Samsuperjew's 32 Week Journey from the Platform to the Stage with Zakary!

[samsuperjew]

Hey guys, just figured I'd start with a short intro for those of you who don't know me:

I started off in the 'fitness' world about 5 years ago when I was 5'7'' 100 lbs after dealing with some issues that brought me down from about 145-150 lbs. I began by doing calisthenics in my guest room, then eventually bought and assembled a corner gym, which led to me getting a half rack and weights off of craigslist and thus began my freeweight training. After about a year of weight training total, I did my first powerlifting meet where I bombed out. Since then, and since working with Wesley (Iron Addict, RIP) I did another meet (and finished it!) with usapl and pulled 461. From there I got even more into powerlifting, namely geared lifting, and started training down at Southside Barbell. I trained and competed for almost 3 years with southside, benching over 430 in a shirt, and I hit a 535 squat without knee wraps in the gym. My best meet pull was 600 in a push pull, but I've hit 655 since in training in college.

My raw current approx. 1 r m's are:
(Box) Squat: 495
(Close Grip) Bench: ~355
Deadlift: 655

Over the last few years I slowly ramped up my protein intake (from 80g to 300+ g) while pretty much ignoring my fat and carb intake. However, since I eat the same things most of the time from the same places, by slowly increasing my protein intake, my overall calorie intake increased as well, bringing up my maintenance from 1.5k a day to 4.5-5k+ over the course of a few years. Because of this, I'm hoping the cut won't be too bad considering I'm still eating well over 3k cals a day (though I"m still hungry all the time, lol).

I'm hoping to get on stage at 3% still in the 180's, but we'll see how that works out. As far as show selection goes, I'm not currently signed up for a show and don't plan on choosing which I'm doing until I'm closer to the contest date (20-14 weeks). While I probably will do shows in Florida, I have family all over the east coast so I might end up doing one up north if it seems worthwhile.

As far as my decision in contest prep coaching, I'm working with Zak who I've known for the majority of the time I've been lifting. I've always been apprehensive about doing a show because of past issues I've had, but I'm hoping that by having a coach that has a similar background we can circumvent those issues and get shredded in time to step on stage. Though I"m sure I"ll have more to say later on into prep, I can say for now that everything has been going very well, much better than I expected or hoped for.

I'm going to try to post up progress pics in here as often as possible (I take a lot of them, its sick seeing how you look different week to week on a cut) as well as a few gym lift videos.

Some pics of where I"m at now (~200, 5'10''), a little over a month into prep. I'd guess Im down 3-4% bf since I started prep, and strength is doing well


[img]http://i50.tinypic.com/2pql05v.png/img]

[/QUOTE]


As I said before, this is my first show I've ever done, though I've been toying with the idea of doing one for almost half a decade now. All there is to do now is hit my macros, get lots of sleep, and smash some heavy ass weight.

[samsuperjew]

4/22/13

Went into the gym super carbed up (already at like 275 carbs today, and most of them were within 2 hours of the gym [woke up late]) and felt great. Had time for a full warmup and I really took my time between sets


CG bench
Last week (see other log) I hit 355 for a single (not a pr, but it was easy) on this, so I wanted to beat it
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1 9 My brother handed off for me and it was honestly the worst handoff i've received in a while, thought my strength was tanked after this, lol
335 x 1 8 Easy ****, got a new handoff guy, lol
360 x 1 9-9.5 Easy PR, same handoff guy. No wrist wraps/chalk. Feels really ****ing good to be getting pr's like this on a cut

Decline bench
Used the same grip
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
265 4 x 6 These weren't too bad, it was a bit hard locking them out, but I have trouble with any amount of weight on declines at the top when i do enough of them

Bent over rows
135 x 10
185 x 10
205 4 x 8

DB Laterals
25's 3 x 8 - Usually my right shoulder (its still ****ed up) hurts on these, it felt pretty damn good today. 30's next time for sure

skull crushers
65 x 8
90 3 x 8 Still getting used to doing these (they used to hurt my elbows/wrists, now they don't as much). I didn't go down to my forehead, I went over/behind my head. Going to continue doing these like this from now on


DB Curls
45's 3 x 8 Last few of each set were hard, to be expected with curls


Overall I'm happy to have gotten 360 on bench, after another few bench cycles (2?) i'll go back to a 1rm cycle and go for the big 3 plates and a quarter. Macros changed a little bit this week, hopefully I can continue making these strength gains

[handcannon77]

well im weak as fk

[samsuperjew]

well im weak as fk

Lmao, you are sooo much more conditioned than me (+ you're farking massive), its not even worth comparing brah

[Mitch666]

In again

[samsuperjew]

In again

haha, thanks. I got rid of the old one to make some small changes, I figure if I'm going to be using this for half a year, it might as well be 100% on point

[samsuperjew]

(as a posing note, I probably need to up my elbows a few inches on rear double bi.... )
new pics as promised, i'll probably update w/ pics 1-2x/week

[WhiteFiberz]

In!

