Countdown to the 2007 Worlds
Posted 18/11/2006
Well it's now just over three weeks to the WNBF Pro Worlds in New York City and things are getting serious now, so I thought I'd post an update on my progress.
Winning last year was an amazing moment and the accumulation of twenty odd years of training. I must admit though, people have asked why go back and defend, why not quit now and retitre on top? Well, the way I see it is that it has taken me so long to get to this point, so why stop now? I'm really enjoying my training and although I must be close to reaching my genetic potential, I can still see small improvements being made, which is enough to justify continuing the journey.
My offseason training this year has been on the whole pretty good. I've been consistent with the diet too, trying to stay within ten pounds or so of contest condition. That's not to say I've been ultra-strict - I still enjoy my treats - but I've moderated those with plenty of healthy foods, and this combined with all the hard training has helped keep me in decent condition. I've also had to stay in shape for the filming of my DVD and a couple of NPA guest spots throughout the year, together with various photoshoots for my sponsors Maximuscle. So there really hasn't been time to let the diet slip too far.
The main areas I've been focussing on this year have been to the rear of my physique. I've always been a little stronger from the front, so this year I've emphasised more back and hamstring work to even things out. I think the effort has been worthwhile, but I guess we'll have to wait until November 10th to see if it's enough. Right now I'm sitting at around 78-79kg, slightly heavier than last year but in similar condition. There's still a little more fat to shift and so I've increased CV to two sessions daily, and trimmed back my carbs further to dial things in. I'm definitely feeling the diet starting to 'bite' now, but there's only a few weeks left and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
My training is pretty much the same as last year; three on, one off. Day one is chest and back, day two is legs and day three is arms and shoulders. I usually perform two or three movements per body-part and two hard sets per exercise. Strength-wise I'm a little up, although I'm trying to keep the reps well above six to avoid injury. I did sustain a couple of minor strains mid-season from trying to push too much weight, so now I stay in the safety zone and use heavy but manageable weights.
So everything is shaping up fine. Britain will be taking over another small but solid team of athletes to the worlds, and we hope we can do as well as we did last year. One thing is for certain: there are no certainties! I never underestimate the level of competition, and that's what fires me on in the gym. I do feel very defensive over my world title though, and I am naturally very proud of it, so I'm looking forward to a great battle in New York City and meeting up with everyone again.
Here is my current training split:
My diet gets tweaked quite a bit during the course of my contest prep, but here is rough outline:
Well it's now just over three weeks to the WNBF Pro Worlds in New York City and things are getting serious now, so I thought I'd post an update on my progress.
Winning last year was an amazing moment and the accumulation of twenty odd years of training. I must admit though, people have asked why go back and defend, why not quit now and retitre on top? Well, the way I see it is that it has taken me so long to get to this point, so why stop now? I'm really enjoying my training and although I must be close to reaching my genetic potential, I can still see small improvements being made, which is enough to justify continuing the journey.
My offseason training this year has been on the whole pretty good. I've been consistent with the diet too, trying to stay within ten pounds or so of contest condition. That's not to say I've been ultra-strict - I still enjoy my treats - but I've moderated those with plenty of healthy foods, and this combined with all the hard training has helped keep me in decent condition. I've also had to stay in shape for the filming of my DVD and a couple of NPA guest spots throughout the year, together with various photoshoots for my sponsors Maximuscle. So there really hasn't been time to let the diet slip too far.
The main areas I've been focussing on this year have been to the rear of my physique. I've always been a little stronger from the front, so this year I've emphasised more back and hamstring work to even things out. I think the effort has been worthwhile, but I guess we'll have to wait until November 10th to see if it's enough. Right now I'm sitting at around 78-79kg, slightly heavier than last year but in similar condition. There's still a little more fat to shift and so I've increased CV to two sessions daily, and trimmed back my carbs further to dial things in. I'm definitely feeling the diet starting to 'bite' now, but there's only a few weeks left and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
My training is pretty much the same as last year; three on, one off. Day one is chest and back, day two is legs and day three is arms and shoulders. I usually perform two or three movements per body-part and two hard sets per exercise. Strength-wise I'm a little up, although I'm trying to keep the reps well above six to avoid injury. I did sustain a couple of minor strains mid-season from trying to push too much weight, so now I stay in the safety zone and use heavy but manageable weights.
So everything is shaping up fine. Britain will be taking over another small but solid team of athletes to the worlds, and we hope we can do as well as we did last year. One thing is for certain: there are no certainties! I never underestimate the level of competition, and that's what fires me on in the gym. I do feel very defensive over my world title though, and I am naturally very proud of it, so I'm looking forward to a great battle in New York City and meeting up with everyone again.
Here is my current training split:
DAY 1: Back & Chest Wide grip pulldowns / Flat DB presses Narrow grip pulldowns / Incline DB presses Close grip EZ presses / DB bent over rows Dips with weight / Wide grip barbell rows DB shrugs DAY 2: Legs (alternate between workouts A & B) WORKOUT A Sumo squats Leg extensions / Seated hamstring curls Standing calf raises / Leg raises 5 mins bike WORKOUT B Leg presses / Tow presses Romanian deadlifts / Leg raises 5 mins bike DAY 3: Shoulders & Arms Seated DB presses / Standing bicep curls DB side laterals / Hammer curls / Tricep pushdowns DB bent laterals on bench / Concentration curls DAY 4: Rest Notes: 2 work sets for all exercises, 6-10 reps upperbody, 10-15 lowerbody. Exercises listed together are performed in alternate fashion. Rest periods approx 1 minute between sets, 2-3 minutes for heavy leg movements. Workout duration less than 1 hour. CV: 30 minutes power-walk AM and PM. |
My diet gets tweaked quite a bit during the course of my contest prep, but here is rough outline: