The Beast Cannot Be Caged: Derek Charlebois 2011-2012 Offseason Journal

[Beast]

In July of 2004 I stepped on stage as a light-heavyweight at the 2004 NPC Natural Michigan Championships and received 7th place out of 16 competitors. I had planned on taking a year off of competing and then entering the NPC Michigan Natural in 2006. In the summer of 2006 I suffered a lower back injury that severely limited what I could do in the gym. During 2006-2009, the time during which I was struggling with my lower back injury, I honestly questioned if I would ever be able to train at my full potential again and seriously doubted if I would ever be able to get back on stage again. I did not want to get back on stage if I thought I wasn’t at my best. After years of stretching, rehabilitation exercises, visits to the chiropractor, massage therapy, buying expensive orthotic inserts, I was finally starting to be able to squat, deadlift, and do other exercises I couldn’t do due to my lower back. Things were finally starting to look up. I still had to be very careful with my training regime and the execution of all exercises. After a lot of struggles and setbacks I set my sights on the 2011 NPC Michigan Natural Championships. In July of 2011, almost exactly 7 years since I last competed, I stepped back on the same stage for the 2011 NPC Natural Michigan Championships and I accomplished my goal to compete once again. To make things even better I took home 1st place in the light-heavyweight class. After a close battle for the overall title, the middleweight had won. While winning the light-heavyweight class was a great accomplishment I wasn't satisfied, I wanted an overall title. I set my sights on the 2011 NPC Natural Northern USA on Oct 1st. I ended up competing at the NPC Natural Northern Michigan on Sept 24th and took home the overall title. The following weekend I took home the overall title at the Natural Northern USA. Three competitions, three 1st place finishes, and two overall titles. What a great year! After not competing for 7 years and questioning whether I would ever compete again I feel a sense of redemption after competing this year. Now that I have regained my competitive confidence it is time to make improvements for the next time I step on stage. And this time it won't be 7 years before I get back on stage!

[RUBICON19]

AWESOME! Keep inspiring, D!

[Beast]

Workout Schedule
Monday = Deadlift Focus
Tuesday = Bench Focus
Thursday = Squat Focus
Friday = Overhead Press Focus
Sat = Back + Biceps

Diet
During my week off last week I ate quite a lot of food So this week I am establishing a baseline caloric intake which I will build upon.
Meal #1
50g protein, 75g carbs, 15g fat

Meal #2
50g protein, 75g carbs, 15g fat

Meals #3-#5
50g protein, 15g fat, +fruit/veggies

Supplements
Novem
Xtend
Whey
Essential EFA
MAX CLA
Elastamine

Injury Status
My left elbow and IT band have been bothering me as of late. I have had two ART sessions, which consisted of Shockwave Therapy and ART, for my elbow/shoulder capsule and have an ART session for my IT band today. Basically the Shockwave Therapy breaks down tissue (i.e. scar tissue) to start the healing process and now it is going to take some time for the healing to occur. After my bench workout today my left elbow/shoulder is pretty sore from the therapy, kind of like a deep bruising. Over the next couple of weeks I hope to see an improvement in these injuries.

[Beast]

My Current Training Style

I have been experimenting with various program setups all revolving about increasing strength on military press, bench press, deadlifts, and squats. Basically I use myself as a guinea pig and then use my findings to create programs for my clients and use their feedback to continue to tweak the programs to deliver the best results possible. The problem is I am never satisfied and always trying new program setups, though not really deviating from the base of the program.

My current training schedule is:
Monday = Deadlift Focus
Tuesday = Bench Press Focus
Thursday = Squat Focus
Friday = Military Press Focus
Saturday = Lats + Biceps
The Mon-Fri workouts focus primarily on heavy sets while the Saturday Lat + Bicep workout is higher reps. Throughout the earlier years of my training (until a couple years ago) I trained my lats and biceps with low reps (like I did for everything else). Every muscle group, except lats and biceps, responded to the heavy weights. I was doing sets of 4-6 reps of pull-ups with 90+ lbs strapped to me and 185 lb barbell curls, and while my lats and biceps were getting stronger they were not growing at the rate my other muscle groups were; this is complete opposite to my chest which did not start growing until I focused on lifting in the 3-6 rep range. It wasn’t until I started training my back using Dorian Yates’ principles (higher reps, strict form, etc.) that my lats started responding. I am still searching for what works best for my biceps and as of late I have been focusing on spider curls, which seems to be working well.

