Bryan's BulkFest Journal |
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| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 05:06 PM |
| Seems like just yesterday I was starting my precontest journal, but with the show over, that journal has finally seen its completion. So now it's on to bigger and better things (literally). I'm nearly finished with my week of rest following a rough 12 week contest prep training program and I'm anxious as hell to get back in the gym. So here's the point: Goals! Short Term: -Bench 315 by the end of 2006 (a +20 lbs. increase from my previous 1 RM) -Weigh in at 176-180 by the end of 2006 (basically regain my pre-contest cut weight) Long Term: -Tip the scales at 200lbs. by the time I've got my bachelors degree (June 2008) At first, this seemed like too much, but that means I've gotta put 25 pounds on from my previous weight high of 176. That's only 1 lb./month, granted I'm sitting about 157 lbs. right now so it's more like 2/month. But I think that's more than achievable! Here's my starting statistics: Weight = 157 lbs. (up from ~152 contest weight a week ago) 14.5" biceps 11.5" forearm 21.5" quads (what's with all the .5's??) 15" calves 15" neck 30" waist 40.5" chest (lats flexed, 38" relaxed) Check out my previous two journals to see how I've gotten where I am now, or get the breif overview in my video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrsDKZBIU48 Without further ado, here's the plan for the elusive 200lbs. mark! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 05:37 PM |
| DIET!!! Key to success is right here! So I'll be incorporating a lot of what I've gotten out of Macrobolic Nutrition, which is basically a balanced meal containing protein, fats, and low GI carbs into every meal, with the exception of low fats postworkout and low carbs prebedtime. Cheat meals are gonna be sporadic. Whenever they pop up, I'll take them though I'll do my best not to overdo it. I will have a basic diet outline which will look something like this: Meal 1- 6 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 3/4 cup oats, 1 scoop whey, 1 banana, 1 tsp flax oil Meal 2- 6-8oz. steak, 1 cup veggies, 2 slices whole wheat bread w/natty PB or almond butter Meal 3- big sandwich (whole wheat bread, roast beef, ham, turkey, veggies, cheese), 1 scoop whey + milk Meal 4- stir fried shrimp (veggies, shrimp, some peanuts, cooked in flax oil), 1 cup brown rice (((WORKOUT))) Meal 5- 1/2 serving gainer shake + whey, 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup yogurt Meal 6- 6-8oz chicken breast, 1 cup veggies, 1 sweet potato Meal 7- 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 tbsp. flax oil, 1 serving Mega Milk Given this rough estimate, here's the nutrition: 4,570 calories 136g fat 429g carbs 399g protein This meal plan is gonna vary slightly every week as I'll be trying to apply some caloric cycling (per Tudor Bompa's "Serious Strength Training") and increasing calories weekly by about 300 for 3-4 weeks followed by a substantial drop for a week (akin to a hardening phase i suppose). Expect it to be something along the lines of: Week 1- 3,400 calories Week 2- 3,700 calories Week 3- 4,000 calories Week 4- 4,500 calories Week 5- 3,000 calories *Repeat |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 06:38 PM |
| Training I'll be doing DoggCrapp training for the first few months of my bulkfest. I've been dying to try an increased frequency training program and this one really seems to be kickass. Though, it's gonna be weird only being in the gym 3 days a week after spending nearly 2 years going every weekday. Oh well, whatever gets me growing! I'll be hitting only one exercise for one Rest-Pause (RP) set per muscle group each day (excluding warm up sets). Here's my training protocol, it's a Monday, Wednesday, Friday rotation: DC Initial Training Cycle Day 1- Chest- Flat DB Press Shoulders- Dumbbell Overhead Press Triceps- Dips Back width- Chin Ups Back thickness- Deadlifts Day 3- Biceps- Hammer Curls Forearms- Barbell Curls Hamstrings- Leg Curls *Calves- Leg Press Calves Quads- Squats Day 5- Chest- Incline Barbell Press Shoulders- Barbell Overhead Press Triceps- Close Grip Bench Back width- Pull Downs Back thickness- Barbell Rows Day 8- Biceps- Incline Dumbbell curls Forearms- Reverse Grip Cable Curls Hamstrings- Stiff-legged Deadlifts *Calves- Seated Calves Quads- Front Squats Day 10- Chest- Flat Barbell Bench Shoulders- Machine Shoulder Press Triceps- Skull Crushers Back width- V-bar pulldowns Back thickness- Seated V-bar Rows Day 12- Biceps- Machine Preacher Curls Forearms- Dumbbell Forearm Curls Hamstrings- Leg Curls *Calves- Standing Smith Calves Quads- Leg Press Extreme Stretches- Chest- 10s top of DB flat, drop down to stretch for 50s Triceps- 10s dropdown on overhead DB ext. 50s hold Shoulders- BB on rack, put shoulders against from back, grab bar, walk away 60s Biceps- as above, grip reverses, sink down like a squat, 45-60s Back width- hand with weight from chin up for 60s Back thickness- grab equipment, sit down and stretch with rounded back, 60s Hamstrings- Leg up on a barbell and push leg as straight as possible, 60s Quads- barbell on rack hip high, sissy squat down, up on toes, lean back, 60s *Calves- none, on exercise do 5s negative each rep with 15s stretch at bottom Rep Scheme- 6-8 reps, 15 deep breaths, 2-4 reps, 15 deep breaths, 1-3 reps 6-8s negative after last rep on each rest/pause segment |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 06:50 PM |
| Supplements Finally my supp regimen. I'll just list it all off for ya, excluding protein supps & flax oil, which are in my diet portion. During the day: 1 NOW Adam Multivitamin twice a day 3 tabs ZMA (or 4 Z-Force) before bed During product trial, Melting Point Preworkout: 2 Scoops NO-Xplode 2 Scoops GlycerGrow During Workout: 3 Scoops Xtend 1 Scoop GlycerGrow 1 Scoop Gatorade powder Postworkout: 1 scoop Xtend 3.2g Bulk CEE powder Trying to keep it a bit simpler. Though in a month or so I'll be running the free products I got at the ONBF, a natural test booster, Kre-Alkalyn, and Naturally Juic'd. Should be an interesting time! |
| Posted by: rich_55 Oct 8 2006, 07:41 PM | ||
I made GREAT gains with making additions immediately postcontest, 3 weeks later and 6 weeks later. I wouldn't necessarily add back on a weekly basis b/c it takes time to let your body adapt. The initial add back was the largest and diminishing in size as time passed. I would follow my postcontest plan again to a T, so feel free to check out that journal of mine. I referenced an article by Aceto for assistance w/ diet. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 07:45 PM |
| Actually, the philosophy in Serious Strength Training was daily caloric variance on a 4-day split. I didnt feel like putting the effort into doing that much planning. I may only modify every 2-3 weeks then but still doing reduced calories every 6-8 weeks. |
| Posted by: layne760 Oct 8 2006, 09:59 PM |
| Were your measurement stats taken when flexing or relaxing? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 8 2006, 10:11 PM |
| flexed |
| Posted by: 0311 Oct 8 2006, 10:40 PM | ||
Hey Bryan, looks great. My only critique is that some exercises aren't RP'd, and other's have a higher RP than everything being 15 RP. For example, skullcrushers are awesome at 20-30 RP. Also, deadlifts are usually 2 sets (1 x 6-10, 1 x 3-4 heavier). Same with squats (1 x 4-8, 1 x 20). But you know all this already as per my email.  Good luck!..And trust me, you'll be glad you have 4 days off per week!  |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 9 2006, 12:18 AM | ||||
additions immediately postcontest meaning? higher than before you started cutting or just higher than your cutting diet? |
| Posted by: rich_55 Oct 9 2006, 12:50 PM | ||
Higher than cutting. Enjoy your postcontest gains. Hit those legs and back hard!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 9 2006, 02:24 PM | ||||
plan on it. today is chins and deads. i've got every intention of kicking some major ass!! one thing i'm looking forward to is plateauing on my deadlifts so i can swap them out for power cleans, i've been aching to incorporate them into my workout lately. T-Minus 30 minutes until 1st DoggCrapp workout! I've got spreadsheet made for every single day and a cheat sheet for rep ranges and stretching protocol, just gotta pick up a 3-ring binder at the bookstore on the way to the gym. New Gym! New Program! New Supps! New Goals! I'm STOKED!!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 9 2006, 06:36 PM |
| Kick ass workout! Damn it felt good just to be back in there and our new gym at WSU is SWEET!!! All new equipment, plenty of benches, plasma TVs for the cardio section (not that I'm watching them. Pretty good lighting too, just dim enough and casts great shadows for posing between sets in the mirrors DoggCrapp was pretty cool. The chest RP kicked my butt though, but I think that's more because I hadn't experienced the strain of it yet. The rest of the workout went well. Flat DB presses- 85 lbs. x 8-2-1 reps, 20s static DB Overhead Press- 50 lbs. x 8-4-2 reps, 20s static Dips- 70 lbs. x 8-3-2, 20s static (didn't like these, our gym doesnt have a good dip setup, will swap next time) Chin Ups- 35lbs. x 10-6-4 reps, 20s static Deadlifts- 295x8, 325x4, 20s static on seated row I really like the extreme stretching protocols. They feel absolutely great, when you're finished with them of course, especially chest. Weighed out at 161 lbs. (up 10 lbs. from contest last week ) Looked very full and thick today.Also, got some great pump from the RP + 8s negative + static. NO-Xplode certainly helped. I like the fruit punch but if fills me up a bit and makes my tongue tingle, lol. Smashed a yogurt, 2 scoops gainer, 1 scoop whey, 1/2 bowl oatmeal for PWO. MMmmm! The cover for my logbook (note the inspirational leg shots): |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 10 2006, 11:16 AM |
| Mild DOMS today, not too bad. Interestingly, my upper/inner back is dcently sore for not hitting it directly at all, with the exception of a 20s seated cable row static. Feels pretty good, though it feels really odd not prepping for a workout on a weekday like this. That's gonna be a tough mentality to break. It does, however, feel GREAT to be smashing food again. I'm not having much trouble at all keeping with my 7 meals a day increasing my food volume either. Though, there are still times when I have to eat without hunger, which I don't care for, but it's better than being hungry  Edit:// End of the day, DOMS out the ASS! Who'd have thought 1 set would kick my ass more than anything I've done before? My entire back, top to bottom and wide, is sore. That's a first. Better be cleaned up by Friday to hit it again! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 11 2006, 08:58 PM |
| Still some good DOMS today. Though, in spite of it, my chest feels rather full today. I like it. Just feels good to feel full, physique-wise that is. First lower body/biceps DC workout today. Good times! The intensity of 8s negative drop sets is GREAT and the 20s statics are kickass! My arms were lookin badass with fibers and veins poppin all over the place doing hammer curl statics for 20s. The leg portion was particularly good! I LOVE the calf training style of doing 5s negatives on each rep with 15 stretch at the bottom (all this on a leg press) for 12 reps. That's 4 total minutes under tension, but my calves felt great afterwards, nice and demolished. Hamstrings were sweet because, guess what Rich!, we got a seated leg curl machine in the new gym!!! I missed those since training legs with rich a few months ago. Still trying to tag the right weights on some of these leg workouts though. Squats on the smith rack were good. The 4 rep followed by 20 rep is pretty sweet. Also, our new Smith machines are badass. The safety catches actually flip the bar so it locks out for you (compared to the old one that just had springs to keep the bar from crushing you. Good times. Only thing is I'm having a little difficulty getting some of the stretches right. Some are awkward and dont seem to hit things as hard as others. Namely i'm having trouble with the quad, bicep, and deltoid stretches. But they still stretch, just is odd. And the tricep stretch kills my shoulder joint... Final comment, NO-Xplode is pretty sweet. I was psyched to hit the gym, I blew through everything with a great mental focus and energy today and in the locker room i was jumping around with excitement. that was with 2 scoops 45 mins preworkout. I think I may end up keeping my 6 tubs |
