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

[Sgt. Hartman]

^^^^See Bolds. I appreciate all the help. I feel like I'm really starting to get a good grasp on dieting, but I'm still a clueless noob when it comes to workout routines. If you could give me your input on the above bolds it would give me a better understanding, and I can trial and error what works best for me from there.

Thanks again.

Yeah drop an exercise on chest or at least change one of the presses to dumbell flyes. You're doing 3 of the exact same pressing exercises and just changing the angle.

The fact that you're weak at pull ups and struggle with back width isn't a coincidence man. So what if you have to use the assisted machine or get a spotter, you're not there to impress anyone right? Pull ups should be a staple of any back program IMO. You could also get BrownGirl to hold your feet while you keep your lower legs parallel to the ground and then you just push off as you need help. This is way oversimplifying it but think of back thickness exercises as being horizontal pulls and back width exercises vertical pulls. And don't believe that you have to use a wide grip on your vertical pulls to develop your width. It's all about contracting your lats as hard as you can at the bottom of the movement and stretching at the top. Form and really feeling the contraction is much more important than going heavy, at least for me.

If you think hammer curls work for you then great, but they do jack shit for me as far as peaking my bicep goes anyway. Do this: in your double bi pose flex you bis with your thumb facing your head like you're doing a hammer curl, then from that position supinate your hand/wrist and watch how much more your bicep peaks. I like to rotate my wrist like this whether I'm doing incline bench curls, standing, or isolation curls. I think it's better for adding overall mass and developing a higher peak.

[slfmade]

Thanks SGT. Okay Pull ups will be my primary back movement then. I see your point with the hammer curls too so I'm gonna drop them. What's your opinion on Zottman Curls?

[Sgt. Hartman]

I had to google it so see what they are lol.

I've never tried them.

[gbrice75]

Yeah drop an exercise on chest or at least change one of the presses to dumbell flyes. You're doing 3 of the exact same pressing exercises and just changing the angle.

The fact that you're weak at pull ups and struggle with back width isn't a coincidence man. So what if you have to use the assisted machine or get a spotter, you're not there to impress anyone right? Pull ups should be a staple of any back program IMO. You could also get BrownGirl to hold your feet while you keep your lower legs parallel to the ground and then you just push off as you need help. This is way oversimplifying it but think of back thickness exercises as being horizontal pulls and back width exercises vertical pulls. And don't believe that you have to use a wide grip on your vertical pulls to develop your width. It's all about contracting your lats as hard as you can at the bottom of the movement and stretching at the top. Form and really feeling the contraction is much more important than going heavy, at least for me.

Great advice here from Sgt. Wide grip puts a lot of undue stress on the shoulder joints. I go with a shoulder width grip, AT BEST. When I do chins (as opposed to pull ups), I'll even do them with my palms touching - great for hitting back and bi's together.

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

Great advice here from Sgt. Wide grip puts a lot of undue stress on the shoulder joints. I go with a shoulder width grip, AT BEST. When I do chins (as opposed to pull ups), I'll even do them with my palms touching - great for hitting back and bi's together.

Good to know

[Standby]

i find pull overs hurt my tris even on a fixed machine where my elbows and hands are planted ill never get them right

[slfmade]

So I just finished my first Day of my new Diet and Workout Routine, and I feel FREAKING AMAZING!!!! I mean I'm exhausted and I almost puked during my workout, but I feel sooooooo good. Part of it might have to do with the 60mcg starting dose of clen , but I think it has more to do with the timing of my workout.

Normally I workout at night after being awake all day (Up at 8:00a.m. Workout at 8:00p.m.). Fortunately since I own my own business I can change my schedule as I please. So due to my new meal and working timing I started working out earlier in the day. Today I went at 4:00pm.

As I said before I thought it might be the clen, but BrownGirl said she feels amazing too and she's not taking then clen. Have any of you noticed different energy levels based during different training times?

It could also be because for the last 8 weeks I've been doing a full body superset routine. My chest and abs (group worked tonight) is completely and utterly exhaused but the rest of my body feels fresh and alive in comparison to the all over fatigue I'm normally experiencing after workout.

