It has been almost one year since my last competition, but I will not be competing this year. Instead I will be resuming my online training journal as readers are still responding to it from when I was a teenager.
By: Derek Beast Charlebois
After competing in the 2004 NPC Michigan Natural Bodybuilding Championships and placing 7th out of 16 competitors in the Men's Light-Heavyweight division, I went to work.
Being the lightest competitor in the class at 180 lbs. (Light-Heavyweight division ranges from 176.25-198.75 lbs.) I knew I needed to add some quality mass, specifically on my chest. My final week competition plan also needs work, but that will be addressed the next time I compete.
Click To Enlarge.
Click To Enlarge.t has been almost one year since my last competition, but I will not be competing this year. Instead I will continue to improve my physique during the "competition season". I just completed a month of cutting, of which the last week was a total failure results wise.
This setback made me reevaluate my plan of attack and finalized my decision not to compete this year and focus on adding more quality muscle to my frame.
introduction:
It has been almost one year since my last competition, but I will not be competing this year. Instead I will be resuming my online training journal as readers are still responding to it from when I was a teenager.
My hypercaloric days ("high" carb days) will be on my weight training days and my hypocaloric days ("low" carb days) on my cardio and rest days. One big change I am making to my diet is dropping all dextrose, which I would normally use around my workouts. I am dropping the dextrose (a HIGH glycemic simple sugar) and replacing it with oatmeal and fruit (low glycemic complex carbs) to see if it makes a change in the amount of fat I gain or lose, and because oatmeal and fruit taste better.
I have recently become an employee of Scivation/PrimaForce. I began using various Scivation and PrimaForce supplements when they first hit the market. After conversing with the Scivation/PrimaForce CEO Mar Lobliner, I was asked to work with the Scivation/PrimaForce booth at the 2004 Olympia.
After working the booth along side with Marc and continued communication with him, I worked the Scivation/PrimaForce at the 2005 Arnold Classic. Soon after the Arnold Classic I became an employee for Scivation/PrimaForce. This job is a great opportunity for me to get into the supplement industry and also help a supplement company that I have supported since the beginning to grow and expand.
I already used Scivation/PrimaForce supplements, so joining their team was a perfect fit. The Scivation/PrimaForce lines serve as my "bread'n'butter" supplements, my "meat and potatoes". Along with Scivation/PrimaForce supplements, I will be using supplements from the Designer Supplements line. I have been impressed with my past experiences with Designer Supplements' products and appreciate their innovation, and will therefore continue to support them.
Average Caloric Intake per Day = 3155 calories
So I am averaging maintenance caloric intake each day on a weekly basis. By eating a greater amount of calories on the days I weight train, I am eating more calories when I need them most, to recover from my training.
I center the majority of my carb intake around my workouts to take advantage of nutrient repartitioning (i.e. increased GLUT-4 translocation = increased glucose uptake into muscles) and to provide the needed substrate for energy production and glycogen replenishment.
Training
I am lifting weights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, doing cardio on Tuesday and Thursday, and taking Sunday off as a rest day.
