Because it just feels better - MCKD Cut

[perkins2099]

Purpose: I am starting a keto log as well. I see a lot of people starting keto logs and falling off the band wagon. It?s really too bad, but understandable I?ve stopped journaling when I wasn?t feel like progress was being made. I like to see people succeed so I want to help share my success with everyone else on the boards.

I think the most important part of fitness activities of any kind, diets, workouts, sports, whatever, is finding what works for you as an individual. You can?t lump yourself in with everyone else. Maybe it works sometimes but I have found that I am often an odd duck out in that regard.

I?ve tried the typical 40/40/20 splits and various different ratios based on that but I don?t really feel that I was able to gain much muscle or lose much fat. I felt really limited. Perhaps part of the success on my keto diet was me growing as a person and really figuring out how diets in general work. Although after bulking for 12 weeks at a time (four different times) on a moderate carb diet doing various different exercise splits and programs and not gaining an appreciable amount of muscle, I was getting very frustrated to say the least. I was wasting all this time cutting off the fat at one pound per week then gaining it at one pound per week.. Looking very much the same day to day, week to week.

I?ve been finding over the last seven weeks, my body is reacting much more positively in terms of how I feel, my mood over all, and compositional changes. While I haven?t tried bulking on Keto yet, my goal to cut to 6-7% is coming along much better than I?ve ever thought possible.. I?m seeing all my abs coming in and I am keeping or increasing my current strength level marginally. Pretty exciting. I don?t know what my bf% is and only measure weight to determine if I am loosing mass or gaining mass.

Starting Stats:
Starting Weight ? March 6th: 176
Bicep: 13? flex
Waist: 30?
Quad: 23?
Height: 6?0?
Current Weight ? April 28th: 167

After finally getting down to a respectable body fat percentage I am realizing how skinny I am (Started BB.com at 180 went to 207 and now 167 and my arms have been the same size throughout that!) After I hit my cutting goal I will be keto bulking for the foreseeable future to try and add some amount of mass.

Even with a number of setbacks (booze, dirty carb ups) and learning which kind of keto(CKD,TCKD) works best, I?ve still managed to lose 9 pounds in 7 weeks.

My Approach: I use a modified CKD (MCKD) approach. Basically.. I eat 300-350 grams of carbs(2 cups of rice uncooked) within six hours for a carb up. I use those carbs as fuel for my next 3-4 work outs / cardio sessions or until I feel depleted (going more by feel now, easy to tell when you are dragging). I eat primarily brown rice or slow digesting carbs.. I find the water weight gain isn?t huge if I stick to healthy carbs and the fat gain is negligible. I also prime myself with two apples prior to the rice.. also a treat because I love fuji apples. :) I also carb up directly before a weight training session.. so if I am doing M-W-F I?ll carb up Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday. Generally 350 grams of carbs lasts me two weight training sessions and two HIIT sessions. I will not carb up for cardio.

My Workout: M-W-F Full body routine. I spend 45-60 minutes in the gym and hit all the muscle groups I can fit in. I do three sets of 8-12 depending on feel and if I am increasing my weights for a given week. I dead lift on Wednesday?s only two sets but enough to maintain mass and strength.
Leg Press
Calf Raises
Leg Curl
(Dead Life)
Dumbbell Chest Press
Cable Shoulder Press
Pull-ups
Chin-ups
Rows
Shrugs
Crunches
Curls
Triceps Pull downs

Most of my exercises are supersets or if I?m uber motivated I just don?t stop between sets.

My Typical Diet: It?s a bit off from the normal eggs, bacon, beef, steak diet, but I don?t like how my heart feels when I eat too much Saturated fat and I don?t mind some incidence carbs (peanut butter and cheese and 85% lindt chocolate), but it?s working well for me. And while I agree that more animal products are healthy, the way they are raised and their diets and conditions also have an effect on our bodies. Grass fed beef has less saturated fat and more omega 3s. Etc.

Preworkout ? 6:30 AM 10g whey
Postworkout ? 8:00 AM 25g whey
9:00 AM ? 2oz cheese and two TBSP peanut butter
12:00 ? 3 oz chicken full fat ranch 1 oz (200 calories each oz)
3:00 ? 3 oz chicken full fat ranch 1 oz (200 calories each oz)
6:00 ? 4 eggs
9:00-10:00 PM ?1 can Tuna Fish ? 1 oz full fat ranch

Comes out to right around 1800 calories or so..

