KoolDrew's journal

[KoolDrew]

Yes, I'm making a journal. Something I definitely need. I know my goals and how to accomplish them and I've made very good progress in the past. However, for over 6 months my goal has been to get down to 8% bodyfat before I begin bulking again. It hasn't worked out at all. I'd lose bodyfat, gain it back, lose bodyfat, gain it back. I just haven't been able to stick with it at all. I haven't been able to stick to a workout routine during that whole time either as the lack of strength gains while cutting is discouraging. So in the meantime I've just gotten smaller and not getting any closer to my goal.

Hopefully by posting a journal it will help a little with motivation, as that's pretty much my only problem right now. Hopefully once I get cutting out of the way things will be easier, as I know they were the last bulk I did. However, I didn't track what I ate last time I bulked and gained a bit too much fat. This time I'll try to track what I eat to get enough protein and don't have calories too high.

Now that my story is out of the way, lets get to the plans/stats/pics etc.

Stats:

Weight - 205
Height - 6'2"
Bodyfat - 15.82%
Waist - 35"
Hips - 38"
Chest - 38.75"
Arms - 15.5"
Forearms - 12.5"
Thighs - 25.25"
Calves - 16"

Some of them may be off as I took all the measurements except weight as I'm posting this. Weight was taken this morning so it is accurate. Normally I take all measurements in the morning and will continue to take at least weight and waist weekly. The bodyfat measurement is just estimated using my neck, waist, height and weight. Probably not very accurate, but I find I really suck at using calipers so this is my best option. It's not very important that it's dead-on anyway.

Some starting pics:

Front Relaxed
Side Relaxed
Back Relaxed
Front Flex
Double Bicep
Back Flex
Quad
Side Flex

Not very impressive, especially compared to how I used to look (bigger and leaner). Before that I was a 265 fatty though.

For my routine I'm starting with just very low volume upper/lower split 3x a week. It's actually the same routine out of Lyle McDonalds books for the PSMF. I'm not doing cardio right now, but it will eventually be added in. Right now I'm just concentrating on lifting and eating right, adding cardio as needed.

Here's the workout, M-W-F switching between the two.

Upper:
Bench Press - 2-3x6-8
Rows - 2-3x6-8
Lateral Raise - 1-2x8-10
Biceps - 1x2-8-10
Triceps - 1x2-8-10

Lower:
Squat - 2-3x6-8
RDL - 2x3-6-8
Calf Raise - 2-3x6-8
Weighted Crunches - 2-3x6-8
Back Extensions - 2x3x6-8

My first upper body workout will be in the next post.

 

[KoolDrew]

9-3-08

Bench Press - 3x8 @ 185
Rows - 3x8 @ 135
Lateral Raise - 2x10 @ 20lb DB's
Hammer Curls- 2x10 @ 35lb DB's
Triceps Extension - 2x10 @ 40lb DB's

I made sure to start light to not overdo it. The bench press was really easy, but it was actually easiest on my last set, probably because I didn't really warm-up properly. Rows were really easy as well. As for diet today, it sucked, but I'll start tracking my food tomorrow on thedailyplate. My goal for calories is around 2500 and protein is 200g for now.

 

[brikis98]

Congrats on getting the journal going. I found creating my own (actually, several over the last year) on this forum was very useful. It kept me honest & organized, let me look back in the past to see how I've been progressing, and I got lots of helpful and motivating comments from people that read it.

Question about your routine: any reason you don't have any overhead press in it? What about an olympic lift, like the power clean? I know you're not doing SS, but I feel those two exercises are fairly essential to just about any routine. I'd also toss in pull-ups and dips in almost any routine, but you probably have those covered with rows and whatever you do for biceps & triceps...

 

[paulxcook]

Compared to the pics you posted a few months ago you seem to have really lost some muscle mass and put on some fat around your middle. Good luck with your goals, you know what to do. Though man if I got to ~10% BF like you were I think I'd have called it a day and started bulking again, as you looked great IMO.

 

[KoolDrew]

Question about your routine: any reason you don't have any overhead press in it? What about an olympic lift, like the power clean? I know you're not doing SS, but I feel those two exercises are fairly essential to just about any routine. I'd also toss in pull-ups and dips in almost any routine, but you probably have those covered with rows and whatever you do for biceps & triceps...

Since I'm cutting all the way down to 8% the goal of my routine is simply to maintain muscle mass and gain a little bit of the strength I've lost. For that I've chose just a small handful of movements to keep volume down. So I had to pick and choose between movements and I just chose to stick with a basic push and a basic pull with some isolation thrown in at very low volume. Once I begin bulking there would obviously be more volume, frequency and movements. I'll probably stick with an upper/lower split, but do it 4x a week rather than three. I'd be doing deadlifts once a week, OH pressing, maybe dips. I always sucked at Olympic lifts, but that's a possibility as well. For now, I'm keeping things simple.

