Jim Stoppani's 'Shortcut to Size' 12 week programme

[philponting]

Great! What are your macros and are you trying to gain weight/muscle or cut? Maybe add more pictures of your workouts/eatings etc.

Hey there, my macros work out around over 3000 calories on myfoodlog, but as I said I try not to count calories too rigorously and instead, focus on quality protein each meal. I am aiming to increase lean muscle gradually and going by bodyfat scales and the mirror as judgement; as I believe we can get too caught up in counting every macronutrient, hoping it will produce a set perfect physique! Unfortunately, I can't post videos of my workout as my gym doesn't allow it... But will try and post as many as I can of diet and progress pics.

[philponting]

Hey everyone; so today i trained shoulders/traps/abs. Its not the heaviest shoulder workout I've ever done, but i did feel the intensity was pretty good. Anyway, rather than talk on and on I will get to the workout! Here it is below:

SHOULDERS:

DB Shoulder Press:
10/20kg
8/22kg
6/24kg
5/26kg

DB Lateral Raise:
10/16kg
8/18kg
5/20kg
20/10kg drop-set

Barbell Front Raise:
10/20kg
8/25kg
5/30kg

Cable Upright Row:
10/25kg
8/27.5kg
5/30kg
20/20kg 20/10kg double drop-set

Cable Rear-Delt Flye:
10/7.5kg
8/12.5kg
5/15kg *This is probably the heaviest i've been on cable flyes; i usually do 7's for these to burn out the rear delts, but the drop set was enough today.
10/7.5kg drop-set

TRAPS:

DB Shrugs:
10/30kg
8/32kg
6/34kg
4/36kg
*Again, not the heaviest shrug workout even seen, but my traps are probably one of my better body parts anyway, so don't need to overkill them to stimulate them.

ABS:

Bent-Knee Raise:
20/BW
20/BW
20/BW
*Kept it short and sweet for abs; i really feel a burn in my abs by the end of the set on these; they're probably one of the harder ab exercises.

[philponting]

Post workout: 48g protein with 500ml semi-skimmed milk and a banana for carbs. Did have some glyco-maize but run out!

[philponting]

Today's meals (not including breakfast)

200g chicken/125g brown rice/broccoli

200g chicken/125g brown rice/broccoli

130g tuna/broccoli

Pre-bed: 48g protein shake with s/s milk, 3 tbsp peanut butter

[philponting]

gym motivation song; one to really pound out the weights too!

Gemini: Blue

[philponting]

Gets me in the mood for training!

[philponting]

This is my usual pre-bed meal: Chocolate protein shake (48g protein) and 3tbsp smooth Skippy peanut butter (mmmm!) for healthy monounsaturated fats and extra protein. I usually have this shake with milk for extra casein (for slow release protein), but have run out so had to have water instead tonight. Tomorrow I'm training chest/biceps/calves, incorporating my new 10/8/6/4 rep protocol on compound lifts and 10/8/5 for others, hoping to stimulate some new growth and shock my body!! Tuesday will be hamstrings/abs and cardio, probably 30mins on an incline treadmill, which seems to be my preferred choice of cardio ATM; I used to opt for the X-trainer, but got a bit bored of it. I may incorporate some sumo deadlifts into my hamstring training, to really pile on some weight and release some gh. I really want to bring up my hamstring development (and quads for that matter) to match my upper body and will be posting some leg photos on here, so hopefully will see some development. Might have a PWO shake before chest tomorrow to really fire myself up for training! I feel the need to include around 3 30 minute cardio sessions in my training, just to keep me cardiovascularly fit and also lean. Although I have quite a fast metabolism, I could definitely get into leaner shape ATM, but want to focus primarily on muscle gain over fat loss.

[philponting]

As you can see in the comparison between 2010 to 2012 I have bulked up quite a bit (from 70kg to 83kg, or 154lbs to 183lbs). I have clearly lost some definition, but aim to use the added size I have to lift heavier and hopefully get more shredded than in 2010.



I am to achieve this by lifting as heavy as possible, whilst maintaining a high protein diet and emphasising cardio throughout my training.

