"AustrianOakJr": Sean Campbell Getting Some Pro Bodybuilding DONE.

[AustrianOakJr]

Well, time for an update, I would say. Training has been going well. I am learning that I can (and should) reduce the volume of my heavy, compound movements. I’ve been progressing with less pain in hips. I have also recently found a great way to soll the spot where the knots are forming in my hips and glutes so the pain continues to lessen day by day. Ill be hitting some heavy box squats tomorrow and im hoping to hit 405 X 5 to a parallel box.
On the dieting front, things are moving SLOOOOWLY. And its flat out due to my lax attitude towards hitting my macros every day. And I had fully planned on a lax beginning through Christmas, but I guess I was hoping to lose a few “easy” pounds in the beginning but they just aren’t coming off. I suppose my metabolism really isn’t moving the way id like at the beginning of my diet……which is probably because im still sitting under my set point. But none-the-less I have still chiseled about a pound or so off since thanksgiving and been able to enjoy several holiday parties complete with drinks and cookies and several family times this month.

My daughter hitting up santa for the goods at her pre school Christmas party:



Im cool with living life at the expense of some slow progress and I don’t plan to stress about making the tournament of champions. Ive got the Pro American in June so ill have plenty of time to make that show pealed to the bone. If I happen to come in shape for April then ill be doing Cbus as well. Time will tell.


In other (non-bodybuilding) news, I am really enjoying this new class I am teaching call Energy systems. It’s all about sustainable living through alternative energy. Ive been doing a lot of reading and finding a new found interest in a number of issues surrounding sustainablitly……mainly food production. I started a project with my students on hydroponics and aquaponics. We are building some miniature set ups to grow some hydroponic veggies as well as a large, 275 gallon aquaponics system designed to raise about 25 tilapia and grow several types of veggies with a nutrient film delivery system. Its going to be awesome. These pics are a few I shot at a local farm called “Freshwise Farms”. They are a local hydroponic and soil-based organic grower. I brought them in to do a presentation for the kids. I am basically copying their nutrient film technique design and just incorporating the fish aquarium as my nutrient solution. Ill have to snap a few pics of the set up as we build.

[fltallpaul]

That seems like its a lot different than your usual Grease Monkey pictures you show with half cars and engines torn apart.

Also are you Santa? You need a bowl full of jelly, not a six pack!

[AustrianOakJr]

That seems like its a lot different than your usual Grease Monkey pictures you show with half cars and engines torn apart.

Also are you Santa? You need a bowl full of jelly, not a six pack!

No....im not Santa. Geez....I knew I put on a little fluff, but all these coments about Moby Dick and Santa are giving me a complex.

Ive still got the car thing going on. THe last project I did was an engine swap on this Jeep I bought in Baltimore. I trailered this back home with a blown engine and installed one that I had laying around. Its a 1990 Wrangler but it looks (and now runs) like new. Love it.

[ErickStevens]

Sean, I read your comments in Berto's thread it got me wondering about your current diet. Have you made any drastic alterations to your daily food choices?

[Blazed]

Sick Whip! How many cars do you have?!?

I remember my first hydroponics project Ebb N Flow system with 2 55 gallon reservoirs and 48 hydroton filled "Pods"

[fltallpaul]

Sick Whip! How many cars do you have?!?

I remember my first hydroponics project Ebb N Flow system with 2 55 gallon reservoirs and 48 hydroton filled "Pods"

My buddy in college worked with hydroponics...but that is all I can say about that

[AustrianOakJr]

Sean, I read your comments in Berto's thread it got me wondering about your current diet. Have you made any drastic alterations to your daily food choices?

I have been focusing on eating a bit "cleaner".....not so much for my physique's sake, but for the overall health of me and my family. I have been eating a lot more green veggies, squash, sweet potatos, etc.....lots of whole foods. Ive started to make the shift to local, organic, cage free, etc. Ive been doing this incrementally for budgetary reasons. But yea.....my diet has changed a little bit. I am still enjoying 3DMJ cakes, fro-yo, etc But ive cut back on it a bit in favor of more whole foods.

