Image 1: You've waited long enough, now it's there Adelfo's latest training video!
I guess after seeing the "Meat-Ology: A Brief Glance at the Latest Data on The Link Between Red Meat, Cooking Techniques & Prostate Cancer" post you will have thought that you will never get to see how Adelfo Cerame Jr tears down the gym, right? Well, take today's earlier news as a SuppVersity Special and this as the promised regular post for today, Friday August 17, 2012. You probably won't mind that there is not so much text in today's installment of Adelfo's otherwise Thursdaily blogposts. After all the details on why Adelfo, who is as you all know a huge proponent of red meat may after all still get away without prostate cancer - even if he prepares his lean pork in a pan... but hey, you've been waiting for more than 2 weeks now, so let's finally get into this workout.
Training Day! Chest + Shoulders + Triceps
It’s a little delayed but here are the training videos I promised two weeks ago. I know I mentioned showing you guys 2-3 videos of some new exercises I learned from fellow Myotropics teammate Eric Minor when picking his brain at the USA’s (cf. "Back From Vegas"), but I decided What the heck! Why not take them through my whole workout. The downside to that is that I wasn’t able to get video footage of each and every set, because I do have 2 other guys I train with, so I don’t want all the video taking to cut into our training but I was able to get footage of at least one set of every exercise that I did yesterday. Here’s how a Thursday workout plan for me looks like:
My Thursday and Friday training are my higher volume days, so yesterday was my high volume day for chest, shoulders and triceps. Here is video footage (click on the image to watch) of each individual exercise, just so you guys can get an idea of how a days training looks like for me ;-)
DB to BB Superset Flat Presses
4 sets of 12 on DB presses +
4 sets of 6-8 on BB presses
This is an exercise that I started applying into my training after talking to Eric Minor, when I was picking his brain and asking for a couple tips and pointers. It’s very hard for me to get a good pump in my chest especially on a BB bench press. The only time I really use the BB flat press is on my heavy days just for strength, but I never use it on my higher volume days, because it just feels like I’m working my shoulders – but ever since I started super setting flat DB presses to flat BB presses, I’ve been really feeling my chest blowing up during the workouts.
DB to BB Superset Incline Presses
4 sets of 12 on DB presses +
4 sets of 6-8 on BB presses
Same protocol as the flat presses, yet with a minor twist in the way I hold the dumbbells. Rather than your typical DB incline press grip, I prefer the incline close grip presses with a neutral grip; I feel that it stimulates my upper chest much better, and I get a real good pump.
Decline Presses on Hammer Strength Machine
4 sets of 12
No supersets here. *Lol* I couldn’t think of anything creative where I can quickly transition over to another exercise.
Pec Dec Flys
3 sets of 12-15
Last chest exercise before I start on my shoulders. After all the
compound movements, I usually like to end my chest work outs with flys.
DB Shoulder Press Superset With DB Lateral Raises
4 sets of 12 on DB shoulder presses +
4 sets of 8-12 on DB lateral raises
Aside from BB jammer presses, this is another one of my favorite exercise for shoulders.
Champagne Tilts followed by
Triceps pull downs
3 sets of 12 and 3 sets of 12-15
Like
most, I like to end my chest and shoulder workouts with triceps – the reason is obvious, it's the synergy with chest and
shoulders.
DB Front Raises
3 set of 10-12
I
wasn’t really much of a fan of doing isolated front delt exercises – to
be honest; I felt that my front delts got enough stimulation when I do
my chest and shoulder compound movements, so I didn’t really bother much
with front raises. When talking to Eric at the USA’s I mentioned this
to him and he showed me a different variation of front raises that
really stimulated my front delts – the secret is the slight bend in the elbows while you re doing a
slightly inverted raise - at least for me this exercise hits my front delts real nice.
Well that’s all I got for today SuppVersity readers, I hope you enjoyed the videos. I have back day today, so I’ll try to get footage of my whole workout just like I did, yesterday.
