My journey to the Men's Physique Division 2012

[NTT91]

Great sessions on those squats Nate!

Thanks Boss!

[NTT91]

DB Press:

85x6
85x6
85x5
70x8, RP, 3
*Back at home for a bit so cou;ld go heavier because the DB's aren't garbage.

Laterals:

35x15
40x12
40x12
40x12
25x20
*First two sets were leaning...last 3 were single arm

Hammer Strength Press:

180x12
180x8
180x9
80x10 (single arm)

Bent over laterals:

35x15
40x12
35x12

2 sets of cable laterals...

BB Shrugs:

315x12
315x12
405x10
225x20

Did a lot of ab supersets in between various exercises.

[phal]

Nice pressing, gonna see the 90's soon I reckon.

[NTT91]

Nice pressing, gonna see the 90's soon I reckon.

Thanks man! I've hit the 95's before last winter but that was at a low angle...like a really high incline press so I'm not going to count it.

[NTT91]

Flat Bench:

225x7
235x5
235x4
240x2 (Had some more in the tank but shoulder was feeling iffy)
185x12, RP, 4
*Lost a rep on the 225 set but this was some decent benching...felt pretty solid.

Incline Hammer Strength:

4 sets of 8-10 reps with a rest pause on last set

Incline Flys:

55x10
60x8
60x8
40x15, RP, 5 (Giant squeezes and exaggerated negatives)

Flat DB Press:

75x8
75x8
*Havent done these in forever...these were light

Machine Bench Press:

2 sets of 8 with a rest pause on last set

Cable Crossovers:

2 sets of 15-20 reps with a rest pause on last set

Notes: Week one of cutting is down and I am noticeably leaner already. Got some nice comments from guys at my home gym I haven't seen in a while. It's nice to hear because usually I feel like I always look the same since I see myself everyday!

Some recent pics:

G]


I'm thinking 11% BF currently?

[NTT91]

Pullups:

BWx12
BW+25x6

switched to pulldowns:

195x10
195x8, RP, 3

Rack Deads (From shins):

365x5
375x4
375x4
315x8
*Haven't done any form of deads in weeks so these were not that strong.

Hammer Strength iso Rows:

3pps+25x10
4ppsx6, RP, 4
3ppsx12

Hammer Strength High Rows:

3 sets of 8-12 with 3pps

Underhand Pulldowns:

165x10
165x10
165x8

DB Rows:

100x15, RP, 6
*Just one set with huge squeezes and negatives to burn out

some rear delt work...

[fittofattofit]

Looking great in your pics Nate. Only one week of your cut and I'd agree at 11%
You're arms are huge: big bis, but your tris are massive and you're showing great definition around that lateral head
Shoulders and traps looking really thick as well
At this rate you'll be shredded in 4 weeks!
What's your weight now?

And strong work on the chest and back sessions

[NTT91]

Looking great in your pics Nate. Only one week of your cut and I'd agree at 11%
You're arms are huge: big bis, but your tris are massive and you're showing great definition around that lateral head
Shoulders and traps looking really thick as well
At this rate you'll be shredded in 4 weeks!
What's your weight now?

And strong work on the chest and back sessions

Thanks Fit! I'd love to get down to around 8% or so, however I really don't want to have to go below 190 or so...I start to look like a string bean in clothes if I go much lower than that!

[Rog447]

Mirin those triceps!

[lllDBOlll]

Looking really great bud! Incredible gains, solid work!

[fittofattofit]

Thanks Fit! I'd love to get down to around 8% or so, however I really don't want to have to go below 190 or so...I start to look like a string bean in clothes if I go much lower than that!

At 200 now, you'll only need to drop 6lbs to hit 8%, so use 190 as your 'floor' and go by the mirror, but you should get there easily in 4 weeks

[NTT91]

Mirin those triceps!

Ha thanks! Now I gotta get my biceps to catch up!

Looking really great bud! Incredible gains, solid work!

thanks my man!

At 200 now, you'll only need to drop 6lbs to hit 8%, so use 190 as your 'floor' and go by the mirror, but you should get there easily in 4 weeks

Well thats good news!

[NTT91]

Did some arms tonight. Sooo much volume so not gonna bother recording it all. On DB curls I focused on full range of motion (palms up the whole time) and big squeezes and negatives. Got an unbelievable pump...just curled the 40's instead of 50's to 60's. Gonna try this out from now on on biceps. Triceps got a huge pump too.

[xKyle10]

subbed brah, remember you from the teen section. good luck with the prep for the physique show. your tris are fukkin sick bro what exercises do you attribute most of your mass to, particularly long head? gonna be aesthetic with a bit more bf% loss

[NTT91]

subbed brah, remember you from the teen section. good luck with the prep for the physique show. your tris are fukkin sick bro what exercises do you attribute most of your mass to, particularly long head? gonna be aesthetic with a bit more bf% loss

Thanks man! Ya, I remember you well. As far as moves for tris I've always done some form of heavy CGBP. I used to do Decline CGBP religiously which I used to refer to as my "secret weapon" for tris, only because nobody ever thinks to do them that way but try it out...it's sick! Other than that I like skullcrushers from all different angles, and lately I've been doing a pre exhaust rope pressdown before CGBP which I've been diggin.

[NTT91]

In other news, I am highly considering doing the Men's Physique division NPC New England show on October 27th. This will give me over 6 months to make improvements. It would be nice to train with having a concrete plan/deadline in mind. Might add some fuel to the fire!

[fittofattofit]

In other news, I am highly considering doing the Men's Physique division NPC New England show on October 27th. This will give me over 6 months to make improvements. It would be nice to train with having a concrete plan/deadline in mind. Might add some fuel to the fire!

