Mast's Journal

[Mastagon]

I tried to start one of these up a while ago, but even though I keep a regular
journal for myself, I've never been able to keep up with an online one. I've decided to give it one more shot.

Been training for 5 years.
5"11, 230lb
bf=? no idea. maybe 18? whatever it is, its too high :)

diet:

I'm not going to post what I eat everyday, and I don't count calories. This is mostly from chicken breasts, potatoes, rice, different kinds of pasta, shrimp, french fries, 2 protien shakes, perogies and some take out every now and again. Off the top of my head, I get about 3800 calories. This could be higher, but considering I sit on my ass all day long from being fired, it works fine for me.

Training:

I don't know. Nothing really complex here. I like to change things up, and I'm big on free weights. I like 5x5's and variations on this. I'm not a big fan of pyramiding with 3-4 sets. If I do use it, its mainly with one lighter set, and then a heavier one of 5-8 reps. I also like doing repeats of the same weight. I.e. incline db bench of 95x7x2. I've scaled back the weight on a bunch of my exercises, and I've found it really helps. Lifting heavier than I can has given me a bruise disk in my back (hurray deadlifts and not walking for a week), some cartilage damage in my right knee and minor rotators cuff damage. Lately, I've been doing a bunch of playing around with the weights in my lifts to find out what works best in the struggle for perfecting form and feel.

Goals:

My chest is my weakest area. It will be getting the most focus out of any other bodypart. Back thickness overall/middle back thickness needs work. My quads seem okay to me in comparison to the rest of me. I've been going light on the compared to what I used do to give my knee a break. All that aside, I think I can still grow them with what I'm doing. I also have an obsession with my calves, and work them usually 2-3 times a week, though I don't write the numbers down because honestly, with calves, numbers mean dick all to me. Lots of people pull big numbers with calves and my mother has bigger calves than they do.

I've done 2 cycles so far. This is going to be natural, though I might be hitting some "fun stuff" when I have to drop the fat.


Here are the past 3 days.

[Mastagon]

bb squat

255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5

upright leg curl machine

75x7
80x5
80x5
80x5

bb squat

225x9
275x8

Leg extensions

180x10
220x8
240x6+3
255x5+3

upright leg curl

85x8
85x7
95x6

Bb squat

went well. This is usually my favorite lift of leg day. I've always struggled with this exercise. Bad form for so long has messed up my knee, but its manageable. I use a moderate/wide stance, driving from the heels outward while pulling the pelvis forward. Despite this progress, the proper feel and form of this exercise still bother me.

Machine leg curls

nothing to say here. Its just a machine. Controlled motion, no jerking.

BB squat

Last week was 305x5. Didn't really feel up to it here because of the knee. Using the max weight messes with my form and then the knee suffers. Last 2 reps weren't full ROM. Its difficult enough for me to keep the force off the knee anyway, didn't want to risk it.

Leg ext

alright. Its just a machine. The +3 signals some rest pauses.

I always do calf work on leg day, I don't bother writing it down.

[Mastagon]

db incline bench

90x8

db flat

95x7
95x6

db fly

55x5x5

db flat bench

95x5
90x5

fly machine

225x10
255x6
240x6

press machine

225x10
240x8
265x4

cable tricep extensions

60x12
75x8
90x6
95x6

incline and flat db

are done back to back. I usually do 2 sets of each, but I popped something in my shoulder 2 weeks ago, and incline aggravates it. Setup (kicking the weight up into place) has really improved. Arching my back and driving the shoulder blades into the bench have helped improve the feel of this movement and have helped take the weight off the shoulder. Full ROM on all reps. Its obvious from this I don't do a lot of pyramiding. Not written here, or in any of my lift days are the 5-10 minute warm ups I do of about 2 sets. I do these only once and only at the beginning of the workout.

db fly

I play around with this weight a little, though this is my first week doing 5x5 with flys. I like it, but I'm not sure if 55 is just right. We have solid and plated db's at my gym, but the plated ones are about 2 pounds heavier than marked (this increases as the weight goes up, e.g 55=57, but 90=96, and 120=131 etc). I'll try the "57"'s next time. I make sure I get a good stretch at the bottom of this lift, and maintain a good "barrel hugging" motion throughout, without pulling the arms in at any point to take the tension off.

db flat bench II

Liked it so much, I decided to do it again. 95x5 the second time around was crap. I should have done 90x8x2

Fly machine

This machine is stupid. I'm not sure why they rig the machine like this, (its the same with the press), but the numbers I can crank out on it can't be trusted. So ego inflating numbers aside, the machine always feels like it goes a great job at stimulating the full pec. I make sure to keep my back arched and my shoulders into the bench to keep them out of the way and make sure the stress stays where it should.

press machine

same style here. back arch, shoulders pressed into the bench. I think not warming up properly has burnt me out early, but w/e.

------------------------------

Overall, it went well

[Mastagon]

bb rows

235x5x3
235x6
235x7

db rows

100x8
110x8
115x5+2

bb rows II

225x11
265x7

wide grip pull downs

190x9
210x7

seated rows

225x10
265x5+4

shrugs

90x8x3

bb rows I

I could be doing 245x5 on this, but I've knocked it back a bit to make sure I'm not cheating at all. This exercise is my top for form, though. Lots of controlled motion top to bottom. Though I think the control is getting in the way of stimulation. E.g. I think I'd be okay with a little bit of a jerk at the bottom to get the weight going back up in between reps. Nothing big, just something to counteract the pull the weight has as it comes back down from the rep.

db rows

last week I got up higher, but I wanted to keep the form clean and I just didn't feel up to it. I used straps on the 115, and it really seems to help.

bb rows

225 felt like nothing. 265 was a totally solid 5 reps, the last 2 were a little bit of a cheat, but only alittle. This is my second time using straps, and I think I'd be up for 270-275x5 time week, depending on my back (something wrong with a disk).

wide grip

Yes, these are sissy. They need much work. Form is fine, and so is feel

seated rows

fine. Back arched, concentrating on the middle back.

shrugs

fine here. Used straps because my hands are chewed up at this point. Concentrating on the lower traps

----------

I'm mostly trying to go for thickness here. I find I have good width, but struggle with thickness. For some reason I think that's why my wide grips after suffering. Can't be sure. Next week I'll throw in deadz.. my favorite exericse out of all of them.

[rated_rko]

ill keep track of this goodluck dude

[Mastagon]

Legs-June 23

bb squats

255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5

lying leg curl machine

90x12
120x10
135x8
150x6

leg press

190x12
270x10
640x10
710x6

leg ext

180x10
225x8
245x5+3

standing leg curl

85x7
95x6
95x5

-------------------

bb squat

I felt it mostly in the glutes and hams, not so much in the quads. I think the bb squat rep/weight styling I'm using is dead in the water. I've been doing this same thing for a few weeks now and its boring and doesn't seem to be helping with growth. I'll replace this with something like 225x20 or something next time.

lying leg curl

It was nice to change to this here. Hams are still weak though.

leg press

Thank god I did this instead of a second set of bb squats. Its been too long since I used the leg press. I felt so much in my quads it was great. Knee pain wasn't an issue, even when I found myself pushing from the front of the foot. It feels like I'm gonna get some good growth off of this one. I'm not sure of the empty weight on the sled, so I'm just assuming its something like 100.

standing leg curl

nothing here.

----------

Overall, I need more variety, and not just on leg day. I stick with the same routine too much and it bores the hell out of me.

[Mastagon]

wide grip pulldowns

185x10
195x8
210x6

db rows

105x10
15x8
120x6

bb rows

225x10
265x7

deadz

225x8
315x6
415x3

seated rows

225x10
225x10
225x10

seated rows II

225x10
260x5
275x4

shrugs

90x10
90x8
90x8

--------------------

chucked out the 5x5 set to change things up

I feel I'm having trouble concentrating on the db rows. The weight is coming up fine enough and I'm not jerking/twisting my back too much, but something feels off.

Deadlifts went well. I know I could go higher in weight/reps on the last set, but I'm trying to be careful. It feels great to do these after leg day.

Things went well enough overall, but I think I could lower the weights on a bunch of these to make sure I'm not just satisfying the ego (especially the seated rows).

I'm not sure if this is too many sets overall. I think I could shrink things down a bit and just increase the intensity, but we'll see.

I definitely think I'll get some good growth off of this. Concentration on middle back/back thickness improved.

[Mastagon]

db flys
55x5
55x5
55x5
60x5
65x6

db press
80x6
90x5
85x3

flat press machine
180x8
250x8
270x6

machine fly
225x8
255x6
240x5

machine press
225x10
240x8
260x7
10 neg reps

cable bicep curls

60x12
75x8
80x8
85x6
----------

did an entire set of warmups beforehand. Helped a bit. Db flys were too easy. Moving up to 60's next time.

