Journey to be the best..

Members Area My Training Journal
1

First off, I’ll introduce myself. I’m 16 years old and I’m a Defensive End at a Massachusetts school that is a perenial powerhouse and has won 4 of the last 5 state championships. I play center and defensive end in high school, but i am getting recruited mainly to play Defensive End by various D1AA D2 and D3 schools. A few D1A schools have sent stuff, but at 6’3 215, its not really realistsic to bother with the D1A schools. I started lifting seriously after my sophmore year when i letterd at LB for a team that was top 50 in the country. I wasnt really strong after my sophmore year and would describe myself as a football player and was very new and inexprienced in the weight room. I have been serious from training ever since and my Junior reflected that. I collected league all star and was a player of the week 3 times. MY life now is really busy. I am running track (the 4 X 200, shotput, and javelin) and go to practice everyday from 2-5. Then after practice, i go to Golds gym and workout on my own until around 6:30. Then i come home eat and shower. It’s already 7:30 when i’m done and i look through the letters i got from colleges, fill out stuff, and do recruiting stuff. Then at around 8:30, i do my hw which most of the time I try to get done during free periods in school. I finish that usually around 9:30 and go to bed or sumtimes talk for a little while to my girlfriend until 10. Lately, she’s been messing with my sleeping cycle but i go to bed early cause im so busy!

I have been invited to around 5 colleges camps, 3 commercial campos that attract nearly 50 colleges each. I will be attending 2 combines and was invited to numerous. One is for the top prospects of Massachusetss and the other one will be a MSL/NIke combine. I am listed on scout.com but not rivals and myu coach put me on scout and they still have to get the stuff up because they have yet to interview me. I will have an extremley busy summer.

I am training to get bigger, stronger, and faster. I also train to win the state championship next year, move on and play college football at a good program, have a sensational senior year, and finnally to be the best defensive end ever. My coach has set up sum visits with the schools that have sent me a lot of stuff mostly like UMASS and Marist and sum D1AA schools over April Vacation.

My current stats or estimates (since i havent really maxed since the end of football) are:

Height: 6’3
Weight: 215 at 12-13 % body fat
Positions: C/DE(college-DE)
Bench: 255
Squatt: 340
Clean: 200 (working on it- still perfecting the form)
40 time: 4.85
Shuttle: 4.65
VJ: 30 inches
Deadlift: 350 pounds

Buckle up, as my first combine will be May 15, and i am training to get in the best possible shapoe to prepare for this combine. I am living, eating, and breathing my training. Any help would be appreciated to make me a better football player, stronger, or faster. I have kept journals at athletes.com and bodybuilding.com and am starting up here too because the more input i get, the better off my training will be.

The only supplements that I take are protein powder and a Multi vitamin. My key to getting lean and big is just eating a real lot.

