Old Navy
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Training For My 2nd Year of Competition at 62
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Monday, September 19, 2005 10:20 AM
( #1 )
Training For My Second Year
Of Competition At 62
By Scott "Old Navy" Hults
When I began training for my first bodybuilding competition in June of 2004, and wrote about my odyssey in a story, "Training For My First Competition At 61, A Senior Bodybuilder's Championship Season," never did I think my training and competitions would result in such a phenomenal personal success.
From March 19 - July 16, I competed in six major bodybuilding contests and placed in five. I won 11 trophies, including four First Place, one Second Place, five Third Place and one Best Male poser. For me, 2005 was truly a championship year.
2005 Contest Season 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships, Covington, KY, March 19th
Bantam Weight Class (-143 1/2 lbs) - Sixth
Grand Master 50+ - 10th
2005 FAME Georgia S.N.B.F. Bodybuilding Championships, Marietta, GA, April 2nd
Novice Men's Lightweight (-165 lbs) - Third
Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Third
Super Grand Master 60+ - First
2005 FAME Capital Classic S.N.B.F. Bodybuilding Championships, Montgomery, AL, May 21st
Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Sixth
Super Grand Master 60+ - First
2005 FAME World Bodybuilding Championships, Toronto, Canada, June 10 - 11th
Advanced Men's Lightweight (-150 lbs) - Sixth
Super Grand Master 60+ - Third
2005 NPC Southeastern Gold's Gym Classic Bodybuilding Championships, Gadsden, AL, June 18th
Bantam Weight (-143 1/2 lbs) - Third
Grand Master 50+ - Second
Super Grand Master 60+ - First
2005 FAME Southern Open Bodybuilding Championships S.N.B.F., Suwanee, GA, July 16th
Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Third
Super Grand Master 60+ - First
Best Male Poser - Southern Open And a nice season ending tribute came my way when I was profiled as Bodybuilding.com's Amateur Bodybuilder of the Week (www.bodybuilders.com/hults.htm) and Midwest Christian Bodybuilder of the Month (October 2005) (www.midwestchristianbodybuilding.com/scotthults.htm).
It's now two months later, and I am in training for my first competition for next year, the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships in Covington, KY. The Northern Kentucky was my first contest in 2005 and the only one in which I failed to Place. I have some unfinished business in Covington.
I'm starting this story exactly six months to the day of the Northern Kentucky. Several things have changed in my training this year from last, so I have decided to write about it.
First, I changed gyms. After 11 years, I moved from SportPlex to the new Gold's Gym of Birmingham, a really outstanding facility. Gold's Gyms have been around since 1965 and always had the reputation of being home to muscle heads, providing low lights, dark and dingy weight rooms, and loud music for tough studs pounding iron. No more. Today's Gold's are bright, well-equipped, member friendly facilities. The new Gold's in Birmingham is a showcase family center.
Second, after working with a personal trainer for more than a year, I am now a solo act. I decided to train myself this year to see if I learned enough under my trainer to do it myself. I will know soon enough if I paid enough attention during my workouts.
I will still work with my former personal trainer for posing practice sessions. As a former NPC competitor and judge of bodybuilding contests, he knows his stuff and I can still learn. I want to polish my posing to be able to step on the stage next year with more confidence. I really love posing. It's my favorite part of the sport of bodybuilding.
Third, I am enrolled in the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Trainer Certification course to become a NASM CPT. While I train for my first 2006 bodybuilding competition, I am planning on completing the course work in time to take my final exam in January. I hope in a few years to begin a new career in personal training.
Let's Get Started
In 2005, I competed in tested (for steroids) and non-tested shows. In the non-tested shows (NPC) I competed in the Bantam Weight Class and in my age class. The Bantam Weight limit is 143.5 pounds. I never weighed more than 134 pounds on stage. I was always the lightest competitor. In the tested shows, I competed in the Open Men's Short Class and my age class. The short class height limit is 5' 7 ". As 5' 6 ", I wasn't always the shortest, but I was always the lightest.
My goal for 2006 is to add 5 - 8 pounds of new muscle, so I can compete close to the Bantam Weight Class maximum, hopefully around 142.0 pounds.
I began training for next year the day after my last contest of 2005 by going on a lean-mass gain diet to add between 20 -25 pounds of weight. From a diet standpoint, I added two high calorie, high carb, high protein content protein shakes to my daily diet. I drank one shake before training and the other right after. I drank the other extra shake about an hour before I went to bed. I continued with my 11 AM and 3 PM shakes. I continued my five-meal a day diet plan, heavy in all the right things, including a healthy dose of supplements, and quickly added 20 pounds of bodyweight.
When I reached 154.0 pounds, I dropped the extra morning and evening shakes, added some weight-loss supplements and amino acids and went on a two-week muscle-hardening phase in order to work the new weight to turn some of it into new muscle. I am down to 151.0 pounds. I have one more week to go and then I will return to the lean-mass gain diet. The plan is to go through the same on and off phase until January, when I will begin my final fat-burning/cutting diet for my March 18th contest.
Workouts
So far, as a solo, I have been doing just fine in the gym. I work out six days a week. Monday- Friday, I arrive at 6:30 AM and work for 75 minutes. I exercise two body parts per day: Monday, back and biceps; Tuesday, legs and calves; Wednesday, chest and triceps; Thursday, shoulders and biceps and Friday, legs and calves. I also work abs and include a little cardio every day. On Saturday, I have a 90-minute "fun day," working on anything that grabs my fancy.
Training Journal
It's Tuesday, October 11th. I am in the third week of a lean mass gain diet cycle. I have been eating lots of protein and vegetables, but after nearly three weeks, I am stuck at 150 pounds. Starting tomorrow and for the next five days, I am adding an extra scoop of protein powder to my morning and afternoon shake to increase my protein intake. On Monday, (10/17) I will began a two week muscle hardening diet to bring my weight back down a few pounds while I work extra hard in the gym to harden what I have gained during the lean mass diet cycle.
I am working very hard in the gym. I am pushing myself as hard as I can. So far, I don't have any problems with motivation or desire. I want to work as hard as I can to achieve the gains I will need for next year.
Last week, I set a personal best in the Flat Bench Dumb Bell Press:
1 x 10 x 85's (170 pounds)
1 x 10 x 85's (170 pounds)
1 x 10 x 85's (170 pounds)
1 x 10 x 90's (180 pounds)
It was a nice feeling lifting that much total weight in the four sets: 6,900 pounds.
I won't do that kind of lift again. I am a bodybuilder, not a weight lifter. I just wanted to do it once to see if I could and I used a spotter to make sure my lift was safe.
I know I am doing the right kind of workouts for my contest preparation. Whatever body part I work on is always a little sore the next day. This is good.
It's Monday, October 24th and I am in the second week of a two-week muscle hardening diet phase. I weigh 149 pounds and will probably drop one or two more pounds by Friday. During this particular hardening phase, I am seeing some new muscle growth, especially in the quads, hams and biceps. I am pleased with what is going on. I hope by next March, I am able to add the 5-8 pounds of new muscle I'm shooting for. I will begin a two-week lean mass gain diet next week.
My workouts continue to be intensive. I am working harder than I did last year when I had a personal trainer. I think part of the reason is that I'm trying to prove to myself that I can train myself. So far, I can.
I have some very exciting personal news. I recently discovered Russ Testo, Physique Artist, on the web. (www.russtesto.com) Russ, like me, was profiled as Midwest Christian Bodybuilder of the Month. He is a posing guru. He worked with Arnold, was guest poser at Mr. Olympia, Pro Ironman and Arnold Classic contests. His video, "Posing the Extra-Ordinary Way" is excellent. I liked is more than Gary Udit's "Perfect Posing" video. I contacted Russ and he agreed to coach me for three two-hour posing sessions over three days in his Albany, NY studio in November. We will work on symmetry poses, mandatory poses and my individual posing routine. This is very cool. In order for me to be competitive against larger men, I have to pose better than my competition. At my final contest in July, I was named "Best Male Poser." I want to improve on this record.
Meanwhile, I had to go to Lyon, France during the week of November 7th for a conference. I always look for a good gym whenever I'm on the road and this time was no different. After working my way through the French phone book and a road map, I found a decent gym about 15 minutes walking distance from my hotel. I took a one-week membership for 50 Euros and was able to work out three times during the week. It was a well-equipped gym and had a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and basketball court. I was able to schedule a workout every other day. I did have occasion to cheat a bit on my diet though. After all, I was in France, and when in France...do as the French do, eat well!
It took a bit of doing to get home from France. There were riots going on in most of the country and Lyon was no exception. My flight from Lyon to Paris was supposed to take off on November 11th, Armistice Day in France, at 11 AM. I got to the airport at 9 AM, just in time for some jerk to call in a bomb threat that closed the entire airport for two hours. We all stood outside, about a hundred yards from the entrance in 35-degree weather, with our luggage, waiting for the threat to end. At 11 AM, we were let back in and I went to my gate, caught a flight to Paris, where my flight to Atlanta had left an hour earlier, and was booked on a flight to Montreal, Canada where I spent the night. The next morning, I had to be at the Montreal Airport at 4 AM for a 6 AM flight to New York City. Then I caught a flight to Birmingham and arrived home around 12 Noon. Quite an odyssey.
It's Thursday evening (November 17) and I just finished having dinner in Albany, New York, with two friends, Sean and Lisa. Really special people. Lisa enjoys talking about bodybuilding as much as Sean does. I am in Albany to work with Posing Artist, Russ Testo. And work I did. I met Russ today at 1:15 and we finished our first training session at 4:45. I was beat. But I am pumped. Russ showed me a lot of really cool things that makes a difference in posing. We worked on individual poses and on my 90-second individual routine. Russ's ideas are right on and I will benefit greatly by this experience. We will have two sessions on Friday and one on Saturday. Then I will return home and, as Russ says, "Practice, practice, practice." I really believe Russ's teaching will make me a much better poser next year.
On Friday night, Russ joined Sean, Lisa and I for dinner. We spent the whole evening taking about, what else but bodybuilding. Sean has a large collection of books, tapes and DVDs on bodybuilding. Lots of interesting anecdotes flowed around the table. Before my final session with Russ Saturday afternoon, Sean and I went to his gym, where we worked legs and calves. Sean is one strong dude, but he kept up with me. LOL
It's Sunday evening and I'm back home in Birmingham, Alabama. I can't describe the way I feel after spending nine hours one-on-one with Russ Testo. He is a Master Posing Artist. Russ has the knowledge, the technique, the great moves, the feeling and sensitivity of a man who has a passion and has lived that passion for more than 25 years. Russ has taken the act of contest posing to a level well above everyone else. Yet, he is a humble man, a quiet man and man who is secure enough in himself to be able to share his secrets with a guy like me who is willing to place myself in his hands. When I walked into Russ's studio, I said, "Russ, I know nothing. I am a blank slate. Please fill my slate with your knowledge." And he did. But he did it by making me feel good about my posing up to now. After watching me go through a symmetry round and mandatory round, Russ just said, "Very good, Scott. All we are going to do is add and subtract a bit. And that's what we did." I left Albany a much better poser. And I will practice what Russ taught to me and I will get even better by my first contest of the year next March.
We spent a lot of time on perfecting my 90-second individual posing routine. Russ has great ideas and knows how to work with the music to create a story with pictures. The pictures, of course, are poses. I'm really looking forward to performing my new routine at the Northern Kentucky.
A very special highlight of my last hour with Russ on Saturday was when he showed me a live demonstration of the audition posing routine that he performed for Arnold and his Arnold Classic in 1981, Russ's first guest posing stint. He then showed me a live demo of his latest routine, choreographed to Bobby Daren's "Mack The Knife." Both were classic. Thanks, Russ for a really great experience.
It's the Monday after Thanksgiving. I have a new training partner. Actually, I have had a new training partner for the past six weeks. But now, we have stepped up our training because, in addition to Dave being my training partner, I have been coaching and training him to enter his first bodybuilding contest next April.
Dave is 26 years old, married with one daughter and another child on the way. He is a college graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Criminology and played varsity baseball while attending the university. He is 6' 2" and weighs 215 pounds. His chest is 44", his waist, 34", biceps, 17.5", quads 24" and calves 16". His body fat is 6.8%. He is well muscled, has a great work ethic and is training as a natural athlete. Dave will enter the 2006 FAME S.N.B.F. Georgia Open on April 1. He will compete in the Novice Heavyweight and Open Men's Tall Classes. I will also compete in that contest as a Open Men's Short and Super Grand Master 60+. We work out each morning from 6:30 - 7:45 and on Saturday, we practice posing. One of the extra benefits of my training Dave is, because he is a large man, we are working with heavier weights. We are helping each other gain muscle mass while I am training him to be a competitive bodybuilder. Win, Win.
It's sixteen weeks until my first contest next year, the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding & Fitness Open Championship in Covington, KY. I will enter this non-tested contest as a Bantam Weight (143.25 pounds) and Super Grand Master 60+. I have just come off of a muscle hardening diet these last two weeks and today, November 27, I weigh 158 pounds and my body fat is a whopping 14%. I'm 23 pounds heavier than I was for my final contest of this year in July. This was planned. As a matter of fact, today, I am on a High Carb Weight Gain diet for the next 10 days to two weeks. The idea is to add about five more pounds, work that extra lean mass during that period and then, about the middle of December, begin a slow fat burn/cutting diet that will take me to the contest. My goal is to step on the stage in Kentucky at 142 pounds and 4% body fat, seven pounds more than I competed at this season and at the same body fat %. This High Carb Weight Gain includes lots of egg whites, protein shakes, lean meat, vegetables, beans and rice. Lots of the right stuff and no deserts, bread, butter, or fast food.
I have gotten bigger. My quads and biceps have grown an inch. My waist has grown three inches, but that's OK. Everything else will continue to grow and my waist will shrink when I diet for the contest. I will be shooting for the same 29"waist I had this year.
Weeeooo. Just a quick update. It's Tuesday, December 6 and I am nearing the end of my 10-day High Carb Weight Gain diet. Today I weigh 163.5 pounds. I got up to 164 on Sunday, 29 pounds up from my last contest in July and the most I have ever weighed in my life. But it doesn't seem to be a fat gain. I can still see vascularity in my arms and in my shoulders and pecs. This is a good sign. I'm glad this phase is coming to an end on Friday. I'm getting a little tired of six protein shakes a day and I love chocolate.
