ZMN-iQuad.......brewing a 2 year storm!--offseason journal

[ZMN]

allow me to introduce myself, my name is Zack Naylor, a competitive natural bodybuilder from Pittsburgh, i have been a 'lurker' on bb.com for quite a long time, but never really posted much and ive decided to change that

i decided to begin a workout journal for my offseason. i have begun working with layne norton for diet and training and i feel this offseason will hold big things in store (literally in my case! ha)

im doing this as i feel it will help me focus and serve as a source of motivation (hopefully with the help of you kind folks) as i work to meet my goals

this is the first post for my offseason, i am currently 1.5 weeks after my last show (sept.22) of three for the year, its now time to take some time off and actually do it this time and not like the other times when i tell everyone im taking time off and then get the bug hard and compete less than a year later

the master plan is to take 2 years off and make significant improvements to my physique to the point that i can come back after that time and be competitive enough to make a run at my long term goal.....becoming a natural pro

i have had this goal in mind since the first time i ever stepped on stage and i think of it every single day, now its time to do something about it

so...there you have it, im brewing a '2 year storm'


now on to the details

training as of now consists of 2 power days (upper and lower body) and 2 hypertrophy days (upper and lower) this is laynes routine, over the next six weeks i will be progressing on the power days until i crush my previous 5 rep max with the weight i would normally use, with respect to the exercise....there may be a wrinkle in the plan as Tosha and I are going on a cruise from oct.14-19, i will be training (diet wont be exactly on point lol letseat.gif ) but i will be training however they wont have the necessary equipment to perform my power workouts, so im thinkin it will be some good 'active recovery' for me since i had been precontest training from jan-sept....it will do good to my body

diet as of now really changes by the week and depends on the day but yesterdays macros looked like this

protein-175
carb- 220
fat- 60

my weight is currently about 1-2lbs over what i weighed the last week before the show, so i am very happy with holding my conditioning while increasing the cals

to see pics from my shows this year, feel free to visit my profile

anyway, ill start by posting yesterdays workout

Lower Body Power

squat
warmup sets
135x10
185x5
225x1
working sets
285x5
285x5
285x5
285x5

leg extensions
165x10
195x10

stiff leg deads
275x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

standing calf
380x8
455x6
500x6

seated calf
190x6
190x6

[str8flexed]

good to see you here zach... time to get it rolling!

[ZMN]

Originally Posted by str8flexed

good to see you here zach... time to get it rolling!

best believe!

[semper27]

I'm all in for this ride! Looking forward to seeing you progress! I've been with Layne for quite some time now and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Now get it done!

[ZMN]

Originally Posted by semper27

I'm all in for this ride! Looking forward to seeing you progress! I've been with Layne for quite some time now and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Now get it done!

nice dude, much appreciated

im pretty excited myself to see what can and will happen in two years time

time to roll babaaaaay!

[ZMN]

10.3.07

upper body hypertrophy

cable row
170x10 - 3 sets

bent over bb row
185x12
225x10
245x10

lat pulldown
151x12
170x10
182x10

db pullovers
55x15
55x15

incline db press
60x10 , 3 sets

decline hammer press
180x12
270x10
270x8

pec dec
135x15
185x12
185x12

db shoulder press
50x10, 3 sets

machine press
90x12
120x12
150x8

cambered bar curls
bar(not sure of weight)+50 x 10
bar+70 x 8
bar+90 x 6

cable curls
100x15
120x12

overhead cable rope exts.
120x10
150x8
200x6

reverse grip cable exts.
90x15
120x10

diet looked like this

p-174
c-201
f-54

weight is up about 1-2lbs, some of which still may be water


thats all for today, gotta be up in about 3.5 hours to catch a flight

see you on the flip side!

