5/15/08

5 min warmup on bike

Squat
105 x5
130 x5
160 x5
185 x5
215 x3
160 x8

Bench
90 x5
110 x5
135 x5
160 x5
185 x3
135 x8

Pendlay Rows
80 x5
100 x5
120 x5
140 x5
162 x3
120 x8

Chinups
BWx8
2x15x8

Dips
BWx8
20x8
25x8

Hypers
3x45x12

Ghey Ab machine
2x40

Felt really good today during my workout, got all the weights up and was very happy. I'm surprised though since I only managed ~6 hours last night.

Also I've definitely noticed my abs are becoming more visible as I continue to drop weight very very slowly. None of my lifts have been affected by my "diet" so I'm definitely happy about that.

Can you give us a quick review of your controlled lab supps? I use PW already and I like it but I was considering WF and GG.

Well unfortunately for me, N-O supplements don't do much (very high tolerance) so it's really hard to comment on WF. However, I've heard great things about it and for the price nothing comes close. As far as GG, it's a pretty awesome supplement as far as vascularity increase and just goes great with creatine and overall nutrient absorption. I assume you're taking creatine so there's no need to mention that.

A lot of people like a mix of 1 scoop PW to 1 scoop WF for a combined effect which seems to work really well.

I actually don't take creatine. I'm thinking about adding a recovery supplement or creatine or something into my collection.

I am currently taking:
-Whey, Casein
-Fish Oil
-Multivitamin
-Purple Wraath
-Fat burner

Any suggestions on what to add? I'm pretty tolerant as well.

Definitely add creatine. It's been proven time and time against that it's a great supplement and it's so cheap, you really can't go wrong. Other than that your stack looks fine. NO products are not a necessity; I've stopped with the WF because I got nothing out of it.

I'm actually not taking creatine ATM because it happened to flare up my acne, twice. It sucks but there's not much I can do there.

Could you expand on this, I always (based on what I'm not sure) thought that slow movements were better.

I'm training mostly for rugby, so extra explosiveness would definitely be good.

Rather than take the day off today (which I usually do) I decided to do some HIIT on the bike. I really can't tell how it went but I didn't do it for too long because my legs felt like they were going to explode. I was doing 20 super speed and then 40 seconds rest. I only did this for like 7 mins though out of my 21 mins since it was only my first day. Maybe I'll start incorporating HIIT instead of straight ole cardio, so we'll see.

Also the only reason I did the cardio today is because I'm going into Harlem for the best chicken n waffles in the area! mmmm, can't ****ing wait.

5/18/08

Squat x5
110
135
160
190
215

Bench x5
95
115
140
160
185

Pendlay rows x5
80
100
125
140
160

Situps
3x25x15

Hypers
3x45x12

Felt pretty good today even though I had to wake up to an alarm this morning and was a little tired. Lifts continue to go up; I'm going to hate the day when I'm not able to put the weights up.

I recently picked up a new multivitamin, Orange Triad from Controlled Labs and scrapped my old Vitamin Shoppe multi (was pretty ****ty and I only bought it because it was on sale). OT seems like a real quality multivitamin (comparative to Animal Pak) and it also has a joint, digestion, and immune formula. It's not cheap, like $30 for 45 days but it's well worth it. Luckily I'm only a student in college and don't have any major expenses so luckily I can afford to take some of my poker money and put it towards supps (though I am by no means a supplement whore).

Update on the supplements:
Whey (Syntha 6 and VS brand whey PWO)
Multivitamin (Orange Triad)
EAA/BCAA's - I'm actually using 2 products for this: Purple Wraath for cardio and Intrabolic by Athletic Edge for workouts. I switched over to Intrabolic to try it out because they were having a major discount (like $15 off from $35) because they were brining in an updated flavor. The Intrabolic ingredient profile is really really good and I decided to check it out (only payed 2$0 for 20 servings)
Fat burner (Lean Xtreme 2.0 by DS, almost done)
Fish Oil

Not taking creatine due to it affecting my acne for unknown reasons. Actually haven't touched it since January

You might wanna add/replace a (micellar) casein blend instead of just whey.

