Need opinions. 13 weeks out video

[Big Dave Smith]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SMmavB6iH4

13 weeks out from the NPC Pittsburgh

Will start cardio soon. My only cardio comes from Jiu-Jitsu practice 2-3x/week... but we don't roll for more than 20 min a class. Diet has been EASY so far. No complaints at alllll. Weight is 255. Goal is to drop to compete as a shredded heavyweight. I need to practice posing badly.

23 years old. 5'9.

What do you guys think? My worst body part is my biceps. Dante and True Protein have helped me tremendously with size. I can't wait to see what another few years of DC training brings!

 

[MarcusMaximus]

looking think and full bro. only thing i really notice that was lagging was your chest and bi's but those will come over time with your training. just keep it up man.

by the way dc training is amazing from my standpoint. been about a month with my training getting fuller and starting to put on the weight. hopefully this points me in your direction...

anyways bro good luck and train hard.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Yup, you hit it right on the head. Biceps and chest have always been my weaknesses. Best thing i can do is prioritize them (like I've been doing FOREVER) and train heavy and hard. They've actually come a long way, especially my chest. I know I'll be able to pump my chest full of blood before I hit the stage, LOL.

I went from curling the 45's to the 85's from Jan 06 to Dec 06 this year through DC training. That's NOT cheating, ask Bulldog21. I also work on isolating them through preachers and incline concentration curls.

Time will hopefully heal my weaknesses.

 

[MEAN V.]

Looking good bro, love the big thick back, a little more defenition in the chest and arms, and you'll well on your way! Legs look good too man, love those wheels!

 

[irish_sd]

That looks like a LA Fitness locker room. Am I right?

 

[TooPowerful4u]

Accessment... gonna be honest bro, you know you are my friend so a true friend wont bullshit....

Legs overpower EVERYTHING. I would put that LAST on your priority list. I would NOT hit them more than once a week TOPS, they will get shreaded and more detailed from all the cardio. You are already pretty lean, so you are slightly ahead of schedule IMO.

I would back off the deadlifts. Your waist is very muscular and your lower back is HUGE and striated (very impressive, especially 13wks out!), but i think it is taking over your deadlifts. Your hams and lower back are so outstanding that i think they are taking the load OFF your back. It needs to be thicker, rear lat looks great but when you bring your arms up for BackDBI it thins out. I would go with more T-Bar rows and BB rows as well as alot of isolated machine rows. That lower back is going to be major + points come showtime tho.... so i would be sure ti keep up the maintenance on it.

Chest,Shoulders,Arms. These gotta come up. I can tell you first hand that weight is not the way to go to grow arms. Remember how small my arms were? Theyr about 19's now, TRUE 19s. Not only that, they took on better SHAPE with the way i went about it. I can post a pic if youd like haha, but dont wanna muck up ur thread. Anyway, with arms FIRST AND FOREMOST i would make sure you FEEL the contraction in the MUSCLE not the tendon. DB curls with elbows BEHIND you (like a drag curl) have helped a ton. Also love high cable curls, as you can cheat towards the end and force out reps but still keep the muscle doing most of the work (burns like HELL). Another one i like is underhand pulldowns close grip and focus on using BICEPS. Only pull half way down and squeeze, its great for the 2nd exercise in a superset too (needs great mind muscle connection). Gotta build a strong mind muscle connection...once its done they will GROW.
Chest- Im no expert here but the stronger i get on press' with solid full ROM form..the more it grows. I got more growing to do, but its not stagnant.
Shoulders- love these. Work into heavy side laterals with a slight swing ...it will give you great growth. Then when you are really strong...back it down and use stricter form (the weight will still be heavy, i can do 55s absolutely strict). Do your press' after these. Open your hands, make sure the weight is in your palms, and focus on using delts only. Relax everything else. Go slow, strict, no bounce. My delts grow like a mofo, i could make mine ENORMOUS if i wanted to look like an imbalanced freak.

Hit it hard and put an update up in a month. You had conditioning problems in the past, but that looks like a thing of the past as you are ahead of schedule already.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Accessment... gonna be honest bro, you know you are my friend so a true friend wont bullshit....

Legs overpower EVERYTHING. I would put that LAST on your priority list. I would NOT hit them more than once a week TOPS, they will get shreaded and more detailed from all the cardio. You are already pretty lean, so you are slightly ahead of schedule IMO.

