Fortitude -- MugaMushin's BTK Training Journal

[MugaMushin]

Fortitude
n. - the mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation
Bleed Time Krew

Welcome to my journal. From this point I will be following a Fasted Training lift routine. Currently it is a 5 day split but is subject to adapt and change based on what I learn from my body. My goal is to slowly put on lean muscle mass while dropping or maintaining body fat %. I log my weight every 3 days and measurements every week. I will post those here along my workouts.

Advisory
You are entering the realm of the Bleed Time Krew. There are a few things you should know

We go all out, bust ass and train hard every single god damn day.
No Broscience allowed, no bullshyt here especially if you believe this:
1.) Eating carbs before bed (even 5 seconds prior to sleeping) will make you fat. Assumption is that your are not exceeding your daily targeted calories/macros on a daily basis.

2.) Body can only consume 25-30g of protein in one sitting. Link:

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-n...a-single-meal/

3.) Intake of protein at 1g (or more) per pound of bodyweight results in kidney and or other health issues.

Im fixing that here in this thread:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post549294693

Now with that out of the way. The bleeding will begin.

[MugaMushin]

Woke up this morning BEFORE my alarm went off, body is trained. Got to the gym by 6:45am.

Quads/Biceps/Obliques Today

10 Minute 1 mile run on Treadmill for Warmup

QUADS
1. HACK SQUATS - Completed 3 sets at 125lbs, 10 reps per set. Going to up reps to 12 for next session and practice better form.

2. FRONT SQUATS - Did 3 sets of 65lbs 10 reps per set. I was practicing form here, weight will increase on next session.

3. LUNGES (barbell) - Came before Leg Press cuz someone was on the machine. Held the barbell on my back and did 10 reps in a row on each leg for each set, 35lbs.

4. LEG PRESS - 230lbs for 3 sets at 10 reps a set. Go all the way to the bottom and go slow on these.

5. DEADLIFTS - Someone took the Leg Extension machine so did Dead's instead. Did 125lbs at 10/8/6 reps, really took my time here, body was protesting every rep at the end.

6. LEG EXTENSIONS - FST-7 here, did 130lbs for 7 sets at 7 reps. Going to increase reps to 10 for next session. Rest time 15s between sets.

BICEPS
7. ALT DB CURLS - Grabbed 20lb DB's and went slow on these, no swinging. 3 sets of 10 reps. Increasing weight on these next time.

8. PREACHER CURLS (dumbell) - Grabbed 25's for the first set, and then dropped down to 20 cuz the burn was in full effect, 3 sets total.

9. BARBELL CURLS - 55lbs for two sets of 10, then dropped to 50lbs for 10 more reps. Good pumps at the end.

OBLIQUES

10. Oblique V-ups - 2 sets of 20 on each side, obliques on fire

11. Torso Twist Hold - 1 set immediately following V-ups for 15s on each side

12. Deep Torso Twist Hold - 1 set immediately following Torso Twists for 15s on each side. The TT holds are lying down on the ground and extending legs to one side of the body and holding. Deep Torso twists are 2-3in off the ground.

For my first training session with weights in a long time this was great. My legs are burned right now, especially my Hamstrings, they are weak compared to my Quads and I need to correct this imbalance.

Total Workout Time: 95mins.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Increase weights on aforementioned exercises, Take less breaks for a faster workout time.

[MugaMushin]

Got home late last night, need to stop doing that because I had a hard time getting going this morning. But that is no excuse, its training time.

Got to the gym at 7:30am and I am off

Chest and Abs

10 Minute 3/4 mile run on Treadmill for Warmup

CHEST
1. INCLINE DB PRESS - One set with 35lbs for 10 reps, and two sets of 10 reps at 45lbs. I was experimenting with weight here and I know that I need to increase weight next time.

2. INCLINE DUMBELL FLYES - Three sets of 10 reps with 25lbs/30lbs/40lbs. I really felt them with the 40lbs, will go 35/40/45 next time.

3. FLAT DB PRESS - 45lbs/55lbs/55lbs, got 10 reps on the first two sets, could only get 8 reps on the last set. This is a good weight.

4. DECLINE DB PRESS - Had to improvise and stack weight plates under a bench, but its all good. Held these at the bottom for a bit and kept my elbows in so it really worked lower chest, felt great. 40lbs/45lbs/45lbs got 10 reps on the first two sets and 8 on the last.

