Wed., 12/23/15, Legs

Verse of the day: The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you and you will be changed into a different person. -1 Samuel 10:6

I kept it fairly low impact today, because my lower back is a little stiff. But, it was a great leg workout. The pump was great and it was very, very focused. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-25; 135-10; 225-5; 315-20 (deep and controlled)
reverse lunge: 145-10
leg press: 450-10 (deep, focused and controlled)
lying leg curl: 85-20,10
smith calf raise: 90-20; 180-20; 270-20
hyper extension: 12 (deep and focused)

Tue, 12/22/15, arms

Verse of the day: concider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various kinds of trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. -James 1:2-3

I got an incredible arm pump early this morning. It took a little more than 20 minutes. I stayed a little from the normal one max set and incorporated a little more volume. The goal here was to use less weight and give the elbows a little bit of a break. Here's how it looked:

Cambered bar curl: 20-30;45-8;65-8;85-8;115-7;85-11
  Superset with rope Pushdown: 60-30;80-15;100-12;120-10;140-10;160-5+dropset

Spider curl: 65-8,8,11
  Superset with seated rope extension: 100-15,15,15

Lying cable rope extension: 100-11,10,9
  Superset with cable curl: 150-7,8,10

Week #57, HUGE, Mon., 12/21/15, Chest/Delt

Verse of the day: The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD. -Proverbs 21:31

I got in a killer chest workout this morning. The pump was incredible. It was short and intense- very focused. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press: 4 feel sets and 1 failure set (110s-10)
flat dumbbell press: 1 failure set (100s-9)
cable fly: 1 feel set and 1 failure set (100-6)
incline Hammer press: 1 failure set (270-5+fail)
Hammer shoulder press: 1 failure set (180-16)
seated lateral: 1 feel set and 1 failure set (35s-12)
incline rear lateral: 1 feel set and 1 failure set (40s-12)

WEEK #56, HUGE, Mon., 12/14/15, Chest and Delts

Verse of the day: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your paths. -Prov. 3:5

Yet another week in the life of bodybuilding... I'm slowly improving. The key is consistency. It seems like I'm always hearing someone say, "I'm just getting back into it. I fell off for a little while." This is what separates the winner from the loser: consistency. Anybody can do an intense workout. The challenge is doing it again tomorrow and the next day and the next day...

Today I got in a great workout. The volume was medium-low, with high intensity. Here it is:

5 sets incline dumbbell press
1 set flat dumbbell press
2 sets incline Hammer press
1 set cable fly
2 sets seated dumbbell press
2 sets face pulls
1 drop set seated laterals

Wed, 12/9/15, legs

Verse of the day: Blessed are the gentle [humble, meek] for they shall inherit the earth.- Mat 5:5

Today I had to split up the legs. I did quads in one session, then trained a couple clients, and then hit the hams and calves (about an hour and a half later.) I was not my strongest ever, but it was a great workout. Here's how it went (remember I am rehabing a strained ham):

Squat: 45-25;135-6(225-4;275-3;365-15
Leg press: 540-10;810-10
Walking db lunge: 75s-8ea
Intermission

Seated leg curl super set with leg extension: 3 sets of 25 and 1 set of 10
Lying leg curl: 1 light feel set
Standing leg curl: 1 light feel set
Hyper extension: 12 very slow and controlled
Standing machine calf: 120-30;160-25;200-15
Seated machine calf: 210-21(squeeze and stretch)

Week #55, HUGE, Tue., 12/08/15, Arms

Verse of the day: Unless the LORD builds the house its builders labor in vain -Ps 127:1a

This week I start back to the lower rep range. On most things I'll aim for about 10 for my main set (though, I tend to be either a couple over or under.) I got in a great chest and shoulder workout yesterday to start it off. And today, I nailed the bi's and the tri's. Here's how it looked:

barbell curl super-set with pushdown: 4 warm-up/feel sets and 1 failure set each
spider curl super-set with lying triceps extension: 1 feel set and 1 failure set
seated hammer curl super-set with seated overhead extension: 1 feel set and 1 failure set

Wed., 12/02/15, LEGS

Verse of the day: Unless the LORD builds the house its builders labor in vain, -Psalm 127:1a

Today I started working in some LIGHT leg curls again (I pulled  my hamstring a month ago and have laid off all curls to let it heal.) I got a great leg workout. It was just the basics and very focused. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 135-5; 225-5; 335-20
leg press: 450-7; 630-15
reverse lunge: 95-10
lying leg curl: 1 feel set
standing leg curl: 1 feel set
seated leg curl: 2 feel sets
hyper extension: 1 feel set
5 feel sets of calf raises

WEEK #54, HUGE, Mon., 11/30/15, Chest and Delts

Verse of the day: Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Joshua 24:14

After a 4 day weekend, my body is feeling much less rundown. While I was not my strongest this morning, I got in an excellent pump and pushed the muscles to the limit. This is my 3rd week of aiming for sets of 20 reps. Today rather than all sets of 20, I just warmed up with lower rep sets and aimed for 20 on my failure set. Here's how it went:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 50s-12; 75s-8; 100s-12
flat dumbbell press: 60s-23
incline hammer press: 180-11
cable fly: 70-21
lateral raise: 20s-20; 30s-20
hammer shoulder press: 90-20; 180-14
incline rear lateral: 35s-20,10

Week #53, Huge, Mon., 11/23/15, Chest/shoulder

Verse of the day: ...though they are strong, you can drive them out.- Joshua 17:18b

This will be a short week (being Thanksgiving.) So, I will train everything before Thursday and take an extended weekend to recover. I am doing high rep sets again this week to give the joints a break. This morning was a great pump, aiming for 20 reps on each set and doing a medium-low volume. Here's how it looked:

Incline dumbbell press: 20s-20; 40s-20; 60s-20; 80s-17
Flat dumbbell press: 60s-20
Cable fly: 60-20
Decline hammer press: 160-15
Lateral raise: 20s-20; 30s-20
Face pull: 140-20,15
Seated dumbbell press: 40s-20; 50s-12

Thur., 11/19/15, Arms

Verse of the day: Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. -Psalm 127:1

This week I am doing mostly high rep sets to give the joints a break and to shock the muscle. I'm trying to pump as much blood into the muscle as possible. This arm workout is very short. It took about 20 minutes. The volume is pretty low, with few sets and a lot of reps doing sets of 20 until I cannot get 20:

cambered curl: 30-20; 50-20; 70-20; 90-6
   super-set with lying triceps extension: " (90-12)

hammer curl: 20s-20, 12
   super-set seated triceps extension: 70-20,13

cable curl: 90-20,15,12
   super-set 1-arm reverse pushdown: 50-20,15,12

Week #51 huge, wed, 11/11/15, legs

Verse of the day: The Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. -Deut. 31:6b

This week I've bumped my cardio back up to 20 minutes a day. It seems to be working well.
Today I didn't go crazy on the legs. I'm still watching the hamstring from that pop a few weeks ago.. But it is feeling pretty good. Here it is:

Squat: 45-25;95-10;135-10;225-10;275-10;325-10;375-3
Reverse lunge: 95-5;145-5;195-4
Leg press: 450-25
Stand calf: 210-15;255-15;305-10
Machine calf:

Fri., 10/30/15, Back

Verse of the day: Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. -Col. 3:2

Today I got in a good back workout. Again, not wanting to stress the hamstring, I left out the barbell row, and focused mainly on the upper back. It was all the upper back cable motions. Here's how it looked:

pulldown: 80-25; 120-12; 160-10; 200-8; 240-7
V-pulldown: 200-8; 220-6; 240-5
rope row: 170-10; 200-10
seated row (with a high and wide grip): 150-8,8

Tue, 10/27/15, arms

Verse of the day: only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. -Joshua 1:7

It's arm day! The easy day. The fun day. I got another great 20 minute arm workout: 8 total sets for biceps and 8 for triceps. The 1st superset was bar curl and Pushdown. I did 4 warm ups and 1 failure set. I followed this with 1 failure set each of concentration curl, lying extension, cable curl, seated extension, hammer curl and 1-arm rope Pushdown. Boom! That's the whole thing. Stimulate, not annihilate. Tell it to grow and get out.

Week #49, HUGE, Mon., 10/26/15, Chest and Delts

Verse of the day: Whatever you do, do it with all your heart for the Lord and not for men. -Col. 3:23

The saga continues....
Another week has begun with goals of growing quality muscle and getting stronger. And another weekend with a wedding and massive amounts of food has ended... The conclusion: I need to get on the treadmill.
I'm sticking with the same 4 day split, that more evolved than was planned out: chest/ shoulders; arms; legs; and finishing the week with the back. Now having actually typed it out, I will probably change it before the week is up. But, this is what I've done the last several weeks. And it is working very well. The combination of how I am able to hit each muscle and still recover, is great.
Today I got in a great chest/delt workout. It was low volume and high intensity:
5 sets incline machine press
2 sets flat dumbbell press
1 set cable fly
2 sets laterals
2 sets face pulls
2 sets machine shoulder press

Fri., 10/23/15, Back

Verse of the day: You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. -Leviticus 20:25

Today was one of those "be careful" days. Because I strained my hamstring the other day, I was avoiding pressure on it. So, no bent over rows. This was a very short and sweet workout, though the pump was great. It was definitely a "can't put my arms to my sides" pump- so I thoroughly accomplished what I set out to:

4 sets of Nautilus unilateral pulldown
2 sets of neutral grip pulldown
2 sets of incline dumbbell row
3 sets of seated row

The reps were mostly between 6 and 12, with very short rest periods. It took about 20 minutes.