[philponting]

Just finished my protein shake and gonna head to bed; but i'll be up tomorrow to kill chest/bis/calves. Night

[philponting]

Here is my breakfast for the day: 4 cups oats blended with s/s milk and 3 large egg whites + 2 scoops whey protein (48g). Today, I'm gonna hit chest/bis/calves and really want to try and hit some PBs. Will post the workout and weights later on as always! Have a good day

[philponting]

Just got my new BPA free 2.2 litre bottle through from bodybuilding.com. Saves me having to buy bottled water every week! Just had a good chest/bis/calves workout and hit some new PBs! Will post later, but need to go and get a haircut lol cya

[philponting]

So, as said before I hit the gym earlier; i trained chest/biceps/calves. I like to do chest and biceps as opposed to chest and tris coz they are alternating muscle groups (push/pull) and therefore can work them harder individually (as tris are fatigued after chest).
Below is the workout:

CHEST:

Flat DB Press:
10/28kg
8/30kg
6/34kg
10/30kg
*I lowered the weight on the last set, as i wanted to conserve some energy for incline presses to follow.

Incline DB Press:
5/28kg
8/22kg
10/24kg
*I lowered the weight after the initial set, as i felt i wasnt getting a deep enough contraction.

Flat DB Flye:
10/18kg
8/22kg
5/26kg
*I felt my strength was really good on this exercise and have become fatigued when it comes to flyes in the past after presses; but not so today. I feel I could have gone up
to 30kg and possibly beyond. As said before in a previous post, i find flyes a much more controlled movement in terms of stabilising the weight, as opposed to presses.


Cable Crossovers 7's):
7 sets x 12 reps @ 7.5kg (30 sec rest in between)
*I incorporated FST-7 to finish off the chest workout and get a bit more blood in the muscle. My chest wasn't as pumped as it has been in the past, but my strength was
ok; although I could of added a bit more volume. Chest still remains an area to be much improved.

BICEPS:

Hammer Curl:
10/22kg
8/26kg
6/32kg
4/34kg
*I managed to break a PB on these today, which I was really pleased about! Managed to hit 34kg (75lbs) for 4 reps and will definitely aim to go higher next workout.
The contractions were quite good, and I didnt feel I was swinging the weight at all.

Cross-Body Hammer Curl:
10/20kg
8/24kg
5/26kg
*I decided to add the cross body version of hammer curls, to really work the brachialis region of the arm and get a good squeeze at the peak of the bicep, pausing at
the top of the movement. Still managed to go pretty heavy after those v.heavy hammer curls. Hammer curls in general are one of my favourite exercises over all, and find them a good
alternative mass builder to standard barbell curls. Left out BB curls this week as my wrists hurt last week on them. Should be back in the routine next week though!

Rope Cable Hammer Curls (7's):
7x12 reps @ 10kg (30 sec rest in between)
*Today was exclusively a hammer curl workout for bis and whilst i realise this doesn't accentuate variety, I will make sure i change it up again next week (maybe some concentration curls Arnie style and preacher
curls). Got a really good squeeze at the top of movement to force blood into the biceps and finish them off. Pump again was ok today, nothing spectacular, but that isn't always a sign
of a good workout.

CALVES:

Standing Calf Raises (in a Smith Machine):
10/40kg
8/45kg
6/50kg
4/60kg
*Slow and steady reps, again will add weight next calf workout on this mass builder.

Seated Calf Raises:
10/70kg
8/80kg
5/90kg
DS: 20/40kg > 20/20kg *Really pumped the calves up!

Standing Calf Raises (on stepper):
30/BW
30/BW
20/BW
*I like to finish with bodyweight calf raises just to finish them off and get a great pump!

Overall was a productive workout, but I still feel frustrated by strength on presses on chest, however flyes were really good. Also, I'm really trying to bring up my calves;
but I appreciate they are probs the hardest muscle to develop and it will take a LONG time! As per usual, bis were where i felt the strongest and hope i continue to up
my weights (curls get the girls lol, oj!)

[philponting]

Totals:
Calories: 3215
Protein: 358g
Carbs: 269g
Fat: 65g

[philponting]

Pre-workout motivation!

[philponting]

Old school motivation; Rocky VI

[philponting]

Hamstrings

[philponting]

Today I hit hams/abs, unfortunately deleted most of my post by accident; so will have to post again quickly!

Hamstrings:
DB stiff-leg Deadlift:
10/20kg
8/24kg
6/28kg
4/30kg

High-leg press:
10/100kg
8/120kg
15/150kg
*Was able to crank out 15 reps for last set, which serves as a reminder to go in heavier next ham workout.

