Hello everyone, hope all is well, first and foremost thanks to AJ for creating this friendly environment where people follow and help each other, good vibes all round.
I'm 21 years old and currently 2 months into a bulk coming off a rocky cut. watching AJ's recent YouTube vids on bulking and why you shouldn't be dieting helped in ending that cut. Please follow my gaining phase as Id' greatly appreciate any thoughts and opinions.
I have no plans of competing right now I just want to get bigger and stronger and feel I can learn so much on this site.
Current food intake is ~ 190p 470c 70f ~3350kcal
Training is Upper, Lower, Pull, Push, Legs-Monday to Friday
Current bodyweight is 189.6lbs
Had a great push session earlier today beating numbers on nearly every movement
main compounds were:
Flat Bb bench 87.5kg 8, 65kg 8, 16
Seated Bb shoulder press: 40kg 8, 30kg 10
Incline Db press: 32kg 7, 20kg 12
(every set was rpe 9.5 ish)
hoping to move forward with this progression, and looking forward to following everyone's progress also :)
Hey everyone its a been a while hope everyone's okay !
3rd of year uni is keeping me busy
bulking update
training:
Averaging ~194lbs now still hovering around 17% bf according to my scale
Since going into 3rd year of uni I had to change my training and diet.
training is now full body 3x a week
Monday- low bar squats, OHP, calf raises, lat pulldown, flat db press, machine row, RDLs, lateral raises, db hammer curl and db skullcrusher.
Wednesday- Bench press, weighted pull up, seated OHP (Fav), Leg press, db lunges, cable row, cable lateral raise, EZ bar curl and tricep pushdown.
Friday- Deadlifts(fav), hack squat, calf raises, incline db press, cable fly, v bar pulldowns, face pulls, single db lateral raise, db bicep curl and overhead rope extension
all compounds 2 sets 5-9 10-15 failure, isolations 2 sets 10-15 15-20 (OHP, bench, squat and deadlift wendler 531)
thoughts: switched to 3x a week as uni takes priority
finally found my squat groove and Im slowly getting strength back
Feeling like quads are not growing as I havent had quad doms in a while. hack squats are wrecking my knees no matter how high I place them, will swap for high bar squat , smith squat or low foot position leg press. filmed bench press for first time and saw the buttocks is rising off the bench upon concentric movement! trying out putting feet further back so less room for butt to move up. OHP is regressing over past 2-3 weeks but I have been training at my limits (deloading this week after 9 weeks). past 2-3 weeks some upper movements have just been maintained. deadlift form is now spot on and am at my strongest, pulled 220kg for single on friday to catapult my self into needed recovery lol.
Nutrition:
now at 3300kcals so a 100kcaldrop because activity has dropped i.e steps are down (10k to 6k daily average)and in gym 2 less days a week. kcals pulled from carbs. also switched apples for kiwis as kiwis are life
will probably update every 3 weeks, its hard to keep up with this and everyone's forums atm but I try
Hey everyone havent posted in a while, training has been going really well lifts going up form staying tight, muscle contractions on point. a change is Ive swapped my only bent over row variation for a machine variant as I find its easier to keep consistent form. today I had a PT session as a last resort for my squat. he told me that I was forcing a leaning position too much losing upperback tiggtness, after changing that my squat was more upright and had a lot of knee travel (I have good ankle flexibility) but he said I need sit down and back more. he then prescribed me with various posterior chain movements glute bridge, bulgarian split squat, reverse lunge and adductors as he believes my hams and glute are weak. I think I should incorporate what he's saying, dont want to be stuck in my own ways. he said sub squats for glute bridge, swap lunges for reverse and add the other two across either leg day. please share your thoughts on this guys would be much appreciated.
Have a good week everyone ✌
@Celine thanks for the link I can see now I wasnt hip hinging enough
man I know how much it sucks when you miscalculated the weight. but personally I find it worse when I loaded the machine/bb not enough as opposed to too much.
regarding the pull throughs: maybe this video can help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZFRe50WzpM it is a really good tutorial by tony gentilcore
Hey everyone hope youve all had a good week of training
I certainly did numbers crushed on most movements
problem moves were my 2nd set of Ez bar curls 22.5kg on pull day I just ran out of energy and failed at when last time I got 20kg 14 reps. all other moves progressed. Push day thursday all moves progressed bar 1st set of incline db press just maintained.
Lower friday reset dealift max to 180kg and used straps and no belt (also forgot mini tripod) 140kg topset for 8 down set 107.5kg 12 no straps. using straps made the weight feel heavier not sure why I struggled. 2nd of hacks I messed up forgot to take a 20kg weight off one side and added 10kg on top of it did 40kg a side 1st set aim was 30kg a side 2nd so I ended up doing the same weight just lopsided lol I was thinking wow did I overreach in 1 week?! all other moves progressed. question on glute rope pullthroughs should legs be straight whole time or break at hips like romanian dl ?
was 191.2lbs 3 days in a row and dropped to 191lbs which actually makes me happy as I may be able to gain on more food 😉
Ive uploaded some squat footage in the training section would appreciate if anyone please has a look
What a lower session ! legs were rattling at the end. followed by 2 mile walk home 😅
Lower
Low bar squats techniqe work 20-60kg
smith squats 100kg 9 80kg 14
Db SLDLs 46kg 9 36kg 12
Db lunges 30kg 9 22kg 12
leg curls 61.3kg 12 12 12
leg extensions 45kg 12 12 14
Seated calfs 30kg 15 16 17
Abs...
notes:
with squats ive got it that I have to have a wide stance but was trying to hold onto vertical torso in fear of butt wink. last couple sets I found breaking at hips first slightly allowed me to get into more forward lean. previously with my more upright squats i dont think the bar was over midfoot and using hip drive on concentric leaned me over anyway (wasting energy).