It's the week before Christmas and I have to say "No thank you" to all of the offers of candy, cookies, pastries, cakes, pies and other treats that abound in my office. Every one has something to eat. I do take one small cookie, maybe once a day, just to be polite. Other than that, I pass. On Tuesday, December 20th, I weighed 159.5 pounds. I have begun my slow fat burning/cutting diet for my March 18th date in Covington, Kentucky. I will be ready.
Dave, my training partner, and I are working hard in the gym. We push each other. He wants his Pro Card in his first contest, and I want to help him get it. I want to place in the Top Five in Bantam Weights and win the Super Grand Master 60+ title in Kentucky. So we are both highly motivated.
On Monday, I substituted my morning cup of oatmeal with a half a grapefruit. I also eliminated the rice portion in my evening meal. That's the only change in my diet so far and I have already lost about four pounds. I am going to do this very slowly so as not to lose too much muscle while I am losing fat. I will start a more serious weight loss diet on January 1st. January 1, 2006 It's 11 weeks until the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships in Covington, KY. I have been on a contest fat-burning/cutting diet for the past three weeks. I started my diet weighing 165 pounds. Today (January 3) I am at 155.8. I am starting to show the leanness and cuts I am looking for. But, in order to be really prepared for this event, I have decided to do a warm up contest. I have entered the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA Bodybuilding Championships in Norcross, Georgia on February 25, three weeks before the Northern Kentucky. I will enter the Bantam Weight Class and Grand Master 50+ (no 60+). So now, I have less than eight weeks before my first 2006 competition. My plan for this show is to work out the off-season kinks, polish my posing, do my new posing routine and generally go with the attitude of doing the best I can and leaving the show much better prepared for the Northern Kentucky. I do plan on winning one or two trophies at the NPC Atlantic USA. I don't want to come home empty-handed there and have to do that show again in 2007. LOL Dave and I decided that in order for him to do well in his first tested show on April 1, it would be a good idea for both of us to do a warm-up contest. He and I will do the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA show together. He will compete as a Novice Heavyweight and Open Men's Light Heavyweight (198 pounds). Dave is 6' 2" and today weighs 207. His body fat is about 5.7%. From this point on, I will post a Daily Journal entry for our first contest prep
Training Splits: 6:20 - 8:00 AM M-F; 9:00 -11:00 AM Saturday
Monday - Back & Biceps + Abs and Cardio (treadmill & elliptical)
Tuesday - Legs & Calves + Abs and Cardio
Wednesday - Chest & Triceps + Abs and Cardio
Thursday - Shoulders & Biceps + Abs and Cardio
Friday - Legs & Calves + Abs and Cardio
Saturday - Posing (individual routine and mandatory rounds)
Workouts consist of 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps for each body part using lighter weights, thereby bringing more cardio into the regular workout to aid in fat burning and cutting during this period of our contest prep.
Wednesday, January 4th: Chest & Abs
Dave and I did three sets of 15 reps of flat bench dumb bell presses, incline bench flies, decline bar bell bench presses and cable flies. In each case, we did five slow, five pump and five slow reps. After each set, we immediately supersetted with 10 dips. We did a total of 125 dips, throwing in one extra just for good measure. Our weights were moderate, as we are in a cutting, muscle hardening phase. 60s for the flat bench, 40s for the incline flies, 2 45 plates for the decline bar bell and 20 pounds for the cable flies. Since we did so many dips, we only did three sets of triceps cable pull downs. Then we skipped rope for cardio and practiced posing for about 10 minutes. A solid workout. Thursday, 1/5/06 Dave weighs 207.0 (goal 198.0) Old Navy weighs 156.0 (goal 142.0)
Shoulders and Biceps today. Normal workout. Three sets of 15 reps for each exercise. Four shoulders and two biceps. Plus 15 minutes of treadmill. Friday, 1/6/06. Dave weighs 207.0 and Old Navy weighs 155.8. On goal.
Legs and calves today. Moderate weights (300 on the seated leg squat, 200 on the standing leg squat). Three sets of 50 weighted seated calve raises, supersetted with three sets of 50 deep toe raises. Seated and supine ham curls, seated leg extensions. Single leg squats. Adductor's and abductors, max weight on the machine 3 X 15. Plus skip rope and practice posing. Seven weeks to go until the contest. Dave and I will have a video taped posing practice on Saturday. Saturday
Dave and I spent two hours practicing our posing. I video taped the session. We did symmetry rounds, mandatory rounds and our individual posing routines. We considered the camera eye to be the eyes of the judges. After our "workout" we viewed the video critically and looked for ways to improve...especially the little things...head placement...transitions, facial expression, posture. I will tape each of our Saturday practice sessions until the contest, saving each one so we have a record of our progress. Monday After looking at the "game films" on Sunday (of our Saturday videoed posing session) I decided Dave and I needed another training session today. I wasn't happy with our "hardness" during the posing practice. Today we worked on holding rock-hard poses for 5-10 seconds before transitioning to the next pose. We also practiced our routines...going through the 90 seconds staying hard and flexed. It was worth skipping our usual Monday back and biceps workout. Now we will practice what we "learned" from today's extra posing session. Tuesday & Wednesday
Dave and I had an aggressive back and biceps workout on Tuesday and a hard leg and calves workout today. Since we are in a cutting diet phase, with less than seven weeks to go until our contest, we are using moderately heavy weights and doing between 10-15 reps per set. Before we started our diet 13 weeks ago, we used heavier weights and lower reps to build up the lean mass we had added off season. The key now is injury prevention. We do between three and five exercises for each body part and add at least 15 minutes of cardio after our workout. Today, I weighed 154.4 and Dave weighed 204.6. For the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA show in Norcross, GA on February 25, I plan to come in at 142.0 (Bantam Weight) and Dave plans on coming in at 198.0 (Lt. Heavyweight). We are both on target. Thursday
Great Chest and Triceps workout today. Dave and I supersetted flat bench press with seated bench press; incline flat bench press with seated incline bench press; decline flat bench press with seated decline bench press. Six exercises, totaling 18 sets of 10. We used moderate to heavy weights. Then we supersetted triceps with push ups. We finished with about 15 minutes of stair climber (me) and elliptical (Dave). Total workout 1:15. Dave weighs 204.5 and I weigh 154.6. On target for six weeks until our competition. Friday
Tough shoulders and biceps workout today. Four different 3 x 12 set shoulder exercises: presses, barbell pull ups, cable stiff arm push downs and shrugs. Plus 10 hammer chin ups. Bicep curls and hammers. Stair Climber for cardio. Video taped posing practice tomorrow. After our Thursday night carb meal, Dave gained 1/2 pound and I lost 1/2 pound. Six weeks to go. Saturday
Six weeks to go until the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA in Norcross, Georgia. My training partner, Dave, and I finished a two-hour video taped posing practice session today. We went through pumping up, and two symmetry and mandatory rounds each. Then we each performed our individual posing routines. After the session we looked at the tape and discussed the little things that make a successful poser. Today, Dave weighed 207 (target 198) and I weighed 152.8 (target 142.8) We are both feeling great and look forward to the stretch run. I will compete as a Bantam Weight and Grand Master 50+ and Dave as a Novice and Light Heavyweight. This will be Dave's first contest, my seventh. Sunday - A Day of Rest
Monday Back and Biceps. Hit four back exercises hard: Three sets of between 10 & 20 reps. Lat cable pull down, sitting-bent over dumb bell lat raises, sitting lat machine pulls and standing weighted (four 45 pound plates) pulls. Two heavy biceps exercises: cable curls, seated machine bicep curls. Plus hammer pull-ups, hanging leg raises and treadmill. Two Tired Campers. Tuesday
My young stud-training partner is under the weather today. I told him to take a day off from training. Today was leg and calves day. I grabbed another gym rat to work with me. I did about 85% of my usual intensity and threw in extra cardio for a change of pace. Hopefully Dave will be back in the saddle tomorrow when we do chest and triceps. Everything still on track. Diet is good. Weight loss is fine. Mood is upbeat. We are anxious to step onto the stage in less than six weeks. Wednesday Dave came back after a 'sick day' with a vengeance. I had to hold him back. He wanted to make up for yesterday's lost workout. Instead we supersetted our chest exercises with dips, 10 dips after each set. Flat bench dumbbell presses (60, 65, 75 pounds), incline dumb bells (40, 50, 50 pounds), decline bar bell presses (150, 160, 160) and cable flys. A total of 12sets and 120 dips. He was satisfied. We also did dumb bell and cable push down triceps work. Because Dave was still a little bit under the weather, we skipped cardio. Dave weighed 204 today and I weighed 154. Thursday
Dave was about 90% better today as we worked shoulders and biceps. We stuck mostly with the railed bar bell machine as we did double arm and single arm shoulder lifts, double arm shrugs and seated shoulder presses. We varied the number of reps and the speed, sometimes throwing in a rapid series of pumps. Really good stuff. We ended our shoulder workout with seated cable rows above the head and to the sides. For biceps we did hammers up, curls down and seated machine curls. We finished our workout with a symmetry round of posing instead of cardio. Dave needed one more day of "easy" training to make sure he is 100%. Today Dave weighed 202.4 and I weighed 153.4. Friday
Dave and I had an outstanding leg and calves workout today. Three sets x 10 each of seated squats, standing squats, leg extensions, ham curls, adductor's and abductors and seated calve raises, followed immediately by toe raises. We then skipped rope for 200 turns and practiced a few mandatory poses. Dave and I each enjoyed an extra carb meal last night, so our weight stayed the same. He looked a little "full" this morning, but I reminded him the carb meal was the culprit. He is OK. Looks great. He has a new "attitude" because some of the gym rats (roiders) are dissing Natural shows, saying the NPC doesn't even consider them competitions. Dave is training for his first natural competition on April 1st, where he is going to try to win his pro card. So now, Dave wants to bring home the Light Heavyweight Class trophy from our practice show in five weeks (NPC Atlantic USA in Georgia) so he can "stick it" to the NPC boys at the gym. I love that kind of motivation. Dave and I spent about three hours today working on our posing. We practiceda symmetry rounds, mandtory rounds and our individual posing routines. We video taped the session then reviewed the video to look for ways to improve. We also took some photos as we mark five weeks out from our contest Today, Dave weighed 201.4, with a target of 198.0 (Light Heavyweight), he is nearly there. His body fat is less than 5%.     Here are a few shots of Old Navy, five weeks out. Today I weighed 152.4. My target is less than 143.25 (Bantam Weight).     Sunday - A Day of Rest
Monday - No rest
On Saturday Dave and I had a two-hour video taped posing practice and photo session. After looking at the photos and reviewing the video tape, I noticed Dave wasn't squatting down enough on his side poses (chest, triceps and serratus) thereby missing a chance to show the width of his legs and his cut hams. So today, at the gym, we worked on those poses and now Dave will practice them using the correct form. We did a few rounds and then did a fast paced cardio workout on the thread mill. All is on track. Tuesday
Legs and calves. Dave and I are using lighter weights and going slow with our reps. With a little more than four weeks to go, this is the time to be careful. In a weakened state, due to our cutting diet, strains, pulls and other injuries are very possible. We work hard, but we don't over do any exercise. We are not building muscle at this point. We are cutting and hardening what we have in preparation for the contest. Today Dave broke 200 pounds. He was 199.8. He is very close. I am still about eight pounds away and a few more % points of body fat. More cardio for me. Close monitoring of Dave. He will be ripped and ready. I will be as ready as I can be at my age. LOL
We did leg thrusts, squats, adductor's, abductors, ham curls, leg extensions and sitting calve machine. Three sets of ten reps of each except calves, where we did three sets of 25 plus three sets of 25 toe raises. Wednesday
Chest and Triceps day. Dave and I continue to do "hardening" workouts. We did three sets of 10-12 reps of dumb bell flat bench presses (60 & 70 pound dumbbells); barbell incline and barbell decline bench presses. Here we did negatives in addition to presses. Very intense. We did some dumb bell flies and then worked triceps, push down and skull crushers. We upped our cardio to 20 minutes, Dave on the elliptical and me on the stair master. I will be in San Francisco on business from Thursday until Monday, so I will probably not post an update until Dave and I work out together on Tuesday morning. Dave will go solo at Gold's in Birmingham for the weekend and I will work out at Gold's in San Francisco. Today Dave weighed 199.4 and I weighed 151.6. Tuesday
I was in San Francisco on business from Thursday morning until Monday afternoon. I managed to work out at a Gold's Gym in SF on Friday morning and use the hotel's tread mill once on Sunday afternoon. Other than that, I was working at the conference. Lunches at the conference and dinners in the evening killed the diet, too. I managed three orders of egg whites for breakfasts, but little else that was useful for a contest diet. I also carried my protein shakes so that was good. In the end, I added a pound of unwanted weight.
As soon as I landed at the airport in Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday, I called Dave and we met at Gold's for a outrageously hard back and biceps workout. I had my training partner sweating. I was a man possessed. I needed to get back on track...and we did. LOL We started with 50 push ups to warm up. Then we did 10-15 push ups between each set. Crazy...pain....LOL Loved it!
Today we had an equally hard legs and calves workout. With less than five weeks to go before our contest, we are intense. But we still manage to laugh a lot. I love our sport and so does Dave. LOL Wednesday, February 1
Dave and I are on a mission. Today, February 1, we are looking at 24 more days before we weigh in at the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA in Norcross, Georgia. Our workout intensity, already high, increased today as we banged out chest and triceps. We did three sets of 10-12 reps of four chest and two triceps exercises. Our pace was slow, with a squeeze at the peak of each rep. Then we supersetted 10 dips after each chest set. We did a total of 120 dips. We also struck and held a pose or two after each set. We completed the workout with 20 minutes of elevated tread mill. Dave is 199.2 today and I am 151.2. He is nearly there (198.0) and I have a ways to go (143.25). Thursday
Dave made weight. He was 197.8 this morning, just under the NPC Light Heavyweight Class limit. He will probably come in at around 196 with less than 3% body fat. He is on target. I am on target too, but still need to lose about seven pounds to make Bantam Weight. I have 21 days to do it. Shouldn't be a problem.
We had a very good shoulders and biceps workout today. We also did extra abs work. Dave's six pack is really cut deep. We are working on his posing to really show his excellent ab development. His quads are looking great. His whole body is looking great. If I didn't know better, I would say this "natural" athlete is juicing. LOL
I think Dave is going to surprise a lot of people when we show up for his first competition on February 25th. He just might take the Overall. Friday
As we get close to our February 25 competition date, Dave and I are focusing on hardening, defining and cutting. Today we did legs and calves. Lots of pump and lots of negative work. We also practiced posing for about 20 minutes. Dave and I were a little "full" from last night's carb meal. Dave still looks great. I still need to lose a few more pounds. We are going to take tomorrow off and meet at around 2 PM for a Sunday afternoon video-taped posing practice, before the Super Bowl. Training and diet is on track. Monday
Dave and I met at my house on Sunday afternoon for a two-hour video-taped posing session. We did two full rounds each and performed our individual posing routine twice. Dave is ripped and looks great. I believe he is going to do very well in his first NPC contest as a natural athlete.
