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American Muscletechie
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25-09-2009 3:46am#1Background post: skip ahead for the routine itself.
My physical background
I was introduced to exercise at a very young age. My parents believed in the philosophy that each mental activity needed to be paired with a physical activity if one truly wanted to be healthy. My main sports were jujitsu/MMA and I enjoyed years of training in these disciplines. However, in 2002 I severely bruised my spinal cord when two cervical vertebrae displaced during training for an international youth jujitsu competition. I was actually told I may not walk again after this injury. Years of rehabilitative training have proven otherwise. Because of this, I lost sensation in all of my left side until recently, and still am unable to feel the back region from my left hamstring to my mid spine. This trauma has removed me from most sport entirely. A slew of other injuries occurred relating to this sensation loss including: two separated shoulders, stress fractures of both tibia and fibula, etc etc etc (I pole vaulted in secondary school and it didn't quite agree with me). I only note all this because until recently I have not been able to truly train in the manner I'd like.
I'm 21 years old and 5'8" (173 cm). At the moment, I estimate myself to be between 165 and 180 lbs (11-12 st) at about 10% body fat. I hope to gain 15 lbs (~1 st) by the end of this training regimen.
Education and training
I've worked in the field in some form since 2004. I earned my CPT through NESTA in 2006 after spending a short time studying Kinesiology at the Pennsylvania State University. I also have a simple background in athletic training, health education, and sports nutrition.
Behind the workout
I decided to log my new 2 week bulking routine. I was going to do pictures but then I remembered I don't own a camera outside my mobile. Nor do I own a scale, so I'll have to go with estimates on bodyweight/fat (I use the un-flexed abs showing-or-not method to guesstimate bf). As mentioned above, this is my bulking routine. It's going to look odd and not really make sense, but I base it on years and years of figuring out what works for myself along with the research I've read. The main concept behind what I do stems from Arthur Jones' theory on exercise. Layman's: total muscular exhaustion. To achieve it, I do complex/isolation/complex exercise for opposing muscle groups during the same session. This allows for me to push beyond a normal lift given one muscle group helps to clear the other of soreness and lactic acid by essentially stealing what your body needs to make you feel fatigued in one or the other. In short: twice the effect, half the soreness.
Supplements and diet
With each post I will also include the day's diet. For this bulking, I'll be stacking GAKIC/nanoVAPOR/LEUKIC/Anabolic Halo. Last time I ran through a similar program, I didn't have nano but I included CREAKIC. This achieved an 18 lb raw gain in 15 days, 15 total increase after an additional week detox. My body fat only increased by about 3%.
Note: My MA program starts this Monday so this should be even more interesting!0
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Chest/Back/Abs Day
Breakfast: 12:30 PM
2 bricks Weetabix for breakfast with a half cup of low fat milk.
1500 mL water
Lunch: 15:30 PM
1 hamburger patty with half bag of portioned rice, 1/2 teaspoon ketchup.
1500 mL water
6:30 PM
GAKIC - 8 tabs
6:45 PM
nanoVAPOR - 2 scoops in 300 mL water
7:00 PM
LEUKIC - 6 tabs
7:05 Lift time!
Chest
Bench Press: 110kg x 3; 110kg x 3; 100kg x 6; 105kg x 4
No spotter for all this
... and a terrible one for the two sets I refuse to include given the boy equated bench press spotting with bent-over rowing
Chest Fly Machine: 95kg x 6; 105kg x 6; 85kg x 6; 65kg x 6
Really good flexion on these, took them nice and slow. Sometimes do dumbbell, but Saturday is Legs/Shoulders so I don't risk DOMS.
Chest Press Machine: 65kg x 6 x 3.
Just a shock circuit for the whole muscle group.
Standing Low-to-High Fly with Pulley: 11.25 kg each arm x 10 x 3
I miss my wide-grip press Hammerstrength back at Penn State
Standing High-to-Low Fly with Pulley: 23.25 kg each arm x 10 x 3
I'm a little OCD about hitting all the angles...
Back
Pull-ups: 10 x 3
Nice and steady, dead-hang, and no kipping.