Hack Squat Machine (feet high up pad):
10/140kg
8/150kg
5/160kg
DS: 20/60kg
*These were a real killer, near the end of the workout. Just had to shut my eyes and brace myself and grind out the reps. with the feet higher up the pad, it was a lot harder due to the stretch at the bottom of the squat; using mostly the hamstrings to do the work.

Seated leg-curl (7s):
7 x 12 reps @ 40kg (30 sec in between sets).
*For the first time ever, I really felt these in my hams and got a bit of a pump. Good way to finish off the workout.

I finished with 3 sets of 20 reps on rope oblique crunches @ 15kg. I tend not to focus too much on abs; as without low BF% you won't see much in the way of definition anyways. Hence, the emphasis should be on cardio to maintain and even lower BF ( in conjunction with diet).

Cardio:

I hit up 30 mins on the treadmill, as part of my cardio for the week. Kept my heart rate at 135bpm, but only burned 190 calories. Will do more intense cardio next workout; it was quite a sedate pace today... Due to the fact that I trained hamstrings probably! Tomorrow is back/triceps/abs and I'm looking forward to slaughtering back lol! I'll check in later maybe with some diet photos. C u guys

[philponting]

Here is also an upper bodyshot progress pic.

[philponting]

So today was back/triceps/abs and I was feeling ok going into the workout. Necked my PWO shake and headed to the gym.

BACK:

Pullup:
8/BW
8/BW
8/BW

Deadlift:
10/100kg
8/110kg
6/120kg
4/140kg

Smith Machine Bent-Over Row:
10/40kg
8/40kg
5/50kg
*Went much lighter on these, as was feeling the strain in my lower back after deads.

Standing Lat-Pulldown:
10/25kg
8/32.5kg
5/35kg
20/20kg DS

Hammer Strength Row (close-grip) (7's):
7 x 12 reps (30 sec between sets) @ 40kg
*Tried to get a really good contraction/squeeze on these.

TRICEPS:

Pressdown:
10/27.5kg
8/32.5kg
5/35kg
20/20kg DS

DB 2-arm Skullcrusher:
10/12kg
8/14kg
5/16kg

Cross-Body Pressdown:
10/7.5kg
8/10kg
5/12.5kg
20/5kg DS

Reverse Pressdown (7's):
12.5kg

ABS:

Hip Thrust:
10/BW
10/BW
10/BW
*Probs the worst exercise to do after deadlifting as it kills your lower back; hence the 10 reps!

Cable Kneeling Crunches:
20/10kg
20/15kg
20/17.5kg

[philponting]

so today I hit an impromptu arm work. In search of something different, I tried a routine from MD's Antoine Vaillant's arm training. It's pretty insane and you take most sets to failure and into partial reps, then into drop set after drop set. I didn't log the workout today, as it would have been to difficult to list every drop set and partial rep completed, instead I chose exercises on impulse, in search of the pump!

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/t...n-meadows.html

As seen in the video, I too hit a range of hammer curls, rope push downs and Skullcrushers, drop setting after failure and taking it into partial reps. My PWO shake kicked in about halfway through the workout and was able to crank out some pretty intense sets. The pump was pretty good today although I have had ridiculous arm pumps in the past (proba due to a good PWO shake, neurocore et al!). I may try this style of workout again, maybe for a lagging body part such as chest, in search of the mythical pump! Subsequently, I hit 30 mins cardio on the x-trainer and 15mins on an incline treadmill, burning around 400 calories in total. I sipped on my post-workout shake, whilst doing cardio; to start the repair process after my prior arm destruction! Tomorrow is legs and will post workout and weights as always. Sunday is a day of rest, as I have been hitting the gym pretty hard this week. Off to see the new Bond movie tonight.

[philponting]

This is a physique I aspire too ATM; Shawn Rhoden who recently placed 3rd @ the Olympia and 1st at a string of other shows. Harks back to the old skool days of aesthetic physiques (Zane, Arnie et al.) where symmetry took precedence over mass. One to watch for the future for sure.

[philponting]

Mirin' hard!

