Biggest Guy in Class: How to Rebuild a Monolith

Training Training Logs
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Second workout to report.

20/08/20

Bench
20kgx15, 40x5
60.5x5
68x1
69x1
48.5x17 (last rep suspicious as all hell. Couldn’t quite lock it out, but managed to get it back into the hooks.)

BB row
20x10, 40x5
60.5x5
68x1
69x1
48.5x16

Flyes, 3 sets. Nice feeling in pecs today, shoulder was a little cranky though.

Chins, 4, 3, 3, supersetted with 2 sets heavy pullovers (good stretch on these).

Ab work (need to pay attention to abs) - weighted decline setup and hanging knee raises, 1 set each.

Random little thought for the day: It’s sorta funny how six-pack abs are like the holy grail of fitness for the average person, and everyone does crunches all the time because they think it’ll get them fit and get them abs… meanwhile lifters be out here completely neglecting their abs lol.

Also, I’ve decided to do this mini-challenge thing here 2020 ADD Challenge. I am apparently now “committed”, so I shall add that to my log as a tag.

For reference, the plan is to run my current program for the four month period. We’ll reassess as 2021 comes around.

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This sounds like what you described only with a dumbbell instead:

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Ah yeah that’s the one, I couldn’t remember the name! A sort of barbell PJR pullover.

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Two sessions to report on.

21/08/20
First workout to report.

Deadlift
60kgx5, 80x3
110x5
123x1
125.5x1
88x3-3-3-3-2 (total: 14)

OHP
20x8
48x5
54x1
55x1
36x12, rest paused and then cranked out 3 more, just because. Struggling to add more reps, but I have to say the singles feel great and go up very nicely.

3 sets lateral raise
3 sets 1-arm bent over lateral
3 sets each, BB curls and barbell PJR pullovers (superset)

(For reference, I tend to go roughly 10 reps per set on most accessory stuff.)

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22/08/20
Second workout to report.

Bench (hit rep target on the last set, up 2.5kg on first 3 and 5kg on the last set.)
20kgx15, 40x5
56x5
63x1
64.5x1
42x18

BB row
20x12, 40x5
60.5x5
68x1
69x1
48.5x17 (form a little loose on the last rep or two)

3 sets flyes
3 sets chins (3 pull-ups, 4 close grip chins, 4 close-grip chins) sup. w/ 2 sets heavy pullovers.
Finished with 2 rounds of an ab superset - weighted decline sit-ups and hanging leg/knee raises.

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Also found this on the internet today. Hit disturbingly close to home.

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I’ve been a little quiet on the log the last few days, sorry. We’ll do a full update ASAP - there’s a few workouts to report as usual, but I’m also going to be doing a physique update, and talking about a slight modification I’m making in my approach. More on that later!

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Let’s report the workouts first, and then we’ll have a talk. 3 to report this time.

23/08/20
First workout of the three.

Deadlift
60kgx5, 80x3
110x5
123x1
125.5x1
88x3-3-3-3-3 (total: 15)

OHP (I’ve switched to a wider grip to try and shake things up to break this OHP plateau I’m having. Let’s see how it goes.)
20x8
48x5
54x1
55x1
36x10

3 sets lateral raise
3 sets 1-arm bent over laterals
Arms superset - 3 sets BB curls with 3 sets BB PJR pullovers

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24/08/20
Second workout to report.

Bench
20kgx20, 40x5
58.5x5
65.5x1
67x1
47x12

BB row
20x20
40x5
60.5x5
68x1
69x1
48x18 (misloaded, should have been 48.5. Also form was pretty sketchy towards the end.)

Flyes, sup. w/ chins (4, 3, 3)
2 sets heavy pullovers

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25/08/20
Third session to report on. A bonus treat at the end of this one…

Deadlift
60kgx5, 80x3
110x5
123x1
125.5x1
88x3-3-3-3-3-2 (total: 17, but I was interrupted before the last cluster, so the rest time may have been slightly longer than the programmed 20 seconds.)

OHP (still using that wide grip.)
20x8
48x5
54x1
55x1
36x11

3 sets seated lateral raise (tried sitting down, quite nice.)
3 sets 1-arm bent over laterals
3 sets BB spider curl (first time doing these, very interesting.)
3 sets BB PJR pullover

4 mins Tabata front squats. Yep, this is the bonus treat I mentioned at the start of this post haha. From this Dan John article The Tabata Method, Perfected

When I put the numbers into a tabata timer before starting, I was surprised that there were “only” 8 rounds, but 8 is enough! I only used 25 kg (55 lbs) and boy it was challenging. I’ve done very little front squatting, so I ended up fumbling around with the bar and missing a few of the time limits etc, but still, it was really tough.

