Rich's Mission: Natural Pro Card 2008

[rich55]

did you score any digits from them chicks?! feel free to PM me them.

Haha, NICE!! Yeah, actually I had Sue get the 411 on the brunette all the way to the right after we spoke a few times at the show. She had a BF. 98% of the time, I am all business and networking at the events though.

[rich55]

good luck with that one brother!! Damn !

Yeah, that one hurt pretty bad. I felt like all the blood in my body was in my back, haha. Those few workouts have inspired more volume in my training.

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The first few days of full-time training have been excellent in generating interest. The days have been pretty long, but I get more breaks to nap or take care of stuff. It certainly is tiring having your game face on ALL day though.

I had to have a beer with Sue after training to unwind and discuss her plans for later this year. Plans are the NPC North Americans and NPC Team Universe in August and September, both IFBB figure pro-qualifiers. Three trips to NYC for pro-qualifiers this year! :blink:

My workouts continue to be tenacious:

SHOULDERS 4/8:

Lateral Raise Machine 105 for 2 sets, 90 for more reps
A1- Upright Bar Rows 80 x 12 x 13 x 12
A2- Seated DB Press 60 x 10, 65 x 10, 70 x 7
B1- Barbell Front Raises 50 x 15 x 15 then switched to front DB raises for 2 sets
B2- Seated Smith Military Presses 135 x 10, 155 x 10, 175 x 6, 185 x 4
Standing Machine Shrugs 320 x 15, 330 x 13 x 12

LEGS 4/9:
Leg Extensions 140 x 10, 160 x 10, 180 x 10, 200 x 10
Squats 135 x 10, 205 x 10, 245 x 10, 295 x 8
Walking Lunges down & back 40, 45 then no weight right after down
Seated Leg Curls 90 x 10, 100 x 10, 110 x 9
Lying Leg Curls 100 x 10, 105 x 8
Shoeless Standing Calves 160 x 13, 170 x 11 x 10
Donkey Calves drop set 270/180/90 ground raises after

Shoulders feel okay, but legs are already feeling it as usual. I'll be hitting chest with James tomorrow REAL hard!!!

[rich55]

I've been taking the new lemonade Purple Wraath the last few days and I must say it is delicious. Refreshing and light, which is perfect pre and during workout.

CHEST 4/10:

James and I smashed our chest hard yesterday. Today, I am sore and feeling full. NICE!!

DB Pullovers 60 x 15, 70 x 15, 75 x 15, 80 x 12
Flat DB Press 70 x 10, 75 x 10, 80 x 7, 85 x 5
A1- Machine Chest Squeezes 70 x 15, 80 x 15, 90 x 13
A2- Medicine Ball Pushups BW x 10 x 10 x 8
Smith Machine Inclines 185 x 10, 205 x 8, 225 x 5, 235 x 3
Incline DB Flys 35 x 15, directly into 40 x 9

BACK 4/11:

James, Greg, Rich #2 and I had a good ole back beatdown today.

A1- Straight-Arm Pulldowns 100 x 15, 110 x 15, 120 x 13, 130 x 11
A2- 1-Arm Freestyle DB Rows 60 x 6, 100 x 6, 110 x 6, 120 x 7
B1- Cable Lat Squeezes 90 x 12, 95 x 12, 100 x 11
B2- Wide Grip Pulldowns 130 x 8 x 7 x 6
T-Bar Style Single DB Rows 100 x 15, 110 x 13, 120 x 11
Seated Cable Rows 160 x 10, 180 x 7, 200 x 5

...and why not a little biceps to since I won't be heating them till Monday:
Alternating Hammer DB Curls up and down the rack up 25, 30, 35, 40, 35, 30, 25 ---> OH YEAH!!

This workout was a blast and my Golden FinisH didn't keep me up long as I needed to grub some more. I slammed a massive bbq chicken burrito. Getting ready to slam a steak and piece of whole wheat toast now.

NPC CINCI SHOW:

Good ole Sean is looking much harder than he was at his 5th place showing 3 weeks ago. I'm heading down with James and another prospective young bb'er to cheer him on at the NPC Cincinnati show. Over the break we are hitting delts and tris at the hardcore Powerstation Gym. CANNOT WAIT!!

