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Chest and bicep day today...

Noticed while looking in the full length bedroom mirror when I changing this morning and had my shirt off that my front side vein shooting through my arm is getting very pronounced...can see it all the way up until it runs past my elbow into the bicep....still got a little bit of work to do to uncover the fat there...wasn't even flexing or anything, first time I have ever really seen it that out there...definitely a good sign body fat is going down...

CHEST:
Incline Barbell Press(w/ intention): 95/115/125/130-120x5-110x4-95x4
Incline HS Press(w/ intention): 58/78/88/88-78x5-68x5-58x5
Flat DB Press: 25/30/30/30-25x5-20x5-17.5x5
Assisted Dip(to failure w/intention): 60x5/60x6/60x5/60x5-75x5 -90x5-105x6
Chest was so done in after this I barely could push the water fountain button to get a drink. Felt like the inside of my chest was on fire...intentions(try and squeeze hands together) on machine dips are freaking BRUTAL....

BICEPS:
Two Arm Cable Curls: 10/15/20/20-15x6-10x6-10x6
Barbell Curl: 40/40/40/40-30x6-20x7-20x6
Incline DB Curl: 20/20/17.5/17.5-15x4-12.5x6-10x6

Contracting the tricep at the bottom of the rep to fully lengthen the bicep and get a full ROM is extremely fatiguing to the biceps(its at its weakest point), arms were completely shot and the weight being used was embarrassingly light...

I have to say that lifting in this manner and with the various "rules" for form on each exercise(I literally have a "cheat sheet" with a paragraph on each exercise I am doing with me so I can refer to it before starting it) is really eye opening.

It has basically made me realize that lifting heavy weight in and of itself is useless if is not stimulating the targeted muscle properly. The weight I am lifting is much lighter than what I am used to, but every ounce of that weight is going directly into the muscle I am trying to work. It is then further amplified by applying an "intention" or attempting to squeeze a certain bodypart together or apart while doing that exercise to increase the torque on the working muscle. Another point that is different with this than what I am used to doing is there are no pauses(unless its a contracted pause to stimulate the muscle on certain exercises) in reps at the top or bottom.

The rep never gets to a position where it is straight up or down to take tension off the muscle(weight only exists a force straight down, so when you have arms/legs in a straight position you actually take tension off the muscle and allow it to rest by sending it through the joint instead). Tricep extensions are done with arms slightly back behind you, not straight. DB presses are done slightly outside shoulder width to force the muscles to hold all of the weight at all times. Dips are done without locking out arms at top so as not to allow a rest period for pecs, etc...

There is no bouncing, moving of other body parts, leaning back, leaning forward or cheating of any kind. All you have is a slow, controlled smooth motion 1 second positive, 4 second negative, no rest at either top or bottom, with the targeted muscle always initiating the movement. 40 second rest period is barely enough time to get a drink of water and change the weight.

I CANNOT WAIT to take these principles and apply them to my BP runs, it is going to make a humongous difference, IMHO. It was really tough for me to swallow my ego and accept that I was lifting improperly technique wise, after having been doing it for so long. I am getting better at it, but there are so many little detailed form things I still struggle with. So crazy that a few inches here or there can make the difference in getting huge results and getting virtually no result. He explains that when people have certain muscles that grow better than others, it is almost always a form related thing. He believes that their spines and joints are aligned properly to use perfect form for that muscle group, but not for other muscle groups, and he says that can always be corrected by correcting form.

Overall form is a lot better tho and I can really feel it in the muscle, even when using half the weight(sometimes less, especially on the 3rd and 4th exercises). Deep, deep fatigue and DOMS like I haven't had since starting static holds, but it lasts longer...

I cannot say how highly I recommend this program if only to get the tips and videos on proper form...this form combined with the BP would be unstoppable!!

Got a couple of logs to post here as I got a little behind.

