Training With Sporto: A Quest For Lean Mass, Personal Records, & A Pro Physique!

[Sporto1633]

Finally the quest begins! I can honestly say that I am really excited for this next year and what it will bring. I wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that's followed me along in my journey to get a pro card, and all I can say now is, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

But, it doesn't stop there. I have set some new goals, and with the help of Scivation/Primaforce, Layne, Team Scivation, and all of you with your continuing support, I definately plan on exceeding even MY greatest expectations! Layne and I will continue to work with each other all year, and we plan on creating some synergy between us to help drive both of us to new levels!

Now that Thanksgiving is over with, and my controlled binge over the last week, I am ready to get back to business! Last week was a deload week in the weight room, and today marks Day 1 in my quest. My plan for the next 6-8 weeks, is going to be pretty simple. I'm only raising calories slightly, still doing some HIIT cardio, supplementing all the usual BADASS products from Scivation/Primaforce, and training a power/hypertrophy split - or what Layne likes to call one of his "bread and butter" routines

Training:

Day 1: Upper Body - Power
Day 2: Lower Body - Power
Day 3: Rest/Cardio
Day 4: Upper Body - Hypertrophy
Day 5: Lower Body - Hypertrophy
Day 6: Rest/Cardio
Day 7: Rest/Cardio

Diet:

Fat: 55g
Carbs: 275g
Protein: 235g
Calories: 2535cals

Supplements:

Now Foods Multi-Vitamin
Ergopharm Amp
Scivation Dialene-4
Scivation Xtend3
Scivation Sesamin
Primaforce Max CLA
Primaforce Elastimine
Primaforce Cissus
Primaforce Primal NO2
Primaforce ZMA
USP Labs Anabolic Pump
USP Labs P-Slin
USP Labs PowerFull
USP Labs SuperCissus

Sporto

[Sporto1633]

Day 1: Upper Body - Power

BB Bench Press
205 X 5
205 X 5
205 X 5
205 X 5
205 X 5

Machine Flys
200 X 8, 6, 4

Weighted Pullups
BW+10 X 5
BW+10 X 5
BW+10 X 5
BW+10 X 5
BW+10 X 5

Seated Machine Pulldowns
210 X 8, 6, 4

DB Military Press
60 X 5
60 X 5
60 X 5
60 X 5
60 X 5

DB Rear Raises
20 X 8, 6, 4

BB Shrugs
225 X 5
225 X 5
225 X 5
225 X 5
225 X 5

DB Seated Shrugs
100 X 8, 6, 4

Standing EZ Curls
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5

DB Seated Curls
45 X 8, 6, 4

BB Close-Grip Bench Press
150 X 5
150 X 5
150 X 5
150 X 5
150 X 5

EZ Skull Crushers
85 X 8, 6, 4

Diet:

Fat: 56g
Carbs: 279g
Protein: 229g
Calories: 2536cals

Supplements:

Now Foods Multi-Vitamin
Ergopharm Amp
Scivation Dialene-4
Scivation Xtend3
Scivation Sesamin
Primaforce Max CLA
Primaforce Elastimine
Primaforce Cissus
Primaforce Primal NO2
Primaforce ZMA
USP Labs Anabolic Pump
USP Labs P-Slin
USP Labs PowerFull
USP Labs SuperCissus

~Bodyweight = 199lbs.

Sporto

[semper27]

Can't wait to see you blast through to some new PR's! This is without a doubt going to be a very intense ride to the Pro Stage! I'll be following along and feeding off the intensity and energy that's sure to come.

[liftjunkie06]

Congrats on the Pro card. You look awesome. Why are the cals so low? Those are lower than maintenance, aren't they? I'm not criticizing, just curious.

Keep up the good work.

[str8flexed]

Congrats on the Pro card. You look awesome. Why are the cals so low? Those are lower than maintenance, aren't they? I'm not criticizing, just curious.

Keep up the good work.

well if we give away all the secrets i might as well start eating out of garbage cans on the street

j/k in all seriousness, after a show your metabolism is in the crapper, if you throw a bunch of calories in there you are just going to get fat. If you slowly increase them you will be able to raise your metabolism to offseason levels while not adding much bodyfat.

