Fantom's Return to stage

Hi and will be keeping an eye on this journal looking for tips on training and diet,
More thickness you say ? thats just plain greedy ;-)
 

Ok we did shoulders and Bicpes today
hammer shoulder press 1 x 8 (40kg)
                                       1 x 8(80kg)
                                       1 x 8(120kg)
                                       1 x 8(160kg)
                                       1 x 7 (160kg) drop set
                                        1 x 6 (80kg)
 
Cable lateral raise           1 x 12  (20lb)
                                        1 x 12  (25lb)
                                         1 x 12 (30lb)
 
Front raise with plate       3 x 12 (20kg)
 
hammer shrug                 3 x 12  (160kg)
 
Nautilus curl                     3 x 10  (stack)
 
cablle preacher                 3 x 10  (stack)
 
I can always guage my strength on the first pressing movement, it's only recently that I've got upto 4 plates a side on the hammer strength press so that's a good indication my strength is increasing as the reps are increasing too.
 
Tomorrow is a day off from training as my whole body is aching and stiff so I'll do 35 mins cardio in the morning then stretch for 10 minutes.
 
I always use a combo of BCAAs and Glutamine before cardio and a cup of green tea. oh and some ECA too.
 
Cardio is done in the form of treadmill on a slight incline working my heart rate upto 135bpm.
 
When I increase cardio later on in my prep i alternate the bike with treadmill to save boredom

This will be a great journal.
Si and I have become great friends over the past 9 months (we only met in August) as we were co-promoters of the best bodybuilding show this nation has seen.
Physqiue wise, Si has the perfect proportion X-shape: wide shoulders, broad back, narrow waist and flaired quads.  He knows how to compete.
 
Anyone seriously into training will learn from this journal.
 
Si, if you don't mind me saying, you seem to lack a bit in the chest.  How do you plan to work around this?
 

this is going to be a great journal simon - i am hooked already.
I havent seen you on stage before so i am really looking forward to seeing you up there at the British finals.
Awesome condition simon - ripped glutes never fail to impress me.
 
i cant imagine a better place than Temple gym to get fired up, train balls out and get in your best condition ever.
 
best of luck
x

James


This will be a great journal.
Si and I have become great friends over the past 9 months (we only met in August) as we were co-promoters of the best bodybuilding show this nation has seen.
Physqiue wise, Si has the perfect proportion X-shape: wide shoulders, broad back, narrow waist and flaired quads.  He knows how to compete.

Anyone seriously into training will learn from this journal.

Si, if you don't mind me saying, you seem to lack a bit in the chest.  How do you plan to work around this?

Thanks James,
 
Chest has always been a problematic area for me and I have probably experimented more with different exercises for chest more than anything else.
 
I have like most people pressed with my shoulders when doing chest so that takes away from the stress of the chest but now recently I've been concentrating on more dumbell work and focusing on the contraction and pressing with my chest. The weight is a lot less than I would normally use but the results I feel are slowly coming. Ok my chest will never be my best bodypart but as long as it's steadily improving the thats all that matters.
 
Before that I would follow what my training partner would do and Leroy has a huge chest and I know whatever exercise he would do it would work for him. So I had to break away from that and train smarter and to my focus on my weaknesses.
 
I did tear my chest in 1999 doing 100lb incline flys and had it re-attatched in 2007 so that obvisouly didnt help matters but it taught me to train stricter and ever since then I've been injury free.
 
I did say earlier that I plan to train legs once a fortnight and on the weeks i dont train legs I will put in a second chest workout 3 days after the first one. Perhaps more isolation exercises like flys, cable corssover and pec deck.
 
One interesting thing Dorian said to me was that he asked me if the routine i was doing for chest wasn't really having any noticable effects in 4 weeks what makes it say it will do anything more in another 4 weeks? So taking this on board I have kept a close log on my progress and will change the routines to keep the body in shock.

Hi
 
Great pictures and looking forward to reading this journey
 
Good Luck

Hi Lisa,
 
Thank you for your comments, I have to say that 2009 was probably the best condition i had ever got myself into, the year before I had a poor showing at the British and knew I would have to pull out all stops to get back in the running order.
 
I have to say now looking back it was extremley hard for me to get that crisp look and had to take my body beyond where it had been before, I went down to 30g carbs a day and was doing 3 sessions of cardio a day just to get the weight off. At 2 weeks out my bodyweight had stagnated and wouldnt budge from 92kilos no matter what i did.
 
I weighed in at Birmingham at 89.99 kilos after cutting my water out and dropping my carbs, i carbed up on the day with mainly fats and protein something I had never tried before and it enabled me to come in full and hard without any water issues.
Here are a few pics the day before the qualifier


 
And yes I do love training here at Temple gym, its kind of sureal at times but the place does have a special atmosphere which just makes you want to train hard.
 
We get all the top pros and amateurs come down to the gym to either see Dorian or just to have a look around, the other month we had Branch Warren, Jonnie Jackson and Flex Lewis all training in the same day!

Hey James dont worry Im not skyving work from the Grand Prix duties mate!!
 
Like James said we have become very good friends over the past few months running the Grand Prix along with Neil too. We all have the same passion and want to give something special to you fans of bodybuilding thats why we put hundreds of hours into planning the show and next year will be no different. We dont do it for the money() but for the love of our sport.
 
Please stay tuned for some very exciting news regarding the 2012 British Grand Prix!!

awesome mate those legs are fantastic !!will be checking this one out thats for sure !

arniemonkey


awesome mate those legs are fantastic !!will be checking this one out thats for sure !

