craig//nicol's bodybuilding journey!

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by MKW

How do you like underhand BB rows? And your friend sounds ****ing crazy, what was he thinking!

i absolutely love underhand bb rows. I do them with a thumbless grip and try to keep form perfect. I really feel that good form is important when rowing, if your just jerkin at the knees and swayin all over the place your just using muscles you dont wanna be working. I mean if your rowin heavy a little jerkin is ok, but a bb row with perfect form works the back so well.

Yes the boy is totally off his head. I said he workouts, which he does, but he aint a bodybuilder atall. He gets like absolutely wrecked every weekend etc. Hes taken ecstasy, cocaine etc and he said the caffine was worse than anything hes ever taken lol
I dont socialize with total dope heads lol i aint really close with this guy he just lives near me. To be honest though, where i live, cocaine and ecstasy are as common as aspirin.

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 1st: LEGS POWER + DEADLIFTS

DURATION: 45 mins

BB SQUATS 80% 4rm
5 sets of 4 with 210

SLDL 80% 4rm
5 sets of 4 with 235

50 REP DEADLIFT CHALLENGE

The aim is to get 50 reps in 5 minutes in 4 sets.
2 sets of 13 with 225
2 sets of 12 with 225

TIME: 3 mins 47 secs

This was really hard. Moving the weight was easy its the cardio point of it thats hard. Lungs felt like they were going to explode. I dino how useful this is for bodybuilding but its always fun

Couldn't get calfs done today as i was training at home. Well i could of but its such an effort using a barbell on shoulders and using some little block thing i got and its a crap exercise anyway. Tomorow is an off day from the gym but im gona make the effort to go and just nail 10 sets of calfs.

I was going to do lunges today aswell but i want to keep power days to a low volume. Mainly so i can only take 1 day rest after each 3 day cycle. my routine is, push, pull, lower, off, repeat. So its quite high frequency training. Im not sure if i should add an extra exercise in on leg days or not. I think im gona just keep it as it is, short and to the point, then on legs hyper i really punish them.

[MKW]

Impressive deads man. That's some serious cardio in itself as well!

[Galindo62]

Lol fuuuuuu. Its hard to keep up with your log man. Most of the logs I follow are in the teen section and they don't get updated past midnight


Missed a couple of your workouts.


Well I feel exactly the same way about rows. I do them pretty strict or else I don't feel anything.

And lol that's a pretty weird 50rep challene. But I also like that type of stuff.

And strong ass pullups man. No where near that level.

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by Galindo62

Lol fuuuuuu. Its hard to keep up with your log man. Most of the logs I follow are in the teen section and they don't get updated past midnight


Missed a couple of your workouts.


Well I feel exactly the same way about rows. I do them pretty strict or else I don't feel anything.

And lol that's a pretty weird 50rep challene. But I also like that type of stuff.

And strong ass pullups man. No where near that level.

i know man, i dont ave a clue what time it is over with you guys lol midnight over here is like 4pm over with you i think.

I got the 50 rep challenge off alberto (father flex). My hamstrings are torn up today and i think the 50 reps are what nailed them. I mean yea i did sldl's but i always do them and dont usually feel this tight. Its good for me to get some cardio in though, its getting ridiculous how long its been since iv done any cardio

NOTES:
Weighed in at 172.5 today lol 2lb down from 3 days ago. I know for a fact though that that is just water etc cause there is no way iv lost 2lb of fat or muscle in the last 3 days. That makes me feel better about gaining 6lb last week, obviously alot of that was water. Im gona weigh myself daily basically to see if i can understand what the hell my body is doing lol
The plan for justnow is to keep nailing like +4200 a day and monitoring weight.

