Help me Reach my Natural Genetic Potential (Lifting for 4 Years)

[JackedAJ]

Hello Everyone,
New member here, have been lurking the steroid forums and others for quite some time now. I felt it was time to post my progress in the last 4 years and ask for some help. I have to admit I am very unhappy with my progress, and I do not even look like I lift weights. I was considering a cycle, but have decided to wait untill I reach my natural limit and age a few more years.

Like I said I have been lifting for 4 years now. Hard core lifting Balls to the Walls, diet in check, and Sleeping like Im wasting my life away. I am going to provide everyone with what I have been doing these last 4 years and show you my diets, training, and even blood work.

Starting Stats right after High School:
Weight: 135lbs
Height: 5'7''
Did a little bit of weight lifting and sports in High School but my diet was shit.
Before:


So after high school I got depressed and decieded it was time for a change in my life. First thing I did of course was p90x. Got it done, expected a change, nothing much happened because I had no base to work from. Thats when I relized that this was going to be a life long jurney for me, not some 90 day BS.

So I joined a gym and started eating right. Ate 5 meals a day with my protein, creatine, and my vegies. This was my workout plan back in 09-10:

Monday- Quads, Hamstrings, and Calves
Barbell Squat
Leg Press
Dead Lift
Seated Leg Curls
Lying leg Curls
Calf Raises

Tuesday - Chest and Tricep
Bench Press
Incline DB Press
Flat DB Press
Dumbell Flys
Skull Crushers
Dips

Wed- Cardio

Thursday- Back and Biceps
Barbell Rows
Dumbell Rows
Lat Pulldowns
Close Grip Pull Downs
Dumbell Curls
Hammer Curls
21s

Friday- Shoulders and Traps
Seated Military Barbell Press
Seated Arnold Press
Side lateral Raise
Barbell Front Raise
Barbell Shrugs
Dumbell Shrugs

SAT/SUN Rest

I did change it up but I cant find those other workouts.

Diet was good lots of chicken breast, steak, potatoes, vegies, ect 5 times a day.
After 2010 I was 155 lbs. I was happy, but was not anything great to look at.

So Then I decided to go on a Bulk during 2011. I read into alot of online "stuff" and got the impression that I have to over shoot my target weight by 25 lbs to what I would like to be. My Goal was 170lbs with 8% BF by Summer of 2012. I wrote my goal down, Repeated it every day and was well on my way.

Here is my Diet during 2011 while trying to bulk.
( I cant upload an attachment so here are some pics, I seriously have months of logs on my diet.)


And Here was my Bulking Workout: Objective was 3 Workouts a week. 3 Sets of 6-8 Reps Heavy weights. Some Cardio on off days.
Monday
Incline Chest Press
Cable Seated Row
Bench Press
Dumbbell Bentover Row
Two Arm Cable Pushdown
Crunches

Wednesday
Barbell Deadlift
DB Lunge
Lying hamstring Curl
Standing DB Calf Raises
DB Shrugs
Machine Seated Calf Raises
Close Grip Barbell Shrugs

Friday
Pullup
Behind the neck barbell press
Close Grip Chin up
Seated Dumbell Press
Seated Bicep Curls
Cable kneeling Crunch

After all this I jumped up to 198 LBS! Yeah I was fkin fat and slugish, did not look like a lifter at all, but I was still determined to make this happen, So at the beginning of 2012 I started my Cut.

__________________________________________________ _______________________________

At the beginning of this year I started Doing the IF Diet and Training Method.
Cut my Callories and loss about 1 to 1.5lb every week. The first 4 months ( January - April 2012) of IF I was very happy. I lost about 28 lbs and got to 170, However I still had alot of fat? My goal was not met. So I kept cutting down.

Here was My Training Reg (Jan - April). No Cardio, Just Diet and Lifting Weights.

