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Hey Tyler,
I definitely wear my belt a lot less now than in the past but my reason for wearing it before was due to having two lower back herniations that I suffered back in 2007. So since then, I was alway nervous of it happening again so I wore my belt daily.
Many including myself wear it as a way to help with keeping waist tight, especially during prep. But as mentioned, I don’t use it too often now a days except on really back and leg days.
Leg Day:
Definitely a tough one tonight but sucked it up and got it done!
Hack Squats:
3 warmup sets of 3-5 reps just to warm the knees and feel the weight. Then did my 2 working sets of 8 reps.Belt Squats:
1 warmup set of 5 reps and then 3 working sets of 8’reps.Leg Extensions:
1 Cluster set of 28 reps total. 10 the first set, and 9 the next two sets.Leg Curls:
2 warmup sets of 8 reps and then 3 working set of 8 reps.RDL:
Used the hammer strength piece for these today.4 working sets of 8 reps to finish the day.
Post Christmas Chest:
Back in the gym after celebrating Christmas with my family.
DB Incline Press:
2 warmup sets of 15 reps. Reason for the high reps was to really warm up my shoulders.Then did 3 working sets of 8 reps. Didn’t go super heavy with these today. Slight pain in the wrist so decided to cut this short and move to movements that didn’t bother my wrist.
Flat Bench:
Definitely a movement I don’t do often but surely need to!1 warmup set of 6 reps and then 3 working sets of 6 reps. After my last heavy set, did two drop sets. Wanted to force more blood in.
Incline Machine Press:
1 warmup set of 6 reps and then 3 working sets of 6 reps.Hex Press:
4 working sets of 8 reps.Cable Crossovers:
Finished chest with 4 sets of 10 controlled reps with slight pause/squeeze at the bottom.Christmas Eve Back Day:
Lat Pulldowns:
3 warmups of 8 reps and then 3 working sets of 8 reps.Chest Support Rows:
2 warmup sets of 8 reps and then 3 working sets of 8 reps.1-Arm Dumbbell Rows:
Here I lay forward on an incline bench and row the dumbbell one arm at a time.1 warmup set of 8 reps and then 3 working sets of 8 reps.
Cable Pullovers:
3 working sets of 10 reps.Finished off with some biceps. No need for me to really warm up because my arms we’re pumped from back.
Cable Curls:
4 sets of 8 reps.Hammer Curls:
4 sets of 8 repsSingle Arm Preacher Curl:
3 sets of 10 reps.Shoulders:
Trained Delts on Friday. A video should be posted here soon!
Rope Pulls: (rear Delts)
Great movement I first saw being done by Dallas McCarver a while back. I tried them and loved them. I’m pretty much pulling a rope to my forehead as it’s attached to the high pulldown machine.
2 Warmup sets for 8 and then 3 working sets of 8 reps.
Upright Rows:
2 warmups set of 8 and 3 working sets of 8 reps.Machine Press:
1 Warmup set of 8 reps and then 3 working sets of 10 reps.Rear Delt Swings:
Did these with my head on an incline bench as I feel it keeps me in a fixed position and I don’t get much momentum.
1 warmup sets of 8 reps and then 3 working sets of 10 reps.Seated Machine Laterals:
3 working sets of 10 reps.Hey Nick!
Great question!
Since I’ve had a LONG season doing 5 shows, I decided that the first few weeks I’d only train 4x per week vs my normal 6x split. I wanted to give my body a break and spend more time resting and with my family. Plus, I was extremely tired and my body was run down.
I’m feeling good now and very rested so training has been better, strength is up and I’m def getting that intensity back. My goal is to bring up my hamstring and chest a lot this season. As far as weight, my goal was 200lbs. Right now I’m at 185, which is my heaviest ever. With now having a full off-season 200 should not be an issue. I still keep it tight/lean because I’m still doing cardio 4x per week and I generally stick to my diet food even in the off-season and cheat every so often. Honestly, haven’t had many cravings. I got all those cravings out when I got back from my show.
Leg Day-Ham Focused:
Really trying to bring my hamstrings up so as I mentioned, trying to give them more attention by giving them their own day.
Seated Hamstring Curl:
Did two warmup sets before moving into 4 working sets of 10 reps.Standing Leg Curls:
Did one warmup set before going into 3 working sets of 8 reps. Made sure to get a slight pause in the contraction and slowly lower the weight, keeping constant tension.RDL:
1 warmup set of 5 before moving into 3 working sets of 5. Not a movement I’m strong at due to lower back but will continue to do these weekly so that my body can get used to them.As I also mentioned, I do like to add one quad movement on my ham day so I figured I’d go with the best movement for overall leg growth…squats.
