Back to Basics

Yeah, I had made the assumption that I was almost maxed out due to the fat free mass index and the genetic potential calculators, but this ignores the fact of my bone density, no idea how that would skew things. I have made some gains in size during 2012 still, so I don't think I'm finished yet. And I really only had two decent cycles in 2012.

The nice thing is that there is a gym right next door to the place I'm going to be working soon, so I can likely fit in an hour of lifting three times a week even with the new baby.
 
Totentanz said:
Here is my case for why traditional bulking and cutting works, instead of "lean bulking" or trying to bulk with minimal fat gain. Prior to finally doing a proper bulk, I was an "ectomorph" and a "hard gainer" who thought I was stuck as a skinny dude for the rest of my life. But then I started eating. Most of the guys I know who tried to minimize fat gain over the years are sitting in the 170 - 190 range and look less lean than I do in the 200 lb picture, and I am not that lean in that picture.
I can talk about this all day, but to some folks, words mean nothing. So here are some visual proofs of what I have been saying. This is what a hard gainer can do when he finally starts eating like a person would who is the size he wants to be.



attachment.php

140 lbs - This is where I started out before I realized you have to eat to gain muscle, not just lift.

-

to this:

attachment.php

200 lbs

-

to this:

attachment.php

~235 ish

Obviously I'm not all that lean in the last two pictures, but I'm not massively fat, so clearly bulking until I was a fat hog then cutting down to a decent bodyfat percentage didn't do anything bad to my body. To be fair, I do have stretch marks on my shoulder/pec are and on my quads, but that's not from getting fat. Obviously none of these pictures are of my legs so you can't see the change there, and my legs grew very easily, so you could have see an even more dramatic change there, but I wasn't big on getting pictures of my scrawny white legs back then, so nope.

Clearly this is just my own anecdotal experience but to some people, anecdotes are apparently more important than facts. So here you go.
Click to expand...

BUMP! Wanna play in Avengers 2?
 
So I have one more week at this dumb ****ing job before I switch over to the new one. I'm going to go check out this gym after christmas, I read about them online and apparently a lot of powerlifter types workout there but I read through some of the workout logs and the biggest deadlift I saw in any of the logs was only 415. Still, sounds like a good, serious gym so hopefully they don't charge to much. Still pissed that my power rack won't fit in my new place. At least I didn't buy too many more weights or other equipment yet, because that would have sucked. And honestly, I kind of miss workout out in a gym with a variety of equipment.

I need to set some solid goals for 2013 and start chasing them again. 2012 has been a disappointment, as I said, and I'm tired of making little to no progress. I know I should probably cut down further and get rid of the rest of my gut (which you can see in the last picture above) but I really just don't like being sub-10% bodyfat anymore. I feel healthier and happier in the 10 - 15% range, and I still have a 34 inch waist. The smallest I can ever get my waist is 32 inches, so that is my rationale for not cutting as I go into the new year, but bulking instead.

I also really want to break the 500 lb barrier on squats, not sure if I can do that in 2013 but we will see.
 
Yeah it's on youtube somewhere. If I recall, it was just a 500 lb conventional dead with straps, nothing special. I'll see if I can dig it up.
 
Here is my youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/feed/UCaashzjeAgrgFSQ6lObMNMg/u

Wow, after looking over that stuff, I realized that I got really fat last winter. I still have those fat pants, and they are still real loose on me, and I'm basically back to the weight I bulked up to last winter. So, I guess I made better gains than I thought in 2012. I probably should have been tracking my progress better, but I've been really inconsistent with taking measurements or even logging anything really.

It's time to get back on track. I start my new job on the 31st of December, and I'm going to post new goals for 2013 on the 1st. It's time to get serious again, start keeping detailed logs so I know what progress I am actually making and time to keep myself focused throughout the year.

I think I will take more videos and pictures as well. It's nice to be able to look back at things now, and I really wish I had taken a lot more footage along the way as I have transformed myself over the years.
 
Last edited:
GOAL SETTING

I can't start pursuing my goals until I get a gym, right now I have no way to lift and have basically been on the equivalent of an extended SD though most of the month. Since I'm so deconditioned at this point, I'm not going to test new maxes before I start my next cycle. I also need to see what equipment I have to work with at the gym before I can come up with a well rounded routine. However, I can still set some goals for the coming year. I weighed myself today and I am at 240. I will measure bodyfat and bodyparts prior to the start of my first cycle. I will measure current 1 RMs for the big three at the end of the my first cycle. I imagine they will drop temporarily, and with benching I always have to rebuild my strength when I start using a new bench before I can get back to my prior RMs.