More later, off to squat!

[The Solution]

Always here to support you my man.
VERY interesting approach to offseason training, my biceps and lats suck as well, so i am taking notes and want to see how you are going to outline your workouts, rep ranges, etc etc.

Keep up the great work and congrats again on a great season! Now lets build some mass and eat some ice cream

[Beast]

Always here to support you my man.
VERY interesting approach to offseason training, my biceps and lats suck as well, so i am taking notes and want to see how you are going to outline your workouts, rep ranges, etc etc.

Keep up the great work and congrats again on a great season! Now lets build some mass and eat some ice cream

The two main things that helped my lats out are:
1. Focusing on machine pullovers and close-grip reverse pulldowns.
2. Being more concerned about the execution of the exercise than the weight used.

If you have access to a pullover machine make it your new best friend

[The Solution]

The two main things that helped my lats out are:
1. Focusing on machine pullovers and close-grip reverse pulldowns.
2. Being more concerned about the execution of the exercise than the weight used.

If you have access to a pullover machine make it your new best friend

I do not, and I remember talking about this at the Olympia Derek. Do you have a good video of Dumbbell Pullovers to use as an example or one video you may have taken of your lat pulldowns or pullovers to show me as a visual? I would like to start incorporating these, but i see multiple different ways people do them. I want to get the most effective way to utilize my lats.

Thanks again my man, Can't wait for the ARNOLD!

[Beast]

Time for some random ramblings!

As a natural athlete in order to get big you need to get strong! If you are getting stronger you will get bigger. Think back to when you made your best size gains, it was most likely when you also made your best strength gains. I made the best size gains from 2002-2004, which was also the time period I experienced the most strength gains. During that time period my main focus was getting stronger. I wasn't concerned about "hitting the muscle from every angle" or "shocking/confusing the muscle to grow"; I was concerned about getting stronger. My legs grew the most when I was doing:
Squat 3 X 4-6
Stiff Leg Deadlift 3 X 4-6
Leg Press 3 X 4-6
That's it! Just heavy lifting week after week, month after month. Once I could complete 6 reps with a weight I added 5-10 lbs. When I could complete 6 reps with that weight I added 5-10 more lbs. I trained that way and worked my way up to a 500+ lb squat. Which leads me to another topic, slow, steady increases in strength = long term size gains. It is easy to get wrapped up in hitting a cerain weight. Say you squat 315 lbs and you want to hit 405 lbs, if you become too focused on hitting 405 lbs instead of first hitting 320 lbs then 325 lbs then you will become frusterated. You my crawl before you walk. I find myself losing sight of this right now. My best squat, which was done in 2005-2006, was 585 X 3. Right now I can squat 375 X 3. I find myself being so wrapped up is getting back to where I was that I am forgetting small, steady gains will get be there. If I can consistently add 5 lbs per week to my squat I will get there. It is important not to lose sight of that principle.

End ramblings

[Beast]

I do not, and I remember talking about this at the Olympia Derek. Do you have a good video of Dumbbell Pullovers to use as an example or one video you may have taken of your lat pulldowns or pullovers to show me as a visual? I would like to start incorporating these, but i see multiple different ways people do them. I want to get the most effective way to utilize my lats.

Thanks again my man, Can't wait for the ARNOLD!

I have never been a fan of DB Pullovers as the lack the full ROM and contraction you get from a machine pullover. I would opt for straight-arm pulldowns instead.

[tonsti]

I have never been a fan of DB Pullovers as the lack the full ROM and contraction you get from a machine pullover. I would opt for straight-arm pulldowns instead.

we have a nautilus pullover and a hammer strength pullover.Do you have a preference or does it matter?

[Beast]

we have a nautilus pullover and a hammer strength pullover.Do you have a preference or does it matter?

If the nautilus is the plate-selectorized (I think that is what it is called when the machine has a weight stack and you move the pin) then the hammer strength machine. The new-age nautilus never felt right to me.

[Beast]

I have felt unnormally sluggish this week in the gym. I don't know if it is because I took last week off or what but I was lacking the drive I normally have in the gym. I am stopping all stimulants starting tomorrow to allow for some adrenal recovery as perhaps my adrenal system needs a break. This week I was ramping up doing sets of 5 reps and my top lifts from this week are as follows:
Deadlift 315 X 5 --> 395 X 5
Bench Press 185 X 5 --> 265 X 5
Squats 225 X 5 --> 305 X 5
Push Press 95 X 5 --> 165 X 5
I didn't feel as strong this week, kind of like something was missing. Some good news is my left IT band didn't bother me at all this week. My left elbow is still not 100% so I will be sure to foam roll and stretch it along with everything else this weekend. Overall this was an "OK" week, but not what I would consider a good week. I have lats+biceps tomorrow to wrap up the week.

