No-Bull Muscle Building Plan

I bought Kelly Baggett's new book and liked the plan enough to give it a good run. This is the type plan I could see following year round for many reasons.

Version I Plan on Using

~11 days muscle building
~4 days fat loss

Mass Diet Phase

Days 1 and 2:

4000+ kcals/day
Carb load 2-3g/lb bodyweight carbohyrdrate
1.5-2g/lb protein
Low fat

Days 3-11:

~3800-4000 kcals/day
1.5-2 grams/lb protein

Fat Loss Phase

Days 12-15:

~1200 Calories/day
1-1.5g/lb lbm protein
50-100g carbohydrate

Sample Training Split

Day 1: Back and Biceps
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Chest and Trcieps
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Back and Biceps
Day 7: Off
Day 8: Legs
Day 9: Off
Day 10 Chest and Triceps
Day 11: Off
Day 12: Lower Body Depletion + Cardio
Day 13: Upper Body Depletion + Cardio
Day 14 Cardio
Day 15: Cardio

Mass gaining workouts are done with both loading and density movements during each training session. They will be periodized in some form or fashion. I'll tend to use high reps and more TUT for pushing muscles and low-moderate reps for pulling muscles. I'll also be going heavy/light, i.e. using 'feeder workouts'. Training won't be done to failure. Depletion workouts will be done ~ 50% of my 1RM. 6-12 sets. 12-20 reps/set/muscle.

Supplementation:

1) Multi
2) Fish oil
3) Whatever anabolic drugs I happen to be on at the time and whatever ancillaries I need to go with those.

The AAS I use is the only thing that doesn't conform at all to Kelly's plan. The book is written for a natty trainer. Right now I am cutting, but will start bulking soonish. Could be anywhere from a week to a month before it begins. Any feedback is more than welcome. Are any of you folks using this plan now?

Hey Cardnial, I enjoyed your last journal. GL with the new one

1200 calories? that suuuper low for you. What are you weighing these days?

Cold Iron

Weight has flucuated a fair amount over the last year. Right now I am 210-215. Most of last year I was around 225-235. I decided to diet down to something significantly below 15% before I start bulking. Being big has been fun. Now I want to be big and lean. That is my project for the next year.

1200 kcals is super low and is the lowest Kelly allows for on his plan. During the mass phase I am shooting for 750-1000 kcals over maintenance every day. It is pretty much throwing in the kitchen sink to ensure muscle is built then. So the diet phase needs to be super effective to ensure no overall fat gain. Kelly's actual recommendation for calories is much higher for the fat loss phase.

January 19, 2007

Stats:

Prior to carb load today...

Bodyweight ~ 213
Arms: 16.5"
Waist 36-36.5"

Loading Movements:

Incline DB Press 65x8, 70x2x8, 70x6
Laterals 37.5x6, 32.5x8, 30x8

Density Movements:

Flye 8 x 8-12
Reverse Grip Pushdowns 5 x 8-10

Notes

This is a good time/place to log my workouts. I want to get used the no-bull training format even though I am not yet starting the program. Today I felt as if I could handle significantly more volume, particularly on the density movements. I think there is less leeway in the loading movements. I am likely to stick with my old approach of training bodyparts ever 5-6 days. So I can push it a little on the volume per workout and still recover.

I haven't done flies in a while. I found the cybex machine and free motion cable-cross machine to work best. I always do tricep pushdowns with a reverse grip. Leads to lighter weight but it feels fantastic. The rom just feels better and it is nicer on the joints.

I rest 3-5 minutes on the loading movements. Feels great and it is how I am accustomed to training. Density training was with short rest intervals. It wasn't a problem. Machines and staying put make those easy. I'll be interested to see how leg day goes, haha.

Hey Cardinal!
Ouch! 1200 cals. Looks like some tough days but at least the others make up for it.

Hey Jodi! Good to hear from you. I hope you have been doing well. It has been awhile =D.

Oddly, I am kind of looking forward to the dieting aspect of this mass building plan. I am not sure how much I will need to eat to build muscle but it may be more than calculated. If so, after 11 days bulking I will be ready for a break from eating.

A part of me has really started to enjoy some of the physiological effects of low calories and dieting. I am basically looking to structure those diet days close to a PSMF. The modified fasting is a surefire way to lose bodyfat. The mass phase throws most everything we know about muscle building into it. So in theory at least, it should produce some muscle...it is just a question of how much.

It also seems easy to tweak. If I find I gain a little too much fat, I can just extend the original 3 day dieting to 4-5 days and lose that extra pound fairly effortlessly.

I think the refeeds are going to knock me on my ass though. The transition out of the low cal days is tough mentally and physically. But it is an integral part of what makes this thing work. I want to use the glycogen supercompensation effect to my advantage.

