Locked and Loaded

With a new competition season rapidly approaching it’s now time to kick things into high gear to put myself in the best possible position to improve from last year and take my physique to the next level. I enjoyed a four month off-season in which I ate good food, spent quality time with friends, and most importantly trained hard. My off-season plan of attack was to do everything possible in the gym to bring up my lagging body parts. I continued to train back twice a week and shoulders twice a week while giving my arms their own individual day of torture. When training back and shoulders I would have a day in which I worked with heavy weights with a rep range between 6-8 reps with strict form followed by a high intensity day where I would crank out 12-15 reps per set of each exercise. During my off-season I only trained my quads twice a month. My leg workouts were all hamstring focused. My quads were clearly my dominant body part and the rest of my body was playing catch-up. But don’t worry the quads still responded well to this training technique and will be a tad larger with nice definition for this upcoming season. Last but definitely not least my stubborn calves. I trained calves three times a week for four months and only got ¾ of an inch growth out of them. When I took my measurements back in September they were only 15 ½ inches and a few weeks ago they were 16 ¾ inches.

My training split for this off-season was as followed:

Monday: Back/Hamstrings/Calves
Tuesday: Shoulders
Wednesday: Every other week Quads/Calves
Thursday: Back/Chest
Friday: Shoulders
Saturday: Arms

Some would say that’s a lot of time spent in the gym during an off-season, but I was determined and focused to present the most complete package this upcoming season.

I am preparing for Musclemania South Beach on April 2-3 and on January 3, 2005, I switched gears into competition mode. I was notorious in the past for maintaining fairly good conditioning in my off-season, then running a crash course diet six weeks out from a show and sacrificing all my hard earned muscle. I vowed to myself this year not to let that happen. I cleaned up the diet and began my on-season plan of attack. I first cut out all refined carbs, such as white flour, sugar and hydrogenated fats. I began to use healthy fats like coconut oils and omega-3 fatty acids. The next thing I did was manipulate my macronutrients to 50% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 10% healthy fats. I also incorporated five 30 minute cardio sessions weekly first thing on an empty stomach which enabled me to take in a few more calories on a daily basis. My training split has changed slightly. I am now hitting every body part only once per week directly. By doing this I’m avoiding overtraining and giving my body a chance to fully recover in between workouts.

For the past 7 weeks or so my split has been as follows:

Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
I have added a little abdominal work twice a week while continuing to train calves three times a week.

As far as work goes I could not have asked for a better group of children. They come into school ready to learn everyday. Every child makes their personal pledge (work hard, be kind, and respect learning) at the beginning of each day and gives me nothing but their best. Ulisses and I are currently working on a joint venture. We are planning to open a personal training studio in New Canaan, Connecticut. As you can see I have been extremely busy and focused with my work in and out of the gym.

I would like to end this entry by thanking God for the numerous blessings and opportunities for success he has given me. I will be updating every two weeks with pictures and training regiments along with information on my diet and supplementation. Continue to train hard and STAY NATURAL.

Jamel

Feel free to message me with any questions or comments regarding this article.