Dude it's ridiculous how strong you are.. Alberto Nunez and Brian Minor are both trying to hit 600 on the deadlift and you're almost half their age pulling 655 FUUU. By the way that RDB shot is SICK (aside from the awful posing but we'll work on that). Really looking forward to how you transform each week!

[samsuperjew]

In!

Dude it's ridiculous how strong you are.. Alberto Nunez and Brian Minor are both trying to hit 600 on the deadlift and you're almost half their age pulling 655 FUUU. By the way that RDB shot is SICK (aside from the awful posing but we'll work on that). Really looking forward to how you transform each week!

they're still on another level in terms of aesthetics, I've been doing only strength training at a high bf% for a while too, lol.

[nathangreen]

Jeeez man you're huge, ESPECIALLY for you age. I got work to do lol. What's your training going to look like during this?

[samsuperjew]

Jeeez man you're huge, ESPECIALLY for you age. I got work to do lol. What's your training going to look like during this?

Right now my routine more or less is this:


ME BENCH DAY: Rep Scheme
Max Effort Bench Movement: 1 x 1-3
Back Movement (bent/variation) 4 x 6-8
DB Laterals 3 x 6-8
Back Movement (db or high row/pulldown) 3 x 8-10
Skull crushers: 3 x 6-8
DB curls/preachers: 3 x 6-8


ME SQUAT DAY: Rep Scheme
Max Effort Squat Movement: 1 x 1-3
Leg Press: 3 x 6-8
Quads: 3 x 6-8
Hamstrings: 3 x 6-8
Standing Calves: 3 x 8-10
Seated Calves: 2-3 x 12-15
Abs 3 x 12-15


RE BENCH DAY: Rep Scheme
Repetition Effort Bench Movement: 1 x 6-10
Back: 4 x 6-8
Seated DB Press: 3 x 6-10
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 8-12
Overhead Triceps: 3 x 8-12
Barbell Curls: 3 x 8-12


RE SQUAT DAY: Rep Scheme
Squat: 4 x 8-10
Hack Squat: 3 x 8-10
Leg Press: 3 x 8-12
DB RDL's 3 x 8-10
Standing Calves: 3 x 8-10
Seated Calves: 2-3 x 12-15
Abs 3 x 12-15


Macros now are 90/385/240, though they started at 100/410/240. Cutting on 3k+ cals makes life pretty easy

[samsuperjew]

4/23/13 ME Lower
Holy **** this year has been flying by.... can't believe I'm almost done my first year of college

went to the gym today w/ my brother and a mutual friend (both beginners) which slowed me down a bit, but I don't think it overall had an effect on my workout.


free squats
haven't done these heavy in a long time
bar x 10
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 5
365 x 3
405 x 1
445 x 1 7.5
465 x 1 Apparently I didn't hit depth on this one
475 x 1 8-8.5 My best is 495 when I was heavier and filled out my belt better. Today, no matter how hard I pushed out my gut, I didn't get the same tightness that I was used to (i'm between two holes now). I figured it'd be better to just get an easy rep this week, go ham on assistance, then go for a pr next week (the big 500?). I'll probably do box squats with like 355 4 x 10 on friday


Leg press
225 x 10
405 x 10
585 x 8
865 x 6
955 3 x 6 These really aren't all that hard anymore, but my knees don't seem to be as happy with me as they used to be, I'm not sure how much longer going above 900 on leg press 2x a week (and hitting prs) is going to last


Leg extensions
stack 3 x 8


Leg curls
4 plates quarter 3 x 6, really focused on 'feeling' it in my hamstrings a bit more.

