Ever wonder what made Paul Bunyan so strong??? It was his BLUE OX !!!!!!!
Sorry to hear some people are feeling NOTHING from their vars. I hope there are not bunk pills going around. All I know is whatever I've got... is obviously working. Been being rock hard and vascular ALL the time and experiencing pumps like no other.
See my week 1 thread for details on my dosing, progress pictures, pics of the var, etc.
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158172
Post any questions here, sometimes I am very busy. I'll eventually get back to you.
Starting Stats: (07/07/02)
Age: 21
Ht: 5' 9"
Wgt : 160
Bf : 10%
Today (07/24/02 - Day 18)
Wgt : 165
BF : 8% !!!!
see pics from thread above.
First a rough nutrient breakdown then my training:
071402
Cal 3216.5
Pro 180.86
Fat 73.05
Car 454.31
071502
Cal 2763.25
Pro 181.83
Fat 74.61
Car 332.28
071602
Cal 3425.5
Pro 192.27
Fat 56.62
Car 522.05
071702
Cal 2908.5
Pro 176.09
Fat 65.66
Car 398.13
071802
Cal 3301.75
Pro 261.43
Fat 56.05
Car 414.56
071902
Cal 3542.5
Pro 209.04
Fat 65.51
Car 524.62
072002
Cal 3092.5
Pro 201.01
Fat 73.36
Car 400.35
Total Cal intake : 22250 (avg 3178 / day) * almost identical to week 1. not surprised since I eat the SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER *
Total Pro intake: 1403.52 (avg 200 / day) ** HIT MY GOAL ** I avg'ed 150 a day the first week (see other post) GOAL FOR WEEK THREE - 225 grams avg day
Prot Carb Ratio: 0.45 (my goal is .50 ratio)
Ratios for total calorie intake - Week 2
Carbs / Fat / Protein
55% 19% 25%
Goal ratio is: 50 / 20 / 30. Very hard to achieve. Protein ratio went up 5% from week 1. I will continue to tweak my diet until I get this right!
----
TRAINING
First let me say, that I injured my back 2 months ago (being stupid trying to deadlift more than I actually could). My back has been tweaked ever since. I
have to get it popped into place every other week. . This only affects my squatting and deadlifting. The deadlift is my absolute favorite lift. There is
nothing I can really do about this. -- Training revolves around CORE movements and intense sprint/speed work. I never spend more than 45 minutes during a
lifting session. Warm-up, in, and out!
----
070702 - Quad Dominant Legs
Box Squats : 3 x 10 (about 70% max. explosive)
One legged ext: 3 dropsets x 8
Leg Press : 3 x 6 (last set. to failure)
- Felt nothing special after this workout.
070802 - Chest / Tris
Pec minor pullover : 3 sets
Decline DB Press : 4 sets x 6
Flat Bench : 2 sets x 10 (explosive)
V Bar pulldowns : 3 sets
2-handed Tri ext DB : 2 sets x 5 (HEAVY)
Skullcrushers : 2 sets x 8 ; 1 set x burnout
immediately did close-grip bench till burnout with the same bar after burning out my tris
- I noted in my log that I had a huge chest pump. On var day 2? Maybe of been a placebo effect .
070902 - OFF
071002 - Back / Bis
Jogged quarter mile
Seated Rows "V" bar: 4 sets x 12/10/8/6 (pyramid up to 90% max)
Reardelt flye machine: 2 sets x 8 (I had never used this machine. I noted in my log that I felt gay while doing it. HAH)
Lat pulldowns - 3 sets x 10 (back was PUMPED after this)
Wide-grip chinups - 1 set to failure (about 8 reps if I remember)
(My bis were already starting to pump from doing those lat pulldowns and widegrip chins!)
Standing Barbell curl : 4 sets x 7
Incline Hammer DB : 3 setes x 6 (seated on a bench with a 45 deg incline to isolate the bis)
Standing Barbell reverse curl: 2 sets x just the bar (burnout)
Wide-grip chins: 1 set to failure again
- noted that I could not bend my arms to my shoulders past 90 degrees for about 10 minutes after completing the workout. WOAH. also noted amazing vasc in my back and arms when I got home from the gym. the VAR was KICKIN! not placebo this time.
071102 - Cardio / Abs
will not bore you
071202 - OFF
071302 - Ham Dominant Legs
Ran one lap (1/11 mile)
Stretched for 10 minutes (felt tight)
Deadlifts: 4 x 15 (very light weight. explosive. Great deal of discomfort in my back, so i stopped early)
Seated Leg curls: 3 x 12
Power Cleans: 5 sets x 1 rep (explosive)
Took a dump : 1 set (explosive) WONDER IF ANYONE IS ACTUALLY READING ALL OF THIS.