Sick Whip! How many cars do you have?!?

I remember my first hydroponics project Ebb N Flow system with 2 55 gallon reservoirs and 48 hydroton filled "Pods"

Ive got 5 cars right now: 69 Pontiac GTO, 89 Shelby CSX # 512, 90 Wrangler, 85 Merc Benz 300TD (veggie oil burner), 97 Chevy K2500 (veggie burner).

When did you build a hydro-p system? High school?

My buddy in college worked with hydroponics...but that is all I can say about that

My cousin's sister's friend's uncle went to that college!

[ErickStevens]

My taste in food choices during my regular (ie: Non holiday) days has been very brotastic. I find that a 70/30 split works best for me. Egg whites, broccoli, oats, and Pop Tarts!

[AustrianOakJr]

My taste in food choices during my regular (ie: Non holiday) days has been very brotastic. I find that a 70/30 split works best for me. Egg whites, broccoli, oats, and Pop Tarts!

There aint nuthin wrong with gettin yer bro on! Just dont judge my pop tarts.

[AustrianOakJr]

Good session in the gym today! I was hoping for a couple sets of 405 X 5 for box squats. I hit two sets of 405 X 6!!! Thats deloading on a knee-high box (just slightly above parallel for me). My strength continues to rise despite my weight staying where it is. I felt noticeably better in the hip pain department too. We'll see how tomorrow feels.

Forgot my dang scale at work today so I had to wing dinner and my final meal of the night. Taco night is the worst night to wing it too. So much to be weighed. And to top it off I forgot my Franks Red Hot along with the scale. Massive bummer. But if thats the worst of my problems I feel very blessed!

Workout looked like this:

BOX SQUATS:

315 X 10
365 X 5
405 X 6
405 X 6
285 X 16

LEG EXT

170 X 12 (3 sets)

STRETCH AND ROLL: 20 min

[coloBB]

nice work on those squats. What height was that box at, parallel?

[tsajdak]

Hey Trevor....good to hear from you! New avi is sick, man. Are you competing in Cbus? I honestly dont know for sure.....i would like to, but from the looks of it I wont be in tip top shape. I dont know yet....im about 12 lbs worth of fat out of shape. I may do Cbus as a warm up for the Pro American. Time will tell.

I'm not competing in Cbus, but I will definitely be there. I really want to compete at Worlds next year so I'm going to concentrate on the fall instead of prepping for the spring and trying to maintain throughout the whole summer. I will probably start with the Masters Pro show in October.
I'm sure whatever you decide you will do great, can't wait to see it.

[Warrior9]

Yea man....wrestling is a big time consumer. I know the coaches at school here devote big time, but its a great sport. Congrats on the HEAD COACH position! Varsity? or Modified? What are you doing?

I'm the mod head coach. Yesterday at our second meet the kids had a combined record of 30-8 (we have 42 kids on the team). So we are doing well.

[AustrianOakJr]

nice work on those squats. What height was that box at, parallel?

I set the top of the box just below my knee cap, so when my ass sits down on it I am perhaps just a hair above parallel. Its a quad focused workout so I find this puts the emphasis there (and my glutes). Going below parallel really tends to bother my hips so i have been avoiding it lately.

I'm not competing in Cbus, but I will definitely be there. I really want to compete at Worlds next year so I'm going to concentrate on the fall instead of prepping for the spring and trying to maintain throughout the whole summer. I will probably start with the Masters Pro show in October.
I'm sure whatever you decide you will do great, can't wait to see it.

Thanks Trevor. Well in a way I wish we could meet on stage, but in another way im a bit skeeered to face that shred!! Either way, im gonna try my hardest to make it out to the Arnold this year, so maybe we'll get a training session in or something.

I'm the mod head coach. Yesterday at our second meet the kids had a combined record of 30-8 (we have 42 kids on the team). So we are doing well.

