Ruhl's Shred Thread (road to competition)

[RuhlFreak55]

so this week i started cutting.....22 weeks out tomorrow. no gear until 15 weeks out so my goal in the next 7 weeks is to drop as much bodyfat as possible before the cutting cycle starts.

and the 22 weeks out is from the first show i'm doing, i'm doing 3 all in all, all consecutive weeks. My hope is that keeping the bodyfat that low for a month will bring my equilibrium bodyfat level way down from where it likes to sit while bulking. I started this off weighing 231.6 monday morning, i've already dropped 5 pounds so i'm questioning whether maybe i dropped cals too quickly.

Cardio for the moment is 5 days a week for an hour in the mornings. Debating not doing cardio on fridays and then taking my friends spinning class on saturday mornings but i think maybe i need at least a couple weeks to build up to that as i was doing zero cardio while bulking.

There will be a cheat meal on sunday nights (tentatively, day may change) for awhile, when i cut it out will depend on how i'm progressing. And the cheat meal will most likely be something along the lines of whole wheat spaghetti and some french bread unless my parents come to visit and take me out.

Diet wise i'm not doing anything remotely related to keto....i was eating upwards of 500g of carbs a day during bulking so i'm going to keep carbs moderate for the time being and then start cycling them sometime in the near future. Obviously keeping protein high, fats relatively low at the moment, but mostly so low this week because i don't have the fixins for my usual pro fat meals. That should be rectified on the 'morrow as i'm going to wally world then. I'm thinking chicken salads with some sort of italian type dressing would be a good choice.

Lifting, High VOLUME as always, 6 days a week with sundays off. Split goes:
Day 1: Chest
Day 2 : Legs
Day 3 : Arms
Day 4 : Shoulders (including traps)
Day 5 : Back
Day 6 : Repeat Day 1
so every saturday you trained what you trained monday, but that bodypart alternates every week.
Abs and Calves are alternated every day, with the exception of leg day of late.

Diet days for a couple of the days this week to follow for critique.

[RuhlFreak55]

7:45
2 cans Tuna 290cal 8g F 4g C 55g P
oatmeal shake 540cal 8g F 60g C 58g P

10:50
1/4 cup cashews 160cal 13g F 8g C 5g P

1:40
2 cans Tuna 290cal 8g F 4g C 55g P
oatmeal shake 540cal 8g F 60g C 58g P

3:20
superpump 96cal 24g C

5:45
Volu-gro/protein 356cal 1.5g F 64g C 20g P

7:00
8oz. lean ground beef 280cal 9g F 48g P
.5 cups Black Beans 105cal .5g F 23g C 7g P
1.5 cups rice (cooked measurement) 340cal 2g F 74g C 8g P
Fat Free Cheese 45cal 2g C 9g P

12:00
Nitro Core 24 shake 400cal 10g F 28g C 48g P (and it's gone now so no more)


totals: 3152cal 68.3g F 351g C 371g P

energy was nonexistant after 2:30, but I attributed it to only having 5 hours of sleep the night before, definitely not making a habit of that crap. Did back on this day, but no deadlift on account of being so tired.

[seriousmass]

Once you get to week 15, what is the cycle you're thinking of doing?!

[RuhlFreak55]

11:00
1/2 onion 23cal 5.5g C .5g P
olive oil 120cal 14g F
8 egg whites 137cal 2g C 29g P
2 eggs 140cal 10g F 12g P
protein shake 240cal 2g F 6g C 48g P
1/2 cup oatmeal 150cal 3g F 27g C 5g P

1:45
8oz ground turkey 280cal 7g F 52g P
1 cup Black Beans 210cal 1g F 46g C 14g P
3/4 cup rice 170cal 1g F 37g C 4g P
Fat Free Cheese 45cal 2g C 9g P

2:45
superpump 96cal 24g C

5:15
Volu-gro/protein 356cal 1.5g F 64g C 20g P

6:30
9oz ground turkey 315cal 7.875g F 58g P
1 cup Black Beans 210cal 1g F 46g C 14g P
3/4 cup rice 170cal 1g F 37g C 4g P
Fat Free Cheese 45cal 2g C 9g P

10:30
Protein Shake 270cal 1g F 5g C 50g P
2 Tbsp natty PB 210cal 16g F 6g C 8g P

totals: 3187cal 66.375g F 309.5g C 347g P

definitely think my cals are too low....i was eating 4500 plus when bulking. My goal has been to get to 3700 everyday here but i haven't been hitting it. Oh and i was only maintaining on 4500, i was gaining no weight whatsoever.

[RuhlFreak55]

Once you get to week 15, what is the cycle you're thinking of doing?!

i've not finalized it yet with a final version but the thread where i presented it is here: http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...t=contest+prep

[oneshot]

more fat, less carbs and... MORE TREN!

[RuhlFreak55]

more fat, less carbs and... MORE TREN!

dropping the carbs off slowly....as i said i was over 550g when i was maintaining at the end of my bulk. so down to 310 is quite the drop.

[FireGuy]

What do you think your BF% is at 231? Height?

