Ryno99's 12 Week Out Contest Prep

[Ryno99]

Hey watsup everybody my name is Ryan and I am going to step on stage for the first time as a light heavyweight for the Mr. EIU 2009 on March 7th. Currently, I am about 12 weeks out from the competition and am weighing in at 192 lb at around 9-10% bodyfat. Ideally, I would like to lean down to a hard, dry 175, so I'll keep you posted on my goals. Although I am a ACSM CPT and I have been training for a while now, I am still somewhat of a newbie when it comes to competing, so feel free to post your insights, criticisms, tips whatever...shoot me straight, I can handle it. Right now, my diet currently cycles carbs, having higher intakes on leg and back days, moderate intake on other training days, and low intakes on off days. I hit the gym currently 5X a week, including a double split on friday for legs. I also cycle my training each week alternating between high volume workouts and low volume HIT style workouts. Post workout I will usually do about 20 minutes of cardio at a low intensity and complete HIT intervals on my off days. Here's a current look at my training this morning, bright an early at 6am:
CHEST/ABS
bb incline press 3X7-9 [185/195/205] (rest pausing last set)
db flat press 2X7-9 [90/95]
parallel dip 2X11-13 [35/25 added] (post exhaust)
db fly 7X11-13 [30] (fst-7)
hanging knee up 3X12-15 [15/15/BW] (superset)
cable crunch 3X15-20 [80/70/60]
side oblique crunch 2X20-25 [BW]
finished with 20 minutes of cardio on the treadmill at 10% grade, 3 mph
notes: Banged out 15 reps for the rest paused set of incline presses and felt pretty good today finishing flys with a nice pump

[xRZRx]

looks good man. good luck with preparation and the contest!

[Ryno99]

Hit bi's and tri's pretty heavy today and finished up with 15 minutes of cardio PWO heres how it all went down:

bb curl 3X7-9 95/100/115 (rest pause last one)
alt. db curl 3X7-9 45/50/55
machine preacher 4X13-15 (fst-7 style)
bb closegrip bench 3X7-9 185/185/185(rest pause last one)
lying french curl (lo incline) 3X7-9 35/40/45 a side (supersetted w/)
v-bar pushdown 4X13-15 120/110/90/90 (last set done seperate)

Cardio: 15 minutes on the tread 10% grade, 3.5 mph
Notes: Weights moved pretty well today, kinda had to rush workout towards the end so ended up supersetting my last two exercise for tri's and bumped up the cardio intensity but just doing 15 minutes today
P.S. I'll be posting some current pics probably sometime this weekend when i have some free time

[Ryno99]

Busy day today. Although today was an off day for training, it definitely wasn't a day to kick back. Before class today, I got into the gym to do some abs and some interval training, heres how it went down:
floor crunch
reverse crunch
bicycle crunch
side oblique crunch
v-up
I did 12 reps of each exercise continuously and complete the whole circuit four times without resting. All in all around 260 non stop reps, feelin that burn

intervals-stairmaster
2 minutes recovery
3 minutes work
repeated this interval 4 additional times for a total of 25 minutes
knocked off about 300 hundred calories and some change

Weighed in today at 191.5, pretty much where I have planned to be at, at this point, so far so good...

[Ryno99]

Hit quads this morning at 6am....pretty solid workout, heres how it all went down:
bb squat 3X7-9 (last set was widowmaker set of 20)
225/235/185
leg press(wide) 2X7-9
6/7 plates
db walking lunge 2X11-13
35/25
leg ext. (toes str.) 7X11-13
120

Weights were movin' pretty well today probably could've went a little heavier for the widowmaker but overall another good workout. I'll hit hams tonight so I'll let u know how it goes soon

[Ryno99]

hit hams in the pm, heres how it all happened:
bb stiff leg deadlift (on box) 3X7-9
225/245/275
seated leg curl 2X7-9
170/190
lying leg curl (torso up) 2X11-13 (Post-Exhaust)
100/80
bb rack deads 7X11-13 (FST-7)
225
leg press calf raise 3X12-15 (superset w/)
3/3/2 plates
seated calf raise 3X15-20 (post-exhaust)
2/2/2(1)

pretty decent workout, i was happy with the stiffs today, nice pump in lower back finishin with the rack deads....delts tommorow, i'll keep you posted

[Blazed]

Nice work man. Nice to see another 6'0" competitor. Going to be following your progress. Best of luck on your comp!

