The ABC Challenge: Dave the Wonder Pony's Competition Cut!

[davethewonderpony]

All right, it begins...

My plans along with this challenge are to compete in a fitness modelling competition on May 3rd of this year. Therefore my goal is to maintain my LBM while also developing good looking symmetry and maintaining my mass.

My problem last year when I competed was that I didn't eat enough and therefore wasted a lot of muscle. I competed at 153 last year, and I'm hoping to compete at around 170-175 this year, which will make me look much better on stage. I will be focusing mostly on diet this time around, because that is what I screwed up last year.

Current Stats:

Weight: 183 (this morning)
Height: 5' 11"

Skinfolds:

Abdomen: 21mm
Thigh: 15mm
Chest: 10mm
Total: 46mm

Estimated BF Percentage: 13.6%. I personally think it's closer to 15%.

Measurements: (All unpumped and cold)

Chest: 41.25 inches
Waist: 33 inches
Thigh: 23 inches
Arms: 14.5 inches
Forearms: 11.25 inches

Current diet: roughly 3000 cals per day, from various sources. This is my main source of cleanup problems because I don't have a lot of free time and managing food is my biggest issue. For example, yesterday I was staying over at someone else's house without my hand blender and protein shakes. Since they were asleep until noon, I raided the fridge for some bread...but didn't eat anything proper until after 1PM. This is where the discipline part comes in. I also work two jobs for roughly 50-55 hours of work time each week, plus a lot of running around.

My workout schedule is:

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Weekends: Anything I missed during the week.

I'm also planning on building my cardio slowly over the next few weeks up to 45 minutes 5 times per week of slow heart rate fat burning cardio.

That's all for now, I'll post my first workout today.

[davethewonderpony]

Yesterday was a good day, and I couldn't believe how much a very few sets can hurt if you are doing them properly. Right now is my "shock" period, where I do shorter workouts, but everything is supersetted and/or drop setted. For example, my chest workout is only five sets, all super or drop...but my chest was fried afterwards and is sore today.

Chest:
Cable Crossovers: 30x10, 40x10
Superset with Incline Barbell Press: 120x10, 120x6

Incline Flye: 25'sx8, 25'sx10
Superset with Dips: Bodyweightx8, BWx7

Machine Bench Press Drop Set: 50 to 40 to 30, 10-6-6
(This machine is ancient so the poundage isn't even relevant).

Shoulders:
Seated Lateral Raise: 15'sx10, 15'sx10
Superset with Machine Shoulder Press: 35x10, 40x9

Rear Flye: 12'sx10, 15'sx8+2 cheat
Superset with Wide Grip Upright Row: 60x10, 70x10

Cable Front Raise Drop: 30x7 drop 20x6 drop 10x3 (fried)

Diet was good as well. I also did 30 minutes slow walking on a treadmill at 10% grade, with my heartrate at about 50-60% of my max. Each week I'm going to add 5 minutes so that by Feb. I'll be up to 45 minutes per session.

Any comments are welcome.

[gordmcfarling]

Dave,

Good Luck, You can mail my shirt to me when we are done.

Gord

[davethewonderpony]

That last comment made me laugh, so thanks to the peson who wrote it...I'm looking forward to wearing my new shirt to my competition.

Today was arm shock day:

EZ Bar Curls: 50x10, 50x6
Supersetted with Close Grip Chins: 6 regular, then 4 negatives.

Incline Dumbbell Curls: 20'sx6
Supersetted with Reverse Curl: 45x7

Single Arm Cable Curl Drop Set:
20x8/10 (L/R) drop 10x6/8 on that annoying machine that isn't greased properly.

Pressdown: 115x10, 130x10
Supersetted with Close Grip Bench: 115x8, 115x5

Reverse Grip Pressdown: 70x10 (too easy)
Supersetted with Incline Extensions: 35x9

Weighted Bench Dips drop: 25+BWx10, drop 0x5

30 minutes walking on a treadmill at 10% grade for 2.8 to 3 MPH.

Eating has been okay but I had potato chips last night.

[gordmcfarling]

Dave,

New shirt? why are you getting something special for your competition? Something tight that says "Gord is my hero".

Gord

[davethewonderpony]

That's funny Gord, I didn't realized they changed the spelling of hero to B-I-T-C-H. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Word to the wise: never do legs right after a hard night of drinking, even if you're in a really terrible mood. Halfway through my workout I puked, and then I actually passed out on the leg curl machine for a brief while. Good thing there was noone else in the room. Hardcore, anyone?

