bigsahm21

Well, this is really crappy, I just spent a half hour typing out a long-ass introduction about my gym/weight/metabolism struggles in this journal thread, cliked "post" and had my internet freeze up. So fuck it you get the abbreviated version now.

In a nutshell....

I'm Mike. 18, freshman at University of Texas. Long time lurker occasional poster.

I've wasted my time with diet and training for far too long. Too much work, not enough results. If I'm going to do this I owe it to myself to get thoroughly educated on everything to do it right and see some results.

Height: 6'5
Weight: 170 (i know)
BF: Low. Probably about 7%. I have a full 8 pack sometimes.

I kinda messed up my metabolism...basically I don't eat enough and I don't feel that hungry too often. This is all the abbreviated version.


Goals:

- FILL OUT
- ...while staying lean (although I realize I will be gaining fat, esp if I start eating "right" and not the messed up metabolism way I am now. I've accepted this...goodbye abs...for now!)
- Get stronger

That's about it. I'm not a bodybuilder, I just wanna put on some solid muscle THE RIGHT WAY. I'll be eating six clean meals a day, five on off days, probably four on Sundays because I really don't do squat on Sundays.

Anyways just wanted have something that I could really track my progress on and get feedback from people who know their stuff (that would be you P-Funk, Emma-Leigh, Jodi, Tom B, fu fu, CowPimp, etc etc etc).

So...on that note...don't be afraid to post and critique or encourage or anything. The more input the better. I don't want this journal to be a one man show...

calalily1972

Did you come up with a meal plan yet?

Tom_B

Hey Awesome to see you got a Journal going ! Like Jodi asked what's the diet plan? Or is it basically just eat whatever, whenever focused around healthy foods?
Also what's your training split like?

Double D

I would like to see a training split. Be sure to add your loading, tempos, ri's....etc

bigsahm21

Hey guys.

Tom B/Jodi: I don't have a completely strucutred meal plan, no. The reason being is I'm in college and I don't have a car to get to the grocery store, and have limited kitchen access (just a fridge/microwave). So a lot of the time I'm at the mercy of what's in the cafeteria...this however shouldn't be too much of a problem, because there's always grilled/baked chicken, full salad bar, fuits, veggies, oats, hard boiled eggs, skim milk, etc. However on some days the food varies...i.e., there's not oatmeal every single morning, so I have to get a bit creative sometimes.

I will be eating six times a day, focused around clean, balanced carbs/proteins/fats/veggies/EFAs...I'm normally in the diet/nutrition forum so I have a good idea about getting my diet squared away. And I will be posting my diet in here every day so if you see something really bad let me know.

Double D: I'll have it up as soon as I can, I'm still sort of playing around with it. I'm working with Todd Wright, weight coach for the Texas basketball team (world renowned, works with Lance Armstrong and Andy Roddick) and he's giving me some good ideas. I'm thinking it'll be a four day split, working upper and lower most days. My current routine is fairly low volume, so I'm going to try to push it a little harder for the next 5-6 weeks and then go back to a little lower volume.

Double D

Sounds good.

bigsahm21

Double D since you inquired about it I figured you have some knowledge in the area...what's loading, exactly?

I'm a rookie at that stuff...I know for hypertrophy you want to keep your reps in the 6-12 range (mine will likely be 6-10) but I'm not sure about how long my RI's should be, tempo's, etc...

Double D

RI-rest in between. And for hypertrophy normally 60-90 seconds are good.
Loading-proper setting up of sets and reps.
Like:
Wk1-3x8 @10rm-60 sec ri
Wk2-2x12 @ 14rm-45 sec ri
Wk3-4x6 @ 8rm-90 sec ri
etc.....get it?
Tempo-I like to really focus on the eccentric (Negative/lowering the weight), and exploding on the concentric (Positive)

bigsahm21

Oh okay I gotcha. Yeah I'll be posting all of that, just didn't know the terms for each one.

As far as tempo goes, I'll probably start trying to slow my negatives down and time them and see what that does for me, I've never focused on any of that before.

Double D

Its great for hypertrophy. You will be fine, especially if you have a strength coach helping you.

bigsahm21

So here's what I'm thinking about my routine.