Smith squats were rpe 8/9 new move until I get squats up to new tissue demanding loads.
everything else progressed however couldnt go all out on lunges and deadlifts due to straps causing pain cut my thumb a bit :/
since starting bulk abs I seem to cramp after a few reps.
Overall happy with session :)
Thanks for the feedback thats a good idea ive been meaning to get round to, will post todays squats here and in training section of forum
Sounds like you're getting there with squats but have you considered post a form check video in here, that way you can get feedback from us? Might help if there are any tweaks you need etc. Keep it up!
Hey guys,
deload did me wonders came into my session feeling much better. was very nervous before upper yesterday as the last time I had a deload 7 weeks ago I had food poisoning for a week ! so Ive never been in a surplus after a deload so was unsure if I could beat pre reload numbers.
Upper-Monday
Wendler OHP 47.5kg 10 32.5kg 13
Lat pulldown 83.6kg 9 66kg 13
Db flat bench 36kg 8 24kg 15
Incline row 30kg 7 24kg 10
Incline db fly 12kg 12 12 12 rpe 8 last set
Db laterals 10kg 15 6kg 20 rpe 8/9
Db skullcrusher 10kg 15 6kg 17
seated hammer curls 10kg 15 6kg 20
Db shrugs 46kg 13 40kg 15
notes:
great progression on a whole
OHP went up alot my target was 47.5kg for 9 to progress but pr'd by 2 reps and 2.5kg and 1 rep on first set
bench first set regressed, I messed about with more elbow flare on a few reps. Pr on 2nd set using my usual more tucked form by 2 reps.
wanted to give incline db row another chance but just dont connect with it. changing back to bent over db row (best contraction for me)
Got lower today and looking to try squats again its feeling a bit better just need a bit more torso lean without butt wink and Im good.
have a good one guys ✌
Thank you for the tip, I did leave reps in the tank and used a light load about 40% 1rm, Ive had back rounding issues and heard paused deads are hard to do with a rounded back
hey mate just a quick tipp for deloads. Its very good to focus on technique but don't change the variables to far.. like a pause deadlift with a slow negativ would be very challanging to me even with my usual deload weight. so i hope you make shure to leave 3 - 4 reps in the tank so you drop that fatigue ;)
Hey guys hope your all good
today was my deload lower session
I used it to work a lot on my deadlifts doing pause deadlifts and slowing down negatives.
Also the squat form quest continues I actually managed to find a form that was comfortable. I had to realise that my stance had to be wide no matter so that narrowed things down. also alot of sources said long femured people will be bent over a lot in squat but when i do that I get mad butt wink. Im comfortable with staying upright and a little more knee travel but not sure if its optimal
Hey everyone, hope you all started the week off strong
this week Im deloading as I feeo extremely fatigued and tired despite nailing hydration and sleep. continuing same routine just rpe 6-7
Today was lower and i decided not to give up on squats just yet. didnt feel any better or improve very frustrating. will be posting videos in training section please have a look guys would appreciate any help I don want to give up.
have a good day everyone ✌
Would not worry about the belt ;) I think its just a good tool for bracing and personaly to me for safety. But it has no effect on my form nor it provides more kilos on the bar so just keep what feels best for you ;)
Hey guys
Update for 1/09/17
Played with my sodium intake a bit by moving ~80% my sodium intake for the day preworkout. Added 2g table salt to pre meal and took soy sauce out my dinner :(
felt a little bloated in the gym (maybe wrong sodium source)
Lower
Wendler 5 3 1+ Deadlift 182.5kg 5 110kg 8
Hack squat 70kg 15 pr by 8 reps 55kg 13 pr by 5kg and 1 rep
Glute rope pull through 77.2kg 5 86.4kg 5 95.2kg 4 lost balance lol 77.2kg 20 was doing sets of 5 till failure to find weight for 5-9 set next time.
Single leg extension 20.3kg 12 12 13 pr
Standing single leg curl 4.5kg 12 12 12 these just dont fee right will switch to seated.
Calves on leg press 50kg 15 15 15
Deadlifts not been feeling good on top set past month (back rounding) over 160kg my back starts rounding a little. going to pull weight back and go no heavier than 160kg on next 5 31 + top set and beltless?
Feel in love with glute pull throughs great contraction. I have a big butt anyway so curious what will happen if I train it lol.
2/09/17
Off days on weekend, food will be freestyled a bit.
Hope you guys had a good week ✌
Thanks man will deffo try another week and go from there
If you really feel overreached yeah maybe consider a deload otherwise just give it another shot next session ;)
@KRISSI yeah I could have grinded 6 but my hips would have been to the ceiling, and I dont know it hit me out of nowhere (had 8hrs sleep) I tried to repeat the variables of my last bench session which was my very best. this is my 6th week of wendler so may need deload but other moves went up?
Take whats there and move on ;) good that you didn't sacrifice form just for the numbers. what caused the tiredness? maybe you can adjust for the next session ;)