Mmmmmmm, bulking. [Forum Archive]

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Mmmmmmm, bulking.

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Posted by: Nate

Heh, no reason to get too excited. This bulk is going to be super-clean. That's just my nature, and I'm too anal to let my diet get away from me too much.

Here's how it's going to work:

I'll be basing my diet theory/strategy around that of John Berardi's "Massive Eating" plan. If you haven't read about it, i'd highly recommend that you did. You can check it out here.

I'm not so sure I trust the calorie recommendations yet, so I'm going to slowly increase over the coming weeks to see how my body responds. I will, however, follow his idea that protein/carb and protein/fat meals are best eaten seperate.

Now, I maintain at about 2250 calories. I'll be going up to about 2500 - all postworkout, all in the form of carbs. I've actually been doing this for a week and I've lost a half a pound.

Also, I've found that my body responds well to moderate carbs, lower fat, and really high protein.

My split looks like this:

Monday - Back and Hami's
Tuesday - Chest
Wednesday - Quads and calves
Thursday - Shoulders
Friday - Arms.

Cardio comes for a very short duration post-workout. Also, I don't really find it necessary to train abs right now.

and finally, some stats:

Age: 20
Weight: 160
Bodyfat%: ~7
Height: 5'8"

I'll try to keep this up as best I can, but I can't give any promises. I'm really bad with keeping journals. Hopefully you guys can keep me motivated!

Today's Workout:

Shoulders:

Upright Rows 4x8
Behind the Back Shrugs: 3x12
Side Laterals: 3x10
Dumbell Military Press: 3x10
Treadmill for ten minutes.

and last but not least, today's diet:

Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal 1/2 cup raw
Whey Protein 2 scoops
Strawberries, raw 2 oz
Banana, raw 1 oz

Tuna 1 Can
Olive oil 0.75
Onions 6 oz,
Pepper, 1oz

Workout:

Blueberry Thomas Bagel
Whey Protein 2 scoops
Banana, raw 2 oz
Strawberry, raw 3oz

Sweet Potato 200 gram
Cooked Chicken 4.5 ounces

Spaghetti, whole-wheat, dry 2 oz
Cooked Chicken 4.75 ounces

Olive oil 0.75 tablespoon
Tuna 1 can
Onions, Celery

Cheese cottage, nonfat, low sodium 1 serving
Peanut Butter 1 tablespoon
Whey Protein 1 Scoop

Totals:

Calories: 2542

Fat: 51 (grams) 18%
Carbohydrate: 229 (Grams) 33%
Protein: 287 (Grams) 49%

Thoughts, motivation, suggestions, all welcome!

Posted by: Nate

Decent Arm day today:

Overhead Extensions 4x10
Elbows out extensions 3 x 12
90 degree preacher 3 x 8
Incline Dumbell Curl 3 x 8

Superset:

3 sets

Pressdowns to failure --->
Cable Curls to failure

I didn't feel so hot doing triceps, but I got going a bit for biceps. That's not so good, considering my tri's are a lagging bodypart. As for my usual five minute cool down, I skipped it today. I stepped on the scale and I was a half pound lighter, again. This is after increasing cals by 250 a day for a week. Anyway, I'm going to continue going up and I'll probably have an extra ounce of Wheat Pasta today or something.

I'd swear I've lost some leanness even though I'm lighter, too.

Posted by: ncgirl21

Good Luck with your bulk!!

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by ncgirl21

Good Luck with your bulk!!

Thank You.

Posted by: Nate

I did some light cardio and abs today.

Hanging Leg Raises: 4 x failure
Machine Crunches: 4 x failure
Treadmill: Speed 3.5, Incline 15. Half Hour (300 Calories)

Now it's time to throw about 600 calories back in to make up for the 300 I burned!

Posted by: Nate

Nothing like a good back/hami workout. I skipped deadlifts for the first time in a while. I've done them once a week for about three months straight now. Instead, I did some stiff-legged deads..

