head2 raising his power level with phosphamuscle

[head2]

Hey all! This is the start of my log for phosphamuscle. I would like to first thank Muscle Tech for their generosity and the opportunity to Beta test this product. I have received 2 bottles of phosphamuscle (two 28day supplies) and also received a tub of the new micellar whey, which they will be launching, to Beta test as well. Don't have the review up yet, but will tell you now that the chocolate is pretty dang good. Basically it’s a pretty sweet hookup!







For those that don’t know, phosphamuscle is a PA (phosphatidic acid) product. PA is an anabolic ingredient, which means more GAINS. This will be the 3rd different PA product I have tried as I have also used Cutler King and fearn lecithin granules in the past. During my use of those products I have played around a lot with dosing, 4TBS of Fearn lecithin granules only, 2TBS Fearn and 1 serving King, 2TBS Fearn and 1.5 serving King, 1.5 serving King, etc…. The point is, I have some previous experience with PA and am excited to see how phosphamuscle compares. The product label for phosphamuscle has not yet been released, so I don’t know if there are any other ingredients besides phosphamuscle. This should be made available shortly though

Ok, now for how my training is going to look. My main goal now is to gain strength, and I am currently running the Texas Method. Monday is a 5x5 day volume, Wednesday is an active recovery type day, and Friday is an intensity day where I will be looking to set a new 5RM. The volume, recover, and intensity day may not necessarily fall on those exact days, but that is what it looks like right now. Additionally, I play basketball on Friday afternoons after classes, and also usually do a Saturday workout which will serve as a technique practicing day for my cleans and snatches, and also includes some weighted carries and some pump work. Another thing that I have given some thought, but have not incorporated into my training to this point, is “double stimulation training” which is a method that Christian Thibbedeau spoke of on another site. If that becomes part of my training, you will be made aware.

Finally, I will be bulking in this log. I had originally thought that at this point in the year I would be doing a little mini-cut, but Ive actually ended up losing some weight while gaining strength. The weight loss is mostly due to having been lifting in addition to a lot of basketball because it is intramural season. Just won our Final 4 game yesterday and will be playing in the championship tomorrow, so the basketball will most likely only be happening 1 time a week during this log as opposed to 3 or 4. Probably a good thing honestly, because all that basketball made recovery a bit tricky


Stats: 6-1 214-215lbs (not completely sure right now cus weight has been all over the place due to next day water loss from basketball; weighed in as low as 211.2 one day. should have a better idea by Friday)
Also, here are my relevant maxes to the program I am doing. Not real sure what 1RM is on any of these lifts at the moment but I could use a 1RM calculator to get a general idea if necessary

Bench: 237.5 x5
Squat:340x5
Deadlift: 380x5 (all time 1RM is 425 but have not maxed in a while)
Cleans: 205x2
Snatch: 125x2
Push Press: 165x5


Thanks to all that decide to join in, and thanks again to MT! I will edit this post and get some pics in here of the hookup shortly, and may post a link to an excel sheet that has my whole program layed out so that you can get a look at how my progression should look. Will probably try to push those numbers a little higher each week to see if phosphamuschle can speed the progression a bit. Blasted with HW and exams at this moment, so please be patient. Also have a workout from last Friday (my first day taking phosphamuscle) and today which I will post..

[rdcopps]

Welcome to the PhosphaMuscle party!

Nice intro. How long have you been running the Texas Method? I ran Madcow Intermediate for about a year, with a couple of small breaks, and made some really solid gains. Looking forward to seeing you progress!

[head2]

Welcome to the PhosphaMuscle party!

Nice intro. How long have you been running the Texas Method? I ran Madcow Intermediate for about a year, with a couple of small breaks, and made some really solid gains. Looking forward to seeing you progress!

Thanks for the support! and This is actually just my second week doing the Texas Method but I did a linear progression type style of this method (3x5 each workout day), for about a month and half previous to this.

Basically what happened is that my progress kind of stagnated from about end of October to mid December and I got fed up with it. Had to accept that my programming sucked and was the reason I wasnt getting the results I wanted. So then I researched different programs, bought a couple books by Mark Rippetoe and read numerous articles by different writers. I wanted to focus on strength so that is why I chose the Texas Method. before I did that though I wanted to see if I could squeeze out any last "Quick and easier gains" from the linear progression and was able to run that with success for a short duration before I wasnt able to recover and make the workout to workout progressions consistently, which is why i recently switched to the Texas Method.

I will say that squats today at 300x5x5 moved easier and smoother than 295x5x5 did last week, so that is a good starting sign. That will be included in my workout update

[llahhsoj]

What's up man? Looking forward to following along and nice to see you in another one of our promos.

[head2]

What's up man? Looking forward to following along and nice to see you in another one of our promos.

