Darren Conroy's Workout Journal

[DarrenConroy]

Back on the diet and in the gym... Holy **** did I have one hell of a workout! Hamstrings, Calves and Abs, Abs, Abs, Abs! I'm currently working a rep range of 12, 10, 8, 6 and I'm enjoying the opportunity to go a bit heavier... I'll be continuing this rep range until the next show...
Today I went heavy on dead lifts.. to the point where I actually scared myself just a bit... in the end it was all good, I needed to blow off a little steam after this weekend... It felt great! I'm going to keep this rolling right up until the next show... Let's see what we're made of!

[DarrenConroy]

Between yesterday and today I got some good training in.... Yesterday's arm day was good.. Once again, heavy weights and pretty limited rest times made for a fulfilling workout...
Today I trained Calves and Abs, then went through two sets of quarter turns and ended the day with some hit on the stair master.. All in all a good day.. I felt a bit flat when posing and I'm going to need a fix for that before I get on stage again..
I've been an emotional roller coaster lately and I've decided today that I'm going to let off the gas a bit and try not to pick things apart as much.. One can lose their mind in this sport trying to find "it"... Sometimes everything seems to come together and sometimes everything finds a way to be anything but perfect... I guess this is true with any sport... You have to just keep moving forward... keep fighting... keep the faith and if you fight hard enough, things will work out... Never forget who you are, where you came from and those who supported you along the way... and don't forget to smile!

[DarrenConroy]

Another weekend almost in the books.. I hope everyone is enjoying their Mother's Day! My mom is currently out of town so I'm going to have to raincheck spoiling her on her special day... Also because I'm still dieting for the next show.. She's a good sport and is used to this by now.. lol..
Great couple of lifts the last few days.. Pretty much everything is sore at this point.. My girlfriend had a great idea of hitting up a different gym that we'd never been to and it made for an awesome shoulder workout.. New environments can make for great lifts as long as you know where everything you need is at... But nothing will come close to the leg day I had late last night.. I ended up hitting up an empty gym around 10pm and tore the place apart! It was such an amazing lift! It's the one that I was looking for and I can barely move today, but that didn't stop me from hitting the chest and back today...
I feel as though I'm back in the game, not only physically, but mentally and that's a huge chunk of this sport.. I often get so caught up in winning that I forget that I'm supposed to be having a good time... I'm fortunate to have those around me to remind me of this... Go out, give it your best and let the cards fall where they may... And don't forget to tell mom you love her...

[DarrenConroy]

After a good cardio session yesterday I returned to the gym for the heavy stuff! Hammy's, Calves and Abs... I had a great session and I know that I'm gonna feel it tomorrow... Dead's were good to me today and I had a one second pause in between reps.. Made things hurt a hell of a lot more.. I feel as though I'll be a lot more peeled for this upcoming show.. Can't wait! Revenge!! LOL...
I also made another life change.. After this show I am signing up with 3DMJ for all of my contest prep... I'm hoping they can contribute to making me even better! Let's face it, they produce champions! I'm looking forward to see what they have in store for me... All good things on the horizon!

[DarrenConroy]

Another day on the pain train! Before I go into my workout, I wanted to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that my athlete page surpassed the 1,000 mark... That may not seem like a lot to some folks, but it means the world to me. If I can help motivate one person, it's one person that wasn't being helped before... That means everything to me! Cheers to that!!
Today I completely abolished my arms... Just one of those days where I just left it all in the cage, going heavy... real heavy!! It's been a while since I've done that to my arms and I loved it! Such a great stress reliever!
I like the shape that I'm taking going into this next show... I am certainly leaner than I was in the last one... It's going to be interesting to see how it looks under the lights.. I hope it's enough! Time will tell!

[DarrenConroy]

Another weekend done... This weekend was pretty good to me, Friday night I got a great shoulder workout followed by a trip up and down Table Rock just in time to watch the sunset.. It was worth the hike!
Saturday I hit up one of our newer gyms here in Boise for a great let day! I have noticed my strength subsiding a little bit, but that's to be expected at this point in the game.. I'm looking forward to those heavy off season lifts again for sure! Nonetheless, I still got it done!
Today I trained chest and back.. Once again, strength down just a bit, so I though in a few extra dropsets to finish things off properly... After all that, I decided to go back this evening for a date with the ol stairmaster.. It was everything I expected it to be.. just a puddle of sweat to clean up...
In prep for the upcoming show, I've decided to incorperate some pretty heavy lifting all the way up until thursday.. should be fun and I'm looking forward to seeing how things look on stage..

[pastorpritch]

Sounds awesome man, I look forward to the victory shot on friday!

[DarrenConroy]

Sounds awesome man, I look forward to the victory shot on friday!

Gonna get some for sure!! Thanks as always for the support brother!

[DarrenConroy]

Another day back on the grind... Leg Day!! Three days out and I smashed the wheels!! Yes I know that you're not supposed to train legs less than seven days before a show, but through all of my posing sessions I feel that my legs show best two to three days after training them... I'm going to experiment a bit going into this show.. I guess time will tell... Today was heavy deads, hack squat, single leg press, extensions and curls... I also hit the calves and abs this evening... I beat the hell out of my body and yet I still feel that my girlfriend outworked me.. lol... She's not of this world for sure!
I can't wait to hit the stage this weekend! I'm traveling down with one of my good friends I think we'll both be forces to be reckoned with... Gonna be a show!

[DarrenConroy]

So hard to believe the 2014 comp season is coming to a close.. It was a great experience and I left Utah this weekend with another win under my belt. I paced 1st in a tough heavyweight class. It was the perfect note to end on. I will post some pics as soon as I receive them.
I am now going to head into a new chapter within this industry. I am going to join team 3DMJ as they'll be handling all of my off season and contest prep. I think that they'll be able to give me the edge that I need to take the next step in my competitive career. Sometimes you have to get an extra set of eyes on your training and diet. I trust that 3DMJ will be that extra set of eyes to take me to the next level.

[DarrenConroy]

Thursday... Back on it... Today was a great outing! One of those days where I wanted to see how strong I was.. I trained Chest and Back.. I ended all of my lifts with 5 reps and it was good! Nothing hurt... Balls to the wall, all out training and it felt damn good! I maxed out the hammer strength row with ten plates, maxed out the lat pull down, well, you get the hint... I'm going to continue to freestyle it until I begin my offseason training which will commence the beginning of July... Until then, we'll keep moving them weights!

[pastorpritch]

AWESOME BROTHER!!!!!!!

Looking forward to great things man and congrats!!!

[DarrenConroy]

love the gif!
Thanks bro.. Things are slowly coming together. I see you making some of them gainz as well!!

[DarrenConroy]

I apologize for the holes in my journal. Things have been pretty crazy around here and I promise that I'll be more consistent for those of you tuning in. I have been on the grind the last two days.. Chest / Back yesterday and Arms today... I have been keeping my rep range around 6 to 8 and it's been really good! I haven't had any pain in my joints to speak of and my lifts have been strong.. I will continue lifting like this until I start my off season spit in July... Low reps, heavy weight and gainz!!!

[pastorpritch]

All good brother!
I've been journal slackin' too. Changing things up as I'm trying to cut cals. Lifting every other day and running on the off days. We'll see how it goes!

[DarrenConroy]

All good brother!
I've been journal slackin' too. Changing things up as I'm trying to cut cals. Lifting every other day and running on the off days. We'll see how it goes!

Nice! Sometimes you gotta change things up and see how the body takes to new methods. In the end, if you look good and you feel good, you're doing something right.

[DarrenConroy]

Yesterday I trained Hammy's, Calves and Abs at 6:30 am. I haven't trained that early for nearly 10 years. I can't lie, it was pretty refreshing. Once I came around and woke up my strength was really good. I ended up having a great day on dead lifts, 225x10, 315x8, 335x8 and 365x6... I followed that up with stiff legged deads with 75lb dumbbells and fall forwards. The usual on the abs and calves, then a great start to the day. Just to mix things up a bit, I think I might start doing this early morning thing a couple times a week.

[DarrenConroy]

Another weekend in the books! I am completely out of gas! I had a pretty wild one. Starting with the Jayden Deluca Golf Tournament, then the Boise Fit Expo and finally the 7 Lions After Party... I was not able to hit the weights until today.. I trained arms and it was a pretty rough day, I can't lie... It's amazing how having all your ducks in a row contributes to great training sessions. Eating crappy food and not drinking enough water can make things pretty rough in the gym... As I get older, I feel that I need to have my A game more often than not if I'm going to succeed in Bodybuilding.. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail..

[TheBeastTyler]

Another weekend in the books! I am completely out of gas! I had a pretty wild one. Starting with the Jayden Deluca Golf Tournament, then the Boise Fit Expo and finally the 7 Lions After Party... I was not able to hit the weights until today.. I trained arms and it was a pretty rough day, I can't lie... It's amazing how having all your ducks in a row contributes to great training sessions. Eating crappy food and not drinking enough water can make things pretty rough in the gym... As I get older, I feel that I need to have my A game more often than not if I'm going to succeed in Bodybuilding.. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail..

Sounds like you're pretty dedicated. Keep up the good work!

[DarrenConroy]

Sounds like you're pretty dedicated. Keep up the good work!

Thanks buddy! you too... looking great!

[DarrenConroy]

The grind... Back on it... After a crazy weekend filled with Golf, Dinners, Expos and After Parties, it was back to business... And what better way than to train Legs?
I got a great hamstring workout in, along with a thrashing on my calves... They are stubborn as hell, but I think they are finally starting to grow... I know that I can steal a victory here and there with what I have, but if I am going to succeed at the next level, I will have to erase any potential holes in my game... I didn't get around to training my abs today and will be making up for it tomorrow... All in all, a great night of training!

