danzik17's Log - 4-6 Week Strength/Bulk

[danzik17]

Quick overview for those just tuning in:

I tried to hit sub 10% BF but was unable to. I estimate I hit 11-12% and then fat loss came to a grinding halt.

I got sick of doing that for 6-8 weeks with little to no progress, so I decided to do an impromptu strength training period. Since I've been cutting for an absurdly long time at this point, I'm figuring that maybe switching up to a calorie surplus will be beneficial in the long run when I go back to cutting.

Goal: Strength gains. 5lbs increase in weight on my lifts each week, every week. Diet will be a surplus but bulking/muscle gain isn't the prime goal for this 4-6 weeks, I'll just take what tags along with the strength gains.

Training: Built should love this one.....I decided to give powerbuilding a try Completely different from how I've trained before and it's kind of fun lifting heavyass weights a lot unlike during my depletion workouts.

I'll be running a Week 1 push/pull/push, Week 2 pull/push/pull routine.

 

[danzik17]

RI - About 1 3/4 - 2min RI
Reps/Sets: 3x5 progressively heavier (after warmup)

Week 1

Push
--------
Squats
Floor Press
Leg Press
Standing shoulder press

Pull
--------
Rack pulls
T-Bars
Weighted chins
Hypers

Push
---------
Squats - High repetition. 20 rep breathing squats after warmup.
Incline Bench
Arnold Press

Week 2

Pull
--------
Deadlift
Cable Rows
GHRs
Weighted chins

Push
------------
Dead Press
Quarter Squats
Push Press
Leg Press

Pull
---------
Deadlifts
Cable Pulldown
Hypers
Unilateral cable rows

 

[danzik17]

Just to give an idea of the reasoning behind my training in case anyone wants to comment:

The odd day out in the week is going to be used for HEAVY lifting to mentally prepare myself for the next week. For example, if my bench goal for the next week is going to be 225 then I will be deadpressing either 230 or 235. Just to get a feel for heavier weights before I go to actually lift it.

 

[danzik17]

7/10/2009

This workout won't follow the template as I wrote that up after today's lifting.

Listed sets won't include multiple warmup sets.

Squats - 225x4, 235x4, 240x4

DB Bench - 75x4, 80x4, 85x3, 85x2

Leg Press: 425 x 6, 515 x 4

Decline Bench: 140x4, 140x4, 160x3

 

[danzik17]

7/13/2009

Deadlifts: 225x3, 230x3, 240,3, 245x3, 250x3 (PR)

Rows: 180x3, 190x3, 200x3, 205x3, 205x3

GHRs: 2. That's not sets. That's reps. 2. I hate you Built! Did a lot of negative reps since I couldn't do the concentric.

Pullups: BW + 30x3 (5 sets)

Cardio: 20min of Hill Walking. Need to work on my cardio capacity/heart rate.

 

[danzik17]

7/15/2009

Quarter squats: 225x3, 275x3, 275x3, 295x3, 295x3

Dead Press: 135x5, 185x3, 175x3, 175x3, 175x3

Leg Press: 515x4, 605x3, 605x3, 615x3, 615x3

Push Press: 50x5, 70x5, 80x3, 90x3

Two things to note: I need to work on my forearm strength. In the bottom position of the dead press I was having a LOT of trouble with them. Push presses were also a bit off since it was my first time doing them - I was really just gauging the weight for the future. 85-90lbs seems to be a good weight for 3-4 reps for now.

 

[katt]

those routines look at little brutal. Weighted chins & pullups at the end of the routine??? Good luck with that, I probably couldn't even get one rep.

 

[tryn2getbig]

Just curious, but what is Deadpressing? Is that like a negative bench press where you've got a spotter to help bring the weight back up, you just do the negative? Also, you have listed GHRs, what are those?

Sorry for the questions... Thanks in advance!

J

Just to give an idea of the reasoning behind my training in case anyone wants to comment:

The odd day out in the week is going to be used for HEAVY lifting to mentally prepare myself for the next week. For example, if my bench goal for the next week is going to be 225 then I will be deadpressing either 230 or 235. Just to get a feel for heavier weights before I go to actually lift it.

 

[danzik17]

Just curious, but what is Deadpressing? Is that like a negative bench press where you've got a spotter to help bring the weight back up, you just do the negative? Also, you have listed GHRs, what are those?

Sorry for the questions... Thanks in advance!

