Day 36 (176.5)
I was really bad with eating over the weekend. My sister came to visit so we had to hit up all the Chicago staples (deep dish pizza, BYOB mexican, etc.)
I went up 2 lbs but I think this will come off fast. My belt is actually down a size from last week despite putting on the 2 lbs so that is comforting.
Today was upper #4.
Got all reps except the last one in the 230 set. The first rep was easy but like always, it kind of hits a wall after bringing the bar down.
I switched up my supersets so that the pullups and dips were first because they are more of a complex movement compared to the inc curls etc.
I was able to to 7x2x 5 lbs for pull ups and 5x5 lbs
Dips was 8x3x10lbs and 6x10 lbs
The DB extensions feel good now, I think I corrected my form. I will up the weight next workout. Im feeling a great stretch in my shoulders and tris now as before it was sort of painful.
Did 24 minutes on the stairs using HIIT.
Log Note: Starting to get veins showing on my upper pecs near my shoulders, never had them before. Also, my veins on the peak of my bicep is starting to pop when I flex, also never had this happen before. My hope is to be at 170 lbs by the end of feast which is in 2 weeks. I think I could lose 2 lbs a week and be strong enough to push through my 1RM for benchpress.
Sovabrat's First BP Log
Day 37 (175.5)
Weight is rebounding from the weekend. Reflecting on the situation though, I dont think I gained fat from eating all weekend. I think it is actually muscle growth. I changed up my lower workout friday by incorporating full range squats, and doing lots of calves work. I used long rest periods between my supersets.
I think I might have put on a pound of muscle and the rest was just water weight. The belt does not lie and my belt is definitely a notch smaller this week compared to just last Thursday.
I did static rack pulls with 135 lbs for 45 seconds just holding the weight in front of me, not actually raising the bar. I used the over under grip. It really worked my forearms and my grip. I supersetted this with situps on the decline bench.
20 lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets of reverse curls. I was really focused on not swaying my body. reps 12-20 burned so bad and my veins were popping out of my arms, it was awesome.
My spot partner helped me with the static cable crunch by assisting me on the lowering of the cable. Its tough when you have the crunch accessory connected. I did 2 sets of 25-30 seconds static hold with about 160 lbs. I would let the cable go up a bit and then slowly crunch it back down. I supersetted this with forearm curls with 10 lbs x 20 reps.
Last, I did rack pulls without the smith machine this time. I decided its time to start getting away from the smith because of the assistance. I started with 135 lbs and held each shrug for about 3-4 seconds for 8 reps. I did this for 3 sets.
I didnt want to overdue the weights on my off day but still wanted to target some areas that are slow growers like my forearms and abs.
Did elliptical for 45 minutes and got a great sweat.
Log Note: I am weening myself off of the E-bol and tbol trib. I have halved my dosage for two reasons: #1 I dont have enough left to go 6 pills a day until next friday and #2 I want the transition into cruise to be smooth and not real abrupt. I also want to convince myself that I can complete my new 1RM without the help of supps. I know I will be able to but the mental portion of achieving this will be great for me.
I have stopped taking any supps on the weekend unless I run, and then I will take two thermos pre run along with some beta alanine pills.
No more creatine on non GLP days. I am still taking the NANOx9 though until it is gone.
If I time this right, I should be done with all my supps by end of next week, ready to start cruise with my new body. During cruise I intend to do mostly cardio and plyo type work with pushups, squats, situps, etc.
Weight is rebounding from the weekend. Reflecting on the situation though, I dont think I gained fat from eating all weekend. I think it is actually muscle growth. I changed up my lower workout friday by incorporating full range squats, and doing lots of calves work. I used long rest periods between my supersets.
I think I might have put on a pound of muscle and the rest was just water weight. The belt does not lie and my belt is definitely a notch smaller this week compared to just last Thursday.
I did static rack pulls with 135 lbs for 45 seconds just holding the weight in front of me, not actually raising the bar. I used the over under grip. It really worked my forearms and my grip. I supersetted this with situps on the decline bench.
20 lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets of reverse curls. I was really focused on not swaying my body. reps 12-20 burned so bad and my veins were popping out of my arms, it was awesome.