Focus was good throughout, probably better than most days because I went in very pissed off from something that happened earlier in the day.

It felt like I burnt myself out too early, but I kept focus even till the end which kind of made up for it.

[Mastagon]

BACK

row machine
90x12
180x10
250x8
270x7
290x6

bb rows
225x8
265x8


db rows
105x8
115x6
straps 120x6
straps 125x5



bb rows
225x8
straps+blt 265x5

wide grip
185x8
195x8
210x5

seated rows

225x8x3

seated rows

225x7
260x6+2

shrugs
90x7+3

went very well. Damn exhausting, but felt great.

[Mastagon]

LEGS
bb squat
215x20


calf ext
240x15x4


up leg curl
90x12
120x10
130x8
145x7

leg press
2 plates x12
3 plates x 10
5 plates x8
6x8
6/2 ten's x6

leg ext
180x10
225x8
245x5+3

------


It was kind of rough going in on just a protein shake. I felt wrecked afterword. I could barely stand up in McDonalds 30 min after this was done.

I forgot how much 20 rep squats are death.

My quads felt great afterword. I think I eat 900-1110 more calories than I normally do on leg day.

Man I love the leg press.

That is all

[Mastagon]

CHEST
db flys
50x8
55x8
60x8
65x7

db press
85x10
90x7
90x5

machine fly
235x12
245x8
255x6

flat press machine
225x8
315x8
315x6

db flys
50x5
50x5
50x5
rubber 50x5
rubber 50x5

machine press

225x10
245x8
265x7

-----

didn't burn out as early as last time.

my legs still kill. Its funny when I try to stand up sometimes.

[Mastagon]

BACK
db rows
100x5
115x5
120x5
125x6

bb rows
225x8
275x4


row machine
225x8
315x8
335x8
wide grip

185x8
195x8
210x5

deadz
225x8
315x6
415x2


pulldown machine

225x8
315x8
405x6

seated rows

225x8

shrugs
85x8
85x8
85x8

cable curls
150x8
150x8
150x8

[Mastagon]

3-Jul
CHEST
db flys

55x10
60x10
rubber 65x10

db press

80x14
90x7

flat press machine
225x13
275x10
315x10
db flys
50x12
55x10
rubber 65x3


machine fly
225x4
210x6
180x9
180x6

[Mastagon]

4-Jul
LEGS
leg ext
180x12
220x8
240x8
255x9

lateral leg press

90x12
140x12
240x10
280x10
360x8
390x6

leg press
3x12
4x10
5x8
6x7

leg curl
90x12
120x8
135x8
145x8

[Mastagon]

6-Jul

BACK

wide grip
180x8
195x8
195x8

deadz
135x12
225x8
315x6
415x2

bb rows
225x10
255x8

db rows
100x10
110x8
115x8
120x6
125x5

machine pulldowns 130x5

225x12
315x12
335x8


machine pulls
225x12
275x12
335x4
------------------------------

threw in some cream of wheat to the diet. Its delicious

[Mastagon]

CHEST

machine fly
200x12
225x12
235x12
245x10

db press
80x10
85x8
90x8
95x5
100x4

db flys
rubber 55x10
60x8
65x8

flat press machine
225x12
275x12
285x12
315x6
325x4

bb curls
70x8
70x8
70x7

-----------------

Went for higher reps this time. I surprised myself with what I was able to do. Went well over all, except when something popped in my wrist while doing bb curls.

After this, I'll attempt to keep track of my diet on here.

[Mastagon]

meal 1 (preworkout)

200ml milk
60g whey protien

meal 2 (post)

100ml milk +60g whey
2/3 cup oatmeal+jam
300g steak
200ml grape juice

meal 3

chicken breast
6 perogies

meal 4

400g steak
2 hashbrown patties

meal 5

7 chicken strips
1/2 chicken breast

"meal 6"

350ml milk
60g whey

--------------------------------

Too much sugar in the post workout meal. I need to be more careful with sugar. I don't know why, but too much at certain times screws me up. Today's diet was too full of holes. Not a typical day.

[Mastagon]

LEGS
leg press
4x10
4x10
5x10
5x10
5.70x10
leg curl (single leg)
60x6
75x8
90x8
90x8
bb squat
245x5x4


leg ext
185x10
215x10
245x8+3


------------------

200ml milk
60g whey
----

salmon filet
3 hashbrowns
-----

chicken breast
70g cream of wheat

-------

dbl quater pounder meal
6 chicken nuggets

------

chicken
200ml milk
4 perogies
-----------

7 chicken strips
400ml milk
60g protien

[Mastagon]

1hour bike read after first meal

60g whey
200ml milk
box of kraft dinner

------------

chicken breast
3/4 cup of oatmeal

---------------

1 salmon fillet
1/4 chicken breast
40g whole wheat pasta
300ml milk

-------------

chicken breast
40g cream of wheat

--------

7 chicken strips

--------------

150ml milk
50g protein

---------------------------------------

Diet was good today. I'm not sure why, but I think being as full as I am now is messing with my breathing.

I need to keep a control of my sugar intake. For about 2 years now, I have been keeping off of most sugary things,
so I think I'm hypersensitive to it now. I can handle a bit more than normal before or after a workout, but even then
if I take in too much I feel lethargic for the rest of the day (also unexplainably pissed off as well).

[Mastagon]

CHEST

db press
80x10
90x10
95x8
100x5

db flys
(plated) 55x8
60x8
65x8
rubber 65x8

flat press machine
225x13
275x12
295x8
315x7

mach prs
210x12
245x10
275x3

machine fly
225x12
240x10
255x8

-----------------------

3 hours later, 45min medium intensity bike ride
------------------------

went for high reps again on everything. I needed to change the ROM a little to make this work, but it felt great, especially on the db press. I will go for 105x4-5 next time. I am still trying to lock down the form for db flys. Finding the right ROM, arm extension throughout the movement and concentration on feel is a bitch right now.

Next time I will switch to heavy weight.

Diet is alright, I think, considering I'm not working right now and basically do a whole lot of sitting on my ass. As far as recoup time after a workout, in 3 days, the muscle soreness is almost completely gone, except for legs because I hit them hard and bike a lot. I'm aiming for db pressing 115-120's by the time this is all done. From where I stand, I think that's doable in 8-10 weeks.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

150ml milk
60g whey
40g cream of wheat
chicken breast

meal 2

indian korma curry rice bowl

meal 3

indian korma curry rice bowl


meal 4

4 ice cream sandwiches
250g steak
100g french fries

meal 5

indian korma curry rice bowl

[Mastagon]

Back

wide grip pulldowns

185x8
200x8
200x8

machine pulldowns

225x12
315x10
335x8
390x6

(yes, this machine is retarded)

bb rows

225x8
245x8
265x6

bb rows 2

225x8
225x8
225x8

db rows

105x8
110x8
115x6

seated rows

225x8
210x8
210x8

db shrugs

85x8
85x8
85x8

----------------------

I suck so much on the wide grip pulldowns. I changed the angle of my arms so it wouldn't focus so much on the rear dealt, but that didn't really help much. Getting to 8 was a bitch on the last set.

heavy bb rows were crap. I need to wear a belt with these and somehow figure out how to set the weight back down without tweaking my knee while I walk it back over to the rack.

I don't know. Everything else seemed to go well. 8 feels like a good number of reps for my back.

[wolverine]

You should change your wide grip to a medium grip for your pull downs for a while and even throw in some close grip pull downs until your back strengthens more, when you start to feel stronger in those exercises then incorporate the wider grip. This should prove o be affective, and then increase weight from there. Most pull down exercises are not done super heavy, concentrate on clean reps, try not to jerk the weight down, if you are then you are lifting too heavy!! best of luck with this.

[Mastagon]

There was too much jerking going around on this back day, though I usually keep them pretty clean. I'll make more of an effort for cleaner reps next time. Close grips pulldowns aren't a problem, but I will give medium grips a shot.

Hmm. For some reason this feels like a movement that would help with thickness, which would make sense because I know I need some solid improvements there.

[Mastagon]

100ml milk
60g whey
2 salmon fillets
60g whole wheat pasta

meal 2

1/2 chicken breast
1/2 cup of oatmeal

meal 3

rice vermicelli with broiled pork
2 spring rolls

meal 4

chicken breast

meal 5

chicken breast
1/2 box of kraft dinner
1/4 cup of roasted peanuts

[Mastagon]

meal 1

butter chicken curry rice bowl

meal 2

chicken breast

meal 3

chicken breast
1/2 cup of oatmeal

meal 4

dagwood sandwich

meal 5

6 egg omlet
2 yolks removed

meal 6

chicken breast
50g french fries
2 ice cream sandwiches

------------------------

Started work again today. I should be able to down 6 meals at least now, maybe 7. We'll see.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

chicken breast
6 perogies

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
3/4 box of craft dinner

meal 3

chicken breast
1/2 cup oatmeal

meal 4

1/2 chicken breast
1/4 cup oatmeal
350ml milk

meal 5

McD crispy chicken sandwich meal
4 ice cream sandwiches


meal 6

butter chicken curry rice bowl
200ml choc milk + 6 egg whites

--------

going to have to do a little revamping of the diet. My diet felt right for what my body needed, but now that I'm working, I think I need more simple sugars and fats in my diet for energy.

Also, I need about 1 steak meal, and maybe one fish meal a day
otherwise I will kill myself if I keep eating goddamn chicken breasts 6 times a day.

In other news, I just weighed myself today. Goddamnit. I have been eating very well for the past 6-8 weeks and I've gained what?? 6 goddamn pounds. From the amount of crap I've been shoveling in, I should have at least gained 10 from fat. Unbelievable. I think I've been okay with my natural gains though, its just shocking how little weight I've put on.

Looking back in april when I was 8 pounds lighter, comparing my lifts to now my back has made most improvements (5x5 row then 220, now = 245). My chest hasn't made much improvements in the weight department, but I feel strength has gone up so that's a plus. I know I was dicking around with crap form back then anyway, so I can't trust those numbers.

I feel kind of fat right now but I'm trying not to think about it. Whatever I gotta do now to put on some mass is whatever I have to do. I'll try to be efficient about it, but if I gotta get fatter, well I gotta do it. I have doubts about my genetics as far as muscle gains are concerned, but I have no doubts about my abilities for fat loss. Once I get into the groove, I have no doubts I can drop 20-30 pounds in 8-10 weeks.

ohhhhhhhh shit do I miss the juice. But I can't be screwing around with that crap right now with as much work as I need on the basics.

[JonnyO]

Your meals are all over the place and different so its hard to say what's working or not, why not make something more structured so you can make the adjustments a lot more easily? No doubt your feeling sloppy, eating 4 ice creamsands all the time, lmao. IMO, I'd rather put on 10lbs during a bulk than 20-30lbs of slop, your going to have that much of a tougher time stripping it off when the time comes.

[Mastagon]

LEGS

bb squat
135x15
225x8
245x5
245x5
245x5
245x5

leg press
225x20
275x20
315x20

bb squat
225x8
265x5
285x4

leg ext
180x8
210x10
240x8
255x5

leg curl
90x8
120x8
130x8
135x7

---------------

Felt good about all of this, except the last set of the 2nd bb squats. I think I've made some good strength improvements on my hamstrings.

[Mastagon]

Your meals are all over the place and different so its hard to say what's working or not, why not make something more structured so you can make the adjustments a lot more easily? No doubt your feeling sloppy, eating 4 ice creamsands all the time, lmao. IMO, I'd rather put on 10lbs during a bulk than 20-30lbs of slop, your going to have that much of a tougher time stripping it off when the time comes.

I've done some thinking about your comments and yes the meals are erratic. As far as structure, I think I could arrange things so that the higher calorie meals are earlier on in the day which would work better with recoup from training. Beyond that, I don't know. I'll have to do more thinking on what role of structure should play in my diet.

See, in my mind, I know I need a solid foundation of carbs which I get from potatoes, cream of wheat, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and long grain brown rice (as a side and in the butter chicken/korma bowls I make myself) are all part of this. Ontop of this I also know I need a good source of high quality protien, e.g. chicken, shakes, eggs.

But I have a fast metabolism. I don't think I have the time to eat 8-9 clean meals a day, and I don't really want to. I'm not trying to be lazy about this, but to me it just seems like an good alternative to throw in some very calorie dense things like the curry rice bowls, McDonalds/other restaurant junk and the occasional ice cream sandwich. I know I need to watch my sugars because I don't like how I feel after I eat too much of that, so I could go without eating four of those bad boys so often. That's fine, I think I can do that.

Overall, I think the diet seems really erratic because I make my food choices on a macro level; based on looking at the overall calorie intake of a day. E.g. need for quality carbs and protein, but a few things here and there to help deal with the pesky high metabolism. Does the diet make more sense now that I've mentioned this? Other than needing to put the higher calorie meals earlier in the day, I think this is an okay diet for what I think I need. If you think I'm off my rocker, it would be great to hear from you.

Thanks for the comments.

[Mastagon]

CHEST
db press
85x10
90x8
95x8
100x6

db flys
50x8
55x10
60x8
65x6

flat press machine
225x15
275x12
315x6
335x6

-------

had to cut this short due to work. Regardless, I still feel good about this workout. I think I will stick with this style of reps/weight for chest for the next while. High reps seems to be working


-------------------------------

meal 1

4 eggs, yolk removed

meal 2

butter chicken rice bowl

meal 3

chicken breast
1/2 cup oatmeal

meal 4

chicken breast
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup rice

meal 5

double whopper meal

meal 6

chicken breast
4 perogies

[Mastagon]

BACK

deadz

135x15
225x8
315x6
405x4

bb rows

205x12
215x10
225x8
235x8
245x8

wide grip pulldowns

175x8
185x8
195x7
195x4

db rows

100x12
105x8
110x8
115x6
120x6
125x4

machine pulls

225x12
275x8

-----------

Similar style to the chest day. I like it. Deadz were a little rough on the last 2 reps. I think my flexibility is mostly to blame.

I think this went well. My hands were toast at the end of this.

-----------------------

meal 1

1/4 chicken breast
1/4 cup oatmeal

meal 2

chicken breast
1/2 cup of oatmeal

meal 3

chicken breast
3 hashbrown paddies

meal 4

150g steak

meal 5

250g steak
100g french fries

meal 6

150g steak
2 hashrown paddies

---------

Not enough calories at the beginning of the day. Preworkout meal sucks (meal 1). But I go to the gym nearly as soon as I wake up, so I'm not sure I could load on anything heavier than this without messing with the workout.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

200g steak
2 hashbrown paddies

meal 2

200g steak
1/2 cup oatmeal

meal 3

200g steak
100g pasta
150ml milk

meal 4

200g steak
40g cream of wheat
150ml milk


meal 5

double whopper meal
2 egg whites

meal 6

200g steak
1/2 cup oatmeal
200ml milk

------------

Today was alright I think. I need to throw in some nuts in the meals 2-4. It doesn't feel like I'm getting enough fat. Damn I love steak

[Mastagon]

meal 1

150g steak
60g cream of wheat

meal 2

1/2 chicken breast
100g pasta

meal 3

large hotdog
3/4 dagwood

meal 4

1/2 chicken breast
30g cream of wheat

meal 5

200g steak
50g cream of wheat
handful of peanuts

meal 6

200g steak
50g cream of wheat

meal 7

200g steak
500ml milk

-------------

Ass day. Got about 30 min of sleep.

[Mastagon]

chest

bb press

135x20
175x8
190x8
205x8
215x8
225x5

db fly

55x8
60x8
65x8
65x6

dp press

80x7
90x6
85x4

lying machine press

225x10
275x8
315x8
335x5

db fly

60x6

---------

I think I need a 5x5 exercise in here somewhere. The db fly went well. Its hard to keep my shoulders pulled back to stop then from taking too much of the weight.

I felt fairly burnt out by the last 2 sets of lying machine press.

I've felt a major change since switching to steak as the main protein source. I'll try to leave it that for a week or two, and then move to more of a balance between chicken and steak, with the occasional salmon or shrimp thrown in. Maybe it was the fact that I was just sick of the chicken, but now that I've switched to steak, I can't seem to get enough of it.

I think a big flaw in my diet has been sticking to too much of the same thing. I get so sick of it, I start to think I'm full before I actually am. I'll be throwing in more milk to.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

4 piece bacon
3 eggs
hashbrown paddie
150g steak
500ml milk

meal 2

200g steak
2 hashbrown paddie
200ml milk

meal 3

200g steak
80g hashbrowns

meal 4

200g steak
2 hashbrown paddies

meal 5

200g steak
500ml milk

[Mastagon]

wide grip
175x8
185x8
195x8
195x8
185x8

bb rows
175x8
205x12
215x10
225x12
235x8
245x8
255x6
265x6

db rows
100x10
105x8
110x8
115x6
120x6

wide grip
175x12
170x12
165x10
---------

This was good. I am loving the larger sets. It really lets me dig deep. 8 reps or so seems to be the magic number so far.

Goddamn ups still hasn't come with my protein. Who unanimously decided that everyone is home at 10:30am on a weekday?