5. CHEST FLYES - Did two sets at 40lbs here for 10 reps, 15s rest between

6. INCLINE FLYES - Not sure exactly what these are called but they worked upper chest, did 2 sets at 30lbs and 40lbs for 10 reps, 30s rest between

7. CABLE CROSSOVERS - Did 3 sets at 60lbs for 10 reps per set, 2 second holds at the chest, I might have been doing these wrong so I am going to look them up, exercises 5 and 6 were supposed to be crossovers, will fix this next time.

ABS
1. DECLINE CRUNCHES - Used my improvised decline bench here and did 4 sets of 25 reps each. These burned everywhere on my abs, felt amazing.

2. HANGING LEG RAISES - I did these slow and controlled with a two second hold on the contracted position, 5 sets of 20 reps, lower abs were toasted.

Total workout time was an hour and 30 mins, just about where I want to be.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Find the correct form on Cable Crossovers and Incline DB Flyes. Get more chest stimulation by upping weights, better form and adding a drop set.


Nutrition
I forgot to post this yesterday. Nutrition is a vital aspect of the game, without proper nutrition you are going nowhere. My beliefs on nutrition are basically to get 1g per lb of body weight of protein per day at least, to keep carbs just about equal to protein, and to get a good amount of fats per day. I carb cycle which means two days of the week I am going to up my calorie and carb intake to keep my body guessing and to refuel it. And for my own sanity I have a cheat meal once a week that probably comes in at 3,000-3,500 calories, this is usually one of my carb up days because I like to cheat with pastas/fried rice/etc.

I won't post what I eat here because I log everything on a site called myfitnesspal.com. It tracks all the calories and macros and presents them in a aesthetically pleasing manner that I like. If you want to see what I ate on a certain day, just click the link at the bottom of my posts, it will take you to that day's nutrition!

Nutrition for October 5th, 2010

[MugaMushin]

Legs are STILL SORE from monday, god I wonder if it will ever go away, bleeding constantly.

At the gym at 7:30am

Shoulders/Traps/Rear Delts

Did a 5 Minute Warmup on Treadmill so I can give my legs more rest

SHOULDERS
1. MILITARY PRESS - Used the machine and did palms facing away from me grip, 70lbs at 10 reps then upped to 90lbs for 10 reps and 8 reps, shoulders on fire.

2. LATERAL RAISES (DB) - Not strong enough to use the 25lb plates yet so I did this with dumbbells. Did 25lbs/20lbs/20lbs and 10 reps on all sets, never go above shoulder level so the tension stays in the delts.

3. FRONT RAISES (DB) - Used 20lbs for all three sets here, toasted those shoulders doing 10 reps each set. Up to 12 reps a set next week.

TRAPS
4. UPRIGHT BARBELL ROWS - 65lbs/75/95, 3 sets/10 reps. Gotta focus on getting more of the traps involved next time, got some good tips on this, I have something that tweaks in my right front delt/side pec when I do this.

5. BARBELL SHRUGS - 225lbs/215/205lbs, 3 sets/10 reps. I need to do even less weight here, I didn't feel the burn in my traps like I wanted to, the point is stimulation, not how much weight you are moving.

6. DUMBBELL SHRUGS - 50lbs/10 and 45lbs/12/12. The 45lbs at 12 felt great! Held the contracted position for a two count and went all the way down to relaxed before shrugging back up, really burned here.

REAR DELTS

7. PALM UP EZ CURL FRONT RAISES - Did 25lbs/45lbs/35lbs and 10 reps on each set. Next time I will start with 45lb and drop to 35lb if I have too

8. LYING DUMBBELL CROSSBODY BLOWS - I lay down with 30lb DB's and palms facing each other and then do a punch across my chest while turning my palm to face up, did one set of 25 reps here (25 on each side) burn was unreal, still feeling it.

Workout took about 90 mins. I felt good with shoulders and rear delts but I want more with traps

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Modify the listed items and add in another delt exercise.

Nutrition:
October 6th, 2010

Went over on calories by 190. Dumb mistake.

[MugaMushin]

Due to the fact that my legs still have not recovered from monday's session, I am replacing Hamstrings with Tricep work today, I will probably make some changes to my workout after this week as I modify it to fit my body.

Got to the gym at 7:30am, Need to get to sleep sooner so I can wake up at 6am not 7am.

