JOSEF RAKICH - Disregard fat, acquire aesthetics (workout journal)

[Nexxus]

I looked up to you and wanted a physique like yours a couple years ago when I started to get serious about training and wanted to get shredded. Obviously I'm subbed for this epic ****! Hope you keep growing and achieve all your goals

[HighFivan]

in on aesthetic training log. holy hell brah. gjdm

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Must have had a killer pump in that last session man. Looks great!

Pump was killer!

Makes me feel slightly better than as what you posted describes how im feeling!

Yeah its normal, just something we have to accept for getting shredded.

I looked up to you and wanted a physique like yours a couple years ago when I started to get serious about training and wanted to get shredded. Obviously I'm subbed for this epic ****! Hope you keep growing and achieve all your goals

Thanks brah!

Looking good in your AVI bro! Keep up the good work yourself!

in on aesthetic training log. holy hell brah. gjdm

Glad to have you on board!

[nwskier]

Biceps are strong yes, but still too small/10.

This is one muscle I really want to increase the size of, everything else not so much as I'm going for more of an aesthetic fitness model physique rather than a bodybuilder physique... But my damn biceps just won't grow!

My shoulders are my weak point, but they are quite well developed.

I'd focus on just one compound (BB Curls) and then everything after do like 4-5 separate isolation exercises. Couple years ago got to lift with Beezy33 (Danny) - dude's arms are huge. those were his words of training wisdom and tough to argue that with him. We did standing single arm cable curls, spider curls w/ an ez bar- pausing each rep on the forehead, incline DB curls (keeping head against bench to increase the difficulty of the lift), and single arm preachers on a hammer strength machine that you load plates onto, etc...

Might also be able to help the peak by working on varying rep tempo?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

QUADRICEPS + HAMSTRINGS + TVA

Got roughly 1 hour sleep last night.. Too much caffeine. Yes this pic does show the time as 4:44am, but I still didn't actually fall asleep until after 5 sometime, could hear the birds chirping.



Dynamic stretching

QUADRICEPS

Horizontal leg press

30 x 105lbs
20 x 120lbs
20 x 150lbs
15 x 180lbs
15 x 195lbs
12 x 200lbs
12 x 215lbs
10 x 225lbs
6 x 250lbs

45 degree leg press (just kept it light but good full ROM slow smooth reps)

20 x 80kg
20 x 120kg
20 x 180kg
15 x 200kg
15 x 220kg
12 x 220kg
10 x 220kg
20 x 180kg - 20 x 80kg (drop-set)

Single leg, leg extension

20 x 10kg/each leg
20 x 15kg/each leg
15 x 20kg/each leg
12 x 25kg/each leg
10 x 30kg/each leg
10 x 35kg/each leg
10 x 40kg/each leg - 40 x 10kg/each leg (drop-set)

Partial bodyweight bunny squats with heels plates

30 x BW
40 x BW
50 x BW

HAMSTRINGS

Romanian deadlifts

20 x 20kg (bar)
20 x 30kg
20 x 40kg
20 x 40kg

Seated leg curls

30 x 90lbs
30 x 105lbs
30 x 120lbs
30 x 135lbs
15 x 180lbs
10 x 195lbs
6 x 225lbs

single leg leg press (toes off pad)

20 x 40kg
20 x 80kg
15 x 120kg

TVA (transversus abdominis muscle)

Planks + stomach vacuum

45 seconds x 30kg
45 seconds x 30kg
45 seconds x 30kg
45 seconds x 30kg

Static stretching

CARDIO

LISS (60 minutes walk) - About to go do this soon.

[caseyjohnson]

Hey Josef I have a question. Do you mainly do cardio just to speed up the cut? How low do you actually have to drop calories to keep on dropping Body fat?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Hey Josef I have a question. Do you mainly do cardio just to speed up the cut? How low do you actually have to drop calories to keep on dropping Body fat?

Yup basically.

Cardio is not needed at all, my last cut I was consuming 3k calories and doing no cardio and I still lost body fat. It all depends on your energy output during the day. Now because I sit at a desk literally ALL day my lifestyle has became sedentary so in order to shed some fat I have to have the calories quite low, I include some cardio in my cutting program now for extra calorie burn to help with my cut.

Cardio is not needed, but is is a very useful calorie burning tool so it can be very beneficial.

[dopamine72]

Subbed bro. We have somewhat different goals but I'm here because I know you are dedicated. And that's what makes a journal worth reading.

Plus once I get to a 1500+ PLing total and build up my arms/calves some more I'll probably be asking you about cutting I've literally been on almost a 5 year bulk now trying to gain as much mass and strength as possible.

[fittofattofit]

Huge leg sesh Josef.... about 270 heavy reps on the horizontal and angled leg presses alone. That's before the extensions, RDLs and curls.
killing that volume
What are your daily macros and do you keep close track of them?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Subbed bro. We have somewhat different goals but I'm here because I know you are dedicated. And that's what makes a journal worth reading.