[liftjunkie06]

well if we give away all the secrets i might as well start eating out of garbage cans on the street

j/k in all seriousness, after a show your metabolism is in the crapper, if you throw a bunch of calories in there you are just going to get fat. If you slowly increase them you will be able to raise your metabolism to offseason levels while not adding much bodyfat.

Makes sense. You obviously know what you're doing, and your clientele speaks loudly of that. How long does it take for the metab to return to "normal." I always assumed it was a few weeks. Is it more?

[str8flexed]

a few months. this is actually documented in a study but i do not have it onhand

[mdfriend]

Sporto1633,

I just wanted to drop in and say "Hi". This is Matt Friend and you might remember me way back when we were both at THS. It's nice to see you have done very well for yourself! Congrats on the Pro card and your accomplishments. Keep up the great work! You represent well!

Friend

[Sporto1633]

Sporto1633,

I just wanted to drop in and say "Hi". This is Matt Friend and you might remember me way back when we were both at THS. It's nice to see you have done very well for yourself! Congrats on the Pro card and your accomplishments. Keep up the great work! You represent well!

Friend

Hey Matt! I must say, that is a blast from the past! Thanks for the kind words...not too bad for just being the tiny kicker on the football team, huh?

Sporto

[fltallpaul]

Tommy,

You and Layne have been motivation extraordinaire for me. I didn't even know what natural bbing was a few months ago now I am anxious to get into a show. Your progress and documentation has really outlined a great game plan for me. I may even contact you or Lanye for help once I feel I am ready to start a nailed down diet. I am now below ten percent bf and think I need to start counting Macros...

This new workout has me very interested as I have been doing the one body part a week for a while now and need a change. Can you give a brief explanation of the use of this...taking 3 days off will play tricks on my mind...lol.

Thanks for all you are doing for Natural BBing.

[Sporto1633]

Tommy,

You and Layne have been motivation extraordinaire for me. I didn't even know what natural bbing was a few months ago now I am anxious to get into a show. Your progress and documentation has really outlined a great game plan for me. I may even contact you or Lanye for help once I feel I am ready to start a nailed down diet. I am now below ten percent bf and think I need to start counting Macros...

This new workout has me very interested as I have been doing the one body part a week for a while now and need a change. Can you give a brief explanation of the use of this...taking 3 days off will play tricks on my mind...lol.

Thanks for all you are doing for Natural BBing.

Hey Paul, thanks for that! That really does mean a lot and is exactly why we do what we do!

I really do think it's time to start counting macros...if anything, you need to get into the habit; it will make it a much easier transition into dieting when the time comes.

3 days off rationale is simple - you grow when you rest/recover properly. You NEED the rest. If you can't take time off from the gym (sometimes it's difficult because it's me "me" time), then do some cardio. But notice how I'm combining multiple muscle groups together? Notice how my volume per muscle group isn't near what it would be if I was only doing chest on one day? It's all about the right balance of frequency/intensity/volume with proper rest/recovery time.

Sporto

[mdfriend]

Let's just say what you have done with your body is amazing!

I was wondering about your program, how much time do you give yourself between sets? I tried your day1 power workout, just to change things up a little. I've been in a rut with my program and have been searching for a way to create better def. in my upper body. Any help would be great!

Friend

[jth16]

j/k in all seriousness, after a show your metabolism is in the crapper, if you throw a bunch of calories in there you are just going to get fat. If you slowly increase them you will be able to raise your metabolism to offseason levels while not adding much bodyfat.

This might sound odd, but would it be a good idea to take some kind of thyroid stimulant like 7-oxo, dicana, or some OTC thyroid stimulant, post contest to get things running again?
I know some people are actually running a PCT after exogenous T3/T4 usage to stimulate their thyroids (how legal the product that is used, I don't know).

Edit:
Sporto, congrats on your card bud! I always watch your posing videos and contest prep videos to keep me motivated.

[Sporto1633]

Let's just say what you have done with your body is amazing!