Safety Bar Squats:
I prefer these because there’s no shoulder pain of having to hold the bar behind my neck and I really feel this drive much more tension into the quads as opposed to the normal bar squat and I get very little to no lower back pain.2 Warmup set of 5 reps and then went into 3 working sets of 5 reps.
Finished with 405lbs for 5. Doesn’t seem like much but 405 on this bar is WAY harder than 405 with a barbell. It’s almost like doing a front squat because of where the load goes.
Chest Day:
My weakest body part that has been criticized for years and what I’ve been really focused on the past few years.
Flat Plate Load Press:
Did 2 warmup sets of 5 followed by 3 working sets of 8 reps.
Barbell Incline:
Wasn’t really feeling these today and felt a ton of stress on my Delts so only did 3 sets of 8 reps and then moved on.Seated Cable Press:
4 working sets of 8 reps.Machine Flies:
Did 3 working set of 8 reps.Moved onto triceps:
4 sets of reverse pushdown for 12 reps
Overhead rope extension:
4 sets of 10 reps with a 10 second stretch after each set.
Finished off with 20 Mins stairs.
Back Day!
Had a great back session last night. Strength noticeably better and really feel like I’m back!
Cable Supinated Pulldowns:
3 Warmup sets for 10 reps followed by 3 Working sets of 8 reps.Barbell Rows:
2 Warmup sets of 5 reps followed by 3 working set of 8 reps.Dumbbell Rows:
1 Warmup set of 8 reps followed by 3 working sets of 8 reps.Tbar Rows:
1 Warmup set of 5 reps followed by 3 working sets of 8 reps.V-Bar Cable Rows:
3 working set of 10 repsPullovers:
3 working sets of 10 reps.Back was fried after this session. Finished the night with 20 Mins cardio.
Hey Robert,
I’m giving myself a bit of a break with only 4 days Per week but will eventually move to a 5 days split.
So I do believe best would be a 5 days split for someone in the growth phase with 2 days to rest and recover. Would suggest a day off after both legs and back day.
Impromptu Arm Session:
Met up with some old friends at one of my old gyms and got in an arm session. Kept it pretty basic with my movements.
Rope Pushdowns:
3 Warm-up sets and then 3 Working sets of 12.DB Curls:
1 Warm-Up set of 10 reps and then 4 working sets of 10 reps.Straight Arm push downs:
1 Warmup set of 12 and then 4 working set of 12 reps.Hammer Curls:
4 Working sets of 8 repsDB Skull Crushers:
1 Warmup of 10 reps and then 3 working sets of 10 reps.Preacher Curls:
4 sets of 15 reps.Single Arm cable pushdown:
3 Working sets of 10 reps..
Hey Robert,
Now that I’m off-season, I’m actually training less days 4-5x per week giving my body more rest days whereas when prepping, I always train 6x per week.
This past season I was training:
Mon-chest/Delts
Tues-back/biceps
Wedn-Legs
Thur-Chest/Tris
Fri-Back
Sat-Hamstrings/GlutesMy off-season right now:
-Back/Biceps
-Chest
-Legs
-Delts/TrisDays can vary depending on how I feel. I have more flexibility.
Yesterday’s Shoulder Day:
I don’t train Delts usually by themselve but once in a while I feel like changing it up and crushing them!
Rear Delt Flies:
2 Warm-ups for 15 reps and then 3 Working sets of 12.Dumbbell Side Laterals:
1 Warm-up set of 8 and then 3 Working sets of 8.Machine Press:
1 Warm-up set of 8 and then 3 working sets of 8. This exercise was one that I used to judge my strength on. I’ve never done more than 3 1/2 plates for 6 reps and here I was able to do 4 plates for 8 reps pretty easily.Rear Laterals:
4 Working sets of 10’reps.Front Dumbbell Laterals:
3 sets of 10 repsLeg Day:
Things are starting to click and feel my strength is back.
Seated Hamstring Curl:
2 Warm-up sets of 10 then 3 working sets of 10 reps.Safety Bar Squats:
3 Warm-Up sets of 6 then 3 working sets of 10 reps.Leg Press:
1 Warm-Up set of 5 and then 4 working sets of 8 reps.Stiff Leg Deads:
3 Working sets of 8 reps.Hey French Bodybuilder,
Each week my workouts change. So some weeks we solely focus on the quads and the following week would be more hamstring dominant. That day, was a quad focus but I also do at least one hamstring exercise on quad day and always do at least one quad exercise on my hamstring day.
