P.H.A.T. Modified - A Relative Noob's Journey

[CutItUp9759]

So I'm new to this whole bodybuilding scene. I've been reading my ass off for about 5 months now, trying to absorb all the knowledge possible.

I tried Max-OT, and loved the workouts but hated how I didn't feel my muscles were being hit as hard as possible in terms of hypertrophy.

I tried a higher volume approach, and loved how I felt "pumped" and such but hated how my weight never increased.

So I finally grew a set and tried out P.H.A.T. and I love it!!!

I am actually carrying quite a bit of fat so I'm cutting, but I'm one of those strange people who can get stronger on a cut. And I don't cut too drastically.

So without further ado, here is some info:

Height: 5'11
Weight: 208 lbs --> I started dieting in mid-February and I was 221-224 (somewhere in that range)... my diet hasn't been completely consistent but if stuck to I go down 1-1.5 lbs per week.

My goal weight is actually about 180, and I think I have a fair but of muscle underneath all of this fat. The goal ATM is going to be building my strength and muscle endurance.

Here's the program:

• Day 1: Chest/Back Power
• Day 2: LISS Cardio +Shoulders/Arms Power
• Day 3: Lower Power
• Day 4: LISS Cardio + Abs (at home) + Foam Rolling + Full Stretch
• Day 5: Chest/Back Hypertrophy
• Day 6: LISS Cardio + Shoulders/Arms Hypertrophy
• Day 7: Lower Hypertrophy
• Day 8: LISS Cardio + Abs (at home) + Foam Rolling + Full Stretch
• Repeat

Day 4 and 8 look like hard work, but trust me I take it pretty easy with the LISS Cardio.

Anyways, I would love criticism because I am a bit indecisive in terms of bodybuilding. One thing I know is that I AM comfortable with this workout program... not so much with my macros, which are the following:

60F/145C/260P... I log my stuff on FitDay and will be posting my macros every day.

Thanks to anyone who gives me comments or advice, it is not expected. I am mostly trying to use this just to log my workout info for myself, but maybe one day I will be able to look back and see the progress I have made step by step... That being said I am seeking criticism if possible!

[CutItUp9759]

I actually did the Shoulders and Arms Power today...

Came into the gym feeling pretty good. Did some rotator cuff warm ups and very light side lateral raises to warm up. Then went on to the bigger boy stuff..

DB Presses
Warmed up with:
50 x 5
60 x 5
65 x 5 --> on all of these I kicked the DBs up myself, and so I was feeling confident to kick up the 70's which is my PR and I usually need a spotter

Working setted:
70 x 5 --> kicked these up myself so I felt pretty confident. Set was easy as can be. Moved up to 75's.
75 x 0 --> tried kicking them up... fail... then tried doing each arm in the opposite order. Fail
70 x 0 --> thought it was the weight that ****ed me up in the last set but I think my shoulders don't appreciate the kick-ups without a spotter... this did bad things for my rotator cuff IMO.
75 x 5 (spotted) --> needed help getting them up and it was easy. I could have done 80 if I hadn't hurt my shoulders on those last two sets.

I decided to stop there because I didn't want to harm my shoulders.

Cable Side Raises

This one I just tried to find what I work with because my shoulders were in a light amount of pain and this movement was abrasive.

I could pretty easily do 30 x 8 so I decided that is what I will work with from now on.

From here on I decided I would just find my working weight since it is my first day and I didn't want to harm my shoulders... So that is why the volume will be really low.

HS Shrugs
4 pps (plates per side) x 10... pretty easy can probably do more.

BB Curls
Warmed up with bar, then 75, then 85. Working sets:

95 x 4
95 x 4
100 x 3.5 (weakkkk form so I will stick with 95)

DB Seated Alt. Curls
Warmed up with 30s and 35s.

40 x 7
45 x 5.. so I will stick with 40's... this exercise was a little abrasive on the already hurting shoulders (I know the difference between good and bad pain and the pain wasn't strong but it was irritating in a bad way)...

HS Preacher

75 x 7-8 (forget whether 7 or 8 but this will be my working weight for this)

Smith CGBP (counting bar as 45 even though I know it's not)

Warmed up a bunch.

