BulkMeUp

RDL's - wu 110x8,160x8 - 210x6,5,5,8
Squats - 160x10,9,8,10
Seated calves - 120x10,11
Standing claves - 75x24,20,20
Lying crunches - 70x12,12,12

RDL - up by 10lbs . barely made it to min rr for the first 3 sets. But managed to get to max rr on the last set guess i was being a bit cautious in the beginning also my grip was slipping a bit.

Squats - same weight but getting bloser to max rr. Hopefully next time will get there. Read a post by LAM that wide stance would target the glutes more. An everybody knows i need an so i'll try a wider than shoulder stance next time.

Seated calves - these were fine.

Standing claves - these are going nowhere. Cant seem to get anywhere near 30reps. But i'll keep trying

Lying crunche - increased weight by 5lb. There is only one more plate on the machine. So i'll switch from behind the head grip to the handles at the sides. This way i will have to use less bi's and reduce the weight to get a greater effect.
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On the first set of RDL's, the weight sank down to the floor on the 6th rep and stayed there So instead of the usual rack RDL's, i decided to lift off the floor. Wasnt sure i could do it. But i did for the next two sets. Grip kept slipping and i had to stop at 5 reps. The last set saw a burst of energy, from where i dont know. But i got to max rr and even staggered forward and racked the weight.

That was probably a mistake. As soon as i racked it i felt a pain in my right groin. I think i mildly strained it. I was considering calling it quits for the day but decided to cautiously continue.

Squats were next. I decided if the squats aggrevated the pain, i would stop. Kept very close attention to the pain, but it didnt seem to get worse. So i completed the routine. Didnt think of icing it when i got home but did so the next day. I'm ok now.

BulkMeUp

Bent over BB rows - wu - 50x8,90x8 - 130x8,7,4,5
Incline DB - 50x10,10,9,7
WG Seated cable rows - 137.5 x10,10,10
Pec Dec - 135x12,12,11
BB Upright rows - 70x8,7,8

Bent overs - weight up by 10lbs. Got into rr for first 2 sets, but failed miserable for the next two.

Incline - wieght up to 50's and did pretty well.

WG seated cable - same weights and reps as last time. Just wanted to do it with better from. No leaning back. Will try the same again next time.

PecDec - missed the lat reps on last set But i shall increae weight next time anyway.

BB Upright rows - weight up by 10lbs. Managed to get to min rr. But need to work on better form.

BulkMeUp

Hey Emma! Am good. Was a bit busy but managed to get a 4x workout and diet was on track ... well almost. had a thanksgiving meal, but i tried not to pig out. Last evening there was a office 'thank you' get together at a nearby tavern/bar/pub for those who worked on a project a few weeks ago. So had some more wine and some finger food (fried calamaries, bruschetta, ..etc). Besides that things are normal.

BulkMeUp

Hey Tom, FYI i got that refund cheque in the mail.... finally.

Tom_B

Yay!! THANK - GOD!

P.S. Workouts look great! How's the bulk coming along? any fat gains so far? You haven't been udating us!!

BulkMeUp

Thanks. Dont seem to have much fat gains so far, but a bit early to tell for sure. Am going to post weight/bf details next Sat. As that will be the end of this 8 week cycle and i shall then be on vacation for 2 weeks.

BulkMeUp

Leg Press - wu 180x10, 410x8 - 470 8,8,7,8
Sumo DL's - 190 x8,8,8,8
Standing Calves - 235x8,8
Seated calves - 110x12,12,11
Weighted Leg Raises - 25x8,7,6

Leg press - Previous routine i had to reduce weight a bit. But this time i got to max rr. Same as the wo prior to the previous. So no change, essentially.

Sumo DL's - increased weight by 10lbs. Got to min rr. I could have possibly eked out max rr on a couple of sets or so, but decided not to push it after the previous DL's incident.

Standing Calves - these are ok. Dont feel them much, tried them with same weight but tried to do better rom. Dont know how much i suceeded.

Seated claves - missed max rr by 1 rep on last set

Weighted leg raises - +3 reps on 1st set, +2 on the 2nd and +1 on the 3rd. So these are going somewhere

Emma-Leigh

Yay! Results AND a vacation! Woo hoo!!

