Heart Muscle is Growing!

[Heart Muscle]

Hi everybody!

My name is Heart Muscle (it´s a German name and it means: Ripped and Huge Shall Be Who Knows No Pain).

Ok, who am I?

I am 25, born in Moscow, I´ve lived in Germany since 1990 and I look like a guy from Spain or Brasil - so you could call me Mr. International.

I´ve been lifting weights for quite a while now (4 years or so), but due to some injuries, a more than stressful life (I´ve being trying to fix my sleeping disorder for 2 years or so, and I´m still struggling to find good sleep!), going forth and back with my weights, never eating over maintenance, being afraid of getting fat, blah-blah, whatever.

Height: 5´10
Weight: 177 pounds
Body fat: appr. 13%

A long and not very successful road have you been walking, young padavan...

What are my goals for 2013?

I wanna gain as much muscle mass as I can.
Seriously, I don´t care about getting up to 17-18% bodyfat (I was at 17-18% bodyfat before my diet, so it wasn´t too aesthetic, but it wasn´t that bad either...) - IF that will help to maximize my bulking efforts.

In Autumn 2014, I wanna get on stage for the GNBF (German Natural Bodybuilding Federation) competition.


How am I gonna reach my goals? Am I gonna do the same bulls*** I´ve been doing for quite a while without getting any significant results?

Hell no! In fact, I haven´t gained more than 3-4 kilos of FFM in my whole training career. But I have gained 2-3 of those kilos during the last couple of months. Why? Because I´ve started eating like a hungry alpha beast.

And, yeah, some words about my workout routine:
I´m through with full body workouts and 2-day upper body/lower body or push/pull splits.
Even though I couldn´t gain much muscle mass, I DO train with proper form, use acceptable weights, have a good mind-muscle connection and last but not least:
If I am willing to do so, I can seriously destroy my muscles.
I can go to or beyond failure without any extra motivation from a training partner, on any set (apart from squats and deadlifts maybe, I´m not suicidal - yet ) - If I decided to do so, if it´s part of my routine (or part of my workout philosophy).
Downside: I´m quite prone to injuries with that kind of self-destructive approach, especially when I´m doing low reps (and low reps to me means less than 8 reps to muscular failure in set 1).

One thing I´ve never tried is a traditional split routine with 3-5 workouts per week, high volume, low frequence.
And I also haven´t really tried to progress on higher reps with short rest between the sets (I used to rest for 3-5 min after each set, even for isolation exercises).

So I´ve chosen a 4-day split routine with a high volume, moderate to high reps and short rest between sets.

I´ve also chosen to open my mind and include more hammer strength machines and cable exercises instead of free weights. I also do not longer squat due to an old knee injury and I only do straight leg deadlifts.

You will see my routine in the next post.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Yeah!

I just woke up and I feel like slimer from Ghostbusters:

I guess I will work my chest tomorrow, depends on how I feel this evening.
In fact I found out a workout can help me get healthy again, unless I´m REALLY sick.

But I promised you to post my workout routine, and here it is:

Monday: Back and Calves
Lat Pulldown, wide o-hand grip: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dual Lat Machine, parallel grip: 3x12-6 1,5 min rest
Dual Low Row Machine: 3x12-6 1,5 min rest
Dual Mid(?) Row Machine: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dumbbell Shrugs: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Straight Arm Pulldown, bent forward: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Calf machine: 6x12-6, 1 min rest

Tuesday: Chest and Abs
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dual Chest Press: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dip machine, wide grip: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dumbbell Incline Flies: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Butterfly: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Leg Raises: : 4x12-6, 1 min rest
L-Flys: 3x12-20

Thursday: Thighs and Calves
Leg Press: 4x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Romanian Deadlift: 4x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Hack smith machine:: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Leg Curls, lying: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Calf raise at hack smith machine: 4x12-6, 1 min rest
Leg Extensions: 3x15-10, 1 min rest
Leg Curls, seated: 3x12-10, 1 min rest

Friday: Shoulders, Arms and Abs
Dual Shoulder Press: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Reverse Butterfly: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Dumbbell Curls: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Cable Pushdowns: 3x12-6, 1,5 min rest
Preacher curl machine: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Dumbbell triceps extensions: 3x12-6, 1 min rest
Crunches: 4x12-6, 1 min rest
Barbell Forearm Curls: 3x15-10, 45 sec rest
Barbell Forearm Extensions: 3x15-10, 45 sec rest


That´s it. No workout takes more than 65-70 minutes.

