John Hansens Training Diary Week of April 27th 2008

by: John Hansen - May 5th, 2008

John Hansen’s Training Diary – Week of April 27th, 2008

Sunday, April 27th, 2008
My weight today was really down from the last two days, down to 207.5 pounds. My waist, however, is still stuck at 34 ½” which really sucks. It should have gone down yesterday but it didn’t.

Today was my day off but I did go to the gym and do cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast. I did 30 minutes of cardio (10 minutes on the Stair Mill and 20 minutes on the treadmill) to try and increase this slow fat loss. I had a serving of Vassive EA8 for the amino acids about 30 minutes before I did my cardio and then I had 2 scoops of Whey Gold immediately after the cardio. Here is what I ate today:

Meal 1 – (Pre-Cardio) – 1 serving of Vassive EA8 in water
Meal 2 – (Post Cardio) – 2 servings of Whey Gold in water
Meal 3 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 4 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 5 – 4.37 oz lean ground turkey, 127 grams sweet potato, 3.21 oz broccoli
Meal 6 – Protein Drink consisting 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Egg Protein
Meal 7 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup of green beans
Meal 8 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil

Today’s diet came out to 2513.5 calories with 307 grams of protein, 140 grams of carbohydrates and 71 grams of fats. This breaks down to 49% protein, 22% carbs and 25% fat. Hopefully, the combination of low carbs and 30 minutes of cardio will bring the waist down by tomorrow.

Monday, April 28th, 2008
My weight today was actually up a pound to 208.5 pounds and the damn stubborn waist is still at 34 ½”. Today was a training day so I ate more carbs and calories so maybe the waist will come down tomorrow. That’s usually the way it happens.

This is my last week of training before my guest posing exhibition this weekend in Oregon. I don’t know if it’s the diet or if I just need a week off but my strength seems to be low these last few weeks. I’m going to train as heavy as I can this week and then go lighter next week when I get back. My weights today were pretty close to what I did two weeks ago when I did this same workout. I seem to be at a sticking point so I’m looking forward to taking a break next week from both the diet and the workouts. Here is how the workout went today:

Bench Press 225x10, 275x4, 275x4, 285x3
Incline DB Press 100x9, 115x6, 115x5
Flyes 80x9, 80x8, 80x7
DB Pull-overs 100x12, 100x10
Tricep Pushdowns 100x12, 120x9, 130x7
Decline Extensions 100x12, 120x8, 120x8
Dips BWx12, 25x9, 25x8
Seated Calf Raises 100x20, 150x12, 200x8, 200x8
Standing Calf Raises 360x12, 460x10, 520x8

I didn’t feel that strong today and it was even hard to get a good pump. This diet is really affecting my workouts, especially my chest workouts which have never been my strongest bodypart.

I ate my regular training day diet today. I kept the carbs pretty low, down to 214 grams and I ate over 3000 calories, which is a little high for a training day. I had a super busy day training clients in the morning. I had to work from 5:30am until 11am so I had an extra protein drink. Here is exactly what I ate today:

Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops of Whey Gold, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 3 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 4 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 5 – (Post-Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving creatine
Meal 6 – 4.2 oz lean ground turkey, 144 grams sweet potato, 3.07 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 8 – 3.88 oz sirloin steak, 48 grams pasta sauce, ½ cup green peas
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil

Today’s diet came out to 3044 calories and 348 grams of protein, 214 grams of carbohydrates and 76 grams of fats. This breaks down to 46% protein, 28% carbs and 23% fats.

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
My weight this morning was at 207 pounds and my waist FINALLY was at 34 ¼”. Wow, it took a week and a half to lose a damn quarter of an inch off my waist! That was brutally slow!!

I went to the gym this morning to train abs and legs. I was feeling really weak again today and the squats were not good at all. I barely did the same weight and reps that I got the last time I did this workout. I increased the reps on abs so that was good but the weights I used on legs was nothing to write home about. Here is how it went:

Hanging Knee Raises BWx40, BWx30
Kneeling Cable Crunches 150x25, 150x20
Leg Extensions (Flex Mach.) 150x20, 180x15, 210x12
Pause Squats (Bench) 225x10, 275x8, 315x4, 315x4
Hack Squats – 1 ½ reps 225x10, 275x8, 315x6
DB Leg Curls 65x8, 70x8, 70x7
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 185x10, 235x8, 235x8

I did really good on the diet today, keeping the carbs down to 200 grams and the protein at 300 grams. Here is what I ate today:

Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – (Pre-workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
Meal 3 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 4 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery
Meal 5 – 4.41 oz lean ground turkey, 129 grams sweet potato, 3.07 oz broccoli
Meal 6 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 7 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans
Meal 8 – 1 egg, 6 egg whites, 3 T. salsa
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil

Today’s diet came out to 2808 calories with 300.5 grams of protein, 203 grams of carbohydrates and 77 grams of fats. This breaks down to 43% protein, 29% carbs and 25% fat.