Thanks Mr Monkey
 
As i said earlier in the journal my legs are perhaps my best bodypart and the past few seasons I competed they tend do get into condition faster than my upperbody. I think this is due to doing all my cardio work via my legs (treadmill and bike) so I do believe there is some truth to spot redcution.
 
Glad your enjoying the journal mate any questions please dont hesitate to ask!!

Hi Si this is going to be an excellent journal to read thats for sure!
I've always wanted to train in the Temple Gym but to own it, lol....thats just plain bananas
 
You say that you will be resting the legs and not training them for a good while as they are your best body part.
This is something of a predicament for me as i too have legs that dominate my top half by good measure...
 
In one hand i believe that if you have a good bodypart that stands you apart from the others, make it even stronger...
In the other hand, proportion and balance is always the aim.
 
I roll more with working with the hand you are dealt and the other areas will catch up in time.
 
What are your thoughts on it all?

Enjoying the journal and reading with interest.  Good luck mate.

Hi Aaron,
 
I have laid off from intensive leg training for the past six months training them sporidactically but after only two sessions they seem to have come back to their normal size, infact I have had comments regarding my legs more so than ever so I dont think it's done them any harm in resting them.
 
If you have good legs then Im sure they will always repsond no matter what you do for them but laying off them has definately helped my upper body grow.
 
Now im starting my prep for the show I will train them more regular once a fortnight I have in mind but I will run this past Neil and see what his thoughts are as my main aim is to bring my chest and back up and bring in a  more balanced package.
 
Having said that nothing impresses me more than a decent set of wheels which you rarely see nowadays on stage.

Aaron Hallett


Hi Si this is going to be an excellent journal to read thats for sure!
I've always wanted to train in the Temple Gym but to own it, lol....thats just plain bananas

You say that you will be resting the legs and not training them for a good while as they are your best body part.
This is something of a predicament for me as i too have legs that dominate my top half by good measure...

In one hand i believe that if you have a good bodypart that stands you apart from the others, make it even stronger...
In the other hand, proportion and balance is always the aim.

I roll more with working with the hand you are dealt and the other areas will catch up in time.

What are your thoughts on it all?

fair point Si, laying off the legs has allowed you to devote more time to focusing on the upper body.
Do you train over a conventional weekly split (mon, tues, wed etc).
 
If so, by taking out the legs day, did you/have you, filled in the empty workout slot with say chest or back, or left it as a rest day?

Aaron Hallett


fair point Si, laying off the legs has allowed you to devote more time to focusing on the upper body.
Do you train over a conventional weekly split (mon, tues, wed etc).

If so, by taking out the legs day, did you/have you, filled in the empty workout slot with say chest or back, or left it as a rest day?

Good question!!
 
At the moment Im trying to fit all body parts once a week except legs but recently I'm listening to my body more so if i feel i need to take an extra days rest I will.
 
I will make sure I hit chest and back in that week though, shoulders and arms I can get away with training less frequent as they grow easily.
 
On the weeks i dont do legs I will incorporate an extra chest session but again I will run this by Neil and see what his thoughts are?
 
My split varies from week to week as I have to train around my partners but this will change soon as I will focus more on my own prep and they can follow me!!
 
I like to have different partners for different muscle groups and its good to have someone new to train with at times.
 

You're blessed with the names you have for training partners!
they are like hen's teeth round my way...
 
LOL, yes they can tow your line for once when the prep starts!
One note on the piano from then on..."me me me me me me!"

 
Working with Neil, are you looking forward to the long drives to his dungeon? From what i've heard from James, make sure you dont need a dump after you leave!

great answers Si!  already a top journal!

fantom


Hey James dont worry Im not skyving work from the Grand Prix duties mate!!

Like James said we have become very good friends over the past few months running the Grand Prix along with Neil too. We all have the same passion and want to give something special to you fans of bodybuilding thats why we put hundreds of hours into planning the show and next year will be no different. We dont do it for the money() but for the love of our sport.

Please stay tuned for some very exciting news regarding the 2012 British Grand Prix!!

LOL - get back to work!
 
We certainly don't do it for the money, that's for sure! LOL
 
Yes folks, big news coming very soon ... stay tuned!
 

Hi Si, great reading mate and awesome physique, have bumped into each other a few times at vinces gym, wish you all the best in your prep you have a fantastic team around you!!

Today was a day off from weights so I did 35 mins cardio first thing in the morning, 15 mins on bike and 20 mins on treadmill.  I make sure i wrap up well whilst doing cardio as it helps bring on a sweat and burns more calories.
 
I am currently training a classic competitor for the MuscleTalk show in less than 2 weeks. I have to say that my client has impressed the hell out of me in the way he is responding to the prep I've given him.
 
He is getting harder by the day and should look bang on for the show, It's his first ever comp and 3 weeks out he had striations in his lower lats like Dorian did!! I am very proud of him and win or lose he should be happy with his results. Watch out for him at the show!!
 
I had a good chat with Neil today regarding the shows and Im just waiting for my 10 week diet plan, I usually carb cycle 1 day high 350g, 2 medium 250g and 3 days low 150g but I will hand it all over to him and let him take the reigns. I think Neil will have me eating more food for this prep and this should make me grow into the show. I wont argue with that.......
 
We both agreed that I should leave the leg training at least once a fortnight but Neil suggested even once every 3 weeks. However I'll still hit calves and some hamstring once a week
 
I expressed to Neil that chest was my priority  so i suggested doing it twice a week but he recomended doing it once every 5 days which makes more sense. This way I'll just have to schedule my workouts round my chest sessions.
 
I dont want to give away too much of how Neil preps me as he has certain methods that he uses that remain confidential to him and his clients but I will try and update the journal as often as I can with as much information as I can and my progress.
 
Make the most of me now as i know once the diet kicks in I'll be too tired to do anything