So I'm finally taking the plunge and starting a log. I struggled with whether or not to put this in the contest prep section since I don't have any particular shows lined up. Although, I do plan on competing in the spring of next year, so I figured I might as well go ahead and start my log here, since I consider myself prepping at this point.
A brief rundown of my training background. I really didn't play any sports growing up. My buddies and I played bball a lot, but not like organized ball (I did play in middle school, although I warmed the bench for most of my career lol). I was a fat kid, always the slow one, shy with low self-esteem. I turned to food for comfort, and had no concept of a proper diet.
I didn't start working out until Jan 03', a few months before I turned 21. I had just gotten dumped by my HS sweetheart, I needed something to occupy my mind. A buddy of mine decided to get in shape as his New Years Resolution, I figured I might as well join him. We had a running bet as to who would be the 1st to get a six pack. He quit after about 2 weeks, I became addicted.
My training has been fairly consistent with a few lay offs over the years. The longest one was from the fall of 05' to the spring of 08', I barely worked out at all during this time. I dropped out of school, was in a volatile relationship, and was doing a good bit of heavy drinking and binge eating. I tried to pull everything together, joined the Marines and married my then girlfriend (I was 24 at this point).
The marriage was doomed from the beginning, the relationship was already damaged, getting married never fixes that lol. So at this point I was hating life, I hated my job, I hated my marriage, I was about 40lbs overweight, and my only comfort was coming home to eat, drink, and play with my dog lol.
It wasn't until the spring of 08' that I decided to make a change. I was just looking at myself in the mirror and i didn't even recognize myself. I was only 26yrs old and I was already talking about how I used to be in shape "back in the day" in college. I just stared in the mirror, my eyes filled with tears, disgusted with myself.
It was at that moment that I decided to take control of my life. I got up right then and went to the gym, I didn't know what I was gonna do, I just knew I had to take action. I went and bought a food scale, started tracking what I ate and got right back on it. My ex never supported my working out, she felt that it competed with the attention I gave her. It wasn't 2 months after I started getting back in shape that we had already split and got started with the divorce (best day of my life).
I ended up dropping around 40lbs and 8" off my waist. people around me couldn't believe it, I didn't tell anyone except my ex, I just took action. I gotta tell you, it felt pretty good to not only get back into shape, but to surpass my previous best.
So I took some progress pics, gotta start somewhere, right? Just took these 1st thing this morning, weighed-in at 182.6, probably around 16% BF I'm guessing.
On weights days I usually split my training up into two shorter training sessions. Today I did AM chest and PM delts/tri's.
BB flat bench: bar, 1x5 95, 1x5 135, 1x5 185, 1x5 225, 3x4 1x3 (bar speed slowed down so I skipped the 4th rep) 1x4 (all sets were done with a 1-2 second pause at the bottom)
Kept a quick pace with this workout, took just over 42 minutes. This was my 1st time doing BB flat bench in forever, always use DB's. I'd like to maybe do some power lifting at some point though, so I figured I'd start doing more flat bench to find my groove, since I really don't have one at this point. Got delts/tri's in the PM.
CGBP: 95, 1x10 135, 1x10 185, 4x7
SS w/
DB seated side laterals: 35's, 1x15 40's, 3x12
EZ curl skull crushers: 95, 1x9 115, 1x3 105, 1x6 1x5
SS w/
DB standing neutral grip front raises: 50's, 1x0 55's, 3x7
DB braced bent-over laterals: 27.5's, 1x15 35's, 1x12 40's, 2x10
diamond push-ups: BW, 1x35
I kept the pace quick in both workouts, I'm was feeling a bit under the weather today, had a sore throat and a fever all day. I feel like my workouts suffered slightly, but overall I still put in work. Macros today came out to 65/550/200 (F/C/P).
The 23rd was just an off day from the weights, I did 400 kcals worth of cardio on the stairmill. After that I did some foam rolling. Been doing a bit of PT on my posterior chain and took 2 weeks off from all squatting and deadlifting, I start back with my 1st squat session next Tuesday, can't wait!
These two workouts are from the 24th. I actually split my workouts up, usually I'll go train 1st thing in the morning, then go back at night. Today these workouts where closer together, my post-workout meal for the first workout was actually the pre-workout meal for my 2nd workout.
