Smashing records on chest day!

The A team was on top form on chest day, maybe due to my dad Bill McCReady being there with his trusty lense! Great shots dad even better faces we pulled!! Spartan used the heaviest Dumbells in the gym 70kg for an impressive strict set of Incline DB press. I got up to 42.5kg my PB yet. Bodster was smashing some heavy ass weight around, this guy is one hell of a training partner & an extreme tough mentality. Not even 2 years ago did he tear his left bicep off which required surgery. These 2 comrades make up part of my team that will see me through my tough 20 weeks of dieting which began on Monday. 20 weeks to Toronto!! COME OOONNNN!!!

2012 starts with calves & hamstrings

The New Year got off to a great start with an intense calf & Hamstring session. Although training alone since Spartan has torn his hamstring & Bodster restarts tomorrow i started the year as i mean to go on - full blown! With having 2 days off from training i was ready to blast my hammies & calves & that i did.
Seated calf raises supersetted with donkeys with 15stone of spartan sat on my back was enough to make my calves feel like toast! These were done for 3 sets with reps ranging from 15 - 30 & the weight increasing each set. Next up standing calf raises which i like to do on the hack squat machine because i find the angle targets my calves instead of my toes.
Then it was time to blast hammies;- stiff legged deads really concentrating on form & engaging my hams on the beginning of each rep. These are done a bit like a cross between Romanian deads & stiff legged deads. I then moved on to hip extensions on the cable crossover machine. I prefer this to using the standing leg curl as the way that particular machine is  built it just doesn't feel right, very awkward & not mechanically right for me. So the cables it was, sometimes i knee flexions sometimes like today it was hip extensions, powering up then really slowing the negative part of the rep down as the hamstrings respond better to heavy eccentric work. This being said my next movement was the lying leg curl where i used both legs for the contraction part & used only 1 leg for the negative. Again explosive on the way up & slow on the way down. Believe me these really get you on the negatives! My final movement was suicides. Named because it looks like you're going to topple off the edge. Very difficult to describe but done on the seated calf machine & a great way to purely isolate those hammies. By the end of these i was done!!

SHOULDERS & BICEPS AT EVOLUTION GYM TRAINED BY Ms JONES

Tues 27th Dec 2011

What better way to finish the year off than a shoulder & bicep session at John Hodgsons EVOLUTION GYM, Rochdale, put through my paces by the legendary Kimberley Anne Jones. Was a total change for me used to dishing out the orders to Bodster & Spartan but today i was on the receiving end. One to One ass kicking under the extremely watchful eye of Ms Jones. The kit & equipment is second to none at EVOLUTION GYM & always made to feel welcome by John & Paul. Usually its John thats unleashing hell on me but he was having a week off & since Kim was up in the area i was the lucky one. Kim truly is the A-Z of bodybuilding exercises & her eye for detail is absolutely amazing. The things she picks up on, sees is truly awesome you can almost hear her brain ticking away as i was doing the exercises. Anyway by the end of doing delts using 5 specialised movements to hit the targeted areas my shoulders were toast!
After shoulders i was taken through 4 different movement for biceps all of which hit the muscle like a bunsen burner! By the end of the session i was sure id grown by 10ft in width!
After having my recovery drink, showered & changed we met up with John & Mikey Smith, a top 3 British finalist, & hit Frankie & Bennys for food. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
A great meal with some of my best friends & mentors. An absoultely fab day in all apart from the drive home my arms felt like lead :)

WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW!

