Smooth's new prep log for 2012

[TQsmooth5]

Hello again,

I posted a log here last year for the 2010 season. Some highs and lows for that year (A few wins, a few 2nd place finishes (next to folks like Luke Ehlis!) and a few top 5 finishes, but here I am ready for next season.

Let's just jump right on in here...stats:

3 weeks into contest diet:

Age 41

Weight - around 228 lbs (that's actually down 7 lbs from the start)

Body fat - clocked in 3 weeks ago at.....sigh..22% or more (some areas too big to pinch) yes, this is using calipers but they will still reflect a decreasing story over the long run.

Diet and Training - United Fitness

Speaking of long run...First planned show is approx. 32 weeks - NPC Vancouver, WA usually early April; followed by NANBF Wash a few weeks later; I also plan on travelling again somewhere east. I'm thinking about NY City or Boston. I've never been to either place (last year I did the Buckeye Classic in Ohio marking the furthest place I've ever travelled east); Perhaps a few shows in CA and I'd like to try Vegas next year as well.

Strengths - Experience, been training off and on since 1986 first for football then first competition in 1989; My back is probably my strongest bodypart and I've added a little more size on my chest. Weakness - Need major help on my quad and calf size (even though both wll have cross striations long before the rest of me), also my biceps and looking at some of last year's photos compared to the season before, my shoulders will need to be re-addressed. And unfortunately, while getting lean isn't my main issue I have a tendency to amass fat right there in the gut while everything else gets leaner. Not just a little bit, I mean I'll be shredded everywhere except for my gut...to an unreasonable and rather eerie degree! Hopefully the diet will change all that.

The plan: Starting macros at p/c/f - 200/200/40. Cardio - approx 10-15 mins per seesion. This will indeed be adjusted as time goes on, however this year I plan on relying mainly on diet and not wasting my muscle away through accessive cardio, I used to do 1 hour treadmill (full incline @ 4.4 speed) per session...twice a day! Then I'd have the nerve to say to myself why do my legs always come in too small. This time, I'll keep a better eye on it. Also I plan on utilizing Berto's recent article regarding keeping the weights as heavy as possible for as long as possible. Recently I've caught myself thinking, "could I have lifted 5 or 10 more pounds for a few less reps, or am I just too lazy to get up and grab that extra weight that I know I can do so I just stick with what's on the bar now?" I now think of Berto's information everytime I lift.

Some noted lifts in the past few weeks:

Monday
Smith Machine Squats - 5 plates per side x 5 - 3 sets

Tuesday
DB Incline Press - 4x10 - 120's
Machine press - 4x8 - 200 lbs
Pec Fly - 3x10 - 230 lbs

Today will be Back Day - Deadlifts!

Normally, the routine is:
Monday - Quads & Calves
Tuesday - Chest
Wednesday - Back
Thursday - Shoulders & Traps
Friday - Arms (Bi's & Tri's, Forearms)
Saturday - Hams & Glutes
Sunday - Off

I will be changing this around depending on how fast certain bodyparts lean out or develop. This season I need to prioritize the weaker parts making sure I have enough energy throughout the week to train them effectively and use my refeeds based around my weakpoint workouts. This is one of the great advantages of giving myself over 30 weeks of dieting.... room for adjustment!

And now a quick shoutout to...

The 3DMJ crew - Eric, Berto, Brad and Jeff !
Washington Crew - 2 Lukes (Ehlis and Gymratluke), United Fitness, Scott Kluth, Pastor Ken and Caleb, Tonysi, (I know I'm missing a bunch)
Dr Layne Norton, Dr Joe Klemczewski
Katie Holmes, Bob and Tina Bell, and a special shoutout to Wade Brown!

And to all my Over 40 Masters out there!

You are the best!

I hope to have a great year again. Let's do this!

P.S. Pics???...uh, yeah, I'll get back to you all on those!

[tonsti]

Yes...Now Im freakin pumped to be a part of this.Do your thing Tony!!Best of luck

[ehlisl]

BIG TONY!!! In 100%! are you thinking of Cali again!?!?

[TQsmooth5]

Yes...Now Im freakin pumped to be a part of this.Do your thing Tony!!Best of luck

Thanks Tony!

BIG TONY!!! In 100%! are you thinking of Cali again!?!?

Hey Luke! Yeah, I like doing Bob and Tina's show. Are you gonna compete as a pro there?