195 x 5
205 x 4

Skull Crushers (cambered short bar)

30 ps (per side) x 8
32.5 ps x 8

EZ Bar Pushdown

140 x 8
150 x 7

As you can see it didn't go too great but I learned a few key things:

1) Don't be afraid to ask for a spot... because that is what caused abrasion on my rotator cuff. It's so easy with a spot and I guarantee I put up better numbers with someone helping me get the DBs into position
2) Manage your time between sets. For P.H.A.T. I really have to monitor the time I take between sets on Power days. Going to keep it between 3-4 minutes rest on the Power movements and 2-3 minutes for the Auxiliary movements. 1-2 minutes on everything for Hypertrophy days.
3) Warm up appropriately especially for your delts. I am also going to start lightly warming up on the elliptical for a little blood flow.

[CutItUp9759]

Delts still hurting from yesterday and rotator cuff sore.

DB Flat Bench
Warm up: 50 x 5, 65 x 5, 80 x 5

90 x 5
95 x 5
100 x 3 (my wrist gives out before my chest does, coulda done more. a major problem)
100 x 3 (same as above)
95 x 3 (wrist still feeble)

Really need to strengthen that wrist. Also really feeling my rotator cuff so I decided I would just find my weight range as I did yesterday for the chest movements.

Cable Crossover

50 x 8
60 x 8 (this will be my range for power days)

Incline HS Press

80 ps x 6 (this will be my range for power days)

[CutItUp9759]

Warmed up 5 mins on elliptical.
Did some rotator cuff/delt warm ups.

Working sets:

Squats
245 x 4
255 x 4
255 x 4
SLDL
245 x 5
255 x 4
Traditional DL
245 x 5
265 x 3 ugly reps.
will be 255 as my working,
Leg Extension
Doesn't show weight but shows a # on the stack.
s = setting
19 x 10
19 x 9
19 x 7
Lying Leg Curl
Doesn't show weight but shows a # on the stack.
s = setting
s8 x 9
s9 x 9
s10 x 8
Seated Calf Raise
Slow as hell.
145 x 8
145 x 8
145 x 8
Donkey Calf Raise
Slow as hell.
3 pps + 25 x 8
3 pps + 25 x 8

Felt like a good as workout. Gota perfect my deadlift form this is my first time ever heavy DLing. Also my squats gota make sure I get as deep as possible. But I'm going down to 90 degrees right now and that's as deep as I feel comfortable with. SLDL involves a bit of a rounded back but it's actually pretty flat and its a little like an RDL because I move my hips back slightly.

[CutItUp9759]

Today:

Meal 1

1 scoop Bio-X Whey
1/3 cup oats
1 tbsp. olive oil extra virgin
3 eggs
1 cup egg whites
Tsp. fish oil
Multi

Meal 2

2 scoops Bio-X Whey

Meal 3

2 tomato basil rice cakes
1 chocolate caramel rice cake
Multi

Meal 4 (an IIFYM meal)

2 croissants
2 eggs
1 cup egg whites

Pre-workout (abs today)

1 scoop Xtend

Intra-workout

2 scoops Xtend

Post-workout

1 scoop Xtend
1 scoop creatine
1 scoop Bio X Whey
Multi

82.7F//118.6C//243.7P

Goal: 80/120/250

[co1e_train]

First post in this section of the board! PHAT is a good program as I have run it before. Be consistent and work hard at all of it. Ill be following along!

[CutItUp9759]

First post in this section of the board! PHAT is a good program as I have run it before. Be consistent and work hard at all of it. Ill be following along!

Thanks buddy!

[CutItUp9759]

Today was Shoulders and Arms Hypertrophy...

First off an aside about the diet. My boss (actually an owner of my company) invited me to lunch. You never deny that. So I cheated but not by choice. Estimated the calories and skipped the next two meals.

All working sets by the way.

DB Press
3 warm up sets, then...
60 x 9
60 x 8
55 x 7.5
Just got fatigued I'm way better in lower rep ranges so this is good to work on.