How is the book?

How indepth does it goes with regard to teh science of why certain things are happening and why certain things should be done a certain way?

Pfunk:

The science in the book is best described as 'moderate'. Kelly's posts are often very in-depth. The book is toned down somewhat not to overcomplicated things. I think that aspect makes it better from a practical standpoint. I'd say lyle's UD 2.0 went into a lot more hard science.That said, the description of how genetics effect bodybuilding is quite clear (and is looked at from an evolutionary as well as hormonal perspective).

He addresses the different components of training and gives straight-forward reasons for his preferences. He splits it up into training load and density, describing why both can be done in the same workout, focusing on the synergy between the two. He addresses the different types of muscle growth (sarcoplasmic, sarcomeric..) as well as training variables such as Volume, Intensity, Intensiveness, How many reps, how many sets. Heavy/light workouts...He discusses which muscle groups tend to respond better to high reps, and which tend to responsd to low reps, heavier weight etc.

You can see how the workouts are periodized but he doesn't go into very much detail about explaining that. I wouldn't have minded seeing a little more info on that, esp. wrt to conjugated periodizations and some history behind all that. He gives very little info in that regard.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask if you want to know anything more specific. I tend to be pretty biased toward the book since I have followed kelly's work and have seen him interact with people on the forums for several years.

thanks.

1-20-07

Workout

HS High Row 80x7, 70x8, 60x2x8
Curls 60'sx8, 55'sx7, 50'sx8
HS Row 90x9, 90x3x8
Forearm Stuff

Cardio

Elliptical 65:00, 875 kcals, Life Fitness 9500 HR

Notes

The notion that cardio doesn't burn quite as many calories as the machines may indicate has been a popular idea of late. At the very least I'd assume I burned 600 kcals or more in the full hour.

I did a 2 day cheat. I am curious to see how it effects fat loss over the next 5-6 days or so. Diet will be low cal, high protein, high fibrous veggies. 1500-1800 kcals/day will probably be my average.

So, how does one train for "density" ?

camarosuper6 said:

So, how does one train for "density" ?

Click to expand...

by doing a high volume of training in a short amount of time.

4 sets x 10-12 reps @ 30 sec rest

That would be a lot of density and mechanical work compared to something like:

3 sets x 6 reps @ 2min rest

which is more strength or 'tension' oriented.


It isn't muscle density. It is density with relation to work load.

AH.

Thank you for clarifying.

High rep work is supposedly good for the joints... I may have to incorporate some of those post -workout on my achy elbows.

High rep work is known to be good for the joints. What has helped me the most for dealing with achy joints is changing the movement I am doing to a less stressful movement (like doing machine rows versus pullups or tate presses versus tricep extensions) and training bodyparts less frequently.

For me a good compromise is doing bodyparts every 5-6 days. Not optimal, but I have yet to make a heavy/light or high rep approach work to get in training body parts 2x per week. There are enough suggestions in this book for me to give 2x a week training a go again. Following the authors example setup gives me little chance to screw it up. He gives about 10 things to do to lighten cns load. Those ten things also tend to lighten load on the joints as well.

1-22-06

Leg Workout

Loading:

Squats 185x4x8

Density:

Leg Extension 100x20, 100x15, 100x10, 100x8, 100x8
Deadlifts 225x2x15 (1 min rest)

Cardio: Elliptical 60:00, 830 kcals

Notes

I wanted to try deadlifts as a second loading movment but managed to stretch out my hamstring a bit too much. Weight felt incredibly light after two cheat days.

Cardio Elliptical 60:00, 860 kcals

Stocked up on Cauliflower and Broccoli for the next few days. I think I am hooked on steamed veggies. That will end quickly once I stop dieting. And dieting may end quickly. I really want to try the lean bulking plan. My body seems to be wanting to put on muscle in a deficit so maybe I should take advantage of the partitioning while I have it and put on some real mass. I have no idea what the scale or tape measure will show tomorrow. My body is doing some funky stuff. Good old gear of the gods.

Light Push Workout:

Incline DB Bench 50's
Side laterals 30's
Tates 37.5's
Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdowns 40
Flies 40
Free motion bench

~20 sets total

Cardio: Elliptical 60:00, 835 kcals

Notes:

Joints are loving the light weights. Workout was light as I am pretty deep in a deficit without a lot of glycogen to work with. I woke up at 215 lbs. I still have a couple of lbs to lose before I get back to my weight at the end of last week. That should take at most two days.