Wed, 10/21/15, legs

Verse of the day: Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as for the LORD and not for men -Col. 3:23

I did a little extra physical activity this past weekend. So of course the last few days I've had a little flare up of tendinitis in my knee. So this morning my goal was to just feel it out- not go crazy psycho. I decided to just do sets of 5 feeling it. This worked very well. I got a great leg workout... Until hamstrings. On my 3rd set of leg curls I felt a pop in the back of the knee, upper right calf area. So I stopped stretched lightly and iced it. And we'll see how that all goes next time... Mortality is such a drag... Here's how the whole thing went:

Squat: 45-25; 135-5; 225-5; 315-5; 365-5; 405-5
Leg press: 450-5; 720-5; 990-6
Leg curl: 140-5; 170-5; 200-3 ( stop )

Tue., 10/20/15, Arms

Verse of the day: Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys they will live by them. I am the Lord. -Leviticus 18:5

The easy day... Every body loves to train arms. Though, I seem to be the guy to take the fun workout and make it as challenging as possible. Today, as I was finishing up my drop-set on the pushdown starting with the whole stack, one of the dudes that trains in the morning sometime said, "Dude, you are ridiculous," referring to my methods of training... I always consider that an achievement, when people look at your arm workout and are amazed at the intensity.
Today was, again, low volume and high intensity. I hit 4 exercises for biceps and 4 for triceps. I super-set them and keep it moving. There is only 1 failure set per exercise. Today's pair up was:
cambered curls with lying extension
hammer curl with seated extension
machine curl with pushdown
concentration curl with lying dumbbell extension
The whole thing took about 20 minutes- like I said, I keep it moving.

Week #48,Huge, Mon., Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins, and will heal their land. -2 Chronicles 7:14

After a nice 3 day weekend, I'm feeling refreshed and ready to rock and roll. I got in an excellent workout this morning. It was very similar to my recent chest and delt workouts, with only a few changes. This workout seems to be working well, as I am getting stronger (slowly, but surely.) Today I added a little weight to my incline dumbbells. In order to do this, I changed the progression slightly, which makes it a little harder all the way through. I've found that to get stronger I need to keep it simple, and keep the volume low. So here's what it looks like:

incline dumbbell press: 4 warm ups and 1 failure set
flat dumbbell press: 1 failure set
cable fly: 1 failure set
incline Hammer Strength press: 1 failure set
seated lateral raise: 2 feel sets and 1 failure set
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 2 feel sets and 1 failure set
face pull: 1 feel set and 1 failure set

Wed., 10/14/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. -Exodus 23:2a

This was the first time in a while that I have done all sets of 20 on the squat. This is a technique that will pump more blood throughout the entire body than just about anything else- your winded, can't see straight and walking is a little awkward for a while. While I didn't really go, what I call, psycho failure, or anything (no yelling involved), it was serious work. I kept the volume pretty low for the rest of the workout, so I didn't over do it. Here it is:

squat: 45-20; 135-20; 225-20; 315-20
leg press: 450-10; 720-6
leg curl: 135-10; 200-4+ 2 drop sets
machine calf raise: 350-6; 400-16

Week #47 Huge, Mon., 10/12/15, Chest/Shoulders

Verse of the day: Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will walk and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. -Is. 40:31

So, here we are on week 47, of this great muscle growth/healing phase of the journey. I seem to be moving forward slowly, but surely. I'm keeping everything very basic- training everything once a week right now, and training 3-5 days per week. Today was chest and shoulders. I'm really getting to like this combo, because by the time I finish chest the delts are pumped. It is a good feel. Here's todays' workout:

5 sets of incline dumbbell press
1 set of flat dumbbell press
1 set of incline Hammer Strength press
1 set of cable fly
2 sets of Hammer Strength shoulder press
2 sets of seated lateral raise
2 sets of face pull

Fri., 10/9/15, Back

Verse of the day: And you shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates. -Deut. 6:9

I got in a good back workout this afternoon. It was pretty short and very sweet- focused and intense. Again, may focus is on stimulating muscle growth without breaking it down past the point of recovery.. Which I have been know to do on occasion. Here's how it looked:

row: 45-25; 95-15; 135-8; 185-8; 235-6; 285-5
Nautilus unilateral pulldown: 180-12; 270-13
pulldown: 220-7
seated row: 200-10; 160-10(high and wide on the  2nd set)
V-grip pulldown: 200-6

Wed., 10/07/15, Legs (IN 10 MINUTES)

Verse of the day: And you shall bind them as signs on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. -Deut. 6:8

Today I ended up with a 40 minute window to train my legs. Now I need 10 minutes after the workout to stretch and cool down before training my next client (or I might have to excuse myself to go throw up), 10 minutes of series of stretches I do before working out, and 10 minutes of warming up/ doing feel sets... So that leaves 10 minutes of intense work... Here's how I did it:

10 minutes stretching
squat: 45-25; 135-5; 225-5; 315-5;
                               405-8 giant set with:
leg press:                450-12,12,12
leg curl:                  155-6,  6,  6
machine calf raise: 400-12, 10, 8

So, after warming up on the squat, I hit 1 working set of squats, and went right into 3 tri-sets of leg press, leg curl and calf raise. There was no rest. I was wrapping my knees to do the working set of squats at 8:32, and at 8:42, was completely finished.... They were pumped!

Tue., 10/06/15, Arms

Verse of the day: and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk -Deut. 6:7

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I decided to go ahead and hit arms and rest on Thursday. It was a great workout. It was all super-sets. The volume was still fairly low, with the intensity revved. Here it is:

5 super-sets barbell curl and pushdown + 1 extra set of pushdowns
2 super-sets spider curl and seated over-head extension (With a 150lb. dumbbell!)
2 super-sets hammer curl and lying extension

This obviously took less than 30 minutes.. But an excellent pump!

Week #46, HUGE, Mon., 10/05/15, Chest and Delt

Verse of the day: And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; -Duet. 6:6

At this point, all my joints are feeling pretty good. Everything is healing up nicely. And I am getting stronger, slowly but surely. So, I will stay on track, for now, training 3-5 days per week with weights (hitting each muscle group once) and cardio 3-5 days per week.
I got in a great chest and shoulder pump this morning. It was very fast, very focused and very intense. It was just the basics with the rep range mostly 6-10. Here's how it went:

incline dumbbell press: 20s-25; 45s-10; 70s-8; 90s-6; 110s-10
flat dumbbell press: 100s-8
cable fly: 100-10
incline Hammer Strength press: 230-6 + drop-set
Hammer Strength shoulder: 100-8; 180-8; 270-6
seated lateral: 30s-10; 40s-8
face pull: 120-10; 150-10; 180-10

Fri., 10/02/15, Back and Arms

Verse of the day: Do not be afraid of any man, for judgement  belongs to God. -Deut. 1:18

This was, again, a pretty short workout- there was not much time to do it. So, I smashed it hard and fast. It took about 30 minutes:

row: 45-20; 95-8; 135-8; 185-6; 225-6; 275-7
Nautilus unilateral pulldown: 180-8; 280-12
seated row: 220-8
pulldown: 220-5
curl: 65-6; 95-6; 115-7
   super/set pushdown: 130-15; 180-8; 240-8
preacher curl: 110-3+80-4
   s/s lying extension: 110-12

Wed., 9/30/15, Legs

Verse of the day: For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'do not fear, I will help you.' Isaiah 41:13

Today was a very short leg workout. I did not have much time. And with the series of stretches and foam rolling I do, it makes it tough to get it in. But, I always feel it's good to nail it and get out, any way. Here it is:

squat: 45-20; 135-5; 235-5; 335-5; 435-3
leg press: 540-10; 810-17
leg curl: 125-6; 200-6
machine calf raise: 320-10; 400-15

(After stretching and everything, this took about 20 minutes.)

Week #45, HUGE, Mon., 9/28/15, Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind; He has said and will He not do it? -Numbers23:19

So, it seems as if every time I actually post a change in my program, that I end up changing it again before I get through it once! Last week I ended up training chest and delts on Monday, legs on Wednesday and back and arms on Friday. They were all excellent workouts, just not exactly as planned. I'll probably do something similar this week.
Yesterday I got in great chest/delt workout. Here's how it went:

5 sets of incline dumbbell press
2 sets of flat dumbbell press
1 set of cable flyes
1 set of incline Hammer Strength press
2 sets of seated lateral raises
3 sets of face pulls
2 sets of seated dumbbell press

Wed., 9/23/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Do not fear, for I am with you, do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. -Is. 41:10

I got in a great leg workout this morning. It was not the most intense. But I did kill the quads, hams, glutes and calve all very nicely. It was all very focused and very intentional. I have been incorporating the dumbbell-sumo-deadlift against the wall to hit the small muscles of the hips and spine that are often missed. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-5; 135-5; 225-5; 315-3; 365-5; 415-5
leg press: 450-12; 630-10; 840-8
sumo-wall-dumbbell-deadlift: 50-8; 75-9
leg curl: 110-8; 155-6; 200-4+3 drop sets
smith calf raise: 90-10; 180-10; 270-10; 340-10; 410-10

Week #44, HUGE, Mon., 09/21/15, Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. -numbers 13:30b

My split seems to have changed, just slightly- from a 5 split to a 4 day split. The updated split looks like: Mon-chest/shoulders; Tue-arms; Wed or Thu-legs (rest on the other); Fri-back
I am incorporating a little more rest for a few weeks.
Today I got in a great workout. The weights were not crazy, but it was fast paced and very focused. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press: 20s-25; 40s-15; 60s-12; 80s-10; 100s-11
flat dumbbell press: 75s-10; 85s-8
incline Hammer Strength  press: 180-12
cable fly: 80-12
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 90-15; 180-12,4
seated lateral: 25s-10; 35s-10; 45s-6
face pull: 120-15; 150-12
oct-bar shrug: 90-10; 180-12

Fri., 9/18/15, Back

Verse of the day: Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe. -John 20:29

I got in a great back workout this morning, early. It was short, sweet and to the point- no diddle-daddle. My focus for back, has been bringing up the upper back. So, for the most part, it's been maintenance for the lower lats. Notice that I've been using less weight and bringing it to my upper belly/lower chest, to nail the traps, romboids and rear delts. Here's how it looked:

Nautilus unilateral pulldown: 90-25; 140-15; 180-12; 230-12; 270-10; 320-5
high-wide bent over row: 115-8; 185-8; 235-5
pulldown: 220-10
rope row: 170-12; 200-12

Wed., 9/16/15, Legs

I got in a good leg workout this morning. I didn't do anything crazy. It was more just focusing on feeling the weight- kind of power work for the squat. I did some higher reps on the leg press and calf raise, but it was mostly 6 and under for squat and leg curl. Here's how it looked:

squats: 45-25; 135-5; 225-5; 315-4; 365-2; 455-2
leg curl: 80-6; 125-6; 170-6; 200-4+drop
leg press: 270-15; 450-15; 630-15
machine calf raise: 300-15; 400-15,13,12
sumo-wall-dumbbell-deadlift: 50-10; 70-8

Week #43,HUGE, Mon., 9/14/15, Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: How joyful are those who fear the LORD- all who follow His ways. Ps 128:1

I had a 3 day weekend: nothing Friday, cardio Saturday and Sunday. So, today I'm back at it fresh. Nothing is sore at the moment. I got in a great chest and delt workout this morning. It was short and sweet- not too much volume. It only took about 30 minutes from start to finish. Here's how it looked:

6 sets of incline dumbbell presses
1 set of flat dumbbell presses
1 set of incline Hammer Strength presses
1 set of cable flyes
2 sets of Hammer Strength shoulder presses
2 sets of seated laterals
2 sets of face-pulls
1 set of seated dumbbell presses

As you can see, it was 16 sets total. So it was moving to do it in 30 minutes.

