***road to uk physique 2015***

[OmegaredAfy]

Hi Chaps,

VERY Long time lurker here! Really enjoy the threads here in this section and the motivation, hence wanting to start my own thread!

Basically long story short, been bodybuilding a long time, however the past 2 years has been really lack luster , simply down to my career priorities. Enough was enough and around 6 months ago i decided to really go on top of things and give working out some proper dedication and time. 6 months later and im sitting in quite a good position.

My goal is to basically compete in Men's physique next year. Right now I am starting an 8 week cut before xmas / new years is upon us, once i have got this over with i will decide what to do next.

I will get into my basic training and diet for the next 8 weeks detailed tomorrow.

I will be vlogging my cut :- youtu.be/DP4K1uiObpI

Below are some pics from this week and one with the 6 month before and after.

Will be posting more tomorrow as i begin this next phase and amped to remove that layer of fat!

[OmegaredAfy]

Ok Guys, yesterday was first day of diet, nothing much to report did 30 mins cardio and abs first thing in the morning.

Started my reduced carb diet which looks like :-

350p/400c/110f on training days

and

350p/200c / 120f on non training days

I go over my food selection in this vid (easier than typing it all out!)

youtu.be/LyZUemhvDkw

[OmegaredAfy]

Hit my macros today,

today was chest and delt, was an OK session, not great as took last week of to relax and everything felt heavy haha.

I do not really go into my routine with a set plan, i more go on how the muscle feels if that makes sense.

Any way todays workout looked like this:-

Incline Bench Press Smith - 6 sets pyramid up to set of 8 reps , then drop set 4 sets reps between 10 - 20 each set
cable cross over - 4 sets of 15 , increasing weight each set
flat smith press - 4 sets of 15
push ups 3 sets of 20
shoulder press machine - 4 sets pyramid up to set of 8 reps , then drop set 3 sets reps between 10 - 20 each set
Rear Lateral DB raises - 3 sets 30 reps
unilateral rear lateral db raises - 1 set until total failure
Upright rows - 3 sets 15 reps
Side laterals - 4 sets of 10-15 reps
lying side laterals - 1 set total failure

[OmegaredAfy]

Incredible session today, hit all my macros for the day.

Did 30mins cardio am with 10 minutes ab work.

Then hit back / traps like a man possessed by the gains demon and the only way to exorcise the demon is through vicious volume!

High Pulley Rows - 5 sets - 10-20 reps then 3 drop sets 20 reps per set
Pendlay rows - 5 sets working up to 5 reps

Behind the neck pulldowns - 4 sets 8-15 reps
pulldowns to the front - 4 sets 8-15 reps

DB rows - 4 sets 8-20 reps
Low pulley rows 4 sets 15-30 reps then 3 drop sets 20 reps each

Pullovers - 2 sets 20 reps

BOOM! Pumped beyond belief then hit trapazoidz

barbell shrugs - 5 sets 8 - 20 reps
farmers walk hold - 30 secs
Cable shrugs - 3 sets 20 reps.

great workout, will post some pics 2 weeks into this cut and update every 2 weeks! stay tuned!!

[OmegaredAfy]

Yesterday was a rest day and 30 mins cardio am, hit all my macros no problem....as if that ever will be problem!

Feeling great, that peri nutrition has really enhanced my recovery, i actually felt very full today!

I made a vid going over my training ideas for this cut , feel free to check it out :- youtu.be/Qz-cO3Sa4No?list=UUe4mfYUZBzqtSNdVqTKJ1oQ

[OmegaredAfy]

Yesterday was a training day, so hit my 30 mins cardio AM , got all my macros in .

This was the workout :-

Squats - 9 sets staring from 30 reps down to last set 16 reps and then 2 drop sets of 20 reps each
Leg Press - 5 sets 20 reps
Leg curls - 5 sets 20 reps

The Squats had me BEAT , a lot of volume there , i find that aslong as i attack my quads with tons of volume they grow very well, its weird that when i go to low reps and heavier weight they seem to deflate.

I will be adding more to the legs as this was my first session back after 3 week break, this was a nice break in....i can barely walk today!