Also, feel free to send requests if you’d like to see how I adapt and adjust to other exercises that you may be curious about and don't forget to come back next week for an update on my upcoming experiment with 5/3/1 training – I’m actually going to have to max out this Saturday in order to figure out my lifting percentages, so I will be trading in my 5x5 training as I try to play with the 5/3/1 training for a couple weeks.
Image 1: Adelfo now, 9 days before the show. Even if he had not been bedridden, when he began dieting, this is an awesome result - the work of a true pro! And wherever he is going to place in Florida, I am proud to have Adelfo aboard, here at the SuppVersity! (Click here to learn more about his journey!)
As of yet, I don't have kids, so I don't know how it feels, when you have been seeing your son or daughter cramming for the finals, have given stupid advice and have offered all the help you could, but I guess, it must feel somewhat similar to the way I feel now, nine days before my "kid", or I should say, my friend, Adelfo is going to his "finals". I am excited and anxious at the same time. I am convinced he is going to take away his pro-card, but in the end, its up to the judges to decide whether or not Adelfo will be able to top this awesome contest prep off with an unequivocal "#1" on the scorecards of the judging panel. This is part of why I am all the more excited that Vince Andrich, with whom I have already worked on the BodyRX Show and who shares my appreciation of Adelfo's classic physique, signed Adelfo as one of the faces, or rather "physiques" of his new company Myotropics. For me, however, neither Adelfo's signature under the contract nor the pro-card, of which I am convinced that he is going to bring it home from Florida (and in case the judges don't have their glasses with them, from a later show ;-) are what makes my friend a "pro". What makes Adelfo a pro are his work ethics, his consistency and his positive mindset (the mindset of a true champion) which have allowed him to overcome every obstacle and make constant progress, both physically and mentally... ah, before I get too paternal, here, let's hear what Adelfo has in stock for us in his last blogpost before the big event.
The Final Countdown - Don't Panic, It's Going to Work Out!
Well folks, a week and a half left or, I should say, just 9 (in words "nine" ;-) days left until it's going to be show time! And for now, there's nothing else for me to do, than simply keep doing what I’ve been doing for the past 4 months now: Staying on the course. As some of you who have been in a similar situation may know, this "simple" exercise can sometimes be really hard, though... I mean, you know about how important this event is going to be, you want to look your very best and everything you can / shall do is keep on rolling? I guess, not everyone will sympathize with having difficulties not to but back on calories anymore, not to reduce your carb intake to absolutely zero and not to try out any other stupid things of which you consciously know that they won't help and yet still feel urged to to them.
Although I know that Dr. Andro is probably going to address this in his introduction, I want to take the chance to tell you in person that I am now a sponsored
athlete for Myotropics Physique Nutrition. And I would like to thank Vince
Andrich for giving me the opportunity to represent his brand.
The best thing to avoid being in mischief, is to reiterate your plan over and over and that is what I am going to do now: The coming week - starting on Sunday, is going to be my peek week, in which I will finally cut out all starchy carbs except for the roughly 40g of carbs from 1 purple potato or 1 banana I eat right after my workouts. As I have pointed out before, I don't even count vegetables, so that the rest of my meals (in my way of "calculating" my macros are "carb free" protein + vegetable meals with a moderate amount of fat (45-50g).
Image 2: By further reducing my starchy carb intake, I hope to lose the little subcutaneous water that is still left.
The reduction in carb intake in the day before the contest, on the other hand, make it even more important to carb load, in time. I decided to to do a front load, which means I am not taking the risk of "spilling over" (and stepping on stage like a wet sponge), but will load up early in the week. This was also reason why I have done all my re-feeds on Sunday in the last couple of months. That allowed me to practice or I should say evaluate my bodies reaction to different foods / amounts of carbs / macronutrient combinations, log everything and build my nutritional regimen for the peak week around what I learned from that.
For bodybuilders, playing with water and salt, is like playing fire
Other than the reduction in carbs, of which I expect that it will help me lose the last milliliters of water I am still carrying under my skin, I will not make any of the bro-scientific stupidities, like cutting back sodium or pounding gallons of water. And even my training will stay the same, at least until Wednesday, when I will start to taper the intensity, to avoid last minute injuries (I mean, who wants to compete with a "torn" biceps ;-) or running out of glycogen, which would put me into the very unfortunate position of having to "re-load" (meaning to replete my glycogen stores) right before - thus exactly what I am trying to avoid by doing the front-load.