Thur., 9/10/15, Back and Tri's

Verse of the day: The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. -Psalm 146:8

Tomorrow I am taking off. So, today I did both back and triceps. I do like this workout- it seems to happen a lot here recently. It is a great pump, and while the triceps are warm they are not worn out when I get to them. I did not super-set as I do sometimes. It was all straight sets, but very fast paced. It only took 30 minutes to do the whole thing:

Nautilus uni-lateral pulldown: 90-25,10; 180-15; 230-12; 280-12
bent over row (wide grip/ pulling to the chest, for upper back): 135-12; 225-7+1
close-grip pulldown: 225-12
seated row: 240-5
lying extension: 80-8 (+8 close-grip press); 115-10
seated extension: 110-13
1-arm reverse pushdown: 80-6,60-8 (no rest)

Wed., 9/09/15, Legs

Verse of the day: You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, -Leviticus 10:10

I got in a great leg workout today. I did not set any records, but it was an excellent pump. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-25; 135-8; 225-6; 315-5; 405-8
leg press: 540-12; 720-10; 900-8
standing leg curl: 70-12, 100-8, 70-12
machine calf: 280-20; 400-20
smith calf: 180-15; 270-12; 390-10
dumbbell sum-deadlift with face up against the wall- working on hips and back: 25-6, 45-6

Tue., 9/08/15, Biceps

Verse of the day: the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. -Exodus 34:16b

I got an excellent biceps workout this morning in about 15 minutes. It was fairly low volume, very high intensity, very focused and very fast. I used 2 different intensity techniques. Rest-pause: taking a set to failure, resting approximately 20 seconds and continuing on to failure again. Drop-sets: taking a set to failure and dropping the weight and continuing to failure again.  Here it is:

curl: 12s-30; 45-8; 65-8; 95-8; 115-6 + 1 drop-set
preacher curl: 60-10; 90-10 + rest-pause
concentration curl: 60-5 + 3 drop-sets

Week # 42, Mon., 9/07/15, Chest and Delts

Verse of the day: It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. -Ps. 37:16

I got an excellent workout in this morning. The pump was awesome and I was able to avoid bad shoulder pain- I'm stoked. I did not use a ton of weight, but it was very focused and intense on the muscles being worked. Here's how it looked:

incline Hammer Strength: 70-25; 140-10; 210-10; 280-10
incline dumbbell press: 75s-12,10
flat dumbbell press: 75s-10,8
cable crossover: 125-12,10
seated lateral raise: 25s-8; 35s-8; 45s-6
Hammer Strength shoulder: 140-12; 210-12
face pull: 130-15; 150-12; 170-8
oct-bar shrug: 180-15,12

Fri., 09/04/15, Back and Tri's

Verse of the day: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. -James 1:2-3
...Basically: what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

I got in a great back and triceps workout this afternoon. This is a different combination, but I like to do this now and then just to shake it up. It is a great pump. I only did 3 exercises for each muscle, and few sets per exercise- short and intense:

pulldown: 90-25; 135-15; 180-12; 225-10
row (wide grip, to chest- for upper back): 135-8; 185-8; 225-4+1
V-grip pulldown: 195-13
lying triceps extension: 80-8; 110-13
pushdown: 210-8+2 drop-sets
seated extension: 110-6

Wed., 9/02/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Commit your way to the LORD, Trust in Him, and He will do it. -Ps. 32:5

I got in a great leg workout this morning. My short term goal is to squat 455 for 5. So I've been doing a lot of heavy sets of 5 to get up to that point. It is feeling better and better, and slowly moving forward. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 135-5; 235-5; 335-5; 435-4
sumo dead lift (just to feel and stimulate the lower back): 135-4; 225-2; 135-6
Swiss ball hack squat: 135-8(close), 6(wide)
leg press: 630-26
leg curl: 155-?,6
   super-set with machine calf raise: 280-15; 400-14
smith machine calf: 180-15; 410-10

Week # 41, Tue., 9/01/15, Bi's

Verse of the day: Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. -Ps. 37:4

I am not dead. The last 2 weeks have been very busy. But, I have not missed a workout. There just has not been much extra. It's been on plan: Mon- chest/delt; Tue- biceps; Wed- legs; Thu- triceps; and Fri- back.
This week has been good so far: I hit chest and delts hard yesterday- got an excellent pump. Today was the little workout- biceps. I really just hit them hard and fast. It took about 15 minutes: 5 sets of seated dumbbell curls, 2 sets of machine curls, 1 set of cable curls, 1 set of hammer curls and 1 set of spider curls- BOOM.

Fri., 8/21/15, Back

Verse of the day: For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return here without watering the earth, and making it sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. -Isaiah 55:10-11

I got in a killer back workout this afternoon in about 20 minutes. I just smashed it and left. It was very fast and very focused and very intense. Here's how it looked:

pulldown: 90-25; 135-15; 180-12; 225-10
Nautilus uni-lateral pulldown: 180-12,15
high-wide-bent-over row: 135-12; 185-10
V-grip pulldown: 195-10 + machine pulldown: 160-10 + seated-high-wide-cable row: 160-12

Wed., 8/19/15, Legs

Verse of the day: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:9

Today my focus was on power. I used what is for me a heavy weight, and kept the reps low on just about everything. My main exercise for legs is always squats. This is where I my power. It was a great workout and I used more weight than I have in a while. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-5; 135-5; 225-4; 315-4; 365-4; 425-5
leg press: 540-10; 960-8
leg curl: 95-12; 125-10; 155-8
machine calf raise: 230-15; 310-15; 400-12,11

This whole workout to about 40 minutes. I'm not playing around- it's all business.

Week #39, HUGE, Mon., 8/17/15, Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. -Ephesians 6:11

Today I was dancing around a strain in my shoulder, so I did not go heavy on anything, and really did not hit failure on chest. It was a good workout- an excellent pump, especially in the delts. I did more reps and sets than usual, again just feeling and squeezing the muscle. Here's how it went:

6 sets of incline dumbbell presses
2 sets of flat dumbbell press
3 sets of incline machine press
2 sets of cable flyes (light)
2 sets of machine lateral
2 sets of cable rear lateral
2 sets of face pulls
2 sets of bent over dumbbell laterals
2 sets of Hammer Strength shoulder press (believe it or not, this felt better than anything so far)
2 sets of hex-bar shrugs
1 sets of alternating dumbbell front raises (I just took the 20s and went for it. It felt good so I just kept going- I probably did over 70 reps on each side... they were PUMPED!)

Fri., 8/14/15, Back

Verse of the day: The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? -Psalm 27:1

Well, my legs are sore today...

I got in a great back workout this morning. The focus on back day is on bringing up my whole upper back. In order to really nail the upper back, I changed the form on my rows a bit: I used a much wider grip and pulled the bar to my upper abdominals. This made me lighten the weight significantly. Here's how it looked:

pulldown: 90-25; 135-15
pull-up: 25
pulldown: 225-7
wide/high row (for upper back): 135-10; 185-8
V-grip pulldown: 195-8; 210-8
incline dumbbell row (high for upper back): 65s-12 + machine row: 160-8 + Free Motion pulldown: 180-6
seated cable row (high for upper back): 160-8,8

Thur., 8/13/15, Legs

Verse of the day: In vain you rise up early and retire late toiling for to eat- for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. -Ps. 127:2

Today was actually triceps all by themselves. It was a very short, focused workout with 13 total sets and only 7 working sets.

Yesterday was legs. I did not set any records, but it was a great workout. I'm still climbing the strength ladder, at a bodyweight of 179lb. I can feel everything today. It was all the usual basics, with fairly low volume and high intensity. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-5; 135-5; 225-5; 295-5; 365-15
front squat: 225-6
leg press: 630-23
leg curl: 125-10; 155-11+2
standing leg curl: 85-5 + 55-10
smith calf: 180-15; 270-15; 410-14

machine calf: 400-?,10

Week # 38, Mon., 8/10/15, Chest and Shoulders

Verse of the day: Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. -Gen. 26:12

I got in great workouts both yesterday and today. I have been very busy, with work and family, but the workouts are on point. My strength levels a slowly increasing, but I'm finding more how hard it is to stay light and get stronger. This time last year I was more that 10 pounds heavier than I am right now (about 180 now and up to 193 last year.) But, I will continue to push it.
I usually take one exercise per muscle group and focus on strengthening that motion for a while and then I may change it. For chest my focus is the incline dumbbell press. Man, these dumbbells are heavy- but they must move! Here's how it looked yesterday:

incline dumbbell press: 20s-25; 40s-8; 60s-6; 80s-6; 100s-6; 120s-5
flat dumbbell press: 110s-10
bent over cable fly for upper chest: 200-6
cable fly for lower chest: 155-9
incline machine press: 200-7+3
machine shoulder press: 90-15; 180-8; 270-4; 180-12
seated lateral: 25s-10; 30s-10; 40s-7
face pull: 100-20; 130-15; 160-15; 200-10
oct-bar shrug: 90-20; 140-12,12

Today for the little biceps workout I did 6 sets of straight bar curls, 2 sets of hammer curls and 2 sets of cable curls. It took about 20-25 minutes, taking my time- it was a good pump.

