Demon Embraces the Inner Monster - Path to MASSiveness in 2014

[demonwareltd]

Glad to see your back, sorry to hear about the DOMS. Probably take a few dyas to get back into it again.

Yes, so far chest and leg DOMs (the two workouts I did) are crazy intense. Looking forward to the weekend as by then they should subside some what

I also want to maintain my initial thought that trying to contest prep with an overactive 2.5 year old is by far the hardest thing in the world to do. I will post up details from my morning session a little later. That is all

[demonwareltd]

This morning brought an enthusiastic and energetic start to the week. Was up at 510, had some breakfast and at the gym around 535. Did 30 minutes on the elliptical at level 6 (300 calories) and then did the following ab work:

Swiss Ball Crunches - 3 sets
Ab Crunch Machine - 3 sets
Rope Crunches - 3 sets

About an hour total at the gym and then home to start work at 645. Working until 4 today then back to the gym for shoulders/calves. Gonna do this!

- Stan

[curjo]

Glad to see you got your positive attitude back!

[demonwareltd]

Glad to see you got your positive attitude back!

Me too! Got really down while in Europe and was very close to giving up completely and just indulging in all the good food and drink out there, but I didn't. I'm gonna be tired as hell over the next month but just pray for the energy and patience to put in the work and still help out my wife around the house and with our son as much as possible. I will definitely be using and abusing caffeine over the next month with a plan to go stim free for 2 weeks after for the first time in probably 4 or 5 years!

[Stncldsnake]

Glad to see your home bro and ready to kill it in the gym!!

[demonwareltd]

Thanks Snake!

Also, for the record, I feel like I'm going to starve to death on only 2300 calories. That is all!

Stan

[demonwareltd]

Workout tonight was pretty solid. Insanely sore from my last 2 workouts and care barely walk. Went something like this:

Side DB Laterals - 25x12, 30x12, 30x12, 30x12
Standing Barbell Press - 45x12, 95x10, 105x8, 105x7, 95x8
Standing Calf Raise - 180x15, 230x12, 230x12, 250x12
Behind Back Barbell Shrugs - 135x10, 225x10, 255x10, 255x10
Seated Calf Raise - 135x15, 160x15, 160x15, 160x15
Rear DB Laterals - 25x10, 25x10, 25x10
Front Barbell Raise - 55x10, 55x10, 55x10

Then hit up 25 minutes on the treadmill @3.8 MPH with an incline only up to 4. My hamstrings were so sore and tight that this was quite the challenge.

Rest of the evening has been shaping up well. My wife had made boiled chicken breast and asparagus for dinner when I got home and my son is already bathed and ready for bed before 7:30 which is rare. If every day from here on out is like this, I will be ecstatic!

[demonwareltd]

So this morning was really pathetic because my hamstring DOMs were so bad, I was almost immobile. I did manage 6.5 minutes on the treadmill @3.6 MPH at an epic incline of 1.0 I then said screw it and went on the elliptical for 13.5 minutes where my right foot was sore and cramping so bad as an after effect from all the calf raises last night. I couldn't win. So after 20 minutes I went into the weight room for some abs....

3 sets of Swiss Ball crunches
3 sets of Rope Crunches
2 sets of Side Oblique crunches
1 set of Ab crunch machine

Realized that for my back/tricep workout tonight, I'm going to have severely alter my normal back routine because there is no way in hell I will be able to effectively perform barbell rows, T-Bar rows or deadlifts since my legs are fried beyond belief. I see lots of pull-downs, pull ups and chins tonight along with some seated machine rows and DB rows. Should be good enough to make my back hurt for a week like all my other workouts have been doing. Damn layoff...

