MWF Morning: Chest and Back1. Flat Bench Press: 8 of 3reps @ 155-185/ 2 heavier sets up to 285x1 **Getting closer to the contest I supersetted Flat bench with Flat Dbell presses with 40pnds for 10-15reps. Superset2a) Incline Bench Press: 5 sets of 20/15/8/8/4 2b) Behind Neck Pullups: 5 sets of 15/10/5/5/10 SuperSet3a) Incline Dbell Flye: 4 sets of 20/10/10/83b)1-arm Rows: 4 sets of 20/10/10/8 4. Dips: Bodyweight: 4 sets of 105. Shrug Machine: 4 sets of 30/20/20/20 *I typically practice posing in between sets of shrugs ***In the off-season I plan the following changes: 1. Add Pullovers, 2. Add Cable Crossovers 2. Increase my Bench press and Incline Press by focusing on going heavier 4. chest 2x/week. MWF Evening: Legs and Back1. Walking Lunges: 4 sets of 60/60/60/60 reps Supersetted with Bodyweight squatsx202. Hack Squat: 3 sets of 30 @ no weight (10/10/10 at each foot position)                        3 sets of 30 @ 25’s1 set of 24 @ 45’s                        1 set of 20 @ 45+35’s*I warmup with three sets of 30 then I go by feel, I may workup to higher weight most days and superset them with leg extension. I really try to focus on contracting all the way up and down and focusing on my sweep more than the weight.  3. Leg Extension: 4 sets of 15-20 *Last two sets supersetted with hacksquats Superset4a) Squats: 4 sets of 10 @ 45’s4b) Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 10-15 5. Seated Leg Curls: 6 sets of 30/25/20/25/10/106. Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets of 10-15 (light weight, focusing on the contraction) *As I write this I see the mistake I have made by including hamstrings late in the workout. I did this because my #1 priority while recovering from my hamstring tendonitis was that they were warm before I worked them. Now that tendonitis has abated, I need to add intensity to them. Meal Replacement Shake: 400 Calories, 40 grams Protein 7. Calves:Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25/20/15/15Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15 -20      supersetted with Reverse Calf raises.Donkey Calf Raises: 6 sets of 15/15//15/12/8/8 *I often do some work for my upper back thickness after working legs. Often I do some moderate bench work in between sets, using dbells or straightbar.I do this for two reasons. Firstly, I needed to do some extra work for my upper back thickness. Secondly, the leg workout itself is long (2 hours or more) so it catabolizes upper body mass, just like long cardio. The goal is to stimulate the upper back and chest, enough to counteract this. Stimulating the muscles promotes nutrient partitioning to those areas following the workout, so that I do not start a day behind at the next chest workout. I only recommend this for those who are in extreme condition. It worked well but is not necessary. 8: T-Bar Rows: 4 x10 (heavy)     *Sometimes SUPERSET widegrip bench to the neck9: Bent-over Rows overhand: 4 sets of 10         *Sometimes SUPERSET closegrip to neck10: Bent-over Rows underhand grip 4 of 10 @22511.*Sometimes I do a burnout with overhand for 6 then underhand for 6 @225 ***Leading up to the contest in the last four weeks I did fewer of these extra back exercises because I did not have the energy. But in the couple months before that I added this upper back work and saw results fast. T/TR/SAT Morning: Shoulders and Pullups1) Standing presses: 4 sets of 10          *Supersetted with Close-grip pullups 2) Quadset2a) Clean and press in 1 movement: 4 sets of 12/10/7/72b) Side Lateral Raise: 4 sets of 10/10/10/102c) Rear Delt Raise: 4 sets of 30/30/20/402d) Behind the Neck Pullups: 4 sets of 10 3) Quadset: 3a) Front Raise: 4 sets of 20/10/10/103b) Arnold Press: 4 sets of 10/8/8/6 *Final two sets are superslow dropsets.3c) Front Raise: 4 sets of 15/10/10/103d) Static Arm Raise: 4 sets of 30-60seconds *I did calf raises while holding my arms out to get in some extra work for the calves.*I burn out the Arnold presses with superslow shoulder presses in the last two sets. Dropsets. 4) Shrugs – same as MWF with little variations in direction (backwards vs.. Forwards) and intensity (weight).  ***I plan to make the following changes in the off-season: 1) Increase weight, decrease supersets. 2) Behind the neck presses switched for clean and press in one mvmnt. 3) Some other superset for front Delts. T/TR/SAT Evening – Arms and Calves*Warmup for Calves: Prevents tendonitis from calfwork.1) Hacksquats: Unweighted 2-3setsx30reps2) Lunges: 1 set of 60 @ 1/2 regular work-weight3) Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 15-204) Lying Hamstrings: 5 sets of 15/15/15/12/15/155) CALVES:Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25/20/15/15Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15 -20      supersetted with Reverse Calf raises.Donkey Calf Raises: 6 sets of 15/15//15/12/8/8 UPPER ARMS:  1) Triset 1a) Barbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/10/10/81b) Cable Tricep Rope pulldown: 4sets of 20/15/15/121c) Cable Tricep bar pushdown: 4sets of 20/15/15/12*I like to do a triset to make sure my elbow is warmed up before moving to barbell tricep extensions. This keeps my elbow healthy and uninjured. 2) Superset2a) Seated incline Curls: 4 sets of 12/8/8/82b) Lying Barbell Extension: 4 sets of 12/8/8/8 3) Superset:3a) Incline Preacher Curls: 4 sets of 7/6/5/63b) 1 arm overhead extensions: 4 sets of 20/15/15/15 @35pnds*Very little rest in between sets. Forearms:1) Superset: Seated Forearm Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 30/15/15/15Seated Forearm Reverse Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/15/15/15 2) Superset: Forearm Hanging Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 30/20/20/20Forearm Hanging Reverse Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/10/10/10

 Pre-contest routine…Very similar to regular workout schedule, I add more sets (4-6 instead of 3-4), take less rest, and superset more, and I run more regularly. While preparing for a contest I run 3-4x/wk. In normal training I run 1-3 times per week for 3-5 miles for cross training, active-recovery and to clear my mind.