Fri., 8/07/15, back and tri's

Verse of the day: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. -Gen. 15:1b

Now this was a little bit "unconventional." I trained back and triceps together, and super-setted them. I've done this a few times in the past. I really like the pump. They are opposing muscle groups, but the ancillary muscles (like forearms and rear delt) are working for both. It was a great pump. Here's how it looked:

barbell row (wide grip): 45-35; 95-15; 135-10; 185-10; 235-10
   super-set with lying triceps extension: 30-40; 50-20; 70-10; 90-10; 110-10
V-grip pulldown: 180-6; 225-11,5
   super-set with seated overhead extension: 80-10; 110-7
machine pulldown (facing away): 145-12,6
   super-set with straight bar pushdown: 190-7,5
seated high row: 160-10,8,8
   super-set with 1 arm rope pushdown: 70-8,60-8

There was very little rest. The whole thing took about 40 minutes.

Wed., 8/05/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. -Psalm 125:1

This was an excellent leg workout. I really felt an increase in power, and was much more comfortable with the weight than I have been in a while. And this was the 1st time I've squatted over 405 in a long time. It was really just the basics, but slightly unconventional in both rep scheme and number of sets per exercise. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 135-10; 225-5; 315-5; 365-5; 415-5
front squat: 225-8
leg press: 540-10; 810-10
smith machine calf raise: 180-15; 270-15; 360-15; 410-10
leg curl: 135-10; 150-7; 110-15
machine calf raise: 400-16,12

Tue., 8/04/15, Biceps

Verse of the day: Unless the Lord builds the house they that build it labor in vain - Ps. 124:1a

So today is the easy workout.. Ha. Just biceps. It took me 15 minutes flat- no messing around. It was very basic, very focused and very intense- no talking, no water breaks, just work. Here's how it looked:

straight bar curl: 10s-24; 45-12; 65-10; 85-8; 105-8 + 2 drop-sets
spider curl: 60-8,8,8
dumbbell curl: (hammer) 30s-12; (rotating) 40s-6; (alternating) 50s-4 + 4 drop-sets

Week# 37, Huge, Mon., 8/03/15, Chest/Delts

Verse of the day: Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. -Daniel 2:20

This week I'll change my split up a bit and workout a another day or so. I may change it up as I go depending on how I'm feeling with it. Here's my plan:
Monday: chest and shoulders
Tuesday: biceps
Wednesday: triceps
Thursday: legs
Friday: back
I may end up combining a couple of these days and adding a rest day- we'll see how it goes.

I got in a great workout this morning. I was being cautious of my neck (I've had a tweak in it the last few days, but it's working out), so the shoulder work was a little lighter with higher reps:

incline dumbbell: 20s-25; 40s-10; 60s-10; 80s-10; 100s-10; 120s-2 + 110s-3
flat dumbbell: 110s-5; 85s-11
incline machine press: 170-8; 200-8; 230-5+fail
cable fly: 125-12,12,12
seated dumbbell press: 45s-20,14,10
seated lateral: 20s-20,20,20
seated cable rears: 40-20
bent over lateral: 20s-15 

Wed., 7/29/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. Psalm 125:1

So, I went "light" on squats today. Last night I told my wife that I was going to keep the weight light on squats today, and she said, "It's good to take it easy sometimes.".... Who said anything about taking it easy?!! I said: "Keep the weight light." To me this implies that I will do something out of the ordinary to make it harder, more grueling, so painful that I cannot use as much weight.
So, today I did  sets of 25 reps for squats and used a narrow stance with the toes straight on, hands up on the plates and no knee wraps. My tempo was very fast: do a set, light stretch, add weight and go. By the time I was finished with the squats my legs were shaking and trying to lock out on me. Here's  the whole thing:

squat: 45-25; 95-25; 135-25; 225-25
leg press: 450-10; 630-10; 810-7
leg curl: 80-25; 110-20; 140-5
smith machine calf raise: 160-20; 300-20
machine calf raise: 400-15

Week #36, Mon., 7/27/15, Chest/Back

Verse of the day: He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. -Rev. 21:7

I got in a good workout this morning. I tweaked my neck the other day, so I didn't set any records, for sure. But I did get an excellent pump. Here's how it looked:

7 sets of incline dumbbell press
   alternate with 5 sets of medium grip pulldown
3 super-sets of barbell row
   and flat dumbbell press
3 super-sets of incline machine press
   and seated row
+ 1 set each: wide pulldown, rope row and cable fly

Fri., 7/24/15, Shoulders and Arms

Verse of the day: ...and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. -Rev. 19:11b

I only had about 40 minutes to do a 10 exercise workout this morning. So, I was booking. There was not a whole lot of rest. I got in excellent pump. Here's how it looked:

seated lateral raise: 10s-25; 20s-15; 30s-12; 40s-10
seated dumbbell press: 45s-12; 65s-10; 80s-6
standing 1-arm cable crossing rear laterals: 80-12,9,6 (no rest)
seated dumbbell shrug (no wraps): 75s-12; 100s-10; 120s-5
curl: 65-10; 90-5; 110-5
   super-set with lying triceps extension: 70-10; 90-10; 110-8
seated hammer curl: 45s-12
   super-set with seated 1-arm tri-ex: 45-12
spider curl: 80-6; 60-10
   super-set with pushdown: 220-7; 180-12

Wed, 7/22/15, Legs

Verse of the day: great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways Thou King of the nations. -Rev. 15:3

So, this month I'm focusing more on strengthening the whole body ( joints, weak points, ancillary muscles) by using wrist wraps little as possible and no knee wrap at all. So the weights have not set any records for sure but I'm killing the muscles. Again for squats there was no wraps and I used a more narrow stance with toes straight on and my hands are out holding the plates. Here's today:

Squat: 45-25;95-5;135-5;225-5;315-5;365-3;275-8
Front squat: 185-11
Leg press: 450-6;720-20
Walking lunge: 50s-12ea
Standing leg curl: 100-10,5,5(no rest)
Leg curl lying: 135-11+3
Smith machine calf raise: 180-10;250-10;380-11
Machine calf raise: 400-15,10

Week #35 HUGE, Mon., 7/20/15, Chest/Back

Verse of the day: But as for me, the nearness of the Lord is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works. Ps. 73:28

I am continuing on at least this week with the same split. So, today was chest and back. Unlike the last 2 weeks, I did not super-set. I trained chest 1st, and then back. I only had about 35 minutes to do it, so I was not messing around- all business (as usual:) It was an incredible pump. I shot for 12 reps on most of the working sets, though not all. Here's how it looked:

incline Hammer Strength press: 45-30; 90-12; 180-8; 270-6; 310-12
flat dumbbell press: 100s-12
cable fly (for lower chest): 125-12,8
incline machine press: 160-10
pull down: 150-12; 195-16
seated cable row: 140-8; 180-6; 220-5
V-pull down: 180-8; 195-8 + close-grip pull up: 7
decline reverse crunch: 16,10

Fri., 7/17/15, Shoulders and Arms

Verse of the day: Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. -Ps. 127:1a

I got a killer pump this morning. This was the best pump I've had in a while. None of my weights would impress because the pace was very fast and I was doing sets of 15 until I couldn't get 15. Ome of my goals this week was to stay away from the super heavy weights- just easing back into it. So just laugh at the weights:

seated lateral raise: 10s-25; 20s-15; 25s-15; 30s-15
seated dumbbell press: 50s-15; 60s-13
standing cable rear lateral raise: 80-8; 50-15,15; 65-15
dumbbell shrug: 50s-15; 65s-15; 80s-10
straight bar curl: 65-15; 85-15 (barely-haha)
   super-set with lying tri ex: 80-15; 100-13
cable curl: 100-15,10
   super-set with rope pushdown: 120-15; 100-12+3
hammer curl: 25s-15,15
   super-set seated dumbbell ex: 25-15,15

This took about 35 minutes.

Wed., 7/15/15, Legs

Verse of the day: To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. -Revelation 2:7

This was another almost lost my metaphorical cookies workout. I was messing with some black mold the other day and my sinuses have been jacked up ever since. So, after the heavy leg training, my ears pressurized to the point that I almost threw up.
I decided to try another workout squatting without knee wraps and hold on to the plates (using a wide grip with my hands) and using a narrow foot position with my toes straight on and the reps slow and controlled. It was all very basic and very focused. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-5; 135-5; 225-5; 315-17
front squat: 225-4
leg press: 540-6; 810-10
leg curl: 105-10; 135-10; 165-7; 120-8
   super-set with machine calf raise: 270-10; 330-10; 400-10,10

Mon., 7/13/15, Chest/Back

Verse of the day: in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thes. 5:18

So, to all who follow my blog on a regular basis: I am not dead. The guest posing that I spent 4 weeks prepping for went excellent. I had a great time and was very happy with how I looked. It was just a very busy weekend. The week after that I took completely off. The following week I trained Monday (chest and back), Wednesday (legs) and Friday (shoulders and arms); and it was a de-load week (it was light and not intense, the focus was on recovery.)
This week I will use the same split as last week. Today I got in a great workout. It was very fast paced and focused. My goal was to not use very much weight and pump as much blood in the muscle as possible. I aimed for 15 reps on everything and went up in weight until I couldn't get 15. Here's how it went:

4 super-sets of incline press and pull-down
3 super-sets of flat dumbbell press and bent over dumbbell row
3 super-sets of cable fly and seated cable row
2 super-sets of incline Hammer Strength press and V-grip-pull-down

Thur., 6/25/15, Chest

Verse of the day: To sum up, be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; -1 Peter 3:8

This was my last chest workout before I do the guest posing on Saturday. So, I was very focused on both stimulating size and muscle growth as well as adding lines and detail. It was a great workout. My joints felt pretty good, and I torched the pectorals. Here's how it looked:

5 sets of incline dumbbell press
2 sets of flat dumbbell press
4 sets of incline machine press
2 sets of cable crossovers

The whole thing took less than 30 minutes + my usual stretching and warm up + ab training + posing + cardio (so close to 1 1/2 hours total.)

Tue., 6/23/15, Shoulders

Verse of the day: Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do,  and does not do it, to him it is sin. -James 4:17

Today was an excellent shoulder workout. The joints felt good and I was pretty strong on some of the movements I've been doing. It was mostly basic stuff... with a few twists. I started with my usual rotator cuff warm-up, then went straight to the machine lateral raise. I started light for high reps and slowly added weight and decreased the reps, and finished it off with a drop-set. Next was the rear lateral raise, but I lay on my side and used a hammer grip: 4 sets with the same weight. I finished off the isolation work with seated front dumbbell raises- just 2 sets of 12 and10. After that I went on to the Hammer Strength shoulder press, for 3 sets aiming for 12. I finished the shoulders off with traps: 3 sets of octagon bar shrugs ranging from 20 to 12 reps each set and ending with a drop-set. The weight portion took about 25-30 minutes + my thorough stretch before and after.