| Posted by: Succio Oct 11 2006, 09:17 PM |
| sup bryan i jus have to say your one dedicated dude. you should try doing this with no xplode 1st week -1 1/4 scoop 2nd week -1 1/2 scoop 3rd week -2 scoops 4th week off or continue 2 scoops |
| Posted by: 0311 Oct 12 2006, 06:32 PM | ||
I never liked the quad stretches laying under the smith machine bar either. I just set the smith bar waist height and did one at a time, one minute apiece. For deltoids, you could also do them in the dip station as well. You just rotate your grip so your fingers are inboard, then just use your bodyweight and stretch forward/down. The biceps one just hurts, and if you have problems, you could use wrist wraps too because my forearms as toast after my worksets. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 15 2006, 01:01 AM |
| Melting Point arrived today, and none too soon. I'm starting to get soft! This should be fun! Look for MP specific comments in another log in the product testers section. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 16 2006, 06:11 PM |
| Another great workout today. You know it's a great leg day when your legs are quivering whenever you're standing up. Mostly from the high TUT of the seated calf raises today, they felt good. Front squats for 20 reps was rough, though I got it out but it took more of a 15 reps, 10 seconds, 5 reps, 8s negative to get out. The 20s static on front squats wasnt too bad, but it hurt nonetheless. I'm really liking NO-Xplode. A much cleaner preworkout boost than Redline and seems to carry well into the workout. Not to mention I've got vascularity out the ass after doing bicep work! Looks hot!!! Not to mention the Fruit Punch flavor is actually pretty good, especially considering my previous experiences with "punch" flavored preworkout mixes (cough cough, Clout!). Very glad I stocked up on it when it was on sale. Finally, I got some funny looks from some of the guys in my gym when I told them my new routine is 3-days a week with one working set per muscle group. Of course, this was from the 2-hours in the gym crew, but hey, a year from now when I'm thick and heavy at 190, those faces will change to amazement. Yea! |
| Posted by: 0311 Oct 16 2006, 07:40 PM | ||
 Cannot imagine how you must've looked. There are no statics for back thickness and quad exercises. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 16 2006, 07:56 PM |
| screw that, i like a good squat and bb row static! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 18 2006, 07:21 PM |
| Man, I'm really loving this program. Aside from adjusting to a 3-day split, everything is great. I love the intensity, which is much higher than Max-OT IMO. The stretches are great! I love how my back feels after hanging from a pullup bar for a minute. Starting to feel bigger, keep forgetting to weigh in when i wake up, oh well. It'll come. I'll be honest, for all the advising I've done against buying BSN stuff, I'm falling in love with NO-Xplode. Two scoops gets me straight-up jacked for a workout pretty damn fast. Mentally and physically. Pump feels good, though nothing spectacular, but I love looking and feeling a bit bigger in the gym. Really helps me push out some extra intensity. On a similar note, Gatorade + Xtend + GlycerGrow = kickass workout mix. On the downside, my joints are hurting. Specifically my shoulder joint. I think it's because I misinterpreted the shoulder stretched and it did a number on my joint.  |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 19 2006, 09:02 PM |
| I can't recall ever being this devastatingly sore from workouts! It's kickass! I think every muscle in my back is sore. It's not the kind of soreness I used to get though, much stiffer, but seems to peak out sharply and decline quickly as well. It's interesting, to say the least. Me Gusta! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 23 2006, 01:35 PM |
| Wow, talk about a cheat/screwed diet weekend! Friday night, went out to buffalo wild wings for a burger, onion rings, and a beer with some friends. Saturday night, had another 8 beers (bad idea)... sunday was a little hungover and felt sick all day, so no good eating, just some sporadic meals that couldnt have added up to anything good in terms of macros. Yea, I did keep up on my Melting Point though, figured with that much garbage going in I had to. First exercise rotation of DC is done, time for my first repeat workouts over the next two weeks. I'm excited to see if I can step it up. I'm starting to notice some differences. I think the shape of my tricep is changing a bit, like the upper portion has enlarged a bit. Plus my chest feels very full lately. Calves even look like they are doing a bit of growth (at least, in the gym they do). Yea!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 23 2006, 06:08 PM |
| sure it is joe BADASS workout today! First repeated DC workout and ALL my weights AND reps went up this week. This surprised me cause I wasnt expecting to get that much of a strength gain that quickly, especially after my conduct this weekend. Here's how it went down: DB flat press = 90 x 15 RP (8,4,3) DB overhead press = 55 x 15 RP Pushdowns = 120 x 15 RP Chin Ups = +45 x 18 RP Rack Deads = 335 x 8, 405 x 6 let it be known that I love Rack Deads! I've never hit them before but dang they felt good! I should have started with the 405 for my 6-8 rep set and hit up about 455 for my 3-4 rep. I couldnt believe those numbers. Hopefully these will really help widen/thicken my back and and bring my traps up more since I've never done them before. Though, I'm having trouble getting workout times down. I workout with a friend of mine and we are basically alternating sets. I'll do my RP set and static, he'll do his. Then we stretch. But it's taking way too long to get done and I dont feel like we are wasting any time anywhere. It's taking nearly 1:20 to 1:30 to get out of the gym... this should not be, i know, but I'm not sure where to make up the extra time. Any suggestions are more than welcome!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 30 2006, 08:58 PM |
| Have I said I really enjoy this training style? I've even grown to love leg days too. Front squats for 4 reps then 20 is hell but it feels good to get done and watch your legs quiver from that and the 4 minute under tension calve training. Maybe it was cause I ended up getting into the gym (and consquently my NO-Xplode) later than usual and farther from my last meal, but my pump was nuts today and drastically contributed to the apparent size of my bi's while posing. Plus it felt good, lol. All my weights have gone up this week and some have surprised me too. I did not expect to go up from 40 to 45 on DB incline curls today, that was nice and absolutely decimated my biceps to the point that i had a hard time gripping anything for the rest of the day. That feeling of course, was only compounded by the reverse BB curls for forearms I hit up afterwards. Needless to say, I used straps on my deadlifts, get over it .I really need to get some in-gym pictures... shoot I owe you all some progress shots in my MP log. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 2 2006, 03:26 PM |
| Well my morning, post-piss weight it now 168.5 On a different note, I used to weigh myself after my workouts with my gym clothes on before I started my contest prep/cut. Back then I was 176 postworkout and yesterday I officially weighed out at 176. I don't usually even check my weight after a workout since mornings are more accurate, but I thought it was cool to see my rebound is now technically complete. I guess this means I really only weighed about 168-170 before my contest prep, not 176. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 3 2006, 08:39 PM |
| 170 even this morning! Man, this weight is starting to take off! I can still see my obiques a bit in the mirror, so I have no idea where all this weight is going... but I'll take it! I really like our new gym equipment. The leg press is the kind where the plates swing toward you and upwards when you press. Also, the foot plate is hinged so as you drop the "sled" back, it pivots to keep you from getting that damn joint stress in your ankles when you go deep. Slammed out 680 for 8 reps to start out and hit 500 for my 20 rep widowmaker afterwards. I was impressed since that's about 90 up on both sets in 2 weeks (but in fairness, last week was guessing my limit). this one felt good, but I'll have to crank it up about 50+ pounds in 2 weeks. Officially done with my 2nd, 2 week rotation on DC. I still love this training style and the low volume per day definately DOES NOT take away from the intensity. This is probably the most intense I've ever trained and I love it. DOMS usually peaks about 48 hours after workout and subsides almost completely before I train again. The lingering soreness does not affect strength at all. One final note, for not hitting any direct trap work (shrugs, upright rows) they're getting damn sore, especially after rack deadlifts and moreso after machine shoulder presses. YEA!! Gotta run, I was a good boy last wek so now it's time for a night of debauchery! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 4 2006, 04:07 PM |
| Meh, light drinking night. 2 glasses of Bailey's Mint Chocolate (which is really good by the way!) and half a shot of tequila. Time to go indoor climbing! Man i'm gonna be sore for monday's workout! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 7 2006, 03:36 PM |
| Good day again on monday. Flat DB Press: 95 x 13 RP DB Overhead Press: 60 x 14 RP Pushdowns: 130 x 15 RP Chins: +50 x 18 RP Rack deadlifts: 405 x 8, 455 x 4 thought I'd try 500 (5 plates + a 2.5 ) but I couldn't move it.Still at 170 morning weight. Workout times are starting to come down as my workout partner and I are starting to work at the same time when a spot isn't necessary among some other tweaks. Time is down from 1:30 to 1 hour. Though, I'm starting to get a little concerned as my resting heartrate has risen to between 85-90 lately... dont know what that's from, but my BP and breathing rates are normal. I may toss in 20 mins of cardio on Tuesday and Thursday to get a bit of CV fitness in. |
| Posted by: ANIMAL333 Nov 7 2006, 11:51 PM |
| Do you have a link that can show me how to do the stretches? Ive read over them but am still having a hard time understanding a few of them. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 7 2006, 11:54 PM | ||
they're weird to figure out, but eventually you'll get the hang of them. no link, sorry. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 10 2006, 12:34 PM |
| 170.8 lbs this morning... thank you Buffalo Wild Wings |
| Posted by: Christoph22123 Nov 10 2006, 12:59 PM | ||
did u read this, which site are u getting info for this type of training? http://dc-training.blogspot.com/2005/11/extreme-stretching.html |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 13 2006, 06:42 PM |
| Damnit! First bad day since starting back into bulking. Failed to beat last time's weight:rep for incline DB curls by 2 reps... so goodbye incline curls. Also missed my widowmaker 20 rep front squats by 4 (but i took the weight up 10 pounds)... I was struggling a bit today, I just wasn't all there. It sucked and I was pissed and punched the smith machine after my widowmaker. I'm having some MAJOR appetite issues lately. I was able to eat like a hoss nonstop up until I hit 170 lbs. and then suddenly it's like my stomach is just shutting off. I cant pack down nearly as much at any meal and I'm no longer remotely hungry at meals... might be time to try out some black hole... |
| Posted by: 0311 Nov 13 2006, 10:26 PM | ||
