**slfmade's 20 week lean bulk/cutting log**

[Noles12]

I know you are not there yet but i do not like the T3 with no AAS unless you are willing to lose some muscle

[slfmade]

looks to me like you definitely leaned up some in your arms and other places. nice work in only two weeks!

Thanks RC...Tomorrow I'm going to take some pics of my arms right after workout. I've always been a little self-conscious, but I have to admit when I see veins sprouting out everywhere it puts a smile on my face.

nice job so far bro... just caught your pics there!

Thanks KJ

Good job. Clearly lost a bit of bodyfat in the process which is quite a good achievement on a bulk.

I wouldnt get too concerned about piling on mass. Youreonly 2 weeks in. Slow and steady will win the race. I dont believe large volumes of quality mass (lean) on such short timeframes are possible anyway without the help of aas or pro genetics.

Excellent work in 2 weeks.

Thanks for that. I've never in my life been this strict with training and diet before and I didn't really know what to expect. Now that all of you guys are giving me this feedback...I feel much better. Makes me wanta push even harder and get one last rep in.

[slfmade]

Nice job man, pretty significant difference in only 2 weeks. Looks like a good bit of fat loss from your side love handle area and tri's and pecs are showing improvement.

Good bit of info to know that you can eat 3k cal and over 300g of carbs and still lose BF. Seems I remember someone telling you not to be scared of the carbs......LOL

Nice going and keep at it.

Thanks Sgt...That means a lot. Like I've said in the other posts...I didn't know what to expect, and was afraid that you guys wouldn't think I had made much of an improvement. So I'm very happy to be getting compliments.

I was kinda surprised that I could eat that many carbs and that many cals and still lose BF. I feel good because now I'm starting to get 1st hand experience that I can share with the newbie's. Soon I will really will be a "productive" productive member. LOL

[slfmade]

I know you are not there yet but i do not like the T3 with no AAS unless you are willing to lose some muscle

Thanks for you input Noles. TBH I've been questioning the T3 lately as well. I've ran it many times before in my mid 20's, and I found that if I really watched my diet....there wasn't any significant decrease in LBM.

However; that was in my mid 20's. I'll be 30 in a few months. I know for a fact my T-levels are nowhere even close to where they were when I was 24. So I have been concerned that the T3 might burn some muscle.

My primary motivation for all of this is to make sure than I'm 10% or less bodyfat by the 4th week in May. I'm moving back closer to my family and I wanta make a big impression. Last time I saw my friends and family I had let myself go and was 233lbs and over 25% bodyfat. It was completely embarrassing. We went to the lake and I wouldn't even take my shirt off. For my 30th birthday (end of may) we'll be spending the weekend at the lake again and I'll be damned if I can't even take my shirt off in front of my family. I don't wanta even see an ounce of love handles, and from past experience I know at or below 10% is where this happens.

I don't have any experience when it comes to losing BF quickly...I've never dieted and trained as hard as I am now. I don't know how long it will take to drop 5-6% bodyfat, but I do know I only have 12 weeks after this lean bulk is over. I know it takes some people a year to drop a 2-3% and I've heard others say 5% in 12 weeks is doable.

At the end of the day I would rather be a little smaller with NO love handles than a little bigger with love handles. If the T3 can aid in that then.....

At the same time my mind is telling me that bulking is just too damn hard to give it all up for this...So honestly I don't know. I haven't decided yet.

So let me get all of your opinions....How doable is it too lose 5-6% body fat in 12 weeks on clen (or ECA), diet, and training alone? (Without T3)

Thanks

[tbody66]

Don't know about T3, so no input there, I do know that what you have started is a lifestyle change and will ultimately produce more than you want it to short term. IMO don't trade off a short term plus for long term minus. Do the best you can during the time you have and you will be impressive no matter what. Your family won't think anything about a little bit of love handles based upon the overall difference you'll be sporting at the time. Slow and steady wins the race, stay safe and consistent and be pleased with whatever you have accomplished by that time. You have proven you can stick with it when it counts, so don't throw that away for something unhealthy or unsafe. I'm not saying it isn't accomplishable, I'm just saying do the best you can and live with it.