Hey man, good to have you in here! And I'm excited to be doing this promo, especially now that I got my training going in the right direction again.


btw, pics of the stash have been uploaded in the opening post.

[emergency]

In on the this and looking forward to how our PA treats you and its great you will be able to compare to other past PA products.

[head2]

This was the first day using phosphamuscle, and it was for my intensity day. popped all 5 caps about 30-40 minutes preworkout and then did work. Just to note, rather than list all the warm up sets, Heres the workout

Friday: Intensity Day

Squat
340x5 rep PR

really happy with how my squat has progressed. At the start of the year, my all time PR was 340x1 and that was at more like 220lbs as opposed 214ish like I am now. Also, it was one of those that I had never been able to repeat. So 340x5 feels pretty good

Bench
240x3(rack) x2 (5 total)

--got a problem with sweaty palms today and the bar was slipping out of my hands. So ended up being a less than spectacular day on the bench. Gonna remember to bring chalk next time so I can get a good grip on the bar. Not sure If I would have been able to get 240x5 or not even with the better grip

Deadlift
380x5 (I believe this was a rep PR as well. 95% sure)

Cleans
135x2x4

&

Snatches
85x2x3

--nothing special here, just some technique work at the end of the workout


Thoughts
Overall a solid day, went in and hit my numbers for the day besides on the bench. I may reset my bench back like 10-15lbs to see if I can bust through next time i get to the 240 mark. My bench has always been the hardest for me to make consistent progress on.
nothing really to report on from phosphamuscle at this point. cant really make in jumping conclusion off one ue.

[rdcopps]

Sounds like a pretty solid day to me. 2 different rep PRs. I'll take that any day! Nice work!

[head2]

Monday: Volume Day

squats
315x1, 300x5x5

----315x1 was just the heaviest single of my warm ups. I like to do a heavier single on volume day of squats, just to kinda get the nervous system firing. The sets all felt really good and smooth on these. Even felt significantly better than 295x5x5 did last week. trying to keep my rest periods to 3-4 minutes right now, so that I can save longer rest periods for when I get to the bigger weights

Push Press
145x5x5

----hadnt done push press for a couple of weeks, and this was a bit more of a grind than I thought it would be. glad this program focuses on it, because I often neglect the push press in favor of the bench

Snatch
105x2x7

This was actually pretty difficult for the first few sets after coming right from push press. about the 4th set, the shoulders warmed upo to the motion a bit and I finished stronger than I started.

Thoughts
A solid way to start the week. Like I said, squats felt STRONG today. Btw, when i say 105x2x7 (where the weight lifted is out in front of the work done) , it means 105 pounds, for 2 REPS, of 7 SETS. Just wanted to clarify that, because I had to adjust to the fact that was different than saying 3x5 (no weight in front of the working sets done), while I was reading Mark Rippetoe's optimal programming book.

I also did a workout on this past Saturday, but it was just some real light snatches and cleans, again to practice the technique. after that I did some loaded 1 minute carries. carried a dumbell goblet squat style for 4 sets total. 70lb dumbell, 75lb, dumbbell, 80lb dumbell, then 85lb dumbell. loaded carries are definityl one of my favorite things to do. After that I shot some hoops for about 45 minutes

[emergency]

couple of nice PRs . check your inbox I replied to your PM

[head2]

Sounds like a pretty solid day to me. 2 different rep PRs. I'll take that any day! Nice work!

Thanks. deffinitly not to shabby of a day

couple of nice PRs . check your inbox I replied to your PM

Thanks, and will do

[head2]

so Ive got some bad news. I've already Pm'ed Emergency about it, but I had a little incident in my intramural basketball game Tuesday. A guy got his knee tangled in mine while I was in the air catching a pass on a fast break. He was running full speed the opposite way that I was catching and turning, so when I landed my knee was being pullied 2 different ways and it kinda buckled in. It was super swollen that night and all day yesterday but today it was significantly better as the swelling has gone down a ton and I have some decent range of motion in it. (yesterday I couldnt even walk). Was gonna get an MRI on it if I woke up today and it was as bad as yesterday but ended up saving my money since it was so much better today compared to yesterday. Ive got a lot of people praying for it so it'll be alright and I'm thinking its thankfully just a sprain. Not gonna lie, I was scared that I might have torn it when it first happened because of the pain that shot through it followed by an immediate loss of feeling in it. Scary stuff.

So for the time being Im gonna be resting and taking it easy and will resume my log when I can get back into the gym and start hitting the weights hard. Im thinking 2-3 weeks right now if it continues to keep getting better. That should give me time to rest it and bring it back kinda slowly. probbly start doing some body weight type squats as soon as Im able or some band work with it, then the next light workout would be some some dumbell goblet squats, then light barbell squats etc to progress it slowly and make sure its getting strong and healthy. This Friday is the start of my spring break and im just going home so ill be able to post up on the couch and rest it while I do HW and stuff, so thats nice.

