Cardinal

Sure, check out elite fitness systems (home of westside barbell). The are named after Dave Tate. To explain them simply, just do an elbows out extension on an incline bench. Your elbows point out to the left and right of you with hands outstretched. Just do an extension lowering the DB's to your chest and press back up. There are pictures, I just can't seem to find one.

Egoatdoor

Missed Tuesday morning cardio. We had 9 inches of heavy wet snow Monday and Monday night. Did cardio this morning. My legs still did not feel recovered from Sunday's 20/15/12 torture chamber workout, so I kept the intensity down. I did the same 20 minute routine I did last Friday and then finished with some step ups on a high platform.

Had a very low carb yesterday and it wasn't really planned. It was very busy for me at work due to the consolidation stuff going on ( had an update meeting on this in the morning) and me getting loose ends tied up before I took the rest of the week off. Didn't eat much during the day and got out late. My car was also having new tires put on, so I had to carry lunch. Before my last meal at 9:30 last night, I was at only 215 grams of carbs for the day, which is way low for me. I did carb up at that meal and ended up at slightly over 300. Today will be much much higher.

I have alot to do today and this will be my last post until I get back from Columbus on Sunday. Need to food shop, get stuff from the cleaners and start packing. I am going to workout mid afternoon, whole body ( if my legs can stand it) low intensity workout and then get to bed early so I can leave before sunrise tomorrow. My hotel room has a full kitchen and microwave, so I will be carrying food as well as protein bars and protein powder. The hotel website says there is a Hometown Buffet nearby, which is good and also a Ballys and Lifetime Fitness. The other hotels in that chain that I have stayed at all had fitness centers, so I would be surprised if this one did not. Either way, I should get in at least one morning cardio workout while I'm there.

Talk to ya all next week.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Wednesday March 2 workout: Whole Body workout, 60 second rests, 12 reps. Low intensity 3 working sets each exercise

DB Inclines 35x12 40x12 45x12
Weighted Chins 15x6 20x6 25x5
Reverse Grip Bent Rows 115x12 125x12 135x12
DB Shoulder Press 25x12 35x12 40x12
DB Curls 15x12 25x12 30x12
Close Grip Bench Press 75x12 95x12 105x12
Stiff Deadlifts 105x12 125x12 130x12
Squats 125x12 165x12 235x12

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

The trip went fairly well. I enjoyed the stay there overall, but there were a couple of bothers, some of which were my fault for bad planning.

The drive to Columbus was rough. I got behind on preparing and packing on Wednesday, so I only got about 4 hours sleep before packing and leaving early Thursday. I was going into a strong wind and hit a snow squall on the way, plus had to stop twice at rest stops to take naps so the drive took almost 10 hours. Got to the hotel at almost 5 o'clock exhausted and starving even after eating three times on the trip up. There was a great Hometown Buffet restaurant near the hotel, so I had dinner there and went to bed at 9:30.

Did early morning cardio at Ballys, had breakfast and then went to the Expo. Walked around the booths for awhile, watched the pre judging for the women's competitions and then went back to booth meeting and greeting. Talked to alot of people, took many pictures and got several signed pictures from pro and amateur competitors. These are the ones I remember and/or got pictures from: Bob Cicherillo, Alissa Carpio, Angela Monteleone-Semsch, Melissa Frabielle, Tara Sciotti, Tazzie Colomb, Lisa Marie Bickels, Cassandra Floyd, Sara Morin, Stan McQuay, Alti Bautista, Frank Sepe, Jennifer Searles, Stephanie Collins, Dana Della Valle and John Hansen, Mr Natural Olympia. I bought John's book, Natural Bodybuilding, which he personally autographed.

I carried a protein shake and a bar, but I was starving again, it was 4:30 and the women's show at the Auditorium started at 7. Eating fast food downtown was not something I wanted to do 3 weeks out and having "cheated" by eating at McDonalds on the trip up, so I decided to go back to the hotel, get a good nutritious dinner at Hometown and skip the Friday night women's show.