[Mastagon]

meal 1

4 piece bacon
3 eggs
hashbrown paddie
150g steak
500ml milk

meal 2

150g steak
60g cream of wheat

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
60g cream of wheat (turned out to be more like cream of soap, as I didn't wash the container out enough)
300ml milk

meal 4

200g steak
80g pasta

meal 5

200g steak
500ml milk

[Mastagon]

legs


bb squat

135x15
225x10
225x10
225x10
225x10

leg curl

90x10
105x8
120x8
140x5

bb squat II

225x5
235x5
245x5
255x5

leg press

3 plates x10
4 plates x10
5 plates x10
5 plates x10

leg curl (single)

80x8
80x8
80x8
80x8

-----------------

I held back a little on some exercises, which is great because I don't want to mess with my right knee anymore than I already have.

I usually save leg day for late in the day after work, or for a day I don't work because it drains me for the entire rest of the day. Its hard to get myself to do anything after it.

I will make an effort to up the calories for leg day to see if that makes an effort, and on quality foods, and not just simple sugar crap like I've done in the past.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

mondo burrito
(these are big, trust me)

meal 2

200g steak
60g hasbrowns
3 pieces bacon

meal 3

200g steak
50g whole wheat pasta
150ml milk

meal 4

double big mac meal
150g steak

meal 5

200g steak
60g pasta


-----------------

Threw in the mondo burrito and McDonalds for the extra calories. There was too big of a gap between meal 2 and 3. Which I am sure hampered recovery at a key time. Even with the extra food, I still felt lethargic most of the day.

I've been waiting 5 days now for my protein, but UPS is dicking me around, so my preworkout meals have been ass, consisting of 4-5 eggs, yolk removed.

Tomorrow I will throw in some chicken.

Also, does anyone else experience a strange bloat/internal pressure feeling when 4 or so of your meals a day have something potato based for carbs? I'm wondering what could be the cause of this.

[Mastagon]

bb press
185x10
195x10
205x8
215x5

db flys
50x10
55x10
60x10
60x8

db press
80x5
80x5
80x5
80x5

flat press
225x12
245x12
255x10
275x5

--------------

Felt a little early for another chest workout, but screw it. It went well. I feel stronger from using the digging ability of the higher reps. BB bench is still shit. In the whole time I've been lifting, this is probably the 10th time I've ever done this exercise. I've always hated this exercise. Didn't feel it did much for me. I stuck with dumbbell presses for the longest time, working on the form and feel, until I found I got it close to whats right for me.

Now, when I bb press, I can pull the shoulders back, pinch the blades and arch the back a little and know that all that crap, with some concentration thrown in, I can actually accomplish something with this exercise.

[Mastagon]

BACK

deadz
135x15
225x12
315x6
425x3

bb rows
135x12
205x10
225x10
235x10
245x8
265x5


db rows
100x12
105x12
110x8
115x8

wide grip
175x12
170x12
170x12

row machine thing

225x12
275x8
315x8

-----------

Felt like death after work. There is lots of lifting of heavy things at my work. Strangely enough, the day was tiring, but at the same time it felt like an 8 hour warmup. I had less energy than other back days when I don't work, but everything felt pretty much ready to go as soon as I got there.

deadz were easy. Next time I will go 435ish with 2 reps. 425 for 3 still feels like its tweaking my back a little.

I feel like I could do 280x4 or 5 on barbell rows next time, which is a good improvement over what I was doing in April 25th, 245x5. I feel in 3 months I can get it up to 315. Back in on April 25th, I wanted to reach 285 row by the end of the summer, so things are looking great so far.

Other than my row, my upper back needs work. I don't want to get into any serious trap work yet, as my chest is still needs to much work. Width looks good, thickness needs work. Though I might be off on this, as there's a bunch of fat on there right now.


Chest is still my weakest point.

I think I might be reaching the point of needed more portion control and regulation in my diet. I've worked things for so long on eating close to max, and checking to see if I'm hungry or not. I'm finding this not so reliable. There are times when I feel full, but I can get another meal in, and vice versa.

I don't know.

[Mastagon]

diet has been wonky lately.

Still getting a good lot of food, but I still find myself struggling with too long gaps between meals. In other news my back feels like death today. It feels fine when I keep moving, but when I sit down for a while and get a chance to cool down, it feels strange.

I will try to squeeze in a chest workout before work tomorrow.

[Mastagon]

bb press

185x12
195x12
205x8
215x5

db fly

50x12
55x12
60x10
65x5

flat press machine

225x12
275x10
315x5

--------------

had to cut it short because of work. I felt it went very well.
Improvements in the reps of most exercises

[Mastagon]

meal 1

100g steak
3/4 cup oatmeal
50g whey
150ml milk

meal 2

chicken breast
3/4 cup oatmeal

meal 3

chicken breast
3/4 cup oatmeal
200ml milk

meal 4

chicken breast
50g whole wheat pasta

meal 5

chicken breast
50g whole wheat pasta

meal 6

4 BK spicy chicken crisp sandwiches

-------------

diet feels alright. Working helps to regulate the eating. I tend not to overfill myself, so there is more of an even spread of calories in each meal

[Mastagon]

bb squat

135x10
155x10
175x10
195x10
205x10
225x10
245x10
265x8
285x3

leg press

3 plates x12
4 plates x12
5 plates x12
6 plates x10

leg curl

70x12
80x8
85x8
90x6

----------

It felt good to do many sets on the first exercise. Everything felt fully warmed up by the last 4 sets.

[Mastagon]

bb press

135x15
185x12
195x12
205x9
215x6

db fly

50x12
55x12
60x9
60x10

flat machine press

225x12
255x12
275x8
285x6

fly machine

180x12
190x12
190x10
190x10

-------------------------------------

Felt a little bit of an improvement over last times workout.

[Mastagon]

bb row

135x15
205x12
215x12
225x12
245x8
280x4

seated row

195x12
205x12
225x12
240x8

db row

100x12
105x12
110x10
115x8
115x10

wide grip pulldowns

175x12
180x10
185x10
190x8

bb row 2

225x12
235x12
245x10
255x10

row machine

225x12
255x8
275x8

-----------

These workouts, especially on back, are erratic I realize. This one was a little screwed up in particular because I didn't plan on pushing myself to hard. I got through the 1st two exercises without breaking much of a sweat, and I thought I'd do the same for the rest. My job has a fair amount of heavy lifting so my back was still wasn't fully recovered from last time (even though that was 6 days ago), so I was going to give it a break. Nuts to that idea. This workout was erratic, yes, but brutal. Good concentration, good form. I definitely got some good shit done here. My only regret was the 280 bb row. Saying that I got 4 reps is being generous.

[Mastagon]

db press
75x12
85x12
95x8

db flys

50x12
55x12
(rubber) 60x12
(rubber) 65x9

bb press
155x12
175x6
175x7

flat press machine

225x12
245x10
265x7

--------------

not sure if 12 is as good for chest as it is for back. I'll try around 8 for most exercises next time.

[Mastagon]

meals 31st

meal 1

200ml milk
60g whey

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
3/4 cup oatmeal

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
3/4 cup oatmeal

meal 4

chicken breast
3/4 cup oatmeal

meal 5

4 chicken wings
200g steak

meal 6

3/4 chicken breast
200ml milk
60g whey

[Mastagon]

1-Aug

bb squat
155x10
175x10
205x10
235x10
255x8

leg press
2 plates x12
3 plates x12
4 plates x12
5 plates x12
6 plates x8

2 leg curl
90x8
105x8
120x8
135x8
145x6

-----------

Looking back on last time, there's no significant change in weight or reps, but I definitely feel stronger. Also, I know for a fact that the ROM especially on the leg press in the last 3 sets was much deeper. I feel I worked my legs better today than last time.

[Mastagon]

took a day off, but forgot my gym was closed on the 3rd. My diet has been funny the past little while. I've been eating nothing but:

oatmeal
steak
chicken
hashbrowns
cream of wheat
whole wheat pasta
and milk

and I have this terrible feeling of never being full. I can't really explain it. It feels like even after I eat, and I know my stomach is full of food, and I know I've been keeping a fairly steady stream of food most of the day, I still feel starved for something. I feel empty somehow, a little burnt out and a minor headache as well. Knowing that my diet is low on quality fats, I've thrown in a tablespoon of canola/olive oil 2-3 times a day. This has helped a little, but not enough. Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm going to have to do some rethinking.