[OmegaredAfy]

Yesterday was a decent day, hit 30 mins cardio AM then arms pm:-

Tricep Pressdowns - 5 sets 10- 12 reps then 3 drop sets 10 reps each
Barbell Curls - 5 sets 10-12 reps
Rope PD - 4 sets 8-10 reps
Hammer DB Curls - 4 sets 8-10 reps
Floor DB skull crushers - 3 sets 8 reps
Seated DB Curls -2 sets 8 reps
Bench Dips - 1 set till total burn out
High Pulley cable bicep flexes - 1 set total burn out

ARMS were swollen like two snake monsters ready to wreck havoc!

Got to measure my arms and they were 19.5 inches , happy with that.

[OmegaredAfy]

Today was 1set week down, so not much to report.

Just did 35mins LISS AM and abs.

Here is a vid on my plans for this week ahead!

youtu.be/72w6tGoDx4k?list=UUe4mfYUZBzqtSNdVqTKJ1oQ

[OmegaredAfy]

OK lads, fell of the bandwagon last week, NOT with training or diet, just with keeping this log updated due to work. But I am back on it now, starting week 3 of my cut.

Yesterdays workout was back , traps and bis and cardio with 40 min liss am.

High pulley rows - 5 sets 10 - 15 reps / 20 secs rest between sets
Dumbell rows - 4 sets 8-15 reps
Pulldowns to front - 4 sets 10-15 reps / 20 sec rest between sets
Lower Pulley Rows - 4 sets 10-15 reps / 20 sec rest between sets
Barbell Rows - 3 sets 10-15 reps / 20 sec rest between sets
barbell shrugs - 5 sets 10-15 reps / 20 sec rest between sets
Farmers walk - 1 min
Dumbell shrugs - 3 sets 20 resp
Barbell curls - 5 sets 10 - 15 reps / 15 sec rest between sets
hammer db curls - 4 sets 10 -15 reps / 15 sec rest between sets
dumbell curls - 3 sets 10 - 15 reps / 15 sec rest between sets

Good workout! Def starting to get leaner, looking a bit flat but thats to be expected.

Here is a video detailing my week ahead with diet changes !

youtu.be/gDSNDQmaYXM

[OmegaredAfy]

Man since i made the carb cut for this weeks macros i am really feeling hungry! Normally i dont really push a cut so quick but as outlined in my vid above, basically as im dieting for 8 weeks i want to speed things up a bit, aslong as i listen to my body and keep on top of things i should not sacrifice any lean tissue at all, usually that happens when you start dieting for long stretches.

Yesterday was chest / tri / delts session, very good workout, really focused on contractions and constant tension, for ME personally this has been the best way to get a body part to grow, im not sure and tbh dont care what science says, using my own body feedback, the more i can feel a muscle working the better results i seem to get. Looked a bit flat but def leaner, probably should take some pics soon!

Yesterdays workout looked like this :-

Incline Smith Press - 7 sets 10 -15 reps
Flat Bench Press - 5 sets 10- 15 reps
Cable Cross over - 3 sets 10 - 20 reps
Straight Bar pressdowns - 5 sets 10 - 15 reps
floor dumbell skull crushers - 4 sets 10 - 15 reps
bench dips - 3 sets 10 - 15 reps
machine shoulder press - 5 sets 10 to 15 reps
bent over rear lateral db raises - 3 sets 20 reps then went to each arm and did 1 set of 30 reps
single side lateral raise - 3 sets 10 -20 reps
cheating side laterals - 1 set forced 20 reps

Done!

[demonwareltd]

Best of luck during this current mini cut. Will be following along!

[OmegaredAfy]

Cheers demon, def looking forward to the next year fella, will post some update pics soon.

Yesterday was just a rest day , still do 40 mins cardio AM LISS.

chilled out watched the bisping fight, really like Rockhold, think he his DEF a contender for the title.

Also been watching the leftover which i really like but the season 1 was a bit short i meant wtf.