A deadline is a great idea to give you focus - a 4 week cut, get down to 8% to assess what you'd like to bring up, then a lean bulk and finish with a 12 week cut should bring you in shredded! You've got good mass and balance, so you should do well!

[NTT91]

A deadline is a great idea to give you focus - a 4 week cut, get down to 8% to assess what you'd like to bring up, then a lean bulk and finish with a 12 week cut should bring you in shredded! You've got good mass and balance, so you should do well!

My thoughts exactly! Thanks for the continued support Andrew...it means a lot.

[NTT91]

BB Squats:

315x8
335x4
365x2
315x6
315x6
275x10, RP, 3
*These were pretty great this week. 315 is now my bitch.

Leg Press:

stackx12
stackx12
stackx12

Seated calves:

4 sets of 8-15

Leg Extensions superset with lying leg curls: 4-5 sets each

Machine calf press:

2 sets of 15-20

Notes: Focusing more on calves lately seeing as how if I do MP my thighs won't even be on display but calves will...so might as well make them the best they can be...they suck now though haha.

[fittofattofit]

Your squatting has always been strong Nate, but.....yes...... you've really made 315 your bitch now.
6 months ago you were still trying to get a set of 5 @ 315 and now you're pyramiding to 365 x 2
You've shown a nice steady progression on all of your lifts since you started this log!

[xKyle10]

Thanks man! Ya, I remember you well. As far as moves for tris I've always done some form of heavy CGBP. I used to do Decline CGBP religiously which I used to refer to as my "secret weapon" for tris, only because nobody ever thinks to do them that way but try it out...it's sick! Other than that I like skullcrushers from all different angles, and lately I've been doing a pre exhaust rope pressdown before CGBP which I've been diggin.

Nice I started doing decline cgbp about 10 months or so ago and really have taken a liking to it, definitely have noticed some tri growth. I'll try out pre exhaustion for tris, been doing that with pec deck before bench and its gotten me some solid PRs recently.


Sick squats man, any pics of the wheels in here? And nice job on picking a show date, definitely good to have it in mind when you want to go forward with it. Kind of stupid how they wear pretty much bathing suits for the physique comp and count out the wheels, IMO they should use some form of boxer briefs or something so you can at least see the competitors don't have sticks lol.

[phal]

Triceps/delts looking really solid, great job Nate.

[NTT91]

Your squatting has always been strong Nate, but.....yes...... you've really made 315 your bitch now.
6 months ago you were still trying to get a set of 5 @ 315 and now you're pyramiding to 365 x 2
You've shown a nice steady progression on all of your lifts since you started this log!

Thanks Fit! Squatting has been taking off lately!

Nice I started doing decline cgbp about 10 months or so ago and really have taken a liking to it, definitely have noticed some tri growth. I'll try out pre exhaustion for tris, been doing that with pec deck before bench and its gotten me some solid PRs recently.


Sick squats man, any pics of the wheels in here? And nice job on picking a show date, definitely good to have it in mind when you want to go forward with it. Kind of stupid how they wear pretty much bathing suits for the physique comp and count out the wheels, IMO they should use some form of boxer briefs or something so you can at least see the competitors don't have sticks lol.

Thanks bro! And I definitely agree that I wish it was a boxer brief thing instead of board shorts. I work hard for my wheels even though they kind of suck compared to my upper body haha.

Triceps/delts looking really solid, great job Nate.

Thanks bro!

[NTT91]

Did some shoulders tonight. It was pretty mediocre so not gonna bother recording it. I drank a bit too much last night so that may have had an impact.

[NTT91]

Flat Bench:

225x8
235x6 (rep PR?)
240x3
225x5
185x10, RP, 3
*Wow...I slowed down the reps this week and focused on really contracting my pecs and getting a full range of motion, and I end up putting up some great reps! Go figure...Really pleased with benching this week.

Incline DB Press:

85x9
90x6
85x8
85x7, drop, 40x10

Incline Flys:

50x10
50x10
60x8
60x7, RP, 3

Hammer Strength wide Press:

2pps+25x7
2pps+25x6, RP, 2
2ppsx10, RP, 4

Cable Crossovers:

2 sets of 15 reps

3 sets of hanging leg raises

4 sets of hammer strength crunches

Notes: Okay, so really focused on squeezing the chest this week and just tearing down the muscle...was a phenomenal workout. Didn't go quite as heavy but my chest got raped from the constant tension, rest pauses, slower tempos, and full range of motion. From now on I'm focusing on MMC over weight...PERIOD!

[nwskier]

nice job on the bench and mmc! solid reps FTW

btw, triceps looking meaty. good fkn work dude

[irish.red]

solid benchin/volume man- keep up the momentum!

[NTT91]

nice job on the bench and mmc! solid reps FTW

btw, triceps looking meaty. good fkn work dude

Thanks Tim! At the end of the day I'm strictly concerned with size/appearance, so I think the super heavy stuff can wait for the time being.

solid benchin/volume man- keep up the momentum!

Thanks!

[NTT91]

Underhand Pulldowns:

210x10
215x7
215x7
180x10, RP, 4

BB Rows:

225x12
245x8
275x8
205x12 (super strict)

Hammer Strength Iso Rows:

3ppsx12
3pps+25x10
4ppsx8 (PR?), RP, 4

Assisted Chins:

3 sets of 10 reps...rest paused until I got ten on each set

DB Rows:

100x12
100x12
100x10, RP, 4

5 sets of seated calf raises

3 sets of rear delt raises

Notes: Pretty solid workout. Focused more on mmc again like with chest yesterday, and lats are totally fried! Big gains on the way...believe it!

[fittofattofit]

Great work on your benching and those are really strong UH pulldowns and BB rows Nate!
Going slower and thinking about the pecs/lats/whatever muscle really helps to increase the intensity. Lats deserved to be fried after that session