"The pain you feel today is the STRENGTH you feel tomorrow." The time has come.

[mmferrar]

Hey everyone, I've been following several of the contest prep journals on here for some time now and I've finally decided to make one of my own so I can not only motivate myself even further but also to track the various aspects of my training such as my macronutrients and all progress I make throughout the year.

My name is Matt Ferraris and I currently attend Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina where I'm majoring in Exercise Science. I've been lifting on and off with my dad since I was in high school but it wasn't until 3 years ago that I started getting serious about it. My dad came home with a small package in his hand and when I asked him what it was he said, "I thought you would like this". It was Arnold's "Pumping Iron" DVD and ever since that day I've been addicted to every aspect of bodybuilding.

This past April I decided that I was going to start a 4 month bulk and as long as I gained enough quality mass I was going to start my first contest-prep and compete in my first ever competition in October. However, I ended up getting hired by a moving/construction company that was working on a large project so I was stuck working sometimes up to 50-60 hour weeks. No matter what I ate I just kept staying the same weight and it was clear that working hard and lifting hard were not going to agree with one another. I ended up finishing the "bulk" and after deciding that I wasn't ready to compete yet I took a few weeks off and allowed my body to return back to normal everyday eating/living.

Well now that I'm back in school and have a great deal of time to devote to lifting, I'm going to start an extremely focused bulking program that will hopefully allow me to gain 25 pounds over the next 4 months and get me back on track to compete by June/July. I currently weigh 145 pounds and I've never been above 157 in my entire life so this is going to be an uphill battle. The specific program I am going to use (at least for the first 8 weeks) is alternating simple power (4-6 reps) and rep-range training (12-15). Week 1- Power, Week 2- Rep-range, Week 3- Power, etc. My goal macronutrients are 100 g fat / 300 g carbs / 200 g protein.

I'm starting this program tomorrow and I'm not looking back. Any and all support is greatly appreciated.

[francilioo]

Dudee nicely said. Youl get it. I think besides diet and exercise, ambition is also a key factor that you and I posses.

[mmferrar]

“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it can*not be changed, then it must be accepted.”

I am NOT going to accept being small anymore and I am GOING to change. Today is Day 1 of my 16 week (4 month) mass journey and it just so happens that it is also my first day being home in Virginia while on Thanksgiving Break. I'll be training at Gold's Gym in Lorton, VA for the next week until I return to South Carolina so I'm definitely excited to start this thing in my hometown. Week 1 workouts are based primarily on power. Every night I'll post my macronutrients/short clips of the workout.

Week 1 - Day 1 - November 19, 2011 - Shoulder/Trap Workout (Power) ---Morning Weight: 146 pounds

Seated Shoulder Press => 4 Working Sets of 4-6 Reps
Barbell Shrugs => 4 Working Sets of 4-6 Reps with the last set being a drop set

*SuperSet*
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises = 3 Working Sets of 8 Reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises => 3 Working Sets of 8 Reps

Gonna Kill it!!!!!!

[mmferrar]

Yesterday's shoulder/trap workout felt AMAZING and it was definitely a good feeling being back in my own personal "Mecca" with my old training partner Francisco. The entire deltoid had that unique tingling feeling all of last night and this morning when I woke up my shoulders felt incredible, granted that my traps feel like they're going to fall of my body. During the workout we decided to catch our fifth and final set of shoulder press on video and I also took a picture of my post-workout meal which was two lemon-teryaki chicken breasts with brown rice and an apple. Yesterday's macronutrients came out to about 82/315/205.

I'm new to the forums and was just told that I need at least 50 posts to be able to upload a video so just enter "/watch?v=F-NM5ZIoo6A" after youtube.com and that should work. I'll be uploading 2-3 new videos everyday.


Week 1 - Day 2 - November 20, 2011 - Triceps/Abs Workout (Power) ---Morning Weight: 147 lbs (+1)

Rope Extensions => 4 Working Sets of 4-6 reps
Skullcrushers => 4 Working Sets of 4-6 reps
Close Grip Bench Press = 2 Working Sets of 4-6 reps

Hanging Leg Raises => 3 Working Sets of 20
Regular Sit-Ups => 3 Working Sets of 25