I have taught Dave everything I know about posing. It is now in his head. Today, at the gym, I made sure posing is in his heart. He knows how to pose. Now he must pose from the heart. He must pose like a champion. He must hit every pose like it is the last one in the round. Every pose must be held rock hard, from the calves to the head. We went into a mirror less studio, where I put him through a competition round. I made him hold each pose like there were 20 others in his weight class the judges were looking at. After the symmetry round and mandatory round, I said, "Thank you gentlemen." Dave nearly collapsed. He was panting. He was exhausted. He was exhilarated. Posing is now in Dave's heart. Now he understands what it means to pose in a competition.
From now until the competition, Dave will not practice in front of a mirror and we will go through this exercise every morning before our workout. I will be going through the same drill, since I too will be competing in 19 days.
Tuesday As we get closer, we are kicking up our workouts, upping our intensity. We did legs and calves today. I actually squatted 180 pounds (four 45 pound plates for 10 good reps). With the weight of the bar added, that was a personal best for me. Of course Dave makes that weight look easy. So I added a third 45 pound plate on each end of the bar for his last set. He still performed the exercise without strain. Strong Man! Today I weighed 149.0, 5 3/4 pounds from my Bantam Weight goal. The scale at the gym was broken this morning, so I don't know what Dave weighed. I used my scale at home. We added 20 minutes of cardio, kicking up the tread mill speed to 6.0 with a 4.5 elevation for the last three minutes. We practiced a posing round and did some abs to end the workout. Dave and I are feeling great. Wednesday - 16 Days Until The Weigh-in Chest and Triceps day. Dave and I are pushing each other more and more as we near the contest date. Even while our strict competition diet is working and we are tired, we continue to pound the weights. Today we did 3 sets of 10 reps of flat bench barbell press, incline bench barbell press, decline bench barbell press and incline dumb bell flies. After each set, we supersetted 10 dips, for a total of 120 dips. We then supersetted dumbbell triceps presses with behind-the-head dumb bell triceps presses. Then we went into the studio and posed on the aerobics stage (without mirrors) and did 15 minutes of high speed, high incline tread mill. Our heart rate jumped like crazy, but we were both pleased at how quickly we recovered when we finished. We are looking to hit the stage in top condition. Thursday - 15 Days Until The Weigh-in
Dave and I were hungry today. We laughed about eating ice cream, cheeseburgers and french fries. It's a good thing this is a carb meal night. Instead of any of the stuff we really want, we will be satisfied with a cup of oatmeal, a banana, a cup of broccoli and a 1/2 sweet potato. We talked about the post contest meal on Saturday night. The last two weeks before a contest are always tough. Bodybuilding is not an easy sport and diet is one of the most important elements.
Today we did a good hard shoulders workout and added three sets of biceps. Our shoulders included cable lifts, pull ups, Arnold's, shrugs and push downs. The three sets up biceps were hammer up and curl down. We talked about tanning for the contest and then did 15 minutes of tread mill. Still no scale in the gym to replace the one that broke, so I don't know what Dave weighs. He looks great, lean and cut, especially his abs and quads. Wow. I weighed at home this morning and was pleased to hit 147.2, less than four pounds from my Bantam Weight goal of 143.25. Friday - 14 Days Until The Weigh-in
Dave and I had our carb meal last night. I cheated a little. He didn't. The menu was one cup of oatmeal, one banana, a cup of broccoli and a 1/2 of a sweet potato. Instead I had about 8 oz of skinless roasted chicken breast, one banana, asparagus and 1/2 an avocado. We both gained 1/2 pound, but our cuts were mostly intact. With two weeks to go until the weigh in, both of us will be 100% strict. No cheating. Too much work to get where we are to blow it now. I've known guys who couldn't handle the last week and actually ate a pizza two days before their contest. What a waste.
Today we had a strong legs and calves workout. We did 3 sets of barbell pump squats, five count down, five count back up. I did one set with 45s and two sets adding a 25. Dave did one set with two 45's and added a 25 for the third. Hard stuff. We also did leg extensions, leg bicep curls (125 pounds on the machine, with negatives) , adductor and abductor. We then hit the seated calve machine and did three sets of 25 using 150 pounds of weight, followed by the same number of toe raises and then a good stretch. We ended our workout with 20 minutes of tread mill. Our mood is great. Our sense of humor is in tact. We are having fun as we near our goal.
Saturday, January 11 - 13 Days Until The Weigh-in
Dave came over to my home for a video taped posing session. We worked for more than three hours on symmetry, mandatory and individual posing rounds. After taping the session, we watched the video to look for ways to improve. My webmaster (www.BodyBuildingSenior.com), Clayton Dye, is also a very good photographer. He has agreed to cover our contests for us and came over to see how a posing round looks and to take some two-weeks-out photos for us. I will post some of the shots later. Dave’s weight was 198.6 and mine was 146.8. He is at weight and I am less than 5 pounds away. We are feeling great and are very determined to do well in two weeks.
Saturday, February 11 - 13 Days Until The Weigh-in
Dave came over to my home for a video taped posing session. We worked for more than three hours on symmetry, mandatory and individual posing rounds. After taping the session, we watched the video to look for ways to improve. My webmaster (www.BodyBuildingSenior.com), Clayton Dye, is also a very good photographer. He has agreed to cover our contests for us and came over to see how a posing round looks and to take some two-weeks-out photos for us. I will post some of the shots later. Dave’s weight was 198.6 and mine was 146.8. He is at weight and I am less than 5 pounds away. We are feeling great and are very determined to do well in two weeks. Attached Thumbnails [/link] [link=http://www.ironmass.com/forums//attachment.php?attachmentid=3834&d=1139774529] [/link] [link=http://www.ironmass.com/forums//attachment.php?attachmentid=3836&d=1139774569] [/link] Attached Thumbnails
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Monday, February 13 - 11 Days Until The Weigh-in
Dave and I are not letting up. This will be our final week of hard workouts. Next week, during our normal workout time, we will pump up and practice posing. We will also do cardio. Today we did back and biceps. After our lat pull downs, we super-setted the three sets with three sets of pull ups. After each of the other back exercises we super-setted each set with 20 push ups and 50 skip ropes. For biceps we worked the dumb bell rack with 25s, 20s, 15s, 10s and 5s, doing 10 reps with each weight with no rest between sets. These were done one arm at a time, seated. Then we did three sets of 10 reps of preacher curls with a 50 pound bar bell and three sets of seated machine biceps curls. We ended with 200 skip ropes and some posing practice.
Tuesday, February 14 - 10 Days Until The Weigh-in
I was tired today. I stayed up too late last night watching the Olympics. Dave and I had a good legs and calves workout today. We super-setted ham curls and dead lift ham stretches. We also did leg extensions, adductors, abductors and calves. We included 50-100 skip ropes after each set (for cardio), did hanging leg raises and 15 minutes of tread mill.
Wednesday, February 15 - 9 Days Until The Weigh-in
Yesterday, I gave my wife a bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day. She gave me a playing card, the King of Hearts. Very cool. Dave had his little girl carry some flowers, candy and balloons into where his wife was working. She gave Dave a new workout outfit. Very cool, too. Both of us have wives who support our bodybuilding lifestyle.
Today we trudged through a tough chest and triceps workout. To make sure we were focused, we did 100 skip ropes after each exercise. We totaled 500 skips. We used dumb bells for inclines and declines. We used the bar bell for bench press and did incline dumb bell flys. After each set, we supersetted 10 dips. Our triceps were dumb bell kickbacks. We added 15 minutes of fast tread mill. We were two tired campers. This is a difficult week due to the competition diet. We are hanging on and are still laughing. That's good.
Friday - Weigh In One Week From Today
I decided to skip our final legs and calves workout today and instead, Dave and I pumped up and practiced our posing. We worked on symmetry, mandatory and our individual posing routine (with no music). We also skipped rope 100 times and did 15 minutes of tread mill. Dave weighs 197.0 (made Light Heavyweight) and I weigh 144.4 (need 1.15 more pounds off). We will start on our final week contest diet and water load on Monday. I predict Dave will come in at around 195.0 and I will come in at 142.0. He is coming to my home on Saturday afternoon for our final video taped posing practice. Next week I will report on our final contest prep, including tanning and packing for the competition. Everything is on track and tracking well.
Saturday, February 18 - On Stage One Week From Today
It's all coming together for Dave and me. We met at my home late this afternoon to have our final video taped practice posing session. We first went through a prejudging pumping up session, delts, chest, biceps and triceps. Then, since we are both competing in two classes, we each did our symmetry, mandatory and individual posing routine rounds twice (even though we only do the individual routine once in competition). We then looked at the video to see where we might improve. We were generally pleased with where we are. Dave looks awesome. My contest weight is about 1 pound away, but my cuts are coming in nice. Dave is ready. I will be. Tomorrow we start on our final week of contest diet with the beginning of our water load. I'll go into more detail about that and tanning as we get closer to the weigh-in on Friday evening.
Monday, February 20
I made weight. I am now officially, at 143.20 pounds, a Bantam Weight. I will spend the next few days working on cutting and defining in order to come in on Saturday at around 141.0, near the top of the weight class. Today Dave and I went through a contest pump up and posing session. We did our symmetry, mandatory and individual posing rounds. Dave looks awesome. He is contest ready. I am really, really close. My 30 pound weight gain, off season, in order to add five pounds of new muscle, worked. Last year I competed at around 136 pounds. I will be five pounds heavier this year with about the same body fat %. Both of us are drinking lots of water for the next few days, around 2.5 - 3 gallons a day. We are drowning. We are also sky high in spirit. We are laughing and having a great time. This is how it is when you train "natural."
Tuesday, February 21
Everything is on track for Dave and me. He is 197.0 and I am 143.0. Both of us are "at weight." We will enjoy a carb meal tonight at about 8 PM, our sixth meal of the day. We will have a cup of oatmeal, a banana, a cup of green vegetables and a 1/2 a sweet potato. We will decide on Thursday morning if we need another carb meal that night. It will depend on our weight. The weigh in is Friday night and we don't want to come in over our Class. We are both at the top of our Class and want to stay that way (143.25 for Bantam Weight and 198.0 for Light Heavyweight). Today we pumped up and did a practice round of posing. We worked on Dave's 60- second pose off round. If he wins the Light
Heavyweight Class, he will have to be in a pose off with the other weight class winners for the Overall. Most guys just start grimacing and doing crabs and front double bicep poses. Dave and I have worked on a 60-second pose off routine. We are leaving nothing to chance. If I win the Bantam Weight Class, I will be in the pose off against Dave and the others. Not likely, but I practiced my 60-second pose off routine, too. We ended our workout with 15 minutes of tread mill.
Wednesday, February 22 - Let The Tanning Begin
Today Dave and I pumped up and worked on our symmetry and mandatory rounds and our individual posing routines. We also spent some time working on Dave's 60-second pose off. I expect him to have to use this routine when he competes for the Overall on Saturday. We worked on the intimidation factor. That is, guys coming over, "in your face," trying to compare abs or quads. He will turn away and go into another pose, leaving the "in your facer" with egg on his face, wondering what he should do next. We have actually choreographed Dave's pose off, showing his best poses first and building into a power move finish. We then went to the shower to apply a salt scrub to remove any dead skin before we go for our first of three spray tan applications this evening. We will do one tonight, one on Thursday and a final application on Friday morning. We don't use Dream Tan or Pro Tan. Instead, we have spray applied professionally. I don't want Dave to worry about applying tan back stage before the competition. I want him to relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the competition, while we watch the other competitors sweat putting on their final coat of tan.
Thursday, February 23 - Let's Get It On!
Dave and I went for the first of three professional spray tans last evening. Everyone at the gym today noticed and commented on how dark we looked. We will have the second coat of spray applied after work and the final coat tomorrow morning before we leave for Atlanta. Our workout, by design, was light. We pumped up and did a couple of posing rounds and then 15 minutes of cardio. The drive to Atlanta tomorrow will take about 2.5 hours. The weigh in begins at 3 PM and goes until 7. Today I weighed 142.8 with 4% body fat. Dave weighed 197 and has a lower body fat than mine. Whew. We are staying with a fellow bodybuilder and his wife. I have competed a few times with him and he and his wife are my good friends. We are ready. Dave is excited and I am pleased with how everything has come together. Hopefully, we will have some good news to report after the competition.
Friday-Weigh In
Last evening Dave and I met at the tanning salon where we had our second coat of professional spray applied. He looks tan. I look more tan. He is Irish and I have some Spanish in me, so I tan darker, much to Dave's dismay.
I woke up at my usual 4:50 AM and stayed in bed for a few minutes, thinking about what Dave and I have accomplished these past seven months. We will lay it all out on the line tomorrow.
I began gathering my trip items last evening, so now I have packed and am ready. Some of the things I need to bring include:
two pairs of posing trunks
two copies of my CD music for the individual posing routine
two copies of the MC script (what I want him to say when I'm introduced)
petroleum jelly (to prevent dry mouth)
posing gel for prejudging
competition posing oil for the evening show
vasolidation oil (Hot Stuff)
chap stick
inhaler
moisturizer
hand towel
pump up gloves
stretch belts (in case there are not enough free weights)
portable push up bar set
ankle socks (for the cold floor backstage)
two warm up suits
two tee shirts
food for today and tomorrow morning (mostly fish and grapefruit)
bottled water
NPC membership card
check book
debit card
drivers license
extra cash
Dave will come to my home at around 9:30 and leave his car for the weekend. We will go to the tanning salon for a final spray and then drive to Atlanta. The trip takes about 2.5 hours. We will stop on the way for lunch. If all goes well, we will check in and weigh in at around 5 PM and then go relax for the rest of the night.
Today I weigh 141.0, a safe margin of 2.25 pounds under Bantam Weight. Dave is at 196.0, about 2 pounds under Light Heavyweight. We should both be fine for the weigh in.
My webmaster, who is also a very good photographer, will cover the evening show on Saturday so I will have some photos of Dave and I to post after the competition. I am looking forward to our Trophy Shots!
