The Real Deals journey: From Nerd to Meathead

[The Real Deal]

Background:
Well to start off im not really much of a geek anymore (hopefully ). I started lifting spring semester of my sophmore year in college, which was about 2 years ago. i lucked out with a new roommate who was into weight lifting and thats when my obsession began. after the first year of learning the basics, i plateaued for a bit, and did an awful cut (wasnt very knowledgable). i found this site last summer and since then i've been making great progress. only recently have i begun to get into the diet aspects and now im well into my 2nd cut after a somewat sloppy bulk.

I began at 140 and was a skinny fat kid. i dont have before pics so we can only imagine. currently i'm at 170 at ~14% (cut began at ~181). i hadnt gone to the gym consistenly in 3 weeks due to school work and spring break.

i posted recent pics in the Aqua addicts thread in the exercise forum.
http://www.forum.bodybuilding.com/sh...ostcount=11856

i'll post a pic of my recent evolution of my back double bi. oh yah forgot to write, in 3/16 pic i was ~171. in 12/19 pic i was 178.

Split: Back/tri
Leg/Shoulders
Chest/Bi
Done at 3 day 1 off, 2 day 1 off fashion due to school scheduling. i'll admit its not very balanced in terms of upper body and lower body work, possibly further emphasizing my lagging legs. (some of u are prolly poking holes in it right now, but because i dont press much due to an old RC injury, it works out well)

First workout, 3/23/06 Back and Tri

Close grip hammer chins BW x 10, BW + 35lb x 6, BW + 45lb x 6 x 4
Atrainer Lat shrugs 10 x 10, 14 x 10, 18 x 8 x 3
Yates Row 135lb x 8, 185 x 8 x 3
Closegrip Bench Press 115lb x 8, 135lb x 6 x 2, 135lb x 8
Overhead 2-handed DB extensions 65lb x 8, 80lb x 8, 80lb x 6 x 2
V-bar Pushdowns 9 x 8, 10 x 8 x 2
Cable lateral raises 1 x 10 x 2, 1.5 x 10 x 2

Took approximately 70 minutes to complete.
i throw in lateral raises at end of workout since its the only way i can get my delts to grow. i did variation of military presses for about 1.5 years and my shoulders barely grew at all.
overall strength was down due to layoff but not by much. workout pump was awesome tho, and i didnt seem to lose too much (kept diet same throughout break) muscle mass. helpfully tomorrow i can push my legs, for some reason something i just hate training. maybe the motivation of posting my logs will help push me.

Supps: ON whey, dextrose, flaxseed oil, and multi. however i left my multi at home so i wont be with it for 3 weeks.

[aqua-beowulf]

Damn bro, you need to tell people when you start a journal...

[The Real Deal]

Originally Posted by aqua-beowulf

Damn bro, you need to tell people when you start a journal...

lol, well i did make one post in the addict thread, but i think ppl jsut ignored it

[SM373]

I saw it. Good luck, I'll be following your journal also.

[NecroSavanT]

*Subscribed*

[Hola Bola]

*Subscribed*

I still like my title suggestion better.

[The Real Deal]

lol thanks guys.

3/24 Legs and Shoulders

Front Squat ATG - 45lb x 10, 115lb x 8, 135lb x 8, 155lb x 7, 165lb x 6 x 2
Back Squat ATG - 135lb x 8, 155lb x 7 x 2
Leg extensions - 6 x 10, 7 x 10, 8 x 8
Standing Calf raises - 8 x 12, 9 x 12, 10 x 10
Facepulls - 4 x 10, 6 x 10, 8 x 10 x 3
One arm DB lateral raises - 20 x 10, 22.5 x 10, 25 x 10

My strength was down as expected. hopefully i can get things back to where they were. back squats were awkward since i hadnt done them in a while. i tried lunges afterwards but i was falling over from fatigue even with just BW. i had to cut my shoulder workout a bit short as gym began to get crowded and i couldnt get the powerrack for shrugs.

[The Real Deal]

since it was my first time back in a week, my lats and triceps were nicely sore. the area i usually feel the yates rows nail, are the areas most sore. everytime i finish a set of yates rows my back and traps feel swole. and of course that nice bonus pump in the biceps.

[ShreddedShruggin]

*subscribed*

-Shruggin

[The Real Deal]

Originally Posted by Still_Shruggin

*subscribed*

-Shruggin

thats all u have to say!?!?

[ShreddedShruggin]

I'm a man of few words.

-Shruggin

[The Real Deal]

after a 2 day layoff, it was back to the gym for Chest and biceps.