And a pic from November, I will take more and better pics as soon as I an fix my (NEW!!! but already) broken digicam.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Back 1, 23.01.2012

Lat Pulldown: 65x10, 65x8, 60x8
Dual Lat Machine: 60x8, 55x8, 50x8
Dual Low Row: 55x10, 55x8, 50x8
Dual Mid Row: 60x8, 55x8, 50x8
DB Shrugs: 2*30x10, 2*30x7, 2*27,5x6
Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: 25x10, 25x8, 20x7
Calf Machine: 60x8, 55x8, 50x6, 45x7, 40x6, 35x6

Workout duration: 64 min

 

[Heart Muscle]

Chest, 24.01.2012

Incline DB Bench Press: 2*30x10, 2*30x6, 2*27,5x6
Dual Chest Press: 50x9, 45x8, 40x8
Dip Machine: 100x10, 100x6, 90x8
Incline DB Flies: 2*12,5x10, 2*12,5x8, 2*12,5x6
Butterfly: 40x8, 35x8, 30x8
Leg Raise: x12, x11, x10, x7
L-Flys: 3x18, 3x13, 3x10


Workout duration: 51 min

P.S.
The weights are in kilos, I´m sorry - Europe is just another world.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

I feel like crap.


I caught less than 4? hours of sleep at best, even though I´m very tired from the hard workouts on Monday and Tuesday.
Did I already mention my sleeping disorder?
Yeah, sure I did.
But guys, it´s a serious issue.
I can´t even sleep through on week-ends, I usually wake up several times per night, having lots of crazy dreams, ending up tired EVERY day.

And I decided to post a pic to underline the way I feel on a daily basis.

Apart from that I decided to split my leg workout in two parts, so I´m gonna do a 5-day split.


Mo: Back, Calves
Tu: Chest, Abs
We: Quads, Calves
Th: off
Fr: Shoulders, Arms
Sa: Hams, Abs
Su: off


As I´m totally exhausted today, I´ll be working my quads on Thursday which will be very tough, as I´ll only have one rest day between the two leg workouts - and on this "rest" day I will be working my shoulders and arms.

Life sucks sometimes.

But I keep the goal of becoming one of Germany´s best natural bodybuilders in mind.
It will take years.
I know.
But I will get there, I will SO get there.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

today I caught 10 hours of sleep.

I guess consuming 4 tablets of glycin helped a lot - I can only recommend it to anybody who is struggling with sleeping disorder!

Oh. My. God.

That felt like I entered paradise for just a little while, only to be kicked out to fulfil my god-given mission:
Become one Germany´s best natural bodybuilders in the next few years.
And get on stage in autumn 2014 for the GNBF competition.

Let my willpower, my dedication be like a brazen rocket in the sky, striving for excellence and breaking through the barriers of everyday trouble and the poisoned weaknesses of my mind.

Pic for today:

Today´s workout was really, really taxing - to say the least.
After the first exercise I was dripping gallons of sweat on the gym´s carpeted floor.
My weak mind was trying to convince me to drop a couple of sets, but I didn´t.

Willpower: 1
Weakness of mind: 0

Quads and Calves 1, 26.01.2012

Leg Press: 280x13, 280x11, 280x9, 280x6, 250x6
Front Squats: 70x8, 70x8, 70x6, 70x6, 70x6
Barbell Lunges*: 50x10, 50x10, 50x10, 50x10
Leg Extensions: 70x10, 65x8, 60x8, 55x8
Standing Calf Raise**: 150x10, 150x8, 150x8, 140x6, 130x6, 130x6

*I do 6-12 reps (1 rep= 1 step forward, 1 step backward) with my left leg, take a few breaths, than I do 6-12 reps with my right leg.
So I´m not doing walking lunges.
After one "set" I rest for 45 seconds to 1 minute and repeat the whole thing.

**I do my standing calf raises on a hack squat machine with a reverse stand. Very good exercise, as you can fully extend and fully contract the calves with constant tension - or decrease the range of motion as you wish.

Workout duration: 67 min

 

[vancouver]

5-HTP and Valerian Root for sleep. I used to suffer from insomnia for several years...

 

[Heart Muscle]

What´s wrong with the pic? Is it forbidden to post links to pictures?
Second try:

@vancouver:
Cheers, mate.

I will try both.

I was, however, not very successful with Valerian root, when I used it one year ago. I doubled and tripled the recommended dose for 2 weeks, but it didn´t help much.
Maybe a combination of Valerian root, 5-HTP and glycin will solve my insomnia!