Cable Lat Raise
1 warm up set, then..
2 sets of 30 pounds, then decided I like DB Lat Raises more so I will switch this.
DB Lat Raise: finished with 1 set of 30 lbs for 13 reps

Rear DB Pec Deck
2 warm up sets, then...
setting 13 x 15
s13 x 13
assuming setting 13 is 120-130 lbs

HS Behind the Neck Press
2 warm up sets, then...
60 ps x 10
62.5 ps x 7
Will stick to 60 ps

BB Curl
Warmed up 2 sets...
75 x 8
75 x 8
80 x 8 (not cleanest of reps)

Seated DB Alt Curl
Warmed up 1 set...
40 x 6
35 x 8
Will stick with 35... want to hit hypertrophy range here... which I list as 8-12...

HS Curl
Warmed up 1 set...
55 x 13
55 x 13

Smith CGBP
Warmed up 2 sets...
185 x 8
175 x 8
175 x 8
Again I assume the bar is 45 even though I know it isn't...

Skull Crushers
25 ps x 10
25 ps x 9

EZ Bar Pushdowns
Warm up 2 sets...
130 x 13
130 x 11

HS Shrugs
Warm up 2 sets...
125 x 12
125 x 11

Solid work out... one note is that I am going back to the normal, non-modified split because I don't want to injure myself. Modified split was WAY too much volume.

[CutItUp9759]

On the bike. I own one and I know elliptical is way more efficient but bike is more convenient in this case.

46 minutes (3 warm up, 40 working, 3 cool down) = 307 cals. Probably more because it was intense as hell.

[CutItUp9759]

Dude screw the bike. Did 340 (probably overestimated but still...) cals on the elliptical in 25 minutes... sooo done with the bike.

Also inspired by OoFap to do cardio every day post workout and on off days. I'm cutting after all.

Weighted Crunches (not a machine just me with a plate in my hands)
Plate x 15
Plate x 15
Plate x 14
2 25's x 13

Lying Leg Raises w/ upwards jolt at top
15
15
15
15

[CutItUp9759]

Warmed up 5 mins on elliptical.
Did some rotator cuff exercises.

Working sets as follows

DB Bench
95 x 5
95 x 5
95 x 5

Getting to easy and don't even need a spotter. Moving to 100s next time it's gona be rlly exciting.
HS Incline Press
80 x 8
80 x 8
BB Row
I get a little bit near 45 degrees on these because if I stayed flat the whole time I couldn't move any weight.
265 x 5
275 x 5
275 x 4.5
WG Pulldowns
Only has numbers not poundage. probably 10lbs per number.
17 x 10
18 x 6.5 bad form so sticking with 17
DB Military Press
70 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
Last set was the only challenge. Will do all 3 sets at 75 next week then move to 80 the following.
DB Lat Raises
40 x 8
45 x 8
BB Curls
85 x 8
85 x 6
85 x 6
CGBP Smith
205 x 8
205 x 6.5
205 x 6

Good workout. Didn't do cardio after will come back in 2 hours and do it.

[CutItUp9759]

Deviated from the diet a bit today. Feeling so low energy + did some yard work so I had some spaghetti and garlic bread fuuuuarck....

Gona do 30 mins of my cardio and just have a shake after as opposed to the usual meal I would have. Probably just a small blip on my diet radar.

[CutItUp9759]

Missed workout yesterday because it was a family event.

Today I lifted and it blew.

Not even going to give stats because the workout sucked. Learned some things today. Will update tomorrow and have a great workout.

[nath87]

You may need a few more cals in ur diet. u don't wanna burn out, if u find It all starts out good when ur fresh but the when u do a few more workouts its gets a lot harder + ur sleeping more and losing ur appetite then ur prob heading towards overtraining

[CutItUp9759]

You may need a few more cals in ur diet. u don't wanna burn out, if u find It all starts out good when ur fresh but the when u do a few more workouts its gets a lot harder + ur sleeping more and losing ur appetite then ur prob heading towards overtraining

I am keeping a close watch on this. If I lose more than 1.5 pounds in a given week I'm upping my cals especially with the cardio. This has been a concern and I am ON IT!!

[CutItUp9759]

Great workout today. Monitored my time for 1 minute rest breaks. Didn't do warm-ups for any exercises aside from the first compound lift. Twas great!