Speaking of layoff, I'm having some tough issues mentally. I left for Romania around 194 lbs first thing in the AM. The last two days though I've been around 189.5. This is crazy low. At first I thought I was dehydrated from my trip but I drank so much water yesterday I was literally in the bathroom every hour. Today, same weight in the morning. I don't feel any leaner so I have no other conclusion other than I somehow managed to waste almost 5 lbs of muscle even though I kept my protein intake very high and stuck to my diet 90% of the time. I even did circuit style training 5 days a week. So what gives? Maybe I'm just very carb depleted? I do feel as flat as a pancake. I plan on refeeding tomorrow and then I will take photos Wed night or Thurs morning and see if it's all in my head or what. I just know that I'm below my contest weight from my show in June yet at this point I don't feel leaner than I was for that show....

Okay, enough rambling....time for work.

[offroadatv200]

So this morning was really pathetic because my hamstring DOMs were so bad, I was almost immobile. I did manage 6.5 minutes on the treadmill @3.6 MPH at an epic incline of 1.0 I then said screw it and went on the elliptical for 13.5 minutes where my right foot was sore and cramping so bad as an after effect from all the calf raises last night. I couldn't win. So after 20 minutes I went into the weight room for some abs....

3 sets of Swiss Ball crunches
3 sets of Rope Crunches
2 sets of Side Oblique crunches
1 set of Ab crunch machine

Realized that for my back/tricep workout tonight, I'm going to have severely alter my normal back routine because there is no way in hell I will be able to effectively perform barbell rows, T-Bar rows or deadlifts since my legs are fried beyond belief. I see lots of pull-downs, pull ups and chins tonight along with some seated machine rows and DB rows. Should be good enough to make my back hurt for a week like all my other workouts have been doing. Damn layoff...

Speaking of layoff, I'm having some tough issues mentally. I left for Romania around 194 lbs first thing in the AM. The last two days though I've been around 189.5. This is crazy low. At first I thought I was dehydrated from my trip but I drank so much water yesterday I was literally in the bathroom every hour. Today, same weight in the morning. I don't feel any leaner so I have no other conclusion other than I somehow managed to waste almost 5 lbs of muscle even though I kept my protein intake very high and stuck to my diet 90% of the time. I even did circuit style training 5 days a week. So what gives? Maybe I'm just very carb depleted? I do feel as flat as a pancake. I plan on refeeding tomorrow and then I will take photos Wed night or Thurs morning and see if it's all in my head or what. I just know that I'm below my contest weight from my show in June yet at this point I don't feel leaner than I was for that show....

Okay, enough rambling....time for work.

You know I am having the same problem mentally. The only thing we can do is make that judgements call for ourselves. Of course we want to go out there and take the win, if someone said they didn't they'd be a fool. But, we are going out there for ourselves, to show off the hard work, time and dedication we put into it. Not many people can say they have or will ever compete. It says a lot just to get our asses out there.

Food for thought, if only I can make sense of it myself

[demonwareltd]

You know I am having the same problem mentally. The only thing we can do is make that judgements call for ourselves. Of course we want to go out there and take the win, if someone said they didn't they'd be a fool. But, we are going out there for ourselves, to show off the hard work, time and dedication we put into it. Not many people can say they have or will ever compete. It says a lot just to get our asses out there.

Food for thought, if only I can make sense of it myself

You are right on the money Billy and in all my previous shows, I was always among the smallest of the competitors in the tall class (perk of always competing in untested shows I guess) and you can really go far with good conditioning and posing. If I was competing again in a Novice show or even just an Open, I don't think I'd be so hard on myself. Very nervous however going into a NABBA pro show since I know for a fact the guys are going to be juiced out of their minds and massive.