 

[Heart Muscle]

I found an amazing body in the web.
Similar muscle insertions, shoulder-hips-ratio and so on.
So I did a little photo montage, a look into my bodybuilding future?
Who knows.
Check this out - Heart Muscle on the left, my goal for the next two years on the right.

I like, I like, I like!

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

today´s entry will be pretty short.

I worked in a steel factory for 5 hours and I feel spent.

Right now I have a short break of <30 min to prepare a big meal before I will take a train to another city in Germany to join the birthday party of a good friend.

So I won´t have time to work my shoulders and arms today.

This is, however, not a big issue, I´ll just do two workouts tomorrow.
In the morning I will hit my hamstrings and abs hard, in the evening I will pump up my shoulders and arms (disco-pumper-style, ya know? Disco pumper? That´s how we Germans call those wannabe-bodybuilder-jerks with the imaginary lat syndrome dressed in XS-shirts to show off their barely trained upper bodies in some dirty cheap club...)

Pic for today (no, that´s not me - I´m just responsible for delivering the right screws to the right work stations )

P.S.
My quads and my glutes are VERY, very sore.
Thumb rule:
If a muscle group is only slightly sore the day after the workout, it´s gonna be a little more sore two days after the workout.
If a muscle group is VERY sore the day after the workout, it´s gonna make you CRY two days after the workout.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

I feel bad.

I couldn´t make it to the gym today.

I stayed in my home city for way too long and I missed the last train to my study city - no. gym. today.

But it´s useless to blame myself, so I´ve decided to skip the shoulders/arms day this week and work my hamstrings/abs tomorrow.

Pic for today:

 

[Heart Muscle]

By the way:
Nobody is posting in my diary - why?

Feel free to do so!

I appreciate any comments and advice.

Cheers,

Heart Muscle


Leg pics were missing:

 

[Heart Muscle]

What splendid way to relax:

YouTube Video

Put on some quiet meditation music, wrap yourself in a warm multi-coloured blanket, light a few tea candles and an incence stick that spreads the scent of dryed roses throughout the apartment.

Good night everybody! (It´s 2 a.m. in Germany ^^ )

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

My workout will take place in a few hours.
Oh, and I slept quite well again. My post-midnight meditation session helped a lot.

Pic for today:

As for my diet:

It´s mostly solid home cooking - I do use whey + maltodextrin or dextrose after my workouts and some multivitamin tabs, but that´s it.

Why? If you look back to the days of oldschool bodybuilding, you will find a diet plan for bodybuilders by Franco Colombo.

In a nutshell:
Mostly healthy food, a lot of variation, alcohol in small amounts recommended.

And that´s what I do.

Due to a stressful lifestyle I do consume a lot of peanut butter, as it is the cheapest way to get down tons of calories with virtually no preparation.
6 slices of whole grain toast plus 1 HUGE spoon (100 grams) of peanut butter equals roughly 1000 kcal and about 40 grams of protein.

Now check it out - it´s not MY diet plan (there is none, variation is everything to me, as long as get my >200 grams of protein every day), use it as an inspiration.

'Diet for non-competitive bodybuilders with fast metabolism' :

BREAKFAST
3 eggs any style
Two slices of bread
1 grapefruit
Cup of cofee
Glass water


SNACK
Nuts, seeds


LUNCH
1/2 chicken
2 baked potatoes (no cheese)
2 Slices bread
Glass of water


SNACK
Tuna
2 Slices bread
Fruit


DINNER
Fish
Brown Rice
Vegetables
Salad
Water

10pm
Fruit


Or this one:

Breakfast
- 3 eggs
- 1 slice of bread
- orange juice or piece of fruit
- 1 glass of water
- 1 cup of coffee

Lunch
- steak
- pasta without cheese
- glass of wine
- glass of water

Snack:
- fruits
- nuts

Dinner:
- fish
- vegetables
- 1 glass of wine or 1 beer
- 1 glass of water

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,
I decided to rearrange my workout routine, as I realized I need 5 days to recover from my last workout- not a full week.

I´m gonna work back/biceps/calves, chest/shoulders/triceps/abs, quads/hamstrings/calveson a 5-day workout schedule.
On, off, on, on, off. Repeat.

Now I´m gonna catch my bus to the gym.

