2015 muscle building log

[DavidZiegler]

My name is David Ziegler, I am 24 years old and I compete in the NPC . My dream is to become a professional bodybuilder and live the life of inspiring and training forever. I encourage everyone to try and give it their all, and ask for you to follow my own career while we crush the weights and wait for gains. Competition is a must for me to prove my place and climb the ranks; in 2014 I qualified for Nationals by winning the 2014 NPC Golds Classic. Now Nationals is in ten days and it will represent a new bench mark for physical development and physique presentation that I must rise and display myself. My goal is a top ten but no matter what the out-come I will be back and improved for 2015! I have never worked with a coach or trainer and everything I know is from an accumulation of 10 years in the gym absorbing information from the internet, magazines, many different books, and those who share ideas and strategies. Most of what I do is theory and still very much practice.. I have a lot to learn and tons to improve on. But I want to show you how I am attacking this 2015 season and hopefully help you in the process.. The weights and nutrition are my tools - This is a form of motivation.



For 2015 I will be updating my blog with records of my workouts , my food intake, life and trying out new ideas to become a monster. I will be going through an off-season and a cutting phase with a plan to compete in 2- 3 shows. This will be an active place for ideas and discussion, if anyone has anything to comment, ask or advice don't be afraid to pitch in and become part of my journey.

I train differently everyday and my routine is more of a rotation of body parts.. Writing down and following supper specifics aren't my favorite ways to go about my body. If something feels good and I have mojo, I need to run with it. I train using my notebooks and by feel. I record what I do each day in my notebooks and how I went about training. Reps, ROM, and intensity are strong variables for me, depending on how I feel. To make things easier for everyone, a couple times a month I will display the past training session in an easy to read list. I will take rest days when I feel they are necessary and some muscles groups are trained more frequently than others. I also incorporate two-a-day training sessions. My last 10 days :


OFF
QUADS + HAMS + CALVS
AM: CHEST / PM: TRICEPS (OVER-HEAD)
AM: BACK / PM: BICEPS
CHEST
AM: TRICEPS (DOWN) / PM: BACK (PULL-DOWN)
AM: QUADS / PM: HAMS + CALVS
CHEST + BICEPS
BACK
AM: TRICEPS + L&A DELTS / PM: R.DETLS + TRAPS




My muscle recovery guidelines are:
-Small Muscles ( ie. Biceps, A-L-R Delts ) 2 Days
-Medium Muscles ( ie. Chest, Triceps, Hams ) 4 Days
-Big Muscles ( ie. Back, Quads ) 6 Days

*Sometimes I will train the same "Muscle" 2 days in a row or very close together. When this happens I am focusing on different heads during each workout to bring together one workout for the full muscle.


-My Training Philosophy-
I think the hardest part about growing and developing your physique still falls back to training. It takes discipline to be able to eat ten meals a day, time your shakes right, and sleep enough each night. Your routines can be written down, sets can be accomplished, and reps fulfilled. All of these things can be written down in a note book, and handed off to client X, followed perfectly, and for an extended period of time. What cannot be handed over is the minds ability to comprehend the command being sent to the muscle and act accordingly.... Complete contraction allowing no assistance from surrounding muscles. Staying in a safe ROM, contracting all desired fibers, and executing until full stimulation has been accomplished. The connection between your mind and your muscles is something that takes time. It must be practiced meticulously over and over again. Full concentration and a direct connection to the signals you’re sending and the pressures you’re manipulating. As time continues, nothing new is discovered. No ingredient is increased, or magic exercises revealed. No matter what skill you want to acquire…day 3001 must be better than day 3000. Time to get going!

[karljohnsontty]

This is nice.

In to subscribe.

Looking forward to useful updates and your tips as well.

[halisray]

Subbed!

[poison]

Oh yeah? Interesting. In.

[poison]

What's for breakfast, big guy?

[DavidZiegler]

Good Morning everyone! I took the day off yesterday from the gym to recover and to fill out a little before training legs this morning.. I don't know how many people can carb to 230lb and wake up at 220lb.. But that can be the normal with me if I don't keep a close eye on my food intake and make adjustments with carbs as necessary. When I am this lean by body changes and responds so quickly it can be a challenge to hold onto the muscles and lean it all down.

I am going to push the carbs a little post work-out, and post-workout only (cardio - I have not decided yet). Depends on how I look and feel after legs.. Most times I leave leg day and cardio apart . I am depleted right now, I think my best best would be to get a little fuller and then lay on the cardio again tomorrow. Keep a close eye on everything before coming into peak week. Hold That MUSCLE!! With peak week I plan on bringing in that last bit of water/fat and with me that can be the difference between looking awesome or looking gumby flat.