Just wanted to let you guys know what was up. I had been considering taking a light week next week since I didnt know where I was gonna work out while at home for spring break, but this kinda of made the decision for me. lol. No worries though, I'm confident I'll make a speedy and complete recovery!

[emergency]

appreciate that update and good to hear it was not a s bad as first thought. until you are able to get back to training and logging please keep us posted either in here or via pm. All the best! Also try and get the micellar whey review asap!

[rdcopps]

Like E said, glad it wasn't as bad as you initially thought. Be careful when you do come back and don't try to do to much to soon.

[head2]

appreciate that update and good to hear it was not a s bad as first thought. until you are able to get back to training and logging please keep us posted either in here or via pm. All the best! Also try and get the micellar whey review asap!

That I can do. Should be able to get the micellar whey review sometime tonight actually.

Like E said, glad it wasn't as bad as you initially thought. Be careful when you do come back and don't try to do to much to soon.

Thanks my man, I appreciate your concern. swelling is down a bit today as well, so day by day its getting less swollen and I'm getting a little more range of motion in it. Just got to be patient with it.

[emergency]

That I can do. Should be able to get the micellar whey review sometime tonight actually.


Thanks my man, I appreciate your concern. swelling is down a bit today as well, so day by day its getting less swollen and I'm getting a little more range of motion in it. Just got to be patient with it.

looking forward to it.

[head2]

heres a link to the micellar whey review. awesome protein

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1347122591

[head2]

Hey guys, for the couple weeks that I'm recovering from my knee injury I was thinking I might try to do some light upper body lifts and really focus on "feeling" the muscle working. Mind-muscle connection type thing. I've never really felt my pecs doing a lot of the work in the bench, so I'm curious as to some things I could do to improve that. Anyone have any ideas they'd like to share?

Also my knee is continuing to improve. Can almost do a full squat but not quite down to parallel or below parallel. Gonna keep resting it and recovering

[emergency]

Hey guys, for the couple weeks that I'm recovering from my knee injury I was thinking I might try to do some light upper body lifts and really focus on "feeling" the muscle working. Mind-muscle connection type thing. I've never really felt my pecs doing a lot of the work in the bench, so I'm curious as to some things I could do to improve that. Anyone have any ideas they'd like to share?

Also my knee is continuing to improve. Can almost do a full squat but not quite down to parallel or below parallel. Gonna keep resting it and recovering

sounds like a solid plan. good to hear the recovery is still going well

[head2]

Quick Update

Hey guys. Wanted to let you guys know that although i am not 100% yet, I am getting real close. stifness in my knee is almost completely gone now and I have almost gotten complete flexibility back in it

I have been working on it a little each day to improve it, including doing some lunges and body weight squats in addtiion to stretches. As of right now the plan is to do some light squatting on Saturday. I think I should be able to handle 135 at least without any trouble. will assess where I'm at though. From there the strategy will just be to try to slowly work myself up to heavier weights.

Like I said, not 100%, but it shouldnt be to much longer before I am able to get back to continuing this log. Will try to post a video of my Saturday squats in here to give you an idea of where I'm at. thanks for your patience

[emergency]

thanks for the continued updates and great to hear you are almost 100%

[head2]

So I might have been a little overzealous thinking I would be squatting 135 on Saturduay. Realized real quick when I started squatting the bar for my warmup, that it jsut wasnt stable enough whenever I get to the bottom of my squat quite yet, to be adding much weight. most I did with squats was to put a 25lb plate on each side. gonna continue to monitor it and see what I can do though
Also tried out some light deadlifts, and those felt fine actually. will be deadlifting tomorrow to see how high I can go and still deadlift with ease. The only thing giving me trouble is once I get to the point of a parallel squat or just below. Needs to be more stable than it was Saturday to do any real weight. I'm getting there though. I did end up doing some lifting though. heres what I did

Saturday 3/21/15: Intensity Day

Bench
225x2,250x1,265x1,275x1 & 225x5

--> worked up to a heavy single before doing my set of 5 for the day. 275x1 was a bit of a grind. Not a bad day on the bench, expecially considering I wasn't really getting a good drive from my legs through my body for that initial explosion off the chest.

seated military press (with fat bar)
95x5,95x5,95x5

farmers walk : 1minute walks
goblet style DB carry = 60lb, 60lb, 65lb

DB in each hand = 45lb, 50lb

fat bar bench
135x8,135x8,135x8

---> probably was a little more than 135, but I dont know what the fat bar in my gym weighs exactly. Not that important, because I am just doing these to try to get some practice engaging my triceps more

thoughts
mostly just upper body work in here. due to the current situation. Would prefer to be doing some more lower body but it is what it is. Just got to make the most of the situation and take this time to build up some of my weaker upper body areas. Planning on running a linear progression with my seated military curl, so basicaly aiming to do a little more at 5x3 for each workout until I can get back to squatting, deadlifting and power cleanin/snatching. I think it should translate well to my push press. Also using the fat bar for this to make it a little more difficult for me, and just to make it a little different than what I am used to.

