Living the LifeofRiley

[LifeofRiley]

Journal Entry One

Where I've been:







Where I'm at:





Where I'm going:






My mind is constantly evolving in the gym. When I played ball in high school and college I lifted for athletic performance. My workouts were conducive to strength, power and speed gains. I didn’t need or even want bulk.

(#3, 2002 - Best gawd damm infield in the Lone Star Confrence)


Things are different now. I’m just gonna put it out there b/c it is what it is: I’m concerned purely with cosmetics here. I’m looking for mass here. I don’t want people borrowing my stapler without asking. Why? Because I’m bigger than you, that’s why.
But building up useless muscle is a full time job and I’m finding out more and more I need to amp things up. I have to start from square one my knowledge base.

There’s a lot of noise out there, a lot of private agendas. Everybody has a product to sale. Like dating advice, you read what you can, ask other people, then get in there and do it and see what works for you. With half a brain you begin to slowly discern what’s bull$h!t and what’s truth. There’s always going to be a lot of bull$hit.


I gained between 8 to 9 lbs of muscle this in the last 5 wks. I can sorta tell. I ran ouuta creatin Thurs. and will but more to morrow. Todays a lift day.

I might be going to a 5 day lift week from a three day. I don't wanna wear a speedo on a stage but the dudes who do preach their routines and it's hard not to listen.

[LifeofRiley]

Intense work out tonite. Everything’s swollen and I feel like jello. Like when I first met my wife.

Hit my chest and shoulders. I started with bench and I coulda moved a truck. Now I can’t even move the dog off the couch. I did drop sets on lateral raises and shrugs. I did bench and dumbbell press got all swollen and I told Richard I’d let him feel me up for $5. Everybody laughs and Richard vows to kill me. Probably have it come’n.

Monday I start a 5 days outta 6 workout plan for mass by some guy named Ryan (excellent name) Hughes who’s “making a name for himself as the next big thing yadda, yadda, yadda” who cares. I’m integrating some of Chris Hemesworth.

Work out
12 minutes Elliptical warm up
Bench reps: 12-10-8- to exhaustion
Standing Dumbbell Press reps: 12-10-8-8
Dumbbell Press: 10-10-8-8-exhaustion
Shrugs: 15-12-10-10-dropset
Side Lateral Raise: 12-10-8-dropset
Lying Bench Dumbbell Extension: 10-8-8-6

[LifeofRiley]

Really warn out today. Shoulders feel spent. Taken as a good sign. Drop sets: wish I could them at the end of every exercise.


Moved rocks at my new house. Felt good. Heavy Texas hill country limestone. Don't know what I'm going to do with'em. Foot path maybe? Crape myrtle trees are blooming - they stay. Will probably stay with Texas plants but can't get Japanese ceder/Cryptomeria outta my head.





Begin new 5 day workout regime for mass on Monday. Should get to bed early.

Rest up; tomorrow we go to war.

[LifeofRiley]

Started hydroxycut today. Has really helped with my energy levels this morning and after lunch. My only concerns is taking it in the eveneing and being sure I can get the rest i need to recover and grow.

Tonight I begin the Ryan Hughes workout for mass. I'll hit probably hit biceps and traps since it was only Sat. that I did chest and shoulders.

I like the scene in 'Crazy Stupid Love' when Emma Stone tells Ryan Gosling he looks like he was photoshopped. I'd be okay with that.

[LifeofRiley]

Tonight I felt anxious. I think it’s because I had to cancel so many plans I had for tomorrow (day off) to go in and help Bryan (boss) set up for graduation because everybody else bailed on him. I think the Hydroxycut might have made me agitated, too. I read that can happen. I almost didn’t go to the gym tonight because of it. But I knew I’d feel worse if I missed this first workout because it wouldn’t set a good tone for this new regime.