2

here is yesterday’s workout…

Upper Body

A. Incline Barbell Bench Press

  1. 180 X 5
  2. 180 X 5
  3. 185 X 3
  4. 185 X 3

B. Dumbell Bench Press

  1. 80 DB’s X 8
  2. 80 DB’s X 8
  3. 85 DB’s X 4
  4. 85 DB’s X 4

C. Hammer Bicep Curls

  1. 105 X 6
  2. 105 X 6
  3. 105 X 6

D. Seated Tricep Extension

  1. 55 DB X 12
  2. 55 DB X 12
  3. 55 DB X 12

E. Cable Crossovers

  1. 70 X 8
  2. 70 X 8
  3. 70 X 8

F. Chest Flye Machine

  1. 120 X 8
  2. 120 X 8
  3. 120 X 8

G. Close Grip Pullups

  1. BW X 3
  2. BW X 3
  3. BW X 3

H. Abdominal Circuit- A series of 3 intense ab lifts, for 3 circuits.

Comments: This workout was very intense, and i felt really sore after it. The incline barbell bench was tough and my form was pretty good but coule’ve been better. The dumbell bench , i think i could’ve pushed myself more and i wasnt really mentally focused. The hammer curls were really good and i felt me moving good weight and my biceps can still feel it. I need to bump up the tricep extension weight. The cable crossovers felt really good and it was my first time doing them but i really like them and can really feel them. The chest flyes were hoping to get my chest stronger because i think its the weak part of my bench. The close grip pull ups, its been a while since doing pullups and were pretty tough, my vertical pull isnt that good but hopefully will improve fast. I did abs really hard, and i gotta get in the best shape of my life for this combine season and for these camps cause i gotta make it to D1AA man, so im stepping training to a whole nother level. The road to being the best, has just begun…

I may go to the gym today and workout my legs but I have a track meet tommorow so i’m still on the fence. If im only running the 200 relay i will probably go but if they want me to run the 100, i probably will not go. A lot of pylos will still be done in practice today to help my running and will still do some running in practice, just nothing too intense.

3

I would consider eliminating a lot of the weights you’re doing in this workout. I would definately dump chest fly machine and hammer bicep curls.

You are an athlete, not a bodybuilder. If you want to do a high volume of work in the weightroom, I’d just add more presses and pullups instead of doing machine flys, curls, cable flys, and tricep ext. Tricep ext is probably the main one you would want to keep out of those 4 exercise that are of questionable value.

4

Congrats on your football success; wish you well and hope the recruiting process goes along smoothly for you!

I don’t see any upper back or lat work in that workout. That may be why your bench is lagging. Or do you do that on seperate days? Post an example week of your weight routine. I agree with mortac, the chest flyes/crossovers can probably be thrown out.

5

As far as a program, I follow a very distant Westside for Skinny Basterds. The difference is, I for my bench routine i do a couple sets of 6-10 reps of a weight and then move up another rep each set the next time in the weight room. This personally works for me. The reason for the cable crossovers, is because I’ve been stuck at repping 205 for like 8 times or so and my chest was the weak part so I decided to focus on it some this week. I lift 5-6 days a week, usually 3 upper and 3 lower on top of my track. i appreciate any help and will add more of those excercises.

6

Lower Body- Dynamic Day

A.Power Cleans

  1. 135 X 3
  2. 145 X 3
  3. 155 X 3
  4. 165 X 2 (try to get 3)

B. Dumbell Lunges

  1. 60 DB’s X 6 (each leg)
  2. 60 DB’s X 6 (each leg)
  3. 60 DB’s X 6 (each leg)

C. Laying Leg Curls

  1. 175 X 6
  2. 175 X 6
  3. 175 X 6

D. Glute Ham Push Machine

  1. 150 X 10 (each leg)
  2. 150 X 10 (each leg)
  3. 150 X 10 (each leg)

E. Dumbell Shouldar Shruggs

  1. 85 DB’s X 8
  2. 85 DB’s X 8
  3. 85 DB’s X 8

Comments: I decided to do a dynamic day anyway even though I have a track meet tommorow cause theirs only 36 days to my first combine and i gotta get as big, strong, and fast as possible. I was a little disappointed that I didnt get 3 reps of 165 on the power clean but im pretty new to this excercise but im getting their and my form is getting good, and my numbers should skyrocket. The lunges hurt pretty bad and are really tough, not to mention that it’s a lot of weight. I’m good at the leg curls and am almost repping the whole machine. The glute ham push were really tough and my glutes can definitley feel it now and i feel like it will help my running power. The dumbell shouldar shrugs were pretty tough but I did them with good form and they felt good. I will be doin just shot (no disc) and running the 200 tommorow, and will do either a max effort or a repitition upper body day after.

7

Track meet:I threw the shotput 37 feet standing because i’m still geting the steps down which i thought was pretty good. It was #1 for my team and around 3rd of 25 throwers, im inexperienced and its pretty much brute strength. i also ran the 4 X 200 and my team came in 2nd in the meet and we did pretty good and i ran a 24 flat split which i was pretty pleased with at 215-220 pounds. I was really tired after the meet, and we won the track meet with 2 other teams.