Seated and standing calves
Standings were 3 x 10, seated were 3 x 12, 130 and 1 plate (different machine) respectively


Abs
just 3 x 10 bodyweight crunches, abs were killing me for whatever reason

Cardio
manged to get 6.5 miles in 20 minutes. Heart rate varied from 135-155 (the machine sucks at judging). Total calories burned were ~200

another good day, I probably got a bit extra hamstring work in though trying to teach everyone how to squat and deadlift, lol

[neverquit2012]

In. Insane lifts man. repped

[samsuperjew]

In. Insane lifts man. repped

Thanks man

and as a quick side note, it looks like i'm starting to lose fat faster from pretty much everywhere other (arms/legs/chest/back are looking more defined) than lovehandles/lower stomach for the time being.

[samsuperjew]

new record low weight today, finally within 2-3% of where I think i'll feel more comfortable, so close......


4-25-13 RE BENCH DAY

One of my training partners ****ed me over today and made me wait around for 10 minutes longer for no reason so craze wasn't 'peaking' when it usually does which was unfortunate for my bench. Luckily the rest of the day went great. Not to mention i'm loving the direction my bf is going


CG Bench
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 9 8.5 I don't want to talk about it, right shoulder was just ****ing with me because I had to rush through warmups.


Neutral grip pulldowns
really focused on feeling my lats today, I love neutral grips
140 x 20
190 x 15
210 4 x 6


DB Shoulder press
tucked a bit less than usual on these (still went down all the way ofc), thinking less and less about pling style and more bbing style)
50's x 10
70's x 8
90's 3 x 6


Lateral db raises
25's 3 x 12


Overhead triceps
80 x 12
100 3 x 12


straight bar curls
bar x 10
75 x 10
85 3 x 10
these hurt my wrist/forearm/elbow so ****ing much, but its worth it, arms are looking much better than they did pre straight curls



and new pics, i know they're coming in often, but I like seeing the small changes, keeps me motivated when I'm itching for a snack







I was reading a little guide on posing (I really have no idea what i'm doing when it comes to this [yet, lol]) and it said that the victory pose was difficult as **** to look good in so I gave it a shot


not quite there, but I"m feel optimistic about how this will look once i'm actually lean/aren't pasty white

[CutItUp9759]

In. I'm assuming Zakary is Zak Walizadeh?

[samsuperjew]

In. I'm assuming Zakary is Zak Walizadeh?

you would be correct sir

[WhiteFiberz]

Dude...those erectors!!

[red_cat]

Subbed for sure. 650+ deadlift is nuts, man.

[LazyBoy14]

Subbed. Looking forward to following along! Crazy numbers, dude.

[boxteross]

In for shat is sure to be an insane prep! Strong as FARRRKKKK!

[samsuperjew]

This post was origionally really ****ing detailed, but my browswer just closed and I lost everything. FML

I put in about 30 hours of driving over the last 2.5 days driving from gville to columbia to NJ and back to SC... my monday workout was at a sick powerhouse in VA which was cool though

This is also a deload week btw, knees are starting to hurt (as are elbows) and in general I'm just feeling worn out and torn down. Weight is down though and I'm looking much leaner... it seems like every time I wake up looking rediculously lean, the next few days I hold a lot of water under my skin. Sucks


ME Bench
the bar sucked and the bench was awesome, ended up having a great day
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
there was a guy benching 455 raw who gave me a handoff for the next few sets, I was taken aback (he did 100% of the work taking it out of the rack) on the first set, but after I got used to it/anticipated it, the extra help on the handoff helped a TON
315 x 1 8.5 Like I said, wasn't expecting the handoff the way it was and I ended up pressing out instead of back
335 x 1 8 Prepared for the good handoff and killed it
365 x 1 9.5 #deloadweekPR's, lol. Should I have gone for a PR during a deload week? Probably not... but with the great handoff, my tris/shoulders weren't worn out before I even benched, and despite a bit of a slowdown between 2-3 boards up, I nailed it

Bent Over rows
bar x 10
135 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10

DB Laterals
30's x 8
30's x 8

Neutral grip pulldowns
did 2 sets of 10, weight is pretty irrelevant in this case

Skullcrushers
wanted skullcrushers but my elbows/wrists just weren't having it, settled on 2 sets of v bar pushdowns (went a little higher up than usual) with the entire stack for 2 sets

DB curls
I don't even remember, lol





4/30/13 ME squat day
for this workout I went to the sportsgym in columbia SC (I'll be here for a 2 weeks or so), really solid place


