One of my really good friends who competes in figure was the one who really got me going. She gave me a lot of advice and since I was already in pretty good shape, she encouraged me to push myself to the next level. I mean come on, I spend all this money on supplements, workout clothes, and anything and everyone else involved in working out, so why not? She's a great help and influence and was there from the beginning. I can't thank her enough. She's such a great friend and great person. Thanks Jena!

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Jeff Hart.

What Workout Plan Worked Best For You?

Like any workout plan, the following is a general guideline. No workout plan should remain the same as your body has an amazing ability to adapt. This plan enables your body, particularly your joints and tendons in you r upper body, to get proper rest and hopefully therefore avoid injury. Legs are to be worked about twice a week, but as is the case with other muscle groups, they are to be broken up (between "quad" day and "ham" day as detailed below).

I recommend a 10 week lifting program, followed by a one week break from weights. This will be great for your body and when you return to lifting you should hit it with a new level of enthusiasm. It's not bad to step away from something that you enjoy doing every so often. This break should also limit injuries. Look around the gym and see how many older guys are rubbing their shoulders or wearing braces on their knees or elbows.

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Jeff Hart.

Be smart and listen to your body. Part of this 10 week cycle should include 3 phases of lifting. Depending upon your goals, there should be a lighter phase with high reps, and medium-heavy phase with medium reps and a heavy phase with low reps and longer rest periods. Most of these weeks, about 7 should be the standard medium-heavy weight with medium reps.

On legs, it's good to keep your reps high (12 to 20). You don't want to put a ton of weight when doing squats as that's not great for your spine. So just do higher reps, and go slow on the way down and a drop past parallel and that should do the trick.

Do NOT max out on any exercises. Leave your ego at home and don't try to impress others with your strength. You are not a powerlifter, so don't train like one!

This 3 day on, one day off plan is the maximum number of days you should train. Don't lift if you are sore from a previous workout. Throw in an off day when you need it. This plan also avoids doing upper body two days in a row. This will be a big change for many. BUT, if you train real hard and with proper form, your upper body should need the rest. IF you want to do upper body on two consecutive days then make sure they are not the muscle groups listed below.

1. Chest and Shoulders
2. Back and Biceps
3. Triceps and Chest
4. Quads and Hams

Another big change for many is that calves are NOT to be trained on legs day. You should do them first on an upper body day. Calves, like triceps, are very dense muscle and they are best trained when supersetting.

You should not overtrain your muscle. Some muscles, like biceps, do not require 15 sets! You should always warm up properly and all workouts should be 90 minutes or less. Limit socializing in the gym; get in, get out and eat. Don't forget to work on your flexibility. Also, work on strengthening your "core" by doing abs work and lower body exercises.

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Jeff Hart.

Day One - Chest Day:

• 4 sets of flat press (barbell or machine)
• 3 sets of dumbbell press
• 4 sets of incline press (barbell or machine)
• 3 sets of incline dumbbell
• 4 sets of cable cross overs (2 high pulley/2 low pulley)

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day One.

Day Two - Quads, Cardio and Core:

• Abs and lower back
• 4 sets of leg press
• 4 sets of hack squat
• 3 sets of squat
• 4 sets of leg extension
• Cardio - 20 minutes of bike at a moderate speed and a good resistance

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day Two.

Day Three - Calves, Triceps and Biceps:

• Calves - super set. Do 4 sets of 2 different machines back to back (or drop weight I using the same machine) Do 15 - 20 reps followed by 10 to 15 reps. Stretch them in between.

Triceps -elbow position is crucial; in, close to body and keep shoulders back and only come up to nipple level on pressdowns

• 4 sets of superset - reverse pressdown followed by pressdowns ( 8 reps followed by 6 reps)
• 3 sets of dips (weighted) - elbows in and head up
• 4 sets of narrow grip barbell press - elbows in and bar to nipple
• 3 sets of lying French curls (elbows in)
• 2 sets of machine triceps pressdown (elbows in)

Biceps - only forearm moves; elbows at your side; keep bar close to your body and stop at nipple level

• 4 sets of barbell curl
• 2 sets of dumbbell curl
• 2 sets of preacher curls (alternate grip)
• 2 sets of hammer curl
• 2 sets of wrist rollers - usually to failure
• Add forearm curls if you want to bring them up

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day Three.

Day Four - Off

Day Five - Calves, Back and Forearms:

• Calves - as above

Back

• 4 sets of wide pull-ups (weighted)
• 2 sets of pull ups - narrow grip or use v-bar
• 4 sets of lat pulldowns (to chest)
• 3 sets of lat row (smith machine, barbell or dumbbell)
• 3 sets with a back machine
• Forearms - both directions

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day Five.

Day Six - Quads, Hams, Glutes, Cardio and Core:

A little quads - but heavy!!!