Monday’s Workout
12 minutes full speed on Elliptical
Barbell Bench Press: 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps
Dumbbell Flies: 4 sets of 10, 10, 8, 6 reps
Machine Bench Press: 3 sets of 15, 12, 8 reps


My chest and left triceps muscles keep twitching. I think I had a good workout, but it was frustrating tonight because I knew I could have moved more weight and my chest had more reps in them but my triceps kept giving out – particularly my left arm. Until I develop greater arm strength I probably won’t see much development in my chest. I’m really going to have to hit triceps day hard.
I’m also going to have to be bolder about asking strangers at the gym to spot me.

[UnaChispita]

Wow.

You look great!! Good work!!

[LifeofRiley]

I’ve decided I’m making a switch in programs. Nothing felt right about the Ryan Hughes workout; 2 vague, 2 many reps.

I’m going to transition to JIM STOPPANI’S 12-WEEK Short-cut to size followed by the SAIS Mass-Building Routine. This just feel s right. Since today’s Wednesday I’ll do triceps and shoulders w/ some squats exercises tonight and Friday I’ll do Chest and biceps w/ squats.
Then on Monday I’ll begin Stopanni’s workout. It features more dumbbell sets. Although the sets start out w/ higher rep counts it slides into more intense sets of 6 set by the second phase. By then I will have completely outgrown the gym at work and will move my workouts over to Planet Fitness exclusively.
12 weeks and by then my body will have figured out the score. I like the science behind the SAIS plan. But like any work-out put forward by an organization that sells supplements or a lifter with an endorsement deal with say Muscle Tech, you have to figure there’s about a 25-50% bull$h!t factor in anything they say or print.

The SAIS endorses something called “Vitargo?” [sic] that grows only and Sweden and , “now for the time Vitargo? [sic] has become available in the US…”

I was reading Muscle and Fitness for years before I realized that every article wasn’t really an article but just a lead in to a sales pitch for Cell Tech. It wasn’t that information was (completely)bogus. But they set it up read as though the only solution to your problem was forking over $40-$60 for product X and Y. The chemical formula for Evian bottled water (H2O) is the same as tap water (H2O); ones just cheaper.

On that note I bought a container of Muscle Tech last night.

[LifeofRiley]

I am phuking spent. How am I even typing this?
Rope skipping

5 minutes elliptical

Dumbbell press: 12, 8, 6, 6

Dumbbell fly: 15, 12, 12

Dumbbell incline: 10, 8, 6, 6

Dumbbell Rows: 10, 8, Drop set

[LifeofRiley]

Hydroxycut might be working. I seem a little slimmer. I bought it, I use it, but I figured it was just an overpriced caffine pill. I just assume anything advertised as a "fat burner" was full of sh it.



Gonna do sum research; see what I need to do to make it work 4 me.

[LifeofRiley]

Hydroxycut answers.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1036071713

[LifeofRiley]

Confession time. I’m a bit of jacka$$.And I need to make up my mind. I wanted to put on mass/increase my build. This apparently is called “a bulk”. And during a bulk you put on weight in the form muscle but also fat. Then you have “a cut” where you lose your bulk doing cardio to see the muscle you already had in the first place. No wonder this $h!t takes years. I just finished being fat. I'm genuinely confused.

My college Antaomy Prof, Dr. Vance always said, "Anatomy is only 51%." We al have the same body parts, but everybody is as different on the inside as on the outside. That's why if you ask ten people you get ten answers and they all swear they're right and the other guy's.


I’m getting carried away with the size thing. I just wanted to have a Daniel Craig build. Then I get in the weight room and suddenly it’s, “No, I gotta get bigger.” Frankly it reeks of insecurity. It’s a given that a certain percentage of the fitness community is driven by a need to validate their worth through building a certain physique. But they can be never ripped enough or sexy enough and I can already see this starting to take root in me.

When did I get so insecure?

Oh yeah, I remember. My wife died six years ago and I’m considering dating again and I’m semi scared $hitless. This is so gay. I'm a grown man.

Today’s work out.