MI40 Day 9 Monday
All are 8 reps unless otherwise noted

BACK
Underhand Grip Cable Row: 70/85/100/120-100x6-85x6-70x6
1 Arm DB Row(15 reps): 22.5/25/30/35
Overhand Barbell Row: 95/115/135/125
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups(w/intention): 55x3-70x3/70x4-85x4/100/115-120x8-125x8-125x8
Superset: Wide Grip Pulldowns(w/ intention): 70/70/55/55-45x10-40x10-40x10

HAMSTRINGS
Stiff Leg DL: 80/80/90/90
Seated Leg Curl:(15 reps) 40/45/50x8-45x7/45
Lying Leg Curl(in extension): 30/40/50/65-50x5-40x5-30x5
Superset Lying Leg Curl: same weights as above

MI40 Day 10 Tuesday

QUADS
Squat(w/intention): 145/165/185/195(4/4 pause rep)
DB Squat(w/intention): 35/40/45/50-45x6-40x6-35x7
Walking Lunge(15 reps): 15BB/25DB/30DB/35DB
Leg Press(w/ intention): 170/220/270/330x10
Superset Leg Extension:70/75/75/80

CALVES:
Standing Calf Raise: 145/235/315/315-235x8-235x8-235x8
Leg Press Calf Raise: 220/270/340/430-340x8-340x8-340x8
Seated Calf Raise: 110/110/160/170-145x6-130x5-120x4

Getting stronger every workout, sometimes significantly so. Big improvement in leg strength, even doing reps his way...

No lifting tomorrow, HIIT cardio

strong progress man, i have found that my DOMS have stopped aching for so long after the workouts now, first week was DOM hell lol.

tufluk wrote:strong progress man, i have found that my DOMS have stopped aching for so long after the workouts now, first week was DOM hell lol.

Yeah, similar here. I still get it a little bit, and it usually lasts for a few days, but it is a lot more tolerable. Basically if I press on the area it just feels sore rather than I can't touch the area because it hurts so bad sore.

MI40 Day 11 Wednesday
No lifting, HIIT cardio day. Once again, legs felt like they had lead in them from doing quads/calves the night before. Not quite as bad as the first time, last week, but still bad. Rocked it once I got going tho. 20 mins after a 5 min warmup, 45 secs high and 45 secs low.

MI40 Day 12 Thursday
Quads still slightly sore and even moreso fatigued. Still feeling like lead, but also feeling swelled up and muscular, like they are about to explode. Same with calves.

CHEST
Incline DB Press: 30/45/45/45-35x5-30x5-25x6
Incline DB Fly: 25/25/25/25-20x5-15x6-15x8
Bench Press(w/ intention): 135/125/125/125-115x5-110x5-105x6
Cable Crossover: 15/20/20-15x6-10x6-5x8

BICEPS
Barbell Curl: 50/50/50/50-40x5-30x5-20x8
Low Cable Reverse Grip Curl: 15/15/15-10x6-5x8-5x8
Seated DB Curl(20 reps): 20x8-15x12/15/12.5/12.5

This program really makes you feel like a beeeyatch at times...
I was dying trying to bench 135 lbs while applying inward intention(squeezing hands inward) after doing the 2 incline movements.
The seated DB curls with 12.5 DB's were another embarrassment, but not much I can do...

Good progress on BB Curls, as I went up a full 10 lbs after one session...
Strength definitely progressing nicely, even when its hard to see it doing extremely light weights after the muscle is completely fatigued...

Delts tomorrow morning and HIIT cardio Saturday morning...

Noticing my back is exploding in size, especially down the middle and lower part of the lats. Starting to really get the giant upside down triangle look going and I think it looks better than before because my waist it so much smaller...

This log reminds me of the Mt. St. Helens eruption, LOL.

WOW. Great work man!

MI40 Day 13 Friday

Only shoulders this morning, so I got in and out pretty quick, about 40 minutes or so.

SHOULDERS-All are 8 reps unless specified

Rear Delt Pec Fly: 55/70/85/90-70x5-55x5-40x8
Two-Arm Cable Rear Lateral(15 reps): 5/5/7.5/7.5
Seated DB Side Laterals: 7.5/10/12.5/15-12.5x4-10x4-7.5x5
DB Shoulder Press(20 reps): 20/17.5/17.5/15

Shoulders were freaking fried after this...no triceps this week, probably because I had 2 chest/bicep workouts, and triceps gets activated pretty good because all bicep exercises start each rep with a contraction of the tricep...

nice progress man, have you predominantly lost fat or gained muscle, or about even?