J

Deadpressing starring HeavyBomber:

YouTube Video

GHRs starring Built:

YouTube Video

 

[danzik17]

7/17/2009

Deadlift: 230x3, 235x3, 245x3, 245x3

Lat Pulldown: 120x3, 140x3, 160x3, 160x3, 160x3

Hypers: 60x5, 60x5, 70x5, 70x5

Cable Rows: 170x3, 180x3, 180x3, 200x3, 200x2

So the hardest part of this whole thing is just gaining weight. Just the act of it. It's hard to see yourself put on some fat and not freak out and immediately return to cutting, but I'm doing my best.

 

[danzik17]

Doing some research in my off-time and I'm going to embark on one of the most difficult things I can do diet wise...I'm going to give up all things caffeinated until I start my next cut.

I'd like to see if I'm suffering from adrenal burnout from overconsumption of caffeine for too long (I AM a coffee addict after all), so I will be replacing all of those drinks with *shudder* herbal teas.

 

[Little Wing]

stash has a white peach tea and a coconut mango that's pretty good. i say as i sip a low fat unsweetened iced coffee. but if you want no caffeine



this is really good

i put a bag or two in a quart of water and sip it during the day. [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"Licorice Spice is a dessert-like tea, naturally sweetened with licorice root which is 50 times sweeter than sugar cane but has no calories."[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[danzik17]

Unbelievable just how hooked on caffeine I was. I can barely walk up stairs let alone do anything seriously physical. Hopefully these symptoms fade quickly but in the end I should be in a better position to drop fat because of it.

The other thing is as soon as my fridge gets fixed I'm cutting off the extra fat I put on. I thought I could deal with it but I can't, I HATE everything aboout the extra fat that comes with putting muscle on from the way it looks to just the way it feels.

I'd start it now but without a working fridge it's impossible to run something like a PSMF/UD 2.0 like I prefer. Obviously without a working fridge I couldn't keep close enough track of my calories either and was eating too much.

 

[Gazhole]

Hang in there dude, the workouts are looking great and you seem to have a strong handle on exactly how you want this program to work.

I freak out sometimes aswell, but you just gotta try and ignore it. Look at the big picture - if you've cut before you can cut again, but first you need to get that muscle packed on!

Deadpressing is a lot of fun, also!

 

[danzik17]

Hang in there dude, the workouts are looking great and you seem to have a strong handle on exactly how you want this program to work.

I freak out sometimes aswell, but you just gotta try and ignore it. Look at the big picture - if you've cut before you can cut again, but first you need to get that muscle packed on!

Deadpressing is a lot of fun, also!

Thanks. I haven't logged workouts in a bit because of random shit that keeps happening, but they're still going. All goals have been met so far with one exception, the workout the day I decided to stop caffeine - I went to failure on my warmup weights that day

Case in point about shit happening though, I'm stuck at the office at 9:30pm because random shit failed right before 5PM. Gym closes at 10PM, no possible way for me to make it tonight (NOTHING I hate more than when work makes me miss the gym, NOTHING!)

If I don't get home to late maybe I'll do a mile walk with my sandbags rather than my workout, otherwise I'll have to move it to tomorrow (which screws up later in the week, but I'll deal with that then).

 

[Gazhole]

Dude that caffeine thing sounds crazy, you need to sort that out :-S

But yeah, i hate it when work gets in the way of the gym aswell. Either Uni work, or when i worked fulltime. Just the most annoying thing ever because looking forward to training after was one of the only reasons i got through the day .

Glad to hear the workouts are still mostly going well though

 

[danzik17]

Some random stats:

Deadlift: 255lbs
Squat: 250lbs
DB Bench: 90lb DBs
Rows: 205lbs
Pullups: BW + 35

All of my core lifts have progressed as planned. I'm a little dissapointed that I'm only doing +35lbs on the pullups though - I was doing +45lbs for WAY more reps last October/November before I hurt my leg (couldn't put on a weight belt and just never got back into it).

As for the caffeine thing Gaz knows this already but cutting out caffeine seems to have restored my adrenal function somewhat. I'm not eating clean at all right now but maintaining at 183-185lbs. Mind you these are at calories that previously I know would have caused me to balloon in weight, so that's a pleasant surprise.

 

[Gazhole]

Good lifts, dude! Are these 1rms or 4rms?

Looks like your metabolic rate has gone up a bit, which isnt a bad thing. Youll just have to eat more when you bulk, lol

 

[danzik17]

I never measure my 1RM. That's just ego food imo, not something I'm terribly interested in.

All of those weights are for 3 reps during working sets.