Bent-Over Barbell Row (Overhand): 50kg x 8, 70kg x 8, 70kg x 6
My glute cramped up somethin' fierce on the third set. Not too sure why.
Bent-Over Fixed Bar Row (Underhand): 45kg x 10 x 3
Just to be thorough.
Seated Row / Rear Deltoid Machine: 65kg x 10 x 3
I take these really slow and try to feel the whole flexion as I go through the motion. Only real way for me to tell my left and right are getting worked evenly.
Pulley Pull-down (Overhand, Handle-straps not bar): 33.25kg/2 x 6, 36.75kg/2 x 6, 43.25kg/2 x 6
Again trying to make sure the sides stay even.
Close-Grip Underhand Pull-down with Bar: 43.25kg/2 x 6, 46.75kg/2 x 6, Stack/2 x 6
I hate these because I have to put a 25kg plate on my lap to stay seated. These have always come easy for me unless I do a ton of weight.
Dumbbell Pull-over: 24kg x 10, 28kg x 10, 34kg x 6
Same as above coming easy for me, and really great to get my serratus anterior to "pop".
Lat Flexor Machine: 65kg x 6 x 3
Just to really make me feel it in the morning.
Abs
Dragon Flag: 15
Slow, steady, everything off bench but shoulders coming to parallel with ground and held perfectly straight. Nothing makes me hate and love myself more than this gross exercise.
Piking Leg Raise: 8, 15, 15
I do them right after the dragon flag in the same style only letting my back/butt touch the bench on the way down. Really hits everything.
Oblique Rotation Machine: 65kg x 10/2, 75kg x 10/2, 55kg x 10/2
Super slow, really feeling everything move through the twist. Keep momentum out of it and it's astounding.
*Normally after abs I'd do deadlifts, but I didn't want to risk putting my leg workout on Saturday off and the glute cramp was a good indication to hold off*
Anabolic Halo - 3 scoops in 650 mL water
9:15: Walk home, take a shower, 750 mL water, and pass out 'til 3 AM when you decide to start your fitness log! Oh and forget to eat dinner so that when you wake up at 3 AM you almost eat yourself out of house and home.
Tomorrow is rest day (7 hr life-draining meeting for Int'l students at DCU) but will log food/water/supps.
Saturday: Legs/Shoulders/Feel Tiny because there's a bodybuilding competition you need to pass to and from the gym
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12:00
GAKIC - 8 tabs
300 mL water
12:25
nanoVAPOR - 1.5 scoops in 250 mL water
I docked this down from 2 because this + the GAKIC = caffeine overdose and I didn't want my workout to be interrupted by anal urination feeling unwell
12:45
LEUKIC - 6 tabs
250 mL water
Legs/Shoulders
We're not allowed to free squat at DCU so I had to hold off on legs 'til after shoulders because our sole smith machine was constantly occupied...
Shoulders
Barbell Overhead Press: 70kg x 8, 70kg x 6, 80kg x fail, 75kg x fail, 70kg x 6
I just couldn't seem to pass my sticking point on the heavy ones despite the light feeling like nothing. Big problem with valsalva on these normally so concentrated on breathing and kept form nice today. The cleans up felt like nothing at all... I love GAKIC.
Arnold Press: 26kg/2 x 6, 24kg/2 x 8, 22kg/2 x 8, 22kg/2 x 8
These always give me a really good burn/swell on the whole deltoid so I like to use them before isolating with flys. Left anterior was still sore from bench on Thursday so hopefully won't be on fire come tomorrow morning.
Lateral Fly: 12.5kg/2 x 8, 15kg/2 x 6, 15kg/2 x 6, 12.5kg/2 x 6
Good form, slow raise, arms kept fully extended.
Single Arm Lateral Fly: 15kg x 4/2 x 3
Just to really kill the outside before moving on.
Anterior Fly: 17.5kg/2 x 6 x 3
I like to do these alternating arms because otherwise I valsalva way too much. I do the first set with the dumbbell perpendicular to the ground, second parallel, and third twisting from perpendicular to parallel and really squeezing at the top.