A second pic for today, just "for change". ^^

 

[Heart Muscle]

Back/Biceps 1, 29.01.2012
Pulldown wide grip: 65x13, 65x10, 65x6
Dual Lat Machine: 60x9, 55x6, 50x6
Dual Low Row Machine: 55x12, 55x10, 55x7
Dual High Row Machine: 60x10, 60x7, 55x7
Straight Arm Cable Pulldown: 20x12, 20x10, 20x9
Seated DB Curls, alternating: 2*17,5x8, 2*17,5x5, 2*15x6
Preacher Curl Machine: 25x8, 20x7, 15x6
Forearm Curls: 17,5x15, 17,5x15, 17,5x13
Forearm Extensions: 17,5x15, 17,5x10, 17,5x8
Calf Machine: 60x10, 60x7, 55x6, 50x6, 45x6, 40x6

Workout duration: 72 min

Comments:
Weight and/or reps moved up again. I like it.
I like to move it, move it. I like to move it - move it.
The whole workout felt pretty much like a walk in the park after surviving the last leg workout. ^^

 

[KILLEROFSAINTS]

i like the dead cat on the keyboard

 

[Heart Muscle]

Yeah, I can imagine the cat´s feelings... felt the same way after my last leg workout.
Short breaks + leg press/front squat = bitch. ^^

 

[Sidney]

What does your diet look like?

 

[IslandGirl]

Hi Heart Muscle! I'm writing!

I love that kitty cat on the keyboard pic. So cute.

Have you been visiting other peeps journals? Maybe if you visit their journal, they will visit into yours.

 

[Heart Muscle]

What does your diet look like?

Hi Sydney,

I do not have a specific diet.

I make sure to get my 3000 kcal an non-workout days and 3500 kcal on workout days, >200 g of protein every day, and I love fruits, nuts and vegetables.
On woRK days - I work in a steel factory as a screws-and-other-metal-stuff-delivery boy - I add about 500 extra calories.

I guess I will have to add some more calories though, as I haven´t gained more than one pound since November (actual bodyweight is 80,3-80,5 kg).


I do NOT restrict myself to the classic tuna-meets-chicken-meets-oats-and-rice-low-fat bodybuilding diet.


Sample day could look like that:

2 scoops of whey
2 bagels
->580 kcal, >35 g protein

125 g rice
300 g chicken (or fish)
salad with 125 g cheese (or 50 g nuts) and 10-12 ml olive oil
-> 1100 kcal, >115 g protein

4 slices of wholegrain toast with 100 g peanut butter
-> 1000 kcal, 40 g protein

500 g German quark (pretty much like low-fat cottage cheese)
1 piece of fruit
-> 450 kcal, 65 g protein

= about 3100 kcal, >250 g protein

On workout days I usually add one protein shake and a protein bar/piece of fruit for 500 extra kcal.

 

[Heart Muscle]

Hi Heart Muscle! I'm writing!

I love that kitty cat on the keyboard pic. So cute.

Have you been visiting other peeps journals? Maybe if you visit their journal, they will visit into yours.

Hi IslandGirl,

yeah, I definitely should start so-so-so-so-socialising.

Pic for today:

 

[Sidney]

Hi Sydney,

I do not have a specific diet.

I make sure to get my 3000 kcal an non-workout days and 3500 kcal on workout days, >200 g of protein every day, and I love fruits, nuts and vegetables.
On woRK days - I work in a steel factory as a screws-and-other-metal-stuff-delivery boy - I add about 500 extra calories.

I guess I will have to add some more calories though, as I haven´t gained more than one pound since November (actual bodyweight is 80,3-80,5 kg).


I do NOT restrict myself to the classic tuna-meets-chicken-meets-oats-and-rice-low-fat bodybuilding diet.


Sample day could look like that:

2 scoops of whey
2 bagels
->580 kcal, >35 g protein

125 g rice
300 g chicken (or fish)
salad with 125 g cheese (or 50 g nuts) and 10-12 ml olive oil
-> 1100 kcal, >115 g protein

4 slices of wholegrain toast with 100 g peanut butter
-> 1000 kcal, 40 g protein

500 g German quark (pretty much like low-fat cottage cheese)
1 piece of fruit
-> 450 kcal, 65 g protein

= about 3100 kcal, >250 g protein

On workout days I usually add one protein shake and a protein bar/piece of fruit for 500 extra kcal.

Does your job allow you to eat whenever you want?

 

[Heart Muscle]

I have to work 12-13 hours per week, so it´s no fulltime job.
Usually I have to work only 3-5 hours per day, I can take a short break whenever I want. Best idea: Protein shake and piece of fruit.

Right now I´m on a semester break and have some additional free time to right my essays.

In theory, preparing smaller meals and replacing some of the peanut butter with more rice/potatoes would be welcome.
In fact, however, my main focus is to get those 3000-4000 kcal down (and finish the last semester to get my bachelor´s degree).

