Rich's Mission: Natural Pro Card 2008

[rich55]

SHOULDERS, CALVES & CARDIO 7/17:

Had the fellas today, which helped kick the intensity up! Had a killer pump going and felt strong today.

Seated DB Press 80 x 12, 85 x 8 x 7
Seated DB Laterals 31.25 x 14 x 10, 25 x 15
Machine Presses (Side) 120 x 9 x 8 (Front) 100 x 9, 90 x 12
Standing DB Shrugs 130 x 14 x 11 x 10
Standing Calf Raises 180 x 13 x 11 x 10
Donkey Calf Raises 270 x 10 x 9 x 8, ground raises after x 13

Tomorrow I am off, then we are hitting legs on Saturday. Off day diet is similar except I will have carbs in the first 3 meals with none after.

[timberwolf]

Looking damn good. Especially your lower body.

[rich55]

Looking damn good. Especially your lower body.

Thanks Kane! I hope to have the baddest wheels on stage in 9 weeks!! Speaking of wheels...

Saturday Leg Day. Why not try something REALLY intense to mix it up a bit? James and Greg were on board following me into madness.

LEGS 7/19:

One big GIANT set, bwaahaaa. Few minutes of rest between giant sets and a minute after the quad portion half way through. Sets of 10 reps. Last set we had a spotter on every set to do as many as possible and then some (10-15ish)

Leg Extensions 90, 140, 160, 170
Hammer Leg Press (Low/Wide) 180, 200, 220, 240
Front Squats 135, 155, 155, 165
Regular Leg Press (High/Narrow) 360, 410, 430, 430
Straight Leg DB Deads 65, 85, 95, 105
Seated Leg Curls 70, 80, 85, 90

Lots of pain. The challenge was fun. And then I did 20 minutes on the elliptical at a low intensity.


PROGRESS REPORT:
Weighed in at 176 lbs, which is down another pound since last week. Slow and steady fat loss. Strength is still improving. Cheated tonight with a barbecue burrito extra chicken, chips and salsa.

[rich55]

CHEST & ARMS 7/21:

It was our regularly scheduled chest day, so why not throw in some arms too since it had been 5 days. This was a workout! We cranked out all this in 75 minutes.

A1- Incline DB Press 95 x 9 x 7, 80 x 10
A2- EZ Bar Curls 95 x 9 x 8
B1- Incline DB Flys 65 x 12 x 10, 65 x 16 press
B2- Standing DB Curls 35 x 11 x 10
C1- Machine Chest Squeezes 110 x 14 x 13 x 12
C2- Alternating Hammer Curls 35 x 11 x 10
Rope Hammer Curls 75 x 15, 80 x 14, drop to 60 x 13
Hammer Wide Chest 135 x 10 x 9, drop to 90 x 12ish, drop to pushups (small rest pauses)
D1- EZ Skullcrushers 95 x 12 x 10
D2- DB Skullrushers 25 x 8, 20 x 10
1-Arm Overhead DB Extensions 25 x 10 x 8, 2-Arm at end 50 x 8

PROGRESS REPORT:
Waist is down to 29.5" and weighing 176 lbs. Yeah buddy!! Abs are coming in. This Controlled Labs brotha is gonna be RIPPED!!!

Today, I am busting out the good ole posing trunks! OH YEAH, posing practice has begun as it is crunch time! I am hitting calves & abs, doing 20 minutes of posing and then 30 minutes of cardio.

[bull.dogz]

Counting down!

[rich55]

Counting down!

You know it! It is CRUNCH TIME.

POSING:
Wow, yeah it was more like 15 minutes of HARD posing and 20 minutes of cardio. One round of mandatories and I was dripping sweat and hurting. I did 3 full rounds and was soaked in sweat.

I will get another session in before the weekend, then I am heading up to posing practice with Mike on Saturday with Sean and James.

[rich55]

James and I smashed back today knocking it out in 45 minutes.

BACK 7/22:

Wide-Grip Pulldowns 190 x 11 x 8
Close-Grip Pulldowns 170 x 10 x 10
1-Arm DB Rows 115 x 10 x 10 x 10 ----> focused on form here w/ little rest
A1- Wide-Grip Seated Rows 170 x 12, 180 x 11 x 10
A2- Close-Grip Standing Rows 80 x 13, 90 x 9, 80 x 11
B1- Cable Lat Squeezes 100 x 14, 110 x 10 x 9
B2- Bent-Over DB Laterals 25 x 15 x 13 x 12

I am feeling MUCH harder and dryer. Abs are separating better, obliques are coming in and quads are separating nicely!

James, Sean and I are all going up to posing class with Davies this weekend. I am gonna do 2 rounds of posing tomorrow after shoulders and before cardio for extra practice.

[rich55]

SHOULDERS 7/23:

Greg and I blasted shoulders yesterday and I am already sore. HECK YEAH!!

