24 January – Wednesday

Arm workout:

I did bicep and tricep workout by supersetting the 2, one bicep exercise followed by a tricep one:

dumbbell arm curls: 7.5 kg x 20 reps 10 kg x 15 reps 12.5 kg x 15 reps 15 kg x 12 reps 15 kg x 12 reps

supersetting with lying tricep extension with dumbbells: 5 kg x 20 reps 7.5 kg x 15 reps 7.5 kg x 15 reps 7.5 kg x 15 reps 7.5 kg x 15 reps

One arm dumbbell curl on the preacher bench: 10 kg x 15 reps 15 kg x 15 reps 17.5 kg x 12 reps 17.5 kg x 12 reps 17.5 kg x 10 reps

supersetting with dumbbell overhead extensions both arms: 20 kg x 15 reps 25 kg x 12 reps 30 kg x 10 reps 30 kg x 10 reps 30 kg x 10 reps

Standing EZ bar curl with 7.5 kg on each side, that’s 22 kg with the bar if i’m not mistaken: 5 sets of 12 reps

supersetting with dumbell kickbacks alternating arms: 10 kg x 15 reps 12.5 kg x 12 reps 12.5 kg x 12 reps 12.5 kg x 12 reps 12.5 kg x 12 reps

Hammercurls on cable machine with rope: 45 kg x 15 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps

supersetting with cable overhead extension: 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 12 reps

31 December – Monday

Quad workout: I still train my quads and hamstrings on separate days, although there are just so many exercises you can isolate them so eventually both of them get involved on both days.

What could have been my last workout for 2012 if not quads?

Here’s what I did, and you can see a short video of the exercises at the end of this write up:

Warm up with leg extensions: 40 kg x 20 reps 60 kg x 15 80 kg x 15 100 kg x 12 120 kg x 12

Leg press (went easy on them this time): 160 kg x 20 reps 200 kg x 15 240 kg x 12 280 kg x 12

Hack squat: 40 kg x 15 reps 60 kg x 15 80 kg x 15 100 kg x 12 120 kg x 12 140 kg x 12

Then back to the leg extensions and I did 2 sets of 20 reps of very light one legged extensions just to burn out.

Every leg workout I work on my glutes, when I train hams I work on them more, but even when I train quads I do a separate exercise on glutes. What I did yesterday you can see towards the end of the video. Unfortunately i don’t know the name of the exercise, looks like a hyper extension, but you pull yourself up with your glutes and hams not with your lower back.

Oh and at the end of the video there’s a little bit of posing… for those who like it

29 August – Wednesday

Arms workout: I usually train my biceps and triceps together. I do 4 exercises on each, sometime superset them: a bicep exercise followed by a tricep one, but generally I tend to do biceps first and then triceps.

Yesterday I started with dumbbell curls alternating the 2 hands: 8 kg x 20 reps 10 kg x 15 reps 12 kg x 15 reps 14 kg x 15 reps 16 kg x 12 reps 18 kg x 10 reps

then went to the preacher curl machine where I did 4 sets supersetting with barbell curls with a 25 kg bar after each set:

30 kg x 15 reps 35 kg x 15 reps 40 kg x 12 reps 45 kg x 10 reps

Then finished off my bicep routine with cable curls with the EZ bar (wanted to do hammer curls with the rope but someone else was using it) 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 15 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 10 reps

then went straight to triceps, cable pushdown 45 kg x 20 reps 55 kg x 15 reps 60 kg x 15 reps 65 kg x 12 reps 70 kg x 10 reps

continued my triceps routine with cable overhead extension, supersetting with dips on the bench, 12 reps after each set:

45 kg x 15 reps 50 kg x 15 reps 55 kg x 12 reps 60 kg x 12 reps

finished off my triceps routine with cable reverse grip pull downs ( I think this is what it is called, not sure), wanted to do light, but started off very light so had to increase the weight 35 kg x 20 reps 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 12 reps 45 kg x 12 reps

Had a very good pump, should’ve taken pictures, maybe next time

After this routine I hit the abs for a few sets as well.

23rd August – Thursday

Leg training:

I usually train legs on 2 days a week: first I train quads and calves usually on a Thursday, then on Saturday I train hams separate. Some exercises overlap, but by the look of it that only helps. I’ll post my hamstring workout from Saturday over the weekend. Here’s my routine from yesterday:

Leg extensions to warm up: 2 plates (40 kg) x 20 reps 60 kg x 15 reps 80 kg x 15 reps 100 kg x 12 reps 100 kg x 10 reps

Then I did supersets: leg press with squats. Usually when I’m prepping I don’t do heavy squats anymore because my waist is quite blocky anyway, so try to avoid any heavy squats or deadlifts to make it even thicker.

legpress 4 plates a side (160 kg): 20 reps squats 1 plate a side(60 kg) 15 reps 5 plates a side (200 kg): 15 reps squats 1 plate a side (60 kg) 15 reps 6 plates a side (240 kg): 15 reps squats 1.5 plates a side (80 kg) 15 reps 7 plates a side (280 kg): 15 reps squats 1.5 plates a side (80 kg) 12 reps 8 plates a side (320 kg): 12 reps squats 1.5 plates a side (80 kg) 12 reps

Then I did hack squats on the hammerstrength machine: started off with 1 plate a side 40 kg x 15 reps 80 kg x 15 reps 100 kg x 15 reps 120 kg x 12 reps 140 kg x 12 reps After this I did some exercises on my glutes, the powerlifters in the gym have a machine there that works like a hyperextension for the back but it actually works on your glutes and hams (not sure what it is called). You do the exercise similar to the hyperextension but your legs are almost straight and in level with your hips – anyone knows what I mean? You bend over and then you pull your upper body up with your hams and glutes. I’ll take a pic next week.