[slfmade]

Don't know about T3, so no input there, I don know that what you have started is a lifestyle change and will ultimately produce more than you want it to short term. IMO don't trade off a short term plus for long term minus. Do the best you can during the time you have and you will be impressive no matter what. Your family won't think anything about a little bit of love handles based upon the overall difference you'll be sporting at the time. Slow and steady wins the race, stay safe and consistent and be pleased with whatever you have accomplished by that time. You have proven you can stick with it when it counts, so don't throw that away for something unhealthy or unsafe. I'm not saying it isn't accomplishable, I'm just saying do the best you can and live with it.

I know my family won't care, it's just my own insecurities. When I was younger (early 20'a) I was in great shape....I was that arrogant guy that looked for a reason to take his shirt off. lol Now I just feel horrible to see people I haven't seen in a while because I went from that to this. So anyway...I guess I'll figure it out as I go.

[Sgt. Hartman]

So let me get all of your opinions....How doable is it too lose 5-6% body fat in 12 weeks on clen (or ECA), diet, and training alone? (Without T3)

Thanks

Very doable, just ask base. And that's more than 5%.

[Noles12]

Currently lost about 8% in 7 weeks. Nothing but diet and training adjustments.

I was in the lower 20s and now im around 15

[slfmade]

Alright alright...No T3 then... Just the Clen and Keto paired with a HIT routine and IF diet. Still doing all the research I can on HIT, but for some reason I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it...I guess because there's so many variations of it.

[Standby]

t3 is definitely not needed slfmade its more of your choice. ive lost 80lbs and id guess somewhere around 20%bf and havent even seen t3 before let alone used it

[slfmade]

So I've been doing a little research on various training techniques and I was wondering if I could incorporate forced negatives on my final set of my some of my exercises that I'm currently doing? (ex. Flat Bench)

My main concern with this would be recovery since I'm already doing 3 full body superset days per week(Mon/Wed/Fri). Would the added intensity be too much for a 2 day recovery time?

[slfmade]

8 workouts down - 16 to GO!!!

Did my 8th workout last night. I increased weight on every exercise again. I pushed myself probably the hardest I have so far and I'm VERY sore today!!! I'm still having problems with my lats...I just don't feel like I working them much at all. I spent a lot of time last night trying to do the lat pull downs with perfect form, but my biceps seem to be giving out before my lats do. For those of you that don't know I'm supersetting the flat bench with lat pull downs. If I go heavy I can feel the pull downs but by the time I get to rep 5-8 by biceps just give out on me. The only way I can get my full set in is if I go light but I'm not feeling it very much at all in my lats.

It sucks because I really want that "V" shape, but I just can't see any improvement with my lats.

Since I started this program my right shoulder has been feeling a little odd in my rotator cuff area. It's been progressively getting worse too. It's not unbearable, just a little annoying. It mainly bothers me on incline press if my elbows come in a little too much so I've been trying to keep them pushed out a little more. Should this be a concern or should I just keep working myself into it?

P.S. I really love keeping this log. It makes me push myself harder now that you guys have given me props on my recent progress pics. I want myself and all of you guys to keep seeing my gains which I know helped me get extra rep or 2 in last night. Thanks Again.

[RaginCajun]

8 workouts down - 16 to GO!!!

Did my 8th workout last night. I increased weight on every exercise again. I pushed myself probably the hardest I have so far and I'm VERY sore today!!! I'm still having problems with my lats...I just don't feel like I working them much at all. I spent a lot of time last night trying to do the lat pull downs with perfect form, but my biceps seem to be giving out before my lats do. For those of you that don't know I'm supersetting the flat bench with lat pull downs. If I go heavy I can feel the pull downs but by the time I get to rep 5-8 by biceps just give out on me. The only way I can get my full set in is if I go light but I'm not feeling it very much at all in my lats.

It sucks because I really want that "V" shape, but I just can't see any improvement with my lats.

Since I started this program my right shoulder has been feeling a little odd in my rotator cuff area. It's been progressively getting worse too. It's not unbearable, just a little annoying. It mainly bothers me on incline press if my elbows come in a little too much so I've been trying to keep them pushed out a little more. Should this be a concern or should I just keep working myself into it?

P.S. I really love keeping this log. It makes me push myself harder now that you guys have given me props on my recent progress pics. I want myself and all of you guys to keep seeing my gains which I know helped me get extra rep or 2 in last night. Thanks Again.

