19 Jan Tucker Loken – Powerbuilding contest prep

For the last year Danny, Brian and I have been scheming on how to make a hybrid 10/20/Life program that would be accessible for bodybuilders who want to get stronger, and powerlifters who want to work on their physique. After plenty of experimenting on ourselves and our PRS team mates, I think we’ve gotten it down pretty well, and now it’s time to put it into practice with a big test – can you do a contest prep with a 10/20/Life powerbuilding program? I’ll be using our bodybuilding/cutting focused program to see if it can be can successfully, and outlining the results as I go.

My diet is currently being handled by Noel Fuller in Portland, Oregon. Noel has been in the industry for decades and I’ve known him for a few years. I’ve always heard good things about his approach and figured he would be a perfect person to collaborate with for this experiment. For this month I’ll take a few weeks to get back into the swing of things and get some size back, and then he and I will make the call for which show I’ll do in the Spring/early Summer.

Wk1

Weight change

3lb gain, 217 to 220

Top sets

Squat 5×8, 2 top sets at 315lbs, RPE 6

Deadlift 5×8 2 top sets at 275lbs, RPE 6

Bench 5×8, 2 top sets at 225, RPE 6

Diet

Protein 300

Carb 500

Fat 40

This was a great week and it feels good to be officially back in action. After making great gains last year, followed by major setbacks of injury and illness, I took the last couple months of last year to dial in my form, get healthy, and start laying a foundation for things to come. It’s all paid off in a big way. I’m starting slow and the weights are light at first, but that doesn’t mean the workouts are any less fun. If anything, it’s given me a new respect for how much one can actually accomplish in the RPE 6-7 range. I wasn’t very beat up after the big compounds, and had plenty of energy left to get some good bodybuilding work in. Below is what I did on my Bench/Chest day, and what I did for my hypertrophy work for Back and hamstrings.

Bench/Chest

Warm up with McGill big 3 and 5-10 mins walking on incline

Standing calf raises 20,15,12,10 – drop set

Bench – 5×8, RPE 6

Incline DB press 12,10,8

Wide grip hammer strength press 12,10,8 – drop set

Flat DB flies 15,12,10

Single arm cable flies 15,12,10 – squeeze at peak contraction

6 exercises total

Back/Hamstrings

Warm up with McGill big 3 and 5-10 mins stair stepper

Bodyweight pullups – As many as I could get going from a dead stop at the bottom, leaving 1 in the tank for 3-4 sets, changing grip each time

Single arm Hammer strength reverse grip pulldown – 12,10,8

Single arm Hammer strength side pulldown – 15,12,10 – extra self assisted reps on the last set (I just reached over and used my other hand to help with the working arm was failing)

Hammer strength low rows 12,10,8

DB row 15,12,10

DB stiff leg deadlift – 12,10,8

Single leg seated hamstring curl – 15,12,10 – squeeze at peak contraction

7 exercises total

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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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