Plus once I get to a 1500+ PLing total and build up my arms/calves some more I'll probably be asking you about cutting I've literally been on almost a 5 year bulk now trying to gain as much mass and strength as possible.

Thanks bro!

Good luck on getting the 1500+ !!

Huge leg sesh Josef.... about 270 heavy reps on the horizontal and angled leg presses alone. That's before the extensions, RDLs and curls.
killing that volume
What are your daily macros and do you keep close track of them?

Yup, legs felt smashed.

MACROS AND CALORIES

Protein = 222g

Carbohydrates = 187g

Fats = 79g

Total calories = 2347

Sucks, I have to be on such low calories + do cardio.. I use to be able to cut on 3k cals without any cardio at all, but my daily activity levels have changed now, I work from a desk ALL day.

[tomcardno1]

I work from a desk ALL day.

what are you doing at you're desk all day? building your business/writing plans out/nutrition/exercise etc?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

what are you doing at you're desk all day? building your business/writing plans out/nutrition/exercise etc?

Yup a bit of everything haha.

[Ronceiro]

subbed, really like what you're doing here

MACROS AND CALORIES

Protein = 222g

Carbohydrates = 187g

Fats = 79g

Total calories = 2347

Sucks, I have to be on such low calories + do cardio.. I use to be able to cut on 3k cals without any cardio at all, but my daily activity levels have changed now, I work from a desk ALL day.

Are you carb-cycling? How come your carbs seem relatively low and your fats relatively high?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

subbed, really like what you're doing here




Are you carb-cycling? How come your carbs seem relatively low and your fats relatively high?

Nope not carb cycling, I do include re-feeds though, will be having a re-feed day tomorrow.

Diddnt think my fats were that high TBH, have had them over 130g in the past lol..

[HighFivan]

Planks + stomach vacuum. is that exactly what it sounds like? bb vacuum while doing a plank.
never would have thought about that, want to try it out now.

[nwskier]

Hate that when you can't fall asleep. Nothing worse than lying in bed waiting for an alarm when you're wide awake. then you finally fall asleep like 40 minutes before the alarm and you're messed up all day, lol.

loving the volume in the workouts. I thrive off volume normally as well, something just satisfying about hitting volume with high intensity.

[dopamine72]

That isn't high fat at all. You should see my "diet".

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Planks + stomach vacuum. is that exactly what it sounds like? bb vacuum while doing a plank.
never would have thought about that, want to try it out now.

Yup thats correct!

Hate that when you can't fall asleep. Nothing worse than lying in bed waiting for an alarm when you're wide awake. then you finally fall asleep like 40 minutes before the alarm and you're messed up all day, lol.

loving the volume in the workouts. I thrive off volume normally as well, something just satisfying about hitting volume with high intensity.

Yup hate just lying there with my mind going 1000miles per hour.

That isn't high fat at all. You should see my "diet".

Exactly lol.

[Ronceiro]

Nope not carb cycling, I do include re-feeds though, will be having a re-feed day tomorrow.

Diddnt think my fats were that high TBH, have had them over 130g in the past lol..

You're right, 79g of fat isn't high, I just initially thought you would need to reduce fat more on a cut like you reduced your carbs, but I guess that isn't the case. I obviously realise that you can't lower fat too much because we need fats for normal body function, I'm just not sure about how much someone would need to reduce fat on a cut.

Can you post your bulking macros+calories as a comparison?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

You're right, 79g of fat isn't high, I just initially thought you would need to reduce fat more on a cut like you reduced your carbs, but I guess that isn't the case. I obviously realise that you can't lower fat too much because we need fats for normal body function, I'm just not sure about how much someone would need to reduce fat on a cut.

Can you post your bulking macros+calories as a comparison?

I always try keep fat intake above 0.4g per pound of LBW.

[JOSEF RAKICH]

CHEST + BACK + CALFS + TVA + CARDIO

Dynamic stretching to warm up.

Pec desk

30 x 75lbs
20 x 105lbs
20 x 135lbs
20 x 150lbs
15 x 165lbs
12 x 170lbs
8 x 180lbs
20 x 135lbs - 20 x 105lbs (drop-set)

Chest press machine

20 x 105lbs
20 x 165lbs
15 x 180lbs
12 x 195lbs
10 x 205lbs
8 x 225lbs
6 x 225lbs
4 x 225lbs

Incline flys

20 x 7.5kg
20 x 10kg
10 x 15kg
10 x 17.gkg
6 x 20kg
4 x 22.5kg

Incline push ups (or do you call this decline?) feet on bench/hands on ground.