[jiritt0]

Haha, NICE!! Yeah, actually I had Sue get the 411 on the brunette all the way to the right after we spoke a few times at the show. She had a BF. 98% of the time, I am all business and networking at the events though.

boyfriend doesn't mean she is married...!!!


networking is huge.. i go to all these random conferences/workshops in hoeps of building connections... and just to fluff my resume

[rich55]

boyfriend doesn't mean she is married...!!!


networking is huge.. i go to all these random conferences/workshops in hoeps of building connections... and just to fluff my resume

Yeah, I'm with you. Her nice and friendly almost flirty vibe quickly turned into the "I gotta man" vibe. Haha.

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NPC CINCINNATI:

Sean placed 2nd in the light-heavy class out of maybe 10 guys. A drastic improvement from 13th last year and 5th a few weeks earlier. He continues to improve his conditioning as an endomorph.

Over the break James and I hit up the Powerstation Gym in Middletown, a true hardcore throwback gym.



SHOULDERS & TRIS:

Seated DB Laterals 4 sets 10-15
Seated Plate Loaded Machine Presses 5 sets pyramid down to 4 reps from 10
Upright Cable Rows 5 sets 10-15
Standing DB Presses 3 sets
Standing DB Shrugs 10-15 reps up to 140 lbs (only go up to 130's at my gym)
Cable Pushdowns 4 sets
Reverse-Grip Bench 2 sets ---> gym closed without notice, so had to wrap up fast

After I threw my jeans on, I ran back out in my tank and did 3 quick sets to failure and forced with overhead 1-arm DB extensions.

I have decided to do 1-2 more weeks of our current routine and then go into some straight up heavier lifting. I need some more thickness.

[rich55]

CHEST & BIS:

This one went longer than I wanted to for various reasons, but right now I have plenty of time to train which ROCKS!

A1- DB Pullovers 60 x 15, 70 x 15, 80 x 15, 90 x 11
A2- Barbell Curls 105 x 10 x 8, 75 x 12
B1- Flat DB Press 75 x 10, 85 x 10, 90 x 10, 95 x 6
B2- Hammer DB Curls 35 x 10, 37.5 x 11, 40 x 8
C1- Machine Chest Squeezes 80 x 15, 90 x 15, 100 x 11
C2- Medicine Ball Pushups x 10 x 10 x 10
C3- Preacher Machine 65 x 12 x 10
Incline Smith Bench 185 x 10, 205 x 8, 225 x 6, 235 x 4, Inc. DB Flys 40 x 13 after last set

[rich55]

Leg day yesterday was a blast. Me & 4 others left nothing behind. James, Greg, Michael (who hasn't smashed with us in a while) and Jesse (230 lb new guy). After one set Jesse wasn't sure if he jumped in on the right day, haha. The superset rotation worked well with the large group and we all fed off each other.

A1- Walking DB Lunges (down & back) BW, 25, 30, 40
A2- Leg Extensions (for 10's) 90, 140, 180, 180
B1- High Stance Leg Press (for up to 20) 450, 540, 630
B2- SLDL (for 10ish) 135, 275, 275

That may not seem like alot, but the intensity was medieval and all of us felt nauseous. I laid on the locker floor for 30 minutes ghostly pale afterwards sipping my Golden FinisH. Smashing a couple rice ***** helped too.

Smashed down a double chicken and tofu bbq burrito a little later too!!! Today I'm off and tomorrow is back.

We will be lifting heavier next week for a little while. I just need to throw around some big weights and pack down some food before beginning my prep in almost 6 weeks. I'm still sitting at a very lean 180 lbs.

[rich55]

BACK BLASTIN' TODAY:

Today rocked as we blasted out more weight on every exercise. James' back is looking badass and Greg is starting to get some more detail in his massive lats. Couldn't see my back, but it felt pumped as hell haha. Nothing but gains ahead!