I would back off the deadlifts. Your waist is very muscular and your lower back is HUGE and striated (very impressive, especially 13wks out!), but i think it is taking over your deadlifts. Your hams and lower back are so outstanding that i think they are taking the load OFF your back. It needs to be thicker, rear lat looks great but when you bring your arms up for BackDBI it thins out. I would go with more T-Bar rows and BB rows as well as alot of isolated machine rows. That lower back is going to be major + points come showtime tho.... so i would be sure ti keep up the maintenance on it.

Chest,Shoulders,Arms. These gotta come up. I can tell you first hand that weight is not the way to go to grow arms. Remember how small my arms were? Theyr about 19's now, TRUE 19s. Not only that, they took on better SHAPE with the way i went about it. I can post a pic if youd like haha, but dont wanna muck up ur thread. Anyway, with arms FIRST AND FOREMOST i would make sure you FEEL the contraction in the MUSCLE not the tendon. DB curls with elbows BEHIND you (like a drag curl) have helped a ton. Also love high cable curls, as you can cheat towards the end and force out reps but still keep the muscle doing most of the work (burns like HELL). Another one i like is underhand pulldowns close grip and focus on using BICEPS. Only pull half way down and squeeze, its great for the 2nd exercise in a superset too (needs great mind muscle connection). Gotta build a strong mind muscle connection...once its done they will GROW.
Chest- Im no expert here but the stronger i get on press' with solid full ROM form..the more it grows. I got more growing to do, but its not stagnant.
Shoulders- love these. Work into heavy side laterals with a slight swing ...it will give you great growth. Then when you are really strong...back it down and use stricter form (the weight will still be heavy, i can do 55s absolutely strict). Do your press' after these. Open your hands, make sure the weight is in your palms, and focus on using delts only. Relax everything else. Go slow, strict, no bounce. My delts grow like a mofo, i could make mine ENORMOUS if i wanted to look like an imbalanced freak.

Hit it hard and put an update up in a month. You had conditioning problems in the past, but that looks like a thing of the past as you are ahead of schedule already.

Legs: only working them every 8 days and not with much volume

Deads: haven't done them since summer. Working on mostly width movements and two rows per workout

Arms: I'm doing EVERYTHING I can. I train them heavy, and with concentration movements. I usually start on heavy DB curls, then go into very strict Preachers with slow negatives and contractions. My favorite exercise as of late is Incline Curls with my chest facing the pad. I let my arms hang off the bench and use only my biceps to contract the weight. I hold the contraction for a good two seconds and squeeze the CRAP out of it.

For Delts: I usually like to do laterals and then laterals using only the top half range of motion.

It really sounds like everything you said, I'm doing. For chest and biceps, I try to really focus my energy into feeling my muscles work. Conditioning is the one thing I needed to get on the stick about, so I'm getting shredded NO MATTER WHAT. This year it's been easy because I'm relying on more fats for energy than carbs. Energy is through the roof and I don't get as hungry all the damn time. I used to go hypo like every day when I ate mostly carbs and protein no matter what type of carbs they were. Now I'm getting my energy from almonds, EVOO, Omega-3's, etc. 10x better for my mind and body.

 

[edge250]

pretty lean for 13 weeks dave, good luck.

hopefully me and my little buddy main will be in attendance to cheer ya on.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

That looks like a LA Fitness locker room. Am I right?

Yup.

 

[b-boy]

Dave just keep rolling bro, worry about weakness' in the offseason, now just get shredded! when you are about 3 weeks out i guarantee you that those arms and chest look a lot better than they do now...LOL and as your waist gets smaller and smaller throughout the diet it will give your physique more flow and balance bro, your a strong thick dude that when all said and done will look just fine. All that muscle that you carry is going to look sick come show time if you get diced bro, good luck and can't wait to see the changes ahead for ya.

 

[bulldog21]

I went from curling the 45's to the 85's from Jan 06 to Dec 06 this year through DC training. That's NOT cheating, ask Bulldog21. I also work on isolating them through preachers and incline concentration curls.

Bastard!!! I got hung at 85's too!! lol...

There have been lots of good critiscim on here.....I agree with lots of things said and not with some things...

