NickelArse's leangains log

[NickelArse]

14th June Pecs and Tris 80.2kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 5,3,2
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 4,3,3
Incline Barbell Bench Press 65kg 7,4,3
Tricep Dips +22kg 7,4,4
Cable Cross Overs 35kg 8,4,3
One armed DB Tricep Extension 25kg 4, 20kg 8,5

[NickelArse]

Seriously struggling for motivation to stay on this cut. I've basically been calorie deficient for more than 6 straight months now, just want to hit my body fat goal and be able to eat some big calories again :'(

Anyway Legs and Delts tomorrow...

[NickelArse]

Crisis of motivation over, checked in at 79.3kg this morning. I'll stick this diet out a little longer yet

Took a scoop of mesomorph 2.0 plus an additional 200mg caffeine preworkout. Won't be using mesomorph again until I stop cutting though. Don't want water retention from creatine messing with the scales. Plus I've got all the caffeine, beta alanine and aakg a boy could want courtesy of *******rients.

16th June Legs and Delts 79.3kg

Squats 110kg 6,3,3
Barbell Press 55kg 5,3,2
Deadlift 130kg 7,5,4 (wrist strength back to 100% )
Upright Row 50kg 5,4,3
SLDL 70kg 14,10,10
Lunge 40kg 9,5,5

[NickelArse]

17th June Back, Biceps and Abs 79.4kgs

Wide Grip Pullups +27kgs 7,5,3
Barbell Curl 40kgs 5,3,2
Dumbbell Row 100kgs 5,4,3
Dumbbell Shrug 100kgs 5,5,4
Hammer Curls 40kgs 5,3,2
Weighted Decline Sit Ups 20kgs 6,4,3

[NickelArse]

I'm heading to a personal trainer on Wednesday for a consultation. She (yes she) owns her own fitness studio and has been competing as a fitness model for the past 10 years. I'll be interested to hear her point of view on my methods and results so far. If I think she knows what she's talking about I might make it a more regular appointment, also with her contacts within the bodybuilding scene in Adelaide she might even know some other people who could really help.

[NickelArse]

Very tough workout, energy levels were very low after a long day at work. Not even a scoop of mesomorph + 200mg of caffeine could get me up and about.

19th June Pecs and Tris 79.2kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 4,3,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 5,4,2
Incline Barbell Bench Press 65kg 6,4,3
Tricep Dips +22kg 7,3,3
Cable Cross Overs 35kg 8,4,3
One armed DB Tricep Extension 25kg 4, 20kg 7,4

In other news I'm going ketogenic for the next month at least, general consensus seems to be that means a maximum of 50g of carbs per day. Is this accurate? I'll probably try and stay at 20g-30g for the first week anyway.

[NickelArse]

I'm heading to a personal trainer on Wednesday for a consultation. She (yes she) owns her own fitness studio and has been competing as a fitness model for the past 10 years. I'll be interested to hear her point of view on my methods and results so far. If I think she knows what she's talking about I might make it a more regular appointment, also with her contacts within the bodybuilding scene in Adelaide she might even know some other people who could really help.

Her lack of knowledge was disappointing in the extreme.

[Valeurvaleur]

Very tough workout, energy levels were very low after a long day at work. Not even a scoop of mesomorph + 200mg of caffeine could get me up and about.

19th June Pecs and Tris 79.2kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 4,3,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 5,4,2
Incline Barbell Bench Press 65kg 6,4,3
Tricep Dips +22kg 7,3,3
Cable Cross Overs 35kg 8,4,3
One armed DB Tricep Extension 25kg 4, 20kg 7,4

In other news I'm going ketogenic for the next month at least, general consensus seems to be that means a maximum of 50g of carbs per day. Is this accurate? I'll probably try and stay at 20g-30g for the first week anyway.

Depends on your overall intake, but I think the consensus is that sub 100g are ketogenic. Better to go too high, at first, until you know how your body reacts.

[NickelArse]

Depends on your overall intake, but I think the consensus is that sub 100g are ketogenic. Better to go too high, at first, until you know how your body reacts.