Workout looks amazing - 480 on the leg press and 190 for deadlifts! You are getting really strong!! How are your legs looking? Do they look like you have gained some mass?

BulkMeUp

I feel that my chopsticks... er... legs might have gotten a bit bigger as i can 'feel' a diff when i walk But thats in my quads only. Dont think my claves gained much Anyway, will see how things have turned out when i take measurements next week.

BulkMeUp

Flat DB Bench - wu 35x10, 50x8 - 70x8,7,6,6 PR
CG Seated lat pulls - 150 x10,9,8,8 PR
Decline BB bench - 120x8,7,6
WG Pulldowns - 150x10,10,10
Standing Militaries - 45x8,7,6

Flat DB Bench - Very pleased with these. Finally got back to 70's DB AND got to max rr on the first set! Last i did 70's was when i was doing the BFL pyramid routine and got to 70's DB in August last year. I was doing creatine then as well. Once i went on a cut and stopped the creatine (big mistake) i lost strength and lbm . Oh well, live and learn. Wont make that mistake this time around.

Seated Lat pulls - Last time i decided to use another machine on which i could stack a 5lb rubber weight. But i forgot and went to the usual machine and upped the weight by a plate(10lbs). Got to max rr in the first set and did well for the rest Dunno from where i got the strength, but i'll take it

Decline BB - These didnt go so well -1 on the first set, -2 on the 2nd. No change on 3rd. I guess the increase on the previous 2 exercises took its toll. Not happy with this as i was hoping to move forward. Oh well, sometimes one has to take a step backwards to move forwards

Standing milits - Got to max rr on the 1st set and +1 on the 2nd. These were beginning to suffer. The break from an upper wo i took a couple of weeks ago seems to have helped in moving forward.

Overall a good wo. With the exception of BB Declines, everything is up. Looking at my records, it seems that this is the 8th week of this routine. I have one more week left before i take off on vacation. I feel like continueing this routine when i get back, seeing that i am doing well on it. But i'll have to think about it. I'll post a thread for another routine, just in case.

BulkMeUp

Skipped lower wo yesterday. Woke up with a sore throat. Didnt feel like woking out. Did some chores. Went to my dentist for my cleaning appointment. Got a haircut. Was on the way to the gym when i decided to go home. Took a couple of flu pills and am feeling beter today. Not sure if i should skip todays upper wo as well. But well see how i feel.

Have come up with a 3x Full Body wo (3x Full Body wo critique) For the next cycle.

Emma-Leigh

Smart move on heading home. And I hope you are feeling better today.

Looks good to me! Although I would drop the rep range a little (5 reps for some... or 6 to 8) for most of the exercises.

You could also try those two workouts on Mod/Fri and then throw in a lighter rep assistance day on Wed with things like:

leg press
Cable cross
seated DB Overhead press
one arm rows

etc etc...

Mostly in the rep range of 10-12.

That way you get a periodisation effect with a
Heavy
light
heavy

Type rotation.

Tom_B

I agree with Emz , your getting really strong! , had you been lifting that much while I was there I would have felt 10x weaker than what I already felt (which was pretty weak) LOL!

That's good news about your legs , any little difference is a difference

BulkMeUp

I took the next day off as well as i wasnt feeling 100%. Still feel a bit off. I hope i havent caught anything. Last thing i need is to fall sick just before my vacation
Oh.. i had wo-A with 8-10 for the major exercises and wo-B with 6-8 for the major bp's. I guess you are suggesting that i reduce the 8-10 to 6-8 as well?
Thats an excellent suggestion. I have never done a full body wo, ever. And was a bit skeptical of doing that routine 3x a week. Seemed a bit much. I will take your suggestion and come up with a third routine with a rr of 10-12.

BulkMeUp

During that time, i was doing an active rest with 80% weights. Am sure you will catch up with me soon

I take any increase on my legs. Even if it is a bit if fat there !!