Bodyweight: I still want to hit 260 lbs before summer.
Deadlift: 650 by the end of the year
Bench: 350 by the end of the year
Squat: 500 by summer

Obviously some of these will have to broken down into more refined goals, but so far this is the rough outline. Once I have a better idea of what I am going to do, what gym I will be at, I will set more immediate goals with the idea of moving me toward my ultimate goals for this year. I have other misc goals that I want to hit, such as 800 for a double on rack pulls without using my versagrips. I also want to get an equipped squat in the 600 range. I have a squat suit and was experimenting with it before I left my last gym. I need to practice with it more, but will also be building my raw squat strength as well throughout the year.
 
Totentanz said:
GOAL SETTING

...

Bodyweight: I still want to hit 260 lbs before summer.
Deadlift: 650 by the end of the year
Bench: 350 by the end of the year
Squat: 500 by summer

...
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm looking forward to seeing how things go for you. Fine goals and I'm sure you'll get there if life is kind along the way. All the best.
 
Totentanz (I hesitate to call you Tot because it means dead in German :eek:, do you plan on doing limited volume of 1-2 per MG even on 5s? Or maybe more? And what MG frequency are you thinking of?
 
Last edited:
HST_Rihad said:
Totentanz (I hesitate to call you Tot because it means dead in German :eek:, do you plan on doing limited volume of 1-2 per MG even on 5s? Or maybe more? And what MG frequency are you thinking of?
Click to expand...

Well, my nickname actually means Dance of Death in Deutsch.

Volume will be 1-2 sets during 10s and 15s, I might go to 2-3 sets during the 5s. Depends on how many exercises I choose to do I guess.
 
Totentanz said:
Well, my nickname actually means Dance of Death in Deutsch.

Volume will be 1-2 sets during 10s and 15s, I might go to 2-3 sets during the 5s. Depends on how many exercises I choose to do I guess.
Click to expand...
Well if you do 2 exercises 2 sets each for major groups it's actually 4 sets per MG.
Of course it is impossible to avoid overlap. My biceps do get 4 sets in rows + curls. Same for traps in rows/pullups + shrugs.
But do you do more than 1 compound exercise for delts, pecs, hams or quads? I only do inclined bench & leg press for those.
 
If I have two exercises for one muscle group, I would only do 2 sets for 1 and 1 set for the other. Legs for example, I would do 2 sets on squats, 1 set on leg curls, if I were going to use those lifts. Likely for legs I will only do squats and thats it. My legs do not need to grow more. Biceps I will not hit directly at all.

Here is my proposed routine, depending on what equipment I find:

Squats - 2 sets
Flat Bench - 2 sets
Weighted or Seated Dips - 1 set
Seated Rows - 2 sets
Something for shoulders - 1 set
Close grip Bench - 1 set
 
Totentanz said:
If I have two exercises for one muscle group, I would only do 2 sets for 1 and 1 set for the other. Legs for example, I would do 2 sets on squats, 1 set on leg curls, if I were going to use those lifts. Likely for legs I will only do squats and thats it. My legs do not need to grow more. Biceps I will not hit directly at all.

Here is my proposed routine, depending on what equipment I find:

Squats - 2 sets
Flat Bench - 2 sets
Weighted or Seated Dips - 1 set
Seated Rows - 2 sets
Something for shoulders - 1 set
Close grip Bench - 1 set
Click to expand...

Looks good, very basic, with some Tricep specialization, with half of your exercises hitting them directly. Should see some nice arm growth.
 
Totentanz said:
If I have two exercises for one muscle group, I would only do 2 sets for 1 and 1 set for the other. Legs for example, I would do 2 sets on squats, 1 set on leg curls, if I were going to use those lifts. Likely for legs I will only do squats and thats it. My legs do not need to grow more. Biceps I will not hit directly at all.

Here is my proposed routine, depending on what equipment I find:

Squats - 2 sets
Flat Bench - 2 sets
Weighted or Seated Dips - 1 set
Seated Rows - 2 sets
Something for shoulders - 1 set
Close grip Bench - 1 set
Click to expand...

I want to say 2 sets for CGBP, it's pretty awesome.

Upright Rows with a close-medium grip for shoulders, depends on how many presses you want I suppose.
 
I prefer upright rows because anything overhead seems to piss off my shoulders. I was planning to do one set on CGBP and go for another set each workout if I felt like it.
 
Tot,

Speaking of lagging pecs have you given any thought to pre-exhaustion techiniques?

I have read over the years the benefits of them...but I have also read were they may not be beneficial as well.

Just in theory I would think a dumbell fly with a deep stretch followed by dumbell bench presses "may" would help exhaust the pecs before the delts and triceps kick in?

Just a thought?
 
Pre-exhaust sucks ass. It compromises load and volume. Much smarter to do "post-exhaust" through metabolic sets when the loads get heavy. If you have the wrong muscles kicking in during an exercise, that means you need to work on the mind-muscle connection, form and technique, not pre-exhausting the muscles. See, the thing is... fatigue isn't the growth stimulus, load is.
 
In my early and less educated days, I never understood how exhausting my pecs was a good way to make sure I didn't drop the bar on my chest :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top