Training for my Master's Pro Card at Age 63

*Old Navy* · 06-27-2006, 01:00 AM

Training to Earn My Natural Pro Master’s Card at Age 63
By Scott “Old Navy” Hults

I am a 63 year old retired U. S. Navy Captain and a competitive body builder. In March of 2005, I entered my first competition and placed 6th in my weight class and 10th in the Men’s Master’s 50+ age class. Since then, I entered 11 more contests, winning 20 weight, height and age class trophies and two Best Poser trophies. My most recent contest was the 2006 FAME WNSO Body Building and Fitness World Championships held in Toronto, Canada, June 16-18, where I placed 4th in the Advanced Open Men’s Lightweight class and won my age class, becoming the 2006 FAME WNSO Men’s Master’s 60+ World Champion.

My first Journal, “Training for My First Body Building Competition at Age 61,” chronicled my 10 months of training to enter my first competition in March 2005 and five other contests I entered, the last one in July 2005.

My second Journal, “Training for My Second Year of Competition at Age 62,” covered my training from December 2005 through the 2006 FAME WNSO Body Building and Fitness World Championships in June.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Today I begin my next Journal, as I start training to enter a Master’s Pro Qualifier body building contest in order to compete for my Natural Master’s Pro Card by the end of the year.

So the quest begins.

After winning the World Championship in Men’s Master’s 60+ at the FAME Worlds in Toronto on June 18, I took the next week off. It was a great week of unrestricted diet and light workouts. I ate things I had only dreamt about during my long training period: pizza, French toast, pasta with sauce, chicken fingers, Mexican food, chips and dip and chocolate and chocolate and chocolate.

My face is out of the food trough and now it’s time to get serious.

Today I kicked in my training diet (I already miss chocolate) and after a few sets of dumb bell chest and biceps exercises I did a heavy HITT cardio session, which included a five-minute warm up on an elliptical machine, then five sets of 20/40 (20 seconds/40 seconds) high speed splits, followed by 25 minutes of 10 degree elevated moderate speed tread mill. I ended the workout with 25 pushups. All in all, a good start.

To Be Continued.

*Old Navy* · 06-28-2006, 02:39 AM

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Dave Gallahan, Jr., my Training Partner began his contest prep this morning to win his Pro Card at the same contest I am competing in to win my Master's Pro Card. So we both have the same goal and we both have a fire in our eyes that say "lets get it on."

We pushed each other to failure on three sets each of nine exercises, including incline dumbbell presses at 45-degree angle, incline barbell presses, incline dumb bell presses at 30-degree angle, weighed pull ups, bent over rows, seated cable rows to neck, seated dumb bell presses, seated lateral raises and lateral raises with cables. These were part of the Advanced GH Workout that require a set tempo and numbered reps to failure (6 RM, 12 RM and 25 RM). We ended the session with abs work and HITT cardio. We left it all on the gym floor. Whew.

*Old Navy* · 06-29-2006, 03:03 AM

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

I about killed my training partner in the gym today. The new daddy has not spent as much time in the gym of late while he and his wife adjust to their second child. I on the other hand, have been hitting it heavy while preparing for my contests.

This morning, we did an Advanced GH Arms and Legs workout, which consists of 12 sets of RM to failure exercises with very minimum rest between sets (20 seconds) and two minutes rest between groups. We did squats, lunges, leg extensions (first group), leg curls, Romanian dead lifts, back extensions (second group), dips/close-grip bench presses, decline barbell extensions and cable press downs (third group), incline dumb bell curls, standing barbell curls, standing pully curls (fourth group). Our sets were 6 RM, 12 RM and 25 RM. Dave nearly puked. We started at 6:15 and finished at 8 AM. We didn't have time for calves, cardio or abs. I'll do abs at home tonight and we are scheduled for a HITT cardo session tomorrow. We'll do calves tomorrow after cardio.

*Old Navy* · 06-30-2006, 01:41 AM

Thursday, June 29, 2006

As the week wanes Dave and I are getting back into our competition workout routine. Today we did kick butt cardio on a stationary bike, doing a 5 minute moderate speed, moderate pressure ride, followed by eight 20/40 speed splits. Then we switched to the tread mill and did 25 minutes of 10 degree elevated 4.5 speed work. Before our cardio, we did three sets of ten reps of pull ups and after the cardio, we did three sets of 25 reps of weighted seated calves raises and the same number of sets and reps of standing calves raises. We ended our session with 25 hanging leg raises for abs. We are looking forward to a full body 5 RM workout tomorrow.

