BulkMeUp

WG Front lat pulldowns - 75 x11, 10 - 165 x7, 6, 6
Bent over rows - 110 x9, 9, 9
Cable Rows - 130 x10, 12
DB inclines - 55 x7, 5, 4, 4
Pec Fly - 135 x12, 7, 5

WG lat pulldowns - got an extra rep out for the first 2 sets only.

Bent overs - These were better than last time as i managed to do most sets to get the bar to touch my abs. But only a couple for the last set. However i was at a 45deg angle rather than trying to keep my upper body as parallel as poss. Maybe that had something to dowith the better performance. I dont know.

Cable rows - first set seemed a bit diff. But i got a better MM connex for the second and managed to get to max RR.

Inclines - one extra rep for the first tow sets and non for the rest. Was reading a thread where it suggested to push with your feet when pushing up. I thought using feet that was amounts to cheating and always avoided doing that. But i guess i need to practice that technique.

Pec fly - first set was same as last time. But lost 2 reps on the remaining 2 sets

BulkMeUp

Ellip corsstrainer
level - 10
setting - random
rpm -50-60
time - 20mins

5 min break

rowing
level -6
spm24-25
time - 15mins

5 min break

HIIT
ellip cross trainer
level -4(low/15sec) - 10(high/45sec)
time - 5mins

total time - 40mins

Ellip cross at level 10 seemes tough when starting out. But once i got going i managed to complete it.

Rowing - thought i could do 20 mins this time. But had to quit at 15mins. Arms fatigued.

HIIT went well with a higher levels. Levels i have never done before.

Good wo. felt very good after this cardio session!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I checked my HR at the end of HIIT. It was 30 beats for 15secs. So that is 120 BPM. That sounds terriblly low I tought it would be better.

So if, 75% = 60 + 0.75[(220-37) - 60] = ~152 BPM. Then 120BPM is wayy below the mark!! I guess i may have miscalculated something or am not reading this right. Need some help from you here, Emma.

BulkMeUp

DB preachers - 15 x10, 10 - 35 x9, 5, 6
Hammers - 35 x8, 8, 8
RG cable pushdouns - 80 x8, 8, 6
Arm extn - 90 x9, 10, 10

Lying machine crunches - 65 x12, 12, 12
Hang curls - 11,11,11

Preachers - only got 1 rep more than last time for 2 out of 3 sets.

Hammers - Up by 5lbs/DB. didnt get into RR of 10-12.

Cable pushdowns - Up by 5lbs. got to RR of 8-10 for 2 sets only.

Arm extn - lost a rep on first set but did the same reps for remaining 2 sets.

Crunches - up by 5 lbs. Not bad, but dont think i did it with great form.

hang curls - one more rep for all sets

BulkMeUp

Regular DL's - wu - 90 x10, 10 - 200 x8, 8, 4, 6
Stationary Lunges - 90 x6, 6, 6 (each leg)
Lying leg curls - 0
Calves seated - 0
Calves standing - 0

DL's- same weight as previous 1rep extra on the 2nd set, 2 less for the third and 1st and 4th were the same.

Stationary lunges - didnt use too much weight and only did 6 reps per leg.

Didnt do the rest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today i was totally out of it. I almost didnt go to the gym. But dragged myself there anyway. DL's felt heavier than usual and my grip didnt feel great even though i hadnt increaed the weight. After lunges i decided to call it quits. Rather than doing some half assed routine and being unfocussed/demotivated that could result in injury. So it was not worth the risk.

I dont know if it is the new diet, but i doubt it.

Looking back, this week makes it 6 weeks that i have been doing this routine + a few weeks of a not so sucessfull routine. So this week made it a total of 11 weeks. I think i am due for a break. I am going to try and get through one more week, just so that i can judge the carb cycling diet. after that i shall take off foe a week.

I dont plan on doing any strict diet as i have been for the past 3 months. But i will do 6 meals. The only thing i shall keep an eye out for is cals. Not really going to count macros too much. Hope this dosent effect me too much and definately hope i dont slide backwards in bf.

