View Full Version : Thrax's big fitness adventure
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Anyone looking to do REAL and SERIOUS muscle building MUST READ THIS GUIDE (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224).
Anyone looking to track their nutrition must go to FITDAY (http://www.fitday.com).
Without these tools, you may never learn the proper form and habits to generate a cut physique. Most information out there regarding male muscle development is WRONG and has you exercising TOO MUCH.
Some three years ago now, I decided to get serious about my personal health. I had always been fat, and had always been unhappy about it; I knew it was nobody's fault but my own. I ate too much and moved too little. As I graduated high school and moved into my year of college, the dorm life got to me, and I threatened to pack on the Freshman 15. My weight crept from 205 (at 5'9" or so) to 212. When I came home during the Thanksgiving break of 2004, my weight-gain was startling and very frustrating. Right then and there vowed to get more fit.
Considerable research left me calculating my daily calorie burn, my basal metabolic rate, and got me counting calories. I discovered that my average daily burn was 2700 and my basal metabolic rate was about 1830. If I ate somewhere around 2000 calories every day, I would lose weight. Lo and behold, as the year slipped into 2005, I had dropped from 212 down to 155.
But there was a problem: I was still very doughy. I was "skinny-fat" as they call it.
Skinny-fat occurs when someone is at a healthy weight for their height without the right body composition, in effect: too much body fat and not enough lean muscle. From 2005 until 2007, I lived with my skinny-fatness. It was disappointing the entire way. Imagine the frustration of carefully plotting out your diet every day for 3 years and simply looking like a smaller version of the fat kid you once were.
In the early summer of 2007, I started working out with a rudimentary plan I developed for myself that included bodyweight exercises. At this time, I knew nothing about proper diets for muscle-building, but I had noob gains and managed to bring myself up from 155 to 165 in muscle mass. I was still eating whatever I wanted as long as it was within the restriction of 2000-2400 calories a day, because I thought that would help me lose body fat. By the way: It won't. Muscle-building and fat loss are 100% exclusionary outside of the first 30-60 days. I didn't really know that at the time, however.
By August of 2007, though, I had fallen off the bandwagon again and lapsed into laziness. A sedentary job that delivered delicious lunches every day helped me gain a few percentage points of body fat again, and I once again grew irritated with my appearance and lost a lot of self-confidence. Come January, the damage that began in August with my new job had slowed to a stop, but I was still pretty unhappy. I kicked my own ass and again returned to watching my calories and nutritional breakdown.
Then: UNEMPLOYMENT.
Yes, a sedentary life was made even more sedentary. In January of 2008, I was laid off from my firm and began seven miserable-ass months of enduring the ****ty Michigan economy (I have since been reemployed). As March rolled around, I felt I should be doing something more with my free time. I rewrote resumes, sent them out, and browsed for jobs each and every day, but I still couldn't shake this restless feeling.
So began my third attempt at getting fit. My problem had always been that I was aimless and without direction when it came to building muscle. I always knew what I needed to do to shed body fat, but finding concrete guides to building new muscle had always eluded me. In March I ran across the fantastic and inspiring "How to Be Ripped Like Brad Pitt From Fight Club in 12 Weeks or Less (http://www.mensworkoutguide.com/home.html)" program which I have since given out to several people. The guide told me, week by week, exactly what to do. It was light on nutritional advice, but it was a damn good start.
From March until July, I followed the plan. It was the first time I'd ever been truly optimistic about building lean bulk. Every time I fell off the boat (which happened two or three times), I started over from my best week. I still have not gotten to the end of the plan because I had not exhibited the necessary discipline to complete it to my satisfaction. My most recent and satisfactorily-completed week was week six. That was as of the middle of August (this month). Throughout this time, I learned how to eat right. This meant good carbs, a preponderance of protein and choosing the right foods for healthy fats. I meticulously tracked my diet and even abstained from more than just THREE BEERS at the ICLAN08. That's self-control.
My first paycheck coincided with the realization that I was not accomplishing much from home any more, though. As I could do squats, lunges, decline/incline/flat pushups with 70 pounds on my back and did not have heavier freeweights for other exercises, my abilities to improve my performance plateaued. I knew I needed to go to the gym, and my paycheck let me enlist for four months at $100.
Nomad put together a plan for me with body-building in mind. My ultimate goal is one of aesthetics, not strength, but since appearance is the product of strength (and what you eat), it's going to be a long, steady haul to health victory.
This is my attempt at getting ripped. It's not even an attempt, as attempting implies potential failure. I'm going to get ripped. I'm going to get ****ing huge, shred phonebooks and bend buicks in half. But all of it starts with day 1, and that was on Saturday (8/23).
My first trip to the gym was with Nomad for form training and experimentation with good starting weights. We did a cut down version of my Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday exercises in a single day which I will call week zero:
WEEK 0:
SATURDAY 8/23:
Squats: 4x7 @ 110lbs
Leg Curl: 3x7 @ 50lbs
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 90lbs
Romanian Situp: 2x12
Plank: 2x60 seconds
Bench press: 3x7 @ 120lbs
Incline bench: 3x7 @ 100lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x7 @ 65lbs
Dips: 2x5 @ Body Weight (171)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 20
Cable Crossovers: 3x10 @ 30lbs
Deadlift: 2x5 @ 115lbs
Barbell Row: 3x7 @ 75lbs
Pull-up: 2x5 @ Body Weight (171)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 40lbs
Barbell Curl: 3x10 @ 60lbs
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 20lbs (This value may not be right since my arms were still tired from BB Curls)
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=23)
Later that evening, my body was blitzed. It felt great. I could barely move.
SUNDAY 8/24:
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=24)
MONDAY 8/25:
No workouts. I only really ate when I was hungry.
From here on out...
Every week I will post a breakdown of what I ate each day, and my performance in the gym. I will also begin to post regular pictures as soon as I get some time to take some. Expect the "before..." fatty pictures pretty soon here.
Thrax 'bout to get ripped. I promise. See you at ICLAN09. ;)
My fatness is on my mind also. I'm 6' tall and am currently 260 lbs. I've been doing some exercise for a few months now, but probably not enough. About 5 times a week I'll walk @1-1/2 miles around town in the morning, then do pushups and situps. I'm up to 45 pushups and 30 situps now. I increase by 5 when I can, I started at 25 and 15 back in July.
My big problem is that I sit in front of computers too much, and the fridge is only 20 feet away. I've tried some mild dietary changes, but I think I still eat too much.
People have told me I'm not losing weight because I am getting more muscle now, but I don't care about that, I just want to see the scale numbers go down.
If all you care about is the scale going down, you're never ever going to be more fit.
The scale is completely worthless as a measure of fitness level. 99%. Completely. Entirely. Worthless.
The only time, ONLY TIME the scale is useful is to verify that you are at or above a healthy weight for your height. This 1% of the time is the only time. I cannot stress that enough. Beyond that, all that matters is a fit body fat % which for men is between 9 and 13%.
PurplezArctic
27 Aug 2008, 2:48am
My Mom works at the gym in town and I often see people confronting her asking questions that fit within the area of where your first started out, so it's great to see you made the first phases to better health completely by yourself (from what I see).
Now I can only wish you good luck with your workouts. Enjoy yourself!
GHoosdum
27 Aug 2008, 2:11pm
It's great to see you post your fitness adventure here, Thrax.
I have no doubt you're going to get ripped. It's funny, though, how the more you read and research the easier it is to see how the common wisdom "more = better" is so completely wrong when it comes to working out to build muscle.
One caveat, though: Brad Pitt was not in all that great shape for Fight club. He was cut, no doubt, but he was down around 155-160 pounds. His shoulders and arms were big, which gave the illusion he was in great shape, but his chest and core muscles were probably underdeveloped. Granted, he was in much better shape than your average American, but he was by no means ideal.
Even a lean 155-160 for a man of his height is healthy. It's small, but it's healthy. At that point, the discussion centers around your version of ideal. Some people would prefer to be smaller and lighter while remaining lean. The "Brad Pitt" look does it for them, and it's not wrong.
Then there's what I want. As much lean mass as I can put on until I'm satisfied.
I only have one question: Will the progress pics be boxer-briefs only or completely nude?
GHoosdum
27 Aug 2008, 2:29pm
Even a lean 155-160 for a man of his height is healthy. It's small, but it's healthy. At that point, the discussion centers around your version of ideal. Some people would prefer to be smaller and lighter while remaining lean. The "Brad Pitt" look does it for them, and it's not wrong.
Then there's what I want. As much lean mass as I can put on until I'm satisfied.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was wrong, just that his physique is disproportionately focused on arms and shoulders for Fight Club, giving people the impression he's bigger than he is. In fact my weight goal is still somewhere in the 155-160 pound range, which on my frame will probably look substantial.
I'm certainly not saying "don't do that" but I am saying you probably have more muscle mass at your core and chest now than he did in Fight Club.
@Rob: That's quite possible, yes. ;D
@Anne: /lech
WEEK 1:
TUESDAY 8/26:
Squats: 4x7 @ 120lbs
Leg Curls: 3x7 @ 60lbs
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 100lbs
Romanian Situp: 3x12
Plank: 2x60 seconds
CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS WEEK:
Squat: +10lbs
Leg Curls: +10lbs
Leg Press: +10lbs
Romanian Situp: +1x12
Plank: No change
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=26)
WEDNESDAY 8/27:
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=27)
No workouts today.
THURSDAY 8/28:
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=28)
WORKOUT DAY! YAY! Stats to come.
MAGIC
28 Aug 2008, 12:02am
Good articles. Just what you've done weight wise is an inspiration. I'll have to join you on this. I've always been a fatty, about 185-195, and have never been able to shake it. I mountain bike 4-5 miles every weekday, but have never gotten into a real weight training/diet "thing". I have access to one of the best facilities in the area at Grand Valley State so that is perfect. If you have any more info on diet stuff or w/e I'd appreciate it. I'm going for Spartan 300 status by next lan.
Thrax
28 Aug 2008, 12:23am
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224
If you follow that guide to the letter, and I'm serious about that, every word... You will get results. You will get results. You need to eat like a damn race horse. 100g of clean fats every day, 200g of complex carbs a day, 300g of lean protein a day, if not more, EVERY DAY. If you follow rippetoes, you will get ripped. It's a the weightlifting bible for beginners and intermediates. There is no better advice anywhere.