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 3rd: PUSH HYPER

Ok so for the past few days iv had slight pain in my stomach but nothing bad. This morning it was noticeably worse. I just feel like crap as well sorta thing. After breakfast i had some nasty diarrhea. DAM. I wasint up for bailin on my workout though so i went into gym, i wasint feelin it after warmup so i kinda just sat for a minute and decided if i was gona do it or not. I decided to do it and im quite glad i did. I was shifting my usual weight and intensity was still there, i had barely any mmc going on just because i couldint focus just on the movment. Im still feeling pritty nasty and had some more diarrhea after my lunch. i managed to keep a protein shake in me mid morning, so im just gona be nailing heaps of shakes and some light food and see how it goes. Im gona relax tonight and see how i feel tomorow. If i aint feelin good though im gona take the day off. Being ill sucks so badly, i just need to keep the cals up to stop me loosing weight. I know il loose a few lb because of the diarrhea but thats just water etc, nothing to worry about. I really dont feel that bad just occasional stomach pains and diarrhea. We shall see how i feel tomorow. My day got alot better though when i took a random pic of a rear lat spread. check the progress out, i would definitely say iv added a good amount of size in 4 months, so happy with this. Waist to shoulder ratio is lookin good id say.

4 Moths ago


Today



WORKOUT:

DURATION: 60 mins

INCLINE BENCH
4 sets of 8 - 12 reps

DECLINE BENCH
4 sets of 8 - 12 reps

FLAT DB FLYS
2 sets of 12 reps

SEATED DB PRESS
3 sets of 8 - 12 reps

SIDE LATERALS
3 sets of 12 reps

INCLINE EZ TRICEP EXTENSIONS
3 sets of 8 - 15 reps

STRAIGHT BAR TRICEP PSUHDOWN
3 sets of 12 reps

I didnt get calfs done today because i had to rush for work. I really need to start working my calfs when i say im going to. I cant miss them, they must GROW!!!

[NTT91]

awesome progress there man. Defnitely thickened up. Hope you feel better bro!

[Galindo62]

Originally Posted by NTT91

awesome progress there man. Defnitely thickened up. Hope you feel better bro!

This. Lats look definitely wider.


How's the stomach bro ?

[S.O.u.L.m.A.N]

Definitely wider man! I'm sure that stomach bug will pass soon enough. Just keep drinking lots of fluids to replace what you poop out.

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by NTT91

awesome progress there man. Defnitely thickened up. Hope you feel better bro!

Originally Posted by Galindo62

This. Lats look definitely wider.


How's the stomach bro ?

Originally Posted by S.O.u.L.m.A.N

Definitely wider man! I'm sure that stomach bug will pass soon enough. Just keep drinking lots of fluids to replace what you poop out.

Thanks guys. Its good to see undeniable progress like that.

The stomach bug is definitely on the way out. Hopefully il be 100% tomorrow. Yesterday was quite rough and today has been okay just the occasional stomach pains and 2 visits to the toliet, nothing nearly as bad as yesterday though.
If i feel 100% tomorow morning after breakfast i may train, but only if i feel up to it. Gotta rest until i feel ready to really do work.
Iv managed to keep the calories high which im glad about. My mum has been saying that i should fast to get rid of it quicker, i know shes right, but that simply aint an option for me. Iv got around 3800cals the past 3 days. Alot of shakes and a few treats e.g. chocolate etc. I needed calorie dense food anyway so why not make it nice.
My diet has been pretty sub par the past few days aswell, so thats making me feel pretty crap, probably just psychological though.
Iv booked an nice Italian restaurant for me and the lady tomorrow night, nd il be devastated if im to ill to go. Im positive il be better tomorrow though.

[MKW]

Huge progress in 4 months! So much wider.

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 7th: PULL HYPER + CALFS

DURATION: 70 mins. To long, i need to keep workouts under an hour. I can drop some sets here and there though, no probs.

