Health program progress
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
45 day shred with Excel PT
Last night i met with my coach to go over our plan of attack for the next 45 days. We went over what kind of training i will be doing which will be mostly heavy weight with much less rest time in between sets. this will help me maintain size but also help me lean out. The meals will be all dairy free and utilize healthy fats and carb cycling throughout the week to keep my body guessing and not being accustom to the diet.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Web Quest Unit 5/6
I chose inspire yoga for my blog post, they would be categorized under other, because they arent non profit and they arent private. One month gives you unlimited acess for 140 dollars, and there are no hidden fees. Their hours are 9:30 - 8:30 monday-friday, and 8:30-11:30 saturdays and 8:30-10:00 on sunday. I would think that the dominant age group for this facility would be 25-40 because younger people usually dont do yoga. They offer classes like Fusion and expanding, which involves flow practice and intelligent sequencing. All of these classes are usually the same price unless you are paying for just single classes of by the week. They offer training for community sports teams to help young atheletes become more sucessful through yoga and stretching. the classes are unisex and welcome both men and women to stretch and learn together. This facility seems very interesting, although very expensive im sure it would benefit my journey to health through proper stretching.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Winter and spring Bulk with Excel PT
Since ive been Doing so many changes to my diet in the past month, i am going to make a massive epic post about what ive been up to nutrition and exercise wise.
In January i decided to Hire my coach Carlos Mz, to put together a bulking program for me, i paid 250 for the 6 weeks which gave me a meal plan and workout plan. This also included his coaching via text and weekly meetings.
Carlos was awarded best personal trainer in Canada for 2012 so i was confident with his knowledge. His exercise plan put me through lots of heavyweight pyramid sets and focused on the lagging body parts like my chest and biceps.
Mondays workout was Chest and Triceps, which started with
Cable Crossovers
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest in between sets,
Flat DB press
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest,
hammer strength machine press
4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest,
Incline DB press
5 x 6-10 reps, Pushups 5 x 10 reps with 30 sec rest,
Rope-over head extensions
5 x 6-10 reps with 30 sec rest, then finishing off with Abs+20 min steady state cardio. This routine really focused on building my upper chest and helped me gain 2+ inches to my size.
Tuesday was Back and biceps, my back has always been my strong point so we focused on widening it more than building the inner section, and my biceps really needed to catch up with my triceps.
Dead-lifts
5 x 3-6 Heavy weight was the first exercise, with 3 mins rest between sets to recover because i was lifting 315lbs. next was
narrow grip weighted pullups
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest, these were the staple to building depth to my back, i was putting on 45lbs and getting 10 reps. next was
Wide grip power bent-over rows,
these were very interesting because they were done right off the ground and you focused on the upward blast of the rep then slowly coming down and resting two seconds between every rep. This apparently worked the quick twitch muscle fibres in my back and gave me more definition. next was the
close grip pulley
which was 5 x 4-8 reps 60 sec rest, this was always easy for me so i usually went 200lbs for 4-5 reps. Cable pullovers
was the next one which is basically standing in between the cables and pulling each one across your chest and down to your sides, this worked more upper back and traps, and was done 5 x 10 w 30 sec rest. Last was
POWER curls off the squat rack.
Yes, my coach told me to curl in the squat rack i know.. this was basically curling minimum 25lbs each side of the bar and exploding off the rack and slowly coming down to rest for 2 seconds, for 5 x 10 w 30 sec rest. This exercise really built the peak of my biceps which i never really seemed to have before.
Wednesday was legs and lower abs, the most intense workout of the week. First exercise was
Leg extensions
drop setting to
leg curls
for 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest in between, this was the pre-exhaust / warmup. next was
squats
which had to be super heavy becasue they were only 4 x 6-10 reps with 3 min rest between sets, i was squatting 315 up until my lower back gave me issues then i went down to 275.
Wide stance leg press
was next and by this time i was already dying, this was also 4 x 6-10 reps with 2min rest. After that was stiff legged dead-lifts
to stretch out the hamstrings and build them, this was 4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Second last was walking lunges,
which i feel are a necessity for building a nice pair of Glutes. I was putting up 90lbs at my strongest with 3 x 10 per leg with 2 min rest, this was the worst part of the workout because your legs are taxed already. Last was
standing calf raise
which was a walk in the park for me because ive always had strong calves. This was 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest.