Generally feeling flat which i hate , when your flat you look fatter which is something you need to accustom yourself to on a diet you will have your flat days , best thing not to panic and just avoid mirrors haha.

[NaturalPursuit]

In for this mini cut bro!

[jpfaherty]

In!

[OmegaredAfy]

AWESOME, glad you guys are IN, gives me a lot more motivation, its great to have a place to just share the daily grind we go through since so many people just see it as extreme and not normal!

So yesterday was a legs day. I did 40 mins cardio AM Liss.


Workout looked like this :-

Pause Squats - 5 sets 10
front pause squats - 4 sets 10
Lunges 3 sets of 15
Leg Curls - 5 sets of 10
Machine Wrist curls - 5 sets of 10
reverse cable curls - 3 sets of 10
dumbell wrist curls - 1 set of 30

OK, really good session I LOVE pause squats, for me i seem to feel a lot more muscle involvement. I am really adamant of "feeling" the muscle and creating as much tension as i can with squeeze, i know this sounds a bit diff from what you normally hear and i know many will say this is BS, but honestly i have seen better results in terms of growth focusing on my muscle involvement and THEN slowly adding weight.

When i was all about adding lbs to the bar every session irrespective of making the muscle genuinely take that load i did not improve at all, this was just MY experience. Also im really pissed i never trained forearms sooner, they are making great strides now from just hitting them once a week, i never used straps so thought my back work and general lifting would cause them to grow, but NO, the difference since i actually started isolating them is awesome, a lot of people notice the growth, i took a before shot so in the next 2-3 months i will take another and compare :-D

In other news, MAN i was looking at the new Halo masterchief collection yesterday and it literally gave me goosebumps, HALO is by far one of my all time favorite games, i pretty much am a gaming fanatic and own almost every system from the nintendo to the xbox one / ps4, i remember when i got my first job and i saved my money after that initial month to get the XBOX and i got HALO and it was like the first time i ever saw or played a game like that on any console, blew me away. This collection is going to be like reliving my teen years haha, so many memories saving the world from aliens!

[OmegaredAfy]

Yesterday was a back / traps / bis.

I started the day with my 40 mins cardio am , friday for me is pretty much the ****tiest day of the week , mainly because i am pretty spent from the workouts and cardio during the week so i feel flat, that really messes with mentally, who doesn't like that full heavy muscle feeling!

I hit the gym and felt like i wanted to go low reps , low volume , i always try to listen to my body. It was an EXCELLENT workout , i got an incredible thick nasty pump in my back and then my biceps , great way to end this week, def leaner for sure without a doubt.

Session Looked like this :-

Straight Bar Pulley Rows - 5 sets 8-10
Vbar Pulldowns - 4 sets 7-12
DB rows - 3 sets 6-10
Behind neck pds - 3 sets 6 - 10
Low Pulley rows - 3 sets 8 - 10
Pullover - 2 sets 6-12

Then traps i went
Machine shrugs - 4 sets 8 -10
DB shrugs - 2 sets 20
Then Biceps went
BB Curls - 5 sets 5 - 10
Hammer Bar curls 3 sets 6-10
Cable high pulley curls - 2 sets 6-10

Awesome workout , got a thick pump out of nowhere!

Cant wait to see how thing shape up over the next few weeks.

[OmegaredAfy]

So today was a total rest day , no cardio or anything. Did some work and watched X-men days of future past, been wanting to watch this for some time, amazing film and really impressed with Jackmans physique!

Here is a vid showing tonights cheat meal, enjoy!

[OmegaredAfy]

Today was just cardio 50 mins Liss am.
Def felt tighter today after last night's cheat meal. The banofee cheesecake was weak! Big letdown. I pretty much chilled today , did some work and watched Ufc 180, thought it was a great card with some excellent submissions but man it sucked to see mark hunt lose!

[OmegaredAfy]

Will update later with todays training verb, but until then.....FARCRY 4!!

[OmegaredAfy]

Yesterday was a great workout, really enjoyed it and got a nice thick pump, my main focus when i workout is to really put my mind into the muscle as much as i can, this comes down to excercise selection, rep range and event set amount.