Saturday, I went to both the pre judging and the finals for the Arnold Classic men's bodybuilding. It was an all around disappointment. My tickets cost $125, for which we got 75 minutes of prejudging and a night show that was less than 2 hours and included many minutes of non bodybuilding stuff. I was disappointed greatly by the quality of the physiques. Only one person, I thought, was near or better than the level of development and conditioning I saw at the Olympia. Several, including Gustavo Badell and David Henry, missed totally on their tanning preparations, so that they looked totally washed out under the lights in the prejudging. Dexter Jackson won, but I thought he was not near where he was at the Olympia. He may have crossed the line in that he was several pounds heavier than at the Olympia and lost some of his crisp definition, but it was still enough to win. Chris Cormier was flat again in the upper body just as at the Olympia and got a gift in taking second place. Gustavo looked a bit blocky and again may have gotten too big. Lee Priest and Melvin Anthony looked really good in 4th and 5th and I thought Darrem Charles got jobbed for 6th. He was bigger, which for him worked(unlike the others) and the only one I thought who looked better than at the Olympia. He should have been second, or third at worst and definitely ahead of Cormier. Tonie Freeman (10th)looked great with good size upper body, great legs and a very small waist. I think not having a reputation kept him out of the top 8.

I left before dawn Sunday and had a much quicker trip back, with the wind at my back and no traffic.

Next year, if I go, I will do it differently, getting there a day or two earlier, doing the night show only on Friday, skipping the men's pre judging and doing the Expo Saturday and Sunday.

I did enjoy seeing many women in the crowd proud to show off their muscles with bare shoulder and bare backed dresses. Muscle looks good on men AND women.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Journey

Ego! Sorry your trip was on the crappy side! But i'm glad you got to go and experience some of the excitement!! Great news hearing the ladies were showing of muscle!! It's a b e a u t i f u l thing! And thanks for the critiques of the competitors from your point of view! Just wish I could of been there! Did you tell Stan you've got a friend that thinks he's !! LOL

Egoatdoor

You're gonna be there next year, even if we have to have Arnold fly his jet down to pick you up!
'

Did you tell Stan you've got a friend that thinks he's !! LOL[/quote] I thought about, but didn't want to embarass him. He was also very busy at the ProLab booth. I was fighting with people just to get his attention and get a picture.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Last week's nutrition: I did pretty good considering I was away Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I had two breakfasts at Bob Evans( pancakes and fatty meats ) and a McDonalds stop( hamburgers, chicken nuggets and small fries) on the Turnpike going up. Prepared a couple of clean home cooked meals in the hotel room and though I ate dinner three nights at Hometown Buffet, I kept the portions small, ate slowly and ate only clean food(lots of baked chicken without the skin, boiled carrots, cucumber salad, soup, baked potatoes, corn bread, pot roast on Friday and no desserts). Target for the week was 3950 calories. Actual based on Fitday, Nutritiondata.com and my best guestimate on portion sizes was 3849. Protein 239 g (25%), Carbs 541(55%), Fat 89 (20%).

This week, I am shooting for 3850-3900. Carbs have been coming down each week and I am going to ratchet it down further this week. I weighed 191 1/2 this morning fresh out of bed and 192 before my late afternoon workout, compared to 193 last Wednesday afternoon. No visible physique improvements in the last ten days. This week, all condiments are eliminated( now the chicken breast is REALLY going to be tough to take! ), adding cucumbers dipped in white vinegar to start the diuretic process. Last week, I had one weight workout and two cardio sessions. Since it was almost a rest week, I am going to do 4 weight sessions starting today through Sunday and three cardio, the first of which was this morning. The weight split will be what I was doing last summer to prioritize the hamstrings and chest: Monday Chest and back, Wed Hamstrings, shoulders and abs, Saturday Chest and biceps, Sunday Legs, tris (and abs if my energy allows it). Doing 20/15/12 again. I will post today's workouts on Tuesday...its bed time .....back to the real world of work tomorrow.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Monday morning cardio: 45 minutes of moderate intensity interval walks on treadmill. Worked up to 3.9 MPH.

