Nick's bulk to a healthier me

[watermelon_2001]

ok. there is a possibility it is just how my body reacts to flour (since i hadn't had bread in a while before making tons of sandwiches lately) or how my body responds to some 100+ carb dinners lately. but i feel like this past week i've just been packing on bf. on workout days i feel like i am just waaay too over maintenence. like 700+ cals even, which would just lead to unwanted fat gain. but then on nonworkout days i realized i'm probably hardly over, not leading to sufficient recovery. so an adjustment is being made, days when i do not go to school but work out i'm going to be eating roughly 2600 cals. on workout days when i go to school i'll eat 100 calories less than i have been, so about 2750. but i'll raise my calories on nonworkout days by 50-100. i really looked at myself today, and look way too smooth compared to say a week ago. i dont know how this happened, but i honestly FELT the pudgyness in my stomach today. it is not the goal, and i do NOT want to become 'skinny-fat', so hopefully this adjustment will help keep me more lean. there will still be the same overall surplus by the end of the week, but more evenly distrubuted.

anyway, i'll be weighing in tomorrow, and sunday again like i do to double check and average the readings i guess.

that ticks me off. really don't like how it feels.

When you increase your carb intake, your body holds a lot more water. What you're seeing isn't an increase in bodyfat- it's your body retaining water, and this gives a more bloated or softer appearance

[nmsk80066]

That's lovely , you even arranged the raspberries, apple and spoon. Impressive

lol. the creations that come when bored

[nmsk80066]

When you increase your carb intake, your body holds a lot more water. What you're seeing isn't an increase in bodyfat- it's your body retaining water, and this gives a more bloated or softer appearance

true, guess i should have considered this. wow, you are right lol. i think i'll continue what i'm doing for the most part but i am going to slightly increase my off-day cals still the more the merrier!

now that i think about it, on saturdays it is my second non training day in a row, i sit around and only eat enough to maintain so alot less carbs than usual. on sundays when i wake up i find i do look alot more defined than during the week. so thats probably it, just holding water lol

look what you did, boosted my confidence! thanks man always appreciated

[watermelon_2001]

true, guess i should have considered this. wow, you are right lol. i think i'll continue what i'm doing for the most part but i am going to slightly increase my off-day cals still the more the merrier!

now that i think about it, on saturdays it is my second non training day in a row, i sit around and only eat enough to maintain so alot less carbs than usual. on sundays when i wake up i find i do look alot more defined than during the week. so thats probably it, just holding water lol

look what you did, boosted my confidence! thanks man always appreciated

Lol, no worried bud. It is a shock to begin with, as you're used to the definition being there, and all of a sudden it's less noticable, but it's nothing to worry about. If carbs were cut down, water retention would decrease. Plus, if you're taking creatine, it has the side effect of letting you hold more water, so that'll only add to the overall effect

[nmsk80066]

Lol, no worried bud. It is a shock to begin with, as you're used to the definition being there, and all of a sudden it's less noticable, but it's nothing to worry about. If carbs were cut down, water retention would decrease. Plus, if you're taking creatine, it has the side effect of letting you hold more water, so that'll only add to the overall effect

true. the creatine never really did that to me before but now that there is more carbs along with it, probably enhances the effects. i loooove the taste of green magnitude lol - green apple is sweeet

[nmsk80066]

will change diet because i still feel too smooth, i know it's probably water/ my body reacting but i DONT want to get skinnyfat. only a small change - i will drop calories by 50-100 less than what they were on workout days but up them by that amount on rest days. same overall surplus by the end of the week but more evenly distributed.

weight this morning after using bathroom (yup) and only wearing sweatpants--- 116.5! w00t

happy halloween! going to a friends house tonight to chill out for a few hours. not sure what we're going to do but probably watch a movie. hope everybody has a good day!

[nmsk80066]

i know there isn't too much of a difference, but to me it is noticable, and too much for just 3 weeks of progress pics

week 1 of taking pics:


week 2:


week 3: (today)





maybe i'm just taking it too hard. i know some fat gain will come, and i'm perfectly ok with that. but i didn't think it would become so appearent (to me) so quickly. i dont know, i just don't want to end up with a ton of fat to lose in the end

sry /end small rant lol

[loupenguin]

eat like a horse at that young age seriously,

when i look back at middle school i used to eat by myself, this is not even that hard but still


a family size maroni and cheese and 4 large hot dogs haha


i have not had a hotdog in how many years, yeah i may be a little healthierish on the body, im pretty sure you can get away with that, i did that a lot back then and look at me now... just any example, but keep doing what your doing, again if you don;t like results increases calories or change up workout and so on.