[ZMN]

ok, so no i havent been slacking but i was out of town in South Dakota for 4 days with my girlfriend in her hometown....which is on a 5th generation dairy farm in the middle of nowhere SD haha

anyway, we trained at the local high school for legs, it was hypertrophy lower body day for me and she (figure competitor) just decided to train with me since we never really get to do so due to varying workout styles, so it was fun

i have some pics that ill put up later, but let me tell you, this gym was old, rusty and plain out hardcore....the 'hip sled' leg press was straight out homemade (which is what i have pics of) and i adamantly nicknamed the 'iron maiden' due to its highly unsafe motion! lol

ok, enough of my b.s. heres the workout

Lower Body Hypertrophy

squats
bar - 135 - 185 warmup sets

205x10, 3 sets

'iron maiden' leg press
6 plates x 12
8 plates x 12
10 plates x 8

*note: i assure you the weight differences were great with this machine being that i typically use nearly double the weight i did on this one lol

leg exts
100x15
120x12
130x12

straight leg deads
205x10, 3 sets

leg curl
(dont remember the weight bc we actually used two different machines because we left the "school" gym and went to the 'community fitness area in hopes of finding a better leg curl and calf equipment)

4 sets - 15, 12, 8, 8

donkey calf raises
4 sets 12-15 with tosha (my gf) holding a 40lb db and sitting on my back haha

seated calf presses (using leg press 'machine')
3 sets, 6-15 reps


as you can see, i had to get awfully creative here, but had a good workout nonetheless, it was good to know what im getting into as well since ill be returning there for xmas vacation to see her family again and i know what to expect for workouts

also did 20-25min light jog this day so offset some of the food i would be eating over the weekend

[ZMN]

saturday was an off day with only HIIT cardio scheduled

so tosha and i did 15 sprints on the highway where she grew up

the rest of the day was relaxing and being with her family (and eating a bit lol)

[ZMN]

yesterday was completely off, traveled all day just to get back to pittsburgh, 5 hour drive to minneapolis, flew from minneapolis to pittsburgh and got in around 10pm to find that our luggage had not made it....fantastic, so no xtend for me this morning......will post my workout tonight

also, i will be starting a sample bottle i received of USP labs Pslin today, it is a 10 day supply, however i will only get one 'good' week of it in as tosha and i head out for our cruise this weekend! i will however finish the bottle on the cruise and will still be working out, however i dont know what net access ill have to update, not to mention the workouts wont be 'full blast' but ill still get a good whole week to review it

[ZMN]

here are the pics of the 'iron maiden' leg sled in SD

[ZMN]

upper body power

seated cable row
60-120-200 warmup sets

250 x 5, 3 sets

one arm db row
75x10
85x10
90x10

db incline press
45-70-90 warmup sets

100x5
100x5
95x6 (was suppose to do 100x5 here but had a tough time on number 5 the previous set, so i dropped the weight as to not train 'with my ego' and was pretty pissed when i cranked out 95x6 with authority, shouldnt have lowered it, also due to tosha spotting me up for the last set and not the previous 2)

pec dec
120x10
140x10
150x8

db shoulder press
35-50-70 warmup sets

80x5, 3 sets

db curls
45x8
50x6

tricep cable pressdown
170x8
200x6 (stack...yeeeaapp!!)

felt pretty good today but i let that 'screw up' with the incline presses bother me too much as i really want to focus on bringing my chest up and i feel like i blew it for some reason....im mental i know

diet looked like this today

p-177
c-229
f-59

scale is giving me about 4-5lbs over contest weight and at just over 2 weeks past last shows, im pretty satisfied with that, especially since im still a bit waterlogged from our SD trip (her mom is one hell of a cook! lol)

also started the sample run of USP labs p-slin today, the log is here
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4986823

[ZMN]

Lower body power

Squats
135-185-225-275-315 warmup sets

335x5 - 3 sets

leg exts
150x10
195x9

straight leg deads
135 warmup set

325x5 - 3 sets

standing calf
200 warmup set

455x8
505x6 (stack)
555x6 (stack = 25's)

seated calf
225x6
270x6

felt good to squat heavy again, although ill admittedly say that it felt a bit heavier than i anticipated lol!

also threw in 4 sets of abs while i waited for tosh to finish up her cardio

weight was down a pound, which is probably water, looked pretty good tonight too abs are still visible for sure and looked better than yesterday

[ZMN]

today was rest/cardio

tonight did 15min HIIT cardio on the stationary bike and oh....i may have made a mistake using the bike right after leg day.... :wallbash:

tomorrow is go time!

now to go get my haunt on

[ZMN]

upper body hypertrophy

cable row
170x10 - 3 sets

bent over bb row
185x12
225x10
225x10


db pullovers
65x10
65x8
65x8


hammer high row machine
70(each side)x15
100(each side)x10



incline db press
60x10 , 3 sets

db flat
55x12
65x10
75x10

cable crossover
70x12
60x12
60x12

db shoulder press
50x10
55x10
55x10

db laterals
30x12
35x10
40x8

db curls
35x10
40x8
50x6

cable curls
120x12
140x10

overhead cable rope exts.
140x10
170x8
170x8

cable exts.
110x15
140x10

notes: today i felt like ass the whole day bc im starting to get sick, however had a good workout regardless so im pleased with that

also, the pslin is certainly working and im liking the effects, but ill save details for the log

[ZMN]

lower body hypertrophy

squat
bar-135-185 warmups

205x10, 3 sets

leg press
8 plates x 12
12 plates x 10
16 plates x 8

leg exts.
165x15
195x12
210x10

straight leg deads
135 warmup

205x10, 3 sets

standing single leg curl machine
45x15
55x12
55x10
60x8

standing calf
155 warmup

455x12
505x10
505x10
555x8

seated calf
135x15
135x12
160x10

notes:

today was an awesome workout despite having to wake up at 4am and train in the morning which im not accustomed to (typically train at night)

all sets felt good although hammies are still a bit sore from tuesday

my weight was up another 2lbs from last night which i have to give credit to the sample run of P-slin (see my log for more details)

all is well, this morning was the last workout before my cruise vacation (except for cardio tomorrow) and ill still be training on the cruise, but im not sure of the web access ill have, ill do my best to provide updates as they come, otherwise, ill track the worktouts and post when i return

[RUBICON19]

Hey, Hey! Look'n good! Have a blast on the cruise. Good luck with the web access. Its like 5 every so many minutes or something and it takes about 10 minutes to open one email....

[ZMN]

Originally Posted by RUBICON19

Hey, Hey! Look'n good! Have a blast on the cruise. Good luck with the web access. Its like 5 every so many minutes or something and it takes about 10 minutes to open one email....

will do brotha!

thanks, sounds encouraging about the web access, guess youll just have to wait for an update! haha

stay tuned meat-heads!

[RUBICON19]

Originally Posted by ZMN

will do brotha!

thanks, sounds encouraging about the web access, guess youll just have to wait for an update! haha

stay tuned meat-heads!

Yeah, man. Just go to the buffet instead..

[ZMN]

weight was down 4lbs! so its obviously been playing games with me this week, but that means overall that im about 4-5lbs over contest weight, 3 weeks after the show...not too shabby

today was just 15min HIIT cardio in the morning then went to a festival all day and now im packing for my cruise!

see you guys in a week!

[ZMN]

ok folks, just got back into pittsburgh, after our flight was canceled twice and delayed 3 times (no im not kidding)

i just want to hit the sack, will update tomorrow!

[Superchic]

And I get to be the one to post that Mr. Zack won Mr. Muscular Legs on the cruise ship....hell's yeah.....Maybe i can get him to post the video of his routine he did to win it!!!!


Heheheheh Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh BUUUUDDDDDAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!

[ZMN]

well yesterday was 100% back to business as far as diet and training goes. feels good to be home after a much needed and very well enjoyed vacation!

yesterday was just HIIT cardio and i did 10 sprints at the local track and then did 5 bleacher runs after that......wow!

today will be more HIIT and since the weather is still nice here i'll likely do more sprints or bleacher runs or a combination thereof

tomorrow is back in the gym and its goooooo time!

[ZMN]

10.22.07

feels good to be back home and had a great first day back in the gym goin' heavy!

upper body power

seated cable row
70-150-200 warmups

250x5 3 sets

one arm db row
(felt stupid strong on these today)
80x10
90x10
100x10 (with authority)

incline db press
(rectified that crap from last week babaay!)

45-70-90 warmups

100x5 3 sets

pec dec
165x10
195x8
195x8

db shoulder press
(felt heavy as hell for some reason)

30 warmup

80x5 3 sets

db curls
20-warmup

45x8
50x6

cable v-bar pressdown
110-warmup

170x8
210x6 (stack plus 10)

felt really good today in the beginning of my workout, weight is up about 5lbs most of which should be blamed on the cruise lol, but i still look very good, nice and lean for offseason, but ideally id like to be just a tad tighter for my offseason, considering its only a few days after, i figure ill give my body the rest of the week to see how i end up and possibly make adjustments accordingly, but i have a feeling ill be down about 2lbs come the end of the week anyway, which will be just fine for me

[ZMN]

Lower body power

Squats
135-185-225-275-315 warmup sets

335x5 - 3 sets

leg exts
195x10
210x10

straight leg deads
135-225-315 warmup sets

325x5 - 3 sets

standing calf
180 warmup set

455x8
505x7 (stack)
595x6 (stack + 45's)

seated calf
180x8
225x6

had a really good workout tonight, was pleased with my form for squats and sldl as well, however, weights will be going up come next week.......i need to get serious

[ZMN]

today was cardio only

did 15 HIIT intervals

not much to report

[ZMN]

10.25.07


Upper body hypertrophy

Seated cable row
50-100 warmups

170x10, 3 sets

one arm db row
75x12
100x12
120x10

lat pulldown
170x12
190x10
190x10

db pullovers
65x12
65x10

db incline press
pushups-40 warmups

60x10, 3 sets

hammer press
230x8 (too heavy, too close to failure)
200x8
200x8

cable crossover
50x15
70x10(screwed up shouldve been 12)
70x12 failure

db shoulder press
25 warmup

50x10, 3 sets

cable laterals
35x12
45x10
50x8 failure

cambered bar curls
70+bar(dont know the weight)x8
80+bar x 7
90+bar x 6

concentration curls
25x12
25x10

overhead cable rope exts
160x10
180x8
200(stack) x 6 yeeeaaaapp!!

cable pressdown
130x15
150x12

felt really good for this workout and looked straight blown up afterwards, weight was down a pound which is no concern considering its likely the last bit of water from my week of debauchery on the cruise! lol, im pretty happy with my condition now, being 4 weeks after the show and im not too far off from where i was, but most importantly, im far leaner than ive ever been in the offseason

[ZMN]

10.26.07

Lower body hypertrophy

squat

205x10, 3 sets

leg press
8plates x 12
12plates x 12
16plates x 8

leg exts
195x15
210x12
255(stack)x10

sldl
205x10,3 sets

lying leg curl
110x15
130x12
140x9
150x8

standing calf
355x12
405x12
455x10
505(stack)x8

seated calf
135x12
180x10
225x6

notes:

ok so i fried my glute/ham tie in and pretty much couldnt squat at all after i aggravated it very badly when doing warmup sets, but, i went and rode the bike for five minutes and tosha helped me stretch out very well and i ended up being able to squat and finish my workout

the pain was terrible at first, but subsided towards the end of the workout but also doesnt hurt this morning so im not convinced that i pulled anything........regardless, only my last set of squats was below parallel since when i went lower is when i felt like my eyes were gonna pop outta my head

that being said, overall a good workout though

[ZMN]

10.27.07

this morning was cardio only, and it was a good session but it sucked too bc the stupid treadmill wouldnt go as fast as i needed for a sprint :wallbash:

oh well, it was 15 intervals, now im off to leave for DC, the Yorton Cup Nationals!

[ZMN]

10.29.07

upper body power

seated cable row
90-170-240 warmups

270x5, 3 sets

lat pulldown

172x10
195x10
220x8

incline db press
40-85-100 warmups

110x5
110x5 (spot on the last rep)
110x5 (spot on the last rep)

pec dec
180x10
195x8
195x8

db shoulder press
40-80 warmups

90x5
90x4
85x4 (not pleased at all with this, target was 90x5, 3 sets)

db curls
45x8
55x6

cable pressdowns
200x8
210x6

hanging leg raises
w/25lb db x 8
w/15lb db x 8

cable crunches
150x10
150x8

did 8 min on the bike to loosen my legs up, particularly my glute ham tie in for tomorrow

notes:

not satisfied at all with my workout considering i didnt hit my target weight/reps completely for two exercises, i almost feel like i failed
i know that im likely just beating myself up over something that i shouldnt, all things considered, i had a good workout, everything felt pretty strong and i feel like i really hit the muscle fibers i was after but in the back of my mind, i just cannot and will not accept the shortcomings i had

[ZMN]

10.30.07

lower body power

squats
135-185-225-275-335 warmups

365x5, 3 sets!!! somebody needs to throw up a yea buddaayy!

leg exts.
195x10
225x8

stiff leg deads
135-225-335 warmups

365x5, 3 sets wooooopp!! (heavy as all hell though, lol)

standing calf
235 warmup

430x8
505x7
595x6

seated calf
160x8
205x6

notes:

tonights workout was excellent, and i certainly felt like i redeemed myself for that crap i pulled from last night.....time to roll babaaaaayy!!