I'm still feeling a bit sick, but this workout felt good. I really tried to focus more on lifting with really clean form and backing off the weight just a bit. I've been experimenting with doing a lot of static holds and stuff while training. I like it because I can still get a great workout in without having to go really heavy, it's a nice change of pace.
T-bar rows: 1p, 2x12 2p, 1x10 3p, 1x10 4p, 1x10 5p, 1x8 6p, 4x6 1x6 dropped to 5p for 1x7 dropped to 4p for 1x10
CG pulldowns: 200, 1x10 300(stack), 3x5 1x5 dropped to 180 for 1x15 (all reps had a 1-2 second pause at the bottom, except for the 180 drop, that was touch and go)
DB incline bench chest supported rows: 100's, 1x15 120's, 2x10
2nd Workout:
behind the back shrugs: 135, 1x6 225, 1x6 315, 1x6 405, 4x6 1x6 dropped to 315 for 1x20 (each rep was done with a 3 second pause at the top, except for the 315 for 20)
SS w/
DB hammer curls: 40's, 1x6 50's, 1x6 65's, 1x6 85's, 4x6 1x6 dropped to the 50's for 1x10
DB seated alternate curls: 45's, 3x10
SS w/
DB shrugs: 110's, 1x15 130's, 2x15
So yeah, that's that. Tomorrow I'm off from the weights, got one 400 kcals cardio session. Macros are set at 65/305/225. Macros on weight training days are 65/405/225 and my re-feed is at 65/610/200 on every leg day.
Last edited by Lathareo82; 07-26-2011 at 01:00 AM.
Today was another off day, just 400 kcals of cardio tonight, followed by foam rolling and stretching. Can't wait to bring squats and deads back into my routine, I've got legs tomorrow. Gonna use moderate weights for squats, wanna ease back into it before I start killing it again. Well, nothing to report really, just wanted to log in my weigh-in.
Ah man, glad to have you along for the ride, bro! I followed your journey to the stage, crazy inspirational. You actually inspired me to start my own log and really get on it.
Originally Posted by CklueD
I'm in.. for some reason I can't view your pics.. but just looking at your profile pic, I would have thought you already competed. Amazing physique!
Thanks man, but that's about as lean as I ever get, very much still just beach body status lol. I'm looking to really push myself this time, I've learned a lot about my body over this bulk and am starting my diet from a much better position this year, ie more food, less cardio. I brought up some weak points I think, just gotta shed off this fluff to see what kinda new bidness I got goin' on under there :-)
I just got back from class, put down my 2nd meal of the day. Gonna take a quick power nap, do a bit of studying, then get ready to go do my 1st set of squats in 2 weeks, crazy excited!
Today was legs, had a good workout. Had to squeeze my two training sessions together a little closer than usual, had a mid-term this morning so I had to push up my 1st training session 'till after class.
It felt good to get that weight back on my back doing squats. I've been doing a lot of barbell hacks and front squats since I took that quick break to let my hip flexors heal up. I felt good today though, they were a bit tight as I was warming up, but it felt good by the time I got to my working sets.
I put some pics up here a few days ago, but for some reason they aren't showing anymore. I'm not even worried about it though, I was looking pretty watery in em', so I'm not in a hurry to put em' back up lol. The water is dropping fast though, I see my outer extremities already starting to lean up a bit, my mid-section won't really start to clean up 'till I drop another 6lbs or so.
I'll be posting progress pics religiously every 2 weeks, that should help keep me honest. Nothing will piss me off more than looking worse from one progress pic to the next lol. I'm still a good ways off from any type of serious grind at this point anyways, I should be out of the 180's for good in the next 10 days or so, getting out of the 170's will be a bit tougher, but it's getting into the low 160's-high 150's that's gonna be a challenge lol. I'm just focusing on doing as little as possible right now so that I've still got room to play whenever I really start to hit that wall.