Mon., 6/22/15, Arms

Verse of the day: Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. -Mat. 5:7

I got in a great workout this morning. I finished it in 22 minutes, so it was moving. Here it is:

5 super-sets barbell curl and lying triceps
2 super-sets hammer curl and seated triceps
2 super-sets spider curl and pushdown
2 super-sets preacher curl and pushdown
2 set crunch
1 set twisting crunch + vacuums

Fri., 6/19/15, Chest

Verse of the day: What is the source of the quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? -James 4:1

Chest in 20 minutes... Boom! All basic. All focused. All intense... It had been 2 1/2 hours since I'd eaten protein and 4 hours since I'd eaten carb- I was tired and hungry.. So, no diddle-daddle. Work:
incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 50s-10; 70s-8; 90s-6; 120s-5; 90s-10
flat dumbbell press hammer grip: 90s-8,8
cable fly: 155-12,10,8
Hammer Strength incline: 230-9

Wed., 6/18/15, Shoulders and Calves

Verse of the day: let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. -James 1:19a-20

The shoulder workout this week was incredible. Today my deltoids are ridiculously sore. My left shoulder was feeling a little run down, so I changed stuff around. I decreased the weight and increased the reps. Here's how it looked:

(I always start shoulders and chest  with several light weight/high rep rotator exercises.)
machine lateral: 50-25; 80-15; 110-12; 140-7
standing 1-arm rope rear lateral: 30-15; 40-15
lying side 1 arm rear lateral: 10-15,10
machine shoulder press: (I sat in the seat leaning forward without using the back.) 70-15; 100-10,8
hex bar shrug: 90-10; 180-10; 230-8,8
1-calf press: 90-20, 180-15, 270-10,5 (no rest)
machine calf raise: 400-20

Tue., 6/16/15, Arms

Verse of the day: so that we confidently say, "The LORD is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?" Heb. 13:6

I got in a great arm pump this morning. The volume was a little higher than last time, but still not crazy. As all ways, the intensity is up there and the rest is short. Here's how it looked:
5 super-sets straight bar curl with lying extension + 3 drop-sets
3 super-sets hammer curl with ling dumbbell extension
2 super-sets cable curl with under-hand pushdown
2 sets concentration curl
2 sets seated 1 arm extension
1 set reverse 1 arm pushdown

6/12/15, Legs

Verse of the day: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. -Heb.11: 6

Today is high rep day. In order to avoid stressing the back and knees, I wanted to take a leg workout and not use heavy weight- just a lot of reps. It was an awesome pump. It is very challenging to do this many reps on the squat particularly, but it wi very effective. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-25; 135-25; 185-25; 225-25 (no wraps, just a belt. and the  rest was short.)
leg press: 450-25 ( at this point only 1 set was necessary)
seated leg curl: 110-20; 140-?
lying leg curl: 125-?
calf press: 450-25 + 3 rest-pause sets
smith machine calf: 180-16; 360-16
:

Wed., 6/10/15, ARMs

Verse of the day: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -Phil. 4:6

I got an excellent arm pump early this morning. I really didn't rush it today. I just took my time and pumped the arms up (though, of course, I was not wasting time.) It was all very focused and controlled. Here's how it looked:

6 super-sets barbell curl and lying triceps extension
3 super-sets preacher curl and 1 arm reverse pushdown
3 super-sets concentration curl and seated 1 arm extension
1 finishing super-set cable curl and reverse grip pushdown

Mon., 6/08/15, Chest

Verse of the day: Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. -Heb. 7:25

I got in a good chest workout this morning. Again, my focus was not on using the most weight, but on pumping the blood in there. I hit a total of 13 sets. Most of the sets were between 8 and 12 reps. I did 4 different exercise
incline Hammer Strength press
flat dumbbell press
cable fly (2 sets upright for lower chest and 1 set bent over for upper chest.)
incline dumbbell press
It was pretty fast- maybe 30 minutes from start to finish. There was no messing around and no talking.

Fri., 6/5/15, Shoulders

Verse of the day: For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is the Lord. -Heb. 3:4

This was the best shoulder workout I've had in a while. It was just the right volume and intensity. I hit them from every angle. And it was fast! It took about 30 minutes from start to finish. Here's how it looked:

seated lateral raise: 10s-25; 15s-15; 25s-12; 30s-12; 35s-12
seated front raise: 25s-15; 30s-12; 35s-8
seated cable rear lateral raise: 60-12,12,12
seated dumbbell press: 50s-15; 60s-12; 70s-9
hect-bar shrug: 90-20; 180-12

Thu., 6/04/15, Arms

Verse of the day: In Thee, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. -Ps. 71:1

Today was my first workout for just biceps and triceps in a couple months. It was a great pump. I super-set everything (biceps/triceps) and had very little rest. I was not trying to use as much weight as possible, but just pump the muscle as full as possible. Here's how it looked:

5 super-sets of barbell curls with lying triceps extensions
3 sets of preacher curls with pushdowns
3 sets of seated hammer curls with seated 1-arm dumbbell extensions
1 set curl
1 set 1-arm rope pushdown

this took about 25 minutes

Wed., 6/03/15, Back

Verse of the day: Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build it labor in vain -Ps. 124:1

I got in a great back workout this afternoon. It was fast, focused and intense. I've been focusing more on the upper back, as this is a weaker area, and I've just not wanted to put too much stress on the lower back. Here's how it looked:

Medium grip pulldown: 90-25; 135-15;180-12;195-12;210-8
seated row: 150-12; 160-12; 170-12
machine fixed handle pulldown (wide, facing away from machine): 145-10,10
straight arm rope pulldown: 120-12
bent over rope row: 160-12
wide grip bent over row: 135-12; 185-9,6
V-grip pulldown: 180-10
bosu ball crunch, swiss ball crunch, twist crunch, rope crunch, cable serratus crunch

This all took about 30 minutes.

Tue., 6/02/15, Chest

Verse of the day: But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness. -2 Tim 2:16

I got in a great chest workout this morning. This was the first time in a while that I have trained chest all by itself. I've been pairing it with either shoulders and triceps or the whole upper body... So my chest will be sore tomorrow. Taking it from 7-8 sets for a muscle to 13 sets will cause a little stir for sure. My abs are finally not sot ridiculously sore. Yesterday was rough. Starting Friday I've been adding 1 set a day to my ab workout, and they have not been appreciating it. I usually train abs 2-4 days a week with a few sets at the end of a weight session; pre-contest- or pre-guest pose as it is- I train abs every day with 5-10 sets plus some vacuums. Here's how today's workout looked:

incline Hammer Strength press: 50-25; 90-10; 180-10; 270-10; 360-4
incline dumbbell press: 80s-12; 90s-10,7
flat dumbbell press: 85s-12,8
cable fly (low, for lower chest): 125-15,9,12
bench crunch/twist crunch/floor crunch/rope crunch/bench crunch/twist crunch

Mon., 6/01/15, Legs

Verse of the day: The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. -1 Tim. 4:18

After having just laid out the great split for the next month, I trained my legs this morning while they were not ready to be trained. Nothing got injured, but I think I will probably just spread it all out a little. We'll see how it goes...
 I did get in a good leg pump this morning, I can just feel the same tight, sore feel that I had just before I pulled my groin a few years ago (again, I was trying to train my legs with higher frequency than beneficial.) But, it was all the normal stuff: squats, presses, leg curls and calf presses.

New Phase of the Grow Season

Verse of the day: Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. -1 Tim. 6:12

I am not doing a contest this year. But, I am guest posing at the INBF Atlantic Coast, in Greensborough, NC, on the 27th of June. So I am taking the next 4 weeks to shave off a little extra fat and work on the presentation portion. So I will change my split to increase the volume of my training and will only take 1 rest day a week. My current game plan looks like this:
Day 1: legs
Day 2: chest/ delt/ tris
Day 3: back/ trap/ bis
Training Monday- Saturday and resting on Sunday. This is subject to change.

Wed., 5/27/15, LEGS

Verse of the day: But as for you, do not grow weary of doing good. -2Thes. 3:13

I got in a great workout today. My friend Joe jumped in with me and help me push it. It was just the basics, and  pretty low volume. The theory here is: stimulate, not annihilate. We did: 5 warm-ups and a failure set for squats, 1 feel set and 1 failure set + drop set on the leg press, 1 feel set and 1 failure set of single leg curls, and 1 feel set and 3 failure sets of calf presses. The pump was awesome.

Mon., 5/25/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. -Thess. 3:3

Today I got in a great workout. My triceps, especially, were pumped from all of the pressing. I used a technique that I call the choo-choo: you start with super light weight and increase weight doing 5 reps until you can't get 5, then go back down getting as many as possible all the way to the start weigh.. no rest! I did this for biceps and triceps. Here's the whole workout:

5 sets incline Hammer press
1 set incline dumbbell press
1 set flat dumbbell press
1 set dips
2 sets pull-ups
1 set pull-downs
2 sets machine rows
3 sets Hammer Strength shoulder press
1 super-set lateral raise
    with bent-over laterals
choo-choo train cambered bar curl (5 sets up, 4 sets down, no rest)
choo-choo train pushdown (7 sets up, 6 sets down, no rest)

Wed, 5/20/15, legs

Verse of the day: whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as working for The Lord and not for man. -Col. 3:23

I got in an excellent leg workout this morning. My lower back was still a little stiff, but I stretched thoroughly and controlled every rep, and had no issues... Knees feel great too- no problems. I wasn't sure if I would do a bunch of reps or put a little more on the bar. Due to encouragement from a couple  dudes in the gym, I opted for the latter. After finishing the weights, I ended it with another thorough stretch session. Here's the workout:
Squat: 45-25;135-10;225-6;315-6;405-6
Leg press: 450-10; 900-13
Calf press: 540-15;750-12
Single leg curl: 80-9,65-10
Seated calf: 210-12
Machine calf: 400-14

Mon., 5/18/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are earth. -Col. 3:2

I got in a great workout yesterday. I knocked the volume down just a hair, but really put in the intensity. It was very fast, focused and intentional. For the chest, I continued my strength battle for the 10th rep of 360lb on the incline hammer strength press (I missed it by a hair again!) The chest was finished with the incline dumbbell press- just 1 set to failure. For the back I did 3 sets of V-grip pulldowns and 1 set of machine rows. The focus for delts was width, so I started with 3 sets of machine presses and finished with 1 set of laterals. I just did 3 super-sets of cambered bar curls and pushdowns for the  arms, and threw in 1 finishing set of skull-crushers to end the upper body. The workout ended with some decline crunches and of course the stepmill.