[AustrianOakJr]

Nice, Ryno. Seems like you have a solid plan in place. Only thing I would suggest is ditch the 175 lb number you have in your head. Ill echo an idea we hear in this section of the forum a lot.....Just keep cutting until your shredded. You may have done the math and calculated how much fat you need to lose, etc. But, it comes down to the mirror

Whats your nutrition look like?

[Ryno99]

Thanks for the advice guys...as far as my nutrition goes i eat about 7 times a day (including pre and post workout meals), utilizing carb cycling throughout the week. Heres how a typical moderate carb day works for me:
5am 1 scoop whey, 1 c. oats
6am train/cardio
7am 1 scoop whey, 2 scoops malodextrin
8am class
9am 7 whites, 1 yolk, 1 c. oats, 1 tbsp natty pb (been mixing this up as a batter and making a huge pancake with it, nice variation for me)
11am class
12pm 6 oz tuna, 1 c. brown rice, 1/2 c. brochilli
1pm class
3pm 1 scoop whey, 1/2 c. oats, 1 tbsp natty pb
630pm (work break) 6-8oz chicken breast, 2 cups spinach/brochilli, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
930pm 1 scoop whey, 1 tbsp natty pb

This is kinda my baseline diet with 225g carbs, on back and leg days i'll bump up carbs to 300g, on my off days/intervals i'll knock down carbs to 150g. As far as protein goes, baseline is roughly around 250g, decreasing it slightly on high carb days and bumping it up on low days. Fats are also increased slightly on low carb days. I know this diet could still use some tweaking, but right now this works well with training early, having a full deck of classes, and working at night. I am considering dropping a shake, and replacing it with some red meat or another lean meat and complex carb, kinda favoring a whole food approach. Also keep in mind that im a college student on a budget, and that means money definitely isn't stuffing my pockets. Gimme ur thoughts, lemme know wat u think...

[Ryno99]

Delts/Traps/Abs

smith overhead press 3X7-9 (RP Last Set)
205/215/225(7/4/3=14)
seated db overhead press 2X7-9
60/70
bb upright row (closegrip) 2X11-13 (Post-Exhaust)
135/115
seated db lateral 7X11-13 (fst-7)
25
db b-o lateral (stand) 3X9-11
25/30/30
leg throwdowns 2X12-15 supersetted w/
ball crunch 2X15-20
ball oblique crunch 2X20-25

workout notes:
Hit this workout a lil later in the evening after putting some extra hours in at work. Kicked everything off with some smith presses, feeling nice and powerful after my last rest pause set. after that hit db overheads bringing a nice full pump to my shoulders. definitely feeling full and wide. post exhausted the presses with upright rows and capped everything off with 7 sets of db laterals on the seat. after delts, me n my partner decided to switch things up and do some throwdowns and superset these with ball crunches. Worked some obliques n hit the treadmill for 20 minutes. pretty good effort in the gym today...hopefully takin' a few pics tommorow, i'll keep you all posted...

[AustrianOakJr]

Originally Posted by Ryno99

I am considering dropping a shake, and replacing it with some red meat or another lean meat and complex carb, kinda favoring a whole food approach. Also keep in mind that im a college student on a budget, and that means money definitely isn't stuffing my pockets. Gimme ur thoughts, lemme know wat u think...

Thats pretty much the only thing I would suggest.....looks like you have a lot of whey in there. Good on the budget, but whole food is better for much of the day. Maybe toss the 3PM whey supplement and add some ground turkey, chicken breast, tuna (on the cheap), etc. Personally, I always ate whole food after my morning cardio. When prepping, I would eat a scoop of whey and some toast/honey for quick protein and quick carbs when I woke up and then go right out to cardio. The oats you eat prior to cardio are relatively slow digesting and dont snap you out of the night-time fast as quickly. When I was finished I would do oats and whole eggs. Im sure what youre doing would work fine, but I would want some whole food in me prior to 4 hrs after you wake up.