Monday Chest/Back
Bench Press
Dead Lifts
Incline DB Press
Chin Ups
Incline Flies
Wide Grip Chinups

Wednesday
Seated Barbel Shoulder Press
Weighted Dips
DB Curls
In-Out Shoulder Flys
Skull Crushers
Hammer Curls
Shrugs
Tricep Pushdowns

Friday Legs
Squats
1 Leg Leg Press
Leg extension Sitting
Leg Extension Lying
Calf Raises Seated
Calf Raises Standing

My Diet always consisted of 2 grams protien per pound of body weight, and carb cycling.
_______________________________________________

Where I Am Now.
Stats:
Weight: 158 lbs
Height: 5'8''

Still cutting because I would like to be around 7% BF or under. My Diet is attached to the next reply.


And Here is my Current Routine:
Day 1: Heavy Chest/ Tricep
Barbell Press
Weighted Dips
Incline Bench Press
Skull Crushers
Incline Flys
Overhead DB Extension

Day 2: Back / Calves
Pull Ups
Barbell Rows
Seated Row
One Arm DB Row
Dead Lifts
Seated Calves
Standing Barbell Calves

Day 3: Cardio

Day 4: Shoulders/ Bicep
Military Press
Barbell Curls
In-Out DB Raises
Chin Ups
Shrugs
Hammer Curls
Forarms
Concentrated Bicep Curls

Day 5: Legs
Squats
LegPress
Leg Extension seated
Leg Extension lying

Day 6: Cardio

I have kept track of all my weight in the past, I write everything down reps/sets/weight/feeling. Its all here on paper.

Current Supps:
Egg Protien
AKG Powder
Amino Acids
Multi
Caffene Pills
Charlston Fish Oil

[Razor]

Well for starters I think you got fat cause your way overdid the calories and fats. A lot of people think if they just start increasing the calories over night they will start to grow, what little know is that to keep from getting fat is you need to increase you caloric intake gradually overtime and goes for losing weight. Your body would have a hard time processing going from say 1800 cals ed average person to 4000 calories overnight.

This is not a start to finish race, its a lifestyle. And you did little cardio, there is such thing as a lean bulk vs a fatty one. And it comes in steps, so say you gain 10lbs in 3 months, if not on gear more than likely 50% is fat 30% is muscle and 20% water weight. So a tier step is better you gain ten but your bf% might have gone up 7-8%. At 198 with you saying your fat, you were prolly close to 20-25%bf so your carrying 40lbs of fat

Secondly your training regime was designed to bulk 3 days of lifts heavy weight, low reps, which works but your diet was not on par. Start by lowering you fat intake by 50%

[JackedAJ]

Hey Razor, Thank you for the insight. I did the bulk for most of summer through the winter months, and the macros I posted earlier were more towards the end. So I gradually added more calories starting around 2,500 and reaching 4500. Like you said though I did gain alot of fat.

This is my current diet. Cutting still, what do you think?


Ill have a carb up day every 4-5 days which I will eat some pasta or add in extra sweet potatoes during my meals. After my workout I like to consume 40% of my daily macros.

I am following intermittent fasting, so I usually workout around 10:30am and Start eating at 12:00pm. Then will stop eating around 8-9:00pm.
Here are some pictures of my meals that I eat post workout -->

[Razor]

Hey Razor, Thank you for the insight. I did the bulk for most of summer through the winter months, and the macros I posted earlier were more towards the end. So I gradually added more calories starting around 2,500 and reaching 4500. Like you said though I did gain alot of fat.

This is my current diet. Cutting still, what do you think?
<img src="http://forums.steroid.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=124469"/>

I really like your current diet, great job putting that together!!!

[RaginCajun]

how old are you? like razor said, your diet looks good man. you may want to read a little bit about carb cycling and see if that is one route you may want to try for cutting. 405 has some good insight on it in a thread

[JackedAJ]

I really like your current diet, great job putting that together!!!

Thank You

how old are you? like razor said, your diet looks good man. you may want to read a little bit about carb cycling and see if that is one route you may want to try for cutting. 405 has some good insight on it in a thread

I am 22 Years old. Okay, I will read 405's thread about carb cycling.

[Razor]

how old are you? like razor said, your diet looks good man. you may want to read a little bit about carb cycling and see if that is one route you may want to try for cutting. 405 has some good insight on it in a thread

Those meals look delicious, how do you dress you oatmeal and chicken up?

[RaginCajun]

Those meals look delicious, how do you dress you oatmeal and chicken up?

oatmeal in lingere and chicken in a hot mini skirt! haha! it all depends on how i am feelin and what culture i want to eat (italian, cajun, mexican, etc...........)

