I got a question. In one of your first photo’s says your “pretending to have abs”. Looks like abs to me and obliques.
Correct me please.
Day Sixty-seven:
Assessed my new client today. I am very excited to see him get in the gym and do things that he has never done before. I feel that he will make some great progress in the upcoming months and am looking forward to testing to him and myself at the same time.
Getting back to me though… arm day!:
A1) Close-grip preacher curl
90 x 7
100 x 5
110 x 3
95 x 7
105 x 5
115 x 3, 75s rest
A2) Close-grip bench press
170 x 7
180 x 5
190 x 3
175 x 7
185 x 5
195 x 3, 75s rest
B1) Incline dumbbell hammer curl
35 (each hand) x 10 x 2
40 x 8 x 2
45 x 6, 75s rest
B2) Decline EZ bar triceps extension
65 x 10 x 2
80 x 8 x 2
95 x 6, 75s rest
C1) Wide-grip/elbows in preacher curl (regular + partials)
65 x 12 + partials to failure
60 x 12 + partials to failure
50 x 12 + partials to failure, 60s rest
C2) Rope cable pressdown (low double contraction)
100 x 12 x 3, 60s rest
I love working arms… I seriously had the biggest pump going back to work. It felt great. Nothing makes me feel like kicking ass and taking names like a good upper body & arm pump. So that’s exactly what I did.
[quote]djrobins wrote:
I got a question. In one of your first photo’s says your “pretending to have abs”. Looks like abs to me and obliques.
Correct me please.[/quote]
Thanks for the compliment!
I try to hold myself to very high standards on all matters, although the two highest are definitely 1) my fitness and nutrition and 2) my career. Since this is a bodybuilding forum and the economy sucks at the moment, let’s talk about #1.
I am not sure what your physical background is like, but for a very long time I was a skinny fat kid who eventually turned into a chunky bastard of a man (living off of beer, pizza, and chicken pot pie will do these things to even the best of us).
Basically, never really having “abs” before, when I think of being “ripped”, “shredded”, or having abs, I tend to think of the kind of people you see in T-Nation articles, Flex magazines, and things that you can use to grate cheese or do your laundry from the 1950’s on.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy with my physique and all of the progress I have made in the past few years, but you can always ask for more, strive to be better, and eventually achieve your goals if you want them bad enough.
So while I strive to become perfect, I know that it is probably just a pipe dream… but it never hurts to pretend.
And I am flexing R E A L L Y hard in that picture.
Hope you’re enjoying the log.
Day Sixty-eight:
Holy crap, I am finally up to date on this again!
(And I think the exposure of posting 7-8 time in an house or so got me some additional exposure).
Another “off” day from lifting, but I am really digging my new method of cardio - I picked up some of Thib’s books for Christmas, including the collection of the THIB Monthly magazines that he put out in paperback form and have been stealing a lot of great ideas from there.
Basically, rather than doing HIIT, jumping rope, or boxing, I am now doing high-incline slow paced walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes, which is supposed to be the ideal method of carido for low(er) carb intakes.
Feedback: So far so good - I have tons of energy left for my weight training sessions and am still keeping the fat gains at bay. I am also hoping that by burning less calories per session I will be able to continue gaining weight without having to up for food intake too much more (good for the wallet).
Hitting shoulders tomorrow. Hard.
Keep in mind, that a lot of guys who show abs or calves when their walking around - ARE FLEXING, you just didn’t know.
It was always that way.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
That is some legit progress. Congratulations, man. I will definitely check out the new log in the future.
Another question, but more specific than the last:
What weight were you at before starting this training/nutrition phase? What I mean is, what weight have you been at FOR THE LONGEST PERIOD OF TIME, before starting Beast Building?
So, if you are up 8 lbs right now, were you at ~ 180 lbs for quite some time ( > 6 months) ?
I ask because I am curious about weight set points.[/quote]
Hey buddy!
Sorry I am taking so long to finally respond to this… it’s been a crazy week like you wouldn’t believe. Either way, I’m back so here goes:
Before I ever started training I weighed 185 lbs. It seems like from the time I hit 6’0", regardless of whether or not the majority of my days were spent playing video games or skateboarding (I went from one nerd-clique to another fairly easily back in the day, probably still do) I was the same weight, although I am willing to bet that my body comp varied slightly.
