29 Nov Tucker Loken – Off season week 3

The main goals of this program for me aren’t strength related, they are health and form related. I’ve developed some bad motor patterns over the years and my core doesn’t engage like it should, and it’s left me with pain during the deadlift and squat. While talking to team mate Paul Oneid, he said he had the same problems in the past, and the same pain in a similar place, so I decided to team up with him and get my issues ironed out over the next couple months.

At the same time, my diet is being handled by Joel Thomas, an IFBB pro bodybuilder. He’s got some good input on how he likes to handle diets which is different from what I’ve worked with in the past, so this is all a learning and experimentation period for me to learn my body better through a different take on nutrition and training than what I’m used to.

[wa-wps]

Deload came and went. And it was very productive.

I did my standard deload routine of doing the hypertrophy work first, and then moving on to the Big 3. Deloads are always really helpful for me not only physically, but mentally too, because it puts me back in the state of not worrying about the weights being used, but how they feel. I swapped all of my machine and DB work to single arm or single leg. I pre exhausted chest with single arm cable pec flies, and single arm machine press on the hammer strength machine, and did single leg leg extensions, curls and leg press before moving on to squats. Back was the same with lots of cable and DB work before dead lifting.

I put my hand on the muscle being worked and just close my eyes and try to focus as much as I can on contracting and lengthening, and feeling all the little pieces as they move.

This week was good too because my body started responding very well to the diet and the training. It’s the end of three consistent weeks of getting into the gym, and everything is starting to fill out better. My muscles feel tighter and pumped again, and I’m back to being vascular and looking dry rather than soft. I’m starting to kinda sorta resemble the main picture of this article again, albeit hairier and fatter. All in time though, I’m ready to get back to normal training again but the rest was nice!

Warm ups and prehab/rehab is still going strong. Everything is clicking better and my core is feeling waaaay stronger form the McGill 3 and the extra glute holds, hip circles, box jumps and what not that I’ve been assigned by Paul.

Wk 3 bench focus, chest and arm work

Single arm pec flies 15,12,10

Single arm machine press 12,10,8

Bench – 1x5sets RPE 5 – kept the weight at 185 and 225

Stir the Pot – 100reps

Single arm cable curls SS w/ single arm triceps ext 15,12,10

wk 3 Deadlift focus, back work

Single arm hammer strength pulldown 12,10,8

Single arm DB row 12,10,8

Single arm cable rows 15,12,10

Deadlift – 1x5sets RPE 5 – kept the weight at 275-315

KB Swing – 4×8

Bird Dog – 8x10s hold/ side

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Tucker Loken

Tucker Loken is a Bodybuilder turned Powerlifter turned Powerbuilder from Eugene, Oregon. He did his first bodybuilding show when he was still in high school, and has been training male and female competitors for shows since 2011. Several years ago he decided to take a step away from his normal routine and learn how to get strong. He worked with Brian for 9 months, added 200 pounds to his raw total and qualified as an Elite lifter in the 220 pound weight class. He returned back to bodybuilding much stronger and now incorporates the 10/20/Life philosophy into his training to keep himself healthy and making continual progress in the Big 3 as well as adding size and shaping his physique. Now part of Team PRS, he brings his unique expertise of nutritional knowledge and how to balance Bodybuilding with Powerlifting to help athletes achieve their best potential.

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