My metabolism has always been very high, although it has started to slow down some since I've gotten to college + less activity. I have never had to worry about eating unhealthy foods because it does absolutely nothing to me. Anyway at 6'2", the most I've ever weighed was 166lbs. I'm about 162lbs now, so yea, tall and thin. I try to eat healthy foods just because I feel better and gives me more energy, but I could easily get away with eating fast food and pizza every day and not fluctuate in weight. One of my room mates worked at a pizza place so we always had pizza around. Last year I ate pizza for like 2 weeks straight every day and managed to drop 2 lbs somehow.
edit -Forgot to add I'm around 10-12% body fat, and I forget how to calculate BMI. I have a scale that can calculate it, but those things aren't extremely accurate. I know weight isn't a measure of overall health, I'm just making a point that I have a high metabolism.
Weight isn't a measure of health.
Gnome Queen
28 Aug 2008, 4:17am
Keep up the good work! :D You even make me want to go work out. :)
cherplunka
28 Aug 2008, 5:37am
very admirable thrax,
and you can rip phone books in half!
you don't have to be as big as the guy in the video though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkeidmKl3E
i know it's not quite what you mean,
but it works, and it'll make you feel good to do.
Thrax
29 Aug 2008, 12:56am
Today's stats:
Bench press: 3x6 @ 115lbs
Incline bench: 3x6 @ 100lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x6 @ 65lbs
Dips: 4x3 @ Body Weight (171)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 10
Cable Crossovers: 3x10 @ 30lbs
Not a good day. I lost some ground in the rep department, which means I will back the weights down some and try again (harder) next week.
Today's nutrition:
http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=29
//EDIT:
Some have commented that they see Wendy's on my fitday menus. You must understand that I carefully pick what I'm eating from there when I go for lunch. For example, if I get a double burger, I'm getting without mayo, cheese, ketchup or mustard and taking off half the bun. In the case of an Ultimate Chicken Grill, I ask for no special sauce, and again take off half the bun.
In all case I proactively minimize the bad portions of those meals by being very picky about how they're being put together. Wendy's can be nutritious, but you have to be cautious.
GHoosdum
29 Aug 2008, 7:37pm
Wendy's is probably some of the healthiest hamburger you can get at a fast food joint. It really does come in fresh every day.
Snarkasm
29 Aug 2008, 8:43pm
I feel compelled to point out that fresh != healthy, especially in the meat aspect.
Good work Thrax, keep it up.
Today:
Deadlift: 2x6 @ 135 (+20lbs)
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 85lbs (+10 lbs)
Chin Up: 12 reps
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 50lbs (+10lbs)
Barbell Curl: 3x8 @ 60lbs (No change)
Dumbbell Curl: 3x8 @ 20lbs (No change)
Need to work on the BB curl and the DB curl. My arms are so tired by the time I get to DB curl. I also think my deadlift form is still pretty ****ty; I think I'm rounding my lower back too much.
NUTRITION:
Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=7&Day=30)
Clutch
31 Aug 2008, 4:24pm
Keep hitting the Gym hard Thrax, can't wait to see your progress.
WagsFTW
31 Aug 2008, 4:49pm
[v][AGIC']Good articles. Just what you've done weight wise is an inspiration. I'll have to join you on this. I've always been a fatty, about 185-195, and have never been able to shake it. I mountain bike 4-5 miles every weekday, but have never gotten into a real weight training/diet "thing". I have access to one of the best facilities in the area at Grand Valley State so that is perfect. If you have any more info on diet stuff or w/e I'd appreciate it. I'm going for Spartan 300 status by next lan.
I can't wait to try to start working out with you, and helping be your support on this. You are gonna look HOT.
WagsFTW
31 Aug 2008, 4:52pm
Thrax, I'm very excited for you on this. You have really inspired Magic to join you on this plan as well. I hope you get the results you are looking for, and can't wait to see the progress!
[v][AGIC']Good articles. Just what you've done weight wise is an inspiration. I'll have to join you on this. I've always been a fatty, about 185-195, and have never been able to shake it. I mountain bike 4-5 miles every weekday, but have never gotten into a real weight training/diet "thing". I have access to one of the best facilities in the area at Grand Valley State so that is perfect. If you have any more info on diet stuff or w/e I'd appreciate it. I'm going for Spartan 300 status by next lan.
Hey, I actually lost a great deal of weight biking (From 180 to 138) in less than a year. Had I known more about diet I would have done it quicker, but some basic tips:
- Drop pop, I lost 15 pounds alone on this
- Eat breakfast
- Opt for whole grains, vegetables, and fruits whenever possible
- Don't eat after 9 PM (Particularly carbohydrates)
UPSLynx
31 Aug 2008, 6:02pm
Hey, I actually lost a great deal of weight biking (From 180 to 138) in less than a year. Had I known more about diet I would have done it quicker, but some basic tips:
- Drop pop, I lost 15 pounds alone on this
- Eat breakfast
- Opt for whole grains, vegetables, and fruits whenever possible
- Don't eat after 9 PM (Particularly carbohydrates)
Holy crap, yes. Dropping pop is one of the best things I ever did, both for my body and my wallet. I never drink anything other than water and juices these days, and overall I just feel more fresh by default.
Oh, and drink water. Everyone drink more water. I drink about 40oz of water a day, if not more. I always keep a water bottle at my side. Not only will you stay properly hydrated (which is a massive boost to workout), but it'll help curb your hunger if you keep sipping away at water.
And breakfast. Definitely do breakfast.
Keep it up Thrax, this is awesome. Very inspiring story. Follow this plan like you've been doing, and you'll be swooning the ladies with no shirt and tearing books in half. It'll be awesome.
Getting fit (thought I'm still a work in progress), is one of the best life-changing decisions I've ever made. I highly recommend to anyone thinking about getting in shape to find a plan and do it! It's hard, don't expect it to be an easy switch. But stick with it, and you will be happy with the results. After a little while of doing it, workout becomes habit. Then it becomes easy, in a sense.
Just get to it everyone!
tmh88
31 Aug 2008, 10:13pm
I didn't find it worthy to start a new thread for this, but I figured it fits in with the health genre. Today I realized just how overweight America really is. I was at a water park, and I was in absolute shock at how overweight the majority of people were. Seriously, like I'd guess 65-70% of the people there would easily be considered overweight, and of those people, about 1/3 were just huge. I know some of it deals with genetics, but it's still hard to believe.
Thrax
31 Aug 2008, 10:18pm
It almost never deals with genetics. Only a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction has an abnormal metabolism or a disease that affects the metabolism. Everyone else just has fat **** syndrome.
tmh88
31 Aug 2008, 10:38pm
It almost never deals with genetics. Only a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction has an abnormal metabolism or a disease that affects the metabolism. Everyone else just has fat **** syndrome.
I didn't mean it like diseases or anything like that, I just meant that some people have a bigger frame and will never have a 32 inch waist no matter what they do. For the most part, "fat" people are that way because food is so tastey, and exercising hurts.
Thrax
31 Aug 2008, 10:39pm
Yeah, well, if people are getting hung up on their waist size as opposed to their body fat % and lean muscle mass, they're already on the wrong train.
tmh88
31 Aug 2008, 10:58pm
You know what I mean. It's easier to visualze a solid number than a percentage of something that changes from person to person.
Shorty
2 Sep 2008, 10:38am
Keep it up Rob! It's been the best thing I have done in a long time (that and taking up the drums). Il see you ripped at IC LAN 09 and be the same ;)
Today's nutrition: Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=9&Day=02)
Today is legs and abs. Stats incoming @ around 7 PM EST.
//EDIT:
Squats: 4x8 @ 130lbs (+10 lbs)
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 25 lbs (+5 lbs)
Leg Curls: 3x8 @ 65lbs (+5 lbs)
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 120lbs (+20 lbs)
Romanian Situp: 3x12 (no change, but slower)
Plank: 2x70 seconds (+10 seconds)
Today's nutrition: Here (http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Thracks&Year=2008&Month=9&Day=04)
Today's stats:
Bench press: 3x8 @ 115lbs (Met rep goal)
Incline bench: 3x8 @ 95lbs (Met rep goal)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x6 @ 65lbs (+10 lbs)
Dips: 4x6 @ Body Weight (+3 reps each set)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10/9/8 @ 15 (+5 pounds, sticking with this weight next week)
Cable Crossovers: 3x10/8/6 @ 40lbs (+10 pounds, sticking with this weight next week)
Thelemech
5 Sep 2008, 9:35pm
Good luck with this Thrax !
Deadlift: 2x6 @ 140 (+10lbs)
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 90lbs (+5 lbs)
Chin Up: 3x4/4/3 (weeeeeeak...)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 70lbs (+20lbs)
Barbell Curl: 3x10 @ 60lbs (+2 reps)
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 20lbs (+2 reps)
Hit my rep goals and increased weight across the board. Awesome.
erichblas2005
7 Sep 2008, 3:02am
Good luck on you goal. I work out 5 days a week for 1-2 hours. since may I have lost 20lbs of fat. Over the next six months I'll loose 30lbs.
Today:
Squats: 4x8 @ 140lbs (+10)
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 35lbs (+10)
Leg Curls: 3x8 @ 75lbs (+10)
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 140lbs (+20)
Romanian Situp: 3x12
Plank: 2x75/60 seconds
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 70lbs (+5)
Thursday:
Bench press: 3x8 @ 135lbs (+20 lbs)
Incline bench: 3x8/7/5 @ 95lbs (Don't know what happened here; just couldn't make it happen)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8/7/6 @ 75lbs (+10; same weight next week)
Dips: 4x8/7/5 (Boo, gonna try 7/7/7 next week)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10/9/8 @ 15lbs (My shoulders were exhausted)
Cable Crossovers: 3x10/9/8 @ 40lbs (sticking with this next week)
An okay day, I guess. Kind of disappointing on all but flat bench, which I slaughtered.
Incline is always a bitch after bench. That's the one that always get me as well.