Now, you may be wondering why I decided to do the tabata front squat protocol. The reason, as I found out when taking some rough measurements today, is that I’m getting a little fluffy around the waist. Yes, the chest and shoulders and arms are up a little - I’ll take some proper measurements first thing in the morning to keep things consistent, but chest is up to about 46-47 inches and arms are up to 15.25, while shoulder circumference is at about 50 inches or just above that (from the last time I measured, that’s a gain of about 1 inch, 0.25 inches, and 1 inch respectively). However, my waist is very pudgy now - in excess of 35 inches, coming up to 36. That’s about a 1 inch gain, and I might just be deluding myself, but I swear it shows in the mirror. I haven’t looked in the mirror in 4 weeks, but now that I have, I’m regretting it, because I’m definitely looking a little fluffy. Weight is up to about 185 lbs (+6lbs from last update), so something has clearly been gained, and I think a little too much has been fat. I see absolutely zero muscle gains in the mirror, which I find worrying after 10 weeks of training.

I can’t really blame anyone but myself. I have, admittedly, been eating rather stupidly - the food has been clean on almost all occasions, yes, but I’ve been eating a lot. Not force-feeding, but I definitely kept going further than was comfortable. (That does sound a lot like force-feeding actually…)

So now I’m stuck. I really want to shred this chub on the waistline, I but I don’t want to start cutting down and stop gaining muscle mass. So what’s the plan? Well, I thought I could ease off on the food a little bit, and be even more mindful of eating any junk - no more sneaking in a brownie after dinner. And, of course, there’s the tabata front squats. I plan to go by how I recover, but the plan is to have them every second day (probably on deadlift day, as a finisher, so that it doesn’t interfere with my deadlift.)

To be honest, though, I’m still a little confused as to what the best approach would be. If anyone has any advice at all, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, stay tuned for an official physique measurement update tomorrow. I’ll do it first thing in the morning to be consistent with my other measurements.

@T3hPwnisher I hope you don’t mind the tag, but it is said that you know a thing or two about how not to look like an oversized puffball. Do you have any advice?

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That may be a first, haha, but I appreciate it.

I’m old school on this: train and gain in phases. If you’re feeling like you’re too meaty now, I’d commit to just plain dropping the fluff, getting to a point that you are comfortable at and THEN focus on gaining. When I gain weight, I quit looking at the mirror and just look at the numbers I’m moving. When I lose fat, I look in the mirror a lot and quit looking at the numbers in the gym.

That said, you’ve identified that you’re making some poor choices, which is always step 1. Tackling that will benefit you no matter which direction you head toward. Portion sizes are definitely where I struggle, so I get that. I could eat myself obese on “clean foods”, haha.

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I love cashews. And can eat 200-300 grams a day. Its hard to lose weight when you can butcher 1800 calories in 25 mins and still be hungry…

I 100% agree with the gain and lose phases. If you try and lose weight and get bigger the goals are conflicting. You can manage it for a while - but not indefinitely.

Chose a goal and go for it.

If on the other hand you change you mind about being “bigger” can I suggest a change in you workouts?
I’ve never done the 20min work outs from Thibs. They look solid. But Id say they are “if there is no time for anything else” work out. Not a plan to follow for months / years.

Adding in Tabata front squats is a good idea to increase intensity. However I would add in some form of back squat. I’m 100% convinced that high rep back squats are THE best way to improve any part of your journey to get bigger, stronger, leaner.

Being the age you are I would suggest Super Squats, 20 rep squats by Paul Carter written for T nation, @T3hPwnisher didn’t recommend it (and I’m shocked) but deep water by Jon Anderson, 531 hard gainers or BBB. They all have high rep back squatting. Your “fluff” might not go away. But it will be stretched over 10kg of new lean mass.

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If he’s going to be in a deficit, there’s no way I’d suggest any of those programs. Not knowing the next step prevents a prescription of plan, but once that is sorted, there are lots of options.

And yeah, I thought I had a sensitivity to nuts until I discovered I was just eating like 4 servings in a sitting. When I eat a serving, there’s no issue, haha. Just too easy to overeat.

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100% agree. These are only if you think “bigger is better” and don’t mind the expanded waist line for a few more months.

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Really appreciate the help @T3hPwnisher and @carlbm. I think I need to go and have a think about what my next steps are going to be, and then sit down when I finish working and have a proper read of everything you’ve written.

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Let’s start with the workouts that are due to be reported on, and then we’ll do an official physique check in, before moving on to future planning.

26/08/20
First workout of two.

Bench
20kgx20, 40x5
58.5x5
65.5x1
67x1
47x13

BB row
20x20, 40x5
60.5x5
68x1
69x1
48.5x17 (not quite as good as I wanted. Form was also a little loose towards the end.)