Triceps/Calves/Biceps

TRICEPS
1. TRICEP PRESSDOWN - Used a 45degree metal bar and did 130lbs/130/120 for 3 sets of 10 reps. Held the contracted position for a two count before going back up

2. DIPS - The dip bar flares out at my gym and the handles are never parallel, so these did not work well at targeting triceps or lower chest, I am going to switch to the chair version next time. Did 3 sets at body weight for 13/12/14 reps.

3. TRICEP KICKBACKS - I bend over with a flat back and keep my elbows at a 90 degree angle and push the DB's away from my back. These build the diamond of the tricep so well. 3 sets of 10 reps at 7.5/10/12.5lbs. Next time start at 10lbs.

4. ROPE PRESSDOWN - Here I did FST-7, I did 15s of rest between sets and I held the contracted position for a count of 2. These burned so much at the end. Did the first two sets at 70lbs and the last 5 at 60lbs.

CALVES
5. SEATED CALVE RAISES - I sat down and put two 45lb plates on my legs and did these. Trying to target the outside muscles of the calves. I did 4 sets holding the contracted position for a 2 count on each rep, doing 20 reps per set.

6. STANDING CALVE RAISES - $$$ these were money. 4 sets of 25 reps per, going through the full ROM and going slow. I started out at 150lbs but I dropped to 115lb because I could tell I was about to pull a muscle if I continued at that weight. I know from previous calve injuries when to not push farther. Next time I am going to try and do 10 sets of 10 reps and have 10s of rest between each set and do 115lbs again.

BICEPS
7. ALT DB CURL - Made the modifications and started out at 30lbs. God these were great. Pumps were awesome, did the first two sets at 30lbs and then dropped to 25lbs for the final set. No swinging or other bullshiat, straight curls.

8. STANDING EZ BAR CURLS - Switched it up from the DB's last time. Did 3 sets of 10 reps and did 45lbs for the first two sets and dropped to 35lbs for the last set. I really felt these on the outer biceps.

9. DUMBBELL CONCENTRATION CURLS - Did 15lbs for each set of this exercise. Key is in the squeeze, and oh boy I squeezed. Those bicep veins were gigantic and I was making big bicep nuggets every time. Did 3 sets of 10 reps.

Workout totaled 80 mins. I like working biceps 2x a week. I think I am going to incorporate Abs into the Friday rest day and do Hamstrings/Calves/Biceps/Triceps on Thursday. I also will add another tricep exercise because I want more muscle stimulation.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Modify the workout to be Hams/Calves/Bis/Tris. Add an additional tricep exercise. Make noted modifications in workout above.

NUTRITION
October 7th, 2010

I went over on calories again, this time by 251. Time to get my **** straight. Going to fast for longer duration and get calories under control.

[MugaMushin]

Rest day today, stayed at 2,000 calories today because no workout. Ready to hit back tomorrow!

Nutrition
October 8th, 2010

[MugaMushin]

Haha so I am all geared up for this back workout and I get to the college gym and its closed for the holidays. I had work so there was no time to go hunting around the area for a gym. I will need to go somewhere for monday and tuesday though, so gotta figure that out. Ran 3 miles instead, in 21:38s. Need to get the time down to 19:00, shouldn't be too hard.

Nutrition
October 9th, 2010

Good on nutrition today!

[MugaMushin]

Woke up this morning at 6am, feeling great and fully rested, downed my preworkout and off to the gym!

Quads/Biceps/Obliques Today

10 Minute 1 mile run on Treadmill for Warmup

QUADS
1. HACK SQUATS – 125lbsx12r/10r, 115lbsx11r. I used weight plates under my feet this time and felt it a lot more in my quads.

2. FRONT SQUATS – 95lbsx10/10/10. Used plates under my feet again, still working on the form of these, will increase again next week.

3. LEG PRESS – 190lbsx10/10/10. I went deeper on these compared to last week, hence less weight, huge burn here quads shaking.

4. LUNGES – Started with a barbell doing 45lbs/10 but I was getting a pain in the arch of my foot so switched to DB lunge walks, liked these a lot better did 20lbsx10/10. Will do DB lunges from here out.