[Ryno99]

Winding down the week on a kinda laid back sunday. Hit the gym in the afternoon to do some calf work and 20 minutes of HIT intervals:
Standing Calf Machine 10X10 (15 sec rest)
Rotary Calf Machine 1X15 (stretch reps)

20 minutes of intervals on the arc trainer
2 min. work
1 min. recovery

a little more intense interval this time around. Hit the scales today at 191 and am looking leaner. I'll keep you all posted...

[Ryno99]

Pretty pumped at the gym today, hit back n traps today. This week is my high volume/high rep part of my four week cycle, ready to tear it up and chase that pump. Here's how it went down:

r.g. bb row 4x11-13 (double drop last set)
225/215/195/185(155)(135)
lat pulldown (wide) 3x15-17 (pre-exhaust)
120/130/140
one arm db row 3x11-13
100/90/80
bb deadlift 2x13-15
275/225
kneeling rope pulldown 7x11-13
80
seated db shrug 2x15-17 (pre-x superset)
75/75
bb btb shrug 2x11-13
185/155

Workout Notes:
Pretty awesome workout today, kicked everything off with r.g bb rows double drop setting the last set. Then I pre-exhausted with lat pulldowns with a wide grip, really pumping up the lats. After that came three big sets of one arm db rows, definitely feeling the pump throughout my whole back. I then hit bb deads from the floor pulling 275 and 225 for 15 reps each...a total killer. Capped everything off with 7 sets of kneeling pulldowns with the rope really focusing on a strong contraction in the lats. Hit traps with a couple quick supersets of seated db shrugs and bb shrugs behind the back...after that i was spent, overall pretty solid workout and a great start to a busy week...

[Ryno99]

Great workout today hit chest and abs at 6:30 this morning heres how it all happened:
incline db press 4x11-13(double drop last set)
100/90/80/70(60)(50)
cable fly (lo incline, flat, lo decline) 3x15-17(pre-exhaust superset)
30/40/50
bb bench (wide) 3x11-13
175/155/135
db pullover 2x13-15
75/65
cable crossover (lo 2 hi) 7x11-13(fst-7)
40-3 sets/30-4 sets
cable crunch 3x15-20(pre-x superset)
70/80/50-oblique
hanging knee up 3x12-15
15/10/BW-oblique
side oblique crunch 2x20-25
BW/BW/BW

Workout Notes: Awesome workout today, definitely a five star training session. Kicked everything off with incline db presses, doing a double drop on the last set, really rushes some blood into the chest. After that I supersetted high rep cable flys with flat bb bench with a wider than usual grip=crazy pump! After that brief torture, it was back over to the flat bench to do some db pullovers, getting a big stretch at the bottom and a strong contraction at the top. Capped the whole chest assault with seven quick sets of cable crossovers from the bottom up. After that i was spent. Hit a few sets of abs with a lil' extra oblique work and finished the session with 25 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5mph.

[Ryno99]

Hit bi's/tri's and 4 arms today
seated alt. db curl 3x11-13(double drop last set)
40/35/30(25)(15)
lying incline french curl 3x11-13(double drop last set)
80/70/60(40)(30)
one arm db spider curl 2x15-17(pre-exhaust superset)
20/25
bb curl (wide, narrow) 2x11-13
90/70
db kickback 2x15-17(pre-exhaust superset)
20/25
bb closegrip bench 2x11-13
155/135
double hi cable curl 4x13-15(fst-7)
40
r.g. one arm pushdown 4x13-15(fst-7)
30
bb wrist rollout 2X15-17
55/65
db hammer curl 2x11-13
35/25
PWO cardio 25 min/3.5mph/10% grade

[Ascitiesburn96]

keep up the good work man sounds like your on your way.
Looking forward to some progress pics, when those coming around?

[Ryno99]

Hit the gym after my last final today...thank God!!!
Kicked everything off with my cycles of ab work:
floor crunch
reverse crunch
bicycle crunch
side oblique crunch
v-up
20 reps a piece, 3 cycles non stop

after abs, I hit the stairmaster for some intervals:
25 minutes: 2 min recovery, 3 min work
knocked out about 300kcals pretty solid work today...
I'm headed back home tomorrow, so I will be switching up gyms. Double splitting legs tomorrow with high volume, so I'll let you know about the brutality as it happens.

By the way I know I have been procrastinating with the pics, but I plan on taking them sometime this weekend. when i'm 10 weeks out.

