Biff McFresh's Journal

[Biff_McFresh]

Okay, so I finally decided to give this a shot. Keeping detailed data about my progress in the gym and training.

Some backround information first:

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 196
Age: 20
BF %: Estimating around 11.5 %, plan on getting calipers soon though.

I'm currently in the ending stages of a cutting phase. At my current pace, I suspect I'll be done in less than a month. I really just wanted to get a decent 6 pack before my clean bulk starts. My strength isn't very impressive at the moment as I've been basically cutting for a long long time now. Never actually did a formal bulk as I used to think one could always gain muscle and lose fat at the same time efficiently.

I used to be around 6'3" and 225-230 when I was around 17. Not quite my heaviest, BF % wise, but that's the last weight I recall. And since then I've been watching what I eat more and doing much more cardio. I got down to about 180 (6'4") at one point, and that's when I started to lift. I started off with some free weights that I had at home, basically not knowing what the hell I was doing. I obviously didn't quite know what I was doing then, and I'm still learning the ropes in many regards to this day.

But I'd say I've been really focused and educated in proper nutrition and lifting for maybe only 6 months at most, and my results since then have shown. I've managed to pack on some newbie muscle as I cut fat slowly. Currently, my muscle gains have been minimal at best, which is to be expected when cutting.

Nutrition Wise: I'm not gonna really get too detailed about what I eat here in my journal. I do eat super clean though. My knowledge of nutrition is vastly superior to my actually knowledge of training and lifting, so I'm pretty set in this field.

Supplements:

ON Whey Powder
Creatine Monohydrate (started taking early this month, might try CEE after my current supply runs out)
Multivitamin
Green Tea Extract
Fish Oil



Cutting taking in around 2600-2800 calories a day on my cut.

Training and lifting wise: I'm still very much learning the ropes and figuring out proper form, terminology, a good split, etc...

Current 4 day split:

Day 1: Biceps/Back/Traps
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Triceps/Chest/Delts
Day 4: Abs

I don't have any set rest days, I just incorporate them as I see fit and depending on schedule, usually 2 rest days a week from the gym.

I also do sprints on some local trails in the mountains about 2 times a week on average.

I play tons of basketball throughout the week as well. No set schedule for this really, but I do my best to keep cardio and lifting far apart from each other timewise.

So with this journal I'm hoping to gauge my results better, motivate myself more, and perhaps receive any constructive criticism of any kind (especially in regards to my lifting). I'm all ears and would be grateful to receive any kind of advice =).

So here goes...

(day 1 to be updated later tonight)

[Biff_McFresh]

Starting workout- 1:18 PM

Notes: First time I really dedicated my entire workout to lifting till failure, which is something I'd only do sometimes in the past. I liked it a lot more, from now on, to failure it is. Which means I'll need to make some adjustments as I generally shoot for the 7-11 rep range.

Another note: had to pee badly halfway through my workout, and the men's bathroom at the gym was getting remodeled (grrrr), which lead me to cut my workout short, because my bladder was calling.

---Biceps/Back/Traps Day---

Curl machine: 60x12, 65x11, 67.5x9, 67.5x9, 70x7

Iso lateral front lat pulldown: 110x16, 130x12, 130x11, 140x9, 140x10, 150x7

Curl bar: 55x12,60x9,65x6

Iso lateral rowing: 100x22, 120x14, 140x11, 150x12, 160x8

Seated shrug (cut this one short, need new gloves, it's doing a number on my hands): 140x16, 140x18, 160x15

2:10 end time (cut short like mentioned above). Sped home to enjoy a good pee =)

Softball game:7:30-8:50, involved very little cardio, but I guess it's worth noting.

Consumed 2800 calories.

[Biff_McFresh]

Lovely friday, looking forward to the weekend.