5. LEG EXTENSIONS - FST-7 here. 130lbsx10/10/10, 110lbsx10/10/10/10. Rest time 15s between sets, DESTROYED quads here.



OBLIQUES
6. Oblique V-ups - 2 sets of 25reps on each side, obliques on fire

7. Torso Twist Hold - 1 set immediately following V-ups for 20s on each side, 5s increase from last week.

8. Deep Torso Twist Hold - 1 set immediately following Torso Twists for 25s on each side. The TT holds are lying down on the ground and extending legs to one side of the body and holding. Deep Torso twists are 2-3in off the ground.



BICEPS
9. ALT DB CURLS – 30lbsx10, 25lbsx10, 20lbsx10. No swinging and went slow on these. Burn was huge at this point so I skipped the concentration curls and went to BB curls.

10. BARBELL CURLS – 65lbsx10, 55lbsx10, 45lbsx10. I had very little rest between these and totally finished off my biceps here.

This workout targeted quads a lot more than last weeks so I am happy. I need to just increase weight on some exercises to really fry those quads. I want more pain, more bleeding.

Total Workout Time: 75mins, hit my goal of doing less rest time, cut down the workout by 20 minutes.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Increase reps on Hack Squats, increase weight in Front Squats. Lunges with heavier DB’s.


Nutrition
October 13th, 2010
Today was my higher carb higher calorie low fat higher protein day. Had 450 more cals, 50g more carbs, 60g fat, 230g protein. Tomorrow is low carb.

[MugaMushin]

I got sick two days ago, still worked out but in the fed state later in the day because in the morning I was a wreck. Did Shoulders/Traps/Rear Delts.

I met my goals that I listed from last session and had WAYY more stimulation in the traps and rear delts, however the workout barely burned my shoulders, and I was at a different gym which didn't have the right dumbbells for my shoulder work, they only had 5-15 and 30+lbs, I need 20/25lb dumbbells for my lateral and front raises.

Today I was supposed to hit hamstrings again and right before I left to the gym I was called by my girlfriend to come help her father dig a 5' deep by 10' diameter hole. While lifting a 300lb rock out of the ground I pulled a muscle in my back so I went home afterwards. Back still hurts a bit, hoping the rest day will get it back to 100% but I may delay my back workout by two days and workout hamstrings/calves/abs tomorrow.

Nutrition has been great, just go to

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/dia...ate=2010-10-15
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/dia...ate=2010-10-16

to see the last two days. I have even maintained a 16/8 IF window. The problem has been I am having a hard time incorporating Carb Cycling, but I am working on it. Will get all this buttoned down soon.

Have a good weekend!

[MugaMushin]

I am coming off of a lower back injury so I took 3 days off before I lifted again, my diet during this period was low carb and 2,000 calories and maintained at IF ratio of 16/8.

Woke up late, just coming off of this head cold so got some extra sleep (about 11hrs). At the gym at 9:30am. I am SOOOO ready to be back at it got in there and made my warmup shorter because I couldn't wait to get started.

Quads/Biceps/Obliques Today

5 Minute 1/2 mile on Treadmill for Warmup

QUADS
1. HACK SQUATS - Completed 3 sets at 125lbs, 12 reps per set. Hit my goal from last session by increasing reps by 2 across the board, going to keep at this level for one more week and then increase the weight to 135lbs.

2. FRONT SQUATS - Did 3 sets of 115lbs, 10 reps per set. I am starting to get to the right weight for these, but I have to change how I hold the bar across my chest.

3. LEG PRESS - 190lbs/10 reps then made the seat closer for a deeper press and upped the weight to 220lbs for two more sets of 10 reps. Go all the way to the bottom and go slow on these, burn felt great.

4. LUNGES (dumbbell) - Started with 30lbs/10 and decreased to 25lbs/10 then 20lbs/10. These were destroying my quads, love them.

5. LEG EXTENSIONS - FST-7 here every set is 10 reps with 15s rest in between. I did 110lbs/10/10, 90lbs/10/10, and 70lbs/10/10/10. I go all the way down to the bottom on these and keep my feet flexed, the burn is unimaginable. I finally figured out this session how to change the machine to fit my body form so the workout here was a LOT better.

Very good session for legs here, I felt like my quads were targeted very well and they are still sore 2 days later (posting this late).

BICEPS
7. ALT DB CURLS - Grabbed 30lbs and did 10 then decreased to 25/10 then 20/10, burn was in full effect here so I skipped preacher curls and went to concentration curls.

8. CONCENTRATION CURLS (dumbbell) - Used 15lbs here and only did 2 sets of 10 because the pumps were so intense. I go very slow and squeeze really hard on every rep. That is the key to this exercise.