The 1st show I'm looking at is an NPC show over here in April of next year, it'll be a warm-up...lol at my warm-up actually being my 1st show! I'm gonna be gunning at some of the natural Pro-qualifiers in the spring. Yeah, I know it's big goal to jump into the open with this being my 1st season and all, but hey, if you're gonna dream, dream big. Anyways, here are today's workouts.
seated calf raises: 1p, 1x10 2p, 1x10 3p, 1x10 4p, 1x7 *activation set* myo-reps: 3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (I did this twice)
SS w/
DB SLDL: 75's, 1x15 100's, 1x15 125's, 1x15 150's, 1x12 1x17 (wanted 20, but that 17th rep was a slow grind, lower back started to round, just didn't have it in me today)
cable pull-throughs: 80, 1x20 100, 1x15 1x20
I used to do a lot of volume, but I recently lowered it and focused on heavier weights while not going to failure. It's still high volume I suppose, but I'm not grinding myself into the ground like I used to. My body seems to be responding to this style of training a lot better. Gonna stick with this 1 on/1 off split I've got going here for the next few months, it allows me to maintain good intensity throughout my workouts. I just started it like 3 weeks ago, the 2-a-days were rough at 1st, but I've acclimated to that already.
Last edited by Lathareo82; 07-27-2011 at 12:38 PM.
Reason: forgot an exercise
Cardio: 400 kcals done on stairmill, followed by foam rolling and stretching.
I had a good session in the gym. Speed deads felt great, cardio was actually kinda fun, and I spent close to an hour foam rolling and stretching. I spent a good bit of time working on some of my flexibility issues in my posterior chain. I've been doing some research on high bar squatting and would like to add it to my routine.
I've was always felt like I couldn't be a good high bar squatter because I have pretty long femurs, but to be honest I've never given it a solid attempt. I always used that as an excuse, but in the back of my mind I knew that I never really wanted to work on my lack of hip flexibility or dorsiflexion. I'm really giving it a go at this point though, I've been looking over some dynamic stretching routines that I'm planning on running every day, as well as some key static stretches. I just think it would look bad ass to bury some 400+lbs ATG high bar squats, it's such an athletic looking movement when done correctly.
I'm feeling good with the diet, weight loss is coming, maybe even faster than what I planned. I'm really not trying to lose more than a pound a week at this point, but today I weighed in the same as yesterday, but I was very constipated (TMI I know, but it's my log so whatever lol) and I know I would've weighed in less had that not been the issue. Hopefully tomorrow everything will come out alright and I'll get a more accurate reading lol. If weight loss doesn't slow down over the next 2 weeks or so I'll probably just take away one 400 kcals cardio session and add in 10g of CHO to each day. I need at least that long to get enough data to make an educated decision, I think.
DB seated overhead press: 45's, 1x15 70's, 1x9 1x6 1x5
one arm DB side lateral: 50, 1x10 55, 2x10
dips: BW, 1x10 45, 1x10 90, 2x8 1x7
DB floor presses: 50's, 1x10 70's, 1x10 100's, 1x5 or 6, can't remember 1x4.5 (lol, I was done sir done by this point)
SS w/
bent-over side laterals: 40's, 1x10 45's, 2 or 3, can't rememberx10
Weighed in the same for 3 days straight, not sure what to think about that lol. I'm not sweating it, I can definitely see things tightening up. I'm setting my diet as much on autopilot as I can, just take the information as it comes and make adjustments as necessary, the goal is to detach myself emotionally as if I'm setting it up for someone else. I know that this'll be harder as I get leaner, but honestly, that's part of the fun to me. I kinda enjoy those moments where you're so deep in the thick of it that it's hard to know which way is up, I'm a bit of a masochist like that.
I think that I started to spill over a bit after my 3rd meal (I eat 4 meals a day), if my weight shoots up this'll be good information. I'll see if my body does the same thing next week, if so today will be one of the days I pull from when I need to make an adjustment. I'm actually feeling a bit fluffy as I type this (it's 2am over here), just got done with some homework, gotta get my ass to bed.
Other than that, same ole' same ole'. I felt pretty weak overall today, I can tell I'm still not recovered from my leg day 2 days ago. I was just feeling a bit gassed, everything felt heavier than normal. Makes me wonder if I should look into taking a pre-workout supplement to help keep me going on these days. As of right now all I'm taking is a multi-vitamin, vit C and D, and a joint supplement. Well, we'll see, I need to take a look as to what's out there.
