The 15 Week Cycle to Shredded (Hopefully)

[ConnorNash]

Hi, First a little stats for you guys about myself.
I have only lifted for about 5 weeks before the beginning of this workout log. (Hoping for big time noob gains)
I am 19 years old.
I am 5'10".
Starting Weight: 157
Starting BF: 12-13%
Starting Maxes: Squat- 215, Bench- 165, Deadlift- 265

I'll post the routine I'm starting on in a bit as well as keep you updated on when I switch my routine and all the good stuff.

I will update this log every 5 weeks with pictures, weight, and BF.
At the end of every 15 weeks will be an update on maxes.

My cycle consists of 10 weeks bulking of 500 cal surplus, 5 weeks of cutting with 500 cal deficit.
It will not always be 10 weeks or 5 weeks. After the first cycle I'm gonna try to get down to about 10% and bulk from there to 13-14%. The next cut down to 9% and get to 12-13%. The next get down to 8% and bulk to 11-12%. Kinda like that.

Starting Pictures:
http://imageshack.com/scaled/large/259/k9xo.jpg
http://imageshack.com/scaled/large/18/yni2.jpg

My goal is to be 185 lbs with 7-8% BF.

[Bloodstone79]

What's up Connor? Looks like you have a good, lean foundation to start building on. If I may give some advice: take advantage of your noob gain period 100%. To do this, don't bother cutting during much of this phase. Your body and muscles are gonna be in such a shock and such a spurt of growth that if you alternate bulking/cutting in such an early part of your new journey, it won't work as good as it could. Do as you please, but in my opinion do a straight bulk until you're happy (or disgustingly fat), and then consider a small cut. Good luck!

[ConnorNash]

What's up Connor? Looks like you have a good, lean foundation to start building on. If I may give some advice: take advantage of your noob gain period 100%. To do this, don't bother cutting during much of this phase. Your body and muscles are gonna be in such a shock and such a spurt of growth that if you alternate bulking/cutting in such an early part of your new journey, it won't work as good as it could. Do as you please, but in my opinion do a straight bulk until you're happy (or disgustingly fat), and then consider a small cut. Good luck!

Thanks man, I was definitely gonna take it as it went. If by week 10 I'm not where I want to be in terms of weight/looks, I will keep bulking. It's just a guess. The weeks might change a bit due to me not bulking enough in 10 weeks or cutting too much in 5, etc. Just depends on how everything goes. Just the 10 week, 5 week is the concept here. Thanks for the input!

[Bloodstone79]

Thanks man, I was definitely gonna take it as it went. If by week 10 I'm not where I want to be in terms of weight/looks, I will keep bulking. It's just a guess. The weeks might change a bit due to me not bulking enough in 10 weeks or cutting too much in 5, etc. Just depends on how everything goes. Just the 10 week, 5 week is the concept here. Thanks for the input!

Apologize for misreading, I was under the impression that it was 5 on/5 off bulk. 10/5 would be a bit better. My main point was letting you know you're gonna be in a stage that you'll never get back. Your muscles are gonna soak up everything you give 'em, so don't worry too much about cutting, just take full advantage and beast out!

[TiberiusClaudis]

Looks good. And keep your promise of taking pictures every 5 weeks, the scale will lie but pictures dont.

Best of luck,
TC

[ConnorNash]

Starting Routine:
I decided to create it based off of Reg Parks beginner routine. It is the same workouts with a different rep scheme on the compounds.

Workout A:
Squat - 10/8/6/4
Chin ups - 30 reps (as many sets as it takes)
Bench Press - 10/8/6/4
DB Curls - 2x10
Seated Calves - 2x15-20
Standing Calves - 2x15-20

Workout B:
Front Squat - 10/8/6/4
Barbell Row - 10/8/6/4
Standing Press - 10/8/6/4
Deadlift - 6/4/2
Standing Calves - 2x15-20
Seated Calves - 2x15-20

I add more weight once I am able to hit 6 reps on the final set. (4 on deadlift)
Have been doing this workout for 2 weeks now and love it.
The days go A, off, B, off, repeat. So the workout days change every other week.

[ConnorNash]

Looks good. And keep your promise of taking pictures every 5 weeks, the scale will lie but pictures dont.

Best of luck,
TC

Will do! I've always been pretty active athletically but now I am dedicated in the weight room & diet like never before. Thanks man.

[Bloodstone79]

Squats, chins, deads, rows, bench... all looks great to me. Good to see you using the big compound movements! You'll see some good progress from this methinks.

[ConnorNash]

Squats, chins, deads, rows, bench... all looks great to me. Good to see you using the big compound movements! You'll see some good progress from this methinks.

Yeah, hopeful to make some serious size and strength gains.
What's your opinion on just working out every other day as opposed to taking the weekend off? I'm thinking since I'm a beginner and still a teenager, I will not need multiple days of rest in a row atm.

[Bloodstone79]

That's true, but if you rest every other day, you'll be resting more than you would if you took just weekends off. It would be 15 workouts in a 30 day period (if you rest every other day) opposed to 22 workouts in a 30 day period by taking every weekend off. If you can take it, and what I did in high school (and usually afterwards too), 5 days on/2 days off always worked great. So like you said since you're a teen and will be recovering so fast, hammer it hard during the week and rest on weekends IMO!

[ConnorNash]

So you're saying my only rest days should be on the weekend?
Going ABABA, off, off. Repeat?

[Bloodstone79]

I mean that's what I would do, or maybe something like Wed/Sat as rest days so you get a break in the middle of your week. Mess with it for a while and find what works with your schedule, but if you want to go pretty hard I definitely don't see a problem with 5 days on/2 days off every week.

Watch the volume though. With all those reps you might be getting a bit much. Make sure you're stretching and eating enough and if you're feeling overtrained change something up!

[ConnorNash]

Gonna try the full week and see how it goes. If I can't handle it, I'll go to a 2 on/1 off then after that go to every other day then 3x a week.
I get plenty of sleep and am eating 3300 calories a day so hopefully it's not a problem.

[Bloodstone79]

Sounds good! I'm sure it'll be a bit of a shock going straight into 5 days but if you can handle it go for it. Whenever I get back into the groove I usually start with twice week 1, three times week 2, four times week 3 and then go from there.

[ConnorNash]

Had to lower the reps today on my squat so I decided to lower the weight once I got to bench.
I really love this everyday thing but I think I'm gonna have my 10/8/6/4 day only on Monday and Tuesday and then lower it to a 8/6/4/2 with the same weight on Wednesday and Thursday. Not sure what kinda weight I could throw up on Friday so we will see how I adjust the program there.

[sizesmall]

How's the program going mate?
I'm interested in following a very similar (if not, the same) program. As you decrease the reps, do you add weight? Also, what are your goals? Size or strength? And how are you noticing improvements?
Keep us updated!
- Ss