Upper Body Day

A. Flat Bench Dumbell Press

  1. 85 DB’s X 6
  2. 85 DB’s X 6
  3. 85 DB’s X 6

B. Cable Chest Row

  1. 110 X 6
  2. 110 X 6
  3. 110 X 6

C. Lat Pull Down

  1. 120 X 8
  2. 120 X 8
  3. 120 X 8

D. Medial Delt Machine

  1. 140 X 8
  2. 140 X 8
  3. 140 X 8

E. Seated Tricep Extensions

  1. 60 DB X 8
  2. 60 DB X 8
  3. 60 DB X 8

F. Weighted Ab Excercise- Weighted Crunches Machine

  1. (BW+ 125) X 30
  2. (BW+ 125) X 30
  3. (BW+ 125) X 30

Comments: I was really tired going into this workout but i think it went pretty well. The dumbell bench was the hardest excercise because my arms were really tired from pushing the shot and all that, but I was still pretty pleased and felt if I was less tired that I had more in me. The chest row is really good and works as well as upright row or dumbell rows, which I am both really good at. I didnt do the lat pull downs with much weight because im using perfect form and the weight seemed really light and my lats arent that strong and im focusing on strengthening them. My delts are strong and are definitley feeling it from the delt machine. The seated tricep extension was hard because for sum reason, my triceps were just shot and i still seemed to do well on it. The abs excercise just feel good, and think im gunna get a 6 pack soon… my stomach is just flat now but i gotta work on definition and more muscle in the stomach area. Getting in the best shape of my life, and their was no time to take a day off today…Stay focused… stay hungray

8

Track Practice: My main workout today was with the discus. I really am having trouble with it and my form isnt very good at all haha. I also ran 5 100 yard sprints work on my speed training and did sum pylos. I didnt lift today because i’ve lifted like 5 of the last 6 days so i decided I needed a rest. I was kinda dissapointed in my training today and wish i had pushed myself more… 1 more day and vacation… and a ton of training.

9

Thursday’s Track Workout: I ran 10 20’s, with real explosive starts. I raced a kid who runs a 4.49 on the track team and he beat me by a couple steps but got a much better start as i wasnt prepared for the whistle.

Friday’s Lower Body Workout

A. Box Squatts(first time really doing these)

  1. 135 X 5 (warm up)
  2. 185 X 5 (working set)
  3. 225 X 3 (2 second pause)
  4. 225 X 5 (touch and go)
  5. 245 X 5 (touch and go)

B. One Legged Squatts (back leg elevated)

  1. 45 DB’s X 10 (each leg)
  2. 45 DB’s X 10 (each leg)
  3. 45 DB’s X 10 (each leg)

C. Laying Down Leg Curls

  1. 170 X 8
  2. 170 X 8
  3. 170 X 8

D. Wrist Roller- Forarms

  1. 10 pounds X 1 minute continous
  2. 10 pounds X 1 minute continous
  3. 10 pounds X 1 minute continous
  4. 10 pounds X 1 minute continous

Comments: Today was my first day of doing box squatts really ever. I tried two different methods, I did a touch and go where I would hit the box for a second then come back up. These felt good and I felt like i could do a lot. The other kind,I would actually sit on the box for a couple seconds and come up, these didnt feel very explosive but i did pretty well for my first time. I did the the one legged squatts with a lot of form and my legs got a really good burn from these. I’m really good at the laying down leg curls, i think i need to get a new excercise here because i feel almost too strong on these and will be soon repping the whole machine. I wanted to add more weight to the wrist roller but i didnt know how because it was all complicated and was near impossible to add weights, so i did a lot of reps and really fast and still gave my forearms a good workout.

