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

[HotRod]

Nice, very nice! She's a cutie, must take after her mom!

Congrats!

[conda]

Thank you, thank you!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Ava Elizabeth Lauro has arrived!!! She was born about a month premature, but is ABSOLUTELY beautiful at 4 lbs 14 oz and 18 inches long. Check her out:









TRAINING UPDATE:

After 5 days off taking care of mommy and little Ava, I'm getting back into the swing today with a little bit of both push & legs. I will then hit pull either tomorrow or Wednesday and full push and leg workouts across the weekend. I began cleaning up my diet again yesterday. I'm taking off from training clients most if not all of this week to catch these amazing moments with our baby girl and to take care of Angie while she recovers. We are very blessed to have Angie's mom staying with us to help out as well.

Nice man. Congrats. And way to sport the CL beanie! New baby on board. You may need to get a ton of WF and toothpicks for your eye lids.

[bull.dogz]

She is sooo adorable!!!

So are mommy and baby home? She doesn't even look like a premi. Congrats again!!

Edit: I notice a slight attitude in that 4th picture....does she get that from you?

[rich55]

Congrats!!!

Be sure to post pictures!!!

Thank you, thank you!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Ava Elizabeth Lauro has arrived!!! She was born about a month premature, but is ABSOLUTELY beautiful at 4 lbs 14 oz and 18 inches long. Check her out:









TRAINING UPDATE:

After 5 days off taking care of mommy and little Ava, I'm getting back into the swing today with a little bit of both push & legs. I will then hit pull either tomorrow or Wednesday and full push and leg workouts across the weekend. I began cleaning up my diet again yesterday. I'm taking off from training clients most if not all of this week to catch these amazing moments with our baby girl and to take care of Angie while she recovers. We are very blessed to have Angie's mom staying with us to help out as well.

[bull.dogz]

Congrats!!!

Be sure to post pictures!!!

[rich55]

IT'S BABY TIME!!!

Oh yeah....that's right......IT'S BABY TIME!!! Our little baby girl is going to be delivered tomorrow! Ava Elizabeth Lauro will enter this world and we will begin our journey together as parents. We are so excited and are getting ready for our trip. I'm taking a week or so off from work and looking forward to spending such crucial time with our newborn baby girl.

There is not another log or journal on the internet where you will find all of the following news that have happened in less than a year's time:

- PRO CARD WIN
- ENGAGEMENT
- MARRIAGE
- PREGNANCY
- PRO DEBUT
- BIRTH

New beginning indeed! And if you ask how all that is possible in eleven months? God makes all things possible!! He gets all the glory for each and without Him not one of these life-changing occurrences would have happened. Angie and I remain strong in our faith and joy, while clinging hard to Him who strengthens and empowers us with wisdom. I can only imagine what the next few years will bring with this exponential growth! Stay tuned!!

TRAINING UPDATE:

We hit PUSH & PULL hard the last two days. I've been eating BIG.....no REAL big!! My mother and father-in-law are staying with us spreading love and good home-cooking. No way am I passing up on this delicious grub! Lifts are going up, I'm getting bigger and don't really care about the fat gain. Muscle is being built. I will recomp later. I'm thinking 195 awaits at this rate haha

"DON'T TOUCH MY WEIGHTS" PUSH YESTERDAY:

Clint was back on the scene after being sick for a long haul. He strength was fine, but endurance was down. Big James was looking mega strong and as if he was eating an offseason diet. Ah, group dynamics lifts everyone up!

And yes if you get help from a spotter with strength training, then is does not count. I yelled at James for prematurely touching my weights that were squeaking upward haha.

Incline Bench
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 8
205 x 8 ---> this is where he touched my weights
215 x 4

Close-Grip Bench
135 x 8
165 x 8
185 x 8
205 x 7

Slight Incline DB Press
70 x 8
80 x 8
90 x 8
95 x 5

Fly Machine
110 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 8

Hammer Wide Chest
115/side x 8
135/side x 8
160/side x 8 ----> got it!

