is lighter, the squat is deeper, and more difficult.  By the time I hit my sixth set, I am squatting all the way down to a stack of just two risers (see photos below).

  

Tuesday, June 29: Chest and Shoulders (B)

1) Incline Dumbbell Presses, 1 warm-up, 3 sets of 5 reps

2) Incline Barbell Presses, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

3) Pec Deck, 3 sets of 20 reps

4) Rear Cable Flyes, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
5) Incline Rear Lateral Raises, 3 sets of 12 reps
6) Incline Side Lateral Raises, 3 sets of 10 reps

Thursday, July 1: Back and Hamstrings (C)

     (1-2 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)
1) One-Legged Back Extensions, 3 sets of 12 reps

2) Dumbbell Leg Curls, 3 sets of 20 reps

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

4) T-Bar Rows, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 6-8 reps

     (5-6 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)
5) Rope Pulldowns, 3 sets of 20 reps
6) Bent Cable Rows, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

7) Wide Grip Pulldowns, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Friday, July 2: Biceps and Triceps (B)

     (1-4 performed as a giant set, with no rest between each exercise)

1) Barbell Preacher Curls, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 4-6 reps

2) Lying EZ-Bar Tricep Extensions, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 4-5 reps

3) Seated Barbell Curls, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

4) Overhead Cable Extensions, 4 sets of 20 reps

     (5-8 performed as a giant set, with no rest between each exercise)

5) J.M. Press, 3 sets of 3 reps

6) EZ-Bar Reverse Curls, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

7) Machine French Presses, 3 sets of 10 reps

8) Machine Curls, 3 sets of 20 reps

Above: J.M. Presses.  Below: EZ-Bar Reverse Curls.

Week Eight

Tuesday, July 6: Quads and Abs (B)

1) Squats, 2 warm-ups, 3 sets of 7, 5, 5 reps

2) Machine Hack Squats, 3 sets of 12 reps

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

     (4-9 performed as a circuit, with 15 sec. rest between each exercise)

4) Hanging Knee Raises, 12 reps
5) Hanging Knee Raises, 10 reps
6) Lying Leg Thrusts, 10 reps
7) Lying Leg Thrusts, 6 reps

8) Crunches, 35 reps (performed slowly)
9) Crunches, 25 reps (performed quickly)

Wednesday, July 7: Chest and Shoulders (C)

     (1-3 performed as a tri-set, with no rest between each exercise)

1) Incline Barbell Presses, 1 warm-up, 4 sets of 2-4 reps

2) Flat Bench Dumbbell Presses, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

3) Pec Deck, 4 sets of 20 reps

     (4-5 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)

4) Reverse Pec Deck, 4 sets of 20 reps

5) Incline Side Lateral Raises, 4 sets of 10 reps

Friday, July 9: Back and Hamstrings (B)

1) Trap Bar Deadlifts, 2 warm-ups, 3 sets of 6 reps

2) Bent Cable Rows, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

3) Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns, 3 sets of 20 reps

4) Lying Leg Curls, 3 sets of 10-12 reps 
5) One-Legged Back Extensions, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

• This marked my first time performing trap bar deadlifts, and I really enjoyed them!  Will definitely be doing them again.

Saturday, July 10: Biceps and Triceps (B)

     (1-2 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)
1) Barbell Preacher Curls, 1 warm-up, 5 sets of 4-5 reps
2) Lying EZ-Bar Tricep Extensions, 1 warm-up, 5 sets of 4-5 reps

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

3) EZ-Bar French Presses, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
4) Seated Barbell Curls, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

      (5-6 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)
5) J.M. Presses, 3 sets of 10 reps
6) 90-Degree Barbell Preacher Curls, 3 sets of 10 reps

     (7-8 performed as a superset, with no rest between each exercise)

7) Machine Curls, 3 sets of 20 reps
8) Overhead Cable Extensions, 3 sets of 20 reps