[RuhlFreak55]

How much you weighing at the moment, bf%? Sorry if it's been posted elsewhere and I missed it.

i am 225 point something....i'll weigh again in the morning. Bodyfat....i dunno 17 or 18 prolly

[oneshot]

alright, so maybe the tren is fine, but 300 grams of carbs seems like a shitton while cutting. personally, i would say to go damn near keto the first 3 weeks to shock ur body into a constant state of fat loss. then for the rest of the cut, cycle low to moderate carbs. just something to think about. on my current cutter that type of carb regimen has worked wonders

[RuhlFreak55]

alright, so maybe the tren is fine, but 300 grams of carbs seems like a shitton while cutting. personally, i would say to go damn near keto the first 3 weeks to shock ur body into a constant state of fat loss. then for the rest of the cut, cycle low to moderate carbs. just something to think about. on my current cutter that type of carb regimen has worked wonders

recall how i workout though....i need more energy. Believe me i learned last year don't drop the carbs really low....for me it's a killer. That's why contest prep failed last year, i was too low too long and it made it so i couldn't physically train like i love

[DSM4Life]

Day 1: Chest
Day 2 : Legs
Day 3 : Arms
Day 4 : Shoulders (including traps)
Day 5 : Back
Day 6 : Repeat Day 1

Sounds horrible to me. One day of rest after all of that ?

[RuhlFreak55]

Day 1: Chest
Day 2 : Legs
Day 3 : Arms
Day 4 : Shoulders (including traps)
Day 5 : Back
Day 6 : Repeat Day 1

Sounds horrible to me. One day of rest after all of that ?

yep, i love it

[DSM4Life]

yep, i love it

Is there a specific reason for this ?

[RuhlFreak55]

Is there a specific reason for this ?

i like high volume and training 6 days a week......any more rest feels like a waste

[DSM4Life]

i like high volume and training 6 days a week......any more rest feels like a waste

I thought as time went on we were suppose to get smarter .....

[RuhlFreak55]

I thought as time went on we were suppose to get smarter .....

stopping something that works isn't being intelligent

[DSM4Life]

stopping something that works isn't being intelligent

If it works i guess but common sense would seem to tell you too much work with little time for rest. Whats your break down of movements if you dont mind me asking ?

[oneshot]

recall how i workout though....i need more energy. Believe me i learned last year don't drop the carbs really low....for me it's a killer. That's why contest prep failed last year, i was too low too long and it made it so i couldn't physically train like i love

recall what I have said 100 times: LESS VOLUME!!!

[RuhlFreak55]

If it works i guess but common sense would seem to tell you too much work with little time for rest. Whats your break down of movements if you dont mind me asking ?

what do you mean? it's never the same....i always change my workouts...the only thing that maybe stays the same week to week is my first exercise for a bodypart....or like with hamstrings, not alot of options for switching exercises out, in that case i just change rep/rest schemes

[DSM4Life]

what do you mean? it's never the same....i always change my workouts...the only thing that maybe stays the same week to week is my first exercise for a bodypart....or like with hamstrings, not alot of options for switching exercises out, in that case i just change rep/rest schemes

Well like an example say what u might do for ur first 2 days

[RuhlFreak55]

recall what I have said 100 times: LESS VOLUME!!!

yea yea.....never gonna happen

[wukillabee]

Day 1: Chest
Day 2 : Legs
Day 3 : Arms
Day 4 : Shoulders (including traps)
Day 5 : Back
Day 6 : Repeat Day 1

Sounds horrible to me. One day of rest after all of that ?

I got good results by doing a workout routine like this, one body part a day 6 days a week. Thing i see kinda counter-productive is training your arms then shoulders the very next day. I would think that would hold back slightly on pressing movements since your tris will be sore from the day before. But what works for you works for you and dont fix it if it aint broke bro. I just know i couldn't do a hardcore shoulder day the next day after blasting arms.

[oneshot]

yea yea.....never gonna happen

i just dont think you can shed the 13-14% bodyfat that you need to loose with such a slow taper of carbs.

[RuhlFreak55]

Well like an example say what u might do for ur first 2 days

ok so a typical chest day:

Flat Bench Press for 5-6 sets, perhaps a drop set with 225 -->135 for failure

Incline Flys superset Incline DB press 5 sets....which makes 10 since 2 exercises

then something for lower....so dips, or decline bb or decline Hammer strength...4-5 sets

Low Cable Crossovers (pull to the bottom) superset pushups with feet high for 5 sets
done.......and in those sets i always include any and all warmups and pyramids.

Legs:
Squat 5-6 sets
Leg Press 5-6 sets
Close Hack Squats or Walking Lunges 4-5 sets
Leg Extensions "seven" set
St. Leg Deadlifts 5 sets
Lying leg curls 5 sets
Seated leg curls "seven" set

[oneshot]

me on the other hand... 5 weeks into cutting: -3% bf, -2 inches off waist, +3 lbs!!! teeheehee. oh yea, and very little stimulants!!!