Today was Chest Day and I did my first drop set routine w/rest pause and I look freakin Huge right now!!! I mean I'm no Ronnie Coleman, but it's the biggest I've EVER looked. If it weren't for the stomach bloat from the gallon of water I drank during my workout I would post up a pic because I'm lookin pretty damn good. LOL

Sgt. Hartman. I did as you said and pulled DB Press out of my routine and replaced it with DB Fly's. I really like it alot. I did my drop sets and rest pause with Incline Press and it was brutal, but I really felt I was working it like I haven't ever worked it before. I did my Decline Hammer Strength and since I still had a bit of energy left so I did a few sets of the pec dec. This way I had 2 Press Movements and 2 fly? type movements or whatever they're called.

I killed my abs...I mean destroyed them!!!! I don't know what I was thinking when I put together that supersetted ab routine, but 240reps of crunches in 5 min is pretty brutal....it made me wanta puke!

As for Diet, I pulled the cheese and milk as you guys suggested. My fats were really really low (<25g) and I didn't have the time to reconfigure my diet with other fats so I added in a 2 tbs of natty peanut butter to my protein shake. I know it's not as good as evoo or fish oil, but it's better than cheese right? I'm gonna re-work the diet a little bit tonight so I'll be set tomorrow.

Anyway....all and all for day 1 I'm very happy!

[Sgt. Hartman]

So I just finished my first Day of my new Diet and Workout Routine, and I feel FREAKING AMAZING!!!! I mean I'm exhausted and I almost puked during my workout, but I feel sooooooo good. Part of it might have to do with the 60mcg starting dose of clen , but I think it has more to do with the timing of my workout.

Normally I workout at night after being awake all day (Up at 8:00a.m. Workout at 8:00p.m.). Fortunately since I own my own business I can change my schedule as I please. So due to my new meal and working timing I started working out earlier in the day. Today I went at 4:00pm.

As I said before I thought it might be the clen, but BrownGirl said she feels amazing too and she's not taking then clen. Have any of you noticed different energy levels based during different training times?

It could also be because for the last 8 weeks I've been doing a full body superset routine. My chest and abs (group worked tonight) is completely and utterly exhaused but the rest of my body feels fresh and alive in comparison to the all over fatigue I'm normally experiencing after workout.

Today was Chest Day and I did my first drop set routine w/rest pause and I look freakin Huge right now!!! I mean I'm no Ronnie Coleman, but it's the biggest I've EVER looked. If it weren't for the stomach bloat from the gallon of water I drank during my workout I would post up a pic because I'm lookin pretty damn good. LOL

Sgt. Hartman. I did as you said and pulled DB Press out of my routine and replaced it with DB Fly's. I really like it alot. I did my drop sets and rest pause with Incline Press and it was brutal, but I really felt I was working it like I haven't ever worked it before. I did my Decline Hammer Strength and since I still had a bit of energy left so I did a few sets of the pec dec. This way I had 2 Press Movements and 2 fly? type movements or whatever they're called.

I killed my abs...I mean destroyed them!!!! I don't know what I was thinking when I put together that supersetted ab routine, but 240reps of crunches in 5 min is pretty brutal....it made me wanta puke!

As for Diet, I pulled the cheese and milk as you guys suggested. My fats were really really low (<25g) and I didn't have the time to reconfigure my diet with other fats so I added in a 2 tbs of natty peanut butter to my protein shake. I know it's not as good as evoo or fish oil, but it's better than cheese right? I'm gonna re-work the diet a little bit tonight so I'll be set tomorrow.

Anyway....all and all for day 1 I'm very happy!

LMAO. Welcome to doing a real HIT style work out my man. Leaving the gym with your shirt not fitting properly anymore is a great feeling huh?

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

Good deal man !! Glad to hear.. I bet part of how u feel is due to change i used to do all total body and when i switched to single bodypart or 2 bodypart/ day the diff was fantastic.. Doing total body supersets i was running around like a madman.. The way i do now i do one set and take a break.. Its awesome as opposed to doing 5 sets with no rest then takn a break.. Glad u had a good day.. I wouldnt sweat the pb if it fits into ur macros.. Just my opinion.