I just need to convince myself that I am doing this just to say that I have done it. Like you said, not many people will ever compete and I'd like to think that even fewer will ever compete in a pro-level show. Still have the goal in my head though of placing top 5 and I would be lying if I told you I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't get top 5. We shall see.... I plan on pushing hard from now till show day and maybe once I send in my registration (have until end of the month), I'll stop doubting and start destroying

[Ccm644]

Sorry to hear about your 5lbs loss
As offroadatv has said your doing this for yourself, you have great family support and support from everyone here
What i love about your thread and you

You keep getting knocked down, and many obstacles coming in your way but you keep your head up high and carry on. You may not think much about it but it is hugely motivating

Hope your DOMS are not with you for too long

Keep it up

[demonwareltd]

Sorry to hear about your 5lbs loss
As offroadatv has said your doing this for yourself, you have great family support and support from everyone here
What i love about your thread and you

You keep getting knocked down, and many obstacles coming in your way but you keep your head up high and carry on. You may not think much about it but it is hugely motivating

Hope your DOMS are not with you for too long

Keep it up

Thanks Dean. Do my best to not let life events get you down. For example, I could have declined a trip to Romania, but want to try and position myself for a promotion at work this year. Until bodybuilding can pay the bills as well as software engineering can, I have to prioritize accordingly

I gave in and took some ibuprofen for my DOMs this morning which I rarely do. I couldn't even sit at my desk without being in a fair amount of discomfort!

[Stncldsnake]

Wow, hope the DOMS get left behind soon and looking forward to a solid back day!! Keep killing it!

[demonwareltd]

So back into the gym after work tonight for back/triceps. Was really a good session even though I was hella sore and incredibly weak on deadlifts. Went like this:

Wide grip pull-ups: BWx10, BWx10, BWx10
Deadlifts: 135x8, 225x6, 275x6, 335x5, 365x3
V-Bar Extensions: 100x15, 120x10, 130x10, 130x10
CGBP: 135x10, 165x10, 185x8, 195x6
Seated Machine Row: 160x10, 165x10, 170x10
Dips: BWx10, BW+45x10, BW+45x10
Underhand Grip Lat Pulldowns: 150x10, 160x10, 160x10
Straight Arm Pulldowns: 90x10, 100x10, 100x8

Workout took a little over an hour so was definitely moving. Had to avoid any heavy rows due to ridiculous DOMs going on right now. Hoping I can wake up and do some decent cardio. Cardio this evening went like:

Elliptical: 15 minutes @ level 6
Treadmill: 10 minutes @ 3.6 MPH, incline 3.0

That's all folks. Refeeding tomorrow on 400 grams of carbs. Looking forward to the pump and some energy for a change!!!

[Vanguard1965]

So back into the gym after work tonight for back/triceps. Was really a good session even though I was hella sore and incredibly weak on deadlifts. Went like this:

Wide grip pull-ups: BWx10, BWx10, BWx10
Deadlifts: 135x8, 225x6, 275x6, 335x5, 365x3
V-Bar Extensions: 100x15, 120x10, 130x10, 130x10
CGBP: 135x10, 165x10, 185x8, 195x6
Seated Machine Row: 160x10, 165x10, 170x10
Dips: BWx10, BW+45x10, BW+45x10
Underhand Grip Lat Pulldowns: 150x10, 160x10, 160x10
Straight Arm Pulldowns: 90x10, 100x10, 100x8

Workout took a little over an hour so was definitely moving. Had to avoid any heavy rows due to ridiculous DOMs going on right now. Hoping I can wake up and do some decent cardio. Cardio this evening went like:

Elliptical: 15 minutes @ level 6
Treadmill: 10 minutes @ 3.6 MPH, incline 3.0

That's all folks. Refeeding tomorrow on 400 grams of carbs. Looking forward to the pump and some energy for a change!!!

Back into the swing of things! Keep going Stan and awesome job on working through your trip and not giving up as I am sure many would have.

[demonwareltd]

Back into the swing of things! Keep going Stan and awesome job on working through your trip and not giving up as I am sure many would have.

Thanks Dean! The DOMs in my legs, while still there are beginning to let up and I'm starting to be able to push the intensity again. Gonna crush these last 3.5 weeks!

[demonwareltd]

So I'm going to refeed today after holding steady at around 160 grams of carbs the last 3 days. Refeed will look like this macro wise, all coming from oats because, well, I love my oatmeal!