My Training Program Is As Follows:
Mon/Fri - Upper Body
Wed- Deadlift/Legs/Abs
Sat- Legs/Abs
Monday
"Load"
1 Bench 3 X 3-5
1 Bent Row 3 X 3-5
2 Incline DB Press 3 X 3-5
2 Rev. Bent Row 3 X 3-5
3 Military Press 3 X 3-5
3 Shrug 3 X 3-5
4 BB Curl 3 X 3-5
4 CG Bench 3 X 3-5
SubTotal Sets 24
"Pump"
5 Cable Fly 3 X 10-15
5 Machine Row 3 X 10-15
6 Cable Lateral 3 X 10-15
6 Machine Shrug 3 X 10-15
7 Conc. Curl 3 X 10-15
7 DB Kickback 3 X 10-15
SubTotal Sets 18
Total Sets 42
Wednesday
Deadlift 3 X 3-5
Pull-Up 3 X *
Dips 3 X *
Leg Press 3 X 20
Calf Leg Press 3 X 20-30
Abductor 3 X 12-15
Adductor 3 X 12-15
Machine Crunch 3 X 20-30
Back Extension 3 X 20-30
* = as many as I can do
Total Sets 27
Friday
"Load"
1 Incline Bench 3 X 3-5
1 Lat Pulldown 3 X 3-5
2 DB Press 3 X 3-5
2 Rev. Lat Pulldown 3 X 3-5
3 DB Lateral 3 X 5-6
3 BHB Shrug 3 X 5-6
4 DB Curl 3 X 5-6
4 Hammer Ext 3 X 5-6
SubTotal Sets 24
"Pump"
5 Cable Crossover 3 X 10-15
5 X-Pulldown 3 X 10-15
6 Machine Lateral 3 X 10-15
6 Seated Machine Shrug 3 X 10-15
7 Incline DB Curl 3 X 10-15
7 DB Extension 3 X 10-15
SubTotal Sets 18
Total Sets 42
Saturday
"Load"
1 Squats 3 X 3-5
2 SLD 3 X 3-5
1 Seated Calf 3 X 3-5
"Pump"
3 Leg Extension 3 X 10-15
3 Leg Curl 3 X 10-15
2 Smith Calf Raise 3 X 10-15
Incline Crunch 3 X 10
Swiss Ball Crunch 3 X 10
Total Sets 24
I am currently placing emphasis on my upper body. I alternate between doing exercises with the same numbers above. For example, I will do a set of bench press, rest, do a set of bent over row, rest, and then repeat. I do all my "load" sets (sets focusing on using a heavy load) then complete all of my "pump" sets (sets focusing on a strong muscle contraction).
I stop all sets about 1 rep shy of failure. Stop just shy of failure decreases the stress placed upon my nervous system and allows me to train more frequently and more intensely each workout without compromising skeletal muscle hypertrophy.
That's the plan of attack, now let's go into the week.
Click To Enlarge.
Click To Enlarge.
Click To Enlarge.
It has been almost one year since my last competition, but I will not be competing this year. Instead I will be resuming my online training journal as readers are still responding to it from when I was a teenager.
Diet & Supplements
My current diet consists of two types of days: one where I am hypercaloric (above maintenance calories) and one where I am hypocaloric (under maintenance calories). To calculate my maintenance caloric intake I am simply using the equation 15 calories for every pound of bodyweight, so 210 lbs. * 15 cals = 3,150 calories.
My hypercaloric days ("high" carb days) will be on my weight training days and my hypocaloric days ("low" carb days) on my cardio and rest days. One big change I am making to my diet is dropping all dextrose, which I would normally use around my workouts. I am dropping the dextrose (a HIGH glycemic simple sugar) and replacing it with oatmeal and fruit (low glycemic complex carbs) to see if it makes a change in the amount of fat I gain or lose, and because oatmeal and fruit taste better.
I have recently become an employee of Scivation/PrimaForce. I began using various Scivation and PrimaForce supplements when they first hit the market. After conversing with the Scivation/PrimaForce CEO Mar Lobliner, I was asked to work with the Scivation/PrimaForce booth at the 2004 Olympia.
After working the booth along side with Marc and continued communication with him, I worked the Scivation/PrimaForce at the 2005 Arnold Classic. Soon after the Arnold Classic I became an employee for Scivation/PrimaForce. This job is a great opportunity for me to get into the supplement industry and also help a supplement company that I have supported since the beginning to grow and expand.
I already used Scivation/PrimaForce supplements, so joining their team was a perfect fit. The Scivation/PrimaForce lines serve as my "bread'n'butter" supplements, my "meat and potatoes". Along with Scivation/PrimaForce supplements, I will be using supplements from the Designer Supplements line. I have been impressed with my past experiences with Designer Supplements' products and appreciate their innovation, and will therefore continue to support them.
My Current Supplement Regime Includes
Scivation
- Xtend (Varies)
- NeuroStim (1 serving pre-workout)
- Noxidant (3 caps post-workout)
- PrimaForce
Substance WPI
- Lean Green (1 cap/day)
- Syneburn (1-2 caps/day)
- GlutaForm (Varies)
- CreaForm (5 grams pre-workout)
- Elastamine (3 caps/day)
- Designer Supplements
Rebound XT (2 caps/day)
- ActivaTe (20 caps/day~ BETA version)
- Glucophase XR (1 cap/day)
- Misc. Supplements
- Calcium (3 grams/day)
- Fish Oil (6 grams/day)
- Multivitamin (1 tablet/day)
At first glance this may seem like a lot of supplements, but it really is not. Most of what I take I would consider "The Basics": Protein, Creatine, Glutamine, BCAA, Multivitamin, Fish Oil, Calcium, Lean Green, and Elastamine.
Besides "The Basics" I am taking NeuroStim + Glucophase XR for a pre-workout boost, NOxidant as a post-workout antioxidant formula, and ActivaTe + Rebound XT to increase natural testosterone production.
I am currently testing out Designer Supplements ActivaTe, a supplement that decreases Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), which will increase free-testosterone levels.
I ran ActivaTe by itself for 2 weeks and am now combining it with Designer Supplements' Rebound XT, a product that increases natural testosterone production.
The combo of ActivaTe plus Rebound XT should create a synergistic effect on boosting testosterone production and freeing up more testosterone and making it active.
On To The Foods I Eat & When I Eat Them
| Hypercaloric Days (Mon,Wed,Fri,Sat)- Weight Training Days. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hypocaloric Days (Tues,Thurs,Sun)- Cardio/Rest Days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I consume 3,770 calories on my "hypercaloric" days and 2335 calories on my "hypocaloric" days. When I calculate my average daily caloric it is calculated as:
- 3,770 calories * 4 days = 15,080 calories
- 2335 calories * 3 days = 7005 calories
- Total Weekly Calories = 22,085 calories
Average Caloric Intake per Day = 3155 calories
So I am averaging maintenance caloric intake each day on a weekly basis. By eating a greater amount of calories on the days I weight train, I am eating more calories when I need them most, to recover from my training.
I center the majority of my carb intake around my workouts to take advantage of nutrient repartitioning (i.e. increased GLUT-4 translocation = increased glucose uptake into muscles) and to provide the needed substrate for energy production and glycogen replenishment.
Training
I am lifting weights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, doing cardio on Tuesday and Thursday, and taking Sunday off as a rest day.
My Training Program Is As Follows:Mon/Fri - Upper Body
Wed- Deadlift/Legs/Abs
Sat- Legs/Abs
Monday"Load"
1 Bench 3 X 3-5
1 Bent Row 3 X 3-5
2 Incline DB Press 3 X 3-5
2 Rev. Bent Row 3 X 3-5
3 Military Press 3 X 3-5
3 Shrug 3 X 3-5
4 BB Curl 3 X 3-5
4 CG Bench 3 X 3-5
SubTotal Sets 24
"Pump"
5 Cable Fly 3 X 10-15
5 Machine Row 3 X 10-15
6 Cable Lateral 3 X 10-15
6 Machine Shrug 3 X 10-15
7 Conc. Curl 3 X 10-15
7 DB Kickback 3 X 10-15
SubTotal Sets 18
Total Sets 42
WednesdayDeadlift 3 X 3-5
Pull-Up 3 X *
Dips 3 X *
Leg Press 3 X 20
Calf Leg Press 3 X 20-30
Abductor 3 X 12-15
Adductor 3 X 12-15
Machine Crunch 3 X 20-30
Back Extension 3 X 20-30
* = as many as I can do
Total Sets 27
Friday"Load"
1 Incline Bench 3 X 3-5
1 Lat Pulldown 3 X 3-5
2 DB Press 3 X 3-5
2 Rev. Lat Pulldown 3 X 3-5
3 DB Lateral 3 X 5-6
3 BHB Shrug 3 X 5-6
4 DB Curl 3 X 5-6
4 Hammer Ext 3 X 5-6
SubTotal Sets 24
"Pump"
5 Cable Crossover 3 X 10-15
5 X-Pulldown 3 X 10-15
6 Machine Lateral 3 X 10-15
6 Seated Machine Shrug 3 X 10-15
7 Incline DB Curl 3 X 10-15
7 DB Extension 3 X 10-15
SubTotal Sets 18
Total Sets 42
Saturday"Load"
1 Squats 3 X 3-5
2 SLD 3 X 3-5
1 Seated Calf 3 X 3-5
"Pump"
3 Leg Extension 3 X 10-15
3 Leg Curl 3 X 10-15
2 Smith Calf Raise 3 X 10-15
Incline Crunch 3 X 10
Swiss Ball Crunch 3 X 10
Total Sets 24
I am currently placing emphasis on my upper body. I alternate between doing exercises with the same numbers above. For example, I will do a set of bench press, rest, do a set of bent over row, rest, and then repeat. I do all my "load" sets (sets focusing on using a heavy load) then complete all of my "pump" sets (sets focusing on a strong muscle contraction).
