Squats and Olympia Thoughts

Training:

Squats:
Bar/15
135/10
185/6
225/8
275/4 (Fucking bullshit)

RDL's and leg extension for 3 sets each

This was just bad all the way around. I felt good leading up to it. Made sure i was hydrated and fed while flying back. But I guess coming off a hectic weekend where I ate, drank sporadically and basically lived off coffee, yesterdays situation shouldn't come as a surprise to be honest. Can't catch up off one good day when you've had about three bad ones in regards to nutrition and rest.

Olympia Reflections:

When people go to the Olympia, most often think everyone is having a great time in the press pit. Most are as a matter of fact. I know I do, but it comes with a great deal of stress. Lots of stress. There are athletes to interview, shoots to cover, video to edit and networking to be done so more connections can be made to advance yourself as a writer, athlete, model or what have you. The main goal of bodybuilding press is to bring the action home to viewers around the world. Trips to Vegas are expensive (in general, travel is expensive) so in theory the entire Olympia experience needs to be captured....with sometimes less than ten people. Hard, but there is a lot of fun to it. The team I worked with over the weekend went out and did much with the least. I've worked with people in the past who just want to be seen and hobnob and I assure, that was not the case this time. We went and got it done.

Off my soapbox, lets move to the competition.

Outside of a couple of people (most notably Phil Heath and Dennis Wolf) there wasn't a lot of people that made me say "wow". That's not to say they were bad or anything like that. Far from it.  However the show was hyped up a bit, but it under delivered a little. No one in the open was out of shape in the open and especially not in the 212. 

When Phil Heath stepped from behind the curtain, he was the winner. I saw him in Pittsburgh and he was big. He was bigger at the Olympia. He didn't screw around in the offseason or precontest phase and it showed. Dennis Wolf made some big improvements to move up to third. I actually had him in runner up after prejudging but once the night show came around he faded a bit while Kai Greene got tighter and harder. I actually had Kai in fourth after prejudging, but what a difference a day makes. While it's hard to maintain condition over a two day show, it gives guys a chance to make corrections and get in better condition. And that can be a hard thing when you have booth appearances and sponsor obligations. While Wolf may have slipped to third, he made a statement moving forward and I look forward to seeing what he brings to his next show.

Kai was not as crisp as he was last year, but despite that he repeated his second place finish. This was the most confident I've ever seen Kai at an Olympia and he had no problem mouthing off with Phil onstage. The audience ate it up and Kai was a definite crowd favorite.

Shawn Rhoden may have slipped a placing but he still showcased his flawless lines and phenomenal frame. He has had a productive offseason as well despite all the traveling. He is moving into the "almost there" mark. His training with Charles Glass has paid off well for him. I can see him doing well competing at the Arnold Classic Europe alongside Kai Greene and Phil Heath. He is the defending champ so we'll see how that plays in his favor.


Dexter Jackson defies age. Despite being in his mid-40's he keeps bringing some phenomenal shape and condition. Him and Toney Freeman keep moving forward and keep coming in shape for shows. He'll, I think he can keep competing until he's close to 50. Toney Freeman too. They are this generation of bodybuilding fans Al Beckles and Vince Taylor.

Jay Cutler was in condition, but he needed to be bigger I thought. I heard he was in the 250's when he started his loading process (not sure if true) but the fact he stepped onstage hard at 40 is a testament to his dedication with bodybuilding. Do I agree with his placing? No, I thought Roelly Winklaar should've been up there. But it is what it is. Everyone has an opinion.

Roelly came in big. His arms rival Phil Heath in the pure "are you the fuck serious?" category. He was not in the best condition, but everything flowed pretty well. I think his posing needs work. He makes himself look "bunched up" when he poses.

Lionel Beyeke has one of, if not the best structure in all of bodybuilding. His time with Dennis James did him well. I would really like to see Roelly, Lionel and Essa Obaid all under the instruction of Charles Glass for a year and see them in the top spots. Lionel is another on the cusp of really breaking through and pushing people in that top six.

Other Olympia Thoughts:

-Steve Kuclo is going places if he keeps on the path he's on now. He's not there yet, but he will be soon. So watch for this young man.

-Essa Obaid deserved to be in the top 10. No doubt about it.