Flyes, 3 sets
Chins, 5, 4, 3
Heavy pullovers, 2 sets
Heavy ab superset: weighted sit-ups with hanging leg/knee raise

Also, quads were reasonably (pleasantly) sore from the tabata front squats yesterday. But shoulders, where I was racking the bar, were a little bruised.

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27/08/20
Second report.
I think this is meant to be a rest day, but I was already dressed and ready, so I decided to do something.

Circuit of chins and plyo pushups
Tabata front squats, 4 minutes. Upper back started feeling nice and tight towards the end.

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Now for the physique update, just for the record. Everything is under the same conditions as before. Changes are from the last update (18/07/20).

Weight: 185 lbs (+6 lbs)
Estimated body fat: 20% (no significant change, but definitely pudgier)
Shoulder width: 20 5/8 inches (no significant change)
Shoulder circumference: 50 1/2 inches (+2 inches? Doubtful, but ok…)
Chest: 46 1/2 inch (+1 1/4 inch. Also doubtful.)
Waist: 36.25 inches relaxed (+1 1/4 inch… oh dear)
Hips: 40.25 inches (+3/4 inch)
Leg: 23 inches (-1/2 inch. Well, I haven’t squatted for a while.)
Calves: 15 1/4 inches (-1/4 inch. Hey who cares about calves anyway.)
Arms: 15 1/4 inches (+1/4 inch. Can’t see any change, but it is only a quarter inch.)

Now… what does the future hold?

@T3hPwnisher @carlbm I’ve decided that my next step is to go on a short cut. It’s really tempting to keep the mass gain coming, but it’s not just a question of losing my abs - if my waist gets much bigger, it’s going to become a problem. I think I should take some action before it does. Hey, it’s been a fun bulk - almost 3 months, and I’m up 10 pounds, so it worked, for better or worse.

My plan is to reach either a 34 inch waist or 179 lbs, whichever comes first, and then we’ll reassess. The one caveat is this: I want to spend as little time in the cutting phase as possible, and I want to get back to gaining mass quickly. The log isn’t called ‘Biggest Guy in Class’ for nothing.

So now there are two questions that pose themselves:

  1. What should I do during this cut in terms of training? What program should I follow?
  2. What should I do afterwards to gain massive amounts of lean mass?

The reason I originally started Coach Thib’s 20 minute program was because I didn’t have time for my former full body split; each session was taking almost 2 hours. The lack of the back squat, while I understand the reasoning, I fully admit is probably not optimal. I like the look of Paul Carter’s 20 rep squat program, but don’t know if I can run it - it says for “intermediates” and PC himself thinks there’s no point in someone with a squat as low as mine running a 20-rep squat program. (And I also found the lack of OHPs in that program disturbing.)

My inclination is to play around with my own full body split that I started with, and do something to it to increase frequency. Benching or pressing every other workout, I think, might not be optimal. But this is all talk for later, and we can come back to it when we need to.

Also, Pwn - you’ll be happy to hear that I got the Deep Water ebook for some light reading :slight_smile:

Anyway - the most pressing priority is to figure out the best way to shred the chub left over from my bulk phase, preferably while gaining some muscle too, if possible. I don’t care how miserable it makes me feel while I’m doing it - but I need results.

Sorry if this post was an incoherent rant lol. I’m excited but also pretty damn confused.

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Fantastic dude.

Regarding 20 rep squats: you could always go with the original as produced in Super Squats if you want overhead pressing. Stuart McRobert also has some 20 rep squat routines in “Brawn” that include overhead pressing.

For fat loss programming, I like 5/3/1 programs with rep PRs for the mainsets. Strength tends to fluctuate with weight loss, and it’s nice to have a program that allows for good and bad days. Westside Barbell for Skinny Bastards could also work, since it’s max effort based.

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Id concur 531 is a good place to go when cutting. What I find when cutting is my energy level (read strength level) fluctuates through out the day. This means that - you might have had a bad work out. BUT if you’d have done it 2h earlier it would have been great.
You can control this by eating a meal 30/45mins before working out. And having a pre workout snack.

One of the advantage of a cut is the “mass rebound”. Straight after losing weight your body tries to get bigger again. You can take advantage of this by training hard and eating right. You’ll add quality lb’s quickly.
I’ve never experienced it personally. But it well written about.

As for what to do - the world is your oyster. All the go to answers in front of you.
SS, PC’s 20 rep squat (you can change incline to press), 531 BBB and Hard gainers are both good. I’ve not done BTM. But its 531 it will work.
And DW.

See which one talks to you. All of them are HARD. And will take a lot from you. You’ll need to be 100% committed.

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