Saturday, February 25, 2006 - NPC Atlantic USA Bodybuilding Championships, Norcross, Georgia
Dave and I arrived at the venue at 8:00 AM. Some of the other competitors who needed to weigh in arrived at 7:30. Dave and I had checked in on Friday and made weight, so we were OK. At 9:00 AM, the promoter, who goes by the name, Ropeman, welcomed us and said since this competition was a NPC National Qualifier, he was running this contest like a NPC National Show and expected us to be where we needed to be when we needed to be there. We were then called forward one at a time to receive our contestant numbers and turn in our bios for the evening show announcer. We were then allowed back stage. Back stage was spartan. There was a small changing room for the women and one for the men. The pump up area was messy and not well equipped, just a few dumb bells. The contest promoter didn't give out a competitor's tee shirt, nor did they supply any bottled water. And, we didn't even receive the printed contest schedule. We were just told to stand by and the facilitator would tell each Class when to pump up and line up. With all of Ropeman's big words about promptness, the show started 45 minutes late. This was a National Qualifier, so many of the contestants were looking to win this show in order to move up to the NPC Nationals and a try for a Pro Card. The contest was not tested, so lets just say there were a lot of very big men competing and leave it at that. For Dave and I this was to be a warm up show. I am competing at the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky in three weeks and Dave and I are competing at the FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open (tested) on April 1. At this show, I wanted Dave to smell the posing oil and Pam, feel the tension in the changing room and pumping up area, flex with the other competitors as they were lining up waiting for their turn on stage, walk on stage in front of a crowd of people and a table full of judges, listening to the head judge call the poses, hitting poses next to guys who where hitting their poses as hard and as intense as he was and then walking off of the stage to wait the next round. For the morning prejudging round, we came out as a Class, did a symmetry round and then each contestant did 60 seconds of free posing without music and finally we came back on stage as a Class for the mandatory round.
Dave competed in two classes, Men's Novice and Open Men's Light Heavyweight. I competed in three, Men's Masters 40+, Men's Masters 50+ and Open Men's Bantam Weight. Dave weighed 197.50 and I weighed 142.0, both of us at the top of our weight classes.
After prejudging, Dave and I went to lunch and enjoyed a "normal" meal. We then went back our rooms to rest for the evening show.
At the evening show, which also started late, we came out in our classes, did a few poses and then performed our individual posing routine. For many of the competitors, including Dave and me, the music was poorly handled. Sometimes it started too early, other times, too late. Dave managed to nail his routine and got a nice round of applause. He did a power routine to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck."
Old Navy Stops The Show
I had a different experience. The DJ was supposed to start my music after my scripted announcement. I had worked it out earlier in the day with the MC and all was supposedly arranged. Instead, the DJ started my music in the middle of the MC reading the intro. By the time the announcement was completed, half of my music was also completed. So, I said, "Please start the music over. This is not right." The audience agreed and began shouting, "Start it over. Let the Captain do his thing. Come on, start it again." Finally, they did and I nailed my routine and finished to a huge round of yelling and applause. I don't think anyone has ever stopped a NPC National Qualifier in its tracks to do the right thing. But, I wanted to make a point. Ropeman kept saying, "This contest will be run right. You will be prompt. We are running this show like the Nationals." I just held him to his word.
In the end, Dave won the Novice Class and picked up a nice First Place Trophy. He placed second in a very competitive Men's Open Light Heavyweight Class. I placed fourth in Men's Masters 40+, got a First Place trophy for Men's Master's 50+ and my first ever Open win as the Champion in the Men's Open Bantam Weight Class. I lost the Pose Down for the Overall to the Heavyweight.
"Team Old Navy" brought home three Golds and one Silver. A nice haul of hardware.
* In my opinion Ropeman doesn't give a hoot about his athletes. He is wired in the NPC. He is a former NPC Pro, a NPC Junior National Judge, a NPC National Judge and a judge for the Arnold Classic. He just wants to make money running this show each year for the NPC, to feed athletes to the Junior National and Nationals. The fact there was no competitor tee shirt, no water back stage, a poorly equipped pump room, no printed contest schedule for the athletes and poor handling of contestant's individual posing music says he just doesn't care. And neither do I for him or his Georgia NPC contest. I will never do another Ropeman show.
Monday, February 28, 2006 - Let the next battle begin
Dave and I enjoyed the kudos we received in the gym today over our wins last weekend. But, it was back to work, as both of us are preparing for our next contests. I will compete in three weeks in the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships in Covington and Dave and I will compete on April 1 in the 2006 FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open (tested) in Marietta, Georgia.
Today, Dave came to the gym with a new intensity. He had the "look," the gleam in his eyes. He has tasted victory and now he wants to win an Overall. We stepped it up today doing back and biceps. We only did 10 reps of three sets of three exercises for each body part, but everything was heavy. We added abs and cardio. We will lift heavy for the next few weeks to try to add muscle and harden what we have. I am just as intense and determined as my training partner. Let the next battle begin.
Tuesday
Weeuuu. Our intensity it sky-high. Dave and I are going at it in the gym with a vengeance. He has his eyes set on an Overall. I'm hanging on for the ride as I get ready for the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky on March 18. Today we busted legs and calves. We started with calve squats, a really fun exercise where you raise your heels off the ground and squat in that position, three sets of 10 reps. This adds weight to the calves and works the quads at the same time. Gotta Love It. We also did leg extensions, ham curls, adductors, abductors, seated calve raises, supersetted with calve raises on a leg press, followed by standing toe raises, abs and cardio. We are lifting heavy and will continue to do so until a week before my contest. Dave will continue lifting heavy until a week before his April 1 contest, in which I am also competing.
Wednesday, 16 Days to the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Weigh In
The name of the game today was Superset. Dave and I did chest and triceps. After every 10 rep chest set, we did 10 dips. And, after every 10 rep triceps set, we did 10 push ups. In chest, using heavy weights, we did three sets of machine flat bench, inclines and declines. We also did incline dumb bell flies, using 35 pound weights. We added hanging leg raises for abs and a practice posing session for cardio. It was interesting to watch Dave pose now that he has a contest under his belt. Practice posing took on a new meaning.
Thursday
It doesn't get any better than this. Dave and I are having a great time being very intense. We are lifting more than ever and are laughing at each other as we complete our sets. This is a lot of fun. We are working our butts off in preparation for our next contests. Today we banged shoulders and biceps. We started with seated barbell presses and then did dumb bell front and side raises. We finished shoulders with shoulder raises and a strong delts workout with over head cable pulls and over head cable rows. For biceps we "worked the dumbbell rack," doing 10 seated single arm curls with 30s, 25s, 20s, 15s and 10s. We did not rest between sets until we had completed the 50 reps. Then we repeated the 50 reps exercise with the other arm. We ended our biceps workout with preacher curls, using a 40 pound barbell setup. We did three 10 rep sets very slowly, squeezing the bicep at the top and doing negatives on the way down. Burn, baby, burn! We ended our workout with two ab exercises.
Friday
This is Dave's 27th birthday. I gave him a peanut/chocolate bar, which we shared before beginning our workout. Then I made him pay for eating a peanut/chocolate bar while in training. Ha, ha. We did legs and calves, starting with Old Navy Calve Squats, using 45's then adding a 25 and then another 25 for three 10 rep sets. We immediately went to the hamstring curl machine where we did three sets of curls with negatives on the way down. We followed that with three sets of extensions, including negatives, seated hams curls, adductors and abductors. We then did seated calves raises, with negatives and finished with 15 minutes of thread mill. It was a great workout week.
Saturday, March 4, 2006
Last evening, I joined Dave's family for dinner at a restaurant to celebrate his 27th birthday. He was actually surprised when he and his mom and dad showed up and his wife, brother, sister-in-law, their children and some close friends and their wives were waiting for him. He had expected to have dinner with his wife, baby daughter and parents. There were 17 of us. Dave has a great family who all are supportive of his training for bodybuilding competitions. He will have a big cheering section at the 2006 SNBF WNSO FAME Georgia Open (tested) on April 1st in Marietta, where he hopes to win the Overall and his Pro Card in this natural organization.
Today I went to the gym to do 50 minutes on the tread mill and some hanging leg raises for my abs. It's tough to get that kind of cardio workout in during the week. Dave and I only have about 90 minutes of training time each day and we usually work two body parts and then do abs and cardio.
On Friday morning, Dave weighed 200 pounds even. I weighed 142.8. Dave doesn't have to worry about weight for the April 1st show because he will enter a height class (Open Men's Tall). I still have to watch my weight because I am competing in two weeks at the NPC Northern Kentucky as a Bantam Weight (143.25) and need to come in under the maximum allowed. I will compete in the Open Men's Short Class on April 1. Maybe Dave and I will be competing for the Overall. Wouldn't that be cool?
Monday, March 6, 2006
Dave and I were both tired today in the gym. He had to work all weekend and I had to do a lot of extra stuff around my house as my wife was in California visiting our daughter at college. I also stayed up late watching the Academy Awards Sunday night. What a waste of time. I got up at 4:30 this morning and was in the gym by 6:10. We had a hard back and biceps workout, including three 10 rep sets of seated rows, seated pull downs, dumb bell lat pulls and lean-over back flies. For biceps we did incline dumb bell curls and 21s. We ended our session with hanging leg raises for abs and tread mill or cardio. Dave weighed 202 this morning and I weighed 141.8. Over the weekend, Dave received an email from the WNSO FAME SNBF Georgia Open saying he was no longer eligible to compete in that organization as a Novice after his First Place finish at the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA last week. So, Dave will compete in the Open Men's Tall Class in that competition on April 1st. I will still compete as a Open Men's Short and Master's Men 60+.
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Yesterday, Dave and I were two tired puppies. Today I guess Dave and I must have hit "Refresh" on our Tool Bar, because, after our carb meal last night, we both came into the gym loaded for bear. We looked at each other, nodded, broke out laughing and got to work. Our legs and calves session was intense. We started with Old Navy Calves Squats (we like this exercise). I started with a set of 45s. Dave added two 45s to his set. I did his weight for my second set. Dave added a two more 45s to his second set and I did his weight for my third. He added more weight for his third set and I helped him strip the weights afterwards. I'm not crazy. It got even more interesting from then on. We pushed each other with increased weight loads for ham curls, extensions, adductors, abductors and calve raises, where we did three sets of 25 with six 45 pound plates on the machine, followed by three sets of 25 calve raises. We finished our workout with a practice posing session.
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Today Dave and I hit it hard on chest and triceps. Because we like to change our routine each week, we focused on the bar bell bench today. Last Wednesday we used chest press machines and the week before we worked chest with dumb bells. We did three sets of 10 reps of flat, incline and decline presses using pretty heavy weights. We supersetted each set with 10 dips, which helped serve as a triceps workout. We did cable flys for chest and seated triceps push-downs to counteract the triceps dips. Dave and I finished our workout with hanging leg raises for abs and tread mill for cardio. Since next week will be my last before my next contest, I will act more as Dave's Personal Trainer. Our next contest together is the 2006 FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open on April 1st.
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Today, Dave and I had a positive Negative workout. We did negatives on every set of shoulder and biceps exercises. It's great having a training partner who can stand next to you and apply negative pressure during your lift or drop on each rep. We even did negatives on shrugs. That was interesting. We added negatives on shoulder raises and bar bell curls. After each set of negative reps, we immediately did 10 fast pumps of the same exercise. I think we are trying to kill each other. We laughed our way through a very tough session. Dave and I really enjoy training together and it shows. We work extremely hard but we have a lot of fun at the same time. We did some hanging leg raises (with negatives) and posed after each set. No tread mill today.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Today was a solo act for me in the gym. Dave called me at 6:15 this morning to tell me both his and his wife's car were broken into last night and several things were missing. He was waiting for the police to arrive so he could file a report. His gym bag was in the trunk, which they didn't break into, so his smelly socks were left alone. LOL So, I did my last legs and calves workout before the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky on March 18. It was a light day.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
I practiced my posing and individual posing routine at home this morning and then went to the gym to do 50 minutes on the tread mill. I added 25 slow hanging leg raises for abs. Then I went to the tanning bed for 8 minutes in the Viper (very intense lamps). I will begin my three professionally applied spray tans for the competition on Wednesday. I am at 141.0 and cutting up nicely. Bantam Weight maximum is 143.25. I should be fine. Dave is working today and did not come over for a posing practice. We will pick it up again in the gym on Monday morning.
Monday, March 13, 2006 -
NPC Northern Kentucky Show...this Saturday!!!
Today was interesting. It's a week before my next contest (this Saturday) and three weeks until Dave and I compete at the 2006 FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open in Marietta. This week, I'm on a pump up and pose schedule and Dave is still hitting the weights hard. So for back and biceps, I did some light reps and sets and then loaded Dave up as his Personal Trainer. Poor young man. LOL I helped him by providing several opportunities to add negatives to his sets. He really appreciated that. We ended our session with hanging leg raises for abs and a practice posing session for cardio. Dave came in today at 202.0 and I came in at 141.0. I'm looking forward to returning to the NPC Northern Kentucky. It was my first contest ever and I'm eager to give the competition another go.
Tuesday
Since it was legs and calves day, I became Dave's Personal Trainer. I don't do legs or calves during the final week before a contest, so I just made the young man suffer and hurt, while I lorded it over his pitiful body. Ha. The kid is awesome. I was able to watch him work with intense interest. The size and shape of Dave's quads, hams and calves are excellent. We (he) did some pretty hard work and then we had a practice posing session, working on our symmetry, mandatory and 60-second pose down, which I expect he will need for the Overall on April 1st in Marietta.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
No let up for either Dave or me today. Even though it's my final contest prep week, Dave and I hit chest and triceps hard. We did decline bar bell bench press and used dumb bells for flat bench and incline bench. We used a pec deck machine for flies. All of our sets were heavy and we supersetted each set with 10 dips. We did lats spread and side chest poses after each set and we finished the workout with 12 minutes of tread mill.
I found out there will be about 235 competitors at the 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky on Saturday, making it almost as big as a National contest. My Master's Men 60+ Class will have six competitors. I'm looking forward to a great competition.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Last night, after work, I went for the first of three professionally applied spray tans. I will go again after work today and on Friday morning before I leave for the contest. I came to the gym today looking very dark. Dave just glared at me. Then we broke into laughter and started our workout. He wants to go to the N.KY too, but we decided he needed to continue training for his Pro Card try in two weeks at the 2006 FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open (tested) in Marietta, so he is skipping this NPC event.