A1- Straight-Arm Pulldowns 100 x 15, 110 x 15, 130 x 15, 140 x 12
A2- 1-Arm Freestyle DB Rows 60 x 6, 100 x 6, 120 x 6, 125 x 6
B1- Cable Lat Squeezes 95 x 12, 100 x 12, 110 x 11
B2- Wide-Grip Pulldowns 130 x 8, 140 x 7 x 6
DB T-Bar style Rows 120 x 15, 125 x 15, 130 x 12
Seated Cable Rows 170 x 12, 190 x 7, 210 x 5
Bent-Over Rear Delt Rows 30 x 15, 35 x 15, 40 x 11
Standing Machine Shrugs 360 x 15, 380 x 13 x 9
Seated Alternating DB Curls 30 x 10, 35 x 10, 40 x 8, 20 x 12 no alternating

Bis suck so I decided to throw a little in at the end since it had been 3 days. Trained a bunch of peeps then got my calves in later.

[rich55]

FRIDAY NIGHT FUN FOR A MEATHEAD:

Trained peeps from 2 till 8pm, then it was time for my fun. Delts and tris with the fellas. We took our good ole time and switched some things up as part of our heavier training. Rep ranges will be a mix of low and high reps.

Military Press 175 x 5, 185 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 7
Lateral Raise Machine 80 x 15, 85 x 15, 90 x 13
A1- Upright Cable Rows 130 x 15, 140 x 15, 150 x 13
A2- Hammer Behind Neck Press 70 x 9, 80 x 8, 90 x 5
Close-Grip Bench 205 x 7 x 6 x 5 ----> slow negatives
Dip Machine 270 x 10 x 11
Reverse-Grip Pushdowns 110 x 11 x 10, drop to regular pushdowns 85 x 11

A few times during my training, I would get a burst of hostile strength. This is my last push to put on some good size and I am gonna be KILLING it. Mudvayne's Dig helped a few times during the workout, haha.

We closed down the gym and smashed some bison burgers and chili after at Ted's. The grub rocked!!

[rich55]

LEG DAY:

Some changes today as we started a new program. After a while my legs just seemed to go numb. Squats weren't too shabby after taking a little time off.

Squats 315 x 5, 325 x 5, 335 x 5 x 5 x 5
Low/Narrow Stance Leg Press 510 x 11, 540 x 11, 560 x 9
Leg Extensions 140 x 10, 160 x 11 x 9 ----> walking lunges after for lap around the gym
Lying Leg Curls 100 x 11, 110 x 10 x 9, drop to 70 x 10
Shoeless Standing Calves 180 x 13, 190 x 11 x 10
Donkey Calves 290 x 11 x 10 x 10, ground raises toes out for 2 sets

Added ActivaTe Xtreme today to help induce some mass gains. I tested the beta of the original version with some success a while back. Combined with lifting heavier and more cals should work well to help me get up to lean a 185 lbs.

[rich55]

New chest and biceps day, woot, woot!! Threw in some new stuff, but kept some oldies I've been diggin.

CHEST & BIS 4/21:

Incline Bench 205 x 5, 215 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5
A1- Incline DB Flys 45 x 15, 50 x 15, 52.5 x 13
A2- Medicine Ball Pushups x 8 x 7 x 6 ---> slow negatives, holding stretch at bottom
Decline DB Press 85 x 9, 90 x 8 x 7
Machine Chest Squeezes 90 x 15, 100 x 13 x 11, machine flys after last set x 10
Barbell Curls 105 x 6, 95 x 7 ----> arms were waisted after chest work
EZ Reverse Curls 75 x 11, 85 x 9
Incline Hammer Curls 30 x 13 x 13, drop to 20's for alternating db curls

By the end, I couldn't even get a full squeeze on biceps with the 20's haha. Pump was sick! Good day, but I am gonna tweak a bit next time.

Off tomorrow and a little back group bashing on Wednesday.

[rich55]

A NEW BACK DAY:

Oh yeah, some new stuff! I was feeling creative today as I brainstormed ways to make are backs bigger. Greg, James and I were joined by another ironhead I train, Paul. Paul hung pretty darn well and we certainly brought it.

