Rich's Road to the NPC Ohio State and INBF National's: Controlled Labs Sponsored

[pu12en12g]

Back is quite sore today and I've iced it a few times. It should feel much better tomorrow.

I feel ya !!

[rich55]

I feel ya !!

Yeah, it is getting better though, so that is good. My legs were certainly feeling it today minus squats.

Weighed in at 178 lbs today up one lb since last week. I am certainly beginning to notice added muscle size. I went to the pool today for the first time this year and got a "jesus man" from a dude I know and a "oh my god" from a random girl. NICE!!

[rich55]

Chest and back day today went VERY well. I pushed 1-2 more reps on EVERY exercise!! Everything just felt much better today than last week. Afterwards I took some photos too and was surprised at how much thicker I looked in just 3 weeks. I will post them up this weekend if possible. 4 MORE WEEKS TO GROW!!

[pu12en12g]

Chest and back day today went VERY well. I pushed 1-2 more reps on EVERY exercise!! Everything just felt much better today than last week. Afterwards I took some photos too and was surprised at how much thicker I looked in just 3 weeks. I will post them up this weekend if possible. 4 MORE WEEKS TO GROW!!

[rich55]

Another kickass shoulder & arm day!

Arnold DB Presses were a little rough to start, simply matching last weeks effort but all the rest was more weight and more reps! I am surprised at my strength on the hammer dip machine. I did new weight of 320 x 9, then 330 x 6. I moved up the preacher machine doing 90 x 9, then 95 x 6. I again got more reps and/or weight on every exercise - ROCK ON! The White Flood/Green Mag/Purple Wraath/Glycergrow/X-Factor stack is working VERY nicely!!

Legs are tomorrow and then I'm actually going to South Beach for 4 days. I am going to keep it low key and pack some protein bars, shakes, canned chicken and wheat bread to keep my caloric and protein intake up. I will actually hit chest and back at the Gold's there with my buddy as I'm saving up till the end of my X-factor and at 12 weeks out to take a small break.

[rich55]

Leg workout went very well, but no squats again to play it safe. I added 40 lbs on my leg press, moving up to 540 x 7 on the last set with a very low, yet narrow stance to smash my quads real well. I lifted more reps and/or weight on every exercise again. At the end I did some hypers and reverse hypers to rehab my back/posterior chain, which felt GREAT!

Off to South Beach!!!

[pu12en12g]

Off to South Beach!!!

[rich55]

Back from South Beach

South Beach was certainly a good time! It wasn't necessarily a low key weekend, but it was more moderate than past vacations. We rock starred it on Thursday...all day, turned it down a few notches on Friday and then took it relatively easy on Saturday. Drinking was in excess, but I did a good job of staying hydrated and eating plenty of food. I ate at least 6 meals a day with 75% of them being clean. Liver detox was a must! We spent plenty of time socializing, chilling at the beach and pool and just having a great time while there!!

We hit the gym on Friday at Gold's and actually had a very good workout despite being a little hungover. The White Flood and Green Mag picked me up a bit though for sure. We did some different stuff and just had fun smashing some weights.

Today was my first full day back and I had a great shoulder & arm day! My pump was off the hook and I moved up on a few exercises and got more reps on the rest. I feel like I've softened up a bit since my vacation, but I still feel good.

[rich55]

My leg day yesterday went very well. I smashed out 540 on the low stance leg press for 9 and then 560 x 7 x 6. Leg extensions were tough after that I did 135 for 9, then 140 for 6 and standing single leg curls with 75 x 7 x 7. Donkey calf raises went well as I did 360 x 11, then 370 x 9 x 8. Seated calf raises were tough after that as I cranked out 150 x 10 x 9. I then did some hypers and reverse hypers at the end. Moved up on a few things and got a few more reps on others, so in the end a great workout!

I have a little less than two weeks until I begin cutting and am very psyched to begin preparing for my shows. I am certain that my conditioning will be improved as I have stayed very lean, but I certainly could use a little more additional gains in muscle size. It will come though!!!

I have posted some pictures in my thread at bb.com from last week:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=2612001

[rich55]

Continuing to Grow - Precontest Around the Corner!!

Chest and back, pretty much the same story of every workout I've done the past few months postcontest - moved up in weight on some things and got more reps on the others! NICE!! With two more weeks to grow, I'm sitting at 180 lbs with my waist just less than 31" at 30.75".

At this level of conditioning to start my dieting at 12 weeks, coming in peeled should be no problem! I should also be able to consume more calories leading in and come in fuller. I will take off 4 days from training to start my precontest prep and then begin my 5 x 5 full body training for 6 weeks while my calories are still in excess of 3000+ cals. This is one of the best programs I've designed, so I'm hoping to make some small gains while cutting.

On a positive note, I had my back x-rayed at OSU Sports Med Center and was told that it just a strain. That is VERY good news as I kind of worried it may not have been muscular. When my X-factor is done in 2 weeks that should surely help, but until then I will be doing much more core work to rehab the injury.

[Max]

Wow man, best of luck with your journey!

FOLLOWING.

[rich55]

Wow man, best of luck with your journey!

FOLLOWING.

Thanks man! I am very pysched to step it up a notch with these two shows!!

Shoulders and arms today was a ton of fun lifting with my friend James. I moved up on a few things, but mostly just got more reps on exercises. We certainly kicked up the intensity!! One of our friend's simply watched in awe of what he described as "medieval" training, haha!

Eating this weekend was kinda tough due to heavy social plans including going out on Friday, pool party saturday, dinner with friends, date, a much-need 10 hour hibernation, haha! I'm packing down a large meal tonight after the intense workout including 8 oz of sauteed lean hamburger, lots of whole wheat pasta, low sugar spag sauce, squash and mushrooms.

[rich55]

Back is getting better!

Leg day was intense as usual yesterday. I got stronger on every single movement, but more importantly I was actually able to do some light straight leg deadlifts after my standing single leg curls. I did 135 x 15, then 185 x 15 going real slow and stretching out real good at the bottom. HOLY CRAP are my hammies sore today! Good stuff! Again, I did light hypers and reverse hypers after to also blast my lower back. Today, while it is sore, it certainly feels the best it ever has felt.

I took off today to recover, but made sure to stretch REAL good.

[rich55]

Strength continues to improve!!!

Chest and back today was superb! I pumped out 265 on the decline for 9 VERY slow and controlled and then put up 275 x 6 x 5. Incline DB's - bye, bye 90's, hello 95, incline flys with the 70 for more reps and then did weighted dips with 50 lbs, 15 more than last week. Back was equally strong and I was actually able to do T-bars, which I have not done since my lower back strain...did more weight than 3 weeks ago! The workout was UNREAL!!

[pu12en12g]

265 on the decline for 9 VERY slow and controlled and then put up 275 x 6 x 5

Nice !!