[thom2355]

I like your program layout. Congrats again on the season and hope for a productive off-season. I shall follow!

[MuscleMom]

I've been lurking Came out of lurk mode to let you know that I continue to follow and support you

[nikk_p]

looking forward to following and learning a thing or two. at one point during your contest prep, you had asked for ideas on articles and the overwhelming majority (including myself) were looking forward to hearing more about your approach to nutrion, what your described as 'a modified similar version of paleo' any plans to still do that in the future?

[triplewhammy]

Still here

[fltallpaul]

Great season and it looks like you have your sights set on a bigger prize. I had a long talk with Tommy the other day...going to be fun watching you grow.

[DedicatedDad]

Subbing. I've always had a lot of respect for you, your work ethic, and how you carry yourself.

[TheHumanTripod]

It is great that you pushed through despite your lower back injury.

I injured my lower back too, at the beginning of August. Doctor said do not lift heavy for at least a month, but I was back in the gym doing everything except squats and deadlifts just 3 days later. Now I'm back to deadlifting and I'll be starting squats again in 2-3 days. Hopefully, it doesn't become a recurring injury.

Edit: Wow, just noticed you attended UM. I'm a freshmen here right now. What did you study?

[Beast]

I like your program layout. Congrats again on the season and hope for a productive off-season. I shall follow!

Thanks and following for following along with my journal,

I've been lurking Came out of lurk mode to let you know that I continue to follow and support you

Lurk mode off! Thank you for the continued support.

looking forward to following and learning a thing or two. at one point during your contest prep, you had asked for ideas on articles and the overwhelming majority (including myself) were looking forward to hearing more about your approach to nutrion, what your described as 'a modified similar version of paleo' any plans to still do that in the future?

Yes I started working on an article which is going to explain the benefits of certain food choices.

Still here

Yeah buddy!

Great season and it looks like you have your sights set on a bigger prize. I had a long talk with Tommy the other day...going to be fun watching you grow.

Thanks Paul! As long as I can stay injury free it should be a productive offseason.

Subbing. I've always had a lot of respect for you, your work ethic, and how you carry yourself.

Thank you! I appreciate the kind words.

It is great that you pushed through despite your lower back injury.

I injured my lower back too, at the beginning of August. Doctor said do not lift heavy for at least a month, but I was back in the gym doing everything except squats and deadlifts just 3 days later. Now I'm back to deadlifting and I'll be starting squats again in 2-3 days. Hopefully, it doesn't become a recurring injury.

Edit: Wow, just noticed you attended UM. I'm a freshmen here right now. What did you study?

Lower back injuries can be tough. Stopping the exercises that hurt is definitely the first step towards recovery. During my injury I would always try to do exercises that irritated my lower back because those are the most effective exercises, but I didn't really start recovering until I stopped all exercises that put pressure on my lower back for a solid 6 months.

I studies Movement Science in the Kinesiology program. I worked out at the CCRB while there.

[Beast]

After another lackluster workout yesterday I am just going to do some lighter (like 10 rep sets) Hammer Strength machines workouts this week. My nervous system/adrenal glands are fried right now, but hopefully after this week I will be good to go. I am taking time off of Novem and all caffeine to give me adrenal glands some R&R.

[wantzmuscle]

Your journals are awesome, man! I'm going to be following this one for sure.

[TheHumanTripod]

Lower back injuries can be tough. Stopping the exercises that hurt is definitely the first step towards recovery. During my injury I would always try to do exercises that irritated my lower back because those are the most effective exercises, but I didn't really start recovering until I stopped all exercises that put pressure on my lower back for a solid 6 months.

I studies Movement Science in the Kinesiology program. I worked out at the CCRB while there.

Was your injury a herniated disc? Mine was just a muscle spasm but it was a close call. It really got me looking into my deadlift form and fixing it.

I love the CCRB. Its better than the IMSB and the NCRB by miles. Too bad it is always so crowded. Any tips or recommendations that you gathered from your 4 years in Ann Arbor?

[Beast]

Your journals are awesome, man! I'm going to be following this one for sure.