[Mastagon]

db press

75x12
85x12
90x11
95x8

db fly

50x12
55x12
60x12
65x8

bb press

135x12
155x12
175x10
180x7


---------------

had to cut this short because of work. Small improvements on the db press and fly I think. Shame I couldn't put more time into this.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

60 whey
150ml milk
100g steak
60g whole wheat pasta

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
80g whole wheat pasta

meal 3

double whooper meal

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast

meal 5

chicken breast 7 perogies

meal 6

chicken breast
60g whole wheat pasta

[Mastagon]

bb row

135x15
205x12
215x12
225x12
235x10

deadz

135x12
225x10
315x8
355x8

db rows

100x12
105x12
110x10
115x8

wg pulldowns

175x12
180x10
180x8

seated rows

195x12
225x8
240x6

-----------------

Actually fairly close the last one. Not much evidence of this here, but I think it went better. Grip strength suffered a bit, especially on the last 2 sets of deadz and db rows. The pain in my hands makes this worse. They are fairly shredded and not too far from bleeding by the end of this.

I think I might call bulking quits in September. Its been a rocky run, with some good gains, but I just feel too fat to keep going for more than a month.

[Mastagon]

meal 1

60g whey
150ml milk
double quater pounder meal

meal 2

chicken breast
box of craft dinner

meal 3

chicken breast
bowl of honey nut cherios

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast+curry rice bowl

------------

low on the meals here. Didn't work today and felt a little unwell. Stayed in bed most of the day.

[Mastagon]

bb squat

135x15
185x10
205x10
225x10
245x8

leg press

2 plates x12
3 plates x12
4 plates x12
5 plates x12
6 plates x8

leg curl

95x8
105x8
115x8
125x7

leg ext

150x12
180x12
195x10
225x8

--------------

bb squat was harder this time around. I much lower than last time, not ATG, but pretty damn close. It felt great. I know that I could have gone for 2 more reps on the last set, but I held off.

I felt kind of burnt by the time I started the leg press. I pushed through it, but I almost passed out after the second last set. It would have been a stretch, but I think I could have made 10 reps on the last set if I hadn't been dicking around with foot placement in the 4 and 5 plate sets. Maybe.

Anyway, the rest went well enough.

Did some measurements today

calves: 17"
quads 26.5"

[Andre]

Your diet plan scares me... honestly, this sucks (no offence!)... I don't know where to start?

-60G of whey in a single meal is tons... average person only needs half this...
-Then you throw in a double quarter pound meal? This alone has 46G of protein, so your meal already over 100G's of protein... this also has 48G's of fat (20G saturated!), but I won't even go there...
-chicken breast is good
-Kraft (not craft) dinner is garbage
-Honey nut cheerios is shit
-Curry rice bowl is not so bad (unless it's the prepacked junk)

No wonder you did not feel well... I would be puking all day if I ate this shit!!!

I skimmed your entire thread and I see no vegis or fruits!

How old are you, what are your stats? What are your goals?


meal 1

60g whey
150ml milk
double quater pounder meal

meal 2

chicken breast
box of craft dinner

meal 3

chicken breast
bowl of honey nut cherios

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast+curry rice bowl

------------

low on the meals here. Didn't work today and felt a little unwell. Stayed in bed most of the day.

[Andre]

What kind of a joke meal plan is this?!?!? 3 of your meals are "indian korma curry rice bowls"... Another meal is 4 ice cream sandwiches with french fries??!?!

This makes me think of the Simpsons episode where Homer tries to get fat...


meal 1

150ml milk
60g whey
40g cream of wheat
chicken breast

meal 2

indian korma curry rice bowl

meal 3

indian korma curry rice bowl


meal 4

4 ice cream sandwiches
250g steak
100g french fries

meal 5

indian korma curry rice bowl

[Mastagon]

Your diet plan scares me... honestly, this sucks (no offence!)... I don't know where to start?

-60G of whey in a single meal is tons... average person only needs half this...
-Then you throw in a double quarter pound meal? This alone has 46G of protein, so your meal already over 100G's of protein... this also has 48G's of fat (20G saturated!), but I won't even go there...
-chicken breast is good
-Kraft (not craft) dinner is garbage
-Honey nut cheerios is shit
-Curry rice bowl is not so bad (unless it's the prepacked junk)

No wonder you did not feel well... I would be puking all day if I ate this shit!!!

I skimmed your entire thread and I see no vegis or fruits!

How old are you, what are your stats? What are your goals?

As far as the first day, yes it was shit. I already said it was.

As far as the second day you pointed out, with all the korma curry rice bowls, yes I make them all myself. Each has about 3/4 chicken breast and a 3/4 cup of long grain brown rice. I see nothing wrong with them. 4 ice cream sandwiches is ridiculous, but I don't see a problem with steak and french fries.

The diet looks erratic because it is. I'm still trying to figure out what my body needs. Maybe I can try explaining a few things and see if that will help you understand why it looks like shit.

Here is where I'm working from: I know quality calories are important. That is why I eat a lot of things like oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, potato based things like hashbrowns, perogies and french fries as well as other sources like brown rice. Quality protein is important. Hence the steak, chicken and whey protein. But, and this is a big factor, I have a high metabolism. If I eat clean all day long, I'll be eating 8 and 9 solid food meals every day. I'm not sure why I should eat like this. I don't see whats wrong with throwing some junk in to compensate, as long as the diet isn't junk based, which its not (though I know right now there is too much junk!). I'm still trying to find some kind of balance, but in the end, I think the balance will include some junk because of this metabolism.

Am I worried about putting on too much slop from all this? Only a little. I've been eating close to this for about 9 months now, and I've put on maybe 10 pounds.

Hope that helps. Though you might think I'm even more retarded now. Also, I hate vegetables and eat only a little fruit.

Thanks for the input though. It would be nice to hear back from you on what I've said here.

[Andre]

What's your age, height and weight... Have you ever posted any photos, do you have any idea of your current body fat %?

[Mastagon]

age:26
height:5'10
weight: 228
bf:18-20 (best guess)

only pics available right now

[Andre]

You will **** yourself right up if you keep going the way you are eating... You remind me of myself 15 years ago... I am 5'10" I bulked right up to a fat 255lbs, I had to get down 175lbs to see what abs looked like... I am not sure how or why you think you have a fast metabolism, if you are as thin as a rake and 5% body fat I would agree with you, but given the love handles you already I put you around 25% BF maybe 30% depending what you look like from the front... You need to get back to the basics, learn to loves vegis and fruits as they are staples... take it easy on the milk... don't step foot into a MCDonalds and start watching your carbs... You think french fries are OK, it might be if you are Ronnie Colemean, but you are not (don't feel bad, neither am I!)...

Build yourself a real diet (we can help you) and stick with it... plain and simple... 7 days a week... no excuses... if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail...

[Mastagon]

Here's why I think I have a fast metabolism:

I've been up to 270 when I was retarded. When I dieted down, I dropped 75lb in 12 weeks. That's kind of strange for novice to do, isn't it?

I've been eating in the current style for 9 months. I've only gained 10lbs doing this. Considering how a normal person would respond to this, I think its either "fast metabolism" or tapeworm.

I don't know what the point of arguing about my metabolism is. I started this whole thing off knowing I don't need to watch calories so much because I can drop fat quickly. I think I have some good evidence of that above. I have never doubted this and I'd bet my left nut I could drop 30lb in 10 weeks, no problem, even without being any kind of expert on weightloss.

That said, your help would be appreciated. I'd like to find what works better for me body. (I hate to admit it, but I'm eating some goddamn vegtables right now, and there is now some fruit in the fridge). But if we are going to stick to this idea that you think my metabolism is slow or normal or something, I think we can call it quits.

[wolverine]

Mast , nice fan in the legs pic, Canadian Muscle 0803 would be proud of you lol!!

Alright Andre is pretty much bang on with your diet, when you posted this log you must have known that we were going to check it out and help you with what we think needs help with right?? So with that said I think your diet is not the greatest either, all of those meals look pretty yummy but some don't fit in the mix, I would suggest to you that you try supplementing some fiber ( metamucil) into the mix, this will help with the hunger thing, also too many carbs and you will feel hungry because you are having an insulin crash every time you feed your system, wasted energy. Try to stick to protein based meals with more complex carbs like yams, you have the brown rice in there, pop corn is a good cheat snack and the oatmeal is awesome in the morning but not all day bro. Good luck and I hope you except this as constructive criticism, it's not meant to be negative.

[Mastagon]

Thanks. She keeps me cool on those long summer nights :)

I thought crashing was more from simple carbs? I didn't know the same thing came from just too many carbs. If this is true, this might explain a few things...

Would it be a good idea to throw in a little more fats, like olive oil/peanuts and things to balance the fewer carbs?

fiber would be a good. I will get on that.

oatmeal is bloody murder all day long. I do this mostly because of work, as I can just throw it in the microwave and its ready to eat in 1m.

is there something wrong with regular potatoes?

I think I also need more pasta, on a more regular basis

Thanks for the input. I will do what I can to apply this stuff.

[Mastagon]

Been a few days. Did a lot of thinking, and its come down to a few big changes.