*Old Navy* · 07-01-2006, 06:25 PM

Friday, June 30, 2006

Today was an Advanced GH full body workout with minimum rest between sets and HITT cardio. Dave and I did five sets of a 5 RM cycle of eight exercises: squats, dumb bell triceps extensions, pull ups, leg biceps curls, standing military barbell presses, standing calves raises, biceps/hammer curls and incline dumb bell bench presses. The goal was to do eight cycles, but we ran short of time and had to switch to HITT cardio on the tread mill, where we managed an elevated five minute warm up, three 20/40 speed splits and 10 minutes of moderate speed work before we had to head to the locker room.

We have been on the Advanced GH/HITT workout and diet plan since May 1. It took me successfully through two body building competitions. On Monday, Dave and I will start a new program for the month of July to add some size. I'll tell you all about it then.

*Old Navy* · 07-04-2006, 02:09 AM

Monday, July 3, 2006

It's called "Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST). It's been around for awhile, but it works and Dave and I went on a one-month HST Workout plan starting today.

This program is best applied to post contest training to regain size and strength lost when dieting and to initiate new gains in that short window post contest where the body is like a sponge and wants to grow again. It is an undulating program with specific rep ranges each week. Training is three non-consecutive days per week with a day of cardio in between HST days. Each workout is the same, but weight is added each day.

Number of sets per exercise = two
Number of rep per exercise = 20 Week 1, 15 Week 2, 10 Week 3
and 5 Week 4.

The idea is to do the first day easy, add weight the second day and do
a "go to failure" workout the third day.

Dave and I did two 20 rep sets of the following exercises today:

Bench Press
Pull Downs
Incline Bench Press
Rows
Seated Press
Curls
Triceps Extensions
Squats
Leg Curls
Lunges
Calves Raises

It took us about an hour to complete this session. We followed it with 20 hanging leg lifts, 20 pull ups and 20 minutes of moderate cardio on the tread mill. A great start.

**DarkFalcon** · 07-04-2006, 06:35 AM

Good luck with this Scott, I have total faith that you have it in you to hit your goal this year!

*Old Navy* · 07-04-2006, 11:10 PM

Thanks DarkFalcon. We're on it! LOL

Tuesday - The Fourth of July, 2006

Dave and I joined about three other die-hard's in the gym today for our regular 6:15 AM workout. This was a cardio only day and we kicked in a HITT (High Intensity Timed Training) treadmill session. We started with an elevated 5 minutes warm up, followed by five 20/40 speed splits (20 seconds of high speed, followed by 40 seconds of moderate speed). Then we finished with 20 minutes of elevated, moderate speed work. After the cardio we spent a few minutes doing 100 crunches and 20 pull ups. We are looking forward to our second day of HST training tomorrow. I have my eyes on a try for my Natural Master's Pro Card and my 27 year-old training partner, Dave, has his eyes on a try for his Open Men's Pro Card by the end of the year. Our eyes are focused. Why else would we be at the Gym at 6:15 in the morning on a holiday?

*Old Navy* · 07-06-2006, 12:55 AM

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Dave and I sat on the floor in the locker room after our workout this morning, with our backs leaning against the wall, trying to stop shaking. We looked at each other and started laughing. My training partner voiced my thoughts when he said, "Man, I have been working out for more than six years and this is the toughest workout I have ever done." Tomorrow we have a cardio only day and on Friday, two sets of 20 reps of eleven full body exercises that require us to fail on the 20th rep of each set. Today we only had pick weights to make it to 20 reps per set without failing. We are either going to make tremendous gains with this plan, or die.

*Old Navy* · 07-07-2006, 01:22 AM

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Dave and I had a relaxing day of cardio. Funny! We did a hard HITT session with a 5 minute, ten degree, elevated tread mill warm up run at a 4.5 speed, followed by six 20/40 speed splits and then 15 minutes of elevated, moderate speed work. Then we did two sets of hanging, weighted leg raises and slant board abs crunches, followed by 15 minutes on a stationary bike. We ended our workout with a symmetry round and mandatory round posing practice. Tomorrow is the "Work to Failure" HST session of 11 full body exercises, two sets of each, 20 reps. We will probably crawl out of the weight room on our hands and knees. I'm looking forward to it.