Weighted Close-Grip Chins 20 x 5, 25 x 5, 30 x 5 x 6
A1- Wide Grip Pulldowns 160 x 9, 170 x 8, 180 x 6
A2- Cable Lat Squeezes 80 x 12, 85 x 10 x 10
Hammer Low Rows 160 x 8 x 8
Middle Back Machine Rows 100 x 13, drop to 70 x 10 ---> squatted and leaned into row machine with wide grip. Rocked!
Barbell Deadlift and Shrug 225 x 10, 275 x 10, 315 x 9

I am starting to feel a little thicker already after only one week of the new program and food smashing. Pleasantly surprised how quick that happened, but I will certainly be pushing forward full throttle to make some gains!!

On a professional note, my PT business grew 25% in just the first 2 weeks full-time. My goal is to get 2 new touches of interest each day in the gym. My marketing and sales efforts are in high gear.

[rich55]

DELTS & TRIS 4/24:

My damn wrist has been bugging me the last few days (old injury that likes to come back). I didn't have wrist wraps, so I tightened the hell of out my versa grip to stabilize. I made it through delts okay, but my wrists were not having anything to do with heavy close-grip bench (sorry JW).

Military Press 195 x 5, 190 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5
Lateral Raise Machine 85 x 15, 90 x 12 x 10
A1- Upright Cable Rows 150 x 15, 160 x 12 x 10
A2- Hammer Behind Neck Press 80 x 10, 90 x 8, 100 x 5
Standing DB Laterals (fast & pulsing) 12 x 20, 15 x 20 x 16
B1- Lying DB Extensions 25 x 15, 30 x 12, 35 x 9
B2- Close Grip Bench 135 x 15, 165 x 12 x 10
C1- Reverse Pushdowns 110 x 13, 120 x 12 x 10
C2- Pushdowns 110 x 10ish x 10ish x 8ish
C3- Dip Machine 180 x 20, 230 x 13 x 11ish

Yeah, lots of volume. I felt like kicking the shit out of my delts and then when my wrist was hurt I got pissed. Looking forward to heavy close-grip bench and unable to do so, I pounded them with endless superset and tri sets. The REALLY hurt...in a good way (maybe).

I will not be able to move my delts and tris, but that is all good in my book. The wrist though is getting some ice in a minute. Tomorrow is an off day, then fortunately legs.

[pu12en12g]

On a professional note, my PT business grew 25% in just the first 2 weeks full-time. My goal is to get 2 new touches of interest each day in the gym. My marketing and sales efforts are in high gear.

Nice work man !! I'm going in a slightly different direction, but kicking things into high gear myself !

[rich55]

Nice work man !! I'm going in a slightly different direction, but kicking things into high gear myself !

Very nice, as long as you're moving forward in some way.

What are you doing in high gear?


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EAT TO GROW:

Off day eating included a chipotle bol with double chicken, beans, rice, veggies and guac. Followed it up with a huge bbq chicken burrito from my usual spot the yesterday. Tonight, I slammed a big plate of whole wheat pasta and ground beef with broccoli after a killer workout. Gotta ETG!

CHEST & BIS 4/27:

My chest felt like it was explode today and I pushed some good weight. I made sure to watch my wrist and I had it wrapped pretty good on my presses. I had to change up some things today to take care of it.

We focused on feeling our bis today and punishing them with slower and more extreme tension. After the intense chest workout, we just couldn't curl lots of weight. Didn't need to either to make em scream with burn.

Incline Bench 225 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 4 x 4
A1- Incline DB Flys 50 x 15, 55 x 15, 57.5 x 13
A2- Fist Pushups BW x 10 x 9 x 8
Hammer Wide Chest 135 x 9, 145 x 8, 160 x 5
B1- Machine Chest Squeezes 100 x 12 x 11
B2- Machine Flys 100 x 10 x 10
Standing EZ Curls 70 x 11, 75 x 8 x 6
Reverse Machine Curls 65 x 11 x 10
Incline Hammer Curls 30 x 13, 32.5 x 10 ---> standing burn out alternating curls after last set with 20's

That is a workout to grow on! Smashing food and smashing weights!! Maybe, I will step on the scale tomorrow as it has been a little while.