By only having protein in the morning I think im not eating as much cals overall as I used to, I feel bigger but have lost weight. im hoping this is fat but cant really tell. just wandering what's happening to you. both by the sounds of things.

tufluk wrote:nice progress man, have you predominantly lost fat or gained muscle, or about even?

By only having protein in the morning I think im not eating as much cals overall as I used to, I feel bigger but have lost weight. im hoping this is fat but cant really tell. just wandering what's happening to you. both by the sounds of things.

I will have a bettet idea Sunday when I measure again. I gained a pound last week but actually dropped body fat, so I ended up gaining about 2.5 lbs of muscle... As of this morning I was up exactly 2 pounds from last week, will see how things go in the morning...

I am eating exactly how he has it laid out. Carbs mostly from brown rice, yams, potatoes and oatmeal with a fatfree low carb yogurt thrown in for
good measure. Cinnamon always accompanies my carb meals to improve
insulin sensitivity.
I don't see much if any fat gaining, I am looking bigger and denser but we
will see tomorrow...

You should buy a fat track gold caliper, they are about 20 bucks and then you can know exactly where you are at...

MI40 Day 14 Sunday Measurement Day

I have to say I am pretty disappointed in the results this week. Actually VERY disappointed in the results. Basically everything is unchanged, and my weight actually dropped almost a full pound back nearly to my starting weight. Not sure what happened as I was almost 2 pounds heavier most of the week.

I am in a very strange place right now. I am becoming unsure of who I really am. I used to be a endo-meso that piled on muscle easily and gained weight easily(fat and muscle). Now my body is acting like a hard-gaining ecto that is having trouble putting on and sustaining mass. Something I experienced only back in my soccer playing days where I literally could eat 6,000 calories a day and lose weight(I couldn't eat enough to keep weight from falling off me).

I need to figure out WTF is going on here. Obviously I am going to need to up my calories, because 3,200 apparently is not enough to gain mass right now for me. Its been 2 weeks of eating what should be a pretty generous caloric surplus and I have gotten nowhere, weight wise.

In a bad place right now...kind of distraught about the whole thing to tell the truth...I simply don't know who I am anymore in this deal. Not a good time to try to be figuring this stuff out...

Measurements:

Chest: 46 inches(dropped an inch from last week, likely due to intramuscular swelling going down after back workout)
Waist: 33.75 inches(unchanged)
Arms: 14.5 inches(unchanged)
Hips: 39 inches(unchanged)
Quads: 25 inches(unchanged)
Calves: 17 inches(unchanged)

Weight: 187.0(down!!! .8 pounds from last week almost to original starting weight of 186.8 lbs)
BF: 11.4%(up .3% but this is pretty negligible as it might have just been a mm difference in caliper squeezing)
LBM: 165.68 lbs(down 1.27 lbs----arggh!!!!)

Gotta get this figured out....going to have to step my eating game up....I am in a whole new territory right now, and I honestly DO NOT like it...

Quads and calves today. This is a lower intensity week, 10 reps instead of 8 on most exercises, and a 3010 tempo instead of 4010. This was definitely not an easy workout though. The rep count and exercises were pretty rough. Quads were burning so bad from leg presses on 20 rep sets I almost started tearing up, but I pushed through them as much as possible...

QUADS
Leg Extension: 110/130/150
Leg Press Low Feet(W/intention)(20 reps): 170/180/190/200
Leg Press High Feet(W/intention): 260/270/320/340
Leg Extension(20 reps): 30/40/45
Superset Walking Lunge(15 reps ea/leg): 20DB x 3

CALVES
Seated Calf Raise: 150/150/160/160
Standing Calf Raise(All 4 NOS sets): 325x8-280x8-235x8-190x8
415x8-370x7-325x7-280x7
415x8-325x8-280x7-235x7
415x8-325x6-280x6-235x8

Quads and calves are shot...walking up and down stairs when I got home was extremely taxing, almost felt like I was going to fall a few times...

Going to a cookout/party so I am sure eating enough cals today will not be an issue

Dont let thos measurements get you down bro, its a long game. your a big guy so some of its likely water fluctuation, do you measure in the morning before food before/after toilet each time? a good dump weights a couple pounds

I know I get a real shitty on when I loose weight so I only look at the scales before and after runs now, I just keep track of the weight im lifting.

Keep at it!