My spot partner helped me with the static cable crunch by assisting me on the lowering of the cable. Its tough when you have the crunch accessory connected. I did 2 sets of 25-30 seconds static hold with about 160 lbs. I would let the cable go up a bit and then slowly crunch it back down. I supersetted this with forearm curls with 10 lbs x 20 reps.
Last, I did rack pulls without the smith machine this time. I decided its time to start getting away from the smith because of the assistance. I started with 135 lbs and held each shrug for about 3-4 seconds for 8 reps. I did this for 3 sets.
I didnt want to overdue the weights on my off day but still wanted to target some areas that are slow growers like my forearms and abs.
Did elliptical for 45 minutes and got a great sweat.
Log Note: I am weening myself off of the E-bol and tbol trib. I have halved my dosage for two reasons: #1 I dont have enough left to go 6 pills a day until next friday and #2 I want the transition into cruise to be smooth and not real abrupt. I also want to convince myself that I can complete my new 1RM without the help of supps. I know I will be able to but the mental portion of achieving this will be great for me.
I have stopped taking any supps on the weekend unless I run, and then I will take two thermos pre run along with some beta alanine pills.
No more creatine on non GLP days. I am still taking the NANOx9 though until it is gone.
If I time this right, I should be done with all my supps by end of next week, ready to start cruise with my new body. During cruise I intend to do mostly cardio and plyo type work with pushups, squats, situps, etc.
Day 38 Overall (173) lbs
I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I remember seeing the scale say 173. I have about 1.5 weeks left of feast and also before I leave for vacation which was the intent of this program for me.
Today was a lower workout for me.
Squat with full range of motion, almost sitting my ass on my calves at the bottom with 135 lbs for 8 reps. This is so much harder than loading up heavy weight and only half assing the form and motion. I think I am going to be much stronger for this, I can already tell I am hitting areas of my quads and hams that I didnt before with the squat. Did this for 4 straight sets supersetted with stiff leg deadlift at 135 lbs for 10 reps.
This sounds crazy but I challenge ANYONE to try it. I put 2 10lb plates on the seated calf apparatus and with minimal stoppage time I pumped out 100 reps with full range of motion, nice and controlled. I got to 50 and my calves burned so bad I had to stop for about 10 seconds but I kept going. I had the most enormous pump in my calves that I had never experienced before. While I was walking around they just kept flexing and int he mirror I swear the width of my calves were 1.5 times what they normally are. It took about 2 minutes of rest before the pump went down. I am certainly going to continue doing this in my lower routines, it gets so much blood pumping into the calves.
I did single leg hack squats with leg raises as a superset.
Finally I did leg curl with sled static calf raises. I set the weight to just above my body weight which was 180. I performed 4 reps with a 10 second hold at the top and a 1-2 second hold at the bottom range of the motion.
Ended with 20 minutes of HIIT on the bike.
Overall, great workout, I left feeling very satisfied, I know the DOMS will be pretty high tomorrow and friday but tomorrow is a day off for me because I have to travel for work for a day. If i get home at a reasonable time I will hit the gym for cardio and ab work.
I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I remember seeing the scale say 173. I have about 1.5 weeks left of feast and also before I leave for vacation which was the intent of this program for me.
Today was a lower workout for me.
Squat with full range of motion, almost sitting my ass on my calves at the bottom with 135 lbs for 8 reps. This is so much harder than loading up heavy weight and only half assing the form and motion. I think I am going to be much stronger for this, I can already tell I am hitting areas of my quads and hams that I didnt before with the squat. Did this for 4 straight sets supersetted with stiff leg deadlift at 135 lbs for 10 reps.
This sounds crazy but I challenge ANYONE to try it. I put 2 10lb plates on the seated calf apparatus and with minimal stoppage time I pumped out 100 reps with full range of motion, nice and controlled. I got to 50 and my calves burned so bad I had to stop for about 10 seconds but I kept going. I had the most enormous pump in my calves that I had never experienced before. While I was walking around they just kept flexing and int he mirror I swear the width of my calves were 1.5 times what they normally are. It took about 2 minutes of rest before the pump went down. I am certainly going to continue doing this in my lower routines, it gets so much blood pumping into the calves.
I did single leg hack squats with leg raises as a superset.
Finally I did leg curl with sled static calf raises. I set the weight to just above my body weight which was 180. I performed 4 reps with a 10 second hold at the top and a 1-2 second hold at the bottom range of the motion.
Ended with 20 minutes of HIIT on the bike.
Overall, great workout, I left feeling very satisfied, I know the DOMS will be pretty high tomorrow and friday but tomorrow is a day off for me because I have to travel for work for a day. If i get home at a reasonable time I will hit the gym for cardio and ab work.
Day 40 Overall (174 lbs)
Today was upper #5. Weight was up a 1lb, im going to attribute this to water retention. I didnt workout yesterday or each badly.
Wasnt able to get the 2nd rep on the last set. Kind of disappointed because it was 10 lbs less than upper #4. I think I have been hitting a wall beacuse I dont drink a preworkout drink anymore. I should consider this in the future.
Same workout as usual, was able to do 3 full sets of 5lb pullups and 3 full sets of 10lb weighted dips.
Skipped Shoulders and db extensions because I was exhausted of strength, yesterday I did 8 hours of driving and it took everything I had to stay awake. I hate driving long distance.
Im going to move my upper #6 forward to Monday and call it the last day of Feast. I can sense my body changing signals now. I am starting to get little aches. I will use the remainder of the week to start cruise. I am ok with this. My results were incredible, I'm sure I will continue to sculpt my body during cruise because I will focus on lots of super sets with little rest.
I am pretty confident that Monday will result in my new PR for 1RM on bench. Just need to make sure I do a good warmup and stretch over the weekend.
Today was upper #5. Weight was up a 1lb, im going to attribute this to water retention. I didnt workout yesterday or each badly.
Wasnt able to get the 2nd rep on the last set. Kind of disappointed because it was 10 lbs less than upper #4. I think I have been hitting a wall beacuse I dont drink a preworkout drink anymore. I should consider this in the future.
Same workout as usual, was able to do 3 full sets of 5lb pullups and 3 full sets of 10lb weighted dips.
Skipped Shoulders and db extensions because I was exhausted of strength, yesterday I did 8 hours of driving and it took everything I had to stay awake. I hate driving long distance.
Im going to move my upper #6 forward to Monday and call it the last day of Feast. I can sense my body changing signals now. I am starting to get little aches. I will use the remainder of the week to start cruise. I am ok with this. My results were incredible, I'm sure I will continue to sculpt my body during cruise because I will focus on lots of super sets with little rest.
I am pretty confident that Monday will result in my new PR for 1RM on bench. Just need to make sure I do a good warmup and stretch over the weekend.
"I can sense my body changing signals now. I am starting to get little aches"
Grab that new PR Monday and call it a run. Your progress was just that: INCREDIBLE!
I'd LOVE for you to post some key re-comp learnings in a separate thread. I think we can all learn a lot from your run here. Probably the best re-comp I've seen yet. And YOU get the credit because YOU did the work!
Grab that new PR Monday and call it a run. Your progress was just that: INCREDIBLE!
I'd LOVE for you to post some key re-comp learnings in a separate thread. I think we can all learn a lot from your run here. Probably the best re-comp I've seen yet. And YOU get the credit because YOU did the work!
Day 41 Overall (174 lbs)
I just found out my girlfriend had a Polar Heart Rate Monitor.. its been sitting in our hutch for a year.... Man I wish I had this at the start. It auto syncs with all the cardio equipment at my gym. I am able to keep my heart rate in the zone for maximum fat burn with this thing. I love it!!
Today I did a superset of seated rows with wide grip pull downs for 3 sets. Nothing too heavy, just getting some good stretches on my lats and working up my heart rate.
I did 100 pushups : 25,20,20,20,15
Forearm curls with side roatation 15 lbs x 20 curls x 10 rotations for 3 sets. After each set I flexed my forearms as hard as possible for 20 seconds. It was pretty intense.
I did some medicine ball crunch slams on the decline bench. I essentially went up half way on the decline and with a 6lb
medicine ball i rotated side to side slamming it and catching it on each side. I did 40 total reps for 20 a side. I did this three times.
Then I did 60 minutes on the elliptical, i tried to keep my hear rate right at the peak of the fat loss zone or about 130ish BPM.
I didnt get as good of a sweat as I normally get but I think this is the right way to do it. Im going to read up on these heart rate monitors and how they help.
I will take pictures after my feast phase ends Monday.
When I finish I will definitely type up a new thread on the recomp so far. I will highlight what I did, what I was eating, what supps i was taking, my weight fluctuations, and also my take-aways from the experience. I hope that everyone who is considering a recomp will learn from what I have done. After vacation I will take a week off and just do cardio and then Im going to start the BP up again. I think I am going to do another recomp but it will be much more focused on areas that I didnt concentrate on this run such as shoulders and back.
I just found out my girlfriend had a Polar Heart Rate Monitor.. its been sitting in our hutch for a year.... Man I wish I had this at the start. It auto syncs with all the cardio equipment at my gym. I am able to keep my heart rate in the zone for maximum fat burn with this thing. I love it!!
Today I did a superset of seated rows with wide grip pull downs for 3 sets. Nothing too heavy, just getting some good stretches on my lats and working up my heart rate.
I did 100 pushups : 25,20,20,20,15
Forearm curls with side roatation 15 lbs x 20 curls x 10 rotations for 3 sets. After each set I flexed my forearms as hard as possible for 20 seconds. It was pretty intense.
I did some medicine ball crunch slams on the decline bench. I essentially went up half way on the decline and with a 6lb
medicine ball i rotated side to side slamming it and catching it on each side. I did 40 total reps for 20 a side. I did this three times.
Then I did 60 minutes on the elliptical, i tried to keep my hear rate right at the peak of the fat loss zone or about 130ish BPM.
I didnt get as good of a sweat as I normally get but I think this is the right way to do it. Im going to read up on these heart rate monitors and how they help.
I will take pictures after my feast phase ends Monday.
When I finish I will definitely type up a new thread on the recomp so far. I will highlight what I did, what I was eating, what supps i was taking, my weight fluctuations, and also my take-aways from the experience. I hope that everyone who is considering a recomp will learn from what I have done. After vacation I will take a week off and just do cardio and then Im going to start the BP up again. I think I am going to do another recomp but it will be much more focused on areas that I didnt concentrate on this run such as shoulders and back.
Day 44 Overall (174 lbs)
Well it has been a hard fought journey, but with the conclusion of my favorite show of all time (Lost) comes the conclusion to the feast phase of my first BP run.
Over the weekend I received more than one compliment from friends and strangers about how great I was looking. One buddy asked if the bacne was bad due to the roids.
this was a major compliment coming from this guy. The guy at the gym has twice commented on how large my legs are looking, especially my calves. This is great because I stopped doing heavy squats and switched to a focus on full ROM with a lighter weight. I think it paid off because I have bulges on my quads that I never have seen before.
I was able to complete my 1RM at 245 lbs which is 105% of my previous 1RM. I know for a fact that if I wasnt on such an extreme cut / recomp I could have done much more. I am still very satisfied with these results.
I have lost 10 lbs since the start of the BP. I have totally transformed my body from a soft bulked state to a lean, ALMOST shredded form. My abs are really starting to pop with the exception of the bottom 2. I think I still need to lose about 3 more lbs before these show. Tomorrow morning I am going to get a caliper test for my bodyfat from a professional. I will take pictures tomorrow after my cardio session as well and post them up. Over the next couple weeks I will compile my notes and try and form some thoughtful suggestions to anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps.
Although I still have 2 weeks of cruise to go, I want to thank Hank and especially Rob for the insightful advice and motivation that you have provided me. I have never been so focused for a training cycle before in my life and the sweat and aches I endured have made me not only stronger but smarter. With the knowledge I have compiled during my first run I know that the second will be even more successful.
I have my vacation next week and then I will rest a week to get ready for my second run. My training partner has conceded that he can no longer ignore my results and methods and has said that he will join me on my second run. After I log my notes and post a stickie here I will analyze the best course of action for my second run but I think im going to concentrate on my slow growth muscles a lot more.