For the life of me I can't seem to get more weight off. Gotta love a little recomp effect. I have been dieting five weeks without more than a few oddly timed refeeds. I am going to give a cycle of the new workout program a legitimate and honest shot. It begins tomorrow. For once I am going to try not to screw it up. There is enough flexibility for me to adjust anyway. Tomorrow's eating should start around noon after a little light physical activity in the morning. Protein will be sitting at 1g/lb. Carbs 2-3g/lb tomorrow and Saturday. Fat intake will stay low. That will probably be the toughest part for me. A clean refeed. Calories will meet or exceed 4000. I suspect to have some appetite problems early on. I'll manage to get the cals in though =D

Progress pics will be posted at my log at AM in the cycle info section. They will serve as before pics for the coming cycles anyhow.

Cardio: Elliptical 65:00 905 kcals

Am??

Anabolic minds. Cycle info section. Assuming all goes well, I plan to keep pics updated there throughout the next year. Good way to judge progress over time and keep myself at it.

First Cycle

Day 1

Pull

Loading

HS High Row 80x8, 90x2x8, 100x7
Curls 60x8, 60x6, 55x7

Density

HS Iso-Row 90x9, 90x8, 90x8, 90x5, 30 seconds rest each
Free Motion Row 1x20
HS Low Row 60x2x10

Forgot to do forearm work

Cardio

Elliptical 30:00, 460 kcals

Notes

This may be my least favorite day of the cycle. Insulin was all over the place since it was a carb load. I felt pretty sluggish and still reasonably weak from dieting. I stepped up the weights a little from my last recorded pull workout. Cardio is still happening but I am going focus on CV conditioning more than calories burned. Even if it takes a day or two more than 11 days, I am going to work through two push/pull/legs splits and follow with an upper/lower depletion split in the diet portion.

Diet

TBD. I am not done eating yet.

Diet

Carb Load Today:

5700 kcals
> 1.5 g/lb protein
< 100 g fat
...the balance in carbs

Food Selection:

1 lb 93/7 turkey
3 cans tuna
1400 kcals white rice
1 loaf french bread
2 cans garbanzo beans
picante
ff butter
ff mayo
...other stuff I forgot to list

Notes

I overshot on the calories by about 1000 today. On the upside though, this has been one of my more successful carb loads. Fat intake and carb selection were reasonable. I'll weigh in in the morning. Overall I am kind of happy with the day and am hoping for good results from it. If I were not AAS assisted I'd be very worried. Until tomorrow...

Day 2

Legs

Loading

Squats 185x2x10, 225x5, 185x10, 205x7, 3-5' rest per set
Deadlifts 225x10, 315x4, 295x2x6

Density

Leg Extensions 85x20, 85x16, 85x15, 85x12, 30 seconds rest

Cardio

Precor EFX 30:00

I feel like I have a tougher time getting my heartrate up and getting a good workout on the precor. I will try increasing the incline next time.

Notes

Lower back was bothering me. I experimented with the weights a bit on the squat making sure to focus on the higher rep ranges for the most part. I tend to do too many sets of 5 reps and under. Did deadlifts after squats. I felt fairly weak on them.

Forgot to do forearms and calves again.

Diet....

Stuff I Ate Today

1 lb turkey 93/7
5 cans tuna
1 gallon skim milk
ff mayo
1.5 bags baked lays cheddar & sour cream
2 chick fil a sandwiches
some strawberry fruit rolls
medium dr. pepper

Calories: I'd say ~ 5000 but I didn't count close

Food selection wasn't as good late in the day as I went on a date. It still looks like I may have kept fat intake ~100g though. So far I am sticking well with the plan but am probably pushing it a bit too far with the total caloric intake.

Just watch....I am going to be the first guy who manages to gain significant bodyfat on Tren and a very well-designed lean bulking plan.

Day 4

Push

Loading

DB Bench 70x10, 80x8, 85x8, 80x8, 80x9
CG Bench 185x7
Tates 42.5x10, 45x10

Density

Cybex pec deck 5 sets
Free motion cable cross 50x12, 40x4x10
Reverse grip tricep pushdown 50x12, 40x10, 40x2x8
Tricep Extensions 35x12
Laterals 35x10, 30x3x8

Cardio

Elliptical 31:30, 500kcals

Notes

I fiddled around quite a bit on the loading movements so they look rather haphazard. My shoulder joint was getting a painful pump and I was trying to find movements that didn't aggravate it. My weight is up substantially and I normally start to get shoulder issue when that happens. Nothing dangerous, just a lot of pump. I think flat barbell bench may be best along with side laterals and some normal OH pressing. Next workout will look better.

I did more than necessary on the density movements. I'd rather do more than not enough. My recovery is fine. Either tate presses or CGBP will be my heavy tricep movemnt. DB extensions put way too much pressure on my elbow joint and would just lead to injury. Cable pushdowns are nice on the joints though so they will stay.