DB Press
80 x 12
80 x 10
80 x 7
Incline DB Press
60 x 10
60 x 7
55 x 7
HS Flat Press
70 x 8
70 x 8

Not full ROM so going 65 per side.
Cable Crossover
50 x 12
50 x 12
BB Rows
185 x 12
205 x 11
205 x 11
Good ROM, focus on squeeze + form.
Seated Close Grip Cable Rows
170 x 12
180 x 12
180 x 10
HS Low Row Single Arm
100 x 12
110 x 12
110 x 12
Wide Grip Pulldowns
140 x 15
140 x 12
140 x 11.5
Forearm Gripper HS
Getting used to what weight I will be working with.
65 x 15
75 x 15
90 x 14

[CutItUp9759]

Side note:
Macros are not 80F/135C/235P

Guideline for cutting is 0.35-0.45g fat per pound weight, 1.5g protein per lean mass, and leftover carbs...

DS = Drop Set

DB Press

60 x 10
60 x 7
55 x 7 DS 45 x 5

Side Lateral Raises DB

30 x 12
35 x 12
35 x 12 DS 20 x 10

Rear Pec Deck

s14 x 15
s15 x 12 DS s11 x 8

HS Press

60 x 12
65 x 8 DS 45 x 10

Must lock out fully on these

BB Curls

75 x 10
80 x 8
80 x 8 DS 65 x 6

DB Standing Curls

35 x 8
35 x 8 DS 25 x 5

HS Preachers

55 x 15
65 x 13 DS 45 x 8

Smith CGBP

175 x 10
175 x 9
185 x 7

Need to focus on fully locking out otherwise it's not as useful of a tricep exercise...

Skull Crushers

25 ps x 12
25 ps x 9

EZ Pushdowns

130 x 14
130 x 12 DS 110 x 8

HS Shrugs

Experimentation to find my working set at 170 ps x 12

[CutItUp9759]

Diet for today:


Meal 1:

- 1 scoop Bio X
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. fish oil
- Multi

Meal 2:

- 8.9 oz. chicken
- 2 weight watchers wraps
- a little mustard

Meal 3:

- Bio X scoop

Meal 4:

- Bio X 1.75 scoops
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 CC rice cakes
- 2 TB rice cakes
- 1 scoop of MP assault
- 4 scoops of Xtend intra-workout
- Multi

Meal 5:

- 1 cup egg whites
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp. natty PB
- 1/2 cup oats
- Multi

80.7 F // 139 C // 233 P

Goal: 80/135/235 so pretty close...

Squats (quicker speed)
185 x 10
205 x 11
205 x 9
Leg Press (narrow)
6 pps x 11
x 10
x 9
x 9
Leg Extension
[14] x 15
[15] x 15
[16] x 15
BB RDL/SLDL
Lower back too sore at this point so I am going to do this right after squats from now on
Lying leg curl
[9] x 12
x 12
x 11
HS Leg Curl (single leg)
70 x 12
x 12
Calf Raise Seated
135 x 15
x 12
x 12
Donkey CR
2 pps x 13
x 12
x 12

Calf raises r rlly slow tempo...

skipped my cardio because I felt that legs hyper is too cardiovascular in nature to do cardio with... decided next time I will pull through and keep the cardio on an everyday basis

[CutItUp9759]

DB Flat Bench
100 x 5 PR
100 x 5
100 x 3.5
Incline HS Press
80 x 10
80 x 8
BB Rows Need wrist straps next time, grip issues when getting heavy
245 x 4
265 x 4
265 x 4
WG Pulldowns
18 x 8 PR
18 x 7
DB Military Press
75 x 4 (bad spotter)
75 x 7 (encouraging spotter who knows how to help me get the weight into position)
80 x 6 PR(got another spotter, this was easy and I thought he was helping me even though it didn't feel like he was helping me so I asked him a few times... he insisted he wasn't helping on the reps)
DB Lat Raises
45 x 9
45 x 8
CGBP Smith
205 x 8
215 x 6 or 7 (forget)
215 x 6
BB Curls
85 x 8
90 x 6
90 x 6

side notes
Decided cardio every day is overtraining like fuuuuuuarckck. Going to do 45 min elliptical on off days and see how things go and adjust. A day of PHAT is cardio in itself!!! Shirt packed with sweat after these tough workouts.

