Bodybuilding.com - Derek Beast Charlebois - A Year For Improvement: Month 1, Week 4!

Because my recovery has been so good lately I am going to be trying a heavier workload. I will be changing from a 4-day split to a 6-day split. Read on for all the great details.

A Year For Improvement: Month 1, Week 4!

By: Derek Beast Charlebois

For the next two weeks I will be switching from a 4-day split to a 6-day split. My recovery has been great as of late, so I am going to see how my body responds to an increased workload. This routine will also allow me to focus more attention on each individual muscle group.

My diet on my workout days will be exactly the same as it has been except now I will be following the workout day diet 6 days of the week instead of 4 days. Sunday will remain the same as it has been though

Monday, June 20th, 2005

Monday's workout will focus on the chest and back. I will alternate between chest and back sets. For example, I will do a set of bench press, rest, then do a set of bent over row.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

Bench 3 5 4 3 265

Bent Row 3 5 4 3 265

Incline DB Press 3 3 4 5 115 105 95

Rev. Bent Row 3 5 4 3 265

Seated Machine Press 3 10 8 6 180

Machine Row 3 10 8 6 180

Cable Fly 3 10 12 15 60 50 40

Seated Row 3 10 12 15 150 130 110

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday, June 20th, 2005.

I added in an extra exercise for both the chest and back. I liked how the Hammer Strength Chest Press left last weekend when I lifted with Marc in Chicago, so I decided to incorporate it into my routine. The Hammer Strength Chest Press allowed me to keep constant tension on my pecs and achieve a hard contraction at the top of the movement. It definitely feels different from barbell and dumbbell presses.

Tuesday, June 21th, 2005

Tuesday's workout will focus on my shoulders, traps, biceps, and triceps. With the routine I have been doing over the past 3 weeks, these muscles get hit after I already heavily tax my chest and back. Exercises for the chest and back also hit these secondary muscles, which decreasing the intensity they receive during the sets that focus on them.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

Military Press 3 5 4 3 185

BB Shrug 3 5 4 3 455

DB Lateral 3 6 8 10 50 40 30

DB Shrug 3 10 8 6 110

Cable Lateral 3 10 12 15 40 35 30

Machine Shrug 3 10 12 15 250 230 200

BB Curl 3 5 4 3 155 135 135

CG Bench 3 3 4 5 265 245 225

Preacher Curl 3 6 6 10 125 115 95

Machine Dip 3 10 8 6 180

Cable Curl 3 10 12 15 150 130 110

V-Bar Pressdown 3 12 12 15 150 150 130

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday, June 21th, 2005.

Cable Laterals

Click To Enlarge.

My left elbow has been bothering, which is due to doing overhead tricep extensions. Overhead tricep extensions with a barbell (ez-curl bar) are one of my favorite exercises for my triceps, but I cannot do them for more than a couple weeks before my elbows start screaming at me. I tried to do lying tricep extensions, but that also put pain on my elbow. As a replacement, I did the machine dip, which actually felt very good. My goal is to get my arms up to 18 inches by this time next year, so I have no time to slack.

Wednesday, June 22th, 2005

I moved deadlifts from Wednesday to Saturday and squats to Wednesdays. I did this because I train back on Thursdays and I did not my back to be fatigued from deadlifts the previous day. By doing deadlifts on Saturday, I can rest all Sunday before I target my back on Monday.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

Squats 3 3 4 5 445 425 405

SLD 3 5 315

Seated Calf 3 5 180

Leg Extension 3 6 8 10 180 160 140

Leg Curl 3 6 8 10 180 160 140

Smith Calf Raise 3 8 360

Abductor 3 15 50 50 60

Adductor 3 12 70

Donkey Calf Raise 3 15 400

Incline Crunch 3 10 10 6 25 45 45

Swiss Ball Crunch 3 10 10

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday, June 22th, 2005.

I just did squats on Saturday while in Chicago, so 445 felt very heavy today. Everything else went very smoothly.