[nmsk80066]

eat like a horse at that young age seriously,

when i look back at middle school i used to eat by myself, this is not even that hard but still


a family size maroni and cheese and 4 large hot dogs haha


i have not had a hotdog in how many years, yeah i may be a little healthierish on the body, im pretty sure you can get away with that, i did that a lot back then and look at me now... just any example, but keep doing what your doing, again if you don;t like results increases calories or change up workout and so on.

thank you for the advice man





brb, benching it up!!!!

[SeanCC]

Dude you don't look any fatter, trust me. It's tough being you're own critic, it's hard for you to judge objectively but trust me, you didn't put on any noticeable fat at all.

[nmsk80066]

Dude you don't look any fatter, trust me. It's tough being you're own critic, it's hard for you to judge objectively but trust me, you didn't put on any noticeable fat at all.

thank you alot man, i guess i just overthink things. comments like this keep me going, i appreciate it budd

incoming workout!

[nmsk80066]

incline bb bench - 73x 6, 4, 4 weight PR 70x4

flat bb bench - 83x3 weight PR 80x4, 3 78x4

incline flys - 30x 6 rep PR (+1) 27.5x7, 5 25x7

decline bb bench - 78x3 weight PR 75x5, 3 (drop, 30 sec rest) 65x5

close grip bench - 65x 6, 4 weight PR 63x4 60x8 rep PR

skull crushers - 53x 5, 4 weight PR 50x 5, 5...(20 sec rest)...2

overhead DB extension - 35x5 weight PR 32.5x5 30x6 27.5x9 rep PR

DB curls - 22.5x 8, 5 rep PR's 21.75x 5...(10 sec rest)...2, 2...1

incline pushups SS with flat pushups - 15/2, 2/1 lol chest tris were destoryed here

30 second chest stretch in a doorway

PWO cardio - 24 minutes walking (lost track of time and did more than planned because ipod died lol)

awesome workout. weird but not much of a chest pump today, but insaaaane arm pumps! were so tight by the end of this workout. feels good man.

ever since utilizing the 3-6 rep range or so with my main compound lifts, my strength has been soaring! my bench has been consistantly going up in weight/reps. also, my chest has gotten more flexible because i actually touched the bar to my chest a few times today finally! happy about that.

now to watch some football and hockey chilling out for the rest of the day

diet today has been and will be:

oats, whey, milk, strawberries

whey, milk, capn crunch, crispix, cookie crisp, kix

sweet potato, turkey, lettuce, red apple, cashews

slice ww bread, tablespoon dark chocolate dreams PB, tablespoon raspberry all-fruit, 8 oz muscle milk light RTD (almost done with these, just finishing them off)

1% cc, kashi honey puffs, puffins, tablespoon PB

brown rice, tuna, almonds

sludge (scoop casien and two tablespoons almond butter)

only 2555 cals because i'm not at school moving around alot or anything today

pics later

[N03xcus3s]

Dude you don't look any fatter, trust me. It's tough being you're own critic, it's hard for you to judge objectively but trust me, you didn't put on any noticeable fat at all.

This !!

Nice workout bro, get those cals down you.

[nmsk80066]

This !!

Nice workout bro, get those cals down you.

thank you man, improving every day!! and yup i'm about to go make a PB and J

[watermelon_2001]

Dude you don't look any fatter, trust me. It's tough being you're own critic, it's hard for you to judge objectively but trust me, you didn't put on any noticeable fat at all.

100% true. The photo's don't appear to show any difference to me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again- it's all in your head, and it's something you'll have to get past if you want to progress, and it's a big step to take. For me, I just got fed up after so long of not making improvements, and just thought to myself "F*ck this, I've gotta get serious, and stop worrying so much about this." That was one of the smartest things I've ever done, and it's the only way that I've made gains. If you stick with the sort of mindset you've fallen into, making progress is going to be so SO difficult

[nmsk80066]

100% true. The photo's don't appear to show any difference to me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again- it's all in your head, and it's something you'll have to get past if you want to progress, and it's a big step to take. For me, I just got fed up after so long of not making improvements, and just thought to myself "F*ck this, I've gotta get serious, and stop worrying so much about this." That was one of the smartest things I've ever done, and it's the only way that I've made gains. If you stick with the sort of mindset you've fallen into, making progress is going to be so SO difficult

true, i'm not going to worry about it anymore. the goal is to make progress on my lifts, and get bigger! that's really all i want to do and enjoy seeing myself progress. thank you for always helping me set my head straight bro. i agree doing this will be one of the smartest things I've ever done too

[nmsk80066]

yumz from today:

whey, milk, kix, crispix, capn crunch, cookie crisp


sweet potato, turkey, lettuce, apple, cashews


ww bread, dark chocolate dreams, raspberry all-fruit, muscle milk light


1% cc topped with kashi honey puffs, puffins, and PB


tuna and almonds on top of brown rice

[nmsk80066]

eating some sludge and trying to get some good sleep tonight, sortof feeling under the weather but i'm sure it's nothing too bad. dentist immediately after school tomorrow but luckily i'll have time to kill legs! can't wait! lol, watching the world series for a few mins and then lights out!

[MKW]

Subbed man! Keep it up.

[nmsk80066]

Subbed man! Keep it up.

thanks alot man! good to have you here




back from the dentist, appointment only took like 15 minutes.
legs in like 25 minutes!!

[nmsk80066]

diet today:

whey, milk, oats, almonds, prunes

muscle milk light RTD's and almonds at school

pre workout lettuce, turkey, sweet potato, bowl of cheerios/cashews topped with banana


post leg-smash: whey, milk, kix, cookie crisp, trix, capn crunch


egg whites and lettuce between ww bread, mighty maple and strawberry all-fruit between ww bread


sludge later - scoop casein and 2 tablespoons all natural PB

total: 2800 cals

brb posting awesome workout

[nmsk80066]

leg day babay!

squats - 123x 5, 4, 4, 4, 4...(drop, 45 sec rest)...95x 8 rep PR's

front squats (ATG dude!) - 103x 4, 4 weight PR 100x6 rep PR (looong slow climb outta the hole on these)

hack squats - 115x 7, 6, 5 weight PR

lunges - 105x 8, 6, 8 steps (second set kindof sketchy so stopped short lol) --weight PR

leg extensions - 105x 9, 6, 6...(drop 10 sec rest)...100x3...95x3 85x 7...3...3 weight PR

lying leg curls - 37.5x3 lol, weight PR but hammies were dead from lunges here, 35x4 32.5x6...2 rep PR 30x5...2

stiff legged deadlifts - 140x 6, 7, 6, 5 weight PR

good mornings - 88x 6, 6 weight PR

finisher type thing - BW speed squats x10, 10 aternating front kicks (5 per leg) sequence x3

PWO cardio - 18 minutes walking

amazing workout today! got a vid of squats too! will post it up when loaded

Random thoughts: no school tomorrow yay so shoulders/forearms/calves in the morning, will eat about 2550 cals since so school. got a really tough and shaky 35x4 for DB shoulder presses last week so looking for a 35x5 or at least a little smoother.

got some grades from friday test/quizzes - english got a 99, geometry a 93, biology a 91 (good since i thought i failed that one lol)

full moon tonight is really cool looking, clouds look really low and are moving very fast, woah

watching world series and football now, just chilling

[nmsk80066]

video of first set of squats: 123x5. i kept switching up my stances for the subsequent sets, went really wide for set two and got 2 reps then had to shimmy my legs closer lol dang it is hard like that. thought my form was pretty good, low enough definately past parallel. my knees kindof travel a little too far past my toes for my liking, but trust me i keep all the weight on my heels and drive through them hard. once i become more flexible im my hammies i'm thinking i'll be able to sit back better. little shaky in the hole on that last rep, but i'm ok with it. hard squatting when you're tall

yes-chicken legs. always been like that ahah, runs in the family. I will make them grow though!

View My Video

[loupenguin]

i wanna see a cheat day, not meal cheat day, when that day comes, im so down to see pics.

nice lift, more vids, diff angles let check that form out

[MKW]

Good depth man. Keep doing what you're doing, keep reading, and keep learning. I think I speak for everyone when I say how great it would be to have started seriously at age 14.

[watermelon_2001]

video of first set of squats: 123x5. i kept switching up my stances for the subsequent sets, went really wide for set two and got 2 reps then had to shimmy my legs closer lol dang it is hard like that. thought my form was pretty good, low enough definately past parallel. my knees kindof travel a little too far past my toes for my liking, but trust me i keep all the weight on my heels and drive through them hard. once i become more flexible im my hammies i'm thinking i'll be able to sit back better. little shaky in the hole on that last rep, but i'm ok with it. hard squatting when you're tall
View My Video

I'm kinda the same- I find it hard to get squat form dead-on, as I'm about the same height. And x2 on the hammie flexibility issues, mine are tight as hell and so are my calves; ideally I want to go ATG with squats, but my flexibility limits me to a shorter ROM

[nmsk80066]

i wanna see a cheat day, not meal cheat day, when that day comes, im so down to see pics.

nice lift, more vids, diff angles let check that form out

lol i don't remember the last day i've eaten tons of crap, idk i just don't really have the desire to i guess. thanks though bro, i'll try and snap another vid of squats next week when i go for 125 for 5 sets of triples. better angle too as that one wasn't amazing

Good depth man. Keep doing what you're doing, keep reading, and keep learning. I think I speak for everyone when I say how great it would be to have started seriously at age 14.

hell yeah! i'm always trying to expand my knowledge as much as possible and am very happy i found lifting at my age and in my situation

I'm kinda the same- I find it hard to get squat form dead-on, as I'm about the same height. And x2 on the hammie flexibility issues, mine are tight as hell and so are my calves; ideally I want to go ATG with squats, but my flexibility limits me to a shorter ROM

yeah i just need to not be lazy and get stretching more often lol. not today though my hamstrings are beat!






shoulders, forearms, calves in like 1/2 hour! going to kill it. slept pretty well, looking for 35's for 5 on shoulder press, if not, then at least not as shaky as last week. might try to get a video but i'll see how it goes. yeah buddy!

[nmsk80066]

well didnt push out 5 reps like i was hoping, i know the reason though! i didnt get a good enough "kick" up into position so i think i wasted a rep or two of energy on getting into position. had a vid of it but was really shaky so meh. still pretty pleased with how things went however.

seated DB shoulder press - 35x4, 3 32.5x5 30x7 rep PR on last set but the last two reps my ROM went to shhh, arms only parallel with the floor. i'll count it though

standing side laterals - 17.5x 7, 6 rep PR 16.75x 8, 7...(drop, 20 sec rest)...15.6 rep PR's --these were 99% strict little bodying on the last rep or two, but other than that I kept my thumbs pointed down slightly and got a good contraction. count it

front cable raise (havent done in a while) - 15x5, 5 weight PR 13x8...(drop, 20 sec rest)...10x6 --good burn, rep PR

bent over head supported one arm rear delt fly (lol at long name) - 16.75x 10, 9, 7, 6 rep PR's

two arm head supported rear delt flys - 15'sx 7...(10 sec rest)...3...3 rep PR

standing BB military press (decided to do these instead or arnolds to see if i've made improvment since i last did them) - 63x3 weight PR 60x3, 2 58x3 -----i'm going to be switching to these for a while as my main shoulder exercise. forgot how alpha they feel, and bet i could get 63x5 if i did them fresh.

DB snatch - 1 set for fun - 21.75x 5/5 lol weight PR

shrugs/behind back shrugs - 145x 8, 6, 6, 5, 6...2 rep PR's

behind back forearm curls - 78x 8, 5, 4...2 weight PR 75x6...2 not as good of form as normal, but still good pump

DB forearm extension - 20x 6, 6 weight PR, changing the DB setup with these next time though for better contraction

static bb holds - 130x 20, 20, 15 seconds --weight PR. love how my forearms just fill with blood when i do these. definately helping my hand/grip strength

one legged calf press - no rest between sets - 100x 10/10, 8/8, 7/7, 5/5 weight PR

2 minutes jumping jack cooldown

PWO cardio - 21 minutes - 1min 30sec walk then 30sec run x2, then 17 minutes just walking

pretty succesful i'd say. posting something else brb

[nmsk80066]

so got a vid of my standing bb military press here's first set, 63x3
View My Video

second set- 60x3
View My Video

not too much leaning back i don't think, and had a good ROM compared to the least time i did these like a month and half ago. definately working with these for a while. just need to work on letting my head clear out of the way and then sort of straightening out once it gets to the top of the movement like i did on my first rep of my first set lol

oh yeah working on a new split since i've been doing the same thing for some time now. going to do a little homework but will have it posted up later, will start it next week. and of course along with food from today

[nmsk80066]

alright, so this is pretty basic. starting next week:

sunday-push 1
monday-legs 1
tuesday-pull 1
wednesday-off
thursday-push 2
friday/saturday-off
sunday-legs 2
monday-pull 2

ect....

i will be alternating between two push, pull, and leg workouts

push 1:
incline bench
flat bench
standing MP
standing side laterals
close grip bench
skull crushers
pushups SS flat pushups

push 2:
decline bench
incline flys
standing MP
upright rows - wideish grip (more of a "pull" but want to throw it in on this day)
close grip bench
overhead DB extension
pushups SS flat pushups

legs 1:
squats
front squats
hack squats
lunges
leg extensions
lying leg curls
one legged calf press
(saving the lower back as i'll be doing full deads the next day)

legs 2:
squats
front squats
hack squats
lunges
leg extensions
lying leg curls
stiff legged deadlifts
good mornings

pull 1:
rack chins
bb rows
one arm rows
behind neck pulldowns
one arm rear delt fly
deadlifts
seated simultaneous hammer curls
shrugs/behind back shrugs
behind back forearm curls

pull 2:
rack chins
bb rows
t-bar rows
behind neck pulldowns
two arm rear delt fly
DB curls
preacher curls
shrugs/behind back shrugs
BB static holds

basically ALL compound movements, no messing around here. time to add some MASS! excited for this, predicting i will be able to PR on at least 1-2 compound movements every workout, which is awesome. will definately be making sure to get enough cals in as i see this will be a very demanding schedule but i am totally pumped for it!