Reverse hypers : 3 x 12 (I have to put plate under the front of the hyper machine and do the machine backwards. People look at me like I have no idea what
I am doing. I get a big kick out of seeing how people react to me working out. Its like these people have never seen a deadlift or powerclean before)
- I noted I was upset with myself after this workout. My back prevented me from deadlifting like I used to. That is the most important LIFT in my opinion. I did not write about any leg pump as I did not train them hard enough to really achieve anything. Sadly, the powercleans were the most effective thing on this day... didn't even plan to do them. I was just pissed about my back hurting and NEED TO LET IT OUT. My answer was POWER CLEAN nearly my max for 5 sets . My strength had to be up, because I doubt I could of done that many 1 rep powercleans on a normal day.
071402
Speed Bench Work
Jumprope
attempted Good mornings (my back said "no")
Took the day off
- Traps and chest were very sore.. probably due to the powercleans the previous day.
071502 - OFF
- *DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME* I messed around with an e-stim machine my sister let me borrow (she is in physical therapy school). I put the electrodes on my chest and did plyo pushups (close grip pushup...pushing yourself up violently and landing widegrip... pushing yourself back up violently... and landing
closegrip again.. you get the idea). I found it too hard to do this with the machine ON. I set the machine to go on for 30 seconds then off for 30 seconds. I would allow the machine to work my chest for 30 seconds, then right when the machine clicks off, I would do as many plyo pushups as possible before the machine came back on. I did this for about 15 minutes. My chest was not getting any rest AT ALL, and I was incredibly sore in areas of my chest I had not felt before. Yeah, I'm crazy. -- Oh and this is not one of those AB ENERGIZER machines you see TV and this was not a TENS (trans electric neuro stim) unit either. This was an actual e-stim machine. I do not have access to
it anymore (her summer classes are over). This is a good thing, as I am sure, I would probably seriously hurt myself if I had access to that machine everyday .
071602 - SPRINTS (the FUN begins!!!)
jogged roughly a mile until I found a field suitable for my sprints.
30 meters x 4 (90 sec rest)
50 meters x 2 (90 sec rest)
lots of light jogging --> sprinting 20 yards --> jogging. Worked on running tall and relaxed. not speed here.
jogged roughly a mile back to my car
- Sprints take a lot out of you. Noted my shins were hurting toward the end, and that I should have ice on hand next time for post-workout.
071702 - OFF (always take 36 hours off after a SPRINT routine)
I did do some anterior tibialis work to help prevent further shin prob (5lb ankle weights around my foot.. spell the alphabet.. the chinese
alphabet...until you cannot do it anymore. Repeat with the other leg. I did 3 sets each leg).
071802 - Shoulders / Light abs (evening workout. over 36 hours passed since SPRINTS)
Boring stuff. lots of rot cuff work
071902 - Chest / Back
Supersetted with Flat Bench and Seated Rows
8 sets total - 4 of each. Bench was speed work whereas the rows were HEAVY and lower reps.
3 sets x incline bench
Chinups - 4 sets x 6 (last set till failure)
- Short little workout. Noted I had to leave early to pickup my car. Pump was again... unusally intense.
072002 - Quad Dom legs + plyo work
Air Squats (not that popular of a machine. Weight is "air pressure." I chose to use it because of my gimp back. I like this machine because there is no tension on my back and I can simply EXPLODE up from the squat position...to the point where I leave the ground. A jump squat without all the risk)
Air squat: 5 sets x 4 (exploding up leaving the ground)
between each set, I did 10 burpees. This killed me. I gave myself one minute rest after I finished the burpees before resuming the air squats)
Box Squat : 1 set x OUCH my back
lowered the weight : 5 sets exploding up
- noted that I needed to go see the "back guy" SOON
-------------------------------
So there you have it. Week 2 completed. I am in the middle of week 3. STRENGTH is up. I have also noticed my apetite increasing. It may have been a tad suppressed during the first 2 weeks. NOW only if I can get my back better... then I'd start tearing apart the gym.
Another thing I would like to note is that I started seeing puffy nips on Day 10. Var is not supposed to give you gyno, but it is my belief that any time you raise T levels... your going to get an increase in E levels as well. I started taking 10 capsules Soloray Vitex (standardized 325mg) a day when I started noticing my nips puffing. That eliminated the problem and also seems to have increased my libido. I had no libido change during weeks 1 and 2. But now my libido is way UP. -- I may have to write up another post on my supplementing. SOME OTHER DAY. My fingers hurt.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE BROS trying out the Var.