10

Recruiting is really heating up and receiving probably an average of 1 D1AA letter, 2 D2 letters, and a D3 letter every day. I received another invitation to a combine on here, on May 13… which is 2 days before a combine that I’m already going to. It has a lot of big schools and has another 60 schools their, i know its a short time before combines but i think im gunna go to it too and use the day inbetween (may 14) to rest up. I need the maximum exposure i can, and feel that I can prove myself and really get a lot of schools on me cause i know im gunna perform well at these camps. I’m gunna go on sum visits this vacation unofficial and meet with sum caoches, mostly locally to 2 D1AA schools and around 4 D2 schools, all of which have really strong programs. I will be visting the 2 D1AA schools on Monday and Tuesday and have my tour and everything set up, and the D2’s will be later in the week like Weds. and Thurs. I’m really excited to keep on going to becoming the best ever…

11

I was looking over your journal and there are a bunch of things I would change that might improve your power/strength and your speed/quickness by next year.

Also, just so you have an idea of where I’m coming from, I was a 3yr varsity lettermen and conference allstar in football for a Massachusetts highschool before college, and if I knew then what I know now…let’s just say I would have been A TON better!

Anyway, one of the most obvious things you could do is ditch some of the body-building lifts. Some others have mentioned this already, and I can’t stress it enough! They may look good in the mirror, but the guy lining up in front of you doesn’t care how much you can curl…
Next, work on your leg strength!!! There are so many football players out there who focus on their upperbody when they should be working legs like there’s no tomr’w! At 6"+ tall and 200lbs+, you should have tree trunks for legs and be able to squat/deadlift over 400lbs easy.
Third, work on your core! If legs are #1 in terms of priority, then this is 1a. Your power comes from your core, if it’s weak, every other lift will suffer!
Finally, I saw that you run track, and from the looks of it, you have good speed for a big guy, and that’s great! Keep running! One of the biggest mistakes football players make is they spend too much time in the weight room, and not enough time on the track. Keep a balance between your strength and your speed. Even when you start to put on some muscle/size, maintain that speed! Colleges love a big guy who’s 6"+ feet and 250lbs+ that can still run a 4.5-6 40m.

That’s just the general rundown, but here are some specific things you can do in terms of weights/exercises, etc…

Try to break your week down in to lifting/sprint days and tempo/recovery days. On the days you’re going to lift, try to sprint as well…these should be your high stressing CNS days. On the other days, do some tempo/recovery runs and some light core work.

Now, for a lifting schedule, I took a look at what you currently have, and here is where I would suggest you start:

Upperbody day:

Barbell Bench: 1x5 light warm up, 4x6-8
Barbell Row: 3x8
Standing BB Military Press: 3x6-8
Incline DB bench 3x8 superset w/
max repetition clap pushups
Seated Row 3x8-10 superset w/
max repitition pullups

Core:

reverse hypers (start out w/no weight, high rep (20-25) for 3-4 sets, then progressively work to holding a plate behind your head and decrease the rep range)

Situps/crunches/leg raises/med ball twists, etc… atleast 300reps total

Then if you want, add in some Bodybuilding exercises at the end of the workout such as curls/tri ext etc…

Lowerbody Day1:

(DEEP) Barbell Squats: 1x5 warm up, 4x6-8
Romanian Dead Lift: 3x6-8
Barbell Shrugs: 2x8-10
DB step ups: 2x8ea
3-way weight plate/db shoulder extension: 2x8ea superset w/
Swiss ball hip extension: 3x15
Core

Lowerbody Day2:

Hang Cleans: 3x4-5, 2x2-3
Deep Barbell Front Squat: 3x4-5
Lat Pull down: 3x6-8
Single arm DB snatch 3x5ea
DB shrugs: 3x8
Single leg squat: 2x30sec max rep/ea w/3min rest b/w
Core

These are just some quick ideas for you to use…
Anyway, hope some of this helps. Also, what part of Mass are you from, I’m from Marblehead…

12

Looks good, but I try to get in the weight room 5-6 days a week, do you have another upper body day that i could alternate in? I go to acton boxboro Regional High school. Could I switch up the hang cleans and power cleans every so often becasue i really need to work on my power clean.