Or you can just buy casein and add it with the whey whenever you feel appropriate (this is what I do).

Syntha 6 is a blend protein I believe but I had my eye on Ultra Peptide v2 for a while. Apparently it tastes flat out amazing but it's crazy expensive and I fear I'll just finish it way too fast.

I know casein is best before bed and I try to eat cottage cheese more instead of whey but I get those lazy days where I just want to down a shake and a spoonful of PB and hit the sac.

I've actually been trying to find alternatives to dairy because I feel like it takes up a big portion of my diet up. I might try to incorporate eggs more into my diet, especially prebed. I know they're not exactly SLOW digesting proteins but with the added fats and whatnot I'm sure it'll be OK.

Actually, the whole "whey-only after workouts" is pre-9/11 thinking. Caesin is anti-catabolic and a whey-casein blend after workouts is usually the protocol of choice.

As for speed of absorption, whey isolate and concentrate is faster than micellar casein, but the only "true" fast proteins are hydrosylates and BCAAs.

Here's a sample abstract. You can find more. http://apt.allenpress.com/perlserv/?...page=0643&ct=1

ETA: If you shun caesin, the terrorists win.

Good read, thanks. I should prob add milk PWO to add some casein, but never bothered since I'd need to keep it cold during my workout. I guess a reason I never bothered with casein is it's a little more pricey than whey, but if I only use it PWO and only 1/2 a scoop with the whey I'm sure it won't be a big problem.

So maybe for PWO:
1 scoop whey
1 scoop casein (each ~20-25 g protein)
1/2 - 1 cup milk (depending)
Dextrose, ~150 cals worth
Oats, 100 cals worth

Seems like a lot in terms of cals so I'll probably adjust it accordingly.

Just been lazy with updating but last Thursday I had a pretty ****ty workout because my dumb ass decided to play a small poker session before I headed to the gym; had a nice chunky downswing and I just felt a little crappy. Luckily I still got the weights up but I just wanted to get the **** outta the gym ASAP.

I did 4 days of cardio last week instead of 3 because it's the summer and I've been going out to eat a decent amount; switched over to the elliptical rather than jogging. I think I might switch in between the two just so I don't get super bored.

On another note, today was a great workout

5/25/08

5 mins on elliptical (it's a much better warmup than the bike I found)

Squat x5
110
140
165
195
225

Bench x5
95
120
140
165
190 (PR)

Pendlay Rows x5
85
105
125
145
165

Weighted Situps
Medicine Ball (10lb) over my head: 3x15

Weighted Hypers
3x45x12

So I hit a PR on my bench today (yeah weak, I know) but I'm happy about it. Felt great all workout especially during squats; I've come to love squats a lot on this program as opposed to in the past where I absolutely dreaded leg days just because basically it wasn't my upper body (which I obviously wanted bigger). I can't wait till Thursday where I put on 2 plates; just a small milestone.

Also I'll be finishing my fatburner today which I enjoyed very much. My overall weight did not drop too much but I def dropped some BF and packed on some muscle so it did exactly what I wanted it to do. I'll def be using it again soon (recommended to cycle off for at least a month). I think when I use it again I might use LX 2.0 and Activate Xtreme with it, prob mid-end of summer.

would having a PWO shake in milk rather than water solve the casein protein issue?

It would help for sure yeah; I believe milk is 80/20 casein/whey

EDIT: noticed my squat numbers for last set is wrong, it's 220, not 225.

5 mins on elliptical

Squats x5
110
140
165
165

Standing military press x5
65
80
95
110

Deads x5
185
215
250
285

BW hypers 2x15

Weighted situps 2x25x20

Calf raises 3x120x15


I really ****ing hate humid weather; I was sweating like a bitch during my workout and it's just so damn uncomfortable. Anyways, good standard day.