*Old Navy* · 07-11-2006, 04:21 AM

Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9, 2006

I hit the gym for an hour each day to do 45 minutes of moderate cardio and to work on my abs. I also did four sets of 10 reps of pull ups to help widen my back and pull out my lats and later at home on Sunday, I did 75 calve raises and 40 push ups.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Dave and I began the second week of HST, using 15 reps as our goal for two sets of 11 full body exercises. Since we dropped the number of reps per set from 20 last week to 15 this week, we added more weight to each exercise. Last Monday I did two 20 rep sets of 55 pound dumb bell bench presses. Today I did two 15 rep sets of 60 pound dumb bell bench presses. On Wednesday, the weight will go to 65s and on Friday, 70s. Dave started last week at 60s and today at 70s. I wonder how much we will be lifting in the fourth week of the plan, when we go to failure after only 5 reps. This stuff rocks!

*Old Navy* · 07-12-2006, 12:29 AM

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

No rest for the weary. Both Dave and I were up late last night, he with his new son and me foolishly playing on the Internet. Nevertheless, we were both in the gym on time this morning for our Tuesday dose of HITT Cardio. We decided to kick it up a notch and, using a stationary bike, did 5 minutes of a moderate speed warm up and then jumped into 10 20/40 speed splits. Then we did another 30 minutes on an elevated tread mill at 4.5 speed. After that, we did 50 hanging leg raises for abs, 20 dips for chest, 20 pull ups for back and lats and a practice posing session in the studio. Tomorrow is an HST day of two sets of 15 RM reps of 11 full-body exercises. This is a hardening week for Dave and I, so we are eating a little less food and both of us have dropped a pound of weight.

*Old Navy* · 07-13-2006, 02:11 AM

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Yesterday I said I was really looking forward to our HST session today. I lied. It was awful. We loved it. It hurt. We were pumped. We took two sets of 15 reps of 11 full body exercises to the point of failure. For example, my flat bench dumb bell press was 65 pounders and Dave's was 80s. My triceps bar bell extension (skull crushers) was 70 pounds and Dave's was 90. I did two sets of 15 reps squats at 240 pounds and Dave did 290. Tomorrow is HITT cardio and abs day and on Friday, we take every HST set to total failure. Oh Man!

*Old Navy* · 07-15-2006, 01:14 AM

Thursday, July 13, 2006

I may lose my training partner. My good friend and workout partner, Dave Gallahan, Jr. had been a police officer for a small Alabama municipality. Yesterday, he was offered a job with the City of Birmingham Police Department and has accepted the position. He starts with Birmingham in about two weeks and depending upon the shift they give him, he might not be able to train in the mornings with me. It will be tough for both of us as Dave and I have worked very hard to help each other achieve our training goals. I will miss my training partner, but I will still have a great friend. We will know in a few weeks what our futures hold.

Today, Dave had to take some tests for his new assignment so I trained solo. I did a half-hearted cardio workout and a strong abs, pull ups and push ups session, followed by a short posing practice. Dave will be back tomorrow for our Friday HST workout.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Officer Gallahan (my training partner, Dave) and I gave Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) all we had this morning. The goal was two sets of 15 RM (Total Failure) reps of 11 full body exercises. We had to lift a weight where we failed at the 15th rep. And failed we did. This session was brutal. One small man and one large man panting and carrying on after each set to failure.

At 144.0 pounds of body weight, here are my RM lifts for two sets of 15 reps:

Dumb Bell Flat Bench Press - 65-pound dumb bells
Cable Lat Pull Down - 120 pounds
Incline Bar Bell Bench Press - 120 pounds
Bent Over Rows - 150 pounds
Seated Shoulder Press - 100 pounds
Barbell Biceps Curls - 70 pounds
Barbell Triceps Extensions - 70 pounds (Skull Crushers)
Squats - 230 pounds
Hamstring Curls - 125 pounds
Lunges - 130 pounds
Seated Calves Raises - 200 pounds (two sets of 45 reps)

Dave, 6' 2", 210 pounds, of course, lifted more on each set. (Barbell curls - 90, Squats - 300 pounds, etc) The cop's an animal. Bull comes to mind.