neutral grip pull-ups: BW, 1x5 45, 1x6 70, 1x5 90, 2x5 1x4.5 dropped to BW, 1x11 (all reps done with 1-2 sec static hold at the top, except for the drop set)
bent-over rows (static from the rack pins): 135, 1x10 225, 1x10 245, 2x10 255, 1x12
PM traps/biceps workout:
DB shrugs (all done with 1-2 sec pause): 80's, 1x10, 110's, 1x10 130's, 1x10 150's, 4x10 1x12 dropped to 125's, 1x8 dropped to 100's, 1x9 dropped to 80's, 1x10
SS w/
BB curls: 65, 2x10 75, 1x10 95, 1x10 115, 2x6 2x5 1x8 dropped to 95, 1x6 or 7 dropped to 65, 1x10 dropped to 55, 1x12
donkey calf raise: 200, 1x10 400, 1x10 490, 1x10 625 1x6 dropped to 225, 1x5 followed by 1-min of partial reps, 625, 1x8 dropped to 225, 1x6 followed by 1-min of partial reps
SS w/
sissy squats: BW+25lbs, 1x12 1x15
PM hams/glutes/soleus workout:
good mornings: bar, 1x6 95, 1x6 135, 1x6 185, 1x5 225, 1x5 275, 5x5
seated calf raise (plate loaded) 2p, 1x10, 3p, 1x10 4p, 1x6 dropped to 2p, 1x5 followed by 1-min of partial reps, 4p 1x8 dropped to 2p+25lbs, 1x6 followed by 1-min of partial reps
Good workout today. This was my 1st re-feed since I adjusted my diet like 9 days ago or so. I hit new post-workout lows after both of my workouts, I'm hoping that means I'll see a new low sometime in the next week.
Strength is still good, hunger is rarely an issue throughout the day, mentally I'm feeling great, and cardio is actually fun at this point (doing three 25-min sessions every 6 days). My daily carb intake is just over 389g a day on average, and the weight is coming off just fine, I'm in such a better place compared to last year. Last year I was at pretty much the same weight as I am now (weighed in like 1.5lbs lighter...yes I checked my old log lol) but I was eating like 120g of carbs a day and doing like 1hr of cardio every day. I was very impatient, looking for a linear progression in my weight loss, striving for that will drive you crazy, or at least it did me lol. Now I just take the average of my weigh-ins every training cycle and use that to gauge my progress. I like this way a lot better.
I took some video of my good mornings tonight, I might put em' up here. The angle wasn't the best, the gym was crowded. That's about it, got class tomorrow, then cardio right after, I'm actually looking forward to it :-)
400 kcals on stairmill, followed by foam rolling and stretching
Speed deads felt pretty good. Didn't go up as fast as the 275 from last session, but that's to be expected. I'm really finding my groove with all of the extra work, it's paying off quick. A few days ago I pulled 495 on my last set for a triple, went up easy as pie! The 1st two reps didn't even have a sticking point, I'm attributing that to the speed work I've been doing lately, I'm pulling much more efficiently. Cardio was cardio, got in there in the early evening, eye candy galore :-)
August 3rd weigh-in180.6
Macros: 56/405/225
Training:
AM chest workout:
flat bench: bar, 1x10 95, 1x10 135, 1x6 185, 1x5 225, 1x3 (work sets) 230, 6x4 (all reps done with a 1-2 second pause)
DB floor press: 50's, 1x8 70's, 1x8 110's, 5x3 (on last set dropped to 75's, 1x9)
EZ curl bar skull crushers: 95, 1x8 1x7 1x9
SS w/
seated side laterals: 40's, 1x12 1x15 1x25 (felt the burn with this last set)
seated low-cable face-pulls: 80, 1x15 100, 1x15 120, 1x15 (the last 3 reps were grinders)
I felt good about this workout, especially the overhead DB presses. I've went as heavy as the 90's with good form, but I almost always needed a pretty heavy spot to get them up. Where as I never need a spot with the 80's, they've always felt kinda heavy when getting the 1st rep up, today it felt like I was pressing the 65's. I'm even happier about the fact that I did all of that pause bench work in the morning, if I was fresh it would've felt even easier.
I've really bumped up the frequency on the big 3, gonna see how my body responds (more like how long it can keep up!). I enjoy a bit higher frequency, so long as I don't get too dinged up. I think that this extra frequency might be the ticket to help me gain some new strength. Yes, I'm dieting right now, but IDGAF, I'm always trying to get stronger and more efficient. The only thing that changes when I diet is more cardio and a stricter diet (and less volume as I get leaner), they weights always stay heavy as possible. I'll let the diet/cardio take care of the fat loss, the weights are all about gaining muscle/keeping muscle/getting stronger/maintaining strength.
