Phoenix's Odyssey

Training Logs
1

Hello T-Nation,
Welcome to my Odyssey. My training history goes back only two years. I am no stranger to this site. Other than my newbie gain of twenty-five or so pounds i have stopped growing. I attribute it to this “phase” i went to once I found this site. It is great i don’t know where i’d be without it, but i got paralysis of analysis. I was through with rep-tempos, time under tension, IGF-1’s, and all this info that i didn’t know what to do with. I followed each new workout that came out because it had a new fangled strategy or other. For the most part, I am over that. I feel i have a good grip on what i should be doing and shouldn’t be in order to gain size. It just needs to be put into application.

This summer, I wish to do that. I am tired…I want change, i have stalled in gains. My goal is to complete one full blast for the time i have left in my hometown, before i leave off to UT-Austin for college, and beat the logbook every workout I can. Ideally, following the DC principles as closely as possible, I will gain muscle. Maybe a little late to add but I am going to use the DC principles to achieve my goal.

So there that’s basically it, i guess if you want to learn anything more specific, you can PM me or post in the log.
later

/I am the phoenix\

2

I present you with a nugget of wisdom from the great Tmoney - As Ronnie Coleman would say: “Ain’t nuttin to it but to do it.”

Looking forward to watching your progress man!

3

05/27/08 Day 1

Dumbell Press 60pds 16 total rp reps

Dumbell Shoulder Press 35pds 12 total rp reps

Reverse Grip Chinups bodyweight+25pds 8 total rp reps

Weighted Dips bodyweight+25pds 10 total rp reps

Sumo Deadlift 225pds,205pds 7reps, 8reps

Good, hard workout. messedup with the weight on the chins. Triceps were wasted, usually i can do more. No warm up sets for triceps anymore. I should do a bigger jump down next time in weights on the back thickness exercise when i do deadlifts. Overall i liked the workout today, I am already starting to feel a little sore from the workout four hours ago. took a 1 1/2 hour nap just now after the workout. feeling good.

/I am the phoenix\

4

sixty grams of protein today…step up the protein intake!! by the way i’m supplementing with creatine post workout…i think i want to move it to taking it during the workout.

/I am the phoenix\

5

up to 110 grams of protein. not bad, fifty grams in three hours. still got a ways to go. The triceps stretch hurts my shoulders, especially my right one which is a little tweaked from a game of football in which me and a friend collided running routes. might have to make up a new one. man it’s true about the nervous system stimulation you get from this style. I feel pumped and wanna workout again. I know i probably won’t feel this way tomorrow morning though ha.

/I am the phoenix\

6

totalled 190 grams of protein yesterday. pretty good i want to hit that 200 gram mark as often as i can. I will probably workout in a few hours, but first i have a thing to attend to at school. last meeting before graduation practice and all. I feel good today, despite being sore all over ha.

/I am the phoenix\

7

off day today. i’m pretty sore. up to 153 grams of protein already. clogged my toilet too, ha ewww. perhaps the first of many more frequent times over this summer. my protein shake just got a lot harder to chug. =(

/I am the phoenix\

8

Finished the day with like 203 grams of protein. I’m gonna stay consistent with a suggestion made almost offhandly by doggcrapp, that some guys who had trouble gaining weight, he had them do morning fasted cardio more often and it helped their appetite.

tomorrow morning i’ll start doing it every morning. nothing extreme, just simple like shooting hoops or maybe a jog for thirty to forty minutes. tomorrow you’ll see what i’m doing for my lower body which is different from dc…

/I am the phoenix\

9

Back Squat 4x4-6 reps. 205pds
Romanian Deadlift 4x4-6reps. 205pds. 16r
Speed Squat 5x2 115pds
Jump squat 3x8-10 45pds
Vertical Jump 3x8-10
Barbell Curl 70pds. 15 total rp reps

Yeah as you can see lower body is different than dc method. i’m following the program get strong, get fast, get vertical. I believe lower body training should be about performance. I’m barely 18 and pretty active.

I play football, basketball ya know random stuff with friends and I wanna be faster and be able to jump higher always. Always im looking to improve in all facets of life. My last set of the squats had to be done like rest pause style because i was feeling very close to failure.

Today was a terrible day protein wise for me. I’m at about 120 grams today. My fault, woke up late so didn’t eat breakfast because i had to make it to graduation practice. i’m probably gonna get up to 160 though, i plan to take a protein shake before i sleep. soreness in upper body still present. lowerbody is getting sore already from the workout.

/I am the phoenix\

10

Took measurements today.

WEight 139 pounds
Chest: 37 inches
Upper Arm: 12 9/16inches
Waist: 30inches
Upper leg: 20 1/4inches
Calves: 14inches

Yeah i’m small. fuck it, that’s gonna change.

/I am the phoenix\

11

Do you know your %fat? And how tall are you, it kind of makes a difference when it comes to weight.

12

I’m 5feet 7inches. I would guess my bodyfat is right at ten to twelve percent. Through a federally mandated fitness test held at my high school (former high school, graduated last night =) ) I used a body fat handheld thing like the picture and it said i sat around 11.2%. don’t know how accurate.

13

I fucked up on my diet yesterday too. i got caught up and only took in around 150 grams. that’s two days in a row.it won’t happen again it’s pissin me off… i’m off to workout in a few minutes. i’ve got to get it out of the way. tonight is my grad party so i don’t want to be too tired so gotta do it early. oh and don’t worry yall i didn’t drink last night so protein synthesis hasn’t been inhibited and all that jazz (if you were wondering) ha.