The pump I got was pretty good. Not quite superdrol quality but we are getting there. I got a pretty strong leg pump doing cardio as well. I went much faster than usual and pushed it the whole half hour. I felt it in my joints and will make an effort to go lighter on the cardio intensity next time.

Diet yesterday was on point. Still overshot my caloric totals by ~1000 kcals though. I am pretty sure I once again ate ~5000 kcals yesterday. Will update on how today goes dietwise later.

Bulking is fun.

Diet Today

1 gallon skim milk
1.5 lbs hamburger
2 cans tuna
banana
lots of cornflakes
too many chips (but they were mission so they were good)
a little regular mayo
10 packages instant grits
2/3 cups casein

~5000-6000 kcals total

Calories are going to have to come down over the rest of this short bulk. I don't think Tren can partition that many kcals for me in a clean way. Will take some measurements in the morning.

So measurements were a bit scary. I woke up at 230 lbs with some major water retention. I was 210 four days ago. This kind of bloat from high calories is quite typical for me. I was hoping Tren would keep it down, but it seems to react just like other AAS in that regard.

I think the obvious culprit is too many calories. And the cyclical nature of the diet I am using. So I am going to take a couple days and reduce this water retention the old fashioned way...by not eating so darn much. I am curious to see if I can get a decent picture of Tren's partitioning effectson such high calories. We will see in a few days.

Pull

Loading

HS High Row 90x9, 100x9, 100x8, 110x5
Curls 60x8, 60x6

Density

HS Iso Row
Free Motion Lat Machine
Cybex Low Row
HS Pulldown

~8 sets X 8-20 reps Lat Density Work
~10 sets forearm work with DB's
~3 sets cybex rear delt

Notes

Strength is up a rep or two on the rows. However, I am beginning to think training curls as a loading movement may prove tough. I may alter that and make it more of a density lift.

Overall, I am loving the density protocol. Short rest periods with lighter weight feels fantastic on the joints. I have spent quite a long time focusing on the strength training side of things doing low rep sets. It is good to change it up.

Diet Modification

So I decided awhile back that I wanted to improve my diet overall from a health perspective. For me that basically means adding more fruits and veggies. Since I am bulking now I decided to make a trip to the healthfood store and stock up. I have relied on MV and antioxidant supps primarily but I know nothing replaces whole food. My other goal is to keep my food intake at less than $15 per day. Really I should be able to keep it under 10.

The plan

Protein

Tuna $.5 per can
73/27 Ground Beef ~ $1.5/lb
Turkey @ $1.5-2/ lb
Casein powder until it runs out
Milk

Carbs

Rice
Potato Chips
Corn Tortillas

Fruits

Frozen berry mix
Bananas
Fruit cocktail

Veggies

Canned Tomatoes
Pumpkin
Frozen Stir Fry
V8
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Frozen onion, celery, green pepper seasoning mix for meat

Realistically, I am shooting to thaw some berries several days a week, have them for breakfast and to have a can of V8 a few days a week. I think it would be a pain in the ass to have to worry about getting lots of fruits and veggies everyday. The other veggies will likely be hit and miss. I just want to have them onhand. I am going to start with something I know I can stick to.

For the life of me I can't seem to get chips out of the diet. So I just bought some healthy chips to start with. Will probably end up going back to the cheap ruffles.

I think I can get most of the fat out of the beef I buy by simply browning it and soaking it in hot water/forcing the fat out. There will still be some left, but it won't be a crazy amount. For the money, that is the best deal by far and a way for me to afford beef easily enough. I tend to eat at least a lb of it at a setting.

In my experience, I probably won't need to add any fat to my diet. I tend to get plenty from the above foods. Not quite enough N-9 fatty acids, but what can you do? I'll have EVOO onhand and can use mayo that has lots of n-9 acids. The tuna always gets old.

Cardinal said:

1-27-07
Squats 185x2x10, 225x5, 185x10, 205x7, 3-5' rest per set
Deadlifts 225x10, 315x4, 295x2x6
Leg Extensions 85x20, 85x16, 85x15, 85x12, 30 seconds rest

Click to expand...

2-2-07

Legs

Loading

Squats 185x8, 225x5, 235x5, 245x5, 225x2x8
Deadlifts 225x5, 315x6, 335x5

Density

Squats 185x8, 175x12, 175x10, 135x2x10, long rest breaks, too long

Notes

I never left the powerrack for about an hour. It felt good. I seem to be up a clear 20 lbs on both squats and deadlifts. Tren is a fun hormone. I like doing all squats and deads and just not fiddling with anything else. I need to work on my conditioning so I can do some better density work next time.

Diet

Piling in protein seems to be working to keep water retention down a bit. I overshot on protein by about 150 grams yesterday though. Good times.