P - 227
C - 371
F - 60.5

So this morning I had 1 cup of oats instead of my normal 1/2. Was quite full driving to the gym, but it wasn't too bad. Leg DOMs are also starting to let up so I was able to get some work done cardio wise for a change and also some abs of course.

Treadmill - 17 mins @3.7 MPH, gradual increase to incline 6.0
Elliptical - level 6 for 15 minutes

3 sets of swiss ball crunches
3 sets of rope crunches
2 sets of lying oblique crunches
1 set of ab machine crunches

Took about 50-55 mins or so. Looking forward to hopefully filling out and having more energy for this evening's chest/bicep workout. Stay tuned! Will also jump on the scale tomorrow morning and see how my weight is. Didn't weigh this morning, but the last two days was around 189.5 first thing in the AM. The incredible shrinking man!

I also want to find a tape measure and see what my waist is. My wife helped me drill 2 more holes into my weight belt yesterday and now I'm at the end of the strap, so I can't go any tighter. Maybe will take a picture of how small the belt is to show you how ridiculous it looks.

Have a great day everyone!

- Stan

[demonwareltd]

Awwww yeah! Work is done, T-1.5 hours until workout time. Loving the extra carbs so far today (have had 3.5 cups of oats). Thought it would be tough eating it all but not even close. I could eat an entire tub. Hoping it translates to good energy in the gym and looking a bit more filled out by tonight/tomorrow AM.

Tomorrow should be a great day too. No AM cardio/abs and working 1/2 day in the AM then spending the rest of the day/night with my son while my wife travels to OH for business. Got my mom to babysit over lunch so I can go and DESTROY legs and then hang out with my son and get some quality father/son time in!

On a side note, I had hoped to practice posing every day starting this week, but alas I can barely flex my muscles they are sooooo sore. Will start that up next week and hit it hard. Have......to......win!

[NaturalPursuit]

KILL the workout and posing man! Glad your back in the swing of things and all good!

[curjo]

Kill it Stan!! So much motivation in this thread it's crazy. Enjoy the father son time!

[demonwareltd]

KILL the workout and posing man! Glad your back in the swing of things and all good!

Kill it Stan!! So much motivation in this thread it's crazy. Enjoy the father son time!

Thanks guys! Will get to the details of my workout last night, but first some personal ramblings...

I was very close to throwing in the towel on the show last night. My son, while I was gone for 2 weeks has made a habit of sleeping with my wife in our bed and now that I'm home, we are having a hard time to get him to sleep in his own bed. He is constantly crying out for mommy when sleeping and what not. These are normal behaviors of 2 year olds, I'm sure, but the stress comes in that I think my wife is about wore out...

Not only did she have to take care of our son for 2 weeks while I was away and then run him here, there and the next place everytime she had to work (she is a consultant for Pure Romance), but now that I'm back, I basically get up at 5 AM, workout, come home, work, workout some more, come home and get ready for bed. I do fit as much time for chores and helping with my son as possible, but the days are so busy and energy is a finite resource.

At this point I need to have a talk with her to ensure 100% buy-in from her side, knowing the absence of my full attention and energies over the next month until the show is over. If she is in, great. If not, I think I will have to ditch the show in lieu of family life. I think being away from so long has been a larger burden than I realized and I want to be sensitive to that. Will keep you all updated on the decision though!

- Stan

[demonwareltd]

Weight: 189.3 lbs

Well even after my refeed yesterday, weight is basically unchanged. I have another refeed on Saturday and I may go higher with carbs (maybe 450 grams). I felt nice and full come workout time at 5:30 last night. Haven't had a chance to really pose or check the mirror this morning but will do so in a little and see how it's going.

For the first day in 5, my legs don't feel completely useless due to DOMs. Just in time for another leg session today. I have a half day from work, then taking my son to my parents so I can get my workout in over lunch and then picking up my son and we'll hang out and play the rest of the day. My wife will basically be working every evening between now and Sunday so need to get creative with workout and cardio times at this point.

