Jake's Transition into the World of Natty BBing

Those picks look good jake.And i think your gonna hold a bit of water due to no stims and high frequency training(like you noted)till your body adjusts.But looking solid and dense,and still lean as hell for sure.Are you still slowly adding in more carbs or do you plan on keeping them where they are at the moment.

[quote]jppage wrote:
Those picks look good jake.And i think your gonna hold a bit of water due to no stims and high frequency training(like you noted)till your body adjusts.But looking solid and dense,and still lean as hell for sure.Are you still slowly adding in more carbs or do you plan on keeping them where they are at the moment. [/quote]

So here’s what I decided to do, because this was getting too stressful and not fun to stay starving all the time still.

This week: 250/150/60
Next week: 250/200/60
Next week: 250/250/60

Until I hit 250g carbs, I’m not going to weigh myself or add any cardio. Just let performance in the gym increase. At 250, I’ll start reevaluating each week. If I think I’m getting too soft, I’ll add cardio until I’m dropping weight again…then I’ll start slowly adding carbs again.

Basically I made a decision to get my sanity back FIRST without being completely retarded about it (like 500-1000 cal/day). Then it’ll be a lot easier to manipulate when I’m back at sane levels of caloric intake on a week to week basis.

Thanks for the compliments though. I hope to stay level-headed about this.

5/24/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

HS Hack Squats w/ 4 monster-mini bands: (bar weight only) 3x6x3pps, then a 6+6+6+6 drop set w/ 3/2/1/0 pps, 2 min rest on these. These were FUCKING AWESOME! Eccentric was very controlled and I exploded as hard as I could out of the hole on every rep. Activating the living hell out of my quads. Will definitely be using these again in the future.

HS Bulgarian Split Squats: 2x15x1pps, 45 sec rest

Chest (4)

Stretch Push-ups: 25, 25, 15, 10, 1 min rest

Delts (6)

Seated DB Lateral raises: 3x15x15, 45 sec rest

Pec Dec rear delt flye: 3x15, 30 sec rest

Tris (3)

Upright dips w/ 3 sec negative: 3x10, 1 min rest

*really hammered down on efficient rest time today. Definitely felt like throwing up on my way out of the gym.

5/25/13 PULL

Hams (5)

Lying Leg Curls: 4x8x110, then 8+8+8 drop w/ 110/80/50 +30 partials

Back (6)

Kneeling rope pulldown: 6x12

Calves (4)

Smith Calf Raises: 30x1pps, 25x1.5pps, 2x15x2pps

Bis (5)

DB curls: 15x30, 10x40, 5x50, 10x40, 15x30

5/26/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

Leg Extensions: 20x135, 20x150, 20x165

Narrow stance leg press: 3x25x8pps

Chest (4)

DB Incline Press: 20x60, 15x70, 12x80, 8x90

Delts (6)

Behind back cable Lateral Raises: 16, 12, 8 ramping weight

Bent over 1-arm cable rear delt flye: 16, 12, 8 ramping weight

Tris (4)

Narrow grip swiss bar press: 4x10x1pps

5/27/13 PULL

Hams (5)

GIANT SET: roughly 2 min rest between, 5 total rounds
Lying Leg Curls: 20x60
Stiff-leg BB RDL: 15x225
Monster band pull-throughs, 1 sec squeeze at contraction: 10 reps

Back (6)

Superset: 3 rounds
Incline bench rope cable pullovers: 20 reps
NG lat pulldown: 10 reps

Incline bench bilateral cable rows: 4x12

Calves (3)

Seated calf Raises: 3x35

Bis (4)

HS preacher curls: 4x30

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne bike (i.e. increasing resistance every 10 sec)

**Macros up to 250/200/60 this week.

5/28/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

Smith Squats: 6x15x2pps, 2 min rest

Chest (3)

Smith flat press: 2x8x2pps, 10x2pps

Delts (6)

TRX rear delt flyes: 2x10 (really angled on these…they were tough)

Bent over 1-arm lateral raises: 2x15

Standing OHP: 15x95, 20x95

Tris (3)

Straight bar pressdowns: 3x15

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint

5/29/13 PULL

Hams (5)

Lying Leg Curls: 1 giant set w/ 50lb of:
10 reps right leg
10 reps left leg
10 reps both up, right down
10 reps both up, left down
10 reps both up
OUCH!!!