From here on out lets plan on posing together each week.....It will help both of us a ton......

Just keep on getting after it man you have busted it so far and its paying off big time for you.....You just get shredded wheat man....that is all you need to do...lol

 

[BigRick722]

Back looks sick for 13 weeks out. Incredibly lean back there. I would keep hitting the peaks of your Bis to bring up both front and back double bi shots. Your chest really isnt that bad. The problem is it is realy wide therefore, it is hard to look full. I would bring my hands pretty close on the bench to help fill it in that and ofcorse muscle maturity will help that keep hittin it hard man you look right on schedule to be a shredded heavyweight. I am 13 weeks out as well so it will be nice to have someone to go back and forth with throughout the diet. Goodluck bro...

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Back looks sick for 13 weeks out. Incredibly lean back there. I would keep hitting the peaks of your Bis to bring up both front and back double bi shots. Your chest really isnt that bad. The problem is it is realy wide therefore, it is hard to look full. I would bring my hands pretty close on the bench to help fill it in that and ofcorse muscle maturity will help that keep hittin it hard man you look right on schedule to be a shredded heavyweight. I am 13 weeks out as well so it will be nice to have someone to go back and forth with throughout the diet. Goodluck bro...

I can only go wide grip on inclines anyways. I was doing flat bench on a smith machine (Dante probably wanted to knock my head with a brick... LOL!) and I had a very minor pec tear back in the early summer. It took forever to feel "normal" again after about 6-8 weeks off training chest. Wide grip on Inclines are fine, but anything flat needs to be med to close grip for me.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

BBoy: Thanks bro. Are you going to the Northern Kentucky? I might take a trip down to see the show.

Bulldog21: You know what my plan is. Shredded like (fill in catchy quote about something shredded or peeled here)!!! Yeah, I need to work on posing. It's been a while!

 

[MAINEVENT]

Good assesment by everyone. The legs are incredible.....Reminds me of Tom Prince.

Your condition is really good for 13 weeks. i think it would show even more if you had a little bit of a tan. If I remember correctly you have a hard time with tanning......either way you can tell your conditioning is good.

Chest and back thickness are my focus right now also. No mattr what I do it doesn't seem to make a damn bit of difference but we have to keep plugging along!

Nice work Dave!

 

[cm]

for 13 weeks you look really lean already esp. since you really haven't started your cardio. The rest of the way should be a breeze. hams look look they are coming in already.

 

[b-boy]

BBoy: Thanks bro. Are you going to the Northern Kentucky? I might take a trip down to see the show.

Bulldog21: You know what my plan is. Shredded like (fill in catchy quote about something shredded or peeled here)!!! Yeah, I need to work on posing. It's been a while!

man dave i will probably have to work that weekend, i wanted to go check out a female bodybuilder who's a pretty good friend of mine, but i don't think im going to be able to make it.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

Bastard!!! I got hung at 85's too!! lol...

There have been lots of good critiscim on here.....I agree with lots of things said and not with some things...

From here on out lets plan on posing together each week.....It will help both of us a ton......

Just keep on getting after it man you have busted it so far and its paying off big time for you.....You just get shredded wheat man....that is all you need to do...lol

Yoouuu are next!

 

[bigheinz]

In my opinion you look great bro, all of us have details, upper chest and arms will improve in the next 13 weeks, dont worry about it.
Great size and condition for 13 weeks out, i wish to have my lower back lean like your and i am 14 weeks out.

Keep the hard work and dont get crazy, you are plenty of time.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

maineven: Tom Prince has some freaky hams. I used to train the CRAP out of my legs up until about two years ago. Once my upper body catches up, I'll go back to killing them. If I sit on the toilet more than 2x/day, they wind up growing. Wish my arms did that when I brushed my teeth!

cm: I'm sure hope it'll be a breeze. It has been so far.

Brad: It's a shame you won't make it to the Kentucky. Are you going to the Arnold or the Junior Nats? I'll probably cross paths with you soon somewhere in the midwest.

Bigheinz: Thanks for the remarks. I try to bring out my xmas tree by doing rows off an incline bench. I get my chest and hips flat on the bench and hold the DB's at the top for a 2 count. It won't get me lean, but hopefully it adds some detail to the lower lats.