This will be my second to last leg day before the show and I want to crush it..

Game Plan,

Warm - Up Leg extensions
(Wide Stance)Hack Squat
Leg Press
Hack Squat (Close Stance) (SS) W/T Single HS Leg Extension
Single Leg Extension
Lying Leg Curl
Seated Leg Curl
Lunges
Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts
Standing Leg Curl
Adductor/Abductor
Standing Calf Raises

FULL ROM, Flexing on the way up, Slow 3-5 second Negative, Pause at the bottom and at the top - no momentum ever, never a lock out.



Older video

[DavidZiegler]

What's for breakfast, big guy?

Fresh out of bed with 15G BCAA Powder
--Wait 15 minutes--
75G Protein 2G Fat 0G Carbs

(First Meal)

[poison]

Sounds like 'fun', and by 'fun' I mean something else entirely.

[DavidZiegler]

Sounds like 'fun', and by 'fun' I mean something else entirely.

LOL - It's no bowl of cinnamon toast crunch :-(

[poison]

LOL - It's no bowl of cinnamon toast crunch :-(

Might be a bowl of kashi crunch, though. /barf

[DavidZiegler]

My workout was awesome, with my calories and carbs where they are I couldn't have asked for more. I hit all my normal weights and the pump was awesome. I started everything out on the leg extension and for part of my warm up I repped into the 100 range.. Easy weight with good control - it really opened my legs for the rest of the workout.. This might be something I keep in for awhile.

I thought I looked good - even the best I ever have. I still want to be a little tighter in a couple spots but with the way I look today I decided to skip the post-workout cardio and throw in a little extra carbs to help the legs and to stay full

[allieninja]

In. Nice blank post

Edit: you edited. BOO.

[DavidZiegler]

In. Nice blank post

Edit: you edited. BOO.

I was upset, I worked hard on that first post and then it was gone! :-P

[DavidZiegler]

After my training and second post workout meal I took a nap for 5 hours. When I woke up I hit the stair stepper for 25 minutes and carbed up again. Soon I will drop the carbs to nothing and then load before stepping on stage. I want to keep in the cardio to bring out and thin my skin but I don't want to flatten out too much before peaking.

[DavidZiegler]

I slept like a rock. I woke up a few pounds less than when I went to bed- but I still weighted a little higher than normal. Because of that today I am going to start my no carb/cardio/carb depletion week and try to finish getting this skin tight!

[DavidZiegler]

See you at the gym

[poison]

After my training and second post workout meal I took a nap for 5 hours. When I woke up I hit the stair stepper for 25 minutes and carbed up again. Soon I will drop the carbs to nothing and then load before stepping on stage. I want to keep in the cardio to bring out and thin my skin but I don't want to flatten out too much before peaking.

Lol, 5hr nap! I sleep 5hrs a night sometimes, haha. /dislike

[DavidZiegler]

Today I was feeling good just after noon and went in to hit chest and biceps. I started with my warm-up.. Hitting the shoulders, triceps and getting blood everywhere then went into my workout.

Reverse Grip Bench Press: 4 Sets
Cable Cross Over (Medium and Low Position) : 3 Sets each position
Inline Dumbbell Press: 2 Sets
Pek-Dek: 2 Sets
Dumbbell Incline Single Arm Press: 3 Sets
-----
Cable D-Grip Single Arm Curl: 4 Sets
Hammer Strength Preacher Curl Machine: 2 Sets
Straight Bar Curl: 3 Sets


I started off slow and looking flat but as I kept pumping my physique started to come alive. Towards the end I was looking good and felt strong. -I am keeping the carbs out and half way through my cardio I was dreaming of pastries! 25 Minutes of sweating and I headed home for my post workout meal.

Once I got home I had three scoops of Hydrolyzed Isolate Protein Powder, five grams of creatine, CLA, and six grams of fish oil. I would throw in cabrs any other day, but for the next week they are out..

[poison]

Ahem.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=165067751

WELCOME, BRO!

[DavidZiegler]

Ahem.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=165067751

WELCOME, BRO!

I am so excited to train -- I want 2015 to be CRAZZY AWESOME! Time to train insane, eat like a champ, and turn into a MONSTER!! I couldn't have picked a better list of ingredients or a nicer team to have my back, S.A.N. is awesome.

[poison]

I am so excited to train -- I want 2015 to be CRAZZY AWESOME! Time to train insane, eat like a champ, and turn into a MONSTER!! I couldn't have picked a better list of ingredients or a nicer team to have my back, S.A.N. is awesome.

I'm so glad you're on board, David! I hope we can assist in your quest for perfection!