Anyway, I did 3 sets of 15 reps of those and then seated calf raises. My calves get a lot of attention as I do cv off season as well and usually I use my stationary bike at home so they don’t need a lot of work in the gym.

 

21 August – Tuesday

I should really update this training journal more often and I will try and do that from this week onwards.

I trained shoulders tonight, here’s my workout routine for tonight:

Shoulder training tonight, didn’t do a lot of exercises as I will touch up shoulders again on Friday. Tonight I was doing straight sets (and a drop set), but on Friday I will go lighter and do supersets.

Started the warm up with dumbbell side raises: 5 kg x 20 reps and 10 kg x 15 reps x 2 Then switched to the cable because I have a bit of a nagging tennis elbow and I find it painful when I try and go heavy with dumbbells because I can’t hold the weight with my forearms, but on the cable it works out well. I usually do one arm and then switch and do the sets back to back without rest, but effectively one arm rests until i do the set with the other. 20 kg x 15 reps 25 kg x 15 reps 30 kg x 12 reps 30 kg x 10 reps and then dropping down to 20 kg x 10 reps

Then went straight to the hammer strength shoulder press machine where I started off with a 20 kg plate a side x 15 reps and went up by 5 kg a side 25 kg x 15 reps 30 kg x 15 reps 35 kg x 15 reps 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 10 reps

Then went back to the cable machine and did rear delts : 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 15 reps 50 kg x 12 reps 50 kg x 10 reps

Then did shrugs on a flat chest press machine, i usually use that machine because in the gym where I trained tonight in Hayes they don’t have a machine for shrugs. I used to do it with either dumbbells (which is the better option) or on the smith machine, but I feel it better when my arms are behind my legs instead of the front or the side so i normally just use this chest machine to do the shrugs with:

40 kg a side x 15 reps 60 kg x 15 reps 80 kg x 12 reps

As I said I will do shoulders again this week on Friday (I know I need bigger shoulders) that’s why I didn’t do a lot more exercises tonight. I’ll tell you what I normally do on the second shoulder day on Friday.

 

14 August 2012 – Tuesday

This journal is about my road to the NAC Universe on 24th November in Germany. Before that I will do the NAC British as well, but I feel the main emphasis is on the Universe here.

The prep started yesterday, 15 weeks out (12 weeks until the NAC British Finals). My diet is very straight forward: I do carb cycling, 6 low carb days followed by 1 high carb day. This worked well for my last 2 competitions, no changes were needed and we didn’t have to deplete and carb up, it was a smooth sailing up to the comp. At the moment I’m not doing any cardio (stopped yesterday to ‘reset’ my body), I guess we will introduce cv next week or so when I stop dropping weight or if we need to considerably speed up the fat loss.

My starting weight is 80 kg, which is quite a lot for my frame, I’m only 5’5, but I still have good conditioning that I’ve kept throughout my short off season after the Worlds. I do cv offseason as well to keep the conditioning and to keep fit and I find it helps a lot when my training is mostly consists of heavy lifting (generally offseason when I have the energy to do that). I find it easier to recover between sets and I’m not out of breath either (apart from leg days, but that’s a different story lol)

My training split is the following:

Monday: back Tuesday: shoulders Wednesday: arms (bis and tris) Thursday: quads and calves Friday: chest Saturday: hams Sunday: off

Every other week I skip chest and train a body part that needs a bit more attention, like back or shoulders. When I train back on Friday for the second time a week, I swap Monday to shoulders and train back again on Tuesday to give my back a proper rest.

Today it was a back training day. I trained in the Forge Gym in Slough. I do like training around because each gym has different machines for different body parts and I find training every now and again in a different gym hits the muscle from a different angle.

I tend to do 12-15 reps and about 16-20 sets on each bodypart. I rep out on the last rep of each set.

My training tonight was the following:

Straight arm pulldowns on cable: 30kg x 20 reps 35 kg x 20 reps 40 kg x 15 reps 45 kg x 12 reps

Wide grip lat pulldown: 60 kg x 15 reps 70 kg x 15 reps 80 kg x 12 reps 80 kg x 10 reps

Bent over rows with bar: 1 plate a side the bar 60 kg x 20 reps 80 kg x 20 reps 100 kg x 15 reps 100 kg x 12 reps

Iso Lateral Low Row: 50 kg a side: 15 reps 55 kg x 10 reps 50 kg x 12 reps

One arm dumbell rows: 30 kg dumbell x 15 reps 32.5 kg x 12 reps x 3 no rest between the sets

Front lat pulldown: 20 kg plate each side (very light) x 30 reps x 2 just to flush out and finish off the training. I tend to do 1-2 light sets at the end of a ‘heavy’ workout.

My reps are slow, concentrating on the negative part of the movement and very controlled – that’s why the weights are reasonably light but I rep out on each set.