Saturday (9/13):
Deadlift: 2x6 @ 150 (+10)
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 100lbs (+10)
Assisted pullups: 3x8 @ 140lbs
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 70lbs
Barbell Curl: 3x8/7/5 @ 60lbs
Dumbbell Curl: 3x9/9/8 @ 25lbs (+2 reps)
Problems:
I still can not do even one unassisted pullup by myself, even when my body is fresh. I struggle and try, but I absolutely can not do that pullup. I'm going to run with assisted pullups for a while to see if that improves things, and I have dropped chinups in favor of pullups.
I can not raise my bicep curls in any meaningful way. My BB curl has been at 60lbs since I started. My goal is 3x10, and all along I've been able to do something like 8/8/7, or 8/7/5 or something. On the BB curl, again 3x10 (5 on each arm) and I've been able to bump the weight up just five pounds, but I still struggle to hit 10/10/10 at a measley 20 pounds. When I'm 100% fresh, I can knock out 3x10 (again, five on each arm) @ 35 pounds.
I don't know what's happening, but it's extremely frustrating seeing the same values on biceps every week. I'm not sure what I need to do to fix this. I guess maybe I'll drop back to 50 lbs on bicep curls and start over.
I would just focus on the motion more. There's no need to get caught up in the numbers game. Clearly your arms are being taxed by the weight as is and you really want to avoid swinging the weight at all costs. Try doing your first set at your current weight, dropping fives pounds for your second set, and dropping five more pounds for your third set.
That will help get you to reps, and then add weight onto those last sets until it comes back up.
Thrax
13 Sep 2008, 11:21pm
Alright, I'll try that. Thanks Matt.
Boo! I hit Go Advanced and I lost my post. Anyway, what's up Thrax? :)
On the pull-ups, you can do jump pull-ups. Basically, you push off with your legs to give an assist in getting up, then hold the contraction briefly in your lats and let yourself down. Most people who have trouble with the concentric portion of the movement can still perform the eccentric portion with no problem, and it is a great strength builder. You'll be doing unassisted pull-ups in no time. ;) It is way better to do partially assisted pull-ups than fully-assisted, even if you do fewer. You gotta move more weight to move more weight, and go big to get big, and utter silly cliches, and so on.
As for the curls, I say to hell with them. Isolation exercises do very little to improve the body's metabolism, unlike heavy, compound lifts like squats and deadlifts. At the stage you are at, it is all about reprogramming your metabolism and training your central nervous system to intelligently activate muscle fibers (i.e. cause them to twitch). Later on, when your body is already in a prime metabolic state, it becomes more beneficial to do isolation movements (like curls). My advice would be to center your goals on improving "the big three" and not worry about accessory, isolation type exercises right now.
Deadlifts: 12
Curls: 46
Come on, Thrax! 25 deadlifts, 0 curls! That's the way to go. :D
Thrax
17 Sep 2008, 12:52am
Tuesday (9/16):
Squats: 4x8 @ 150lbs (+10)
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 45lbs (+10)
Leg Curls: 3x8 @ 85lbs (+10)
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 160lbs (+20)
Romanian Situp: 3x12
Plank: 2x75 seconds
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 85lbs (+10)
Good day.
Thursday (9/18):
Bench press: 3x8/7/6 @ 135 (I'm pretty sure my form was wrong)
Incline bench: 3x8/8/7 @ 100lbs (+5 lbs)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8 @ 75lbs (Met rep goal)
Dips: 4x7/7/7/6 (+1 rep across)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 15 (Met rep goal)
Cable Crossovers: 3x10/10/9 @ 40lbs
Stick with 15 on those lateral raises for awhile, focus on a tight form, hold slightly at the apex, then bring down slowly. Lateral raises are one exercise that actually work better with lower weight.
Gravite2090
19 Sep 2008, 8:45am
You have to get your back strong and your abs strong before you do shit with the arms. That doesn't mean avoid them, that just means don't expect gains there until your core is stronger. Same with pull ups.
The best advice I can give, however, is to simply not fizzle out. It took me over a year to get strong when I decided to a few years back. I couldn't have done it without my work out buddy, who really used to pump me up (no homo).
Thrax
19 Sep 2008, 12:44pm
I'm not concerned with a lack of week-to-week progress on some occasions. That's the nature of the game. I'm assuredly in this for the long haul, and no matter how long it takes, I will succeed.
Thrax
20 Sep 2008, 10:10pm
Saturday (9/20):
Deadlift: 3x8 @ 160 (+10 lbs, +2 reps, +1 set)
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 110lbs (+10 lbs)
Assisted pullups: 3x8 @ 150 (+10lbs)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 80lbs (+10lbs)
Barbell Curl: 3x10 @ 60lbs (FINALLY)
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 25lbs (+5 lbs)
Finally a good Saturday at the gym. I still suck at pullups, though.
Pull ups are a bitch though. I can only do 3-4 at my bodyweight.
Yeah, I figured out my problem with pullups. I can do 3x5 now. Note to self, do not do deadlifts and rows prior to attempting pullups.
MAGIC
25 Sep 2008, 12:39am
Yah, ill have to try them first thing tommarow see if i can do more.
Nice deads on Saturday, Thrax.
I'm assuredly in this for the long haul, and no matter how long it takes, I will succeed.
Right on... While a lift is technical, the game is all mental in the big picture. The great thing about keeping a public record of your journey is not so much the advice you get from no-it-all (, self-deprecating) assholes on the internet (*cough*), but rather the ability to go back in time, review your goals, acknowledge the commitment you publicly made to yourself, reaffirm your convictions and stick with your plan. It is truly invaluable, because nothing about long-term fitness is easy in our society.
Thrax
25 Sep 2008, 11:10pm
Tuesday (9/16):
Squats: NONE. Tweaked my left abductor, and I'm giving it time to heal. Picking up @ 160 next week.
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 45lbs (No change)
Leg Curls: 3x8 @ 95lbs (+10)
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 175lbs (+10)
Romanian Situp: 3x12
Plank: 2x75 seconds (Ow)
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 95lbs (+10)
Guess who had a moderately bad day? This guy.
Thursday (9/18):
Bench press: 3x8/7/6 @ 135 (I'm pretty sure my form was wrong)
Incline bench: 3x7/6/5 @ 95lbs (-5 lbs, -1/2/3 reps. FAIL.)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8 @ 85lbs (+10 pounds)
Dips: 3x8/8/8 (FINALLY MET REP GOAL YES)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10/9/8 @ 15 (Shoulders were just plain tired)
Cable Crossovers: 3x10/10/9 @ 40lbs (No change)
UPSLynx
26 Sep 2008, 3:19am
Guess who had a moderately bad day? This guy.
Hey, it's the theme of the moment. I had a abysmal run yesterday, kept cramping up and having to stop 2 miles out.
Only way to do is to get back up and knock it out the next day.
Was too lazy to post my Saturday scores, but it was a big improvement for me. Here's Tuesday:
Squats: 4x8 @ 160lbs
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 55lbs
Leg Curls: 3x8 @ 100lbs
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 185lbs
Romanian Situp: 3x12
Plank: 2x75 seconds
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 105lbs
Thursday (10/2):
Bench press: 3x6/6/5 @ 140lbs (+5lbs)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 15 (Staying here for a while)
Dips: 3x8+5 (+5lbs)
Incline bench: 3x7/7/6 @ 100lbs (+10lbs)
Cable Crossovers: 3x10/10/9 @ 45lbs (+5lbs)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x4/4/4 @ 90lbs (+Fail).
Saturday (9/27):
Pullups: 3x4 (+1 per set)
Deadlift: 2x8 @ 175 (+10)
Barbell Curl: 3x10 @ 70lbs (+5 lbs)
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 35lbs (+5 lbs)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x8/8/8 @ 95lbs
Barbell Row: 3x8/8/6 @ 115lbs (+5 lbs)
Thursday (10/9):
Bench press: 3x6/6/5 @ 140lbs
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10/8/8 @ 15
Dips: 3x8+10
Incline bench: 3x8 @ 100lbs 7/7/6
Cable Crossovers: 3x10 @ 50lbs 10/8/6
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8 @ 90lbs 8/8/6
okay day, I guess.
UPSLynx
10 Oct 2008, 4:53pm
So how is progress Thrax? Do you feel better, is there a visible difference to you yet?
Blog post incoming on just that thing. Sit tight.
And complete: http://icrontic.com/forum/blog.php?b=23
A rewrite of my introductory post with new information and a new closing.
One thing I have learned is that you can't really pay attention to the appearance of your body on a program like this as it's the fastest demotivator there is. Eating 3000+ calories a day is a caloric surplus that simply will not burn body fat, and even tends to create small amounts of new fat each week. Therefore any muscular development I have obtained is only known by touch, and I am otherwise just bigger with the same (if not higher) body fat percentage as ever before. Knowing that I will be able to burn this off at the end of my journey to reveal my efforts is the light at the end of the tunnel.
When I come home for break next weekend, we'll go and see if we can't work on some upper body stuff with declines. I might break you from your regular routine or just have you do an extra day with me, but there's some stuff we can play around with.
As for your diet, I can talk to you about it a little better about it in person, but as a kind of basic guide: The Chili from Wendy's is probably okay, has a lot of salt, the hamburger and sandwiches I would skip. It also destabilizes your diet a little bit too. You're eating enough, but changing the timing of your meals will help minimize fat intake.
You should shoot for the majority of your protein intake post-workout, meaning you want your carbs (and peanut butter fat) in the morning, before you workout. So what I would suggest is you take things with you that you can eat at work:
Wheat bread, wheat pasta, wheat pita (good with a few tablespoons of peanut butter on it), wheat crackers, fruit (banana, apple), vegetables (carrots, salad), whole wheat bagel.
These foods require relatively low preparation, they are mostly grab and go. If you eat a good breakfast too it helps stave off hunger. Good breakfast meals are shredded wheat, all-bran cereal, eggs, hash brown (home made). I'd pick two of those and eat them.
That way when you get home you can have time to make chicken and lean cuts of beef after your workout, your protein shake, and some cottage cheese.
So a sort of meal plan:
Morning:
Shredded Wheat
2-3 Eggs
10 PM Snack:
Apple
Lunch:
Wheat pita with 2 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 cups wheat pasta
Some protein (You could opt to have your chili here)
3 PM Snack:
Wheat crackers, carrots
When you get home from work you can eat something light, such as a banana, but now with your carbs out in the morning it will be able to more readily use the protein to repair muscle and offset DOMs. This sort of methodology helps prevent water retention, bloating, and has been shown to decrease fat absorption in the body.