Cheers bro, I've being doing keto days for the past 2 weeks due to my leangains macro cycling. I'll ease my way in and see how I go.

[NickelArse]

Average workout today. Deadlifts however I was suuuper strong, really solid form pushed them out like they were nothing. Will post up full workout a bit later.

[NickelArse]

21st June Legs and Delts 79.3kg

Squats 110kg 6,3,3
Barbell Press 55kg 4,3,2
Deadlift 130kg 7,5,5
Upright Row 50kg 5,4,4
SLDL 70kg 14,10,10
Lunge 40kg 9,5,5

Have twinged something in my neck though so I might be taking a little break from the gym. Felt so sore yesterday had to get some codeine+ibuprofen pain killers

[NickelArse]

Neck didn't get any better over the weekend, went to a physio on Monday and I had strained ligaments in my C4 and C5 vertebrae. Cause is most probably at work (pinning the phone to my ear) then aggravated at the gym on Friday morning.

Felt better by Wednesday so I had another appointment with the physio who gave me the green light to get back into training. I've done a couple of light sessions in the last 2 days.

I've also decided that since my primary goal is fat loss lifting super heavy isn't really that beneficial as it puts my body under enormous strain and probably prevents me from shedding fat as quickly as I otherwise could. So I'll probably stick with the lighter weight until I hit my fat loss goal anyway.

[NickelArse]

Getting back into things with light weight

27th June Back, Biceps and Abs 79.2kgs

Wide Grip Pullups 10,10,4
Barbell Curl 20kgs 10,10,7
Cable Row 50kg 10,8,6
Dumbbell Shrug 50kgs 10,10,10
Hammer Curls 20kgs 10,10,7
Decline Sit Ups 20kgs 12,10,10

[NickelArse]

28th June Pecs and Tris 79.7kg

Barbell Bench Press 60kg 10,10,10
Cable Tricep Pushdown 20kg 10,10,10
Incline Barbell Bench Press 30kg 10,10,10
Tricep Dips 10,8,6
Cable Cross Overs 20kg 10,10,10
One armed DB Tricep Extension 14kg 10,10,10

[NickelArse]

To those who doubt the power of the keto diet, I say: behold my weight loss

30th June Legs and Delts 78.2kg

Squats 60kg 10,10,10
Barbell Press 25kg 10,10,10
Deadlift 60kg 10,10,10
Lateral Raise 20kg 10,6,5
SLDL 60kg 10,10,10
Lunge 30kg 10,5,5

[NickelArse]

My muscles (in particular abs) are really flat from the lack of glycogen but I'll post up some progress photos anyway.

[NickelArse]

Some pre-keto progress shots

Weight loss so far this month, been ketogenic for the last 7 days

The rest are all photos I took this morning

[NickelArse]

Keto working too well? I've lost 2.5kgs in the last 2 days, only 4kg for the month which is more reasonable. Don't want to go catabolic though.

1st July Back, Biceps and Abs 77.3kgs

Wide Grip Pullups 10,10,7
Barbell Curl 25kgs 8,6,5
Barbell Row 50kg 10,8,6
Dumbbell Shrug 50kgs 10,10,10
Hammer Curls 20kgs 10,10,8
Decline Sit Ups 12,10,10

[NickelArse]

My keto menu for tomorrow

[NickelArse]

3rd July Pecs and Tris 77.1kg

Barbell Bench Press 70kg 10,7,5
Cable Tricep Pushdown 35kg 6,6,6
Incline Barbell Bench Press 40kg 10,8,7
Tricep Dips 10,7,6
Cable Cross Overs 25kg 10,6,5
One armed DB Tricep Extension 16kg 10,6,6

[NickelArse]

Some unexpected weight gain. Nothing to get alarmed about I'm sure. Just my body coming to terms with my keto diet.

4th July Legs and Delts 78.3kg

Squats 60kg 10,10,10
Barbell Press 30kg 10,10,8
Deadlift 60kg 10,10,10
Lateral Raise 20kg 10,6,5
SLDL 60kg 10,10,10
Lunge 30kg 10,5,5

[NickelArse]

The great cut of 2013 is over. It was starting to mess with my mind too much and I was seriously struggling with motivation despite getting results. I was also being a grumpy boring piece of **** and I'm glad to **** that **** off for a while.