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1834
Fat: 116 1045 59%
Sat: 26 234 13%
Poly: 9 81 5%
Mono: 19 175 10%
Carbs: 22 78 4%
Fiber: 2 0 0%
Protein: 163 650 37%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
Totals 1834 116 22 163

My Hints: If you are going to do something, do it all out. Yeah yeah we?ve all heard that before. If you are cutting, make sure you are cutting. If you aren?t losing weight/fat on a calorie deficit and you are doing cardio 3x a week and weight training, something needs fixing. Most likely your diet, check your calories, check your artificial sweeteners, do they contain sugar alcohols? My progress slowed when I was eating 2,200 calories a day. Why? My daily caloric expenditure on a typical day was only 2,200-2,500 calories (I work at a desk, I do not have a ton of muscle, I go home and do photography, slow metabolism)? combine that with a few little meal cheats and bam.. no progress. Now when I want to lose weight I aim for 1800 on the nose. Let your strength in the gym determine if you are losing muscle mass.

Ongoing: I?ll hopefully be posting with some regularity in the keto section or at least in the log to keep me on track and maybe give other people who are having a hard time some different things to try. Pictures will probably be coming soonish.. I might wait until I hit the goal and then post a nice spread of before during after pics.

Thanks for all the information by the way. This section of the forum is what got me started on keto.

[perkins2099]

HIIT Today.. 22 minutes, 9 intervals with 25 seconds sprints. Off to a good start for the day.. Just had my cheese. :) Yum.

Today:
Pre- 1/2 scoop whey
post- 1/2 scoop whey
8:00 AM- 2 oz cheese
9:00 AM -2 TBSP peanut butter
12:00 - 3 oz chicken 1 oz ranch
3:00 - 3 oz ham 1 oz some kind of dressing
6:00 - 3 oz ham 1 oz some kind of dressing
9:30 - Tuna and dressing.. :)

I have a ton of left over ham to use before Wednesday so I am trying to fit that in as much as possible here. I purchased half a ham (8.5 pounds) and it produced about 5 pounds of actual meat. IT was pretty tasty.. I'll probably end up freezing some of it next time rather than trying to eat it at every meal. Haha gets to be a lot of ham,

[BUBBLETHIGHS]

Welcome to journaling...it is fun and a great way to stay on track.

Do you normally eat 1800cals a day? I thought it was kind of low but am wondering if I'm eating too much. How do you feel after you eat (hungry, full) for the day?

[perkins2099]

Thanks for the welcome!!

Some peoples metabolisms are just naturally slower..When I first started.. I heard that you should eat 3,000-3,500 calories per day to bulk.. so I did that and I got pretty fat because I wasn't adding as much muscle as some other people were. Then I heard you should never go below like 2,200 calories you will lose all your muscle.. Blah to all that..

Currently I am eating at 1,800, I haven't tried it before(3-4 weeks ago).. and I haven't ever seen the positive results that I am while cutting. Haven't lost any strength or size (besides fat), which is my new tool to figure out if I am doing too much or too little. I'm also not a big person.. wrist, joints, etc all kind of small, not a ton of muscle either.. so my caloric equilibrium is something like 2,300 a day. If because I am dieting my metabolism slows down.. 2,100 a day.. and I do my HIIT and lifting on alternating days.. it puts my total net loss to about 500 or so.. right around max.

Yes my goal is to feel hungry before my next meal three hours later. If I am not getting slightly hungry I don't feel my body is burning sufficient fat to make noticeable/quick progress. If your body isn't telling you to eat more, why would it shed a ton of fat? I know some people can eat and eat and be full and lose fat.. not the case for me.

I'll post a reply to your thoughts in your thread!

Thanks for stopping by!




Welcome to journaling...it is fun and a great way to stay on track.

Do you normally eat 1800cals a day? I thought it was kind of low but am wondering if I'm eating too much. How do you feel after you eat (hungry, full) for the day?

[perkins2099]

Hit the Weights:

Did the usual routine.
Diet is right on and coming in at 1850 for the day.

Lately at night I have been eating a couple pieces of Lindt 85% chocolate instead of quite as much salad dressing on items. It's pretty tasty stuff. Definitely recommend it to people.