Seated DB Press 85 x 10 x 9 x 8
Seated DB Laterals 31.25 x 14 x 11 x 11
Front DB Glass Raises 15 x 15, 16.25 x 15, 17.5 x 16 ----> these were money!
Machine Presses 120 x 12, 125 x 8, 100 x 12
Behind-Back Smith Shrugs 225 x 15 x 13 x 12, Front Shrugs 135 x 18

2 rounds of posing...SWEATING bullets again, haha! Legs are looking very hard from the front. Then, I hit up 15 minutes of walking on an incline after at a 10 incline and 3.5 mph. I am hitting up some arms today!!

REDuction is being added in just a few days!!

[rich55]

ARMS 7/24:
Solo arm workout, but VERY intense. Nothing but training to failure, taking a few breaths and going for more. Triceps are feeling it!

A1- Barbell Curls 95 x 13 x 10
A2- EZ Skullcrushers 100 x 9, 95 x 12
B1- Standing DB Curls 35 x 11 x 10
B2- DB Skullcrushers 30 x 14 x 12
C1- Alternating Hammer Curls 35 x 11 x 9
C2- 1-Arm Overhead Extensions 30 x 10 x 9
D1- Preacher Machine 60 x 13 x 11
D2- Dip Machine 270 x 11 x 10

CARDIO & LEGS 7/25:
I woke up at 7:30 am and hit 30 minutes of cardio split between walking on an incline and elliptical. At 5:30 pm Greg, James and I smashed legs. An old gym buddy, Ed, jumped in too. I gave him the effort award. Age didn't stand in the way for this 40-something animal who showed us up on a few things!! GIANT SETS again, but in reverse order for 10+!

Seated Leg Curls 70, 85, 95, 105
SLDL w/ DB's 75, 95, 95, 95
High Stance Leg Press 360, 450, 450, 450
Front Squats 135, 155, 155, 155
Hammer Leg Press Low & Wide 180, 230, 230, 230
Leg Extensions 90, 110, 110, 110 ----> At the end = KILLER!!

I am straight up beat from cardio and an intense leg day. Tomorrow after I am heading up to the North Metro Fitness to posing class with the fellas, and then smashing chest. Then, I spend the rest of the day with my girl for her Bday!

[rich55]

PROGRESS & POSING YESTERDAY:

I dropped another pound to 175 lbs since last week, noticing much more detail in my quads and obliques. Waist is still at 29.5". I am feeling GREAT about my conditioning at this point. Diet & cardio remains the same, but I have added in CL's fatburner REDuction to keep the progress moving along.

The Downtown crew rolled up to posing class at the North Metro Fitness location to dominate the bodybuilding portion of the class. As soon as I lined up with the 4 other guys, Mike said I had added some size and looked bigger. OH YEAH!! He commented that my legs looked improved.

Class was BRUTAL! I just trained legs the day before, so it was quite tough to keep my legs in fully tight. I managed. We went through one round of poses with mirrors in our lineup, another round solo with mirrors and then 3-4 rounds without mirrors. We repeated shots MANY times. My quads, glutes, hams, hips and calves are all killing me today as a result.

He helped me drop my shoulders on a few shots and improve my calf/hamstring positioning on my back shots.

CHEST AFTER:

I pounded some Purple Wraath, MaxGlutamine and Max ACM carbs after to pick myself back up for a killer chest workout. Being at a different gym, I didn't really track weights. James and I just smashed 3 sets of each! My chest is feeling quite sore today, yeah, yeaaah!!

Incline Bench
Flat DB Press
Machine Press (different kind of machine that felt cool)
Flat DB Flys
Incline Machine

[rich55]

Yesterday was an off day. Today Greg and I blasted back. James is getting ready to do the NANBF Mid-American Pro Am in Evansville, IN this weekend, so he is chillin.

Wide-Grip Pulldowns 190 x 12, 200 x 8
Close-Grip Pulldowns 170 x 11, 180 x 10
Cable Lat Squeezes 110 x 14 x 13 x 12
Barbell T-Bar Rows 100 x 12 x 11 x 10
Wide Machine Rows 120 x 12 x 11 x 9, drop to 80 x 10

Wrist has been KILLING again, so I have been using lots of ice and joint relief rub the past 24 hours. I will be taking it easy on exercises that aggravate it. :angry:

I have begun my REDuction. My initial thoughts:

- Very nice AM boost, but not too much
- Curbs hunger which is AWESOME

CURRENT SUPPLEMENTS AT 8 WKS OUT

Orange Triad
REDuction AM/PM
Super EPA
Green Magnitude
Purple Wraath
Acetyl L-Carnitine
R-ALA
Lean Green
Ultra 40
Golden FinisH
MaxCLA
MaxGlutamine
HMB

Adding at 6 weeks out:

White Flood
Drive

[bull.dogz]

I think the appetite suppressent really works too well, I have to make myself eat enough most days.

Hope that wrist gets better!

[rich55]

I think the appetite suppressent really works too well, I have to make myself eat enough most days.

Hope that wrist gets better!

Yeah, double cardio today kinda negated that effect thought, haha. The wrist is certainly giving me problems. I had a cardio only today and legs tomorrow, so hopefully it gets a little better.

