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

[rich55]

James thrashing the leg press as he preps for the Naturalmania Nationals to win his WNBF card:

[rich55]

CHEST & ARMS

Our Hoover Dam Fitness Camp was a success yesterday morning, but the rain left us unable to flip up hill. I did about 20 flips with our small tires (150 lbs), but really had to focus on coaching about a dozen people through the Camp. I rolled into Beyond Limits to pose a couple a bodybuilders and then get cranking for a chest & arms workout.

Floor Chain Presses
Only have 38 lbs of chain and will have to get more here REAL soon. Just wanted to get started with these. Weight doesn't include chain. Couple of links remain on the floor.
95 x 10
135 x 6
185 x 3
225 x 3 ----> not too difficult

Flat DB Press
First few warm-ups felt extra light after the change in tension, but then noticed the tris were a little "affected" from the previous work. I'm not quitting these until I hit the 110's for 8.
60 x 10
80 x 8
95 x 8
110 x 7 ----> will get 8 here soon

Incline Bench
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 4 ----> one better than last week, took #5 real slow on the negative knowing I'd miss

Chain Dips to Chain Pushups
Have you tried these? Wore my 38 lbs of chain like a necklace for 10 dips and then 10 pushups on DB's semi-supinated. 3 sets of 10 each. Got all 10 on each set of dips, but pushups not so much.

Incline DB Flys
50 x 10
60 x 10
65 x 9

Slight Incline DB Kickback to Slight Incline Overhead Extension
20 x 15 / 50 x 10
25 x 15 / 60 x 10
25 x 20 / 70 x 8
- TRISET -
Alternating Hammer Curls
35 x 8
45 x 8
55 x 5

EZ Bar Curls
50 x 15
70 x 10
90 x 10
100 x 9
- SUPERSET -
Incline Cable Skullcrushers
3 sets of 10

Overall a good workout. Felt strong, but gotta keep crushing it! REALLY sore in my legs today and feeling a little bit of yesterday's work.

[bull.dogz]

Tire flips are soo fun!!!

[rich55]

Tire flips are soo fun!!!

Yes they are! Our Hoover Dam Fitness Camp:



------------------------------
BACK TRAINING FOR WIDTH:

Terrell and James were on hand as usual and Nate Dunning jumped in for today's training. Rock solid on pullups and one-arm DB rows. This one is going to leave a mark!

Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups
Very good form and slow eccentric on these.
BW x 10
25 x 8
45 x 6 ---> some help on #6
50 x 5 -----> help on the last 2
BW x 13

Hanging Rows
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 8
BW x 7
- SUPERSET -
1-Arm DB Rows
65 x 8/arm
90 x 8/arm
110 x 8/arm
120 x 7/arm ---> slow as possible on the eccentric

Straight-Arm Pulldowns
Alternated between V-bar and rope.
47.5 x 15
52.5 x 15
57.5 x 15
62.5 x 10

Bent-Over Rear Delt Rows
Just wanted a little more up top between the shoulder blades and rear delts. Will combine these next time with some band work.
30 x 10
40 x 10
45 x 10
50 x 10

Rack deads and heavier bent-over rows coming on Saturday.

[rich55]

SHOULDERS, BIS & FOREARMS

Shoulders were similar to the last few weeks and went with a similar biceps routine as Saturday with some Zottmans thrown in. VERY pleased with strength and form. My lats are TORE up from yesterday!

Arnold DB Presses
40 x 10
60 x 10
80 x 10
85 x 6
- SUPERSET -
Chain Lateral Raises
Easy at the bottom and hard at the top with some movement while contracting.
19 x 10
22.5 x 10
22.5 x 10
22.5 x 11 ----> breathed out these last few

Alternating Hammer Curls
35 x 8/arm
45 x 8/arm
55 x 7/arm
55 x 5/arm
- SUPERSET -
Standing Overhead Barbell Press
65 x 10
115 x 10
145 x 5

Smith Machine Front Shrugs
185 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 8
- SUPERSET -
EZ Bar Curls
60 x 12
80 x 10
100 x 10 ----> had to breathe out these last few, but got it
110 x 5

Seated Zottman Curls
It's been since the fall since I've done these and they were fun at the end. Simultaneous curling.
30 x 8
35 x 8
40 x 6 + 2 after 20 second rest pause
- SUPERSET -
Behind Back Barbell Wrist Curls
95 x 15
95 x 11
95 x 9

Legs tomorrow!!!!

[rich55]

LEGS!!