Tomorrow is a big-o-carb-up mania. I never imagined I could eat so much rice in 6 hours.. but I do, and its good.. and it helps me lose more weight because it revs my metabolism way up after. I always feel hungry a lot more the day following a carb up.

I also usually hit my lowest weight the morning of a carb up because my body is out of carbs and I've been training like crazy... My weight today is 166.4, dropped from 168.4 yesterday. My lowest weight yet. My current estimated bodyfat is 8%.

When I hit 163 pounds (2-3 weeks) I will hopefully be at 6%.. I'm going to stop cutting.. doing some pictures and up the calories to 2,500 and seeing if we can bulk... not bulk, grow with this diet as well. I can't wait to eat that much on a daily basis. It is mentally tolling to be eating these tiny amounts.. when all my co-workers and friends are eating giant calzones, pizzas, sandwhiches, etc. Food(while cutting)is not fun anymore.. except when cooking and on carb up days. :)

Exciting, hopefully nothing stalls out in the next few weeks.

[perkins2099]

Cardio Day.

9 Sprints of HIIT for about 20 minutes. It really is excruciating each time I sprint, especially after number 5. :) Maybe it was just because I am completely carb depleted and need some rice.

Weight same as yesterday: 166.4

Started my carb up right after HIIT.
I have my two cups of rice, a little bit of teriyaki flavored soy sauce, two apples, and about 9 or 10 oz of chicken. Yum yum
Going to carb up from 9am-3pm or so.. maybe slightly less. Then back to Keto.

325-350 grams of carbs = 1,400 calories + 140 from protein powder.

I'll aim for about 2,500 cals for the day.. So 3 more meals at 350 cals each.

4pm 7pm 10pm

I get a day off from work Friday but still going to do the weight routine. I think my day off this week is going to be Saturday, as I have a wedding in Milwaukee to shoot and just want to make sure everything is prepared and ready to go. Also running around and shooting pictures for four hours will count as my cardio anyway. :) I'll have to pack up my cooler with yummy carb free treats/meals to bring along.

[perkins2099]

Yesterday was a weight training day. Weight was 167.5. Ironically I didn't seem to gain much weight at all after my huge carb up day. It kind of surprised me.

I also did a lot of activity yesterday, running around setting things up, carrying things on top of the weight training..

Which probably explains my weight today: 165.4. Part of it is probably just being dehydrated or what not, but it is a new overall low for me. A couple more pounds and then on to bulking.

No Training today in a couple hours (3) I am off to shoot a wedding in Milwaukee and i'll be on my feet for four hours. Tomorrow another shoot with a local ballet dancer and I'll be on my feet for 3 hours. Probably take tomorrow off as well..
Nice to get a break once in a while.

[BUBBLETHIGHS]

You are doing great Perkins!!!

How do you like photography?

Have a nice day off.

[perkins2099]

Photography is great, always keeps me on my toes and interacting with people. I like that. Unfortunately it isn't full time yet, still have a day job. But perhaps someday I'll have a successful commercial photography Biz. :) Thanks for asking.

Today and yesterday I took it easy.. just had shoots to do which requires a lot of running around. No time for working out. Back to the grind though this week.

Calories stayed consistent and between 1700-2100. Biggest factors are when I ate, and if I had too many carbs.. I love that lindt chocolate.. :)

Carb up probably Tuesday unless I can hold off until Thursday, but I just feel so drained without carbs.

Anyway, back to editing photos! :)

[perkins2099]

Another weight training session today, went well. Woke up at 166. Had a bit of a cheat craziness Sunday. :) I bought way to much steak... and ate a fair portion of it.

Oh well, back on track now. it's so much easier to stick to a plan during the week than the weekend, still trying to figure out why. I suppose not having oodles of steak and chocolate laying around helps.

But back to the strictness to see if I can hit my goals here.. A couple pounds (of fat) to go.. can't wait to eat more.

We'll see what the next few weeks bring, if I can't get any lower i'll probably start to flip over to a higher caloric level. Really drained lately always seem to be on a cut.. :)

[perkins2099]

Did some cardio this morning. Not HIIT. Just didn't feel like moving.. been staying up way to late and getting up way to early.

Weight: 164.6 Yikes.
Dropping pretty fast, not sure how I feel about that.. still waiting to lose the last fat on my bottom abs..

I'm going to eat a bit more for about a week and see if it improves how I feel and just for my own sanity.
I think I've achieved what I set out to do.. maybe not quite at that 6 or 7 % yet but I am close. Going to take a small break from the uber strictness and relax.
Still Keto, no big cheats, with workouts.. just relaxing. :)

[perkins2099]

Yesterday I did my standard workout and I took some pictures. I also did that a BF impedance test using OMRON.. which is usually not too far off. I came in at 7.9% :) So I hit my goal.. according to OMRON. Haha.

Now I am going to do a little bulk for three or four weeks followed by another three week cut to be ready for a little Canoe Trip I have planned June 28th.

I feel I am at a good place where I can cut back up pretty quick.

I'll get pictures up at some point soon..

My 'Bulking' phase, which is more of a lean mass phase, similar to the Cut Diet but minus the plethora of different foods and carbs they eat daily (around 100G)
Initially shooting for 2,500 calories per day, slightly less on non workout days. And I'll see how my weight changes and dial things in further as needed. Workout plan will be changing from a standard 3x10 per day to

Mon:5x5
Wed:3x3
Fri:HIT

Just to change it up a bit. Also cutting the number of exercises down, less isolation work if possible. I have a bad back so squatting and dead lifts are out unfortunately.

I am excited to be doing something different after having lost so much more fat and achieving a leanness I've never had before. Sweet.
Hopefully the next cut I can go even a little further.

[perkins2099]

Crazy Weekend!
Had to work Friday, then drove 3 hours to a wedding in Greenbay, three hours back. Saturday worked on an apartment renovation all day and by Sunday didn't feel like updating my log. :)

So it is Monday.

Things are going well. Staying on track with the new diet and exercise routine. I feel a little bigger and definitely stronger. Friday I managed to do 12 pullups, I've never done that many before. Craziness.

Today I did a 5x5 full body program. Wednesday is a 3x3 program. And again Friday will be HIT.. one set to ultimate failure. :)

Weight wise it is going as expected...
Sat:165.4
Sun:165.8
Mon:168 (Result from Carb UP)

Measured my waist and it came in at 29.75" so it's still pretty small (for me, happy about that). I always just feel like I'm going to balloon up when I change my caloric intake to a surplus. I suppose that is what happens when I am on a high carb diet.. it all goes right to fat.

I also am trying something different for carbing up. Just eating carbs by themselves. There are three or four different thoughts on the subject... One... Eating carbs plus protein leads to fat gain because of the insulin response, two, eating carbs plus fat leads to fat gain because well I have no idea, but I've read that a lot. Also I've read that the insulin response of protein+carb is good directly after workouts.. and lastly I've read that carbs plus fat is good because it slows absorption...
So really I have no idea what is good and bad.. we've all seen it put all ways.. so I'm just going to eliminate any positives or negatives and eat it plain. :)

So if any of that is true I want to avoid it.. so Carb up by itself in a 4-6 hour window.. then resume keto. We'll see how this goes. Before I was eating chicken and carbs on my carb up... or eating dirty. :(

Hope you all had a good weekend

[perkins2099]

Today I have an off day from too much physical activity.

No cardio or weight training.

Shooting for ~2,500 calories today. May have overindulged(~3000) a little yesterday, not as concerned about it however because of the lean mass phase.. hopefully it stays lean and the abs stay as well.

Not much to report today!

[perkins2099]

Great workout today!

Today was a 3x3. I really felt my strength jumping up as well as the fact that it was only 3x3 I was using much heavier weights.. and a new program.. and on a calorie surplus. I suppose it really all helps! :)
Also probably regaining a bit from all the cutting I have been doing.

Leg Press was just under 6 plates per side, which was the biggest change..

Weight:168.2

Looking forward to Friday's workout.

[perkins2099]

Weight: 189 ? I usually don't have quite that much of a variation on weight.. so I'm not sure what is up. We'll see what happens over the next week or so.

Tomorrow is friday. Going to actually do weighted chinup for the first time in my life. So that in and of itself is a major accomplishment. Going to add a whopping five pounds. :) If I hit 12 reps again.. I'll up it to 10 pounds next week.. etc. I'm going to just take a dumbell and hold it with my feet, may have to get a dip/chin belt at some point.. I hope I have to get a dip/chin belt. :)

I feel bigger.. That is always nice. :) Hope the numbers show it.

So for tomorrow:
Weighted Chins: 5
DB overhead press: 35
Leg Press: 4 plates + 25 pounds each side
Incline DB Chest Press: 50
Machine Rows: 120
Weighted crunches: 80
Leg Curl: 120
Calf raises: 80

[Atavis]

Going to actually do weighted chinup for the first time in my life. So that in and of itself is a major accomplishment. Going to add a whopping five pounds. :) If I hit 12 reps again.. I'll up it to 10 pounds next week..

Congrats. That's actually a pretty big step.

[perkins2099]

Congrats. That's actually a pretty big step.

Thanks Atavis!

Workout today went well..
Weight: 167.8 Good..

I hit all my lifts including the chinups.. which is really huge and exciting. DB incline press was actually 55x10 today.. Also managed to curl 55x12 on the EZ curl bar (assuming bar weight of 55).. new PR for sure.

Goal for Next Friday for HIT Day..

Chins: 10 pounds X 12
DB overhead press: 35X11-12
Leg Press:4 Plate + 35 X 12-15
Incline DB:55x12
Machine Row:140x12
EZ bar Curl: 60x12
Calf Raises: 85x12

[perkins2099]

Changing my workout plan a bit.. I just don't feel like I am doing enough. I'm never sore and really don't ever get much of a pump with my current volume, and I want to do more in the gym.
Previous bulk programs have been unsuccessful because I may be doing to little.. so instead of keeping with the tradition of minimal work sets.. I'm going to experiment for the next 2-3 weeks..

I'm going to change my program to emulate Layne Norton's ... or one of his earlier programs..

1. Power Lower (Compounds, low reps, heavy weight)
2. Power Upper (Compounds, low reps, heavy weight)
3.OFF
4. Hypertrophy Legs (Higher reps, more sets)
5. Hypertrophy Chest/Back (Higher reps, more sets)
6. Hypertrophy Shoulders/Arms (Higher reps, more sets)
7.OFF

I started today with 6... shoulders arms.. 15 sets for bi, triceps, and shoulder.
Tomorrow I'm going to jump right into power lower.. and will rearrange to eventually have power lower on Monday.. :)

Hopefully I get sore tomorrow.

Also.. carb up day tomorrow. Will try to workout in the morning.. eat a bunch of regular food.. then carb up for 6 hours and resume no carbs.
6 on 6 off 6 on...

[perkins2099]

Tasty carbup. I made some cornbread with real corn. Then also had a cup of rice.

Anyway..
Hit the GYM for some high volume work yesterday and Saturday.

My arms are still sore from Saturday and my hamstrings are sore from yesterday... not so much the quads. It was a heavy leg day.. but not all that heavy i suppose. Heavy for me.
setsXreps

HyperTrophy Arm Day:
DB Shoulder Press: 30x5x8
Machine Press: 100x5x8
Lateral Raises: 20x5x5-8
Machine Curl: 90x5x8
Reverse EZ bar Curl: (bar15?) + 25 = 40x 5x9
Narrow EZ bar Curl: (Bar15?) + 25 = 40x 5x9
V pushdowns: 120x5x8
Straight Bar Pull Downs: 120x5x8
Narrow Bench Press Machine:140x5x8



Leg Day Sunday:
Leg Press:5 plates + 10pds each side x7x10
Squat: 185x2x3
Dead Lift: 185x2x5
Leg Curls:140x5x5
Leg Extension:120x5x5
Calf Raises: 110x8x5

Should have tried to isolate quads more.. I don't feel them today at all..

[perkins2099]

Weight 170.8

Power Upper Day:

DB Should Press: 35x5x5 then 40x5x4
Weighted Pullups 15x3x5 then 10x2x5
Rows: 140x5x5 then 160x5x5 (Different grip)
Shrugs:160x3x12
Machine Flies: 160x5x5
DB Press: 55x5x3
Crunches:100x5x10
Triceps Pull Down: 130x5x5
EZ bar Curl: (bar?15) + 25 = 65x4x5

Notes:
DB shoulder press up on Power day. I found a way to really isolate my delts and can lift more weight.. 45's it is.
Probably will try to load 20 pounds on for next weighted pullup day. Just got my weight belt in.. Sweet.
Machine Flies can go up for next power day..
DB press is tough on my shoulder.. trying to figure out a strong press move I can do without messing with it.. Haven't figure it out yet.
Triceps can go up
Curl barely did five. I'll stick here and probably add a rep or two for next week.

