Rich's New Beginning: WNBF Pro Stage in 2009!

[rich55]

Nice Job Rich! So what do u eat on cheat day?

Haha, great question! Whatever my tastes buds desire. Last week, my wife and I did it up right with pizza and ravioli in cream sauce. Then, we topped it off with chocolate/peanut butter fondue with bits of cheesecake, brownie, banana, strawberries, rice crispy treats and poundcake.

Keep in mind that followed a hardcore leg day and included not one single variance the rest of the week. I am down another pound since last week to 169 lbs with a little more detail in upper abs and quad sweep.

LITTLE UPDATE: ALL FIRED UP!!

This spring contest season has gotten me fired up! First it was the Buckeye Classic and now a few more shows to wrap up this spring schedule. We are heading to the NPC Francois Classic tomorrow where a few people I have helped with diet and posing prep are competing. It is a big local show here in Columbus that brings out some freaks. The week after that I am judging Delbert Hickman's INBF Tri-State show in Dayton and then a little vacation with the wifey for Memorial Day weekend (don't worry, training will be on).

Blasted arms with James on Wednesday. Off yesterday and tore up shoulders with Clint today. Tomorrow Clint, James, Greg and I are hitting legs after prejudging. My goal is to have the most grueling, weight smashing, blood-pumping leg day in weeks! I will give full details on this one.

[rich55]

Good luck to ur competitors competing in the show! How many are you helping and what r their weight classes out of curiousity?? And go full force and crush those legs!!!

Thanks David! I did diets & posing for two guys. One was the bantam winner and the other competed in the novice heavy division as a first-timer. I also helped a figure gal out with her posing. I had 4 guys at the Buckeye and a gal at the Natural Ohio last month. After I get my head above water a little, I will definitely be updating my website with tons of new updates.

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HURRY UP AND SQUAT!!

I promised full details on the leg workout. Well, I was stuck in traffic after the show and forced to finish up my leg workout in just 35 minutes to make an appointment at the tire place later in the afternoon. KISS method was used here. Squat and deadlifts!!!

Squats
Nice & low as usual with the last two sets very slow below parallel.
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5 ---> feeling the lower back and right knee a little
275 x 7
225 x 11 ----> practically paused on my ankles

Straight Leg Deadlifts
135 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 14 ----> Last set and dug REAL deep for #'s 10-14

This was quick, but man my hamstrings are sore haha. We will be hitting legs again on Wednesday more quad focus. I'm going to play with some band squats. I will combine arms with chest tomorrow and back on Tuesday. Feeling leaner than 2 days ago despite a mega cheat last night.

[rich55]

I had a slamming day of training staying busy from 10am till 8pm with just two one-hour breaks. I packed 4 meals, did some admin work over one of the breaks and trained during the other. Business has definitely picked up some.

Chest and arms today! I trained away from my own gym at the Nationwide Wellness Center where I also do some training. Got this done in about 70 minutes:

CHEST & ARMS AT THE WELLNESS CENTER:
Dumbbells cut off at 75 here and the barbells are just weird. Hey, I was short on time today. Pre-exhaust and very little rest between sets!!!

Flat DB Pullovers
55 x 10
65 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 9
- SUPERSET -
Flat DB Press
55 x 10
65 x 10
70 x 7
70 x 5

Smith Machine Incline
135 x 8
185 x 8
195 x 8
205 x 6 + 1 w/spot
135 x ??? nice & slow, leaning head forward to pull in upper chest more

Incline DB Flys
35 x 10
45 x 10
45 x 9 ---> deep, slow stretches made this painful
- SUPERSET -
Pushups on Semi-Sup DB's
BW x 10
BW x 6
BW x 5

Dips
BW x 10
BW + 25 lbs x 7
BW + 25 lbs x 4
BW x 7

- CRANKED ALL THAT OUT IN JUST 35 MINUTES!!! -

Cable Pushdowns
Sets of 10, 12, 12, 10 with unknown weight
- SUPERSET -
Barbell Curls
65 x 10
75 x 9
75 x 7
75 x 6

Kickbacks
30 x 15
25 x 15
25 x 15
- SUPERSET -
Alternating Hammer Curls
40 x 7
40 x 6
40 x 5 -----> energy was fading fast at this point

Curl Machine
2 sets followed by 1 drop set
- SUPERSET -
Triceps Extension Machine
2 sets followed by 1 drop set

Oh, and it is picture taking time tomorrow!!!

[conda]

Haha, great question! Whatever my tastes buds desire. Last week, my wife and I did it up right with pizza and ravioli in cream sauce. Then, we topped it off with chocolate/peanut butter fondue with bits of cheesecake, brownie, banana, strawberries, rice crispy treats and poundcake.