-Big Ramy needs time. Let this be a lesson....don't hype up people for a top slot until they are ready. He wasn't outsizing anyone on that stage. Remember when Jordan dunked on Shaq and told him "Welcome to the NBA"? Saturday was Ramy's "Welcome to the Olympia".

-To see Flex Lewis now compared to when he came into bodybuilding is an awesome thing to watch. Easily deserved his title.

-Troy Alves continues to get overlooked

-The expo was busy.

That's all for now. Until then...ciao!

Bench and Deads

Bench: Wednesday night:
Bar/20,15
135/10
185/5
225/5
275/1
315/2.2

Flyes and pressdown: 2 sets apiece


Deadlifts: 6:30 am

135/14
18510
225/5
275/5
315/3
368/8,4

Pulldowns:
140/12
180/10,10

Bent Rows:
135/12
225/10
315/8


Bench day kinda stunk. Elbow and forearm is angering me. Strained something in it and now it doesn't want to act right. Blah.

Squat Training

Leg curls
65/15
85/15
110/10
125/8
140/6,5

Squats:
135/10
185/5
225/5
275/3
315/2
405/1
415/2,2,2

Leg press:
3pl/15
4pl/15
5pl/8

Leg ext:
3 sets

In and out. Getting stronger. Off season going well so far.

Benching

Bench Press:

Bar/20
135/12
185/10
225/5
275/5 sets of 2

Incline DB Press:
65/30
75/25
85/15
105/10

Dips and Flyes: 2 sets apiece

Everything about bench was off today. I may have to switch my times around so I can bench out of the power rack instead of one of the normal benches available. I'm going to see whats available at East Campus, but possibly not much their either.

Squats

Squat:
Bar/15
135/10
135/5
185/5
225/3
275/2
315/1
405/2

Pause Squats:
225/5,5
245/5

Leg curls:
80/20
110/13
140/10
155/10

Leg Press for three sets to finish it out. Getting stronger and getting my reps up. Thats the goal.

Back Training: Back to Deadlifting, a Low Budget Students Diet, and Get Rid of Bullshit

Deads: (beltless)
135/15
185/10
225/5
285/5
315/3
405/1
480/2

Seated rows:
130/10
180/12
210/12
250/10

Bent Rows:
135/14
225/10
315/8

Pulldowns:
3 sets

Felt good to get some weight in my hands for some pulling and heavy lat work. Really working on getting stronger without a belt. Added in some type of ab work a couple times a week.

On the nutrition front, my main sources of food right now is ground beef (85-93% lean depending on what I can afford), turkey, chicken and sweet potato, white potato, protein powder and oatmeal. I eat around five times a day and strive to get in my protein at 8-10 oz and the five times I eat, I include protein powder as a meal (I combine it with Oatmeal and shake that bitch up.) Fats come from coconut oil, peanut butter, fat in the meats I eat and almonds. Staying more consistent with my nutrition has been paying off. My weakness is still Chipotle and Dicky's BBQ (specifically) the brisket

Supplements being used right now:
Mutant protein powder (Shout out to Gabe Moen on this one with the Husker Power hookup!)
Glycofuse
Aminos (various brands)

Simple stack. My pre-workout? Coffee.

I've learned something that is really helping now. When I was at a standstill during my prep, the biggest thing I did was to break down what I really needed and what I really didn't need to put the package together that I wanted. I still needed barbells and dumbbells, so that became the brunt of my workout. I didn't need a pre-workout drink that cost 30 plus dollars when I had a Starbucks card. There is more, but most of you get the point. I took what I needed and discarded the rest.

Me and Paul Carter (author over at Lift-Run-Bang) were talking on Facebook about how people don't really need as much as they think in terms of lifting. You can translate this to life as well. We don't need half the bull that bogs us down. Find out what you don't need and get rid of it.

Enough of me lecturing.........football is on.

Chest training and stuff

Bench:
135/10
185/6
225/5
275/2
315/3 sets of 2

Incline Press:
135/15
225/6
245/6 (+2rp, +1rp)*

Machine Press:
2 sets

Flyes:
2 sets

Lowering the volume a little and using more techniques like rest pause and negatives to jack the volume up. The volume has been up for awhile so bringing it down a bit may yield some good gains.


Now off to do a video assignment.