Otherwise, good work, and thanks for the shout out in your post.
Thrax
11 Oct 2008, 10:10pm
Saturday (10/11):
Pullups: 3x5/4/3 (No improvement in total reps)
Deadlift: 2x8 @ 185 (+10)
Barbell Curl: 3x10/9/8 @ 75lbs (+5 lbs)
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10/8/6 @ 35lbs (-0/-2/-4 reps. Fail.)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x9/8/8 @ 95lbs (+1 rep improvement)
Barbell Row: 3x8/7/6 @ 115lbs (-1 total rep)
Mixed bag of a day.
Good/bad news. My clothes are starting to get too small, particularly around my chest and thighs. I just did some fall shopping about 6-7 weeks ago, and it's already time to swap these perfectly-good clothes out. :sad2:+:tongue:+:rolleyes2
So it's off to the mall this weekend to buy some new jeans and revamp my wardrobe.
I mixed up my programming by swapping shoulders from Thursday with abs on Tuesdays. This should allow for superior performance on my chest/shoulder days where I have typically struggled with bench due to tired deltoids.
Tuesday (10/14):
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 215lbs (+15 lbs)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x7/7/7 @ 90lbs (Missed rep goal again)
Squats: 3x8 @ 180lbs (+10 lbs)
Hamstring Curls: 3x8/7/5 @ 105 (Missed rep goal)
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 135 (+15 lbs)
Lateral DB Raise: 3x10 @ 15 (Finally, consistent performance! Changing the programming helped)
Plank: 2x75 seconds (keeping here for a while)
When I read your blog I saw there myself as a teenager. It's now been over 20 years from my resurrection, and I can say with confidence that every hour consumed at gym is worth it. Keep on the good work, mate!
If you like, I could give you some hints/comments on your exercising for future reference:
In general, if you feel good with this program, you should definitely go on with it, although it is maybe not the most efficient and even if it gets criticised.
Since you are a beginner, and lived most of your life without exercising, the most important is to increase body awareness, especially innervation of the muscles. I know it sounds lame because everybody would like to get immediately a perfect body, but you need to look years forward, not weeks or even months. After a year you will be in better position in your development when you have a slow and sturdy start than if you'd try to achieve too much too fast.
Anyway, within a year your development with this program slows down to an extent you might get frustrated. Then it's time to change gear.
Firstly, more and more learn to listen to your body. It's not the schedule or program that you should obey but the progression of your body: when it aches or is tired, rest or exercise lighter; when you feel energized, give you body hell... Human body is not a machine: routines, schedules and programs are just guidelines. It is good to follow the guidelines rigidly in the beginning to adapt to the way of life, but when you have learned to listen to your body, do what it says.
One thing to understand about development, which applies to everything, is that it is not steady in the long run. Strength develops step-wise: sometimes you are able to increase weights, but then you might have to decrease weights for several weeks, until you feel strong enough to increase weights again. The key to the development is that the phase of the cycle, when you have a burst of energy, must be exploited for using bigger weights than no man has used before... At least you should feel that way :p
Also every once and a while some variations of the program are needed to avoid jamming of the development.
As your innervation improves, you can concentrate on main exercises (=exercises with free, big weights) and reduce the portion of supportive exercises (=exercises with machines, small weights or one arm/leg). Strength and muscles grow with big weights. Also highly targeted exercises for single muscles are useless, actually worthless, unless you are a professional bodybuilder.
Then, everybody of course knows the importance of stretching, but not all truly understand how it should be done.
There is no use to stretch the muscles on the same day as they have been trained, assuming that the training has been hard enough for development. Actually, hard stretching after hard training would just do more damage to muscle fibers, and prolong the healing process. The most important time for stretching is a couple of days after training, when the energy stores of the muscles have been filled up (not completely though) and anabolic phase, i.e. building of muscle fibers, has begun. Because the fibers grow in width the stretching prevents the fibers end up stiffer. Also, hard stretching at this phase gives boost for anabolic process. The stretching must begin with some warm-up, start softly but slowly progress to pain treshold and beyond...
Now, one might think that I'm here talking about training for serious power lifting. Why should a regular guy aiming merely for a more aesthetic body care about serious muscle training? Well, the key word is "more" - which implies to development, and obviously the goal is also to change the life style for good, and not just temporarily.
Following and understanding the natural development cycle(s) of your own body is crucial for long term development, and avoiding overtraining and even injuries.
And then just one special thing: everybody, I mean everybody, end up having knee problems with squat when the weights increase unless the technique is correct. I highly recommend spending some time studying of wide-stance squat, google "squat rx", although you wouldn't be aiming for a power lifter. kthxbye!
Nomad and I worked out today, and I had one hell of a day. I overcame my flat bench plateau, did 25 lbs more on my decline bench than I've ever done on my flat, and owned the **** out of a burnout set that drops from 160 to 45 pounds over 30+ consecutive reps.
I've also altered my programming even more by completely dropping cable crossovers on Thursday, picking up decline bench and skullcrushers in the process. Also, I'm spreading my ab work by placing one on each day, and dropping Romanian situps for rope crunches. So now my Thursdays look (and performed) like this ('cept for plank, which goes to Tuesday):
Thursday (10/16):
Flat Benchpress: 3x8 @ 140 (Rep goal met)
Rope Crunch: 3x8 @ 120 (NEW)
Decline Benchpress: 3x5 @ 155 (NEW, did 165 but want to keep it safe w/o a spot)
Dips: 3x7/5/3 @ 15 lbs (My pecs/tris were punished after that much bench)
Incline Benchpress: 3x5 @ 100 (Shifted rep goal for more weight)
Skullcrushers: 3x8 @ 20
Plank: 75 seconds (2x75 in the future)
Also, I attribute my new-found success to narrowing my bench grip and finding the proper target on my chest when bringing the barbell into the hole.
Thanks, Nomad.
weight make a nikka do krazy thangs
Guess I never posted my saturday or tuesday scores. Whatever. Was an improvement.
Here's this week's:
Thursday (10/23):
Flat Bench: 3x8/8/5 @ 145lbs
Rope Crunches: 3x8 @ 130lbs
Decline Bench: 3x5 @ 155lbs
Dips: 3x8 @ BW
Incline bench: 3x5 @ 105lbs
Skullcrushers: 3x8 @ 25
Improvements all around. Pissed @ missing reps on flat (again).
145 is up from 140, look at it that way.
Skipped saturday because I was sick. Here's Tuesday and my 2 month progress update:
Tuesday (11/4):
Squats: 3x8 @ 190lbs (+5 lbs)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8 @ 95lbs (+5 lbs)
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 250lbs (+15 lbs)
Plank: 2x75 seconds
Hamstring Curls: 3x8 @ 110lbs (+5lbs)
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 15
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 145lbs (+10 lbs)
And after two months, I officially weigh 181 eight hours after my last meal and a morning #2. ~184lbs after a night of endless feasting. That's +10 lbs of lean mass in 8 weeks. My body fat has changed very little, and I can tell this by the way my hands look (weird, I know, but it's an indicator for me). As a result, I'm up from a small to a medium in shirts and added +2-3" to my waist.
Here's to the next 10!
LawnMM
29 Oct 2008, 1:43pm
If you haven't looked into the bio impedance bodyfat gizmo's I recommend them. They're inaccurate to a degree but they're consistently inaccurate so you can track a trend. If you have a concrete bodyfat number you can break down your weight gain farther and fine tune your diet that much easier. You're trying to gain, so you can keep adding food and watching your gains and if you start picking up more fat than lean mass you can ease off the calories a bit. Likewise if you're still picking up mostly lean mass add more calories.
They're pretty helpful and a little more precise than the appearance of your paws! =)
Just a thought. Good job by the way...keep at it.
I actually need to buy new fat calipers. Perhaps not as simple as an impedance scale, but certainly more accurate. My last calipers broke, bleh.
LawnMM
29 Oct 2008, 11:52pm
I actually need to buy new fat calipers. Perhaps not as simple as an impedance scale, but certainly more accurate. My last calipers broke, bleh.
Actually they're all about the same accuracy wise. The impedance scales and handhelds are just easier to use in my opinion. The real benchmark for checking your fat level is to be weighed underwater but thats neither convenient nor easily accomplished or funded last I looked.
I was wondering which at home method was better too and then I read an article saying as far as accuracy they're all somewhat lacking, but they are all consistent, and thats the big thing.
Thursday (10/30):
Flat Bench: 3x8/8/7 @ 150lbs
Rope Crunches: 3x8 @ 150lbs
Decline Bench: 3x5/4/3 @ 160lbs (bleh)
Dips: 3x8+5
Incline bench: 3x5 @ 110lbs
Skullcrushers: 3x8 @ 30
Saturday (11/1):
Pullups: 3x5 (My form is still terrible)
Deadlift: 2x8 @ 200 (This felt REALLY good)
Barbell Curl: 3x10 @ 80lbs
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 60lbs
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 35lbs (Can't get this to move, always tired)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 95lbs
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 95lbs
Actually they're all about the same accuracy wise. The impedance scales and handhelds are just easier to use in my opinion. The real benchmark for checking your fat level is to be weighed underwater but thats neither convenient nor easily accomplished or funded last I looked.
I was wondering which at home method was better too and then I read an article saying as far as accuracy they're all somewhat lacking, but they are all consistent, and thats the big thing.
Calipers, when properly used, are the most accurate measurement short of hydrostatic testing, but a consistently reliable barrier is more important.
Thrax you go man! You're inspiring and I like the accountability in posting your activities.
Thankfully, I've never been really out of shape but I hear you on the skinny fat thing. I think I've got a different body composition than you, though. I have no problem with gaining or maintaining muscle. I can also see my abs but I really want to cut them up.
One night the wife and I saw P90x on TV. We're going to do it. Ya, I hit the gym 2 to 3 times a week and eat decently, but I think the nutrition in P90x and the regular workout routines will get my body where I want it to be.
I'll keep reading the thread for your progress. Hey! Where's the pics?
Ummm and that would be the first time I asked for pics of a man.
I'm completely forgetful and never got around to posting my "before" pictures. I'll see if I can get some "today" pictures going.