Today we trained shoulders and biceps. Dave used much heavier weights than me, but that's because I am in my last few days before my comp and I need to go light on everything. We did some good shoulder sets, a few biceps exercises and then he "judged" me through a posing session. I repaid the service and "judged" him through one and a 60-second pose down. We ended our workout with hanging leg raises and tread mill.
Friday, March 17, 2006
I woke up at 4 AM this morning. No surprise. I packed for my trip last night, so I shaved, had a cup of coffee and left for the gym, where I met Dave at 6:15. I was Dave's Personal Trainer as we worked his legs and calves. With two weeks to go until his next contest, he is still going heavy with the weights. I left the gym at 7:30 while Dave finished his abs and cardio. I went home, grabbed a quick bite of breakfast (fish and grapefruit) and headed for the tanning salon for my last of three professional sprays. Shelly, at Tanning Source in Birmingham, has been getting me ready for contests for the past two years. She does what I need. A bodybuilder knows, "Once you think you are dark enough, put on two more coats." Shelly thinks "dark" whenever she is spraying me. I left Shelly's at 9:45 and headed for the airport for my 11 AM flight to Kentucky. I will pick up this story later.
Sunday, March 19, 2006 - Mission Accomplished, Naturally
One year ago, I left the 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Body Building Championships empty handed. It was my first contest. That year, I entered five more contests and won 11 bodybuilding trophies. Still, in my mind, I had some unfinished business in Covington, KY.
On Saturday, I no longer had any unfinished business in Covington, bringing home a Third Place trophy in a very competitive age class in a very large competition.
The NPC 2006 Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding and Figure Championships
The Northern Kentucky is the largest regional show in the country. The National Qualifier drew 200 men and women athlete and 37 cross overs to other Classes from eight states, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and the states surrounding Kentucky. The show is sponsored 100% by Beverly International and is promoted by two fine former competitors, Sandy and Roger Riedinger, owners of Beverly. Sandy is also the Kentucky State Chairperson for the NPC.
There were a total of 23 men's and women's Classes. 110 trophies were eventually awarded. One hundred and twenty-seven athletes returned home like I did last year, empty handed.
The quality and caliber of the athletes was very high. Several of the competitors return to this show each year because of its size and reputation as a well-run event. Many of the competitors who had won their Class in other contests would not Place in this one.
I arrived in Coington on Friday afternoon and went to the host hotel to check in for the competition. I had to show an ID to prove I was over 60 for the Master's Men 60+ Class, which was being offered for the first time, and I had to weigh in for the Bantam Weight (143.25) Class. I came in at exactly 140.0 pounds, five pounds more than I weighed in here last year.
Saturday Morning
There was a lot of excitement as the 200 competitors gathered for a meeting on Saturday morning at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, a very fine facility. After the usual welcome announcements, we were assigned our competitor numbers (I was 114 for Masters and 168 for Bantam Weight), handed in our music for our individual posing routine and were given a "goodie" bag with some magazines and a competitor's tee shirt. There were to be nine judges for the contest. The two top and two bottom scores were to be eliminated and the remaining five scores would count, to prevent judge bias.
It Was To B A Long Day
The prejudging got under way at 11:30 and ended at 4:30 in the afternoon. The evening show started at 6:30 and finished after midnight. I felt pretty good about my chances in the Men's Master 60+ Class and felt like I had just competed with my grandchildren in the Open Men's Bantam Weights.
In the evening, I was the first Master to perform my individual posing routine. I had decided to do a tribute to the 12 men who lost their lives in the West Virginia mining accident and to all men and women who do the dangerous work each day to help provide the natural resources our country so desperately needs. The music for my routine is the 1955 hit, "16 Tons." The routine was received very enthusiastically by the audience. Later, as I was walking through the venue, many people stopped me to say it was the best routine they had ever seen.
Icompeted in a Master's Men 60+ Class against five excellent and very experienced competitors. As is usually the case, I was the smallest man in the Class. I finished a respectable Third. The two men I mentioned in a earlier journal entry, Burke Chandler from Oklahoma and Tom Witt from Florida Placed One and Two. One of the men I beat placed Fifth in the NPC National Master's competition last year in Pittsburgh.
In the Bantam Weight Class, I competed against five outstanding 20-27 year olds. The winner of the Class was a young 20 year old who weighed 120 pounds. He also won the Novice Lightweight Class. The other four young men were very competitive. I bowed to their youth and had a great time competing with them.
Going Home
Like last year, I wore my Northern Kentucky ompetitor's tee shirt to the airport. I remember walking through the terminal then, swaggering a bit. After all, I am a bodybuilder and I had just competed in my first contest.
This year, I swaggered a bit more. After all, I am a bodybuilder and I was bringing home a trophy.
After a day of joyful eating, I will return to my training as I prepare for my next contest in two weeks, the 2006 FAME WNSO SNBF Georgia Open, a drug tested show.
Monday, March 20, 2006 - Washington, DC
I am in Washington, DC attending a business conference so Dave and I are training solo today. The gym at the hotel is excellent (J.W. Marriott), fully equipped and well attended. I was able to do a strong back and biceps workout, including lat pull downs, sitting machine back extensions, slant board face down back flies and dumb bell lat pulls (10 x 50, 55, 60, 65). I four-setted everything today. I ended my session with 50 crunches. I will return to the gym after today's conference and do 45 minutes on the tread mill. I know the conference meals will not be bodybuilding fare, so I made sure I had egg whites, lean turkey, strawberries and grapefruit juice. I am still looking lean and cut from the contest. I just need to hold it together for the next one.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - Washington, DC
I was able to do a strong legs and calves workout at the hotel gym this morning. I used everything they had, including machine squats, leg extensions, ham curls, abductor and adductor. I used the squat machine for calve raises and dumb bells for lunges and more squats. My legs were tired. Because of last week's contest, I hadn't done legs and calves for a week. I'm glad to be back. I will do one more legs and calves workout on Friday and then take the next week off to prepare for my April 1st contest. Dave and I will pick it up again tomorrow for a chest and triceps workout.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
I brought my 2006 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships trophy to the gym this morning for a little "show & tell." Then, Dave and I got down to business. We did an incredible chest and triceps workout today. I was "pumped" from the contest and Dave was "pumped" for our upcoming competition a week from Saturday. We did heavier weights than usual with negatives added in whenever we could, which was almost every set. We supersetted each set with an equal number of dips. We even did negatives on dumb bell flies. We were crazy, laughing as we hurt each other. We focused on machines, doing seated machine press, incline press and decline press. Dave weighed 202 today, which is on target. I weighed 144, up four pounds from my contest weight. I ate well over the weekend.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Dave and I hit shoulders and biceps really hard today. We did a lot of negative work as we setted shrugs, shoulder presses, raises and flies. For biceps, we did heavy dumb bell curls and bar bell presses with negatives. He is a lean 200 and I am at 142.25. Tomorrow Dave will do his last legs and calves solo as I will be in San Antonio on business, where I will do my last legs and calves. We ended our session with crunches and a 60-second pose down. We are both upbeat and positive as we prepare for our last week of pre-contest work.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Once again I am in luck. I checked into my hotel in San Antonio and found a fully-equiped fitness center. I was able to do a hard legs, calves and cardio workout this morning before I went to my conference. The only piece of equipment it didn't have was leg adductor and abductor. I brought my own egg whites with me and after my workout, I mixed 3/4 cup with a scoop of Muscle Provider protein supplement for a good breakfast. I may go back to the gym later for another session on the tread mill. Feeling strong and upbeat.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
A Day of Rest.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
I took Saturday off and did not train or do any cardio. Today I did a really hard upper body pump, including machine lat pull downs, shoulder presses, chest presses, dumb bell "21s," pull ups, plus crunches and leg raises for abs. I also did 20 minutes of tread mill and a full practice posing round. I am still in San Antonio and will return home tomorrow, where Dave and I will go through a pump and video posing session after work. We are on track for Friday's weigh in.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Before I left San Antonio for home on Monday, I went to the hotel gym and did 40 minutes on the tread mill. That evening, Dave came over to my house for our last video taped posing practice session before our contest this weekend. We each did a symmetry and mandatory round and our posing routine twice. Then we did a side-by-side competitive symmetry and mandatory round. Afterwards, we looked at the video and talked about a few things to improve on. Today I went to the gym and did a pump up and practice posing session, plus 20 minutes on the tread mill. Dave had to be at work early today and didn't make it to the gym. We will meet tomorrow for a pump up and posing session and then get ready to begin our three days of contest spray tanning. We are both looking "tight." I think this will be a good contest.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Dave and I met at the gym this morning for a pump up and posing session. I hadn't seen Dave since last Thursday, when I left for San Antonio. He looks great. He is lean and cut up. I believe he will come in better then he did for the 2006 NPC Atlantic USA last month. We will meet after work today at the tanning salon to have our first of three professional sprays applied. Tomorrow we will do another pump up and practice posing session, then meet again after work for our second spray. Everything is looking good.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Dave and I met at the tanning salon last evening for our first of three professional spray tans. We will go for our second application after work today and our final spray tomorrow morning before we leave for Marietta.
We did our last pump up and practice posing session in the gym this morning. We each did symmetry and mandatory rounds and our individual posing routines to music and then worked on Dave's 60-second Pose Down, which I expect him to need for the Overall. We choreographed a good one minute session, showing all of Dave's best poses and then practiced it several times. We are ready to "Lock and Load!"
Friday, March 31, 2006
It's time. Dave's training and preparation is done. We are ready to compete. We leave for Atlanta (Marietta) at 11 AM and are scheduled to check in and take our drug test for the competition at 3:30 PM. We will have a quiet evening at our hotel and get ready for Saturday morning. We are upbeat and positive. Dave looks great and I don't look so bad myself. Lets get it on!
Dave and I arrived at the hotel in Marietta to check in and take our drug tests at around 4 PM on Friday. He was given a polygraph and I was given a urinalysis. We collected our competitor's tee shirts and paid for event tickets for our families. My wife, one of my daughters and her boyfriend are coming as is Dave's parents, his wife and daughter, a nice cheering section.
After checking in, Dave and I got something to eat and went to our rooms early to rest.
Saturday, April 1, 2006
2006 SNBF GEORGIA FAME CHAMPIONSHIPS, Marietta, Georgia, April 1, 2006
We arrived at the Southern Polytech State University in Marietta at 9 AM for a competitor's meeting. Bruce and Carol Johnson, the head of the SNBF are two very special people. They care about their athletes and it shows as they provided a good pump up room, good changing rooms, bottles of water and bananas. The facilitators were helpful and the atmosphere very friendly. It was nice to see the Order of Events posted in several locations backstage, so we all knew what was coming up next.
The show started at 10:00 on the dot, as promised. There were 74 competitors, not counting crossovers. It is the 10th Anniversary of this drug-free organization and they are proud to offer a high caliber drug-free competition. The pre judging lasted until 12:30. Dave and our families went to lunch and then returned to our hotels to rest up for the evening show.
The show started at 7:15 and ended around 11:00. It was a very competitive event. Lots of great muscled men and women. They judged men's and women's bodybuilding, model search, figure and fitness. This is a good competition and I believe it will get bigger and more competitive each year.
Dave competed against nine very good Open Men's Tall competitors (5' 11"+) and finished in Fifth Place. He was glad to finish in the Top Five, but was disappointed that he didn't place higher. At 6' 2", 200 pounds, he was lean and cut, but probably lacked the mass that some of the shorter competitors had. Dave and I talked about it and agreed that he should try to add about 15-20 pounds to his frame and bring that in at the low body fat he is able to achieve and give it another try in July or October. He still has his sights on a Natural Pro Card.
I competed in a strong Open Men's Short Class of seven young men and placed Sixth. I was in the best shape of my life and really enjoyed standing up with the men in my class. Last year I took Third in this Class at this competition.
At 62 (I'll be 63 at the OCB Spirit of America contest in Cape Code on April 29), I was the oldest man in the show. I was also the only competitor registered for the Super Grand Master 60+ Class, so I opted to move down a Class and compete in the Grand Master 50+. I placed Third against five others.
Finally, my overall posing impressed the judges enough and my individual posing routine "16 Tons" rocked the house and brought everyone to their feet with cheers, hoots, hollers and whistles. Later that evening, I was awarded "Best Male Poser" Georgia SNBF-FAME Championships, the second time I have received this honor. I won Best Male Poser last year at the FAME SNBF Southern Open.
I am looking forward to competing in Cape Cod in four weeks.
Monday, April 3, 2006
Click Here For Contest Photos
http://www.bodybuildingsenior.com/photos2006.htm
Dave didn't make it to the gym today. I knew it must be for a good reason, because Dave doesn't miss a day of training if he can help it. Last night, there was a terrific thunder and lightening storm near his home. His baby daughter got scared so Dave went to her room to comfort her. The power went out and he didn't wake up until 8:30, making him not only miss his workout, but making him late for work. He will be in the gym tomorrow on time.
I did a solo today, working chest and triceps. I tried something that a friend recommended, a dumb bell fly workout. Using 40 pound dumb bells, I did three sets of 12 incline bench, decline bench and flat bench. At his recommendation, I didn't bring the weights up completely, but stopped about a foot apart at the top of each rep and then immediately lowered the weights slowly. What a burn. Then I supersetted each set with 10 pushups. My chest nearly exploded. For triceps I did pull downs and dumb bell kickbacks. After each set, I supersetted with 10 dips. I added a bunch of crunches and some tread mill. I missed my training partner, but had a solid workout nevertheless. I have one month until my next contest and I will train heavy during this time to stay hard and maybe add a little muscle.
Carol Johnson of the SNBF sent me the score sheets for the competition on Saturday. In the Open Men's Short Class, I actually tied for Fifth Place. I was moved to Sixth when they analyzed the individual scores. I felt good about it because while two of the judges had me in Sixth Place, two of them had me in Fourth Place and one in Fifth Place The competitor who was awarded Fifth Place had one judge place him Seventh and one Second. He also got a Sixth and two Fifths. It was very close. I'm glad he got his trophy, because it was his first contest and he finished Last in the very competitive Novice Men's Middleweights.
In the Open Men's Tall Class, Dave placed a strong Fifth against nine others. He received four Fifth Place rankings and one Second Place ranking. He missed Fourth Place by one point. Another close finish.
Dave and I will resume our training tomorrow with a new vigor and dedication.