NICE!!! Well good luck. Pass the love of the sport on down and build a great team!

[AustrianOakJr]

Last night we hosted a Christmas dinner party at my house. We had about 25 people over and had a really good time. We roasted a big ole' ham and made this ridiculously fattening scalloped potato recipe (called for 4 cups of heavy cream + alfredo sauce + a crap ton of cheese. I told myself I would NOT indulge much in that. I kept my commitment to steer clear and just had a real small helping. I focused on lean cuts of ham to fill me up but then wound up overindulging a bit in about a half bottle of wine and half dozen christmas cookies. It was a REFEED day though! I saved about 250g of carbs for the party, but something tells me I probably went over on my fats. I woke up in the middle of the night so dang thirsty from all that wine and salty ham I drank probably a half gallon of water and didnt even have to pee when I woke up in the morning. I skipped the weigh in figuring i was probably holding about 5 lbs of water strictly from the salt intake.

In other news, I had a heck of a workout this morning. Could have been the fat fest only 12 hours before. I did smith military press as my main power move. I got 260 lbs for 6 reps which is a PR. Booyea! Finished my shoulders off with some incline bench lateral raises then did some hyper work stuff for my chest and tris. Threw in some extra cardio too.

I hit my hamstrings and glutes yesterday with some GHR's, Romanian DL's, and occluded leg curls. I finished up with some good stretching and lacrosse ball rolling on my glutes. Today, my hips felt fantastic.....probably the best they have felt in a looong time.

[wrkoutfrq]

Last night we hosted a Christmas dinner party at my house. We had about 25 people over and had a really good time. We roasted a big ole' ham and made this ridiculously fattening scalloped potato recipe (called for 4 cups of heavy cream + alfredo sauce + a crap ton of cheese. I told myself I would NOT indulge much in that. I kept my commitment to steer clear and just had a real small helping. I focused on lean cuts of ham to fill me up but then wound up overindulging a bit in about a half bottle of wine and half dozen christmas cookies. It was a REFEED day though! I saved about 250g of carbs for the party, but something tells me I probably went over on my fats. I woke up in the middle of the night so dang thirsty from all that wine and salty ham I drank probably a half gallon of water and didnt even have to pee when I woke up in the morning. I skipped the weigh in figuring i was probably holding about 5 lbs of water strictly from the salt intake.

In other news, I had a heck of a workout this morning. Could have been the fat fest only 12 hours before. I did smith military press as my main power move. I got 260 lbs for 6 reps which is a PR. Booyea! Finished my shoulders off with some incline bench lateral raises then did some hyper work stuff for my chest and tris. Threw in some extra cardio too.

I hit my hamstrings and glutes yesterday with some GHR's, Romanian DL's, and occluded leg curls. I finished up with some good stretching and lacrosse ball rolling on my glutes. Today, my hips felt fantastic.....probably the best they have felt in a looong time.

heck yeah thats what i'm talkin about! honestly Sean, you are damn lean already for an offseason. even though you are just around the corner from your pro debut () i'm sure you realize that a day like this won't set you back any... it's worth more that you were able to take the time and celebrate the holidays with those you are close with and enjoy yourself. besides, look at the benefit in the workouts! lol

[AustrianOakJr]

heck yeah thats what i'm talkin about! honestly Sean, you are damn lean already for an offseason. even though you are just around the corner from your pro debut () i'm sure you realize that a day like this won't set you back any... it's worth more that you were able to take the time and celebrate the holidays with those you are close with and enjoy yourself. besides, look at the benefit in the workouts! lol

Yes, thats how im looking at this holiday season. Im putting in a very solid effort, but im not going to be dieting hard through this time where family is really the main focus. Im a solid 6+ lbs leaner than the start of my last contest prep and dealing with about the same amount of time if I am competing at the Pro American. Im not worried, but I am not overly lax either knowing that I will have to best my previous conditioning by a good bit in order to be competitive.

[mattjansen]

Prepping and still enjoying the important things in life! There are a lot including myself that can learn from your example!

