RAntorcha's 1st Year as a Pro

[rantorcha]

Alright, so after a pretty rough week outside the gym and a VERY hectic weekend with my daughter's 9th birthday party, I was ready for a change. I have been gearing up for a change for the last couple of weeks. Instead of training 5 days a week, I am scaling back to 4/week. Also, after this week of adding in some cardio after a practically 2-week break, I will be adding a few more carbs to the daily diet to see where I go.

Here is my split for the next 4-weeks (at least) where I will be limiting the intensity techniques on the last sets and increasing the weights a bit. Time to build some density to what I've gained so far this off season.

M-Chest/Hams
T-Back/Biceps
Th-Quads/Glutes/Calves
F-Delts/Triceps

This will be a work-in-progress split. If we don't quite feel this split, we'll change it. We did have to work pretty swiftly through the workotut, but so far today, it worked nicely.

CHEST
Free Motion Cable Flye - 2 sets after warm up
Incl DB Press - 3 sets
Flat Hammer Press - 3 sets
Weighted Dips - 3 sets

HAMS
Seated Leg Curl - 3 sets
1-Leg Lying LC - 3 sets
SL Deads - 3 sets

We finished things up with some good stretching and called it a day.

[rantorcha]

I see that I never posted my Back workout from Tuesday and that bums me out a little because it was a doozy! We really got in there and went to town! We did Weighted Pullups, CG Seated Row, Rack Deadlifts, WG Pulldowns and then we finished things off with only a couple of sets for Biceps since they were already pretty fried.

Yesterday was our intended day off and thank goodness! I had a splitting headache all day that I could barely keep my eyes open for most of it.

[rantorcha]

My last post was on Thursday and between work and how I was feeling, I just couldn't make it to post. Not sure if it was the new split or what but I felt horribly in the latter part of the week. I was REALLY sore and was feeling like I was getting sick. It didn't matter what I did, I couldn't have been more sore than i was last week.

Fast forward through the weekend and I tried to rest as much as possible. I feel much better today and just in time because it was time to hit the weights with passion again.

I did start things off this morning with 20 minutes of cardio on my home treadmill.

CHEST
Free Motion Cable Flye machine - 2 sets of 15+reps after 2 warm ups
Incline Smith Press - 4 sets
Dips - 3 sets
Incl Hammer Press - 2 sets

HAMS
Lying Leg Curl - 3 sets
SL Deads - 3 sets
Standing Leg Curl - 3 sets

I've decided to go a lot heavier these last couple of weeks (which is ALSO another reason why I probably was way more sore than normal last week). I'm going heavier to solidify the gains I've made so far this year. I'll probably continue this for another 3-5 weeks...we'll see how things go.

[rantorcha]

Another outstanding day at the gym. No cardio this morning, but that's ok. We went through our workout today with some serious pace...and even managed to keep the weights heavier than normal.

BACK
Pullups - as sort of a warm up - 3 sets
BB Bent Row - 3 sets
Rev BB Bent Row - 3 sets
Corner T-bar Row - 3 sets
Rev Hammer Pulldown machine - 3 sets
Stiff-arm Rope Pulldown ss/ Rope Pulls to chest - 3 sets each

BICEPS
EZ bar Curl - 2 sets
Hammer Curl - 1 set

Not much in the way of biceps today. I feel it's way too much to train biceps with much more volume on the same day we do Back. Besides, biceps aren't what I would call an area of weakness.

Tomorrow will be my day off from training and lat week was rough. Let's see how tomorrow goes.

[rantorcha]

After a somewhat restful day off yesterday - even though I woke up and decided to do some cardio outside - it was back to it today.

I started things off with another great cardio session outside. Two minutes walking/1 minute running. Seems to be working nicely.

We trained quads today and I foam-rolled prior to our session. It broke up the bad sh*t nicely because after the first couple of sets, I was ready to call it! Of course I didn't, but I could have...

QUADS/Glutes
Leg Ext - 3 sets of 15+ reps
Squat Machine - 3 sets of 15+ reps
Leg Press - 3 sets of 20-25 reps
Diagonal Leg Press on Machine - 2 sets
Adduction - 2 sets
Cross Lunges - 2 sets

[rantorcha]

I started things off with cardio - again outside - which makes 4 days of cardio this week. I am striving for at least 3 cardio days, but hoping for 4-5.

As for training today, we really hit things hard leaving everyting we had at the gym floor.

DELTS
Behind-neck Smith Press - 3 sets
WG Upright Row - 3 sets
Rev Pec Dec - 3 sets
Side Laterals (Down the ladder) - used 35, 30, 25 and 20 lb DBs. Did this twice!

TRIs
Rope Pushdowns - 3 sets
Dip Machine - 3 sets
Rev Pressdown - 2 sets

TRAPS
Behind Neck Partial Pulldowns - 3 sets
Machine Shrugs - 3 sets

ABS/Calves
I superset Crunch machine with some Calf Presses - 3 sets each

TIME TO REST.

I'll be looking to go back to 5 days training next week. The mid-week off day doesn't seem to be working for me. Once I reset my split, I'll post it here.

[rantorcha]

Today was a GREAT day! I couldn't do cardio this morning because it was raining and the time I had for cardio was filled up with me fixing my treadmill. I was kinda relieved though because I had NO desire to do cardio this morning. It was just a funky morning.

When I got to the gym, it was a different story! I was ready to go hard and heavy!