[emergency]

good to see you back in here doing work

[head2]

good to see you back in here doing work

yeah trying to what I can. Gonna be real happy when I can carry on as usual. this knee injury has made me realize how many little things I take for granted like just beig able to go up and down stairs with ease

[llahhsoj]

Quick Update

Hey guys. Wanted to let you guys know that although i am not 100% yet, I am getting real close. stifness in my knee is almost completely gone now and I have almost gotten complete flexibility back in it

I have been working on it a little each day to improve it, including doing some lunges and body weight squats in addtiion to stretches. As of right now the plan is to do some light squatting on Saturday. I think I should be able to handle 135 at least without any trouble. will assess where I'm at though. From there the strategy will just be to try to slowly work myself up to heavier weights.

Like I said, not 100%, but it shouldnt be to much longer before I am able to get back to continuing this log. Will try to post a video of my Saturday squats in here to give you an idea of where I'm at. thanks for your patience

Happy to hear the knee is feeling a little better man!

[head2]

Happy to hear the knee is feeling a little better man!

Thanks for the support! Shouldn't be to long now. I've just got to be patient with it and not overwork it to soon.

[llahhsoj]

Thanks for the support! Shouldn't be to long now. I've just got to be patient with it and not overwork it to soon.

Sometimes patience is pretty hard. As for the Texas Method, I really haven't experienced much with that. I'm generally not a big programming guy.

[head2]

Sometimes patience is pretty hard. As for the Texas Method, I really haven't experienced much with that. I'm generally not a big programming guy.

I don't usually follow programs to much either but I feel like its good for me to have that structure when I'm at school to make sure I don't get off track. Its just one less thing to think about and its kinda nice to go into the gym and know what numbers Im aiming to hit for that day.

[head2]

Monday 3/23/15: Volume Day

Bench
197x5x5
--> Hit my reps for the day. First 2 sets were probably the most difficult to be honest. Kinda warmed me up for the other sets I guess . shoulders were kinda sore, might have been from doing the military press with the fat bar for the first time on Saturday.

farmers walk : 1minute walks
DB in each hand = 47.5lb, 50lb, 55lb

seated military press (with fat bar)
100x5,100x5,100x5
--> up 5lbs from the last workout like I wanted to. So far so good

thoughts
Went in and hit my numbers for the day, so a pretty good day. Though about trying to squat some light weight again today but decided to be patient and wait till tomorrow or Wednesday before I do that. Knee actually felt good pretty darn good today. However, my hamstring cramped up like all day today, not sure what was up with that. Maybe it just wasn’t used to having any pressure put on it after like 2 weeks of taking it easy and just being propped up and iced.lol. Idk it was just weird that the day my knee felt the best, and wasn’t really causing me any trouble, my hammy decided to get tight and cramp up throughout the day. Should just be a one time thing though.

BTW, in case there is any confusion, I am not currently taking phosphamuscle while I’m just doing this upper body stuff and giving my knee some rest. I’m trying to wait till my knee is good to start squatting and deadlifting again so that I can make this the best log it can be. I will make it very clear when I start up on phosphamuscle (put it in the title of the post or bold it or something).


EDIT: what i thought might have been cramps was actually a "balling up" in my hamstring and calf of a lot of knots. rolled it out myself for about 35 minutes before having my girlfriend try to massage it out and roll it with a golf ball to get out all the knots.......never been in so much pain in my life. I could hear knots popping like crazy. It had to of just been one of those things that pops up from underuse. may take an epsom salt bath and lay in the tub or something later today.lol

[head2]

Hey guys, just an update. I have still been working out. Been really focusing on trying to do everything I can to promote recovery of my knee (stretching, icing, heating, epsom salt, etc). Started doing box squats at the end of last week as well and have been progressively been adding weight. today I did 225x5x3 so we are starting to make progress.

other than that, almost going down stairs completeley normal now and getting around really isnt an issue for me anymore. every now and then my hammy will get tight for some reason (probably need to roll out a knot or something) but other than that things are going well. gonna try to take the box away for squats by the end of the week and get back into normal squatting. The reason I have been using the box is that initially it there was pain if I went down had to stop and then go back up. Being able to sit onto the box alleviated the issue of the pain whenever I had to stop the weight. So I figured doing that would be significantly better than doing nothing for legs at all. Also my knee kept feeling better each and every day after I would box squat.

if not at the beginning of this next week I will start taking phosphamuscle again the next week (April 13th). Thank you for the patience, especially from E and the MT reps, and I will also get some of my workouts Ive done recently up here tomorrow night or thursday