Beast Mode Activated - My Journal

[uamaverick]

I finally decided I should do a journal just to keep up with where my lifts are. I have a book that has spaces to write down what you lifted but I have a thing where I don't like to write anything in books.

I've been lifting for 2 weeks now, so it's time to start a journal. A little background first. Three years ago I was in very good shape. 5% body fat and pretty strong lifts for my size. I actually started training a few people in the rec center for free just because I enjoyed it so much. Then I injured my shoulder doing lat pullbacks. I let the weight go on the last rep and it pulled my joint out. I never did rehab. Last August I went to the doctor because I wanted to lift again. I still had a subluxed shoulder. He told me not to lift until I did at least 1 month of rehab. I got depressed. Put off the rehab. In february I started rehab. Finally got my shoulder back to around 95%.

I began my training 2 weeks ago. here were my stats then:

23 yrs old
5'8"
155 lbs
18% BF
Waist 34"
Hips 32"

I couldn't believe it. I had become a skinny fat kid. I'm not the type to look at myself in the mirror so I really had no idea I had gotten that bad. Here are my stats as of last Thursday:

5'8"
157 lbs
15% BF
Waist 33"
Hips 32"

My current program is sort of a hybrid between cut and bulk. I didn't need to bulk with 18% BF hanging on my midsection and thighs, but I didn't need a full cut either. Here's my current diet:

3 cans tuna w/ water
3 cups brown rice
2 cups cauliflower, broccoli, carrots
1 slice whole wheat bread w/ANPB
11 oz chicken breast no skin
1/2 cup 100% rolled oats
2 servings (scoops) 100% whey protein

2,414 kcals TOTAL

Macros:
(p/c/f)
51/34/14

303g protein / 207 g carbs / 38 g fat

Additional Supplements:
Amplify 02
RAW MCC

This has given me results that I expected for 2 weeks. I've already cut a little body fat while putting on 2 lbs total. My lifts have gone up slightly, but I expect it to start going up steadily now.


5/24/2009

CHEST & TRICEPS

Flat Bench Press w/ bar

1 warm up set 10 reps : 95 lbs
1 slightly heavier set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 170 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 185 lbs

Went to failure on 2nd heavy set after the 4th rep.

Flat bench Dumbbell Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 50 lb dumbbells
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 60 lb dumbbells

Didn't reach failure in the 4-6 range. Could have done 7.

Dips w/ bodyweight

1 set 10 reps

Could only get 5 reps. Pretty pathetic.

Seated Tricep Extensions

1 warm up set 8 reps : 50 lb dumbbell
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 60 lb dumbbell

went to failure on 4th rep 2nd set

Tricep Cable Pushdowns

2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 100 lbs

Got 6 reps solid both sets. Could have gotten 7-8 reps



Overall good workout. Most sets I got good solid reps. Tomorrow will be cardio only.

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

my only advice is I would sub out the tri exts & tri cable pulldowns for skullcrushers & close-grip presses. Im not a big fan of using cables/machines.

 

[NBAfan#21]

So you lost 3% of bodyfat and gained 2 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks? Thats awesome if you measured it correctly. keep up the good work

 

[uamaverick]

MsBeverly Hills - Noted and thank you. I would usually agree and have done that in the past. I might start doing those lifts next week.

NBAFan - I use the 7 point Jackson-Pollock equation to measure BF%. Also thank you.

 

[uamaverick]

TUESDAY CARDIO

Before I start let me say that I have a freakish cardiovascular system. I can barely do any cardio and my heart rate will stay at 100 for the next 5 hours. Just eating some food bumps my heart rate up. I guess I'm blessed.

Right now I'm doing interval training on a treadmill. I want to get up to HIIT, but I don't think my body can handle it yet. I missed my last 2 cardio sessions on Thursday and Saturday due to life, so I wasn't looking forward to this.

I do a 5 minute jog followed by a 1 minute run. 5, 1, 5, 1, 5, 1

JOG SPEED : 5
RUN SPEED : 8.5
INCLINE: 0
TIME : 18:00
DISTANCE TRAVELED : 1.77 MILES

SWEAT LEVEL : ABOVE AVERAGE
FATIGUE LEVEL : HIGH
SUSTAINED HEART RATE : 178 BPM
MUSCLE FATIGUE : MEDIUM

Tomorrow is legs, shoulders, and abs.