First of all, I'm moving on to a cutter. I just don't feel comfortable with this much bodyfat anymore.

So here is the plan:

-Cutter
- current weight: 228.
-8 weeksish, or 20-30 pounds
-I don't think I'll have a problem dropping about
20 pounds without much muscle loss in this timeframe. So I'll see what
I look like when I lose this much, and decide if I want to lose another 10

Training:

1 day on, 1 day off
chest, back legs

I'm not going to outline each routine
It will stick to what I was doing in the bulker, but with
way fewer sets on back. I'll try to stick to around 16
sets spread over 4 exercises, per bodypart, in the 8-12 rep range.

arm exercises and calve exercises won't be listed.
I train arms after chest and back usually
calves will be done 2-3 times a week

Cardio, bike:

twice a day on days off work like this:

45 min in the morning
30 min in the afternoon

Both at moderate intensity

Training is sandwiched in between, about 3 hours after the first cardio

On days when I work, only 1 cardio in early morning, then weights 2 hours after

Diet:

I'm loose the diet frontier, but something like this:

prebiking

1/2 (around there) of chicken breast

meal 1 (post biking, 45m)

small amount of some kind of simple sugar (usually fruit punch)
200g steak
1/2 cup rice

meal 2

200g steak
1/2 cup oatmeal

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup oatmeal

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta

meal 5

200g (around there) of shrimp
120 calories of some kind of potatoe

meal 6 (optional/as needed)

100g steak

------------------------

Notes:

No dairy at all
all liquid is water, or crystal light
vitamins = animal pak

-I think I can make due with one cheat meal a week. Maybe burger king/Boston pizza or something. I don't know if I'll need it. I haven't in the past, at least not once a week. Maybe once or twice a month. I'm not really worried. I'm strict with my diet, but I know I have some built in wiggle room with my metabolism, so I'm not worried.

- I just need to keep a handle on the time between meals, which is much more crucial for me in cutting than in bulking because of this.

Not listed here are:

-different kinds of vegetables, like snap peas, carrots, maybe some green beans
at every meal
-a handful or so blueberries/strawberries/raspberries I throw in with all the oatmeal, or that I eat along with every meal.
-dressings like low cal ranch (I will absolutely not budge on this one:), and a bunch of other low cal toppings like dill, roasted red pepper, franks red hot, Tabasco


-Thanks to Andre for the veg/fruit idea. I know he was trying to be helpful, even if he was being a bit of a dick about it :) I never put much stock in this crap, but I feel much better now. It actually feels easier to breath, I feel less stressed out and for some reason, and I don't know if this will make sense to anyone, but my internal bits just feel like they are under less pressure.

-Also thanks to Wolverine for the Metamucil idea. I'm not sure if its been a big help with hunger pains, but everything feels like its running a little better. It does make me helluva gassy sometimes though.

Its been 4 days into the cutter so far, and it looks to be going well. I need to pay more attention to my meals later in the day though. I might cut them down a bit.

Damn its nice to be biking again. Especially outside at this time of the year.

So, here we go

[Mastagon]

back 11th

bb rows

135x15
205x12
215x12
225x10
235x8

db rows

100x12
105x12
110x8
115x8

wide grip pulldowns

170x12
180x10
190x8

----------
meals 13th

meal 1

steak
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast
5 mini taters/100 calories

meal 5

300g steak


-------------------------

Got called into work early today, didn't get to do cardio. I think that kind of screwed me over. Minus the 2x cardio or 1x cardio + weights, this is way too much food. I could maybe say it gives my back a chance to recover, but that's a stretch. Today was basically a throw away day. Tomorrow is 2x cardio + chest day. Should be much better.

[JonnyO]

I can tell you right now from looking at your pictures, YOU DO NOT HAVE A FAST METABOLISM!!!! No matter what you try to convince yourself otherwise. The reason your not putting on much/any weight is your overweight, plain and simple. You need to cut down, I'd say your in the mid to high 20's % bodyfat in these pictures. You need to diet it all offthem rebuild bro, seriously and no offense just keeping it real.

[JonnyO]

Ok I see your cutting down now bro good for you. Skip the chicken pre am bike ride ok, take some thermogenics of some sort, eph/caff is good 30 min prior. I know you like oatmeal and the taste is good and its easy but macronutrients is important so I'd stick with oatmeal for breakfast only, then with your steak have some potato or brown rice and chicken meals yam. Stick with green veggies, brocoli, green beans, spinach, salads, asparagus.

[Mastagon]

I've been leery of tossing out the pre bike chicken. I never thought this could get much in the way of gearing my body into fatloss as I've always thought fat in the body is easier to process than protein in the stomach for energy, but I will give this a try for 2 weeks and see what happens.

ephedrine has made me nauseous in the past, but I have it on hand, and I'll give it another try

I should be able to cycle through brown pasta/potato/brown rice for most of this diet as carb sources. I'll try to cut the oatmeal down to 1 a day, but I only get short breaks at work (and some breaks I shouldn't be having...), so I won't be perfect about this. This won't be a problem on days I don't work.

I'll be picking up some green beans.

[Mastagon]

MEALS

meal 1

200g steak
1/2 cup rice

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3

200g steak
5 mini taters/150ish calories

meal 4

200g steak
1/2 cup brown pasta

meal 5

150g shrimp

------------------

CARDIO

45 min morning, 1/2 chicken breast pre
30 afternoon, high intensity, no food

TRAINING

Chest

db press

75x12
85x12
90x9

db fly

50x12
55x12
60x9
65x8

bb press

155x12
170x12
175x9
185x8

fly machine

160x12
175x12
190x8
200x8

------------

Thoughts:

Went well today. Diet was locked in, save for too big of a gap between 2-3. Tomorrow I will start ephedrine. If I don't feel like crap after a few days, maybe a bit of caffeine also. I will start stepping on the scale at the end of every week as off now. Right now its 228. We'll see what thats like on the 21st

[L3]

meal #2 and #5, you forgot the fat!

[Mastagon]

meal #2 and #5, you forgot the fat!

what

[Mastagon]

CARDIO:

45 min morning
30 min afternoon

MEALS

meal 1

150g shrimp
1/2 cup rice

meal 2

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 5

3/4 chicken breast


-------------

Thoughts:

I love this day long drained feeling

[Mastagon]

CARDIO

45 min morning
30 min afternoon
ephedrine, 8mg before the first one

MEALS

meal 1

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 2

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3 (post-workout)

some fruit juice
50g whey isolate
1/2 peanut butter bagel

meal 4

chicken breast
5 mini taters

meal 5

150g shrimp
1/2 cup pasta

meal 6

chicken breast

TRAINING

LEGS

bb squat

185x12
205x10
225x10
245x10

leg curl

90x12
110x10
120x10
130x8

leg sled

2 plates (a side) x12
3 x12
4 x12
5x10
6x6

------

Thoughts:

A few more calories today from training legs. I think I need to cut down to below 1/2 cups of most things on days like this, especially on the pasta, unless its after a postworkout thing. I kind of feel like shit, as I have no money to buy fruits/veg right now.

I might bike later on in the afternoon tomorrow, if not I will be a day off. Legs need rest.
-----------

[Mastagon]

CARDIO

(9:00 am) 45 min morning

MEALS

meal 1 (10:30am)

chicken breast
1/2 cup oatmeal

postworkout (1:00pm)

250ml milk
50g whey

meal 2 (1:45pm)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3 (3:45)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 4 (5:30pm)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 5 (8:30pm cheat meal)

200g steak
140g french fries
can of coke
1/2 bag of doritos

TRAINING

bb rows

185x12
205x12
225x12
235x8

db rows

100x12
105x12
110x10
115x8

wg pulldowns

160x12
175x12
190x8

seated rows

190x12
210x8
200x6

-----------

Thoughts:

Felt pretty run down all day. I need to be more careful with meal spacings. The gap between meal 1 and 2 zapped too much energy from my training. This was my worst mistake of the day. If this happens again (aka, not wanting a full meal, being away from home and knowing I'll need to train in 2 hours), I'll be sure to have a shake handy. Also, 3 hours is just too long a time to wait for me so I'll be keeping track of the times I eat so I learn to pay more attention to that; so I don't just eat when I feel starving.

Late at night is a shitty time for a cheat meal, and this one was very calorie heavy but whatever. I don't feel bad about it. The odd day out of the week where my calorie intake gets out of whack like this seems like an alright place to throw in a cheat.

I've now restocked on potatoes, and will precook a bunch of whole wheat pasta so I'm not eating rice all day long. That makes me want to barf.

In other news, I'd like to fire my roomates cat out of goddamn cannon. I don't know why it thinks running down the hall doing 80mph at 2am is a good idea.