You've been blasting for over 5 weeks now since Oct. 9th. It sounds a lot like you need a cruise. Decreased appetite, not beating the log book, coming up short are all tell tale signs of overreaching (NOT overtraining). Refer to all that stuff about blasting and cruising I emailed to you. Your body may indeed can only blast for 5-6 weeks before needing a deload. If you look at the info I sent you, this fits into the norm from the information Dante originally wrote. Seriously consider taking a week to deload your body. You'll gain back your appetite, motivation, and most of all, strength. I personally swelled up like clockwork at the tail end of each cruise/deload week. Check out Joker13's log about how to cruise. Same thing applies to you. Everything gets straight setted, around 15 reps. This is also the time for you to explore other exercises you've been itching to use for a while, but couldn't because of the rest/pausing. The biggest mistake people make is to think they can blast perpetually for weeks on end thinking, "Well, everyone's body is different, and I fit in the 95 percentile that can go for 12 weeks without a deload." By the time you figure out that you needed a deload/cruise about 3 weeks back, you've already overtrained.. Meaning you'll have to extend the cruise for another week at least.  |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 13 2006, 10:34 PM |
| interesting. i was planning on holding out til 8 weeks before taking a cruise/time off as that's how I used to operate under Max-OT style. It just seems like a very short time to be slamming it out, only 6 weeks. But yea, I think you might be right, but then again it could just be a bad day... This is my 6th week so I'll definately round this out as that'll give me 3 complete rotations of my DC program. Alright, I'll take a cruise. thanks for the advice bro. |
| Posted by: 0311 Nov 13 2006, 10:50 PM | ||
LOL, I thought the same way when I did it. Max-OT doesn't hold a fucking candle to rest/pausing or 20 rep squats, so you cannot compare 8 weeks of Max-OT to DC training. Same thing goes for something like DFHT.. Thinking you can do dual factor training for 8 weeks because you could on Max-OT. I consider myself pretty advanced, and I'd be dead and burried by week 5.Keep in mind that when it comes to loading and unloading weeks, there is absolutely nothing set in stone. I can go ahead and plan for a sweet lookin' 10 week blast from hell, and only make it to week 6 or 7 before I feel like a run down piece of shit. Other programs can say 8-10 weeks before taking a week off because it's not half as intensive. Many moons ago I tried Max-OT, and my arms only lasted until week 5 doing 165 lb barbell curls before my forearms felt like a pair of knives were sticking in them.If you were to say that you just plateaued on an exercise and dumped it for another, fuck it, no big deal IMO. But when you are talking about getting weaker on TWO exercises, PLUS losing your appetite all in one week, those are the warning bells. Ride out the rest of the week and see how you faired. You'll have a good idea by the end of the week. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 13 2006, 10:54 PM |
| i only got weaker on one, the incline DB curls. Narrow stance front squats I had hit 120 x 20 previously and hit 130 x 16 before I collapsed today. i'll feel it out. I still have that 1 hour massage i won from the ONBF comp...  cruise week that will come. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Nov 14 2006, 04:22 PM |
| What in the hell are you getting mad and complaining about?!? It was only one exercise you were weaker on. You cannot expect to move up on every single exercise, every single day. Grow up peter pan! Now if such trends continue, then get worried. I can't believe you haven't hit up the free massage yet! I made "friends" with a female studying massage therapy about a week and a half ago and have already gotten two nice deep massages. I returned the favor in another capacity. Man, I didn't realize how much I needed one till she started......amazing! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 14 2006, 08:10 PM |
| haha, yea i'm looking forward to it. and it's not peter pan-ish to get pissed when you fail to best an exercise, that's determination, motivation, and expectations. it's not like i'm running around the gym crying becuase of it. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Nov 14 2006, 11:10 PM | ||
I was quoting Wedding Crashers man |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 14 2006, 11:41 PM |
| oh, i actually havent seen that |
| Posted by: mikeack Nov 15 2006, 06:51 AM | ||||
|
| Posted by: rich_55 Nov 15 2006, 10:19 AM | ||
Get your ass to a blockbuster! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 17 2006, 06:32 PM |
| GREAT WORKOUT TODAY!!! Tore the hell out of the gym today. Which is surprising considering I got 4 hours of sleep last night and was napping an hour before my workout. I dont know, I just knew after my disappointing showing with front squats on monday I had to beat the crap out of my quads. Threw another 50 lbs on my 6-10 rep set and got 8 solid reps with 730. The widowmaker was unreal though. Stepped up 20 lbs. to 520 and hit all 20 reps. I've never hurt that bad before, it was great and I almost cried when i stood up after resting my legs up on the plates, i fell over trying to take a step. one of the fitness center attendants asked if i was alright, but I didnt hear him and my buddy said i was ok. I dont think i could stand for 2-3 minutes, it was great. biceps were also great, stepped up to 90 lbs. on my bb curl for 20 RP reps and got a great squeeze at the top with good negatives. In the zone today I guess. Either way, it was the leg workout of dreams. OH! AND I weighed in this morning at 173.2 lbs!!! That's up over 2 pounds since the last time I checked a week ago! Just for fun, I weighed myself postworkout like I used to do and was 178, +2 pounds from my highest weight ever, so record weight baby! Yea! Shirts are starting to get tighter across the chest and in the armpits, a very good sign! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 21 2006, 07:26 PM |
| Well, I'm officially taking my first cruise on DC. As such, I think it's time for some measurements, which I was a little apprehensive about to say the least. Calves: 15" +0 Forearm: 12" +.5 Thighs: 22.5" +1 Biceps: 15" +.5 Neck: 15.25" +.25 Waist: 31.5" +1.5 Chest: 39" relaxed +1 Lats: 43.5" spread +3! Shoulders: 45" relaxed +? Needless to say, I'm excited to see that lat measurement move up! My morning weight is now 173.4 lbs too. Picture updates will come as soon as I get some batteries...  |
| Posted by: rich_55 Dec 1 2006, 12:20 PM |
| You alive? Or, did you retire from bodybuilding already? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 1 2006, 03:02 PM |
| Lol, i'm alive. But with this cruise going on there really isn't anything to update in the ol' journal i still am not in the least bit hungry and it's really starting to hurt my eating habits as I can't eat as much as I want and I certainly am never motivated to eat period. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Dec 3 2006, 09:50 PM |
| Once you start hitting the gym again, your hunger should improve some. If all else fails get some black hole. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 3 2006, 09:57 PM |
| seriously considering it, especially since i've got about a day of melting point left and I'm gonna try out all those free supps from the ONBF. This is definately impairing my progress as i've already lost a pound or two. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 7 2006, 12:33 AM |
Back to blasting! Feels good to push myself again after that cruise. Weights are not down surprisingly, I'm using whatever weight I hit before my cruise and either matching or besting it in reps. So i'm very pleased with that. Hopefully this will get some new growth going. thanks for caring rich  |
| Posted by: ANIMAL333 Dec 8 2006, 12:12 AM |
| Youve made some pretty damn good gains Bryan. Keep up the hard work! |
| Posted by: whatastud08 Dec 8 2006, 01:24 PM |
| Wow, I haven't been on in quite some time but you have made some amazing progress Bryan. If you hit your 200 lbs goal you will be carrying some serious muscle and Im sure continue to do well in competition. Congrats, and good luck in the future. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 11 2006, 12:03 AM |
| Thanks guys, I really appreciate that. Well friday I had a pretty great leg day. Said fuck it to the smith squats and went back to squatting in the power rack. At the time, I didn't feel like I'd pushed myself to the limit, but i've been absolutely destroyed in the legs all weekend, which is something that hasn't happened in a long time. Felt GREAT! Not to mention that despite having not gone balls-to-walls in 5 training sessions, all my weights were up to par and actually my free squats felt like I could have bested my previous weights, but I had to guess at the weight since I've not free squated since starting DC. Also, I think i'm gonna ditch the DC calf training of doing 15 second stretch-holds between rep cause I really dont feel like it's getting the job done. What I DO feel is getting the job done is higher total rep rest-pause sets (ie. triceps and back) so I'm going to switch over to 20-30 rep rest-pause sets for calves and see how the next blast session goes. Appetite is still piss poor. This is starting to concern me. This could be a really good test for Black Hole, someone who's appetite is suffering rather than people who were already eating like a hoss. Gonna have to order soon anyway. That's all the update. |
| Posted by: slikkballa31 Dec 11 2006, 02:34 AM |
| yea the calf workout for DC doesnt work for me either |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 11 2006, 08:09 PM |
| well i took about 12 pics tonight and they all are just coming out shitty. Apparently whenever i use the self timer on my camera everything in the picture is in focus except me. So i had to up the brightness/contrast/sharpen the photos a bit, these were the best I could salvage (I hate that my quads look better now than they did at the show ) |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 11 2006, 08:11 PM |
| visibly wider back? (yeah i know these are the same comments as in my MP review, but i figure that will get lost quick) |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 12 2006, 12:28 PM |
| Sad to say, I had to place my first order elsewhere today. I just couldn't pass up a chance to save $14 on a 3 item order. But it's official, I will now be putting my faith in Black Hole to save me from my appetite-less mire. C'mon black hole! I've come to the conclusion that the reason for my suffering appetite is probably a weight limit. I guess my body just hits this weight of 173 and is like "ok, this is enough, now stop it." |
| Posted by: rich_55 Dec 12 2006, 12:42 PM |
| Your legs do look fuller and more separated. Keep hitting that legs and back hard and you will be a force! |
| Posted by: ShakesAllDay Dec 12 2006, 12:44 PM |
| Nice job, beefcake. I still hate you and all of your striated muscles.  |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 12 2006, 01:26 PM | ||
you wish you were as beefcake as me! |
| Posted by: ShakesAllDay Dec 12 2006, 01:29 PM | ||||
|
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 12 2006, 02:04 PM | ||||||
don't cry shakes, one day you'll look back and say, "Wait a minute, I'm 225 lbs. Bryan actually wishes he could be me." Then you'll smile. |
| Posted by: ShakesAllDay Dec 12 2006, 02:50 PM |
| I was NOT crying. I was pouting. There is a difference. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 13 2006, 05:42 PM |
 What a fuckin badass leg day today, well quad day at least. Hit 730x8 on the leg press and followed it up with an ungodly 540x20... oh it felt wonderful, took a while to be able to stand up. AND YES, my range was superb. There were even a few reps were I heard the sled tap the safety catch. Nothing better than having to sit down on your ass between sets of cable crunches after a devastating leg workout. Forgot to mention, my legs were quivering whenever i stood up, rather violently if I do say so myself. But that was from my calf workout. For some reason hardcore calf training does that to me. Oh well, just wanted to post my joy. I wanna puke so badly after a workout, but I'm just never that lucky. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 14 2006, 11:52 PM |
| What a good day for fun and a bad day for diet. I called off on work today as the forecast was 60 degrees for dayton, ohio in december to go golfing. Good times, but not much food for 4 hours, yea I know I could have done something about that but i didnt care. later tonight, 17 boneless wings and cheese cake at buffalo wild wings... yea, i'm getting fat! Side note, my neck/hams were killing me today after golfing. I could barely support my neck it was so sore. I have no idea why, but my hamstrings were so sore I could barely walk... weird. |
