Keki's Starting Doggcrapp Training

Training Training Logs
1

Hello everyone, longtime lurker here at T-Nation; finally feeling like i’m not completely clueless about training/nutrition, so I’m throwing this out for anyone who’s interested in this type of training.

My personal stats: I’m 177cm (or 5’8"), 21 years old, weight is around 190 lbs, and I would ‘guesstimate’ my bodyfat around 16% (some ab definition but definitely not lean). I’m following Jason Ferruggia’s Renegade Diet, which is a form of intermittent fasting. At the moment i’m striving to do a clean bulk for the next 6 months, since I royally fucked up my last bulk which resulted in way too much fat gain. It wasn’t a complete failure, though, I force-fed myself from 165 pounds to 200 pounds in little under a year at about 18% body fat (skinfold tested), and i’m sitting right now at 190 pounds at 16% (untested, just look/feel leaner).

I feel like it’s way more time efficient and healthier to clean bulk and keep fat in check by making smart food choices and using strategic cheat meals for extra calories instead of just shovelling everything I find into my piehole.

I’ve been training for about 4 years, but i’d only really count the last 2 as really pulling my shit together in terms of programming, intensity, and nutrition. I followed Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 system for 8 months to build up enough strength to finally handle some decent weights during a bodybuilding program like Doggcrapp. My main lifts are as follows:

1RM
Squat 410 lbs
Bench 280 lbs
Deadlift 440 lbs
Military Press 200 lbs

I know my lifts are not at all impressive compared to a lot of posters on this site. Anyway, i’ve already finished 2 weeks of DC to get an idea for my working set poundages, and I chose the next 3 exercises for each bodypart for this ‘blast’:

Forearms
Reverse Curls
Hammer Curls
Pinwheel Curls

Chest
Incline Bench Press
Dumbbell Bench Press
Seated Hammer Strength Press

Back Width
Wide Grip Pulldown
Weighted Pull-Ups
Weighted Chin-Ups

Back Thickness
Deadlift
Hammer Strength Row Machine
T-Bar Row

Biceps
BB Curls
Preacher Curls
DB Curls

Triceps
Dips
CG Bench Press
EZ Bar Skull Crusher

Shoulders
BB Military Press
HS Shoulder Press
DB Shoulder Press

Hamstrings
Glute Ham Raise
Lying Leg Curl
Romanian Deadlift

Quads
Leg Press
Squat
Machine Hack Squat

I’m eating about 3,500 calories on training days and i’m not really weighing myself, instead i’m concentrating on getting stronger, and adjust my calories accordingly. I’ts been working great so far, and even though this program is incredibly DOMS inducing, i’m recovering fine. I do steady state cardio for 20 minutes after workouts (not on leg day) to help out with fat management.

So tomorrow will be the first training day for week 3, which means a whole new cycle with my selected exercises. I’m absolutely going to beat the logbook since i’m feeling great and have been eating like a horse.

2

Week 3 Day 1 Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back Width/Back Thickness

Inc. Bench Press 225 lbs x 14 reps
DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 18
CG Bench Press (Smith Machine) 165 lbs x 14
Wide Grip Pulldown 150 lbs x 18
Deadlift 275 lbs x 7 / 275 lbs x 6

All rest pause x 2 except Deadlift which was done with 2 straight sets
Wrote these down out of memory since i left my logbook in the car and i’m running late, will definitely update later today since i’m positive at least one is off. Notes of interest includes way too many warm up sets on DB Shoulder Press, which i felt degraded the quality of the ‘work set’. I was wiped out by the time I reached Deadlifts but managed to beat last cycle’s poundages so I called it a win.

Inc. Bench Press went great, since the gym i’m going to has a thicker bar than usual and is way better on my wrists. It was an OK session and I felt I could have eaten some more since I was getting lightheaded at the very end during the deadlifts. Beat the logbook, but i think i’ll have to start recording calories to have more control over my workouts.

PWO was 1 and 1/2 ripe bananas, 2 scoops of whey protein, fat-free milk, and some chocolate powder for extra carbs/minerals(Choco-Milk)and 5g creatine monohydrate.

Today’s Macros/Calories
163.2g Carbs
115.6g Fat
249.2g Protein
2700.9 Calories

I think i’m definitely not consuming enough calories. I’m having a hard time getting enough food into me in the limited time i have available. I literally had to force myself to eat since my apetite was shot from getting sick over this past weekend. I’ll do better tomorrow I guess.