Thursday was
H.I.I.T. cardio day,
pretty brutal after a leg workout the day before but needed to be done to keep my weight down while bulking. This involved 20 mins of sprinting for a minute and running at a slow pace in between intervals. this really tested my cardio and leg fatigue.
Friday was
shoulders,
my favorite body part to work, i know obvious isn't it... This began with
side lateral raises
for 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. next was single cable side raises which really built up my outer deltoid and gave it that round appearance from the front. This was 5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was Heavy DB presses, i was putting up 95lb dumbells at my strongest this was 4 x 6-8 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was barbell or standing dumbell shrugs, i chose to do both in the same workout to get better results, i dont feel like i gained much size on my traps because i wasn't training them as much as they need. this exercise was 5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. next was wide grip upright rows, the most uncomfortable thing to do especially with my bad shoulders. This was 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. Last was a DB rear delt raise drop setting to the machine rear delt extenson. This really brought out alot of definition on my rear delts which they needed bacause they were big but not visible. This was 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. After all of this was my usual 20 mins of steady state cardio which i did on the elliptical. Saturday was arms, yayyy arms another favorite for me, except this routine was brutal and heavy and no pump :( it began with Skullcrushers with 70lbs then getting right up and wide grip curling the same bar for 4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was rope push-downs drop-setting to DB curls, everything in this routine was as dropset so it sparked some serious growth for my arms. this was also 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. next was hammer curls with the hammer curl bar then drop-setting to an overhead DB press on the low stool. This was probably my favorite one because you could go super heavy on both then throw the weight down and scare everyone in the weight section! this was also 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. After all of that was Lower and upper abs and a small 10 min HIIT session on the treadmill. Sunday was a rest day which was much needed, i was allowed to have one cheat meal and spent lots of time stretching and resting. So that was my bulk program that i stuck to for about 3 months, i gained a solid 10lbs of muscle but also a little fat, so then it was time to stick to the meal plan with no cheat meals and switch up the workout routine a little, which is what i have been doing for the past month and a half, so now its time to begin The six week shortcut the shred which i will be talking about in my next blog post!
In January i decided to Hire my coach Carlos Mz, to put together a bulking program for me, i paid 250 for the 6 weeks which gave me a meal plan and workout plan. This also included his coaching via text and weekly meetings.
Carlos was awarded best personal trainer in Canada for 2012 so i was confident with his knowledge. His exercise plan put me through lots of heavyweight pyramid sets and focused on the lagging body parts like my chest and biceps.
Mondays workout was Chest and Triceps, which started with
Cable Crossovers
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest in between sets,
Flat DB press
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest,
hammer strength machine press
4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest,
Incline DB press
5 x 6-10 reps, Pushups 5 x 10 reps with 30 sec rest,
Rope-over head extensions
5 x 6-10 reps with 30 sec rest, then finishing off with Abs+20 min steady state cardio. This routine really focused on building my upper chest and helped me gain 2+ inches to my size.
Tuesday was Back and biceps, my back has always been my strong point so we focused on widening it more than building the inner section, and my biceps really needed to catch up with my triceps.
Dead-lifts
5 x 3-6 Heavy weight was the first exercise, with 3 mins rest between sets to recover because i was lifting 315lbs. next was
narrow grip weighted pullups
5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest, these were the staple to building depth to my back, i was putting on 45lbs and getting 10 reps. next was
Wide grip power bent-over rows,
these were very interesting because they were done right off the ground and you focused on the upward blast of the rep then slowly coming down and resting two seconds between every rep. This apparently worked the quick twitch muscle fibres in my back and gave me more definition. next was the
close grip pulley
which was 5 x 4-8 reps 60 sec rest, this was always easy for me so i usually went 200lbs for 4-5 reps. Cable pullovers
was the next one which is basically standing in between the cables and pulling each one across your chest and down to your sides, this worked more upper back and traps, and was done 5 x 10 w 30 sec rest. Last was
POWER curls off the squat rack.
Yes, my coach told me to curl in the squat rack i know.. this was basically curling minimum 25lbs each side of the bar and exploding off the rack and slowly coming down to rest for 2 seconds, for 5 x 10 w 30 sec rest. This exercise really built the peak of my biceps which i never really seemed to have before.