13

Upper Body 4-15-06

“That commitment is
If I dont get it then sumbody gunna die tonight
Cause I know my vibe is tight
I deserve the throne
And if da kid aint right
Then Let me Die on this Song!”

A. Bench Press

  1. 205 X 5
  2. 205 X 5
  3. 205 X 5
  4. 205 X 5

B. Incline Dumbell Bench Press

  1. 65 DB’s X 7
  2. 65 DB’s X 7
  3. 65 DB’s X 7

C. Close Grip Bench Press

  1. 135 X 3
  2. 155 X 3
  3. 185 X 3
  4. 200 X 3 (last one assisted by spotter-2 by myself)

D. Barbell Row

  1. 125 X 6
  2. 125 X 6
  3. 125 X 6

E. One Arm Dumbell Rows

  1. 65 DB X 6 (each arm)
  2. 65 DB X 6 (each arm)
  3. 65 DB X 6 (each arm)

F. Pullups

  1. BW X 4
  2. BW X 4
  3. BW X 4

G. Dips

  1. BW X 12
  2. BW X 12
  3. BW X 12

H. Core work
I did 60 reps of weighted crunches, 45 weighted cable crunches on a swiss ball, and 45 on a different weighted crunches machine. Good core workout.

Comments: This was my first time really back on the flat bench in a couple weeks but it felt good. I am really gunna shoot for 16 reps at 185 on the bench and took it relatively easy on the bench today and i did that without much of a problem. The incline dumbell press was pretty tough but I definitley did a good job with form. I am really good with the close grip bench, probably cause in my normal bench, i use a lot of triceps but i have been trying to move my hands out a little more to get my chest in it. The barbell and dumbell rows were both definitley tough but I moved a lot of weight around and it felt really good. I am not really strong on pullups cause im just starting to do them, but they are a really good workout and will help my bodyweight to strength ratio. My arms were fried by the time that I got to the dips but i still pumped out 3 sets of 12 reps which felt good and I’m still feeling the burns in my arms (couple hours after the workout). I had a lot of reps of weighted core but i need to get my core really strong for explosiveness and keep my speed too. I am only weighing around 215 still, so i gotta really eat this month to be around 220 (all of good weight at around 12% bodyfat) before the combine comes around, but I can do it.

14

I have around 15 different lifting programs with upper/lower body and core exercises from all the years I’ve been lifting, so I’ll post them on here for you.

Also, one more thing that I feel is extremely important that up until this year I really neglected was REST. I can not stress it enough. I’m sure you’re saying, “I dont feel that bad on day 5 when I’m lifting…” and that is exactly what I used to tell myself. The result was minimal gains for maximum effort.

Now I try to think about it this way: When you spend those 2hrs or so in the gym lifting hard, you’re breaking down your muscles and forcing them to get bigger and stronger the next time. Well, without time for them to recover, you just continue to break them down. If you DO let them recover completely though, the next time you hit the weights, those muscles have had time to adapt and grow in order to handle the weight you threw at them during the previous session. This allows you to push them even harder this time, which means more weight and that leads to greater strength and power.

My advice would be to cut down your lifting to 3 complete workouts a week. And by complete I mean by the end you have nothing left… I would keep doing core work 5x a week (not always with weight) because these muscles (abdominals, obliques, lower back) tend to recover quicker than the larger muscles in the body.

If you don’t believe me, put it this way: Last year at this time I was repping 225lb deep barbell squats for a max of 16-17 reps for a 1 minute timed session. This year, at 255lbs, I can get 18 reps, and possibly even more… Thats 30lbs and an additional rep…The only change I’ve made is cutting my lifting from 5 days to 3 concentrated days.