| Posted by: slikkballa31 Dec 15 2006, 02:05 AM |
| that used to happen to me when i golf too |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 15 2006, 10:32 PM |
| Well, I've gotta say that initially Black Hole is a pretty cool product. I took 2 tabs instead of the regular 3 after my workout. I downed my PWO shake and bought a footlong sub on the way to church to help out backstage with the christmas musical. Ate the first 6" about an hour after my PWO and it felt... different. Like my stomach felt like it was filling up, but the mental connection that says, "That's enough" and makes me stop wasn't there so I just kept pushing more down. I still felt full, but didn't feel like I had to stop eating... Later I got some mad gas, which was a bit uncomfortable backstage around people from my church... Oh well, an hour later ate the other 6" with the same sensation. Pretty neat if I do say so myself. I'll try it out before breakfast tomorrow. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 23 2006, 12:02 PM |
| another pretty solid leg day today. moreso from calves and hams, but quads were decent. I decided to reprioritize my workouts, so quads are now first, then calves, then hams, bis, fores. Didn't realize what a difference in power that would make. Stepped up my squats by 10 on both my 4-6 and 20 rep sets, but didnt feel all that fragged. So I'm now gonna punish myself for not pushing hard enough on any exercise with a heavier set to failure. Felt good. Yep, weights still going up everywhere. Man, I should eat chipotle for lunch everyday, it's superfood. |
| Posted by: Newbie2BB Dec 23 2006, 11:20 PM |
| Hey . ok so for christmas i discovered this and i have read all that u have wrote and added yas to my favorite. very inspirational not to mention congrats on ur 136 pound frame to where u r now. After reading all the entirity. i have a couple of questions that you might be able to clarify for me. what suppliments would u recommend for bulking that you have used . i know u was trying to find supplements that u could take as a basis routine. Also when cutting what supplements. I am an aspiring bodybuilder. I right now and 5'7 155 around 14% body fat lookin to bulk. That body fat might be off cause how it was taken. but anyways u get the point. btw i just joined as well but i have been body building for a year. and finally learned to get diet under control. smiles. anyways also do u recommend any books that have helped yas. I didnt know if it was a sports medicine or what. thanks for all and sorry for all the questions just know i totally admire ur dedication and discipline. thanks |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 29 2006, 02:48 PM |
| Sadly, I think that the Black Hole results noted earlier were placebo. Since then, I've had a shit appetite and my eating habits are struggling as a result. I don't know what it is, but even when I'm hungry it seems like i fill up within minutes. I was forcing down a 6" the other day for God's sake... I think I'm doomed to be 176 and no more... fuck my genes, moderately good at everything, excelling at nothing. |
| Posted by: willpiazza31 Dec 29 2006, 02:52 PM | ||
uhhh you were what?!? |
| Posted by: Newbie2BB Dec 29 2006, 02:57 PM |
| Yea he did say 6 inches ...LOL best post ever. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 29 2006, 02:57 PM |
| lol, fuck off a 6" subway roasted chicken sandwich also, I'm making a minor change to my routine in that I'm gonna start squatting twice every two week period. Rather than Squats one day, leg press next, then some other pussy quad work, I'm gonna throw in a Squats again. Squat, Leg Press, Squat, repeat. |
| Posted by: willpiazza31 Dec 29 2006, 02:59 PM |
| oohhh ok. What if you dirty up your diet a little bit more. You might see better gains. Also drink more calories if you can't stomach so much food. |
| Posted by: Newbie2BB Dec 29 2006, 02:59 PM |
| hey sorry is there any supplements u totally recommend on a budget and also any sports medicine book u recommend thanks |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 29 2006, 03:01 PM | ||
In all honesty, I have been. Every day I've had some horrendous cheat meal. Last night was buffalo wings, chocolate cake and ice cream at buffalo wild wings. I really dont wanna go back to the liquid breakfast. I really enjoyed doing the eggs and oatmeal coming off the contest season, but it's looking like the big blended breakfast is gonna come back. This is just pissing me off to no end. |
| Posted by: willpiazza31 Dec 29 2006, 03:07 PM |
| I know what you mean about breakfast. I cannot eat solid food until 2 hours after I wake up. Cook up some steaks and potatoes. Fuck Subway. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 29 2006, 05:50 PM |
| haha, i do. i just needed something a bit more portable to last me the 3+ hours i was gonna be out. This wouldn't bother me so much but for the fact that from 153 lbs. to 176 lbs. coming off my contest (which was about 2+ months) I was a tank. I've never been able to eat solid breakfasts very well but I was pounding it out then every morning. On a plus note, good squat day. I'm getting better at firing myself up for squats and push myself harder. Stepped up from 285x6 to 315x6. Wont make as big a jump next week time to avoid form infractions but i was most surprised by stepping up my widowmaker from 195x20 to 225x18. Yea, it was a good time lemme tell you. Though, I was kinda disappointed because my lower back seems to wear out before my quads. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 30 2006, 02:13 PM |
| alright, need some serious constructive thoughts. I'm considerig modifying my routine a bit to do a 6-10 week leg-focus and try and bring them up to par. Not sure how I want to go about this though. Somehow, I'm thinking to increase frequency of legs and either maintain or decrese upper body work. Is this plausible and if so any recommendations how to focus in on this? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 2 2007, 11:22 PM | ||
i find it hard to believe no one on this board has an opinion. Also, got bored, messed with some pics and my minimal photoshop skills |
| Posted by: drstamper3 Jan 3 2007, 09:06 AM |
| The blue BRY! Lookin ghost like. You weren't bored, you just thought it looked sweet. I think your plan is plausible as long as you avoid overtraining the hammies, quads or glutes during any week. Maybe Modifying the Mon Fri leg week so that all 4 leg workouts use different exercises to nail the trunks. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 3 2007, 07:32 PM |
| Hell yea! 180 postworkout weight! I punched a few lockers in celebration. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 4 2007, 12:06 AM |
| I've done some leg training about every 4 days with clients to bring up legs with some success. I simply alternate between light and heavy days. That 5x5 full body routine I did was heavy legs and kicks ass. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 4 2007, 04:11 PM |
| Look out big! Chipotle burrito to the rescue: 1,513 calories 71g fat 139g carbs 87g protein Went light on a few things, but damn, that's an ectomeal. Lol! Death is delicious. Double steak fajita burrito, rice, mild, corn, hot, lt. sour cream, cheese, lettuce Funny thing though, they had a sign that read something like: "Dont resolution your diet, revolution it. Our chicken is humanely raised with no hormones... blah blah" I think it's hilarious how they try to appeal to dieters.. I cant think of another place i can pack down 1,500+ cals in a single meal. |
| Posted by: vanquish Jan 4 2007, 06:35 PM | ||
Just curious, do you eat like this often? I know you are bulking and everything, but I am just curious if you have said farewell to your abs for now. Anyway, just wondering. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 4 2007, 06:38 PM |
| lol, more often than you'd think. but maybe once a week or every other friday (payday). Nope, I've got more abs right now at 180 than I did this summer when i was 176. But yeah, I've been trying to say farewell to my abs for the last 2 years but they just wont leave! |
| Posted by: vanquish Jan 4 2007, 06:41 PM |
| Well, lucky you. Congrats on hitting 180. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 4 2007, 06:42 PM |
| thanks bro! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 10 2007, 09:10 PM |
| So reprioritization has been the best thing I've done since the show. Ever since bumping my quad work to the front of the line, I've had nothing but amazing leg workouts every week. And yes, I'm squatting every leg workout now. I'll change my 20-rep widowmaker up on occasion, but every heavy set is gonna be sqautting and so far it's paying off. Believe it or not, I'm finally getting stoked about squats, both heavy set and widowmakers, especially sinec each workout brings about 10 pounds of improvement, talk about a difference. Today's squatting was especially fantastic. Set a new PR with 6 solid reps of 335, good negatives and good depth, which is something I've really been trying to focus on over the last few months. Sixth rep was wonderful, one of those 1/2 inch per minute positives that feels like it's never gonna get to the top. Got dizzy, fell over, smiled. Widowmaker was also something special, hit 235x18 and absolutely crashed afterwards. It's so nice to finally have a power rack with those catch bars to squat in. Who needs more than 2 sets in a workout? Oh and Rich, you'll be proud of me, in an effort to get myself motivated and psyched up for some squatting, I finally said, "Fuck it" to the gloves and bar pad. I like it a lot more (especially when I'm not sunburnt from the pool )Also, in a drastic turn of events, I'm beginning to hate bicep work. Maybe it's cause it's 2nd to last in my workout order now and I'm tired, but it's just not much fun anymore. Who'd have thought I'd ever see the day I'd rather squat for an hour than do bicep work? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 10 2007, 09:17 PM |
| Oh, and one more thing. I finally got around to reading "Serious Strength Training" as recommended by a few people on here, namely Shakes as I recall. So far the peroidizing and microcycling sounds like an interesting plan. I'm really considering giving this a try after a few more weeks of DC. Partially because I feel I'm a very quick adapter and need those more frequent unloading phases. Anyone with experience using this? Shakes have you tried it or just read the book? |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 10 2007, 11:51 PM |
| 180 huh? Nice! I probably weigh less now, haha! Looks like your squats are coming along (and hopefully your legs too). Be sure to really control the weight well and get the most bang for your buck. You should always squat at this point in the game (i.e. trying to stack on mass particularly your legs). I'm glad you'll be no longer losing the "pussy pad" for squats. 95% of my girls don't even use that thing. My gay men I train are basically the only one who use that thing...seriously. Keep hitting it hard man!! Let me know your plans for the Arnold. Buy a ticket to the Arnold Amateur on Friday morning. They are only $30 total. You and a few buddies are welcome to crash. A lifting session is mandatory. Oh, if looking to gain you have to give Vitargo pre, during and postworkout a try. I love this crap and have slowly tapered the use down during my cutting. AWESOME pump, fullness, energy, extra calories and insulin spike. |
| Posted by: ShakesAllDay Jan 10 2007, 11:58 PM | ||
I've read it, and applied some of the training principles, though not to the degree the book specifies. I think I have training ADD, or something, because even when I develop a program to use, and it seems solid, I always end up doing something different eventually. I do basic periodization, but again, not to the degree the book warrants. And, I tried the *metabolic diet* as specified in the book, and found it to be unbearable. I am weak when it comes to a strict diet. I guess that's why I do this for *fun*, and not anything more serious. |
| Posted by: willpiazza31 Jan 11 2007, 12:10 AM |
| pussy pad Looks like you need to develop your traps!!! That's all the padding you need on squats. Heavy shrugs!!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 11 2007, 12:46 AM | ||