Tomorrow Off again. Blarg... rest rest rest...

Then Hyper Leg, Hyper Chest/Back, Hyper shoulders Arms.

Pretty good day. Power days I never seem to get a pump. I get the volume to a decent level but never really feel I am working my muscles after I am done. I'll try to push it harder next time. More times to failure?

Not sure what is going on with my weight. I just had a carb up day Sunday so that could explain up to 2-4 pounds.. Hopefully I've gained a couple pounds of mass (a bit of fat as well).

BUlking until June 5th.. I'm aiming to come in around 173.. then 3 week cut.. then bulk for 4-6 then 2-3 cut. ETc.

[LastSet]

Crazy Weekend!

Friday I managed to do 12 pullups, I've never done that many before.



Chinups are haaaaaaaaard to do. A guy here at work has installed a pullup bar on his door and we have pullup comps from time to time. He can do 20. He swims every day and weighs like 140. I can maybe do 3? It's laughable. In the gym I can do front pulldowns with 170 for reps. I weigh 215 with full clothes. Pulldowns vs Pullups = Two completely different exercises if you ask me. It's just hard to pull myself up. Maybe after losing 20-25 pounds I'll be able to do more reps. Congrats on hitting 12 pullups that is terrific.

[perkins2099]

Thanks LastSet, for dropping in. Appreciate it.

I agree with you as well, definitely different exercises. I always have a hard time doing chinups and keeping myself from swinging. Trying to stabilize and still do the same amount of reps is tough.


Chinups are haaaaaaaaard to do. A guy here at work has installed a pullup bar on his door and we have pullup comps from time to time. He can do 20. He swims every day and weighs like 140. I can maybe do 3? It's laughable. In the gym I can do front pulldowns with 170 for reps. I weigh 215 with full clothes. Pulldowns vs Pullups = Two completely different exercises if you ask me. It's just hard to pull myself up. Maybe after losing 20-25 pounds I'll be able to do more reps. Congrats on hitting 12 pullups that is terrific.

[perkins2099]

Weight: 170.4

I'll do measurements at the end of this bulk cycle (June 5th). I didn't do them at the start because my periodic measurements have always been about the same. I'll see if I can dig those up. Be good to have a starting point.

Rest day today. D*mn I'm sore from yesterday. I never get sore in the shoulders though, not sure why. Lats are killing me, upper back, chest, just a tinge in the arms. I started getting sore right before bed last night and I just love that feeling. Because I know I did something. I know they got hit. I know they were damaged.
Hopefully that translates into growth.

For Calories, I've been eating by instinct. I counted them up today and I will be around 2900-3000.. and that is what I've been at the last week or so. Going to hold here for the remainder of the bulk and see how weight plays out.

Tomorrow is Hypertrophy Leg Day..

[treerollins]

My shoulders never really get sore either. If I do a ton of lateral raises after an extended lay-off my side delts get sore. And my rear delts get sore every once in a while from heavy, high volume rowing workouts (corner t-bar rows especially). But other than that, 90% of the time my shoulders never get sore.

[MegaAlmighty]

Keep it up Perkins! ...

I have to agree with you guys on the soreness of shoulders... don't feel it the day after myself... doesn't bother me though, I believe the general consensus is that soreness isn't related to gains!

regardless, I look to see if maybe I have tingly sensations to my muscles after workouts (immediate/day after) ... nothing painful, just that tingly feeling... I guess its a sign that your recovering really well, not sure though, haven't looked too much into this. I don't really stress it... eat right, Lift hard (and proper) .... wutcha got to worry about? ;)

[perkins2099]

Thanks Mega!!

Yeah I've heard that too.. about soreness not necessarily equaling 'growth'.
I suppose it, like most things, is different for everyone.
I've always noticed good gains after being sore after a workout.. So confused. :)

Yah for sure, as long as your lifts are going up and your weight is changing in the correct direction, I completely agree!!





Keep it up Perkins! ...