Video 1: The "Burn Machine" is part of my HIIT cardio regimen (click to watch)
"So you are doing nothing to get even more 'disgusting'"?
I must admit there is one thing, I did not tell you... but this is something I did already change, so no stupid last minute change, here ;-) I have stepped up, or, for someone like me, who actually never does any cardio, I should say, I started doing cardio these past 3 weeks. Not being a big fan of cardio, but a firm believer in doing what it takes to get shredded by diet and high intensity lifting, alone this is actually quite a novelty for me - if nothing else, because I can do none of the "classic" cardio exercises: Jogging on the treadmill? No! Fidgeting around on the crosstrainer? No! Taking steps on the stairmaster? No!
Not much left, I could do for "cardio", right? In essence, that's what I've been telling myself, as well, but I did not want to miss any chance to improve my conditioning and thusly came up with two forms of HIIT cardio which work pretty well for me.
HIIT with the "Burn Machine": Assuming that most of you have no idea what this small beast is and how it works, I suggest, you take a look at video 1. In essence, the burn machine is no more than a 10-pound hand cycle that can mimic using a hand cycle or even hitting a speed bag. It combiines aerobic and anaerobic work and is perfectly suited for HIIT training. This is like sprinting with your arms, and I do it for a total of 20-30min
Image 3: The cardio may have helped a little, but nutrition still is the #1 factor if you want to lean out.
Swimming and hitting the heavy bag: Apollo Creed knew what he was talking about, when he told Rocky Balboa in Rocky III that swimming would work muscles that he thought he never knew he had before - I can attest to that and have been a huge fan of swimming, ever since the inhuman soreness after my first laps subsided *lol*... But all jokes aside, I really do enjoy swimming and I believe you can also see that in the video footage I took for you (click here to watch the video). Swimming gets my heart rate up and my muscles stimulated. Plus, I really feel my back muscles working, when I swim. In fact, my back begins to get really tight after a couple of laps and I get an awesome pump! It would be great if I could swim a lap or two before I roll on stage to pose... to swim a couple of laps and then hit the heavy bag, an exercise which also helped tremendously with the conditioning of my arms, shoulders and chest. Its conditioning effects aside, it also keeps you from biting other peoples ears off ;-)
I don't know how much of my progress within those last three weeks is actually attributable to the additional cardio training, but despite the fact that I am dieting now for more than 5 months, I am still making progress from week to week. I have come a long way from October. I have learned a lot about myself, and my body. My knowledge of nutrition and fitness has increased 10-fold due to the tutelage of gentlemen like Dr. Andro, Rob Regish, Jack Gurlekian, Skip Hill, and Josh Trenetine - to just name a few.
Image 2: I have come a long way along which my physique was by no means the only thing that changed.
I have witnessed my physique improve beyond what I thought were my limits, and I feel that I have only scratched the surface of what the future is holding for me. But most of all, I have been blessed and humbled to be able to share this experience with the you, the SuppVersity readers, who have been critical yet always supportive commenters, for which I want to thank you now, since due to me traveling next week, I will not be able to do my regular blog next week. Keep your fingers crossed and follow me on facebook, if you cannot wait for the SuppVersity exclusive full report on what happened at the nationals in the days after the show.
Image 1: If Einstein had been into bodybuilding, he'd have loved how Adelfo approaches his contest prep.