My body fat is still moderate, but there have been definite improvements. I'll get some pics up asap.
One thing I have learned is that I have no problems gaining muscle. I was just too lazy to figure that out before.
11/6 I bailed because my back hurt, and on 11/8 I could only do half my routine due to sudden exhaustion and the feeling that I was going to vomit everywhere.
It's been a bad week.
Black Hawk
9 Nov 2008, 1:38am
I'm completely forgetful and never got around to posting my "before" pictures. I'll see if I can get some "today" pictures going.
:p
There you go. Me at 16 or so.
Snarkasm
9 Nov 2008, 2:15am
Holy shit, hair.
I actually had some then. It was the coolest thing ever!
LawnMM
11 Nov 2008, 2:52am
11/6 I bailed because my back hurt, and on 11/8 I could only do half my routine due to sudden exhaustion and the feeling that I was going to vomit everywhere.
It's been a bad week.
How was your diet on the pukey day? I find if you push really hard on big compound exercises and you haven't been eating well its very easy to hit that 'im gonna ralph' point.
Some people think if they don't yack in a bucket doing squats they didn't push hard enough. I think its possible to get a good workout short of vomiting but thats me.
My diet is very clean, and was that day as well. I've never felt like that before, so I chalk it up to random BS.
Shorty
11 Nov 2008, 1:46pm
Keep going Rob. I have those days as well, it just depends on what you have done in the day previous. Some days I am just so tired but I fight on because I am committed to doing this. You are a good example of the determination needed. I am in it to win in with ya mate :)
Two bad weeks. Real bad. Due to injuries and being sick, I missed 4 out of the last six dates with the gym. 11/6, 11/8, 11/13 and 11/15. :( Sigh.
I'm ready to hit it hard again today. I'm tired of feeling like a bum. Even though my weight hasn't dropped (nor gained, sigh), I feel like I've gotten smaller. I hate this feeling.
Must crush iron.
Gnome Queen
18 Nov 2008, 8:38pm
Keep up the good work! (Also awwwww bitty Thraxykins!! How cute!!! ;) )
Shorty
5 Jan 2009, 12:50pm
Update Rob? I know it's tough to stay motivated. I got stuck for a bit due to illness and work pwning my life (new job) but I am back in the game. You had better be as well!
Still going strong. Up to 189 or 190lbs, and looking for 200 by February. December/Jan is a little bumpy due to holidays, but I simply forgot this thread was here. ;)
I'm now squatting 205, deadlifting 225 and benching 165. Others have all gone up as well.
Here are my workouts for the upcoming week.
Tuesday (1/13):
Pullups: 3x6/5/5
Dumbbell Curl: 3x10 @ 45lbs
Deadlift: 2x8 @ 235
Barbell Curl: 3x10/8/7 @ 80lbs
Incline Situp: 4x8 @ 75lbs
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10/10/8 @ 100lbs
Barbell Row: 3x8 @ 70lbs
Thursday (1/15):
Flat Bench: 3x8/8/8 @ 165lbs
Rope Crunches: 3x8 @ 200lbs
Decline Bench: 3x5/5/4 @ 180lbs
Dips: 3x8/8/8+30
Incline bench: 3x6/5/4 @ 135lbs
Skullcrushers: 3x8/8/8 @ 45
Saturday (1/17):
Hamstring Curls: 3x8 @ 110lbs
Squats: 3x8 @ 185lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3x8 @ 105lbs
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 375lbs
Plank: 2x75 seconds
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 3x10 @ 20
Calf Raises: 3x8 @ 175lbs
I'm currently at 190.2lbs. I had a two week period where weight gain was probably a good 40-50% fat, so I'm not pleased with my muscle development relative to my current weight, but I am 10-12lbs away from my goal and I'm very happy about that.
By the end of February, I should start my cut cycle so I can finally see the fruits of my labor around June/July. Here's to hoping the next 10-12 pounds are super lean!
Shorty
22 Jan 2009, 2:10pm
Awesome work dude. Really awesome. Going to have update my log as well. I am not weight gaining parse, just pure muscle growth. I won't look as "baulky" I guess but I can now lift a hell of a lot more than some of the bigger guys at the gym. There is a strange satisfaction in watching someone busting hard to do sets of a weight and I knowing that that would be no gain to me and I have to lift heavier!
Now squatting 190, deadlifting 245, benching 165. Up to 192.4 lbs.
Clutch
22 Jan 2009, 11:34pm
Hell yeah, keep it up Rob.
A week later:
Now up to 194 even w/ 3500 calories per day. This breaks down into about 120/230/330 fat/carbs/protein.
I rotated the order of exercises on my bench day to put incline first (I need work there), so my flat bench progress is going to flatline for a while. I find that I don't have very good endurance in my chest to go through 9 combined sets of incline/flat/decline, so I just live with whatever I can throw up.
I successfully deadlifted 245 on 1/27 and squatted 190 on 1/26.
Regarding squats, it's amazing how much refinement I've had to do to keep progression comfortable. For a while I was throwing up around 210, but was having serious issues coming out of the hole on the last reps of my third set. While normally I would write this off as muscle fatigue and the limitations of my current musculature, it just felt "wrong" and my lower back was consistently tight and strained at the conclusion of my sets.
After speaking with Nomad and doing some experimentation, I bit the bullet and dropped my squat weight back to 180 and have started to work my way back towards my mini goal of 225 (4x45 plates). Here are some of the adjustments I made and problems I noticed:
While conventional wisdom suggests a 30* outward turn for feet position, I feel most comfortable at very near to parallel.
While I was consistently keeping the bar on my traps, I was still having temporary lumbar pain at the conclusion of my reps. I corrected this by moving the bar even lower on my back. After careful analysis I realized that the bar was in front of my center of gravity in the hole which I meant I had to recruit too much of my back to force the bar into the right position to complete the squat.
If the bar's knurling can't cut a bitch, I hate squatting with it.
My shoulder flexibility issues were solved by grabbing the bar loaded with 225, getting into squat position, and then leaning even farther forward to essentially pull my shoulders/arms back. After a few days of my chest being pissy, I kept doing it and can more or less put the bar on my shoulder blades if I wanted to.
As for my deadlift, it is easily my best and strongest exercise (as it should be). I use a mixed grip for my working sets that puts my left hand palm out. I found that if I reverse the direction of my hands, I cannot complete a set. I don't know if this is bad or not, but whatever. I'm very happy with my deadlifts and the progress I am making towards my mini-goal of 315.
Things I am not happy with:
I continue to be the world's worst pullup athlete. I can still barely squeeze out five reps, and the last one could be considered laughable. I have tried many subtle variations of speed, torso angle relative to the bar, and grip, but nothing seems to matter overmuch. I'd love to grease the groove on this one and knock out a ton of reps per day at home, but money is tight and I cannot afford a bar.
The development of my pectoralis minor continues to be a source of consternation for me. My family is not gifted with chest development so it has been a struggle to make the progress I have made. While my lower chest is coming along decently well, my upper chest feels as though it has only grown half way from my deltoids to my sternum. If I flex my chest it feels like muscle has only developed about 2.5" from my shoulder, and it feels like bone from there to the center of my chest. VERY FRUSTRATING. This is why I now have incline at (as of last week) 3x8@135 as my very first exercise, instead of flat bench. I hope that this last-minute course correction will be what I need to fix my physique when it will be easiest to do so (bulk phase).
A matter of "I have no idea:" I have discovered that I really have no sense of self. Aside from having an uncanny ability to detect even the slightest changes in my body fat, I cannot assess the size of my own body now that I have added over 20 pounds in lean mass. I especially can't tell if my arms are big or small, which often makes me paranoid that my (very) slow progress with them hasn't put them out of proportion with the rest of my body. I also have the same concern for my anterior deltoids.
I feel like such a fatty! Bulking phases unavoidably add to your body fat, and I was already carrying too great a percentage when I went into this ordeal. I look at my own pictures and (vainly) think about how much of a Fat McFat**** I look like at the moment. I cannot wait to start cutting this fat out.
Moving forward:
I will begin my cut cycle on the first of March or 200 pounds, whichever happens first. At this rate I expect to be 200 pounds in about the 2nd or 3rd week of February, and I'm hoping that this will be the case. I got the first taste of success on this front when I stepped on the gym scale and it reported 202lbs; even though this is about 6 pounds off, it felt amazing to finally see that number on a scale.
All the nice new clothes I purchased back in November no longer fit. My wardrobe has been gutted down to a select few pieces on two occasions, and on those two occasions I've had to go out and purchase more clothing. This happened once in October, and again in January (~178 and ~192 pounds). I'm getting tired of wearing the same old clothing, so it will be nice to unlock access to my old favorites again. As much as I love my AE and H&M polos, I'm tired of wearing them only because they fit.
For all of my complaints above, I have been very satisfied with my progress. Since August 30 I have put on a grand total of 23 pounds or 4.6 pounds per month. This is exceptional progress, and I'm eagerly awaiting the day when I can finally stand around with my shirt off and not feel completely embarrassed about the way I look.
See you at the IC EXPO. :)
Did I say my flat bench was going to flatline for a while? Guess not. Threw up 165 this week for a full 3x8 for the first time. 170 next week. Sweet baby progress!
If the bar's knurling can't cut a bitch, I hate squatting with it.
This.
Worst squat injury evar? Two severely sprained wrists thanks to a shitty bar slip. Chalk and pain! Chalk and pain!
Edit: Question on squat stance. How wide? That typically determines the angle of your toes. If you find toes in more comfortable, it's probably an indication that your stance is too narrow. Load the bar up with light weight and try doing some really wide squats. From what you're describing, we may be built pretty similarly. I struggled with squats a lot until I abandoned the idea of doing narrow squats altogether in favor of wide squats and heavy, narrow leg presses.
Rotated incline bench into the first slot for my chest/tris day on Thursdays two weeks ago. Incline jumped from 3x5 @ 130 to 3x8 @ 155. Tossed up 3x6 @ 160 yesterday. Flat bench is 8/7/5 @ 175 right the moment, but I'm not expecting much progress when I've put my upper chest first.
Deadlift is up to 255, squat to 205.
Weight is currently 199. One more pound / 9 more days until I start cutting.
Time to get hulk, son!