Gonna go maintenance (give or take a few cals) until my holiday at the end of August. I'll not give a **** on holidays but still try and hit 200g of protein a day and workout as often as possible.

I'll give a keto another crack when I get back from holidays, learnt some good lessons in the 2 week experimentation.

[NickelArse]

7th July Back, Biceps and Abs 77.2kgs

Wide Grip Pullups 10,10,7
Barbell Curl 25kgs 10,8,7
Cable Row 64kg 10,10,10
Dumbbell Shrug 50kgs 10,10,10
Hammer Curls 25kgs 10,8,7

Dat post keto weight gain

8th July Pecs and Tris 79.6kg

Barbell Bench Press 60kg 5, 80kg 5, 90kg 3,2
Cable Tricep Pushdown 41kg 10,5,4
Incline Barbell Bench Press 60kg 6,4,3
Tricep Dips 10,8,6
Cable Cross Overs 32kg 6,3, 27kg 4
One armed DB Tricep Extension 25kg 3, 20kg 7,5

10th July Legs and Delts 79.8kg

Squats 110kg 5,3,3
Barbell Press 55kg 3, 50kg 4,3

Was super tired from a long drive back from Melbourne and nearly passed out. Thought discretion was the better part of valor and called it a day.

13th July Back, Biceps and Abs 78.5kgs

Wide Grip Pullups 5, +17kgs 5, +27kgs 4,2
Barbell Curl 20kg 5, 30kg 5, 40kg 3,2
Barbell Row 60kg 5, 100kg 3,3 (half reps)
Barbell Shrug 100kg 5,5,5
Hammer Curls 40kg 6,4,3
Hanging leg raise 10,8,5

Was dreadfully hungover and had to nurse myself through this workout, so no cable cross overs or tricep extensions

14th July Pecs and Tris 79.8kg

Barbell Bench Press 60kg 5, 80kg 4,4,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 30kg 10,10,8
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 48kg 7,5,4
Tricep Dips 10,6,5

16th July Legs and Delts 78.8kg

Squats 60kg 5 80kg 5, 110kg 5,4
Barbell Press 55kg 4,3,3
Deadlift 130kg 5,3,4 (wrists gave out, used straps on the last set)
Upright Row 50kg 4,3,3
SLDL 60kg 10,10,10
Lunge 30kg 10,7,6

17th July Back, Biceps and Abs 79.5kgs

Wide Grip Pullups +27kg 5,4,3
Barbell Curl 40kgs 4,3,3
Barbell Row 70kg 5, 80kg 5,3,3
Barbell Shrug 100kgs 5,5,5
Hammer Curls 40kgs 5,3,3
Sits 20kg 5,5,4

18th July Pecs and Tris 79.4kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 5,3,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 3 40kg 9,7
Incline Barbell Bench Press 60kg 6,3,3
Tricep Dips +12kg 5, +17kg 5, +22kg 5,4
Cable Cross Overs 25kg 15,10,8
Kickbacks 20kg (total weight so I used 10kg DBs) 8,5,4

21st July Legs and Delts 80.1kg

Squats 110kg 6,4,3
Barbell Press 55kg 4,3,3
Deadlift 130kg 6,4,3
Upright Row 50kg 5,3,3
SLDL 70kg 10,8,8
Lunge 30kg 10,7,6

Putting too much weight back on so I'm going to go easy on the calories for the next couple of days. Ideally want to keep my weight below 80kg

22nd July Back, Biceps and Abs 81kgs

Wide Grip Pullups +27kg 6,3,3
Barbell Curl 40kgs 4,3,3
Barbell Row 70kg 8,6,5
Barbell Shrug 100kgs 6,5,5
Hammer Curls 40kgs 5,3,3
Sits 20kg 5,5,4

[NickelArse]

23rd July Pecs and Tris 80.5kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 6,3,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 3 40kg 8,6
Incline Barbell Bench Press 60kg 6,4,3
Tricep Dips +22kg 8,5,3
Cable Cross Overs 30kg 10,6,4
Kickbacks 20kg 8,5,4

