7 weeks to mass

[Braveheart999]

As of 15/12/2011 I had been bulking for about 5 months and was sitting at 173lbs, 145lbs LBM, 16.2% BF, also got some crazy stretch marks all over. I had started to cut a little before taking those stats and as of today I'm at 141lbs ~12-13% BF ~118lbs LBM....damn. My goal was abs before the summer.

So apparently I didn't cut properly, oops. Calories and carbs were too low and clearly I didn't retain muscle very well. I tried low-carb, carb-cycling, balanced, P90X and fat burners along the way. At least I did shed some fat and I'm complacent at best, still no abs yet and still a little stubborn bit of chest fat.

I've had enough of cutting, I've a beach to be on in 7 weeks time, I aim to pack on as much size as I possibly can between now (well, last week) and then. Hopefully I've not left this too late. I'm hoping that, because I have apparently lost about 26lbs of LBM I will be able to re-gain some of that quicker than starting from scratch, the whole "muscle memory" thing. I don't know if that theory holds any water, though. During the cut I stopped weight training for around a month or more to take up P90X.


NUTRITION

~2800 calories day

Roughly, every day macros:

Protein - 291 g 37%
Carbs - 307 g 39%
Fat - 81 g 23%

Why so much protein? I'm running granite mass stack (Tauro-Test + BullK, BullK states "We recommend consuming at least 2g per lb of body weight whilst using" I assume this means protein since it can't mean the product itself (also recall reading that it was referring to protein somewhere else).

I'm going with a clean approach to eating, I've got pretty good at that from cutting for so very long. Also my appetite is huge from restricted calories. I'm using a personal favourite of mine, fitclick, to log foods. Find my exact weekly diet plan here:

fitclick.com/free_diet_plan?n=FAST_MUSCLE_GAIN_by_Braveheartt&c d=26075 (every day includes a post-workout shake, non-training days I edit accordingly and add more food in its place).

Used to swear by egg whites. Need more fat in my diet so switched to 6 whole eggs every day.

SUPPLEMENTS
ON Casein
Dextrose + Maltodextrin
Creatine (as long as it lasts)
BCAA
Omega 3
Multi
Granite Mass Stack (Tauro-test + BullK, also got a free shredabull, not sure if I should use it whilst bulking? Probably no point)
Eviscerate (Any point in using? Probably won't have much of an effect if any whilst in a surplus, but I'll try it on my abs and chest and see)

TRAINING
A:

Squat 3x6
Bench 3x8
Flyes 1-2 sets (Throw this in here sometimes)
Row 3x8
Dips 3x8
Bent-overlat raise 3x12-15

Decline sit-up - b/w

B:

Deadlift 2x5
Chin-up 3x8
O/H press 3x8
BB curl 3x8
Sometimes throw in an incline DB press here too

Hanging leg raise - b/w

Training every other day (M/W/F/S, T/TH/SA ...repeat), rotate above workouts each session. My chest is the one lift (and area) that I feel is lacking, so as recovery permits I will from time to time add in an isolation or incline dumbbells as above. I try to ensure it won't affect bench progress next workout. Also try to avoid failure if I can, so CNS doesn't take forever to recover and allow for the higher frequency I'll be doing.

Training in my garage, recently bought new equipment (rack + bench) but my 6 foot bar doesn't quite fit it, I can still use it but I really want to get an Olympic bar. Means having to buy an entire set of plates again though...

So I'll keep this up-to-date for the 7 weeks I've got left. I'll start from today's workout (weight in KGS):


Squat 3x6 - 70 - 6, 4, 4
Bench 3x8 - 42.5 - 8, 7, 7 (Did a finisher of 20 reps @ 20kg)
Flye 2x5 - 10
Row 3x8 - 37.5 - 8, 8, 8
Dips 3x8 - b/w - 8 (some reps used one foot/toe for some support), 5, 4 (some reps used one foot/toe for some support),
Bent-overlat raise 3x12-15 - 2.5 - 15, 15, 15

Decline sit-up - b/w - 15, 15, 10

[Braveheart999]

Workouts are going well. I've been adding in a few sets of flat flyes and incline DB/Bar press here and there at various rep ranges. I've been eating closer to 2900-3000 calories so I'm going to lower them a bit back toward 2700-2800. Workouts since first post:

TUESDAY 24/04/2012

Deadlift 2x5 - 80 - 5, 5
Chin-up 3x8 - b/w - 8, 6, 5
O/H press 3x8 - 22.5 - 8, 10, 8
BB curl 3x8 - 20 - 8, 8, 8

Hanging leg raise - b/w - 12, 10, 15

=====================
THURSDAY 26/04/2012

Squat 3x6 - 70 - 6, 6,
Bench 3x8 - 45 - 7, 7, 6
Row 3x8 - 40 - 8, 8, 8
Dips 3x8 - b/w - 3x12 @30 (CLOSE-GRIP BENCH, keep same weight)

Bent-overlatraise 3x12-15 - 2.5 - 15, 15, 15

Decline sit-up - b/w - 15, 12, 12


Awaiting arrival of more plates to bump the deadlift up. Until next week I'll need to continue deadlifting 80kg.