BOLD, this is what helps me strive on everyday!

[Sgt. Hartman]

8 workouts down - 16 to GO!!!

Did my 8th workout last night. I increased weight on every exercise again. I pushed myself probably the hardest I have so far and I'm VERY sore today!!! I'm still having problems with my lats...I just don't feel like I working them much at all. I spent a lot of time last night trying to do the lat pull downs with perfect form, but my biceps seem to be giving out before my lats do. For those of you that don't know I'm supersetting the flat bench with lat pull downs. If I go heavy I can feel the pull downs but by the time I get to rep 5-8 by biceps just give out on me. The only way I can get my full set in is if I go light but I'm not feeling it very much at all in my lats.

It sucks because I really want that "V" shape, but I just can't see any improvement with my lats.

Since I started this program my right shoulder has been feeling a little odd in my rotator cuff area. It's been progressively getting worse too. It's not unbearable, just a little annoying. It mainly bothers me on incline press if my elbows come in a little too much so I've been trying to keep them pushed out a little more. Should this be a concern or should I just keep working myself into it?

P.S. I really love keeping this log. It makes me push myself harder now that you guys have given me props on my recent progress pics. I want myself and all of you guys to keep seeing my gains which I know helped me get extra rep or 2 in last night. Thanks Again.

Make sure that your shoulder blades are squeezed together in the back. Imagine squeezing a pencil in between your shoulder blades throughout the entire movement. And contract your lats hard at the bottom of the movement.

Another thing that helps me is to pull from the heel of your palm, if that makes sense, I don't wrap my thumbs around the bar and concentrate on pulling with the heel of my palm and not my fingers. If you don't feel it when you try it use some wrist straps and you'll get the hang of it.

[Standby]

yep just like i said about skulls and now sgt said use your palms not fingers. works best with almost everything man

[tbody66]

You are doing great. About the shoulder, maybe try coming in one finger width closer together on the incline bench, might just be too wide so putting undo strain on the shoulder.

[slfmade]

So I've got a convention all week next week that I have to go to. I'm a little concerned about my diet and wanta make sure I don't do anything to effect my progress.

I'm thinking about keeping all my meals the same as I would any other week, but running it like an IF Diet for the week. So 3k cals broken up into 3 meals at 2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. I've read alot about IF but want to make sure this would be okay sense it's one week only. I just don't want my body going into shock wondering what the hell I'm doing and shut down gains. My only other option is walking 1/2 a mile to my car every 2 hours and I don't wanta do that.

Also, I'll be there from 8:00 a.m. to about 4:00 p.m. and walking the entire time...should I bump calories for this considering my TDEE is currently calculated based off me sitting on my ass all day?

AND.... How would all of this walking effect my recovery from doing legs 3 times a week. Sorry for all the questions but it's stressing me out a bit.

[Sgt. Hartman]

Just hit the macros that you're shooting for and don't worry about the other. You'll still be doing the same training routine, right?

[slfmade]

^^^Yep.

[Sgt. Hartman]

It's a controversial topic but meal timing/frequency is of little importance IMO. 6 meals or 3 doesn't really matter, just hit your macros.

[tbody66]

It's a controversial topic but meal timing/frequency is of little importance IMO. 6 meals or 3 doesn't really matter, just hit your macros.

And don't adjust calories since it's just a week. But if you do happen to add 100 cals it won't derail you either. The main thing is to not stress about it, stress will definitely affect you more negatively than not having it completely dialed in, IMO.

[slfmade]

9 workout days complete - 15 more to Go.

So I just completed lift day #9. I'm noticing a substantial increase in strength daily. Each day I lift it seems I'm able to do either more weight or more reps so I'm pretty excited about my newbie gains. It's really gonna suck though when this slows up as its' sure to do.

Now to the topic of my lats. Those who read this log know I've been struggling with building my lats. I went in today excited to try out a few ideas that you all gave me. Unfortunately there was this HUGE asshole that was taking up both the pull up station as well as lat pulldowns. I looked around and saw a hammer strength machine called the "iso-lateral high row". The diagram showed it worked the lat area so since I had no other options I gave it a shot. This KILLED my lats and I had a love/hate relationship with every rep I pulled. For those who aren't familiar here's a video I just found on youtube for the machine.http://youtu.be/wWLSErG8qGk

My question is can I use this from now on???? If no.....why the HELL not???? lol The reason I ask is in the past I've found other things that seem to work my muscles better, but I've been advised against it. So if this machine is not a good substitution for pullups/pulldowns can you please explain why so I'm not just going on blind faith and can learn something in the process.