[Frankdaddy]

How come you were not able to compete in a pro show right after your pro win, too late in the season?

[andyboi]

Getting it done in here Sean! All that Christmas food and you didn't over indulge. Kudos!

Seems like it's going to be a huge 2012 for you. Gotta follow your lead on enjoying life with prep

[Vehemoth]

Dropping by to give props to ya man! Followed your last contest prep and seeing your transformation has been a big motivator for me. You, Eric, and Blazed have shown me that FFBs can get shredded, it just takes a little more dedication in the nutrition department. I do have to ask what are your thoughts on altering your set point? I see now that you maintain a pretty lean physique even in the current off season. Thanks man and keep doing work!

[AustrianOakJr]

Prepping and still enjoying the important things in life! There are a lot including myself that can learn from your example!

Its still a struggle for me so I dont quite feel worthy of being a teacher. All I know is that I want to be the best bodybuilder I can be but not at the expense of my real priorities. So its a constant juggling act. And some people might judge me as less dedicated for not being a bodybuilding zombie who weighs and tracks every crumb 365 days a year. But im OK with that.

I had my in-laws over today for a pre-Christmas celebration. We served lunch and opened presents with the kids. I ate with every one else and honestly have no idea how much food I took in. I didnt overeat, but I didnt starve either.....just ate like a normal person and enjoyed.

How come you were not able to compete in a pro show right after your pro win, too late in the season?

There could have been another show the following weekend for all I know. But I was done. I hit up four shows within 5-6 weeks after 25+ weeks of prep, spent a lot money on hotels, travel, entry, etc. I was pretty tired. My wife was very tired. Id already hit my family up for multiple overnight babysitting favors, etc. We just needed a break. So i decided to just remain relatively lean and do a show this coming spring. Hopefully that was a wise move.....we shall see.

Getting it done in here Sean! All that Christmas food and you didn't over indulge. Kudos!

Seems like it's going to be a huge 2012 for you. Gotta follow your lead on enjoying life with prep

Thanks man. Glad to have you along...I hope youre right about the huge year. I will be very happy to have a successful prep and feel like I belong up there with some amazing talent.

Dropping by to give props to ya man! Followed your last contest prep and seeing your transformation has been a big motivator for me. You, Eric, and Blazed have shown me that FFBs can get shredded, it just takes a little more dedication in the nutrition department. I do have to ask what are your thoughts on altering your set point? I see now that you maintain a pretty lean physique even in the current off season. Thanks man and keep doing work!

"FFB's" = Former Fat Boys?? ....Love it! As far as changing set point. I dont know.....I do feel more comfortable than I thought at this level of leanness. And I would guess im sitting at about 10% BF, maybe a touch leaner. In 2008 when I finished the Golds Gym transformation contest, I was 178 lbs at about 12-13% BF.....barely visible abs and adonis belt....no substantial leg separation, etc. I thought I was deathly lean back then and couldnt wait for a cheesburger. Now, I look back at those pics and see that I was still pretty fat compared to where I am sitting right now at 175-176. However, I am not 100% at this bodyfat level. Im still a bit pre-occupied with food and it causes me a bit of anxiety to go "off my diet" because I cant trust myself. My mood and libido is good but a ways off from where it is when im 5-10 lbs heavier. Strength is very good though. I know im still sitting under my set point because if I eat how my brain tells me to eat I would be 5 lbs heavier by the end of the week. So, is my set point leaner than it was in 2008? Its debatable. I know i still have a propensity to be much fatter.

[AustrianOakJr]

My approach to coming out of this weekend without gaining anything goes something like this......First half of the week I am going to be hitting normal deficit numbers 215/250/50. Monday and Tuesday are power training days....upper was yesterday and lower today. Wed will be some moderate MISS cardio and abs, thursday MISS with calves. Then friday and saturday will be high rep depletion days. Carbs will taper off wednesday through saturday morning with my lowest day being friday at 100g. Then I will eat freely but reasonably on saturday night and sunday. Im hoping the majority of any calorie surplus will be used to restock lost glycogen as I think ill be pretty depleted after a few days under 100g of carbs.

So today I played around with some sumo stance squats. I tried high bar and low bar versions. Low bar just sucked for me....the pain in my hips was too bad to continue past 225 lbs. I ditched the low bar. With the high bar, I started hitting a box below parallel and got to 365 lbs for 3 reps but my hips were really bothering me. I raised the box by an inch and I was much more powerful (with less pain) simply going to parallel. I hit 365 for 6 on my last set. So sumo stance in general seems to be weaker for me because I can hit 405 for 6 to the same spot on the box. Stands to reason as my hams are my weak point. I moved onto leg press and pyramided up to a final set of 9 pps X 6, which I consider pretty strong after being fatigued from squats. So my strength seems to be on the money there. All in all a good couple of power days (yesterday I got 3 sets of 5 reps with 120 BB bench press). Yea buddy! I just wish my metabolism was moving a bit better at this stage of the game. I barely move the scale at these macros (215/250/50). Gonna be a tough prep.

[co1e_train]

Hey my friend, havnt stopped in here in a good while but just wanted to say way to be keeping the damage from theholidays to a minimum. Practicing not letting anything derail you from your prep or goals!

[wrkoutfrq]

My approach to coming out of this weekend without gaining anything goes something like this......First half of the week I am going to be hitting normal deficit numbers 215/250/50. Monday and Tuesday are power training days....upper was yesterday and lower today. Wed will be some moderate MISS cardio and abs, thursday MISS with calves. Then friday and saturday will be high rep depletion days. Carbs will taper off wednesday through saturday morning with my lowest day being friday at 100g. Then I will eat freely but reasonably on saturday night and sunday. Im hoping the majority of any calorie surplus will be used to restock lost glycogen as I think ill be pretty depleted after a few days under 100g of carbs.

So today I played around with some sumo stance squats. I tried high bar and low bar versions. Low bar just sucked for me....the pain in my hips was too bad to continue past 225 lbs. I ditched the low bar. With the high bar, I started hitting a box below parallel and got to 365 lbs for 3 reps but my hips were really bothering me. I raised the box by an inch and I was much more powerful (with less pain) simply going to parallel. I hit 365 for 6 on my last set. So sumo stance in general seems to be weaker for me because I can hit 405 for 6 to the same spot on the box. Stands to reason as my hams are my weak point. I moved onto leg press and pyramided up to a final set of 9 pps X 6, which I consider pretty strong after being fatigued from squats. So my strength seems to be on the money there. All in all a good couple of power days (yesterday I got 3 sets of 5 reps with 120 BB bench press). Yea buddy! I just wish my metabolism was moving a bit better at this stage of the game. I barely move the scale at these macros (215/250/50). Gonna be a tough prep.

honestly i felt sumo's way more in my glutes than my hams, but then i have some pretty strong hams. i never did like sumo's anyway, they were hard on my hip flexors. i had the same issues doing low bar, i actually strained my hip flexor trying for depth on low bar. i've been doing Oly lifting recently, and so switched to high bar, and i just hit an ATG PR the other day with no pain at all... it just takes finding the form that works best for your body type

[J_Bo]

Haven't been around much lately, but I'm definitely getting in on this!

[Frankdaddy]

My approach to coming out of this weekend without gaining anything goes something like this......First half of the week I am going to be hitting normal deficit numbers 215/250/50. Monday and Tuesday are power training days....upper was yesterday and lower today. Wed will be some moderate MISS cardio and abs, thursday MISS with calves. Then friday and saturday will be high rep depletion days. Carbs will taper off wednesday through saturday morning with my lowest day being friday at 100g. Then I will eat freely but reasonably on saturday night and sunday. Im hoping the majority of any calorie surplus will be used to restock lost glycogen as I think ill be pretty depleted after a few days under 100g of carbs.