[Ryno99]

Sorry little late on this one but friday was a complete mess. as soon as i got back from school, i had no power at my house cuz of this ice storm, so all of my meals had to become portable suddenly...so that meant alotta tuna and whey for the day. I didnt get the opportunity to double split, so i was only able to hit quads. n e ways had to work at a gym in my hometown for about 5 hours and then after I closed i finally got to train, heres wat went down:

leg press (narrow) 4x11-13 (double drop last set)
4+100/3+25+100/3+100/2+25+100/(2+100)(1+25+100)
db split squat 3x15-17 (pre-x superset)
25/30/30
smith front squat 3x11-13
155/135/115
bb walking lunge 2x13-15
95/65
leg ext. (toes out) 7x11-13
90

Notes: This workout was a tough. Hit the gym after close, so i had the whole gym to myself, kinda helped keep the intensity up. Kicked it off with the leg press and was definitely feeling a nice pump in the quads. Then I supersetted db split squats right into front squats on the smith machine...a true killer, but defiantly feeling that sweep. After that i limped over to the power rack and grabbed a bb and took off, walking lunges and capped it all off with 7 sets of the leg ext with toes out...absolutely exhausted, great workout tho

[Ryno99]

Saturday I had to close the gym again, hit delts, traps and also threw in some scattered sets of leg curls for hams...
smith behind the neck press 4x11-13(double drop last set)
db lateral 3x15-17(pre-x superset)
db overhead press 3x11-13
bb standing o-head press 2x13-15
cable upright row 2X11-13(double drop last set)
cable rear delt ext 7x11-13(fst-7)
also hit some abs briefly
crunches supersetted with
lying knee ins
capped it all off with some high rep sets of hypers.

[Ryno99]

Starting my heavy part of the cycle this week kickin' it all off with some heavy back work, heres how it went down:
bb deads 3x5-7
365/375/380
pull ups (mid) 2x5-7(rest pause last set)
+10/+25
seated cable row (wide) 2x9-11
100/90
v-bar pulldowns 7x11-13(fst-7)
80/70
smith bb shrugs 3x11-13
225/275/315

Notes: Pretty solid workout...kicked everything off with deads, a true staple to any of my programs, then hit some weighted pullups rest pausing the last set. After that i decided to switch things up and do some seated cable rows with the wide grip bar, really focusing on a nice squeeze. To cap off the back assault I hit v-bar pulldowns for 7 sets really feeling a nice pump afterwards. I also did some regular grip shrugs in the smith machine for three sets. Definitely feeling nice and dense afterwards.

[Ryno99]

Hey guys been slackin' a lil here lately with the holidays n' all so I'd figure I'd get you guys up to speed with wats been goin on. I had to miss a couple days in the gym so yesterday I made up for it with a big ass session of legs. Usually I split up quads and hams but i decided to train them together today cuz of schedule constraints.
bb squat 3x5-7
245/255/275
leg press 2x5-7(rest pause last set)superset with
hundo + 6 plates/side/+7 plates
db walking lunge 2x9-11
30/25
leg ext. 4x13-15
110
took quick break and hit the bike to loosen up the legs
bb stiffs 3x5-7
225/245/275
lying leg curl 2x5-7(rest pause last set)superset with
130/150
single leg s. leg curl 2x9-11
50/30
smiths rack deads 4x13-15
275

Whoa, this was a rough one, definitely a marathon of a workout. Pushed some pretty decent weight yesterday. Wrapping up my heavy peak week this weekend and then im goin to kick things up a bit with some diet adjustments and training mods. I'll keep u posted

[Hammy907]

good luck bro at mr. eiu. I'm deffinately gonna be following. I'm planning on competing in mr. siu

[theognis1002]

pics!!

[Ryno99]

hit delts and bi's and tri's heavy saturday and did some interval cardio on Sunday after I closed the gym...weights going down pretty smoothly and i'm sharpening up, so so far so gooooood

[Ryno99]

Alright well I try to catch u all up to speed here. Monday was the start of a new training cycle, and i kicked it all off with a high volume back workout.
bb row 4x10-12(drop last set)
245/225/215/195(135)
r.g. lat pulldown 3x14-16(pre-exhaust superset)
100/110/120
one arm db row 3x10-12
90/80/70
bb deadlift 2x12-14
295/245
cable pullover 7x10-12
70
seated db shrug 2x14-16(pre-exhaust superset)
90/90
bb behind the back shrug 2x10-12
185/135

Post Workout knocked out 25 minutes on the arc trainer, expending about 250 kcals +
Notes: Definitely a kick ass workout to start off the week. Workout started a lil slow but once I was through the first couple sets of the superset, my back was PUMPED! Hit deads somewhat heavy for high reps...absolute killer. Capped off the back attack with some cable pullovers...pretty solid work, felt great to start a new week.