Thur., 5/14/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. -Phil. 2:4

Today I got in a great upper body workout. I lightened the weight up a little and increased the reps. The intensity was still very high. Here's how it looked:
4 feel sets + 1 failure set of incline dumbbell presses
1 failure set of flat dumbbell press
1 failure set of dips
1 feel set + 1 failure set of Free-Motion pulldowns
1 feel set + 1 failure set of 1-arm dumbbell rows
1 feel set + 1 failure set of seated dumbbell presses
1 failure set of bent over lateral raises
2 feel sets + 1 failure set + 1 pump set dumbbell curls super-set with pushdowns
Most of the working sets were between 10 and 14 (the curls were 6 and the dips were 20)

Tue., 5/12/15, Legs

Yes. It is leg day again. Someone asked me today if I started squatting in all my workouts. Ha! Not quite... All my leg workouts, but not all my workouts. That's how much I centralize the squat: people think it's all that I do! Today it was actually all I did for my quads:

squat: 45-25; 95-25; 135-25; 225-15; 275-12; 325-6; 225-15
leg curl: 125-20, 13+3
calf press: 360-20; 540-20; 680-12; 540-13

Mon., 5/11/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: ...walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, -Eph 4:1b

I set short term strength goals in my head and focus on a particular exercise for a muscle group for a while. This helps me make progress. I've been psyching myself up for a while now to get 360 for 10 reps on the incline Hammer Strength chest press. I have narrowly missed it twice now. This morning I got the 10th rep about 1/2 way up. It will go!!! I am close. Today was very similar to the last several Monday's:

incline hammer: 50-25; 180-8; 270-6; 360-9 + fail
incline (high) dumbbell: 90s-8
flat dumbbell: 75s-16
pulldown: 135-13; 180-10; 225-9
row: 135-6; 225-10
Hammer shoulder press: 180-10; 270-5 + drop set
seated lateral: 35s-10
cambered bar curl: 60-6; 105-10; 85-10
  super-set with pushdown: (rope) 100-15; (V) 240-10; (rope) 100-14

Fri., 5/08/15, Legs

Verse of the day: the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. -Eph. 1:17

I got in a great leg workout this morning. My lower back was feeling pretty stiff, so I did not go very heavy and everything was very focused and controlled. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-12; 135-6; 225-6; 275-6; 335-15
leg press: 450-15; 540-15; 630-15
standing 1-leg curl: 100-12 (1-set-absolute-failure)
seated calf raise: 90-15; 140-15; 190-9+4

Thur., 5/07/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. -Gal. 6:7

I got in an awesome pump this morning. I only had about 35 minutes to do the whole upper body, so there was no messing around. It was fast and focused. Here's how it looked:

5 sets incline dumbbell press
1 set flat dumbbell press
1 set dips
2 sets Hammer Strength uni-lateral pulldown
1 sets 1 arm row
2 sets seated dumbbell press
1 set bent over lateral raise
3 super-sets dumbbell curl and lying triceps extension
1 set decline crunch
1 set machine crunch

Tue., 5/5/15, Legs/ Food

Verse of the day: Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. -Ps 124:1a

I got in a great leg workout this morning. It was all basic stuff. The volume is still low, but my intensity is cranked. It's basically 2 failure sets for quads- squats and barbell hack squat; 1 for hams- a lying single leg curl; and 1 for calves- the smith machine calf raise. (Though I did 5 warm up sets of squats, 1 feel set of barbell hack squat and 2 warm-ups of calf raises.)

To "re-give" you an idea of what my diet looks like right now here's what I ate yesterday:

meal 1: whey protein (I like p4p muscle iso-whey, it's a good quality); oatmeal
meal 2: chicken breast
post workout: whey protein with fast digesting carb
meal 3: chicken breast; sweet potato
meal 4: 4 eggs; peas
meal 4: yogurt; casein protein; oatmeal; peas
meal 5: chicken; beans; brown rice; corn; avocado; spinach; salsa; cheese
meal 6: whey protein; casein protein

(I don't normally drink this much protein powder, but I was running low on cooked food.)

Week # 25, Mon., 5/4/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. -2 Cor. 12:9

This weekend involved several diet "cheats." (I was out of town for my wife's birthday.) So, this morning I went to the gym early and got in a little extra time on the stepmill. My workout today was great. I got a killer pump (the extra sugar and fat probably didn't hurt.) I added a couple extra sets in here and there, just to get some more blood in the muscle. Here's how it looked:

incline hammer strength press: 90-25; 180-6; 270-6; 360-8 + fail
incline dumbbell press: 75s-12; 90s-7 + fail
pull down: 165-12; 195-12; 225-6
row: 135-10; 225-8
hammer strength press: 180-10; 270-6 + fail + drop-set
seated lateral: 25s-10; 35s-9
pushdown: 120-20; 160-15; 210-10
  super-set with cambered bar curl: 60-12; 80-10; 110-5
Swiss ball crunch/ bosu ball crunch/ decline crunch/ kneeling rope crunch/ machine crunch

Thu., 04/30/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. -2 Cor. 11:3

I got in a great pump this morning. I threw in a few different exercises to target my week points. The focus, again, for me is on upper chest, upper back and shoulders. I always start with upper chest and I feel I get the best focus in the muscle with incline dumbbell presses- so that was the start. Next I just hit 1 hard set of dips, but rather than my lower reps, here I did 20. After that, I started back with 1 arm dumbbell rows, and finished it off with just 1 set of Free Motion pull downs. With chest and back finished up, I went on to shoulders: seated dumbbell presses and high rope pulls. I finished the weights with bi's and tri's: cambered bar curls and seated rope extensions super-set... Boom! That's it. I keep getting comments about how low the volume is and how can you get a good arm pump with only 1 exercise. But I have been fully pump by the time I finish. The goal is to stimulate maximum muscle growth while still being able to recover. The recovery is HUGE. I have been destroying the muscle for years, but have not been able to recover enough to grow. This new approach seems to be working well. I am slowly increasing size and strength without putting on a ton of fat.

Mon., 4/27/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. -2 Cor. 5:17

I am getting stronger! Slowly, but surely I am progressing. I got the most reps that I've ever gotten with 360 on the Incline Hammer press (I did get the same number once or twice before, when I weighed more, but have not exceeded it.) I got in a great workout this morning. So this plan seems to be working well. Here's how it went:

incline Hammer Strength: 50-25; 90-12; 180-8; 270-6; 360-9
incline dumbbell press: 100s-9
pulldown: 135-12; 180-12; 225-7
row: 135-10; 225-8
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 180-12; 250-7
seated lateral raise: 30s-16
cambered bar curl: 65-12; 85-15
  super-set pushdown: 120-15; 200-15

Fri., 4/24/15, LEGS

Verse of the day: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. -2Cor. 3:17

Today's leg workout was very short and very intense. I decided to squat 225 for 50 reps again. I clearly remember the last time I did this saying, "I'll never do that again." But, hey, it seemed like the right thing at the time... Ha! That's a pretty intense little ride there. To me, 225 is not very much weight, but the heart rate gets destroyed; and for about 5-10 minutes after the set I can't really see straight- everything is wavy. So I had 40 minutes total for legs: 10 minutes stretching, 4 sets of squats (about a minute between warm-ups and 3 minutes between the last warm-up and the worker), 1 set of leg curls and 3 sets of calf raises. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-6; 135-6; 225-50
standing 1-leg curl: 85-10
smith machine calf raise: 180-15; 270-10; 360-16

Thur., 4/23/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Let all that you do be done in love. - 1 Cor. 16:14

This morning I got the best pump that I've gotten in a long time. I increased the repetition and decreased the weight for all the upper body motions today. It was good. I also changed up a few of the exercises. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-12; 60s-6; 80s-6; 100s-13
flat dumbbell press: 75s-12
V-grip-pull-down: 150-12; 210-12
1-arm row: 100-12
seated dumbbell press: 55s-15; 70s-8
dumbbell curl (simultaneously twisting the wrists in on the way up): 30s-10; 45s-8; 35s-8
1-arm rope pushdown: 40-12, 50-12, 60-12, 70-6 (no rest)

Obviously, here for the arms I was really just trying to pump as much blood as possible, not lift maximum weights. And the pump was awesome.

Tue., 4/21/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. -1 Cor. 15:58

I got in a good workout today. I didn't set any PR's  or anything (though this was the most I've used on the squat since I sprained my knee, so I guess I did have a little PR.) But everything was very focus and controlled and I had no pain in my knee. For this workout I did not wrap my knees for anything except my heaviest set of squats, and I put on my light knee sleeves for the presses, curls and calf raises. I feel that this approach is helping to heal up the knee, because I want to challenge the joint and stimulate it, but Not hurt it. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-15; 95-6; 135-6; 225-6; 315-5; 385-6
leg press: 450-8; 630-23 (constant tension)
lying 1-leg curl: 65-14+6
seated calf: 90-15; 190-10+2 drop-sets

Week #23, Mon., 4/20/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature. -1 Cor. 14:20

Having not gotten any stronger last week from the week before, it was time to add a set. (Remember I took it back to the baseline: 1 failure set for each muscle group, with the plan of slowly building from there.) So, I added 1 working set to each muscle group, except biceps (I know- that's a crime.) The workout this morning was awesome. I got to workout with one of my clients, Wes Stepp. Every great once in a while I'll just have him do a workout with me rather than a separate one. We both got a great pump, and pushed it to the limit. Here's how it worked:

incline hammer strength press: 50-25; 90-12; 180-6; 270-6; 360-8
incline dumbbell press: 75s-8; 110s-8
pulldown: 130-12; 170-12; 240-7
row: 135-12; 235-8+3
hammer strength shoulder press: 140-12; 210-6; 260-9
seated lateral raise: 30s-14
pushdown: 100-25; 140-12; 190-10; 240-10; 200-10
  super-set with cambered bar curl: 45-10; 65-10; 85-6; 105-8+2