Thanks Guys

[--->>405<<---]

16 weeks slf... i did start trt but thats all.. no fatburners.. u can do it man!

[tbody66]

9 workout days complete - 15 more to Go.

So I just completed lift day #9. I'm noticing a substantial increase in strength daily. Each day I lift it seems I'm able to do either more weight or more reps so I'm pretty excited about my newbie gains. It's really gonna suck though when this slows up as its' sure to do.

Now to the topic of my lats. Those who read this log know I've been struggling with building my lats. I went in today excited to try out a few ideas that you all gave me. Unfortunately there was this HUGE asshole that was taking up both the pull up station as well as lat pulldowns. I looked around and saw a hammer strength machine called the "iso-lateral high row". The diagram showed it worked the lat area so since I had no other options I gave it a shot. This KILLED my lats and I had a love/hate relationship with every rep I pulled. For those who aren't familiar here's a video I just found on youtube for the machine.http://youtu.be/wWLSErG8qGk

My question is can I use this from now on???? If no.....why the HELL not???? lol The reason I ask is in the past I've found other things that seem to work my muscles better, but I've been advised against it. So if this machine is not a good substitution for pullups/pulldowns can you please explain why so I'm not just going on blind faith and can learn something in the process.

Thanks Guys

Yes, you may replace the pull-downs with this exercise. The point is to have a back exercise that we are super-setting with a chest exercise, it isn't as important as to what they are. This machine makes you have to stay in the proper position and if you are feeling it than use it. The lat pull-down requires adjustment to "hit" the sweet-spot and it is easier to miss it.

[-KJ-]

Hey bro? Just dropping in... Hows the diet coming along?

[RaginCajun]

9 workout days complete - 15 more to Go.

So I just completed lift day #9. I'm noticing a substantial increase in strength daily. Each day I lift it seems I'm able to do either more weight or more reps so I'm pretty excited about my newbie gains. It's really gonna suck though when this slows up as its' sure to do.

Now to the topic of my lats. Those who read this log know I've been struggling with building my lats. I went in today excited to try out a few ideas that you all gave me. Unfortunately there was this HUGE asshole that was taking up both the pull up station as well as lat pulldowns. I looked around and saw a hammer strength machine called the "iso-lateral high row". The diagram showed it worked the lat area so since I had no other options I gave it a shot. This KILLED my lats and I had a love/hate relationship with every rep I pulled. For those who aren't familiar here's a video I just found on youtube for the machine.http://youtu.be/wWLSErG8qGk

My question is can I use this from now on???? If no.....why the HELL not???? lol The reason I ask is in the past I've found other things that seem to work my muscles better, but I've been advised against it. So if this machine is not a good substitution for pullups/pulldowns can you please explain why so I'm not just going on blind faith and can learn something in the process.

Thanks Guys

keep killin it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[slfmade]

Hey bro? Just dropping in... Hows the diet coming along?

Diet is good. I'm have a convention all this week and because of it I'm running the same diet and same macros but "IF" style this week.

I did weigh in this morning and was kinda bummed. It seems I dropped some weight. I don't know how on 3000 calories....Oh well I hope it was a small gain in muscle and a significant drop in Bodyfat.

I'll update more later....gotta go to this convention. I'M LATE!!!

[tbody66]

Diet is good. I'm have a convention all this week and because of it I'm running the same diet and same macros but "IF" style this week.

I did weigh in this morning and was kinda bummed. It seems I dropped some weight. I don't know how on 3000 calories....Oh well I hope it was a small gain in muscle and a significant drop in Bodyfat.

I'll update more later....gotta go to this convention. I'M LATE!!!

Don't get discouraged, you are absolutely doing a great job and are incredibly consitent and focused.

[Standby]

Diet is good. I'm have a convention all this week and because of it I'm running the same diet and same macros but "IF" style this week.

I did weigh in this morning and was kinda bummed. It seems I dropped some weight. I don't know how on 3000 calories....Oh well I hope it was a small gain in muscle and a significant drop in Bodyfat.