Well it has been a hard fought journey, but with the conclusion of my favorite show of all time (Lost) comes the conclusion to the feast phase of my first BP run.
Over the weekend I received more than one compliment from friends and strangers about how great I was looking. One buddy asked if the bacne was bad due to the roids.
this was a major compliment coming from this guy. The guy at the gym has twice commented on how large my legs are looking, especially my calves. This is great because I stopped doing heavy squats and switched to a focus on full ROM with a lighter weight. I think it paid off because I have bulges on my quads that I never have seen before. I was able to complete my 1RM at 245 lbs which is 105% of my previous 1RM. I know for a fact that if I wasnt on such an extreme cut / recomp I could have done much more. I am still very satisfied with these results.
I have lost 10 lbs since the start of the BP. I have totally transformed my body from a soft bulked state to a lean, ALMOST shredded form. My abs are really starting to pop with the exception of the bottom 2. I think I still need to lose about 3 more lbs before these show. Tomorrow morning I am going to get a caliper test for my bodyfat from a professional. I will take pictures tomorrow after my cardio session as well and post them up. Over the next couple weeks I will compile my notes and try and form some thoughtful suggestions to anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps.
Although I still have 2 weeks of cruise to go, I want to thank Hank and especially Rob for the insightful advice and motivation that you have provided me. I have never been so focused for a training cycle before in my life and the sweat and aches I endured have made me not only stronger but smarter. With the knowledge I have compiled during my first run I know that the second will be even more successful.
I have my vacation next week and then I will rest a week to get ready for my second run. My training partner has conceded that he can no longer ignore my results and methods and has said that he will join me on my second run. After I log my notes and post a stickie here I will analyze the best course of action for my second run but I think im going to concentrate on my slow growth muscles a lot more.
Day 45 Overall (173 lbs)
Today was just 50 minutes on the elliptical. I have recently stopped grabbing the bars. it not only hurt my back but limited my range of motion on my steps. I realized I had been doing it wrong all along and by swinging my arms I feel like im getting a better sweat and it feels so much more comfortable. You can still learn something new everyday!
I also did an AB circuit I saw in FLEX magazine.
20 controlled crunches superset with 20 seconds of controlled bicycle kicks.
30 second rest
5 sets of 10 second vacuum crunches on the bench (this really hurt!!!)
I repeated this once for a total of 2 sets. This TORE ME UP!!! Good routine from the mag, i could feel all areas of my abs being used as I switched from crunch to bike to statics.
I had my girlfriend take some pictures this morning. I dont really have a pump going on because I didnt lift this morning. I tried to do some pushups real fast to get some blood pumping a bit. I dont think they capture my stance as best as it could. I am extremely un-photogenic as well.
Overall I am happy though, I will upload the pictures tonight after bowling league if I have time, otherwise tomorrow. Ill link them in here for a before and after shot.
I dont believe I took any before shots of my legs, which I should have because I made huge gains there. Oh well. Another busy week of work so the write up is going to be pushed even further.
Today was just 50 minutes on the elliptical. I have recently stopped grabbing the bars. it not only hurt my back but limited my range of motion on my steps. I realized I had been doing it wrong all along and by swinging my arms I feel like im getting a better sweat and it feels so much more comfortable. You can still learn something new everyday!
I also did an AB circuit I saw in FLEX magazine.
20 controlled crunches superset with 20 seconds of controlled bicycle kicks.
30 second rest
5 sets of 10 second vacuum crunches on the bench (this really hurt!!!)
I repeated this once for a total of 2 sets. This TORE ME UP!!! Good routine from the mag, i could feel all areas of my abs being used as I switched from crunch to bike to statics.
I had my girlfriend take some pictures this morning. I dont really have a pump going on because I didnt lift this morning. I tried to do some pushups real fast to get some blood pumping a bit. I dont think they capture my stance as best as it could. I am extremely un-photogenic as well.
Overall I am happy though, I will upload the pictures tonight after bowling league if I have time, otherwise tomorrow. Ill link them in here for a before and after shot.
I dont believe I took any before shots of my legs, which I should have because I made huge gains there. Oh well. Another busy week of work so the write up is going to be pushed even further.