I look forward to the Arnold weekend this year. And yes, this year there will be crashing and hopefully you wont end up with tickets to the womens shit and I'll be left with nothing to do all night and end up driving home. You planning on the prejudging again? I'd like to and then hit up the finals back at your casa afterwards. Assuming, of course, that you're makin' steaks again. lol, maybe i'll grill this time Also, I dont know about the vitargo. I get enough of an insulin crash just doing malto an dex post workout. To the point 45 mins afterwards i'm so exhausted that i can feel carbs hit my blood when i eat something like whole wheat spaghetti 10 minutes later. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 11 2007, 10:16 AM | ||
Hadn't planned on it, but I would be willing if you wanted to go. Watching the finals on PPV is the way to go. I'm lovin the Vitargo and have not wanted to remove it b/c I like it that much. I recommend doing 1/2 scoops before, during and immediately after with some gatorade powder. I have my protein and more carbs 15 to 20 minutes later and usually have SOME slower digesting carbs to keep my energy up. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 12 2007, 08:12 PM |
| It's days like today I can tell i'm definately not built for power, at least not yet. Power Cleans @ 155 for two sets of 8 kicked my ass... don't knock it, i just started doing them last week. I like the effort involved, but they're my new "apprehensive exercise," replacing the long-time champion squat. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 17 2007, 02:26 PM |
| well it's looking like it decision time. I'm coming up on some scheduled unloading time and i'm trying to decide what to do, generally speaking: -a leg emphasized hypertrophy routine or -a maximum strength phase seeing as how it's been a very long time since I've done strength-focused routine, i'm leaning toward that, but at the same time, i really need some freakin wheels. Need some 2nd, 3rd, etc. opinions here. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 17 2007, 04:01 PM |
| Give my 5x5 full body a try. My strength went up and I gained size, particularly in my legs and back. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 17 2007, 08:30 PM |
| that's definately a program i've been considering. on another note, it's time for a break. I hit the wall hard today and couldn't finish my workout. Nearly passed out after hitting 1 set of heavy squats, a widowmaker leg press @ 590 and 2 sets of stiff-legged deadlifts. I dont know what it was, but i was spent. At any rate, it's a perfect time too. I'm looking to change up routines a bit and a good week and a half off should be a nice break-transition. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 17 2007, 10:05 PM |
| well since it is now break time again, time to see how things have change over the last month and 3/4s Calves: 15.25" +.25 Forearm: 12" +0 Thighs: 23" +.5 Biceps: 15.5" +.5 Neck: 15.5" +.25 Waist: 32.5" +1 Chest: 39.5" relaxed +.5 Lats: 44.25" spread +.75 Shoulders: 47" relaxed +2 Weight: 176 lbs +3.5 probably could be better, I am getting a touch fatter, and it's becoming visible, but i'm sure nothing any of you would call fat either. Oh well, here's to 10 days of rest! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 19 2007, 06:45 PM |
184 postcardio weight...  (thank you chipotle an buffalo wild wings)(the 176 above is a morning measurement) |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 23 2007, 10:01 PM |
| went to the exercise biology department this afternoon for a "fitness analysis" that they are doing for people for our "departmental fitness challege" to see which department in the college uses the gym the most/is the most fit. basically means we did a push up test, a 1 RM bench, VO2max test, and a bodyfat analysis. I was... shocked at my bodyfat. I weighed in at 175.5 pounds and a mere 6.6% bodyfat! WTF? Chipotle is failing me, apparently i need more calorically dense food than that. Oh, and the bodyfat measurements are done in the "Bod Pod" which uses air displacement to measure body volume in comparision to bodyweight. As for my VO2max, i was impressed, 48.4 whatever units. Apparently 60 is "elite athlete" and lance armstrong is an 80ish. So i'm proud of that for a guy who has done vigorous cardio in over 2 years. Basically VO2max is how well your body utilizes oxygen. higher is better. disappointed with my 1RM bench press. We had to fast for 4 hours prior to the bodyfat, so i hadnt eaten in a while, only put up 255 but i havent really done BB bench since back during contest cut season this summer. Been doing DB work since i've been on DC training.Overall, interesting results. Man, this really makes me wonder what the hell my bodyfat was during contest time. Had to have been like 1-3% at best. Dang. But this also tells me I lost a significant amount of muscle in my contest prep as my lean mass right now is 163 pounds and i competed at 151ish. Not cool. that's a lot of muscle wasting. Looking back on my cutting progress pics, it's pretty apparent that i did lose a decent amount of muscle somewhere between August 18th and the beginning of september and on to my show, particularly in my back. oh well, live and learn, more carbs next time around. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 24 2007, 12:59 PM |
| Still very lean I see. That is not a bad thing, but it does tell you that you can eat more. You were probably around 3-4% when you competed. You can expect some loss of muscle mass when dieting for a show. I myself am tapering my carbs/cals downward much more conservatively this time around. Live and learn, huh. Hey man, what do you want to do about the Arnold Classic men's prejudging. Do you want to go? Are any of your buddies going? Do you want to get tickets next to eachother? The weekend is only 5 weeks away. Let me know. I already have tickets to the Arnold Amateur on Friday morning as I bought a group of 5 tickets for a few of my clients and I for Christmas. |
| Posted by: KAILSD Jan 27 2007, 08:34 PM |
| how do u like dc training |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 27 2007, 09:00 PM | ||
it's pretty good, intense. though, i feel like my chest got left behind since i had to knock out barbell benching for the most part. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 6 2007, 06:23 PM |
| so rich demands an update: unstable's modded 5x5 is pretty great. Best part is i'm having no trouble getting any workout done in under 40 minutes. The supersets and low supporting work really makes time limits easy to hit. Also, it feels GREAT to finally be back at doing some strength work, repping out 4-5 reps a set just brings that manly feeling back to the gym, dunno, just felt pretty big monday doing Flat BB bench and pulldown superset (yeah, i know everyone wants BB rows, but i really need the width). Also, I absolutely love doing the speed work the latter half of the week. Though, it's kind of like a tease almost, because I get done and i'm all pumped up and not tired, so i feel like throwing some shit or breaking something. AND the plus to that is, it seems to be a GREAT appetite stimulant. I actually feel like eating a horse when i get home from them. Plus, IMO, it really seems like the speed training is gonna be beneficial for gaining some power on the bench/squat (which actually got my ass rather sore). Good times, bench is a meeger 230 for 5,5,4,3,3 reps but it will get back up to where it was pre contest/DC. Weight is 176.8 in the AM. And it's sadly official, the scale in the locker room is horse shit. I never weighed >180 because the new scales in the gym read 176.5 monday and the locker room said 183... fuck. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Feb 7 2007, 02:10 PM |
| Couldn't just take my program for face value huh? I have seen that program stack muscle on me and several others very well. Most people get stronger EVERY week and most improvement is to the back and legs. Oh well, your loss. See if I help you again. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 7 2007, 03:58 PM | ||
You didnt explain your program to me well! And i tried to go with what I thought it was but i got railed for massive overtraining (and nearly died in the gym). So if you can explain it better to me, by all means do. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Feb 8 2007, 11:21 AM | ||||
You never asked till now. I actually assumed you were intelligent enough to figure it out. After I reread my thread I still couldn't imagine how you wouldn't understand it besides the superset thing. I never do opposing muscle group supersets with no rest because I always want to be strong. Kind of a no-brainer I assumed. Don't worry though I made changes to my thread, so that even a monkey could figure it out....hopefully. 5x5 training is different than my typical training in that you have to get ALL sets of 5 reps to go up in weight. So you start with a weight that you can lift 7-8 times and use that for your 5x5 training. You are NOT to train beyond failure as this would surely cause overtraining. Now, if you fail to get 5 reps on a set, you simply stop and move onto the next exercise. Do not continue to do sets of 4, 3, etc, just move on after failure (no forced reps), because you will essentially be hitting many of the same muscle groups in 2 days. Your goal should be to get another set of 5 next time. If you get all 5 sets increase the weight approximately 5%. You should be able to get at least 3 sets of 5 to start and in some cases must work up to this after increasing the weight. To clarilfy "supersets" of exercises as denoted, these are to be done with 1-2 minutes between or however long it takes you to catch your breath. This program is about STRENGTH. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 8 2007, 03:17 PM |
| so, as in your other thread, you're doing those 6 exercises without a true superset of back to back no rest in between? That seems like a lot of "In Gym" time as even with the no rest supersets i was in for a long time. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Feb 8 2007, 10:24 PM | ||
OMG, dude, ya take a minute or two between supersets (therefore 3-4 between sets) and your done in LESS THAN AN HOUR. Yes, 6 exercises but ONLY 3-4 are the ones using the 5x5 and most are NOT done to failure because you could get more reps on the first few sets, but rather stop at 5. "You're killing me Smalls!" |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 9 2007, 01:23 AM |
| hey now, this is what happens when you try and piece shit together from a workout summary |
| Posted by: calotono Feb 10 2007, 10:32 PM |
| yeah. that 5x5 explanation confused the shit out of me. we can all read it better if its put in columns and is very explanatory. i would surely like to try that 5x5 sometime!! sound cool. and by the way bryan... how often do you hit your abs? the same exercises every time? cause i really need some ab muscle! especially lower abs! thanks man |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 18 2007, 09:08 PM |
| update: shit sucks. having some off and on ailment that's killing my appetite and ability to eat. to the point of me getting about 3-5 meals a day at best. sucks ass... |
| Posted by: rich_55 Feb 19 2007, 01:03 AM | ||
 Ailment? Sound like some form a vaginitis. Just playin. Everything cool?What do you want to do about the Men's prejudging for the Classic? The finals are webcasted this year. Gimme a call. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Feb 19 2007, 09:55 AM |
| i'll call you. i dont know what it is, but it's been kicking my ass for the last 2 weeks. The worst part is it's not all that bad, but for some reason I just can't eat at all. Like a meal now may only consist of a sandwich and a banana before my stomach gets pissed off at me. i may need to go see the doc. |
| Posted by: vanquish Mar 4 2007, 06:04 PM |
| Hey Bryan, just wondering how things are going. You haven't updated for a long time. Hope you aren't in the hospital or something from being sick |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 4 2007, 06:29 PM |
| no, things are just sucking and am rather stuck gains wise (aside from strength) so i'm trying to figure out how to get over this. On a good note, I met Jamie Eason at the Arnold this weekend and she's even more amazing in person. I believe I can officially die happy now. actually almost missed her, she wasnt at the booth and as we were heading out she walked in past us and went to the bb.com booth. close call. |