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
As I continue training for the OCB Spirit of America contest in Cape Cod on April 29, Dave began training today for the 2006 Southern Open SNBF FAME in Suwanee, GA on July 22. I will compete in that show, too. Dave will add some lean body mass for the next several weeks to come in around 10 - 15 pounds heavier in 15 weeks. At the Georgia SNBF-FAME Championships last weekend, Dave weighed 200 pounds. At 6' 2" tall, he looked lean and cut, but some of the men in his class who were shorter, carrying the same weight, looked bigger. So Dave is adding lean mass, which we will work in the gym, and bring himself to around 210-215 at 4% body fat for his next show.
Today we hit legs and calves. Our objective was to lift heavy and add negatives to most sets. We did Old Navy Squats, machine squats, leg extensions, ham curls, adductors, abductors and machine calve raises supersetted with toe raises. We skipped rope 200 times for cardio and did hanging leg raises and crunches for abs. We finished our workout with 20 pull ups. We were two tired pups after all of that.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Dave is still feeling under the weather. But the trooper he is, he showed up at the gym on time this morning and we had an excellent shoulders and biceps workout. We did 3 sets of 10 reps of heavy shrugs, bar bell shoulder raises, seated bar bell presses and overhead cable pulls. Whenever we had the opportunity, we added negatives to each other's sets. For biceps, we did 50 pound bar bell seated preacher curls with negatives and dumb bell hammer up curl down, done very slowly, with a hard squeeze. For cardio we skipped rope and for abs did regular crunches and rope crunches. We had a great time.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
My Training Partner is still under the weather. Dave is fighting a nasty head cold, so we decided it is better for him to take the day off and maybe tomorrow also to get better. I know how much he enjoys our workouts, so if he is down for the count, he is hurting. We will get back to hard training as soon as my young 27 year old friend is ready.
I went through a very hard chest and triceps workout using seated machines for heavy and slow sets of inclines, declines and flat chest presses. I supersetted each 10 rep set with 10 dips. I also did three sets of seated machine flies and about 50 slow pushups for triceps. My triceps were already worked pretty hard with the 120 dips. I also did 20 pull ups, 25 hanging leg raises and 15 minutes of tread mill. I missed Dave, but managed an excellent workout.
Friday, April 7, 2006
I had a solo workout again today. Dave and I spoke by phone last evening and decided it would be better for him to take another day off from the gym in order to try to rid himself of the "bug" that has a hold of him. He will be back in the game on Monday, I'm sure.
I decided to have a fun day in the gym. As a result, I did 3 sets of 10 reps of seated machine cable lat pull downs (100 lbs), bar bell dead lifts (160 lbs), dumb bell curls (30 lbs), dumb bell hammers up, curl down (30 lbs), machine leg extensions (150 lbs) and flat machine ham curls (90 lbs), 200 skip ropes and 25 crunches. I also practiced posing for 10 minutes. A great workout.
Monday
It's another day of solo training, but this time it's my fault, not Dave's. I am in Atlanta today on business and trained at the downtown Gold's Gym this morning. Dave trained at our Gold's Gym in Birmingham. We spoke by phone last night and agreed to work chest and triceps today using machines or bar bell bench. We will save our dumb bell flies chest workout for Thursday. Dave and I have agreed to meet at Gold's in Birmingham at 4:30 on Tuesday to do our regular legs and calves workout. He is feeling better and I am in a contest diet mode for the 2006 OCB Spirit of America contest in Cape Cod at the end of the month.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Dave and I were really glad to see each other when I arrived at the gym this afternoon after returning to Birmingham from Atlanta. After a quick hug and high five, we got down to business. Dave is feeling better and is ready to train hard for the 2006 FAME-SNBF Southern Open in Suwanee, Georgia on July 22. He is going to take another crack at picking up his Pro Card in this tested organization. We agree that the judges didn't see Dave at his best at the 2006 Georgia FAME-SNBF Championships in Marietta a week ago. He will be ready next time. He will be bigger, more cut, and hopefully healthy!
We did a kick-butt legs and calves workout. We started with barbell squats (3 X 10 X heavy), standing bar bell ham stretches, machine leg extensions (3 X 10 X 170) and ham curls (3 X 10 X 90) with negatives, abductors and adductors (3 X 10 X max weight). We finished with seated calf machine (3 X 25 X 140) with (3 X 25) supersetted toe raises. We added 4 X 10 pull-ups for conditioning and 1 X 20 hanging leg raises for abs.
We are back!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
There is no doubt that Dave and I are back! Whoa. We tried to outdo each other on back and biceps today. We kept pushing each other. What fun! We did three sets of 10 reps of lat pull downs, bent over bar bell rows and seated lat pulls. After each set, we did between 15-25 push ups for supersets. At the dumb bell rack, we did a series of curl sets, some slow, some fast, some with an extra pause and squeeze and some hammers up and curls down. We ended our biceps workout with standing preacher curls with negatives. We also did two sets of 10 pull ups and finished on the tread mill. It's good to be at it again with this much intensity.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Killer Chest Day! Dave and I finally got to do our new dumb bell flies chest workout together. Big Time Hurt! A really great session. I used 40s, 45s and 50s. Dave used 45s and 50s. We did three sets of 12 reps of incline dumb bell flies, decline flies and flat bench flies. In each case, we took the dumb bells wide out and when we brought them back up, we stopped them about a foot apart and squeezed our pecs. Oh, man! Then we supersetted each set with 12 dips. We also did supersetted sets of triceps rope pull downs and reverse grip bar pull downs, followed by supersetted pushups. We finished out workout with crunches for abs and tread mill for cardio. I know the two of us will limp into the gym tomorrow for legs, calves, shoulders and biceps, a good mix and match day.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Dave and I hit it really hard in the gym this morning. We started with shoulders, doing seated machine military presses with negatives. Then we did heavy-weight sets of shrugs, followed by 40 pound bar bell extended shoulder raises. We went from there to biceps, where we did slow cable curls with a bicep squeeze, followed by rapid dumb bell curls using 30 pound weights. Then we did 50 wide grip and hammer pull ups, hanging leg raises and crunches. We ended our workout with 200 skip ropes. Nice Time.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
After sleeping in until 7 AM (a treat), I got up, had some breakfast with my wife and then went to the gym for cardio. I did 45 minutes on the tread mill and then did several crunches on a slanted bench. It was a quiet day at Gold's. With two weeks to go until the Spirit of America in Cape Cod, my weight is on track. I am about two pounds away from where I want to be on April 29th.
Monday, April 17, 2006
My training partner didn't make it to the gym this morning. He probably ate too much good food on Easter Sunday. So today, I grabbed the nearest big man and took him through an Old Navy chest and triceps workout. Tim loved working out with me. I loved watching him crawl to the locker room on his hands and knees afterwards. Just kidding.
We had a great barbell chest workout. We did three sets of 10 reps of decline, incline and bench presses and dumb bell bench flies. After each set, we supersetted with 10 push ups. For triceps we supersetted rope pull downs with bar push downs, followed by 10 push ups after each set. We ended out triceps workout with dumb bell flat bench prone tricep raises. Tim then went to the shower and I stayed for hanging leg raises, 20 pull-ups and a run on the tread mill.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
It looks like Dave will be missing in action for a short while. His beautiful wife is about to give birth to their second child, a boy. Mindy is feeling a little under the weather and Dave is sticking close to home, as he should. God Bless them both.
I grabbed Tim again today for an aggressive legs and calves workout. I like working out with bigger men. It keeps me pushing and keeps them on their toes. They don't want to be showed up by an old dude like me, so we get plenty of hard work accomplished. Tim and I did three sets of 10 reps of squats, seated leg presses, leg extensions, ham string curls with negatives, adductors and abductors. For calves, we did three sets of 25 heavy weight seated calves presses, supersetted with the same number of toe raises. We ended our workout with 20 pull ups, 25 hanging leg raises and 25 crunches. Then we spread two mats on the floor and just laid there, laughing. Two beat campers.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
My Training Partner returned, so it was a good day for back and biceps. We started with three sets of 10 reps of platform step ups, to dumb bell bicep curls to a press, curl down and step down. This is a great conditioning exercise. I used 30s and 35s. Dave used 35s and 40s. We then supersetted the exercise with 10 pull ups. We then did three sets of lean over barbell rows using two 45 pound plates, followed by 10 pull ups. We then went to the lat pull down machine and did three sets, followed by 10 pull ups. From there we went to the dumb bell rack and did three heavy sets of dumb bell lat pulls. I used 60s, 70s and 80s. Dave stayed 10 pounds heavier than me on all three sets. We supersetted these with 10 pull ups. We ended our workou with three sets of preacher curls with negatives and bicep machine curl ups, followed by 10 pull ups. We did some crunches and then quit. We were too pooped for cardio.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Dave called me last evening to say his wife was in the hospital with labor pains. As of this morning, no new baby and no Dave. We spoke later in the day and he and Mandy are still working on bringing their son into the world.
I had Tim work out with me again today and took him through a brutal chest and tricpes workout. Needless to say, Tim will have sore triceps after supersetting every chest set with 10 dips. By our third exercise, Tim was down to three (two-and-a-half) dips per set. We did heavy sets of seated machine incline, decline, bench and fly exercises. For triceps, we did machine push downs and seated tricep hammers. I ended my workout with crunches and tread mill. Tim ended his in the locker room.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Poor Tim. He had to work out with me again today. Old Navy has no mercy and Dave still doesn't have his new baby. Tim and I went through a rigorous shoulders, biceps and calves workout, kind of a mix and match day. For shoulders, we did three heavy sets of seated barbell presses, standing dumb bell front and side supersetted sets and heavy shrugs. We also did three sets of barbell raises. For calves we did three sets of 25 reps of 270 pound calve raises, supersetted with the same number of toe raises. I did a run on the tread mill to end my session. I will do 45 minutes of tread mill tomorrow as I enter my final week of contest prep for the OCB Spirit of America on Cape Cod next Saturday.
Monday, April 24, 2006
I went to the gym yesterday instead of Saturday to do 45 minutes of cardio and some ab work. This morning, I worked out solo as Dave and Manday are still waiting for the birth of their son. I expect to get the phone call from my Training Partner very soon. I had a semi-hard chest and triceps workout going into my last few days of contest prep. Using 40 pound dumb bells, I did three sets of 10 reps of incline, decline and flat bench flies. I supersetted each set with 10 push ups. For triceps, I supersetted angle handle push downs and flat bar push downs, and supersetted those with 10 push ups after each set. I did 20 pull ups and 25 hanging leg raises. Then I went to te studio and did 200 skip ropes and practiced posing for about 10 minutes. I started a heavy water load this morning, looking to down about three gallons today.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
I worked out with Bobby this morning, a fellow gym rat I've known for a few years. He is in his 40s and has a few health issues, so I went easy on him today. We did back and biceps, including trap flies, barbell bent over rows and cable lat pull downs. For biceps we did dumb bell curls, hammers up curls down and "21s". We finished with 20 hammer pull ups. I then did crunches, practiced posing and added 300 skip ropes. I go for my first of three professional spray tans this evening after work. I will have applications on Wednesday and Thursday. I leave for Cape Cod at 6:30 AM on Friday.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
No Dave, no new baby, no Training Partner...but I did talk to Dave last night and his new son should arrive in the next 24-36 hours. He and Mandy are ready. God Bless them. I trained with Bobby again today. He was hurting a bit from yesterday, but he gamely went through a chest and triceps workout with me. We did three sets of 10 reps of machine inclines, declines and bench, each set supersetted with 10 dips. I love supersetting. It really adds to the "pump." We did flat bench dumb bell flies and for triceps, did skull crushers, bar push downs, rope pull downs and prone dumb bell tricep hammers. I did hanging leg raises, 20 pullups and a practice posing session. I weighed 140.8 pounds this mrning, about .8 of a pound from where I want to be on Saturday. Everything is on target and tracking well. I'm optimistic about how I am going to do at the Spirit of America this weekend.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
After my second professional spray tan application last evening, I came to the gym looking really dark this morning. I go for my third and final spray after work today. My wife laughs at me when I smile at her and my "white" teeth show so brightly on my dark face.
I am "pumped" for this contest. I weighed 139.6 this morning, .4 below where I want to be, but looking cut and defined. I think I will come in just right for the Spirit of America, peaking on time, at pre-judging. I'm drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of Talapia and grapefruit. I will add a little carb meal tonight, but I ain't gonna fix what ain't broke.
I did a soft workout today, mostly shoulders, including shrugs, seated presses, dumb bell raises and Arnolds. I feel great. There was a guy in the gym this morning, a super heavyweight, who is training for an upcoming NPC show in town. He was "juiced" to the gills and talking "trash." Most everyone rolled their eyes and tried to ignore him. At one point, he yelled at a girl who was going to do a set on "his" machine and said, "Hey, I have another set to do, if you don't mind," in a not too friendly manner. I went up to her afterwards to say, "Sorry he jumped on you." She said, "He's a jerk, no problem."
Friday, April 28, 2006 - Travel Day - My 63rd Birthday
My flight from Birmingham, Alabama to Providence, Mass leaves at 6:30 AM and arrives at 11:30. I have a rental car and will drive to the host hotel, the Radisson Inn Hyannis, for check in. Drug testing for this natural competition will be conducted between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. During the check in, each contestant will be weighed and the number of contestants in each class will be determined as they divide the classes. There are about 120 contestants, with crossovers counted, registered for the Spirit of America.
I have my food with me and will continue to eat Talapia and grapefruit as my main meals on Friday. I plan on a small breakfast early Saturday morning, including eggs and some form of carbs. A competitor's meeting is scheduled for 9 AM and the contest is scheduled to begin at 10 AM, with the Finals starting at 4 PM. The promoter is promising a great after-party. I'm looking forward to it. The promoter is also celebrating his birthday on the same day as mine. His wife said she is presenting him with a cake for 100 people and invited me to join in on the celebration. I will.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
2006 OCB Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness
Championship, Cape Cod, MA, April 29
Sully's show was a Ton of Fun
Sean and Deb Sullivan, co-promoters of the 3rd Annual "Spirit of America Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Championship, ran an outstanding competition on Saturday. Ninety-nine men and women athletes showed up, making it the biggest OCB event ever.
The "Spirit of America" was held in the auditorium at the Mattacheese Middle School in Yarmouth, MA. The stage was large and as befits the theme was grandly decorated with the Stars and Stripes. Backstage was a little crowded because the area doubles as the school's band room and the competitors had to work around music instruments and drum sets. Nevertheless, Sully and his crew created a good pump up area, set up several full-length mirrors and covered the floor with paper so there were no restrictions about applying tanning oil or spray.