Compared to the pics you posted a few months ago you seem to have really lost some muscle mass and put on some fat around your middle. Good luck with your goals, you know what to do. Though man if I got to ~10% BF like you were I think I'd have called it a day and started bulking again, as you looked great IMO.

Once I start bulking I should quickly gain all of it back, plus more. I also plan to not go over 12% while bulking. When I do, I'll cut back down to 8%. To ensure I don't just jump right back up in weight, I'm just going to be aiming for 0.5-1lb of weight gain a week. Very slow, but it should allow me to gain plenty of muscle while avoiding too much fat. For now while cutting I'm aiming for 1-1.5lbs lost a week. Though my first week I'll obviously lose more due to water weight.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Why not just hit your body fat goal (or close to it) and then do a very slow bulk where you gain nearly all lean muscle? It's possible and I thought you of all people would be taking that approach since it's more efficient in the long run.

 

[KoolDrew]

Why not just hit your body fat goal (or close to it) and then do a very slow bulk where you gain nearly all lean muscle? It's possible and I thought you of all people would be taking that approach since it's more efficient in the long run.

Depends on how you define "very slow." Personally I consider gaining 0.5lb-1lb a week slow, but I guess you don't.

In that case... it's not more efficient. Gaining any less than 0.5lb a week would just hinder muscle gains. Optimal muscle growth will ALWAYS require some fat gain. There are certain diets that aim at gaining muscle while staying lean, but all of them simply alternate between cutting and bulking, such as Layne Nortons approach which I believe is 4 weeks of bulking followed by 2 weeks of cutting.

 

[KoolDrew]

I really suck at this dieting thing... went to Papa Johns today with the girlfriend. I'm trying to get her to diet with me as I think that's part of the problem and she's been complaining she wants to lose fat anyway. Another one of my problems is that it's hard to eat right when I'm constantly on the go because of work and classes. Barely ever home to actually cook a good meal.

I guess I'll just try better tomorrow. I go to the gym tomorrow as well for my lower body workout.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
I really suck at this dieting thing... went to Papa Johns today with the girlfriend. I'm trying to get her to diet with me as I think that's part of the problem and she's been complaining she wants to lose fat anyway.

I've also been struggling with the gf issue and dieting. my gf (and her whole family) have some super-human metabolism and can eat massive quantities of unhealthy food without gaining an ounce. on the one hand, i love it, because she keeps her wonderful figure, but when we eat together, it's quite tough. She has no reason to go on a diet, so finding a way we can eat together - but I still eat within my caloric limit - has been quite tricky.

The only suggestions I can make are:

1. Make every meal you eat alone "count". Assume you'll be eating way more calories (and way less protein) than expected when you eat with the gf and compensate accordingly earlier in the day. Never have a cheat meal when alone - save those for times w/ the gf.

2. Plan meals ahead of time. If you wait to the last minute, you'll often end up eating out or doing something quick and won't take the time to worry about a proper diet. It really helps to plan a few meals for the rest of the week, buy the proper ingredients, and stick to it.

 

[KoolDrew]

I've been doing better with diet. Calories have been good the only thing that really needs improvement is my protein intake. Which is an easy fix and it hasn't been horrible, just not as high as I want it. As some of you may have noticed I did miss a workout though. Now since the semester just started I have to fit in classes, studying, work, and lifting & eating right. I just need to get a bit better at managing my time though.

I did do my upper body workout today and here it is.

9-8-08

Bench - 2x6 @ 195
Rows - 3x8 @ 145
Lateral Raises - 1x8 w/ 25lb dbs
Hammer Curls - 1x8 w/ 40lb dbs
Tricep Extensions - 1x8 w/ 45lb db

I'm going to keep the weight the same for bench next time, but just try to get 3x8. Surprisingly the bench was actually hard. Probably a combination of not lifting much recently and when I did lift I never really benched over 5 reps. Rows I can go up probably 10 pounds without a problem as they were easy. I'll try 2x10 for lateral raises and curls next time. For triceps I only did 1x8, but I could of easily done the 2x10 so I'll just up it to a 50lb db next time.

 

[KoolDrew]

Checked my weight this morning and I'm at 202. That's 3 pounds less than exactly a week ago when I started this topic. My waist dropped 1/2 of an inch as well, down to 34.5. From here on out I'm going to try to aim for 1-1.5lbs lost a week. I also did my first lower body workout today.

9-10-2008

Squat - 3x8 @ 135lbs
RDL - 3x8 @ 135lbs
Calf Raise - 3x8 @ 20lbs
Weighted Crunches - 3x8 @ 35lbs
Back Extensions - 3x8 @ 35lbs

Started everything light just to get going.

I also tried a recipe I found at clutchfitness.com forums for protein bars. It's just 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1/2 coup oatmeal, 2 scoops whey, and 1/4 cup water. Mix it all up and refrigerate overnight. I've been eating for breakfast since it's pretty easy and quite a bit of protein. Doesn't taste bad either. It would probably taste even better if I had better protein powder though.

 

[gramboh]

Wow nice progress on the weight and waist, really fast. That recipie sounds easy, do you actually mold into bars? What is the portion size you take?

 

[KoolDrew]

Wow nice progress on the weight and waist, really fast.

Keep in mind it's only the first week. Following weeks shouldn't be as quick.

That recipie sounds easy, do you actually mold into bars? What is the portion size you take?

No, it was just a giant glob on a plate and the recipe I gave was for one serving. I couldn't really mold them into bars even if I wanted to, they don't hold together very well and are a bit sticky. I just eat the glob with a fork though and it doesn't taste bad.

I suck at cooking too, so if anybody else has other suggestions it'd be appreciated.

 

[paulxcook]

Drew, here's a recipe I tried once: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=63562

Actually pretty tasty, lots of protein, and you can shape them into bars.

Good work on the weight and waist loss.

 

[KoolDrew]

Well, I missed yet another upper body workout friday and I was planning on going today, but forgot the gym closes at noon on weekends. I couldn't go friday since I was either at school or work the whole day. Today I didn't have to work until 10am so I could've lifted before then though.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Drew, here's a recipe I tried once: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=63562

Actually pretty tasty, lots of protein, and you can shape them into bars.

The only problem with those is that they are near 1,000 calories.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Drew, here's a recipe I tried once: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=63562

Actually pretty tasty, lots of protein, and you can shape them into bars.

The only problem with those is that they are near 1,000 calories.

Haha good point, I forgot those were for people who have issues taking in calories. I just remembered they taste good.

 

[KoolDrew]

I did fridays upper body workout today. It's two days late, but at least I got it in.

9-14-2008

Bench Press - 1x8, 1x7, 1x7 @ 195 lbs
Rows - 3x8 - 155 lbs
Lateral Raises - 2x10 - 25 lbs
Hammer Curls - 2x10 - 40 lbs
Tricep Extensions - 2x10 - 50 lbs

Everything was good except for the bench. I thought for sure I'd be able to get it for the 3x8, but I missed the last rep on the last two sets. I think I'm just not used to doing around that rep range for bench at all. Ever since I started lifting I never really went over 5 reps, so doing 6-8 is a change. The first 5 reps are extremely easy, it's just those last couple that become difficult. Part of it may be mental too, I'm not sure.

 

[KoolDrew]

Also, I didn't mention it before, but I feel I should since I was so detailed about everything else. Right now I'm supplementing with 10g of fish oil a day, a multivitamin, protein powder, and creatine and that's it for now. More may be added such as the EC stack or whatever. I actually recently started the creatine so my weight may jump, but as long as my waist is still going down I'm not worried about it.

 

[KoolDrew]

I wasn't able to go to the gym today, but I think I'm just going to change my schedule and start going Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The only problem with M-W-F is that my schedule changes every week for work, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a 3 hour break between classes and the earliest I would have to be at work on Saturday is 10am.

 

[KoolDrew]

9-16-08

Squat - 3x8 @ 185 lbs
RDL - 3x8 @ 185 lbs
Calf Raise - 3x8 @ 30 lbs
Ab Pulldowns - 3x8 @ 80 lbs
Back Extensions - 3x8 @ 40 lbs

Everything was pretty easy. Instead of the weighted crunches I decided I'd try some Ab pulldowns and I think I'm going to stick with them. Definitely a good abdominal workout.

 

[chalmers]

Please tell me you squat at least to parallel...most of the people in my gym that even attempt to squat are quite comical.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: chalmers
Please tell me you squat at least to parallel...most of the people in my gym that even attempt to squat are quite comical.

Yes, I do.

 

[chalmers]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: chalmers
Please tell me you squat at least to parallel...most of the people in my gym that even attempt to squat are quite comical.

Yes, I do.

Haha awesome, good luck in your goal...I'm on the same type of journey...just too lazy to make a journal.

Cheers

 

[KoolDrew]

I was a bit sore from yesterday so I did some foam rolling and stretching today. The foam rolling hurt like a bitch since I haven't done it in a while, but I definitely felt a lot better afterward.

For people not familiar with foam rolling:
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=475832