12/6 (Rest)

Rest Day today. Worked in the morning then came home and prepped some food, made some content, worked on a J3U course and fell asleep on the couch lol. Pretty boring day overall.

12/7 (Legs)

Worked the morning shift at work and then went to the gym at 2pm for Legs. I added an extra set of Calf Raises to this session as my current level of Calf volume has been progressing consistently for a while, so I want to try and push the envelope a little and see what happens. I was also happy to progress both sets of Curls which lets me keep the Arm volume increase permanent.

I slowed my rep tempo down a bit on the compound movements to further emphasize my oblique bracing. I don't see this as a negative and I think my previous faster tempos made bracing more difficult, so I'm happy to slow things down a bit and focus on technique moreso.

Full Session:

Bilateral Cable Curl 1x14, 1x11

Seated Calf Raise 1x14 (short), 1x12

Standing Calf Raise 1x14 (lengthened)

Adductor 1x17

Lying Leg Curl 1x10

Paused Leg Extension 1x15

Pivot Leg Press 1x11

Reverse Band Hack 1x8

S/L Leg Extension 1x25

12/8 (Push)

Morning came early today and I felt pretty beat up this morning. I've noticed on instances where I train in the afternoon one day and then again in the morning the following day I feel noticeably worse than if I had trained in the morning both days. The extra 4 or 5 hours out of the gym doesn't seem like it'd be super noticeable but it especially kicked my ass today. Feeling pretty beat up and fatigued as I'm typing this 😴 

The session itself was perfect with progressions taken on everything. Reset my form a bit on the Lying Cuffed Lateral in order to keep a neutral spine and keep tension on the Delt. Noticeably harder than what I was doing beforehand. Bicep Tendon still a little inflamed so I'm always mindful of it in Push.

Full Session:

Seated Cable Fly 1x12 (short)

LifeFitness Incline Press 1x9, 1x13

Flex Leverage Flat Press 1x9

Smith Floor Press 1x11

Rear Delt T Bar Row 1x13 (short), 1x15

Lying Cuffed Lateral 1x12 (short), 1x12, 1x10 (length)

S/A Rope Tricep Extension 1x13 (short), 1x13

S/A Overhead Extension Machine 1x9 (length)

LifeFitness Pec Dec 1x14 (length)

12/9 (Rest)

Rest Day today, woke up and went to the grocery store before prepping some food and going to work. Typical rest day things, nothing exciting today.

12/10 (Legs)

Great Leg Day this morning, this will be my last session of the week because my parents are coming over and staying with us. Looking forward to spending some time with them! I did both my Delt AND Bicep work today because of the extra rest.

Full Session:

S/A Cable High Curl 1x15, 1x15

Seated Cuffed Lateral 1x13, 1x17

Standing Calf Raise 1x15 (short), 1x11

Seated Calf Raise 1x13 (length)

Addutor 1x14 (short), 1x22

Seated Ham Curl 1x13 (short), 1x10

Leg Extension 1x20

Icarian Leg Press 1x13

Glute/Ham focused Hyper Extension BW x 10

12/11 + 12/12 (Rest)

Parents came out and stayed with us this weekend and we went downtown to the Christkindl market. Had a really great weekend spending time with them and going downtown! Back to the grind tomorrow!

12/13 (Pull)

Worked this morning then went to the gym in the afternoon. I read some negative comments on my content this morning which really frustrated me but I had someone come up to me in the gym and tell me that they've seen my videos before and they liked them. I really needed that today so that made my day!

Great session, nothing out of the ordinary. This S/A Machine Low Row is more than likely on its way out: I've been running it for over a year straight and have just now started to hit a plateau. If it's time to get rid of it I won't fight it, going over a year straight with progress on an exercise is perfect case scenario.

Full Session:

Bilateral D Handle Cable Pulldown 1x13 (short), 1x12

S/A Machine Low Row 1x13, 1x9 (length)

Upper Back Pulldown 1x12 (short)

Incline DB Row 1x11, 1x12 (length)

Plate Loaded Shrug 1x8+1 (short), 1x12

Inwards Facing Cable Curl 1x11+1 (short)

S/A Cable Curl 1x13, 1x11

S/A Cable Hammer Curl 1x10 (length)

Long Rope Tricep Extension 1x15, 1x14

12/14 (Legs)

Great Leg session after work this afternoon, one of those days where I could feel in the pre session warmup that it was going to be a good day. Got to take advantage of those days when they come around!

Getting more and more comfortable with integrating breathing and bracing which was made evident by today's compound work having a slightly shorter rep tempo than last rotation. Really happy with the progress I've made in these past few weeks on creating and maintaining a proper brace.

