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What I Did In The Gym Today – 4-Weeks Out From The Arnold

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arnold

Today marks day one of my last 4-week training cycle before my upcoming contest at the Arnold Classic on February 28th.  The last few months have had their ups and downs, but through it all I’ve managed to gain some solid weight, increase several of my lifts, and drastically improve my technique on all the requisite Strongman events.

My biggest curveball came back in November when I discovered that this year’s contest was to have a 185-lb weight limit, 10 lbs heavier than last year’s 175-lb contest. Not the end of the world, but as I naturally sit around 175, my plan went from get-up-to-190-lbs-and-cut-weight-before-the-contest to get-as-big-as-possible-and-fast. December and January were no holds barred on food intake- the holidays took care of themselves, but January was a month with organized high saturated fat content (hi bacon!). Through it all, I managed to put on a bit of weight, and this morning I weighed-in at 188 lbs. At this point, less than 4 weeks out from the competition, I’m going to enter the contest at my actual body weight without having to cut weight. I’ll be at a bit of a disadvantage versus guys who successfully cut weight and will be competing at a higher body weight than me, but that’s the breaks! I’m very much looking forward to the challenge.

As I mentioned a few months ago, my plan was to hammer the core compound movements (squat, deadlift, and overhead pressing) in an effort to increase my overall strength. Through my programming, I’ve recently managed to hit personal bests (without truly maxing out) in strict military press, log clean and press, strict log press, front squats, axle deadlift, farmer’s walk, box jumps, and 1-arm dumbbell press, to name a few.  For this last training cycle I’ll be tapering my volume and intensity according to plan with hopes to peak on the 28th.

Without further adieu, here is what I did in the gym today:

Soft tissue work- LAX ball for feet, glutes and shoulders. PVC roller for legs, back and lats.

Dynamic warm-up- jumping jacks, jumping seals, body weight squat variations, variety of mobility work.

1) Front squats, no belt (never with front squats) – 235×6, 265×5, 295×4

2) 17″ box front squats, no belt – 295×5, 310×4, 325×3 – really concentrated on keeping pressure throughout the body, throughout the lift; last sets with and without the box were the best and strongest.

3) RDLs – 385×8, 395×8, 405×8

4a) Alternating incline DB press 3×6,

4b) T-bar wide grip row 3×10

5a) Ab pulldowns 2×15

5b) Ab side bends 2×12

All-in-all, a pretty good little workout. For this cycle much like my last, Mondays are beltless with front squats and a secondary hamstring movement, Tuesdays are a dynamic effort day (jumps, speed pulls, cleans and presses, etc.), Thursdays are deadlifts and strict pressing, and Saturday is Strongman training. I had this same setup for my last cycle and was super happy with the results- if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it! Finally, here’s a quick clip of my recent Strongman training…

arnold

- DW



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