*Old Navy* · 07-21-2006, 12:51 AM

Monday, July 17, 2006

Today I trained without my partner, but it wasn't his fault. I am in Boston for a few days on business, so Dave and I will be doing our HST and HITT cardio workouts solo until Thursday. I had a great workout this morning at Fitcorp Gym in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston. They have a large facility with all of the equipment you could ask for. Their staff is courteous and helpful. I had no trouble asking for and receiving spots during my workout. Fitcorp charges $20 a day if you are a walkin, $15 a day if you are staying at a nearby hotel and $10 a day if you have a IHRSA Passport Card (www.healthclubs.com).

This was the first day of the third week of our four-week HST Program. I still did two sets of 11 full-body exercises, but did 10 reps per set instead of the 15 I did last week. The weights, of course, were heavier. That's the way the program is designed. My flat bench dumb bell press was 65 pounders, my lats pull downs was 125 pounds, my biceps curls was 30 pounders and my squats was 230 pounds. After the HST session, I did 25 minutes of elevated, moderate speed (4.2) tread mill. Tomorrow is cardio only and I will do a HITT session.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

I had another great workout at Fitcorp in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston. If I lived in Boston, I would join this Fitness Center. Great equipment, great athletes, great staff and great locker and shower facilities. The equipment is well maintained and the place is clean. They supply towels, hair dryers, loation, shaving gear and excellent showers and sauna. A very nice place.

Today was cardio day and I did a rigorous HITT session which kept my heart rate at 80+% for the entire 30 minutes. I ended the workout with four sets of 10 pull ups, four sets of 10 dips and 100 abs slant board and hanging crunches.

Tomorrow I will do my second HST workout of the week, two sets of 11 full-body exercises, taking each 10 rep set to nearly RM failure.

I spoke with Dave by phone and he did his HST workout yesterday and his HITT workout today. Tomorrow we so solo again, but look forward to connecting for our Thursday workout.

Tuesday Night, July 18, 2006

I rented a car and drove from Boston to Cape Cod to have dinner with My Coach, Sean "Sully" Sullivan, his wife Deb and their 9 year old daughter, Kayla. Sully lives in a beautiful cape home, along with three large, but friendly dogs and two beautiful cats. Sully has been helping me with my contest prep since May 1. His advise has paid dividends. Since I have been training under his guidance, I have placed higher this year than I did last year in the same two competitions, including moving from Third in the World to First in the World in the WNSO Men's Master's 60+ Class. He is helping me prepare for my shot at a Master's Pro card in 11 weeks. I brought my posing suit and Sully, acting as Judge, put me through a symmetry round and mandatory round and gave me four very good posing tips. It was a great evening with a super family.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

I hit the Fitcorp Fitness Center in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston at 6:00 this morning and the place was packed. There were lots of young men and women athletes doing their workout before hitting their office. I had to "work in" on a couple of exercises, but there were also plenty of spotters as I did my second hard HST workout this week. I did two sets of all eleven full-body exercises, taking the 10 reps per set to near failure. Friday I'll take everything to failure. Some of my weights today included 70 pound dumb bell bench presses, 145 pound bent over barbell rows, 35 pound dumb bell curls, 125 pound cable lat pull downs, 60 pound triceps barbell extensions and 125 pounds seated bench presses, among others.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

My training partner and soon to be full-time big city cop, had to take a polygraph test at 8 AM this morning and missed our cardio day workout. I missed mine, too. I was at the gym this morning, but after working a conference in Boston for the last three days and then flying home yesterday evening, I was beat when I hit the gym at 6:15. Instead of doing my scheduled HITT cardio session, I did some pull ups, dumb bell curls, crunches, lat pull downs, push ups and lateral shoulder raises, all this mainly for a nice easy pump. In other words, I blew off HITT and I don't care. LOL Dave and I will do our 10 RM to failure full-body workout tomorrow followed by moderate cardio. On Friday afternoon, I am driving to Atlanta to work with a Master bodybuilder who is competing in the FAME SNBF Southern Open on Saturday. I won the 60+ Class in that show last year, but I'm skipping it this year as I continue to train for my Master's Pro Qualifier on September 30th.