So today I played around with some sumo stance squats. I tried high bar and low bar versions. Low bar just sucked for me....the pain in my hips was too bad to continue past 225 lbs. I ditched the low bar. With the high bar, I started hitting a box below parallel and got to 365 lbs for 3 reps but my hips were really bothering me. I raised the box by an inch and I was much more powerful (with less pain) simply going to parallel. I hit 365 for 6 on my last set. So sumo stance in general seems to be weaker for me because I can hit 405 for 6 to the same spot on the box. Stands to reason as my hams are my weak point. I moved onto leg press and pyramided up to a final set of 9 pps X 6, which I consider pretty strong after being fatigued from squats. So my strength seems to be on the money there. All in all a good couple of power days (yesterday I got 3 sets of 5 reps with 120 BB bench press). Yea buddy! I just wish my metabolism was moving a bit better at this stage of the game. I barely move the scale at these macros (215/250/50). Gonna be a tough prep.

Do you warm your hips up with cardio, foam rolling or direct exercise before squats? I noticed I have to now do 5 or so minutes on the bicycle, hip abb-adductor machines, some side lunges and walking bw lunges to get going and I am 23 lol.

I feel you on a tough prep since we are prepping at the same time bro, but you have to realize in your condition already that your metabolism isnt still 100% offseason mode as you have maintained rather well. Keep grinding buddy and God bless you and the family during the holidays!

[AustrianOakJr]

Hey my friend, havnt stopped in here in a good while but just wanted to say way to be keeping the damage from theholidays to a minimum. Practicing not letting anything derail you from your prep or goals!

Hey dude! Havent seen you around the forums in a while. Good to hear from you. Im trying to control damage and keep life in balance at the same time. I love a good challenge!

honestly i felt sumo's way more in my glutes than my hams, but then i have some pretty strong hams. i never did like sumo's anyway, they were hard on my hip flexors. i had the same issues doing low bar, i actually strained my hip flexor trying for depth on low bar. i've been doing Oly lifting recently, and so switched to high bar, and i just hit an ATG PR the other day with no pain at all... it just takes finding the form that works best for your body type

Yea, I dont know that ill be doing these on a regular basis. Ill have to see. I feel like I get a similar benefit from the movement when I do sumo dl's and I dont have any serious pain when I do them. Must be the way the load is centered over my hips. But it seems that I have trouble with ATG anything. My hips are just ridiculously inflexible.

Did your hip flexor strain put you out for a while?

Haven't been around much lately, but I'm definitely getting in on this!

Jason! Wuz up? Thanks for joining the party. What have you been up to lately?

Do you warm your hips up with cardio, foam rolling or direct exercise before squats? I noticed I have to now do 5 or so minutes on the bicycle, hip abb-adductor machines, some side lunges and walking bw lunges to get going and I am 23 lol.

I feel you on a tough prep since we are prepping at the same time bro, but you have to realize in your condition already that your metabolism isnt still 100% offseason mode as you have maintained rather well. Keep grinding buddy and God bless you and the family during the holidays!

I spend more time warming up and cooling down than I do actually training. I am convinced that this is what happens when you get old! Typically I do a 5-10 min cardio warm up, followed by progressively increasing the weight for the exercise im about to do while I foam roll and stretch in between sets. I typically have 30-40 minutes in before I do my first working set of squats or deadlifts. My upper body is ready to go with very little warm up.

Thanks for the Christmas wishes, brother! Same to you.

[J_Bo]

Jason! Wuz up? Thanks for joining the party. What have you been up to lately?

Oh you know. Student Teaching and coaching and working nearly full time, and having a new baby... not much

Been a little busy. I've stayed consistent in the gym, but intensity has dropped some. I'm done student teaching soon, so then it's time for me to make my big push toward a pro card!

[co1e_train]

@frankdaddy - dude im the same way. For the longest while I have just been ignoring some hip/lower back pain and tightness but its lately started to take a toll so much so I just have to make myself stretch really good for a good 20-30mins. Im 20 lol but hey whatevs.