Wednesday was legs and lower abs, the most intense workout of the week. First exercise was
Leg extensions
drop setting to
leg curls
for 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest in between, this was the pre-exhaust / warmup. next was
squats
which had to be super heavy becasue they were only 4 x 6-10 reps with 3 min rest between sets, i was squatting 315 up until my lower back gave me issues then i went down to 275.
Wide stance leg press
was next and by this time i was already dying, this was also 4 x 6-10 reps with 2min rest. After that was stiff legged dead-lifts
to stretch out the hamstrings and build them, this was 4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Second last was walking lunges,
which i feel are a necessity for building a nice pair of Glutes. I was putting up 90lbs at my strongest with 3 x 10 per leg with 2 min rest, this was the worst part of the workout because your legs are taxed already. Last was
standing calf raise
which was a walk in the park for me because ive always had strong calves. This was 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest.
Thursday was
H.I.I.T. cardio day,
pretty brutal after a leg workout the day before but needed to be done to keep my weight down while bulking. This involved 20 mins of sprinting for a minute and running at a slow pace in between intervals. this really tested my cardio and leg fatigue.
Friday was
shoulders,
my favorite body part to work, i know obvious isn't it... This began with
side lateral raises
for 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. next was single cable side raises which really built up my outer deltoid and gave it that round appearance from the front. This was 5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was Heavy DB presses, i was putting up 95lb dumbells at my strongest this was 4 x 6-8 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was barbell or standing dumbell shrugs, i chose to do both in the same workout to get better results, i dont feel like i gained much size on my traps because i wasn't training them as much as they need. this exercise was 5 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. next was wide grip upright rows, the most uncomfortable thing to do especially with my bad shoulders. This was 5 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. Last was a DB rear delt raise drop setting to the machine rear delt extenson. This really brought out alot of definition on my rear delts which they needed bacause they were big but not visible. This was 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. After all of this was my usual 20 mins of steady state cardio which i did on the elliptical. Saturday was arms, yayyy arms another favorite for me, except this routine was brutal and heavy and no pump :( it began with Skullcrushers with 70lbs then getting right up and wide grip curling the same bar for 4 x 6-10 reps with 60 sec rest. Next was rope push-downs drop-setting to DB curls, everything in this routine was as dropset so it sparked some serious growth for my arms. this was also 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. next was hammer curls with the hammer curl bar then drop-setting to an overhead DB press on the low stool. This was probably my favorite one because you could go super heavy on both then throw the weight down and scare everyone in the weight section! this was also 4 x 6-10 with 60 sec rest. After all of that was Lower and upper abs and a small 10 min HIIT session on the treadmill. Sunday was a rest day which was much needed, i was allowed to have one cheat meal and spent lots of time stretching and resting. So that was my bulk program that i stuck to for about 3 months, i gained a solid 10lbs of muscle but also a little fat, so then it was time to stick to the meal plan with no cheat meals and switch up the workout routine a little, which is what i have been doing for the past month and a half, so now its time to begin The six week shortcut the shred which i will be talking about in my next blog post!
6 week shortcut to shred
For the past two months i have been cutting weight so i can achieve 10% bodyfat and be somewhere around 175lbs when i leave for my euro-trip. Getting to this low of a BF percentage has been something ive tried to work at for the past few years. Not up until i actually started to take my nutrition and training seriously, has this actually started to come together. This week has been very good for strict eating for me, last night i prepped two days worth of ground chicken and pasta. My new routine involves cardio in between sets and today will be shoulders calves and abs. My new routine follows a 3 day split between body parts. which basically means i will be training each group twice a week in a different way every workout, also because the program changes every week. Since i am working with such a short time frame, technically 5 weeks, my meal plan will be changing every week. I have chosen to go back with my coach from ExcelPT for this because 5 weeks isnt enough time to get shredded while guessing and trying to piece together my own plan. In the past 3 months i have learned alot about what type of foods my body reacts well to, and which foods i need to avoid in this process to get maximum fat loss. From seeing my other gym buddies go through bodybuilding competition preps, i know i will be doing alot of fasting cardio in the mornings, and my carbs will be slowly depleted each week and healthy fats will be utilized to maintain my muscle mass and so i dont go catabolic during this extreme cut. My workout weight lifting routine will involve lots of light weight, high rep drop sets, so utilize fat burning on all muscle groups.
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