I wanted to do more of a full body type thing, hitting various parts each day and legs twice a week. But I'm reconsidering this, the reason being the following:

1.) First, I'm really getting back into running after shutting it down for a while to really focus on my tight IT band which led to an EXTREMELY swollen bursa (sp?). I'm a runner first and foremost, and with the pounding my legs will be taking I'm thinking just one day for legs is best.

2.) I'm also still working on some mobility issues in my hips/groin area...it's gotten infinitely better, but still isn't quite where I want it yet, so I figure lots of stretching and recovery time right now is ideal. I don't wanna push anything and injure myself there's no point to overdo anything.

Other thoughts:
- as far as my strength coach guy is concerned, I didn't really like his workout ideas too much. I feel bad saying to his face "no, I don't think I want to do that" because he's one of the best, supposedly. But his workout ideas are catered towards athletes; power, explosiveness, etc. Lots of o-lifts, explosive movements, high weight/low volume. If I was still hooping it would be perfect...but I'm not. I told him what my goals were, and that I wasn't really looking for an athlete specific workout, but that's what he gave me; I think he has a one-track mind when it comes to this stuff. Hey it sure works well for Kevin Durant and company, though...

So to sum it all up I think I'll just be going with a muscle split. It's been two years since I did anything like that...although when I did do it, I had fantastic results in physique and strength improvement. I'll be focusing primarily on compoud movements, but I will be incorporating iso work as well. I'm really not training for intense mass gaining purposes, so I'm not really focused on keeping volume low and rest high. I'll be eating plenty but I'm trying to incorporate a lot of volume for the next little stretch here.

bigsahm21

Monday April 9

Workout: Chest and Tri's (whoooole lotta chest and tri's)

Bench (RI 2:00): 1 x 10 @ 135
2 x 8 @ 140
1 x 6 @ 145

Incline Bench Press (RI 2:00): 1 x 8 @ 115
1 x 8 @ 120
1 x 6 @ 125 (I think, can't remember the weights on this set...forgot to write these down)

Decline Bench Press RI (2:00):
2 x 8 @ 125 (I was totally fried...)
1 x 6 @ 135 (failed at around 4 1/2, had a spotter)

Umm...OUCH!!! man I haven't done any "bench" in forever, so my weights were lower across the board...and still, jesus, my pecs were killing me after that first set.

Chest DB Fly's (RI 1:00)
2 x 10 @ 25
2 x 7 @ 30

Dips (RI 1:30) - never really done before
1 x 10 @ Bodyweight - 20lbs
1 x 8 @ bodyweight
1 x 7 1/2 @ bodyweight

Tri Extension machine (got tired of waiting for skullcrusher bars that I liked so I bailed on it) RI 1:30
1 X 10 @ 50 lbs
1 x 8 @ 55 lbs
1 x 7 @ 60 lbs
1 x 6 @ 60 lbs

One arm cable pushdowns (RI: None. One arm then the next)
2 x 8 @ ???? Weight setting #4? Lol...

Hanging leg crunches 2 x 15 w/ 10 pounds (30s rest)
STEEP incline crunches 2 x 15 with pause at the top (30s rest)
Incline (or decline? the hard way...) Reverse crunches 2 x 20, pause at full extension for last 5 (45s rest).

Thoughts on workout: good GOD that was a lot of pressing movements. I haven't done ANY of those much lately...it's been mostly DB type stuff for me. But I'm looking for a lot of volume and a real shcok to my muscle groups...and I think I got what I was looking for. I'm not usually an advocate of those types of workouts, but I actually really enjoyed this one...I haven't felt that beat to shit when I've left the gym in a long, long time. My chest/tri's were on FIRE...it was really good!! I'll be sure to get a nice long stretch in tonight (I stretched after I worked out). But I really was surprised, I think I'm going to like this split after all...when I read about the excess of exercises per body part I was extremely skeptical but I thought to myself why not, just try it, if it sucks, can it. I've never done anything CLOSE to that before, so maybe it'll be good for a short period...


Meals (no oats today):
1) Grape nuts, skim milk, 2 whole eggs, two egg whites, EFA's.
2.) Grilled chicken, whole what tortilla, almonds
3.) Baked chicken, sweet potato, salad, broccoli, EFA's, banana, strawberries.
4.) PWO: Skim milk, whey, apple
5.) Baked chicken, whole grain pasta, little bit of marinara sauce, broccoli, cauliflower, salad.
6.) Cottage cheese, peanut butter, SF vanilla/chocolate pudding. It's actually really good mixed together!!!