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
My bodyweight and waist this morning were exactly what it was yesterday, my weight was at 207 pounds and my waist was at 34 ¼”. I was hoping to have my waist at 34” for the guest posing but I guess I am going to be just a little bit bigger than that.

Wednesday is normally my day off from training but since I am leaving tomorrow evening for Oregon, I thought I would train shoulders and calves today and take tomorrow off. I will probably train out there on Friday and do back and biceps before doing my guest posing exhibition on Saturday.

Today was a pretty good workout. I went heavier than the last workout on Seated Military Press but I kept the rest of the exercises moderately heavy. I went a little lighter on Side Lateral Raises, Bent-Over Lateral Raises and Seated Barbell Shrugs. I did calves after shoulders but I kept the weights moderate also. Here is how it went:

Seated Military Press 95x15, 135x12, 205x6, 205x6
Side Lateral Raises 40x12, 45x10, 50x8 drop sets to 40x4 drop set to 30x4 x 2 sets
Bent-Over Lateral Raises 35x10, 40x8, 40x8
Seated Barbell Shrugs 225x12, 315x10, 365x8, 365x8
Donkey Calf Raises 190 plus 45 lb x 25, 190 plus 135 lbs x 25x 2 sets
Leg Press Calf Raises 540x12, 630x10, 640x10

My diet today was basically the same as yesterday. I kept the carbs moderate and the protein a little higher than yesterday. Here is what I ate today:

Meal 1 – 2 servings Whey Gold Standard, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 2 – 1 egg, 9 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold
Meal 4 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 5 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery
Meal 6 – 4.13 oz lean ground turkey, 130 grams sweet potato, 3.07 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 8 – 3.88 oz sirloin steak, 41 grams pasta sauce, ½ cup green peas, 18 grams natural peanut butter
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil

Today’s diet came out to 2967 calories with 323 grams of protein, 212 grams of carbs and 80 grams of fats. This breaks down to 44% protein, 29% carbohydrates and 24% fat.

Tomorrow will be an off day and I leave for Oregon in the evening. I’ll try and schedule my diet so I stay on track and eat all my meals even while I am traveling.

Thursday, May 1st, 2008
My weight today was up a little to 208.5 pounds and my waist is still at 34 ¼”. I had to train about four clients in the morning and then go home and get ready for my flight.

I ate the meals that would be difficult to eat on the plane before I left for the airport. That meant eating dinner early and leaving lunch (which I could carry with me more easily) until later. I also tried to have my protein drinks earlier since there is that stupid rule about not bringing liquids on the plane. I did bring one protein drink with me but I just put the Casein powder in a container and filled it up with water later. Ahhh, the joys of traveling by plane in the modern age!

Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Whey Gold, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 3 – 1 egg, 8 egg whites, 3 T. salsa
Meal 4 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans
Meal 5 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 6 – 4 oz lean ground turkey, 145 grams sweet potato, 15 grams natural peanut butter
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein

I flew into Portland about 9:30 pm Chicago time and then had to take another short flight to Redmond, Oregon about thirty minutes later. It was probably around 8:30 pm Oregon time when I arrived. The promoter of the contest picked me up at the airport and he took me back to my hotel.

I didn’t stay up late because I was scheduled to do an interview with the local TV station at 6:30 in the morning. Lucky for the two hour time difference, I was able to get enough sleep so I wasn’t super tired when I got up.

Friday, May 2nd, 2008
I had to get up at 4:45 am Oregon time this morning because I was scheduled to be interviewed by the local TV news station to help promote the contest tomorrow. I called all the local newspapers and television stations last week to let them know that I would be in town for the guest posing and I would be available to talk to them about bodybuilding and fitness and the competition. One television station called me up earlier in the week and we scheduled an interview for Friday morning.

Bill Hayes, the promoter of the contest, picked up me at the hotel at 5:30 am and we drove over to the TV station for the interview. We had to wait about 45 minutes but we were eventually interviewed by one of the television anchors. We talked mostly about the contest tomorrow but I was also asked some questions about natural bodybuilding.