[RuhlFreak55]

I got good results by doing a workout routine like this, one body part a day 6 days a week. Thing i see kinda counter-productive is training your arms then shoulders the very next day. I would think that would hold back slightly on pressing movements since your tris will be sore from the day before. But what works for you works for you and dont fix it if it aint broke bro. I just know i couldn't do a hardcore shoulder day the next day after blasting arms.

it's usually not much of an issue....i usually do 1 or 2 max pressing exercises for shoulders and after a warm up set the lactic acid buildup from my triceps gets flushed out for the most part. And my triceps are way ahead of many other bodyparts so i don't think they're getting hurt, i've used this split for 3 years prolly now

[DSM4Life]

I got good results by doing a workout routine like this, one body part a day 6 days a week. Thing i see kinda counter-productive is training your arms then shoulders the very next day. I would think that would hold back slightly on pressing movements since your tris will be sore from the day before. But what works for you works for you and dont fix it if it aint broke bro. I just know i couldn't do a hardcore shoulder day the next day after blasting arms.

I use to think working out 5 days a week was a good idea until i started REALLY working out (heavy a$$ weight- HIT style). Now i workout 4 days a week M T off R F and by friday i am totally spent. Fridays are normally spent laying around all night and passing out early.

[RuhlFreak55]

i just dont think you can shed the 13-14% bodyfat that you need to loose with such a slow taper of carbs.

why not? that's absurd......it's easily doable. I was 23% when i started last year and I was almost there.

[wukillabee]

it's usually not much of an issue....i usually do 1 or 2 max pressing exercises for shoulders and after a warm up set the lactic acid buildup from my triceps gets flushed out for the most part. And my triceps are way ahead of many other bodyparts so i don't think they're getting hurt, i've used this split for 3 years prolly now

Well there you go. Sounds good then. Are you gonna keep this thread going until the competition?

[RuhlFreak55]

Well there you go. Sounds good then. Are you gonna keep this thread going until the competition?

as long as i don't get pissed off at the lack of support like i've had issues with before on here

[wukillabee]

I use to think working out 5 days a week was a good idea until i started REALLY working out (heavy a$$ weight- HIT style). Now i workout 4 days a week M T off R F and by friday i am totally spent. Fridays are normally spent laying around all night and passing out early.

Yep! Thats exactly how ive been working out for the awhile now. When im "On" then i workout usually 5 days a week but "Off", for sure 4 days a week and usually 2 on 1 off 2 on 2 off kinda thing. No real set days though since schedule varies but same idea.

[DSM4Life]

Yep! Thats exactly how ive been working out for the awhile now. When im "On" then i workout usually 5 days a week but "Off", for sure 4 days a week and usually 2 on 1 off 2 on 2 off kinda thing. No real set days though since schedule varies but same idea.

Volume training to me just doesn't make any sense. Its like telling me a red light is black, my brain just can't comprehend it.

Use RULH as example

Legs:
Squat 5-6 sets
Leg Press 5-6 sets
Close Hack Squats or Walking Lunges 4-5 sets
Leg Extensions "seven" set
St. Leg Deadlifts 5 sets
Lying leg curls 5 sets
Seated leg curls "seven" set

41 sets
Say 8 rep range = 328 total reps
Or 10 (legs are higher reps) = 410 total reps

So your going to tell me you can keep a high intensity doing 41 sets ?

No F'in way.

But to each their own.

[RuhlFreak55]

as i've said before.....hypertrophy means you have to fatigue the muscle fibers AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.....so of course you're not going to maintain 100% intensity every set. You couldn't possibly fatigue the muscle fibers as much with stopping your workout once you can't achieve 100% intensity anymore

[DSM4Life]

as i've said before.....hypertrophy means you have to fatigue the muscle fibers AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.....so of course you're not going to maintain 100% intensity every set. You couldn't possibly fatigue the muscle fibers as much with stopping your workout once you can't achieve 100% intensity anymore

After so many sets all your doing is going through the motions.

[wukillabee]

Volume training to me just doesn't make any sense. Its like telling me a red light is black, my brain just can't comprehend it.

Use RULH as example

Legs:
Squat 5-6 sets
Leg Press 5-6 sets
Close Hack Squats or Walking Lunges 4-5 sets
Leg Extensions "seven" set
St. Leg Deadlifts 5 sets
Lying leg curls 5 sets
Seated leg curls "seven" set

41 sets
Say 8 rep range = 328 total reps
Or 10 (legs are higher reps) = 410 total reps

So your going to tell me you can keep a high intensity doing 41 sets ?

No F'in way.

But to each their own.

Everyone's different. If we where all built the same then we would all workout the same but as you know thats not the case. Some people get good results like this just as many won't. I take his word for it if he says its tried and true to him then go for it!

[DSM4Life]

Again if it works for you then so be it. good luck.

[RuhlFreak55]

After so many sets all your doing is going through the motions.

that's simply not true but believe what you like.....i push all the way through my workouts

[Reed]

After so many sets all your doing is going through the motions.

Nope all your doing is cardio

[Reed]

I say let Ruhl do what he wants and we can support him. Obviously he believes he has figured out what works best for him so just let him do it and if he is messes up or fails HOPEFULLY he will learn from his mistakes but I won't hold by tongue on that