Follow @sciunisonfitnes

I have always used a weight belt when lifting. I wear it majority of the time whether it be for support, comfort, or just as a security blanket. I wear it when training any of my bodyparts, I don’t discriminate. lol

So it goes without saying that a comfortable and secure weight belt is important to me. Despite this fact, the most I have spent on a weight belt is around $45-50.00. As with other things, I am starting to learn that you get what you pay for. 

The weight belts I have gotten in the past were very rigid and tough. They takes months, if not years to break in and feel comfortable. I have had the big back ones, and the narrow backed ones. I am a fan of narrow back. Anything over 4 inches wide is just plain annoying. In my opinion. 

So anyway, a few months back I decided to invest money into a better weight belt. First I looked around at people at my gym and discovered the Inzer Powerlifting belts. They are pretty hardcore, and perfect for power-lifting, but after trying one on, I wasn’t sure if it was what I was looking for. 

So then I took to the Internet, and by chance I bumped into a company called Cardillo. I noticed that they made custom embroidery weight belts. This of course got my attention. I then called up and asked a ton of questions like I usually do, and learned that they make belts for alot  of top bodybuilders as well as other famous celebrities. This was a plus in my eyes, as it was more proof of the quality. 

I took a week to design the custom embroidery that I wanted to appear on my belt and emailed it in. The people over there were very helpful throughout the process. 

I was then told that the belt would take 8-12 weeks to arrive. This was a slight downer for me, but that I realized that the better things in life are definitely worth waiting for. 

Well today is the day that my belt arrived and here is a photo: read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

In my latest training blocks I have been doing One Arm Dumbbell Rows as my power based back exercise. I have always been pretty strong with this exercise – while keeping good form. However, this latest block my strength has soared. The heaviest I have gone in the past is 155lbs dumbbells on a good for for 5. 

Those numbers have been obliterated this time around. In my past two power back days I have been able to do the 180 lbs dumbbells for 5 reps. 

I attribute this big gain in strength to a few variables: read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

My arms are def one of the laggers. It has alot to do with their overall length. I am about a hair under 6’2 but my wingspan is slightly over 6’6. This gives me a large disadvantage in terms of arm size and growth. 

As of late I have been chanding some things up in order to bring about so new progress. 

Focusing on the long head of the tricep is my main concern. The beefy look in this area has always eluded me. Due to the way I am built it has always been super difficult for me to really thrash this area.  

Decline Dumbbell Tricep and Straight Bar extensions seem to be helping alot. This is not like a typical skull crusher. With this exercise the weight is lifted more outward away from the body. This stretches and places alot of tension on the long head of the tricep. 

For biceps I have continued to use all straight bars as oppsoed to ez-curl bars. The straight bar allows me to keep my pinky at the same height as my thumb, whereas the ezbar doesn’t. This has an impact on the contraction that i feel. When the pinky is level or elevated of the thumb, the turning motion with your palm facing up, the bicep can fully contract. 

For forearms, i have been using the fatter bar to do all my forearms curls. I think I am ready to implement fat bar curls as well. This new grip has definitely given me sore spots where i previously haven’t ltfe. 

Here is a photo. so far so good, still plenty of time till my next show… June 2012

_________________________________________________________________________________

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

10/6/2011

After a little break I am back to this training journal crap lol.

I have been doing extremely well with all my lifts and have entered into a new phase of my program. This means some new movements, new training styles and new focuses. 

I weighed 232 lbs. the other day. Wow danger zone. My midsection def suffered, but I can still see the top two abdominals which is good. I really feel as if I am making good progress in certain areas. The plan is to push hard through this month and then take a 6-10 day rest to fully recover. So lets do this. 

So tonight was shoulder and biceps. Two of my laggers. 

Shoulders was a pre-exhaust based workout. Once again, I pre fatigued the delts by performing all the isolation movements. Then on the last set of each isolation movement I supersetted with read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

If it were easy, everyone would do it. 
If it could happen overnight, everyone would be it.
If it wasn’t worth doing, I wouldn’t be doing it. 

It requires an unprecedented level of devotion.
It demands mental, physical, and emotional poise.
It represents untainted and true knowledge of the human body.
It is everything I stand for.