I’ll post some of those workouts for you later on…

15

Here are some of those workouts:

Day 1:

Clean and Press: 5x5
Barbell Lunge: 4x10 (5ea leg)
Bent Over DB Row: 4x8
Inc Barbell Bench: 3x15 (this is to really pump the blood through the chest) superset w/
Single Leg Squat w/db: 3x10 (5ea leg)
Max Dips: 3x
Core

Day 2:

Romanian Deadlift: 5x5
Front Squat: 4x6-8 superset w/
Medicine Ball Lunges w/twist: 4x12 (6ea leg)
DB Bench: 3x6-8 superset w/
Single Leg calf raises w/db: 4x20ea
Core

Day 3:

Hang Clean: 5x5-6
DB Lunge: 4x12 (6ea leg) superset w/
DB Shrug 4x8-10
Single Leg Box Jumps 4x10 (5ea leg)
BB Curl 3x8-10 superset w/
BB Tri ext 3x8-10
Max chinups 3x
Core

That’s just an example of one week, I’ll post some more later

16

thank you for all the advice and the program, ill take it into consideration

17

Lower Body Day #1

A. Box Squatts

  1. Light Warmup
  2. 205 X 3
  3. 205 X 3
  4. 205 X 3

B.Power Cleans

  1. 160 X 3
  2. 160 X 3
  3. 160 X 3

C. Weighted Dumbell Squatt Jumps

  1. 30 DB’s X 8
  2. 30 DB’s X 8
  3. 30 DB’s X 8

D. Laying Down Leg Curls

  1. 170 X 8
  2. 170 X 8
  3. 170 X 8

E. Wrist Roller

  1. 10 X 1 minute max reps
  2. 10 X 1 minute max reps
  3. 10 X 1 minute max reps

Comments: I have started my own program and have made my own routine based on my own lifting needs, what i need to work on, what will make me the biggest,strongest, and fastest… and what will make me the best football player possible. I have 3 upper body and 3 lower body days and they will cycle through and I will workout 4-5 days a week. The box squatts were pretty easy and I defintly should move up the weight but I had really good form and had a nice little pause on the box. I was happy with the power cleans and they seemed easier than before. I think i should move up to 165 next time but I feel when i perfect my form, these will skyrocket. The dumbell squatt jumps are not a very traditional lift but will help my explosiveness, not to mention my vertical jump. I think this will also help my cleans with my explosive leg power. I could add more reps of use 35 DB’s because I did a reall good job on these. I need to add more weight to the wrist roller but was limited on time and its really complicated to add more weight on the one at my gym so i said fuck it and did it really fast and a lot of reps.

On another note, I am visiting a lot of schools this week. Today i went to Bryant University, down in Rhode Island which is a 7-3 Division II school that has showed me a lot of intrest. I was extremley impressed the academic side of the institution. The business school (which im intrested in) was ranked one of the top 10 in the country and 96% of graduates got a job or continued in graduation schools upon 6 months of graduation. Another thing that stuck out to me, was that all players except one from the last graduating class got a job that paid 60,000 a year and the one that did not, chose to be a high school coach in his underprivalaged hometown. The coach was really old school and actually had coaches at Indiana and Iowa State as an assistant coach. The weight room was pretty small and the stadium wasnt that big and only averaged around 3,000 in attendance at their games. He was real serious about his players academics and even drug tests and stuff like that. They were in spring practice so we only got to speak for around 30 mins but then he invited me out and i watched their practice. Some of the players didnt look too athletic or very good at all. The academics had top notch technology and the only negative side of the academic was the dorms were small. I’d give the school a 8/10 and the football side a 6/10. In the next 3 days, I will be visiting 3 more D2 schools that have showed me a lot of intrest. Then on Saturday, I will be going to Marist (a D1AA school in NY) and have been invited to their Junior Day which I will attend. I plan to visit more of the D1AA’s during the summer cause theirs too many right now and i need to weed them out really while their is only 4 or so D2’s that I’m intrested in. Ill be continuing to workout with this busy schedule and trying to enjoy a little school vacation.