[philponting]

Lunch: 150g flame-grilled chicken with 125g brown rice, with Nandos BBQ sauce; mmm

[philponting]

Abs starting to come through, still need to bring up chest tho

[philponting]

Today I hit chest and it was a pretty shoddy workout by all accounts. I pulled my neck muscle yesterday (not to do with the gym) and in addition, have been getting some shoulder pain in my right shoulder on chest days, which decreases my strength on presses. anyway, enough with the excuses! I also hit biceps as well, but felt weaker than last week when I hit a PB. Here is the workout below:

CHEST:

Incline DB Press:
10/24kg
8/26kg
6/30kg
4/32kg

CHEST DIPS:
10/BW
10/BW
10/BW

INCLINE DB FLYE:
10/18kg
8/22kg
5/26kg

Cable Crossover:
3 sets x 7.5kg *Right shoulder really hurting!

BICEPS:

21s:
21/25kg
21/15kg
21/20kg

Cable Curl:
*I started @ around 20kg and pyramided down every plate, till I hit failure then moved on; all the way to 2.5kg until I couldn't lift anymore. I did this for 3 sets.

Cable Concentration Curl:
*I did the same as above, pyramiding down the weight plates till I hit failure, then dropped the weight till failure again and so on. The pump was pretty decent. I'm looking for new ways to shock the biceps to encourage growth, as I consider them a stronger body part.

I skipped calves today as I wasn't feeling it today, after the rather abismal workout that I just described above. I'll make an effort to really 'go at it' the next chest/bicep workout and hopefully the mysterious shoulder pain will subside. This shows that not every workout can be exceptional, as we inevitably all have our off days so to speak. It's about getting back in the gym and showing the weights who are boss next time and not letting the bad workouts dampen your spirits! Peace out x

[philponting]

Afternoon all! So today was hamstring destruction day lol, with some abs and cardio to follow. I hadn't eaten much breakfast going into the workout (due to
the fact that i didn't have enough milk to make my usual oats and whey), but my strength still felt pretty decent.

HAMSTRINGS

DUMBBELL STIFF-LEG DEADLIFT:
10/26kg
8/30kg
5/34kg
*As you can see, my strength had improved from last weeks workout and i didnt feel that taxed by the SDL. Its hard to find the right balance on this exercise
between contraction and stretch of the hamstring and using enough poundage. Also tried to keep my head up throughout the movement so my back doesn't arch,
and all the stress is put on the hamstrings and not the lower back. This was a good way to start my workout and warm up the muscle.

BARBELL STIFF-LEG DEADLIFT:
10/90kg
8/100kg
6/110kg
4/120kg
*I had to use a 10kg barbell as the squat rack was busy at the time. I like to try and go heavy on this exercise (with straps + belt), in an attempt to overload
the hams. Managed to get 4 @ 120kg, which I was pretty happy with. Decided to incorporate both DB and BB SDL to build more hamstring mass; i mean, we do
lot of different curls just for biceps alone!

LUNGE (dumbbell in each hand):
10/6kg
8/10kg
5/14kg
*This exercise allowed me to really get a good stretch and work the quads a bit also. Was pretty wobbly by the last set lol!

(7's) SEATED LEG CURL:
7X12 reps @ 45kg (30 sec rest in between sets)
*Finished with 7's on the leg curl to finish off the hamstrings and managed to add 5kg more than last week. However, i had to drop down to 40kg on the last set
to complete my set of 12. Will see how my hamstrings feel tomorrow to ascertain the damage done lol.

ABS:

CABLE CRUNCH:
20/8kg
20/12.5kg
20/17kg

DECLINE SITUP:
20/BW
20/5kg plate
10/10kg *My abs were burning on this last set!

Finished with only 15 mins of cardio on an incline treadmill as felt pretty burned out by the workout. Only burned about 105 calories, so not a great effort in my attempt
to get more shredded lol. From tomorrow I aim to blog more of my meals, in order to get a better view of how I'm doing. The workouts are quite structured and going well,
however, i feel my diet is still far from on point. I'm at a point where my meals are at sporadic times, and im supplementing too many protein shakes, rather than opt
for the whole food option. I'm far from where i want to be atm, even though i feel i've come quite far. But as said in a quote i read from Shawn Rhoden:
"The journey of one or a thousand miles starts with a single step".

Below is a vid of Phil Heath training hamstrings, for some added motivation!

[philponting]

OUCH!

[gustaboyle]

great job documenting everything men, great results, so did you finis? im on week 11 btw. after this im doing 6 weeks to sick arms.

[tomse7en1]

Great job documenting everything. I;m about to start this program. How do you deal with the off days. 3 off days seem a little to much

[Bronzzi]

What happened man? Where are you? This was great log!