For the next routine i am going to give p/rr/s a try.

Pylon

Better to be safe than throw something and be out for a long time. No shame there.

Take the time off to figure out the prrs you want to do. It might take a while to piece the lifts together. That's been a challenge for me as I get going on it.

"For beverages, I only drink water or whiskey and when I’m drinking whiskey, it’s usually when I’m working out. It gives me the courage to lift more than I can when I’m sober." - C. Bratton

Tom_B

I hope!



LOL yes lets hope I'm tall enough now! I think I'm gonan go there, might just be a little expensive
Your telling me you live in Toronto and have never been to Wonderland ....
Your crazy!!! I love amusment parks / circuses / carnivals! espically farest wheels , even though I'm scared of height .. they freak the hell out of me when I get to the top , but I love it at the same time , I'm weird like that .
Yes the squeling kids can get anoyying though



Okay went out and got some new clothes - And Jaim's gonna take me to Eations when I get down there , a gay man can never have to many clothes!
I don't know what it is lately but I'm going crazy over clothes, I'm getting out of my "must wear baggy pyjama pants and baggy sweaters to conceal my fat" phase

Tom_B

So how's the last week of training going , or not going?? LOL

Emma-Leigh

How soon after HIIT did you take it? As soon as you finished? Did you do a 'cool down'?

I had suspected that it might be a little lower than you thought (which is why I kept pushing it ) but I didn't think that you would be missing the mark by that much.. Are you sure you counted right? Your HIIT should be done so your HR gets up to >85% for your sprints (which for you would be >164 BPM.



It could be a combination of things.
1. It could just be because you just don't realise how hard you CAN work!

2. It could be because you may need to push yourself more than most people to get your HR up to this level. That is, because your resting HR is low [it is the end of the normal scale for the normal population] so you have further to 'travel' in terms of BPM. This is a problem with me too - I find it REALLY hard to get my HR up into my target zone (resting is 40, so for me 175 (85% my max) is a further away than for people who start out at 100.

This is a pain in the butt - because it just means you have to work a bazillion times harder...

3. You might not have enough power in your legs to get your HR up to that point before your body caves in. I once helped to train a young recovering anorexic female who found it REALLY hard to get your HR up into the required zone. She was pretty fit - but she didn't have the power in her tiny body to get her heart to have to pump that fast.

4. You might not be fit enough to get your HR up to that level before your too 'puffed/winded/tired' (I don't think it is this one - because you seem pretty fit).


You could test it out with some sprints. Jump onto the treadmill (I find this is the easiest machine to get my HR up with) and warm up with a moderate jog for ~5 minutes. Then do some sprints/intervals.

You could just aim to do a quick session of 5 sprints, but do them AS FAST as you can go (and aim for 30-45 second sprints). I mean - 'fly off the back of the treadmill' type sprints. Each sprint try to increase the speed (so you know you are not 'cheating' by saying 'yeah - this is fast enough'). And only rest ~2 x the sprint time between each, which is 1-1.5 minutes (depending on if you lasted 30 or 45 seconds).

Then, at each rest, take your HR. See what the highest level you get is. It will give you an indication of whether or not you can hit a higher level.

Emma-Leigh

Argggg... That sucks. But it was a good idea to stop. No point in doing a half-effective workout because, as you say, the risk of injury is not worth it.

Your diet cals shouldn't be a problem... and it was a high day too was it not?? But if you think it might be causing you major issues you could do a few days higher and see if it helps.

I hope you are feeling better today.

11 weeks without a break is certainly pushing it to the outer limit. Also, your training has become a lot more 'intense' over the last 6 weeks. You are not getting as much rest and you are doing a much more complicated split - so you might just find that you are wearing yourself out much faster.

Although it would be great to get an indication of the effectiveness of the diet, if you don't think you can get through this week then maybe consider starting a rest from now?