HS single-leg stiff-leg good mornings: 2x20x2pps, 2x15x3pps

Back (6)

Lat pulldown: 1x12, 1x8, slow negative and accentuated stretch

DB Rows: 2x15x130

DB Shrugs w/ 3 sec squeeze: 2x12x90

Calves (4)

HS standing calf raise: 3x20x3pps, 20+20+20 drop set w/ 3pps/2pps/1pps

Bis (5)

DB curls w/ 3 sec negative: 3x8x30, just 30 sec rest

HS Preacher curls: 2x12x+70lb

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne bike (i.e. increasing resistance every 10 sec)

5/30/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

HS Hack Squats: 6x20x3pps

Chest (4)

HS Incline: 4x20x2pps

Delts (6)

Side lying incline bench 1-arm DB lateral raises: 4x15

Rear delt band pullaparts: 2x20

Tris (4)

single-arm underhand cable extensions: 4x12, just back and forth between arms…no rest between

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint

**Today’s workout left me dry heaving by the end. I decided to mix chest and first few sets of delts in between quad work keeping same amount of rest between quad sets. Mix that with high rep work…eek!

5/31/13 PULL

Hams (5)

Lying Leg Curls: 10x110, then 6+6+6 drop set w/ 120/90/60

GHR: 1x8, 1x10

DB stiff-legs: 20x80s

Back (6)

Single-arm stretchers: ramping 15, 12, 9

Smith bent-over rows: 3x15x2pps

Calves (4)

Leg press calf raises: 2x50x1pps, 2x25x2pps

Bis (5)

Cross-body hammer curls: 2 ascending sets of 5+5+5 w/ 40/50/60

1-arm HS Preacher curls: 3x10x1pl

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne bike

6/1/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

Leg Extensions: 3x30x120

Leg press: 25x8pps, 50x6pps, 75x4pps

Chest (4)

BB Incline Press: 3x10x185, 1x15x185 (wtf? why was I holding back so much on first three sets? =/…)

Delts (6)

Heavy DB lateral partials: 3x35x50

Bent over db rear delt flye: 30x15, 20x20, 10x25

Tris (4)

V-bar pressdowns: ramping 12, 10, 8, 6

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne

6/2/13 PULL

Hams (5)

Lying Leg Curls w/ 3 sec negative: 12x90, 9x100, 6x110

Smith machine stiff-legs: 2x15x2pps+25s

Calves (4)

Seated calf raises: 4x12x1pps

Back (6)

V-grip pullups: 2x12

UH Lat Pulldowns: 10, 8, 10

Bent-over straight arm rope pulldowns: 1x15

Bis (4)

DB curls: 4x8x35, just 30 sec rest

Cardio: 1 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne bike

6/3/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

Smith squats w/ bands: (bar weight only) 5x2pps, 5x2pps+5s, 2x5x2pps+10s, 12x1pps, 15x1pps

Chest (4)

Pec Dec Flyes: 2x15x full stack

DB press & twist: 2x15x60s

Delts (6)

Leaning single arm db lateral raise: 4x15x20

Band pull aparts on incline bench: 2x20

Tris (4)

EZ Bar skullcrushers: 2x20x quarter/side

Upright dips w/ 5 sec negative: 2x12

Cardio: TWO 30 sec wingate sprints on air dyne

6/3/13 PULL

Hams (5)

Lying Leg Curls: 2x10x110

Single-leg ham leg press (feet on top edge of pad): 30x2pps, 20x3pps, 10x4pps

Back (6)

Kneeling rope pulldowns: 3x12

Chest-supported HS rows: 3x10

Bis (5)

BB curls: 10x65, 10x75, 3x10x85

Calves (4)

Standing 1-leg BW calf raise: 4x15

Cardio: TWO 30 sec wingate sprint on air dyne bike

UPDATE*

So it’s pretty late here (1am) and I’m doing some soul searching concerning my current training and cardio. I’ve reached some nice conclusions in the process…

  1. Training push/pull every other day WITH bike sprints added is causing me to hold onto a shit ton of water. I am deducing that my cortisol levels are sky high. I’ve been gaining something like 2lb/week on 2300 cals, and that just ain’t a good sign.