| Posted by: unstable Mar 4 2007, 07:08 PM |
| what is your diet looking like? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 4 2007, 08:01 PM | ||
shitty and small, my appetite still sucks |
| Posted by: unstable Mar 4 2007, 11:33 PM |
| just a thought...maybe too much volume too quickly = serious case of overtraining. Do you keep track of your heartrate and temperature? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 5 2007, 12:04 AM |
| nope, and i'm not hitting very high volume monday is just 5x5 with bench/pulldowns 2 sets lat raise 2 sets dips 2 sets some curl tuesday is 5x5 with squat/seated leg curl 3 sets calves 3 sets abs then the dynamic effort days, which arent stressful really |
| Posted by: rich_55 Mar 5 2007, 12:57 AM |
| Shut up and eat.....Sally! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 5 2007, 09:27 AM |
| anyone think this could possibly be due to me developing a lactose intolerance? anybody with lactose intollerance got an opinion? i have been getting some rancid shits/farts as of late. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 6 2007, 12:23 AM |
| i'm beginning to suspect it a bit more |
| Posted by: Vaporize Mar 6 2007, 02:38 AM |
| You met Jamie eason? Goddamn you I've had a crush on her for so long .I'd probably pass out if I met her in person... like those jackasses you see in the movies. BTW, just shut up and eat |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 6 2007, 11:10 AM |
| oh trust me, i almost did pass out. but i think i handled it well and played it cool ok so the grand experiment begins today, no more dairy... damn it, water-based shakes sucks... |
| Posted by: b3llo38 Mar 13 2007, 09:21 PM |
| bryan get optimum nutritions new extreme chocolate flavor protein, or somethign like that, i cant drink shakes with water it makes me so sick cause the taste is so bland and plain, but i had a scoop of this and about 6-8oz of water today(starting my cut) and it didnt taste to bad, 2 scoops probably would ahve been good, but i noticed i was still hungry after the shakes(stomache rumbling) and i notice when take with dairy products i lose my appetite |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 13 2007, 10:45 PM | ||
i actually went through a 5 lb tub of that. wasnt that much different from double chocolate to be honest. oh well, i'm acclimating to the water shakes, just needs more powder per fluid ounce to compensate and a tad of sugar. but i am hungrier, now if only i could get my stomach stretched out to eat more... |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 18 2007, 04:34 AM |
| tried my first supramaximal workout on friday. felt great actually, maxed out my bench at 275 1RM (i know, not that fantastic) but loaded up 295 and then 315 for some supramaximal negative work. felt pretty good and i'm looking forward to incorporating that in the future. oh well, i'm leaving for Panama City Beach at 8am, time to get some sleep. See you all in a week and hopefully have some good pics/stories to share. |
| Posted by: Will109090 Mar 22 2007, 02:10 PM |
| Don't even think about working out over SB. Just get drunk!! |
| Posted by: rich_55 Mar 22 2007, 09:17 PM | ||
I second!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 24 2007, 12:53 PM |
| Panama City Beach Spring Break Recap Not a ton of good stories, but enough. Saw tons of tits, some worthwhile, some not so much. Mostly just chilled on the beach, made some new friends, play football, whatever. Best story though: Wednesday night, we made plans to go to one of the big clubs down by the beach. We had met a few girls and invited them to come with us. This one 18 y.o. seemed pretty cool the whole time we were hanging out beforehand. Well once we all get there, she's an idiot and tries to wipe off her under 21 stamp and gets kicked out. So my friend goes out and hangs out with her in the parking lot for nearly an hour until she finally gets back in from flashing the guy working the door. once she's back in she gives me her phone, cash, and ID and she and my friend go off to dance. maybe 4 minutes later he comes back and is like "she left and i dont know where she went." well later we find out she's dancing with some kid from my rival high school (small world) and making the fuck out with him after bailing on the guy who'd been keeping her company all night. So we're pretty drunk and about 2 hours later i realize i've still got all her shit. so he's says "dude, she's a whore, drinks are on her." so we went ahead and spent all her money on drinks for us and our friends. end of the night comes around and she has no idea who's got her stuff, so we obviously dont tell her. she's upset, goes home with some other guy. we all head out about 3ish and my friend and i got down to the beach (drunker than i've ever been) and eventually just pass out on the beach. When we woke up the next morning it was cold as hell and the sun was coming up. We got up, walked down and pissed in the ocean, went back to the room and fell asleep again. Woke up about noon and were still drunk (legally too, my friend brought his breathalizer with us). We did give her stuff back right before we left and claimed we found it cleaning out our van... but obviously no cash. Oh, and we took a picture of another friends' balls on her phone. Bottom line, i actually lost a few pounds (eating junk food, burgers, etc. all week and getting drunk every night) so i've got my work cut out for me gym wise. Great time, wish we'd stayed longer, wish i'd never come back. Oh well, next year i suppose. |
| Posted by: vanquish Mar 24 2007, 01:04 PM |
| Sweet man, sounds like you had a good time. I would have shit myself waking up the next morning on the beach |
| Posted by: rich_55 Mar 27 2007, 01:16 PM |
| Sounds like some priceless good times!!! Good stuff. Back to reality....lift, eat, sleep, grow!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 27 2007, 09:59 PM |
| yep, great time, but back to the gym. it was really rough monday. like my body was saying "what the hell? why are we moving heavy shit around? we should be incoherent lying on a beach..." so monday's upper body workout was rough and strength was down... but today hit up lower body and felt great. it's nice to be back on NO-Xplode and adding some waxy maize starch to the preworkout mix. I'm not really sure what i want to do know in terms of training, but i'm getting sick of trying all these programs and not really seeing the progress i want. so i think i'm gonna do a 2x per week Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri upper/lower split and just wing the workouts for the most part, switch things up in terms of workouts, exercises, rep ranges, whatever just to try and see what works for me. Probably not the best idea, but i really dont care. |
| Posted by: opfor101 Mar 28 2007, 07:18 PM |
| hey bryan, which program have you seen the best results from? im trying to just switch things up after bulkfest ends just for the change. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 29 2007, 07:27 PM | ||
in all honesty, Max-OT was the most gains, but that was also when i was first beginning. so i can't really judge it fairly. GREAT workout today. Nothing stellar weight-wise but just felt fantastic, strong, and motivated. Actually wanted to do sets quickly i was so pumped up and had to restrain myself a bit to ensure a decent rest/recovery between sets. Also felt HUGE and pump was great. Just one of those days it was good to be in the gym and feeling badass. NO-Xplode/Waxy Maize Starch is a beautiful thing. Also, i've rebounded rather well from the 173 weight loss spring break and shot back up to an even 180 today after workout! that was unexpected but welcome. i'm kind of enjoying this "freestyle" training. here's basically what i'm going for: start out with big compounds like bench, deadlift, squat, etc. for 3-4 sets, hit another 2 sets of the same primary group (quads) then switch gears to opposing group (hams) and work out a few isolation sets to finish off (ie, after back hit 1 set of 2 different exercises for bi/tris). Feels pretty good. I'm liking the 4-day a week lifts, seems like i'm working out (vs. the 3 day split). kickass! |
| Posted by: rich_55 Mar 29 2007, 08:48 PM |
| You need to stop seeking for new and different programs as if you'll stumble across the best. Just start smashing weight in a methodical manner to enable proper recover and bring up weak points. Keep things that work and eliminate things that don't, never fearing to try new things that might enable new growth. Most importantly, always shoot for more weights and/or reps and keeping eating to grow. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 29 2007, 11:11 PM | ||
yea, that's what i'm doing and so far i like it. |
| Posted by: Will109090 Mar 30 2007, 12:46 AM |
| Hey Bryan, are you still on the DC Training regimen? |
| Posted by: Will109090 Mar 30 2007, 12:49 AM |
| Bryan, sounds like you had a great time over SB. Unfortunately, this is my senior year, so I won't be able to enjoy a college Spring Break again, unless I'm in school next Spring. SB is the best time of college. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 30 2007, 01:31 AM |
| no, not still doing DC. and yes spring break was sweet and just because you're out of college doesnt mean you cant get a group of horny guys together to rent a hotel room in panama city for a week that just so happens to be during college spring break time... if you catch my drift. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Mar 30 2007, 09:05 PM |
| Got my pair of Incarnate bottles in today. Took my first 3-cap PWO dose today before heading out and got a nice Beta-alanine flush about 10 minutes later. Forgot how fun that was. Keep you guys posted. Good leg training day today, again nothing spectacular but didn't feel like i was dragging. Good times. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 2 2007, 06:45 PM |
| good workout today. first since starting Incarnate last friday evening. strength was up a bit but otherwise felt pretty normal. weighed out of the gym at 179.5 otherwise not much to report. i'm not gonna track all my lifts, but just some of the key ones: flat BB bench: 235x 6 for 3 sets chins @ +35x8 for 2 sets |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 4 2007, 04:17 PM |
| great leg day yesterday. squats were up, endurance felt good. fairly sore today. still getting a nice fluch from Incarnate, i like it. A2G squats 295 x 6 |
| Posted by: rich_55 Apr 5 2007, 08:15 AM |
| You should take some progress pictures. It has been a little while if I'm not mistaken. Enjoy the Incarnate! I start my SteelEdge and IntraXcell log today, beginning with legs.  |
| Posted by: opfor101 Apr 5 2007, 10:09 AM | ||
hey bryan was it that you were only doing ass2 grass squats for leg day or you did some miscellaneous stuff that arent really that relevant to post? just wondering. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 5 2007, 04:28 PM |
| i'm only gonna track progress on some of the more major lifts so i dont have to write out everything i do in the gym. i would get some progress pics up, but i dont feel like i've made much lately... |
| Posted by: john123131 Apr 5 2007, 04:35 PM | ||
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| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 5 2007, 07:47 PM |
| another strong, good training day. didnt feel exhausted when i left, but definately felt big. weighed out at 181.5... so that's pretty awesome. Incline DB presses went up from 85x6 to 90x6, slowly closing in on those 100's for incline, sweet. Flush is declining, kinda makes me sad though, i love it. makes me feel like the stuff is kicking in. Just wondering if anyone thinks it's a problem to combine multiple supplements with betaine and l-histidine (aka NO-xplode and Incarnate). |
| Posted by: opfor101 Apr 8 2007, 08:59 AM | ||||
how does the "flush" feel like? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 8 2007, 12:33 PM |
| get some beta-alanine and find out for yourself. kind of a prickly warm feeling. |
| Posted by: Palo Alto Labs Apr 12 2007, 03:13 PM | ||
it fades away after a while... first time i had a BA product i didnt expect it and it freaked me out a little bit! After that I came to enjoy it! |