3

Just a quick update, i woke up today in a world of DOMS pain. I upped the calories (2/3 pounds of meatballs and white rice for my main meal; and another smaller meal later today). It’s impressive how quickly your body freaks out when you mess up your nutrition. I’m feeling better already, so if anyone has trouble recovering chances are you have to eat your way out of your situation. Again, do so with clean foods; I bet if i tried that shit out with bacon cheeseburgers and deep dish pizzas I would still feel like crap.

4

Week 3 Day 2 Biceps/Forearms/Calves/Hamstrings/Quads

I initially wanted to try out Barbell Curls but they inmediatly made my elbows wince in pain so i switched to preacher curls.

Strict Preacher Curls 50 lbs x 24 reps
Strict Hammer Curls 35 lbs x 14 reps (Straight Set)
Seated Donkey Calf Raise 80 lbs x 14 reps (Straight Set, 5 sec descent, 15 second stretch at the bottom)
Glute Ham Raise (BW 25 lbs) x 25 reps
Leg Press (9 plates 25 lbs) x 8 reps (straight set)/(7 plates 25 lbs) x 20 reps (Widowmaker)

Extremely tough day. Last cycle’s glute ham raise made one of my erectors act funny so I cut the set short. This week it felt fine so I completely blasted through the ‘required’ reps. Next cycle I will definitely add weight.

Preacher Curls barely went up 1 rep, but I felt I had better control this time around. During straight sets I usually use more ‘working’ warm-up sets than the Rest-Pause ones.

Calves were extremely achy at the end; I had to reset the pad on the donkey raise machine since they almost slipped my knees off their sockets.

PRs across the board, but I need to bump the calories even further to keep up the progress.

5

Week 3 Day 3 Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back Width/Back Thickness

Machine HS Press 210 lbs x 22 reps
Smith Machine Seated Military Press 65 pounds x 15 reps
E-Z Bar Skullcrusher 60 pounds x 24 reps
Close-Grip Chin Up BW x 20 pounds
Seated Row Machine 160 pounds x 12 reps

Terrible session, I had a headache and no intensity. It was probably from stress, as yesterday was a tough day time-wise and I brought that with me to the gym. It’s the only explanation as I’ve been on top of my nutrition. Anyway, I managed to squeeze out PRs on all my exercises, however minor they may be. Will update on Monday. This weekend i’ll do some light steady-state cardio on my bicycle, hopefully it won’t affect my leg recovery… Speaking of which, I think my legs aren’t responding too well to DC training, i’ll have to wait a couple of months to evaluate, though.

6

Quick update
This weekend I only did some light cardio. I got hit at low speed by a pick-up truck head on while riding my bike. The truck entered a Y intersection on the wrong lane without signalling. It completely wiped out the front tire and my knee hit the hood with enough force to dent it. For some reason my knee is completely fine and I don’t think there’s some kind of internal damage. I will get some X-rays though.

I didn’t eat as well as I should. I’m starting to dislike the low volume from DC training. Of course i’m sore but I keep feeling like i could do more. I’ll run it for 2 months at least and evaluate my progress. I’m getting stronger each session but there’s still this nagging feeling that i’m shortchanging myself by not increasing the volume. Ah well, we’ll see how it goes.

7

Alt. DB Curl /w Poweblocks (45 pounds - 2 stick thingies= 40 pounds) x 29 reps (58 reps total)
Pinwheel Curl /w Powerblocks 55 pounds x 11 reps (22 total)
Poundstone Curls 45 pounds x 70 reps (maximum pain achieved)
Standing Calf Raise 135 pounds x 20, 20, 20 reps
Lying Leg Curl 60 pounds x 18 reps (felt a twinge on the last few reps on my left erector)
Back Squat 205 pounds x 8 reps (completely wiped out at this point) 205 pounds x 20 reps

Terrible session again. I Was doing fine on arms and calves, but at Lying Leg Curls It just felt weird. Back Squat finished me off. I was sore from calves and hammies, and barely eked out a PR with a measly 205 pounds. Widowmaker was even worse, i could not finish the 20 reps. I did 17 and felt I would pass out if i kept going.
I increased weight but didn’t beat the reps. So next cycle i’ll leave it at this weight and finish the 20 reps.