After the interview was finished, Bill and I went to breakfast at a local restaurant. I was trying to stay on my diet so I wouldn’t retain too much water for the guest posing tomorrow. I ordered 10 egg whites (Egg Beaters) and a bowl of oatmeal with raisins so I ate what I normally would have eaten for breakfast.

Bill had another interview lined up with a local radio station so he dropped me back off at the hotel and then picked me up a couple hours later to take me to the gym. I wanted to get in my last workout for the week so it was great I had a chance to train today.

The gym was very nice and clean. I trained back and biceps but I didn’t push it too much or go too heavy. I just wanted to get a decent workout in before the guest posing tomorrow. I thought I would be out of breath because Bend, Oregon is 3700 feet above sea level but I wasn’t too bad. I’m going to go much lighter next week in the gym because I’m really feeling burned out lately, either because I need a break or because of the long diet. Here is how the workout went today:

Close-Grip Pulldowns 130x15, 180x8
Wide-Grip Chins BWx12, BWx10, BWx8
One-Arm DB Rows 100x12, 120x8, 120x8
T-Bar Rows 4 plates x 10, 4 plates plus 25 lb x 8x2 sets
Hyper-Ext. BWx20, 45x15 drop set BWx10 x 2 sets
Alternate DB Curls 45x12, 55x8, 55x7
Preacher Curls 80x8, 80x8
Reverse Barbell Curls 80x10, 80x10
Seated Tricep Dips (Mach.) 120x12, 140x10, 140x10
Bent-Over Cable Ext. 65x10, 70x10x2 sets
Lying DB Ext. 35x10 x 2 sets

When I finished the workout, Bill had the gym make a post-workout shake for me. They made the shake with whey protein powder, carbohydrate powder, oatmeal, blueberries and bananas and it was GOOD.

Bill drove me back to the hotel and he gave me a cooked chicken breast and sweet potato that one of the girls from the gym made for me for lunch (the people in Oregon were SO nice!). I had lunch about an hour later and then just rested at the hotel.

I brought some Optimum Nutrition protein packets with me to make protein shakes. I had the Whey Gold, Pro Complex and Casein sample packets so I was able to have about 3 protein drinks a day.

Bill told me to rent a car for the weekend at his expense because he was too busy running around getting everything ready for his contest tomorrow. I rented a car that evening and went out to see a movie (“Iron Man”, GREAT movie!) and had dinner at a nice restaurant. I ordered the broiled salmon and a sweet potato but stayed away from the bread and desserts.

When I got home from the movie, I had a Casein Protein drink made with water. I was super tired at night because I didn’t get enough sleep the last two nights.

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
I slept about 9 hours last night to make up for the lack of sleep over the last two days. I went to the same restaurant for breakfast that I was at yesterday and ordered the same thing, egg whites and oatmeal.

After breakfast, I went to the school where the contest was being held. They had a Fitness Expo going on all day and they were nice enough to give me a table to sell my book and my two DVD’s. I hung out at the school while the pre-judging was going on.

After the pre-judging ended, most of the audience left the building. Since there wasn’t much of a crowd left, I decided to go back to my hotel room and just relax before the show that evening. I bought some chicken and vegetables from a vendor that was selling food outside the high school and had that for lunch.

The contest at night was very well attended, especially for the promoter’s first contest. Unfortunately, the Expo shut down when the contest started so I didn’t stay out in the lobby and instead went into the auditorium to watch the show. The promoter had me posing at the very end of the contest, right before the Men’s Open overall, so I had a long wait.

I came out in the costume of King Leonidas from the movie “300”. I used a line from the movie and then took the costume off and posed to “Party Train” from the Gap Band. Everyone seemed to like it so it went over well.

I went to the After Party when the contest ended. It was held in the downtown area of Bend at a Mexican restaurant. I went off my diet for the night by having Carne Asada for dinner along with a few margaritas. I planned to be off the diet on Saturday night and most of Sunday (since I would be traveling back home that day) but this break from the diet will hopefully stimulate my metabolism and give me a needed break from the last few months of dieting.

Now that the guest posing is finished, I need to get really ripped for a photo shoot with Optimum Nutrition on June 20th and then another photo shoot with IronMan Magazine the following week. I figure I’m about half way there now and I need to lose another 2 inches off the waist to be really ripped.

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