Keep in mind that followed a hardcore leg day and included not one single variance the rest of the week. I am down another pound since last week to 169 lbs with a little more detail in upper abs and quad sweep.

LITTLE UPDATE: ALL FIRED UP!!

This spring contest season has gotten me fired up! First it was the Buckeye Classic and now a few more shows to wrap up this spring schedule. We are heading to the NPC Francois Classic tomorrow where a few people I have helped with diet and posing prep are competing. It is a big local show here in Columbus that brings out some freaks. The week after that I am judging Delbert Hickman's INBF Tri-State show in Dayton and then a little vacation with the wifey for Memorial Day weekend (don't worry, training will be on).

Blasted arms with James on Wednesday. Off yesterday and tore up shoulders with Clint today. Tomorrow Clint, James, Greg and I are hitting legs after prejudging. My goal is to have the most grueling, weight smashing, blood-pumping leg day in weeks! I will give full details on this one.

That made me really hungry. Not good at 10:54 PM. Thanks Rich!

[rich55]

That made me really hungry. Not good at 10:54 PM. Thanks Rich!

My bad. Stay strong!! Save your cheats for when they are deserved.


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We had an awesome back day today and my chest is crushed from yesterday. I mean, CRUSHED! Chest and arms felt swollen today and back certainly got an outstanding pump. Tomorrow, we will be doing a lower back friendly / quad heavy leg day. The last few days, there has been absolutely nothing left to give, which is the goal each day from here on out. Some updated pictures post-back training hence the mega lats:

PROGRESS PIX: 11.5 WEEKS OUT:

[rich55]

And a few more:





Overall, I feel thicker through my chest, shoulders and arms. My legs are a little more striated than before and my back is improved as well. I actually gained one pound since Friday back up to 170 lbs while getting leaner I will continue to focus hard on my upper body, but I feel my legs can be 5% better by the Mid-American as well.

DIET: Same 3200 calorie on training days
CARDIO: None
POSING: Regular practice to begin at 9 weeks out
SUPPLEMENTS: Blue Gene (chewed), White Blood, Purple Wraath, Green Magnitude, MaxGlutamine, Orange Triad, CLA and lots of Green Tea.

[conda]

That's great! I noticed it says you use Blue Gene Chewed? lol Did they come out with flavors i didnt hear about?

[bull.dogz]

When do you stop taking your supplements before a show or do you?

[dogsofgold]

Your chest and arms definitely look thicker than the last contest time!

[rich55]

CRAZY LEGS 5/13:

From this point going forward, we are training for full annihilation. We are leaving nothing behind and if we have to crawl out of the gym, so be it. I am training as if Brian Whitacre is coming to Mid-American and I have to beat him (or to do my very best and try ). For those of you not familiar with the WNBF or the best lightweight natural pro around...

In the middle:


Second from the right:


Our lower backs were a little sore from back day yesterday and hammies from the deadlifting, so yesterday was a lower-back friendly and quad heavy day.

Hammer Leg Extensions
Nice & slow with strong contraction at the top.
90 x 12
110 x 12
130 x 12
140 x 9 + 3 after a few breaths
- SUPERSET -
Hammer Leg Press
Good control with shoulder width stance.
180 x 12
270 x 12
320 x 12 ----> lots of burn
320 x 12
drop to 230 x 13 with closer stance ----> oh the burn!!

At this point my quads were so pumped that I decided we needed to something brutal on our quads to finish them off.

Standing 1-Leg Machine Curls
Nice & slow focusing on hamstring contraction and burn.
65 x 12
65 x 12
65 x 9
- TRISET -
Hanging Leg/Knee Raises
Many as I could feet up, then knees up. 3 body weight sets.
- TRISET -
Walking Lunges
For about 50 total steps each set. Yes 50, nice and controlled. Took a few minutes to finish each set of lunges alone. Time under tension....CHECK!
BW x 50ish total steps
20 lb DB's x 50ish total steps
20 lb DB's x 50ish total steps

After sitting down for 5 minutes while James finished his sets, I determined I had a little something left in my hammies and glutes. James had been fighting me to not do a 3rd set of those lunges previously and wasn't happy to hear that we were not done.

High Leg Presses
Nice and slow focusing on hamstrings with slightly wider stance. Pulled through the inner thigh a little as well.
4 plates/side x 15
4.5 plates/side x 15
4.5 plates/side x 17 ----> #'s 10-17 were absolutely grueling

Almost fell down the stairs on the way to the locker room. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Thank you Lord for getting me through this one.

