Zach's new journal- I'm back baby

[skullmurdoc]

Originally Posted by PhiSigPhi

I was pretty tired this morning. I didn't get the rest I should have had this weekend and not 2 days rest after my 3rd workout of the week, but nonetheless, I kept improving. The max weights I moved are personal records for the past 2 years. I haven't moved this much weight since Iraq in 2006 so it feels amazing to do so again.

Squat
5x125
5x155
5x185
5x220
5x250

Bench Press
5x105
5x135
5x160
5x185
5x215

Bentover Row
5x85
5x105
5x125
5x145
5x165

Weighted hypers x 2
Weighted Abs x 4

I'm sure I've put on some muscle mass. I'm about 10 lbs heavier and although I feel I have a bit more of gut, it's not more than I've had before at about 5-8lbs less than I am now. I'm not sure what the norm is, but I'll be satisified if I put on 1lb of muscle for every 1lb of fat gained. It's not ideal, but I think it's ok. It will be much easier to lose the fat if I put on 20lb+ in muscle weight.

Good job Zach!
What do you weight now?

[PhiSigPhi]

Originally Posted by skullmurdoc

Good job Zach!
What do you weight now?

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm not sure how much I weigh. My body weight fluctuates a lot lately depending on what I eat, drink, etc. If I had to guess, I'd say about 203?? I'm about 2 lbs from being the heaviest I've ever been but not nearly as fat (although I'm still 23-25% BF and its all in my stomach lol). I'm going to try and get to 240-250 if I can handle it mentally. If i wait that long, I should have put on 20-30lbs of muscle (which would put me about 170-180 LBM), but we shall see. Should be a lot easier shedding the fat with that much more muscle mass to play with.

[skullmurdoc]

Originally Posted by PhiSigPhi

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm not sure how much I weigh. My body weight fluctuates a lot lately depending on what I eat, drink, etc. If I had to guess, I'd say about 203?? I'm about 2 lbs from being the heaviest I've ever been but not nearly as fat (although I'm still 23-25% BF and its all in my stomach lol). I'm going to try and get to 240-250 if I can handle it mentally. If i wait that long, I should have put on 20-30lbs of muscle (which would put me about 170-180 LBM), but we shall see. Should be a lot easier shedding the fat with that much more muscle mass to play with.

The heaviest Ive been is 215! Right after I stop smoking. lolll But That's a long way back! I'm about 205 now! I gain about 20 pounds since the end of january. I would like to gain 30 pounds more in one year! Seems feasible! But I need to do some cardio also because on dead and Squat I'm struggling for breath! Hahaha

[PhiSigPhi]

Easy workout. I have no idea why it was

Workout:

Squat
5x125
5x155
5x185
5x185

Incline Bench
5x105
5x125
5x145
5x165


Deadlift
5x165
5x190
5x225
5x255

3 sets of 30 crunches.

Bout to eat a steak. Peace

[Snow9308]

I like the madcow workout and im thinking of doing it myself, but can this be done on 4 days a week or is it strictly a 3 day a week routine.

Thanks

[HammerTech]

Originally Posted by Snow9308

I like the madcow workout and im thinking of doing it myself, but can this be done on 4 days a week or is it strictly a 3 day a week routine.

Thanks

The way the 5x5 is put together, you'd never last if it were more than a 3 day program. Stick with 3 days...trust.

[skullmurdoc]

Originally Posted by Snow9308

I like the madcow workout and im thinking of doing it myself, but can this be done on 4 days a week or is it strictly a 3 day a week routine.

Thanks

I dont get why you want to do it with 4 days!
You will overtrain and hurt yourself doing this 4 days a week!

[PhiSigPhi]

Originally Posted by skullmurdoc

I dont get why you want to do it with 4 days!
You will overtrain and hurt yourself doing this 4 days a week!

Exactly. Besides, it's AWESOME only having to lift 3 days a week as a time consideration. If you feel you need to be more active, I'd do some intense stretching (maybe yoga X from P90X), or some moderate cardio on off days.