OBLIQUES

9. OBLIQUE V-UPS - 2 sets of 25 reps on each side, obliques on fire

10. HANGING ALTERNATING SIDE LEG RAISE - I did two sets here of 10 reps on each side. I was experimenting with something new instead of the torso twists and I LOVED the burn in these, felt great in my obliques so I am going to do this from here on out. I went slow and held the contracted position for a count before releasing.

TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: 70mins

Overall I had a great workout here. I really hit everything I wanted to at the intensity I wanted to. My workout time has also decreased, so I am happy there.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: I want to get in more sets of obliques next session on those hanging raises, seriously money exercise. Also, I am going to scale back on the biceps now and focus on triceps, so instead of biceps 2x a week I am going to do biceps 1x and triceps 1x. Now that I have got that machine down for Leg Extensions I want to make my legs feel like jelly at the end of that FST-7. So going to experiment with more weight and/or less rest time.

Nutrition:
October 19th, 2010

I met all of my goals here for calories and macros. I maintained my IF window, it was actually at 18hours of fasting today before I consumed food. This was my regular carb day and tomorrow will be a high carb day.

[MugaMushin]

Got a good 6.5 hours of sleep and felt good waking up at 5:30am. I went to my high school gym at 6am to help my brother with his weight training and also utilized the machines to do a better Ab workout!

Got to my gym at 7:15am and went straight to the weights!

Chest and Abs

10 Minute 1 mile run on Treadmill for Warmup

ABS
1. DECLINE CRUNCHES - The high school gym has a decline bench so I hopped on that and did my crunches. I didn't feel them as much however, mainly because my legs were hooked around one of those bars at the end of the bench and I pulled more with my quads than my abs, gotta figure out how to better target my abs on this exercise.

2. HANGING LEG RAISES - I should start off by saying that my regular gym has pullup bars that were made for the hands of Shaquille O'Neil. Basically I cannot hold onto the bar to do my leg raises so up until now I have been using a dip bar and just holding myself up. Well today at the high school weight room they had bars that I could hang from and let me tell you, the difference was incredible. I felt the leg raises not just in my lower abs, but everywhere, they were such a great exercise I ended up doing 5 sets here doing 25/22/22/25/20 reps. I basically will be able to access this gym for my ab workouts on monday and friday so I should be golden in this department now.


CHEST
1. INCLINE DB PRESS - 50lbs/10, 45lbs/10/10. I could feel the stimulation in my upper chest here. Loved it, I looked up at the weights instead of the mirror and I focused more on how the exercise felt rather than what I looked like in the mirror so I got a better stimulation from this exercise, going to do it this way from now on.

2. BARBELL BENCH PRESS - I took out incline flyes because I didn't feel them enough. Instead wanted to get a more overall chest workout so I switched to flat barbell bench press. Did 95lbs/10, 115lbs/9, and 105lbs/10 here. Really liked benching again, was quite fun and I felt the burn in my pecs big time. I am going to replace BB with DBS for awhile on this.

3. DIPS - I was experimenting with these as a lower chest workout, I felt the burn a little bit but ultimately decided that its not enough so I will switch it up next workout. Did 8/10/13 reps here at bodyweight.

4. CABLE FLYES - FST-7 here. Did 10 reps on each set and the weight stack was set for 6/6/4/4/2/2/2. I am not sure what the resistance is on this machine because it doesn't list a normal value and instead just has numbers 1-15. I held the contracted position here and felt this exercise all throughout my middle, inside, side and upper chest but I was tweaking something in my left shoulder.

5. BOTTOM TO TOP FLYES - Not sure exactly what these are called but they worked my lower chest big time. I really need to target my lower chest more so I am looking for an exercise that does the trick, as a BBer you gotta be innovative. Well I found my exercise. This thing was money, basically had the cables set low and I just pulled up to about chest height with 4/5/4x10reps. I am going to sub this for dips and add Decline Bench Press in next workout.

TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: Probably 80mins, hard to say because from 6-7am I was helping my brother but I also did my warmup on the treadmill and ab workout in that time frame.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Make the changes that I listed above for hitting my lower chest and increase weight on BB Bench Press. Also find correct form to target abs on Decline Crunches.