3-Way Shoulder Raises
Front, Bent-Over then Lateral with hands at sides. Used 10 lb barbell plates as they are harder than the DB's at our gym.
10 lb plates x 20 each way
10 lb plates x 20 each way ---> had to really push to finish

Decline DB Extension
30 x 10
32.5 x 10
35 x 6

Overhead Rope Extensions
90 x 10
95 x 10
100 x 7

Felt just incredible during this workout! Mega strength gains over last workout.


PULL DAY BEFORE THE BIRTHDAY:

Found out the news momentarily before our scheduled workout. Charles jumped in for back again and added some fresh new competitive blood to the mix!

Bent-Over Barbell Rows
All the way over, good stretch and squeeze. Overhand, slightly wider than shoulder width grip.
95 x 8
135 x 8
165 x 9
195 x 7
205 x 5

Rack Deads
Knee high. Went all out since I don't know when I'll be smashing weights again next.
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 8
405 x 8
455 x 8 ---> said a prayer, got fired up and ROCKED it!

Seated Zottman Curls
Simultaneous and strict.
35 x 8
40 x 8
45 x 8 ----> nailed it!
50 x 4 --> spot on #5

Chins
BW x 8
10 lbs x 7
20 lbs x 7
25 lbs x 6

Wide-Grip Pulldowns
160 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 7 ---> broke out my versa-gripps to save my dying hands/grip

EZ Preacher Curls
75 x 8
85 x 8
90 x 5
- SUPERSET -
Behind Back Bar Shrugs
135 x 10
225 x 10
265 x 10

EZ Reverse Curls
75 x 10
85 x 8

Felt diesel strong! Putting all that food to good use to grow. See you guys and gals on the flipside when I'm a daddy!!

[rich55]

How do you make yours? We've been fiddling around with recipes for this and can't find any without crazy amounts of fat in it!

The alfredo sauce was not homemade, but I did blacken the chicken. I bought Classico's sun dried tomato alfredo and then blackened my chicken with just a touch of olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and lots of paprika. Chopped up mushrooms, spinach, tomato and green onion for some flare. YUMMMM!!! Hope you're training hard again!


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

SATURDAY LEGS:

Knee was feeling better, but my lower back was not. I felt okay on Squats thanks to my belt, but ditched the Straight-Legs and High Stance Press.

Squats
Nice and low as usual.
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
265 x 8
305 x 8 ---> getting back up there

1-Leg Machine Curls
Nice and controlled focusing on eccentric and contraction.
60 x 10/leg
65 x 10/leg
70 x 10/leg
- SUPERSET -
Hyperextensions
2-second hold at top. Wanted to get some blood in the lower back.
BW x 10
10 lbs x 10
BW x 6

Walking DB Lunges
Finally counted out how many steps down was for me.
BW x 11/leg
35's x 11/leg
55's x 11/leg
70's x 11/leg

Hammer Leg Press
Strictly a horizontal press eliminating lower back strain.
180 x 10
270 x 10
320 x 10
370 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Angled Calf Raises
320 x 12
340 x 10
340 x 9

Then hit some sets of Toe Out Angled Calf Raises, Seated Calf Raises and Twisting Decline Crunches.

Stepped on the Scale......and it measured 172 lbs! Yup, I am up about 15 lbs and have been REALLY loose with my diet. I have gained quite a bit of ab fat, am holding water on a continual basis, but more importantly have thickened up all over with good gains in muscle density. Vascularity has remained though despite the gaining. Today is an off day. Time to clean the house. Have a blessed Sunday!

[dogsofgold]

Tomorrow is a push workout and I'm making some blackened chicken alfredo for my postworkout meal. My version will have less than 15 g of fat in it though.

How do you make yours? We've been fiddling around with recipes for this and can't find any without crazy amounts of fat in it!

[conda]

Thanks, much appreciated! Now it's time to get BIGGGGG!



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

FANTASTIC PUSH DAY!

Yesterday's chest workout was just fantastic! Coming off precontest prep and some time off from heavy lifting you are weak. Yesterday was a nice jump in strength, and you can betchya that I smashed some grub following this workout to take full advantage of the gains. We rushed the end of the workout, so I was on time for my next clients.