Using some left-over NoxyPump sachets I had, seem to give me an extra dose of energy. Need to get myself some more BCAA and Creatine also. Weight seems to have gone up, will be officially weighing in tomorrow. Off to do today's workout!

[Braveheart999]

Todays workout was awesome.


SATURDAY 28/04/2012

Deadlift 2x5 - 85 - 3, 4 PR! Thought I only had plates up to 80, in fact I have up to 90kg so that's perfect. Also, when this baby hits 88...you're going to see some serious ****! :P

Chin-up 3x8 - 10, 7, 5
O/H press 3x8 - 25 - 9, 8, 8
BB curl 3x8 - 22.5 - 8, 8, 7

Hanging leg raise - b/w 15, 9, 4 Holding for ~5 seconds at top
Decline sit-up - 5, 8, 8 slowly lowering to parallel and holding for ~5 seconds

I'm going to include some decline chest work next week instead of incline. I've always done flat and incline presses, never really done much decline work, maybe that coupled with increasing my flat bench will give my chest a better look since it's the lower (and inner) areas which seem out of proportion to the rest of the area. Won't be doing too much extra work though so as not to affect my bench strength.

[Braveheart999]

So I've opted to switch to Starting Strength, done SL5x5 before so I'm going to be running the workout plus 1-2 sets accessory and ab work.

MONDAY 30/04/2012

Workout A
Squat - 3x5 - 60 - 5, 5, 5
Bench - 3x5 - 47.5 - 5, 5, 5 [PR!]
Deadlift - 1x5 - 85 - [PR!]
Dip - 2 x 8-12 - 4

Decline sit-up - 1x15 - 14

[Braveheart999]

Another good workout, still making steady progress.

Squat - 3x5 - 62.5 - 5, 5, 5
O/H Press - 3x5 - 32.5 - 3, 5, 5 - Going to increase to 35 although only got 2x5
Row - 3x5 - 45 - 4, 4, 4
Chin-up - 2 x 8-12 - 8 full, 5 full

Leg raise - 1x15 - 11

[Braveheart999]

As it's a Friday I added in the direct arm work as prescribed in the SS FAQ. Good workout today, bench was a bit of a pain but I'll hammer 3x5 next time. Time to go eat!

Workout A
Squat - 3x5 - 65 - 5, 5, 5
Bench - 3x5 - 50 - 4, 3, 3 PR
Deadlift - 1x5 - 90 - 5 PR
Dip - 2 x 8-12 - 5

Decline sit-up - 1x15 - 20 (Add weight next session)
Biceps curl - 2 x 8-12 - 20 - 12, 8
Triceps extension - 2 x 8-12 - 10 - 8, 8

[Braveheart999]

Things are starting to get tough, O/H Press was a total bitch:

MONDAY 07/05/2012

Workout B
Squat - 3x5 - 67.5 - 5, 5, 5
O/H Press - 3x5 - 35 - 2, 0 (DELOAD) 32.5 - 4, 5, 5 - Dammit! 35 felt heavy as hell.
Row - 3x5 - 45 - 5, 5, 5 - Wasn't extremely strict form, last rep on each set didn't quite touch chest but it wasn't far off, I'm going to count them
Chin-up - 2 x 8-12 - 9 full, 6 full - Might only do one set of chins next time

Leg raise - 1x15 - 12

Thinking of throwing out the direct arm work on Friday. Calories are up to 3000 and need more sleep. Gained 6lbs this week, everywhere except arms have seen 0.5 inch size increase. BF% somewhere between 11/12% (scales) -14% (weight+neck+ab measurement).

[Braveheart999]

Absolutely epic workout today.

Workout A
Squat - 3x5 - 70 - 5, 5, 5 [PR]
Bench - 3x5 - 50 - 5, 5, 5 [PR]
Deadlift - 1x5 - 95 - 3 [PR]
Dip - 1 x 8-12 - 8

Decline sit-up - 1x15 - 5kg - 15

Already getting noticeable gains which is amazing, and I appear to be getting leaner too which is an added bonus.

Love SS so much! Time to eat and rest.

[Braveheart999]

Today's workout was pretty much the complete opposite of Wednesday, think I'm not getting enough sleep. Felt pretty drained and not very motivated. I blame the cold and rainy weather lol.