25th July Legs and Delts 81.1kg

Squats 110kg 9,4,3 (personal best, **** yeah)
Barbell Press 55kg 5,3,3
Deadlift 130kg 4,3,3
Upright Row 45kg 8,5,4
SLDL 70kg 10,10,6
Lunge 40kg 7,5,4

[NickelArse]

26th July Back, Biceps and Abs 81kgs

Wide Grip Pullups +27kg 7,4,3
Barbell Curl 40kgs 5,3,3
Barbell Row 70kg 8,6,4
Barbell Shrug 100kgs 6,6,4
Hammer Curls 40kgs 5,4,3

My abs still feel cooked after my mammoth Squats and Deads session yesterday so I gave them a rest.

[NickelArse]

27th July Pecs and Tris 81.3kg

Barbell Bench Press 90kg 5,3,3
Cable Tricep Pushdown 42.5kg 6,4,3
Incline Barbell Bench Press 60kg 7,4,3
Tricep Dips +22kg 9,5,3
Cable Cross Overs 30kg 10,6,4
One Armed Tricep Extensions 25kg 4, 20kg 8,4

Weight gaining way too fast, cutting back on calories and creatine consumption to get a better idea of where I stand. I also seriously struggled to get through my workout today and ended up doing my SLDL and Lunges with just the bar. Might give myself a leaner week in terms of calories and lifting.

29th July Legs and Delts 82kg

Squats 110kg 7,4,3
Barbell Press 55kg 5,3,3
Deadlift 130kg 4,3,3
Upright Row 45kg 8,5,4
SLDL 20kg 10,15,10
Lunge 20kg 5,5 0kg 5

[NickelArse]

I thought coming out of my calorie deficit and moving into maintenance/surplus+mesomorph would instantly put me into strength gains mode, unfortunately this hasn't really proven to be the case. That combined with the fact I went slightly overboard with my calories last week and I've actually put weight (most probably fat) without gaining any strength. Got me a bit down in the dumps so I'm readjusting my expectations and methods, hoping to find the right mix for strength and aesthetic gains.

[NickelArse]

Back training HAM after a very rocky period before I went on holiday (because of either burnout or depression I stopped producing adrenalin and endorphins from physical activity) doing a bit of a bulking diet and doing a light/heavy combined with a 3 day split (also switched back to separating muscles synergists as much as possible in order to maximise my lifts) doing 3 days on one day off. Considering that potentially makes no sense here's what it looks like in reality.

Heavy
Back and Triceps

Light
Legs and Delts

Heavy
Chest, Biceps and Abs

Rest

Light
Back and Triceps

Heavy
Legs and Delts

Light
Chest, Biceps and Abs

Rest

Might seem unnecessarily convoluted but so far I feel great and I've been staking the strength back on. I still want to include some cardio as well but I'm still trying to find a way to make it fit.

To give you an idea of how ****ed up **** was when I was trying to train without adrenalin and endorphins. I went from being able to squat 110kg for 6 reps to 60kg for 6 reps pretty much overnight. Glad to be back, it was pretty scary there for a while, I thought I might have done some permanent damage.

I'll load up all my previous workouts tonight.

[NickelArse]

Back again after a 6 month break between January and June I'm starting to hit my straps again.

Still doing a leangains style 8 on 16 off eating pattern but there have been some other drastic changes to my eating pattern.

>I've moved to a relatively strict LCHF (low carb high fat)
>drinking bullet proof coffee for both brain function and fat burning benefits
>Performing quite a bit of cardio, not much steady state mainly HIIT. Either tabata training on the cross trainer post workout or I'll go for a run around my house (5.5k) with 3 big uphill sprints at the end
>I'll sometimes complete the 5.5k run (with sprints) in the morning and combine it with a 24 hour fast (won't eat til dinner)
>don't use myfitnesspal or monitor my macros nearly as closely anymore, like I said I'm just going LCHF and not worrying too much about calories

[NickelArse]

Blogging again