06-27-2006, 01:00 AM	#1
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Training for my Master's Pro Card at Age 63 Training to Earn My Natural Pro Master’s Card at Age 63 By Scott “Old Navy” Hults I am a 63 year old retired U. S. Navy Captain and a competitive body builder. In March of 2005, I entered my first competition and placed 6th in my weight class and 10th in the Men’s Master’s 50+ age class. Since then, I entered 11 more contests, winning 20 weight, height and age class trophies and two Best Poser trophies. My most recent contest was the 2006 FAME WNSO Body Building and Fitness World Championships held in Toronto, Canada, June 16-18, where I placed 4th in the Advanced Open Men’s Lightweight class and won my age class, becoming the 2006 FAME WNSO Men’s Master’s 60+ World Champion. My first Journal, “Training for My First Body Building Competition at Age 61,” chronicled my 10 months of training to enter my first competition in March 2005 and five other contests I entered, the last one in July 2005. My second Journal, “Training for My Second Year of Competition at Age 62,” covered my training from December 2005 through the 2006 FAME WNSO Body Building and Fitness World Championships in June. Monday, June 26, 2006 Today I begin my next Journal, as I start training to enter a Master’s Pro Qualifier body building contest in order to compete for my Natural Master’s Pro Card by the end of the year. So the quest begins. After winning the World Championship in Men’s Master’s 60+ at the FAME Worlds in Toronto on June 18, I took the next week off. It was a great week of unrestricted diet and light workouts. I ate things I had only dreamt about during my long training period: pizza, French toast, pasta with sauce, chicken fingers, Mexican food, chips and dip and chocolate and chocolate and chocolate. My face is out of the food trough and now it’s time to get serious. Today I kicked in my training diet (I already miss chocolate) and after a few sets of dumb bell chest and biceps exercises I did a heavy HITT cardio session, which included a five-minute warm up on an elliptical machine, then five sets of 20/40 (20 seconds/40 seconds) high speed splits, followed by 25 minutes of 10 degree elevated moderate speed tread mill. I ended the workout with 25 pushups. All in all, a good start. To Be Continued. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

06-28-2006, 02:39 AM	#2
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Day Two and We are on a Roll Tuesday, June 27, 2006 Dave Gallahan, Jr., my Training Partner began his contest prep this morning to win his Pro Card at the same contest I am competing in to win my Master's Pro Card. So we both have the same goal and we both have a fire in our eyes that say "lets get it on." We pushed each other to failure on three sets each of nine exercises, including incline dumbbell presses at 45-degree angle, incline barbell presses, incline dumb bell presses at 30-degree angle, weighed pull ups, bent over rows, seated cable rows to neck, seated dumb bell presses, seated lateral raises and lateral raises with cables. These were part of the Advanced GH Workout that require a set tempo and numbered reps to failure (6 RM, 12 RM and 25 RM). We ended the session with abs work and HITT cardio. We left it all on the gym floor. Whew. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

06-29-2006, 03:03 AM	#3
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Taking My Training Partner To The Mat Wednesday, June 28, 2006 I about killed my training partner in the gym today. The new daddy has not spent as much time in the gym of late while he and his wife adjust to their second child. I on the other hand, have been hitting it heavy while preparing for my contests. This morning, we did an Advanced GH Arms and Legs workout, which consists of 12 sets of RM to failure exercises with very minimum rest between sets (20 seconds) and two minutes rest between groups. We did squats, lunges, leg extensions (first group), leg curls, Romanian dead lifts, back extensions (second group), dips/close-grip bench presses, decline barbell extensions and cable press downs (third group), incline dumb bell curls, standing barbell curls, standing pully curls (fourth group). Our sets were 6 RM, 12 RM and 25 RM. Dave nearly puked. We started at 6:15 and finished at 8 AM. We didn't have time for calves, cardio or abs. I'll do abs at home tonight and we are scheduled for a HITT cardo session tomorrow. We'll do calves tomorrow after cardio. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