Fri., 4/17/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps. -Prov. 3:5

I got in a great leg workout this morning. I only had 40 minutes to do the whole thing: stretching, foam rolling, warm-up and everything. So, it was fast. I was able to use some weight on the squat, but again I didn't really go all the way to failure... easing the knee back in one step at a time. Here's how it went:
squat: 45-15; 135-6; 225-6; 315-6; 365-10
leg press: 540-33 (constant tension)
standing leg curl: 85-14
1-leg calf press: 180-20,12,8 (no rest)

Thur., 4/16/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you win. -1 Cor. 9:24

I got in a great workout this morning. It was very much the same as Monday's workout, I just decreased the weight on a couple movements and increased the reps. I felt like I  got a better pump this way. An addition I made was a couple drop sets, because I did not make the number that I was shooting for. Three exercise changes I made were: barbell row for back, spider curl for biceps and lying extensions for triceps. Bi's and tri's are not a weak point for me so my goal is not so much to increase on one exercise, but to pump it as full of blood and hit it from a different angle to bring up the shape and lines. Here's the order:

incline hammer strength press
barbell row
hammer strength shoulder press
spider curl
lying 45 degree triceps extensions
machine crunch

Wed., 4/15/15, Legs (Yesterday)

Verse of the day: For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. -Cor. 6:20

I got in a great leg workout yesterday. My knee is feeling a lot better. The workout was still not incredibly intense on the quads, again allowing the knee to heal up. I used more weight on the squat than I have since I sprained my knee. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-15; 95-10; 135-10; 225-10; 315-6; 365-6
leg press: 450-30 (constant tension)
1-leg curl: 65-6,80-6,95-4(no rest)
smith machine calf raise: 90-15; 180-12; 270-12; 360-12

Week # 22, Mon., 4/13/15, Upper-Body

Verse of the day: each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. -1 Cor. 3:13

2 years ago today I won my 1st pro contest (my 3rd pro contest, but 1st overall victory- to be clear.) So, 2 years later, here I am chasing a more elusive title....

I got in an excellent workout this morning. My shoulder was feeling a little creeky (I think the change up to some exercises I've been leaving out- for this reason- may have hurt more than helped), so I was not my strongest, but I got a great pump and no doubt stimulated the fibers. It's not all about the numbers. Here's how it looked:

incline hammer strength press: 50-25; 140-12; 210-8; 280-8; 350-7
neutral grip pulldown: 120-12; 155-12; 210-10
hammer strength shoulder press: 140-12; 210-8; 280-5
cambered bar curl: 65-10; 85-6; 105-8
  s/s pushdown: 120-25; 160-12; 200-10; 240-6

Sat., 4/11/15, Legs

Verse of the day: I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. -Rom 16:19

Yesterday I got an excellent workout for the upper body. It is hard to say if I was stronger because I changed all the exercises for that workout. So for chest I did flat dumbbell presses; for back I did barbell rows; for shoulders, standing military press; for bi's,  curls and for tri's, lying extensions. It was a great pump, and I was stronger than the last time I did each of the new motions.

This morning: My knee felt great- no problems at all. I still did not take the quad movements to failure- just a good feel and pump. But I tore up the hams and calves:

squat: 45-16; 95-10; 135-6; 225-6; 275-6; 315-10
leg press: 360-10; 630-15
standing 1-leg curl: 55-12; 85-10
seated calf: 90-15; 140-12; 190-10+2

Tue., 4/07/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Rom 12: 21

I got in a good leg pump this morning. Again, everything for the quads is very slow, controlled and focused. I am still nursing the knee back to health. This was a very short and sweet workout: 6 sets of squats, 2 sets of single leg curls and 2 sets of smith machine calf raises.

WEEK #21, Mon., 4/06/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. -Rom 10:17

I'm loving this new program! Thus far, every time I have increased every exercise by 1 rep. I feel like my body is actually healing up. It seems to be very effective, thus far- again, time will tell. This morning I was not feeling strong, I did not get enough sleep last night, but I still beat every number from my last workout! Here's how it looked:

incline Hammer Strength press: 50-25; 140-12; 210-8; 280-8; 350-8
hammer grip pulldown: 120-12; 165-12; 210-12
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 140-12; 210-10; 280-7
pushdown: 120-25; 160-15; 200-10; 240-8
  super-set cambered bar curl: 65-12; 85-10; 105-8
bosu ball crunch: 37

Fri., 4/03/15, LEGS

Verse of the day: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 6:23

I got in an excellent leg workout this morning. My knee seems to be healing nicely. I still did not push the quads very hard- it was more of a feeler workout. Every rep was slow, controlled and focused.  But I nailed the hams and calves. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-10; 95-10; 145-10; 195-10; 245-10; 295-6
leg press: 180-10; 360-12; 540-10
standing leg curl: 55-12; 70-10,8
smith machine calf raise: 90-20; 180-15; 270-15; 360-15

Thur., 4/02/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able to perform. -Rom 4:21

Wow! The comments that I'm getting during my workouts are funny! It seemed like everyone was asking why are you doing so many  muscles? or why only 1 set? People cannot comprehend this concept of 1 main set per muscle group... Recovery? What are you talking about? Levi, YOU don't need recovery time!... As if I'm not human, or even more so, like I'm not completely blowing the muscle up with these workouts! Breaking the mold, baby!!

I got an excellent workout this morning. Every exercise was increased by at least 1 rep! It was the very same as Mondays' workout except I substituted rows for pull-downs. The pump was great, and I really feel like I stimulated the muscle.

Tue., 3/31/15, Legs

Verse of the day: And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. -Rom. 4:3

I got in a good little pump this morning. I'm still nursing my knee back to health, so it was not an intense workout- just a pump and taking it through the range of motion. It was all very basic: 4 light sets of squats; 3 light sets of leg presses; 5 very light sets of leg extensions; 4 sets of progressively heavier single leg curls (the last set here was pretty intense); and 3 progressively heavier sets of smith machine calf raise + 2 sets of 1-calf presses (again, for the calves I put in some intensity.)

Mon., 3/30/15, Upper Body

Verse of the day: ..."to those who by persistence in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life"

After 6 days completely off weight training, I am feeling healed up and strong. This past Saturday marked 19 weeks since I competed in the World Championships. It takes at least as long for your body (metabolism and all) to recover from a preparation as the preparation was. So, after a 19 week contest prep and 19 weeks in off season, I should be pretty much back to "normal."...Whatever that is. I am happy to say that after all this, I am almost 15 pounds lighter than I was at the start of the contest prep. I put a great amount of discipline into NOT getting fat after the contest.

So, as of today, I am starting a "base-line" training program. This means I am starting with the least volume for each muscle group that I can -this means 1 working set - and I will build slowly on this. Again, the Main Focus for me at this point in the game is recovery. For the last several years I've worked so hard on improvement that I've over-trained A LOT, and really have not made the improvements that I want. So I start over. I work from the ground up. I train with focus, intensity and purpose. There are no wasted sets, and there are no extra sets. The body Must be able to repair, rebuild AND grow between my workouts in order to make improvement...
GOOD GRIEF! I sound like an addict... Hello. My name is Levi. I am addicted to PAIN.

So, Here's the 1st workout of this new chapter of  "The Great Construction":

incline Hammer Strength press: 50-25; 140-12; 210-8; 280-8; 350-6
V-grip-pull-down: 130-12; 180-12; 225-10
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 140-12; 210-10; 280-5 (+a little drop-set)
pushdown: 120-15; 150-12; 190-10; 230-6
  s/s cambered bar curl: 65-10; 85-8; 105-6
bosu ball crunch: 33

Mon., 3/23/15, Legs

Verse of the day: In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me. -Ps 120:1

I'm still nursing a sprained knee back to health, so this was not my normal leg workout. But, it was an excellent pump. My goal was to work toward a full- functional range of motion and get a good pump at the same time. Here's how it worked:

leg extension: 40-25; 55-25; 70-25; 85-25
   super-set with leg curl: 65-25,25
squat: 45-25; 135-25
leg press: 140-10; 270-100
toe press: 270-15; 360-15; 450-18
standing leg curl: 70-15
lying leg curl: 110-10
leg extension: 100-15

Thu., 3/16/15, Back/Arms

I got in a great workout this morning. It was a fairly big workout, and I had not eaten very much carb before- so it was a tuff workout.. But those are the best kind. The volume was a little higher than what it has been recently for back. But, still relatively low. Again, my focus is very much on stimulating the muscle to grow, but also on being able to recover from the workout. Here's how it went:

6 sets Nautilus plate loaded pulldown
3 sets cambered bar under hand grip row
3 sets neutral grip pulldown
3 sets seated row
3 super-sets cambered bar curl with rope pushdown
3 super-sets cambered bar spider curl with v-bar pushdown
3 super-sets cambered bar preacher curl with seated over-head extension + 2 sets 1-arm reverse grip pushdown

I'm not sure the exact amount of time it took, but it was about an hour + 20 minutes treadmill.

Tue., 03/17/15, Chest

Verse of the day: For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle - Ps 18: 39a

This week I am breaking my split up a little and will do some more focused intensity on each muscle group. Today was just chest, all by itself. My volume was still not very high, as I still want to be able to recover from the workout. But, the intensity and focus is 100%. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-10; 65s-6; 85s-6; 110s-9
incline Hammer press: 180-10; 270-8
flat dumbbell "fly-press" (a hybrid wide-stretch-hammer-grip movement): 50s-9
flat dumbbell press: 85s-8
cable fly: 90-9
incline dumbbell press: 75s-11

The entire workout, with stretching and all, was about 30 minutes.

Mon., 03/16/15, Legs

Verse of the day: Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. -Phil 1:27

Today was really a "feel out workout." I'm trying not to aggravate the knee. I tried several different exercises to find a couple that didn't aggravate it. I ended up doing 4 sets of 25 reps on the leg extension just to warm it up. I threw in 2 super-sets of leg curl between sets, and stretched thoroughly. Next I gave squats a shot and decided it was not a good idea. So.. leg presses: I hit a couple feeler sets, then did 1 set with 270lb for 100 reps using the constant tension technique. Then I hit 1 set for hams and 1 for calves and that was it. That set of 100 really torched the legs. Around 60 the glutes started burning good and not long after that the inner thigh started screaming. So, I hit them pretty good.