CHEST
Free Motion Cable Flye - 2 sets of 15+ reps after 2 warmups
Incl DB Press - 90/8, 95/6+1, 95/5+1, 95/5+1 (the +1 was with a little help from my beautiful spotter and girlfriend!)
Chest Press Machine (inside grip-palms facing each other) - 3 sets
Incl Hammer Press - 3 sets

HAMS
Lying Leg Curl -
1st set - feet together
2nd set - toes out
3rd set - one leg at a time
4th set - 3 second contraction
Standing Leg Curl - 3 sets
*We cut our Ham session short since we had an appointment we needed to get to but we'll be back for more Hams later this week.

[rantorcha]

Life. Sometimes it can all get extremely overwhelming. From personal crisis to financial crisis, we seem to move from one thing to the next and hardly ever finding them time to really enjoy what we DO have. It certainly can be easier said than done to focus on the positives in life - especially when the negatives are seemingly so large. I seem to toggle between the two lately. 2013 has been a very dramatic roller coaster ride for me. MY stuff has been great. My family's - not so much. It's a matter of pushing through barriers...just like we try to do in the gym. They say time heals all wounds. Hopefully, "they" are right.

Sorry if that was a downer for you guys, but I had to get that off my chest.

I started my day with some treadmill morning cardio. 20 minutes of alternating between walking fast (2 min) and jogging (1 min)

At the gym...
BACK
Pullups - as warm up - 3 sets slow and controlled
CG Seated Row - leaning forward a little to really emphasize the mid back and squeezing each rep. Went up each set
Rev Pulldowns - 3 sets at 240
BB Bent Row - 3 sets. Had to go lighter than usual here bc my lower back started to tighten up
One arm DB Row - 2 sets
Stiff arm Pulldown - 2 sets

BICEPS
Standing Cable Curl
One-arm Preacher Curl
*Not too much volume on biceps since I tend to use some biceps for back (even though I try hard not to!)

[rantorcha]

Yesterday (Wednesday) was supposed to be my off day, but I decided to start the day off with some cardio. By the time it got to my usual training time, I didn't want to just sit aroudn. So I called my gf at the gym and we decided to try the yoga class that was going on at that time. I must say, it was kind of fun. I've tried yoga before so it wasn't new or anything like that (I'm actually a bit of a yoga veteran...for a bodybuilder). I think it's great for many reasons, but it gives the body a different way of getting worked out.

[rantorcha]

All day yesterday and into the night I had been really fighting a headache. And, when I woke up with it, I started to get a little worried. On top of that, I had a feeling like I was going to vomit. Not cool when you are waking up and have to get the kids off to school. After droppign them off I contemplated cardio, but gave myself a break and took some more advil to see if I felt better. Luckily, by the time it was go-time at the gym I felt much better.

I didn't do cardio, but before I went to the gym, I decided to Foam Roll my quads. I did this last week before doing quads and I must say, I think I've found my missing piece to my leg routine. I have a bunch of "crap" built up in my legs. My legs are rather big and decently cut, but they can be much better as it relates to separation. I Foam Rolled before training and after training, really concentrating on my IT-bands and the top/front part of my quads.

Other than that, this was the training aspect...
QUADS
Leg Ext (with the seat back) - 3 sets of 15 reps
Squat Machine - 3 sets of 15 reps
Leg Press - 6plts for 20 reps, wide stance (2 sets); on 3rd set I went with 5 plts each side, 10 wide reps with 2-sec negatives, then repositioned my feet straight on for another 5 reps
Diagonal Leg Press - 3 sets of 15
Adduction - 2 sets
Walking Lunges - 2 sets of 20 steps (really concentrating on full contraction and lift off)

Foam Rolled for another 10-15 minutes to finish things off.

[rantorcha]

I seem to be having issues remembering to post my workouts on Friday. I guess by the end of the week I am just way exhausted and tired from the week that it is the last thing on my mind. That said, I will make a better effort to post them.

I am training only a half-week this week. I've got something to do Thursday and Friday and will be getting in everything Monday thru Wednesday. Yesterday was Chest and Hams; today was Back and Quads (not easy) and tomorrow will be Delts, Tris and Bis.

Today's training was rough for some reason. I was out of sorts the entire time and everything was feeling way heavier than normal. Plus I seemed to be reaching failure much quicker...which brings me to my next point. I will be taking advantage of these next few days and start it as a week off from training. I'll be off from training from 5/2 and returning 5/13 to the gym. Not only does my mind and body need a break, but I will take the time to run a little detox. This is something I like to do a couple of times a year. I'll be running a whole-body cleanse, a colon cleanse and a liver cleanse for about 2 weeks. I'll also be limiting my protein from animal sources for the most part and eating organic fruits and vegetables.

It certainly isn't for everyone, but I feel like it is good for overall health in the long run. With all of the pills and powders we ingrst on a daily basis, it's always a good idea to clean everything out and start over. I've got two little girls that I need to be around for and I want a GOOD quality of life while I live, so it is on.

I'll keep the journal going in the meantime to give everyone my thoughts while it's going on. Stay tuned!

[rantorcha]

Today was our last day of training for a few days. We did Shoulders, Triceps and Biceps - not much in terms of volume, but we did hammer our good, quality sets. This break comes right at the right time. As I mentioned yesterday, Stef and I are both mentally and physically tired. It def is time to take a small break when we have been going all out for the last 14 weeks.

My detox will also start some time in the next few days. I will keep everyone posted!