Weight is at 199 and change, and I'm bumping up against my March 1 deadline. I start cutting on March 1st, and I'm the process of doing research on the precise level of carbohydrate intake needed to induce ketosis. So far it's looking like 40-50g/day at a maximum.
I'm nervous and excited about the next twelve weeks. I'm excited because approximately 10 months to the day after I began this journey, I'll be done with the first phase of my efforts and I will be able to see what I've worked so hard for. I will be truly fit for the very first time in life.
I am nervous because cutting is the hardest part of bodybuilding. I hate running, and the thought of doing HIIT 3 days/week is already weighing heavily on my mind. Running -- cardio in general -- is a huge demotivator for me, so I need to keep my eyes on the prize and get through this.
Saturday is beer and pizza day. My last love affair with my beloved carbs until I wave them off until June.
:)
//EDIT: Bench 175 8/7/6, Deadlift 265 8/8/8, Squat 205 8/8/8.
MiracleManS
25 Feb 2009, 7:42pm
Good luck Rob. I know its tough, but when you're done it feels great to have accomplished something you set out for so long ago!
I have officially started my cut. I'm dropping from 3500 calories/day down to 2700 calories/day over the course of this week. I'm at about 3000 for today, and have a modified workout plan specifically designed to hit some weak/undeveloped areas in preparation for having 10% BF.
My first day of HIIT is today (m/w/f, workouts on t/th/sat or sun/t/th). Nervous, excited, hopeful, etc.
My daily intake will be approximately 2679 calories with 70/100/350g carb/fat/protein.
GHoosdum
8 Mar 2009, 11:07pm
How has the cut progressed? Sounds like you have a solid plan for it, and you're as dedicated as you are to the rest of your program.
I started sprints this past monday, and have been working on getting my diet under control. The first week was all about learning exactly what I have to buy, and ramping down my calories.
It'll start picking up this week, but I'm down to 196.
Here are my current workout targets for the upcoming week (excuse my peculiar notation). You can also see how my program has altered slightly in response to my cutting, and you can see that my benchpress has dipped in weight while the rest has gone up. I reset my benchpress and incline press by -20 pounds, and have been steadily working my way back up at 5lbs a week. So far so good:
Sunday (4/5):
Shoulder Press: 3x8/8/7 @ 115
Squats: 3x8 @ 220
Lateral DB Raise: 3x10 @ 22
Hamstring Curl: 3x8/8/8 @ 120
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 420
Calf Raise: 3x8 @ 275
Tuesday (4/7):
Chinup: 3x8 +5
Deadlift: 2x8 @ 280
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @ 120
BB Row: 3x8/8/8 @ 145
BB Curl: 3x10/10/8 @ 50
Crunches: 3x12
DB Curl: 3x10/10/10 @ 50
Thursday (4/9):
Incline Bench: 8/8/8 @ 150
Flat Bench: 8/8/8 @ 160
Decline Situps: 3x15 (no weight)
DB Incline Bench: 10/8/8 @ 50
Dips: 3x8/6/6 @ 25
Skullcrushers: 3x8/7/7 @ 50
On the cutting front:
I had a 12 day cold in early March that appeared to subside, but it left me with some sort of walking bronchitis. It plagued -- and continues to plague -- my running abilities. After I'm done I have chest tightness, coughing fits, and later phlegmatic wheezing that can last for 6 hours to 2 days.
My GP has assured me that this will all go away and I am on short-run antibiotics and a non-steroid inhaler to get this crap under control. Despite this setback, my running has improved dramatically. I started at just one lousy minute of HIIT, and my best is now 7 solid minutes. Things are looking up.
On the body fat front, I have dropped from 201lbs to 194.6lbs since March 1st. I would like to take this time to tell anyone who is reading about how important water is. You'll see that I've lost almost 7 pounds in 5 weeks. Not the best until you consider that 2 or 3 of those pounds came in the last week alone. What did I start doing differently? I added 1-2 gallons of water PER DAY to my diet.
That doubled or tripled my weekly weight loss. Water.
Drink it, bitches.
What sort of routine are you doing for HIIT?
30 seconds jog/30 seconds sprint. Working up to 20 minutes over the next 8-9 weeks.
WagsFTW
8 Apr 2009, 1:20am
I used to love sprinting. I should try to get back into that. I'm trying to get back into running with my roommate. It sure hurts the whole body...but that's a good thing, right?
I'm down to 193 and change, which makes for about 1 pound a week so far. I've maintained my water intake but further dropped my calories to approximately 2300. I can go as low as 2200, but I'd rather not. So far this has given me appreciable results in fat loss, but the scale has not really changed much. Either I don't know how dramatic a difference a single pound really makes, or I'm gaining muscle while losing fat.
Either way, big win for me. ONWARDS!
After visiting the doctor, my HIIT has improved dramatically. I rocketed from about 5-6 minutes to 10-12 this evening. What a difference a week or two makes.
Down to 190 or 192, depending on what seems like the weather. My actual weight is probably 191.
I'm now at 2300 calories per day solidly.
I dropped running because I ****ing hate it.
I now jump rope or time-trial 12mi of cycling.
My bench has stalled at 160 (down 10 from pre-cut 8RM).
My deadlift is hovering around 290 (up 20 from pre-cut 8RM).
My squat is hovering around 225 (up 10 from pre-cut 8RM).
Today, for the first time in nearly 5 months, I wore a medium-sized shirt to work. It feels good. My effort is working.
I still can't really see any muscle, but I've got another 10-12 pounds to go that will make all the difference. I know immediately that my chest is going to look a bit goofy, and there's nothing I can do there but start bulking again in the fall. Everything else I'm fairly confident about.
Krazeyivan
1 May 2009, 1:22am
Congrats man - glad to see your sticking at it.
I was doing well on mine a while ago - seemed to have been sidetracked but this is good motivation for people.
When I was first doing benching I spent ages at 90Kg - busted my ass and it took 6 months of hard work to suddenly jump up to 110kg over a period of 3 weeks. Sticking points are a pain!! I eventually after a few years got to 200Kg for 2 reps.
I hate running too - but I recommend keeping up the HITT your doing well.
I did a slight variation on yours - 20 secs sprinting (full pelt) with 10 secs walking - do 8 should take 4 mins - its very very good.
Down to 190 lbs on the nose.
I dropped running completely because I ****ing hate it. I picked up cycling instead, and I'm doing ghost runs against myself to improve my time for a 13mi ride.
I'm still conscious about my chest and shoulders because I had major sticking points with them before cutting. I'll have to see how it all pans out after the fat is gone, but I'd be very disappointed if they were disproportionate after all my hard work.
BAH. We'll see how it goes!
Down to 187-188 pounds. Biking is going very well for me, and I love doing it. I don't dread it like I did running.
Hopefully I can get the rest of this fat off before the LAN!
On the lift front (for 3x8):
Bench: 170
Squat: 230
DL: 285
It is very hard to keep energy for my lifts with no carbs, though. I tried doing barbell rows yesterday after 3x8 chinups at BW+10 (my best ever), then lat pulldowns 10/6/5 @ 120, and I couldn't even lift the bar properly. It sucked. I was exhausted.
So right now I'm getting the major compounds out of the way first while I am energized, and cycling the remaining peripheral exercises so each muscle group still gets maximum attention at least once every other week.
Some days are good, some days are bad.
I also dropped leg press after yawningly doing 3x8 @ 600lbs leg press. Waste of time.
I'm now at 184.6 pounds. Lifts are unchanged.
It's a struggle completing all my exercises every day. Carb deprivation is assuring that I can only complete 3-4 exercises satisfactorily before I just plain run out of juice. I hit my compounds first and have been rotating the remaining exercises to make sure everything gets some love.
I suspect I have about 8-9 pounds to go. This will put me about 5 lbs. shy of my initial lean bodyweight goal, but whatever. I think I'll be able to put those extra pounds on when I switch to maintenance calories (2900-3100) at the end of June.
No change in weight or lifts this week. :(
I'm hovering around 181 or 182 pounds in the morning post-workout. That's the most accurate depiction of my weight I can get. Mid-day weight is around 183 and change, so I would say I've lost 2-3 pounds since my last update.
Here's to the month of July.
Lifts:
DL: 300
Bench: 170
Squat: 230
I haven't had the opportunity to squat or bench in 2 weeks, however, so these may increase come Thursday and Saturday.
Grimnoc
1 Jul 2009, 2:49pm
Hey Thrax, seeing as how I am very new to Icrontic I don't know you at all, but I found this thread really encouraging as I am about to start my own exercise regimen come this Monday.
Only my goal is to add weight (via muscle mass) for once in my life!
Anyway, keep at it and good luck.
Alright, back on the treadmill. Squat, bench and DL are holding steady, and I've confirmed my weight at 181.6. Here's to those last 6-8 pounds. :) Home stretch.
Shorty
7 Jul 2009, 10:15am
Keep at it mate. Keep at it. Doing real well.
Check out my progress as well, I have really broken my plateau. Back on track :)
I've been following your thread closely, good sir! You've been making great progress! :D
And speaking of progress, I have moved a smidge closer to my goal with a 1 pound drop to 180.6. HUZZAH. I am starting to get vascularity in both of my arms, and I can see the faint shadow of the veins in my biceps... MUST LOSE MOAR FAT.
Who is 179.2 pounds?
THIS GUY.
This is the first time I've been under 180 pounds in nearly a year. SO FUCKING CLOSE.
chrisWhite
19 Jul 2009, 1:51am
Congrats, you're a badass!
lordbean
19 Jul 2009, 3:39am
Damn, dude. You're doing great at losing weight. I'd refer my coworker to you (since he's got a gut he wants to lose), but he's not internet-enabled (or even overly PC-enabled, to my knowledge).
Weight fluctuates up and down in the neighborhood of 2-5 pounds daily depending on water retention and amount of food consumed that hasn't been "processed" yet. Particularly if you've had a day heavy on salt, water retention can temporarily add a lot to your weight.
Right. Going into the LAN, for example, I weighed exactly 183 pounds. On the final day of the LAN, I weighed 190.3 pounds. 48 hours after the LAN, I was back to 183.