Leg Shock Day:

Leg Extensions: 110x10, 130x10
Supersetted with Machine Squats: 2 platesx10, 2platesx10

Leg Extensions: 140x10, 150x10
Supersetted with Leg Press: 315x10, 315x6

Puke

Stationary Lunge Drop: 40's in hand x 8R/5L, drop 6R/5L

Lying Leg Curl: 80x10, 85x9
Supersetted with Ball Hyperextensions: 10,10

I think it was getting up and down that made me pass out.

Single Leg Curls drop: 30x8R/8L, 20x8R/8L

30 minutes walking treadmill...8% grade at 2.8 MPH to keep my heart rate below 135, because it was accelerated from all the activity the previous night, where I danced for 2-3 hours straight.

Diet still okay...cheat foods yesterday was my girlfriend's stuffed mushrooms with bacon and cream cheese...**** they're good. /forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[davethewonderpony]

Just finished my back (shock) workout:

Pullovers: 45x10, 50x10
Superset with Wide Grip Pulldowns: 120x10, 120x8

Straight Arm Pulldown: 30x10, 30x10
Superset with Reverse Grip Barbell Row: 135x10, 135x10

Seated Cable Row Drop Set: 150x6, drop 120x6, drop 80x4

Those SA Pulldowns are brutal...I don't think I've EVER worked those muscles before. My grip is also KILLING me right now as my forearms start to seize up. Wow. Never thought 5 sets could feel like this.

I'm doing my cardio later on today when the gym is empty. 35 minutes hopefully today.

Good news is I weighed myself today and I'm still 183! Woo hoo!

I'm back on my power cycle tomorrow, we'll see if there are any improvements since the last one.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[davethewonderpony]

Holy crap!

I just finished my chest power workout, and even though I haven't slept properly for the last couple of days it was still kickass. I bumped my poundages up on all the movements, and even set (another) personal best on dumbbell presses!

Chest (Power)

Dumbbell Press:
I warmed up with 25's and then 40's, and then decided to grab the 60's for my first set of 4-6 reps. I got to 7 reps and probably could have gotten to 10 if I had tried! 65's is a new personal best for me. Six months ago I could barely lift 50's!

60x7, 65x6, 65x6

Incline Barbell Press:

135x6, 145x5+1cheat, 150x4
Another gain, and I think another personal best.

Weighted Dips:

Bodyweight+25x6, Bodyweight+30x4
Another increase, last time I did two sets with 20.

Just a really kickass workout...I'm totally happy! /forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Now I just have to do my cardio...

[Scott B]

Dave, looking good. We are amazingly similar in our weights and our workouts are similar as well. Bf is pretty much the same too. I've got some catching up to do though. So my goal is: to be as good as davethewonderpony by the end of this challenge. So the pressure is really on you to be a good role model. I'm counting on it. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

By the way are posting any pics?

[davethewonderpony]

I never thought about pictures...possibly because my father just got a new digital camera and I'm sure my girlfriend wouldn't mind taking some pics of me. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Today I was supposeed to do my shoulder power workout, but on my first set I felt something in my shoulder that was not happy at all...so I stopped. Possibly they're still tired from the chest workout yesterday.

So I did 35 minutes cardio and 2 sets of abs: all exercises back to back.

Decline Bench Crunches 12 slow reps
Decline Oblique Crunches 12 reps/side alternating
Weighted Side Crunches 45 lbs dumbbell 12 reps/side
Roman Chair Leg Raises 12 slow reps

And then do it all again.

For some reason my definition is really starting to come through after a short time...which is awesome.

I'm going to try to get my back power workout in tomorrow. My other gym is so freaking busy I never have any time to workout myself when I'm there! They had me working from 5:30 to 9:30pm last night, and that's after I spent from 7:30 to 3:30 at the other place. Brutal.

[gordmcfarling]

Dave,

so where are the skinfold measurements? I posted mine

[davethewonderpony]

Yikes!

I did my caliper measurements, and here they are:

Chest: 10mm
Abdominal: 21mm
Thigh: 15mm
Tricep: 10mm
SubScap: 11mm
Iliac Crest: 14mm
Axilla: 8mm

Total: 89mm

Gives me a bodyfat percentage of 18.5%!!!!! WTF!!!!!
I didn't think things were so bad, but obviously I have some severe cutting to do before I step onto a stage.