I think i have a work capacity issue. I got wiped out too soon. I will include more cardio on my off days and maybe bump up the calories even more. I might invest on better periworkout nutrition… who knows…

8

DB Bench Press 75 lbs x 24 reps (Tweaked hamstring again)
BB Military Press 115 lbs x 11 reps (harder than i thought)
Dips BW x 24 reps (Band Pushdowns x 60)
Front Raise Pulldown 60 pounds x 15 reps
Kroc Rows 75 pounds x 20 reps (each arm)

Much better session. Yesterday I upped the carbs by tossing in a whole potato on my dinner, as well as some rice. I definitely felt the difference. I tweaked my hamstrings while maneuvering with the 75 pounders, around the groin area. It’s still definitely tender from Monday’s workout. After that I was just more careful about putting stress on my leg.

I know Kroc Rows aren’t part of the DC recommended exercises, but I believe they fit in well with the program. PRs all around, but it’s getting tougher and tougher. Next cycle I will probably switch out Dips for something else, as I only feel them on my joints and not my triceps, hence the extra band volume for my triceps.

9

EZ Bar Preacher Curl 75 lbs x 12 reps PR
Reverse Curls 70 lbs x 12 reps PR
*EDIT forgot to add these Poundstone Curls 45 pounds x 120 (awesome pump!)
Skipped Calves, will do later tonight
Back Squats (again) 225 lbs x 8, 225 lbs x 16 reps PR on both
Romanian Deadlifts 225 lbs x 12 Reps

Awesome session, crushed every single exercise except for calves. They are still too sore to do any work on them, getting my PWO shake in since i’m shaking like a leaf.

Did the alternate scheme Dante recommends for people who dislike the 15 second negatives. I feel that calf exercises done this way just hurt my knees (on the donkey raise machine) or the soles of my feet (standing calf) and don’t really make me feel the contraction on the calves.

10

Read some more on the calves by DC, and I’ve been doing them all wrong. I’m supposed to do them exclusively on hack squat/leg press machines, which explains why I find them so uncomfortable while doing 15 second negatives on other padded machines. No biggie, though, i’ve managed to not stall out progress on them for the last two cycles by improvising with high-rep and high intensity sets. I’ll do them the right way from now on.

I’m sore in a lot of places from yesterday’s workout, but i’m not wiped out. I think I finally dialed in my calorie intake and cycling my carbs comes naturally now. Also, i survived exam week on my Mechanical Engineering major, so the reduced stress definitely helped. Looking forward to tomorrow’s workout.

11

Inc. Bench Press 230 x 13 reps (hard as balls… last cycle I did 225 x 14… I’m gonna call this one a tie)
DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 21 reps (PR, weight is going up next cycle!)
CG Bench Press 165 lbs x 15 reps (hard as balls again, ass came off the bench on last rep… Will probably bump the weight a tiny bit next cycle)
Band Pushdowns x (until i get a good pump going)
Wide Grip Pull down 140 lbs x 20 reps
Deadlift 285 x 8/ 285 x 8 (PR)

It was an ok session. I think i stalled out on the Incline Bench Press… Not sure what went wrong. Today I worked out late evening, as opposed to early afternoon. I had a lot of stuff to do today, and I had to eat some less than ideal meals, so maybe that was it. Not sure how i’m going to proceed but it’s looking like i’m leaving it at 230 pounds and hitting 15 reps next cycle.

I followed my own advice with DB Shoulder Press and warmed up more effectively (quality over quantity), I crushed last cycle’s reps and it will be going up to 42.5 lbs next cycle;definitely happy about that.

CG Bench Press was weird, I guess i got wiped out by Inc. Bench Press, i BARELY managed to hit an ugly as hell PR, so i’ll bump it up 5 lbs next cycle and will up the calories so i don’t mess up again.

Someone broke the pulldown station i had used last cycle, so I had to use a plate loaded station. I put 180 lbs like last cycle with plates, and when I tried to pull it, it didn’t budge an inch and in fact I did some kind of pullup which propelled me off the seat. I bumped it down 40 lbs which was what i guesstimated was the absolute maximum i could handle; it was a good guess, I had a great work set and I believe I beat last cycle’s exercise based on perceived intensity.