Hammer Strength Row 3 x 6
Hammer Strength Row (Wide Grip) 2 x 12
Hammer Strength Pull Down 3 x 12, 1 x 7
Stiff Legged Deadlift 1 x 12, 1 x 5, 1 x 12
One Legged Leg Curl 4 x ~12
I finished it off with a brisk walk on a 15 degree incline to really fry my hami's.

Heh, we got some new Hammer Strength stuff at my gym. That's why my workout is full of Hammer Strength movements. What great machines, eh?

Today I tried something new. I had some gatorade with "any whey" mixed in and I sipped it throughout my workout. I actually think it gave me a better pump than I'm used to. Time to finish sucking down this shake!

Peace.

Posted by: Nate

Well this is weird. I'm hungrier more often now that I'm bulking. Normally I have no problem waiting for my next meal but since I've increased my calories I've had a problem with it.

Posted by: Nate

Oh yeah, baby. My strength was up this week on the Incline Bench. Here's what today's workout looked like:

Incline Barbell Press: 3 x 6
Flat Dumbell Press: 3 x 10
Incline Hammer Strength Press 1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 4
Pec Dec: 2 x 12

I felt reaaaaaally good today. I guess they weren't kidding when they said food is really anabolic. ;-)

Posted by: PreMier

Why only 2500 calories? Its a bulk. Also you mentioned that you are getting hungry, so EAT!

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by PreMier
Why only 2500 calories? Its a bulk. Also you mentioned that you are getting hungry, so EAT!

I'm just testing the waters!

So far I've had great results...When that stops, i'll up the calories. I think the hunger is my body adjusting to a new diet. I had maintained my weight for a long time...

Posted by: PreMier

Well, I will follow along. I would like to see how much you gain on that many cals. Anyways, best of luck

Posted by: Nate

Good deal, man.

You should also note that I sit on my ass in front of a computer all day long, so I've got plenty of time to grow.

;-)

Posted by: Nate

Back from my mid-morning quad/calf workout. Man, I had a great day and I was feeling really good again. Here's how it went:

Hammer-Strength V-Squat: 3 x 10, 1 x 9
Smith Machine Front Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 9, 2 x 8
Smith Machine Calf Raise: 3 x 12
Leg Extension: 3 x 10
Seated Calf Raise: 3 x 15

Also, I got my Maltodextrin and Dextrose in the mail today, so I'm enjoying those in my post-workout shake.

Have a good one!

Posted by: Nate

Blaaaaah...Just got in from my shoulder workout.

Right off the bat I had trouble with behind the head presses. There is something tweaked in my right shoulder, no doubt about it. I had a little better luck doing standing military presses, but not much. I couldn't do any type of "raise" movement or I'd get a sharp pain in my right shoulder...really shitty.

Anyway, here's what I managed:

Standing Military Press: 2 x 12, 1 x 7
Seated DB Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 7, 1 x 6
Reverse Pec Deck: 3 x 12
Smith Behind the Back Shrugs: 3 x 12-15....

I think I might try doing shoulders with chest, or I'll skip them all together for a while. Today was a really frustrating day..

Posted by: atherjen

hope that your shoulders improve. have you always had troubles with them?

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by atherjen

hope that your shoulders improve. have you always had troubles with them?

Nope, never in my life. My body is shaped kinda funky, though. Like when I do lat raises or upright rows, I can't get my elbows up high...even without weight. It's really strange, but I've always managed to get a decent pump while remaining injury free....

I really should stop training them for a little while...

Posted by: PreMier

Umm... I reccomend NOT doing behind the neck presses. I used to do them ALL the time, not anymore. I tore(slightly) my rotator doing them. They are not safe at all, and should not be attempted unledd you know EXACTLY what your doing.

Posted by: PreMier

One more thing. To make sure the shoulder heals proberly, you need to eliminate ALL over head movements. If your arms go above your head, dont do it. This also includes incline BB bench. Use DB instead.

