Printable Page
Did you know?
When squatting, keeping the weight directly above your feet and not forward will keep your thighs working instead of placing unecessesary stress on your lower back.
|
 |
| This summer is dedicated to lifting and proper nutrition! Since I have plenty of time on my hands, I plan to do things right. I will be lifting 5 days a week (Monday through Friday). |
Introduction
This summer is dedicated to lifting and proper nutrition! Since I have
plenty of time on my hands, I plan to do things right. I will be lifting 5
days a week (Monday through Friday).
I have been working with the 4 to 6 rep range and have been making gains.
Some people do not like this rep range, but I found it to my liking. I will
be using this rep range for all the big compound movements (Some exercises
will have a different rep range).
Keys components to my Program:
- 1) Fast positive/slow negative
- 2) Perform full range of motion
- 3) Hold the point of contraction for 3 seconds
- 4) After desired sets are done for a body part, I will flex and hold that
muscle for 30 seconds then slowly return the muscle to rest for 10 seconds.
These things are done to really work my muscles and increase each rep's
effectiveness!
I will warm-up for 5 minutes by doing a little boxing (hitting a heavy bag).
Saturday:
Saturday, I will practice posing. I hope to compete in the future,
therefore, I need to practice posing. Here is what a friend of mine,
competitive powerlifter had to say about posing:
"This is often neglected by many bodybuilders but is essential to winning
contests. We often see bodybuilders on stage and don't realize the effort
that goes into posing and how truly hard it is. Most people know how to flex
 their biceps but learning how to control the other muscles is not as easy as
one might think. Don't forget when you are on stage and you are doing say a
front double bicep that the biceps are not the only thing being viewed. Your abs
have to be flexed or vacuumed (I prefer the vacuum in the front double
bicep) as well as your lats brought out and thighs tensed. If you have
particularly large deltoids that overshadow your biceps the arms should be
brought up a little higher to compensate. Arnold had wide hip insertions so
many times in a contest he would slant his hips to one side to compensate.
The hardest thing to learn to flex is probably the back and rear deltoid
area because it is hard for you to see what is going on. I used to take a
mirror and mount it slanted high on the wall across from a large mirror in
my gym so I could view my back. The abs are also not easy for some to learn
how to control. Many forget to exhale the air from their body prior to
crunching those babies. When you are flexing the abs also don't forget to
flex the legs. Learning how to properly display your physique can make the
difference between winning and losing in a contest and I have seen several
competitors in my time with TOTALLY AWESOME physiques that were beaten by
guys with lesser physiques because they didn't know how to display what they
had. Becoming a good poser takes hours and hours of practice and will not
only help you display your physique to it's best advantage but will also aid
in bringing out muscle quality and definition."
After hearing that, I decided I needed to start practicing my poses. As you
can see from reading that quote, it takes practice to become a good poser. I
will be practicing flexing and posing for about 30 minutes.
REST!
Since I do not have to wake up for school (BONUS!), I will be able to get
more sleep, 8 to 10 hours. Whenever I feel I need it, I will take a nap. As
we all know sufficient rest is needed for our bodies to grow. I will be
setting my alarm clock for 8:00 AM, but hopefully I will not need it to get
up.
Supplementation
Here is the list of the supplements I will be taking:
ATP Mass (Alternative Nutrition)
VP2 Whey Protein (AST)
Micronized Creatine (AST)
HSC Creatine (AST)
GL3 L-Glutamine (AST)
NY-TRO PRO 40 (AST)
In the past, I have only used whey protein and L-Glutamine. I decided it was
time to move up the supplement ladder. I have been reading articles off
AST's web site, and let me tell you, they know their stuff! Paul Delia and Paul Cribb
are geniuses. AST is the one company I truly trust. Therefore, I have chosen
to use their supplements.
FOOD! (Monday-Friday)
Let me start off by saying, I WILL BE EATING A LOT OF FOOD! As I said
before, my main goal is to gain mass. When I say mass, I mean muscle not fat
(I am sure you knew that). Therefore, I will keep my saturated fats and
sugar low. I plan on 42.5% of my calories coming from protein, 42.5% from
carbs, and 15% from fat. Keeping my percentages that close will be hard, but
I will try.
