TGreggors' Second Training Log

[TGreggors]

BOOM. Most muscular and front lat spread are mah faves of these

[TGreggors]

Just out of sheer curiosity, would anyone care to offer their opinions on what my primary weaknesses would be in terms of muscular development? I have some in mind and have already gotten feedback from Brad as well as the judging panel at the contest but I wouldn't mind having more opinions from the unbiased eye.

[IK9]

Just out of sheer curiosity, would anyone care to offer their opinions on what my primary weaknesses would be in terms of muscular development? I have some in mind and have already gotten feedback from Brad as well as the judging panel at the contest but I wouldn't mind having more opinions from the unbiased eye.

Those pro pics look great!

Legs definitely need some work. Has nothing to do with amount of weight lifted but just overall development/conditioning.

Upper body looks great. Shoulders look good.. arms look good.. can prolly add some back width.. can add mass to upper chest.. back & lat development look good.. back thickness looks good

Can add size/mass to all parts of body obviously but overall for having baby muscle..... impressive! Can see you as a huge threat in 4-5 years time!

[TGreggors]

Those pro pics look great!

Legs definitely need some work. Has nothing to do with amount of weight lifted but just overall development/conditioning.

Upper body looks great. Shoulders look good.. arms look good.. can prolly add some back width.. can add mass to upper chest.. back & lat development look good.. back thickness looks good

Can add size/mass to all parts of body obviously but overall for having baby muscle..... impressive! Can see you as a huge threat in 4-5 years time!

Tanks for the feedback m8. It's so strange how strength doesn't correlate with development all the time. That's exactly how one of the judges described my musculature..."baby muscle". Time to make it mature!

[LoganBrown]

Like Inna said, I think overall growth and maturing your muscle will be your best bet. Your proportions are great and you have a great structure to be a threat on stage for sure. One area Id really hammer though is your hamstrings. I can't speak for bodybuilding because I've only competed in physique, but I feel that hamstrings are one area many competitors lack and having a strong set of hammies will set you apart.

[TGreggors]

Like Inna said, I think overall growth and maturing your muscle will be your best bet. Your proportions are great and you have a great structure to be a threat on stage for sure. One area Id really hammer though is your hamstrings. I can't speak for bodybuilding because I've only competed in physique, but I feel that hamstrings are one area many competitors lack and having a strong set of hammies will set you apart.

Thank you for the input. But I could see that. Not gonna lie, not having any leg curls/RDLs in the program is making me a bit worried about hamstring and overall leg development, but just going to see how it goes at the moment. I think the posterior chain is insanely important in BB. and, by the same token, I think deadlifts are a powerful tool. We'll see what happens. for now

[TGreggors]

6/16/16:
154.8 lbs.

Front Squats:
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
220 x 3
210 x 4
205 x 5
210 x 5

Bench Press:
135 x 5
175 x 4, 4, 4, 5

Incline Bench Press:
135 x 6, 6, 6

HS High Rows:
2 45s + 20 x 6, 6, 6

DB Supinating Curls:
35s x 9
30s x 11, 10

Triceps Push-downs:
130 x 10, 10, 10

Seated Calf Raises: *paused*
2 45s + 40 x 10, 10, 10

HS Seated Crunches:
2 45s x 13, 13, 14

HS Oblique Crunches:
45 + 25 x 13, 13

Had to use the metal plates for my front squats today, which are supposedly like 47 pounds at my gym for whatever reason, so numbers may be misleading. Actually pumped about that bench performance. Solid. Going in tomorrow morning to do what was supposed to be my Saturday/Sunday session in order to free up my Saturday so that I can spend time with my dad and family. Gotta work all day Sunday :'(

Body weight shifts are making me pretty positive that I'm going to go ahead and eliminate all formal cardio while keeping calories at 2350/day. Strange how little the bodyweight is responding.

[IK9]

Thank you for the input. But I could see that. Not gonna lie, not having any leg curls/RDLs in the program is making me a bit worried about hamstring and overall leg development, but just going to see how it goes at the moment. I think the posterior chain is insanely important in BB. and, by the same token, I think deadlifts are a powerful tool. We'll see what happens. for now

I know my legs are my strongest bodypart in terms of development/conditioning.. I never trained hamstrings from 2008 to 2013 but now I usually start with hamstrings
I don't deadlift at all & my deadlift is complete chit but

What worked best for me is high rep single-leg standing leg curls w/ slow negatives & squeezing at the top & leg press w/ positioning my feet super high up on the pad

Also lotsa drop sets for lying leg curls & leg presses but overall.. I think super high reps is where it is at with legs.. I rarely find myself going less than 10 reps nowadays

[JerG]

What supplements are you taking?