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by PreMier
Umm... I reccomend NOT doing behind the neck presses. I used to do them ALL the time, not anymore. I tore(slightly) my rotator doing them. They are not safe at all, and should not be attempted unledd you know EXACTLY what your doing.

Yeah, I know what I'm doing, but I think certain people are built differently and they're less prone to getting injured while they're doing them. It wasn't that specific movement that brought on the pain...the pain was there when I started. It had to have been something I did benching. I'll see how it feels on Tuesday when I do chest.

Thanks for the input.

Posted by: PreMier

I would say im almost double jointed in my shoulders because of the ROM that I have. Its just not a safe exercise. If you insist on doing them, maybe use the smith machine.

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by PreMier
I would say im almost double jointed in my shoulders because of the ROM that I have. Its just not a safe exercise. If you insist on doing them, maybe use the smith machine.

Yeah, I was using the smith..

I'm not a big fan of them anyway, but my partner made up our schedule this week....We alternate...It's kinda fun and it keeps things fresh.

Posted by: Nate

Decent little arm day today. My shoulder was a tad stressed doing reverse grip bench, but it was nothing of real concern. Anyway, it went like this:

V-Bar Pressdown: 3 x 15 (Light, warm-up)
Standing BB Curl: 2 x 10, 1 x 7
Reverse Grip BP: 3 x 10
Seated DB Curl: 3 x 8
EZ Bar Overhead Extensions: 3 x 12
Cable Curls: 3 x 12-15

For whatever reason, I didn't feel much of a pump today. I guess the literature I read claiming that a Dextrose/Malto drink during your workout will increase bloodflow to the muscle isn't right. If it is, I sure haven't had it yet. Oh well, here's to a good two days of rest.

Posted by: Nate

I did a quick 15 on the elliptical today. Nothing crazy. I killed about 300 calories...I'm eating 3 oz of pasta and a nice slab of chicken as we speak. Weight update tomorrow, I suppose.

Posted by: Nate

Abs today...

I just did 4 supersets that consisted of:

Hanging Leg Raises
Machine Crunch
Incline Sit-up

I finished it off with a brisk ten-minute walk.

My weight is up a pound and a half since I started.

Posted by: Nate

Ahh, back and hami's today. My weight is up another half pound from yesterday. Eating homeade pizza two nights in a row probably has something to do with that. ;-)

Anyway, back and hami's went really good today. Here's how it went:

Hammer Strength Row: 3 x 8
Close Grip chins: 4 x failure
Pull Downs: 3 x 6, with lots of forced reps. my back was totally fried after the chins
Hammer Strength Leg Curl: 4 x 8
Deadlift: 1 x 6, 1 x 4, 1 x 12, 1 x 1

Cheers..

Posted by: Nate

What the hell, I'll post today's diet:

I was forced into the gym very early today, so I sipped a protein/malto drink as I worked out. I managed ok i think.

Meal One (mid/postworkout)

35g Maltodextrin
25g Dextrose
49g On Whey
2 oz Banana
2 oz Strawberry

Meal Two:

180g Sweet Potato
4.5oz Cooked Chicken

Meal Three:

2 oz WW Pasta
4 oz. cooked chicken
2.5 oz onions
1 cup broccoli

Meal Four:

224g sweet potato
5 oz cooked chicken

Meal Five:

1 can albacore
1 tbs olive oil
2 oz onions
celery
peppers

Meal Six:

1 cup cottage cheese
1 scoop whey
1 tbs peanut butter

Totals

Calories: 2368 (Calories were low today but I did nothing but sit in front of a computer for 12 + hours)

Fat: 37 (14%)
Carbohydrates: 241 (40%)
Protein: 263 (46%)

Posted by: Nate

Alright, my shoulder felt decent today, so I decided to go ahead and train chest. It was actually a good idea, as i had to focus solely on my chest....even during pressing movements. It was unreal...I managed to place the emphasis entirely on my chest, and I couldnt feel my shoulder at all. Also, I'm going to skip shoulders this thursday. Here's what I did today...