I was never really concerned with how I looked naked back in those days and therefore have no concrete evidence or records of this, but I do remember when I started skating and being more active that people would say that I looked better (but I was definitely the same weight the whole time).
When I got to college I gained a considerable amount of fat (like about 50 lbs worth), mostly due to the fact that I was ingesting about 3,000-5,000 kcals per day from liquid bread (beer).
This is not an exaggeration - at one point I would drink about a case a day (to myself) with one of my roommates at least 4 days/nights per week. When I decided to finally get my ass in shape, it came off fairly easily until I got to about 195, at which point progress became more difficult and I eventually got down to 168 (my lowest weight ever as an adult).
Since that time I have been slowly putting on muscle, although I hovered around 185 lbs for a year or so when I was really into fighting as that is what I consider my “natural” weight (easy to maintain, ease to cut down from, etc). After college I got up to about 205, but then decided I did it too fast and cut once more to 180 (really just enough to reverse the damage and restore my metabolism to baseline) before starting this program.
So in summary I certainly do believe that there is validity to the concept of set points and that unless conscious efforts are made to offset this phenomenon, we will remain around our pre-determined “natural” weight, although HOW we look may change. On the flip-side of the coin, we can certainly overcome our set-points by employing smart nutritional habits and giving the body a chance to put that extra energy to good use if we take the correct corresponding physical actions.
Hope that helps. I think I jut set a PR for most T-Nation posts in a single day!
Day Sixty-nine:
I LOVE my new gym. I have only been a member for six days now and have already been to 4 different locations - 2 by my office and 2 by my apartment - and the one by my apartment is by far the best. This place has everything I need - tons of squat racks, dumbbells, multiple cable stations, those pre-weighted straight and EZ bars, and a plethora of boxing related equipment (including a Muay Thai bag which is awesome).
In order to celebrate my new gym’s awesomeness, I blasted my delts. It felt good.
Looked something like this:
A1) Push press
135 x 8
155 x 6
175 x 4
140 x 7
160 x 5
180 x 3, 75s rest
A2) Barbell power shrugs
205 x 8
225 x 6
245 x 4
210 x 7
230 x 5
250 x 3, 75s rest
B1) Seated dumbbell press with a hammer grip
40 x 10 x 2
45 x 8 x 2
50 x 6, 75s rest
B2) Upright rowing
75 x 10 x 2
85 x 8 x 2
95 x 6, 75s rest
C1) Dumbbell lateral raise: regular reps + partials
15 x 10 + partials to failure
12.5 x 12 + partials to failure
10 x 12 + partials to failure, 60s rest
C2) Rear deltoid machine: peak double contraction
50 x 12
40 x 12
30 x 12, 60s rest
I am now trying to decide whether or not it would be beneficial to take one week completely off following the completion of this program. I think it would help since it’s a pretty intense, but on the flipside of the issue, I only lift four times per week and do unload at the end of each phase.
If anyone is keeping up on this, any thoughts? I have heard good things about taking time off every now and then, but haven’t really done so myself (at least intentionally).
Weigh-in tomorrow. Let’s hope for good things!
How well do you recover? I bet your work capacity is excellent.
I don’t think one week off would take away from anything you have built. If anything, at your level it might help to maintain some sanity by being away from the gym, but you certainly would not lose muscle or grow weaker.
Maybe you could go for a few weeks on a completely different program before you start something else, and that would be your ‘break.’
You know your own body better than anyone else.
At your weight. Say you want to put on 20lbs of muscle in the next year.
Its going to be much faster, gaining 40lbs total on a strength and size bulk and stripping out 20lbs of fat - than plodding lb by lb trying to gain perfectly lean muscle.
This is Professor X’s theory, I also believe this.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
How well do you recover? I bet your work capacity is excellent.
I don’t think one week off would take away from anything you have built. If anything, at your level it might help to maintain some sanity by being away from the gym, but you certainly would not lose muscle or grow weaker.
Maybe you could go for a few weeks on a completely different program before you start something else, and that would be your ‘break.’