Incline DB press: 50lb x 8, 65lb x 8, 65lb x 8, 70lb x 6, 75lb x 5
Decline Hammerstrength Machine: 45lb x 7, 90lb x 8, 115lb x 8, 135lb x 5, 115lb x 8
Incline Flies: 30lb x 8, 35lb x 8, 40lb x 8, 40lb x 7
Closegrip Chins: BW x 8, 25lb x 8, 45lb x 5, 45lb x 5, 45lb x 4, 45lb x 5, 45lb x 4
Outside grip Preacher curls: 55 x 8, 75 x 7, 75 x 6, 75 x 5
Cable Lateral Raises: 1 x 10, 1.5 x 10, 1.5 x 10

Overall it was a good workout. i felt my shoulder impingment again as i was finishing up the incline presses, so i dont think i can do them every week. might alternate with the incline hammerstrength machine. the chins made me upset since i couldnt reach the 5th rep on some of the sets. i was totally outta energy too. i usually have 2 apples in my preworkout meal but only had 1 this time. as im typing this almost 55 minutes after my workout, my biceps are still pumped and so are my shoulders. im still pattingmyself on the back for the lateral raises after every workout idea. my delts are looking better and better.
and two of my gym buddies are half teasing me about my physique. i already know im at least better than one of them...but imma step it up and try to blow them away by Easter. waist is getting smaller, i can tell since the dip belt is looser. anyway tomorrow is back again, my favorite day. should be fun.

[Hola Bola]

2 days off??? Were you sick?

You know... you might want to switch up your routine a little bit... doing back the day after chest/biceps isn't a great idea, IMO.

[The Real Deal]

yah it wasnt supposed to end up like that but that 2 days off kinda ruined things. anyhow its not set in stone. if i dont feel any DOMS i'll just go for it.

[aqua-beowulf]

Nice workout man... I'm glad things are starting to go your way.

[jked4life]

* Subscribed *

Nice journal so far. Looks pretty solid to me.

[ShreddedShruggin]

Ahh, the incline flies. You must be feeling hell in your chest as you read this right now

-Shruggin

[The Real Deal]

3/28 Back/Tri Day
Closegrip Hammer Chins:
BW x 8, 45lb x 5, 55lb x 5, 65lb x 5, 70lb x 3

Atrainer Lat Shrugs:
10 x 10, 14 x 10, 18 x 8 x 3

Yates Rows:
135lb x 10, 185lb x 8 x 2

Two Handed Overhead DB extensions:
65lb x 8, 80lb x 8, 85lb x 8, 90lb x 6, 95lb x 3

Incline EZ Bar Overhead extensions:
55lb x 8, 65lb x 8 x 2

V-Bar Pushdowns:
8 x 10, 9 x 8, 10 x 8

Cable Laterals:
1.5 x 10 x 2

Not too bad of a workout. I felt a bit of DOMS in my biceps but i decided to go with back anyway. It mite have affected my Yates Rows a bit but whatever. I tried to be Hola Bola with the 70lbs but couldnt get that many reps out. anyhow i dont mind, never put up 70lbs anyway. I was aiming for 4 reps on the 95lb overhead extensions but when it came down to it, I knew I couldnt get the 4th rep back up so i stopped at 3. Tomorrow is off day and then Legs thursday. I still have some DOMS in my quads.

[W8isGR8]

Originally Posted by The Real Deal

Two Handed Overhead DB extensions:

Incline EZ Bar Overhead extensions

That seems redundant

[The Real Deal]

my RC injury really prevents me from doing much for triceps. both CSBP and reverse grip hurt my RCs. Dips kill my shoulders. So its down to skulls and overheads with pushdowns. skulls sometimes hurt but not all the time.
I'll prolly drop the ez bar extensions and go more sets on overhead and pushdowns.
also i dont press much due to the RC injury, so my triceps dont get hit much.

i'll try to get it my split back on track the way it should be. i know i must look so newbie

[The Real Deal]

The heats killing me, but my workout was fine. my thursday leg workout was so pathetic, im not going to post it. it got me pretty depressed but watever.

Chest and biceps
Incline DB Press:
50 x 8, 65 x 8, 70 x 6, 75 x 4, 60 x 8

Decline Hammerstrength:
45 x 8, 90 x 8, 115 x 8, 135 x 6, 115 x 8

Incline DB flies:
35 x 10, 40 x 6, 40 x 7, 35 x 8

Closegrip Chins:
BW x 7, 45 x 5, 50 x 5, 55 x 5, 60 x 5

DB Hammer curls:
22.5 x 8, 30 x 8, 30 x 8

Incline DB curls:
30 x 6

Workout wasnt terrible, but i was dying from the heat. and my RC was acting up again. im gonna have to stop pressing again, and go back to the machines. the closegrip chins, i just said fuk it and i decided to pyramid 5 x 5 and i got 60lbs off. it wasnt easy but it was satisfying. the newbs stole all the lower weight dbs to do their flat presses so i had to use 30s and it was a bit too much. anyway i need the AC at my gym. i cant take much more of this.