Anyways, today was:

---Abs/Obliques Day---

Start time= 1:22

Ab crunches on ball holding 15 lbs worth of weight:

30x15 (7 sets)

Oblique bends (terminology?) hold 25 lbs worth of weight:

30x25 (7 sets)

Leg lifts:

30 (7 sets)

End time= 2:10

My current ab routine I choose not to exactly work till failure, although i'm almost anyway. I like how this routine has been feeling/working for me.

Good workout.

Consumed 2700 calories.

[Biff_McFresh]

So today I played basketball:

Start time:11:35 am
End time: 1:40 pm

Aside from the intense heat taking it's toll, I felt good throughout. Our team ran the table at the pick up games, 4 games, 4 wins. Threw down some nice dunks to boot. Fun stuff =)

Calories consumed= 2600

[Biff_McFresh]

My "rest day" you could say:

Did some cardio in a way though, went clubbing, danced a lot. So that's worth noting.

Calories consumed= 2700

Abs are coming along nicely, as is everything else =)

[Biff_McFresh]

Cheat day, no more, no less. Involved lots of rum and snack items.

I've noticed I've gotten to the point where my body is so used to clean foods that I get insane gas/poops after a cheat day/meal. Good sign I suppose.

[ovidiu]

nice numbers! keep it up!

[Biff_McFresh]

nice numbers! keep it up!

Thank you! And hoping nothing but improvement in the future =)

[Biff_McFresh]

Wasn't able to make it to the gym yesterday, not too happy about it, but oh well.

Calories consumed= 2400

[Biff_McFresh]

Chest/Tris/Delts

Start time: 12:15

Triceps (Cable): 100x14, 110x11, 120x8, 120x6

Chest (Cables, weight for each arm): 60x14, 70x9

Iso Lateral Wide Chest: 120x16, 130x11, 150x7

Iso Lateral Shoulder Press: 70x12, 75x11, 80x8, 85x7

Iso Lateral Decline Press: 130x11, 140x6, 140x5

Seated Dip: 140x13, 150x11, 160x8

Chest machine(don't know the exact name, starts off at like 75% of complete wingspan, then meets in the middle): 200x10, 200x10 *maxed out on this machine*

End time: 1:12

I know most of my lifting is revolving around machines (Hammer Strength machines to be exact), but I'm working on form and trying to familiarize myself with more and more free weight exercises and incorporate them into my routine. Eventually I hope most of my lifting will be done with free weights.

And later on...

Start time: 6:25

Basketball

End time: 7:30

Calories consumed: 2600

[Crocop]

Hey good numbers man keep it up.
You got similar stats to me, good luck with your program.

[Biff_McFresh]

Hey good numbers man keep it up.
You got similar stats to me, good luck with your program.

Thanks man, and good luck to you as well.

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Legs~~~

Start time: 12:55

Angled leg press: 90x13, 90x13, 100x14, 100x11

Seated calf raises: 70x30, 80x30, 90x25, 90x19

Hip adductor (inner): 110x27, 120x22, 130x17

Hip adductor (outer): 120x27, 130x23, 140x20

Leg extension: 210x15, 225x13, 240x11

Hamtractor: 135x22, 150x15, 165x12

Butt Blaster (haha, butt,quad machine, one leg at a time): 35x17 (2), 40x15 (2). Did those back to back with no rest inbetween basically, nice burn to end the workout.

End time: 1:50

I know my leg routine needs a lot of work. Doing my homework trying to eventually put together a better routine. I'm not trying to gain much in the way of mass with my legs, as they are naturally thick as is, for my build. Mainly looking to increase strength (especially my vertical, for b-ball) and tone them up a bit more as well. Any advice on a leg routine geared towards my wishes? Any input much appreciated as always =)

Calories consumed: 2900 (damn peanut butter tasted too good, had a little extra)

Goodnight all. Looking forward to an eventful weekend.