• 3 sets of leg press
• 3 sets of squat - with a smith machine; move feet further in front then usual as this will also work hams

Hams

• 4 sets of Romanian deadlift (only do if you know how to do it properly)
  Almost straight legs;
  Keep bar close to your body and only go down to mid shin level
  Hold your breath until you are about ¾ of the way up
  Don't lean back at the top
• 4 sets of lying leg curl
• 3 sets of seated leg curl
• 3 sets of leg raises
  Lay down on an elevated bench, place hips at the end of the bench. Drop feet to the floor and raise legs up; have a spotter provide resistance
• Cardio: Do 20 minutes on either a stair climber machine or on a treadmill at a very high incline. Don't run; walk and squeeze your glutes and hams every step. This will really give you a great ham and glute work and will give you striations in your glutes and hams

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day Six.

Day Seven - Chest, Shoulders and Traps:

• 3 sets of flat barbell press
• 3 sets of incline press (dumbbell and/or barbell)
• 4 sets of dumbbell press
• 3 sets of lateral raises
• 3 sets of front raises
• 3 sets of rear delts
• 5 sets of shrugs

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day Seven.

Day Eight - Off

For the next week, you should cycle your muscle groups a little differently. Something similar to the plan below.

• Wednesday: 80% of back workout above and add about 4 sets of bi's (heavy)
• Thursday: Quads, Cardio and Core
• Friday: Calves, Triceps and Shoulders
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Chest
• Monday: Same as the mini quads, hams and cardio workout listed above
• Tuesday: Full back

For the next cycle, you can go back to the initial workout.

Mix things up and substitute or switch muscle groups depending if you are sore or if you want to bring up a particular muscle group.

The plan above works chest 1 ½ times and back once in the first week but then back 1 ½ times and chest once the following week. It is a very balanced workout plan.

Keep your rep range within 6 to 12 for most exercises. As mentioned above, do higher reps for legs.

Do abs 2 to 3 times a week.

Stretch every day.

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Jeff Hart.

What Nutrition Plan Has Worked Best For You?

Right now, it's the off season. So the diet looks like this:

1-2-3 Nutrient Ratio
1 part fat - 2 part protein - 3 part carbohydrate

Daily Requirements:

• 600 calories from fat (66g)
• 1200 calories from protein (300g)
• 1800 calories from carbohydrate (450g)

I eat every 2 hours, around 9 meals a day. (7 am, 9,11,1,3,5,7,9, and 11 PM) Each meal is roughly 400-450 calories with larger meals earlier in the day and before workouts.

Each Meal Is About:

• 66 calories from fat (6g)
• 133 calories from protein (33g)
• 200 calories from carbohydrate (50g)

My last meal of the day usually consists of 50g of casein protein powder or 3 cups of cottage cheese. I'm always eating fruits and fiber throughout the day. Fruits more in the morning and more vegetables in the afternoon and evening.

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Jeff Hart.

What Supplements Have Given You The Greatest Gains?

• Optimum 100% whey
• Cell Mass
• Opti-Men

Why Do You Love Bodybuilding?

It relieves stress so much. Like I said when I was younger, I used to be obese. I was really overweight and made fun of quite a bit for it. Working out helped me to relieve the stress I had, but it gave and still gives me more and more energy. Overall it makes you feel good about yourself and I know that it keeps me healthy.

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Jeff Hart.

One of the things that was difficult for me in life was never being good enough. I was always too overweight or too lazy or not fast enough, not strong enough.. etc. It came to the point where I just hated it. I didn't want to put up with it anymore. I started to read book after book and I loved it. I loved having all of this extra knowledge and knowing what to do and how to eat. It made me who I am today and I know that the last thing I want to do is go back to the way I used to be. Not to mention the compliments I receive from people at the gym as well as at the beach or anywhere. It makes me know that my effort is worthwhile and it has always meant a lot to me and that is why I stay motivated.

Each the shows, you meet such great people and it's a great experience. The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you get from competing is another reason that makes it that great.

What Are Your Future Bodybuilding Plans?

The main goal right now is to gain some mass in the off season and come back a lot bigger and better conditioned for my next show. I'm positive that I will continue to compete in the future and want to eventually earn a pro card or do some fitness modeling.

What One Tip Would You Give Other Bodybuilders?

One tip that I could give others is to be patient and actually rest once and awhile. I know for me, it's not the easiest thing to take a day off or try to relax. My day revolves around my workout, not the other way around, so it's difficult to go throughout a day without hitting the weights. Just being patient, resting enough, and being careful while training are the necessary things to abide by in order to be successful and able to compete in years to come.

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Jeff Hart.

Who Are Your Favorite Bodybuilders?

Ronnie Coleman, Dexter Jackson, Dorian Yates, Lee Priest

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