Extras: Tiny bit of ketchup and ranch dressing (< one tablespoon) cinnamon, splenda (2 packets)

Does anyone out there have any good ideas for new ab exercises? My abs have totally gotten used to these three...I mix up weights/incline/reps etc but to no avail anymore...and I'mn looking for killer exercises...I wanna obliterate those motherfuckers...

bigsahm21

Tuesday, April 10

Workout: Back and Bi's

Wide Grip Chinups RI 1:30
2 x 8 Bodyweight
1 x 8 @ Bodyweight - 20lbs

DB Rows RI 1:30 (Really liked these!! Haven't done them in a while)
3 x 8 @ 55 lbs

Seated Row RI 1:30
2 x 8 @ 130 I think??

Bent-over BB Row RI 1:30 (I don't like these much...it's kind of an awkward position...)
2 x 8 @ 90 lbs
1 x 6 @ 110 lbs

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns RI 1:30
1 x 10 @ 100 lbs
1 x 8 @ 100 + the little black extra weight thing, maybe 5/7.5 pounds?
1 x 8 @ 112.5 (had to use a little english to get that last one down...)

Barbell Curl RI 1:15
1 x 8 @ 50 lbs
1 x 8 @ 55 lbs
1 x 6 @ 60 lbs

Incline DB Curl (Deep incline) RI 1:30 (holy crap these are hard)
1 x 11 @ 20 lbs
1 x 12 @ 17.5 lbs

Concentration DB Curl RI 30 sec
1 x 10 @ 25 lbs
1 x 8 @ 27.5 lbs

Preacher Curl
1 x 8 @ Bar + 10lbs on each side (I was so fried...)
2 x 6 @ same weight

Light ab/lower back/oblique work...which was ehh...I need to mix up my core exercises now.

Cardio:

15 mins on elliptocal, Incline level: 5 for 5 mins, 10 for 5 mins, 15 for 5 mins. Avg heart 155ish, Cals/Min: 14.5 - 15.0, total cals burned a little over 270 with cool down.

Workout Thoughts

Liked it again. My bicep gains have been stagnant for the last year, in which time I've been sticking to compound exercises and maybe 1 iso exercise, 3-4 sets a week for my bi's. This should help out I think, they felt really burned out. Back as well, although I want to switch out the bent over BB row for next week...maybe I'll try them out with an underhand grip, I like that one a lot better. This one just didn't feel like an effective exercise for me...I couldn't go heavy enough to feel like I was working my back and maintain good form/balance at the same time.

Meals
1.) Oats, skim milk, 2 whole eggs, three egg whites, EFA's, strawberries, 1/3ish banana. (ate a little bit more here because I knew I'd have to wait longer than usual for my next meal, had tons to do today)
2.) Oats, yogurt, little bit of grape nuts, baked chicken, romaine lettuce, broccoli, carrots
3.) PWO: Skim milk, whey, banana, oats
4.) Brown rice, Oats, baked chicken, almonds, EFA's, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, carrots, cauliflower.
5.) Cottage cheese, whey, PB, little SF pudding, cinnamon.


...


Felt strong today! Had a crazy bloated cramp problem last night, couldn't really stand up straight, but I think it was because I've been drinking too much water. Not really intentionally, I just make sure I'm drinking a lot, and it's gotten carried away lately. It passed though and was totally gone by this morning.

Tom_B

Hey, diet looks pretty good for just 'winging' it ! Only thing is too manke sure you stick with something like bananas or grapes as opposed to apples Post workout, you want a higher glucose type fruit.

For ab exercises .. hmm these are the ones I always do:
Weighted V-ups
Land mines
Dragon Flags
Machine Crunches
Weighed Decline Crunches
Cable Crunches
Stick Crunches
Weighted Planks (and all their variations)

Hopefully gave ya some Ideas..

bigsahm21

Thanks I was going to ask you actually you mentioned dragon flags in your journal and said you were doing 5-6 per set, so they must be hard. What are they exactly??

And thanks on the PWO advice. I usually do I just wasn't able to steal a banana from the cafeteria lol.

bigsahm21

Another diet thought: I'm going to try go for more variety...in the past I've stuck to just the staples too much, oats, lettuce, broccoli, almonds, chicken, and eggs...and that was literally all. Not only did it get old but something in there made my face all bloaty which sucked to say the least.