I stop all sets about 1 rep shy of failure. Stop just shy of failure decreases the stress placed upon my nervous system and allows me to train more frequently and more intensely each workout without compromising skeletal muscle hypertrophy.
That's the plan of attack, now let's go into the week.
Monday, May 30th 2005:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight |
| Bench | 3 | 5 4 3 | 245 |
| Bent Row | 3 | 5 4 3 | 245 |
| Incline DB Press | 3 | 5 4 3 | 100 |
| Rev. Bent Row | 3 | 5 4 3 | 225 |
| Military Press | 3 | 4 4 3 | 185 |
| Shrug | 3 | 5 4 3 | 405 |
| BB Curl | 3 | 5 4 3 | 135 |
| CG Bench | 3 | 5 4 3 | 245 |
| Cable Fly | 3 | 10 10 10 | 75 65 55 |
| Rope Row | 3 | 10 12 12 | 150 |
| Cable Lateral | 3 | 10 12 12 | 30 25 12 |
| Machine Shrug | 3 | 15 10 10 | 180 230 230 |
| Conc. Curl | 3 | 10 15 12 | 30 20 20 |
| DB Kickback | 3 | 10 15 12 | 30 20 20 |
Click To Enlarge. Click To Enlarge. I had previously gone up to 315 lbs. for 3 reps on bench press, but my left rotator cuff and pec started bothering me and I dropped in my bench press strength.
I have been doing rotator cuff stretches for a few weeks now and I had no pain or stiffness during my bench press sets today. I plan on working my way back up to 315 lbs on bench, then taking it from there. I hit 275 lbs. for 3 sets of 3 reps on Friday, so I haven't lost all of my bench strength yet.
Some people feel that the bench press is not a good chest exercise because it involves too much of the shoulders and triceps, but from my experiences with the bench press I disagree.
Whenever I have made the biggest improvements in my chest mass I was benching around 300 lbs. anytime you move a heavy weight like that, you are going to grow. The same goes for squats, deadlifts, bent over row, military press, and other compound movements. As you can see, right now I can close grip bench press as much as bench press... we'll see what happens with that.
All in all, this was a great workout. The first workout of a new program is always the testing ground where you gauge the toughness of the routine. I went back and forth about whether to split up some of the upper body muscles, but I decided to keep them all together because I have gotten good results from doing that in the past.
Tuesday May 31st, 2005:
Today is a cardio day. I went to the gym and did my cardio on the Elliptical Machine:
- Warm-Up- 5 minutes
- 10 Sprints- As fast as I can go (around 350 rpm) for 15-20 second then 40-45 second light (150 rpm) pedaling
- 20 minutes of moderate intensity pedaling
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight |
| Deadlift | 3 | 5 4 3 | 495 |
| Pull-Up | 3 | 12 10 8 | * |
| Dips | 3 | 12 10 8 | * |
| Leg Press | 3 | 20 15 20 | 450 450 360 |
| Calf Press | 3 | 20 20 30 | 450 450 360 |
| Abductor | 3 | 15 | 30 |
| Adductor | 3 | 15 | 30 |
| Machine Crunch | 3 | 30 25 20 | 50 60 70 |
| Back Extension | 3 | 20 | * |
Click To Enlarge.