Incline Bench
95 x 10
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
195 x 8
205 x 5

Close-Grip Bench
135 x 8
165 x 8
185 x 8
205 x 6 ---> getting back up there

Slight Incline DB Press
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 8
90 x 4 ---> lost it a little on #5 requiring a little tap on the elbows

Fly Machine
110 x 10
120 x 9
120 x 8

Hammer Wide Chest
115/side x 8
135/side x 8
150/side x 6

Decline DB Extensions
Deep, slow stretch on the tris.
30 x 10
30 x 10
35 x 5
- SUPERSET -
3-Way Shoulder Raises
Good prehab. Front, bent-over then lateral with hands at sides.
10 lb DB's x 20 each way
10 lb DB's x 20 each way
10 lb DB's x 20 each way

Overhead Rope Extensions
Need to crush that long head!
85 x 10
90 x 9
90 x 8

That night I was just pounding food every few hours. Hungry = Eating Time! I ate 2 homemade barbecue chicken sandwiches and a small piece of banana nut bread and was just ravenous, so I ate another sandwich and piece of Carol's famous bread. Growing boy here haha!

PULL TIME TODAY

I spent much of the day today running errands and taking care of the wifey. Bless her heart she is now on bed rest, which requires much more on my end. She has a little bit of time, but not much more before little baby Ava is on her way. I had to bail on James and wasn't sure if I would get a workout in due to husbandly duties. Angie was craving pizza and was feeling better, so I struck up a deal to pick up a few movies, get some Coldstone and make my workout quick. Win, win, win all around

Bent-Over Bar Rows
All the way bent-over, shoulder width, full stretch and squeeze.
95 x 8
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
195 x 6 + 1 ----> rest paused for an extra one

Rack Deads at Knee Level
Knee level certainly takes leg involvement out of the equation. Core strengthening is needed tomorrow.
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 8
405 x 8 ---> slowed down to get all 8, but got it!

Seated Zottman Curls
35 x 8
40 x 8
45 x 7

Close-Grip Chins
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 6 ---> gaining lbs does not make this any easier

Wide-Grip Pulldowns
150 x 8
160 x 8
170 x 8
180 x 6
180 x 5

EZ Preacher Curls
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 5
- SUPERSET -
Behind Back Bar Shrugs
Strong contraction at top.
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 10
245 x 10 ---> tough but got it!

EZ Reverse Curls
65 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 6

Dinner was 5 pieces of some slamming good Chicken, Tomato and Spinach Papa John's followed by some Coldstone Cookie Doughn't You Want Some Love It sized ice cream. I also finished off Angie's Birthday Cake Remix. 2500 calorie dinner.....CHECK!!!!

I swear man, you are always making me hungry. And i already eat like a bear as is. GL on your Bulking. By your menu.. you're gunna be there fast! lol

[rich55]

Dude, you look awesome in the contest pics! that up close pic of your mm, you have some shreaded quads! nice hard work!

Thanks, much appreciated! Now it's time to get BIGGGGG!



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

FANTASTIC PUSH DAY!

Yesterday's chest workout was just fantastic! Coming off precontest prep and some time off from heavy lifting you are weak. Yesterday was a nice jump in strength, and you can betchya that I smashed some grub following this workout to take full advantage of the gains. We rushed the end of the workout, so I was on time for my next clients.

Incline Bench
95 x 10
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
195 x 8
205 x 5

Close-Grip Bench
135 x 8
165 x 8
185 x 8
205 x 6 ---> getting back up there

Slight Incline DB Press
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 8
90 x 4 ---> lost it a little on #5 requiring a little tap on the elbows

Fly Machine
110 x 10
120 x 9
120 x 8

Hammer Wide Chest
115/side x 8
135/side x 8
150/side x 6

Decline DB Extensions
Deep, slow stretch on the tris.
30 x 10
30 x 10
35 x 5
- SUPERSET -
3-Way Shoulder Raises
Good prehab. Front, bent-over then lateral with hands at sides.
10 lb DB's x 20 each way
10 lb DB's x 20 each way
10 lb DB's x 20 each way

Overhead Rope Extensions
Need to crush that long head!
85 x 10
90 x 9
90 x 8

That night I was just pounding food every few hours. Hungry = Eating Time! I ate 2 homemade barbecue chicken sandwiches and a small piece of banana nut bread and was just ravenous, so I ate another sandwich and piece of Carol's famous bread. Growing boy here haha!

