Project Tree Trunks Update Video

I would have to say that in Classic Physique my weakest body part is going to be my legs, it's not that I have small legs but rather the guys competing in Classic Physique simply have kind of big legs, bigger than the guys back in the actual Classic days like Arnold that had decent legs for sure but nothing like the bodybuilders stepping on stage today.

I's not that I don't work my legs just as much or as hard as my upper body, perhaps it may be my age? As guys get older our legs seem to not respond as well to training at least in terms of size, now at 51 I feel m y legs are fairly strong in comparison to my upper body and not even that unbalanced in size but to be comparable to the Classic Physique guys I stand beside I will have to bring them up to be competitive so here we are today...

My plan is to train legs every workout day which for me is 6 days a week, I will incorporate 3 compound movement days that will consist of either a squat, deadlift or Leg press of some sort, between these compound improvement days I will incorporate isolation exercises like leg extensions and curls and modified versions of these exercises.

A few years back I trained shoulders in a similar manner hitting them every time I stepped into the gym, not super hard every workout but atleast hitting them in some way every workout and low and behold they grew!

Right now my upper thighs are 23.75 inches in my left leg and 23.5 inches in my right leg. My plan is to remeasure them every month and see what the tape measure tells us. Hopefully we see monthly improvements.

Tore My Hamstring Bad! What Now?

We all know it can happen but we think it won't happen to us. The big injury that stops us in our tracks. We all get those smaller injuries that set us back a little bit every once in a while. The injuries that are more annoying than anything else, they just kind of make working out less enjoyable but at least we cam still get in a good workout when they happen.

When the big one comes, at first you're not so sure what to think? Did I really just hurt myself that bad? Is this serious? How is this going to effect my training now and long term? It took me a little bit for it to kick in and for me to accept the fact that yup, that was more then just a little pull or strain and I'm going to have to take some time off training! And yup, this is going to effect my gains :( 

So the big one happened to me last night during my Heavy Deadlift session and no I was not going for any PR's or even that crazy high of a weight for me. I have deadlifted 500 pounds with no hint of injury in the past. The weight on this day I had worked up to with lots of warm ups involved was 405 pounds for reps of 5+. I am very familiar with repping out 405 pounds. I'm pretty sure my 405 PR was 15 reps so we are not talking about anything I am not already accustomed to lifting. The only warning sign on this day was that the weight felt unusually heavy to me, why I don't know? I had already finished a set of 5 reps and was working on my second set of 5 when half way through I felt it. It was like a rip and a pop at the same time and it felt really gross. It even made my leg jerk a little like you would except if strands from a rope had let go but the rope had not completely torn in half. The memory of it happening is the worst part, not the pain, I can deal with that part!

I immediately dropped the weight and knew this workout was over. I was kind of in shock and disbelief at what just happened to me. How could this have happened on a weight I had lifted so many times in the past with no problems at all? What was this going to mean now for my current training and future training? Will it effect my upcoming Physique Contest in July?  So many thoughts going through my head...

I am now seriously reevaluating what my workout goals are and how I am going to train in the gym moving forward. What good is lifting heavy ass weight when in a split second you can literally set yourself back months with an injury. I am not a power lifter, I am more into body sculpting so perhaps I need to rethink how I lift and how I train because I do not want this to happen to me again.

So what if I don't have a 4 plate squat, or 5 plate deadlift or 3 plate bench press! It would have been nice but I would rather have my health and be able to train at the end of the day! So be it, I will heal up and I will carry on and I will still compete because that's who I am.

Back Squat PR @ 197 Pounds - 385 Pounds x 1 Rep

Still on my road to hitting a trio of a 300 pound Bench Press, 400 pounds back Squat and 500 Pound Deadlift. which is pretty close to saying 3 plates per side on the Bench (315), 4 plates per side on the Squat (405) and 5 plates per side on the deadlift (495). Give or take a few pounds.

Last week I hit my bench pr and got 305 for a couple reps, pretty sure I should be able to get three plates (315) for a rep if not now, very soon. I also tried my Deadlift PR of 500 pounds last week with a lift of 502 but did not have it that day :(

So here we are at CrossFit Langley working my way up to a 400 pound Back Squat and I hit 385 pounds for a single. The cool thing is I felt like I may of just had a little bit more in me but this was a solid Personal Best for me of around a 40+ pound gain over my previous lifts. It has been a while since I went for a Back Squat Personal Best so I knew I was going to hit a PR today. A big thanks to instructor Darren Clark from CrossFit Langley for pushhing me to my full potential.

Full Week of Workout Videos - Monday Legs Accessory Home

42 minutes - 360 Calories - Average Heart Rate 117 - Max Heart Rate 144.

• Garmin Heart Rate Monitor Session Link

Location: Home Gym

Light first sets instead of doing a warmup

Strength:

• Leg Extensions x4 sets (Quads)
• Leg Curls x4 sets (Hamstrings)
• Calf Raises x4 sets Using Inspire FT2 Smith Bar (Calves)

Full Week of Workout Videos - Monday Legs - Squats CrossFit

58 minutes - 688 Calories  Aprox- Average Heart Rate 142 - Max Heart Rate 189.

• Garmin Heart Rate Monitor Session Link 

Location: CrossFit Langley

Warmup & Mobility

Strength:

• Box Squats 225 lbs x10 reps (Legs)
• Box Squats 255 lbs x10 reps (Legs)
• Box Squats 275 lbs x10 reps (Legs)
• Box Squats 305 lbs x10 reps (Legs)
• Box Squats 365 lbs x6 reps (Legs)
• Standard Back Squat 225 lbs x10 reps (Legs)
• Standard Back Squat 225 lbs x10 reps (Legs)