[Blazed]

Tony!!! Come do INBF Hercules in June. Super Pro Q and a sick show =) Or Naturalmania in the Fall =) NYC Is da bomb dig

[TQsmooth5]

Wednesday: Back

Deadlifts:
2x10 - 225 lbs
2x10 - 315 lbs
3x5 - 405 lbs
2x2 - 495 lbs
2x8 - 225 lbs

One-arm DB Row:
3x10 - 100 lbs
3x8 - 120 lbs
...and because I was thinking of Berto's 'go heavier if you can' motto..
2x7 - 140 lbs (PR!!)

Pull-ups:
2x10 BW (I will add weight for these when my weight starts dropping)

Lat Pull-downs:
2x15 - 170 lbs (burnt out by now)

[TQsmooth5]

Tony!!! Come do INBF Hercules in June. Super Pro Q and a sick show =) Or Naturalmania in the Fall =) NYC Is da bomb dig

Sounds good! I'm leaning towards NYC anyway. I'll check it out and let you know!

[tonsti]

Wednesday: Back

Deadlifts:
2x10 - 225 lbs
2x10 - 315 lbs
3x5 - 405 lbs
2x2 - 495 lbs
2x8 - 225 lbs

One-arm DB Row:
3x10 - 100 lbs
3x8 - 120 lbs
...and because I was thinking of Berto's 'go heavier if you can' motto..
2x7 - 140 lbs (PR!!)

Pull-ups:
2x10 BW (I will add weight for these when my weight starts dropping)

Lat Pull-downs:
2x15 - 170 lbs (burnt out by now)

Strong day Tony!...Man Im so stoked the show is in edmonds this year.Its like 10 min from my house tops!A little bummed they moved it up as I could use more time to improve but having it in edmonds is a nice trade off

[TQsmooth5]

Strong day Tony!...Man Im so stoked the show is in edmonds this year.Its like 10 min from my house tops!A little bummed they moved it up as I could use more time to improve but having it in edmonds is a nice trade off

Tony, you got plenty of time! 35 weeks! Edmonds should be fun though. Take care and train hard!

[TQsmooth5]

Thursday - Shoulders & Traps

Smith Machine Shrugs:
2x10 - 2 pps
2x15 - 4 pps
3x10 - 5 pps
2x10 - 5 pps + 35lbs (barely hanging on the edge of the bar end)

DB Side Raises:
2x10 - 35's
3x10 - 45's
2x8 - 55's (little bit of a swing in there)

Cable Side Raises:
3x15 - 30 lbs (Front focused)
3x15 - 30 lbs (Rear focused)

Reverse Pec Deck:
2x10 - 80 lbs
2x10 - 160 lbs
3x8 - 220 lbs

Cardio - Treadmill 10 mins

[TQsmooth5]

Friday - Arms

Standing BB Curls:
2x10 - 40 lbs
2x10 - 70 lbs

CGBP:
2x10 - 185 lbs
3x10 - 225 lbs

Lying Tri Exten:
2x10 - 70 lbs
2x8 - 100 lbs

Regular DB Hammer Curls:
1x10 - 55's
1x10 - 65's

Cross-chest DB Hammer Curls:
2x8 - 70's
1x6 - 75's

Tri Pushdowns:
2x15 - 70 lbs
3x10 - 100 lbs

Cable Curls:

3x10 - 100 lbs

No cardio

______________

Saturday - Hams & Glutes

SLDL's:
3x10 - 225 lbs
3x10 - 315 lbs

DB Lunges:

3x10 - 80's (I'm beat!....and I know why...)


I did about 10 min of treadmill cardio after this and I have now decided to change up my workouts a bit. Sunday was a total rest day, but Monday I am going to hit my Legs again. This time with a Glute/Ham focus to begin the week where I have the most energy. New schedule will look like this:

Mon - Squats and Glute/Ham focus
Tues - Arms
Wed - Shoulders
Thurs - Quad/Calves Focus (Front Squats)
Fri - Chest
Sat - Back

We'll see how this goes for a month or so.

[woofman81]

Hey now, I'm not part of the WA crew? Haha jk man.

It was great meeting you backstage at the WA state Natural Tony. Looking forward to following your progress buddy!

[ehlisl]

Workouts are looking great T! I will be with you at Bob and Tinas too, so strawbwrry lemonade is on me.