Monday late afternoon workout: Chest, back and obliques. 20/15/12, last set to total failure, trying to add weight or reps compared to the last workout. 2 minute rests.

Chest:
DB Incline 45x20 50(-5)x15 60(-5)x13 ( left elbow was straining on the first set, so I lowered the weights after that)
DB Low Incline 40x20 50x15 55x14(+2)
Cable Crossovers 30x20 40x15 50x10
DB Bench Press(12-15 reps) 20x15 30x15 35x15

Back:
Weighted Chins 5x7 10x7 15x5
Weighted Pull Ups(close grip) 15x7 20x6 25x5
Pulls to Front 70x20 90x15 110x14
Seated Cable Rows 70x20 95x15 120(+5)x11
Bent BB Rows 115x17 125x15 140x12 ( my back was already fried, so I had to lower substantially the weights from my 2/23 workout here)
DB Pullovers 15x20 30x15 45x15

Obliques: 3 sets of both standing and bentover twists with a bar.

This was a really hard workout. Energy level was down( affects of now 7 weeks of reducing carbs??? plus cardio in the AM?? ) and I felt especially dead trying to recover between sets. Gutted it out and my back looked really wide in post workout posing as I did three width movements.

Cardio tomorrow morning is off. The weather here was totally strange today. Monday, it was 66 degrees, felt like early summer. A monster cold front came through this morning. It rained first and then by early afternoon it was snowing like Siberia. Its now 15 degrees with 35 MPH winds and the sidewalks, steps and roads are all iced up. Until the sun starts melting the ice tomorrow, there is no way I can walk to my car, much less try walking across the parking lot at the gym without chancing breaking a leg. This has been an absolutely weird last few weeks around here weather wise. 3 weeks to vacation and sunny Florida!

Wednesday night is hamstrings, shoulders and abs.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

LiftinBear

Looks good Ego. Have fun with the Hams, Shoulders and ABS.
Talk to you later

Egoatdoor

Thanks, LB.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Journey

Just think of the beautiful beach as you knaw on the undressed chicken parts

Only 3 weeks!! You got this!

Egoatdoor

Thanks for keeping my spirits up. Am I suffering from male PMS????

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

b_reed23

Your doing awsome ego..this is a very impressive journal, keep up the great work!! BILLIE

Emma-Leigh

LOL - Hmm... Now that you mention it - possibly!! You seem to have the major symptoms - tiredness, hunger, unwillingness to eat 'healthy' foods (that chicken breast just doesn't taste the same!!)... Also - You say you are feeling the need to use diuretics... a little cycle related 'water weight'??!!


Don't worry Ego - As a female I can tell you that it is nothing a little chocolate, pie and ice-cream will not fix!




Keep it up! You are doing GREAT and you are almost there!!

Egoatdoor

Yeah and I'm getting bitchy too!
Hope not..if so, I'd be the headline news.
Emma, do you have a camera in my apartment? I ate frozen yogurt post workout yesterday.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Thanks Billie. You're awesome too.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Wednesday's workout: Hamstrings, shoulders and abs. 20/15/12, last set to failure. 2 minute rests.

Hamstrings:
Lying Leg Curls 35x20 55(+5)x15 85(+10 !!)x13, then two triple drop sets of 50#,30# and 15#.
DB Stiff Deadlifts 30x20 45(+5)x15 55(+10)x13

Shoulders:
DB Overhead Press 35(-5)x20 40(-5)x15 50x15(+4!!) (Left elbow was gimpy on warmups and the first working set, but it felt fine on the 40s, so I went for it on the last set.)
Clean and Press 45x20 60x15 85(+5)x14!!
DB Side Laterals 12x20 20x15 30(+5)x8 (had to cheat a bit)
Wide Grip Upright Rows 45x20 60(+5)x15 75(+5)x15!!
Bent Laterals 20x20 30x15 35x10(-4)
DB Shrugs 30x20 45x15 55x11(-3)

Abs: Three supersets of situps on decline board, crunches and bentover twists with a bar.