You know your own body better than anyone else.[/quote]
I know that what it really comes down to, as with most things in life, is “does this work for me?” But I still wanted to get a feel for what other people are doing.
I really do think it would be beneficial at some point, and just finishing up with a pretty intense program seems like a good time to take time off, but here’s my real concern: As it stands right now, I am scheduled to go to England for two weeks at the end of March for (work) training. Now I would like to think that I am as dedicated as they come and will certainly try to find a place to lift while overseas, but from what I’ve heard from other people that have completed this course is that I will have no time to myself during the week and that I’ll be lucky to get 4 hours of sleep per night… not exactly a recipe for bodybuilding success.
Now my understanding is that by taking a full week off of training, you will allow your body some much needed recovery time which, provided you have been paying your dues and busting ass in the gym, will be highly beneficial. So my concern is that if I take a week off now and am unable to lift while in England, I will only have been back in the gym for eight weeks before I am forced to take another 2 weeks off. In light of this, do you think it would make more sense to simply wait and take time off in March, or does it not really matter?
[quote]djrobins wrote:
At your weight. Say you want to put on 20lbs of muscle in the next year.
Its going to be much faster, gaining 40lbs total on a strength and size bulk and stripping out 20lbs of fat - than plodding lb by lb trying to gain perfectly lean muscle.
This is Professor X’s theory, I also believe this.[/quote]
Indeed, Professor X is a wise man.
While I agree with you on this point, I also think that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to gaining mass - at some point the amount of fat you are adding to your frame will outweigh the amount of muscle if you are putting on weight too quickly. However, if one is training hard, eating a well planned, healthy diet that is sufficiently high in energy/calories, and that is well suited for their individual make-up, this should not be a problem.
So the only potential point of difference (and please correct me if I am wrong) between our strategies is the rate of weight gained. Right now, I am personally shooting for approximately one pound per week of overall mass. I figure if I eat healthy and in a way that is well suited for my own body (what I am doing now seems to be working), the majority of weight gained should be lean mass.
So let’s assume that 2/3 of the weight I put on will be lean and the other 1/3 fat. If I am trying to gain 20 lbs of lean mass, then shooting for 40 seems like a good plan, since it is likely that I will also lose some muscle along with the fat when I decide to cut up. I feel that this could realistically be done in about a year, with maybe another 12 weeks to cut up afterward. Are you suggesting that it would take less time than this and that I am going too slowly, or does this seem like a reasonable estimate?
In the past it seems as though I have always tried to gain too slowly and cut too quickly, but none of that has seemed to work out too well for me. In the past two years I have gained about 15 lbs of lean mass and it is really sad to think of all that time I have wasted.
This time though, it is different. Where in the past the majority of my phases were based on time (i.e. bulk for 16 weeks, cut for 4), my new strategy is based on numbers - bulk until I hit 225 the cut down to 205 or 6-8% BF, whichever comes first. I think this will help to solve a lot of my problems and hold myself more accountable for actual results rather than how well I am sticking to the plan. This way, the plan can be altered, as long as results are attained.
My only goal right now is to get results. An input or feedback you would care to give is always appreciated.
Do you think you could schedule the two weeks overseas trip as part of a 4 week maintenance phase?
For instance, begin maintenance 2 weeks before you leave for England. Continue maintenance while you are in England. That is 4 weeks total, where the initial two weeks in the States will have you around a gym, the two weeks abroad may or may not have this variable, but you can still try to eat at maintenance calories despite not necessarily having access to equipment.
That way, it is not only a break from training but part of a phase where you are allowing your body to grow accustomed to the new weight it has been putting on.
If you decide to do this, keep trying to gain as much as possible until your planned maintenance phase.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Do you think you could schedule the two weeks overseas trip as part of a 4 week maintenance phase?
For instance, begin maintenance 2 weeks before you leave for England. Continue maintenance while you are in England. That is 4 weeks total, where the initial two weeks in the States will have you around a gym, the two weeks abroad may or may not have this variable, but you can still try to eat at maintenance calories despite not necessarily having access to equipment.