I use a pretty simular split, so im curious to see how you like it

[LoganCL]

Dammmnnnn DB Rows with 140's. Love it. IN IN IN!

[TQsmooth5]

Hey now, I'm not part of the WA crew? Haha jk man.

It was great meeting you backstage at the WA state Natural Tony. Looking forward to following your progress buddy!

You are absolutely part of the WA crew! Good to have you aboard! Are you doing the show next year as well?

Workouts are looking great T! I will be with you at Bob and Tinas too, so strawbwrry lemonade is on me.

I use a pretty simular split, so im curious to see how you like it

Hey Luke! Strawberry lemonade it is!

I can't wait to see if this new program goes well. It seems like ages since I've used the standard Mon, tues, wed, etc routine. I just wanna shake things up a bit. And if it doesn't workout, oh well 31+ weeks of prep left to change it back or change something else!

Dammmnnnn DB Rows with 140's. Love it. IN IN IN!

Thanks man!

[TQsmooth5]

Got to the Gym late but...

Monday - Ham / Glutes (again) Hyper

Squats (ATG):
3x10 - 135 lbs
3x10 - 225 lbs

BB Lunges:
3x10 - 135 lbs

Leg Curls:
6x6 - 90 lbs

Cardio - Elliptical - 20 min

By next week my legs will have adjusted so I can bring more to the plate for these.

I got my next round of numbers and see that though my stomach pinches went down (sort of) my other pinches have stayed the same and the weight (227 lbs) hasn't come off like I thought it would these first few weeks. So it's been agreed to lower my carbs into a cycle of 150,150,175,200 which is fine. Also, we're going to increase the cardio until I hit a managable weight. Right now I'm sitting at about 20-25 lbs over what most of us would even start dieting. Here's to a better week. Tonight, arms!

[TQsmooth5]

Tuesday - Arms (occluded)
30 sec rest between sets-

Standing EZ bar Curls:
4x15 - 60 lbs

Lying Tri Extension:
3x15 - 70 lbs

Simultaneous DB Hammer Curls:
3x15 - 35's

CGBP:
3x15 - 135 lbs

Tricep Push downs:
4x15 - 70 lbs

Cable One Arm Curls:
3x15 - 30 lbs

Cardio - Treadmill 40 min

Done and Done!

[tonsti]

Tuesday - Arms (occluded)
30 sec rest between sets-

Standing EZ bar Curls:
4x15 - 60 lbs

Lying Tri Extension:
3x15 - 70 lbs

Simultaneous DB Hammer Curls:
3x15 - 35's

CGBP:
3x15 - 135 lbs

Tricep Push downs:
4x15 - 70 lbs

Cable One Arm Curls:
3x15 - 30 lbs

Cardio - Treadmill 40 min

Done and Done!

Looking good Tony!Hope your week outside of the gym is going well also

[woofman81]

You are absolutely part of the WA crew! Good to have you aboard! Are you doing the show next year as well?

No, I'm not. After seeing the improvements I was able to make with a short, five month off season, I want to now give myself a whole year of off season training and eating

We'll see if I can hold out that long though, following logs like this make me want to jump back on the diet and get shredded lol!

[TQsmooth5]

Looking good Tony!Hope your week outside of the gym is going well also

Thanks Tony! Which LA Fitness were you working out at again? My girlfriend was talking about starting to go to the one near downtown Seattle. A big triple decker place with a swimming pool and such.

No, I'm not. After seeing the improvements I was able to make with a short, five month off season, I want to now give myself a whole year of off season training and eating

We'll see if I can hold out that long though, following logs like this make me want to jump back on the diet and get shredded lol!

It's easy to get hooked! You're gonna be unstoppable with even more size! I've got know the secret of how you train your shoulders. Heavy? A lot of compound movements?

[tonsti]

I go to both north seattle(closer to home)And I also go to the ballard one which is closer to work.That may be the one she is talking about.Its one of there "signiture" clubs.Its right next to the ballard bridge.I hope that helps.Refresh my memory...what part of town do you live again?

[TQsmooth5]

I go to both north seattle(closer to home)And I also go to the ballard one which is closer to work.That may be the one she is talking about.Its one of there "signiture" clubs.Its right next to the ballard bridge.I hope that helps.Refresh my memory...what part of town do you live again?

I'm in the Northgate/Lake City region. I'm usually at Mieko's (er...excuse me 'Vision Quest'). We definetly have to train together one of these days!