Full Session:

DB Lateral 1x22, 1x15 (partials both)

Seated Calf Raise 1x15 (short), 1x14

Standing Calf Raise 1x13 (length)

Adductor 1x19

Lying Leg Curl 1x12

Paused Leg Extension 1x17

Pivot Leg Press 1x12

Reverse Banded Hack 1x9

S/L Leg Extension 1x16

12/15 (Rest)

Rest Day today, woke up and ran some errands before coming home and recording some content and then playing Warzone before work. Came home from work and played more Warzone before heading to bed.

12/16 (Push)

Awesome Push Day today! I found out today that the Smith JM Press feels like SHIT when I do it at the beginning of the session so I'll be doing it towards the end from now on.

Going to be gone Friday-Sunday in Door County, WI with some friends for a little winter getaway. Looking forward to a little time out of the gym then back at it Monday!

Full Session:

Hammer Strength Pec Dec 1x10 (short)

Hammer Strength Incline Press 1x9, 1x14

Magnum Pec Dec 1x12 (lengthened)

Cybex Lateral 1x13 (short)

Reverse Pec Dec 1x14 (short), 1x13

Standing Cuffed Lateral 1x13, 1x11 (length)

S/A Cuffed Tricep Extension 1x12 (short), 1x11

Bilateral Overhead Extension Machine 1x13 (length), 1x11*

Smith JM Press 1x10**

*/** - I'll be flip-flopping these two going forward: I'll do the Smith JM second-to-last and the Overhead Extension last.

12/17 - 12/19 (Rest)

Went to Door County Friday-Sunday with some friends and had a blast! Door County was beautiful and I'd love to go in the summer/fall sometime. We got lucky and got some snow Friday night/Saturday morning. It was great to spend time with our friends and we always have a great time with them!

12/20 (Legs)

Back in the gym after 3 days off this past weekend. Every time I take some time off the gym I come back feeling great, which is important to keep in mind as we're nearing the Christmas/New Years time frame. I've spent a lot of time out of the gym this month because of commitments with family and friends and that used to be something that caused me a lot of stress. I've developed a better relationship with taking time out of the gym over the past two years and I've gotten to the point where I actually look forward to taking time out of the gym and taking a step back during this time to enjoy the holidays more and more.

I'll probably add another set of Leg Extension to this session next rotation around, assuming I take progressions on all 4 Quad sets in 3 days time at my next Leg session.

Full Session:

Seated Cuffed Lateral 1x15, 1x17

Standing Calf Raise 1x11 (short), 1x13

Seated Calf Raise 1x14 (lengthened)

Adductor 1x15 (short), 1x24

Seated Ham Curl 1x14 (short), 1x11

Leg Extension 1x15

Icarian Leg Press 1x14

Glute/Ham focused Hyper Extension 1x10

12/21 (Pull)

Really solid Pull session this afternoon. This gym got rid of the Cybex Preacher Curl I've been using for a while so I've been forced to switch back to a DB Preacher Curl, pretty disappointed because I liked that Cybex Preacher a lot. Oh well.

Full Session:

Low Cable Row 1x11+1 (short), 1x12

Bilateral D Handle Pulldown 1x14, 1x12 (length)

Hammer High Row 1x10 (short)

Upper Back Pulldown 1x12, 1x8 (length)

Plate Loaded Shrug 1x10+1 (short), 1x13

DB Preacher Curl 1x10

EZ Bar Curl 1x14, 1x11

Cable Incline Curl 1x8 (length)

Cross Body Cuffed Tricep Extension 1x13, 1x9

12/22 (Rest)

Rest Day today, I woke up and ran some errands before coming home and filming some content. I met someone from the gym for lunch and then went to work, came home and played some Warzone before taking a shower and hitting the sheets. Pretty boring Rest Day haha but that's pretty typical for me.

12/23 (Legs)

Amazing Leg day today, felt like I was in flow state the entire time. Body felt amazing from the very beginning and I could tell it was going to be an awesome session the minute I walked in the door. I love these days because they don't always happen so I love to take advantage of them while they're there!

Taking progressions across all my Quad sets today gives me the green light to add an additional set of Quad volume to my other Leg rotation, so I'll tack on another Leg Extension set somewhere in there next time I hit Legs.