 

[NJL52]

Not to rain on your parade, but you are doing just about everything wrong.

Cutting while bulking is paradoxical. It doesn't work. The only way your body fat % will decrease is if you increase lean muscle mass thus decreasing the proportion of fat relative to body weight. You won't lose fat.

Pick what you want to do, lose fat or build muscle, and commit to it.

Second, making your own split doesn't work unless you know what your body needs. Stick with a standard routine until you know enough about your body to tell you what works for you. (you will be benching significantly more then 185 before you reach this level of understanding.) I haven't done a tricep/bicep specific exercise in years and my arms are more defined then 99% of curl enthusiasts.

 

[uamaverick]

Wednesday, 5/27 LEGS SHOULDERS ABS

Squats

(this was sort of a readjustment to correct form and lift as noted in another thread I made)

1 warm up set 10 reps : 95 lbs
1 slightly heavier set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 160 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 185 lbs

Didn't go to failure, but I readjusted my form and felt good during the reps

Seated Military Press

1 warm up set 10 reps : 95 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 125 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 135 lbs

Went to failure after 5th rep 2nd set. Felt like a real man pressing the 45s up, lol.

Dumbbell raises to the FRONT

2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 35 lb dumbbells

Didn't go to failure. Got 7 reps 2nd set

Standing Dumbbell Shrugs

2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 50 lb dumbbells

Didn't go to failure. First time doing dumbbell shrugs since coming back so I had no idea what I could lift.

Weighted ab crunches

2 sets 10 reps : 50 lbs
2 sets 8 reps : 120 lbs


Bonus notes

I saw a sorority girl doing deadlifts in the power lifting room. I was shocked. I think I'm in love.

--------------------------------------

Overall a pretty bad workout. Most of the lifts I was either readjusting my form or I had yet to do that lift. My military press was really the only lift that I achieved maximum muscle overload, which is surprising considering my injury from the past.


NJL52- Let me restate my diet. It's not really a hybrid between a bulk and cut. I know that doesn't work. I tried doing that 3 years ago before I started studying biology and then changed my routine after reading all the information on this forum and in books. I set my kcals to the levels they are at as a cut, because that's basically what my BMR would be if I stayed in bed all day not doing anything. However it's not a full cut, because I would have to drop my kcal intake to around 2000, and When I also tried that before at the same weight, I went into a catabolic state and lost way too much muscle. I have no problems putting on 5-8% body fat during a bulk cycle and then doing a real cut. With the current state of my body and coming out of rehab, and with the results I've gotten so far, My progress is right on track with where I want it to be before I do a real bulk. I do appreciate your input, and I would have thought the same thing after reading how I phrased my diet.

 

[uamaverick]

THURSDAY : CARDIO


JOG SPEED : 5
RUN SPEED : 8.5
INCLINE: 0
TIME : 18:00
DISTANCE TRAVELED : 1.77 MILES

SWEAT LEVEL : ABOVE AVERAGE
FATIGUE LEVEL : VERY HIGH
SUSTAINED HEART RATE : 187 BPM
MUSCLE FATIGUE : LOW

I don't know why my heart rate was so high. It felt good though, a real buster on the last minute stretch. Ever have those days on the treadmill where you're turning into roast beef at the end, and you can feel everybody else staring at you while they take their jolly stroll on the elliptical for 2 hours straight? That was today.

Tomorrow is back day.

 

[uamaverick]

FRIDAY, MAY 29 : BACK & BICEPS


DEADLIFTS

1 warmup set 10 reps : 95 lbs
1 heavier set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 190 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 210 lbs

Felt like a MACHINE doing this today. Went to failure on 6th rep 2nd heavy set

GOOD MORNINGS

1 medium set 6 reps : 135 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 155 lbs

Half the gym was staring at me because they thought I was doing squats wrong lol

BENT OVER ROWS w/ BAR

1 medium set 8 reps : 95 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 125 lbs

Went to failure 6th rep 2nd heavy set

STANDING BICEP STRAIGHT BAR CURLS

1 warm up set 10 reps : bar
1 medium set 6 reps : 65 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 85 lbs

went to failure 6th rep 2nd heavy set

STANDING DUMBELL CURLS

1 medium set 6 reps : 30 lb dumbbell
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 40 lb dumbbell

I overestimated my heavy sets. The 30 lb felt real easy, and then I was spent for the 40s.