Funny i switched decline for db flyes and had a similar chest experience as u.. I think i even posted someth bout it in my threAd.. I supersetted db flyes with cables .. Was great!

Glad ur happy!

[RaginCajun]

just checking in on ya and it looks like you are tearing it up for day 1! haha. the diet part is the toughest and most important but it looks like the gurus are helping ya out. for fats, you could add in some raw almonds, the egg yolk (if your eating eggs), avocado (one of my favs), etc........... keep it up!

[slfmade]

LMAO. Welcome to doing a real HIT style work out my man. Leaving the gym with your shirt not fitting properly anymore is a great feeling huh?

It sure is. Now I can't wait to do arms Friday!!! Legs tomorrow is gonna be a killer though, but I'm still excited about it.

[slfmade]

Good deal man !! Glad to hear.. I bet part of how u feel is due to change i used to do all total body and when i switched to single bodypart or 2 bodypart/ day the diff was fantastic.. Doing total body supersets i was running around like a madman.. The way i do now i do one set and take a break.. Its awesome as opposed to doing 5 sets with no rest then takn a break.. Glad u had a good day.. I wouldnt sweat the pb if it fits into ur macros.. Just my opinion.

Funny i switched decline for db flyes and had a similar chest experience as u.. I think i even posted someth bout it in my threAd.. I supersetted db flyes with cables .. Was great!

Glad ur happy!

I wished we lived in the same cities. Our Stats, Diet, Workout Routine, and dedication are so similiar I bet it would make us a great fit for workout partners.

just checking in on ya and it looks like you are tearing it up for day 1! haha. the diet part is the toughest and most important but it looks like the gurus are helping ya out. for fats, you could add in some raw almonds, the egg yolk (if your eating eggs), avocado (one of my favs), etc........... keep it up!

Thanks for the support RC. I think I'm gonna find some way to incorporate the almonds into the diet. I think between that and the fish oil I should be G2G.

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

^^ ur rite would be nice to have a good matching wkout partner

[slfmade]

So I woke up this morning unbelievably SORE!!!! I don't wanta imagine what it's gonna be like tomorrow because for me I'm always the most sore on the 2nd day. I'm lovin it though. I know being sore isn't a indication of having a solid workout, but it sure makes feel like I've accomplished something.

I didn't do cardio this morning because here in about an hour is LEG DAY!!! I have a good feeling I'm not gonna be able to walk out of there. I have a question. In my workout out plan I'm doing the compound dropset/rest pause movement first. Should I do my 4 x 10 isolation exercises first and pre-exhaust and end with the compound dropset/rest pause movement, or keep it as it is?

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

LOL i dont even know wat that means !! LOL..

[slfmade]

LOL i dont even know wat that means !! LOL..

LOL - It means I hurt!

[slfmade]

Just got back from my first Leg Day and I can barely walk. That drop set/rest pause on Leg Press damn near killed me! I almost puked and I think browngirl may have thrown up a bit in her mouth. LOL Not really but close. If you guys every want an intense leg routine.....Do a dropset followed immediately be 3 sets of rest pause! It's brutal!!!!!!

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

When u say dropset u mean u start heavy and do say 10reps then take some off and keep going without rest etc etc..??

And rest-pause?? Wats that? Where u pause mid-rep??

[Sgt. Hartman]

Just got back from my first Leg Day and I can barely walk. That drop set/rest pause on Leg Press damn near killed me! I almost puked and I think browngirl may have thrown up a bit in her mouth. LOL Not really but close. If you guys every want an intense leg routine.....Do a dropset followed immediately be 3 sets of rest pause! It's brutal!!!!!!

I was gonna tell you to leave it like you had it but obviously you did.

I thought nobody can get a proper leg work out with out doing squats though?..... Hmmmmmmm

When u say dropset u mean u start heavy and do say 10reps then take some off and keep going without rest etc etc..??

And rest-pause?? Wats that? Where u pause mid-rep??

A drop set is doing a set of say ten reps to failure, then without a break, decreasing the weight by about 20% and doing that to failure, dropping another 20% and then repeating to failure again.

Rest pause is doing a set of say 10 reps to failure, take 10 - 15 deep breaths and doing the same weight again, 10 - 15 deep breaths and doing it again. It would go something like reps of 10-6-3-1 or similar. If you're eating at a surplus and/or on cycle you could then do a couple forced reps and then negatives but slf doesn't need to do the forced or negative reps as he's eating at a deficit and not on cycle.

[slfmade]

When u say dropset u mean u start heavy and do say 10reps then take some off and keep going without rest etc etc..??

And rest-pause?? Wats that? Where u pause mid-rep??

You're correct on the dropset part. I do 10/8/6 and tonight I used 300/280/260 for weight. After the drop set I take a 10 sec break and go straight into rest pause. With rest pause training it's my understanding that after doing a movement to failure (or in this case a dropset), you take a very small rest (10sec) and go again until complete failure, then take another rest and go until complete failure, and so on. I did 3 sets of rest pause which worked out well because there's no way in hell I could've done a 4th. Mine went something like this

Legs Press
10 reps at 300
8 reps at 280
6 reps at 260
rest 10 sec
5 1/2 reps at 260
rest 10 sec
3 1/2 reps at 260
rest 10 sec
1 1/2 reps at 260

I also did a bit of a forced rep when I only hit my 1/2 and put my hands on my knees to complete the rep. So with cheating I actually did 6/4/2 on my rest pause. This is the way I understand rest pause, but it's all brand new to me so maybe Sgt Hartman will jump in and give his wisdom.

[slfmade]

LOL...Nevermind, I guess he already did!

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

Very cool! Thx guys

Now sarge when u say slf cant or shoukdnt do forced reps or negatives cuz hes not cycling and eating at deficit woukd the logic be that itd just be wasted energy?

Also wat is a forced rep? Do u have to have a spotter? I do all my lifting solo...

[Sgt. Hartman]

The rep ranges I posted were just examples - you can do whatever suits you best. And there are many other variations that people do but that's basically what drop sets and rest-pause are.

If you want to really read up on rest-pause look into DC (Doggcrapp) training.

[Sgt. Hartman]

Very cool! Thx guys

Now sarge when u say slf cant or shoukdnt do forced reps or negatives cuz hes not cycling and eating at deficit woukd the logic be that itd just be wasted energy?

Also wat is a forced rep? Do u have to have a spotter? I do all my lifting solo...

Yeah a forced rep is performing a rep with assistance that you couldn't do on your own.

Heavy forced reps and drop sets aren't a good idea IMO after rest-pause as it's too intense to be able to recover properly without an excess of cals and/or androgens.

Try just doing a full rest-pause set to failure on each set and you'll see why I say this. It doesn't sound that hard but it's excruciating when done properly (but in a good way lol).

[slfmade]

Very cool! Thx guys

Now sarge when u say slf cant or shoukdnt do forced reps or negatives cuz hes not cycling and eating at deficit woukd the logic be that itd just be wasted energy?

Also wat is a forced rep? Do u have to have a spotter? I do all my lifting solo...

LOL...wasn't it just you that was messin with Razr for not using google??? LOL Just messin with ya man. A forced Rep is when you force up a rep with the help of a spotter. Or in my case since I was using leg press I was able to place my hands on my knees to help me out when I got to that sticking spot.

So yes most of the time you need a spotter....and a good one at that. When doing forced reps you want the spotter to help as little as possible just getting you past the point that you would get stuck at. This is where having a spotter than knows you (and how you work out) well comes in handy.

[slfmade]

Damn it Sgt! You keep beating me to it!!!! LOL

[slfmade]

Yeah a forced rep is performing a rep with assistance that you couldn't do on your own.

Heavy forced reps and drop sets aren't a good idea IMO after rest-pause as it's too intense to be able to recover properly without an excess of cals and/or androgens.