[Ryno99]

Hit chest early today after my shift at the gym. Didn't plan on working, so I had to buy some food to make it through the morning, today is a moderate carb day so a dozen eggs and a small container of oats, helped me get through the morning. Heres how it all went down:
incline db bench 4x10-12(drop last set)
90/85/80/75(55)
db fly (hi incline, flat, lo decline) 3x14-16(pre-exhaust superset)
30/35/40
bb bench (wide grip) 3x10-12
155/145/135
db pullover 2x12-14
80/70
cable crossover (hi2lo) 7x10-12(fst-7)
40
cable crunch (slings) 3x20-25(pre-x superset)
70/60/50
hanging knee up 3x15-20
bw/bw/bw
side oblique crunch 2x25-30
bw/bw/bw
PWO Cardio: hit the stairmaster for 25 minute at a low intensity
Notes: Crazy workout today. Chest was definately feeling nice and full after this one. I supersetted fly at various angles with benching after hitting my incline presses..major pump. Hit a favorite of mine db pullovers and then capped it all off with some fst-7 sets of cable crossovers...wow!
Also to note I have made a few slight modifications with my training and diet, for abs im gunna bump up the reps just slightly and also increase my caloric expenditure by increasing post workout cardio to 25 minutes and upping intervals to 30 minutes...i'll keep you posted

also pics will be up as soon as I get a chance, im really busy right now, but they will be up soon!

[Ryno99]

Been busy the past few days with work n' all i figure i'll just sum up the rest of the week for you all...
hit bi/tris wednesday, the day off for new years, then double split quads and hams friday-killer, delts saturday and some intervals on sunday...bout to head off to the gym now so i'll give u a more detailed post tonight or tommorow morning

[tvicemanXXL]

It sounds like you're doing a great job! Post some progress pics!

[Ryno99]

Monday kicked off my heavy week with hittin' some back n traps. Mixed things up with this workout and switched a the format a bit...
bb t-bar row 3x8-10
145/170/195
one arm db row 2x8-10(superset with)
90/100
assisted pullup(wide, mid) post-exhaust 2x12-14
120/120
seated cable row(supinated str. bar grip) 1x10-12
120
smith shrugs 3x8-10(superset w/)
275/245/225
db standing shrug 3x12-14
Stretched out then hit the stairmaster for 25 minutes

Notes: Switched things up and threw in the t-bar row this week. I also used the 25 lb plates instead of the big 45's, which helped me achieve a better range of motion, even tho i had to stack on more total plates. Also with seated rows, i threw in a supinated straight bar grip to really finish off those lower lats. Pretty solid workout.

[Ryno99]

Hit chest/biceps and abs last night, heres the scoop......
bb incline press 3x8-10(reverse strip last set)
185/195/195(205)(215)
db flat press 2x8-10(superset w/)
80/90
db fly (decline/incline) 2x12-14(post-x)
35/25
parallel dip 1x10-12
70
bb curl 2x8-10 (reverse strip last set)
85/85(105)(125)
alt. db hammer curl 2x8-10(superset w/)
40/50
machine preacher curl 2x12-14(post-x)
hanging knee up 3x15-20 (superset w/)
cable crunch 3x20-25 .(post-x)
bicycle crunch 2x 25-30
Knocked off 25 minutes on the stairmaster post workout

Notes: Tried out a new technique: reverse strip sets which works by actually adding weight instead of dropping it. tried it out with bb inclines and probably could've went a little lighter, i needed to get a few more reps. Hit flat db presses and kinda got a bad start having some trouble kickin up the weight right. Finished the session with some biceps and abs, biceps felt pumped, but still the intensity of the workout wasn't the best...I definately could step it up a notch, might hit chest again on one of my off days this week.

p.s. i plan on shaving and tanning by the end of this week, Sunday when i get back to school I'll take a few pics