[ItzJesusp]

subbed in to read more on your workouts and your way to your goals

[ItzJesusp]

your arms are huge, one question to get bigger arms is it better light weight and higher reps or heavy and lower reps?

[DavidZiegler]

your arms are huge, one question to get bigger arms is it better light weight and higher reps or heavy and lower reps?

Dude, awesome to have you in here.

I do two bicep workouts a week.. Sometimes three - if I do three, one is super light and follows a back day with just a set or two..

For the most part I do one heavy and one on the lighter side.. When I go heavy most of my movements are hammer curls. Real heavy with the dumbbells and also EZ-Curl (or) Straight bar work - I will still finish everything off with a high rep preacher or Arnold curls. When I go for the lighter day I hit a lot of standard dumbbell curls and cable curls to keep that constant tension and really try to feel the bicep ball up and flex at the top.. I will also milk out a negative and a stretch at the bottom. No matter what I am always trying to keep my form perfect and hit the full ROM.. On a heavier day I will be more inclined to cheat at the end, but keep the idea in your mind to stay tight

[cornman99]

In!

[ItzJesusp]

Dude, awesome to have you in here.

I do two bicep workouts a week.. Sometimes three - if I do three, one is super light and follows a back day with just a set or two..

For the most part I do one heavy and one on the lighter side.. When I go heavy most of my movements are hammer curls. Real heavy with the dumbbells and also EZ-Curl (or) Straight bar work - I will still finish everything off with a high rep preacher or Arnold curls. When I go for the lighter day I hit a lot of standard dumbbell curls and cable curls to keep that constant tension and really try to feel the bicep ball up and flex at the top.. I will also milk out a negative and a stretch at the bottom. No matter what I am always trying to keep my form perfect and hit the full ROM.. On a heavier day I will be more inclined to cheat at the end, but keep the idea in your mind to stay tight

thanks for your reply, i usually hit arms twice a week i usually do bicep and tricep, tomorow its bicep and tricep turn, i didnt go to heavy on them this weeks workout so should i go very heavy on them tomorow? i probably wont read a response until tomorow since im about to go to sleep (lol). also i usually do hammer curls with rope attachment in the machine, tomorow will do them heavy with dumbbells just to vary maybe one day my ams would look at least like half of yours haha

[DavidZiegler]

thanks for your reply, i usually hit arms twice a week i usually do bicep and tricep, tomorow its bicep and tricep turn, i didnt go to heavy on them this weeks workout so should i go very heavy on them tomorow? i probably wont read a response until tomorrow since im about to go to sleep (lol). also i usually do hammer curls with rope attachment in the machine, tomorrow will do them heavy with dumbbells just to vary maybe one day my ams would look at least like half of yours haha

You're the man bro.. Nutrition is always a big factor too.. Gotta have the right stuff in there. It depends on you when you feel you can go heavy, I wouldn't tell you to ever just go and do it. You have to feel the weights, the joints, see where you are at that day. If I feel able and willing, that becomes my heavy day. The only reason my light day is so light

[ItzJesusp]

You're the man bro.. Nutrition is always a big factor too.. Gotta have the right stuff in there. It depends on you when you feel you can go heavy, I wouldn't tell you to ever just go and do it. You have to feel the weights, the joints, see where you are at that day. If I feel able and willing, that becomes my heavy day. The only reason my light day is so light i

i feel you, thats my down point my Nutrition, i dont count my macros or nothing, i mean im not gonna eat Stupidly like go eat at mcdonalds and pizza but i mean i dont really focus on my nutrition which i know its bad but for now im a beginer only been working out 5 months i'll get better at it, and i know what you mean, today i felt like it was a heavy day so i went and did my max on flat bench press which was 245 followed by drop sets. also in between my chest workout i wanted to feel something in my legs so i did some squats and made a PR today which was 315 my last one was 285 i was exited cause once i reached 285 i was afraid to go higher but today i just said to myself I CAN and i did i was hype lol. thanks again for your advice will be supporting you from Puerto Rico .

[HairyHenry]

Im IN to follow, learn and lend fanbase support.

[DavidZiegler]

I slept for 12 hours and woke up feeling refreshed and recovered. I got out of bed and had 15 grams of BCAA in water and waited a couple minutes to down 24 ounces of water and let everything soak in. After a minute I head for the trails behind my house. I hit cardio for an hour, just over 3 miles.

- As soon as I arrive back home I down 24 ounces of water and start to make my shake. I mix three scoops (servings) of hydrolyzed protein in water, today I added 2 ounces of milk to give me a little help with the workout.. But I doubt I will feel 5 grams of carbs :-P