PULL TIME TODAY

I spent much of the day today running errands and taking care of the wifey. Bless her heart she is now on bed rest, which requires much more on my end. She has a little bit of time, but not much more before little baby Ava is on her way. I had to bail on James and wasn't sure if I would get a workout in due to husbandly duties. Angie was craving pizza and was feeling better, so I struck up a deal to pick up a few movies, get some Coldstone and make my workout quick. Win, win, win all around

Bent-Over Bar Rows
All the way bent-over, shoulder width, full stretch and squeeze.
95 x 8
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
195 x 6 + 1 ----> rest paused for an extra one

Rack Deads at Knee Level
Knee level certainly takes leg involvement out of the equation. Core strengthening is needed tomorrow.
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 8
405 x 8 ---> slowed down to get all 8, but got it!

Seated Zottman Curls
35 x 8
40 x 8
45 x 7

Close-Grip Chins
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 6 ---> gaining lbs does not make this any easier

Wide-Grip Pulldowns
150 x 8
160 x 8
170 x 8
180 x 6
180 x 5

EZ Preacher Curls
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 5
- SUPERSET -
Behind Back Bar Shrugs
Strong contraction at top.
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 10
245 x 10 ---> tough but got it!

EZ Reverse Curls
65 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 6

Dinner was 5 pieces of some slamming good Chicken, Tomato and Spinach Papa John's followed by some Coldstone Cookie Doughn't You Want Some Love It sized ice cream. I also finished off Angie's Birthday Cake Remix. 2500 calorie dinner.....CHECK!!!!

[Illilian]

Dude, you look awesome in the contest pics! that up close pic of your mm, you have some shreaded quads! nice hard work!

[rich55]

Yeah! Exciting times ahead!! I bet Angie's ready for the baby to come.

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT!! Oh and boy is she ready, haha.



LEEEGGGSS!!!

Just getting back going on legs really yesterday. Focusing a bit more on ham emphasis. Was kind of feeling my right knee a bit on my first few sets, so I went a bit conservative. It has felt fine since. Volume is lighter right now as I'm looking for strength gains and we are hitting muscle groups every 4-5 days.

Squats
Nice and low as always.
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
285 x 8

Straight-Leg Deadlifts
Hanging a hard stretch on the hams on the eccentric.
135 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8

High Stance Leg Press
Had to pull my feet in to shoulder width on these and it felt much better on the knee.
4 plates/side x 10
5 plates/side x 10
6 plates/side x 10
6.5 plates/side x 10

Walking DB Lunges
Trip down our gym for ~11-12 steps/leg. Now stopping or breaking stride allowed to count it Had to force strict form hard on last few steps.
BW
30's
50's
65's ----> got it!

Angled Calf Raises
300 x 12
320 x 10
320 x 9
- TRISET -
Hyperextensions
Holding on spinal erectors for 2-count at top.
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10
- TRISET -
Situps
Feet held under low bar, crunching hard at top and slow eccentric.
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

I then did one superset of lighter toe out angled calf raises and seated calf raises for 15ish reps to finish off my calves.

SUPPLEMENTS:
Orange Triad
Flaxseed Oil
Omega3 Fish Oil
Green Magnitude
Acetyl L-Carnitine
Purple Wraath
Purple Intrain
Golden Gains
Super Enzymes
Green Phyto Foods
MaxPro, High5 and MaxGourmet protein powders

DIET:
Had only my second complete clean day of eating since competing, and ate very instinctively due to extreme hunger from training legs and clients all day for 10 hours. I withheld the urge to eat Carol's heavenly banana nut bread and zucchini muffins. I put down 9 meals and/or shakes

Today was an off day and I had a 3 slices of banana nut bread, 1.5 muffins with a shake for breakfast. Preceded the treat with Insuload and r-ALA. Rest of the day was on point with even a little tapering down of carbs. WOW!!!! Restraint is coming back a little haha. Tomorrow is a push workout and I'm making some blackened chicken alfredo for my postworkout meal. My version will have less than 15 g of fat in it though. I may have to have some more of Carol's famous banana nut bread though!!!

