Fitness Exposé

Bodybuilding Secrets Exposed

You are here: Home / Archives for Experiment of One

Excalibur Contest Prep Journal – 7 Weeks Out

By Leave a Comment

Excalibur 2012

It is now 7 weeks until December 1, 2012. I have 7 weeks before I am scheduled to step on stage at the Excalibur contest. I was reflecting today on some of the changes that have happened for me.

After my last contest on Memorial Day 2012, I looked over my physique and made the following observations:

  1. My chest was way too small, almost non-existent.
  2. My shoulders needed to be more rounded and larger.
  3. My back needed to be thicker and the erectors needed work.
  4. My biceps were too small.
  5. My triceps needed to be bigger.
  6. My legs were great.
  7. My abdominal conditioning needed improvement

I then set out to fix these problems. As of right now, 7 weeks out, I have seen major improvement in every area of my body. My biceps are still lagging and I am experimenting with ways to fix that. I am working harder and harder every single day. I am focused on my diet and training plans. 

Come November 1 my main source of protein will be Swai. This white fish is very low in fat and I will be using it to help me lean out and grow muscle. I am confident that it will work for me.

You see, setting goals to improve body parts is what got me focused. Those goals gave me a reason to wake up each day. The goals gave me something to look forward to with my bodybuilding efforts. This is one learning an aspiring bodybuilder can take away from my own experience. Make sure you set goals that can be achieved, but are difficult. I already have a new goal for my next cycle. I am going to work even harder on my chest and arms, even going so far as doing specialization workouts just for those body parts.

 People are taking notice of the changes I've been making and that makes me feel good. I am stronger than I've ever been in my life. I am also in better shape right now, as I write this, than I was the last time I was on stage. Translated–I have already made improvements over my previous contest physique and that is exciting to me.

For anyone wishing to compete, take the time to set goals and then stick to them. Enjoy the progress you make. Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it. During preparation you are competing against yourself and nobody else. Remember that!

Related Posts:

Excalibur Contest Prep Journal – 8 Weeks Out

By 1 Comment

Excalibur 2012

I am now 8 weeks away from the Excalibur on December 1, 2012. I am still pushing towards my goal. While I do not have an update picture, I am getting leaner and things are looking better and better on the training front. I will stay the course and keep doing what I have been doing because it is working.

Training

I am still using my instincts to train each week. I am focused on hitting my arms 3 times each week because that is my weakest body part right now. This type of training, using my instincts, is working well. I don't hit a typical split where I do a certain body part on Monday, another on Tuesday, etc. Instead, I hit what seems ready at the time. I trained my back on Wednesday last week, but it feels strong and ready to go, so I will hit it again on Monday.  This is how I've made such good progress–hitting what is ready to be trained when it is ready to be trained. 

Nutrition

We have switched me to basically no carbs. I am actually carb-cycling, but in a different way. My coach, Ken Turchek, wants me taking in my carbs right before training. Thus, I have a cycle that goes like this:

  • Day 1: 150 grams of carbs
  • Day 2: 50 grams of carbs
  • Day 3: 50 grams of carbs
  • Day 4: No carbs at all

Now let's avoid confusion here and I will explain that “carbs” are referring to the starchy variety (rice, etc.) and not veggies. 

I am required to take in the carbs right before I train with weights each day. It is helping me to get extra lean.

Cardio

I am doing cardio 2 times a day for 40 minutes now (we increased it by 10 minutes). This is less than what I did during my last prep cycle yet I am leaner than ever before at the 8 week mark. 

Motivation

I am motivated right now because I want to see my six pack and the definition of my newly developed muscles. I am excited to look better and to feel better. 

Lifestyle

Bodybuilding has become a lifestyle for me. I am no longer just dabbling in it. I live it daily. I love to train in the gym and I love to feel stronger. I am looking better and feeling better. This is why when I hear the word “diet” I cringe because permanent changes only happen when you change your lifestyle. This is a choice for me–to live a healthy lifestyle–and I am sticking to it.

Related Posts:

How Lifting Heavy Should Change Your Routine

By 1 Comment

Heavy Lifting

Lifting heavy brings with it a whole different set of issues that you don't normally get from bodybuilding routines. I have learned a lot about how my body responds to heavy lifting over the years. It has taught me how lifting heavy should change my routine.