Here is an outline of the meals I know I will be eating. I will be eating
more of course :), and supplement schedule:
8:00 AM~Rise and Shine
1 scoop VP2 in 8 oz milk
1 Orange
1 capsule ATP Mass
 8:30 AM Breakfast~
Bodybuilder's Pancakes: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lance4.htm
I use ½ a cup of egg beaters for the egg requirement
2 TBSP 100% natural peanut butter
(This is what I do, cook the pancakes, warm the peanut butter up in the
microwave so it is nice and gooey, pour the peanut butter over the pancakes,
and eat. These are very tasty!)
Take Multi-Vitamin
9:00 AM~
5 grams Micronized Creatine in water
10:00 AM~
5 grams GL3 in water
11:00 AM~
WORKOUT!!!
11:45 AM Post Workout~
For my post workout nutrition and an explanation on
why I set my post workout meals the way I did check out my Post Workout
Nutrition article.
2:30-3:00 PM~
1 chicken breast
1 small potato
Serving of corn or broccoli
5:00 PM
Either flank or another kind of lean steak or lean ground beef or fish
with corn and/or broccoli
9:30 PM~
5 grams GL3 in water
10:25 PM~
VP2 in 8 oz. milk
10:30 PM~Hopefully in bed :)
As I said before, these are the meals I know for sure I will be eating, I
will no doubt eat a lot during this time. Some foods I will include in my
diet are:
- Chicken
- Lean Ground Beef
- Fish
- Beef! (Ex: Flank, Lean ground beef)
- Potatoes
- Broccoli
- Oatmeal
- Mixed Nuts
- Tuna Noodle-Egg White noodles, 2 cans of tuna, 1 can cream of mushroom
I just bought the George Foreman Grill. I cooks very well. It only takes
about 10 minutes to cook frozen chicken and to grill hamburgers. I was
amazed at how much fat and grease dripped off of the beef.
I will also be drinking 2 gallons of water a day. One reason for drinking
this much water is because I will taking creatine.
Music:
 Perhaps the most important element to my program is the music I will be
listening to. I have chosen songs from varies Rocky soundtracks. For example
Eye of the Tiger. These songs really motivate me. I will also listen to
Metallica's S&M album. It is important to pick music that motivates you, not
what motivates someone else.
Week of 6/25/01
This is my first workout after my recovery week (eating bad and not
lifting). On every rep I made sure to pause at point of contraction and to
do a slow negative.
Monday~Legs
Squats-Glutes to the floor!-
200 X 6, 210 X 6, 210 X 6
I paused for 3 seconds before trying to stand up. This put more overload on
my legs to try to straighten.
Stiff-Leg Deadlift-
150 X 6, 150 X 6, 150 X 6
I went light here because I am having trouble feeling
this movement in my hams and was experimenting a little.
Leg Extension-
170 X 4, 170 X 6
Held for 3 seconds at the top of this movement. Slow negative.
Leg Curl-
100 X 6, 110 X 6
Slow negative
Standing Calf Raises-
300 X 12, 300 X 12, 300 X 12
Done with bar in position like squats, but here I lift
my calves.
This was a very intense workout! As I said before I went a little lighter
today, but it was still excellent. Focusing on each rep and sticking to my
objectives is what gives this workout its intensity.
Diet:
Calories: 3,000, Protein: 311 g 42 %, Carbs 294 g 39%, Fat: 64 g 19%
My percentages were very close to what I was aiming at. If you would like to
see exactly what I ate, you can email at dspikehead@hotmail.com
Tuesday~Arms&Abs
Barbell Curl- 90 X 6, 90 X 4
Excellent range of motion, held for
3 seconds at point of contraction, slow negative
Alt. Dumbbell Curls- 40 X 4, 40 X 5
Hammer Curls- 40 X 4, 40 X 4
Close Grip Bench- 150 X 6, 160 X 4
Really squeezed triceps at the
top of the movement
Lying Triceps Press- 50 X 6, 60 X 5
The best triceps exercise I have
ever done! Today was the first day I preformed this exercise to a T. When it
was time to attach the triceps rope, I could barely hold my arms up long
enough to do it.