400 kcals of cardio on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling.
Man, this was my 1st time doing any speed work with my squats...I've got A LOT of work to do lol! I didn't realize just how slow I am coming out of the hole, I literally have like explosion, just muscle it up. I was gonna use 50% my estimated ORM (my best squat below parallel is 425 for 3 or 4) of 440, but I was so slow coming out of the hole that I had to bring it down to 185. After about my 5th set I really started to get the hang of it, been doing a lot of studying of the biomechanics of the movements, checking out a lot of WSBB stuff, can't wait to improve on this.
Cardio was...cardio.
August 5th weigh-in: 180.4
Macros: 64/405/226
Training:
AM pull workout:
deficit deads: 135, 1x5 225, 1x5 315, 1x3 365, 1x2 425, 1x1 455, 4x2 1x3 (was gonna go for 5x3, but I squat again in 2 days, decided to take it easy)
DB incline bench chest-supported rows: 80's, 1x10 110's, 1x10 125's, 2x8 1x10 (last few reps were grinders, no form breakdown though)
BB row static from the rack pins: 135, 1x8 225, 1x8 275, 1x8 2x8 (form was super strict with these, gonna do them at the beginning of my workout one day and see what I can do with 315lbs, can do about 11-12 reps the standard way, over-hand grip)
3rd set
4th set
5th set
I plan on putting more videos up, this was good for me, I see A LOT of ways that I can improve my technique. I haven't done deficit deads in over 2 months, so I was a bit rusty, but just the same, there are definitely some faults in my technique that show up here. Any and all critiques are welcome.
PM traps/biceps workout:
behind the back barbell shrugs: 135, 1x10 225, 1x10 315, 1x10 405, 1x10 455, 1x8 495, 3x6
I was pretty beat from my AM workout, but I managed to hit all of my goals for this workout. I don't have any super strict structure to my routine at this point, it's very much auto-regulated. I tend to do a similar amount of volume each week, and I keep track of what I've done prior with the same exercises, and I'll just try and kick it up a notch if I feel I can. None of these are max numbers by any means, I'm slowly building up my intensity at this point.
cardio: 400 kcals on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling and stretching
This was my first time being out of the 180's, I figure I'll teeter around here for a bit before I'm good and out though. I'm really not in any rush at this point, I'm not chasing any specific date to get lean, just letting it come as it comes. I'm just gonna keep plugging along, gradually raising my kcals as the weight keep dropping until I stall, sit there for a couple of weeks, then start bringing it down again.
Tomorrow is a re-feed day, gonna bump up that carbs 5g from my last one. Tomorrow I'll also take an average of my fats taken in over the past week, find that average, bump it up by 5g and make sure to hit that number exactly all of next week. I plan to keep this slight increase protocol going until progress stops, sort of a mini-reverse diet protocol at the beginning of the diet lol. Like I said, I'm not looking to compete until the spring of next year, so I've got time to play around.
leg extensions: 90, 1x10 150, 1x10 210, 1x10 260, 1x10
donkey calf raises: 200, 1x10 300, 1x10 400, 1x10 500, 1x8 *activation reps* myo-reps: 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (all reps done with a 2-second pause at the top, static hold on last rep of last myo-set)
I'm working on tweaking my squat form. I'm doing sort of a low/high bar hybrid at the moment lol. I mean, I have the bar sitting below my traps, my feet are just wider than shoulder with, and I'm getting as close to ATG as my flexibility will allow. Squatting this way is bringing out some serious weaknesses in my posterior chain. I am slow coming out of the hole, I refuse to bump the weights up until I get a handle on this.
I've added wide-stance sumo deads in to help with hip drive and glute activation while squatting, HUGE ego check here lol! I went from conventional pulling 515 for triples, to having 315 kick my ass doing sumo It's really exposing my weaknesses though, so I'm loving that. I'm hoping in a couple months I'll be up to a 500lbs sumo, I can only imagine what that'll do for my squat. I'm also gonna start doing speed low box squats on my lower speed day, a litltle extra squat work never hurt anyone.
I took shot some video tonight, will probably put it up here, I'm too tired to do it now, barely got this written.
Holy crap dude Those deficit deads were LIGHTNING off the floor! And w/ hex plates and no belt on top of everything else...you've got some major strength my friend.