I'll be stepping on the scales Friday to see if any of this crap has done any good.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO

45 min morning (9:00am)

MEALS

meal 1

3/4 chicken breast (10:30am)
1/2 cup rice

meal 2 (12:30)

chicken breast
5 mini taters

meal 3 (2:30)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 4 (5:30pm)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 5 (7:30pm)

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 6 (12:00am felt messed up, didn't eat for a bit)

200g steak

--------------

THOUGHTS:

I think the strange feeling I've been having off and on is my body telling me I'm getting too much protein. It feels like some sort of strange internal pressure. Its hard to describe. I'm not sure if it also means higher blood pressure, if that has anything to do with it, as I've no way of checking that right now. I'll lower the protein a little, see if that helps.

[Mastagon]

TRAINING

bb squat

185x12
205x12
225x10
235x8

leg press

2 plates a side x 12
3 x 12
4 x 12
5 x 8

leg curl

90x8
105x8
120x8
130x6

leg ext

150x12
180x12
205x10
225x10

----------------

MEALS

preworkout

50g whey
some milk

post workout

50g whey in water
1/2 whole wheat bagel, peanut butter

meal 1

chicken breast
3/4 cup whole wheat pasta

meal 2

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup rice

meal 3

3/4 chicken breast
4 mini taters

meal 4

3/4 chicken breast
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta

meal 5

3/4 chicken breast

-----------------------

No cardio today, got called in to work early. Diet is going well enough. I feel drained most of the time, but not burnt out. I just need to keep an eye on pre and post workout meals. Past few days I've gone in drained and its effected things. I am also running out of appealing dressings to put on my food to keep it edible. Low cal ranch, franks red hot, Tabasco, mustard, zesty italian, soy, dill spice, roasted red pepper spice are my mainstays and they are a little boring right now. I can keep motoring through with this stuff if I have to, but some suggestions would be great. Its hard to find a decent sauce that is low call and doesn't taste like ass, or doesn't taste like every other sauce I've ever had.

Did the weigh in today. About 1 week since the start of this diet, and down 2 pounds to 226. It feels like more than that, but whatever. I'll be happy if things keep this pace. Being on the diet now makes me realize all the good things and some of the bad that I was doing when I was trying to gain weight. Once I drop this fat, I think I will bulk for a year or so, keeping the diet still loose with some junk, but reined in a little bit. Saner. A little less protein (I think this was the reason for the bloated/internal pressure feeling), and less overall calories, and 5-6 days a week training instead of 4.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO

30 min, HIT morning

TRAINING: CHEST

db press

75x12
80x12
85x10
90x8

bb press

155x12
165x10
175x10
185x9

db fly

50x10
55x12
60x7
60x8

fly machine

170x12
185x12
195x8
195x8

--------------------------------------------

Thoughts:

Not really much of a need to post the diet anymore I don't think. Its the virtually the same thing day in day out, save a little more calories on training days. Finding low cal dressings to put on stuff can be annoying, but I make do. The diet is locked in, regardless.

I've started training with an hour break after the morning cardio, with some sort of calorie bridge like 1/2 whole wheat bagel with peanut butter. I'm not sure this food is the best choice. The HIT impacted the reps a bit, but I think it helped crank up the intensity,

Its funny how even a few pounds makes a difference. I'm noticing less fat on my chest and calves, so that's great. Most of my bodyfat is in my gut and thighs, so lets hope I start seeing some progress there to.

I weigh myself again this Friday.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO:

30 min HIT morning

TRAINING: BACK

bb row

185x12
205x10
225x8
240x8

db row

100x12
105x10
110x8
115x6

wg pull downs

165x12
175x10
185x8
185x6


-----------------------

HIT before is bringing down some numbers. Next week I may move HIT to after training. Otherwise, things went well

[Mastagon]

CARDIO

30 min, HIT

TRAINING: LEGS

bb squat

185x12
205x10
225x8
235x8

leg ext

165x12
185x12
205x12
235x10

leg press

2 plates a side x12
3 x 12
4 x10
5 x 6

---------------------

HIT before impacted this day the most, for obvious reasons. It went well enough all things considered. Hamstring training was cut because biking is killing my hamstrings


FRIDAY WEIGH IN:

start of diet: 228
1 week into diet: 226
As of Aug 28th: 222.4

So that's almost 6 pounds so far. I attribute the big increase in weight loss for the second week to the HIT. I will keeping this going for the rest of the diet. Cardio is now only in the morning, and 30 min max.

I've been cutting carb portions down to under 1/2 cup, often using 1/3 cup for the 6-7 meals a day I eat. Somewhere inbetween these two measurements is the magic spot. Its a big relief and welcome change to change up carbs every meal, instead of eating rice only, or pasta only. I'm pretty excited about this progress and i am looking forward to hitting the 20lb loss in a few weeks.

[Mastagon]

TRAINING: CHEST 29th

db press

75x12
80x12
85x8
90x7

bb press

155x12
165x12
175x10
185x7

db fly

50x10
55x10
60x8
60x6

-------------------------

TRAINING: BACK 31st

bb row

185x12
205x12
225x10
240x8

db row

100x12
105x10
110x8
110x7

deadz

135x12
225x12
315x8

------------

Thoughts:

Lost too much strength I think last week. I will try to up the calories a little. For the past few days, I've toned down the HIT and giving myself a bigger break between HIT cardio and training. It didn't really seem to do much for energy levels in the gym.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO: 30 min HIT

1 hr break, then

TRAINING: legs

bb squat

185x12
205x12
225x10
225x8

leg curl

90x12
105x12
120x8
130x7

leg press

2 plates a side x12
3 x 10
4 x 10
5 x 8

leg ext

165x12
185x12
205x12
220x10

--------------

upped the calories a little.
Back is getting more definition, as well as calves. Its hard to see the differences, but my belt feels looser so that's good. I will post pics later.

Friday I weigh myself again. Hopefully somewhere in the 2-3lb loss.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO: 30 min hit in the morning

1 hr break

TRAINING: CHEST

dp press

75x12
80x12
85x9
90x7

bb press

155x12
165x12
175x11
185x6

db fly

50x12
55x12
60x6
60x5

fly machine

165x12
180x12
195x8
185x6

-----------------

Thoughts:

Strength is continuing to go down. Its 90x6 on the db press, but thats not solid enough to continue at that weight. I'll be moving down to do a double set of 85 and some other changes to the exercises to keep things in an effective rep range as I lose strength. Its a real bitch on chest though. My chest is shit and its the last bodypart I want to lose much strength on.
From now on, chest will be my cheat day. I'll also do lighter cardio and have more calorie dense pre and post workout nutrition to help it out.

WEIGH IN:

FRIDAY WEIGH IN:

start of diet: 228
1 week into diet: 226
2nd week : 222.4
3rd week, Sept 4th: 219

So that's almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Upping the calories for this week didn't seem to make that big of a difference. 2nd week diet was more towards 1/3 cup of rice, or pasta, 5 mini taters, and on the 3/4 size for chicken breasts, where the 3rd week was just under 1/2 cup of all the carbs, and usually a full chicken breast per meal. Strength loss wasn't as bad the third week, but still. Considering the strength loss was lessened by uping the carbs a little, and the fat loss wasn't really effective by this (week 2=3.6 pounds, week 3=3.4), I think I can get away with upping the calories a little more. Its hard to have the "eyeball" for this crap. I need to get a digital scale. Does anyone know where I can get a decent one cheap?

I've lost almost 10 pounds so far, and I can definitely see the changes. But I want to try to go for losing 20 more. I think at the rate things are going I could lose another ten in about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks, and the last 10 in 4ish weeks. At the rate the strength loss is going, (and I'm only looking at chest here), I think that would put me down to 80lb on dumbbells. I know it seems a little crazy/misguided to focus on the numbers like this, but it pisses me off to go this low. I just don't know what else I can do to fight this strength loss, other than manage the shit out of my calories, as my training intensity is there, I am doing quality reps, and making sure I get enough downtime between training days. In the future I might throw in test or something for a cutter, but I'm just not that advanced yet. I don't see the harm in throwing in some kind of peptide though.

I will post pics tomorrow.

Constructive help would be greatly appreciated.

[slick rick]

Time to change up your chest w/o Mast. It looks like you are doing the same thing twice on both exercises. Switch it up, add in an incline on the bench to hit the upper chest and ditch one of the fly's. throw in some dips maybe

Unfortunately there is not much you can do about strength loss when cutting, other than adding gear. Good job so far bro.

[Mastagon]

Time to change up your chest w/o Mast. It looks like you are doing the same thing twice on both exercises. Switch it up, add in an incline on the bench to hit the upper chest and ditch one of the fly's. throw in some dips maybe

Unfortunately there is not much you can do about strength loss when cutting, other than adding gear. Good job so far bro.