06-30-2006, 01:41 AM	#4
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Back In The Groove Thursday, June 29, 2006 As the week wanes Dave and I are getting back into our competition workout routine. Today we did kick butt cardio on a stationary bike, doing a 5 minute moderate speed, moderate pressure ride, followed by eight 20/40 speed splits. Then we switched to the tread mill and did 25 minutes of 10 degree elevated 4.5 speed work. Before our cardio, we did three sets of ten reps of pull ups and after the cardio, we did three sets of 25 reps of weighted seated calves raises and the same number of sets and reps of standing calves raises. We ended our session with 25 hanging leg raises for abs. We are looking forward to a full body 5 RM workout tomorrow. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-01-2006, 06:25 PM	#5
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Starting a New Workout Program on Monday Friday, June 30, 2006 Today was an Advanced GH full body workout with minimum rest between sets and HITT cardio. Dave and I did five sets of a 5 RM cycle of eight exercises: squats, dumb bell triceps extensions, pull ups, leg biceps curls, standing military barbell presses, standing calves raises, biceps/hammer curls and incline dumb bell bench presses. The goal was to do eight cycles, but we ran short of time and had to switch to HITT cardio on the tread mill, where we managed an elevated five minute warm up, three 20/40 speed splits and 10 minutes of moderate speed work before we had to head to the locker room. We have been on the Advanced GH/HITT workout and diet plan since May 1. It took me successfully through two body building competitions. On Monday, Dave and I will start a new program for the month of July to add some size. I'll tell you all about it then. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-04-2006, 02:09 AM	#6
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Hypertrophy Sspecific Training (HST) Monday, July 3, 2006 It's called "Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST). It's been around for awhile, but it works and Dave and I went on a one-month HST Workout plan starting today. This program is best applied to post contest training to regain size and strength lost when dieting and to initiate new gains in that short window post contest where the body is like a sponge and wants to grow again. It is an undulating program with specific rep ranges each week. Training is three non-consecutive days per week with a day of cardio in between HST days. Each workout is the same, but weight is added each day. Number of sets per exercise = two Number of rep per exercise = 20 Week 1, 15 Week 2, 10 Week 3 and 5 Week 4. The idea is to do the first day easy, add weight the second day and do a "go to failure" workout the third day. Dave and I did two 20 rep sets of the following exercises today: Bench Press Pull Downs Incline Bench Press Rows Seated Press Curls Triceps Extensions Squats Leg Curls Lunges Calves Raises It took us about an hour to complete this session. We followed it with 20 hanging leg lifts, 20 pull ups and 20 minutes of moderate cardio on the tread mill. A great start. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-04-2006, 06:35 AM	#7
DarkFalcon I've got a RAGING clue! Join Date: May 2005 Location: dnyc99's cleaning staff Posts: 11,511 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 299	Good luck with this Scott, I have total faith that you have it in you to hit your goal this year!