18

Upper Body Day #1

A. Bench Press (usually I’d do 3 set of 6-10 reps but since i’m starting a new program that I made, i maxed to see my progress)

  1. 135 X 1
  2. 185 X 1
  3. 225 X 1
  4. 240 X 1
  5. 250 X 1
  6. 255 X 1
  7. 260 X 0 (i had nothing left)

B. Incline Dumbell Press

  1. 70 DB’s X 6
  2. 70 DB’s X 6
  3. 70 DB’s X 6

C. Shouldar Dumbell Press (my shouldars were pretty much dead)

  1. 55 DB’s X 5
  2. 55 DB’s X 5
  3. 55 DB’s X 5

D. Barbell Row

  1. 115 X 8
  2. 115 X 8
  3. 115 X 8

E. Lat PullDowns (lats on fire here before started so went light)

  1. 120 X 10
  2. 120 X 10
  3. 120 X 10 (all real easy)

F. Abdominal Circuit - did weighted crunches, incline crunches, and hanging leg raises in a circuit fasion for 3 times around.

Comments: Now that I’m starting my own program, I figured that I’d max on the bench now to see where I’m at. I did 255 which was what my guess was that I was doing, i may have gotten 260 but my arms and lats were just dead. I felt like shit after maxing on the bench and it wasnt easy but I got it. I continued to do a upper body day #1 under my program and it went all right. The incline dumbell bench I was happy with it and felt hard but i could definitley feel it in my chest. The shouldar dumbell press sucked and wasnt very good weight for me as I’m usually really good at these by my shouldars were just really sore. The barbell rows weren’t too bad but I’m gunna try to get 3 sets of 10 at 115 next time. My lats were really sore from the maxing so i took it light on the lat pulldowns and it was really easy but still gave a workout to my already sore lats. The abdominal circuit was really hard and just made me feel li9ke even worse and made me really sore their and make me feel like shit.

On a side note, my visit to Stonehill (DII) where footballstar is going was cancelled today. I decide to cancel it and not visit because my sister has been really sick. Her stomach has been really hurting and been nasus and was driven by my parents a couple nights ago at 3 AM to the hospital because she was feeling really sick and she was dehydrated and said it was a really bad bug and gave her iv’s and shit. Turns out, shes had it for 4 days and she went back to the hospital today and their running all types of tests like CAT scans and stuff and think it could possibly be appendesitis. I didnt think it was fair to have my dad visit a school with me nor was I in the mood after this so i politley called the coach and cancalled the visit. I am still visiting a couple more DII’s in the next few days and a Junior Day at a D1AA on Saturday, I also may check out another D1AA a week from Saturday when they are having their Junior Day. I’m trying to keep my options open.

I will post my workout plan, that I have made for myself today, so you all can see and I think it will really work well for me.

19

I have decided to make my own workout program for the first time really. I’ve done Westside and all that stuff but I think with the knowledge and experience I have, that i can make a program that will get me bigger, stronger, faster, and the best football player I can.

The program has 3 upper body and 3 lower body days, that doesnt mean im gunna workout 6 days a week. I will workout 4-5 days a week but i will alternate between upper body #1, lower body #1, upper body #2, lower body #2, upper body #3, upper body #3, and so forth.