This means that I was carrying approximately 7 pounds of water, food and whatnot. This is also why I systematically weigh myself in specific conditions:
1. I weigh myself Saturday morning.
2. I must have 8 hours of sleep from the night prior.
3. My last meal can be no sooner than 3 hours prior to sleep the night before.
4. My last meal before sleeping must always be the same.
5. Friday must be a day where I have cycled exactly 9.6 miles.
These conditions assure that the weight measurements will be relatively accurate and free of fluctuation week to week.
lordbean
19 Jul 2009, 3:47am
Good call on the consistency. That's probably the best way to keep an accurate log of it.
Since I'm trying to go the opposite direction (currently 130 pounds and gradually climbing), I don't keep very careful track of mine. I only weigh myself once in a while to make sure it isn't trending down. I'm pretty sure it's not, though, because I can see the new muscle growing onto me.
Yeah, when I was bulking (I went from 171 to 200 lbs), I stepped on the scale every two weeks or so. I didn't really care much, because I knew it would go at the pace it wanted, and my diet was clean.
lordbean
19 Jul 2009, 3:56am
I made the fortunate discovery that my initial thoughts on whey protein (that it upset my stomach) were not in fact correct. Since I have a good 2/3 of a kilo of it still, I mixed a glass and drank it... and lo and behold... nothing happened. I felt like I'd drank a glass of koolaid.
This is very good, since my stomach often refuses to contain as much food as I'd like it to after a workout. Carbs don't cause much trouble, but my belly's very finicky with protein/fat/salt, or any combination of the 3. Has made my diet rather more interesting to figure out than a normal bodybuilder.
The real questions for the girls (and others)... Do you have abs yet? ;D
Not yet! I'd estimate about another 6-8 pounds.
176.2 or so.
I'm making about a pound every 7-10 days, but I think it can be a little faster.
I'm going to see how this week pans out, then give carb cycling a shot if I stalled.
TL;DR VERSION:
Saturday: Carb+
Sunday: low carb
Monday: no carb
Tuesday: low carb
Wednesday: High carb
Thursday: Low carb
Friday: No carb
HIGH CARB+:
Three meals with unlimited carbohydrates of any source
HIGH CARB:
Clean carb breakfast
1 pre-workout clean carb meal
1 post-workout clean carb meal
LOW CARB:
89g Clean carb breakfast
89g Clean carb post-workout meal
NO CARB:
Current carb-free
All in all, I think I'm definitely going to add anywhere between 8-15 pounds to my frame when I resume mass-building. There are a few areas that did not turn out as well as I wanted, and my overall size is going to be smaller than my original goal. So I'll get to that goal throughout this winter, and then see where I stand.
174.4. It appears that it's working. I've been pondering the +10-15 pounds idea since I last posted, and I'm pretty resolved in the notion.
I'm already certain I'm gonna go with a 4 day split, on/on/off/on/on/off/off, and try high-calorie carb cycling throughout my bulk phase to minimize fat generation.
I've also been considering my programming: I am most certainly going to add some form of forearm exercise -- hammer curl or reverse curls -- and bring the pain on my chest, possibly with a pec deck.
As this is my last BIG chance to get everything in proportion, I have to make sure this goes right. I don't want to spend months playing fiddly games later on, so I'm gonna keep my October/November bulk start go super clean.
My musculature is starting to show, but not in the dimensions I had hoped for when I began this time last year. That said, I also knew this would be a 2+ year process, and the first year is just drawing to a close. I am pleased that I was able to put on about 20 pounds of lean muscle in just 7 months; that's very good progress. Sue me for wanting more. ;)
Discipline will get me to my goals, so discipline it is.
Today was the best day at the gym I've had in a very long time. I moved all of my lifts up either by reps or by weight, and everything just felt easier. I cannot even begin to express how good it feels to have some carbs back in my system.
It's pretty early on, but I think this carb cycling business was a fantastic idea, and I wish I had done it sooner.
fatcat
9 Aug 2009, 11:34pm
From a guy that nearly killed himself losing weight, you've been a great inspiration to me and getting my arse back where I was in the military. I look forward to ICOK to discuss our biceps :thumbsup:
Thrax
20 Aug 2009, 11:08pm
I think 174.4 was a fluke of the scale. THe lowest I've seen it since is 175.8, and that is today. Looks like carb cycling may have jumpstarted my metabolism? We'll see.
lordbean
20 Aug 2009, 11:20pm
20 pounds of lean muscle in 7 months is amazing. If I can match that I'll be at my initial 150-pound target by february. Keep poking me to make sure I'm following through in my thread prz!
Thrax
21 Aug 2009, 10:15pm
Whoa, yep, carb cycling is working. 174.8 today.
173.8 pounds.
That's 1 pound per week with no cardio. That's the same results I was getting with no carbs 6 days a week, and 3 days of cardio to boot.
lordbean
30 Aug 2009, 6:28am
Sounds like you've hit on something. Other people in the same situation may wanna try this.
As for me, I have no need for it. I can stuff carbs down my throat all day without gaining fat. ^.^
I can't believe how well this is working. Not only do I have more energy for lifting (I AM FINALLY MAKING GAINS ON SQUATS AGAIN OMG), I am still losing weight and not busting my ass on the bike. I LOVE CARB CYCLING.
I seem to have tapered out around 172.8 pounds super dry, but between labor day and time with friends, my diet has not been the best.
To compensate for the short amount of time I have before ICOK where I desperately hope I can use my main costume idea, I am reconfiguring my diet to lose approximately 2 pounds per week, if my calculations are right.
Here are my numbers, and what I'm eating:
Sunday: Low carb (2000 calories)
Monday: No carb (1420 calories)
Tuesday: High carb (2364 calories)
Friday: No carb (1420 calories)
Thursday: Low carb (2000 calories)
Friday: No carb (1420 calories)
Saturday: High carb (3000 calories)
Weekly burn (Est. 3100*7): 21700
Weekly intake: 13624
Deficit: 8076 (2.3lbs)
No carb
244g protein/45g carb/27g fat
Meal 1: Protein shake
Meal 2: 226g 0% fat cottage cheese + 6oz Chicken
Meal 3: 226g 0% fat cottage cheese + 1 can Green Beans
Meal 4: Protein shake
Meal 5: 6 oz. chicken
Low Carb
235g protein/189g carb/33g fat
Meal 1: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 2: 226g 0% fat cottage cheese
Meal 3: 226g 0% fat cottage cheese + 1 can green beans
Meal 4: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 5: 8oz chicken
High Carb
248g protein/261g carb/39g fat
Meal 1: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + 226g 0% fat cottage cheese
Meal 2: 226g 0% fat cottage cheese
Meal 3: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 4: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 5: 8oz chicken + green beans
High Carb+
At least 248g protein/261g carb/39g fat
Meal 1: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 2: 452g 0% fat cottage cheese
Meal 3: 1 cup oatmeal + apple + protein shake
Meal 4: Dinner with someone
Meal 5: 8oz chicken + 1 can green beans
NOTES:
Each day consists of five meals, without exception.
Each day is supplemented with 1 gallon of water and 20-30g of Omega 3 fish oil.
My low carb days are backed by 10mi of cycling. Let's do this.
My protein shakes provide 4 cups of water and approx. 40g of protein.
Meal 4 on Tues/Thurs/Sun. is my post-workout meal.
Oatmeal volume is in dry oats.
My calorie intake is determined by the following formulas:
Protein: (WEIGHT*1.4) in grams, divided across five meals.
Ex: I am 172 pounds. 172 * 1.4 = 240g in protein, or an ideal of 48g of protein for every meal.
Carbs: (WEIGHT/2) in grams per direct carb meal.
Ex: I am 172 pounds. 172/2 = 86g of oatmeal/brown rice/sweet potato carb grams per carb meal.
Fat: As little as possible.
"Direct carb" means you're specifically eating a carbohydrate. Protein powders, turkey, 0% fat cottage cheese and fruits all have incidental carbohydrates that don't count towards the total
THEORY:
Eating a piece of fruit with each carbohydrate meal will elevate liver glycogen and promote weight loss.
The zero carb days will provide tremendous fat burning due to cardio, pseudo-ketogenic insulin/glycogen levels and an extreme caloric deficit.
Sandwiching low-calorie/zero carb days between calorie and carbohydrate-rich days should avoid the penalties of starvation mode.
Maintaining 4 days with heightened carbohydrate intake should elevate my overall metabolism, and promote superior gym performance.
This plan is psychologically--and nutritionally--satisfying, as it provides high protein (>200g), extremely low fat (<40g), and variable carbohydrate to keep it exciting.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
You weirdo texture people who are squicked out at the thought of cottage cheese and/or dairy may replace it with any low or zero-fat protein source.
Green beans may be replaced with 1.5 cups of any green vegetable: Asparagus, broccoli and spinach are good examples.
Oatmeal may be replaced with: 100% ground durum wheat noodles, sweet potatoes or brown rice.
People who will be slowly driven insane by 7 days/week of chicken are free to replace it with white turkey meat or bison.
People who don't like apples may replace them: Plums, pears and oranges are acceptable. Bananas, kiwi and berries are not.
Gnome Queen
11 Sep 2009, 4:45am
You can do it!! :D
primesuspect
11 Sep 2009, 5:24am
Is there any other protein source besides chicken you can recommend? most people don't have the psychological capability to eat nothing but chicken as a protein source, especially when they have other people living with them.
White meat turkey is good, ultra-lean (read: expensive) beef, and bison is ESPECIALLY good.
GHoosdum
11 Sep 2009, 6:09am
Tuna is the only lean protein source I can eat that is a "meat". Mmmmm mercury!
Thrax, what brand of 0% cottage cheese do you eat? I have had a lot of trouble finding one that I find palatable due to flavor. I never mind the texture of cottage cheese, though. I've taken to eating the 2% stuff but it's still got a bunch of saturated fat in it.
I really like "Michigan Brand" 0% fat cottage cheese, and believe me, I totally understand what you mean about most 0% fat CCs. They taste terrible.
The product is distributed by I & K Distributors, Inc. Located at 1600 Gressel Dr, Delphos, OH 45833. They're online at www.ikdist.com
poofie
11 Sep 2009, 1:10pm
SUBSTITUTIONS:
You weirdo texture people who are squicked out at the thought of cottage cheese and/or dairy may replace it with any low or zero-fat protein source.
suggestion: 0% fat greek yogurt! i like the Fage brand, it's really thick, tangy and has comparable stats:
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-fage-usa-total-0-i108278
The yogurt has about 2x the carbs you should be looking for on a no-carb day, but it might be fine on a low or high-carb day.