07-04-2006, 11:10 PM	#8
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	What Do You Do On July 4th? You Go To The Gym! Thanks DarkFalcon. We're on it! LOL Tuesday - The Fourth of July, 2006 Dave and I joined about three other die-hard's in the gym today for our regular 6:15 AM workout. This was a cardio only day and we kicked in a HITT (High Intensity Timed Training) treadmill session. We started with an elevated 5 minutes warm up, followed by five 20/40 speed splits (20 seconds of high speed, followed by 40 seconds of moderate speed). Then we finished with 20 minutes of elevated, moderate speed work. After the cardio we spent a few minutes doing 100 crunches and 20 pull ups. We are looking forward to our second day of HST training tomorrow. I have my eyes on a try for my Natural Master's Pro Card and my 27 year-old training partner, Dave, has his eyes on a try for his Open Men's Pro Card by the end of the year. Our eyes are focused. Why else would we be at the Gym at 6:15 in the morning on a holiday? __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-06-2006, 12:55 AM	#9
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	HST is a Killer Wednesday, July 5, 2006 Dave and I sat on the floor in the locker room after our workout this morning, with our backs leaning against the wall, trying to stop shaking. We looked at each other and started laughing. My training partner voiced my thoughts when he said, "Man, I have been working out for more than six years and this is the toughest workout I have ever done." Tomorrow we have a cardio only day and on Friday, two sets of 20 reps of eleven full body exercises that require us to fail on the 20th rep of each set. Today we only had pick weights to make it to 20 reps per set without failing. We are either going to make tremendous gains with this plan, or die. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-07-2006, 01:22 AM	#10
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Tomorrow Is When The Boys Become Men Thursday, July 6, 2006 Dave and I had a relaxing day of cardio. Funny! We did a hard HITT session with a 5 minute, ten degree, elevated tread mill warm up run at a 4.5 speed, followed by six 20/40 speed splits and then 15 minutes of elevated, moderate speed work. Then we did two sets of hanging, weighted leg raises and slant board abs crunches, followed by 15 minutes on a stationary bike. We ended our workout with a symmetry round and mandatory round posing practice. Tomorrow is the "Work to Failure" HST session of 11 full body exercises, two sets of each, 20 reps. We will probably crawl out of the weight room on our hands and knees. I'm looking forward to it. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-11-2006, 04:21 AM	#11
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Day One of Week Two of HST Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9, 2006 I hit the gym for an hour each day to do 45 minutes of moderate cardio and to work on my abs. I also did four sets of 10 reps of pull ups to help widen my back and pull out my lats and later at home on Sunday, I did 75 calve raises and 40 push ups. Monday, July 10, 2006 Dave and I began the second week of HST, using 15 reps as our goal for two sets of 11 full body exercises. Since we dropped the number of reps per set from 20 last week to 15 this week, we added more weight to each exercise. Last Monday I did two 20 rep sets of 55 pound dumb bell bench presses. Today I did two 15 rep sets of 60 pound dumb bell bench presses. On Wednesday, the weight will go to 65s and on Friday, 70s. Dave started last week at 60s and today at 70s. I wonder how much we will be lifting in the fourth week of the plan, when we go to failure after only 5 reps. This stuff rocks! __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-12-2006, 12:29 AM	#12
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	No Rest for the Weary Tuesday, July 11, 2006 No rest for the weary. Both Dave and I were up late last night, he with his new son and me foolishly playing on the Internet. Nevertheless, we were both in the gym on time this morning for our Tuesday dose of HITT Cardio. We decided to kick it up a notch and, using a stationary bike, did 5 minutes of a moderate speed warm up and then jumped into 10 20/40 speed splits. Then we did another 30 minutes on an elevated tread mill at 4.5 speed. After that, we did 50 hanging leg raises for abs, 20 dips for chest, 20 pull ups for back and lats and a practice posing session in the studio. Tomorrow is an HST day of two sets of 15 RM reps of 11 full-body exercises. This is a hardening week for Dave and I, so we are eating a little less food and both of us have dropped a pound of weight. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-13-2006, 02:11 AM	#13
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	It Just Gets Better And Better Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Yesterday I said I was really looking forward to our HST session today. I lied. It was awful. We loved it. It hurt. We were pumped. We took two sets of 15 reps of 11 full body exercises to the point of failure. For example, my flat bench dumb bell press was 65 pounders and Dave's was 80s. My triceps bar bell extension (skull crushers) was 70 pounds and Dave's was 90. I did two sets of 15 reps squats at 240 pounds and Dave did 290. Tomorrow is HITT cardio and abs day and on Friday, we take every HST set to total failure. Oh Man! __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-15-2006, 01:14 AM	#14
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Friday was Fried Day! Thursday, July 13, 2006 I may lose my training partner. My good friend and workout partner, Dave Gallahan, Jr. had been a police officer for a small Alabama municipality. Yesterday, he was offered a job with the City of Birmingham Police Department and has accepted the position. He starts with Birmingham in about two weeks and depending upon the shift they give him, he might not be able to train in the mornings with me. It will be tough for both of us as Dave and I have worked very hard to help each other achieve our training goals. I will miss my training partner, but I will still have a great friend. We will know in a few weeks what our futures hold. Today, Dave had to take some tests for his new assignment so I trained solo. I did a half-hearted cardio workout and a strong abs, pull ups and push ups session, followed by a short posing practice. Dave will be back tomorrow for our Friday HST workout. Friday, July 14, 2006 Officer Gallahan (my training partner, Dave) and I gave Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) all we had this morning. The goal was two sets of 15 RM (Total Failure) reps of 11 full body exercises. We had to lift a weight where we failed at the 15th rep. And failed we did. This session was brutal. One small man and one large man panting and carrying on after each set to failure. At 144.0 pounds of body weight, here are my RM lifts for two sets of 15 reps: Dumb Bell Flat Bench Press - 65-pound dumb bells Cable Lat Pull Down - 120 pounds Incline Bar Bell Bench Press - 120 pounds Bent Over Rows - 150 pounds Seated Shoulder Press - 100 pounds Barbell Biceps Curls - 70 pounds Barbell Triceps Extensions - 70 pounds (Skull Crushers) Squats - 230 pounds Hamstring Curls - 125 pounds Lunges - 130 pounds Seated Calves Raises - 200 pounds (two sets of 45 reps) Dave, 6' 2", 210 pounds, of course, lifted more on each set. (Barbell curls - 90, Squats - 300 pounds, etc) The cop's an animal. Bull comes to mind. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com