WIDE GRIP PULLUPS]
4 sets of 8 - 12 reps

UNDERHAND BB ROWS
4 sets of 10-12 reps

DB ROWS
4 sets of 10 - 12 reps

ALTERNATING DB CURLS
4 sets of 8 - 12 reps

EZ BAR CURLS
3 sets of 10 - 12 reps

DB SHRUGS
4 sets of 10 - 12 reps

STANDING CALF RAISE
4 sets of 8 - 15 reps

SEATED CALF RAISE
3 sets of 10 - 15 reps

NOTES:
I am going to reduce sets per back and arm exercise from 4 to 3. Just to make sure im not overtraining and to get my workouts in quicker. I want to be able to stick to 3 on 1 off. To many sets today, considering im gona be working my back again in 4 days.
First time doing db rows today. I liked them but found it quite difficult to really feel it in the lats. I lightened up the weight and was able to feel it better. I was using 80's.
Feels so good to be back in the gym. Being ill sucks and really made me appreciate how important good health is. It really, really is important.
Managed to get out to the italian last night, it was real nice and had a good night. This place was so good. Beautifully flavored food, healthy portions and a real good atmosphere. My girlfriend ordered some type of pizza bread thing for her started, and she fully just got a 10inch pizza. I could not believe the size of it for a starter. We both shared it, after i nailed my starter. Iv got a picture of this ' starter' il load it up when iv got time lol

[MKW]

Happy to hear you're feeling better man. Any weight loss?

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 8th: LEGS HYPER + POWER DEADS

DDURATION: 60 mins

DEADLIFTS 90% 4 rm
4 sets of 4 with 355

FRONT SQUATS
5 sets of 10 with 135

LYING LEG CURL
4 sets of 10 - 15 reps

STANDING LUNGES 12 on one leg, then onto other
3 sets of 12 each leg. last set used 80's

NOTES:
Workout today was really tough. Had to dig deep and fight through really. Was doing my insomniac thing last night, probs got about 5 hours. Not bad, but not great.
Deadlifts felt heavier than they should of, i dino if its cause iv been ill and not fully got my strength back or what. If im like this next week, strength wise, Im gona struggle to get more than one set of 400 x 4. Il give it my absolute all though. I will feel strong next week!!

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by MKW

Happy to hear you're feeling better man. Any weight loss?

i aint weighed myself, so i really dont know. I would think not as i was still getting in about 4000cals a day while ill. Il weigh myself tomorrow and see whats up . . or down.

[Galindo62]

What happened to the picture?


And have fun kicking 400x4 deadlifts ass!
You're probably beating me on race to 500. Something has been happening to my deadlift and I don't know what.

[MKW]

Strong ass deads man. I think it probably had more to do with sleep than the illness, especially if you've been able to keep your calories high even while feeling ****ty. When I don't get enough sleep the warm-up sets feel heavy let alone the real sets.

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by Galindo62

What happened to the picture?


And have fun kicking 400x4 deadlifts ass!
You're probably beating me on race to 500. Something has been happening to my deadlift and I don't know what.

Iv been reading about your deadlift problems in your journal, I think everyone hits a wall occasionally though. 500 is some amount of weight to pull though. Just gona take it 10lb at a time

you talking about pic of so called 'starter'? check it out.

Originally Posted by MKW

Strong ass deads man. I think it probably had more to do with sleep than the illness, especially if you've been able to keep your calories high even while feeling ****ty. When I don't get enough sleep the warm-up sets feel heavy let alone the real sets.

Nah im used to gettin little sleep, i think it was just a kinda off day. Less than 4 hours is when my workouts start to suffer. ill see how i get on with 400 next week.

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 9TH: PUSH POWER + ABS

FLAT BENCH PRESS 90% 4rm
4 sets of 4 with 170

SEATED BB MILITARY PRESS 90% 4rm
4 sets of 4 with 135

CGBP 90% 4rm
4 sets of 4 with 145

finished off with 3 sets of hanging leg raises superst with weighted crunches.

NOTES:
Hit all my lifts really comfortably today, i expect good things come pr week with this routine. After first set of CGBP, i found it so easy i was shocked. i went upstairs (training at home) and checked my log to see that i was using 90% of my 4rm. Was pleased when i saw i was. Just used really slow negatives on cgbp to make it a little harder.

Starting to think about what routine im gona use after this one is done. Im thinking about a upper / lower power / hypertrophy routine.
maybe like this.
day 1: upper P
day 2: lower p
day 3: upper H
day 4: Off
day 5: lower H
day 6: upper P
day 7: lower P
nd just take a day off every 4th day. Iv heard good things about upper lower splits nd id like to try hitting each bodypart 3 x a week.