Thanks! I will start posting up more details once my training gets better. I think I am going to take the rest of this week off of training. At the end of my week off two weeks ago I felt like I could still use some time off and still didn't have that burning motivation to train, but I decided to start back up again and had a crappy week followed by two crappy workouts this week.

Was your injury a herniated disc? Mine was just a muscle spasm but it was a close call. It really got me looking into my deadlift form and fixing it.

I love the CCRB. Its better than the IMSB and the NCRB by miles. Too bad it is always so crowded. Any tips or recommendations that you gathered from your 4 years in Ann Arbor?

I think mine was a combination of things, pelvis was shifted out of place and two herniated disks. Lately my lower back will flare up some from time to time, but nowhere close to what it used to be like. Now I need to focus on fixing postural issues, like my tight hip flexors and adductors, to keep things in alignment.

I always trained in the morning before my classes or in between my morning classes (i.e. 11AM-12PM). The CCRB is always jam packed in the evening, so if you can schedule time to workout in the morning/early afternoon I highly recommend doing so.

[TheHumanTripod]

I think mine was a combination of things, pelvis was shifted out of place and two herniated disks. Lately my lower back will flare up some from time to time, but nowhere close to what it used to be like. Now I need to focus on fixing postural issues, like my tight hip flexors and adductors, to keep things in alignment.

I always trained in the morning before my classes or in between my morning classes (i.e. 11AM-12PM). The CCRB is always jam packed in the evening, so if you can schedule time to workout in the morning/early afternoon I highly recommend doing so.

Those sound scary. Tightening hip flexors and adductors sounds like it requires a lot more meticulousness than I would be able to give. It's very commendable that you can focus on the small and slow steps to recovery.

I tend to go late at night because in the afternoon there is always someone there who will tell you to stop banging weights on the floor if you are doing deadlifts or to not do rackpulls. Very irritating. Funnily enough, I went once at 6AM right when it opened and there were so many people there.

[bucsfan]

In on this!

[MASSMADETOLAST]

I think that extra time off to recover and reset is what's gonna do it for you. After the super long stretch with dieting, training, cardio, dealing with the injuries past/present, moving into a new house, and everything else in-between along the way in 2011 I think you have more than reached physical and mental overload. So how could a person even begin to have that same drive and heartfelt connection to the sport when he has taken his body this far? Time off brother. It sucks really bad when you can't go in there and do the very thing that represents who you are, but I can already see it...this is all going to turn right around and that motivation is going to skyrocket. Two weeks off seemed to be the magic number for me, and after getting a couple sets into the first workout once returning...it was ON!!! Same scenario is coming your way, and once it does I demand a chest workout with you! And also, another leg training session with the Yoke Bar Squats.

[-FitDaddy-]

In, and looking forward to more inspiration from the BEAST!

[bseio07]

Hey Derek,

I was just wondering, what was your weight at your 3 recent contests? Also, what weight were you cutting down from (at your heaviest during the preceding bulk)? I'm always impressed by how relatively-lean you are able to stay in the offseason, while still gaining size.

[Beast]

In on this!

YEAH to the BUDDY!

I think that extra time off to recover and reset is what's gonna do it for you. After the super long stretch with dieting, training, cardio, dealing with the injuries past/present, moving into a new house, and everything else in-between along the way in 2011 I think you have more than reached physical and mental overload. So how could a person even begin to have that same drive and heartfelt connection to the sport when he has taken his body this far? Time off brother. It sucks really bad when you can't go in there and do the very thing that represents who you are, but I can already see it...this is all going to turn right around and that motivation is going to skyrocket. Two weeks off seemed to be the magic number for me, and after getting a couple sets into the first workout once returning...it was ON!!! Same scenario is coming your way, and once it does I demand a chest workout with you! And also, another leg training session with the Yoke Bar Squats.

I think I definitely needed 2 weeks off. I wish I would have taken a straight 2 weeks off instead of taking a week off, training for a week off, then taking a week off. We will see how things go today!

In, and looking forward to more inspiration from the BEAST!

Thanks for following along!

Hey Derek,

I was just wondering, what was your weight at your 3 recent contests? Also, what weight were you cutting down from (at your heaviest during the preceding bulk)? I'm always impressed by how relatively-lean you are able to stay in the offseason, while still gaining size.

I weighed in aroun 194-195. I started cutting at somewhere between 215-225, I forget exactly what offhand.