50 x BW
40 x BW
30 x BW

Normal push ups

50x BW
40 x BW
30 x BW

Decline push ups (or do you call this incline push ups?) feet on ground/hands on bench.[/b]

50 x BW
40 x BW
30 x BW

BACK

Bodyweight pull ups

15 x BW
25 x BW
18 x BW
12 x BW
6 x BW (very slow reps and hold contraction for a few seconds)
6 x BW (very slow reps and hold contraction for a few seconds)
6 x BW (very slow reps and hold contraction for a few seconds)

Barbell rows

20 x 20kg (bar)
20 x 40kg
15 x 60kg
15 x 60kg
10 x 70kg
8 x 80kg

Reverse pec deck

15 x 105lbs
15 x 105lbs
15 x 105lbs
15 x 105lbs

Face-pulls

Don't normally ever train my rear delts

50 x 35lbs
20 x 60lbs
20 x 60lbs

Calfs

Calf press on the leg press machine

30 x 100kg
30 x 140kg
30 x 160kg
20 x 160kg
15 x 200kg
15 x 200kg - 15 x 160kg - 15 x 140kg (drop-set)

Walking calf contractions

2 lengths of gym x 30kg
2 lengths of gym x 30kg
2 lengths of gym x 30kg

TVA (transversus abdominis muscle)

Hanging stomach vacuums

30 seconds x BW
30 seconds x BW
30 seconds x BW

Static stretching to finish off.

CARDIO

HIIT cardio (hill sprints).

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Will post yesterdays workout sometime today when I get the chance..

[Nexxus]

stupid crazy volume lol. Any reason you're not doing a free weight chest press variation? (DB bench/BB bench?)

[jshaw5]

In on this. Like dope said, your dedication is unreal. Just out of curiosity, has your training ever been focused on strength, or has is always been aesthetics?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

stupid crazy volume lol. Any reason you're not doing a free weight chest press variation? (DB bench/BB bench?)

Nope, I just mix things up.. I will be doing BB or DB bench very soon.

In on this. Like dope said, your dedication is unreal. Just out of curiosity, has your training ever been focused on strength, or has is always been aesthetics?

Thanks.

Nope always just trained for aesthetics, couldn't care less about strength.

"I don't care if you can deadlift more than me if I have the better physique"

Have still lifted:

180kg (4 plates) x 2 (deep)
140kg (3 plates) x 20 (deep)

and..

Rack pulled (deadlift from lowest rack) 220kg (5 plates) x 2
160kg (4 and 1/2 plates) x 20

[fittofattofit]

Have still lifted:

180kg (4 plates) x 2 (deep)
140kg (3 plates) x 20 (deep)

and..

Rack pulled (deadlift from lowest rack) 220kg (5 plates) x 2
160kg (4 and 1/2 plates) x 20

These are the killer numbers
You've got the aesthetics and you look strong so no need to test those max's all the time

[-Lucifer]

In on this. Like dope said, your dedication is unreal.

Word.

[jshaw5]

Nope always just trained for aesthetics, couldn't care less about strength.

"I don't care if you can deadlift more than me if I have the better physique"

Have still lifted:

180kg (4 plates) x 2 (deep)
140kg (3 plates) x 20 (deep)

and..

Rack pulled (deadlift from lowest rack) 220kg (5 plates) x 2
160kg (4 and 1/2 plates) x 20

That's cool man, I was just curious. Those are some solid numbers too, even if you're not training for strength, you're still going to get stronger than most people anyway.

[pastorpritch]

What? You workout just to look good????

[JOSEF RAKICH]

BICEPS + TRICEPS + SHOULDERS + ABS + CARDIO

Dynamic stretching.

BICEPS

Barbell curls

20 x 20kg (bar)
20 x 30kg
15 x 40kg
10 x 50kg
8 x 60kg
6 x 60kg

standing EZ bar curls

30 x 20kg
30 x 30kg
30 x 40kg

Dumbbell single arm hammer curls

20 x 15kg
15 x 20kg
12 x 22.5kg
10 x 22.5kg

TRICEPS

Rope pull down

50 x 30lbs
40 x 50lbs
20 x 50lbs

Weighted tricep dips

30 x BW
20 x 20kg
15 x 30kg
10 x 40kg
8 x 50kg
6 x 50kg
20 x BW
20 x BW
20 x BW - 15 x BW - 10 x BW (super-set)

Single arm over the head dumbbell extension

30 x 7.5kg
20 x 9kg
20 x 10kg
15 x 11kg
10 x 12.5kg

SHOULDERS

Similar shoulder workout

Barbell up-right rows

40 x 20kg
30 x 30kg
20 x 30kg
15 x 45kg
12 x 45kg
10 x 45kg
8 x 40kg
6 x 40kg

Dumbbell shoulder press (slow controlled reps)

20 x 20kg
15 x 25kg
15 x 25kg
12 x 25kg
10 x 30kg

Dumbbell seated lateral raises

20 x 7.5kg
20 x 9kg
15 x 11kg
12 x 12.5kg
10 x 11kg
8 x 12.5kg
20 x 7.5kg

ABS

Bicycle crunches

20 x BW
30 x BW
40 x BW
50 x BW
60 x BW

Ab machine crunch

50 x 5lbs
50 x 5lbs
50 x 5lbs
50 x 5lbs
200 x 5lbs (repeat of last time)

Static stretching.