[MKW]

Always nice when the weights just fly up man, congrats. Split looks good, how would you break it up?

[italianplaya30]

Like the new split idea!

Saw my best gains from upper and lower split

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by MKW

Always nice when the weights just fly up man, congrats. Split looks good, how would you break it up?

thanks alot, was a good workout.

on upper power days id do one exercise, 4 sets, for, back, chest, shoulders and probs some heavy shrugs aswell.
Lower power id do one exercise, 4 sets, for quads, hamstrings, calfs and deads for lower back.
Upper hyper id do 2 exercises, 3 sets, for chest nd back, 1 exercise, 4 sets, for shoulders, bis and tris.
Lower hyper 1 exercise, 4 sets, for quads, hamstrings and calfs, id throw in some all around leg nailer aswell e.g. lunges.
that is all very subject to change as i haven't done much research on it yet but it will likely be similar to that.
id work little muscles like abs and forearms on power days, as they will be the shorter workouts. I likely wont train to complete failure as training frequency will be high.

Originally Posted by italianplaya30

Like the new split idea!

Saw my best gains from upper and lower split

Thanks man. yea iv heard real good things about upper / lower

[NTT91]

your girlfriend is a babe Craig!

[craig//nicol]

Originally Posted by NTT91

your girlfriend is a babe Craig!

thanks man. She is beautiful. Been with her for over 4 years now

[NTT91]

Originally Posted by craig//nicol

thanks man. She is beautiful. Been with her for over 4 years now

4 years! congrats man

[Galindo62]

Originally Posted by craig//nicol

Iv been reading about your deadlift problems in your journal, I think everyone hits a wall occasionally though. 500 is some amount of weight to pull though. Just gona take it 10lb at a time

Hah but its not even a wall, its more like a ditch! Numbers went down.


But I'm gonna try out sumo see how it feels.

Originally Posted by craig//nicol

[B][U]
day 1: upper P
day 2: lower p
day 3: upper H
day 4: Off
day 5: lower H
day 6: upper P
day 7: lower P
nd just take a day off every 4th day. Iv heard good things about upper lower splits nd id like to try hitting each bodypart 3 x a week.

haha holy cow at frequency.


I'm going to sleep but ill look at that routine more in depth.

[craig//nicol]

NOVE,BER 11th: PULL POWER

DURATION 45 mins

WEIGHTED WIDE GRIP PULLUPS
3 sets of 4 with bw + 22lb

BB UNDERHAND ROWS
4 sets of 4 with 175

BB CURLS
4 sets of 4 with 100

DB SHRUGS
4 sets of 10 with 110's

BEHIND BACK WRIST CURLS:
4 sets of 10

NOTES:
Solid workout today. I hit most of my numbers easily, the weighted pullups were quite tough. Next week at 100% will be interesting, im expecting some decent progress.

[craig//nicol]

NOVEMBER 12th: LEGS POWER + DEADS

DURATION: 50 mins

BB SQUATS 90% 4rm
4 sets of 4 with 235

SLDL 90% 4rm
4 sets of 4 with 265

STANDING CALF RAISE
4 sets of 15

3 INCH DEFICIT DEADLIFTS
1 x 12 with 245
2 sets of 8 with 270

NOTES:
Doing deficit deads and squatting down low to lift the bar off is good for puttin extra stress on quads, seen as this is really a leg workout. Man those deads were hard though, i was really focusing on using as much leg as possible.
Post workout meal was a giant cookie and whey shake. DAYM the cookie was fine. I LOVE BULKING!!!
Oh btw i weighed myself yesterday and i weighed 172.5. Exactly the same as i weighed 8 days ago before i got the stomach bug thing. pleased i managed to hold weight while ill. Sitting watching films and eating chocolate all day seemed to work

[italianplaya30]

Deficit deads are awesome foe those legs

[S.O.u.L.m.A.N]

I'm going to be trying deficit deads too Craig. My weakness on the lift is getting the bar off the ground so hopefully it helps. Did your gym have some sort of platform to use? Mine doesn't so I'm going to stand on 2 stacked plates.