James, Terrell and Shawn were on hand for this. Delon kinda got thrown into the mix when he showed up. I had to get creative on this to keep the pace up, so why not tri-set hamstrings? This created a killer burn and I will have to do this again next week but better.

Squats
45 x 10
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 8
375 x 6 ----> one more than last week

Smith Machine Standing Calf Raises
185 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 9

Sidewalk Walking Barbell Lunges
Used preloaded barbells and even some chains at the end. Will have to take some olympic weights to the curb next week. About 20/leg maybe from our front door to the curb.
50 lbs
80 lbs
110 lbs
148 lbs ----> 110 plus two 18 lbs chains worn like a necklace

Seated Leg Curls
130 x 10
145 x 10
175 x 12
- TRISET -
High Stance Leg Presses
450 x 10
630 x 10
810 x 13
- TRISET -
Straight-Leg DB Deadlifts
These burned at the end of the tri-set.
65 x 10
90 x 10
110 x 7

[conda]

Nice Hoover Dam footage. I thought you we're going to bust The Fugitive and dive off the side. =p

[rich55]

Nice Hoover Dam footage. I thought you we're going to bust The Fugitive and dive off the side. =p

Haha! Thanks, we are looking forward to it again this weekend. Maybe with some uphill tire flips if the weather permits

-----------------------

PAST WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wow, it looks like I'm a bit behind here as I look to hit legs again tomorrow. So time for a quick review of my past few days of training.

Floor Bench w/ Chains: 235 x 3 plus 70% of 38 lbs of chain
Incline Bench: 225 x 5
Rack Deads: 495 x 4 ----> dead stopping on rack
1-Arm DB Rows: 120 x 9
Arnold DB Press: 85's x 7 x 6
Alternating Hammer DB Curls: 55's x 8

I decided on a few twists on today's shoulder and biceps training including some scarecrows on my newly created version of a functional trainer and some 10 x 10 curling with 65 lb and 60 lb fat grip bars with only 30 second rest breaks. Brutal on the bis and forearms.

More Chains!
Happy birthday to me! I bought a 1/2" pair of chains to add another 23.2 lbs of resistance to my floor presses. 61 lbs of chain is now plenty for me and my meager pressing....for now

375 is mine!

[rich55]

LEGS: DON'T STOP, GET IT!

Today was a brutal leg day. Man set on squats, warm weather lunging and I ended up on the floor. But, I didn't quit! Shaun and I trained today and he was a champ.

Back Squats
Matched last week's effort. Probably could have pushed out another, but I was a little hesitant without my usual spotter. This week's effort and form was much better.
45 x 10
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 8
375 x 6
225 x 34 ---> Man set PR!

Outdoor Walking Barbell Lunges
After man sets were brutal. We switched to the olympic bars and the additional balance required made it more difficult. Will do more weight next time!
45 lbs, 95 lbs, 95 lbs for 20+ or so shooting for landmarks

At this point, I was sweating profusely because of the heat, my lungs were burning and I wanted to toss cookies.

Seated Leg Curls
130 x 10
160 x 10
175 x 10
190 x 8

Done...

After a 30 minute break on the floor in a cold sweat then some leg extension to finish. My quads are cramping this evening. Leg presses or deads would have ended in vomit and I would have missed a client.

Leg Extensions
115 x 15
160 x 12
190 x 12
205 x 12
100 lbs for isometric hold at top for 75 seconds

Off day tomorrow and chest hard on Thursday!

[rich55]

CHEST & TRIS:

Chain Floor Presses
Added a second pair of chains to these totaling 61 lbs of chain. Weights are minus chain.
95 x 10
135 x 6
185 x 4
225 x 3
235 x 2 ----> really pleased to be one rep shy of last weeks total with 23 lbs more chain

Incline Bench
These are starting to feel better, but still need much work
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
235 x 3

Flat DB Press
60 x 10
80 x 10
95 x 10
100 x 10

Incline DB Flys
45 x 10
55 x 10
65 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Dips
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 7

Tried some skullcrushers, but right elbow wasn't feeling it. Went to the cables.

Cable Pushdowns
62.5 x 10
67.5 x 10
72.5 x 12
- SUPERSET -
BOSU Pushups
Really focusing on squeezing the tris at the top
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 13

Did some reverse-grip pushdowns to wrap up.

[rich55]

GREAT START TO THE WEEK!