A super workout, much better than Monday. Added weights AND reps on almost all exercises, even at a getting depleted 190 pounds coming off a low carb day on Tuesday. Only ran out of gas a bit at the end. I think my rear delts and traps were burned out by the Clean and Presses and maybe the wide grip upright rows as assisting muscles.

I'm starting to do some minor carb cycling, working in low carbs on off days. Tuesday was under 400 and I'm around 400 today. Wednesday was close to 600 with more normal eating plus carbs pre and post workout. I did treat myself to some simple carbs like frozen yogurt after the workout as a reward. Weighed 190 1/4 pre workout, down from 192 Monday evening. My appetite is falling off. I think the appetite suppresent in the NRG thermogenic is kicking in. I'm taking 4 tablets a day now instead of 2.

I am going to start eating more turkey breast. The chicken breast is wearing on me and I can't stand eating it more than once a day. 4 ounces of chicken has 34 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat, while the turkey has 29 protein and 9 fat, but is much tenderer and tastier. The added fat may not hurt as I have been running at 15% fat intake most days and can cut it even further by not putting flax oil in some of my drinks and taking walnuts out of my salads.

Friday morning is cardio...hams are still feeling fried from last night's workout ...treadmill is going to be torture... and then chest and biceps on Saturday morning.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Emma-Leigh

Arggg... That is so annoying - It is so unfair what is is 'low carb' for you! I wish my low carb days could be 400g of carbies!

LOL - Think of all the oaties! I would be in HEAVEN!

Egoatdoor

Ah Emma, count your blessings. I'm a 40 something geezer who looks like a human fire hydrant with bags under my eyes. You're a 20 something ( or teen something??) sexy lady with the brain I wish I had.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Friday morning cardio: 20 minutes of moderate intensity walking on treadmill. Then 10 minutes of set ups on a raised platform(8 steps) with 15 and 5 lb dumbbells.

Saturday's workout: Chest, biceps and forearms. 20/15/12, last set to failure. 2 minute rests.

Chest:
DB Bench Presses 40x20 50x15 70x13(+1)
Smith Incline Press 95x20 115x13(-2) 135x10(-4)
Incline Flyes 30x20 45x11(-1) 50x10(-3)
Pec Dec Flyes 12-15 reps 30x15 50x15 70x12

Biceps:
EZ Bar Curls 55x20 65x15 85(+10)x18!!
Hammer Curls 15x20 25x15 35x13

Forearms:
EZ Bar Reverse Curls on preacher bench 25x20 30x15 35x13
Wrist Curls 45x20 55x15 65(+5)x12


Good workout. I can't believe how strong my biceps have been the last couple of workouts.

Looking much tighter the last couple of days. Two weeks until pictures.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

Sunday's workout: Legs, triceps, abs. 20/15/12, last set to failure. 2 minute rests.

Calves:
Toe Press on Leg Press 230x20 330(+10)x15 390x14(+4)
Weighted Calf Raises on Hack Squat 25x20 60x15 80(+5)x14
Seated Calf Raises 15x20 35(+5)x15 45x13(+3) followed by one triple drop set

Hamstrings:
Stiff Deadlifts 95x20 115x15 140(+10)x16!!
Seated Leg Curls 20x20 30x15 45x14

Quads:
Squats 165x20 205x15 265(+10)x12
Leg Press 190x20 260x15 340(+20)x15!!!
Leg Press(feet close together) 12-15 reps 230x15 250x15
Two sets of lunges onto a step

Triceps:
Close Grip Bench 75x20 95x14 115(+5)x9
Pushdowns 50x20 90(+10)x15 140(+10) x12

Abs: Hanging Leg Raises, straight legged and tucked, Situps on decline board, twists with a bar.

Made several new highs today. The workout was brutal and exhausting. This will be my last full out workout before the picture taking in two weeks. Upper body size is being retained and the cuts are coming along, but legs have not improved last couple of weeks. Abs coming back in after disappearing a bit due to all the eating out last weekend.

This week's schedule( could be subject to change): Cardio Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday morning. Weights: Whole body workouts, low to moderate intensity, Wednesday night, Saturday morning.

Nutrition: Pretty close to my targets for the week. Calories: 3794, Protein 261 g(27%), Carbs 534 (55%), Fat 80(18%). This week, I want to be in the 3750-3800 range. Carbs will be cycled with low carb days on Monday and Friday and intake overall should be down from last week. I am switching to distilled water( lower sodium) and adding lemon juice (diuretic).

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Egoatdoor

I just had my last meal for today and wanted to post what I ate today as it was rather unique.

It was a planned low carb day and I decided to stay under 300 as it was an off day and make it a totally clean day. Here's what I ate:

7:15: 2 whole wheat waffles with frozen strawberries, 2.5 oz turkey breast, 2 egg whites, 4 oz Crystal Light and 1/4 cucumber.
9:30: 8 oz. spooned sized shredded wheat
11:15: Myoplex Deluxe protein drink, salad with 2 oz turkey breast and 2 oz raisins
1:00: 3 oz 7% lean hamburger, 5 oz baked russet potato, slice of whole wheat toast and 4 oz Crystal Light
4:00 Myoplex protein drink
5:45: 2.5 oz 7% lean hamburger, 2 oz turkey breast, slice of whole wheat toast, salad with 1/4 cucumber and 4 oz Crystal Light.
7:30 Tanning
8:15 Myoplex protein drink with tablespoon of flax seed oil, 4 oz baked red potato and 2 egg whites
9:30 3 oz Tuna steak, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli, 2 egg whites and 4 oz baked red potato.

Drank 120 ounces of distilled water so far and working on another 24 oz bottle.

This all worked out to 2719 calories (LOW!!), 252 g protein(38%), 292 g carbs (41%) and 65 g fat (22%).

In bed in a few minutes at 10:30. Up at 4:30 tomorrow morning for cardio. I am always hungry after early morning cardio, so I will not skimp on the carbs at breakfast and the rest of the daylight hours. I have calories to play with because today was so low and I only ate 3560 yesterday. I have lots of turkey breast, broiled fish, baked red potatoes and yams already prepared in the refrigerator. It will be a reasonably, not TOTALLY, clean day.

Next planned low carb day is Friday.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

Journey

Hey! Things look great! Sorry I haven't responded to your journal more! I am definately keeping up with it though! (schools driving me bonkers! ) Anyhow, keep up the great work and don't knaw your arm off tonight Can't wait to see the pics!

Egoatdoor

Thanks Kim. I always know you're there in spirit.

Change in plans for the week. I was supposed to meet a friend I hadn't seen in a while Thursday night, but her schedule changed, so now it looks like Friday or Sunday. If I'm seeing her at the tail end of a low carb day in the eighth week of reducing carbs, she probably won't want to be my friend anymore.

So....low carb day will be Thursday instead of Friday, Sunday cardio moved to Friday morning. If I'm up late Friday, I'll do weights later in the day Saturday. Either way, Sunday will now be a totally off day from the gym.

Today's cardio was 15 minutes of high intensity intervals on the treadmill sandwiched between a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down. Worked up to 4.8 MPH at level 5 incline. Finished with 5 minutes of step ups on a very high platform with 15 and then 5 lb dumbbells. It was a kick ass session.

Another cardio session tomorrow morning and then weights at night.

I'll post today's meals on Wednesday. So far, I'm at 3687 calories with one meal to go and its been clean except for some fig newtons with lunch.

Getting bigger is a battle and the weapon is my fork.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get"- Jenny Lynn

LiftinBear

Broke a sweat just reading that.