[JackedAJ]

Here is my Bloodwork I got done. Looks like everything is in good order.

[JackedAJ]

Those meals look delicious, how do you dress you oatmeal and chicken up?

Im lost, are you speaking to me or 00ragincajun00.

[Razor]

Im lost, are you speaking to me or 00ragincajun00.

You like what you seasoning your chicken with or you marinating ? What you putting in the oatmeal, butter or sweetening it?

[JackedAJ]

I don't put anything in my oatmeal. I like to eat plain oatmeal lol. However on days I do feel like being creative Ill mix in a diced apple, some cinnamon , and 1 package of splenda. Sometimes ill just throw in a fruit like strawberries or bananas.

As for the chicken I just season it up with whatever I got, I like pepper and garlic powder. I found some new seasoning in the store. This is good stuff:

[RaginCajun]

I don't put anything in my oatmeal. I like to eat plain oatmeal lol. However on days I do feel like being creative Ill mix in a diced apple, some cinnamon , and 1 package of splenda. Sometimes ill just throw in a fruit like strawberries or bananas.

As for the chicken I just season it up with whatever I got, I like pepper and garlic powder. I found some new seasoning in the store. This is good stuff:

you should check out the protein pancakes. money!

[JackedAJ]

you should check out the protein pancakes. money!

I bet they are, However I'm allergic to whey and I have not found a good alternative protein powder to make efficient pancakes. Egg protein powder dose not work very well lol.

[RaginCajun]

I bet they are, However I'm allergic to whey and I have not found a good alternative protein powder to make efficient pancakes. Egg protein powder dose not work very well lol.

hmmmm, what about casein protein powder? or maybe try hemp?

[RaginCajun]

or you could just leave the protein powder out all together

[gbrice75]

Do you have any current pics, or something relatively recent? It's nice reading about your journey, but seeing as you posted a 'before' pic, it'd be nice to also see your progress visually.

[chrisdog212]

you should check out the protein pancakes. money!

One of the greatest things thought of!!

Btw that's a nice meal plan and its great to see how focused you are!

I would like to see visual progress to brother! Keep working hard!

[Razor]

I don't put anything in my oatmeal. I like to eat plain oatmeal lol. However on days I do feel like being creative Ill mix in a diced apple, some cinnamon , and 1 package of splenda. Sometimes ill just throw in a fruit like strawberries or bananas.

As for the chicken I just season it up with whatever I got, I like pepper and garlic powder. I found some new seasoning in the store. This is good stuff:

Ever thought about vanilla ice cream protien powder optimum nutrion makes it, i put it my my oatmeal for taste and added cals and protien

[JackedAJ]

Ill post a picture of where I am now soon.

[bikeral]

I bet they are, However I'm allergic to whey and I have not found a good alternative protein powder to make efficient pancakes. Egg protein powder dose not work very well lol.

Protein pancakes= 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1 cup egg whites, 1 cup oats, tsp baking soda. Blend and cook like regular pancakes. No whey needed and they taste great. Add frozen blueberries if you like or put some sugar free syrup on them.

[JackedAJ]

Hey guys, Here are some progress pictures after 4 years.
I also started carb cycling last Thursday so I am pretty well depleted in these pictures. These are Before my workout with only some light treadmill and 2 warm up sets on the bench (135 x 10).

Also I am excited because I did 225lbs Benchpress X 4 reps today! Ive never got 4 plates before . I am cutting still, weight is dropping but my lifts are increasing with IF.

Pictures before workout:


And my post workout meal: (Carb UP Day)
1 cup oats
13 oz of steak
a Veggie
Fish Oil

[JackedAJ]

Protein pancakes= 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1 cup egg whites, 1 cup oats, tsp baking soda. Blend and cook like regular pancakes. No whey needed and they taste great. Add frozen blueberries if you like or put some sugar free syrup on them.

I tried these today! They are delicious, thanks.

[gbrice75]

Great progress, and love that PWO meal - lean surf n' turf!!

[JackedAJ]

Great progress, and love that PWO meal - lean surf n' turf!!

Thanks bro