--------------------
SHOULDERS & ARMS 7/29:
Pre-exhaustion to save my wrist. Felt little tweaks here and there though.

A1- Seated DB Laterals 31.25 x 14 x 12, 25 x 15
A2- Front DB Glass Raises 17.5 x 15 x 13 x 12
Seated DB Press 55 x 15, 60 x 10 x 9
Upright DB Rows 40 x 13 x 12 x 10
B1- Lying DB Extensions 35 x 12 x 10
B2- Hammer DB Curls 40 x 11 x 10
C1- Rope Pulldowns 80 x 12 x 10
C2- 1-Arm Cable Curls 35 x 10 x 10
D1- 1-Arm Overhead DB Extensions 30 x 10 x 9
D2- EZ Reverse Curls 50 x 14 x 13 ----> Much lighter than usual but still hurt
E1- Dip Machine 230 x 15, 250 x 12
E2- Preacher Machine 60 x 12 x 10

DOUBLE CARDIO & POSING 7/30:
Woke up and did 30 minutes split between walking on an incline and elliptical with nothing but REDuction, Purple Wraath & MaxGlutamine in my stomach.

Between clients later, I had James take me through 3 rounds of posing and then hit up 20 minutes of walking on an incline. James noticed that I am substantially harder then 2 weeks ago. I am now BEAT! Legs tomorrow!!!

[rich55]

LEGS 7/31:

Squats 295 x 11 x 9 x 8 ---> first time in 3 weeks
A1- Leg Extensions 180 x 11 x 11 x 11
A2- Seated Leg Curls 90 x 15, 100 x 10 x 10
Walking Lunges 35 down & back, 40 down & back
SL DB DL 95 x 15, 105 x 14

Toast! Quads, glutes & hams were all lit up. Vascularity is creeping up the quads and cross-striations are starting to feather up my outer sweep.

Tomorrow, James and I leave for the NANBF Mid-American Pro Am in Evansville, IN where he will be doing battle. The overall winner gets a WNBF pro card and it should turn out some great talent. I'm excited to see my first WNBF pro show in person. I know a few people competing, so it should be fun! Another weekend of travel during precontest dieting.

[rich55]

MID-AMERICA PRO-AM

Well, James came oh so close to the coveted WNBF pro card yet again. He won the short class, but lost narrowly in the overall to an excellent bodybuilder. He now will be taking some time off to make improvements for next year's INBF Hercules show.

I saw lots of familiar faces at the contest including two guys who beat me at the INBF Naturalmania last year. Mick Wingeler who beat me by a point for 3rd finished 2nd to James in the short class, and Jordan Chabinsky who won our class last year finished 3rd in the WNBF lightweight class. Jordan looked AMAZING in his debut and gave me hope for the future.

As if I wasn't motivated enough, I am now even more motivated!!!

A few good workouts:

KILLER CHEST 8/1:
Wrist is still bothering me so I pre-exhausted, mixed it up and cannot remember my weights. I was sore for a few days afterwards.

Peck Deck Machine 3 x 10-15
Incline Bench 2 x 8-10 & 1 drop set at end
A1- Flat DB Flys 3 x 10-15
A2- Flat DB Press 3 x 8-12
Incline Machine Press 3 x 6-10
20 minutes of cardio after

OFF 8/2: Cheated with some Italian after the show with James and a few friends. I had been hungry for 2 days, he won, I am on track...so it was very much deserved.

BACK 8/3:
There was a very nice hotel gym on top of our parking garage in Evansville, Indiana. This workout WRECKED my back. My morning nutrition for a first thing AM weight smashing:

8am- wake, pop REDuction, Lean Green & ALCAR
8:30am- down banana, 1 scoop High5, 2 Orange Triad & Ultra 40
9am- head to the gym sipping on Purple Wraath, 30 g WMS & MaxGlutamine

Wide-Grip Pullups
A1- Straight-Arm Pulldowns
A2- Cable Lat Squeezes
1-Arm DB Rows
B1- Bent-Over Smith Rows
B2- T-Bar Style DB Rows
20 minutes walking on an incline after

SHOULDERS & ARMS 8/4:
More pre-exhaustion to save me still sore wrist. Another great workout!

A1- Lateral Raise Machine 90 x 13 x 11 x 9
A2- Upright DB Rows 35 x 14 x 12 x 11
Seated DB Press 60 x 15, 65 x 11 x 9
B1- Front DB Glass Raises 20 x 15 x 12 x 10
B2- Standing DB Shrugs 130 x 12 x 10 x 8
C1- Lying DB Extensions 35 x 12, 37.5 x 8 x 6
C2- Hammer DB Curls 40 x 13, 42.5 x 9 x 7
D1- Rope Pulldowns 80 x 15, 85 x 13
D2- 1-Arm Cable Curls 35 x 16 x 15
E1- Dip Machine 270 x 12, 290 x 10
E2- Preacher Machine 60 x 14, 65 x 10
Wrist Curls real light to strengthen wrist
20 minutes of posing practice after for 2 rounds ---> WAS DEAD!