Heavy Lifting Program

One of the best programs that I know of for lifting very heavy is Max-OT. It is a program promoted by National Champion Skip LaCour and focuses the user on lifting as heavy as they can. The objective in Max-OT on each set is to lift a weight you can get at least 4 reps out of and no more than 6 reps. Each set is taken to positive failure. By pushing your muscles in this way they grow from the stress they are put under. As printed, the Max-OT program has you on a split that includes 5 straight training days followed by 2 straight rest days. This, to me, is the only weakness of the program.

Rest Days

I have learned that lifting heavy takes a major toll on your joints and ligaments. If you push too hard for too long, you run the risk of severe injury. This is why rest days become extremely important. As I stated above, the only weakness I see in the Max-OT program is the fact that it wants you to lift 5 days straight and then get 2 days of rest. To me, especially at my age (47) that is just too much heavy lifting in a row. As a result, I've changed the program slightly. I lift 2 days, then I take a rest day. I then lift 3 days and take another rest day. I wind up lifting the same number of days and resting the same number of days, but I find that on Day 4 (after my first rest day) I am much stronger and ready to attack those weights.

Self Massage

I believe in foam rolling and when lifting heavy, it becomes even more important. Your joints and muscles get very tight and sore from the heavy lifting. By foam rolling you are releasing the adhesions that develop and avoid injury. It becomes a major part of the recovery process. You benefit in many different ways including:

  • Faster recovery
  • Better flexibility
  • Less injuries

I always foam roll once a day, but when I'm on a heavy lifting cycle I foam roll in the morning and the evening before bed. This is something that you definitely want to change in your routine if you are not already doing it.

Rest Periods

Lifting this heavy means extending your rest periods between sets just a bit more. While the recommendation is 2 to 3 minutes, I honestly believe it is better if you aim for 90 seconds. The only exception I make is for arms. I give those a bit more recovery time because, for some reason, my recovery on arms takes longer. Figure out what works for your body and then go with it. Your body will tell you what you need.

Increase the Intensity

Lifting heavy is going to require a lot of intensity. This is more of a mental thing than a physical thing in my opinion. Most of us are capable of way more than we give during a workout. The ability to be intense is going to come from your mental outlook. For instance, yesterday I had an arm training day. I was watching sweat drip down my legs. That's right! Sweat was dripping down my legs. That is because I was pushing my arms so hard that I heated up tremendously. The intensity was great and I was able to have an incredible arm training.

Eat!

You are going to need to eat enough when you are training heavy. Watch your energy and how you feel after a workout. Your body needs fuel to get through the intense training. Give it what it wants! Up your protein intake. Eat enough carbs pre and post training. Don't miss meals when training heavy. If you do this, you will see growth.

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts

Why Y3T was my training choice

By 4 Comments

Why Y3T?

During my preparation for my second bodybuilding contest I knew that I would have to work hard to put on mass. Now I am a strong believer in trying and tweaking things that work for others. Yes, I said tweaking. I know that may upset some, but I will explain in the course of this article why I think tweaking is important and what, if anything, I tweaked in Y3T.

The Need Was There

I do not believe in coincidences. That is just something I am not a fan of. I believe that all things happen for a specific reason and that includes selecting a training program. As my first bodybuilding show approached I knew that I would have to change preparation coaches. While I love what my first coach did for me and I have the utmost respect for his programs, he is so successful that our arrangement was no longer working for me strictly (and I want this to be clear) from the perspective of the attention I needed. I am happy that he has become so successful, but at the same time I need the attention from my preparation coach because when I have questions that need fast answers I cannot afford to wait for those answers. 

Armed with this knowledge I knew I would have to pay money for the new coach. The previous coach and I had an arrangement where I provided technical services in exchange for my contest preparation. This new situation meant I would not be able to afford someone to also train me, so I chose to pay for the part I know the least about–contest preparation. I would basically be on my own for the training part.

There is No Such Thing as a Coincidence

I began doing a little bit of research on the newer programs for mass building. I came across many good suggestions, but one seemed very interesting to me and I stuck it in Pearltrees for future review–Y3T. The weekend of my second bodybuilding show I was attending a soccer tournament for my youngest daughter. As I awaited one of the games I flipped through Flex magazine. No less than two times I read about Y3T in that magazine. One was in a question and answer column by Neil Hill (creator of Y3T) and one was in an article about Flex Lewis (one of my favorite bodybuilders and a client of Neil Hill). I was inspired to do more research.

After my Memorial Day contest I sat down at my computer and searched on Y3T. I discovered that Bodybuilding.com would be doing a 9 week video program lead by Neil Hill and Flex Lewis all about the Y3T program. It would teach how to execute the 3 cycles of the Y3T program. It came complete with the exercises to do and the correct volume to use. That was all I needed. I knew that this was the program for me. After all, there are no such things as coincidences.

Mass Building Principles of Y3T

The Y3T program focuses on building mass by hitting all muscle fibers in a variety of ways. It is a 3 week cycle that uses a body part split for the training. It emphasizes controlled movements, but heavy weights. It stresses that in order to grow you must push your muscles to the brink.

The first week involves heavy training at lower repetitions. Each set is taken to complete failure. The muscle is squeezed tightly on every repetition. Good form is followed throughout the entire workout. It is all about taking the muscles to places they haven't been before.

The second week sees a change in the number of repetitions. The rep range broadens, which means the weight decreases slightly. The movements are slowed down, but the focused squeezing remains. 

The third week is where everything goes crazy. Many different training principles are introduced. Neil Hill is a big believer in both rest-pause and drop sets. He is trying his best to totally obliterate the muscles during the workout. As one example, during the leg training I was doing sets of 50 repetitions on some exercises. It was an amazing experience–that coming from someone who simply loves intense training principles.

Tweaks to Y3T

As a big believer in the Experiment of One, I began the Y3T program stating that I would not modify the actual program itself at all. I wanted to see how well my body would respond to this type of training. Changing things would nullify the validity of any results I got either way. However, being in the off-season and wanting to keep the fat at a minimum, I immediately noticed that there was no cardio training prescribed for the entire 9 weeks. That wasn't going to fly. In addition, I did not see any abdominal training and that is an area I want to improve upon–my abdominals.

Cardio Training

As a result, I decided to introduce cardio into my weight training workouts. I had been doing 30 minutes of cardio after every weight training session during my contest preparation. That gave me such great results that I wanted to include those into the Y3T program. After examining all the workouts I realized that I would not be able to do cardio on the quads and hamstrings day, but could pull it off on every other day. 

After much thought about an approach, I decided to cycle my cardio. Each day of Y3T involves 2 muscle groups. To keep things interesting, I do the first muscle group's weight training and then I do 10 minutes of HIIT cardio. When that is complete, I do the second muscle group's weight training and then finish off with 20 minutes of HIIT cardio. This gives me a total of 30 minutes of HIIT cardio. On the next weight training day I simply go straight through the weight training and then stick 30 minutes of steady state cardio at the end of the training. I rotate back and forth like this on weight training days that don't involve my quads and hamstrings. I then add one more day of cardio on a rest day (probably the biggest change to the program). That gives me 4 days of cardio every week.

Abdominal Training

As for my abdominal training, I spread that out every other day. I like training my abs every other day because it keeps me consistent. 

Y3T – Strict or Modified – It Works

Over the first 2 weeks of my Y3T program I have seen some pretty impressive results. My back has responded the most favorably to the training. My arms have grown about 1/4″ in the 2 weeks as well. My shoulders are getting more mass. My legs look tighter and more full.

The fact is that you can follow this program as is or you can make the small modifications that I made. Either way, it is an awesome program and one I highly recommend to anyone looking to gain some mass.

Training Log

You can follow my detailed training diaries at the Body By Turks website, where I am guest blogging on a regular basis. 

Tried Y3T? Interested in discussing Y3T? Leave a comment below!

Related Posts:

How to Succeed by Knowing Your Body

By 3 Comments

You are the only person with the exact hormonal balance and body chemistry that exists in your body. Use this to your advantage by getting to know your body and handling it the way it wants to be handled. There are 3 common areas where knowing your body will help you succeed.

Weight Training for Your Body

Many people want to follow the cookie-cutter approach to weight lifting. They want their routines handed to them. Instead, to be extremely successful, program your own workouts according to how your body responds. Not everyone responds well to high volume training. If you are one of those who doesn't respond as well to high volume training, change to High Intensity Training where the volume is lowered, but the intensity is increased. Do what is right for your body. 

Eating for Your Body

Some people are extremely carb-sensitive while others are not. Some people do well with extremely high protein intake while others do not. You have to know your own body so that you can adjust your eating accordingly. This is the only way to assure success. Don't think that eating the same as the next guy is going to work for you.

Cardio for Your Body

Cardio exercise can be a controversial topic. I can tell you from personal experience that some people need a ton of cardio to stay lean while others can stay lean with a very low amount of cardio. This is a variable that you will need to understand for your body in order to get lean. I personally require a fairly high amount of cardio exercise. You may not. Do what is right for your body. Don't let the controversy over this topic scare you in one direction or another. You will definitely see great results if you do what is right for your body.

Related Posts:

New eBook!