I was wondering about your program, how much time do you give yourself between sets? I tried your day1 power workout, just to change things up a little. I've been in a rut with my program and have been searching for a way to create better def. in my upper body. Any help would be great!

Friend

Thanks!

Depends, but normally just enough to recover unlees I'm doing a rest-pause set. See, right now, I'm lifting at 50-60% intensity, so my rest in between sets is not much...maybe 60-90 seconds. Once intensity progresses throughout the weeks, rest time will increase respectively.

The power workout I posted for day one is, again, a very light day. Coming off of a contest I need to progress back up to my original strength levels. You may want to just do 3 work sets of 5 with some auxillary work since you will probably be wanting to lift heavier weight.

Sporto

[Sporto1633]

This might sound odd, but would it be a good idea to take some kind of thyroid stimulant like 7-oxo, dicana, or some OTC thyroid stimulant, post contest to get things running again?
I know some people are actually running a PCT after exogenous T3/T4 usage to stimulate their thyroids (how legal the product that is used, I don't know).

Edit:
Sporto, congrats on your card bud! I always watch your posing videos and contest prep videos to keep me motivated.

Thanks jth! Those videos even get me motivated

I don't know much about OTC thyroid supplements...so I can't really comment.

Sporto

[Sporto1633]

Day 2: Lower Body - Power

BB Squats
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5

Seated Leg Curls
160 X 8, 6, 4

Hack Squats
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 5

Seated Leg Extensions
230 X 8, 6, 4

Straight-Leg Calf Raises
300 X 8
300 X 8
300 X 8

Seated Calf Raises
190 X 8
190 X 8
190 X 8

Weighted Hip Lifts
25 X 8
25 X 8
25 X 6

Diet:

Fat: 53g
Carbs: 272g
Protein: 255g
Calories: 2585cals

Supplements:

Now Foods Multi-Vitamin
Ergopharm Amp
Scivation Dialene-4
Scivation Xtend3
Scivation Sesamin
Primaforce Max CLA
Primaforce Elastimine
Primaforce Cissus
Primaforce Primal NO2
Primaforce ZMA
USP Labs Anabolic Pump
USP Labs P-Slin
USP Labs PowerFull
USP Labs SuperCissus

~Bodyweight = 200lbs.

Sporto

[fltallpaul]

first, you told me in an old post that Vasocharge and Xtend were a great combo...should I also use creatine MH during this stack. I found a great deal on BB.com for xtend and vasocharge for 59.99....jumping on that and wanted to see what you thought.

Second, on your power day yesterday you did 205 on bench...you were doing over 300 pre contest. Are you starting slow since you are post contest and building back up....seems like a drastic drop...please enlighten me. Thanks.

Paul.

[Sporto1633]

first, you told me in an old post that Vasocharge and Xtend were a great combo...should I also use creatine MH during this stack. I found a great deal on BB.com for xtend and vasocharge for 59.99....jumping on that and wanted to see what you thought.

Second, on your power day yesterday you did 205 on bench...you were doing over 300 pre contest. Are you starting slow since you are post contest and building back up....seems like a drastic drop...please enlighten me. Thanks.

Paul.

VasoCharge has enough creatine in it for a maintenance dose, so adding in extra creatine on top of that would only be beneficial if you planned on loading for a few days. Otherwise, VasoCharge will be all you'll need.

Are you calling me weak??? LOL just kidding! That's the hardest part about coming off of a contest diet the SMART way. As with metabolism, things need to progress over a period of time back to what they were before the diet. I'm taking a good 6-8 weeks to progress both my metabolism, hormonal systems, etc. AND my intensity on all of my lifts...not to mention giving my CNS a break from all the intense dieting and training.

Think about it this way. One of the biggest keys to my success in my contest prep was taking the necessary time to NOT do anything drastic...small changes were made over a long period of time. You get a far better response from your body by doing this. Now, all I'm doing is the exact same thing in reverse. I'm not going to drastically increase calories and start trying to lift what I used to. I'm taking my time and slowly progressing abck into that...not doing anything drastic. The body will respond much better. Of course, you won't see this till I start breaking PRs while at the same time looking far leaner than before...but then you can look back at this post and know how and why it happened

Hope that helps...

Sporto

[str8flexed]

part of it is also how I plan strength progressions... which I'd rather not get too much into. I don't mind answering questions as I've been doing it for over 6 years, but I do have to keep some things to myself or I might as well start digging through trash cans to feed myself

[Flynn]

The beauty of T-man having this thread is I get to ride the intensity/motivation train, especially since our programs are similar and began at the same time...obviously not moving his type of weight (even in off-season).

...after a show your metabolism is in the crapper, if you throw a bunch of calories in there you are just going to get fat. ....

Ooops, too late !

I don't mind answering questions as I've been doing it for over 6 years, but I do have to keep some things to myself or I might as well start digging through trash cans to feed myself

Naw, we'll at least give you food, maybe! Btw, I watch the DVD from the show last night. Not to belabor the point but "Team Norton" did a hell of job!

[EricTheRed]

subs for the madness

[str8flexed]

The beauty of T-man having this thread is I get to ride the intensity/motivation train, especially since our programs are similar and began at the same time...obviously not moving his type of weight (even in off-season).



Ooops, too late !



Naw, we'll at least give you food, maybe! Btw, I watch the DVD from the show last night. Not to belabor the point but "Team Norton" did a hell of job!

damn i'm gonna have to get a dvd of the show

[fltallpaul]

Tommy....not calling you weak...although 205 for 5 is well....a good weight to curl...lol. Kidding...Glad to see you have a plan and are following it...

Layne, not to worry..I have learned enough from the boards to be dangerous but not enough to feel like and can do contest prep on my own...once i pick a show I am sure i will hire you....or maybe Tommy...

when does the student become the teacher?

Thanks guys!

[Sporto1633]

when does the student become the teacher?

When he stops giving me all the wrong advices...lol

Sporto

[Sporto1633]

Day 3: HIIT Cardio

10 Minute Warmup
8 Sprints - 45 Seconds @ 50-60%; 15 Seconds @ 100%
5 Minute Break - Stretch
20 Minutes Walking Uphill - 3.0mph @ 9.0 Incline
5 Minute Break - Stretch
7 Sprints - 45 Seconds @ 50-60%; 15 Seconds @ 100%
Cooldown - Stretch

Diet:

Fat: 50g
Carbs: 282g
Protein: 232g
Calories: 2506cals

Supplements:

Now Foods Multi-Vitamin
Ergopharm Amp
Scivation Dialene-4
Scivation Xtend
Scivation Sesamin
Primaforce Yohimbe HCL
Primaforce Max CLA
Primaforce Elastimine
Primaforce Cissus
Primaforce Primal NO2
Primaforce ZMA
USP Labs Anabolic Pump
USP Labs PowerFull
USP Labs SuperCissus

~Bodyweight = 200lbs.

Sporto

[SheerWill]

Quick Q Big T:

On your power days, are you going to failure on your aux. exercises like flys and extensions? If so, do you fail on all the aux. sets or just some?

Also, are you taking all of the supps listed in your workout entries right now, or is that just a list of the ones you use at one point or another?

thx

[Sporto1633]

Quick Q Big T:

On your power days, are you going to failure on your aux. exercises like flys and extensions? If so, do you fail on all the aux. sets or just some?

Also, are you taking all of the supps listed in your workout entries right now, or is that just a list of the ones you use at one point or another?

thx

Not going to failure. On auxillary exercises, I'll go 1-2 reps shy on power days. I might do a set to failure on hypertrophy days, but that will be used sparingly. Most of the time I will stop just before failure.

As for supplements, I am taking all of those at one point or another. For instance, I'll pop in some yohimbe pre-cardio, but not before a weight training session.

Sporto

[Agostage]

Great log so far when do you start ramping up the calories?

[Ivan25]

Very strategic workout regimen Tommy... Fleck & Kraemer would be proud...

[Sporto1633]

Great log so far when do you start ramping up the calories?

Depends...gotta see what the bodyweight does for a few days...

Sporto