That way, it is not only a break from training but part of a phase where you are allowing your body to grow accustomed to the new weight it has been putting on.
If you decide to do this, keep trying to gain as much as possible until your planned maintenance phase.[/quote]
I quite like this idea. One of the things that I found a bit odd about the Beast Building program is that you spend 8 weeks building up the core lifts - bench, squat, and deadlift - and then don’t even do them the last 4 weeks of the program! Yes, you work with variations of these lifts, but it seems a little off that you would spend time working up to a new max on the back squat, for example, then take 4 weeks off from that lift completely. I am sure there is a good reason for this, but it still seems kind of strange to me.
So I think what I will do is repeat the last phase of the program using the core lifts that I practiced in the first two (i.e. replace incline press with flat bench and front squats with back squats). I think I will do this for four weeks, then switch to something completely different, although still higher volume, for four more weeks before doing a maintenance phase like the one you mention above. The idea here is to steadily increase the workload and gain as much as possible before taking a well deserved break, correct?
Yes, correct.
Also, while I have not tried it myself, some people swear by Rhodiola Rosea. Perhaps you can schedule some recovery (which would include specific supplementation) during this 4 weeks of maintenance.
I recommend getting a deep tissue massage just before leaving for England, and possibly another massage or acupuncture a week later while you are abroad. Definitely get plenty of sleep.
Day Seventy:
Halftime of the Giants game… seems like a good time for an update.
Weekly weigh-in:
Weight: 190 lbs
Waist: 33.0"
Wow, it’s already been ten weeks and only two to go before this little experiment is over. Feeling good about my progress so far, but the weight gain has stopped temporarily this week so time to bump up the calories again. In addition to increasing the size of each of my meals slightly, I think I am going to try bringing a bag of mixed nuts and maybe some beef jerky to the office each day, the goal being to just eat it before I go home for the day.
I think this may help boost my metabolism as well since I will actually be eating constantly throughout the day, rather than eating in bursts every couple hours.
I am hoping to gain another 2 lbs before the end of the program, but I am obviously not going to force it by ramping up my calories too quickly. I figure an extra 400-500 each day should do the trick.
'Nuff said.
“Pec blasting” workout went as follows:
A1) Low incline dumbbell press:
65 (each hand) x 7
75 x 5
85 x 3
70 x 7
80 x 5
90 x 2, 75s rest
A2) Weighted pull-up (close, parallel grip)
219 (BW + 30) x 7
229 (BW + 40) x 5
239 (BW + 50) x 3
219 (BW + 30) x 6
229 (BW + 40) x 4
239 (BW + 50) x 3, 75s rest
B1) Wide-grip bench press
175 x 10 x 2
185 x 8 x 2
195 x 6, 75s rest
B2) One-arm dumbbell row
100 x 10 x 2
110 x 8 x 2
120 x 6, 75s rest
C1) Pec-deck (regular reps + partials)
100 x 12 + partials to failure
90 x 12 + partials to failure
80 x 12 + partials to failure, 60s rest
C2) Straight-bar pulldowns (low double contraction)
120 x 12
110 x 12
100 x 12, 60s rest
Awesome.
Day Seventy-two:
Rocked it out today. Feeling good and damn good about my strength level this week. I got a lot of sleep this weekend and I think it has definitely paid off, not just in the gym, but in general as well. Energy levels are up and I have really been able to attack the weights the past couple of days.
Rockin’ leg workout as follows:
A1) Front squat
215 x 7
230 x 5
245 x 3
215 x 7
230 x 5
245 x 3, 120s rest
A2) Romanian deadlift
315 x 7
335 x 5
355 x 3
315 x 7
335 x 5
355 x 3, 120s rest
B1) Snatch-grip deadlift (standing on platform)
215 x 10 x 2
235 x 8 x 2
255 x 6, 90s rest
B2) Walking dumbbell lunges
45 x 12 x 2
55 x 10 x 2
65 x 8, 90s rest
C1) Leg press (regular reps + partials)
335 x 12 + partials to failure
315 x 12 + partials to failure
295 x 12 + partials to failure, 90s rest
C2) Leg curl (low double contraction)
160 x 12
165 x 12
170 x 12, 90s rest
That may have been the most painful day of lifting I have had in a LONG time. Now, I am not one of those people who actively go out and seek pain when I lift or gauge how productive a workout was by how sore I get, but damn! I must admit that I am looking forward to de-loading next week, at least for legs.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Yes, correct.