Full Session:

Bilateral Bicep Cable Curl 1x15, 1x12

Seated Calf Raise 1x15 (short), 1x16

Standing Calf Raise 1x14 (length)

Adductor 1x20

Lying Leg Curl 1x13

Paused Leg Extension 1x11

Pivot Leg Press 1x12

Reverse Banded Hack Squat 1x10

S/L Leg Extension 1x18

12/24 (Push)

Christmas Eve Push was a mixed bag today. I had to skip my Cable Flies, Flat Press and my second set of Rear Delt T Bar because my right forearm was bothering me again. It's time I stopped being an idiot and sat down and educated myself on the root cause of this injury and then set up a program to rehab/correct the problem.

Today was my first Push session starting off with some direct Lat work. I have been wanting to try this for a while and have decided to give myself the green light to give it a shot. My Lats are recovering from their current workload so I'd like to increase volume and frequency and see what happens!

Heading home to my parents house tonight for the weekend, back in the gym on Monday!

Full Session:

S/A Kneeling Pulldown 1x20

LifeFitness Incline Press 1x10, 1x14

Smith Floor Press 1x12

Rear Delt T Bar Row 1x13 (short)

Lying Cuffed Lateral 1x13 (short), 1x15, 1x11 (length)

S/A Rope Extension 1x14 (short), 1x14

S/A Overhead Extension Machine 1x10 (length)

LifeFitness Pec Dec 1x10 (length)

12/25 - 12/26 (Rest)

Went home to my parents house for Christmas and had a great weekend! Ate like a complete asshole on Christmas and don't give a shit about it. 2 days off the gym and ready to get back to it!

12/27 (Legs)

First day back after the Christmas weekend and picked up right where I left off. I ate a Beef meal prior to training today which was a mistake, sat a little heavy on my stomach and felt pretty sluggish today so I won't be doing that again. Still managed to get a great session in but it maybe could have gone a little smoother. Live and learn.

Added another set of Leg Extension after the Leg Press today as Quad recovery has been great and I want to push the volume a little bit. I'll assess how I recover from this by how Thursday's Leg Day goes and then determine if this can stay or if I have to take it back out.

Full Session:

Seated Cuffed Lateral 1x14, 1x18

Standing Calf Raise 1x13 (short), 1x15

Seated Calf Raise 1x12 (length)

Adductor 1x11 (short), 1x26

Seated Ham Curl 1x15 (short), 1x12

Leg Extension 1x17

Icarian Leg Press 1x14

Leg Extension 1x11

Glute/Ham focused Hyper 1x11

12/29 (Rest)

Rest Day today, got my bloodwork done this morning to conclude my second PED cycle. I plan on sharing that bloodwork via video on the website so stay tuned for that! Made some content, went out to lunch with Carissa, then went to work and had a Zoom consultation with a client before doing some stretching and going to bed. Busy day!

12/30 (Legs)

Last Leg Day of the year hahah I'm so *quirky*. Woke up feeling pretty tired but got it done regardless. Everything felt amazing today, Leg sessions have been complete flow state recently. Hoping to keep this going as long as possible because these Legs are shiiiiit haha

Full Session:

Bilateral Cable Bicep Curl 1x15, 1x13

Seated Calf Raise 1x15 (short), 1x17

Standing Calf Raise 1x14 (length)

Adductor 1x13

Lying Leg Curl 1x13

Paused Leg Extension 1x12

Pivot Leg Press 1x13

Reverse Banded Hack Squat 1x9

S/L Leg Extension 1x20

12/31 (Push)

Ending 2021 training on a high note: this is the first Push session I've done in 3 weeks where I didn't have to skip or alter my programming because of the forearm/elbow injury.

2021 has been my best year of training yet and I'm very excited about where things will go in 2022. Heading out to my parents this weekend (again) for a family Christmas and to spend time with friends for New Years then will be back on the grind on Monday. Monday will also be day 1 of a Mini Cut for me so I will detail that process in depth when I start!

Full Session:

S/A Low Cable Row 1x18

Hammer Strength Pec Dec 1x11 (short)

Hammer Strength Incline Press 1x8.5, 1x15

Magnum Pec Dec 1x9 (lengthened)

Reverse Pec Dec 1x11 (short), 1x14

Cybex Lateral 1x14 (short)

Standing Cuffed Lateral 1x13, 1x10 (lengthened)

S/A Cuffed Tricep Extension 1x13 (short), 1x12

Smith JM Press 1x11

Bilateral Overhead Extension Machine 1x10 (lengthened)

1/1 - 1/2 (Rest)

Went home for the New Years weekend to spend time with friends and family. I have traveled every weekend this month and this is the last time that I have to travel for the forseeable future. I have been what I consider a "part time bodybuilder" this month and am ready to get back to being a "Full time bodybuilder".

1/3/22 (Legs)

Today's Leg session kicked off 2022 training for me, I am very excited about training this year and have a few things that I'd like to address and improve in order to take my training to the next level.