I also add in posing pre-contest. I had some difficulty deciding when I should use posing as my conditioning instead of doing extra cardio. I don’t really think I needed much extra cardio because my general conditioning is good, and I can burn so many calories anyway with my workouts. Posing would be more specific conditioning. Also, there are only so many hours in the day.

  2) Typical Diet: **Bascially try to eat every 2-3 hours and have some protein in every meal. My flaw is not eating enough in the middle of the day because I’m not hungry and because I do not want to upset my stomach before doing legs later in the day. Since the contest I have not been keeping with my normal diet but that will change. 5am: ¾ Chicken leg7:30am Post Workout Shake: 40 grams protein 10oz of water8:30am Post-Workout Meal: Oatmeal: 150-250cals, 1 piece Wheat Bread, 6 egg whites, 1 yolk, 10oz water11am: ¼ Chicken Leg, a 5 broccoli heads and 5 carrots with a teaspoon of ranch sauce12:30 Lunch: 1 can tunafish with 2 pieces Wheat Bread and vegetables as above.2:30pm: I may have a shake during a my workout or eat some chicken when I get home6:30pm: Post-workout Shake: 40grams Protein7:30pm: 1 chicken leg, Lipton’s noodles plus a can of tuna fish9:30pm: 6 egg whites, 1 yolk and a piece of bread *Note, I do not know exactly how much water I drink; probably a gallon. I’m pretty good about this, although I sometimes don’t drink much in the morning during or between classes. **I usually eat brown rice instead of wheat bread. But I got tired of brown rice recently.**I often do not eat much in the middle of the day, sometimes going 5-6 hours without too much. I need to change that.***I don’t use many condiments. Just Spaghetti sauce or whatever sauce is on Lipton’s noodles.  ***That is an estimate. I have not been following it for the past three weeks after the show. But generally I am pretty good about it. I ate like this for months leading up to the show. I like to keep things simple. People worry about taste too much and end up with so many cravings. For me, if it is part of a ritual, I don’t have to think about it, so I have that much more mental energy to pour into training. PRE-CONTEST DIET: I like to think of this more as a transition than a diet. First I substituted things I was craving for healthy stuff. I did this many months ahead of time, as soon as my training is getting serious and I am getting in shape. Then I switched out bread for more vegetables a few weeks out. Then as the final weeks came close I ate a bit less, carb-depleting for 4-5 days, and then repleting on the weekends, and I played with my salt and water. I did not know much about contest dieting and some of the people who worked out at Gainesville gym tell me I could have been 5-6 pounds drier, and they are probably right. But it was my first show. **In the final week or two, I ate 1 or two pieces of chocolate in the morning to get me going—about 50-100 calories.**I ate more fats in the final two weeks, particularly in the form of egg yolks. I feel that saturated fats are needed for normal metabolism and cell-turnover when exercising a lot.**In the final 5 weeks I started cutting out lipton’s noodles with dinner. That really wore on me hard. Next Time I should only do that for 2-3 weeks at a time because it lowered my BMR after 3 weeks and gave me more cravings on cheat days, and post-contest.**In the final weeks I cut out oatmeal with breakfast. I think that is ok. That was easier than not eating my pasta or noodles with dinner.**In the final weeks I did not have any carbs in the shake I drank during long leg workouts. It was just protein, 40grams. Normally it would be 40grams of protein and a total of 400-500 calories.**In order to fight cravings and feel more satisfied and give me a boost I would eat 1 or 2 dove chocolates if I felt I had to. I usually ended up doing this twice a day. I do this in the gym as well during workouts. It takes my mind off the pain and can only help psyche out competitors.**On cheat days I did not drink enough water because I was too full from stuffing myself with foods I had been craving. That needs to be different.  3) Injuries Past and Present:1) I had a sports hernia from 16-19yrs old. It still hurts a lot to do direct ab work. But I need to do some work for my obliques, very badly. I did ab work every morning and some evenings from the time I was 12, until I got the hernia at 16. But I did not do work for the obliques, and now they are behind. 2) Knee tendonitis/Gastroc tendonitis/Hamstring tendonitis – Knee pain had me laid up for the past year and a half. I still need to warm my knees up very well before doing direct work for them. I have only been back using my legs since this spring when I decided that I needed to use what potential I have while I still can. So I rehabbed them with a lot of high re lunges.  3) Rotator cuff tears and Sprains: Rehabbed with Band exercises. If I do too many heavy squats it gives me problems.  4) Tendonitis in my left wrists. If I do too many heavy benches or presses it starts to give me problems.  

4) Next year’s calendar…I am definitely willing to do the work, and I like the mental discipline and focus of bodybuilding. I am excited at the possibility of improving and moving up in the sport.