Great arm session with the boys tonight. Triceps first, starting with rope pushdowns, a couple of warm up sets ending with an all out set with a couple of forced reps & a triple drop. Then it was on to single cable reverse extensions 1 warm up set then 1 all out set with a couple of forced, all done with good strict form. Now they were pre exhausted onto close-grip press on the Smith machine. Always feel these better after pre exhausting so my chest doesn't take over. Ended these with a couple of negatives, a great training partner is essential & im lucky enough to have 2 of the best. Wayne is crazy strong on triceps, well hes crazy strong full stop but even he was feeling it by now. We finished tri's off with 2 sets of bench dips. Haven't done these in a while & we forgot how good they were!
Biceps began with ez curls 2 warm up sets then an all out set with forced & a drop set. These are done very strict & instead of leaning back when tired we lean in to make it extra hard & again essential to have a good training partner who knows when to step in. Next up was 2arm incline curls, these are harsh & Wayne hates them. Infact so does Bodster. Hard to imagine its just a little over a year since Bodster tore his bicep off. The guy is a true warrior & hes getting his weights up now to decent poundages while his fishing wire in his arm holds it in place! 2 sets of db hammer curls  & 1 drop set of cable curls was enough to toast our arms. Job done roll on quads tomorrow!

Training alone on chest day

I knew in advance i was training chest alone today, not a bodypart i like training alone, infact training without Bodster & Spartan sucks but I love training so much i still really enjoy it & always push to the max with a little help from Craig the manager always willing to lend a hand.
Still maintaining my strength which is good, maxed out on the 1st exercise, Incline db press with 40kg for 6 reps & 1 forced. Ive always loved this exercise & i have always felt it in the right place.  I see SO many people using poor form on chest exercises, using their front delts, hunching their shoulders forward, locking elbows out. All in a quest to get the weight from A to B! Need better chest development? Retract them shoulder blades lift your ribcage right up & DON'T lock elbows out.
Anyway following the presses i used one of the Hammer Strength machines for2 sets, the last set bring a drop set. Then flat DB flyes & finally 2 sets of pek flyes with a triple drop. My chest always gets pumped after the 1st warm up set so i always end up with a crazy burn.
Recovery drink straight in then roll on back day tomorrow!

Leeds & legs

Sunday was a great day at the UKFBB Leeds qualifier where there was a112 competitors! Wow! The place was buzzing & it was a great atmosphere. Kay & I spent most of our time helping my good friend Karen Mariller (Showtan) backstage glazing the competitors after she'd tanned them. It was great to catch up with a few people & there were some great physiques onstage battling it out for a place at the British finals in 2 weeks.
We got home late & my usual Sunday night cheat meal was a XL Burger King bacon & cheeseburger whopper..oh & half of Kays which she couldn't eat :)yum.

Today was back to the drawing board hitting calves & quads with Bodster. As tired as we both were we were both really strong tonight. Using Musclefury's NITRIC THUNDER is a huge advantage especially on leg day. We hit seated calf raise, toe press & standing calf raise on the hack machine. We like doing them on here we just feel it on the calves more. Then on to squats where we both hit personal bests. For me doing squats has always been really dodgy due to my back problems & so ive mostly always done front squats. But since working with my biomechanics coach ive been able to do them pain free for the 1st time in years! We then did leg press, 2 sets, hacks ass in the bucket for 2 sets & finished off with a crazy burn on leg extensions. Bodster & I were on the Hizoos!! Killing it my buddy awesome sesh!

Where were we last Friday?

Last Friday we were lost in the intensity & atmosphere in Grants Gym Darlington, all 3 of us in our Leg Day bubble where everyone else in the gym (& it was busy) just seemed to be invisible & the noise was just our 3 voices & breathing! We were all up for it, beginning with calves; seated calf raise then toe press on the leg press machine. They were on fire!! We then moved on to hammies with BB stiff legged deadlifts, lying leg curls where the boys can use the stack for reps on this machine so i had to come up with a way they were hurting too! It helped we did stiff leggs 1st. Then we moved on to extensions, toes on the negative part, going slow to feel the inner tear drop & oh we felt it ok!! Frog hack squats were next followed by 1 legged squats where our 1 foot was raised on a bench behind so its kind of like a lunge, gripping weight too. Spartan the freak he is thought he'd hold 40kg on his last set to failure, impressive to watch. Bodsters will to never give up was awesome too & by the end of sissy squats we were shot down!! Now next leg sesh is the last 1 all 3 of us will be together for a while as Spartans leave is up so i will conjure up something gruesome for the battlefield. Theses training sessions are fantastic & I love the way we push eachother to places where many wouldn't go. But we have to do things others don't to achieve things others won't.