I'm not sure these are 100% accurate, but I guess time will tell...I'm definitely going to have to get some pics so I can eyeball things.

[Scott B]

Dave I wonder how much difference age has in the equation. My total was 90 and I came in at 14.93%. I'm 43. But I thougt that age would up the bf %. I don't know maybe I should recheck my math.

[davethewonderpony]

Whoops,

Thanks for getting me to check my math, Scott. I was actually using the formula for women instead of the one for men.

With the new calcuations it comes out to 12.8% (much better /forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif)

At least I'm not totally freaking out now. I was wondering how I could see abs at a bodyfat of 18%.

[Scott B]

Much better indeed.

[davethewonderpony]

Back Power Day yesterday:

Went up on all my lifts again, this new program really rocks. I can't believe how much harder I can push myself and get the results I want.

Set a new PB for Barbell Rows as well!

Rack Deadlifts:
275x6
300x4
315x2
I decided to go heavy on these to see how hard I could push myself and it was worth it. The 275 was actually EASY.

Barbell Rows:
185x6
205x4 (+1 cheat)
185x6
The 205 is a new personal best!

Seated Cable Rows:
260x7
280x6
This machine is totally not accurate in terms of weight but I had the whole stack plus three 10 lb. dumbbells on top. Looked impressive, I'm sure.

30 minutes walking treadmill 10% grade 3MPH, heart rate about 120-130. I also taught a 20 minute aerobics class earlier in the day.

[gordmcfarling]

Dave,

Thanks for the heads up on my measurement, got it corrected. May have busted out on the first week due to my company sending me out of town, but guess what, I'm still up! I'll need that shirt for the beginning of April Dave.... /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[davethewonderpony]

Well, my corporate employer truly sucks ***. I lost my internet connection at work today, and there are no plans to bring me back online until after February at least. Therefore I have to do all my journal updates from home, which adds about an hour onto my day. Basically I'm going to tell them that I'm coming in late and leaving early because I can't do my job properly for the time being.

Updating this will happen as freqently as possible...I'm going out to buy a new computer tomorrow, so hopefully my connection will get faster and such.

I'm still breaking personal bests and increasing my lifts. Here are the last few days:

January 10th: Shoulders (Power workout)

Military Press:
115x6
115x6
95x6 I went down because I started to feel a pinch in my shoulder...not good.

Upright Row:
60x6
80x6
80x6
These are plus the bar, so it's actually 95 pounds.

Cheat Laterals:
20'sx6 (too easy)
25'sx5+1 real cheat

Janaury 12: Legs (Power workout)

Squats:
225x6
245x6
265x2 Tried to go too heavy on these...my form sucked and I didn't get any good ones. I have a problem with this exercise for some reason, I think it's my hamstring flexibility (or lack thereof).

Leg Press:
365x6
405x6
450x4 That's an increase of 85 pounds from three weeks ago.

One Legged Extensions:
80x6 (too easy)
90x6

Leg Curl (lying):
90x7
100x6
110x4

Stiff Legged Deadlifts:
135x7
155x6
175x6

January 13: Arms (power workout)

Barbell Curls:
75x7
80x5+1 cheat

Preacher Curls:
50x6
55x5

Hammer Curls:
25'sx7 (too easy)
30'sx6

Close Grip Bench:
115x6
125x5
125x5 wimped out because I had no spot.

Skullcrushers:
75x5
75x5

Single Arm Extensions:
25'sx6
25'sx6

My diet has been inconsistent over the weekend but I'm back on track today. I have done cardio with every workout, hopefully the cuts will start appearing soon.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[davethewonderpony]

Okay, time for some updating...I pick up my new computer on Saturday, so hopefully my posts will become a little more frequent....this IMac sucks ***.
Week 2 measurements:

Weight: 182 lbs.
Chest 10mm
Thigh 17mm
Iliac Crest 14mm
Abdominal 19mm
Tricep 9mm
Subscap 11mm
Axilla 8mm

Total: 88mm

Down 1mm from last week...my abdominal went down 2mm but my thigh went up 2mm...go figure. I know my legs are getting bigger, due to the fact my pants are riding up more...I'll take tape measurements tomorrow and compare.