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Back/Biceps/Traps~~~ (skipped traps, NEED gloves badly)

Start time 12:36pm

Curl bar: 55x14, 60x10, 70x5

One arm dumbell rows: R 45x14, L 45x14, R 50x12, L 50x11, R 55x9, L 55x8

Preacher Curls: 50x14, 55x9, 60x6

Iso Rows: closer grip 160x12, wider grip 180x10, closer grip 200x6, wider grip 200x7

Iso lat front pulldowns: 140x11, 150x7, 160x5

Dumbbell curls (one in each hand, alternating): R 30x6, L 30x6, R 30x4, L 30x4

End time: 1:36pm

Incorporated more free weights this time around, and felt like my workout was more effective because of it.

Still researching and educating myself on more free weight exercises and proper form.

Calories consumed: 2600

[Biff_McFresh]

Busy/fun weekend...finally time to update.


~~~Cardio~~~

Basketball
Start time: 11:45
End time: 1:15

Calories consumed= 2800

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Cardio/Abs~~~

Walked to the gym: 20 minutes

Start time- 2:42

Weighted crunches on ball: 15x34, 17.5x31, 20x27, 20x30, 15x30, 20x30

Weighted side bends: 25x30 (3 sets)

Hanging leg lifts: 30 (3 sets)

End time- 3:20

Walked home from gym: 25 minutes

*Also want to note that I danced A LOT at the club this night, good cardio =)

Calories consumed: 2700

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Rest day~~~

Some notes:

First day cycling off creatine (gotta go off for 5-7 days, then back on)

Tropical Punch gold standard whey 2lb tub arrived today, flavor not too bad. I mainly got it because I've switched to water from milk when taking my whey (helps with cutting) and there was a texture issue with vanilla and water. Tropical punch doesn't seem so odd in water as vanilla did.

2 lb dextrose bag also arrived, going to start spiking my insulin PWO with this lovely stuff.

Gonna get calipers within the next week or two probably, and gonna hopefully take some pics soon.

Calories consumed= 2400

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Cardio~~~

Played about 1.25 hours of basketball this afternoon. Hitting chest/tris/delts tomorrow. Hopefully picking up some gloves beforehand.

Calories consumed= 2600

[ovidiu]

great job!
maybe you should throw in a few more calories each day - i'm 140 pounds and calculated that i need around 2200 cals a day just to keep my bodyweight
also, for a good exercise database try http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

[Biff_McFresh]

great job!
maybe you should throw in a few more calories each day - i'm 140 pounds and calculated that i need around 2200 cals a day just to keep my bodyweight
also, for a good exercise database try http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Yeah, I've been thinking about going for the 2700-2900 range like I used to. But I'm trying to crush through this mini-pleteau that I've reached as I'm nearing my cutting goal (probably only cut for a month longer, tops, at this pace). So I'm thinking of trying to stick with the 2500-2700 day, with a weekly refeed. Thanks for the link, looks like there is tons of good info there.

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Chest/Tris/Delts~~~ *Refeed day*

Start time= 12:18pm

Dumbell shoulder press: 30x10, 30x7, 30x8 (first real attempt at this exercise, in it's freeweight form anyway)

Iso lat decline press: 130x14, 140x9, 150x5

Iso lat shoulder press: 75x14, 80x10, 85x9, 90x6

Iso lat wide chest: 140x12, 150x7, 150x8

Cable pushdowns: 110x8, 110x6, 120x7

Chest machine (resembles fly motion, with arms extended more): 200x10, 200x8, 200x10

End time= 1:15pm

Calories consumed= 3200 *Refeed*

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Legs~~~

Start time: 12:35pm

Plate loaded squat press: 180x20, 230x16, 270x15, 300x12

Calf raises: 70x30, 70x30, 70x40, 70x40

Angled leg press: 100x15, 100x20, 110x20

Hip Adductor (inner): 110x25, 120x24, 130x20

Hip Adductor (outer): 110x27, 120x25, 130x23

Leg extensions: 210x18, 225x13, 240x15