14

/I am the phoenix\

forgot to add my little constant reminder of what i’m trying to do this summer on my last two posts. must reread the phoenix theory today sometime.

/I am the phoenix\

15

Incline Machine Bench Press 100pds 16 total rp reps
Cuban Press 65pds 15 total rp reps
Close Grip Pulldown 150pds 16 total rp reps
Skullcrushers 55pds 17 total rp reps
T-bar Rows 140pds 12 reps

doing 150 for the pulldown suprised me. i had never tried that much weight before on a pulldown. the newfound strength i attribute to the past two months where i didn’t have a gym membership and tried working out at home whenever i could.

during the process pullups on the side of my house were a main part of every workout. felt good to do enough on the pulldown that i had to pull myself down with my knees because my own bodyweight couldn’t bring my ass to the seat. only fifty pounds to go and i’ll be using the whole stack ha =).

I wanted to do EZ bar close grip bench press so bad for my triceps but it’s too hard to do without a spot. I can’t get the amount of weight i need into position =(. i like that exercise a lot but that’ll be for another time, whenever, if ever, i get a training partner. good workout.

/I am the phoenix\

16

so far 110 grams of protein.

Goals:
Thought i should put some goals down.

6 month goal: To fit well into medium sized shirts.

Might be a funny goal, but i realized that a perfect way to measure success is if your clothes don’t fit anymore ha. all my shirts are adult smalls. I figure i need about 10-15 pounds of lean mass to be able to fit snugly into most medium sized shirts (not abercrombie ha, i’m practically there for that brand) 10-15 pounds of mass seems very possible in 6 months if i apply myself.

18 month goal: To be at 2.5 pounds per inch at about the same bodyfat i am now. that would put me at like 168-172 pounds give or take a couple of inches of height growth.

These seem acceptable for now.

/I am the phoenix\

17

I took in about 187 grams of protein yesterday. I’m still very sore from the leg workout.

I’m going to weigh myself every friday as i wake up in order to take my weight down and every other friday for body measurements.

I’m hungry.

/I am the phoenix\

18

June 2, 2008
Preacher Curl 65pds 12 total rp reps
Db Weighted Holds 85pds 85sec, 2 sets
Leg Press Toe raises 230pds 10reps
Romanian Deadlift 205pds-9reps,175pds-12reps

took in 192 grams of protein today.Well two days ago i did some depth jumps where i went ATG (off the record, workout wise), and now my right knee is inflamed, has plenty of fluid in it and affects everything from walking to squating. apparently the high impact-large ROM, irritated my knee i messed up about a month ago playing football with some friends. I basically hyperextended it, landing on it while it was fully extended because i was pushed from behind and it was hurt badly. that night i iced it well though, and pain subsided and it was normal only two days later.

i thought it was over with but i guess not. so i’m shying away from quad dominant lowerbody work which is why i did only hamstrings in today’s workout…Maybe my idea of following the “get fast, get vertical” workout isn’t the best for my knees now…maybe it’s DC’s karma getting back at me for only using it’s protocols for upper body and not lower body ha. well until further notice i’ll follow DC principles for lower body too, without quad dominant work until my knee gets better.

Calves,DC style, was one of the most excruciating experiences i’ve ever…well…experienced. That tenth rep was the last one i had left, and i’m not gonna lie, for the last rep i only stretched for 14 seconds instead of 15 for all the others. it was too much ha. Deadlifts were brutal and i loved it, the deadlift, specificlly romanian, is becoming my favorite exercise.

I want to purchase green tea bags or something of the sort so i can start performing that area of the DC diet.

I will post pics soon, probably in my profile of all areas. after all, how serious can i be, if i don’t REALLY put myself out there.

My appetite is growing…good sign.

Remember…
/I am the phoenix\

19

Noticed my first stretch marks today =). they are on my back right by my armpits and rotator cuffs. It’s 99% likely just to be due to the back extreme stretching but it’s still a cool thing to just find on yourself one day. My mom noticed it when i was making a protein shake for myself, i had had my shirt off and she pointed em out. What a great feeling =)

remember…
/I am the phoenix\

20

Just finished my last protein shake of the day. Ended up at 201 grams of protein. man it’s harder now to get in protein with an 8-5 job, well it’s harder to do it cleanly.

I had to resort to a double meat and bacon cheeseburger for lunch in order to just meet minimum where i should be by lunch, calorie and protein wise.

I bought green tea extract, it’s in pill form, i hope that’ll be acceptable for the whole green tea aspect of the DC diet but i’m not sure…maybe someone could chime in…if anything it says the capsules could be split open to be made into tea.

The servings are a total of 65 milligrams per day…don’t know if that’s earound average for green tea intake for a DCer…maybe someone could chime in on that one too…i’ll go check the website but i’ve read the stickies and i don’t think that’s specified anywhere…

Ah my first hard decision of the summer…now with an 8-5 job i have the responsibility of waking up early everyday. There is a huge party going down tonight but i have to decline the invite because i have to wake up early…maybe that’ll keep me on track for my goals physique wise you know with the whole alcohol thing…oh well…barely june 3rd…there will be many more parties to attend…hopefully not too many on weeknights ha.

At my job i work with kids, its a boys and girls club…so i stay pretty active, playing basketball with them and football as well. I’m thinking cardio like this might be beneficial for minimizing fat gain over the blast but it’s just an afterthought not a goal yall, so don’t jump on that sentence.

remember…
/I am the phoenix\