Lower Body Days

Lower Body Day #1
A. Box Squatts
Warmup, 3 sets building up to a set of 3-5 reps or 3 sets of 3-5 reps
B. Power Cleans
3 sets of 3-5 reps
C. Dumbell Squatt Jumps
3 sets of 8-10 reps
D. Laying Down Leg Curls
3 sets of 6-10 reps
E. Wrist Roller
3 weighted sets of 1-2 minutes

Lower Body Day #2
A. Hang Cleans
Warmup, 3 sets of 3-5 reps
B. Deadlifts
3 sets of 4-8 reps
C. Dumbell/ Barbell Step Ups
3 sets of 6-10 reps
D. Sitting Leg Curls
3 sets of 6-10 reps
E.Glute Ham Raises
3 sets of 6-15 reps
F. Barbell/Dumbell Shrugs
3 sets of 6-10 reps

Lower Body Day #3

A. Squatts
Warmup, 3 sets of 5-8 reps
B. Db/Barbell Lunges
3 sets of 6-10 reps
C. One legged Squatts
3 sets of 6-10 reps
D. Glute/Ham Push Machine
3 sets of 8-10 reps
E. Plate Pinches
3 sets of 20 seconds to 1 minute

Upper Body Days

Upper Body Day #1
A. Barbell Bench Press
Warmup, 3 sets of 6-10 reps
B. Incline Dumbell Press
3 sets of 6-10 reps
C. Shouldar Dumbell Press
3 sets of 5-12 reps
D. Barbell Rows
3 sets of 6-12 reps
E. Lat Pulldown
3 sets of 8-12 reps
F. Abdominal Circuit- 3-4 excercises in circuit fashion for 2-3 times around.

Upper Body Day #2
A. Barbell Bench Press
Warmup, 3 sets of 6-10 reps
B. Close Grip Bench Press
3 sets working up to a max set of 3-5 reps
C. One Arm Dumbell Row
3 sets of 6-12 reps
D. Pullups
3 sets of 4-10 reps
E. Dips
3 sets of 6-15 reps
F. Medial Delt Machine
3 sets of 6-10 reps
G. Weighted Ab Excercises
15-25 of weighted situps (3 sets), 15-25 of weighted crunches (3 sets), and 15-25 of swiss ball cable crunches (3 sets)

Upper Body Day #3

A. Barbell Bench Press
Warmup, 3 sets of 6-10 reps
B. Incline Dumbell Press
3 sets of 6-10 reps
C. Military Standing Press
3 sets of 6-10 reps
D. Tricep Extensions
3 sets of 6-12 reps
E. Bicep Curls
3 sets of 6-12 reps
F. Weighted Ab Excercises
15-20 Hanging Leg Raises (3 sets), 15-20 Incline Weighted Situps (3 sets), and 15-20 Weighted Side Bends (3 sets)

I’m really focused and I plan on making this program be a success for me and think is really just what I’m looking for in my goals to become bigger, stronger, faster, and a bettter football player.

20

Visit: Today I visited another school, Assumption that is around 45 mins from here that is a D2 program that was around .500 last year and beat a solid D1AA team. The thing that jumped out at me was their coaches. Their head coach was really nice and told me how he “really wanted a kid from the program” that i was in at high school and was really friendly. He said that I really carried by 220 pound weight well, and that they’d love to add another 20 on me and be “a dominant defensive end”. He thought that my grades were solid and all the assistant coaches were very friendly. They are going to be at a couple of the combines and a camp that I’m going to and want me to come over and say hello. He requested a game tape and also said that in about a Month they would start sending a lot of stuff and really recruiting hard since their in the middle of their spring practices now. I filled out a questionare and stuff and sent it back. They got a new stadium recentley which has a really nice field and the stadium is really nice but it’s not that big and only fits around 3,000 to 4,000 but everything is new- from the stands to the scoreboard to the turf. On the academic side, its pretty small and its not very technology advanced and pretty simple. I wasnt all that impressed and wasnt a great plus or anything. The dorms were really nice and bigger and thought they were fairly new so i was impressed with them. The weight room was kinda small and the football players work out with the other kids in the school just in a seperate room, which i didint really like that, and their was kinda a calm atmosphere in it that didnt really impress me. The campus was really nice and is near a city which I liked. I’d give the football side a 7/10 and the academic side a 6/10. I’m taking a day of rest today.