Science certainly is a serious business. Nevertheless, even Einstein was convinced that, at the end of the day, "intuition" and "experience" is what distinguishes the average scientists, who spends his life in one of those sterile labs doing what philosopher of science T.S. Kuhn once called "normal science", from a genius like Einstein, who scribbled his theory on the photo-electric effects, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, on a few sheets of paper in the course of a transatlantic cruise. And though I assume Adelfo won't like it, if I call him a "genius" (and I assume for a future pro bodybuilder the comparison with Einstein is not very flattering, anyway), intuition and experience are two things our man at the 2012 Wheelchair Nationals in Florida has in abundance, which is why I will now sit back, relax and let the "pro" do the work ;-)
4 Weeks in - Let's See Where We're at!
Week 4 is almost a wrap, and as I promised last week… I have new progress pictures and 2 new videos for you. We'll start with the pictures, because - even in the age of digital cameras and even smartphones with (supposedly) "high definition", stills like those in image 2 are unique (and necessary) in that they give you the time to really judge your progress - taking weekly (more often is neither necessary nor advisable) pictures is thus a must-do not only for a competitive bodybuilder, but for everyone who wants to take his physique to another level.
For those of you who are catching up, I did not start my contest prep until the 1st week of October, so the September photos were taken while I was still in my bulking phase and still trying to experiment and to adjust my raw foods intermittent fasting dietary regimen to my individual needs. The lighting is a bit off between the two comparisons, but after 4 weeks, I can see a slight, yet visible improvement in my abdominals - it’s not much, but in view of not having been in a caloric deficit, yet (I'll be going there next week), this is certainly noteworthy.
The biggest improvement I have noticed though are related to my back. I don’t know how much of the difference is due to the lighting or maybe just because I put my hair up, ... but I honestly think that I was able to put on some decent size - looks like the switch to an EDT-type training style with all the grueling, but obviously productive compound moves was already paying off…
"Opinions, please! What do you guys think? Honestly… I’d like to here some of the readers’ opinions. Am I just seeing things? Or am I really making improvements? [Comment Dr. Andro: You can either use the "comment" function at the bottom of the page or contact Adelfo directly via Facebook if you want - the latter also holds true if you have specific questions or are interested in dietary counseling]
A pros pros training. Let's get to my latest training videos, now. We shot the videos Wednesday night! They are in fact so brand new that I did not even have the time to get sore, yet ;-)
Video 1: Adelfo is incorporating static holds at the end of each set, a technique he has adapted from Rob Regish's Blueprint (Adelfo Cerame, 2011)
Before I start my EDT Block, I always start off with some static hold movements. As you can see in the video, I do five reps and then hold the weight up, after the last one without going to full lockout (this is obviously important, unless you want your joints, instead of your muscles, to do the work ;-). When I began incorporating this technique from the Blueprint into my regimen, I used to add 4 plates on each side and just do one static hold without the extra reps, but I have noticed that the tension on a decline hammer strength machine is a lot different from a free weight decline press (the tension is a lot heavier on free weights). Thusly, I wasn’t getting enough tension with just one static contraction, because the hammer strength machines does a lot of the additional stabilizing work, you would be doing if you were performing this move with free weights.
Image 4: Even the best blueprint will need some tweaking to become your blueprint for success.
A brief note by Dr. Andro: This little "tweak" to the original "Blueprint" Adelfo has come up with is further evidence of what I mentioned two weeks ago, when Adelfo and I were on Carl Lenore's Super Human Radio. Adelfo is the kind of guy who does not follow (even good) advice blindly. He has exactly the kind of Einstein-ish "intuition" and "experience" which distinguishes an average trainee, who relies on his "gurus" to take him to the top (which obviously seldom happens), from a professional bodybuilder, who takes responsibility for his own progress.So, whatever your personal goals may be, whether you are an aspiring bodybuilder or just an average Joe or Jane wanting to look good naked - always remember: success comes from making a blueprint your blueprint!
Being assisted by the hammer strength machine does yet not mean that you cannot hit the pecs hard - it's well possible that the opposite may be the case, because you are eliminating some of the weaker links... So even if I am doing only 3 instead of 4 plates on each side the pump and the pain during the static hold tell me that I am sending that growth signal you should strive to trigger whenever you are at the gym... after all, muscle growth not exhaustion is why (I assume) most of you will be at the gym.