Last night was chest/biceps and went something like this:

Incline Barbell Bench - 45x12, 135x10, 165x10, 185x8, 185x6
Standing EZ Bar Curl - 65x10, 85x10, 95x10, 95x10
Flat DB Bench Press - 70x10, 80x10, 80x9
Seated DB Curls - 35x10, 35x10, 35x10
DB Flyes - 45x10, 50x10, 50x8
Rope Bicep Curls - 100x10, 100x10, 100x10
Cable Crossovers - 60x10, 60x9, 50x10

Cardio was Elliptical level 7 @15 minutes

[HARRYBEAST]

So are you all in for the show then?

[demonwareltd]

So are you all in for the show then?

Will let u know this weekend once I chat with my wife when she is home from OH. Also need to get my entry fee post marked by end of next week at latest. For now its full steam ahead and hoping for a productive leg workout today!

[HARRYBEAST]

Will let u know this weekend once I chat with my wife when she is home from OH. Also need to get my entry fee post marked by end of next week at latest. For now its full steam ahead and hoping for a productive leg workout today!

Go get it! I am coming off a cold yesterday and hoping to kill a nice bench

[demonwareltd]

After dropping my son off at my parents I headed over to the gym for a leg session around noon... Hamstrings were still aching a bit but not as bad as days past. Either way I decided it's time to stop being a pussy and just push through it.

Barbell Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x6, 285x5, 305x3
Leg Press: 400x10, 580x12, 630x12, 680x12, 680x10
SLDL: 135x10, 225x10, 225x10, 245x10
Leg Extensions: 130x15, 140x15, 150x15, 150x12
Seated Leg Curls: 140x15, 140x15, 140x10

Was pretty beat by the end. Squats are still weaker than before I left for Romania but I'm also down to 189 lbs now and this is an improvement over my last leg workout 4 days ago. Confident that 315x3 will go up within the next week!

Son is down for a nap so once he wakes we'll load the stroller and make the trek down to the playground (1.5 miles round trip). Beautiful with 70 degrees and sunny here in PA. Gotta take advantage!

- Stan

[offroadatv200]

After dropping my son off at my parents I headed over to the gym for a leg session around noon... Hamstrings were still aching a bit but not as bad as days past. Either way I decided it's time to stop being a pussy and just push through it.

Barbell Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x6, 285x5, 305x3
Leg Press: 400x10, 580x12, 630x12, 680x12, 680x10
SLDL: 135x10, 225x10, 225x10, 245x10
Leg Extensions: 130x15, 140x15, 150x15, 150x12
Seated Leg Curls: 140x15, 140x15, 140x10

Was pretty beat by the end. Squats are still weaker than before I left for Romania but I'm also down to 189 lbs now and this is an improvement over my last leg workout 4 days ago. Confident that 315x3 will go up within the next week!

Son is down for a nap so once he wakes we'll load the stroller and make the trek down to the playground (1.5 miles round trip). Beautiful with 70 degrees and sunny here in PA. Gotta take advantage!

- Stan

^^That made me laugh.

I will be awaiting this 315 next week! Glad the workouts are improving since being home.

[demonwareltd]

^^That made me laugh.

I will be awaiting this 315 next week! Glad the workouts are improving since being home.

If there is one thing you should know, it's never doubt the demon...

[demonwareltd]

Took a walk around 4:30 this afternoon after my son was up from nap. walked 0.75 miles to the playground and played for about an hour. Then walked downtown, picked up some steamed veggies and shrimp from the local Chinese place and walked back home up the steepest hill in the county....at least it seems that way. All in all about 1.75 miles total. Really enjoyed the time with my son.

Back at it again tomorrow with cardio/abs in the AM and then shoulder/calves on tap for later!

[Stncldsnake]

Last couple of sessions look solid, glad to see your getting back in the groove!