Workouts:
January 13th: Arms (Power)

Barbell Curls: 75x7, 80x5+1 cheat
Preacher Curls: 50x6, 55x5
Hammer Curls: 25'sx7, 30'sx6
Close Grip Bench: 115x6, 125x5, 125x5
Skullcrushers: 75x5, 75x5
Single Arm Extensions: 25x6 each arm, 25x6 each arm

January 15th: Chest (Rep Range)

Incline Dumbbell Press: 60'sx7, 60'sx6, 60'sx5
**** those were hard.
Bench Press: 135x9, 135x8, 135x8
I think I blew my wheels on the dumbbells.
Flat Flyes: 30'sx11, 30'sx5 drop 20'sx4
The reason I did that is because my shoulder really started to hurt and I didn't want to push it too badly. My chest is nice and sore today, so I got a great workout.

January 16th: Arms (Rep Range)
I did these today because I was at my (real) gym and it is a longer workout. I'm trying to save the shorter workouts for my corporate facility because I have less time while working there to work out.

Alternate Dumbbell Curls: 35'sx7, 40'sx6 (cheats)
Cable Curl: 70x10, 90x10
Concentration Curls: 20x10/side, 20x10/side
Weighted Dips: BW+20x8, BW+30x7, BW+30x4
Pressdowns: 130x10, 140x5

Felt kind of weak tonight probably due to little sleep and no recovery time. I won't make that mistake again and need to plan better next time I'm doing these things.

That's it...comments are welcome.

[davethewonderpony]

Took some measurements and liked the results...my legs and arms are up 1/4 inch and my chest was up 1/2 inch. My waist was down 1/4 inch as well.

Workouts last few days:

January 17th: Shoulders (Rep Range)

One Armed Dumbbell Press: 40'sx8, 40'sx8, 40'sx7
Bent Lateral Raise: 15'sx10, 20'sx10, 20'sx10
Cable Side Lateral: 15'sx12, 15'sx12

January 18th: Back (Rep Range)

Close Grip Weighted Chins: BW+25x6, BW+25x5
Wide Grip Row: 70x10, 80x10
Dumbbell Row: 65x10/side, 65x10/side
Pullovers: 50x12, 50x12

January 19th: Legs (Rep Range)

Leg Extensions: 130x10, 150x10
Squats: 175x12, 185x12, 195x12 (very happy with these)
Single Leg Leg Press: 155x8/side, 135x12/side, 135x12/side
Hamstring Curl: 90x10, 90x8, 90x7
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 135x12, 155x12

Got my new computer set up yesterday, so hopefully by tonight I'll be back on my regular internet connection and posting more often and able to make comments on other's journals again. It sucks being cut off like this.

[davethewonderpony]

Geez!

It has been a while since I've posted...not that I haven't wanted to. My new computer is giving me issues with certain websites. If anyone can help me out with this problem please let me know.

Basically what happens is that I get to the login screen, and login, and then when I try to access the forums it logs me out automatically. Something about my cookies, I'm sure but they are enabled and working fine. It happens on all the bulletin boards I log on to so it's not just this site. I even tried registering a new ID but that didn't work either. If anyone has a clue, please let me know.

Anyway, I'm still at this whole thing...Gord and Scott, you're going to be impressed and dismayed with my progress.

Skinfolds Week 3

Iliac crest 13
Thigh 14
Abdominal 20
Tricep 8
Chest 10
Subscap 10
Axilla 7

Total Skinfolds 82...down 6mm from last time, give me an estimated BF percentage of 12.6%. My waist is looking MUCH slimmer and my love handles are starting to disappear as well.

Workouts are still progressing, unfortunately I'm a week behind so I'm not going to post all of them here unless people want to see them. Basically every workout I try to do at least one more rep or put more poundage on the bar for every exercise. I'm glad I started a written journal again as well because it's really helping.

I'm also glad I listened to myself about the whole cardio thing. What I'm doing (low intensity for 30-40 mins a day) is WORKING. Even my girlfriend has noticed a big difference over the last couple of weeks. It's also helping me preserve my lean muscle tissue because my weight is still around 180. I'm still eating like a horse and keeping calories up, just making different choices here and there to get the fat content and carbs down a little bit, but keeping protein high. I looked at myself in a full length mirror last night after a shower and actually thought I looked good for once. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Anyway, if anyone has any answers to my computer dilemma please let me know.

[Scott B]

Dave, you make me sick!!!!! I am not having good luck at all. I think I'm the only person on earth that has lost weight after stopping smoking. Good job though, my cardio program is much the same except I only run 30 min. I think I just need to eat more food. I'll catch up to you, don't worry.