| Posted by: Jason2459 Apr 12 2007, 03:16 PM | ||
It's strange. I have either gotten a prickly sensation, only twice so far, or warm but not both. I usually get the warm feeling. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 16 2007, 09:35 PM |
| super shitty ass workouts lately. Last tuesday was a terrible leg day, to the point that i took the second half of the week off. Today, did upper, and it was crappy. I was flirting with the line of puking all day and was not feeling strong at all... hopefully this will sort itself out. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Apr 17 2007, 08:33 AM | ||
I'm sorry to hear that man. Let me know when you want to come into Cbus and hit up a workout together. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 17 2007, 05:17 PM |
| fuck, another shitty ass workout. i'm just run down and unmotivated... i dont know what the heck is going on. Though, i think it may be insufficient water intake as i remember feeling like this the first time i went on creatine (which i've just started back up within the last 3 weeks after a 3 month break. So, though it's annoying, i'm going back to the gallon jug. I've got my goal time's marked down on it and we'll see how it goes thursday. thinking about unloading for a week... but this is really pissing me off. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Apr 24 2007, 02:57 PM |
| Sorry to hear about the crappy workouts. It sounds like you need a kick in the ass, some specific short-term goals, a change of pace with your training or something? Get after it!! Some good preworkout supplementation can also help get you fired up. There are a few shows in the upcoming weeks in Columbus that I'm going to. Nothing like going to a bodybuilding show to get you fired up! The John Seif, a small local show, is next weekend and the Mike Francois is the following weekend on May 12. The Francois is an NPC national qualifier and Sue will be competing in figure as well as another one of my clients. Let me know if you're interested. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 26 2007, 07:18 PM |
| Good workouts lately. havent felt quite as run down in the gym since the JUG came back. post workout weight is up substantially around 181-182.5 consistently but morning weight is still sitting around 177. GAH! |
| Posted by: opfor101 Apr 26 2007, 09:08 PM |
| guess you are finally going back to bodybuilding mode. wanna race to the 200 lb title? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Apr 26 2007, 10:50 PM | ||
not really, at the rate i'm going you and maybe one of your children will beat me to 200 pounds. |
| Posted by: opfor101 Apr 26 2007, 11:34 PM | ||||
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| Posted by: Bryan60275 May 1 2007, 10:37 PM |
| i think NO-Xplode is fuckin my workouts up. i had better workouts last week without it than this week with it. I'm more nauseous in the gym and seem to burn out faster and have less strength, pretty much the opposite of what NO-X should do... weird. Gonna skip out on it a few workouts then come back on and see what happens. |
| Posted by: opfor101 May 1 2007, 10:43 PM |
| hmmm that is weird. me personally i just only drink alot of water before workouts and it helps alot. |
| Posted by: Succio May 2 2007, 02:02 AM |
| how long have you been on no xplode?? drinkin it with 20-30 ounces might help out |
| Posted by: rich_55 May 2 2007, 07:16 AM |
| That is strange about the No-Xplode. Some people get different results with stims, but you are not really that stim-sensitive from what I remember. Be sure to drink plenty of water, which may help out. Oh, and I don't hear any BS about you not hitting 200 lbs. Negativity perpetuates failure. And all I've heard out of your mouth lately is negavity. So be positive, train hard, eat to grow and get plenty of rest. Attitude sets the pace for your actions. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 May 9 2007, 06:02 PM |
| per some recommendations from t-nation, i'm trying to incorporate a lot of single leg exercises into my leg days. From about 3 workouts now, i can say i really like working them separately. seems to really nailed the quads rather well, especially on single-leg leg presses AND actually seems to be stressing the outer quad, which is what i've been desperately trying to hit. on another note, i'm prepping to do some modelling work in about 6 weeks, which is fitting since summer is coming up too. So i'm somewhat switching gears into a cut. I'm not going to go all out contest cut, but i am going to be cleaning up my diet and pumping out 3-4 cardio sessions/week, including some swimming, which i'm really looking forward to. |
| Posted by: opfor101 May 9 2007, 06:13 PM |
| how much bodyfat are you holding right now? how much bodyfat do you have to be so you can see six packs even without "flexing" them? im trying to get into a small cut to lose some bodyfat i've accumulated during my 7 month bulk. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 May 9 2007, 07:28 PM |
| not sure and not sure. i'm not going too strict about this, just trying to get into good enough shape for this photo session without having to kill myself like a contest, i cant afford to go super low carb getting ready for the MCAT. |
| Posted by: typeRob May 9 2007, 08:30 PM | ||
how is the single-leg squatting working for you? ive heard its really good at targeting all those stabilizing muscles |
| Posted by: Vaporize May 10 2007, 03:15 AM |
| I have been doing single leg squats and leg extensions. The beauty of singles is that when you have completed both leg sets you can pair up immediately after and do full squats and 2 leg extensions. This REALLY punishes your legs and gets the growing. |
| Posted by: typeRob May 10 2007, 08:53 AM |
| single leg barbell squats? i was just crackin a joke when i said that. so theres actually a way to do single leg squats without a machine though? |
| Posted by: Jason2459 May 10 2007, 09:03 AM | ||
Yep, tough as heck. I've seen two variations. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSquat.html Good luck with that one. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat.html Easier then above. You could hold DBs too. |
| Posted by: typeRob May 10 2007, 10:25 AM |
| the first one is just rediculous, in all honesty if i seen someone tryin that in the gym i couldnt help but laugh. id think itd be alot easier on a smith machine so you wouldnt have to balance the bar on your shoulders. the 2nd one looks practical but still, i dont think many people would do that either. probabily be better off just sticking to db and bb lunges. looks pretty similar. |
| Posted by: Vaporize May 10 2007, 01:06 PM |
| Ya I do single leg on SMITH lol, had to clear that up. But don't worry I do 4-5 hard sets of regular squats on barbell too. But try what i suggested, it hurts like a mofo. |
| Posted by: rich_55 May 10 2007, 01:22 PM | ||
Shooting with Robert McGraw? That is hilarious. Small world. Interesting dude, kinda dorky, but he takes good pictures. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 11 2007, 10:01 PM |
| wow, have i really not updated this thing in over a month? well i'm still alive and working out. rough tests and what not going into the end of the quarter left me working out just twice a week, but still hitting everything and getting a run in (usually 3-4 times a week though). all in all, dropped from 182 to 168 since starting my cut. gotta say, looks to be dropping all the right stuff. the little love handles i had are gone, abs/obliques are very back, even a little quad starting to show up too. (i wonder if i need to be running to make them grow?). Interestingly, went to a wedding this past saturday and actually fit into my suit i wore to prom 3 years ago which was taylored for roughly a 140 pound version of me. waist was a tad snug, but definately wearable. i was surprised. To update on the Incarnate log, STILL getting a moderate flush from it, which is great cause I like it. As for workouts, strength is declining with the lower carbs/caloric intake but that's to be expected. some rough workouts to fight through let me tell you. In light of just how burnt out my workouts have been making me, i think it's time to shift back to a 5-day, once per week split. i've been having trouble with workout length and intensity and this just seems like the right way to go now, get a bit of a breather. So once this photo shoot is done saturday, it's back to the 5-day workouts! BYAH! |
| Posted by: opfor101 Jun 11 2007, 09:53 PM |
| are you planning to compete again sometime in the near future? me personally i was thinking about going on a cut but i thought it would be better to hit 200 lbs first then cut down, hopefully ill be competing at that cut time, i wanna do some modeling too but im kinda stumped in that area also (dont know how) but in the mean time i gotta keep learning about these kinda stuff(cutting and contest prepping) |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jun 12 2007, 12:21 PM |
| Nice work on your cut man! You said you were cutting for the shoot, but I didn't know you had dropped that much. You will certainly have a nice anabolic rebound to follow! Robert is a quirky dude, by I ended up EXTREMELY pleased with about 35 shots. That is quite a bit. Oh and please don't agree to do the tighty wighty photos! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 12 2007, 01:01 PM |
| i hadn't intended on dropping that much, but that's just what worked out with doing a sort of "wing it" cut. oh well, i'm happy with it and he sure as hell better be! don't worry, i'll stay away from anything that seems gay. he's supposed to call me and i'll just point out that i dont care to do anything beyond shorts. he'll have to live with that. |
| Posted by: vanquish Jun 12 2007, 10:01 PM |
| The pics are for CL? |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jun 13 2007, 07:51 AM | ||
Yeah, some of posing trunk shots turned out cool, but most of them I didn't like. No, this is not CL related. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 17 2007, 01:44 PM |
| Yea, I agree with your assessment rich. he was a bit quirky, but a nice guy who did a good job and i felt fine working with. and no, i did not do the tighties. probably wouldnt have looked good anyway cause i didnt shave my legs but based on a few of the shots he pulled up, looks like some very good ones will come out and actually my conditioning came out a lot better than i thought. weighed in this morning after binging last night on some taco bell, buffalo wild wings, and a beer at 161.5 pounds. which puts me at a loss of about 20 pounds in 5-6 weeks. a bit fast, but I think i kept my size fairly well. i defiantely lost a lot of weight off my waist because my jeans were nearly falling off, i know bad imagery but whatever. it'll be nice to eat everything in sight again! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 18 2007, 03:06 PM |
| felt FANTASTIC working out today. just went nuts eating junk for lunch, aka Chipotle burrito and root beer (havent had that in a long time) and 1 scoop of no-xplode pre workout and i felt great. short 8 minute jog to warm up and then hopped into a Max-OT back/trap workout. it's been so long since i've done the 4-6 rep range and it really felt good to be slamming weight (which was surprisingly high given the dropoff i experienced during my diet, let me tell you). also, was great to be in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, rather than the hour fifteen it usually took back on my 2 day split. also notable, was not at all run down after my workout, was actually very hungry (which the higher frequency/volume workouts tended to stifle). I'm happy and looking forward to some more EAT TO GROW!!! BYAAAAAAAH!!!! no flush today from the Incarnate, possibly since i had a big meal about 2 hours beforehand but oh well, i'm sure it'll come back sometime or another. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jul 9 2007, 07:30 PM |
| yea, haven't worked out much at all or eaten well over the last 2 weeks. MCAT prep has been dominating every spare moment of my life the last 2 week. Thankfully it'll be over after Friday and hopefully I can get back into my old routine. But then again, once that's done I've got about 10 journal articles to read about herpes viruses, SOCS, macrophages, and keratinocytes so I can write my research proposal for next year... I gotta learn to suck it up since life's not gonna slow down any once I get to med school. here's a shot from my cut/shoot |