Incline BB Press: 4 x 10
Hammer Strength Press: 4 x 8, 1 x stripset
Incline Fly: 3 x 12
Pec Dec: 1 dropset.

Posted by: PreMier

Yea, your calories were WAY low the other day... Thought about listing the weight that you do?

Posted by: Nate

Sure, I'll list some weight for my last couple workouts as far as I can remember...

Hammer Strength Row: 3 x 8 (3 plates per side)
Close Grip chins: 4 x failure (I think I got 12, 12, 9, 7)
Pull Downs: 3 x 6, with lots of forced reps. my back was totally fried after the chins (Did these with 150)
Hammer Strength Leg Curl: 4 x 8 (One leg at a time, two quarters per side)
Deadlift: 1 x 6, 1 x 4, 1 x 12, 1 x 1 (135, 225, 315, 405, in that order)

Incline BB Press: 4 x 10 (all at 135)
Hammer Strength Press: 4 x 8, 1 x stripset (2 plates + quarter per side for all sets)
Incline Fly: 3 x 12 (35lbs DB's)
Pec Dec: 1 dropset. (80lbs, i think?)

Posted by: Nate

Back from a brutal quad workout.

Here's what I did:

Squat: Warmup x 3, 190 x 5 x 5 (Going up 5lbs next week)
45 Degree Leg Press: 1 warmup, 360 x 12 x 3...360 x 14 x 1
Leg Extension: 180 x 3 x 12 + dropset at the end.

I've got nothing else to add, except that my legs are freaking toasted. I really focused on isolated the quads, as I do hami's on a different day now.

Posted by: Nate

I decided to skip shoulders today. I had to take my grandfather to a big city hospital because he has problems with his prostate. Thankfully, he's alright.

Anyway, I managed a quick ab/lower leg workout.

Leg Raises: 4 x failure
Ab Machine: 4 dropsets
Crunches: 3 x failure
Calf Raises, smith: 3 x 15 + partials
Seated Calf Raise: 3 x failure (20-30)
Tibia Curls?: 8 x 15

Posted by: PreMier

That sucks... My grandfather has already had his removed. I hope he is ok.

Posted by: Nate

Yeah, I think everything will be alright...I hope.

I had a good arm workout today. Nothing too outstanding, but my arms were really tight and pumped by the end...

Concentration curls: 25lbs 3 x 12
Straightbar preacher: 1 x 8, 1 x 7, 1 x 7 + 2 forced reps. 75lbs.
Seated Incline Hammer Curls: 25lbs 3 x 10
Wide Grip Pressdowns: 120 x 3 x 12
Quantum Tricep Press: 100 x 10 x 3 (Last set had a dropset)
One handed overhead extensions: 25 x failure x 3...

I finished it off with a set of diamond pushups to failure. I think I managed about 20-23 reps...Weight is constant, but it's still up 2.5 pounds from the start. I'll probably eat quite big this weekend, but clean. cheers.

Posted by: Nate

Big Back day today. I had a pretty bad headache, but I still managed a good workout.

My weight is up three pounds now. I'm retaining a little bit of extra abdominal fat, but I'm not worried about it.

Barbell Row: 135 x 10, 185 x 8(2)
1 Arm Hammer Strength Row: 3 plates x 8(4)
Lat Pulldown: 100 x 10(2) 140 x 7 (1) (forced reps)
Lat Pressdown: 70 x 15 (4)

Posted by: Nate

Progress shot...

Thoughts?

I think I've bulked up a tad, and the added abdominal fat is noticeable, but it's nothing much.

Posted by: Nate

Just finished chest. My training buddy had an important meeting, so I had to go at it alone...