Workout B
Squat - 3x5 - 72.5 - 3, 4, 5 [PR] - Took me forever to complete, nevertheless it's a PR
O/H Press - 3x5 - 35 - 3, 3, 2 - Decided there was no point in dong 32.5 as I would only be doing one more rep more than the last workout
Row - 3x5 - 47.5 - 4, 4, 5 [PR] - Form isn't perfect, I tend to cheat a tad (can't seem to help it) near to the end, still feel I'm benefiting though
Chin-up - 2 x 8-12 - 10, 6 - Not sure if I'm benefiting much from these, always feel pretty drained come time to do them

Leg raise - 1x15 - 15
Biceps curl - 2 x 8-12 - 22.5 - 10, 10
Triceps extension - 2 x 8-12 - 12.5 - 8, 8

Time to rest, re-focus and eat over the weekend.

[Braveheart999]

Another epic workout! Bit of a pain with the bench reps, but I'll nail it Friday. Form on squat and bench was a tad dubious, my left quad/inner thigh/hip was a bit painful.

MONDAY 14/05/2012

Workout A
Squat - 3x5 - 72.5 - 5, 5, 5
Bench - 3x5 - 52.5 - 3, 2, 2
Deadlift - 1x5 - 95 - 5
Dip - 1 x 8-12 - 1x8

Decline sit-up - 1x15 - 5kg - Didn't do these today

[thezachinator]

So you are bulking @ 2,800 cals? Are you gaining weight? I wish I could gain weight at only 2,800 cals lol. Btw.. I'd assume that the gainer/protein or w/e says you should consume 2g of protein/bodyweight because that'd mean you are using a ton of servings of their product lol. I'd say 1-1.5g and you'd be fine. Good luck though man. Subbed.

[Braveheart999]

Thanks man! Yeah I got down to 142 ish so 2200-2500 was around my maintenance, so 2800 was enough. I've been eating closer to 3000-3200, some days I'll hit 3500. Gaining 1lb week at the moment, think I might have put on more fat than is desired though, or my creatine is kicking in and making me retain water like mad. BF% went up and some definition lost. I'll blame the water for now lol.

[thezachinator]

Thanks man! Yeah I got down to 142 ish so 2200-2500 was around my maintenance, so 2800 was enough. I've been eating closer to 3000-3200, some days I'll hit 3500. Gaining 1lb week at the moment, think I might have put on more fat than is desired though, or my creatine is kicking in and making me retain water like mad. BF% went up and some definition lost. I'll blame the water for now lol.

Wow.. Nice! A lb/week is nice. Hopefully you can keep the weight gain fairly lean. I like to stay around 12% bf myself. That's some serious protein intake. I'm trying to cut right now and struggling hitting 195g protein without using too much powder while keeping the carbs and fat low. How tall are you if you don't mind me asking?

[Braveheart999]

Wow.. Nice! A lb/week is nice. Hopefully you can keep the weight gain fairly lean. I like to stay around 12% bf myself. That's some serious protein intake. I'm trying to cut right now and struggling hitting 195g protein without using too much powder while keeping the carbs and fat low. How tall are you if you don't mind me asking?

I'm around 5'9"/5'10". I could eat far too much easily and get fat though, still feels like cutting eating 3000!

[Braveheart999]

WEDNESDAY 16/05/2012

Workout B
Squat - 3x5 - 75 - 4, 3, 5
O/H Press - 3x5 - 35 - 5, 5, 5 - Form a bit sloppy
Row - 3x5 - 47.5 - 5, 5, 5
Chin-up - 2 x 8-12 - 5kg bag - 8, 6

Leg raise - 2x15 - 20, 15 (Trying to add weight)

FRIDAY 18/05/2012

Workout A
Squat - 3x5 - 80 - 5, 5, 5
Bench - 3x5 - 52.5 - 2, 1, 1 Squat was insanely epic, but bench just felt so heavy, I get stuck at the bottom position so I did some partials on the bottom and top positions at around 55/60kg and also some higher volume 40kg 2x6-8. I know it's not SS, but my bench won't stop stalling!
Deadlift - 1x5 - 100 - 1 Probably could have done more reps, but the prior extra bench work wiped me out
Dip - 3 x 8-12 - 6, 5, 4 Felt a lot stronger on these

Decline sit-up - 2x15 - 10kg - 15, 15
Biceps curl - 2 x 8-12 - 25 - 10, 10
Triceps extension - 2 x 8-12 - 15 - 9, 8

Anyone any advice for a stalling bench press already?

[Braveheart999]

So I have 3 weeks left, my bench is stalling and I don't feel like 4000+ calories at the moment, after summer I'll look at that. I've switched to a 3-week bench prioritising programme as I am complacent (I suppose you could say) with my other lifts for now. Also my back and legs have grown quite nicely in comparison to my chest and shoulders. The bench is also the one lift I feel the weakest on, it's the only lift I think my form sucks on too, never really benched all that much so I need to prioritise it. I've also injured my shoulders in the past with benching, the more practice and progress the better.