I have to agree with you guys on the soreness of shoulders... don't feel it the day after myself... doesn't bother me though, I believe the general consensus is that soreness isn't related to gains!

regardless, I look to see if maybe I have tingly sensations to my muscles after workouts (immediate/day after) ... nothing painful, just that tingly feeling... I guess its a sign that your recovering really well, not sure though, haven't looked too much into this. I don't really stress it... eat right, Lift hard (and proper) .... wutcha got to worry about? ;)

[perkins2099]

Wow I woke up this morning.. feel pretty good got a lot of sleep, arrived at the gym.. started to load the first plate on the leg press... and really was not motivated still kind of in a haze from sleeping all night.

So I took off the weight and left.

If I wasn't going to attack the weights I figured it would be best to wait until this after noon to work out. I'm usually pretty pumped after work to workout or do 'anything' and I am hoping that is the case tonight. Might have to switch my workouts to afterwork again.. Just don't have the motivation in the mornings usually.

Starting to count my macros again. Don't want to put on too much fat weight for the rest of my bulk phase I'm going to hit 2600 on my non workout days. 2800 on my workout days rather than just eating until full.. ~3000+ calories.

Weight:171
Waist: 30"

Here we go.

[LastSet]

Perk I tried to workout in the mornings about 2 years ago. It lasted 2 days!

What I found was I was asleep for basically the first half of the workout. Intensity didn't pick up until the last 15 minutes. Maybe sticking to it would help with that but morning workouts are not for me.

We have time to hit the gym at lunch here. Have you ever hit the gym around say 11AM or 1PM? That way eating in the morning and afternoon can fuel/replenish you.

Keep fighting!

[perkins2099]

Yeah it is always hard to get started in the mornings....
Never done the mid day thing,may be worth a shot in the future if I Run into any more motivational issues. Haha.

I managed to get the work out in after work.. ~430-530 then had to run downtown (Madison) and do an engagement shoot. Kind of a busy day but managed to get everything in.




Perk I tried to workout in the mornings about 2 years ago. It lasted 2 days!

What I found was I was asleep for basically the first half of the workout. Intensity didn't pick up until the last 15 minutes. Maybe sticking to it would help with that but morning workouts are not for me.

We have time to hit the gym at lunch here. Have you ever hit the gym around say 11AM or 1PM? That way eating in the morning and afternoon can fuel/replenish you.

Keep fighting!

[perkins2099]

Yesterdays workout:

I ended up swapping one day... I did Hypertrophy Chest/Back yesterday instead of hypertrophy Legs.. because I don't want to be hitting arms two days in a row..

WeightXsetsXreps
Chest:
Pec Dec: 120x6x10
Cable Cross: 60x6x10
Incline DB: 45x3x10

Back:
Pulllups: BWx9, BWx7
PullDowns: 90x8x10
Rows: 120x7x10
DB Shrugs:80x3x10, 70x3x10

Pullups kicked my butt yesterday. I'm guessing because they are still getting used to this program.. Layne mentioned you will get weaker the first few weeks you do this much volume... Everything else felt pretty good.
Started out with pec dec to fatigue chest since I really don't like DB presses so hard on my shoulders. Also to take some strain off of arms because I'm working those tomorrow again..


Today:

Hypertrophy Leg

Leg Press:
4 Plates + 25s(410 pounds)X10X10
Seated Calf Raises:70x10x10
Leg Curls: 120x5x10
Leg Extensions:120x5x10

Great workout today. Felt strong on the leg press and leg curls and extensions, and calfs.. so I guess that is everything. :)
Haha. Great.

weight: 170.4

[perkins2099]

Saturday:

It was the big arm and shoulder day again. Hypertrophy.

If you are ever bored with arms in the gym give this one a try.
Alternating back and forth for EZ bar curls and Triceps pull downs, 15 sets of 10-12 reps.
My arms are sore today! :)

I switched the grips.. from Reverse EZ bar curls, inner curls, and outer curls. I also switched the pulldown grips.. ripe, V, and straight bar.

For about 30 minutes I just went back and forth on arms. Killer pump after that one.

Prior to that craziness I did shoulders as well, weight is a bit lighter than I thought... hopefully the body is just adapting to the increase in volume still.

I mixed it up a bit with the smith machine for some seated military presses. Only problem was weight was only like 30 pounds, but was really feeling it by then. (After the DB presses)

Good workout over all.

Sunday:
Today is an off day... I will be carbing up later. I am shooting a wedding and can't do my usual carb up.. so I'll do my best to be smart about it at the meal.. then finish up with a cup of rice when I get home.