So started with 50 mins cardio am

Then in the evening did chest / tri / delts

Incline Bench Press - 5 sets 3-12 reps then 3 drop sets of 8-10 reps
Cable cross overs - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
DB Bench Press - 3 sets of 10 reps
extreme wide grip bench press - 3 sets 10 reps
Straight bar pressdowns - 5sets 10-12 reps
Barbell skull crushers - 3 sets 10-12 reps
rope press downs holding contraction position for 2 secs - 3 sets 10 reps
bench dips - 2 sets 20 reps
Db shoulder press - 3 sets 10 reps
face pulls - 3 sets 20 reps
dumbell rear lateral - 2 sets 30 reps
side laterals - 4 sets 10 reps and then 1 set burnout 30 reps

lovely pump and good workout.

Below is a video of my plan this week diet / cardio wise!

[OmegaredAfy]

Smashed back tonight good and proper.

so did 50 mins cardio AM.

Then for evening session it was back / traps / bis

session looked like this:-

high pulley rows - 5 sets 8-12 reps
pulldowns to front - 3 sets 8-12 reps
Smith Rows - 3 sets 8-12 reps
Pulldowns behind neck - 3 sets 8-12 reps
deadstop dumbell rows - 3 sets 10 reps
low pulley rows - 3 sets 8-12 reps then 3 drop sets of 10 reps

Back was absolutely thickly pumped and now getting hints of vascularity on lats which is always nice, then on traps to become a trapasaurus rex

Barbell shrugs - 5 sets 8-15 reps
Farmers walk - 1 x 40 secs
Dumbell shrugs - 2 x 20 reps

Traps were pumped up like two baby mole hills, time to finish sensually with biceps

Barbell curls dead stop - 4 sets 10 reps
Hammer db curls - 4 sets 8-12 reps
Seated db curls - 3 sets 10 reps
One arm cable high pulley flex - 1 x 40 reps

Arms were swolen like two big ole sausages , great session

misc - Farcry 4 is A M A Z I N G, totally loving it so far !

[NaturalPursuit]

Great workouts my man!

[OmegaredAfy]

Great workouts my man!

Thanks a lot dude, to be fair i go through your journal, fire myself up and then go attack....however i cant match that volume!

[OmegaredAfy]

OK guys sorry for the lack of updates last week, had to grind down for last couple of days before my exam so didnt get a chance to update on here. Happy to say i passed with 96.5% , it was a Cisco Wireless exam which is a new technology i am learning. Anyway enough geek sh!t, lets start fresh this week.

So basically today i hit back/ traps / biceps , i went heavy, i went hard, i went tension, hard intense sensual tensions on every exercise and every set and every rep.


workout looked like this fellas:-

Upper pulley rows - 4 sets 8-12
Lat Pulldowns - 3 sets 8 reps
DB Rows - 3 sets 8 reps
VBar Pulldowns - 3 sets 8 reps
Pullovers - 2 sets 8 reps

Back was decently pumped and really lifted heavy, well heavy for me , next to hit traps, i wanna be a trapasaurus rex

Barbell shrugs - 4 sets 8-12 reps
Farmers walk - 40 secs
DB shrugs - 1 set 20 reps

Lastly time to finish with biceps , trying to build some 20s over here

Barbell curls - 4 sets 8 reps
Hammer Bar Curls - 3 sets 8 reps
Seated DB Curls - 2 sets 8 reps
High Pulley bicep pose - 1 set 15 reps

Boom done.

So this week i have dropped another 300 cals out of my diet, pretty extreme but im doing this for a short period and want to maximise my results....

I explain this in my video below , also here is a pic of the back.....NEED TO LOSE LOVE HANDLES ....going for physique i wanted absolutely emphasize taper with a good upper back / delts and as small as possible waist.

[OmegaredAfy]

Forgot to put my latest youtube vids, discussing my diet and a little rant, hope you guys like.

[OmegaredAfy]

And my motivation / rant for this week haha.