Nutrition
October 20th, 2010

IF Window: 16/8

I have only eaten breakfast so far, but I had 6 chicken wings at breakfast for a little treat. Lunch will be high carb and depending on how many more carbs I need will possibly have chicken fried rice for dinner ^^.


If anyone is following this, know that I don't lift the most weight, that I don't eat absolutely perfect, but I make sure I hit my goals, make sure that I am always seeking to improve. I am looking to grow and sculpt a symmetrical body and to be physically fit for the Army. At the end of this year I am going to use this journal as an example for what can be accomplished by research and study, hard work, and proper nutrition. By logging everything online rather than just writing down what I did between sets in my journal, I get to really evaluate my workout and find things to improve upon, so I highly recommend some kind of personal or online journal for every serious person out there.

If you really want to get into it I am always willing to answer questions to the best of my ability or direct you to the right place. BTK is a family that is bound by our work ethic and dedication, never be afraid to approach this family because our arms are open!

[MugaMushin]

Feeling sore all over today, thats a damn good thing! Slept in today because I went out last night, was at the gym at 9:45am.

Shoulders/Traps/Rear Delts

Warmup was 1 mile in 10 minutes on the Treadmill



SHOULDERS
1. MILITARY PRESS - Used the machine and did palms facing away from me grip at 70lbs for 10 reps on the first set, then switched to palms facing towards one another because I was tweaking something in my right shoulder. Did 90lbs/10 and 110lbs/10, shoulders were on fire.

2. LATERAL RAISES (DB) - Not strong enough to use the 25lb plates yet so I did this with dumbbells. Did 25lbs/10 reps then 20lbs/12 reps and finished with 15lbs at 12 reps going to start at 20lbs next time so I can hit 12 reps on all sets. Never go above shoulder level so the tension stays in the delts.

3. FRONT RAISES (DB) - Started with 20lbs/12 then moved down to 15lbs/12/12. Toasted those shoulders doing 12 reps each set.



TRAPS
4. UPRIGHT BARBELL ROWS - 65lbs/10/10/10 reps on these. I focused a lot more on hitting my traps and had 30s of rest between sets. NO SILLY ASS RACKS!

5. BARBELL SHRUGS - 135lbs/10/10/10. Held the contracted position for 2 seconds before going back down. Really need straps so I can up the weight here, I can't hold the bar if I start going higher and my form suffers.

6. DUMBBELL SHRUGS - 50lbs/10 and 30lbs/10/10. I had to decrease weight a lot here because I was having a sharp pain in my right rhomboideus major/serratus anterior muscle, not sure which it was but was owning my trap workout. Still held the contracted position for a two count and went all the way down to relaxed before shrugging back up, got a bit of a burn.



REAR DELTS
7. REAR DELT MACHINE - Started with 65lbs/10 and then went up to 80lbs but only got 8 so I dropped back to 70lbs for the last set and got 10. Go 65/70/75 next time. I love how these work my rear delts.

8. LYING DUMBBELL CROSSBODY BLOWS - I layed down with 20lb DB's and had my palms facing each other. Then I do a punch across my chest while turning my palm to face up, did one set of 30 reps here (30 on each side) burn was decent, should have saved this for last and done heavier weight, still felt it though.

9. PALM UP EZ CURL FRONT RAISES - Did 65lbs/10 then 75lbs/10/12. This exercise is seriously money for the rear delts. I absolutely love it. The weight is just about right too, with 30s rest these just destroyed 'em, great way to finish my workout.

Workout took about 60 mins. My Shoulders and Rear Delts got a major workout, my Traps suffered due to that tweaked muscle, gonna search for some alternative Trap exercises next time.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Modify the listed items and add in/swap out a Trap exercise.



Nutrition:

IF: 16/8

October 21st, 2010

Hit exactly 16 hours fasted, golden there. Today is my low carb day, 100g total. Problem is I need more calories with less protein so I probably will skip the casein shake today and have some more beef.

Tomorrow I will do my first Hamstrings/Triceps/Calves day! Psyched! Also tomorrow will be a regular carb day, followed by a no carb day, then high carb day for back on sunday!

[MugaMushin]

Quads/Biceps

Alright so I spent last night watching Dorian Yates' Blood & Guts and I got a lot of tips, tricks and information which I am going to start applying to my workout. For legs/bis I did a lot more work on the negatives and I improved form on a few exercises.

10 Minute Treadmill for Warmup

Stretching - I did about 5 minutes of ballistic stretches before I began, and it ended up paying off because I could go deeper in my squats and overall felt better. Will incorporate this now.

QUADS
1. HACK SQUATS - Completed 3 sets at 125lbs, 12 reps per set. Kept as same level and I took out the weight plates beneath my ankles. Really nailed form here, stretching helped a lot. Next week going to try 135lbs.

2. FRONT SQUATS - No weight plates under my feet here either, went a lot lower, started out at 115lbs for 10 reps, then went to 135 for 10 more, but I didn't feel it as much as I did on the 115 so I went back to 115 for the last set. I am going to start at 125lbs next week.

3. LEG PRESS - Moved that seat close, went S-L-O-W and L-O-W. God these annihilated my legs, 190lbsx10 for a warmup then upped the weight to 230lbs and did 10/10 with 30s of rest. Murder.

4. LUNGES (dumbbell) - I was so toasted by this point I felt like I wanted to give up, then the song "Till I Collapse" came on and I thought "FCK PAIN" and grabbed some 25lb db's and started walkin. Did 25lbs for first two sets then dropped to 20lbs, 10 reps each side per set.

5. LEG EXTENSIONS - FST-7 here every set is 10 reps with 15s rest in between. I did 110lbs/10, 105lbs/7, 90lbs/10/10, 80lbs/10/10 and 70lbs/10/10. I really controlled the negative here and made sure it was all quads by keeping my ass down in the seat. GOD DAMN by the end of this I went down on my hands and knees because the pain was so intense. Got up and went to do my biceps.



BICEPS
7. ALT DB CURLS - Grabbed 30lbs and did two sets of 10 then decreased to 25/10 burn was starting to get here so I went to conc curls then bb curls.

8. CONCENTRATION CURLS (dumbbell) - Used 15lbs here and did 3 sets of 10. I should have only done two sets thought because I had an insane pump after the second set, and I lost it during the third. I go very slow and squeeze really hard on every rep. That is the key to this exercise.

9. BARBELL CURLS - 65x10/10+3negs. The first set got a slight pump back in my biceps, the second set I went to failure on the positive portion, then I threw the barbell up to my chest and tried to control the negative, and then I hit complete muscle fatigue at 3 additional negatives. THANK YOU DY!


Total Workout Time: 70 mins.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: I want to up my weight on Hack Squats and Front Squats. I want to start with a higher weight on BB curls and do them before Conc Curls.



Nutrition
October 26th, 2010
I had my higher calorie cycle today because it was legs day, probably my hardest training day. Had +600 calories +50 carbs. I am still trying to get higher protein intake, up it to 1.5g/lb of body weight, so I want around 250g at least every day.

Setting out a new carb cycling plan. Calories will be at 2,200 every regular day and 2,800+ on high carb days.

Legs day and Back day are high carb days.
Mon - Legs - High Carb
Tue - Rest - No Carb
Wed - Chest - Reg Carb
Thur - Shoulders - Reg Carb
Fri - Misc - Reg Carb
Sat - Back - High Carb
Sun - Rest - No Carb

No carbs on my rest days, why take in energy when I am not using any? High carbs on the hardest training days, reg carb on every other day. I also have changed rest days to be AFTER the hard workout days not before. So I get a day of rest before my legs day then a day of rest after, and back gets a day of rest after.

[MugaMushin]

Back

It is amazing but I have NEVER posted my back workout up here. Well today was a god damn massacre.

Gym doesn't open till late today so I ate my last meal at 11pm yesterday and got to the gym at 1:45pm today.

10 Minute Warmup on the Treadmill, I have increased my speed to 7.0 now.

BACK
1. PULLUPS - Bodyweight and wide grip I did 11reps/7reps/3reps+2assisted. I want to build these up so I can do more, but really its my biceps that give out first not my lats.

2. BARBELL ROWS - I can't wait till my straps come so I can try more weight on this exercise. Did 125lbsx10/10 then bumped it up to 135x12. Again my grip gives out before my lats but I still felt a nice burn here.

3. DUMBELL ROWS - Grabbed a 60lb DB and did 3 sets of 10 reps. I relax all the way at the bottom and pull up to my side so that I am working lats, any higher and it goes to the triceps and upper back.

4. V-Bar ROWS - OH. HELL. YES. Got to be my favorite exercise ever. My lats get DESTROYED by this exercise, put a barbell in the corner, load it with 115lbs and do 10 reps, then 135lbsx10/10 to finish it out. I am gonna increase the weight next session, I want to BLEED.

5. CLOSE-GRIP PULLDOWNS - I hold the contracted position for a count here before going back up. These annihilated my biceps too. 130lbsx10reps, 115lbsx10 and 90lbsx10/10.

6. ROWS - Made sure to pull with my back here and not my biceps. 110lbsx10/10 then 130lbsx10reps. By the end of this my back was pretty pumped, but I dont want "pretty" nahh I want BLEED.

7. DEADLIFTS - Never done these before so I was doing a pyramid with weights. Started out with the barbell on the floor. NO SILLY ASS RACKS! 135lbsx10reps and thought "oh that was cute". Put on two 25lb plates and did it again at 175lbs for 10 reps. Childs play. Added 15lbs more to each side for 205lbs. Dropped my back down to parallel and pushed back up, got to 7 reps and I the pump was ungodly, did 1 more rep to finish but it wasnt enough so I lowered it again and pulled it back up. DAMN. I threw the barbell down I felt so good. Pukey, dizzy, destroyed.

WORKOUT TIME: 70mins. Total Sets: 19.

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Increase my v-bar row weight and target upper back a bit more.



Nutrition

IF: 16 hours fasted

Meals on October 31st, 2010

Today is gonna be pristine with my diet. New Halloween goal, NO CANDY WHATSOEVER. dont need it dont want it. Time to bust ass.

[MugaMushin]

Chest

Woke up at 7:30am and hit the gym at 8:30am. I am doing Chest today and Abs tomorrow because tomorrow I have access to a gym with much better ab equipment.

10 Minute Warmup on Treadmill, 2mins 3.5incline 3.5mph, 8mins 0.0incline 7.0mph, 1 mile.

Did some active stretching and then hit the weights, after seeing the Blood & Guts trainer I am starting with Decline DB Bench first because it utilizes the most muscle fibers in the lift.

CHEST
1. DECLINE DB BENCH - 40lbsx10reps for a warmup set then hit 55lbsx10 then 65lbsx9. I was experimenting with how much I could do here, for right now these numbers seem good, 10 reps at 65 next week!

2. BB FLAT BENCH - Started with 95lbsx10 then bumped it up to 115x10, this set tired me out more than normal, so I went to 125lbs and got 8 reps on my last set. Dorian noted in the video that after doing decline bench your numbers will go down, but thats ok cuz it is all about the muscle stimulation, and I was burned on that last set.

3. INCLINE DB BENCH - 40lbsx10/10 for the first two sets, I kept it at 40 because I was really struggling on the last 2 reps and I didnt want to decrease weight. Last set I did a drop set after it, so did 40lbsx10 then threw them down and picked up 25's and did 9 more reps, upper chest totally toasted.

4. CABLE FLYES - 20lbs on each cable and did 10/10/9 for reps. These were wicked for making my chest hurt everywhere, held contraction for 2 counts before going back and went slow.

5. MILITARY PUSHUPS - Did some pushups because I wanted one more thing to finish my chest off overall before moving to my last exercise. Chest to ground, reps were 10/15/10.

6. FLOOR FLYES SUPERSET WITH PUSHUPS - Alright again what this exercise is called if it even exists I am not sure, but this seems to make sense, I have the cables down at the floor and I keep my arms slightly bent so as to not use my biceps and I pull with my lower chest to raise my arms to chest level. Supersetted this with standard pushups to finish my chest. 20lbs/10, 15lbs/10, 10lbs/10 and between sets I did 10 pushups then 10 pushups on my knees.


Workout today was exceptionally good at the start. I just shouldnt have done the pushups between the floor flyes superset. Next time I will just go to the superset.

TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: 60 MINS (didnt do abs at the end)

GOALS FOR NEXT SESSION: Get 10 reps on Decline DB Press, Get a better superset with Floor Flyes and Pushups, exclude regular pushups exercise, and take LESS BREAKS.


Nutrition:

IF: 9 hours, I got really hungry at the end of my rest day and drank 6oz Chocolate milk, screwed up my IF but I would rather not starve myself, not good need to get more cals.

Meals for November 2nd, 2010

On the note of calories. Depending on feedback from Manu and from BodPod testing I may be adjusting intake to be higher. Upper Abs arent as defined and measurements have decreased for calves and only increase was in biceps.