Weights & Measures Day:

My weight remained the same and my body composition
remained close to the same over the past week. It looks like I might have gained
a slight amount of fat but the change was so slight that it could be the human factor. I check my
own body fat so human error can be responsible for slight changes either
way.
Anyway, the dietary changes I made a couple of weeks ago
seem to be doing the job I wanted them to do. I don't seem to be gaining body
fat and I've been able to add small amounts of lean mass most of the time. But
it looks like my gains in mass have tapered off considerably. It looks like I
might have hit a plateau at 194 lbs.
I'll continue my current nutrition program and training
program of 3 days on, 1 day off for now. Most days, I'll split my gym time onto
2 separate workouts. Fortunately, I'm still not noticing an signs of
overtraining and my body fat percentage is reasonable.
Originally, I had planned to stay on this muscle gaining
phase for 12 weeks but if my progress remains in limbo for too much longer, I'll
switch gears into my cutting phase a little earlier than planned. The other
factor I have to watch out for is body fat. My first contest of 2007 is April
14th. At a maximum fat loss pace of 0.75% per week, it'll take me a minimum of 8
weeks to bring my body fat down to 4% from 10%. I'd like to hit my idea BF %
about a week before the contest, so if I can retain close to 10% BF, February
7th is my drop dead date for entering my cutting phase.
However, I'd prefer to only have to drop 0.5% BF per week.
At this rate, it will take me 12 weeks to drop the same amount of BF and reach
4%. That brings me to a start date of January 10th which means, if I am truly on
a muscle gaining plateau, I can switch to my cutting phase at any time.
But I'll hang in there on my muscle gaining phase for a
couple more weeks and, hopefully, I'll start adding some more lean tissue.
Onto my recent workouts...
Tuesday Morning's Workout (Chest-Hypertrophy):
I started off with 3 light sets of incline bench presses on
the Smith machine.
Smith Machine Incline Bench Press:
135 x 21
185 x 12
185 x 12
135 x 21
Next I did one of my favorite combos; a super drop set. I
started with incline dumbbell flies, followed immediately by incline dumbbell
presses. Then I immediately picked up a lighted set of dumbbells and did another
set of incline dumbbell presses.
Incline Dumbbell Flies/Incline Dumbbell Presses/Incline
Dumbbell Presses (Super drop set):
50s x 12, 50s x 10, 30s x 12 (no
rest between exercises or weight changes)
50s x 12, 50s x 6,
30s x 10 (no rest between exercises or weight changes)
50s x 12, 50s x 6, 30s x 6 (no rest
between exercises or weight changes)
I finished chest with a few sets of
cable crosses.
Cable Crosses:
100s x 16
100s x 12
100s x 12
Tuesday Afternoon's Workout (Calves):
I was the only one in the gym when I
started my afternoon workout so I decided to super set my calves.
Calf Extensions on Leg Press
Machine/Seated Calf Raises (Super Set):
865 x 21, 180 x 16 (no rest
between exercises)
865 x 18, 180 x 12
(no rest between exercises)
865 x 16, 135 x 12
(no rest between exercises)
665 x 25, 135 x 10 (no rest between
exercises)
That was it for calves. I stretched them for 30 seconds
between each set. They were really pumped and pretty tight by the time I
finished.
Wednesday Morning's Workout (Shoulders):
I started off with my favorite shoulder exercise - triple
drop sets of dumbbell lateral raises.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises (triple drop sets):
35s x 12, 30s x 12, 25s x 12 (no
rest between weight changes)
35s x 12, 30s x 10,
25s x 10 (no rest between weight changes)
35s x 12, 30s x 8, 25s x 10 (no rest
between weight changes)
Onto my posterior delts (rear shoulders)...
Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Flies:
60s x 15
60s x 12
60s x 12
I finished shoulders with a few light
sets on the Body Masters reverse fly machine.
Reverse Flies (machine):
100 x 16
100 x 12
100 x 12
Wednesday Afternoon's Workout (Triceps):
Decline Skull Crushers:
105 x 8
105 x 8
105 x 8
I was careful to keep near perfect form using a 3,0,2,0
tempo.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Extensions (triple drop set):
25 x 10/12, 20 x 6/6, 15 x 6/6 (no
rest between weight changes)
25 x 6/8, 15 x 6/8,
10 x 8/10 (no rest between weight changes)
25 x 6/6, 15 x 5/5, 10 x 5/5 (no rest
between weight changes)
Reverse-Grip Single-Arm Cable Push-Downs:
40 x 10/12
40 x 12/12
40 x 8/10
Parallel Dips:
BW x 20