PJECT
Sorry to hear some people are feeling NOTHING from their vars. I hope there are not bunk pills going around. All I know is whatever I've got... is obviously working. Been being rock hard and vascular ALL the time and experiencing pumps like no other.
See my week 1 thread for details on my dosing, progress pictures, pics of the var, etc.
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158172
Post any questions here, sometimes I am very busy. I'll eventually get back to you.
Starting Stats: (07/07/02)
Age: 21
Ht: 5' 9"
Wgt : 160
Bf : 10%
Today (07/24/02 - Day 18)
Wgt : 165
BF : 8% !!!!
see pics from thread above.
First a rough nutrient breakdown then my training:
071402
Cal 3216.5
Pro 180.86
Fat 73.05
Car 454.31
071502
Cal 2763.25
Pro 181.83
Fat 74.61
Car 332.28
071602
Cal 3425.5
Pro 192.27
Fat 56.62
Car 522.05
071702
Cal 2908.5
Pro 176.09
Fat 65.66
Car 398.13
071802
Cal 3301.75
Pro 261.43
Fat 56.05
Car 414.56
071902
Cal 3542.5
Pro 209.04
Fat 65.51
Car 524.62
072002
Cal 3092.5
Pro 201.01
Fat 73.36
Car 400.35
Total Cal intake : 22250 (avg 3178 / day) * almost identical to week 1. not surprised since I eat the SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER *
Total Pro intake: 1403.52 (avg 200 / day) ** HIT MY GOAL ** I avg'ed 150 a day the first week (see other post) GOAL FOR WEEK THREE - 225 grams avg day
Prot Carb Ratio: 0.45 (my goal is .50 ratio)
Ratios for total calorie intake - Week 2
Carbs / Fat / Protein
55% 19% 25%
Goal ratio is: 50 / 20 / 30. Very hard to achieve. Protein ratio went up 5% from week 1. I will continue to tweak my diet until I get this right!
----
TRAINING
First let me say, that I injured my back 2 months ago (being stupid trying to deadlift more than I actually could). My back has been tweaked ever since. I
have to get it popped into place every other week. . This only affects my squatting and deadlifting. The deadlift is my absolute favorite lift. There is
nothing I can really do about this. -- Training revolves around CORE movements and intense sprint/speed work. I never spend more than 45 minutes during a
lifting session. Warm-up, in, and out!
----
070702 - Quad Dominant Legs
Box Squats : 3 x 10 (about 70% max. explosive)
One legged ext: 3 dropsets x 8
Leg Press : 3 x 6 (last set. to failure)
- Felt nothing special after this workout.
070802 - Chest / Tris
Pec minor pullover : 3 sets
Decline DB Press : 4 sets x 6
Flat Bench : 2 sets x 10 (explosive)
V Bar pulldowns : 3 sets
2-handed Tri ext DB : 2 sets x 5 (HEAVY)
Skullcrushers : 2 sets x 8 ; 1 set x burnout
immediately did close-grip bench till burnout with the same bar after burning out my tris
- I noted in my log that I had a huge chest pump. On var day 2? Maybe of been a placebo effect .
070902 - OFF
071002 - Back / Bis
Jogged quarter mile
Seated Rows "V" bar: 4 sets x 12/10/8/6 (pyramid up to 90% max)
Reardelt flye machine: 2 sets x 8 (I had never used this machine. I noted in my log that I felt gay while doing it. HAH)
Lat pulldowns - 3 sets x 10 (back was PUMPED after this)
Wide-grip chinups - 1 set to failure (about 8 reps if I remember)
(My bis were already starting to pump from doing those lat pulldowns and widegrip chins!)
Standing Barbell curl : 4 sets x 7
Incline Hammer DB : 3 setes x 6 (seated on a bench with a 45 deg incline to isolate the bis)
Standing Barbell reverse curl: 2 sets x just the bar (burnout)
Wide-grip chins: 1 set to failure again
- noted that I could not bend my arms to my shoulders past 90 degrees for about 10 minutes after completing the workout. WOAH. also noted amazing vasc in my back and arms when I got home from the gym. the VAR was KICKIN! not placebo this time.
071102 - Cardio / Abs
will not bore you
071202 - OFF
071302 - Ham Dominant Legs
Ran one lap (1/11 mile)
Stretched for 10 minutes (felt tight)
Deadlifts: 4 x 15 (very light weight. explosive. Great deal of discomfort in my back, so i stopped early)
Seated Leg curls: 3 x 12
Power Cleans: 5 sets x 1 rep (explosive)
Took a dump : 1 set (explosive) WONDER IF ANYONE IS ACTUALLY READING ALL OF THIS.