Single Arm Rear Deltoid w/ Pulley: 11.25kg x 6/2, 11.25kg x 8/2, 11.25kg x 10/2
I set the pulley to about shoulder height, keep my arm fully extended, and draw the handle from opposite shoulder across my chest to full 180 degree while keeping it parallel to ground (hard as hell for me to describe in words right now?). This keeps my back out of it and really burns up my rear delts.
Fixed Bar Front Raise: 30kg x 10, 35kg x 10, 45kg x 10
Just finishing off the unit.
Dumbbell Overhead Press: 26kg/2 x 6 x 2
Same as above. Only bringing weights down until the radius/humerus make a 90 degree angle.
Legs
Leg Press Machine: 125kg x 6 x 3
Warm-up
Smith Machine Squat: 50kg x 6, 80kg x 6, 50kg x 6
Very slow and very deep. Driving from heels. Almost let stomach flatten to thighs before rising.
Leg Curl Machine: 65kg x 10, 75kg x 10, 55kg x 8
Slow curl bringing legs through full range of motion from full extension to as full flexion as the machine allows.
Leg Extension Machine: 95kg x 8, 75kg x 10, 65kg x 10, 35kg x 15
Slow lift and a strong flex at full extension for 1 solid second on each rep. Makes me so nauseous but works so well
Dumbbell Lunge: 15kg/2 x 10/2, 20kg/2 x 8/2, 15kg/2 x 6/2
Keeping everything perfectly straight and only allowing upward/downward motion. The second I get any side-to-side I reset. All about preserving my knees.
Weight Plate Calf Raise Circuit: 25/2 x 3
I lay a 20kg plate on its side, and then with the "ball" of each foot on its edge do 25 full calf raises. I immediately follow this by turning around and placing each heel on the plate. I then go to max calf flexion and hold for a half second and repeat for 25. Three sets on the whole circuit.
Leg Press Machine Calf Raise: 95kg x 25, 105kg x 20, 95kg x 15
Put the ball of both feet side by side at the bottom, center of the leg press board after bringing it out to full extension. Then relax and allow my heels to drop under, followed by full flexion. Once again nauseous at the end of every set but does wonders for these chicken-legs.
14:45
Anabolic Halo - 2.5 scoops in 650 mL water
Figured out that my container won't last the 2 weeks unless I dock the serving size back slightly.
15:00
Unexpected 5m Long Jump
I accidentally turned off the power to the water heater last night and hopped into what may be the coldest shower I've ever been in outside an ice bath. :eek:
Will be back to edit for food at the end of the night!0 -
15:45
3 bricks Weetabix with 1 cup milk
1500 mL water
18:30
3 chicken breasts, 2 bags rice, 1 pt gravy
Bake the chicken breasts (180 C for 35 min), cook rice (12 min), make thin gravy (5 min). Shred chicken and put in gravy, reduce to demi-glace. Add rice, put over medium heat for 2 min to get the gravy into the rice.
1/2 of the above
1500 mL water
20:00
LEUKIC - 6 tabs
6 tbsp peanut butter
3 slices bread from loaf I realized after consumption was thoroughly moldy
21:45
750 mL water0 -
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cardio,shoot me wrote: »alrighty, help me out here on some of the terms i tried googling but to no avail
ulna (i think this means forearms)
valsalva
btw. kick ass log
Ulna is the bone whose end sticks out as the elbow. There's a nerve that runs down it and "long-bar" curls infuriate mine for some reason. Do them and I risk not being able to make a fist from the pain.
The Valsalva maneuver is when you push air against your throat from your lungs. Kind of like trying to "un-pop" your ears in an airplane. It can give you a boost in strength as it forces blood out of the chest throughout the body, but the big problem is that it potentially leaves the blood there where it'll pool and cause major issues/damage. Great way to blow a blood vessel or hemorrhage your brain 0 -
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Hate having to do the rest of the day in a second post, but can't seem to get "edit" to let me add that much content...