Most of the competitors checked in at the host hotel on Friday between 4 - 8:30 where we were given our competitor's numbers, polygraph test, tee shirts and a goodie bag of supplements and treats.
Prejudging
On Saturday we arrived at the venue for the 9 AM meeting and bodybuilder's weigh-in. After the weigh-in, Sully set the Men's and Women's Bodybuilding classes. I was in the Open Men's Class I, with a maximum weight of 150 pounds. There were six of us in this class. Sully did it this way to make the class sizes more even.
Sully and his great crew were still making final stage and lighting changes so the meeting started a little late. But, Sully made up most of the time by keeping the meeting short. We then went back stage to prep and found that Sully had supplied bottled water, fruit, snacks and a pair of "Stars and Stripes" flip-flops for us to wear and keep. He posted the Schedule of Events several places back stage and we looked to the men and women facilitators to get us where we belonged. They were very helpful and efficient.
I competed in the Men's Open Lightweight (Class I), the Men's Master 50+ Class and the Men's Master 60+ Class.
Everyone at the competition was upbeat and positive. There was lots of good-natured flexing and comparing going on. There wasn't a bad body in the house...but there were some BAD BODIES. Whew. Great muscularity, rock-hard abs, huge quads and peaked biceps. The Red Cross would have loved the veins.
With the huge number of competitors the pre-judging was a little long, the last class judged having little time to eat, rest, recharge and return for the 4 PM start of the Night Show. But we all managed to make do with the time we had and were on hand for the start.
Night Show
Sean and Deb's nine year old daughter, Kayla, opened the Show with a nice "a capella" singing of our National Anthem. She was followed by an outstanding guest poser, NGA Pro, Will Usher. Unlike the NPC, it was nice watching Will Usher work instead of the usual off season, out of shape fat slobs that organization puts in front of audiences.
As I said earlier, the bodybuilders were superb and the fitness and figure women were spectacular. Even some of us bodybuilders stopped looking at ourselves in the mirror for a few seconds so we could admire the beautiful ladies.
I like the way the SOA handled the individual posing routines. We went on stage and presented our routine according to our competitor's number. I was number 42 and did my "16 Tons" salute to the fallen West Virginia miners to an appreciative audience.
After the intermission, Sean presented an equally good guest poser, Dave Lovelace, last year's SOA Champion and now a Pro. Both men were a pleasure to watch.. Then came the moment the audience and contestants were waiting for, the Award Ceremony.
Awards Ceremony
Against a super class of Men's Open Lightweights, I placed sixth. No argument from me. Each man was a warrior and I was in the best shape of my life. Every one of my "sons" did their "dad" proud. The average age of the five winners was 26.
I was more successful in my two age classes, taking Second in Men's Master 50+ and winning the Men's Master 60+. I had a great time in the pose down against the winners of the 50+ Class and the winners of the two 40+ Classes, which was won by one of the 40+.
The SOA was my 10th bodybuilding competition. For me, it was the best show I've ever done.
Post Party
After the contest, we gathered at a local Mexican restaurant for an alcohol and carb load. Sully and Deb provided the start-up buffet snacks and we enjoyed sitting around in our smelly, oily, tanned state, smiling, laughing, high-fiveing and eating. Deb gave Sully a birthday cake large enough to share with everyone so we added a sugar load to our feast. The party broke up at around 1:30 AM.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Well, it's time to put my two new trophies from last weekend's competition on the shelf and get down to business as I prepare for my next competition in three weeks. Today I did a hard back and biceps routine, using moderate weights and more reps, 15 per set. I supersetted everything with an equal number of push ups. I did lat pull downs, dumb bell bent over rows, seated rows and dead lifts. I finished with 20 pull ups, 25 hanging leg raises and 200 skip ropes.
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Brock Ivan Gallahan, weighing 9.2 pounds, arrived on Monday, May 1. Mandy and Dave and "BIG" are all doing well. Dave told me he had his son doing push ups, crunches, sit ups and poses this morning. This is their second child and their young daughter says she is very happy to have a new baby brother.
I did legs and calves today. That's all the news.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Today was chest and triceps. I did a dumb bell fly workout with three sets of 15 reps of inclines (35 pounds), three sets of 15 reps of declines (45 pounds) and three sets of 15 reps of flat bench (40 pounds). Each set was supersetted with 15 dips. For triceps I did three sets of cable push downs. Since I did so many dips, that's all I did for triceps. I did 30 pull ups (15 curls and 15 hammers) and 30 hanging leg raises. I good, tough workout. I am trying to harden this week as I get close to my last two weeks of contest prep starting on Monday. Everything is on track. I weighed 142.5 and I'm hard.
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Still going it alone as my Training Partner, Dave, adjusts to life with a second child. I hope to see him back in the gym by next week. In the meantime, I continue to prep for my next competition on May 20. Today I did back and biceps with three sets of 15 reps of seated barbell shoulder presses, heavy and slow dumb bell shrugs, single arm bench kneeling dumb bell lateral raises and standing dumb bell lateral raises. I supersetted each set with 25 push ups. I also did 20 pull ups and 200 ab crunches. I ended my workout with 100 skip ropes. 142.6 today. Feeling great, looking great.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Today I did a strong legs and calves workout. I decided to go very heavy and do less reps. So I worked on 6RM sets, that is, doing a weight that I would fail at by the sixth rep. I found a few. I did squats, extensions, leg curls, abductors, adductors and dead lifts. I ended my workout with 75 seated calve raises, supersetted with 75 toe raises. I broke my jump rope, so had to stop at 35. I bought a new one (like the boxers use) this evening and will try it out on Saturday when I go to the gym for an hour of cardio. Two weeks until my next contest. I need to get serious.
Saturday, May 6, 2006
I did a speed and endurance cardio workout at the gym this morning. After a five-minute warm up, I did five sets of 20/40 sprints. Setting the elevation at 9%, I did 20 seconds of 10 mph speed, followed by 40 seconds of 6-7 mph speed. Then, I did 25 minutes of moderate speed, keeping my heart rate at about 128 bpm. That was the 90% range for my age. For the longer run, I elevated the tread mill about 6 degrees and kept a speed of around 5 mph. I ended the run with a five minute cool down. After that I tried out my new boxer's skip rope and stumbled though about 150 skips. It's a leather rope with weighted ball bearing handles. Really cool.
Monday, May 8, 2006
I will spend the last week before contest week working on my new HITT Cardio and GH Workout Plan. Today was cardio only and I did my first HITT Cardio session. After five minutes of warmup at 10 % elevation and 5 mph, I did five 20/40 splits. I sprinted for 20 seconds at 8-9 mph and then ran for 40 seconds at 6-7 mph. After the 5 20/40 splits, I did another 25 minutes of moderate paced tread mill (10 % elevation at 5.0 speed).
Then I stumbled into the studio and tripped through 100 skip ropes. I was beat.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
I did my first day of Advanced GH Workout + HITT Cardio. Weeeuuuu. This is a tough workout. But I loved every minute. The pump was incredible. The key is resting 10 seconds between sets. You don't have any time to think about it. You just do it. And I did. I will go into more detail about this new workout plan as soon as I cycle it for a couple of weeks.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Sometimes you have to set aside your own agenda to help someone else with theirs. Today, at the gym, a heavyweight bodybuilder came up to me in a slight panic. He is competing in a local NPC contest on Saturday and his personal trainer left the gym (permanently) without telling the athlete he was no longer employed there. He was scheduled to work with him on his posing. This is his first show in two years. He won the Junior title at the NPC Alabama State Championship in 2003, his first contest. His posing was really rusty and needed work. So I blew off my workout and spent the next 90 minutes helping him get ready for Saturday's show. He will now do well and I was glad to help.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
After working with the heavyweight on his posing yesterday, I'm back on track, doing my own thing. But I'm doing it in St. Louis, Missouri. I'm here on business and will not return home until Monday. I found a Gold's Gym and, with my travel pass, was able to use the facility for my Advance GH Legs, Calves and Arms workout. It was really intense. I tried to keep on schedule, but had a little trouble finding all the equipment I needed. I did find everything and was able to complete the workout and HITT cardio session. Tonight I am scheduled for a carb meal, which I am really looking forward to. I never thought I would get excited about a bowl of oatmeal. With one week to go, I'm feeling good and looking good. I have a good feelng about the May 20th contest. Last year I placed sixth in the Open Men's Short Class. I am looking to finish in the Top Five. I'm not sure what age class I will compete in, 50+ or 60+. I depends on who else shows up. As always.
Friday, May 12, 2006 - St. Louis
I really like the Gold's Gym in St. Louis. The desk crew is friendly, the trainers seem to know what they are doing and the gym crowd is upbeat. There are a few extremely large bodybuilders (read users) on site, but they pretty much hang to themselves. One is going to Las Vegas for the show there in several weeks. He was about 5'2 tall and 5'2 wide, a big little man.
I had a killer GH Power workout today, coupled with an HITT cardio session. The workout called for me to do
5 rm sets (failure at rep #5). There were eight different exercises with very limited rest between sets and I did eight sets of all of them in about 90 minutes. They included squats, calve raises, pull ups, military press, hammer dumb bell curls, incline dumb bell presses, hamstring curls and tricep extensions. The HITT cardio included a five minute warm up at 10 % incline and 4.5 speed and then five sets of 20/40 sprints, at 190% incline, followed by 25 minutes of moderate speed elliptical trainer, also at 10% incline.
I will take off from training tomorrow and pick it up again Sunday afternoon with a light weight and cardio session. Next week, I will taper my training as I close in on my contest date. I'm feeling great. After my carb load last night and today, I am back up to 140 (from 138.0). That makes me happy. I think I will come in on target and willl do well next weekend. I feel good about it.
Monday May 15 - St. Louis - Four Days Until Weigh-in
I did a fast-paced pump up this morning, hitting all of my body parts with two sets of 15 reps, using moderate weights. I also did 30 minutes of 10 degree elevation tread mill at a speed of 5.0 - 6.0 mph. After the workout, I had a breakfast of six egg whites and 1/2 grapefruit. I am now on my one week contest prep cutting diet. I feel great and am looking forward to Saturday's 2006 FAME SNBF Capital City Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. It will be my 11th contest.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - Three Days Until Weigh-in!
Dave called me last night to say he would be at the gym this morning to train with me. He was a no-show. He called me at 8 AM to say his new baby didn't get much sleep last night and neither did he. He said he will give it another try tomorrow. We are going to have to work hard to get back on track.
I did a full body pump up, abs work and some tread mill. For the abs, I did crunches and weighted hanging leg lifts. I also practiced posing for about 15 minutes. I go for my first of three spray tans tomorrow. I'll practice posing again at home tonight. Feeling 100%. I'm nearly ready.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - Two Days Until Weigh-in!
In the business world, Wednesday is called "hump day," because once you hit that day, it's an easy ride to the end of the week. I had my "hump day" workout, a light pump and 15 minutes of elevated, moderate speed tread mill. This is a designed plan, leading up to the final two days of contest prep. I'm feeling tight and hard. I'm really up for this show. I can't wait.
Thursday May 18, 2006 - One Day Until Weigh-in!
I'm "cooling my heels," waiting for the weekend. I feel I'm close. I'm looking lean, cut and vascular. I hope I stay that way on stage in two days. I spent about 40 minutes going from exercise to exercise, pumping up and flexing. I did 12-15 reps of military presses, lat pull downs, bicep curls, dumb bell chest presses, seated lateral raises and a few other exercises. I also spent about 30 minutes doing a tread mill fast walk. I ended the workout with a practice posing session. I go for my second spray tan this evening. I'm already looking dark.
Friday May 19, 2006
When it falls apart, it really falls apart. My wife, who was visiting a sick relative in New York was due home at around 6 PM today. Because of weather, her flight was canceled and she will have to stay in New York and come home tomorrow. I had planned on leaving for Montgomery, Alabama (about 80 miles south of Birmingham) at around 6 PM so I could check in at the contest and then my hotel. We have pets at home that require care and feeding, therefore I am not going to be able to leave for the contest until early tomorrow. I have to be there by 9 AM latest. It throws my early morning contest prep out the window and I will have to improvise.
OK, dung happens!
I had a good pump up, cardio and practice posing session in the gym this morning and I will go for my third and final tanning spray at 3:30.
I guess tonight I will just put my feet up, watch a DVD...and walk my dogs
Sunday May 21, 2006
2006 FAME SNBF Capital Classic, Montgomery, Alabama, May 20.
Yesterday I competed in my 11th contest since March, 2005, the 2006 FAME SNBF Capital Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. I competed in this same contest last year. The 2006 results were a lot better. In 2005 I placed First in Men's Master 60+. This year, I dropped down a Class and placed Second in Men's Master 50+. In 2005, I placed Sixth out of six in the Open Men's Short Class (5' 7"). This year, I placed Third out of six in the Open Men's Short Class (5' 7").
The difference for me was my diet and training. I came in leaner, harder, more vascular and bigger. It was a very satisfying competition. My goal this year is to continue Placing well in my Age Classes and to be more competitive in the Open Men's Height and Weight Classes.
I feel my results on Saturday bodes well for my next competition, the 2006 FAME WNSO World Championships in Toronto on June 16-18.
Contest Photos:
http://www.bodybuildingsenior.com/photos2006.htm
Monday, May 22, 2006
Dave's back. Yeah! After a grin and bear hug, we got down to business. I introduced Dave to HITT Cardio: On the tread mill, five minutes of 10 degree elevation, 5.0 speed warm up, followed by 10 degree elevation, five 20/40 speed splits (20 seconds at 9 mph/40 seconds of 7mph), followed by 25 minutes of elevated tread mill at 4.5mph. We then did three sets of hanging weighted leg raises, crunches and skip rope. A great cardio workout. Tomorrow I will introduce my Training Partner to an Advanced GH Workout. We need to get serious.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Dave and I have decided we will train for the SNBF FAME Nationals in Marietta, GA on October 7, where he will try to win his Natural Pro Card. We have 20 weeks to add some size to this 6' 2", 210 pound athlete. Dave is committed to winning his Pro Card and, as his Training Partner/Coach, so am I. We began this morning with a very heavy weight, minimum rest and several set workout designed to add muscle mass. For us, this is Day One.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Dave and I nearly killed each other on the gym floor this morning. Our workout was intense. We are pushing each other to the limits. And we are laughing and having a great time doing just that. We worked legs, calves, biceps and triceps, followed by HITT cardio. By using heavy weights and limiting our rest between sets, we are exhausted. But it is a great type of exhaustion. We know we are working our muscles to their maximum. After our training session, I left for the airport for a trip to Nashville, TN. Dave and I will talk on the phone and work solo for the next two days. I return home on Friday.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Both Dave and I did our HITT cardio session today. He did his in Birmingham, Alabama and I did mine in Nashville, Tennessee. It's called Distance Training. LOL
If you travel to Nashville, I recommend the Loew's Vanderbilt Hotel. Their rooms are large and well appointed, they have a decent Fitness Center, but more important, their Staff is excellent.
This morning, at the conference breakfast, it was full service and the waiter brought me a plate full of French toast, potatoes and bacon. I said, "I can't eat this. I'm in training." He said, "Can I bring you anything else?" I said "I would love a couple of scrambled eggs." He said, "No problem." That was cool.
Then, I went to the customer service desk and asked is there any way I can heat a sweet potato and a bowl of oatmeal for a carb meal I need later this evening. The concierge said, "Yes, Sir. We will send a microwave to your room and a set of dishes for your meal." Now that was cool, too.
Friday, May 26, 2006
I arrived home from Nashville at 4:30 this afternoon. It was a good trip and best of all, I didn't miss a workout. Early this morning I did my Friday Full Body Heavy Sets, Minimum Rest Advance GH workout, plus HITT cardio. A Killer! I gave Dave the day off. He is very sore and tired from this week. He had nearly a month layoff because of the birth of his son and it will take some time for him to get up to speed. Next week should be fine.
I want to mention my contest diet this week. It's always hard to stay on a strict diet when you are on the road, especially at a conference where meals are provided. Instead of trying to make do, I found a great Middle Eastern restaurant across the street from the hotel and talked with the chef about my training table needs. He agreed to prepare what I needed for each meal, so I wound up eating there five times while I was in Nashville. I would leave the conference while the meal was served and dash across the street for my contest meal and make it back to the venue in time for the after-meal talk or presentation. Smooth.
The name of the restaurant is Tarboosh. It's located at 120 21st Avenue North in Nashville. They are open from 10AM until 2AM daily. Their number is 615 320-5909. Their great chef, Amr Sarieh, a Jordanian, prepared the best Chicken Shawerma, outstanding Tabouleh, and Falafel, which I had to pass on. If you are ever in Nashville, give Tarboosh a try. You won't be sorry.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
I received an email earlier in the week from a senior novice bodybuilder who found my web site and wanted to ask me a few questions. It turns out he is the Chairman of the Department of Theater at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, where I live. Large Internet, Small world. He said he wants to train to enter a competition as a Men's Master 60+ and was looking for advice. We agreed to meet today at Gold's Gym and spent a hour talking about everything he wanted to know about contest prep. Then I spent a hour coaching him on basic posing. I believe he is hooked on our sport and is eager to get started. He has a personal trainer and asked me to be his posing coach. I agreed and we will begin working together on Saturdays to get him ready for his first tested contest early next year.I also took him through an abs workout, which I needed to do. Team Old Navy is growing.
Monday, May 29, 2006
The gym was quiet today as many stayed home to celebrate Memorial Day with family. I did an early morning HITT Cardio session, 100 abs crunches and three sets of weighted hanging leg lifts, 75 seated calve raises, 75 standing calve raises, and 200 skip ropes. Dave had to work today and will do his HITT Cardio later. We will train together in the morning.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Young Dave called me at 10:45 last night to say he was just getting home from painting his brother's house and would try to make it to the gym this morning. I didn't expect him to show up and he didn't. I got right to work when I arrived and did a hard Chest, Back and Shoulders workout, using heavy weights with little rest between the nine exercises of three sets each. I also did 100 abs crunches/hanging leg lifts and 30 minutes of HITT Cardio. With less than three weeks to go before my next contest, I have upped my intensity. Dave called this afternoon and said he will meet me tomorrow morning at 6:15.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
I was a little concerned when I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed less than 140 pounds. I'm sure the small weight loss is due to the very heavy weight workout and HITT cardio I've been doing. My diet is the same, so the only "new" factor is the increased work load. I'm due for a carb load meal tomorrow night. I will probably "recover" the weight and get on with my training. 17 days to go. I did a heavy legs and arms workout today, but ran out of time and I had to skip the HITT cardio. Not happy about that. I did 75 seated calve raises and 75 standing calve raises and 200 fast skip ropes to add some cardio. Tomorrow is a cardio only day, so I will hit it extra hard.
Thursday, June 1, 2006
Cardio day, an easy workout. Yeah, right. Today I did a kick butt HITT cardio session that included five minutes of warm-up at 10 degrees elevation, 4.5 speed, on the treadmill followed by five 20/40 speed splits (8-10 mph), followed by 25 minutes of 10 degrees elevation on the elliptical at 20-30 pace. I blew off a ton of carbon dioxide on that one. Then I did 20 weighted pull ups (20 pounds) and 20 weighted hanging leg lifts ( 5 pounds). I had a few minutes left so I worked with two young novice bodybuilders on their training splits. We did some triceps weight work, supersetted with pushups. Then I had them join me for my pull ups and leg raises. As a reward, I took them into the studio and showed them the "relaxed" pose for their first competition next year. They have asked me to help with their diet, training and posing. Why not? One of them came to my last show to watch me compete. They are both under 5' 7" tall, so, of course, I am training them to compete against me in the Open Men's Short Class. You gotta love it.
Friday, June 2, 2006
Two weeks from today, I will be in Toronto waiting for "tomorrow's" competition. I'm ready to go. Dave didn't make it to the gym again today. The power has been out in his apartment complex for three days so his family has been staying with Dave's parents, making it difficult for him to come in early to workout. He called me today and said his power is back on and he will be at the gym on Monday morning. I'm glad. I need my training partner close at hand as I enter my last two weeks of contest prep. Today I did a heavy weight 5RM full body workout and HITT cardio. I love this new training plan. It's the hardest work I have ever done in the gym and it's paying off in spades. I seem to grow harder and leaner each day. I am looking to peak and to be in the best shape of my life in Toronto.
Monday, June 5, 2006
My Training Partner, Dave, is back. Yeah! We enjoyed a few moments of high fives and bear hugs, then we got down to business. Today was HITT cardio day and we hit cardio. After 35 minutes of high speed stationary bike and tread mill, we did 20 weighted pull ups and 20 weighted hanging leg lifts. We ended our session on our backs on a mat, doing crunches. We talked about Dave going for his Pro Card and decided he can be ready by October. He weighs 203 and looks lean . We will shoot to get him to a cut 210-215 pounds. Tomorrow we start Advanced GH training. Dave is ready and so am I. This will be my last hard week of training before my final week of contest prep begins on Monday.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
We're back, and we did back today. We did shoulders, too. And we failed. We went to failure on every set. We pushed and shoved each other through a grueling workout. This is the way it's gong to be from now on. We are going to push each other to our Pro Cards, Open for Dave, Master's for me. Our goals are set. Our target date is set. We have begun the quest.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
OMG. Dave and I are possessed! We kept adding plates so we could find the right weight in which to go to failure for each exercise. We managed to find failure weights for every set of legs, arms and calves. We started at 6:15 AM and didn't stop until 7:45. We looked at each other after each set and broke out laughing. To watch a 27 year-old athlete and a 63 year-old athlete wearing each other out is indeed a site. Dave and I are going to laugh all the way to our Pro Cards.
Thursday, June 8, 2006
I leave for Toronto and the 2006 FAME WNSO World Championships one week from today. Mentally I am ready. Physically, I'm very, very close. My final week of contest diet prep will begin on Sunday. I'm looking forward to eating lots of really lean beef, fish and grapefruit, three foods that I like. I also plan on drowning myself in water each day. I have mixed feelings as I prepare for what will be my last contest for awhile. It will be my sixth outing since February and I probably won't hit the stage again until sometime late in the Fourth Quarter.
Today Dave and I did a HITT cardio day followed by abs work and pull ups. Tomorrow it's a full body workout with heavy weights and minimum rest between sets. It will be Dave's first work with the Advanced GH Power Workout plan. We are going to have fun.
Friday, June 9, 2006
Dave and I managed to complete five of the eight sets goal of the 5 RM eight-exerise Advanced GH Power Workout (squat, triceps extensions, pull ups, ham string curls, military presses, calves raises, dumb bell hammer curls and incline dumb bell presses). The idea is to fail on each exercise at the 5th rep, so you are always looking for the heaviest possible lift. We take a 30 second rest between sets. We then crawled to the tread mill and did a short HITT cardio session. I tried to do some abs work afterwards, but ran out of steam. This stuff is hard, but we love it.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
I usually don't work out on Sunday, saving the day for Our Lord, my family and rest. But, since I am leaving for Toronto on Thursday, I started my last week of training for the contest a day early. I am going to be doing basically the same thing every day: Cycle from station to station, doing sets of 12-15 reps of semi-heavy weighted exercises. The idea is to work up a good "pump" of all muscle groups. I worked every body part, including legs and calves. For that, I did extensions, ham string curls, adductors, abductors and calve raises. No squats, which shouldn't be done during the last week. I also did a few sets of wide grip pull ups and hanging leg raises. I ended the session with 30 minutes of moderate speed tread mill. I will do two or three 15-minute practice posing sessions and work on my posing routine at home this afternoon and evening.
Monday, June 12, 2006
As I near my contest date, I am focusing on the final prep to bring in the cuts, definition and hardness that will make me more competitive. The diet is good (lots of chicken, vegetables, grapefruit, 93% lean beef and WATER). Dave is working at my pace this week as we go from exercise to exercise, pumping up with 12 reps each. It's a total body workout with 30 minutes of moderate cardio to cap off the session. Dave also put me through a posing round, acting as Head Judge and called a symmetry and mandatory round, looking for small ways to improve as we went along. I'm glad Dave is here for me this week.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
I feel like a caged tiger waiting for his next feeding. My metabolism is on fire. I am leaning out and cutting up like never before. I'm glad I have so much to do to get ready to fly to Toronto on Thursday. I am counting the hours until I leave for the airport. I am so looking forward to this competition. Oh, yes, I did manage a pump up, cardio and posing session workout today.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
I was very relaxed today as Dave and I focused on my contest prep workout. We went through a whole body pump up, about 20 minutes of moderate cardio and a practice posing session. Dave acted as Head Judge and put me through a couple of symmetry and mandatory rounds. We chose my best side for the Chest and Triceps poses. In both cases, I will show my right side to the judges. I have my food prepared and have gone through my contest supply list. Everything is in order. I am very calm and confident about this contest. I found out on Monday that the two large men who placed One and Two to my Third in the Men's Master 60+ Class are coming back. I'm looking forward to that. I'm not the same competitor this year that I was last year. I believe I have what it takes to take the Title.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
I am ready to leave Birmingham, Alabama for Toronto. I slept very well last night but woke up very early. Since I have done this 11 times before, I didn't worry last night that I might forget something. I have everything I need for the contest including food, tanning supplies, oil, workout and pump up gear, credit card, money, passport and registration package. I check in this evening, have Friday off to workout out and visit the Expo and prep for my first contest on Saturday morning. My second competition is on Sunday and I will return home late Sunday evening. Hopefully, on Monday I will have some good news to share with you.
Monday, June 19, 2006
2006 FAME WNSO World Championships, Toronto, June 16-18
For me, the 2006 FAME WNSO (World Natural Sports Organization) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Toronto was a goal-achieving event.
Last year, the 2005 FAME Worlds was my fourth show and I was a little overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all. There were more than 400 competitors from several counties competing and all looked like sure winners. Since I had placed Third in a regional FAME event in Georgia, I was eligible to compete in the Advanced Open Men’s Lightweight Class (150 pounds) and found myself standing on stage with some outstanding young athletes. No surprise, I placed last in the Class.
I fared better in the Men’s Master 60+ Class, placing Third against competitors from Canada, the Philippines, Nigeria and the United States among others.
After FAME 2005, I competed in two more shows and then took some time off to train for the 2006 season, which for me, began in February at my first contest in Georgia. I competed in a total of five shows before the 2006 FAME World Championship. I worked hard to get ready for this international competition.
Early in my training I set two personal goals:
First, I wanted to place in the Top Five in the Advanced Men’s Open Lightweight (150 pounds) Class and Second, I wanted to win the World Championship in the Men’s Master 60+ Class. Two Modest Goals!
I came to this show in the best shape of my life, ready to compete in all aspects. I closely followed the advice of a long-distance trainer, Sean “Sully” Sullivan, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who for years has helped bodybuilders train successfully for competitions. Sully got me ready.
I followed the advice of the world’s best poser, Russ Testo, of Albany, New York, who helped me choreograph my individual posing routine and fine tune my posing for the competition. In this competition, the individual posing routine counts as a third of the score.
I entered the 2006 FAME Worlds confident, poised and hungry to win.
My first event was on Saturday, the Advanced Men's Open Lightweight (150 pounds) Class, where I had set a goal to "Place in the Top Five." I placed Fourth.
My second event was on Sunday, the Men's Master 60+ Class, where I had set a goal to "Win the Class." I won my Class.
The Men's Master 60+ Class victory was particularly sweet as I defeated the man who placed Second ahead of me in this Class in 2005. Two weeks ago, in the Canadian National Championships, he beat the man who placed First in this Class in 2005. So this man was the 2006 Canadian National Champion, who after defeating the winner of our competition last year came to the 2006 FAME Worlds as the front runner to take the World Champion Master’s 60+ Title. He said to me, “Ah, well you look better this year, but you know I am the Canadian National Champion in Men’s Master 60+ and I did beat Guy (last year’s winner), so we’ll see what happens, eh?”
As we were standing on the stage for the 60+ Awards Ceremony and the MC was calling out the numbers of the winners, it got down to the two of us. Playfully, the MC said, “And Second Place goes to Number One……Forty……..…..SEVEN!!!! I was number 142 and knew I had won. It was awesome to hear the MC say, “And our 2006 FAME WNSO World Champion in Men’s Master 60+ is….Scott…..”OLD NAVY”……….HULTS!!!!! How sweet was that?
Back stage, my Second Place competitor came up to me and said, “Well, congratulations, a bit of an upset, eh?” I laughed as I said, "Nope, the Torch has just been passed. For the last two years the Title has been held in Canada. Now it belongs to the United States." He smiled at that, we shook hands again and looked at each other into eyes that said, "See you next year."
This is the final entry in this Journal. Next week, I will begin a new Journal as I prepare to compete later in the year for my Natural Master's Pro Card. Thank you for your interest.
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<message edited by Old Navy on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:22 PM>
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