  2. I never wanna get out of bed. This is new. Sleeping in until noon on weekends…no good. Again, think the training and cardio is too much.

  3. Mood is turning rotten and I’m having trouble concentrating in the evenings. This should NOT be happening on higher carbs!

  4. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this insane template was born out of an unhealthy emotional place. By that I mean, I’ve been so afraid of getting “fat” that I decided to go all out with training and cardio and make sure I was hitting big muscle groups and sprints everyday. Ironically, it may have caused a bit of the exact damage I was trying to avoid!

  5. One thing I will say is that strength is continually getting better. So I can handle higher frequency and it’s actually more optimal for me neurologically it appears.

  6. I’m going to cook up a new plan in the mean time. Something more moderate but still high intensity and 2x/week frequency for each bodypart. I can’t help but think something was being held back with this ultra-high frequency approach…maybe not every bodypart, but each day I’m sure some got left behind. I really like the idea of having a “pump” day and a “power” day for each bodypart.

I gave this current plan a full 5 weeks. I like to think I stimulated some growth in my legs with an all out assault on them basically. I learned alot about myself and how much I can push myself…it’s just not ideal for me considering my long term goals.

6/5/13 PUSH

Quads (6)

HS Hack Squats: 4x12x4pps, just 1 min rest (killed these today!)

Smith lunges: 2x20x light!

Chest (4)

HS Incline: 4x8x3pps, 60-75 sec rest only

Delts (6)

DB Lateral Raise: 2x10x30, 30 sec rest and a little body english on 2nd set

Pec Dec rear delt flyes: 2x15, 30 sec rest

HS Incline (again…but seat all the way down so very high incline): 2x15x2pps

Tris (4)

Rope pulldowns: 4x8, just 15 sec rest, nice pump!

Cardio: NONE BITCHEZZZZ (bike sprints have been bothering my groin a bit. I did some hardcore FML soft tissue manipulation last night and its still dull today. Wanted to take it easy with explosive movements.)

Hey jake I here ya on this.I’ve had the same problems as well.Sprints every day,2 a day training and hitting everything twice a week.I would jack myself up on caffeine,stims etc trying to keep up the pace and my cortisol would be sky high and I’d hold a ton of water.All of this while feeling like shit and having no motivation.I would say fuck it relax on my training etc and drop a ton of water and look ten times better then when I was going balls out.

I love and still hit body parts twice a week and still throw In some sprints as well but I TRY to back off when I know I should.It is a battle for me cause I’m a stimulus junkie and love to train.You would think I’d learn from how many times I’ve dug myself Into a hole like this haha.Any way just wanted to chime In and tell ya that I’ve been dealing with this sort of thing myself lately.Got any words of wisdom for getting this through my thick skull I’m all ears haha.Hang In there man.

[quote]jppage wrote:
Hey jake I here ya on this.I’ve had the same problems as well.Sprints every day,2 a day training and hitting everything twice a week.I would jack myself up on caffeine,stims etc trying to keep up the pace and my cortisol would be sky high and I’d hold a ton of water.All of this while feeling like shit and having no motivation.I would say fuck it relax on my training etc and drop a ton of water and look ten times better then when I was going balls out.

I love and still hit body parts twice a week and still throw In some sprints as well but I TRY to back off when I know I should.It is a battle for me cause I’m a stimulus junkie and love to train.You would think I’d learn from how many times I’ve dug myself Into a hole like this haha.Any way just wanted to chime In and tell ya that I’ve been dealing with this sort of thing myself lately.Got any words of wisdom for getting this through my thick skull I’m all ears haha.Hang In there man.[/quote]

Yep, the lack of motivation thing is actually sneaking up on me, and that’s very much not like me. I’ve had to start taking more caffeine again, too! Sounds familar!

I’m definitely gonna settle on a 6 day 2x/week split so I have my sundays off, and hit some interval training on the stair master or something just twice a week.

It seems like ultra high frequency doesn’t gel with guys like you and me who really bring intensity to the table each and every workout. 2x/week might just be my sweet spot.

caffeine is a vasoconstrictor … just sayin’

[quote]Mr. Walkway wrote:
caffeine is a vasoconstrictor … just sayin’[/quote]

Ah yes, I’ve noticed some mild issues with regards to that =/