Overall I had a real good day today. I felt awesome for every rep every set up to the dumbbell curls. The AMPLIFY 02 is in my system now, and my heart rate was pretty jacked through the entire workout.

Tomorrow is cardio. I want to lift again, but oh well.

 

[uamaverick]

MONDAY, JUNE 1 CHEST AND TRIS

CHEST & TRICEPS

Flat Bench Press w/ bar

1 warm up set 10 reps : 95 lbs
1 slightly heavier set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 170 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 185 lbs

Went to failure on 2nd heavy set after the 6th rep.

Flat bench Dumbbell Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 60 lb dumbbells
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 70 lb dumbbells

Hit failure 6th rep 2nd heavy set

Dips w/ bodyweight

2 sets 10 reps

Easy.

Seated Tricep Extensions

1 warm up set 8 reps : 60 lb dumbbell
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 70 lb dumbbell

went to failure on 6th rep 2nd set

Skullcrushers

2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 100 lbs

Got 6 reps both sets



Overall good workout. Didn't increase my flat bench much aside from getting 2 more reps from last week. Everything else went up well. Felt good.

I'll be remeasuring BF% and measurements on Thursday. Tomorrow is cardio.

 

[uamaverick]

TUESDAY, JUNE 2: LEGS

I decided to redo my lift days to 5 lift days a week, very similary to MAX OT. It's what I did 3 years ago and I feel ready for it.

Squats

1 warm up set 10 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 175 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 200 lbs

Leg Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 370 lbs
3 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 460 lbs

Standing Calf Raises

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 225 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 250 lbs



Overall it was an awesome workout. Only lasted 30 minutes, but was intense. My legs seem to have finally adjusted to squatting again and leg press was good. Tomorrow will be arms and abs, even though I did tris yesterday I'm already feeling 100% again. The AMP 02 must be working hard to give me that kind of recovery.

 

[uamaverick]

I've been away from computers for a week because my summer classes started (I don't have cable or internet). I've been lifting every day. Things are going well. I measured last Thursday:

5'8"
163 lbs
12% BF
Waist 32"
Hips 33"
Legs 24"
Arms 15"
Chest 42"


I'm real happy with my progress. Going from 155 to 163 lbs and 18% to 11% BF in 5 weeks is awesome. It seems my muscle memory has kicked in from 3 years prior. An interesting experiment, considering I've always heard about these things happening but I've never been in a position to test it out for myself. Anyway, today's workout:

Flat Bench Press

1 warm up set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 6 reps : 185 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 225 lbs

went to failure at sticking point 5th rep 2nd set.

Dumbbell Flat Bench Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 65 lbs dumbbells
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 70 lbs dumbbells

I didn't quite go to failure in the 4-6 range but I probably would have on the 7th rep.

Dips

2 sets 10 reps

barely got through the 2nd set.


That's it. Short and sweet, but effective. I can't believe my bench press went up so much in a week. I was stuck around 185-195 a week ago. I knew after doing my 185 set that I was ready to test 225.

Tomorrow is leg day. Looking forward to that except for the fact that I tweaked my left knee last week doing leg press as I was locking out a little too much. It doesn't hurt, but we'll see how that goes tomorrow.


P.S. I'm about to run out of AMP 02 and RawMCC. I don't really have the money to buy any more so we'll see if my progress slows down any. I tweaked my diet a bit. My macros are something like 48/32/20 now. Started around 50/40/10. I needed more fat and less carbs as I have more of a mesomorphic than ectomorphic body type.

 

[iggy]

Mav, im in bro!

 

[uamaverick]

TUESDAY, JUNE 9

Today was leg day. I laid off the squats and deadlifts today because my left knee is acting up a little bit. It doesn't hurt at all, it just feels a little loose. Lame, I know.

(I warmed up with leg extensions for a few reps prior)

Leg Press

1 set 6 reps : 405 lbs
2 sets 6 reps : 495 lbs

I made sure I was not locking out and I was going deep enough for my legs to touch my chest. I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head on the last rep. It was awesome.

hack Squat Machine

2 sets 6 reps : 250 lbs

Leg Extension

2 sets 10 reps : 180 lbs

Leg Curls

2 sets 10 reps : 130 lbs

Barbell Calf Raises w/ step incline

2 sets 8 reps : 225


Great workout overall, which was surprising considering I left out deads and squats. I certainly had the jello leg syndrome leaving the gym, and 6 hours later I still do to an extent. Not looking forward to walking like an old lady tomorrow.