Alright, this is will do this next time (I will see if my left wrist can handle dips before I put them in. I think I had a hairline fracture a few months ago, still bothers me):

flat bb bench

x4 sets

cable fly

x4

incline db press

x4 sets

flat fly

x4 sets

From now on, no two chest days will be the same.

Thanks

[Mastagon]

SEPT 5

CARDIO: 30 min hit

1 hr break

TRAINING: Back

bb row

185x12
205x12
225x10
235x8

db row

100x12
105x10
110x8
110x7

wide grip pulldowns

165x12
170x10
175x8
180x8

------------

Strength down more than I thought here. numbers will be pulled back a little next time.

Here was today's diet

pre workout 50g whey, 1/2tbs of honey in water

post workout same + tps peanut butter

meal 1

chicken breast
3/4 cup rice

meal 2

chicken breast
5 mini taters (about 110 calories)

meal 3

chicken breast
1/2 cup rice
1 cup green beans

meal 4

boneless skinless chicken thighs (this is junk meat I know, but its all I could get)
tbs peanut butter

Felt pretty good about this.

[Mastagon]

CARDIO: 30 min

1 hr break

TRAINING: Legs

bb squat

185x12
205x10
225x10

leg curl

90x12
105x12
120x10
120x8

leg press

2 plates a side x 12
3 x 12
4 x 12
4 x 12

-----------------

I stopped the ephedrine today. I feel burnt out and exhausted. Tomorrow will be no cardio and no training. I may take the next day off as well.

Here are some pics

[Mastagon]

These are all kind of disheartening. About the only thing I can notice is the back definition coming out a little bit more. Legs and chest, its harder to tell as thats whre the bulk of the fat is. Hopefully things look better after I drop another 10

[Mastagon]

Took 2 days off from cardio, that was a good idea. Give my knees a break.

CARDIO: 30 min HIT

5 hours break

TRAINING: Back

bb row

185x12
205x12
225x12
225x12

deadz

135x12
225x10
315x10

db rows

100x12
105x12
110x10
110x8

wg pulldowns

165x12
175x10
180x10
175x8

---------------

Thoughts:

I haven't been super pumped about the 1 hour break between cardio and training. Its nice to get both of the way at the beginning of the day, so the rest of my time is just diet management, but energy levels have been a problem in training. Also, I was reading the Praetorian thread, and he made the suggestion of eating a good meal 2- 2.5 hours pre lifting, then a shake 45 min before training. I gave this a whirl, and it worked well. I ate almost 3/4 cup of rice (normally just 1/2 cup) and drank my water/honey/protein shake. My energy levels in the gym were better, but I found this didn't have a huge impact on the weights I could move around. I'm very sure this just helped with volume. E.g. I could have 4-8 more sets overall (I opted not to). I think scheduling my eating this way does works better, but the higher calories were not super useful.

So only this one problem today: too many calories. Other than that, things went well.

[Mastagon]

Hovering at around 208.5 right now. I've made lots of progress in my diet and some progress in training style since my last post. I will give it another week, 2 tops, and then I'm callin the cutter quits. Its getting to goddamn cold to bike and I just want to be done. I will post pics and all that shit when I'm done. No more updates until then.

[rubarb]

Hovering at around 208.5 right now. I've made lots of progress in my diet and some progress in training style since my last post. I will give it another week, 2 tops, and then I'm callin the cutter quits. Its getting to goddamn cold to bike and I just want to be done. I will post pics and all that shit when I'm done. No more updates until then.

For Sure man! Thanks for the detailed log

[Mastagon]

...

[Mastagon]

Alright. I let that go for barely a day I think, but I was fooling myself. No more diet. There's no point in me keeping up with this, when I am not into it anymore. I've realize its not what I want and need right now.

At the beginning of this, I set the range of the weight loss goal from 20-30 pounds. I started at 228.5, and now I end it at 208.5. I started on August 12th, and it ends Oct 02, so that's 51 days of dieting. I set up an 8 week time frame, but I'm dropping out at 7. I think I probably biked roughly the same strip of road 70 times or more over the course of that time. Probably 40 of that was HIT, man that gets rough on the knees. I'll miss getting up at 5 and 6am to bike before work, even though it was often shit outside.

But in place of that, I’ll be hitting the gym bright and early 5 times a week.

THE OLD BULKER:

I realize my last diet, I was just cramming in as much food as I could. Forcing myself to eat much more than I needed.

While it did take a long time to do it, I did put on more weight than I liked.

After being on the diet for 7 weeks, I think I can use it to give me a few calorie points:

NEW BULKER:


I.e. in bulking, I’ll be using

- low call dressings
- crystal light
- taper my carb intake down at the end of the day
- light meal in the morning
- less shit food

I’ll try to keep the meal spacing’s more consistent. Here some ideas on the diet.

Protien:

- Lots of chicken, but also
- more steak, I’ll aim for 1 a day
- Some pork chops
- Salmon
- Shrimp
- Cottage cheese

The carbs of my meals will be made up of

- whole wheat pasta
- brown rice
- potatoes in some form


Fats:

I can have my carbs and proteins down. Past bulking diets have consisted me of mostly managing these guys, and then shoveling loads of other shit on top to make sure I have all my “caloric bases” covered. But I’ve never really managed my fats.

Before, it was incidental fats, or just fats from “shoveling the crap/junk food” on. I wasn’t paying much attention, just eating the largest amount of food I could tolerate. This time around, I’ll be a much more active in the choice of fats. And much more cautious. My training and dieting so far has helped me realize how much fats can contribute to my goals, weightloss or gain, overall.

If protein and carbs are the foundation, then fats would be the mortar or something. That little bit extra on top, to make sure that along with the carbs, I ensure my body has the best steady and strong supply (but not an overwhelming supply) of nutrients that it can use to make sure all that ****ing chicken and training is going to accomplish something. So about that, fats will be around 20% of the caloric intake. This will be eyeballed, and also measured by how my body reacts to the fat (i.e. feel and weight gain).

So, fat sources will be:

- my primary fat
o milk
o peanuts/peanut butter
o extra virgin olive oil
o And my favorite, liquid whole pasteurized eggs. So I’ll be getting some more protein here. And I can get these by the 12L case for cost.


- other sources
o cheese
o cottage cheese
o salmon/other fatty meats like pork
o

I was thinking of bulking for a year, but I will see what happens after 26 weeks, or 6 months. So if by 6 months, I’ve had some solid strength gains, but I’ve put on 10 pounds more fat then I’d like, then I’ll diet that off in 6-7 weeks or however long, and then startup again.

Projections/goals of this diet as far as strength numbers at the halfway point are:

Bb press: 225x10, hopefully much higher. (185x7 current)
Db flat press: 110x10 (90x6 current)
BB row 275x12 (225x6 curent)
Deadlift: 400x8 (325x6 current)
Bb squat 265 x12 or higher. Squat form has always been a son of a bitch with me, so if I get a lower weight with very solid form I’ll take that. Even now doing only 225x10, which is light as far as these things go, my legs look better then some who do 50-70 pounds heavier.

Anyway, I'm mostly just interested in size. These numbers will be just useful goals/a guide.

My main goal is just general size all over, but I will be emphasizing chest. My chest pisses me off right now. The whole thing is just not enough for me, so I’m not going to put up with that anymore.

I want to bring my biceps and triceps up,

Rear delts need work.

Legs just general size, hamstrings need to be brought up more also. And calves. Lovely lovely calves...

I may throw in a shoulder day or so every now and again, but to me my shoulders look fine compared to the rest of me. So if things start getting a little more balanced at the 6 mark point (i.e. I’ve brought up the chest a lot) I will definitely throw in a shoulder day.

Basically, I’ll be taking what I was eating on my diet, increasing the carbs, and throwing in fats, but being much more cautious about my caloric intake, and eating less in general and less shit then my last bulker.

So here we go. I’ll be starting another journal. I’m not sure how I’ll be updating it, probably sporadically as far as at least diet goes, just to give an idea of what I’m doing day to day, without posting what I’m eating every day. I’ll post every week out though, and thoughts about each workout etc. It may turn into once a week. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m through ****ing around. And I’m ready to get to work.

[jaws]

I don't think youll have too much trouble reaching those numbers in a year, Good luck with the bulk

[Mastagon]

I don't think youll have too much trouble reaching those numbers in a year, Good luck with the bulk

Those are the 6 month mark numbers, so I got some work ahead of me. :)

[jaws]

Those are the 6 month mark numbers, so I got some work ahead of me. :)

" Projections/goals of this diet as far as strength numbers at the halfway point are:"...

Sorry I did not see this. Good luck with it though!