It calls for benching 5 days a week...but this is only for 3 weeks in an attempt to increase my BP strength as much as possible. Current bench 1RM is around 55kg. First two workouts:

SUNDAY 20/05/2012

BENCH (3 MIN)
1x10 - 42.5kg - 10
1x8 - 45kg - 8
1x6 - 47.5kg - 6
1x4 - 50kg - 2
1x2 - 52.5kg - 1

- Bent Over Dumbbell Flyes - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 5kg - 10, 10, 10
- Bent Over Barbell Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 30kg - 12, 12, 12
- Standing Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 10kg - 12, 10, 10
- Decline sit-up - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 25, 25, 25

MONDAY 21/05/2012

BENCH (1 MIN)
1x15 - 35kg - 15
1x15 - 35kg - 15
1x15 - 30kg - 11
1x15 - 25kg - 12
1x15 - 20kg - 15

- Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 50 - 10, 10, 10
- Standing Calf Raises - 3 sets of 15 reps - 10kg - 15, 15, 15
- Ab crunches - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 25, 25, 25

One thing I have noticed, I suck at muscular endurance, burns like hell and form begins to suffer on the madness 15 rep days.

Run this for 3 weeks and see how it goes though, been tracking weight and tape measurements consistently every Sunday, weight is going up. Sticking at 3000-3200 calories for now as this is a 20% increase on current maintenance.

[thezachinator]

I ran a powerlifting program called Sheiko not too long ago. It calls for benching everyday you lift (3x a week) M, W, F. Not very much volume, but my strength on bench jumped up quite a bit in the 4 weeks. Do you ever do weighted dips? Weighted dips and pushups seem to have helped more than any other supplemental exercise.

[Braveheart999]

I ran a powerlifting program called Sheiko not too long ago. It calls for benching everyday you lift (3x a week) M, W, F. Not very much volume, but my strength on bench jumped up quite a bit in the 4 weeks. Do you ever do weighted dips? Weighted dips and pushups seem to have helped more than any other supplemental exercise.

I'll have a look at that if my bench sticks again when I'm back on SS. I do dips, not weighed yet. Trying to figure out the best way to add weight, I'm thinking I'll just do the same as I do on pullups/chins and wear a back pack with weights inside. Don't have anything to hang the weight from my legs/neck.

[Braveheart999]

Last weeks sessions plus the first of this week (yesterday):

TUESDAY 22/05/2012

BENCH (3 MIN)
1x3 - 50kg - 3
1x3 - 50kg - 3
1x3 - 50kg - 3
1x3 - 50kg - 3
1x3 - 50kg - 3

- Bent Over Dumbbell Flyes - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 5kg - 12, 12, 12
- Bent Over Barbell Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 35kg - 12, 12, 12
- Standing Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 12.5kg - 10, 10, 12
- Decline sit-up - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 30, 26, 25

WEDNESDAY 23/05/2012

BENCH (1 MIN)
1x15 - 30kg - 15
1x15 - 30kg - 15
1x15 - 27.5kg - 15
1x15 - 25kg - 15
1x15 - 20kg - 15

- Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 50 - 12, 12, 10
- Standing Calf Raises - 3 sets of 15 reps - 15kg - 15, 15, 15
- Ab crunches - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 30, 30, 30

THURSDAY 24/05/2012

BENCH (3 MIN)
1x3 - 52.5kg - 3
1x3 - 52.5kg - 3
1x3 - 52.5kg - 3
1x3 - 52.5kg - 3
1x3 - 52.5kg - 3

- Bent Over Dumbbell Flyes - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 7.5kg - 10, 10, 10
- Bent Over Barbell Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 37.5kg - 12, 12, 12
- Standing Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 15kg - 10, 10, 10
- Decline sit-up - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 35, 30, 30


SUNDAY 27/05/2012

BENCH (3 MIN)
1x10 - 45kg - 10
1x8 - 47.5kg - 8
1x6 - 50kg - 6 (STRUGGLE)
1x4 - 52.5kg - 4
1x2 - 55kg - 1

- Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 reps - 55 - 10, 10, 10
- Standing Calf Raises - 3 sets of 15 reps - 17.5kg - 15, 15, 15
- Ab crunches - 3 sets of 25-50 reps - 40, 35, 35


Quite like this routine, although it's majorly tiring and taxing it seems to be working. My chest has visibly improved and I've been consistently hitting bench PRs. Roll on the next two weeks!

[Braveheart999]

Well I had some computer issues and couldn't update this, but at the end of the bench orientated program I had increased my bench 1RM by at least 10kg (in 3 weeks). My last workout weight was 65x3. I was rather impressed by the results, it's the first time my bench has really consistently improved and all the new lifts were PRs.

Next I'm going to head back onto a full body routine, namely All Pro's.