Deadlift went great, my left erector didn’t tweak out this time and I felt strong to the very end of the session, I will bump up the weight by 10 pounds next cycle. Good form and intensity.

I’m starting to get a lot of compliments on my recent progress. I have gained 1/4 inch on my arms unpumped and my chest and shoulder girdle is looking a bit more massive. My legs are feeling a lot more solid and my butt looks less like 10 pounds of shit stuffed into a 5 pound bag. Progress is good and I finally feel like DC is picking up intensity and delivering on the promise of gains. This is good as i was getting discouraged early on because I felt i wasn’t doing enough work per week. Now i’m more focused on the few workout sessions I do have and attacking my work sets with laser guided precision.

I’m still following a modified intermittent fasting routine for mass gain, and I feel this has contributed a lot towards my recent body recomposition. I can see more ab definition and someone literally asked me if I was on steroids.

Finally, I feel DC is a great and difficult program that takes a while to take off and requires some patience and good nutrition/rest. I read Serge Nubret’s Pump Training article and since I absolutely did not want to fall again into an endless program switcharoo, I simply implemented some pump training for my arms and quads. This, along with the stretches, have given me good results and i recommend you try it out and see how it works for you.

12

EZ Bar Preacher Curl 75 lbs x 12 (No rep or weight progress, but felt like i had better form)
Reverse Curl 75 lbs x 12 (PR here, went to absolute failure with almost perfect form, Straight Set)
Poundstone Curls 45 lbs x 125 (Done quicker, great pump, starting to build up more pain tolerance)
45 Degree Raise 35 pounds BW x 13 reps BW x 25 reps
Hack Machine Calve Raise (100 pounds x 52 reps)
Leg Press 475 pounds x 8 reps / 385 pounds x 20 reps (Mega PR)

Today my cousin came with me to the gym. He’s 4 years younger than me but is already benching in the mid 200s and squatting 300 . He really helped out on the Leg Press, which i was nervous about, and totally crushed last cycles poundages. I staggered out of the gym and had a huge PWO shake and meal.

Great session, not much progress on the biceps and forearms part, but i’m impressively sore already. I haven’t done the Glute Raise correctly, since I don’t have a decent machine… Still, i’m getting great results from doing a drop seat with a heavy weight then going for max reps with bodyweight. I tried calves DC style again, and I still hate it, so I just did them Mountain Dog style for high reps. Great pump.

Leg Press was awesome. I almost shat a lung but managed to complete the widowmaker and kick ass.

13

DB Bench Press 75 lbs x 26 (Solid form PR!)
BB Military Press 115 x 15 (Solid PR)
EZ-Bar Skull Crusher 60 pounds x 30 (Solid PR)
Band Pulldown x Pumpness
Front Straight Pulldown 70 pounds x 15 reps (shitty form poundage PR, leave weight as is and work on form)
Kroc Rows 75 x 25 reps PR

Great session. I ate like 2 pounds of pizza on my cheat day, and slept like a log. Definitely felt stronger, specially my arms, which felt a lot more stable during most exercises. Going to hit the shower now.

14

EZ Bar Preacher Curl 75 lbs x 14 Rep PR
Reverse Curl 75 lbs x 14 Rep PR
Poundstone Curls 45 lbs x 135 Rep PR
45 Degree Raise 35 pounds BW x 15 reps BW x 28 reps Rep PR
Hack Machine Calve Raise (100 pounds x 60 reps) Rep PR
Leg Press 485 pounds x 8 reps → 395 pounds x 19 reps (Weight PR, Widowmaker went awfully)

Results are great, lost half an inch on my waist, shoulders look fuller, arms went up 1/4 inch unpumped. The results are good, and I will definitely run it again sometime soon, for now, i’ll deload for a full week before going at it again. I still believe this routine, although challenging, could make someone go crazy from staying home doing cardio when they’re feeling absolutely fine on a ‘rest’ day. What i mean is… Most people recommend you do the 3-day a week routine, but I honestly believe I could have done more.

I’ll end this DC Blast here and contemplate what I want to do now. I absolutely do wanna up the frequency. I’ve been reading some strength blogs like Lift-Run-Bang and Chaos and Pain and i really want to try those out. It might sound silly since i got some solid results from DC, but i’m still experimenting and looking what works best for me. For now, i’m crusin’.