Reverse hypers : 3 x 12 (I have to put plate under the front of the hyper machine and do the machine backwards. People look at me like I have no idea what
I am doing. I get a big kick out of seeing how people react to me working out. Its like these people have never seen a deadlift or powerclean before)
- I noted I was upset with myself after this workout. My back prevented me from deadlifting like I used to. That is the most important LIFT in my opinion. I did not write about any leg pump as I did not train them hard enough to really achieve anything. Sadly, the powercleans were the most effective thing on this day... didn't even plan to do them. I was just pissed about my back hurting and NEED TO LET IT OUT. My answer was POWER CLEAN nearly my max for 5 sets . My strength had to be up, because I doubt I could of done that many 1 rep powercleans on a normal day.
071402
Speed Bench Work
Jumprope
attempted Good mornings (my back said "no")
Took the day off
- Traps and chest were very sore.. probably due to the powercleans the previous day.
071502 - OFF
- *DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME* I messed around with an e-stim machine my sister let me borrow (she is in physical therapy school). I put the electrodes on my chest and did plyo pushups (close grip pushup...pushing yourself up violently and landing widegrip... pushing yourself back up violently... and landing
closegrip again.. you get the idea). I found it too hard to do this with the machine ON. I set the machine to go on for 30 seconds then off for 30 seconds. I would allow the machine to work my chest for 30 seconds, then right when the machine clicks off, I would do as many plyo pushups as possible before the machine came back on. I did this for about 15 minutes. My chest was not getting any rest AT ALL, and I was incredibly sore in areas of my chest I had not felt before. Yeah, I'm crazy. -- Oh and this is not one of those AB ENERGIZER machines you see TV and this was not a TENS (trans electric neuro stim) unit either. This was an actual e-stim machine. I do not have access to
it anymore (her summer classes are over). This is a good thing, as I am sure, I would probably seriously hurt myself if I had access to that machine everyday .
071602 - SPRINTS (the FUN begins!!!)
jogged roughly a mile until I found a field suitable for my sprints.
30 meters x 4 (90 sec rest)
50 meters x 2 (90 sec rest)
lots of light jogging --> sprinting 20 yards --> jogging. Worked on running tall and relaxed. not speed here.
jogged roughly a mile back to my car
- Sprints take a lot out of you. Noted my shins were hurting toward the end, and that I should have ice on hand next time for post-workout.
071702 - OFF (always take 36 hours off after a SPRINT routine)
I did do some anterior tibialis work to help prevent further shin prob (5lb ankle weights around my foot.. spell the alphabet.. the chinese
alphabet...until you cannot do it anymore. Repeat with the other leg. I did 3 sets each leg).
071802 - Shoulders / Light abs (evening workout. over 36 hours passed since SPRINTS)
Boring stuff. lots of rot cuff work
071902 - Chest / Back
Supersetted with Flat Bench and Seated Rows
8 sets total - 4 of each. Bench was speed work whereas the rows were HEAVY and lower reps.
3 sets x incline bench
Chinups - 4 sets x 6 (last set till failure)
- Short little workout. Noted I had to leave early to pickup my car. Pump was again... unusally intense.
072002 - Quad Dom legs + plyo work
Air Squats (not that popular of a machine. Weight is "air pressure." I chose to use it because of my gimp back. I like this machine because there is no tension on my back and I can simply EXPLODE up from the squat position...to the point where I leave the ground. A jump squat without all the risk)
Air squat: 5 sets x 4 (exploding up leaving the ground)
between each set, I did 10 burpees. This killed me. I gave myself one minute rest after I finished the burpees before resuming the air squats)
Box Squat : 1 set x OUCH my back
lowered the weight : 5 sets exploding up
- noted that I needed to go see the "back guy" SOON
-------------------------------
So there you have it. Week 2 completed. I am in the middle of week 3. STRENGTH is up. I have also noticed my apetite increasing. It may have been a tad suppressed during the first 2 weeks. NOW only if I can get my back better... then I'd start tearing apart the gym.
Another thing I would like to note is that I started seeing puffy nips on Day 10. Var is not supposed to give you gyno, but it is my belief that any time you raise T levels... your going to get an increase in E levels as well. I started taking 10 capsules Soloray Vitex (standardized 325mg) a day when I started noticing my nips puffing. That eliminated the problem and also seems to have increased my libido. I had no libido change during weeks 1 and 2. But now my libido is way UP. -- I may have to write up another post on my supplementing. SOME OTHER DAY. My fingers hurt.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE BROS trying out the Var.
PJECT