 

[uamaverick]

LOL, I knew I'd never stick with updating this at all, but it's interesting to go back and look at where I was back in the summer.

Since the last update, I've tried to focus on staying within a certain weight class while trying to completely maximize my strength at a certain weight. I stayed around 170-175 lbs for most of the fall. Around December I was around 185 lbs.

Here are my stats as of today:

height : 5'8"
weight: 193 lbs
body fat % : 10%
waist : 30 1/4"
hips : 32"
legs: 26 1/3"
arms : 16 3/4"
chest: 46 5/8"

I don't really know where all my 1RM's are at this point. I feel good though. I'm not near my PRs from 4 years ago, but I'm getting relatively close. Then again, I was at 204 lbs with 7% bf at my peak, so I have to keep plugging away at it.

Today I did leg press and hack squats. What, no squats? Yes, I'm a wuss. I had to get today's session in very early in the morning and then hoof it across campus.

I felt pretty good today. Got about 6 sets total on leg press and 4 sets total on hack squats. 10 sets total for body part, and I was out of there.

I did 765 lbs today (8 plates per side + sled weight at 135) on leg press at 4 reps for 2 sets, and 5 plates per side plus whatever the sled weight is for hack squats 4 reps 2 sets. 4 hours later and I still feel like I'm about to throw up.

Well, I'm off to eat a meal. Happy lifting everybody.

 

[lweaver]

Very nice progress...

Just keep in mind that if your knee is acting up and you opt to warm up with leg extensions, to use a very light weight and/or only complete the last 30 degrees of the range of motion, as open chain movements actually put much more stress on the knee than closed chain movements. A few minutes on an exercise bike or some body weight squats might do a little better to circulate the synovial fluid in your knee joint and loosen things up a bit.

 

[uamaverick]

I haven't had any joint problems at all except for the first week or so. My body feels good. I've made sure to take care of my joints after the problems I had with my shoulder 4 years ago that eventually made me quit lifting.

 

[uamaverick]

Today I started muscle hypertrophic training. I was doing 6 reps for everything all the way back to August, and I finally hit a plateau. This change was exactly what I needed. I start at whatever weight I can lift for 12 reps to near failure on the first set, then keep that weight and do three more sets per lift, usually getting 11,10,and 8 reps. It works well for me after doing 4-6 reps for a while.

I felt like I was going to throw up by the end of it, ad I was sweating buckets. My HR was 183 BPM right after finishing my last set for the day.

 

[imafuturebodybuilder]

Not to rain on your parade, but you are doing just about everything wrong.

Cutting while bulking is paradoxical. It doesn't work. The only way your body fat % will decrease is if you increase lean muscle mass thus decreasing the proportion of fat relative to body weight. You won't lose fat.

Pick what you want to do, lose fat or build muscle, and commit to it.

Second, making your own split doesn't work unless you know what your body needs. Stick with a standard routine until you know enough about your body to tell you what works for you. (you will be benching significantly more then 185 before you reach this level of understanding.) I haven't done a tricep/bicep specific exercise in years and my arms are more defined then 99% of curl enthusiasts.

This is where you are wrong. It is possible. I've seen so many do it. My friend Steve for example, was a fat kid 24-27%BF, started going to the gym with the intent of bulking and cutting. One year later he has 17 inch arms, buff as hell, 7-8%BF, and still doing both, cutting and bulking. Anything is possible my friend.

Anyways, great log, subbed. Keep up the good work.

 

[uamaverick]

So I did something for the first time yesterday. I was kinda pissed at how quickly I got gassed from switching up my reps, so I went back in the afternoon to finish what I started. I worked back yesterday morning, and hit bis/tris in the afternoon, still going in the 12 rep failure routine. I had an even better workout. I had a feeling I was going to dominate, but I didn't think I was going to have an uncontrollable rage in there like I did. I felt awesome.

I feel great this morning, I have that unmeasurable feeling of being a little sore with a thick feeling in my back and arms.

 

[uamaverick]

I did bench today. Last week I started with bumbbells, and could barely do 225 more than 6 reps after that. Today, I started with 225 with the intent to do my 12 reps x4, but it felt realy light, so I decided to go heavy today. Two weeks ago I was around 285 on bench. Today I was able to get 315 twice! I couldn't believe how easy it all felt today.