Not to mention when you get to like week 8, you're going to be needing as much rest as possible. Even your warm up sets will start getting close to your old work sets.

[Snow9308]

I would like to do it 4x times a week because i do absolutely nothing else. I usually dont lift on wed and i am bored as hell. Im thinking about fightitng through the boredom to try this. How have size gains been? I also bulking looking to put on about 15 pnds of mm

[HammerTech]

It's designed as a 3 day program for a reason. Rest is key. Find something else to fill your down time if you venture out onto this program.

Trust.

[TheHorseman]

Originally Posted by PhiSigPhi

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm not sure how much I weigh. My body weight fluctuates a lot lately depending on what I eat, drink, etc. If I had to guess, I'd say about 203?? I'm about 2 lbs from being the heaviest I've ever been but not nearly as fat (although I'm still 23-25% BF and its all in my stomach lol). I'm going to try and get to 240-250 if I can handle it mentally. If i wait that long, I should have put on 20-30lbs of muscle (which would put me about 170-180 LBM), but we shall see. Should be a lot easier shedding the fat with that much more muscle mass to play with.

As someone that has put a lot of weight on fast (I netted about 30lbs of lbm on in a little more than a couple of years), it's tough mentally and physically. Forget the mental part - physically, your joints, lungs and heart? They don't acclimate as fast.

First and foremost, ignore the fkn scale. I'd try to get as close to what I want to look like at my current build, bf% wise. That doesn't mean run a stupid cutter or lose precious muscle, but don't go on some bulking odyssey. If you're 18-23, tear it up. But as you get older, ditching that fat becomes a serious pain in the @ss.

A gradual, add lbm only approach is way better. You'll go out of your mind if you're 23% or higher now and put 20-30lbs on.

I stay anywhere from 235-255 and I stay pretty damn lean, and even at 255 and sub 12%, I feel a lot fkn different lugging that much size around. I much prefer being somewhere in the middle like I am now (I'm 244 today).

I'm all for getting massive, but be realistic, and don't use that as an excuse to become a lard @ss, and don't underestimate how hard adding 30lbs of muscle is... It's not something that will happen overnight. However, getting lean is something that can happen overnight if you're sensible about it (I can shred anyone in 12 weeks). Again, this doesn't mean sacrifice muscle, but at over 20%, I can guarantee your hormone levels aren't optimal, and you're going to spin your wheels. IMO, we have optimal gaining ranges (bf wise). If you're too low or too high, your progress is completely stimeyed when it comes to making serious LBM gains.

[PhiSigPhi]

Do you suggest dropping some fat? ABout 6 years ago, I was 163lbs and less than 10% bf and I still could not see my abs, but I was amazing shape. I let myself go and now I want to do it right this time.

I just feel like I need to put on some more mass. I'm not lookin to get huge. Actually, I would like to get about the size of Mitch...maybe even a little smaller. I'm probably overestimating how much muscle I will gain and how quickly. That's fine. I'll be happy with solid progress and solid building and I'm really liking the idea of muscle gain by strength. I love functional training a lot.

I'm going to get my progress checked in 4 more weeks and see where I'm at. I'll continue to do 2 month progress checks and see if I'm putting on mostly muscle mass, or putting on fat or both. I would love at my progress points to get everyone's input on how I should continue as this is where I'm the most lost. You hear so many different things from so many different people, it just gives you a headache. I just need a clear direction with a good plan and then let me fly.

I do not want to become a lard ass that's for sure!

Sorry for the incoherent post! I'm just letting my thoughts flow.

[PhiSigPhi]

Originally Posted by Snow9308

I would like to do it 4x times a week because i do absolutely nothing else. I usually dont lift on wed and i am bored as hell. Im thinking about fightitng through the boredom to try this. How have size gains been? I also bulking looking to put on about 15 pnds of mm

Definitely fill the time with something else. Play some sports, fvck some girls, hell read a book and better yourself mentally. Honestly, if I don't get full rest after I lift on this program, I can feel the difference. Last week I got like 6 hours of a sleep a night and I could barely do the lifts. This week I've gotten 8-9 and the lifts came so easily.

[TheHorseman]

Personally, I'd prefer doing my progressing in the sub 15% range, if nothing else, the progress would be much more noticeable and you can see the fruits of your labor. But in reality, you would be much more sensitive (and produce more) to naturally produced anabolic hormones. Fact: having higher body fat suppresses natural production of the hormones you need to make the progress you want.

[mitchcumstein]

Originally Posted by PhiSigPhi

Do you suggest dropping some fat? ABout 6 years ago, I was 163lbs and less than 10% bf and I still could not see my abs, but I was amazing shape. I let myself go and now I want to do it right this time.

I just feel like I need to put on some more mass. I'm not lookin to get huge. Actually, I would like to get about the size of Mitch...maybe even a little smaller. I'm probably overestimating how much muscle I will gain and how quickly. That's fine. I'll be happy with solid progress and solid building and I'm really liking the idea of muscle gain by strength. I love functional training a lot.

I'm going to get my progress checked in 4 more weeks and see where I'm at. I'll continue to do 2 month progress checks and see if I'm putting on mostly muscle mass, or putting on fat or both. I would love at my progress points to get everyone's input on how I should continue as this is where I'm the most lost. You hear so many different things from so many different people, it just gives you a headache. I just need a clear direction with a good plan and then let me fly.

I do not want to become a lard ass that's for sure!

Sorry for the incoherent post! I'm just letting my thoughts flow.

Just so you know, its taken me almost 4 years of solid training (and some gear) to get where im at. Right now im around 210 and have about 185-190lbs of LBM. When i started i weighed around 180lbs and had 145lbs of lbm. The first ten or fifteen pounds came fairly easy but the rest has been very hard work and slow going. Its a huge learning curve because what works for some wont work for you. So youre gonna go thru alot of trial and error until you find out what makes you grow. Now im not saying it cant be done without gear and in a shorte time frame becase you have age on your side, youre young and im almost 40. However, you should temper your expectations or youll be setting yourself up for disappointment. Dont make the mistake i made and many other made of putting on a bunch of unwanted fat when trying to bulk up. Get yourself leaner like Boyd suggested then train hard and eat right and shoot for 10-15lbs of quality muscle in the next year and youll be on the right path towards your goals.


No dirty bulkers

[PhiSigPhi]

Interesting. Well I've already committed to the 5x5 so I'm going to continue on this track until I'm not seeing strength gains anymore. Then I'll be lookin to everyone on a good program to shed some fat and then hit up the muscle gain again. Hopefully I'll find little bf% gain in 4 weeks...hopefully.

[mitchcumstein]

Originally Posted by PhiSigPhi

Interesting. Well I've already committed to the 5x5 so I'm going to continue on this track until I'm not seeing strength gains anymore. Then I'll be lookin to everyone on a good program to shed some fat and then hit up the muscle gain again. Hopefully I'll find little bf% gain in 4 weeks...hopefully.

Strength is important so you should def keep up with the program. Theres no reason you cant slowly lean up and work on your strength at the same time. Your diet is gonna be the biggest piece of the puzzle.

[vassille]

Your genetic make up pretty much dictates how much muscle you will gain.

[skullmurdoc]

Very interesting stuff guy's!
Thanks!!!

[PhiSigPhi]

Felt great today working out and very strong.

Squat
5x125
5x155
5x185
5x220
4x255
8x185

Bench Press
5x105
5x135
5x160
5x185
5x220
8x160

So the 5x220 was easy. Should I move up a week on the schedule for my bench or should I just continue as is?

Bentover Row
5x85
5x105
5x125
5x145
4x170

Dips BWx15, BWx12, BWx10 Getting my dip belt on Tuesday so I should be adding some weight to this.

Superset
Standing EZ Bar curls 2x80x8, 1x80x7
Standing EZ bar tricep ext. 3x65x8

Nice workout. Feel great and pumped. Drank a RTD51 and a Vitamin Water post-workout. Peace