[bull.dogz]

Yeah! Exciting times ahead!! I bet Angie's ready for the baby to come.

[rich55]

Awesome man! Rich, have you heard of Krill Oil? It's awesome. I replaced my Fish oil with it . It gets great reviews. You can find tons of reviews on it online by doctors. And you can find it cheap at retail stores.

No, I haven't heard of it. I use Omega3 by CJI, which has a pretty high dosage of EPA and DHA. High content of that is what you want. Thank God for sponsors.

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

BABY PREP & PULL WORKOUT

Ah yes prepping for baby time! We spent much of the weekend at Baby's R Us, unpacking baby gifts, putting together baby gifts and getting the nursery ready. Angie could deliver in the next 3-6 weeks and will most likely go earlier. The nursery is coming along and we are getting ready.

We hit Back and Bi's yesterday and Charles joined James and I who has decided to do the Master's division at the Buckeye Classic next April. He has incredible definition already and really needs to eat more and make his training more well rounded. That we will do!

Bent-Over Rows
Overhand, shoulder width, all-the-way over, for big stretch & squeeze
95 x 8
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
185 x 8 -----> little sloppy on last two reps

Knee High Rack Deads
Pulling hard with my upper back.
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 8
365 x 8 ----> felt this set, but just getting going

Seated Zottman Curls
30 x 8
35 x 8
40 x 8
45 x 5

Close-Grip Chins
Very strict form. Hard later in the workout and after bis.
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 6

Wide Grip Pulldowns
140 x 8
150 x 8
160 x 8
170 x 6

EZ Preacher Curls
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 6

EZ Reverse Curls
65 x 10
75 x 7

Behind Back Barbell Shrugs
Good hold contracting at top.
135 x 10
185 x 10
235 x 10

Feeling this workout today in all the right places. Oh, this is gonna be fun! GROWING TIME!!

[conda]

BACK AFTER IT ALREADY!!!

Taking several days off from training did NOT happen. I grew antsy to get the blood pumping particularly because of the cheating and water retention postcontest, combined with my fierce desire to improve. So, Tuesday I did a light push workout, Wednesday pull and tomorrow good ole legs and core.

Getting much stronger and thicker is the name of the game now. I will be doing some straight up strength training with some bodybuilding moves to finish things off. The first 3 weeks postcontest will include moderate training in the 5-10 rep range and the following 3 weeks will be a little heavier. Then, it's BABY TIME!!! I will continuously work on prioritizing God first, wife second, baby Ava third and then the rest. This will be a daily process that I will pray and work on with my busy life, so that my priorities are where the need to be with all the life change approaching.

My base diet is currently 3000 cals, but I easily go to 3500 and even 4500-5000 depending on how much I treat myself. Oh, and the postcontest supplements are:

HEALTH & WELLNESS:
Orange Triad Multi- 2 caps 3 x's daily
Flaxseed Oil- 1 t daily
Omega 3 fish oil- 3 caps daily
Green Phyto Foods- 1 T daily

GET HUGE STACK:
Green Magnitude (1 scoop), Purple Wraath (1 scoop) & MaxGlutamine (10 g) PREWORKOUT
Purple Intrain (2 scoops) DURING WORKOUT
Golden Gains (2 scoops) POSTWORKOUT

DIGESTION & BLOOD SUGAR SUPPORT:
Insuload, Digestive Enzymes & Gut Health during MASS feeding

PROTEIN, A NECESSITY FOR MUSCLE GROWTH:
Max Muscle MaxPro, High5 & Gourmet powders 4-5 scoops daily


NEW GOAL= TOP 5 PRO FINISH IN 2011

I will be taking 2 years off from competition with a full 1.5 years of offseason. I am not even picking a show till this time next year. I have had a show in front of me since I started in 2003 and now I am just focused on getting BIG! I came down to 157 lbs to get shredded beyond belief and now I need to get up in the 160-165 range. Next up is 190 lbs offseason!!! I know I can get pealed and now I gotta get BiG.

LET THE GAINS BEGIN!!!!

Awesome man! Rich, have you heard of Krill Oil? It's awesome. I replaced my Fish oil with it . It gets great reviews. You can find tons of reviews on it online by doctors. And you can find it cheap at retail stores.