Weight: 171

[perkins2099]

Yesterday was Carb UP + a little cheat because of my friends wedding.

Not really sure how many carbs I had, probably less than my usual 300G.

Weight: 171.8

Reducing calories to 2500 per day. I think I was gaining way to much weight before. Want to slow it down.. fat wise.

wXsXr

Leg Press: 540 (6 plates each side) x 10 (sets) x 5 reps (new pr)
Calf raises: 115x10x5
Hamstring Curl: 160x3x5
Leg Extension: 160x3x5

Short and sweet. Pr on Leg Press. Good day!

Biceps still for tired from my arm blaster Saturday.. Haha.

Anyway, Looking forward to power upper tomorrow!

[perkins2099]

Today was Power Upper:

DB Chest Press: 55x5x5
Machine Flys:140x5x5
DB Shoulder Press 45x3x5, 40x2x5
Smith Seated Military: 60x3x5,50x2x5
Weighted PullUps: 20x5x5
Machine Rows:120x5x5
EZ Bar Curls: 65x5x3
Tricep PullDowns: 130x5x5
Shrugs:80's X4x10

Weight:170.6

Felt good. Felt Stronger. Still on the right track.

Tomorrow Off then Thursday through Sunday I'll be in Florida.. Fortunately there is an Anytime Fitness 2.2 miles from my grandmothers house so I can still hit my Hypertrophy days this week, which I am looking forward too.
Just have to remember to bring all my supps.. protein.. etc..

Starting to believe 'over training' is a myth. Or at least it takes a hell of a lot of work to hit that...

[perkins2099]

Weight:170.8

Weight is holding steady now that I cut cals a bit.

Going to Florida tomorrow.. Have all my supplements packed up, hopefully they won't think my BCAA's and creatine are cocaine or something.

Right when I get back I have a photoshoot that I will be going from the airport directly too for a couple of hours... Rush rush, but that is the price you pay for taking "vacation". :)

Cut Starts next Tuesday.. will last until June 26th or 27th or so. My Goal is to get leaner than i was last time through. My arms and shoulders feel bigger, my back and chest feels a little bigger too.. so I know I added some mass over the last 2-3 weeks.

I'll do measurements Sunday night(or Monday) when I get in and see where I am at. Hoping for 13.5" on the Arms flexed. Haha..

Today is an OFF day... blah blah. Not looking forward to doing all that HIIT starting next week. :)

[perkins2099]

Back from Florida.

Started my cut just a few days early..
Friday actually.

My weight jumped way down after I started cutting: 168.8
So who knows what the deal is with that. Started cut a bit early because I'm getting so used to being skinnier.. that getting fat is really gross now. Hah..

So My goal is to be ready by June 28th and start another 4-6 week bulk at that point. Calories have to be less than the last bulk.. Not 3,000... but 2500 on workout days and 2200 on non workout days or so... but I can fine tune that later.

Right now back to ~1800 calories per day.. Missed HIIT on Sunday because I didn't get home until 9:15 PM..
Today was heavy leg day, but having knee problems so it wasn't that heavy and I did one leg presses instead of trying to break my 5x5 max. Might drop leg curls if that is the culprit.. didn't do any today to see.

I hit all the hypertrophy days Thursday,Friday,Saturday.. not going to list the weights because the gym was different in Florida..

Tomorrow:Heavy Upper

[perkins2099]

Heavy Upper:

Cable cross:70x5x5
Pec Dec: 140x5x5
Weighted Chins: 20x5x5
Machine Rows:140x5x5
DB Over head Press: 45x5x5 (pr)
Smith Military press: 55x5x5
Shrugs: 75x4x5

Weight: 166.6 Not sure what is up with my weight, usually doesn't fluctuate this much. I didn't do cardio today. Tomorrow Hypertrophy Chest/Back

Carb UP Today.

[perkins2099]

Yesterday:

Weight:170
Hypertrophy Chest/Back:

Flat DB Chest: 50x5x10
Cable Cross: 70x5x10
Pec Dec: 120x5x10

PullDowns:100x5x10
Rows: 120x5x10,100x5x10


Today:
Weight:169.2

Hypertrophy Leg

One Leg Press: 80x10x10, 80x1x20
Two Leg Press: 200x2x10
Calf Raises: 80x10x10