you worked your butt off.Good job!
[quote]forbes wrote:
Thoroughly impressed. A great job indeed! What was your training and nutrition like during this transformation?[/quote]
Thanks guys!
I’ll go over my nutrition first. I did overanalyze my nutrition at first…refusing to deviate from a diet consisting of only chicken, broccoli, and oatmeal. I was even afraid of using any condiments that contained calories. However, this changed pretty quickly.
As I got heavier and my metabolism picked up, this type of diet just wasn’t reasonable anymore. It was making me pretty miserable as well. During my last 1.5 years into this, where I believe I made the most progress in terms of size and strength, I had to eat around 5,000 cals a day to put on weight…under that, I would start losing. During this time…as long as the food wasn’t drowned in oil (fries) or straight up junk (ice cream), I wouldn’t have a problem eating it. I was consistently getting down 5-6 big meals a day to hit my caloric target for the day.
Training…
If I could sum up my training in one sentence, it would be lifting as heavy as I can with moderate (not textbook) form in the 4-10 rep range. If I’m training alone, I finish all my workouts in about 45 min. I rarely go higher than 10 reps. For the past year, I’ve trained pretty instinctively. I generally like to pyramid up to my heaviest set failing in the 4-6 rep range, and then do a lighter set failing in the 8-10 rep range.
As far as the number of sets I do for each exercise, it is pretty instinctive. I don’t have anything set in stone. Once I feel the muscle has been worked enough for a particular exercise, I move on.
The rest I take between sets is based off when I feel ready. I try to rest until I feel I am ready to lift heavy again…but I also make sure not to rest too much that I lose my pump.
My split in the offseason including exercises was…
Back - t-bar rows, hammer strength reverse grip high row, seated cable row, machine lat pulldown, dumbbell rows, rack deads or full deads
Chest - incline dumbbells, flat dumbbells, incline hammer strength, flat hammer strength, flat db flies…abs
Arms - barbell curls, lying tricep extensions, alt dumbbell curls, rope pushdowns, machine curls, machine tricep extensions…abs
Legs - back squat, hack squat, leg press, leg curls, leg extensions
Chest again…as I believe that is my weakest body part
Shoulders - overhead db press, seated laterals, machine laterals, reverse pec deck, db shrugs
Sunday - abs/calves/cardio
My best lifts for reps are…
Incline dumbbell - 120
Flat dumbbell right after incline - 120
T-bar rows - 6 plates+25
Dumbbell rows - 160
Squats - 345
wow thats a great change. did you do any other compound lifts?
barbell flat bench, incline
dead lifts
military press
pull ups?
A little more about training. I sometimes go to World Gym in San Diego as I’m very close by. Everyone here is very friendly. Nasser used to train here. There are quite a few national level competitors here and some IFBB pros…and these guys do NOT train light at all. Pete Ciccone, who just recently placed 2nd behind Al Aguste at the USA’s also trains here.
Derik Farnsworth IFBB Pro…at a height of 5’2 squatting 6 plates a side for reps at the end of this video
140-150 lb dumbbells on the incline
heavy t-bar rows and 215 lb dumbbell rows in the middle of the video
Deena Walsh…who just won her figure pro card at the USA’s squatting heavy
[quote]Vinnie85 wrote:
wow thats a great change. did you do any other compound lifts?
barbell flat bench, incline
dead lifts
military press
pull ups? [/quote]
I try to stay away from barbell work as they aggravate my shoulders.
Yeah, I generally do deadlifts at the end of my back workouts, sometimes rack deads substituting for full deads.
Military press…I do overhead dumbbell presses.
No pullups, I like pulldowns more.
[quote]sloh wrote:
Deena Walsh…who just won her figure pro card at the USA’s squatting heavy
HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
You did awesome man you gained a lot of size but you didnt look too sloppy, inspiring dude.
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?[/quote]
Only you, bro.
Great fucking bulk man. You look pretty fuckin swole at 200. Good work.
Now how are you going to bring that chest up ?
I think this thread would make a great addition to The Best of T-Nation sticky.
OP, do you mind if I add it?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?[/quote]
next summer. after my highschool grad. i will post pics. this is my motivation. call me on it.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?[/quote]
I have a similar roadway as the thread starter.
I am 5’8, 20 years old.
2 years ago, 170 to 130 after chimiotherapy/radio
1 year ago 130 to 160 After my first year of training I finally started to make steady gains (strength and weight).
up to now I’ve reached ~230 and I am currently trying to get my fat% under control.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?[/quote]
Thanks for the kind words Prof. Your advice on this forum throughout the years has not fallen on deaf ears.
[quote]StompingHorse wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Posts like these need to fill up this forum.
Is anyone else here making progress like this?[/quote]
I have a similar roadway as the thread starter.
I am 5’8, 20 years old.
2 years ago, 170 to 130 after chimiotherapy/radio
1 year ago 130 to 160 After my first year of training I finally started to make steady gains (strength and weight).
up to now I’ve reached ~230 and I am currently trying to get my fat% under control.
[/quote]
Good. Lean that up a little and keep us posted.
Good work on the size gains. Post your diet if you need help with that. (although, making another thread may make more sense).
[quote]Elite0423 wrote:
Great fucking bulk man. You look pretty fuckin swole at 200. Good work.
Now how are you going to bring that chest up ?[/quote]
Thanks!
I made some changes during the offseason in the past year that allowed my chest to catch up quite a bit. One was training my my chest twice a week. Another was including a lot more pressing movements in my routine. Ever watch Branch Warren train? Barrel chest and he does tons of presses. Lastly was a change in the way I performed my chest movements. I now only do the bottom half of my pressing exercises, which keeps more tension on my chest throughout the set.
After I compete, I will apply all of these the next offseason again and with time, I believe I will be able to bring my chest up.
OP, great damn job man.
I love seeing these kinds of threads, success stories of people who followed a few simple rules and made significant progress. When you cut it back down to the leaness you had at 125 scrawny lbs and compare, you will look like a different person.
do you have any current back shots?
I’ve been training off and on since my soph year of HS so about almost 9 years now but it wasn’t till recently (2 months ago) where i really started to concentrate on eating more (and cleaner) and lifting heavy (I, Bodybuilder hybrid workout routine). My lifts have increased exponentially over the last month. But i’m still having trouble with my upper back, traps, upper chest and creating definition in my lower chest. I’ve started to work on those areas, but i wanted to see what you’ve done to hit those areas.
current stats:
177 lbs
est bf: 14%+
I haven’t 1RM’d in a long time but i use the following poundages:
Incline Barbell: 245 lb
DB Flat bench: 90 lb dumbbells
squat: 275 lb
deadlift: 265 lb
Military press: 175 lb