Box Squats
went to a slightly lower box than usual, probably not more than an inch
bar x 10
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 3 Maybe it was just the bar I was using, but the squat bar really let me down... it was whipping all over the place
365 x 2
405 x 1 7
445 x 1 8 Was easy to call it a day here, really didn't like the massive amounts of whip on the bar

Leg Press
different machine so weights aren't all that important, just went up to 6.5 plates though for what its worth for 2 sets of 8... knees weren't all that happy with me, IDK if I"ll be able to keep up with going as heavy as I have been on these long term as I continue getting leaner/being in a defecit

Leg extensions
like I said, different machine. Did 2 x 8 though

Leg curls
went hardcore deload on these and did GHR's instead (I rarely have access to a quality GHR) for 2 x 10, I could do these all day even weighted

then calves/abs are pretty self explanitory (really not interested in typing this out again after everything got deleted), and I finished with 20 minutes of cardio on their bike (which I suck w/ compared to the ones back home, lol)


I just can't wait to lean out more, been on top of macros 100%, but its a slow process. Even if it was faster I'd probably still be impatient, lol. Such is life

[BaFtub]

kids about to be the youngest natural pro.

in for the ride.

[samsuperjew]

kids about to be the youngest natural pro.

in for the ride.

lol, my insertions/muscle bellies/aesthetics in general are pretty fail (large waist, ****ty chest, no calves, etc), doubt that'l be happening for a long time if it ever does


Deload week RE bench 5/2/13

easy day

Close grip bench
grip was a little closer than I would have liked due to a different bar than I'm used to (didn't realize grip was off till towards the end)
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 4 8
all I wanted really, would have liked 5 to be that easy though

chest supported rows
2 x 8 @ 150 (new machine)

db OHP
50's x 10
65's x 8
65's x 8
really easy, shoulders weren't going to be down for much heavier

DB laterals
25's x 12
25's x 12

overhead tris
95 x 2 x 12

curls
95 x 2 x 12

finished with some prehab work while helping my bro learn to squat

[samsuperjew]

i think in general I"m liking this more for side chest...

[Jared.P]

in bro from tmisc, looking good, will read more later

edit: read through everything man, strong as phuck, and you have a LOT of mass coming into a contest. you should do really really well. i was around when you posted before, i've been on/off the forums for a long time. keep it up!

question for you though, whats the highest your carbs have ever been? im having trouble with strength gains and recovery (im alwasy feeling "sore" but have an extremely physical job) and cals are super high so im thinking its carbs

[mormonpickett]

good luck.

You can never be too lean on stage. Remember that

Being more lean > Having more size ---Almost always true these days

[samsuperjew]

in bro from tmisc, looking good, will read more later

edit: read through everything man, strong as phuck, and you have a LOT of mass coming into a contest. you should do really really well. i was around when you posted before, i've been on/off the forums for a long time. keep it up!

question for you though, whats the highest your carbs have ever been? im having trouble with strength gains and recovery (im alwasy feeling "sore" but have an extremely physical job) and cals are super high so im thinking its carbs

I never really tracked macros while bulking but probably at least 550

good luck.I never really tracked my macros while bulking, but probably around 550g or so

You can never be too lean on stage. Remember that

Being more lean > Having more size ---Almost always true these days

I agree 100%, especially for natty bbing. Conditioning > all

[samsuperjew]

4/3/13 RE Lower

Been feeling lethargic as **** lately in the gym + my left knee has been bothering me hardcore, did some extra warmups/prehab before squatting but it didn't help all that much

Squats (low box
I really dislike the box here, the sides come up and hit my legs at the bottom
bar x 10
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 5
375 2 x 8 7.5
Just felt like **** the entire time

they didn't have a hack squat machine

Leg Press
really not agreeing with my knees
225 x 10
405 x 10
600 x 2 x 8
Different machine than usual, didn't want to go heavy because of deload + my knee

DB SLDL
95's x 2 x 10

Finished with calves (1 plate for everything), abs, and 20 minutes on the bike (almost passed out, literally felt like ****)

don't know what was wrong with me/whats going on... was pretty carbed up, hydrated, etc... things just didn't go my way

[Jared.P]

you know better than anyone im sure that sometimes you just have a ****ty workout. dont let it get to you man, and kill it next time. no big deal at all. I'll be starting my first ever planned deload this sunday, any tips?