Overall, you just need to get bigger and stronger everywhere... but that's the same for 99% of us.

[TGreggors]

What supplements are you taking?

Overall, you just need to get bigger and stronger everywhere... but that's the same for 99% of us.

Not much at all. I take five grams of creatine every morning and a multivitamin. I also use whey for convenience and as an economical way to hit protein requirements.

and that seems to be the general consensus! Maaaaaaaaaaannnn the next few years are going to be a blast. I had been in a deficit for so long that the prospect of gaining size/muscle/strength is too exciting.

I know my legs are my strongest bodypart in terms of development/conditioning.. I never trained hamstrings from 2008 to 2013 but now I usually start with hamstrings
I don't deadlift at all & my deadlift is complete chit but

What worked best for me is high rep single-leg standing leg curls w/ slow negatives & squeezing at the top & leg press w/ positioning my feet super high up on the pad

Also lotsa drop sets for lying leg curls & leg presses but overall.. I think super high reps is where it is at with legs.. I rarely find myself going less than 10 reps nowadays

That they are. Still have serious quad envy over here LOL. I think you have something there with the really high rep style of training, but I don't think that should be the only rep-range that one should include. Idk. maybe going through periods characterized by a high rep, traditional "hypertrophy" style of training and then having a "strength-focused" period of training could be advantageous. I do what you're talking about with the leg press on the day that I include that exercise.

But as for not including leg extensions and legs curls at the moment, it really is a period of experimentation. I guess that the thought behind not having them in the program would be that if I can get more volume on my legs by using squats, leg presses and deadlifts as opposed to isolation movements, then I will be optimizing my time spent in the gym and will be getting the most bang for my buck. May be transitioning somewhat soon to low bar squats instead of front squats in my next macrocycle of the program since my hip is truly feeling 100% right now which would probably shift some volume to the hammies and glutes, but we will see. All depends on how much of a groove I'm in on my front squats by next week. They're feeling glorious right now.

[TGreggors]

6/17/16:
156.0 lbs.

Front Squats:
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3, 3
230 x 3
235 x 3

Bench Press:
135 x 5
180 x 3, 3, 3, 4

Deadlift:
275 x 3
325 x 3, 3
330 x 3, 2, 1

Seated BB Overhead Press:
115 x 4, 4, 4

HS High Rows:
2 45s + 35/side x 4, 4, 4.5

DB Hammer Curls:
45s x 5
40s x 7, 8

Standing Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions:
120 x 5
110 x 7, 6

Feeling energized and strong. Beginning of my third week on the program which calls for increased loads and decreased reps. I must admit, reps feel a tad on the low side on the program, but I will trust what Brad has written. I think that a more strength oriented phase of training will be good for me. Feels great to be able to blast some loud music in my headphones, to get amped up and to move some heavy weight (for me anyways).

[TGreggors]

6/20/16:
156.2 lbs.

Bench Press:
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
180 x 4, 4, 4

HS Low Rows:
2 45s + 25/side x 5, 5, 5.8

Front Squats:
135 x 5
185 x 3
220 x 4
225 x 5
230 x 5

Lat Pulldowns:
190 x 8, 8, 8

Underhand Grip Pulldowns:
180 x 8, 8, 8

Standing Calf Raises: *paused*
140 x 10, 10, 10

Triceps Push-downs:
130 x 10, 10, 9, 1

HS Seated Crunches:
2 45s x 14, 14, 14

HS Oblique Crunches:
45 + 25 x 14, 14

Surprised myself with my front squats today. Progression! Average BW for the week is ~155.5. Moving in the right direction.

[IK9]

Nice to see the reverse going well!

[TGreggors]

Nice to see the reverse going well!

Hard to really tell if I'm nailing the reverse correctly or not, but no binges so I'd say that is a good sign! Can't tell if too fast or too slow.

[TGreggors]

6/21/16:
154.8 lbs.