[tonsti]

I'm in the Northgate/Lake City region. I'm usually at Mieko's (er...excuse me 'Vision Quest'). We definetly have to train together one of these days!

Just say the word!

[TQsmooth5]

Just say the word!

You bet!


Wednesday - Shoulders

DB Military Press:
1x10 - 55's
1x10 - 75's
3x9 - 90's

DB Side Raises:
4x10 - 45's

Single Arm DB Raises (supported):
4x10 - 30 lbs

Reverse Pec Dec:
2x10 - 160 lbs
3x10 - 220 lbs (stack)

Cardio - treadmill 35 min

First few days of increased cardio feel pretty good. I think the weight is dropping, I'll know more by the end of the week.

[TQsmooth5]

Thursday - Quads & Calves

Light Front Squats:
8x3 - 135 lbs

Seated Leg Press:
6x5 - 3 pps

Leg Extensions:
5x7 - 240 lbs (stack)

Machine Angle Calf Raises:
3x20 - 220 lbs
3x10 - 300 lbs

Cardio - treadmill 30 min

My chest should be well rested for a hard day on Friday.

[TQsmooth5]

Friday - Chest

Flat DB Press:
5x7 - 120's

Incline BB Press:
5x8 - 225 lbs


Pec Deck:
2x10 - 160 lbs
3x6 - 220 lbs (stack)

Cardio - treadmill 30 min
______________

Saturday - Back

Deadlifts:
6x3 or 4 - 315 lbs

HS Machine High Row:
1x10 - 3 pps
2x10 - 4 pps
3x6 - 5 pps
2x5 - 6 pps (one arm at a time) PR!!!

Seated Cable Row:
4x6 - 240 lbs

Lat Pulldowns:
2x10 - 160 lbs
2x6 - 255 lbs

Cardio - treadmill 30 min.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

[tonsti]

Friday - Chest

Flat DB Press:
5x7 - 120's

Incline BB Press:
5x8 - 225 lbs


Pec Deck:
2x10 - 160 lbs
3x6 - 220 lbs (stack)

Cardio - treadmill 30 min
______________

Saturday - Back

Deadlifts:
6x3 or 4 - 315 lbs

HS Machine High Row:
1x10 - 3 pps
2x10 - 4 pps
3x6 - 5 pps
2x5 - 6 pps (one arm at a time) PR!!!

Seated Cable Row:
4x6 - 240 lbs

Lat Pulldowns:
2x10 - 160 lbs
2x6 - 255 lbs

Cardio - treadmill 30 min.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Looking strong Tony.Hows the back holding up after the deads??Enjoy your weekend as well

[TQsmooth5]

Looking strong Tony.Hows the back holding up after the deads??Enjoy your weekend as well

Hey Tony! Back's doing fine so far. I try to keep a decent form on my deadlifts but I'm convinced I have what can be called "gorrilla arms". Meaning my arms are abnormally long for my body type which also means my deadlifts look horrible to anyone watching. I try to get low but that either means bending my arms while reaching down for the bar or spreading my hands into a wide, "real wide" grip. So I opt for deadlifts that look a lot like stiff-legged-good-mornings. Oh well, I haven't had any back problems yet. How's your training coming along?

[TQsmooth5]

Sunday - Off

Monday - Hams & Glutes

Squats:
2x10 - 135 lbs
1x10 - 225 lbs
3x5 - 315 lbs

BB Lunges:
4x10 - 135 lbs
1x5 - 185 lbs

SLDL:
3x10 - 225 lbs

Leg Curls:
3x10 - 150 lbs

Cardio - treadmill - 25 min

[tonsti]

Hey Tony! Back's doing fine so far. I try to keep a decent form on my deadlifts but I'm convinced I have what can be called "gorrilla arms". Meaning my arms are abnormally long for my body type which also means my deadlifts look horrible to anyone watching. I try to get low but that either means bending my arms while reaching down for the bar or spreading my hands into a wide, "real wide" grip. So I opt for deadlifts that look a lot like stiff-legged-good-mornings. Oh well, I haven't had any back problems yet. How's your training coming along?

Id say things are going well so far.My lower back has been giving me problems for some time now so I just do my best to work around it.I messed it up doing seated cable rows of all things.And i got a little to loose with the diet over the 3day weekend as well.Good thing we got 8 months to make it happen!Have a stellar week Tony!