[OmegaredAfy]

OK, so i decided to train legs yesterday , as for me my energy during a diet depletes as the week progresses and i find legs a very taxing bodypart, so i think it will be better of to get this out during the first part of the week and hit upper body later on when energy levels are lower but i can still hit them with good intensity.

So on to the workout:-

Squats - 8 sets 10-12 reps then 1 set 15 , 1 set 20 , 1 set 30

Leg Curls - 5 sets 10 reps

Looks like pu$$y stuff right, haha. But seriously i really use slow and hard contractions throughout every rep and it is working, starting to get vascularity on my front quads which is nice.

Then onto forearms :-

Machine wrist curls - 7 sets 8 -10 reps
Reveres cable curls - 3 sets 8 reps
dumbell wrist curls - 3 sets 20 reps

Forearms were like two swolen electric eels! Goal is to get them up to 15.5 - 16 inches straight down flexed next year
Great workout, felt very strong irrespective of the calorie cut this week, which is great.

Apart from that feeling flat as during the day , but its to be expected I am not exactly taking it "easy" or slowly with this and as long as my gym performance is not suffering im not worried about losing muscle.

[OmegaredAfy]

Weds - was a rest day , so just did 50 mins cardio am and was low carb all day.

Thurs - Was Chest / Tris / Delts

Boy really felt flat yesterday , but this is where you have to just switch of and stop feeling sorry for yourself. At the end of the day being able to pursuit our goals and ambitions is a luxury and if you keep that perspective you will always retain motivation and happiness during the journey.

OK so for chest we did :-

Incline Bench Press - 8 sets of 5 reps and then 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Cable cross over - 4 sets 10-12 reps
Flat Bench - 3 sets of 5 reps then 3 sets 10 -12 reps

Chest got a decent pump, really want to get that square slabs of beef look going on, not sure its happening but im working on it! haha

Next on triceratopolus

Straight pushdowns - 5 sets 8-10 reps
floor db skull crushers - 3 sets 8 - 10 reps
machine skull crushers - 3 sets 10 reps
rope pushdowns emphasising dat der squeezing - 2 sets 20 reps

Now on to deltoid maximus....I want laterally mad!

Power side laterals - 5 sets 10 reps
rear lateral dumbell raises - 5 sets 20 reps 1 set 40 reps
six ways - 2 sets 10 reps
machine press ss with side lateral raises - 2 sets 10-15 reps

NOICE , def showing good improvement in fat loss, nowhere near lean enough though i must say , keep on going, depleted so will be enjoying a good refeed on saturday which i will film!

[OmegaredAfy]

Yes Yes Chaps!

So i finished friday of with a morning session of 55 mins cardio, i was feeling beat at 45 mins so i decided to punish myself for such negatives thoughts by extending it by 5 mins!

Work was very tedious and I had some huge priority 1 calls, however i went passed the day as I.T geek and finished it with Gym Freak for a nasty back and bis session !

Here is how the workout went, really again just listen to what my body tells me in regards to volume , reps etc:-

Rope Pullovers - 5 sets 8-12 reps
Behind Neck Pulldowns - 4 sets 8 reps
Barbell Rows - 5 sets 6-12 reps
Lower Pulley rows - 4 sets 6-8 reps
Deadlifts - 5 sets 3-10 reps

Honestly i know people say that its just about progressive overload, i have to like say this is correct and incorrect, since i really just worked hard on those mind to muscle connections, cupping my hands and pulling with the lats feeling the movement throughout the entire range of motion my back has made leaps of progress from what it used to be!

Next on to biceps, trying to build some damn peaks over here!

Dumbell curls - 4 sets 8 - 10 reps
Hammer Dumbell Curls - 4 sets 8 - 10 reps
Superset time! SONIC BOOM with ex barbell curls and hammer barbell curls 3 rounds of 10-15 reps each, lovely way to end the week.

Man nothing can compare with that pure intimacy and freeness of a good workout, you forget about all the negative **** going on and can just be transformed into this feeling of limitless energy, love it!

[OmegaredAfy]

Saturday was my refeed day, im turning up the heat with my diet, might not be conventional but its bringing me results!

Here is my day , hope all you fellas enjoy!