I'll update more later....gotta go to this convention. I'M LATE!!!

dont worry about it. dont even think about it. weigh in record your numbers and forget that shit

[slfmade]

10 lift days down - 14 to go!!! Great workout tonight! I'll touch on this shortly.

This morning I was 182lbs. Crazy thing was Friday night I was 189lbs (This was of course at the end of a lift day which I consume the most amount of calories on) It's crazy how reducing carbs for the 2 lift days afterwards drops weight (mostly water I'm sure) that quickly.

I'm not too discouraged because I'm looking better week by week.

Due to the convention I started "IF" Style Diet. As I mentioned earlier it's all the same meals and macros, but seperated into 3 meals within and 8 hour window. So far....I LOVE IT!!!!!

I'm seriously considering sticking with in. The hungar wasn't that bad at all and I had a crazy amount of energy this evening during my workout. This was probably due to the 150g of carbs I had for preworkout meal! I felt like I had just done an ECA stack.

I also liked it because I felt completely satisfied after each meal. I'm going to continue with this style diet until the end of the week and see how I feel and look. If the results are good, I'll probably continue. I guess we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated.

[slfmade]

Also, Tonight I tried hammer strength for incline press to see if that relieved some of the pain from my right shoulder (it seems to be getting a bit worse everytime I lift) and it didn't help. Tbody - would it be okay to try some DB incline press to see if that helps the shoulder out a bit. If not, no biggy....I can power through it (it's not that bad...but at the rate of progression I feel it might be pretty bad by the time this is over). I just don't want to do anything that really screws it up.

[Papiriqui]

Yeah i think if is a constant pain and it progresses you should think about changing to let the pain go away, let the shoulder heal.... Lets wait for T

[slfmade]

Update: I'm back from the convention - Monday is my weight in, measurements, and pictures

So this last week as was at a convention Mon - Thurs. I decided to run an "IF" style diet just because it was much easier than eating every 2 hours. I did very well on Monday and then things went sideways. They had all different kinds of food catered by high end restuarants for free every day...so after a lot of justification I decided that I wasn't gonna be the guy to turn down free food and free beer. I had 2 beers each day at 140cals each. All in all I did stay within my daily calorie limit, but I'm sure my macro split was totally off. Luckily the only lift day that my macros weren't spot on was Wednesday, so I was 2 for 3.

I'm debating whether to continue the IF diet or not. I really like it a lot, but I always go off "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality. I think I'll continue it for the next week or 2 just to see how my body responds and go from there.

Yesterday made 4 weeks down in my bulk - 4 weeks to go. Then I start cutting.

For Valentines day I made reservations for BrownGirl and I to Pampas Grill. It's like a mongolian grill where they walk around and cut off all different slabs of meat (Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Veal, etc) I'm a little worried about how many calories this will add up to. Do you think it would be best to fast the entire day and eat my entire 2500cal limit for that one meal? I mean I know it would be better if I just didn't eat as much, but if I'm paying over 150.00 I'm gonna eat some food damnit!!! Lol What you guys think?

[Sgt. Hartman]

Update: I'm back from the convention - Monday is my weight in, measurements, and pictures

So this last week as was at a convention Mon - Thurs. I decided to run an "IF" style diet just because it was much easier than eating every 2 hours. I did very well on Monday and then things went sideways. They had all different kinds of food catered by high end restuarants for free every day...so after a lot of justification I decided that I wasn't gonna be the guy to turn down free food and free beer. I had 2 beers each day at 140cals each. All in all I did stay within my daily calorie limit, but I'm sure my macro split was totally off. Luckily the only lift day that my macros weren't spot on was Wednesday, so I was 2 for 3.

I'm debating whether to continue the IF diet or not. I really like it a lot, but I always go off "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality. I think I'll continue it for the next week or 2 just to see how my body responds and go from there.

Yesterday made 4 weeks down in my bulk - 4 weeks to go. Then I start cutting.

For Valentines day I made reservations for BrownGirl and I to Pampas Grill. It's like a mongolian grill where they walk around and cut off all different slabs of meat (Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Veal, etc) I'm a little worried about how many calories this will add up to. Do you think it would be best to fast the entire day and eat my entire 2500cal limit for that one meal? I mean I know it would be better if I just didn't eat as much, but if I'm paying over 150.00 I'm gonna eat some food damnit!!! Lol What you guys think?

