jshilko's log & blog

[jshilko]

Hello All - starting tomorrow I'll be detailing my daily training, some of my diet, and my thoughts in general in this thread. I'm working towards competing in my first bodybuilding competition this November, and I'll look for all of you to keep me accountable. Maybe we can learn from each other along the way. I'll do my best to keep it interesting - promise!

[Robertrogo]

Good luck Josh on your strive towards your first ever bodybuilding competition in November! I know you will do a phenomenal job and I can't wait to hear of your progress and how things turn out in the process. Providing insight into how you train, what you are thinking, eating and the routine that you are currently doing to get yourself ready will only benefit yourself of course with positive feedback but also provide others with useful information who might want to also compete in a bodybuilding competition or train like another JEFIT user who is looking to make dramatic changes and gains.

Can't wait to read your next blog article man and I truly wish you the best of luck!

[Deviation]

Looking forward to reading this. After seeing the bit & pieces in your anatomy thread, I'm sure you'll have some great insight for everyone.

And I think JEFIT ought to send some shirts for the comp his way. Just sayin'.

[Robertrogo]

And I think JEFIT ought to send some shirts for the comp his way. Just sayin'.

Haha that is not a half bad idea, the one thing we are looking to be doing is distributing and creating JEFIT T-Shirts and Workout Gear for those who support our application and even do contents or something for free gear.

Sadly right now...we don't have shirts but are extremely determined and hopefully to start production and creation of our own threads

[jshilko]

My current training routine is based off of Jon Lawson and Steve Holman's book, 'The Ultimate Mass Workout'. If you are familiar with the concept of X-reps, these are the guys who created it. You can find my routine here if you are interested in trying it:

http://www.jefit.com/routines/workou...se.php?id=2572

It contains lots of nuances and set extenders that I can't necessarily detail in the routine sections, so I will post notes along with each day during this first week of posts. I believe time under tension is one of the most important concepts for building size, and this program certainly gives me plenty of that. Next post will detail yesterday's Quads/Calves/Abs workout.

As for the JEFIT gear, once you get some, let me know - I will rep you guys at my show and at the Arnold next year!

[jshilko]

Barball Squat - 225x10,275x10,315x10,315 x Xreps
- On Quads day I do BB Box Squat using a narrow stance and try to maximize time under tension. I do not sit on the bench at the bottom (its more touch and go) and I do not lock out at the top - both of these things would take tension off of the quads. I do 3 working sets and then extend the last set by doing X reps (basically partials in a specific part of the range of motion done til failure. If you take the exercise to failure before beginning X reps, you will usually be able to get 5 or 6 x reps in - basically you are extending the set beyond failure). The X reps for quads are done in the middle of the range of motion.

Front Squat - 135x10,185x10,185 x Xreps
- I should really call these rhythm front squats. I go very deep with these and I only come up to a bit above parallel. I try to stop the rep in the 'sticking point'. 2 set with X reps in the middle of the range of motion on the second set.

Single Leg Extensions - 70x10,70x10,70x10,70 x Xreps
- 3 sets for each leg on extensions, x reps at top (contracted position) of the range of motion at the end of the third set. I try to keep my toes inward - in for out, out for in! You'll notice that most of my sets thus far are ending at 10 reps. I'm aiming to fail on my last set between 7 and 10 reps (before beginning X reps). I'm still feeling out where my working weights should be for this program, so eventually you will notice more 7,8,9s in that last set.

Donkey Calf Raises - 90x20,90x20,90x20,90 x Xreps
- I do these using a dip belt around my waist, 3 sets with X reps in the stretched (bottom) position after the last set. You should have your hips bent to atleast 90 degrees for this exercise. If you are not feeling a pull in the back of your knee (top of your calf) during the stretched portion of the range of motion, you are not getting the benefits intended from this exercise. Too many people train only the contracted, or top part of the range of motion for calves, and thats why their calves never grow.

Standing Single Leg Dumbbell Calf Raise - 85x12,50x8,50 x Xreps
- One Drop set only with X reps in the contracted position (top) afterwards. One set for each leg is a nice finisher for calves. Try to keep your feet square on the calf developer or whatever you are standing on - alot of people put all the weight on their big toe.

V-Sit Ups - 15, Xreps, 15, Xreps
- I like these because I feel like they put stress on all of the regions of the abdominals. Do a set until you cant keep proper form, then do X reps in the middle of the range of motion. 2 Sets, both with X reps.

Full ROM Crunches - 10, X reps, 10 X reps
-Most of the time, people do crunches on the floor or a flat surface. Much like the calves issue I talked about above, they are missing out on working the abs in the stretched position. An effective crunch should start with the back arched and the abs stretched out - this means performing them on a swiss ball or on the end of a bench (I use a bench). 2 sets til failure, both with x reps in the top position afterwards.

Done!

Here is your pic for the day - a little washed out but I like it:

[jshilko]

Today's log will go up tomorrow. Unfortunately we had the hail storm of the century and this:



did this:



to my wife's car. So I apologize for the delay, back on line tomorrow!

[Robertrogo]

Today's log will go up tomorrow. Unfortunately we had the hail storm of the century and this:



did this:



to my wife's car. So I apologize for the delay, back on line tomorrow!

Its all good Josh, no worries at all, as long as you are both safe that is what matters, that is insane hail though and cannot believe how much you have gotten and how much damage it caused to your wife's car.

We are supporting your cause here at JEFIT and promoting your logs/blog as you train for your first competition, its important for us to get behind our users especially for something as important and special as competing in your first ever competition. Promoting your blog on Facebook and Twitter to get more feedback and users to respond to it all Josh.

Hopefully with your wife's car though, it is covered under insurance so that you don't have to pay full money to replace the sunroof

[jshilko]

Thanks Rob, saw it on facebook, very cool! Working on replacing wifeys sunroof glass now . . . ugh!

[jshilko]

Sometimes duty calls and today was one of those days. Went and picked up a new sunroof for the wife's car after work and installed it:

This means no lift today, but honestly, as long as I get my five lifts in every seven days, I'm happy. My split is such that is doesn't matter much which days are consecutive so long as the order stays the same. With that said, here is yesterdays lift! My brother is home from school so I had a lifting partner which was a nice change.

Dumbbell Decline Bench Press - 85x12,95x10,100x13,100 x Xreps- 3 working sets with X reps on the last set. X reps are in the middle of the range of motion for this one. I've never done a whole lot of decline movements, but I plan to start. I feel like my front delts are overdeveloped relative to the nearby muscles and I feel like decline movements do a little better job of taking the front delts out of the movements than flat pressing variations do.

Cable Cross Over - 80x9 Drop Set > 55x9,55 x Xreps
- 1 working drop set, with X reps after the drop. X reps for this one come at the bottom of the movement. Honestly, my chest feels spent after these two exercises, especially taking this one past failure, but its pretty amazing how much is left in the tank when you start using the chest to move weight in a different plane.

Barbell Incline Bench Press - 225x10,225x10,225 x Xreps
- 2 sets with x reps on the last set, middle of the range of motion. I ended this set a little early at 10 reps, but did a ton of X reps, felt great! I may reverse the incline and decline movements next week for a different effect. I could probably stand to work with significantly more weight on this one if its first.

Cable Incline Fly - 65x7 Drop Set > 55x6,55 x Xreps
- Same deal as the cross over - one drop set with x reps after the drop, bottom of the ROM. Honest to goodness it hurts my chest to type today! For the record, DOMS does not necessarily mean growth, but its nice to feel it once in a while like this, makes me feel like I stressed the muscle in a new way (which does mean it will have to adapt in some way, ideally growth since I am feeding it and resting it appropriately between now and the next time I work it).

Cable Reverse Wrist Curl - 55x20, 55x20
-Superset With-
Cable Wrist Curl - 100x19,100 x Xreps; 100x18,100 x Xreps
-I finish today's workout off with 2 supersets of cable reverse and regular cable wrist curls. Note that I do not mean reverse curls, I mean I hang the arms straight down and use a short bar on a low cable to do isolation on each side of the forearm. I do a light weight for the reverse ones to form failure, throw some more weight on quick for regular wrist curls, take them to failure, then do X reps in the contracted position. I do the X reps on both sets for this exercise since I don't do a lot of volume for forearms.

Any of you who are interested in learning more about the training methodologies I am currently using, you can purchase the ebooks here. Interesting reads even if you dont plan to use the methods:
http://www.x-rep.com/xshop.htm