As for the metabolic stuff, I'm happier about it for cutting. Previously I had to cut calories to absurdly low levels to see any measurable progress (on a steady deficit style diet). Hopefully now I'll be able to run reasonable calorie levels and and still have a good deficit, but we'll see.

 

[danzik17]

8/3/2009

Squats: 240x3, 245x3, 250x3, 255x3, 255x3 (PR again!)

Leg Press: 515x3, 605x3, 625x3, 645x3, 655x3 (PR if I remember correctly)

Push Press: 80x5, 90x3, 100x3, 100x3, 100x3

DB Bench: 70x3, 75x3 (Ran out of time, gym closed )

Only 60lbs to go on the squat until I hit 3 plates.....awwww yea! Maybe in the next 2-3 months?

 

[Gazhole]

Dude, very nice Squats and Leg Press! 3 Plates is GOING to happen, no question.

Good work

 

[P-funk]

PRs are always good!

keep at it.

patrick

 

[danzik17]

8/7/2009

Squats - 225lbs, 1x20
Light pullovers/flys

Was pretty cooked after the set of 20 squats. 215lbs was my previous best, so I progressed on this lift as well

 

[danzik17]

Still can't do even one GHR. I wonder if I'm performing the exercise incorrectly, or maybe my hamstrings really are just that weak.

Who knows

 

[Gazhole]

Great squats, man! 20 Reps is harsh at any sort of heavy weight. I would die around 12 with that weight, haha.

As for GHRs, maybe take a vid?

Do you use any supports like bands, or a pole? I used to do them on the lat pull machine set to like 20/30lbs, and grab the cable as i performed the movement.

 

[danzik17]

8/12/2009

Very simple workout, was just a warmup and then two exercises.

Quarter Squats: 290x3, 295x3, 300x3, 300x3, 300x3 (First exercise on a barbell that I hit 300 on!...yea quarter squats count..right? )

Push Press: 100lbs 3x3

I was happy with the quarters but disappointed with the Push Press. I really expected to do 105-110 or at least bang out more reps, but it wasn't happening.

 

[Pylon]

Hey, a lot of people do quarter squats for their whole workout, but don't realize it. You did it on purpose, which makes it ok.

Great job!

 

[danzik17]

Great squats, man! 20 Reps is harsh at any sort of heavy weight. I would die around 12 with that weight, haha.

As for GHRs, maybe take a vid?

Do you use any supports like bands, or a pole? I used to do them on the lat pull machine set to like 20/30lbs, and grab the cable as i performed the movement.

I use a bosu ball and leg extension machine ala Built style but I have a lot of trouble connecting to my hams and glutes in this exercise - I find it very difficult to make them fire. Last time I tried to do them, I put so much effort into the first rep that I somehow gave myself an incredibly nasty calf cramp that left me limping for a few hours and hurting well into the next day. Fun

I'll see if I can grab a video next time. I only have 1 more week of this program anyway, then it's a 1 week deload follow by an equal length cut (4-6 weeks) to drop some fat.

I'm leaning much more towards see-sawing than doing the traditional 4 month bulk 4 month cut since I REALLY do not enjoy having a lot of fat on the midsection. That and since I gain fat at a good rate, I shouldn't let my BF get too high or calorie partitioning is going to take a hit and get into a nasty negative feedback loop.

 

[danzik17]

So yesterday marked the last workout of this bulk. I'm getting to be a bit too soft for my liking, so I'm going to do a cut the bulk short and do a cut for 1-2 months to drop back down, then will bulk again (rinse, repeat).

Beginning weight: 170lbs or so
Ending weight: 190lbs

Squats: +30lbs

Deads: Unknown since I didn't previously do them, but they're at 265lbs

Pullups: +40lbs (Not quite matching where I was a year ago, but not bad for a 5 week bulk)

Rows: +30lbs

There's others, but those are the core lifts that I was looking to increase.

This will be interesting (at least to me) though, since this is my first bulk - looking forward to seeing where my weight ends up after my cut. Hopefully I gained in the area of 4-5lbs of muscle to put me at around 173-175lbs at the end of this cut. For all I know it may be more though (fingers crossed) - I had been in a deficit for a LONG time before this, so my body seemed all too happy to pile on the weight for the first couple weeks.

 

[gtbmed]

If you dead 265 you should be able to do a 300 lb. rack pull. Just another exercise to hit 300 on - sometimes it's good to feed the ego.

Your numbers are good, pretty similar to mine. I like the program you did too.