John Hansens Training Diary Week of September 14th 2008
by: John Hansen - September 18th, 2008
John Hansen’s Training Diary – Week of September 14th, 2008
Monday, September 15th, 2008
My weight today was at 214.5 pounds and the waist was at 35 ¾”. I can’t believe how much my waist went up this weekend. I had it down to 35” on Saturday but then I cheated a little that day. I went to the movies and had a big bag (actually medium) of popcorn and then stopped by Potbellies for lunch. The sodium from the restaurant food and the popcorn expanded my waist to 35 ½” on Sunday. Sunday I was off the diet for a couple meals also but it wasn’t too bad. I had lunch at a restaurant/bar when I was watching the Bears game. This made my waist go up another quarter of an inch.
I went to the gym in the morning to train chest and triceps. I went a little heavier than the last chest and triceps workout so it was a pretty good workout. Here is how it went:
DB Bench Press 45x20, 70x15, 100x10, 120x6, 120x6
Incline Press 205x10, 235x8, 255x5
Incline Flyes 80x10, 85x8, 85x8
Dips (Wide-Grip) BWx12, 25x9
Close-Grip Bench 135x12, 185x8, 225x5
Lying Triceps Ext. 100x12, 120x10, 130x8
Bench Dips BWx15, 80x12 drop set to BWx8 x 2 sets
Standing Calf Raises 320x15, 420x12, 520x10
Seated Calf Raises 100x20, 150x15, 170x12
I went up on DB Bench, Incline Press, Incline Flyes, Dips, Lying Triceps Extensions and Bench Dips so it was a pretty good workout. My left elbow was hurting a little but I was able to get through the workout.
My diet today was way up in calories and carbs. For some reason, I was super hungry today. I didn’t eat any junk or restaurant food but I ate more meals than usual. Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops of Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil
Meal 2 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
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 oz lean ground turkey, 120 grams sweet potato, 3.17 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 scoop Pro Complex
Meal 8 – 1 scoop Whey Gold, instant oatmeal
Meal 9 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans, Mini-Bag Popcorn
Meal 10 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil, 2 slices Ezkiel Bread with 2 t. natural peanut butter
Today’s diet came out to 3716 calories with 379 grams of protein, 309.5 grams of carbs and 103 grams of fats. This breaks down to 41% protein, 33% carbohydrates and 25% fats.
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
My weight this morning was at 214 pounds and the waist actually went down to 35 ½”. It’s amazing my waist went down after eating so many calories and carbs yesterday.
I went to the gym in the afternoon to train abs and legs. I was a little worried about the leg workout because I was supposed to squat and my lower back was still feeling pretty weak. I did my lower back exercises using the ball this morning but it still wasn’t feeling too great when I got to the gym. I decided not to try and go heavier on Squats from the last workout and instead do more reps with the same weight I used last time. This way, I would still make the workout more intense without risking injury to my lower back. Here is how it went:
Hanging Knee Raises BWx40, BWx30
Kneeling Cable Crunches 150x30, 150x20
Leg Extensions (Flex Mach.) 150x20, 180x15, 210x12
Pause Squats 225x12, 265x10, 275x10
Hack Squats (1 ½ reps) 180x10, 230x8, 270x6
DB Leg Curls 60x12, 70x8, 70x7
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 135x12, 185x10, 225x8
This was a great leg workout despite the lighter poundages on Squats. I increased the reps on abs, getting 40 reps on the Hanging Knee Raises on the first set. For legs, I got more reps on the Leg Extensions and did more reps on all the sets of Pause Squats. I also went heavier on Hack Squats. The DB Leg Curls went really well and I did 3 sets of Stiff-leg Deads, which I haven’t done for awhile.