I'm going to try to limit how much I eat certain foods per day...no more than 1 1/2 scoops of whey, chicken/oats twice, etc. etc. I figure it'll keep me sane and should help take the edge off of whatever causes my face to bloat because even when I don't eat a structured BB diet I still eat those foods ALL THE TIME and it doesn't happen. So it's probably the frequency or 'over-eating' that particular food that does it.

bigsahm21

Wednesday, April ... whatever

Workout

5 min Warm Up
30 min on elliptocal, HB around 145-150. Wanted to keep it light, sort of sick today.
5 min cool down
10 min stretch.

Diet:
Meal 1: Oats, eggs, egg whites, strawberries, EFA's
Meal 2: Grilled chicken wrap: Grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper jack cheese! mmm, flour tortialla
Meal 3: Lean beef, salad, broccoli, cauliflower, grape nuts w/ yogurt.
Meal 4: Baked chicken, oats, broccoli, romaine lettuce, little banana, PB
Meal 5: Cottage cheese, more PB than the last 2 nights, little bit of whey.

Sick and tired this week is a killer so much shit to do.

bigsahm21

Thursday, April 12

Leg day baby.

Workout

Squats (RI: 2-2:30)
1 x 10 @ 135
2 x 8 @ 155
1 x 6 @ 165
1 x 4 @ 175

Leg Press (RI 2:00)
1 x 8 @ 3 plates on each side
1 x 6 @ 3 plates + 25 each side
1 x 5 3/4 @ 3 plates + 50 each side

Deadlifts (RI 2:00) - first time ever doing traditional dead lifts, took it really light, just wanted to get comfortable with the movement this week
3 x 8 @ 100 pounds

Standing Calf Raises (RI 1:15)
4 x 10 @ setting 10

Leg Extensions (RI 1:15) - really focused on tempo here, it was good!
3 x 10 @ setting 6

Leg Curls (RI 1:15) - hamstrings were REALLY tired...
1 x 10 @ 70
1 x 10 @ 80
1 x 10 @ 90

Seated calf raises (RI 1:15)
2 x 10 @ 55 pounds on each size, failed on last set I was feelin the burn in my calves from before still.

10-15 mins of ab work.

Workout thoughts:

It was great, I really like this program so far. Felt strong, maintained great energy throughout. Squats and leg presses were great, squats especially I've had some flexibility issues in my quads/hips lately and this was the first day I've felt comfortable going healthy enough to go heavy-ish (by my standards haha I know I'm a lightweight though. But hey it's getting better!)

Diet:
Meal 1 - Oats, egg whites, 2 eggs, EFA's, 1/2 banana
Meal 2 - Mixed salad, broccoli, grilled chicken, 1 cup Total skim milk
Meal 3 (pre-workout) - Apple, Oats, Sliced ham
Meal 4 - Oats, whey, skim milk, banana
Meal 5 - Mixed salad, broccoli, baked chicken, pinto beans (wanted more fiber been having a little bloat lately I think, not really sure).

Diet thoughts:

3 straight days 5 meals instead of six, which is what I'm shooting for...not good. And I've been starving around meal 2/3 so these are typically a little bigger than I'd like. The reason usually has been that I have classes for 3-4 hours straight between Meals 1 and 2, so what I'm going to do is eat meal 1 earlier, fit in a small meal 2 somewhere in there, and wait about half an hour longer to eat my meal 3. Problem solved.

bigsahm21

Friday, April 13

Machine OH Press 2:00
3 x 10 @ 35 pounds each side
- Never done this machine before...might be good to switch it up I've been doing DB OH press for a long time.

Standing Military Press 1:30
1 x 10 @ 70
1 x 6 1/4 @ 80 (ahh too heavy!!)
1 x 10 @ 70
1 x 9 3/4 @ 70

DB Reverse Fly's 1:15
1 x 10 @ 10 lbs
2 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs

Upright BB Rows 1:30
1 x 10 @ 60 lbs
2 x 8 @ 65 lbs

Side Lateral Raises 1:30 (I do these with near straight arms, perfect form...I don't do it the leaned over, arms bent way...)
1 x 10 @ 10 lbs
1 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs
1 x 8 @ 15 lbs

DB Shrugs 1:00
1 x 10 @ 80 lbs
1 x 10 @ 85 lbs
1 x 9 @ 90 lbs (damn grip...would've had it)
Whew! Didn't feel it then but my traps are already getting sore!!