17:30
1 tin of Tuna
2 tbsp of Miracle Whip (Which I found out you guys don't have much of over here. Mayonnaise made without the egg yolk just the white so it's no/low cholesterol)
4 slices of white toast
750 mL Water
18:45
LEUKIC - 6 tabs
1500 mL water
20:45
1 plate (4 scoops maybe?) of last nights chicken/rice/gravy with 1.5 cups of heated-in-water frozen peas
750 mL water
750 mL water
22:45
1.5 cups of Kellogg Crunchy Nut cereal with 1/2 cup milk
Woke up starving this morning at around 5:00 and want to sleep through the night
Tomorrow is Rest Day!0 -
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Hi,
are you sure you don't work for muscletech? A typical day is gakic, nano vapour, leukic and then you lift? You need to eat, your getting like one or two good meals a day! Have you ever sat down and added up the calories you take in in a day? Maybe you put weight on easily, if you don't you should spend more time preparing and eating good food than training, training is just like a stimulus, food is what will really make you grow.I was going to post what Mick just did the other day, but from reading your background and experience etc. I thought better of it. Not to mention title of the thread sort of sums it up quite well!!
Here's a question though, what's the thought process behind stacking all of these supplements seemingly ahead of real food?
First: I wish I worked for Muscletech, maybe that'd save me from their overwhelming product cost! But no, I do not and have never worked for any of the supp companies (GNC etc). I normally literally go to the gym immediately after I wake up, and I've found over years of using pre-workouts that taking them on an empty stomach is my only way to guarantee I won't vomit or the sort. Now I'm seriously debating finding a way to put up a video of parts of my workout, given if you saw my body and what intensity it'd take for me to accomplish these lifts you'd better understand why it would mess me up otherwise.
The main reason for LEUKIC/HALO is that my body is **** for recovery, and sensation loss + unmonitored exercise = recipe for injury. Hard to describe but I'd never go near working this hard without ensuring I would wake up the next day pain-free. If it takes even a placebo to calm my mind about it and make me feel strong, I'm fine with that. I could be taking 4 sugar supplements for all I know, but they work!
Second: I might be doing a "bulking" cycle but I'm not out to just put on weight. I've successfully kept my body fat reasonably equal to before and after a muscle mass gain twice now. Like I say in the intro, this is what works for me. I have no reason to sacrifice my fitness or wellness just to pack on a few pounds of fat along with the muscle that I'll later have to work extra hard to get off anyway (can't really do impact cardio )
Third: Girlfriend's a nutrition guru / foodie. She's pretty much got my diet on lock-down. If there were a problem or I wasn't eating enough, I'd know. I also have some digestive issues when it comes to certain foods, so it limits my ability to make affordable eating more than the same things every day. If you think I should be eating more of something particular, let me know and I'll look into it! I'm always up for advice, everyone's backgrounds are a little different and two schools of thought coming together can have a lot of benefits.
Edit: By the way, I'm not saying any of this to wag my member or experience in any of your faces. You've more than likely been in the field the same time if not longer than I have. This type of training and dieting is what works for me, personally, and we'll see after the fact how and if it does 0 -
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Haha no insults taken! Half the point of me having this up here is to have more than her and I seeing it, and hopefully get some feedback good or bad. I started this log because I was beginning to lose motivation. It's hard to keep at it when you're solo in the gym every time and thousands of miles from anyone that'd notice a difference in you physically. :rolleyes:
Anyway, something else you all should know is that this cycle is all I'll take for the next maybe... 6 months? It's worth it to me to spend an amount of money on something I know works short term with long term results, than even more over time on something taken long term and potentially useless. I'd rather look at myself at the end of 14 days and go "awesome!" or go "never buy that again". It worked for me in the spring (they market this CREAKIC/GAKIC/LEUKIC stack minus Halo in the States as a boxed set) so I'll use it this one more time and if it doesn't it doesn't. By the way, this stuff's dirt cheap back home. Maybe 100 USD for the whole lot. I know Muscletech sucks on prices over here.