My diet was good today but I still had a lot of carbs, almost 300 grams. I’m loving the off season when I can eat more carbs and calories. Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops of Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil
Meal 2 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 3 T. salsa, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
Meal 4 – (During Training) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 5 – (Post Training) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving creatine
Meal 6 – 4 oz lean ground turkey, 134 grams sweet potato, 3.35 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – Protein Drink (consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold), Organic Burrito
Meal 8 – 3.63 oz round steak, ½ cup green peas
Meal 9 – Protein Drink (consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey’s Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil), Mini-Bag Popcorn
Today’s diet came out to 3202 calories with 305 grams of protein, 293 grams of carbs and 87 grams of fats. This breaks down to 38% protein, 37% carbohydrates and 24% fats.
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
My weight today was again at 214 pounds and the waist is still at 35 ½”. Today was an off day from the gym. I was hungry again today and my calories were up although the carbs were a little lower than the last two days and my fats were up a little also. Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries, 1 slice Ezkiel bread
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil
Meal 3 – 4.4 oz buffalo burger, 2 slices Ezkiel bread, 3.32 oz broccoli
Meal 4 – 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 serving instant oatmeal, 1 serving creatine
Meal 5 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 87 grams green beans, 1 slice Ezkiel bread, Mini-Bag Popcorn
Meal 6 – Protein Drink (consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil), 2 slices Ezkiel bread, 2 t. natural peanut butter
Meal 7 – 1 egg, 7 egg whites, 3 T. salsa
Today’s diet came out to 3265 calories with 309 grams of protein, 266 grams of carbs and 105 grams of fats. This breaks down to 38% protein, 33% carbohydrates and 29% fats. Back to the gym tomorrow!
Thursday, September 18th, 2008
My weight this morning was up a little to 216 pounds and the waist is still the same at 35 ½”. I tried to cut back a little on the calories and carbs today but I gave in and had some Famous Amos Cookies (one of my favorites). When I added up my diet today, I realized the difference that those little cookies made. LOL
I went to the gym in the morning to train delts and calves. Matt had to leave the gym early today so we skipped calves until tomorrow so it was a short workout today. Here is how it went:
Seated DB Press 45x15, 70x12, 100x7, 100x6
Seated Side Laterals 40x12, 50x8, 50x9
Upright Rows 115x12, 135x10, 145x8
Lying Side Laterals 30x12, 30x12, 30x10
DB Shrugs 110x12, 120x10, 130x8
My legs were SUPER SORE today so it was hard to move around and get through the workout. I guess my decision to go lighter with more reps on Squats was a good idea.
I went heavier on Delts today. I went up to the 100 pound dumbbells for the first time in a while on Seated DB Press. I also went heavier on Seated Laterals, Upright Rows and DB Shrugs.
Here was my diet today with the added Cookies:
Meal 1 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil
Meal 2 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
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 – 4.06 oz lean ground turkey, 158 grams sweet potato, 3 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – Protein Drink (consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold), 1 serving instant oatmeal
Meal 8 – 4.16 oz sirloin steak, ½ cup green peas, Mrs. Fields cookies
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 T. Udo’s Oil
Today’s diet came out to 3421 calories with 347 grams of protein, 283 grams of carbs and 97 grams of fats. This breaks down to 41% protein, 33% carbohydrates and 26% fats.
Friday, September 19th, 2008
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My pal, Phil Smeja, had a midsection from hell in his prime. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, and he did it on hot dogs and chili. He had holes and cuts and veins and it was inspiring to see his abs. He would get the darkest tan at the beach, and looked like a god.
But....now in his last couple contests last year for John Hansen, his midsection was of course nothing like in our youth. I never would have believed he could age and smooth out. He was Superman to us at the Ravenswood Y, strong and tough as hell, not a fake 'all-pump' bodybuilder, but a lifter who held the official lightweight Teenage World Record in the press at 254 pounds, and CYO boxing champ. He could also destroy any punk at Lane Tech with one arm tied behind his back....no questions asked.
So I gotta ask....how's your abs coming in? I know you got the stomach vacuum down perfectly like all us old school guys do, and which almost none of the young guys do, not even the IFBB pro's with their hanging, huge guts.
Take care,
Terry