BulkMeUp

Leg press - wu 180x8, 340x6 - 470x8,8,8,8
Sumo DL's - 190 x9,9,0,0
Standing Calves - 235 x8,8
seated Calves - 110x12,12,12
Weighted Leg Raises - 25x8,7,7

Leg Press - Got to max RR. But no big whoopty-do about that. According to my records, i did the same 4 weeks ago (28sep). After that there was a bit of a downward slide. Besides the last set, most of the reps i didnt bring my knees as far down as poss. So need to work on better form with that weight.

Sumo DL's - 1 extra rep on first 2 sets. At the end of the 2nd set, i was breathing hard through my mouth without realising it. Big Mistake. This made me feel dizzy and i did feel like continueing. I almost decided to quit for the day, but decided to continue with the routine.

Standing Calves - after slowly racking the weights after dl's. I moseyed over to the calf machine. I get my breath back and suddenly felt i should have done the rest of the dl's oh well. There will be plenty of other times for dl's. Same weight and reps for this. Tried to do it with better rom.

Seated calves - 1extra rep on the 3rd set taking it to max rr for all sets.

Weighted leg raises - 1 extra rep on the 3rd set, but still fell short of max rr.

BulkMeUp

As i have done a third wo, i have changed things about a bit. The RR for both the heavy wo's is now 6-8 (instead of 6-8 for one and 8-10 for the other).

Workout A:
Main(RI = 120-180secs)
Squat (Wider than shoulder width) - 3x6-8
DB Incline press- 3x6-8
Underhand BB Bent Over rows - 3x6-8
Accesory(RI = 60secs)
Overhead DB Extensions - 3x10-12
Seated Calves - 2x10-12
Crunches - 3x12-15

Workout B:
Main(RI = 120-180secs)
Leg Press - 3x10-12
Cable Cross Over - 3x10-12 --> may switch to pec dec as this equip is generally busy.
WG Seated Lat pulls - 3x10-12
Accesory(RI = 60secs)
Upright rows - 3x10-12

Workout C:
Main(RI = 120-180secs)
SLDL's - 3x6-8
BB Decline Press - 3x6-8
V-grip pull down- 3x6-8
Accesory(RI = 60secs)
Preacher curls- 3x10-12
Standing Calves - 2x12-15
Weighted Leg Raises - 3x10-12

Emma-Leigh

Hey Adrian!

Workout plan looks good - Are these including warm up sets?

Looks good. I would throw in some DB curls as well (superset with DB ext?).

Great.

I would not do SLDL as a max lift... DLs or RDLs yes, but not SLDLs.
I would also throw in another tricep exercise (narrow bench press?).

But it looks great!

BulkMeUp

Hey Emma. Thanks for the critique.

No, it dosent incl wu sets. I shall do 2 wu for the first exercise and 2 for the first upper body as well. None for the rest.


I thought i should keep the volume low on arms hence 1wo bi direct work and the other for tris. But i guess with this routine i could superset them in both wo's

SLDL's changed to DL's

BulkMeUp

Flat DB bench - wu 35x10, 50x8 - 70x8,8,5,5
CG Seated Lat Pulls/rows - 150x10x10x10x10
Decline BB Bench - 110x10,10,6
WG Pulldowns - 150x12,12,10
Standing Militaries - 45x8,5,6

Flat Bench - got 1 extra rep on the 2nd set. But lost a rep each on the 3rd and 4th set. However i used 55's instead of 50's for my second wu set. Dont know if that could have been a factor

CG Seated Lat Pulls - same weight as last time, but got to max rr for all sets.. with a bit of cheating for some on the reps, esp in the last set

Decline Bench - Considering i lost reps on this last time, i reduced weight by 10lbs. Got +2 reps on the 1st set. +3 on the 2nd but no change on the 3rd.

WG Pulldowns - same weight. +2 reps on first 2sets. No change on 3rd.

Standing Milits - No change on 1st set. Lost 2 reps on 2nd set and no change on 3rd.
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This wo marks the end of this routine.

BulkMeUp

Routine:
I did enjoy this routine and will def be comming back to it. Even though there was no direct arm work, i did feel my arms (mostly bi's) getting a wo. Though not as much as a direct wo.