Thanks bro, I appreciate it! Yeah man, I'm lovin' these macros right now lol, took in 300g of CHO last night and woke up .6lbs lighter
Originally Posted by bwelch1985
Holy crap dude Those deficit deads were LIGHTNING off the floor! And w/ hex plates and no belt on top of everything else...you've got some major strength my friend.
Hey man, thanks, I appreciate that. I know I've got so much more in me, just gotta clean up the form, stay consistent with everything, you know the drill lol. I'm gonna go for a triple BW pull in a few weeks...we'll see what happens lol (although, if the weight keeps coming off like it has, it won't be that big of a deal!)
400 kcals of cardio on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling/stretching
I was a little surprised to see my weight lower this morning, since yesterday was a re-feed and I started my creatine loading phase. I've been meaning to start taking it forever, just been lazy about it lol. My current supplements are; multivitamin, creatine, BCAA's (this is rare, only before cardio if I haven't eaten in awhie, I might take in 5g a month lol), joint supplement, and melatonin at night.
It's looking like the re-feed hit me later tonight though, was about 3lbs heavier than usual before my last meal, but I'm looking leaner and fuller, so it's all good. This weeks weigh-in's will be taken with a grain of salt, I expect them to be all over the place, that's why we have the mirror, photos, and tape measure though.
DB floor presses: 50's, 1x5 75's, 1x5 95, 1x3 115, 1x5 1x3 1x....2 lol, yeah, triceps were pretty much done by this point, time to back off! 85's (legs straight, no hip drive), 1x8 1x7
Giant Set:
standing side DB laterals: 40's, 1x15 45's, 3x12
w/
close-grip dips: BW, 3x20 1x25 (last 5 were grinders)
w/
bent-over side laterals: 40's, 4x15 (last set was a grinder)
Damn I'm tired lol. Weight shot up today, guess the creatine water bloat hit me late. I've been pissing like a race horse. I think that's partly to do with the two small pots of coffee I drank today on top of my regular water intake lol.
Diet was locked on, workout felt pretty strong. I really don't like training chest, mainly because I'm a weak bencher lol. I'm working on it though, benching twice a week, one regular power day with a little hypotrophy on the side , and a speed bench day. I'm also really working on my technique, that's why you see me doing so many warm-up sets. My goal is to do at least 30 reps below 50% of my ORM before each regular chest workout session, I figure that'll help me drill in solid technique faster.
I think I got a better handle on my arch and foot placement today after my 4th set with 235, felt like I caught my 2nd wind! I'm doing a linear progression scheme right now, bumping it up 5lbs a workout, I think it'll start getting heavy around 255-260, at least that's what I'm hoping lol. Gonna do the same thing with wide-grip weighted dips. I can do a clean set of 8 or so 3 plates close-grip, but I wanna get stronger doing it wide-grip with a good forward lean to emphasize my chest.
Last edited by Lathareo82; 08-10-2011 at 11:47 AM.
cardio: 400 kcals on stairmill, followed by foam rolling and stretching
weigtht were light today, mainly just working on form, technique and explosiveness. Decided to bump it up just a bit on sumo deads, I still suck at these things. I was hoping that my last session was just a fluke and that I really can move some decent weight on them...not so lol. That 365 was a grinder, lol.
I realize that when I pull conventional, I'm relying on my back strength to get the weight up, hip drive is minimal. When doing the 356, 1x3 the first rep went up kinda slow, the second rep flew up 'cause I reverted back to using my back, then I let the weight settle for a sec (damn hex plates!) and went for the third rep, that thing went up sloooow! lol, I shot some video, I see that I'm too far away from the bar, gotta work on my positioning.
I think I'm gonna make tomorrow another cardio day, but with no speed work at all. I'll keep my macros the same as today. Still haven't decided though, I might wake up pissed off and ready to train, we'll see.
August 11th weigh-in: 182.2
Macros: 58/305/225
Training: None...I went for a 45-minute walk through Waikiki to check out some strange, does that count??
Felt pretty damn good today, especially during that AM workout. I've gotta say, I can notice a difference with this creatine. I look a bit fuller, and I'm holding my pump a lot better. I'm still getting flat by the end of the day, but it's been almost 6 days since my last re-feed, so that's to be expected I guess.