Flat Barbell Press on the smith. 185 x 12, 10, 9
Incline Dumbell Press: 60 x 8 x 3
Incline Hammer. 2 plates x 8 x 3....+dropset
Pec Dec: 60 x 15 x 3 (I really focused on squeezing at the top here)
I finished with one dropset on the regular Hammer Press....Really good day I think. I went for more of a pump today as opposed to heavy pressing.

Posted by: PreMier

WoW, lookin good. You look like you have good genetics. I really dont see much difference

But it is only 3Lbs..

Posted by: Deeznuts

Looking good Nate. Don't notice much difference in the belly. But, hey, what's wrong with a belly while bulking?

Anyways what supplements are you currently taking?

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by PreMier
WoW, lookin good. You look like you have good genetics. I really dont see much difference

But it is only 3Lbs..

Thanks man. I actually don't think I have great genetics, but of course I'll think that, hah..

I don't really see much of a difference either. Maybe I'm just saying that to stay motivated.

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by Deeznuts
Looking good Nate. Don't notice much difference in the belly. But, hey, what's wrong with a belly while bulking?

Anyways what supplements are you currently taking?

Thanks buddy. I'm just hypercritical of myself, so I'm probably seeing myself differently than you guys. Anyway, for supplements I take:

Whey
Creatine
Glutamine on training days
Maltodextrin/Dextrose P/W
Multi-Vitamin

That's it, I think. I'm not much of a supplement guy. Would you recommend anything? I'm not going to go the pro-hormone route...

Posted by: Deeznuts

Maltodextrin/Dextrose. Does this do anything for you? Those supplements sound good to me if you're staying on the natural route.

The only other ones I personally take are:

Flax Seed Oil
ZMA
Vitamin C

Posted by: Nate

Excellent Leg Day today...I almost fell down the stairs on the way out...

Front Squats: 185 x 10 x 3
Leg Press: 360 x 15 x 2 (Very Strict, and I added a drop set on the last round)
Stiff legged Deadlifts: 225 x 10 x 2
Leg Extension: 180 x 10 x 3 (Lots of dropset action on the last set.)
Leg Curls: 120 x 6 x 3 (More dropsets)

Posted by: Nate

Quote:

Originally posted by Deeznuts
Maltodextrin/Dextrose. Does this do anything for you?

Yes, it's a potent combination for quickly replenishing depleted glycogen stores after an intense workout.

Posted by: Deeznuts

Awesome, I bet it's great for bulking then. I'll have to get some here soon.

Posted by: Nate

I had a really lousy back day today...I was totally going through the motions. I had planned on doing some big deadlifts, but my gym got a new olympic platform that was being installed, so i had to kill that idea. anyway, i felt really really shitty today. i had absolutely no motivation, but i think i still managed a worthwhile workout. i hope i'm not overtraining.

Hammer Strength Row: 2 plates per side 3 x 12
Dumbell Rows: 55's 3 x 12
Pullups: 1 set to failure...about 15
Pulldowns: 100 3 x 12
One arm row: 70 3 x 12
Dumbell Deadlifts 120's 3 x 5

Posted by: Nate

Hey all, sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I was actually going to make a post about myself possibly being overtrained because I had a lousy week, but today's arm day really brought up my spirits. I had a GREAT, GREAT day. I think I need to cut back on the volume a bit, though. I'm always achy and sore...and this week I dreaded going to the gym. I'm never like that, I guess maybe I'm a tad overtrained. Who knows...

Posted by: Nate

I had a really good back day yesterday. Our gym got a new squat/deadlift rack which is quite cool. It has like a gym floor in the center and rubber mats on the sides. Anyway, it inspired me to deadlift!!

Deads: 5 x 5 x 335 (I never do more than two sets of deads...this was murder)
Pulldowns: 3 x 12 x 110
One Arm Hammer Strength Rows: 2 plates + quarter. 3 sets of twelve plus a dropset
Reverse Pec Deck. 3 x 12 x 60

Good stuff for me.

Posted by: PreMier

Nice. I havent done deads forever

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Mmmmmmm, bulking.

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