PS: The Nutritional Sciences program at Penn State is one of the leading programs in the world... Girl knows her stuff. The issues arise where her telling me what to eat turns into me actually eating it :P
Kev: White bread cause it's cheap and brings nothing to the table. I'd eat the peanut butter with a spoon if it'd still go down easy!0 -
First: I wish I worked for Muscletech, maybe that'd save me from their overwhelming product cost! But no, I do not and have never worked for any of the supp companies (GNC etc). I normally literally go to the gym immediately after I wake up, and I've found over years of using pre-workouts that taking them on an empty stomach is my only way to guarantee I won't vomit or the sort. Now I'm seriously debating finding a way to put up a video of parts of my workout, given if you saw my body and what intensity it'd take for me to accomplish these lifts you'd better understand why it would mess me up otherwise.
The main reason for LEUKIC/HALO is that my body is **** for recovery, and sensation loss + unmonitored exercise = recipe for injury. Hard to describe but I'd never go near working this hard without ensuring I would wake up the next day pain-free. If it takes even a placebo to calm my mind about it and make me feel strong, I'm fine with that. I could be taking 4 sugar supplements for all I know, but they work!
Second: I might be doing a "bulking" cycle but I'm not out to just put on weight. I've successfully kept my body fat reasonably equal to before and after a muscle mass gain twice now. Like I say in the intro, this is what works for me. I have no reason to sacrifice my fitness or wellness just to pack on a few pounds of fat along with the muscle that I'll later have to work extra hard to get off anyway (can't really do impact cardio )
Third: Girlfriend's a nutrition guru / foodie. She's pretty much got my diet on lock-down. If there were a problem or I wasn't eating enough, I'd know. I also have some digestive issues when it comes to certain foods, so it limits my ability to make affordable eating more than the same things every day. If you think I should be eating more of something particular, let me know and I'll look into it! I'm always up for advice, everyone's backgrounds are a little different and two schools of thought coming together can have a lot of benefits.
Edit: By the way, I'm not saying any of this to wag my member or experience in any of your faces. You've more than likely been in the field the same time if not longer than I have. This type of training and dieting is what works for me, personally, and we'll see after the fact how and if it does
Fair enough and I understand some people cant workout on a full stomach. I wasn't saying to eat everything in sight and put on a load of fat but for example from your log on day 1 you got about 20g of protein all day... Also just be careful if you are buying anabolic halo or nano vapor, they are both classed as steroids in this country and if found by customs will be destroyed and you could be charged. In reality they wont follow it up, especially for a first offence but it's worth knowing anyway.0 -
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No more shameless plugging of my products because I'm pretty sure you all understand what I'm on by now also not including my dosage schedule for the supplements given by now it's clear what I take when depending on the workout time anyway.
I also know Hanley pointed out that I'm over-training. Yeah, I definitely am. That's why I take all the stuff for recovery. My recovery isn't always awful, only when I'm working like this in the weight room given it's literally physical torture. Second week so stepping up the intensity by the way, 3 major muscle groups an on-day from now on...:D
10:00
3 tbsp Peanut Butter
3 slices white bread
500 mL water
11:00 to 13:00
Research Methods
500 mL water
13:15
1 tuna/sweetcorn 9"? sandwich from Spar with mayonnaise
750 mL water
14:00 to 16:00
Politics of Development
750 mL water
16:25 - Lift time!
Chest/Back/Abs/Shoulders
I decided to do shoulders also today because I was tired of the anterior deltoid DOMS from my chest workout impeding my shoulder workout a ton.
Chest
Bench Press: 100kg x 6, 100kg x 5, 100kg x 3, 110kg x 2
I was pretty happy about hitting 110 especially for 2 reps. Been a while since I've been able to pull that off at the end of Bench.
Chest Fly Machine: 95kg x 10, 95kg x8, 85kg x 8
Great flexion on these and they were coming easier than before. Normally when I hit the end of the ROM it burns me up on squeezing, but not as much today as last workout.
High-to-Low Pulley Fly: 23.5kg/2 x 10 x 3
Low-to-High Pulley Fly: 13.5kg/2 x 10 x 3
Chest Press Machine: 75kg x 6 x 3
By the end of it all, I was really burning and definitely felt like I hit everything as hard as I could.