Pull downs: 4 sets 6 reps 200 lbs
Barbell preacher curl: 3 sets 40 lbs each
Barbell hammer curls: 1 set 20 reps 25 lbs each
Squats: 3 sets 40 reps

[LifeofRiley]

Much deserved day of.
I also had a chance to think about what my goals are and I’m making a bit of a paradigm shift. I, like a lot of people, have been wanting instant results. That’s retarded. And anyone who says others wise is retarded or has a private agenda or both.
I’ve decided to take a look at things from the long term. I’m going to focus on pouring a solid foundation on which to build. Solid, foundational exercises. No gimmick work outs. The wise man built hi8s house upon the rock.

[LifeofRiley]

The best gif thread evah.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...0273773&page=7

[LifeofRiley]

Saturday I had a shoulder workout.

Standing dumbbell military press: 3 sets of 8
Dumbbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 12
Dumbbell Flies: 3 sets of 12, drop set on last set
Incline pushup: 2 sets till exhaustion

Sunday I went out to the house. The new wood floors for the living room and kitchen are in. They look great.

I also was able to get a wide grip bench w/ leg extension and leg curl sections and a squat rack, 10 weight adjustable dumbbells and a rack, an E-Z curl bar and in the neighborhood of 500 pounds in plates. They’re in the garage now. I am pleased.

[LifeofRiley]

The 12-week program I am beginning today is based on tested and documented method for gaining strength and muscle. This particular format was set up by BB.com contributer by Jim Stoppani.

This program is founded on the training concept called “periodization”. Periodization is the system of changing up your training at specific time points.

In week one my rep range will be 12-15 reps. In week two I knock up all the weights and drop my reps down to 9-11.

Week three adds weight again to each exercise to decrease the rep range down to 6-8. And in week four I bounce the weight up once more and lower reps down to 3-5 per set. Those are the four micro-cycles that I’ll be repeating.


Phase 1: Week 1

Workout 1: Chest, Triceps, Calves

Exercise Sets x Reps
Bench Press 4 x 12-15
Incline Bench Press 3 x 12-15
Incline Dumbbell Flye 3 x 12-15
Cable Crossover 3 x 12-15

Triceps Pressdown 3 x 12-15
Lying Triceps Extension 3 x 12-15
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension 3 x 12-15
Standing Calf Raise 4 x 25-30
Seated Calf Raise 4 x 25-30
*Rest-pause set as last set of each exercise
Workout 2: Back, Bicep and Abs
Exercise Sets x Reps
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row 4 x 12-15
Wide-Grip Pulldown 3 x 12-15
Standing Pulldown 3 x 12-15
Straight Arm Pulldown 3 x 12-15
Barbell curl 4 x 12-15
Dumbbell Incline Curl 3 x 12-15
One-Arm High Cable Curl 3 x 12-15
Hip Thrust 3 x 20-30*
Crunch 3 x 20-30*
Oblique Crunch 3 x 20-30*

* Shoot for at least 20-30 reps, but if you can do more, continue until reaching failure. If you cannot complete20 reps, do as many as you can, trying to get as close to 20 reps as possible.

Workout 3: Shoulders, Traps, Calves

Exercise Sets x Reps
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 4 x 12-15
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 x 12-15
One-Arm Cable Front Raise 3 x 12-15
High Cable Rear Delt Fly 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Shrug 4 x 12-15
Seated Calf Raise 4 x 25-30
Leg Press Calf Raise 4 x 25-30

Workout 4: Legs and Abs

Exercise Sets x Reps
Squat 4 x 12-15
One-Leg Leg Press 3 x 12-15
Leg Extension 3 x 12-15
Romanian Deadlift 4 x 12-15
Lying Leg Curl 3 x 12-15
Hip Thrust 3 x 20-30*
Crunch 3 x 20-30*
Plank 3 x 1 minute
* Shoot for at least 20-30 reps, but if you can do more, continue until reaching failure. If you cannot complete 20 reps, do as many as you can trying to get as close to 20 reps as possible.

[LifeofRiley]

Got days 2 and 3 mixed up.

I'll take care of shoulders an calves and abs 2 night.

Mondays work out left me soar until wednesday.

Good things though.