So overall I'm in good spirits. Still taking things slow, gonna take the next two weeks and sit with these macros, the weight was coming off, but since that creatine load my weight has been all over the place. That's really the main reason I didn't wanna do it, I didn't wanna deal with that week of crazy weigh-ins, it messes with my OCD lol. But, I figured it'd be better that I just get it out of the way at the start of my prep, don't wanna deal with that crap when I'm balls deep into that thing.
The only issue I'm having mentally is that I'm really anxious to get lean. It would be no problem for me to hall ass and drop down to sub-175 in the next few weeks, but that would do nothing beneficial for me long term. I'm honestly still getting strong at this point as well as leaner, I've got all kinds of vascularity coming out in my legs, upper chest, side abs, I never had that at this weight before. So yep, slow and steady wins the race, plus I'm gonna be prepping for awhile, so damn sure better pace myself!
Tomorrow is and easy day, a little speed bench work, cardio, foam rolling, and flexibility work. So yeah, should be fun.
JM press: 115, ?x5 (1st time doing this exercise, took me a minute to get the form down, as well as find a suitable weight for me)
Cardio: 400 kcals on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling/stretching
This was a good day training and diet-wise. I'm zeroing in on finding the sweet spot as far as macronutrient distribution so that I'm not too hungry on these 305g carb days. I take in a decently carb heavy breakfast, lighter carbs for meal 2, the same or more carbs in meal 3 as meal 1, and my biggest carb intake is meal 4, at least 100g (last night was 125g). I drink my coffee between meals 1 and 2, so I'm least hungry during this time.
Bench technique is coming along, which really isn't saying much since it's so bad lol. I brought in my video camera, that helped a lot as I saw what I was doing wrong between sets. I'm getting a much better arch, getting the shoulder blades contracted more, and foot placement is improving. Been watching a lot of Dave Tate videos on youtube, I want a 350+lbs bench, and it WILL happen. I've got very long arms, so this is a huge goal for me.
Those JM presses are money! At 1st I was doing them all sorts of screwed up, luckily I had the video to quickly correct myself. I'm gonna start a linear periodization scheme with these on my speed bench days, gonna stick with my floor presses, weighted dips, and skull crushers on my other pressing day.
JM press: 115, ?x5 (1st time doing this exercise, took me a minute to get the form down, as well as find a suitable weight for me)
Cardio: 400 kcals on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling/stretching
This was a good day training and diet-wise. I'm zeroing in on finding the sweet spot as far as macronutrient distribution so that I'm not too hungry on these 305g carb days. I take in a decently carb heavy breakfast, lighter carbs for meal 2, the same or more carbs in meal 3 as meal 1, and my biggest carb intake is meal 4, at least 100g (last night was 125g). I drink my coffee between meals 1 and 2, so I'm least hungry during this time.
Bench technique is coming along, which really isn't saying much since it's so bad lol. I brought in my video camera, that helped a lot as I saw what I was doing wrong between sets. I'm getting a much better arch, getting the shoulder blades contracted more, and foot placement is improving. Been watching a lot of Dave Tate videos on youtube, I want a 350+lbs bench, and it WILL happen. I've got very long arms, so this is a huge goal for me.
Those JM presses are money! At 1st I was doing them all sorts of screwed up, luckily I had the video to quickly correct myself. I'm gonna start a linear periodization scheme with these on my speed bench days, gonna stick with my floor presses, weighted dips, and skull crushers on my other pressing day.
August 14th weign-in: 184.6
Macros: 52/627/208
Training:
Cardio: 400 kcals on the stairmill, followed by foam rolling/stretching
August 15th weigh-in: 183.4 Yeah, did not expect to wake up 1.2lbs lighter post re-feed!
donkey calf raises: 200, 1x10 400, 1x10 550, 1x7 dropped to 150, 1x failure, followed by 1-min of partial reps, followed by BW standing calf raises, 1x failure (I did this twice, 2nd time I dropped to 210 instead of 150 though)
PM hamstring/glutes/soleus
good mornings: bar, 1x5 135, 2x5 185, 1x5 225, 1x5 280, 5x4 1x5
plate loaded seated-calf raise: 2p, 1x10 3p, 1x10 4p, 1x8 dropped to 2p+25lbs, 1x failure, then 1-minute of partial reps (I did this twice)
SS w/
DB SLDL: 95's, 1x10 115's, 1x10 130's, 1x10 150's, 1x12
I was gonna have this leg day on Sunday, but I was still pretty sore from the prior back day, so I held off. I''m gonna keep in that one day of just doing nothing, no cardio or anything. Even with this, I'm still squating, benching, and dead lifting at least twice a week. I have one dynamic day and one power day of each.