Deadlifts:
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
325 x 4, 4
320 x 4

Standing DB Overhead Presses:
50s x 8, 7
45s x 9

Incline Leg Press:
3 45s + 30/side x 5
3 45s + 10/side x 10, 9

HS Low Rows:
2 45s + 5/side x 10, 10
2 45s/side x 10

Neutral Grip Pulldowns:
160 x 10, 10, 10

Seated Cambered Bar Preacher Curls:
15/side x 10, 10, 11

Nunez Skullcrushers
22.5/side x 8, 8, 7.7

Good stuff. Felt sleepy coming in but cranked it out. Went to see Finding Dory yesterday afternoon. I recommend :-)

[IK9]

Nice deadlifting! I wish I can move 3 plates lol

I heard Finding Dory was good too

[happydude101]

Great job on the show, Taylor. Looking good!

[TGreggors]

Great job on the show, Taylor. Looking good!

Thank you! Good to see you back on the forums

Nice deadlifting! I wish I can move 3 plates lol

I heard Finding Dory was good too

It's because you don't deadlift! I am pretty confident that you could pull more than that if you trained it regularly.

[TGreggors]

6/23/16:
154.8 lbs.

Front Squats:
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
235 x 3
230 x 3, 3, 3

Bench Press:
135 x 5
185 x 3
180 x 3, 3, 4

Incline Bench Press:
145 x 4, 4, 4

HS High Rows:
2 45s + 40/side x 4, 4, 4

DB Supinating Curls:
40s x 8, 7
35s x 8, 1

Triceps Pushdowns:
140 x 8, 8, 8

Seated Calf Raises: *paused*
3 45s + 10 x 8, 8, 8

HS Seated Crunches:
2 45s x 14, 14, 14

HS Oblique Crunches:
45 + 25 x 14, 14

Good session. Strength is moving up noticeably. Weighed 154.8 for three consecutive days now. If I don't average out to at least 155.5 by Monday morning, there will be an increase to 2450 kcal/day. Becoming a big fan of the superset, which I have never really done too much of in the past. Supersetted curls w/ pushdowns and calf raises w/ crunches.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Good to see that kind of excitement going into the off season. Agree with what every1 else here has already said. Legs are so hard to bring up... only method I've ever seen noticeable results from is increasing frequency to 3-4x a week (w/volume equated), and like Inna said, starting with hamstrings. Something I used to do and no longer really do, I guess cuz of the tendency to think "powerlifting = good for bodybuilding and everything else is broscience" haha.

[TGreggors]

Good to see that kind of excitement going into the off season. Agree with what every1 else here has already said. Legs are so hard to bring up... only method I've ever seen noticeable results from is increasing frequency to 3-4x a week (w/volume equated), and like Inna said, starting with hamstrings. Something I used to do and no longer really do, I guess cuz of the tendency to think "powerlifting = good for bodybuilding and everything else is broscience" haha.

Trying to stay away from those kinds of thoughts! just have to remember that some of the best pros don't even touch powerlifting training. Starting with hamstrings is something that I have never tried before high frequency is feeling great for me. Kind of a typical thing for one to say, but focusing on all of these compounds is making me feel like an athlete for a change, which I am LOVING.

[TGreggors]

6/24/16:
155.4 lbs.

Front Squats:
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
220 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Bench Press:
135 x 5
175 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Deadlifts:
275 x 3
310 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Seated BB Overhead Press:
95 x 8, 8, 7, 1

HS High Rows:
2 45s + 5/side x 8, 8, 9

DB Hammer Curls: *not alternated*
30s x 10, 10, 10

Standing Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions:
100 x 10, 10, 10

Good stuff!

Deadlifts from today:


In comparison with what I consider my best deadlift performance to date:


We've got some work to do.

[LoganBrown]

Glad to see your reverse going so well! From what I've seen, aggressive reverses tend to work well for those who have been in a longer deficit such as yourself. Wish I knew the science behind it, but it's a cool thing to take into account for sure.

Your deadlift is gonna soar this offseason man. You'll look back at your best DL a year from now and laugh at it.

[TGreggors]

Glad to see your reverse going so well! From what I've seen, aggressive reverses tend to work well for those who have been in a longer deficit such as yourself. Wish I knew the science behind it, but it's a cool thing to take into account for sure.

Your deadlift is gonna soar this offseason man. You'll look back at your best DL a year from now and laugh at it.