Triceps Rope Pressdown- 60 X 6, 60 X 6
Excellent range of motion and
stretch.
Wrist Curls- 100 X 10, 100 X 8
MY ARMS WERE PUMPED! I was too wasted
to do abs, so I decided to do them at 4:00 PM.
Abs Leg Lifts- 15, 12
Cable Crunches- 60 X 8, 60 X 8
Really focused on the abs
Weighted Inclined Crunches- +10lbs X 8, +25lbs X 6
Diet:
Calories: 3400, Protein: 340 g 41%, Carbs: 340 g 41%, Fat: 70 g 18%
Wednesday~Shoulders/Traps
Military Press- 120 X 6, 130 X 4
Dumbbell Press- 50 X 4, 40 X 6
Dumbbell Side Lateral-
20 X 8, 20 X 8
Seated Rear Lateral- 10 X 8
Upright Rows-
100 X 6, 100 X 5
Barbell Shrugs- 150 X 10, 200 X 6, 250 X 6
Neck
Extension- 5 X 10
Neck Side Flexion- 5 X 10
As I have
said before, I am concentrating on a full range of motion and stretching my
muscles. In the past I have sacrificed this to use heavy weights. Everything
felt Great Today!
Diet
Calories: 3400, Protein: 336 g 40%, Carbs: 380 g 45%, Fat: 60g 15%
Thursday~Back
Deadlift- 250 X 6, 270 X 6
First time doing these in
a while. Definitely getting into the grove. I'll try 300 next week.
Bent
Over Row- 150 X 6, 150 X 6
Great Lat Stretch!
Seated V-Bar Pulldown- 150 X 6, 150 X 6
Again, great stretch Wide
Grip Pull-Up (Slow)- 4, 4
Weighted Hyperextensions- 25 X
6, 25 X 6
First Time doing this:
Weighted Oblique Twist (Triceps Rope Twist)-
50 X 8, 50 X 8 (Each Side)
Diet:
Calories: 4000, Protein: 350 g 35%, Carbs: 450 g 45%, Fat: 80 g 20%
Friday~Chest & Abs
I worked out today at 7:45 PM because I worked with my
Uncle today installing windows. It threw off my schedule, but hey I made
$100.
Flat Bench Press- 180 X 6, 180 X 6
Incline Dumbbell Press-
70 X 4, 60 X 4
Decline Dumbbell Press- 60 X 6, 60 X 5
Dips-
7, 5
AB Wheel Rolls
70 lbs. was too heavy for the Incline DB Press for
the range I wanted. I really came down and stretched my chest. Man I LOVE
Decline Dumbbell Press! Excellent exercise! I went low on the flat bench
press so I could really target my chest on every rep.
Diet (Remember 10 hours of manual labor):
Calories: 5000 (probably a little
more), Protein: 357 g 29%, Carbs: 520 g 42%, Fat: 165 g 29% JEEZ! Blame it in
McDonald's Breakfast Menu...seriously.
*Key Concept of my Training*
I am not using the heaviest weight I can handle, rather the heaviest weight
that will give me the best range of motion and feel. Example: Inclined
Dumbbell Press- I could easily use 80 lb or 90 lb dumbbells, but I would not
be able to get as good a stretch at the bottom of the movement of squeeze my
chest as long at the top of the movement.
Next week I am changing my percentages. I'm not totally sure to what yet,
but I am thinking about 50% carbs, 35% protein, and 15% fat as well as
consuming 4,000-4,200 calories.
Why I Am Writing These Articles
I am writing these articles so others can see my experiences. Hopefully you
will be able to gain something from reading my next few articles. Whether it
deals with nutrition, supplements, training, or attitude, it is not
important as long as you gained something. I will try to go more in depth in
my next article. This is my first week on this program, so it is a learning
experience for me as well.
dspikehead@hotmail.com
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!  Back To Derek Charlebois' Main Page
Back To The Articles Main Page.
Related Articles
Strength Train To Be A Brute In Bed!
Training Properly For Police Officers.
Want To Try Something Different?
|
|