| Posted by: opfor101 Jul 10 2007, 06:09 AM |
| haha nice picture bryan, what were the photos exactly for? oh and btw i thought if you didnt mind i thought i could make it look a tad bit better.  |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jul 10 2007, 09:36 AM |
| Yeah bro, sometimes you just have to suck it up and stay after it. Heck, if I am too busy, I will just squeeze in a workout over lunch. Missing meals is not even an option. I suppose it depends on how bad you want it. Looking ripped up in that shot. You surely could have used a little bit more tan though...casper. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jul 10 2007, 04:50 PM |
| not all of us did our photo shoot just after doing tons of show tan applications but yea, i know i was pasty. and yeah, it is a matter of how much you want it, but right now I want to score excellently on my MCAT more than eating or lifting, so getting into medical school is top priority for me. clearly. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jul 11 2007, 09:14 AM | ||
All my tan was gone at that point. The week before I tanned and used sunless tanner again. I understand that the MCAT is most important. But, keep in mind that there will ALWAYS be something as life progresses. Work, family, significant other, kids, etc all of which should come first. Ever since you competed, you have continued to make excuses for your training and diet shortcomings. Are you busy and do you have other priorities...sure. There is no doubt and that is great. I am happy to know there are other things going in your life, but you have a head start here at your age and your kinda blowing it with your lack of determination and discipline. I am sure you have some serious studying to do, but don't far so behind in your workouts and eating man. Going to the gym to relieve stress is a good thing and who doesn't like to eat. Just calling it how I see it for your own good. Someone has to call you out. I wish I knew all that you do when I was your age. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jul 18 2007, 02:42 PM |
| kicking some ass in the gym and in the kitchen again. dont beat me to death for this, but I hadn't deadlifted (i've SLDL though) since before my competition last september and i'm proud to say that it feels fuckin sweet to finally have them back in my workouts. I actually pulled the same weight I was before (365x6) for my second set and it wasn't that rough, planning to pull out all the stops and go for 405 next week, a definite PR. I think they're rejuvenating me. I forgot how much fun it was to deadlift and especially how good it felt to stumble over onto the ground as your hearing starts to fade after a good set of them. as far as diet, finally buckled down a bit. bought a new blender (broke my old one) and have been making some awesome protein shakes. Nothing like strawberries, a banana, oats, raspberry yogurt, and vanilla protein powder to get you energized. Seriously, I was in the zone with that as my post workout shake and it was really good to boot! plus, cooked up 5 pounds of perfectly medium steaks, some burgers... gotta get this shit jump started before I start my research project for next year! Time to go SFW- LEG STYLE!!! SQUAT TIME!!! PS- no xplode is really wiring me up lately! i, even after a LONG break from it, was not getting much out of it and suddenly i'm getting crazy fired up to lift from it, BYAH!!!!!! TIME TO GO!!! |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jul 24 2007, 05:02 PM |
| true to my word, went after the 405 deadlift today. Hit 4 reps on both sets. not to shabby considering it's 40 pounds better than i've ever hit before. weight has popped back up to 171 so at least i'm progressing in the right direction. good times. |
| Posted by: opfor101 Jul 25 2007, 03:26 PM |
| thats an impressive lift at 171 lbs, im 185 right now and im still lifting only 315's |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jul 31 2007, 04:14 PM |
| man i'm loving these new shakes. absolutely gets me flying in the morning without caffeine: 1 cup yogurt 1 banana 1.5 cups raw oats 2 scoops ON whey 1 cup water 6-8 ice cubes it's like 1000 calories, 70g protein, 150g carbs, 12g fat. great for the morning pick me up and the post workout shake with a great blend of fast and slow carbs. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Oct 22 2007, 01:11 PM |
| I think he is still alive folks in case you were wondering. He posted a comment back to me on bodyspace a week or so ago. He may be atrophied with a beer gut though. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 22 2007, 04:21 PM |
| I'll be honest, I've been slacking really bad since school started back up. but I've still got a nice 6 pack thank you! I'm just figuring on riding this quarter out and getting my shit back in gear once winter break starts. that's 7 weeks of back-on-track and next quarter should be a much lighter load. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2007, 10:10 AM |
| Hey, I left you a message about the NPC Monster Mash this Saturday at the University of Miami branch in Middletown at the Finkelman auditorium. Prejudging is at 11am and finals are maybe at 6pm. James will be competing there with a few other clients of mine. |
| Posted by: typeRob Oct 24 2007, 10:17 AM |
| whats your weight at? did you make it to 200 Bry? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 25 2007, 09:56 PM | ||||
yeah i just checked that today. I don't know if i'll be out to that or not, i feel like there's something going on saturday that just isn't coming to mind right now...
not yet |
| Posted by: rich_55 Oct 25 2007, 10:33 PM | ||||
Oh really. I think I know what you have going on that day. I believe it was something related to your mangina that has grown due to lack of lifting weights and being a big pus. Going to check out a show is one of the most motivating things you can do. |
| Posted by: Will109090 Oct 26 2007, 12:51 AM |
| Bryan, how are med school apps going? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 26 2007, 06:13 PM | ||
sending out the secondary apps now and just waiting a on few more letters of recommendation then i'm done. |
| Posted by: J-Freak25 Nov 4 2007, 11:03 PM |
| So with one week left of actual classes then finals week after that, when do u plan on actually getting back into the good ol WSU weight room? U going to be in there over winter break? |
| Posted by: Will109090 Nov 4 2007, 11:21 PM |
| Which schools are you looking at? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 8 2007, 01:25 AM |
| as soon as finals are done it's all out back at this. I've got seven weeks to get my ass back in gear. Also, next quarter will be much lighter as one of my courses will be online. As for med schools, I've applied to Ohio State, Wright State, Cincinnati, Case Western, Wake Forest, UCLA, USC, Stanford, and Toledo. On another note, finally seem to have met a pretty awesome girl. It's been too long since one of those came along. |
| Posted by: Will109090 Nov 8 2007, 01:41 AM | ||
Nice man, you'll definitely get into a couple of those schools. I'm taking the MCAT in January and hope to do well so I can get into a post-bac program somewhere, do really well, and stay in the U.S. for med. school. As for the girl, awesome! Now go here and follow the directions: http://forums.bulknutrition.com/?showtopic=38628 |
| Posted by: J-Freak25 Nov 8 2007, 04:21 PM |
| I go to Wright State as well so when finals are done we should SFW together sometimes over break. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 9 2007, 01:01 AM | ||
really? what's your major? havent seen anyone else from WSU here before, save friends I sent here. |
| Posted by: J-Freak25 Nov 9 2007, 10:46 AM |
| Yeah, I'm a psychology major. I didn't know about Bulk until a friend of mine that I moved in with over the summer told me about it. He's been a member on here for like 3 years. We didn't know anyone else from WSU was on here until we saw your transformation video a while ago. But yeah like I said if your down, we should SFW sometime over break. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 26 2007, 08:06 PM |
| man it felt GREAT to be back at it with the SFW. Monday's = leg days since i need to be recovered by soccer friday nights. Please, never let me go 6 weeks without a leg workout again. I can barely walk. This is gonna feel great tomorrow! |
| Posted by: rich_55 Nov 28 2007, 11:11 AM | ||
Shame on you! Serves you right. Get after those wheels Bry! They are the foundation of your physique. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 28 2007, 12:56 PM | ||||
believe it or not, i still remember all that stuff rich but man am i sore, sitting/standing is not easy, i LOVE it! It's felt so good to be back in the SFW world. I had almost forgotten how great it felt to feel pumped. Definitely kills that "man i'm small now" feeling quickly. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 12 2007, 09:31 PM |
| workouts have been good lately. excellent this week since i started back on my gallon+ water intake. had one of those back/bi/cardio days today where it just seemed like i couldnt work hard enough to exhaust myself. those are my favorites back up to 165, +9 pounds in 3 weeks |
| Posted by: opfor101 Dec 18 2007, 11:15 PM | ||
hey whats with the sudden drop in weight? you were 156 lbs ? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 19 2007, 01:49 AM |
| i didnt workout for like 7 weeks and ate 3 unhealthy meals a day. hence i lost 20 pounds. |
| Posted by: opfor101 Dec 19 2007, 10:15 PM | ||
it is naturally hard for you to hold your weight? i had an off time of about 3-4 months with about 1200 calories a day. and i only lost about 3 lbs.  |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 20 2007, 01:24 AM |
| yes. it's pretty much eat like a body builder or it's gone. actually it was more of an exponential loss. i dropped just a few pounds over like 3 weeks then it shot down about 6 pounds over like 2 weeks. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Dec 23 2007, 01:57 AM |
| Training is going well. Plenty of energy and endurance now that I'm hauling the gallon water jug around with me. Also pounding that in the gym, which works 10x better than sipping on Xtend was doing. On a side note, had a freak 60 degree day in Ohio today and capitalized on it by putting about 50 miles on my bike. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Dec 23 2007, 12:17 PM |
| Glad to hear you're getting back after it! Keep it up man. Eat to grow!!! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I gotta go get outside. I've been sleeping all day. |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 4 2008, 01:26 AM |
| After about 2 years of talking about it, I finally took a stopwatch in the gym to time my rest out more effectively and man have I been wasting a lot of time (hell, i'll bet most of the long workout ppl do) Went with 1:30-1:45 rest between sets (depended on how long set took to complete), basically started every set on each even minute. Needless to say, EXCELLENT workout! Pump was insane with the reduced rest time and motivation was a bit higher since i felt compelled to begin sets, rather than just waiting til i felt ready. In fact, when I finally did a few sets of hammer curls to finish off the workout, I honestly though I was going to rupture a vessel in my right bicep, i'd never felt that swollen before and the vascularity was out of this world! Anyway did Max-OT style workout: 3 sets pull ups to failure 2 sets cable rows 2 sets v-bar pulldowns 2 sets BB rows 1 set DB rows 3 sets BB shrugs 2 sets hammer curls 2 sets reverse-grip BB curls Finished in 40 minutes, including a 5 minute restroom break. Pretty efficient IMO. Definitely will keep this newfound habit. |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 16 2008, 10:09 AM |
| You coming into town for the Arnold this year? |
| Posted by: Bryan60275 Jan 16 2008, 10:33 AM | ||
i have every intention. when is it? |
| Posted by: rich_55 Jan 16 2008, 10:49 AM | ||||
Nice! 6 weeks. Feb. 28 - Mar. 2. http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/ Let me know what you end up deciding to do. |
| Posted by: opfor101 Jun 8 2008, 11:58 PM |
| BUMP You still alive bro? |