Honestly am surprised that the weight gain has been so little for the caloric increases that I've had. going from 1500 3x/week and 2100 4x/week + 1800 calories of weekly cardio to no cardio and 2350(soon to be 2450) calories per day. Body fat gain has been so slight that I can hardly even see it. Weighing like 1.7 pounds heavier, on average, than what I did during peak week (Which is almost a month ago now, wow.) You should check out the 3DMJ recovery diet video if you haven't. Its principles are so solid. Actually going a little slower than the rate that they recommend, but I guess I don't mind too much. Better than going too fast. Just prolonging the amount of time I get to have in a surplus!

I sure hope you're right about the deadlift tho. It has historically been my second best lift, and I feel like I have a lot of potential to really jack my total up to a respectable range if I really hammer it hard. There's a powerlifting meet on December 10th (conveniently the Saturday after my final exam for pharmacy school) that I kind of have my eye on right now so I would love to get it up there.

[TGreggors]

6/26/16:
156.0 lbs.

Bench Press:
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
160 x 8, 8, 8

HS Low Rows:
2 45s +20/side x 8
2 45s + 15/side x 8, 8

Front Squats:
135 x 5
200 x 8
205 x 9, 9

Lat Pulldowns:
160 x 12, 12, 10, 2

Underhand Pulldowns:
150 x 12, 12, 12

Standing Calf Raises: *paused*
110 x 14, 14, 12, 2

Triceps Pushdowns:
110 x 14, 14, 14

HS Seated Crunches:
2 45s x 14, 14, 15

HS Oblique Crunches:
45 + 25/side x 14, 13

Super sodium filled meal at buffalo wild wings last night(a salad with salsa, lol), so kind of expecting weight to trend downward again tomorrow. Extremely pleased with this session. I believe that was another PR on front squats.

[IK9]

On the PR train!!

[TGreggors]

On the PR train!!

Much sooner than expected! Now I just gotta get that bench to start really moving.

[TGreggors]

Okay, just got my final weigh-in of the week, which was 156.0 lbs. Average weight was 155.31 (which is actually 0.2 less than last week), so calories will be increased to 2450/day. While I do enjoy the extra food, I gotta say, there is a bit of me that is kind of sad to increase the calories and give up my stage (or close to stage) conditioning. A bit conflicted but it needs to be done. Still have a lot of food focus (which working all day really helps with since my mind is fully occupied and I have no access to food) and I really don't know what's going on with the hormones still. Very, very slight improvement but still not great in that regard. Hope I haven't done permanent damage to them. I really am feeling good for the most part but still do have some diet-related problems going on.

[IK9]

Okay, just got my final weigh-in of the week, which was 156.0 lbs. Average weight was 155.31 (which is actually 0.2 less than last week), so calories will be increased to 2450/day. While I do enjoy the extra food, I gotta say, there is a bit of me that is kind of sad to increase the calories and give up my stage (or close to stage) conditioning. A bit conflicted but it needs to be done. Still have a lot of food focus (which working all day really helps with since my mind is fully occupied and I have no access to food) and I really don't know what's going on with the hormones still. Very, very slight improvement but still not great in that regard. Hope I haven't done permanent damage to them. I really am feeling good for the most part but still do have some diet-related problems going on.

From this point on, you'll always feel "fat" when you look at where you were on show day vs where you are now but mainly the shift will be that you'll be hitting lotsa PR's and you'll get a rush of excitement from that instead

Enjoy the extra food and the extra fluff.. it's fun being fat haha

[TGreggors]

From this point on, you'll always feel "fat" when you look at where you were on show day vs where you are now but mainly the shift will be that you'll be hitting lotsa PR's and you'll get a rush of excitement from that instead

Enjoy the extra food and the extra fluff.. it's fun being fat haha

Just gotta fight those anorexic/controlling tendency that I have that still can rear its head every now and then if I don't stay mindful. Achieving "stage leanness" (even if I didn't get as lean as may have been required in retrospect) makes how you see body fat on the human body so much different. Like I can see pockets of fat on a person so much more easily now. Kinda bizarre to me. Like I feel as if everyone around me just got fatter, and that I didn't get any leaner LOL. Although I know that's just the mind**** of prep talking.

Oh, that it is. Filling out shirts and not looking like a skinnykunt in clothing is going to be nice. AAAAALLLLLL ABBBOOOAAARRRDDDD THE GAINNNN TRAAAAIIINNNNN