5/29/08

5 min warmup on elliptical

Squats
110 x5
140 x5
165 x5
195 x5
225 x3
165 x8

Bench
95 x5
120 x5
140 x5
165 x5
195 x3
140 x8

Pendlays
85 x5
105 x5
125 x5
145 x5
170 x3
125 x8

Ab machine
3x15x20

Hypers
2xBWx15

Dips
BWx8
2x30x8

Pullups
BWx8
20x8
20x6

Amazing workout today for some reason not really sure why. Only thing different is that I had a nice big cup of coffee before I headed out so maybe that's why. Very happy with my dip progress, I'm surprised I'm able to move up so fast with them considering the fact that I've never ever dipped with +30 before (let alone +25) and I felt really good.

I'll have to start alternating the order in which I do dips and pullups though since I know my arms are a little more fatigued when I get to my pullups.

Next week will be week 8 of this program and it is by far the best workout routine I have ever done. The gains, both strength and mass gain have been great.

I always feel like I get a better work out if I get some caffeine in me before I lift so the coffee might have helped.

Yeah but it's weird because I'm one of those people who really don't feel the effects of caffeine all too well. I can have a huge cup of coffee right before bed and sleep fine.

With my experience in the past with NO supplements, which are basically energy supps I felt nothing and I've tried three.

But even today I was on 6 hours of sleep and had to get up for some cardio and the coffee really woke me up during my cardio session. So I dunno it's weird

Week 8 - 6/1/08

5 min warmup on elliptical

Bench x5
95
120
145
170
195

Pendlays x5
85
105
130
150
170

Squats x5
115
140
170
200
225

Hypers
BWx15
2x45x12

Situps
BWx20
2x10x15 (holding weight over head, a lot tougher than I thought)


Great energy today which I can pretty much give credit to the new fatburner I decided to try out, San Tight Extreme. Had it arrive yesterday and I've got to admit the energy boost is quite nice, there's no big energy drive and then a crash, just some good clean energy. Last fat burner on was non-stim so I decided to try the stim route this time and we'll see how it goes.

This plus the EAA/BCAA drink that I take during my workout is probably one of the best combination of workout supps I've ever taken in terms of endurance and energy, I feel like I can go forever.


I also wanted to mention I had to do squats last today because some guy was doing DL in the squat rack. At first I was pissed because I had never seen this guy before but holy ****... he warmed up with 4 plates on each side and eventually 1 repped 615... it was very ****ing impressive. He actually looked really young too (early 20's) and was quite large. First time I have ever witnessed anyone DL that much in person.

Also one other mention, some person was telling another guy that going all the way down on squats is bad for your knees. I chimed in and said it's actually better for you than going parallel and he's like, "no believe me I've been here for 24 years and it's not good for your knees". I just shut up and walked away, I wasn't about to argue with this guy (looked like he was in his mid/late 40's)

Good day today


Update on supps is same as the one I posted above except the fatburner is different and I also decided to add green tea extract 1-2 times a day. I don't really know how great as a supp GTE really is but it's relatively inexpensive (like 10 bucks) for 100 caps and it can't hurt.

615 is crazy heavy. There are two guys at my gym that are like 18 or 19 year old freshman
that wrestled in high school and they dead 500+ so that is the most I have ever seen. That dude talking about squats being bad for your knees would piss me off so bad.

Yeah, I have mad respect for people that can DL crazy weight (correctly of course)

how was his technique, and how tall/heavy is the guy?

That's some crazy high weight

he really should move outside the squat rack, but I wouldn't bother some guy repping 5 plates unless I really needed to squat, lol

Out of total guestimation I'd give him ~6'2" and maybe 250 pounds, a little on the fatty side. Not ripped by ANY means

It's weird though because he just sort of walked in and just picked the weight up. I seriously thought he had never been in a gym before because he was in jeans and a t-shirt (I never understood why on earth people wear jeans when working out)

Midway through his sets he actually went into a dusty corner to see if he can find anything to rub on his hands for grip (similar to chalk). With no luck I saw him sneak into a PT's office and steal chalk off the chalkboard and just started rubbing it all over his palms.

He used a double overhand with the chalk and it was still very impressive, no strap use or anything.

He struggled to get that 615 up but he def got it up and when it hit the floor it was the loudest noise in the gym and you could literally feel the floor shake. Since the weights are actually in the upstairs of the gym I feared that this kid could drop the weight to the story below us...