Cardio: 30 min elliptocal, avg heart beat about 150-155.

Workout Thoughts: I mean, it was effective, my shoulders were shot...but I felt like a wuss doing JUST shoulders. Next week I'm going to throw in 30 minutes of core work as well.

Diet:
Meal 1: Oats, eggs, egg whites, Strawberries/Banana
Meal 2: Almonds and skim milk (big time hurry!!)
Meal 3: Grape Nuts/Bran cereal, little bit of skim milk, baked chicken, strawberries, mixed salad
Meal 4: PWO Shake - skim, oats, whey, banana. I think the banana is what causes my bloat!
Meal 5: Grilled steak, chicken, oats, mixed vegetable array.
Meal 6: Prune juice, probiotic supp, and Gas-x...been a long few days for my stomach...
Meal 7: Alcohol haha maybe not that would make my stomach worse I presume.

Looking forward to a couple of rest days, although I'm going running tomorrow morning for the first time since I hurt my knee. Wish me luck!!

calalily1972

You can develop food insensitivities when you eat the same things over and over again. It's much better to have a variety.

bigsahm21

That's what I'm learning...I eat these foods all the time when I'm not on this more set, strict diet but never have these kinds of issues.

Tom_B

I hear ya on the bathroom problem! I hope things start moving for ya and you don't have to go to the hospital and do things like I did, LOL it's really not pleasant.
Have you noticed any difference in the face yet?
PS drink a bit of booze - ya only live once !! hahaha I plan on drinking the next two weekends in a row, should be a decent time.
PSS Workouts are looking solid.. it's something I wouldn't do, but hey if it works for you, then go for it! Just a word of caution .. from now on try not doing Squats and Deadlifts in the same workout .. way too stressing on the lower back especially with a leg press in between the two. Also once question too, why the 2:00RI on the first exercise there? Good luck with the run tomorrow, LOL especially if you did end up drinking.

bigsahm21

No actually the face thing hasn't been a problem at all this time. Now if only my ass can get back to normal.

And thanks for the tip on the deadlifts, I didn't notice a problem but the deads were soooo light I just wanted a feel for the movement. If I do stick with them, I'll go with RDL, or I'll probably end up moving the deads to a different day, or waiting until my next program.

As far as the RI goes I lifted with a buddy, and we mess around a lot. I usually don't like to have a partner for that very reason, just get in hit it hard and get out, but whatever.

No booze tonight I think I'm staying in I've got work up to my freakin eyeballs that must be done by Tuesday and its pouring rain outside with crazy wind. So its either something in the dorm, do work, or trudge out in a storm to wherever I'm going...kinda sucks all the way around might as well be productive.

bigsahm21

And I'm kind of surprised I decided to try this workout too...but it's actually been good so far. The real test I think will be next week when I see if my weight went up a little (which I guess is more diet related...) but most importantly I better see some increases in the lifts, or else I'll honestly probably just bag it. However two of my buddies got this from somebody and got rocked up on it last fall...and I've been going upper/lower/upper/lower or Full-body for the last nine months. Figured it was time to switch it up...why not give it a shot for a week or two and see if I like it?

Tom_B

Great to hear about the face! And hopefully with the probitotics your bowels will get back to normal too. (you may even want to start supplementing with a pysllium type fiber product .. eg. Sugar Free Metamucil or something)
K, even if you do switch to a RDL, between that, the squats and the leg press you're REALLY going to have to watch the lower back and make sure you don't develop any issues ... if anything I would suggest DB RDL's ..
Shitty bout not being able to go out .. but I hear ya about the work thing. I'm still getting caught up on assignments I missed after missing a whole week straight. I plan on sacrificing my Saturday night tomorrow to get things back up to speed.. oh well.
I'd stick with the routine for about 3 - 4 weeks before you could really determine if your noticing anything from it .. my last routine was an experiment of my own, and something alot of people would consider "stupid" but the gains I saw from it was INSANE .. sometimes you just gotta listen to your body and what it wants.

bigsahm21

What was your last routine? Cuz i actually just took a dump and it took a loooong time and I pondered my workout for a long time. I'm having second thoughts already it just really contradicts what I perceived before as a 'good workout'