[ShreddedShruggin]

Nice workout man. Glad to see someone besides myself going under 40 oncurls, lol.

-Shruggin

[R.O.D.]

-Subscribed-

Keep up the good work buddy.

[The Real Deal]

thanks guys.

Todays workout was just "Cardio" + lagging parts
4/1/06
Clean And Presses:
95 x 5, 115 x 4, 125 x 3, 135 x 1, 155 failed, 95 x 5

DB Lateral Raises:
22.5 x 10, 25 x 10 x 2

Seated Calf Raises:
45lb x 10 x 3

Seated Ab Machine:
8 x 10, 10 x 10, 12 x 8

just a light workout, mainly trying to burn some cals and catch up on some bodyparts.

[Hola Bola]

Originally Posted by The Real Deal

thanks guys.

Todays workout was just "Cardio" + lagging parts
4/1/06
Clean And Presses:
95 x 5, 115 x 4, 125 x 3, 135 x 1, 155 failed, 95 x 5

DB Lateral Raises:
22.5 x 10, 25 x 10 x 2

Seated Calf Raises:
45lb x 10 x 3

Seated Ab Machine:
8 x 10, 10 x 10, 12 x 8

just a light workout, mainly trying to burn some cals and catch up on some bodyparts.

Nice workout. How was the heat in the gym today?

[The Real Deal]

Originally Posted by Hola Bola

Nice workout. How was the heat in the gym today?

i was dying lol.

[The Real Deal]

4/3 Back/Tri Day

Yates Rows:
135lb x 8, 185lb x 8 x 2, 205lb x 8, 225lb x 5

Lat Shrugs:
10 x 10, 14 x 8, 18 x 8 x 3

Closegrip Hammer Chins:
BW x 8, 45lb x 5, 55lb x 5, 60lb x 5, 65lb x 5, 70lb x 3 (another 2 inches upward and it coulda been 4)

2 Handed Overhead DB Extensions:
70lb x 8, 80lb x 8 x 2, 85lb x 6, 90lb x 6 PR!!!

V-bar Pulldowns:
8.5 x 10, 9.5 x 10, 10 x 8 x 2

Cable Side Laterals:
1.5 x 10 x 3

Good workout considering i had no carbs in me the whole day besides like nuts lol. afterwards in the lockerroom i thought i was looking a bit more cut. abs were looking good in the right lighting of course. seriously tho, Lat/Delt/Tri pump looks deadly. the closegrip chins i thought i had the 4th rep but i jsut ran outta gas. kinda disappointed but wat can you do. yates rows felt a little awkward on my shoulders. i mite switch it out for another row next workout.

[Hola Bola]

Originally Posted by The Real Deal

Good workout considering i had no carbs in me the whole day besides like nuts lol

ARE YOU INSANE?!?!?!

Hahaha, nice workout though. You'll be using the 150 on overhead tri extensions before you know it.

[ShreddedShruggin]

No carbs? wtf.....

Nuts have like 6g carbs per serving.

Nice session, great weight on those extensions man.

-Shruggin

[jked4life]

Originally Posted by The Real Deal

4/3 Back/Tri Day

Yates Rows:
135lb x 8, 185lb x 8 x 2, 205lb x 8, 225lb x 5

Lat Shrugs:
10 x 10, 14 x 8, 18 x 8 x 3

Closegrip Hammer Chins:
BW x 8, 45lb x 5, 55lb x 5, 60lb x 5, 65lb x 5, 70lb x 3 (another 2 inches upward and it coulda been 4)

2 Handed Overhead DB Extensions:
70lb x 8, 80lb x 8 x 2, 85lb x 6, 90lb x 6 PR!!!

V-bar Pulldowns:
8.5 x 10, 9.5 x 10, 10 x 8 x 2

Cable Side Laterals:
1.5 x 10 x 3

Good workout considering i had no carbs in me the whole day besides like nuts lol. afterwards in the lockerroom i thought i was looking a bit more cut. abs were looking good in the right lighting of course. seriously tho, Lat/Delt/Tri pump looks deadly. the closegrip chins i thought i had the 4th rep but i jsut ran outta gas. kinda disappointed but wat can you do. yates rows felt a little awkward on my shoulders. i mite switch it out for another row next workout.

I take it you started your timed carb diet? I hope you got your fill of carbs after your lift though Keep in mind, you will look progressively more ripped as the week goes on, due to lost water weight. You will start to look flat by the end of the week. Whenever you carb up, you'll still look ripped, but your muscles fill with water and you look ripped and bigger! I tried to take pics the morning after my carb up day, but my camera had no charged batteries!!!!! I was so pissed . And I was making fun of Aqua for that too