I felt pretty good with today's workout, still need to be faster out of the hole with my squats. Flexibility is getting better, but I would still like to see my depth a bit deeper. There are various loose areas in my form, I'll keep drilling it though. I have no problem doing 100+ reps a week at sub-50% of my ORM in order to make it happen. Gotta start hitting the box squats hard in order to lock in that form.
Sumo deads are coming along. I did my last set with a double overhand grip, first time I've ever tried it. I have long skinny fingers, so I figured it wouldn't be much of a problem for me. I definitely felt the pressure on my thumb, but it's nothing that I couldn't get used to. I think I'm gonna stick with it, it's much safer than over-under, and I'm about to start chasing some big numbers with my conventional pull, wanna take every safety precaution possible.
August 16th weigh-in: 183
Macros: 65/406/225
Training:
400 kcals of cardio, followed by foam rolling/stretching.
DB floor presses: 55's, 1x8 85's, 1x6 110's, 1x5 1x4.5 1x4.9999... (I just could not lock out my left arm, it was SOO CLOSE! I literally sat there fighting it for like 5-seconds lol!)
EZ curl bar skull crushers: 95, 1x10 105, 1x8.5 115, 1x6
SS w/
one-arm side laterals: 50, 1x15 60, 1x12 70, 1x10
low-cable face pulls: 100, 1x10 120, 1x10 150, 1x7 1x8
(I was gonna shoot some more video tonight, but I was in the zone, didn't feel like stopping to mess with a damn camera)
Good session today, I can tell I'm getting stronger in my pushing movements. I'm really starting to understand the form when it comes to benching, I think I'll find my groove here real soon. The video doesn't show it, but while I was watching/editing it, I had an "AH HA!" moment lol. I see now how I can improve my arch, focus more on driving my traps through the bench instead of focusing on pushing the weight up, and drive my heels into the floor. The driving the heels is a big one, it's not physically possible with my toes dug in, but that action will activate my hips and make that hip drive transfer to the bar. As of right now I'm getting almost no hip drive transfer to the bar, and it's killing me. I've got my DE bench day in a few days, I'm gonna hammer that form like there's no tomorrow!
My DB overhead press is really coming along too, I wasn't even close to needing a spot for those 85's. that 115 for 6 on the skull crushers was a PR, as well as the 150 for 8 on the low-cable face pulls. So yeah, things are coming along. And even though the scale isn't really moving, I can tell that I'm getting leaner. I still haven't "stuck" with my diet yet, I was about to before I did that creatine load, but wanted to see what would happen so I'm holding off until my weight stabilizes again. In the next 12 days or so I'll decide if I need to make an adjustment or now.
Like I said earlier, I'm not in a rush to get lean at this point. My comp weight will most likely be in the 159-161 range, but that won't be until the spring/summer of 2012. As of right now I'm looking to do some photo shoots to get my fitness modeling portfolio going. I've already spoken to one photographer, told them I should be ready by the end of the year. I'm looking to get down around 165 or so. I'm gonna set up a slew of photo shoots, like 4 to 6. After that I'll reverse diet for a while, keeping my weight under 170. As I start checking for shows I'll make my decision as to how I'll strike. I might potentially higher a prep coach, the 3 that I have in mind are: 3DMJ, Tommy Jeffers, or Layne Norton (In no particular order). I have the utmost respect for all of these guys, I just haven't decided if I want a coach or if I wanna go at this on my own. I really enjoy the whole process, it gives my OCD and neurotic tendencies something to focus on, but man would it be nice to get an expert opinion at times lol! We'll see, I still have a few more months to decide.
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It's really exposing my weaknesses though, so I'm loving that. I'm hoping in a couple months I'll be up to a 500lbs sumo, I can only imagine what that'll do for my squat. I'm also gonna start doing speed low box squats on my lower speed day, a litltle extra squat work never hurt anyone. 
Those deficit deads were LIGHTNING off the floor! And w/ hex plates and no belt on top of everything else...you've got some major strength my friend.
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