I say eat up!

Sounds a lot like the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao. YUM!

[slfmade]

I say eat up!

Sounds a lot like the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao. YUM!

LOL - Yeah, Brazilian Steakhouse - that's what I meant....not mongolian grill - (don't know where I got that)

[slfmade]

Alrighty Guys - I need your help. I've got 4 weeks left to go during this lean bulk phase and then it's time for my cut. So, I figure it's time to start planning my diet and workout. (I know it's far in advance, but I like to be prepared) My moving date has been moved up 2 weeks early, so this only gives me 10 weeks for my cut instead of the original 12 I was planning on. I'll of course continue my cut until I reach my goal regardless; however, I would love to be in Single digits by May 15th.

Diet - Should be pretty easy, but I would like your thoughts. It'll be an IF style diet using a 40/40/20 macros split. My initial thoughts were to attempt to gain a little bit of LBM while during my cut. My thoughts on this were to run a HIT style program running my cals at TDEE for lift days and 500 cals below TDEE for non-lift. This is similiar to what I'm doing now (500cals over on Lift-500cals under on non-lift) on which I in fact HAVE gained LBM while dropping a little bit of bodyfat. This would be a nice bonus, but my main focus is dropping 5% bf, and at the very least maintaining my current LBM. What are your thoughts?

If you guys don't seem very confident in this plan I could always run 500cals under TDEE daily, or split it in 2. First 5 weeks the first way, last 5 weeks at 500 under TDEE daily.

I'll be adding clen /keto or ECA for the full length of the 10 weeks just to help a little.

WORKOUT - This is where I'm clueless! I've done enough research to know I want to give HIT a shot. However, there's so many variations out there its hard to completely wrap my head around it and then design a program that would work well for me. So this is where I need the MOST help. So....Base, SGT, Tbody, and anybody else that reads this log that has experience with HIT....help a brother out. You guys should know by now I'm one of the most committed newbies (I still consider myself a newbie) on here, so you won't be wasting your time.

Thanks Guys

[slfmade]

PICTURE UPDATE:

I'm not very pleased with the last 2 weeks results. I can see a small difference but nothing to write home about. The gains really seem to be slowing down. What should I do? Increase calories? I'm already at 3100 calories and 308g of carbs. I'm pushing myself as hard as possible in the gym. Now I'm all stressed out about it. Do you think I've hit my genetic potential like all the 20 yr olds on here have???? LOL Totally joking. But really what can I change?

I increased weight from 184lbs to 185lbs. - Bummer
Neck Increased from 15.5" to 16"
Chest DECREASED from 42.5" to 42" - I'm hoping this was due to a small drop in BF and not muscle loss
Arms stayed the same at 15 1/4"
Waist decreased from 33 3/4" to 33 1/2"
Legs increased from 24" to 24 1/4"
Calf increased from 16 1/8" to 16 1/4"


Progress Pics2 by slfmade, on Flickr

[Standby]

i dont see much difference other then i notice your posture is better. you dont look as hunched forward which is somethign that greatly improved with myself and in general makes you look way better. your traps look better but it migh tbe the posture thing. either way you have an improvement. keep at it!

[slfmade]

i dont see much difference other then i notice your posture is better. you dont look as hunched forward which is somethign that greatly improved with myself and in general makes you look way better. your traps look better but it migh tbe the posture thing. either way you have an improvement. keep at it!

I didn't even notice the posture thing until you pointed it out. The only thing I can really notice is as you said my traps, and it seems there's a little more definition in my upper chest. In the previous pics the crease between my pecs gets a little flat at the top. This week it goes all the way up through my neck.

My back has showed significant improvement. I've been taking other pics that I'm not posting at the moment to save for my grand finale.

As I said before I'm not happy with the last 2 weeks results. Gonna see what things look like in 2 more weeks and if there isn't a significant improvement I think I'm gonna change it up a bit.

[RaginCajun]

a gain is a gain. your chest looks some what fuller in the last pic and your traps, but as standby said, could be posture. you have made strength gains in the past two weeks so look at the positive! your are doing fine and may need to switch up your workout some to get some gains. i am too lazy to scroll thru and see when was the last time you switched?