[DarrenConroy]

Biceps and Triceps today... **** was heavy and I liked it! I ended up trashing the weights! Rep range was 10, 8, 6, 6 today and I was equally impressed with the lack of joint pain... Going to take the day off tomorrow and then hit an early morning 6 am shoulder workout Friday... What better way to kick off the weekend?

[DarrenConroy]

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as well as their Father's Day! I couldn't complain as my weekend stayed busy, but I still was able to watch the final round of the US Open with my old man.. Always a good time!
I was also able to round up some pretty good lifts the last few days... I kicked things off with a 6am workout on Friday (shoulders).. Once I was able to wake up, I got things pretty dialed in.. The only part of my lift that lagged was my dumbbell shoulder press.. Always a weak area of mine.. Yesterday, I destroyed my legs with heavy squats, single leg press, extensions and adductors.. Calves and Abs followed.. Today, before vegging out on the couch watching golf I trained chest and back... It was a great training session and I'm going to keep the party going with an arm day tomorrow... Yes, comp season for me is over, but this is still a lifestyle and good health comes first!

[DarrenConroy]

After an amazing week off, I returned to the iron for a welcome back a$$ kicking! what better way to fire things up than with dead lifts? I knew that things would be tough so I paced myself accordingly... I actually turned into a pretty good workout. I have been battling some stresses lately all around and there is nothing better than taking it out on the weights. I am going to remain optimistic as I know that things always having a way of working out the way they are supposed to... If anyone ever doubts themselves, just remember that if you stay positive, work hard, don't give in to the ignorance of others, believe in yourself and finish strong, things will usually work out.. Boom!

[DarrenConroy]

Another amazing weekend in the books! I had a chance to represent CL at the bodybuilding.com nutrition store on saturday and then returned to the iron game today for traps and delts... It was great taking a couple of days off and returning fresh.. I feel that I'm finally starting to hit my stride again.. baby steps... I am a natural athlete and one of the key values of a natural athlete is patience.. I'm in no rush... I'm happy with my progression, I would like to advance faster, but I'm not going to risk my health to do so... Lots of great things on the horizon!

[DarrenConroy]

I finally found the workout I was looking for! I have had a few ok ones here and there, but this one finally hit the spot... One of those gut wrenching leg days.. Heavy Dead Lifts, Stiff Legged Deads with dumbbells, Fall Forwards and then hell on my calves and abs.. Oh, know it's gonna hurt tomorrow... I can't wait!
Underestimate me? Go for it! I know my time will come... I will remain humble and focused... Some my have success right out of the gate and let it all go straight to their head.. I will not.. I will keep grinding it out so when I get to the top, I'll be able to bring some balance to this industry... It's not a pissing contest.. Help someone when you can...

[DarrenConroy]

Back at it for Arms today... Lots of supersets and heavy weights.. All in all a great day! I was able to go a bit heavier on preacher curls today for some reason, so I took advantage of it! I also went a bit heavier on decline dumbbell skull crushers... 6 sets down and off the the chiropractor for my monthly adjustment...
I received my packet from Team 3DMJ today and I'm am excited to get started.. I will be logging my progress as usual and most likely utilizing bodyspace for it (cuz it's the best)... I will be starting up with this new split Monday... Until then, I will be training as usual.. then the fun begins... Just by looking at the workouts I know it's going to test me... I'll finally have the opportunity to find out what I'm truly made of!

[DarrenConroy]

A great set of workouts through the holiday weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th! I am taking today off as my legs are very sore from Saturday's thrashing and then following up with Chest / Back... I'm toast! I will be gathering all of my needed information to start my 3DMJ Journey... My fitness pal is set up and ready to go, workout split is in place and now it's time to grow!

[DarrenConroy]

Day 1 of 3DMJ training... I'd be lying if I said it wasn't intense! I almost feel like I've never lifted weights before... Very uncomfortable... But this sport isn't built on comfort... I know that it's going to have to get my hands a little dirty if I want to make progress... The 5-3-1 standing shoulder press was pretty ugly... I'm still in the process of assessing my capabilities and when incorporating new lifts, it can be slightly challenging... but at the end of the day, I'm wrecked and feeling like I did work... I'll take it!

[DarrenConroy]

I know that my posts have been spotty as of late and I apologize as a recent engagement and moving has been really taking up a lot of time. I have been committed to my training as my 3DMJ split has been really good to me.. Life will always be busy.. Work, school, etc., but it's always important to stay committed as eating right and training regularly will always keep you healthy (physically, mentally and emotionally). I have entered week 2 of my 5-3-1 and accessory training. My body is really been put to the test, but I love it! Please follow me on bodyspace to see what I'm doing rep for rep. Also, feel free to hit me up with any questions about the training. Thanks again to all that are following!