Back
Dead-hang Pull-ups: 10 x 3, 6
Hit a few more in an extra set today and they came along really nicely. I like that I feel I can push on without losing form compared to last back workout
Pulley Pull-down (Overhand, Handle-straps not bar): 33.5kg/2 x 6, 41.25kg/2 x 6 x 2
Close-Grip Underhand Pull-down with Bar: 41.25kg/2 x 6 x 2, 49.?kg/2 x 6
I almost didn't even need a weight plate to keep down and steady on these, so I'm thinking I've gained some weight... could just be form/stability improving though with muscle memory
Dumbbell Pull-Over: 34kg x 10 x 3
These felt like nothing, but I still got a great serratus swell out of them. I'm going to try using the 40kg fixed bar next time to see if it hits harder.
Bent-Over Barbell Row (Overhand): 70kg x 6 x 3
I was being gentle on my knees with this exercise since I'm working them tomorrow, and I think I might have been able to do more weight otherwise. Seriously considering getting some simple braces just for safety. I worry about working so hard this past week just to screw it all up
Bent-Over Fixed Bar Row (Underhand): 45kg x 10 x 3
Just to finish out. I don't think the seated row machine or the lat flexor are doing anything more than just running already dead things through the motion, so I'm ignoring it for now. May add them back in next time through.
Abs
Dragon Flag: 15, 6
These really got me today but I could actually pull off a smaller second set without feeling like I was being torn in half. Muscle memory?
Piking Leg Raise: 15, 10
Finishing off what the flags didn't hit.
Oblique machine was taken so I returned to it later...
Shoulders
Barbell Overhead Press: 60kg x 10, 60kg x 6, 60kg x 6, 70kg x fail then 1
My strength was at a loss on these and all my shoulder workout really. Still got great work in otherwise getting a good swell/burn going.
Arnold Press: 22kg/2 x 10, 24kg/2 x 6, 22kg/2 x 6
Kept having trouble getting over my sticking point on the second set. Went lighter and focused on form for a good finisher.
Lateral Fly: 10kg/2 x 6 x 3
Single-Arm Lateral Fly: 17.5kg x 6/2 x 2
Single-Arm Rear Deltoid w/ Pulley: 11.25kg x 6/2, 11.25kg x 8/2, 11.25kg x 10/2
My rear deltoids are tiny, weak, and easily burned out. I kept the same weight as last week because I planned to do bent-over dumbbell fly.
Single-Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Fly: 10kg x 10/2 x 3
Anterior Dumbbell Fly: 17.5kg/2 x 6 x 2, 20kg/2 x 6
*I chose not to do fixed bar front raises today because I think they're a major contributor to, or possibly the reason, why I was having a sore left rotator cuff all week. I don't normally do them and think I pushed a little too far trying to add them in to the already long shoulder routine*
Overall I definitely feel like I got in a more effective shoulder lift today than I would have waiting until tomorrow
Abs Pt 2
Oblique Rotation Machine: 65kg x 10/2, 75kg x 10/2, 85kg x 10/2, 95kg x 10/2
Yeah, chalking this up to muscle memory. I actually hadn't been able to use this machine in years, we had an identical one to it in my LA Fitness, and I'm back at the weight I could do before.
18:30
1 can tuna
2 tbsp Miracle Whip
4 slices white toast
1500 mL water
20:00
Final portion of my chicken/rice/peas concoction.
1 glass Organic Vegetable Juice (For you, Mom)
750 mL water
*At this point in the cycle, I'm hungry all the time. I've added one extra meal today going off what Mick pointed out but that doesn't seem like it will help, so I think there's second addition in the works for tomorrow. Let me know what else I'm missing, I truly do appreciate your feedback.*
Tomorrow will be Legs/Biceps/Triceps/Deadlifts0 -
Last Wednesday night via Webcam (yes I know it's awful quality but it was my only option)
Day 7 at 0:10 via Webcam
It looks like I'm getting more defined rather than bulking haha, but some size gain. Yes I know my body is off-center and you don't need to point this out 0 -
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