Legs today started things off with some great strength. First, some highlights of the end of last week:

- Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups 45 x 6, 55 x 3 strict
- Barbell Corner T-Bar Rows 180 x 5, 230 x 3
- Arnold DB Press 85 x 8, 90 x 4
- Hammer DB Curls 60 x 4
- Barbell Curls 105 x 6

Strength continues to come up and I'm now sitting at 188 lbs. This is a much leaner version than the fall. My waist is at 32". My weight has climbed up from 178 to 188 since we opened Beyond Limits Training in February. Still staying in decent functional shape as well as shown in this clip from the end of our Hoover Dam Fitness Camp.



Now onto legs today:

Squats
45 x 10
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 8
375 x 7 ---> one more than last week, took a spot on #8

Straight-Leg Barbell Deads
Had not done these in a while and very pleased to start with 315 fairly easy. Want to get up to 365 on these for some bigger hams.
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 8

High Stance Leg Presses
360 x 15
540 x 15
720 x 15
900 x 11 ---> very pleased with this effort after not doing these last week

Alternating Barbell Lunges
Wanted to try these in place. Glutes and hips were done.
45 x 10/leg
100 x 10/leg
140 x 10/leg

Seated Leg Curls
130 x 10
160 x 10
175 x 4 ----> hips were done and just stopped

Chest, tris and calves tomorrow!

[bull.dogz]

All that pulling to go no where.

[rich55]

All that pulling to go no where.

Nope, to get the ball and win!!

-----------------------

BIG BACK DAY:

Yesterday was a solid chest day holding tight with 235 x 2 plus 61 lbs of chain on floor presses, 225 x 3 on incline bench, 100's x 6 on Flat DB Presses, 70's x 10 on incline flys. Today we had a great back day despite the slow start. Next time, I'm piling on the volume.

Corner Barbell T-Bar Rows
205 felt better than last week, but still need to stay down and get a better contraction on #3 and #4.
90 x 10
135 x 8
160 x 8
180 x 6
205 x 4
205 x 3
135 x 13

Close-Grip Chins
BW x 8
BW x 8
25 lbs x 6
25 lbs x 6
Wide-Grip x 7
- SUPERSET -
1-Arm DB Rows add Chains
When your DB's only go up to 120, what do you do when you get 10 strict in superset fashion...add a chain over the handle leaving just enough room for your hands. Gotta get a vid of this!!
75 x 8
95 x 8
120 x 10
132 x 7
149 x 7

Behind Back Barbell Shrugs
185 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 11
- SUPERSET -
Real Delt/Scapula Band Pinches
Micros doubled x 15
Micros doubled x 15
Micros doubled x 12

[Illilian]

that looks like fun... but they need to be a bunch of water ballons.

[rich55]

GOOD START TO MY WEEK: KILLER CHEST DAY!

I finished off last week with a great shoulder and arm day hitting Arnold DB Presses with 85's x 9 and 90's x 6, hammer curling 60's x 6, dipping 90 x 8 and playing with some chain close-grips. Leg day was average at best, but will crush them this week.

Spent the weekend hanging out with tons of family and have eaten probably a dozen servings of red meat. Yumm!! Gotta love the offseason. Now for chest, tris and why not some laterals....

Floor Chain Presses
61 pounds draped over the bar. Vast majority comes off the ground, but a couple links remain on the 2 pair. Weights without chain.
45 x 10
95 x 10
135 x 6
185 x 3
235 x 3 ---> got it! PR

Incline Bench
I was very pleased with these. I have got up to 245 for a few reps, but this just keeps getting better
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
235 x 5 ----> got all 5! PR

Flat DB Press
65 x 10
95 x 10
110 x 6
110 x 4

Incline DB Flys
50 x 10
65 x 10
75 x 6
75 x 5

Functional Pushups
My own version of the TRX trainer. Why not add a 19 lb chain. Focusing on the negative and contracting at the top.
BW x 14
19 lb chain x 10 barely
19 lb chain x 9
BW x 10ish

Lying DB Extensions
25 x 15
30 x 10
35 x 9 ---> felt light, but just fatigued
35 x 8

Incline Cable Skullcrushers
3 sets of 10

Rope Pulldowns
47.5 x 10
52.5 x 10
57.5 x 9 and a couple drop sets to finish off the tris more

1-Arm Cable Lateral Raises
Hand in front on my DAP. Nice and controlled.
12.5 x 10
15 x 10
17.5 x 9
17.5 x 8

Close-Grip Chain Pushups
Just wanted some more, so I threw on a 19 lb chain and pumped out 20 and then threw on another 12 lbs and got 11. Done!