I used to be on a more bodybuilding-oriented diet a year ago, but I didn´t gain a pound of muscle mass.
I was too busy eating clean and counting calories and forgot the big picture:
Eat a little more than you need and provide sufficient stimuli for your muscles = grow.

In July/August I´m gonna apply for a master´s degree in management in Sweden and hopefully start it in January 2013.
Until the end of December, my goal is to gain 20 pounds (two pounds per month) with at least 50% of it being lean mass.

I´m not gonna leave Germany without those 16-inch arms (now: 14,9"/14,7").

 

[Heart Muscle]

Dear diary,

I found some old body pics and realised I gained SH******* in 5(!!!!!!) years of strength training.
WHAT THE F********?!
I even calculated my estimated LBM and compared it to the actual LBM.
I pretty much gained less than 8 pounds of muscle mass in 5 years.
I started lifting at 21 and I´m gonna turn 26 on Sunday.
Did I just waste my best time for bodybuilding?

But. Big but(t):

I also realised one thing. I HAVE GOT TO DO IT. AND SURE AS HELL I AM GONNA DO IT:

I wanna quote Queen:

"And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

...

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world - "

I found one German pro who started working out in his late thirties.
"Mr. Viking" Gunnar Paasche.
He´s such a cool guy and he´s HUGE (for his height/frame ).

I also found some Canadian bodybuilder who was lifting for years without getting any results, he started proper training at the age of 25.
Unfortunately I can´t find him any more.

And I found a quote by Lyle McDonald saying that the quick gains of the first training year can also occur after several years of useless training - so the first year of PROPER training is what produces the best gains.

That´s why I´m kinda torn between feeling pretty frustrated and burning with motivation.

Whatever.

My workout today:

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps 1, 30.01.2012
Incline DB Bench Press: 2*30x11, 2*30x6, 2*27,5x5
Dual Chest Press: 50x10, 50x7, 45x6
Incline DB Flies: 2*12,5x10, 2*12,5x8, 2*12,5x6
DB Lateral Raise: 2*8x7, 2*7x7, 2*6x7
Dual Shoulder Press: 50x6, 45x5, 40x5
Reverse Butterfly: 30x9, 30x8, 30x6
DB Shrugs: 2*30x7, 2*30x6, 2*27,5x7
Dip Machine: 100x10, 100x7, 90x7
Pushdowns: 30x7, 25x8, 20x7
Hanging Leg Raise: had to drop it, too exhausted
DB L-Flys: 3x20, 3x16, 3x12

Workout duration: 64 min (plus leg raises: <75 min, my personal time limit)

 

[IslandGirl]

LOL! I love your journal.

Thanks for stopping by mines.

Put some training videos up!

 

[Heart Muscle]

LOL! I love your journal.

Thanks for stopping by mines.

Put some training videos up!

Hey IslandGirl,

you´re welcome.

I´m gonna get a new digicam for my 26th birthday (5th of February - Jesus Christ, I´m getting old... ), so training videos WILL be put up next week.

And yeah:
I gotta take a few days off: bad weather meets weak(ened) immune system.

I´m looking forward to my next workout on... probably Sunday.
Birthday workout, come at me braaaaah.

Pic for today:
Me - had to suit up for a team picture.
Spontaneous idea.
Needless to say: Too spontaneous.
My suit spent the last few months in a cardboard box.
I hate suits and I don´t wear them.
As you can see, I adopted the very-wrinkly-style today.
But I just LOVE student organisations.
We are striving to make the world a better place.

(Do I look like 26? Dunno...)

 

[Sidney]

The simple foods are important chicken, beef fish. Its quality protein that you can't get from shakes. Peanut butter is great but include some protein. 3100 calories is just not simply enough. Your diet was probley great, just not enough calories, which is easy to add. Just eating to get calories is not going to get you the gains you want. Just my opinion

 

[IslandGirl]

Is that you? Love the suit and your hair!

So you'll be 27 in 5 days?

Can't wait for your training vids......bring it on!

 

[Heart Muscle]

Hi!
Yeah, that´s me. I´m gonna turn 26 on Sunday. ^^
My hair is special, I know.
Way too special.
Random girls in clubs touching your hair all the time
= can reaaaaaaaally bug you.

And I hope I won´t be able to wear the suit by the end of the year due to my amaaaaaazing gains.


@Sydney:
Cheers!
Yeah, I know you´re right.
I guess I´m gonna get used to preparing more "proper" food during my semester break (from now until the end of march) and then just stick to it out of habit.

Pic for today: