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Robert's Contest Preparation Log


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I've never been good at keep a training log online. I used to keep on on paper a few years ago, and online seems so easy but I havne't been doin it.

 

So here it goes.

 

I'm training for another bodybuilding ocmpetition. It's coming up on April 22nd (Earth Day) in Portland Oregon. How appropriate, a Vegan Bodybuilder gets on stage to defend his title from winning last year on Earth Day in the city that was voted the #1 Vegan-Friendly city in the United States!

 

That will boost the motivation a bit.

 

Recently I've been applying some tips from Daywalker, VeganEssentials, Jonathan and others as I prepare for this contest. I'm lifting heavier (heavy for me) and it feels pretty good.

 

I'm at work right now but today I'm training arms, and shoulders, maybe a little bit of abs too.

 

Lately some of my best lifts have been:

 

Flat bench = 245 pounds 4 reps

 

Decline bench = 250 pounds 4 reps

 

Leg Press = 740 pounds 4 reps

 

Lat Pull-Down = 200 pounds 8 reps

 

I don't have an exact program I'm following right now, nothing like it used to be. I used to have everything planned out to the minute. Lately I've been training on instinct, sometimes spending 2 hours in the gym, other times just an hour.

 

I'm just trying to prepare myself to compete and keep it pretty low stress since I have tons of other things going on.

 

Anyway, I'll try to keep an updated log here as I approach Earth Day!

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Today I trained shoulders and biceps. I was at the gym for nearly 2 hours and pounded it out.

 

I did military press, lateral raises, front raises, shoulder press, shrugs, cables for rear delts, and a bunch of bicep curls with dumbbells and cables and machines.

 

Only 6 more weeks until contest so I gotta get down to business! I'll start doing more cardio soon. As of right now I'm hardly doing any.

 

Ok, gotta go, Bradley Saul, President of Organic Athlete will be here any minute.....

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I hammered the triceps pretty hard tonight because I missed it last night. I spent 2 hours in the gym yesterday with shoulders and biceps and never made it to triceps.

 

Today I spent another 2 hours in the gym hitting triceps, abs, and a little back, along with some cardio before and after training.

 

The reason I'm hitting the gym for 2 hours at a time these days is because I'm getting ready to compete and I need to incorporate a little more cardio into my sessions and I'm doing multiple muscle group training sessions. I normally just do one muscle group, such as just chest for the whole workout. Now I'm doing 2 or 3 muscle groups per training session and it seems to be going well.

 

Tomorrow I think I'll hit the legs again, assuming they have fully recovered from last Friday I think it was. I'm not allowing a full 7 days for recovery these days, just 3-5 days and hit it again.

 

Well, back to eating....

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Last night I trained Legs. It was brutal. I think I even cried a little, but I'm not sure. I did a bit of wimpering. I was doing less weight than normal but using great, deep range of motion. It was awesome!

 

Since I compete in less than 6 weeks, I'm holding off on squats until I finish the contest. They won't change much in 5 1/2 weeks and I just want to stay injury free. I haven't done squats in a couple of years, so it is best to re-introduce them to myself after April 22nd.

 

So I did about 8 sets of leg press, including a couple sets of narrow stance which was painful. Then I did 4 sets of hacksquats, and 5 or 6 sets of hamstring curls, 8 sets of single leg-leg extensions, and then 5 sets of calf raises. Then I rode the bike for 13 minutes.

 

I'm spending 2 hours at a time in the gym and I was there 5 of the last 6 days. So I feel pretty good about that. I'm pounding my body pretty hard but trying to get in shape for competition!

 

I'll start taking photos soon.

 

Just like last year, I'm increasing in bodyweight as I get closer to the contest, which is almost unheard of....most people drop 20 pounds or more for the competition but I like to continue to bulk and rely on my year-round conditioning.

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Yeah, I tell people the same thing, about an hour is all you need. Two hours is because I'm preparing for a contest, I want to burn more calories, keep heartrate up, all that stuff.

 

It is not 2 hours of weights.....it looks like this:

 

Arrive 5PM

5:05 Chat with Big Ben (see www.veganbodybuilding.com photo galleries)

5:10 Bike for 15 minutes

5:25 push-ups and sit-ups/stretching

5:40 begin workout with weights

6:45 finish workout with weights

6:50 bike for another 15-25 minutes (burn calories and fat)

7:05-7:15 call it a day

 

So I am spending 2 hours, I'm just doing more warm-up, more cool-down, more stretching, and a little more chatting since I'm excited about the upcoming contest.

 

I also might pose for a bit in front of the mirror for practice.

 

I will say that I am getting close to 90 minutes of weights some days but that is because I am doing more full or half body workouts rather than just one muscle group.

 

Does that help clarify a bit?

 

I still suggest 45-70 minutes of weight training for most people.

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Today was Chest and Back. I know, somewhat of a strange combination but it works for me.

 

I got up to 255 lbs on the flat and decline bench, but did not get a good solid rep. I had Big Ben spotting for me. I handled 235lbs just fine and then jumped to 255 going for a 1 rep max PR, but didn't quite get it. So then I tried that weight again for decline and didn't quite get it on my own either.

 

Big Ben by the way, is benching over 400 pounds. But my 250 feels pretty good since I weigh 180 at the moment.

 

I hit chest for about an hour and 10 minutes and then back for a good 35 minutes, and I called it a night. I did some posing before I left and then headed off to the grocery store.

 

It was a pretty powerfull workout and I came home to have two tofu sandwiches and a builder bar by Clif.

 

I will go eat again shortly.

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Last night I trained Legs. It was brutal. I think I even cried a little, but I'm not sure. I did a bit of wimpering.

 

 

Great job!

 

I am still hobbling around from my leg workout on Wednesday and I didn't even do that much... but obviously it was enough.

 

~ Adrienne

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I took 3 days off from the gym Friday, Saturday and Sunday, because I was working a ton of hours and out of town for VegFest in Portland. I barely made it back tonight because I was again in Portland all day. I got to the gym at 10PM just in time for a full 1-hour workout until the gym closed.

 

I got right to it and trained chest the whole time. It looked something like this:

 

Push-ups and sit-ups to warm up.

 

Flat Bench Press

 

135 x 12

135 x 12

185 x 5

205 x 3

225 x 1

255 x 1 with help from spotter

 

Decline Bench Press

 

205 x 5

225 x 3

145 x 1

255 x 1 No help from spotter

 

Incline Bench Press

135 x 9

135 x 6

135 x 11

135 x 9

 

Pec-dec machine

70 x 16

70 x 16

70 x 16

70 x 16

 

Push-ups and sit-ups to finish.

 

Posing under the lights for 5 minutes.

 

I got a new personal best for Decline Bench Press at 255 lbs for 1 rep.

 

It was nice to get that out of the way. I think I will keep climbing and climbing. 275 lbs is just around the corner and up the hill a little

Edited by robert
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I have no problem spending 2 hours at the gym, but I usually do 2 (sometimes 3) major muscle groups, but don't work them long.

 

It looks like you're doing pretty good. Wow, 700+ lbs on a leg press. The best Leg press machine I ever had was in High School, and I did 515 (Max) lbs for 25 reps (On a bet), I wish I could have had one that did more weight, 'ya know? I would love to see some pictures though, it sounds like you're doing really well.

 

Rob, do you monitor your calories when getting ready for competition, or do you just up the greens and the "quality" of your calories?

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I'll try to keep a nutrition journal too. I used to for many months at a time and it was very detailed. I'll try to list at least a few sample days or what I'm eating as I prepare for contest.

 

I trained legs yesterday and it was pretty awesome.

 

My exercises were:

 

Leg Press

Hack Squats

Lying Hamstring Curls

Leg Extensions

Calf Raises

 

I hammered it pretty hard and then had a massage last night too so that was cool.

 

I fly out to L.A. tomorrow so that was helpful.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another solid chest workout yesterday. Only 3 weeks away from my contest, so starting to get nervous a bit. I'm a little behind schedule due to business and other projects, but I think I'll be ready come contest day.

 

I seem to look smaller in photos, more of a fitness model, than bodybuilder, but I hope to pull off both looks

 

I'm also getting into the strong man lifting so I will be packing on muscle soon.

 

Today is back and a bit of shoulders. It should be a good time.

 

Then I have a circus protest meeting in the evening.

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I hit back pretty hard last night. I did about 8 sets of pull-ups, 5 sets of lat-pull downs, 3 sets of 1 arm dumbbell rows, 6 sets of T-bar rows, and 4 sets of machine rows. I also did some abdominal training.

 

Today will be arms a bit of shoulders and riding the bike a little.

 

Then eating and sleeping, two things I don't get enough of.

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I had a great leg training session yesterday and my legs feel really good today. They are sore, but it's that sore feeling that I love to have.

 

I did about 7 sets of leg press, 4 sets of hack squats, 5 sets of lying hamstring curls, 8 sets of leg extensions and about 6 sets of calf raises.

 

It took me a good 2 hours, but it was nice. I only have 2 1/2 weeks until my contest! I better start shaving my legs and picking out some music to pose to!

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I had a strong chest workout followed by some posing yesterday.

 

It went something like this:

 

Flat Bench Press

 

135 x 12

135 x 15

185 x 5

205 x 4

225 x 3

225 x 3

135 x 17

 

Decline Bench Press

 

205 x 5

205 x 6

205 x 7

205 x 11

225 x 5

 

Incline Bench Press

 

135 x 10

135 x 8

155 x 6

155 x 7

175 x 8

 

Hammer Strength Machine Pec Deck

105 x 15

120 x 12

120 x 10

120 x 8

 

A little bit of ab training and 10-15 minutes of posing and then 11 minutes on the bike before the gym closed.

 

Good times.

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Yesterday I hit back pretty hard. I spend over 2 hours in the gym on back and abs.

 

Today my stomach was a little upset but I still spent 2 hours in the gym. I spent 1 1/2 hours training biceps and triceps and spent about 40 minutes on the bike.

 

Now, I'm trying to get to bed before 10:45PM to get a good amount of sleep.

 

Tomorrow I'll be training legs. It should be a great time!

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Yesterday I just did cardio during my workout and a little ab work. I've hit the weights 6 of the past 7 days or something like that during contest preparation and I haven't been sleeping as much as I should be. So yesterday, no weights, just cardio.

 

Today I was pretty exhausted from being up too late (for stupid reasons). I probably slept about 4 hours and then worked 8 hours and came home to nap for an hour and a half before a leg workout. I kept the leg workout pretty short. I did 25 min of cardio on the bike, then trained legs for 35 minutes and then did another 20 minutes on the bike. I think tomorrow's plan is to train shoulders and a bit of abs again.

 

I'll focus on rest and recovery and sleep this next week, while doing some good muscle workouts.

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Yeah, sleep has been my nemesis for a long time.

 

3 main components of health

 

1. Nutrition

2. Exercise

3. Sleep

 

I do two of them well, but the 3rd I'm horrible at and it costs me big time....but I'm working on it and finally found a solution. I'm already cutting back on computer time, and I've got a few other plans, in fact I'm going to bed RIGHT NOW at 10:35PM. Usually it is 1AM when I retire for the evening.

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I trained chest yesterday and back/abs today.

 

Chest looked something like this:

 

Flat Bench Press

 

135 x 12

135x 12

185 x 7

205 x 5

225 x 3

225 x 3

205 x 5

135 x 16

 

Incline Bench Press

 

135 x 7

155 x 7

175 x 7

135 x 7

 

Low Pulley Cable Cross Overs

 

120 x 10

100 x 15

100 x 16

100 x 21

 

Hammer Strength Pec Deck

 

105 x 20

120 x 15

135 x 12

150 x 11

 

Then I trained some abs and rode the bike for 31 minutes.

 

 

Today was back and it looked like this:

 

Wide Grip Pull-ups

12

10

8

8

 

Narrow Grip Pull-ups with 20-25 lbs added

12

10

10

10

 

Rack Pulls

 

100 x 15

150 x 10

200 x 10

200 x 8 (back got sore so I bailed out before injuring myself)

 

T-bar rows

80 x 16

100 x 12

105 x 11

105 x 11

 

Then I trained abs for 20 minutes, mostly hanging leg raises and rope crunches.

 

After that I biked for 27 minutes.

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I trained legs today. My back is still sore from the back workout the other day. I've been using a bit of heat and ice to help it.

 

So today I biked for 27 minutes and then did about 300-400 reps of bodyweight squats (sets of about 35-55 reps each).

 

Then I did leg extensions for quads, probably 10 sets, mostly one leg at a time and about 3 sets of both legs together.

 

I then did seated hamstring curls, about 4 sets and then 4 sets of seated calf raises.

 

I biked for another 34 minutes after training. I'm only 9 days away from my contest so workouts are long but nothing too extreme. I don't want to get injured or anything like that, and my body won't change much in 9 days, I just need to shed some fat, hence the biking and the long workouts. I was there for 2 1/2 hours total.

 

I'll start doing about 2 hours of cardio a day on Monday, which is about 4 days from now.

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