[CutItUp9759]

Squats
245 x 4
265 x 3 (terrible form, new warm up sequence: 135, 185, 225, and then 255 immediately for working)
255 x 4
SLDL/RDL
265 x 5
275 x 5
275 x 5
Traditional Deadlift
265 x 5
275 x 5
Leg Extension
s20 x 10
s20 x 9
s20 x 9
Lying Leg Curl
s10 x 10
s11 x 7
s11 x 6
Seated Calf Raise
145 x 10
145 x 8
145 x 8
Donkey Calf Raise
3 pps + 25 ps x 10
x 9

[CutItUp9759]

Made my final change to my diet.

F/C/P 65/135/235 = 2065 cals.

Now, the only changes will be cardio added. On off days I am doing 500 kcal of cardio.

I will add 1 day of cardio post-workout when adjustments must be made.

[CutItUp9759]

DB Bench
85 x 7
85 x 5
80 x 6... learned my lesson. Wait until you can do 80 x 10 for three sets or at least two and then move up. This ruined my hypertrophy rep range.
Incline DB Bench
60 x 8
60 x 7
55 x 7
HS Press
65 ps x 8
70 ps x 7
Cable Crossover
Did two sets of 60 lbs... decided Pec Deck machine from now on... 115 lbs on that
BB Rows (Strict)
205 x 10
215 x 10
215 x 10.. pretty strict! going to go to 12 next time
Seated CG Row
setting 18 x 10
19 x 10
19 x 10
SA HS Low Row
115 x 12
115 x 12
115 x 12
WG Pulldowns
14 x 12
15 x 11
Forearm Grippers
100 x 15
100 x 15
100 x 15... on these I do 10 normal pace reps, then 5 where I hold the grip for 5 seconds. This is for the sake of my DB Bench Grip.


Cardio

Level 10, Incline 10, 120-135 strides per minute = 70 calories per 5 minutes

So I am doing 25 minutes at 350 calories...

[CutItUp9759]

Did legs hypertrophy today but didn't work so well. After repping out squats I tried SLDLs and the lower back just gets way too shot. I did my narrow leg presses (8 pps) then decided that was it for me. Came back to do cardio (300 cal) on the recumbent bicycle.

Decided on leg hypertrophy I will only be doing curls for hams and if I switch to SLDLs I will only leg press and hack squat for quads.

[ch3v3ll3]

Jesus 275# rows man? That's insane. You got a vid of that?

All the effort looks solid. How much longer do you have until you are done with your cut? Estimated bf?

Are your dumbbell pressing #s in total weight (so 70s for dumbell press=140# total), or are those weights for each dumbbell?

[CutItUp9759]

Jesus 275# rows man? That's insane. You got a vid of that?

All the effort looks solid. How much longer do you have until you are done with your cut? Estimated bf?

Are your dumbbell pressing #s in total weight (so 70s for dumbell press=140# total), or are those weights for each dumbbell?

They are weights for each dumbbell.

The barbell rows on power days are not strict. I want a critique some time on them but they seem fine, I certainly feel a squeeze in my lats. On hypertrophy days they are strict.

My BF is too high to even consider it sucks... I think my LBM is something like 150-160 and my weight is around 205-210... so somewhere in the mid 20s for bf... it's pretty awesome because I can tell I've cut down but haven't been strict enough on the diet. If I max discipline on that I think I could look pretty athletic by the time my cut ends. I'm probably going to cut until 175-180 lbs which means until about November or December.

Once I do get lean I want to bulk but I rlly don't want to gain fat. I've never been a low BF guy in my life my lowest was probably 18-20% when I had no muscle.

I have a lot of respect for guys who stay lean year round, and they can certainly put on quality mass doing so.

[CutItUp9759]

the warmups r a good example of my hypertrophy form
the final sets r a good example of my heavy form, but maybe a bit more upright or a bit more movement

[CutItUp9759]

new standard is I will log my sleep from the night before.

aiming for 8-9 hours and none less or more.