Great idea!! Sometimes the strick counting type of dieting is just too much (and it is not needed) and it does the body good just to get back to being normal...

And it shouldn't make a difference at all! You have a great base knowledge in terms of the nutrition of the foods you like to eat and I am sure you have a good 'eyeballing' ability for portion sizes too - so you should be able to 'wing it' to be 'close enough' without a problem.

In reality, the only thing you really need to keep an eye on is protein and essential fats intake. And, because you have a rough idea of how much protein you need, and you know to take your 6-10g of fish oils a day, then you'll be fine!

Plus, you will be able to monitor yourself in terms of weight/BF% so you will know if things start to head the wrong direction.

Woo hoo - Yay!! That is probably a great choice!

BulkMeUp

Absolutely true. I wouldnt want anything like that to happen. Sometimes i think i am being a bit too cautious. But oh well, better safe than sorry.
Yes, I'v read that some say it will take a few weeks to get into the routine to understand the right weight for each type of session. So i figure that this is a good time to start.

BulkMeUp

No never bothered. I guess it is one of those things where when one lives in a place you keep saying 'Ah! i'll go see it someday. It isnt going anywere and neither am I' and time passes and you never get around to it. Besides it is not convienantly located to where i am and none of my friends are intrested. Oh well, i dont really miss it.

Wow. You are turning into a fashion victim!! There are plenty of other stores as well. Eatons is the Eaton Center. Eatons dosent exist anymore. The 150+ year retail chain went bankrupt a few years ago across Canada and now Sears baught them. But the kept the name 'Eaton Center' as it is a well known landmark in downtown Toronto. Sears center dosent sound too glamourous. There are plenty of other stores in the Eaton Center as well. You'll have fun shopping there.

Nice to know you are getting confident about yourself!

Not going anywhere. I think i need the break. Besides they way things are going, i might not be able to stick to the diet this week. So might as well take this week off.

BulkMeUp

Thanks for all the great feedback, Emma
I took this reading after 2 mins cooldown. I did a 40min cardio session yesterday (posted below) and took the reading after a 2 min cooldwon. 15sec BPM was 33 x4 = 132. Still lower than my 75% max.

I guess. I'm not big on Cardio



I suspecte my legs wernt powerful enough to give me that HR boost.

Or i guess i'm not as cardio-fit as i thought.

Ok. i'll give this a try and post the results. Though i am going to take this week off the gym. So i'll keep this test for next week.

So, Sprint - rest (take hr) - sprint - rest(take hr).... I'm always a bit apprehensive of sprinting on the treadmill as i am likely loose my footing and introduce my face to the floor! But i shall try this next weel.

BulkMeUp

Thanks, am feeling better, but a total lack of motivation. It was a high cal day and i did make sure i ate all meals even though i wasnt in the mood. Could also be that for the past few weeks i seem to be having mild stomach issues. I dont know want it is. I have been trying to figure it out. But havent been able to do so.

Few weeks ago i opened a new bag of walnuts and they were a bit soft and oily. I could see the oil on my fingers. Normally they are dry, even if some are soft. Dont know why this bag was like that. I check in the grocery store and all the bags of that batch were the same. I did try stop eating them for a while (and used olive oil for fats) to see if it made a diff. Didnt notice anything.

Another thing was probably the cottage cheese. Maybe sometimes they didnt refirgerate it properly. A couple of tubs seemed off, though it didnt smell funky but tasted very mildly sour. I didnt think too much of it at the time. but it could have been that. Or maybe it is something else.

Yesterday morning after the usual breakfast (oats+whey+apple), i decided to nap a bit as i didnt have to be elsewhere until 12noon. After a few mins i felt a griping pain in my stomach for a bit. It went away after a while.

Well, enough of complaining. Lets see how this break week plays out.

I what i thought as well. A few weeks ago things were going great and i didnt stop to consider. But looking back i guess the nonstop training as well as dieting (in the past 3 months i think i did 3-4 cheat meals as i was very determined to get to 10% asap). So i think i need to pull back for a while.

At first i thought i could somehow push myself through the week. But i dont think i am motivated enough. Besides yesterday was a cheat day and then again on saturday i might not be able to follow the diet. So i decided to take this week off. As they say 'There is no time like the present'

As much as i dont mind doing it, I plan to take a bit of a break from cooking as well I think i shall just get some packaged Lasagna or stuff like that and just go by the cals on the label to fit my meals. Some meals will stay the same e.g. breakfast = oats+apple+whey. Just because it is easy to do and i dont have a prob with it. But for e.g. sweet potato+tuna+CC+brocolli+hot sauce needs to go for a while.

oooh Yes! i shall be watching the scale closely. It has become a habit to weigh myself every morning

It does sound like a good program with a lot of good feedback. Besides i dont have to spend time comming up with my own goofy wo's

BulkMeUp

Ellip cross trainer
level - 9
2 min warm up
rpm - 1min @35-40 , 1min @70-80
2min cool down
Total time 40
BPM 132

Monday is my off day, but i decided to do cardio as i wouldnt be able to do so on my regular day (Tue), see below.

I think the machine i was using was busted a bit. level 9 didnt seem all that difficult. But being monday it is the busiest day of the week so i couldnt get another one. Anyway i kept going. At first i though i might have to give up at 20mins. But then i kept going and thought i might have to give up at 30mins or drop dead. But after 30mins it kinda got easy. Maybe the wo revved up my mood/energy Anyway i got through 40mins and was feeling pretty good at the end. However not good enough to do Abs, so i just went home.

I also decided to call it quits for this week. Hopefully i dont fall off the wagon and can get back next week.

BulkMeUp

Our company has 5 operating principles. The fifth one is 'Have Fun'. So every year we have a day off (we get paid), that is organised and paid for by the company, with food.. etc

The year was at The Docks (as was last year) This was by far the best location compared to some of the other years which were a disaster.

Not like i am looking forward to hanging out with the people i work with everyday. But with 900+ employees, it is easy to get lost in the crowd

We were supposed to start at 12noon, but the dam bus drivers had parked on the other side of Union station and not at the same location where we picked up the bus last year. So by the time they figured something was wrong as no one showed up and they went to look for us to find everyone standing up front, it was 45 mins later. Anyway things didnt get started until 1:30. So we got there and had lunch. I had an italian meats and provolone sandwich. It was ok. Not flavourful enough for me. Not even mustard on it

The MC was Cathy Jones from the Tv show 'This hour has 22 minutes'. She was quite funny. ("When you get old, your boobs are like old pets. Not fun anymore, but still your responsibility" Had all especially the women laughing in the asiles with that one! )

In addition to the usual 2 hour of several speaches on how the company is doing and blah.. blah... There were plenty of prizes as usual (including several free tickets from Northwest, canjet, Westjet ..etc) but i didnt win anything

Anyway we had fun there. Played some mini golf, and practiced some golf swings (things i would otherwise never bother to do ). Did a few laps on the go cart track.

Wanted to do the Scream'n Demon Swing but there was a huge line up for that thing

We also get 2 free drink coupons (my boss had extra so he gave me an extra one) so i had 3 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black What?! I havent really had a drink since christmas. I'v been a really good boy... maybe a bit too good for my own good!

For the last hour of entertainment we had a band from the Maritimes (Atlantic Canada) who played. They were called 'The great big sea'. Their music was mostly folksy kinda stuff. Lots of colleagues seemed to enjoy them. But they are not my kind of music but it was ok for an hour.

So a few drinks + BBQ dinner (chicken and beef kebabs + rice + salads). Fun in the sun on the lakeshore! It was nice.

Left at 9pm and went home.

BulkMeUp

Ooookkkkk back to business. had my rest week.. but there wasnt much rest on the weekend. I did a few parties on the weekend but i kept the drinking very low. Only a couple of beers a night.

Temp is back in the early 30's. I did have a GREAT weekend so now back to the business. But i dont feel rested and could use another week off oh well, next weekend is a long weekend so maybe i'll catch up on a bit of rest.... hopefully.

I'v decided on P/RR/S for a routine (posted below). I'll continue on the carb cycle diet.

I'v decided to give July the chance to get down as low bf as poss (10% max). If that dosent work, then i think i shall just do a cut in August and get to it.

Presently i am undecided weather i should bulk at 13% or get to 10% come what may and then bulk.

BulkMeUp

The following is the plan to do 2 cycles of RR/P/RR/S. So that is a total of 8 weeks. and then take a week off.

I'v tried to include as many free exercises as possible to fit with the program. If anyone has suggestions for improvements, let me know.

Tempo:
POWER: 0/1/3
REP RANGE: 2/1/2
SHOCK:1/0/1

RI
POWER: 4-5 MINUTES
REP RANGE: 2-3MINUTES
SHOCK: Until recovery.


MON - OFF Diet - low

TUE - 30 Min Cardio- 1 min high/1min low Diet - low

WED – Quads/Shoulders Diet - High
Squats - (P-4/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Leg Press - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/10-12)
Leg Extn - (P-1/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)

Squat/Sissy Squat(S- 2/8-10 each)
Leg Sled – (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

DB Militaries - (P-4/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Upright Rows - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/10-12)
Bent Overs - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)

DB Mils/Lat Raises - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Bent Overs - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

THU - Chest/Tris/Abs Diet - Med
DB Flat Bench - (P-4/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
DB Incline - (P-3/4-6)(RR-3/10-12)
DB Decline - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)

DB Flat/DB Incline - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Pec Dec – (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

Overhead DB Extn - (P-3/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Rope Pushdowns - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/10-12)
Weighted Dips - (P-3/4-6)(RR-1/12-15)

Weighted Dips/Overhead DB extn - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Cable Bent Over Tri extn - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

Weighted Leg Raises -(P-2/4-6)(RR-2/8-10)
Lying Crunches(machine) - (P-2/4-6)(RR-2/10-12)

Decline Situps/Weighted Leg raises - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Lying Crunches(machine) - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

FRI - 20 Min Cardio- 1 min high/1min low Diet - Low

SAT - Upper Back/Bis/Abs Diet - Med
WG Seated Rows - (P-4/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Bent Row - (P-3/4-6)(RR-3/10-12)
V-Grip Pulldowns - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)

CG Pulldowns/WG Pulldowns - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Seated Rows - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

BB Curl - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/8-10)
Hammers - (P-3/4-6)(RR-1/10-12)
Cable Curl - (P-3/4-6)(RR-1/12-15)

BB Curls/Hammers - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Cable Curls - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

Weighted Leg Raises -(P-2/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)
Lying Crunches(machine) - (P-2/4-6)(RR-2/15-20)

Decline Situps/Weighted Leg raises - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Lying Crunches(machine) - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

SUN - Lower Back/Hammies/Calves Diet - High
SLDL’s - (P-4/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Stationary Lunges - (P-3/4-6) Hamstring raises (RR-2/10-12)
Glute Ham Raises - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/12-15)

SLDL’s/DB Lunges - (S- 2/8-10 each)
Lying Leg Curls - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

Sled Seated Calf press - (P-3/4-6)(RR-3/8-10)
Standing Calf raise - (P-3/4-6)(RR-2/10-12 + 1/12-15)

Seated Calf raise/Standing Calf raise - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)
Sled Seated Calf press - (S – 2/6-8, drop, 6-8, drop, 6-8)

20min low intensity cardio

Emma-Leigh

...
Give it a week and then re-measure your BF% (and don't step on the scales daily you goose - once or twice a week ok - daily is getting obsessive and over-the-top!). If you are 13% ish then go for 1 mnth and see how you go...

In reality - I would say it is best to get under 12% - but if you are really impatient and it is going to take you too long then may be go for 12%?

Emma-Leigh