07-21-2006, 12:51 AM	#15
Old Navy NGA & IDFA Master Pro Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 533 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 17	Monday, July 17, 2006 Today I trained without my partner, but it wasn't his fault. I am in Boston for a few days on business, so Dave and I will be doing our HST and HITT cardio workouts solo until Thursday. I had a great workout this morning at Fitcorp Gym in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston. They have a large facility with all of the equipment you could ask for. Their staff is courteous and helpful. I had no trouble asking for and receiving spots during my workout. Fitcorp charges $20 a day if you are a walkin, $15 a day if you are staying at a nearby hotel and $10 a day if you have a IHRSA Passport Card (www.healthclubs.com). This was the first day of the third week of our four-week HST Program. I still did two sets of 11 full-body exercises, but did 10 reps per set instead of the 15 I did last week. The weights, of course, were heavier. That's the way the program is designed. My flat bench dumb bell press was 65 pounders, my lats pull downs was 125 pounds, my biceps curls was 30 pounders and my squats was 230 pounds. After the HST session, I did 25 minutes of elevated, moderate speed (4.2) tread mill. Tomorrow is cardio only and I will do a HITT session. Tuesday, July 18, 2006 I had another great workout at Fitcorp in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston. If I lived in Boston, I would join this Fitness Center. Great equipment, great athletes, great staff and great locker and shower facilities. The equipment is well maintained and the place is clean. They supply towels, hair dryers, loation, shaving gear and excellent showers and sauna. A very nice place. Today was cardio day and I did a rigorous HITT session which kept my heart rate at 80+% for the entire 30 minutes. I ended the workout with four sets of 10 pull ups, four sets of 10 dips and 100 abs slant board and hanging crunches. Tomorrow I will do my second HST workout of the week, two sets of 11 full-body exercises, taking each 10 rep set to nearly RM failure. I spoke with Dave by phone and he did his HST workout yesterday and his HITT workout today. Tomorrow we so solo again, but look forward to connecting for our Thursday workout. Tuesday Night, July 18, 2006 I rented a car and drove from Boston to Cape Cod to have dinner with My Coach, Sean "Sully" Sullivan, his wife Deb and their 9 year old daughter, Kayla. Sully lives in a beautiful cape home, along with three large, but friendly dogs and two beautiful cats. Sully has been helping me with my contest prep since May 1. His advise has paid dividends. Since I have been training under his guidance, I have placed higher this year than I did last year in the same two competitions, including moving from Third in the World to First in the World in the WNSO Men's Master's 60+ Class. He is helping me prepare for my shot at a Master's Pro card in 11 weeks. I brought my posing suit and Sully, acting as Judge, put me through a symmetry round and mandatory round and gave me four very good posing tips. It was a great evening with a super family. Wednesday, July 19, 2006 I hit the Fitcorp Fitness Center in the Prudential Building in downtown Boston at 6:00 this morning and the place was packed. There were lots of young men and women athletes doing their workout before hitting their office. I had to "work in" on a couple of exercises, but there were also plenty of spotters as I did my second hard HST workout this week. I did two sets of all eleven full-body exercises, taking the 10 reps per set to near failure. Friday I'll take everything to failure. Some of my weights today included 70 pound dumb bell bench presses, 145 pound bent over barbell rows, 35 pound dumb bell curls, 125 pound cable lat pull downs, 60 pound triceps barbell extensions and 125 pounds seated bench presses, among others. Thursday, July 20, 2006 My training partner and soon to be full-time big city cop, had to take a polygraph test at 8 AM this morning and missed our cardio day workout. I missed mine, too. I was at the gym this morning, but after working a conference in Boston for the last three days and then flying home yesterday evening, I was beat when I hit the gym at 6:15. Instead of doing my scheduled HITT cardio session, I did some pull ups, dumb bell curls, crunches, lat pull downs, push ups and lateral shoulder raises, all this mainly for a nice easy pump. In other words, I blew off HITT and I don't care. LOL Dave and I will do our 10 RM to failure full-body workout tomorrow followed by moderate cardio. On Friday afternoon, I am driving to Atlanta to work with a Master bodybuilder who is competing in the FAME SNBF Southern Open on Saturday. I won the 60+ Class in that show last year, but I'm skipping it this year as I continue to train for my Master's Pro Qualifier on September 30th. __________________ Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge www.BodyBuildingSenior.com