Some suggestions
1) The wo did seem a bit much. It contains 14 sets/week each for Legs, Chest and Back. For me this seemed a bit much. I would suggest a reduction in the exercises that contain 4 sets down to 3 sets. Making it a total of 12sets/week. If that seems a bit much, then a 3x rotation would be fine as well.

2) Shoulders seemed to get a bit over worked, going by the fact progress was not steady and there were a few days where reps began to slide down. It contained 6sets/week of direct shoulder work in addition to all the work from chest and back movements. I would suggest that be reduced to 3sets on one of the upper days and skip the other. Accessory movements could be shifted around to compensate.

Diet:
Initially i had a bit of a hiccup as i dropped cardio and increased cals a bit too quickly. As a result my waist jumped a whole inch in a couple of weeks or so.
I tweaked it as follows-

• Daily average Cals were ~2600-2700. Sometimes a bit more.

• Macros were more towards an isocal range, but not quite (37.86%C[247.52g] 30.73%F[89.30g] 35.91%P[234.81g]). With a breakdown per lbm as -1.83C 0.66F 1.74P (1.45Complete Protein).

• PWO shake(Oats+Whey+Banana+Yogurt) was 415cals= 60.21C(.44/lbm) + 4.1F(.03/lbm) + 35.9P(.25/lbm)

• In addition i reduced the cals around the routine and spread them throughout the day. Earlier i was doing ~50% of the cals between 4:30 and 8pm (pre-wo meal, pwo shake and post-wo meal). This seemed to be too many cals in such a short time span.

These changes seemed to help in keeping the fat gain low as the rest of the weeks saw a gain of only 0.5" on my waist. But that happened mostly in the last couple of weeks where there one too many cheats and missed wo's

If there seem to be any glaring boo-boo's in what i did as explained above, let me know

I shall post weight/bf details tomorrow.

Edit: Here are the weight/bf and waist details: (These are whatever the numbers that showed up on the day they were taken. I did not take measurements throughout the week and average them)

Date - Weight - bf% - LBM - FAT - Waist

21-Aug-2005 154.4 14.0% 132.8 21.6 33.75
27-Aug-2005 155.4 13.0% 135.2 20.2 33.75
3-Sep-2005 157.6 14.0% 135.5 22.1 34.5
17-Sep-2005 158.0 15.0% 134.3 23.7 34.5"
25-Sep-2005 159.2 15.0% 135.3 23.9 34.5"
1-Oct-2005 160.0 16.0% 134.4 25.6 34.5"
8-Oct-2005 160.6 15.0% 136.5 24.1 35"
15-Oct-2005 161.8 15.0% 137.5 24.3 35"
22-Oct-2005 161.2 15.0% 137.0 24.2 35"

Verdict : LBM = +4.2 & FAT = +2.6

Not stellar results. But not bad. I think that there may be a bit more fat than those figures show as my waist has grown, but not so much as to increase the bf percentage.

Body part = 21Aug/22Oct
Waist = 33.75/35
Quad(Left) = 21/22
Quad(Right) = 21.5/21.5
Bi/Tri (Left) = 14.5/15
Bi/Tri (Right) = 14.5/15
Calf (Left) = 12.75/13
Calf (Right) = 12.25/12.75
Hips = 35.8/36.25
Chest = 39.25/39.25

Except for chest, all other parts grew. However, i would take this growth with a large grain of salt. I wouldnt attribute this growth solely to the gain of 4lbs of LBM. The increase in fat plus the use of Creatine would have contributed to the increase. But nevertheless, i will gladly accept any increase anywhere except my waist

And now i is off on vacation, peeps. I def will not be able to do 6 meals/day and maintain my protein intake. But it is only 2 weeks and i hope i can come back with my same bf% and weight.

Tom_B

Great results Adrian! Any improvement is improvement!
holy crap I didn't know your arms where only 14.5" when I saw ya! They looked so much bigger!

Anyways have a great time on your vaction! Eat lots of yummy food for us!

Emma-Leigh

Excellent results Adrian! Especially good to see your quads and hips have grown! Woo hoo!!

And on the gain in BF% - sometimes creatine can alter this as well (if you are holding sub.cut water)