Fri., 06/13/15, Weak Points

Verse of the day: And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. -Acts 13:52

I got in a great workout this morning. I was actually scheduled to train legs today, but the knee is not 100% so I decided to just focus on the weak points: upper chest, upper back, delts. This was a very unconventional workout. I did not know what I would do when I started. I took it as it came to me. I did no more than 1 set of most exercises. There was not much rest- just stretching and weight adjustment between sets. The flat barbell bench press has been out of the routine for about 4 years now due to shoulder problems. So, I decided to just warm up with it. Here's how it went:

thorough stretching
rotator cuff exercises
light pulldowns
bench press: 45-25; 95-10; 145-10; 195- just feel for a few
flat dumbbell press: 110s-8
incline dumbbell press: 110s-5
incline hammer strength press: 210-15
hammer strength shoulder press: 250-10
seated lateral raise: 30s-13
hammer strength iso-lateral pulldown: 180-12; 250-10
incline rear lateral raise: 35s-15
incline "high" dumbbell row: 50s-12
bent over row (to chest): 95-15
upright row: 90-12
reverse crunch, crunch, twisting crunch, bench crunch

....As you can see, it was very mix-match- not my norm. But, it was a great pump and felt good. It took less than 45 minutes from start to finish.

Wed., 6/11/15, Arms

Verse of the day: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! -Ps 20:1a

I got in a great arm workout this morning. I probably spent more time stretching before the workout than I did working out. It was very focused, very fast and very thorough:

5 super-sets close cambered bar curl with lying triceps extension
2 super-sets spider curl with seated overhead triceps extension
2 super-sets preacher curl with 1-arm rope pushdown

...Not much volume at all, but I accomplished everything I set out to do and got an incredible pump.

Tue., 03/10/15, Chest/ Back/ Shoulders

Verse of the day: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality. -Acts 10:34b

I got in an awesome workout this morning. It was very fast (I only had 35 minutes to do chest, back and shoulders.) The exercises were pretty much the same as last time, with a different shoulder press and rear lateral raise. Here it is:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-10; 60s-6; 85s-6; 110s-9
incline Hammer Strength: 180-6; 320-6
flat dumbbell press: 100s-9
pulldown: 160-10 + 12 chins; 200-8 + 6 chins
1-arm dumbbell row: 95-8,6
seated cable rear lateral raise: 60-12,12,10
seated lateral raise: 30s-10; 40s-6
Hammer Strength shoulder press: 180-10; 250-5 + dumbbell shrug: 75s-8

....Boom- chest, back and shoulders in 35 minutes! Again my whole focus right now is on building the deltoids, upper chest and upper back. And this workout is totally centered on maximally stimulating those muscles. So, you'll notice that there's nothing for lower chest and not much for lower lats (I'm doing my 1-arm rows with a slightly flared elbow to hit the upper back.)

Mon., 06/09/15, Slight Set-back

Verse of the day: Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord. -Ps 27:14

Well... Yesterday I had my knee slammed in the car door... Yes, it hurt... Today, like the sometimes over-ambitious person I am, I was to train legs.. Yes, "was"... So, I started with stretching and then proceeded to squats. Warmed up thoroughly, then worked up to 405. Rep number 3, there was a sudden pain in the knee. I immediately stopped, stretched, did abs, cardio and went home. This is improvement, as before I would surely have finished the workout... Maybe in the future I'll be smart enough to just not squat 405 the day after slamming my knee in a car door... I'm sure with some rest, ice and light stretching (and prayer.. I've prayed my way through many injuries now ;) over the next few days my knee will heal up, and I'll start back a little lighter.

Thur., 3/05/15, Chest/Back/Shoulders

Verse of the day: The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, -Ps 11:5a

I got an excellent workout in this morning. It was a decision to do it today. I was tired and did not want to, but I put it in and got a great pump. It was totally by feel. Some things I thought I would do I didn't and vice-versa. Most would look at this and say that it is fairly unconventional, both in the rep scheme and number of sets- maybe even order of exercise. But, I am trying to maximize my efforts and put the stress it needs to be, and focus on my weak points. Here it is:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-10; 60s-6; 85s-6; 110s-8
flat dumbbell press: 85s-6; 110s-5
incline Hammer press: 210-6; 280-6
neutral grip pulldown: 140-12 [+12 chins]; 200-6 [+8 chins]
seated row: 200-6
1-arm dumbbell row: 85-10,8
seated lateral raise: 20s-12; 30s-10; 40s-6
machine rear lateral raise: 165-12; 220-6
smith machine press: 90-12; 180-4 + 90-15 + dumbbell shrug: 75s-8
bosu ball crunch; Swiss ball crunch; bench crunch

...That's 28 sets (+ my rotator exercises that I do before every chest and shoulder workout), with only 10 sets to failure. 

Tue., 3/03/15, Legs

I destroyed the legs this morning. I am slowly gaining my strength back- still far from my best ever, but climbing the ladder. It was all very basic. The volume was low; the intensity high... same game: squat, press, curl, calf. Though, I did both the standing and lying leg curl; and both the calf press and the seated calf raise.

Thur., 2/26/15, LEGS

Inspiration of the day: "What you want he's dusting!"

I got in a killer leg workout this morning. I definitely was not my strongest, but I thoroughly stimulated the muscle and, I believe, stimulated some growth. The volume was low and the intensity high. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-25; 135-10; 225-6; 315-5; 385-8
leg press: 405-10; 720-8; 900-10
calf press: 360-25; 540-20; 720-12,10
1-calf press: 180-20,12,8
1-leg curl: 65-10,50-6
standing leg curl: 80-6

Tue., 2/24/15, Arms/ Diet update

Verse of the day: Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. -Ps. 57:4

I got in a killer arm pump this morning. It was very fast, very focused and very intense. I did only 3 exercises for biceps and 3 for triceps. Everything was super-setted. This was probably the best pump I've had since my last contest.

The diet is pretty clean in general with "cheats" here and there. Here is what I ate yesterday:

meal 1: chicken; oatmeal; apple
meal 2: chicken
post workout: 40g whey protein isolate with vitamin c and betaine (I like P4P MUSCLE ISO-WHEY); oatmeal (about an hour later)
meal 3: chicken; oatmeal
meal 4: 4 eggs (whole); 1/2c Greek yogurt w/ honey
meal 5: turkey spaghetti (w/ whole grain pasta and extra veg sauce)
meal 6: casein/whey protein shake w/ 2 tbs peanut butter

Mon., 2/23/15, Chest/Back/Shoulders

Verse of the day: O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. -Psalm 63:1

I got in a great workout this morning. The volume was fairly low and the intensity high. The pump was awesome. I finished feeling strong and tight. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press: 5 sets of 6-10
flat dumbbell press: 2 sets- 12,5
Hammer incline: 1 set-9
Hammer pulldown: 4 sets-6-12
row: 3 sets-6-10
incline rear lateral: 3 sets- 7-12
laterals: "The Choo-Choo Train" (Sets of 5 with each set of dumbbells up the rack til I can't get 5; then back down the rack getting as many as possible with each- no rest at all.)
Hammer press: 3 sets- 8-15
dumbbell shrug: 1 set 8 reps

...This took about 45 minutes.

Thr., 2/19/15, Legs

Inspiration of the day: True fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but going beyond it.

I got in a great leg workout today. The volume was low and the intensity pretty high. My main squat set today was not a record breaker for me, but it was the best feeling set that I've done on the squat in a while. I took my time and focused on every rep, took note of everything. It was good. Here's the whole thing from start to finish:

stretch all muscles thoroughly
foam roller for quads
squat: 45-25; 135-10; 225-6; 275-6; 345-16
leg press: 270-10; 450-10; 630-10; 810-8
standing leg curl: 55-10; 100-6, 70-10
calf press: 360-20; 540-15; 720-10; 540-15
stretch neck, back and legs
10 minute cool-down on treadmill

Wed., 2/18/15, Arms

Verse of the day: ...if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. -Phil. 4:8b

I had a great realization this morning: 9 years ago today I entered and won my first bodybuilding contest. It was the 2006 NASF President's Day Open. It was not a huge show (I think there were 20 men competing that day), but it was a good experience for a first contest. I brought home the young men's title, the short class title, best chest, best arms, best legs and the overall trophy... Not too bad for the first go round. Now after 9 years, just having placed 3rd in my 20th contest (2014 WNBF World Championships), I feel like I'm just getting started.
So to celebrate 9 years of competitive bodybuilding, here's my 25 minute arm blast:

8 sets of rope pushdowns
   super-set with 7 sets of dumbbell curls
3 sets of spider curls
   super-set with 3 sets of skull crushers
4 sets of under-hand grip pushdowns
   super-set with 3 sets of cable curls
..very little rest

Mon., 2/16/15, Chest/Back/Shoulders

Verse of the day: Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build it labor in vain - ps. 127:1a

I got in a great workout this morning. It was a little heavier and more intense than last time. The volume for each muscle is still pretty low. I did more volume for the shoulders than for anything else. My focus right now is bringing up the shoulders. So, you may ask why I train them after chest and back. The theory, again, is to fully stimulate the muscle and then allow maximum recovery time for it. And I feel that the shoulders are being hit pretty hard by the weights that I use for chest and back, so it's really a pre-exhaust for the shoulders. Here's how it looked today:

incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-10; 55s-10; 70s-10; 85s-10; 100s-6
dip: 15,10,8 (40 sec rest)
wide pulldown: 135-12; 165-12; 180-10; 195-10; 210-6
row: 135-6; 185-6; 235-6
1-arm cable lateral: 20-12; 30-10; 40-10; 50-6; 30-10 (no rest at all)
incline rear lateral raise: 25s-11,10,9,10
seated dumbbell press: 50s-12; 60s-8,7
dumbbell shrug: 75s-12; 110s-7

Fri., 2/13/15, Friday the 13th Leg Day!

Verse of the day: And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Phil 4:5

I got in a very good, very fast leg workout early this morning. It was 45 minutes, with stretching warm-ups and all- just 4 exercises: squat, press, curl and calf. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-30; 95-6; 135-6; 225-6; 315-5; 405-6
leg press: 450-10; 720-16
standing 1-leg curl: 40-10, 55-10, 70-8,6 (no rest at all)
calf press: 410-20; 590-20,20