Natural Bodybuilding

- Ryan Sullivan

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

8/29/2011

Chest Triceps and Abdominals. 

For chest I went back to the new pre-exhaust routine I made. Second time around was even better than the first. 

Started off with Incline dumbbell flyes, last set supered with Incline Dumbbell press. After this one of my training parters jokingly said that he was done and it was time to go home lol. We were already feeling it, in a real good way. 

The new intra workout supplement is still kicking ass. Very glad that I added it to the aresenal. Email me rsullivan@sci-unisonfitness.com for more details. You wont regret it. 

Next we did some flat cable flyes, last set supered with flat barbell press. This one was a real bitch. That barbell killed me lol. 

The rest of the chest workout followed this same structure. Numbers up from first run around. read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

8/21/2011

Chest Triceps and some abs. 

Went higher reps with chest, mostly 12-15 reps. Cut out a few sets because I put the added volume on the Triceps, a lagger for me. 

Since I cut out some sets I wanted to go best bag for the buck. Stuck to alot of presses. Started with flat dumbbell press. The 12-15 rep range gave me an enormous pump. By the time I moved on to incline hammer strength press I was feeling big and tight. 

I finished off with read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

8/12/2011

Today was an intensity based Chest/Shoulders/Triceps routine. I designed a new style of workout for today and it was great. I can honestly say that it gave me one of the best feels in terms of this specific training style. The entire workout was based around pre-exhaustion. Tons of isolation sets with supersets on the last set of each exercise. The supersets would be with a compound movement such as a press. 

I will continue to use this same routine in the coming weeks. If you like it, it feels good, then stick to it for a bit. 

There will have to be a slight adjustment due to the fact that I plan to switch up my training split. Instead of the Push/Pull/leg/circuit setup, I will be switching to a more tradtional split. Chest/Triceps, Back/Traps, Shoulders/Biceps, Quads/Hams/Calves. 

By the end of the routine I felt a serious pump and hardness is all my target muscles. 

I am also making use of the read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

8/4/2011

Today was my 2nd Power Push Day (chest, shoulders and triceps) but it was the first one that really counts. The first power workout was my very first workout back after my post competition layoff. Needless to say, that wasnt much of a power day lol

This day went well. I was able to throw up the 110 pound dumbbell for a few sets of 5 reps. I am very confident that my strength will return and I will be able to go heavier.

By the time I got to the barbell shoulder press, I was starting to feel it hard, which reflected my numbers. I still feel like I got some good quality sets in, but I am eager to gain strength. However, I know that I have to be patient in order to avoid any injuries.

So basically for this session there was alot of power pressing. Certain exercises I targeted a 3-5 rep range, while others were in a 6-8 rep range.

Incline dumbbell press, barbell shoulder press and close grip bench press were my 3-5s. In addition to that I through in some other pressing movements in a slightly higher range.

Here is some video footage. read more…

Follow @sciunisonfitnes

So i decided to start an online training journal in order to share my journey with all those who may be interested. 

So lets get everyone up to speed….

At this point I am going on my 6th workout since taking 12 days off from the gym. I like to take a 7-10 day break from the gym every 3-4 months. This time around i took a few extra days only because I competed in a natural bodybuilding competition and i felt that I could use it. 

I am weighing about 215-218 pounds. This is a big difference from the 193 I was weighing on the competition diet. And for the record I now know that 193 was too low for me. Next time around its a fuller 196-199, you can count on it !!

So basically at this point, I am filling up real nice, and its all about getting back into the swing of things. I am pushing hard but not too hard as I want my body to become accustomed to the lifting. Going full force right out of the gates could invite injury, and with my long limbs I am prone to injuries. 

7/27/2011

I had a great chest, shoulders, triceps workout. It really kicked my ass. I trained with friend/training partner Kevin . At the moment i am sticking to a Push/Pull/Leg routine with an added day for a full body blast. So far so good. As time goes on I plan on breaking things up into a more traditional split, but for now I like how I am feeling. 

This was my first all out Push workout so I can tell that I will be extremely sore tomorrow. I also am trying out a higher rep range every other week for my triceps, so they were burning up by the end of the session. 

For chest and shoulders we stuck to read more…