Try just doing a full rest-pause set to failure on each set and you'll see why I say this. It doesn't sound that hard but it's excruciating when done properly (but in a good way lol).

I can attest to that!!!

[Sgt. Hartman]

I'm on it tonight.

[Sgt. Hartman]

I can post fast when I'm not on a damn iphone.

Not to hijack but I think I liked my EVO better than my iphone4s. Thoughts?

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

Im on an iphone rite now. I love it.. Except having to delete 4 letters out of every 12 i type! And then retype.. But its def the best phone ive ever had.. My dang cricket ard is not workn otherwise id be on laptop rite now. But dont get me started with cricket..

[Sgt. Hartman]

There's alot of stuff you can do with the iphone that makes it have a bit of a learning curve for a first timer. I've had mine for months and I'm still learning new shortcuts and tricks. I have a love/hate relationship with that bitch Siri though.

[slfmade]

So I was just reading a thread that Razr had posted asking "what are your goals". I started thinking about what I would like my stats to look like next summer.

As of this last Sunday I weighed in at 190lbs and about 12% bf. My goal by next summer would be 190lbs and 6% bodyfat. And I would like to stay there year round.

Right now I have 167.2lbs of LBM. If I accomplished my goal I would be at 178.6lbs of lbm. That's a 11.4lbs of LBM I would need to add over the course of 1 year. Is the possible without AAS?

During this last bulk I added 10.5lbs and reduced bodyfat by 3%. That put me at a LBM increase of 14.6lbs. I'm SURE this has been all newbie gains so it begs the question....is my goal possible without aas? I'm thinking no. But for you guys that have cycled before. Would 1 cycle get me there??? And with proper diet, training, and pct would I be able to maintain this year round?

[Razor]

You could run a test prop/ primo/var cycle and knock it outa the park with how committed you are to your diet.

[slfmade]

I touched on why I'm hesitant about not running any aas right now in your thread, but what about peptides (like CJC/GHRP)? Would they help much at all? Most people I see running peps are just using them during pct to help maintain, but would they be worth the money to use during a bulk?

[Razor]

Peptides are worthless, I have run them all... gh is the only thing that builds muscle and burns fat, a test/primo var would be really light on you and you would be fine.

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

^^ slf didnt u say u thought u were a candidate for TRt? If so that leads me to 2 questions:

1. If ur low it seems itd been hard to accumukate 14.6lbs LBM on this bulk which makes me wonder if u r indeed low..

2. If ur low it seems a cycle could put u over the top and i dont know bout ur recovery from cycle as well as ability to keep gains..

[Sgt. Hartman]

Peps aren't worthless, they're just bunk from most research chem companies. There are a ton of other compounds that will yield better results though.

I'm not trying to talk you into taking AAS but you should look into HCG , SERMS and their effect on sperm production Even people who were "shutdown" or who had off the charts low T levels have gotten girls pregnant. You should talk to Swifto about it.

[slfmade]

Peps aren't worthless, they're just bunk from most research chem companies. There are a ton of other compounds that will yield better results though.

I'm not trying to talk you into taking AAS but you should look into HCG, SERMS and their effect on sperm production Even people who were "shutdown" or who had off the charts low T levels have gotten girls pregnant. You should talk to Swifto about it.

I'll do some more research and give it some thought. If I did my schedule would look something like this:

Finish my current cut this May.
June-Aug - Maintain
Aug-Sept - 8 week Prime
Nov-Feb - 12 week AAS then PCT
Mar-May - Cut

I figure that would have me looking pretty good by next summer!

[slfmade]

I took my BCAA's this morning and did 50min LIC fasted cardio. It's sooooo freakin boring. With the addition of the clen I'm having to walk at 3.0 mph just to keep my heartrate between 65-75%. It would be different if BrownGirl was there; at least then I would have someone to talk to, but she's still got about 5 1/2 weeks left in her lean bulk so she stays home. Oh well only 48 days of cardio left 2 go. LOL

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

Sounds like a plan for u and me