[CutItUp9759]

Sleep
Only like 7 hours. Friday night... drank for the first time in so long and it won't be happening again. Rlly had me feeling too drained to be doing cardio today... fml.

DB Bench
100 x 5
100 x 5
100 x 8 (haha we moving to 105's next week!!)
HS Incline
80 x 8
82.5 x 6
82.5 x 6
BB Rows
265 x 5
275 x 5
275 x 5... clean form way better with wrist straps
Lat Pulldown
19 x 8
19 x 7
DB Press
80 x ****.... the guy last week was helping me too much
75 x 5
75 x 7... got these up myself both sets
DB Lat Raise
45 x 9
45 x 9
Smith CGBP
215 x 6
215 x 6
215 x 6
BB Curl
85 x 7
90 x 6
90 x 5.5

[CutItUp9759]

I stopped doing P.H.A.T. and switched to a higher volume approach in the 6-10 rep range. There are plenty of reasons for this, a few of which I will name: *note I am keeping the cardio every day

(1) Training each body part twice a week was a bit strenuous on the joints and especially the lower back. Also you can't help but sometimes develop an attitude like "oh I hit legs two days ago, don't have to go as hard today or can afford to skip"...

(2) I feel like power days are more valued than hypertrophy days. Probably because you are pushing heavier weight. Hypertrophy days you can't go as heavy in the hypertrophy rep range as you may like to because you have to ration your strength.

(3) Hated clumping 2-3 body parts into one day especially on hypertrophy days.

(4) That being said, I learned some things about my strength!

so here is the new split:

Last set weekly theme per exercise: RP or DS (this means on the last set of each exercise I do the "theme"

All working sets are the same weight

1-2 minutes rest between sets

Stretch post-workout before cardio

Change up exercises after a de-load every 12 weeks (de-load on 12th week)

Split:

• Monday: Abs (10 sets)
• Tuesday: Chest (15 sets) + Forearms (5 sets)
• Wednesday: Back (15 sets) + Hamstrings (8 sets)
• Thursday: Arms (10 sets biceps, 10 triceps and I alternate each exercise but don't super set)
• Friday: Abs (10 sets)
• Saturday: Shoulders (15 sets) + Traps (5 sets)
• Sunday: Quads (12 sets) + Calves (8 sets)

Volume will be adjusted as I see fit. I did chest today and I felt I could increase to 18 sets we will see how I feel 2-3 weeks in!!!


I also changed my diet to involve measuring things in grams. Since "heaping scoops" and even cup measurements aren't extremely precise... check it out!


Meal 1: 8 AM

- 15 g whey
- 36 g oats
- 0.5 cup egg whites
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. natty PB
- 1 tsp. fish oil
- Multi

Meal 2: 12 PM

- 8 oz. chicken
- 36 g rice

Meal 3: 3 PM

- 50 g whey
- 38 g oats

Meal 4: 5-6 PM

- 55 g whey
- 1 choc. caramel rice cake
- 1.33 tbsp olive oil
- 1 scoop of MP assault
- 4 scoops of Xtend intra-workout
- Multi

Meal 5: 8-9 PM

- 15 g whey
- 36 g oats
- 0.5 cup egg whites
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. natty PB
- Multi

29 C per meal, 48 P per meal, F filled in

2186.8 kcal//71.6F//146.2C//239.4P

I just took the approach where I balanced by carbs and protein in each meal then filled my fats in after. Seems simpler!

[CutItUp9759]

Chest

DB Bench
80 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10 DS 60 x 4-5
DB Incline Bench
55 x 10
60 x 8
60 x 8 DS 45 x 5-6
DB Incline Flyes - Getting a feel
35 x 10 easy
45 x 8
45 x 8 DS 30 x 6-8
HS Decline - Getting a feel
90 ps x 10 easy
100 ps x 10
100 ps x 10 DS 55 ps x 6-8
Pec Deck Machine - Getting a feel
115 x 13 easy
130 x 12 easy
145 x 10 solid... didn't do a DS since I did too many warm up sets finding my weight (145 set was actually my fifth set or so)

Forearms

Forearm Gripper
115 x 15
125 x 15
125 x 15
125 x 13
125 x 13 DS 90 x 6-8