Hans' fitness quest (workout journal)

[Hans_Rachid]

There seems to be a craze for keeping track of one's training these days on EF with Mukey, Tildawave and now Varbo who have all recently undertaken such a feat... So I thought, why not join the fun and add some more activity to the Bodybuilding section which had been in a coma lately!? I've been a member of these forums for over 3 years now and I have never kept a public journal to keep myself accountable, so I guess it's about time

My biggest problem in my fitness endeavours is that I keep losing my motivation after a while, then stop working out, and make backward steps (not to say jumps), then have to start all over again. Hopefully this thread will help me to stay on track.

I stopped working out around October last year and went back to the normal "3 meals a day" diet. I didn't do any kind of regular physical activity in that meantime and gradually lost most of the gains I had made (strength and muscle mass). My bodyweight went down from 170 to 155 lbs for 6'0" of height and maybe it would have gone further down had I not decided it was time to act. You see, if I have to fall into one category among the 3 main body types, ectomorph is definitely the one that defines me best; when I started working out I was 145 lbs for the same height... Maybe that's where I was heading... Anyway, 8 months later I subscribed to a gym and was horrified by how much strength I had lost, and set out to reclaim what was once mine, and then improve on it.

After almost 3 months of giving it my best effort, I can say that I'm now pretty much at the same point I was last year before stopping. However, this time I won't stop there. I want to get bigger and stronger than I ever was!

This is where the journal starts...

[Hans_Rachid]

Goals:
My ultimate goal would be to weigh 200 lbs of fairly lean natural muscle (at a sustainable bodyfat, like ~10%). Of course, this is very far from happening, but I don't mind it. I don't know if my body is capable of holding this much mass, but if it is, I don't care how much time it's gonna take, but I'm going to reach this goal.
My other goals go hand in hand with the first one as they are strength related and we all know the very strong correlation between strength and muscle mass. I want to be able to bench the 100 lbs dumbbells, deadlift 3 plates a side, parallel squat 2 plates a side, barbell shoulder press 1 plate a side, and row the 100 lbs dumbbells, all for reps.

Now, these goals are pretty far away, so I need smaller objectives to help me keep my motivation throughout this journey. You don't climb a mountain by jumping from the base to the summit; you take one step at a time, and that's what I'm going to do. I will keep track of my weight progress by weighing myself every sunday morning before breakfast, and I'll keep track of my strength by noting everything I lift right here.

My short term weight goals will be to gain ~2 lbs per month.
My short term strength goals will be to improve on the number of reps I do or the weight I use on each of my main exercises for each workout.

Evolution of body weight
Juin 1st: 155 lbs
Jully 1st: 160 lbs
August 1st: 165 lbs
September 1st: 169 lbs
October 1st: 173 lbs
Current weight: 173 lbs

The Program
I'm following a 2 day split and train 4 times a week. This way I hit everything twice per week, instead of only once with a traditional bodybuilding approach where you split everything on more days.
Day 1: Upper legs, back, biceps, calves
Day 2: Pecs, shoulders, triceps, abs

[Hans_Rachid]

For reference, here are my workouts of the past 2 months or so. I write the weight in pounds, then the number of reps for each set, separated by a comma. In red are the exercises where I did worse than the previous time, followed by my personal best on the given exercise.

Wide grip pull ups BW 11,7,5
Squats 160 10,9,7
Seated leg curls 90x15, 105x10, 105x8
Bent over barbell rows 151x12, 160x8, 160x8
Calf press 405 17,15,14
Alternated dumbbell curls 35 9,6,2

Dumbbell flat bench 65x4, 60x4
Machine flies 130 10,8,8
Barbell shoulder press 70 9,6,5
Dumbbell laterall raises 20 15,12,10
Overhead tricep extensions 55 13,7,6
Push ups + crunches BW 19-20,10-20, 9-20 (Supersets)

Chin ups BW 12,7,5
Deadlifts 230x5,250x5,230x5
Leg extensions 180 15,10,8
Barbell curls 65 12,7,5
Calf raises 90 15,15,15

Incline dumbbell bench 55 8,6,5
Machine 90° flies 120 10,6,5
Dumbbell shoulder press 40 8,6,5
Cable laterall raises 15 12,11,9
Weighted dips 25 12,8,5
Hanging leg raises BW 15,10,8

Parallel grip chin ups 10 8,5,4
Straight leg deadlifts 190 8,8,9 (grip issues)
Leg press 360 10,8,8
Dumbbell bent over rows 70 12,10,9
Calf press 405 20,15,14
Cable curls 90 13,7,6

Dumbbell flat bench 65 8,5,4
Cable crossovers 60 7,5,6
Barbell shoulder press 75 12,6,5
Dumbbell lateral raises 22,5 12,10,9
Skull crushers 65 10,7,5
Crunches BW 20,20,20

Wide grip pull ups BW 11,7,6
Squats 165 10,9,9
Seated leg curls 105 15,10,9
Bent over barbell rows 160 12,10,10
Calf raises 90 15,12,12
Alternated dumbbell curls 35 10,6,4

Incline dumbbell bench 55 11,7,6
Machine flies 130 12,10,8
Dumbbell shoulder press 40 9,7,5
Cable lateral raises 15 12,9,8
Overhead tricep extensions 60 12,7,5
Hanging leg raises 15 15,10,8

Chin ups BW 12,7,5
Deadlifts 225x10,245x6,245x5
Leg extensions 185 14,10,8
Barbell curls 70 11,6,5
Calf press - the gym was closing so I did 3 sets of 20 reps of one legged calf raises in my stairs with the ~25 lbs dumbbell I have at home

Dumbbell flat bench 65 11,6,5
Machine 90° flies 120 12,7,5
Barbell shoulder press 80 10,5,4
Dumbbell lateral raises 25 12,12,10
Weighted dips 30 12,7,5
Crunches BW 25,20,20

Parallel grip chin ups 10 8,5,4
Straight leg deadlifts 200 12,10,8
Leg press 360 12,10,9
Dumbbell bent over rows 75 12,10,8
Calf raises 90 15,13,12
Cable curls 95 15,9,7

Incline dumbbell bench 60 10,7,5
Cable crossovers 60 9,7,6
Dumbbell shoulder press 45 10,7,5
Cable laterall raises 15 15,12,12
Skull crushers 70 10,7,5
Hanging leg raises BW 15,12,10

Wide grip pull ups BW 11,7,6
Squats 165 12,10,9
Seated leg curls 105 16,11,10
Bent over barbell rows 165 12,10,10
Calf press 405 20,18,16
Alternated dumbbell curls 35 12,6,5

Dumbbell flat bench 70 8,6,4
Machine flies 115x15,130x11,130x9 (I put 115 by mistake on the 1st set)
Barbell shoulder press 80 10,6,6
Dumbbell lateral raises 25 13,12,12
Overhead tricep extensions 65 12,6,5
Crunches BW 25,20,20

Chin ups BW 12,7,6
Deadlifts 245 8,6,5
Leg extensions 190 14,10,8
Lying leg curls 80 12,10,8
Barbell curls 70 13,7,5
Calf raises 90 15,13,12

Incline dumbbell bench 60 12,8,5
Machine 90° flies 120 12,7,5
Dumbbell shoulder press 45 11,7,6
Cable laterall raises 15 15,13,13
Weighted dips 35 12,7,5
Hanging leg raises BW 17,12,10

Parallel grip chin ups BW 12,7,6
Straight legged deadlifts 210 11,10,9
Leg press 370 12,10,9
Dumbbell bent over rows 80 10,8,6+2
Leg press calf press 270 20,20,20
Cable curls 100 15,8,7

Dumbbell flat bench 70 9,6,4
Cable crossovers 60 10,8,7
Barbell shoulder press 80 11,8,6
Dumbbell lateral raises 25 15,13,13
Skull crushers 70 11,8,5
Crunches BW 25,20,20

Wide grip pull ups BW 12,7,6
Squats 170 10,9,7
Seated leg curls 110 15,13,11
Bent over barbell rows 170 12,11,10
Calf press 420 18,16,15
Alternated dumbbell curls 35 12,6,5

Incline dumbbell bench 65 10,6,4
Machine flies 145 13,7,5
Dumbbell shoulder press 50x6,45x6,45x5
Cable laterall raises 20 12,10,10
Overhead tricep extensions 70 10,6,5
Hanging leg raises BW 18,12,10