Today's session was the same it's always been, nothing much changing between this year and last.

Today is day 1 of a mini cut for me, my body fat and blood glucose levels are realistically topped out and my appetite is non existent. This past bulk saw more food than I've ever eaten before and it's taken a toll on my appetite. The goal is to clean things up on the body fat, appetite and blood glucose side and then probably push back up again.

Full Session:

Seated Cuffed Lateral 1x15, 1x18

Standing Calf Raise 1x14 (short), 1x16

Seated Calf Raise 1x14 (length)

Adductor 1x12 (short), 1x18

Seated Leg Curl 1x10 (short), 1x13

Leg Extension 1x18

Icarian Leg Press 1x14

Leg Extension 1x13

Glute/Ham focused Hyper Extension 1x11

Mini Cut Diet

I am doing something different for this Mini Cut that I've never done before: I have reduced my calories on Training Days from peak bulk at around 4,800-5,000 to 3,600 and have left my Rest Day calories untouched. The thought process behind this is to try and keep food higher on Rest Days to promote recovery and drop food lower on Training Days to facilitate fat loss and caloric expenditure. My metabolism has been insane during this bulk so I wanted to try something like this and see what happens!

Training Day Diet:

*All foods are measured raw unless stated otherwise*

 Meal 1 (Pre-Training)

• 40 g Dymatize Iso-100 

• 2 Rice Krispie Treats

• 1 Small Apple

Meal 2 (Intra Workout)

• 10 g Hydrolyzed Whey

• 15 g EAA

• 25 g HBCD

Meal 3 (Post Training)

• 40 g Dymatize Iso-100 

• 150 g Rice Krispies Cereal

• 100 g Pineapple

Meal 4

• 196 g 96% Lean Ground Beef

• 100 g Jasmine Rice 

Meal 5

• 196 g Wild Caught Pink Salmon

• 100 g Jasmine Rice 

Meal 6

• 196 g Chicken Breast

• 100 g Jasmine Rice

Meal 7

• 2 Large Eggs

• 140 g 96% Lean Ground Beef 

• 2 Slices Toast (20 Carb each)

Total: 511/48/278/3636 cal

Rest Day Diet:

*All foods measured raw unless stated otherwise*

 Meal 1

• 40 g Dymatize Iso-100 

• 100 g Rice Krispies Cereal

Meal 2

• 196 g 96% Lean Ground Beef

• 100 g Jasmine Rice 

Meal 3

• 196 g Chicken Breast

• 100 g Jasmine Rice

Meal 4

• 196 g Wild Caught Pink Salmon

• 100 g Jasmine Rice

Meal 5

• Repeat Meal 3

Meal 6

• 2 Large Eggs

• 140 g 96% Lean Ground Beef

• 2 Slices Toast (20 Carb each)

Total: 534/57/281/3853 cal

1/4 (Pull)

Great Pull session this afternoon after work. All Lat work progressed so the extra Lat work I'm doing on Push will stay permanent. I also added a set of Cable Fly on to this session to tack on some extra Pec frequency. Training has kind of evolved from a Push/Pull/Legs split to Upper/Lower recently!

Full Session:

Low Cable Row 1x12 (short), 1x13

Bilateral D Handle Mag Pulldown 1x12, 1x10 (length)

Hammer High Row 1x11 (short)

Upper Back Pulldown 1x13, 1x9 (length)

Plate Loaded Shrug 1x12 (short), 1x15

DB Preacher Curl 1x12

EZ Bar Curl 1x14, 1x12

Incline Cable Curl 1x8 (length)

Cross Body Cuffed Tricep Extension 1x14, 1x9

Seated Cable Fly 1x10

1/5 (Rest)

Rest day today, woke up and took pictures and checked BP/BG before going to get my haircut. Played some video games before going to work then went to work and came home and stretched/foam rolled before going to bed. Boring rest day, again.

1/6 (Legs)

-15 this morning so I got to the gym a little early to give myself more time to warm up. Great session, progressions on everything. I'm starting to find some scope to add more volume here, maybe an extra Adductor and/or Leg Extension set but being in a deficit right now it isn't wise to increase volume. I'll hold off on that until food/PED's go back in!

Full Session:

Bilateral Cable Curl 1x16, 1x13

Seated Calf Raise 1x15 (short), 1x20

Standing Calf Raise 1x11 (length)

Adductor 1x15

Lying Leg Curl 1x14

Paused Leg Extension 1x13

Pivot Leg Press 1x13

Reverse Banded Hack 1x9

S/L Leg Extension 1x22