Butt/hammy machine thing (one leg at a time): 35x20, 40x20

End time: 1:35pm

Calories consumed: 3800 (was damn hungry through-out the night, not sure why, attacked the oats & PB). First time I snapped without intention in awhile, oh well, not a big deal, will make up for it =)

Looking forward to the weekend.

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Biceps/Back/Traps~~~

Start time= 12:20pm

Curl bar: 60x11, 60x9, 70x5, 70x5

One arm dumbell rows: R 50x14, L 50x15, R 60x10, L 60x10, R 70x7, L 70x6

Iso lat pulldown: 140x11, 150x10, 160x7

Iso lat rows: Close grip 160x10, Wide grip 160x10, CG 170x8, WG 170x8

Preacher curl machine: 60x10, 65x6, 70x5

Seated shrugs: 160x16, 170x14, 170x16

End time= 1:20pm

Calories consumed= 2700

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Cardio~~~

Played basketball for an hour.

Calories consumed= 2800

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Cardio~~~

HIIT on this mountain trail- 15 minutes worth

Danced quite a lot at a club.

Calories consumed= 2700

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Rest/Cheat/Realization day =)~~~

Cheated pretty nicely this day, intentionally, as from today on I will be uping my focus/dedication a notch or so to break this damn plateau and reach my cutting goal before bulking. I'm fighting a tough battle at this point, as I'm trying to cut this last 5-8 pounds of fat or so but I don't have much muscle on me yet. I'm just stubborn and wanna get my BF% decently low before I bulk.

Was pondering whether or not a mini clean bulk would be the better way to go at this point, to 'reset' my metabolism a bit, and add on maybe 5 pounds of muscle or so. Then after go back to cutting, acheive my cutting goal, and follow with a longer clean bulk. Or I could keep trucking and try to break this plateau, perhaps try a thermo/fat burner sup. to see if I get any results. Maybe carb cycle? Any advice appreciated here.

At any rate, I'm gonna stay on my current path at least till the end of this week. When my calipers arrive so I can get a better estimate on my body fat and plot my plan of attack from there.

Towards the middle of the day, I realized as clean as I do eat, I was not keeping track of portions close enough. Starting today, I'm gonna start measuring out (and soon weighing, when my scale arrives, so more precise numbers) basically everything I eat. Started a fitday profile that I will stick with.

Oh yeah, danced some more at a club =)


Fitday profile: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...Biff%5FMcFresh

[Crocop]

Keep up the hard work.
For breaking through that plateau your on, you could try supersets, doing more compound movements and cutting out the isolation work.
You should post your measurements so you can look back at a future date how you're progressing.

[Biff_McFresh]

Good advice, I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

I plan on posting measurements and BF measurement by the end of the week (calipers should arrive by then hopefully).

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Abs/Cardio~~~

Weighted crunches on ball: 15x31, 17.5x30, 20x31, 20x30, 17.5x30

Start time= 10:46pm

Hanging leg lifts: 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

HIIT on Elip. machine: 10 minutes

End time= 11:28pm

Planning getting rid of my abs only day, and just mixing it into my rountine, 2-3 times. Obviously not doing as many sets.

Calories consumed= 2695

298 g carbs (50 g fiber)
271 g protein
65g fat

[Biff_McFresh]

~~~Chest/Tris/Cardio~~~

Start time= 12:25pm

Cable pushdowns: 90x15, 110x11, 120x8, 130x6

Incline bench press (machine): 50x10, 50x9, 55x8

Iso lat shoulder press: 80x11, 85x9, 90x6, 90x7

Iso lat decline press: 140x10, 145x6, 150x6

Iso lat wide chest: 150x10, 160x6, 160x5

Seated dips: 160x10, 170x6

Chest fly-like (arms extended more though) machine: 200x10, 200x10

End time= 1:26pm

Calories consumed= 2828

266g Protein: 39%
318g Carbs (47g fiber): 40%
65g fat: 21%