Chin ups BW 13,7,6
Deadlifts 245 9,7,6
Leg extensions 195 16,10,8
Lying leg curls 90x20,120x8,120x6 (not my usual gym so the machine was different)
Barbell curls 70 13,6,5 13,7,5
Calf raises 88 16,15,13 (not my usual gym so the machine was different)

Dumbbell flat bench 70 10,7,5
Cable crossovers 60 11,9,7
Barbell shoulder press 85 11,6,5
Dumbbell lateral raises 25 16,12,12 15,13,13
Dips 35 12,8,6
Crunches BW 30,20,20

Parallel grip chin ups BW 13,8,7
Straight legged deadlifts 220 10,9,8
Leg press 380 12,11,10
Dumbbell bent over rows 80 12,10,8
Leg press calf press 320 15,15,15
Cable curls 105 15,8,6

Incline dumbbell bench 65 11,6,5
Machine flies 145 12,7,6 13,7,5
Dumbbell shoulder press 45 11,6,5 11,7,6
Cable laterall raises 20 13,12,10
Overhead tricep extensions 70 10,5,4 10,6,5
Hanging leg raises BW 19,13,11

Wide grip pull ups 5 10,7,5
Squats 175 12,11,9
Seated leg curls 115 17,13,11
Bent over barbell rows 175 12,11,10
Calf press 420 18,16,16
Alternated dumbbell curls 35 13,6,5

[tooncesthecat]

What's your current diet like?

[DEALER]

After almost 3 months of giving it my best effort, I can say that I'm now pretty much at the same point I was last year before stopping.

Good Job. Only three months to get back what took eight months to lose, that's really good.

My ultimate goal would be to weigh 200 lbs of fairly lean natural muscle (at a sustainable bodyfat, like ~10%). Of course, this is very far from happening, but I don't mind it.

This doesn't have to be so far off, if you eat enough and hit it hard in the gym, this may not be as far off as you think. If you really want to gain that much muscle, I would start getting comfortable with a slightly higher BF%, temporarily, of course.

I want to be able to bench the 100 lbs dumbbells, deadlift 3 plates a side, parallel squat 2 plates a side, barbell shoulder press 1 plate a side, and row the 100 lbs dumbbells, all for reps.

You should consider these short term goals. Hell, you aren't too far off from these numbers as it is. You already hit 70's for 12 on the flat bench, deadlift 245 for 9, you are rowing the 80's for 12, squatting 175 for 12, and you BB press 85 for 11. Hans, you should be able to blow past these in a few months? IMO, if you forget about getting "12 reps", you probably could hit some of those numbers already! Deadlifting 245 for 9? Thats crazy! Keep you reps under five on the DL, I guarantee you will pull 315 in a few weeks, if you can't do it now. Remember, not everyone grows with a 10 to 12 rep scheme, many of us make more gains with heavier weight and lower reps. You gotta find what works best for you.

I can't speak to this full body/two day split, but it seems to me there are only two things that could be keeping you from growing, 1. You don't eat enough or 2. Your two day split is not allowing your muscles enough recovery time. I have never done a full body split, but I can't imagine a trained individual (natural) being able to hit each body part hard enough to stimulate any significant amount of growth using a split like that. I know that I couldn't. I have a skinny frame too, I was always around 6'1" @ 150 before I started training. You are way stronger than I was at about 168-170. Something is probably keeping you from growing. I would look at what you are eating (more importantly how much), and try hitting each muscle group only once (or 1.5 times) a week.

It looks like you gained ~10lbs over the summer, so maybe it's working OK for you so far, but you are talking about really getting a lot bigger. I must assume that you are a "trained" individual, and have more than a year or two experience strength training. You have never weighed more than 170. I would say, to hit 200lbs fairly lean, you are probably going to need to make some changes.

My advice would be to eat, eat, eat. Your goals are within reach if you are willing to make some sacrifices. Good luck Hans_Rachid, I'm looking forward to seeing how your workouts progresses.

[pliny_2001]

I'll just make a few points:


x2 on toonces and the diet -- significant changes in size/strength/body composition are founded in diet; gotta make sure that yours is/stays on track.

Good gains; as long as you haven't abused yourself too much in your time away, muscle tends to come back faster then you'd think.

You made significant gains for the first, what, 1.5-2 months, but your numbers have slowed/stalled/regressed a bit in the last week and a half: assuming that your sleep and diet are dialed in, and there haven't been any stresses that have caused a bad couple of days (it happens to all of us, so no worries), then you may want to change up the workout a bit. If that split works for you, I won't tell you to change it, but you may wish to vary the rep ranges or rest time or something. A few minor changes can lead to some very different results.

Keep up the good work! I may have to start one of these logs, it seems like the cool thing to do!

[Hans_Rachid]

Originally Posted by tooncesthecat

What's your current diet like?

A typical day for me looks like this :

1) Breakfast: 1 cup of orange juice, bowl of oatmeal with 1 cup of milk and a dash of maple syrup, 2 sunny side up eggs cooked in tablespoon of peanut oil, and a banana

2) Lunch: a generous plate of some kind of meat, rice/potatoes/pastas and vegetables, then a fruit and/or yogourt for dessert

3) Post-workout shake: 1 scoop of whey powder, 1 cup of milk, 1 banana, 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

4) Dinner: a generous plate of some kind of meat/fish, rice/potatoes/pastas and vegetables, then a cup of fruit salad for dessert

5) Pre-bed snack: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, spoonful of natural peanut butter, 1 cup of milk and a teaspoon of fish oil.

I don't count calories anymore because it's too much of a hassle, but I used to do it, so I have a pretty good feel for it and am confident I consume roughly 3000-3500 kcals per day.


Dealer ->

Actually I'm very satisfied with the progress I've made in the past 3 months, people around me gave me unsolicited compliments on my physique (gotta love those! ), so I must have been doing something right. I mention this because you seem to be under the impression that I have a hard time growing (probably because I never weighed more than 170?). The thing is, when I stopped training last year, I had just recently reached that bodyweight, so I was still gaining. Maybe I would have reached a plateau at 175, but we can't know for sure since I lost my motivation and stopped training before I got to this point. Whether or not I have trouble growing past 170 lbs, this is what we'll find out in the coming months. I don't expect to keep on gaining 4-5 lbs per month like I have this summer, but I'll stay with this routine for as long as I'm making progress. If and when I do reach a plateau, I'll definitely follow your advice and shake things up, change my split, ramp up the calories, etc.

Also, you seem to be skeptical about my 2-day split and the amount of muscle stimulation it provides, but you have to consider that I reach failure on each and every set of each exercise where it's safe to do so (all but squats and deadlifts where I stop about 1 rep short of failure), so I don't think more volume is necessary (especially for a natural). My program is a bit similar to the famous DC training, with actually a bit more volume and an additional day per week.

Thanks for your encouragements and advices, I really appreciate it!

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

Good gains; as long as you haven't abused yourself too much in your time away, muscle tends to come back faster then you'd think.

Yes, muscle memory is a wonderful thing! I had never been away from the gym for so long, so I wasn't sure of how my body would respond... I had read about muscle memory many times but had never really put it to test, so I'm glad to see it does exist after all

As for the slowdown in my progress this past week, I really only had one off day (the one with 3 red exercises), the other days it was only a single auxiliary exercise. Also, regarding the auxiliary exercises, I don't expect to make as steady a progress on them as on my main lifts, simply because by the time I get to these exercises in my workout, the muscle they work are already tired from the previous exercises where I gave my best effort. If I do a personal best on dumbbell bench press and shoulder press but fail to progress on the lateral raises, it's still a very positive workout.

Also, I just realized that the last day I posted was actually a copy-paste of the previous identical workout (4 days before) which I posted by mistake. The real numbers will be in my next post as it was today's workout

It is possible though that the one off day I had is forewarning of a soon to come plateau... after all I've now caught up with my previous best lifts... we'll find out soon enough!

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

Keep up the good work! I may have to start one of these logs, it seems like the cool thing to do!

Thanks, and you definitely should

[Hans_Rachid]

August 25th, 2009

Today I felt a bit sluggish prior to working out, but once I got into it it went really well:

Dumbbell flat bench 70 12,7,5
Cable crossovers 60 12,10,8
Barbell shoulder press 90 11,6,5
Dumbbell lateral raises 25 16,13,13
Dips 40 11,7,5
Crunches BW 30,20,20

These are all improvements on my personal bests, except for the crunches but we all know that abs are made in the kitchen anyway
I'm particularly pleased with my 3 main lifts:
for the DB flat bench, getting more than 10 reps on the first set meant I would increase the weight the next time I'll do this workout, and I managed to squeeze in 12 reps.
For the BB shoulder press, I increased the weight and still got the same number of reps as I last did, which means I'll increase it further next time.
For the dips, I also increased the weight and did only 1 less rep as last time.

All in all a very good workout.

[SAINT_X]

That looks great man! Keep up the good work!!!

[pliny_2001]

More protein for breakfast, may want to look at some kind of pre-workout food as well (depends on how long after lunch you're lifting).

How old are you? Taking _every_ set to failure tends to work best for the young, the inexperienced, or the chemically enhanced. It's too tough for most everyone else, so be aware.

170lbs, 6'? I was 180-185, 6'3'' in high school, which was (looking back) freakishly lean. Try to get your size up and maintain it for a bit, it'll make your body more likely to hold on to that size in the future (IME).

Looking forward to this - work hard! (I probably won't start a log, the idea of transcribing my workout from a logbook to the computer feels like it'd kill me).

[Hans_Rachid]

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

More protein for breakfast,

I get about 30 grams of protein in the morning, 50 for lunch, 35 as post-workout shake, 50 for dinner and 30 before bed for a total of 195 grams on training days and 160+ on off days. That's approximately 1 g/lb of bodyweight, shouldn't it be enough?

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

may want to look at some kind of pre-workout food as well (depends on how long after lunch you're lifting).

I wait 2 hours after lunch before going to the gym to avoid discomfort. However, right now I'm on vacation so I can workout and eat whenever I want, but once school starts again next week I'll be taking a snack before going to the gym when I have a class in the afternoon.

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

How old are you? Taking _every_ set to failure tends to work best for the young, the inexperienced, or the chemically enhanced. It's too tough for most everyone else, so be aware.

I'm 23, I like to think I fall in the first category you mentioned

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

170lbs, 6'? I was 180-185, 6'3'' in high school, which was (looking back) freakishly lean.

Yeah, but I look muscular for 170 because I have a thin bone structure... I do agree though, I need to weigh more!

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

Try to get your size up and maintain it for a bit, it'll make your body more likely to hold on to that size in the future (IME).

You're are right that my body doesn't want to weigh 30 pounds more, this means I'll have to force it and have it become used to it. It's hard to eat a lot when you eat clean, though... Maybe I eat too clean?

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

Looking forward to this - work hard!

Thanks!

[DEALER]

Also, you seem to be skeptical about my 2-day split and the amount of muscle stimulation it provides, but you have to consider that I reach failure on each and every set of each exercise where it's safe to do so (all but squats and deadlifts where I stop about 1 rep short of failure), so I don't think more volume is necessary (especially for a natural).

You are missing my point about the split, it's not the volume I would be concerned about, it's the recovery time for each muscle group. Remember that you grow during periods of rest, not in the gym.

Like I said, different strokes for different folks. If you are satisfied with your progress, then keep it up! My take is that your talking about gaining like 30 or 40 pounds of muscle, this is a serious goal. I'm just trying to help. 30 or 40 pounds of muscle is no casual feat.

[Hans_Rachid]

Originally Posted by DEALER

You are missing my point about the split, it's not the volume I would be concerned about, it's the recovery time for each muscle group. Remember that you grow during periods of rest, not in the gym.

Ah ok, well in that case there is an easy way of knowing if I get enough recovery time or not, and that is by seeing if I can do one more rep than the last time I did the same workout.

Originally Posted by DEALER

Like I said, different strokes for different folks. If you are satisfied with your progress, then keep it up! My take is that your talking about gaining like 30 or 40 pounds of muscle, this is a serious goal. I'm just trying to help. 30 or 40 pounds of muscle is no casual feat.

Yes you're right, I don't expect it to be easy! But I don't really look at this objective, I prefer to look at the small ones that (hopefully) will end up bringing me there. These objectives are: doing at least one more rep than my previous best on each of my main exercises during each workout, and gaining 2 pounds per month.
My current program and diet have allowed me to do that for now so I'll keep on milking the cow for as long as it will produce milk.

There's another thing: I've been on a 4 day split before and I felt like - for a given body part - after the first, say, 2 exercises, I didn't have much left in me to keep on pounding the weights and doing more exercises that worked the same muscles seemed superfluous. However, even if I did 4 chest exercises (for example) and no matter how aching I was the next morning, it never took me more than 4 days to recuperate, yet I had to wait a whole week to elicit a new growth signal, which to me seems counterproductive.

In short, I've had more success with 2 day splits. I could see myself doing a 3 day split and training 5 times a week though, but again that's not until I reach a plateau with my current program, and then again, I'd first try to increase my calorie intake and/or modify my 2 day split.

As you can see, I love my 2 day splits

Disclaimer: I don't have anything to sell. I won't get any money out of this.

[Hans_Rachid]

August 27th, 2009

Chin ups 5 11,7,5
Deadlifts 250 8,7,6
Leg extensions 200 13,8,7
Lying leg curls 80x17, 90x10, 90x8
Barbell curls 75 11,6,5
Calf raises 90 16,14,13

Pretty good workout today too; I increased the weight everywhere but on the calf raises. I'm not very good at training my calves, I feel like since the range of motion is so limited it's impossible to do clean reps and know when you've improved from your previous workout, since you could always do one more partial rep as at the end of the set they're all partial anyway... What is the secret to having big calves? Running? Genetics? Steroids? Implants?

I might need some help solving this mystery.

[A1food4U]

Calves are a bitch...plain and simple....I've managed only 1/4 inch gain over the past two years... I guess we're just gifted with chicken leg genetics...

[Hans_Rachid]

Originally Posted by A1food4U

Calves are a bitch...plain and simple....I've managed only 1/4 inch gain over the past two years... I guess we're just gifted with chicken leg genetics...

Maybe they respond better to aerobic training like running and cycling than anaerobic training? Many joggers and cyclists seem to have great calves... I just don't want you to be right, though I've pretty much come to the same conclusion

[vy224]

Looking good. Are you getting a lot of rest as well?

I only saw real gains in my training when I forced myself to sleep 8 hours a night, every night. I usually was pulling a 6 hour and it was not conducive to gaining muscle.

After you train hard the body needs to recover.

[Hans_Rachid]

Originally Posted by vy224

Looking good. Are you getting a lot of rest as well?

I only saw real gains in my training when I forced myself to sleep 8 hours a night, every night. I usually was pulling a 6 hour and it was not conducive to gaining muscle.

After you train hard the body needs to recover.

Good point. Actually these past few days I've been going to sleep way too late, and even though I get my 8 hours of sleep I don't feel as fresh when I wake up past noon. I'll have to work on that.

[Hans_Rachid]

August 29th, 2009

Incline dumbbell bench 70 9,5,4
Machine flies 145 13,7,6
Dumbbell shoulder press 45 11,7,6
Cable laterall raises 20 14,13,12
Overhead tricep extensions 70 12,6,5
Hanging leg raises BW 20,14,11

Decent workout this saturday. It was raining, dark and cold (13 °C or 55 F) in Montreal and I didn't feel in the mood for working out, but went anyway. It was my first time ever using the 70s for incline bench and it went pretty well. I also did more reps on every exercise except dumbbell shoulder press where I could only repeat my personal best. I'm a bit disappointed with these; I'd like to increase the weight but a jump of 10 pounds total (5 per dumbbell) is a bit much, so I stagnate on the 45s.

[Hans_Rachid]

September 1st, 2009

Parallel grip chin ups 5 10,6,5
Straight legged deadlifts 220 12,9,8
Leg press 384 12,11,10
Dumbbell bent over rows 80 12,10,8
Leg press calf press 270 20,20,18
Cable curls 110 13,7,6

I had a bit of a setback due to some personal issues that forced me to skip the gym on Monday and caused some stress which negatively affected today's workout. Still, it didn't go too bad: the biggest disappointment was the DB BOR where my left grip kept failing and forced me to put the weight down and re-grip it on all 3 sets...

I should be back in the gym on Thursday where I hope to redeem myself for this lackluster performance.