Also, while I have not tried it myself, some people swear by Rhodiola Rosea. Perhaps you can schedule some recovery (which would include specific supplementation) during this 4 weeks of maintenance.
I recommend getting a deep tissue massage just before leaving for England, and possibly another massage or acupuncture a week later while you are abroad. Definitely get plenty of sleep.
[/quote]
I checked out some of the literature on Rhodiola Rosea - for $2o I’ll definitely give it a shot for a cycle. Are you suggesting to use it for recovery or just as a general addition to my supplement regimen?
Also, I have had a total of zero professional massages in my life and probably about a foot of scar tissue built up under my skin, so that sounds like a great (and MUCH overdue) idea. What’s the difference between a deep tissue massage and a regular one? I know there are a ton of places by me that do massages, but not sure how many provide the deep tissue treatment (if there is indeed a difference).
I am not sure the difference between a deep tissue massage and a ‘regular’ massage, but if there a difference I’d think the former is better for breaking up scar tissue. Not sure.
Yes, I meant Rhodiola for recovery.
Two other things I would try during your recovery/maintenance phase:
-
Chocamine, 1500 mg / day. This is a relatively inexpensive supplement and contains the active ingredients in pure cacao that elevate mood. Try it, if you like, as something to keep you from feeling burnt out.
-
L-Tyrosine, 2-3 g / day. There is Power Drive in the store here or you can purchase it elsewhere. It does not matter. Maybe start by taking it on an empty stomach, so upon rising would be a good idea. Also for elevating mood.
Optional: Have you heard of D-Ribose? At about 15-20 g / day, it supposedly has a profound effect on energy levels and is used for managing fatigue in people with neuro-degenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis. I will send you a PM re: a source for this.
Remember, at the very least I would try Rhodiola Rosea because it is inexpensive. If you anticipate having a mood fluctuation or want to manage fatigue, at least look at Power Drive (also cheap) and/or chocamine at the dosage I listed.
I suggested the acupuncture also for recovery/relaxation, but I’d rate the massage above this. If you can get both at about 1 week apart, great.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
I am not sure the difference between a deep tissue massage and a ‘regular’ massage, but if there a difference I’d think the former is better for breaking up scar tissue. Not sure.
Yes, I meant Rhodiola for recovery.
Two other things I would try during your recovery/maintenance phase:
-
Chocamine, 1500 mg / day. This is a relatively inexpensive supplement and contains the active ingredients in pure cacao that elevate mood. Try it, if you like, as something to keep you from feeling burnt out.
-
L-Tyrosine, 2-3 g / day. There is Power Drive in the store here or you can purchase it elsewhere. It does not matter. Maybe start by taking it on an empty stomach, so upon rising would be a good idea. Also for elevating mood.
Optional: Have you heard of D-Ribose? At about 15-20 g / day, it supposedly has a profound effect on energy levels and is used for managing fatigue in people with neuro-degenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis. I will send you a PM re: a source for this.
Remember, at the very least I would try Rhodiola Rosea because it is inexpensive. If you anticipate having a mood fluctuation or want to manage fatigue, at least look at Power Drive (also cheap) and/or chocamine at the dosage I listed.
I suggested the acupuncture also for recovery/relaxation, but I’d rate the massage above this. If you can get both at about 1 week apart, great.[/quote]
Thanks for the input. I suppose I could just not be a lazy ass and do some research on massage myself (I hear that “Google” thing works pretty well), but I figured I’d ask. Definitely going to pick up some Rhodiola Rosea and will look into the other three as a definite posibility, if not for now, than for the future.
I usually do not have any issues with mood swings or anything of that nature unless severely cutting carbs, but I could definitely see them being beneficial in the latter stages of a cut when I feel like killing myself and others. I know that sounds like a joke, but if you ask anyone who lived with me during my V-Diet experiment, they definitely would not laugh.
Thanks for the advice as always.