Thursday, June 23th, 2005

This back workout focuses on pulldown movements while Monday's workout focuses on rows. Focusing on one type of movement creates a certain mindset for me, which allows me to get into a groove. I know I'll only be doing pulldowns, which for some reason makes me attack the workout more efficiently.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

Incline Bench 3 5 4 3 245

Lat Pulldown 3 5 4 3 240

Flat DB Press 3 5 4 3 115

V-Bar Lat Pulldown 3 5 4 3 240

Flat Hammer Bench Press 3 6 8 10 270 230 180

Hammer Pulldown 3 6 8 10 270 230 180

Cable Crossover 3 10 12 15 70 60 50

X-Pulldown 3 10 12 15 120

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Thursday, June 23th, 2005.

I have been stuck at 245 pounds on Incline Bench for a few weeks trying to get 5 reps and I finally got the 5 reps today. I'll move up to 255 pounds next week. I got my targeted reps for every set today, so I'll be increasing the weight for every exercise next week.

Friday, June 24th, 2005

Because I am doing deadlifts tomorrow, I do not want to fatigue my traps today and will therefore be working them after deadlifts tomorrow.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

DB Lateral 3 5 75

Chain Lateral 3 6 8 10 40 30 20

1-Arm DB Lateral 3 10 12 15 20 15 10

DB Curl 3 5 60

DB Preacher Curl 3 6 8 10 40 35 30

Conc. Curl 3 10 12 15 40 35 30

OH Cable Extension 3 5 4 3 100

Reverse Pressdown 3 10 8 6 150

DB Kickback 3 10 12 15 30 25 20

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday, June 24th, 2005.

My medial deltoids are another area I would like to improve. My delts are by no means a weak point, but I want to make them freaky!

Saturday, June 25th, 2005

Today could be considered my "light" leg day even though there is nothing light about deadlifts.

Exercise Sets Reps Weight

Deadlift 3 4 3 3 515

BHB Shrug 3 5 455

Smith Lunge 3 10 50 70 90

Seated Calf Press 3 10 365

Hack Squat 3 15 12 10 180

Seated Calf Raise 3 15 135

Machine Crunch 3 30 25 20 50 60 70

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Saturday, June 25th, 2005.

I absolutely love behind the back shrugs! They hit the traps way differently than the standard shrugs to the front. I did lunges on the smith machine today, which is the first time I do each leg one at a time. So I did 10 reps for the right leg then 10 reps for the left leg.

Sunday, June 26th, 2005

Body Composition

Date 5/29 6/5 6/12 6/19 6/26

Pectoral 5 4 3 3 2

Abdomen 6 5 4 4 4

Quadricep 10 9 7 7 6

Total 21 18 14 14 12

Bodyweight 210 204 201.5 203.5 205.5

Weight Change From Previous - -6 -2.5 2 2

Weight Change From Beginning - -6 -8.5 -6.5 -4.5

Electronic Bodyfat Percentage 5.2 4.3 3 3 2.4

% Bodyfat (I Add 3% to reading)* 8.2 7.3 6 6 5.4

lbs Bodyfat 17.22 14.892 12.09 12.21 11.097

Fat Mass Change From Previous - -2.328 -5.13 0.12 -1.113

Fat Mass Change From Beginning - -2.328 -5.13 -5.01 -6.123

% Lean Mass 91.8 92.7 94 94 94.6

lbs Lean Mass 192.78 189.108 189.41 191.29 194.403

Lean Mass Change From Previous - -3.672 0.302 1.88 3.113

Lean Mass Change From Beginning - -3.672 -3.37 -1.49 1.623

Conclusion

Definitely a solid week!

My body responded very well to the added calories as I gained lean mass while losing fat. One thing I would like to point out is that when you are lean you have awesome insulin and leptin sensitivity. Therefore my body is soaking up the carbs I am eating and I am providing a strong stimulus for leptin expression from my Xtend (BCAA) intake.

My body is primed to add muscle and burn fat right now. My goal this year is to remain lean (6-8%) while adding muscle. I definitely think my goal is very realistic as long as I stick to my diet.

I wanted to take pictures on Sunday, but I was not able to and had to take them on Monday. I was very impressed with the way I looked on Sunday: dry, lean, and vascular. I was holding a butt load of water on Monday as I usually do on the days I workout, so I do not look my best in the pics.

Oh well. Here are a couple pics from the set I took on Monday.