"I am always tailoring my workout to my very specific needs"
And just in case you are now asking yourselves why I am not just doing the static holds with free weights then, the answer is simple: It's a safety issue. When I use free weights, I do not have the luxury to plant my legs and feet to th ground, which would give me that extra stability I need. I depend solely on my core to balance myself. I have to focus on balancing the weight and myself at the same time. So you can just imagine if I lost balance while trying to lift 3 plates on each side - therefore, the most I ever did after my injury on a free weight bench, was 2 plates on each side. And while there will be a video of me doing free weight bench presses somewhen in the near future, as well. For now, I want you to take a look at me performing my favorite EDT block (video 2)
Video 2: Adelfo doing incline presses and DB rows on the third of on of his EDT cycles (Adelfo Cerame, 2011)
I perform these push-pull combinations right after decline press static holds on the hammer strength machine. Being able to move as fast as I can from one exercise to another, this combo allows me to really make the most of my time at the gym. This video comprises only one of the many cycles I try to do within the 20 minutes given…(if you have not followed the whole series, you can read up on my EDT regimen here). The video, I think, shows the third of the cycles, each of which consists of a one push and one pull exersice
"I do a set of incline presses, then I superset that with DB back rows."
My goal with each EDT block (comprising two exercises each) is to try and complete as many cycles as I can within the 20 minutes. Last night I got up to 7 cycles and with each cycle, I lift as heavy as I can for 4-6 reps. If you do the math - 7 cycles à 4 reps does not sound so much, but you must also count the reps from the superset.... so that you are doing 56 all-out heavy (!) reps within 20 minutes… Then you have another static hold exercise, and another EDT block… remember what I said about not exhausting, but stimulating a few lines above - well, sometimes the former just works best by doing the latter ;-)
Image 5: A Philly Cheese Steak Wrap, the latest delicacy from Adelfo Cerame's personal cookbook.
Adelfo Cerame's Cookbook - Philly Cheese Steak Wrap: With the great feedback I am receiving on the recipes, Dr. Andro and I have decided to include one page of the repertoire I have come up with for me, as well as for the clients, I am doing dietary counseling for, as a regular part of each of my blogposts. Today's recipe is a tribute to all of you (and many of my clients) who are no big fans of raw food eating - and let's be honest, if you are doing it correctly "cooked" food can be both healthy and delicious as well. Not being a raw foodist, paleo eater, south beacher, or whatever
else people affiliate themselves with… I eat nutritionally dense whole, natural foods (well, maybe with some exceptions on my cheat/reefed days ;-), of which I have found that my body cherishes extra bucks the ingredients may cost me.
A pros pos ingredients, here is what you will need for the one and only ...
Adelfo Cerame Philly Cheese Steak Wrap
1 La tortilla Low Carb / High fiber tortilla (12g fiber/6g carbs)
Looking back at the first month: "So far everything has gone smoothly!"
Image 6: Adelfo 10-8 weeks out from 09’ WC nationals (Adelfo Cerame, 2009)
Although we still have a couple of days left, I want to take the chance and review this first month of my contest prep. What is kind of exciting is that I have noticed that the way I look as of now is actually how I looked 10 to 8 weeks out during my 09’ contest prep (see image 6), and this is the time during prep where I usually felt rushed and began to drastically cut back on calories, because I felt there wasn’t enough time to achieve the level of competitive leanness I am expecting of myself. And though the drastic cuts did not affect me during the prep, it affected me after! And for those of you who have made extreme cuts before know what I’m talking about.... But anyway back on topic.
Next month (i.e. next week, already) I will actually begin to drop my caloric intake. This month I was at 2,250 calories, which is my maintenance calories. Next week I plan to start out with a ~15% calorie deficit from my caloric maintenance, which is about 1,912 calories. That's not much, but with the way I am looking now, eating at or even above maintenance, I expect to see some changes. If my body does not react the way I expected, I can still adapt my caloric intake in the course of the next four weeks, so that I will be able to reach my first long term goal, which is getting almost stage ready by January. By that time, March comes around real quick and I just want to have the luxury of knowing that I’m ready. But I’ll blog more about that next month and also write more about wheelchair bodybuilding in general for those of you that weren’t aware that there is such a thing ;-)