[rich55]

That's great! I noticed it says you use Blue Gene Chewed? lol Did they come out with flavors i didnt hear about?

Yup, you read that right haha. No and it is about the worst tasting pill you could imagine. I forgot to take them once and figured if I chewed it up real quick, swishing it around that the blood vessels in the mouth would soak up the supps faster. WOW, did I notice the difference! I now check them up every time. Real men chew their Blue Gene!

When do you stop taking your supplements before a show or do you?

I don't. I simply nix the Reduction the day of the show and go with just coffee.

Your chest and arms definitely look thicker than the last contest time!

Hey Jenn!!!! What is happening? Thank you for the thorough email a while back. How is the motivation going? You must do it for yourself.

Yes, I believe that is a miracle from God after 6 years of bodybuilding, haha. No, seriously!

[dogsofgold]

Hey Jenn!!!! What is happening? Thank you for the thorough email a while back. How is the motivation going? You must do it for yourself.

Yes, I believe that is a miracle from God after 6 years of bodybuilding, haha. No, seriously! [/QUOTE]

Things are fabulous Motivation is pretty up there as well! I'm itching to get back into the gym though... I should hopefully be getting my membership back I'm guessing early June. Work has been CRAZY busy, so I should be good to go soon

[conda]

Yup, you read that right haha. No and it is about the worst tasting pill you could imagine. I forgot to take them once and figured if I chewed it up real quick, swishing it around that the blood vessels in the mouth would soak up the supps faster. WOW, did I notice the difference! I now check them up every time. Real men chew their Blue Gene!



I don't. I simply nix the Reduction the day of the show and go with just coffee.



Hey Jenn!!!! What is happening? Thank you for the thorough email a while back. How is the motivation going? You must do it for yourself.

Yes, I believe that is a miracle from God after 6 years of bodybuilding, haha. No, seriously!

BG is my favorite supp. But it doesn't smell too good. Chewing them... ughhh i might have to remain a not so REAL man haha.

[rich55]

Things are fabulous Motivation is pretty up there as well! I'm itching to get back into the gym though... I should hopefully be getting my membership back I'm guessing early June. Work has been CRAZY busy, so I should be good to go soon

GREAT!! June is just around the corner

BG is my favorite supp. But it doesn't smell too good. Chewing them... ughhh i might have to remain a not so REAL man haha.

Yes, and chewing them while terrible, certainly enhances the absorption. Try it, I dare you.


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SHOULDERS & ARMS 5/15:

We blasted shoulders & arms today. Next week arms will get their own day to have plenty of undivided attention. After all of the shoulder work, we just wore down. Lots of volume:

Shoulder Stability Presses with Bands
Seated DB Glass Front Raises superset to Seated DB Laterals
Hammer Behind Neck Press to Bent Over DB Laterals
Seated DB Shrug to Lateral Push superset Cable Pushdowns
Barbell Curls triset Lying DB Extensions triset Close-Grip Bench Pushups
Outside Cable Curls
Across Chest Hammer Curls superset to various Cable Extensions

22 sets for shoulders
13 sets for tris
9 sets for bis

JUDGING THE INBF TRI-STATE
I will be judging Delbert and LaDawn Hickman's Tri-State show in Dayton this weekend. I will be doing some various hamstring & core stuff on Saturday at Neo Limits gym there. My legs are SO CRUSHED!! Top 10 leg day soreness of all time from Wednesday. But, I saved some for my hammies and lower back.

My waist is down to 29" (down 1/4 inch from last week) while staying at 169 lbs. NICE!!

[rich55]

HAMS, ABS & LOWER BACK 5/16:

After the prejudging at the Tri-State show, I hit our hotel gym. They had a leg curl machine and 100 lb DB's, so I decided to save cash on a day pass.

Seated Leg Curl Machine
Nice and slow focusing hard on hamstring contraction.
70 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 8
70 x 14
- SUPERSET -
Straight-Leg DB Deadlifts
Slow negatives holding stretch at bottom
50 x 10
70 x 10
85 x 10
100 x 10
100 x 9
100 x 8

Cable Pullthroughs
3 sets with unknown weight
- SUPERSET -
Weighted Crunches
Tucked a 20 lb DB behind my head for 3 sets x 12-15

Ball Twisting Crunches
3 sets of 7-10 per side
- SUPERSET -
Alternating Leg & Arm Lefts on Ball
3 sets of 10 per side to prehab the lower back a bit

I enjoyed a nice cheat meal of bread, lasagna, meatballs, italian sausage, banana nut bread and little bit of raspberry cobbler after the show. The show Tri-State show was decent in its second year with very good figure talent. There were a few very good bodybuilders as well, but deep figure classes.