Seems to be working. I had the lightest Monday morning weigh-in ever at 173.8 pounds, which means my real weight is near 169 or 170 pounds.
I can't wait to get started on bulking again. I'll probably be near to 165 or 160 pounds when this is done, and that's less mass--by about 20 pounds--than I want. My lats, chest, forearms and (to a lesser extent) upper obliques still need some work.
On the lifting front, I've had some major advancements:
I deadlifted 315 for 2x5 last Tuesday. I've been making bi-weekly gains of 5 pounds for 2x8, which has been awesome.
I squatted 3x7 for 230 yesterday, which means next week I'll have officially made 10 pounds of squat progress during my cut.
Bench is still hovering around 170/155 flat/incline, but I have made progress on reps and on other exercises.
...And all of this happened after I began carb cycling.
Thrax
16 Sep 2009, 12:36am
Welp, there's no way I can lose this weight by the end of October.
I did something to my arms while arm wrestling at Oktoberfest, and both of my forearms ache pretty badly when I lift. The pain is sharpest in my brachioradialis and the tendons on the interior of my elbows. So happens this muscle and these joints are heavily taxed with virtually every exercise I perform.
Given that the presence of the pain has reduced over the last 10 days, I'd say it's a sprain of some sort, but I need to give it 10-14 days to heal with icing.
Without going to the gym 3 days/week, I simply won't be burning enough calories per week to get it done.
:( Time to go for my backup costume and hope I don't put any weight on in the mean time. I'm really, really bummed out right now.
lordbean
16 Sep 2009, 1:06am
Theoretically, that shouldn't stop leg-based cardio. That should at least allow you to burn off the carbs, hence avoiding weight gain.
You'd be surprised how much arm strength is required to hold the bar on your back for squats, though I might do leg presses just to keep going to the gym. Definitely nothing involving my arms until they feel 100%.
lordbean
16 Sep 2009, 1:18am
Having done some squats / calf raises myself, I know how much weight has to be held in order to actually work the legs. I was referring to activities more along the lines of jogging, cycling, and any other such things like that which do not require the use of the upper body at all, except for stabilization. It won't build muscle, but it will burn carbs.
edited for grammar booboo.
Gnome Queen
16 Sep 2009, 2:03am
Welp, there's no way I can lose this weight by the end of October.
I did something to my arms while arm wrestling at Oktoberfest, and both of my forearms ache pretty badly when I lift. The pain is sharpest in my brachioradialis and the tendons on the interior of my elbows. So happens this muscle and these joints are heavily taxed with virtually every exercise I perform.
/facepalm
Meh. A man does not back down from an arm wrestling challenge. What's a week when your manliness is on the line?
Meh. A man does not back down from an arm wrestling challenge. What's a week when your manliness is on the line?
qft
Gnome Queen
16 Sep 2009, 2:29am
Meh. A man does not back down from an arm wrestling challenge. What's a week when your manliness is on the line?
Hey, I enjoyed the arm wrestling, I'm not knocking it. ;) It's still a bucket of fail, though.
Yeah, it sucks. Hopefully with a week of icyhot it'll be back in fighting shape. If I only lose week, I can recover from that. Two weeks? Not so much. I'll keep doing cardio in the mean time, and hit the gym for leg work on Sunday.
Gnome Queen
16 Sep 2009, 2:37am
Yeah, it sucks. Hopefully with a week of icyhot it'll be back in fighting shape. If I only lose week, I can recover from that. Two weeks? Not so much. I'll keep doing cardio in the mean time, and hit the gym for leg work on Sunday.
Just stop jacking off so much, I bet your arm will recover faster.
Shorty
16 Sep 2009, 9:20am
Welp, there's no way I can lose this weight by the end of October.
I did something to my arms while arm wrestling at Oktoberfest, and both of my forearms ache pretty badly when I lift. The pain is sharpest in my brachioradialis and the tendons on the interior of my elbows. So happens this muscle and these joints are heavily taxed with virtually every exercise I perform.
Given that the presence of the pain has reduced over the last 10 days, I'd say it's a sprain of some sort, but I need to give it 10-14 days to heal with icing.
Without going to the gym 3 days/week, I simply won't be burning enough calories per week to get it done.
:( Time to go for my backup costume and hope I don't put any weight on in the mean time. I'm really, really bummed out right now.
Rob, that's horrible news mate. I had that recently with my shoulders, totally knocked me out for two weeks. I had to radically shift my diet around to cope with the lack of activity.
Balance the nutrition and find something interesting to do to keep your motivation.
Seriously as well (I mean this), get into an exercise that uses your forearms like drumming. I work out my forearms every single day with the heaviest set of sticks I can buy. I do piano player exercises as well.
Really sorry to hear this after such a huge amount of effort. Soon my bro, soon.
Also, you definitely owe me an arm wrestle at Expo. It's ON.
mirage
16 Sep 2009, 2:09pm
Thrax, how about taking two Ibuprofens before gym, and reduce the weight to half (or more depending on pain) while increasing the time to as long as you can? Would it work?
poofie
16 Sep 2009, 2:22pm
Just stop jacking off so much, I bet your arm will recover faster.
this is what i came to say. thanks, Jackie <3
Gnome Queen
16 Sep 2009, 8:10pm
this is what i came to say. thanks, Jackie <3
I read your mind, Patty darling. :)
Thrax, how about taking two Ibuprofens before gym, and reduce the weight to half (or more depending on pain) while increasing the time to as long as you can? Would it work?
Any time you're injured, it's best to simply wait it out.
I say man up and give the ladies what we want: your original costume idea - even if you're not at your ideal before ICOK.
(I MAY be a little biased)
Either way, <s>the lecherous bitches</s> the community wins. I plan to post results pictures when I shed these last few pounds, and I will have progress pictures when I start add another 15-20.
and who knows! I'm still gonna do cardio, so it might work out alright. :)
OPTIMISM.
Gnome Queen
16 Sep 2009, 8:38pm
Either way, <S>the lecherous bitches</S> the community wins. :)
OPTIMISM.
Hey, I resembl-errr, resent that remark. We're all very respectful, unskeeving ladies. *cough*
Either way, keep it up! :D
Gnome Queen
23 Sep 2009, 2:27am
Random question Rob- do you coordinate your high carb or low carb days with certain days that you're working out?
These are my gym days:
Tuesday: High carb
Thursday: Low carb
Sunday: Low carb
poofie
23 Sep 2009, 12:12pm
Either way, <s>the lecherous bitches</s> the community wins.
i'm not ashamed to admit that i am a lecherous bitches. i wanna see a shirtless Thrax, and i'm not the least bit embarrassed to say it.
Obsidian
23 Sep 2009, 12:15pm
Show off those sexy pecs Thrax ;D
Dry weight is around 172 pounds. August and September has been bad for fat loss. I have lost 2 pounds in 8 weeks, even though I should have been losing about a pound a week. If that had happened, I would have been done already.
In response I am making a renewed effort for October to finish this fat off. If I don't lose at least five pounds, my body has metabolically given up on losing fat. In other words, I will get back on a bulking diet and add muscle mass, then interleave bulk phases with 8-week mini cuts. This cycling will make for easier fat loss, as my body's metabolism won't be six feet under due to 6 months of cutting... Having a higher weight and a higher overall lean body mass also promotes fat loss, as some genotypes don't easily accept dipping below a certain overall weight.
Stay tuned.
//EDIT: The biggest problem in all of this is that between the body fat I started with, and the body fat that I gained while bulking, I had more than 40 pounds to lose. My original estimates were for 20. I had no idea I had to burn so much to get down to 10%.
It's not terribly feasible to lose more than 1-1.5 pounds a week unless you're seriously overweight. To date, I have lost about 28 of those 40 pounds in 26 weeks. That's exactly 1.07 pounds per week. The very best I could have hoped for was 39 pounds, but my early struggles with running basically wasted a month of my time. Hurting my arms for 2 weeks cost me another 2 pounds.
The end result is that I'm right on pace, but right on pace has taken--and will continue to take--a very long time.
The body well and truly doesn't like to cut for as long as I have been cutting, and it may simply not be responsive to it any more. I don't know. Here's to hoping October is better.
lordbean
1 Oct 2009, 7:31am
You know, it amazes me, but even I gain some body fat when I'm orienting my diet around bulking. When I stopped working out for a half-year break (unintentionally) last year, I weighed about 140 pounds, and I actually had a small potbelly. I dropped to about 125 over 6 months, and have been gradually creeping back up again since I started a few months ago. This time, though, I've come at bulking with much more vigor than previously - I'm working a lot more of my body, and much harder than before. I don't think I'll gain as much fat as last time for this reason.
UPDATE:
Carb cycling was a bust for me. It didn't work out the way I had planned, even though it's technically sound, and that's just the foibles of my metabolism.
Instead I did some complex crunching of my metabolism (more on this some other time), and jumped back up to 1930 calories a day (-652 daily). I switched to a 50/30/20 diet, meaning I'm eating carbs every day. I also stepped up my water intake to 2 gallons a day, and I am proud to say that I am losing weight again. If the numbers pan out, I should be done cutting by the end of November.
The biggest problem was that I was eating too many calories on some days, and not at all enough calories on others. To top it off, I was cycling AND going to the gym; this means my daily caloric burns were up to 2700 a day, but I was only eating 1500 mon/wed/friday. This meant that I had a -1200 caloric deficit on some days, and my body was definitely in starvation mode. I was simply not eating enough... This is a lesson in how easy it is to get so caught up in losing weight that you blindly stumble into starvation mode. I simply didn't think my metabolism through to see that what I was doing wasn't the best.
In all, I think my body simply responds best to a consistent, 1.2 pounds/week calorie deficit composed of healthy foods. I don't think I'll be trying carb cycling or pseudo-ketogenesis again.
Between October 5 and now, I have lost nearly 4 pounds. I haven't been 169 and change since July of 2008. :)
I'm still bulking Nov - Feb, though. That should give me time to put on a solid 10 pounds of lean mass.
pseudonym
23 Oct 2009, 10:20pm
I'm hiring you as a personal trainer.
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