Intro
My fourth cycle starts this Monday. I will be repeating the same type of cycle I did last time, but with a few changes here and there... and maybe some more depending on your feedback. For those who do not know me; I am a 21 year old college student who weighs 203 lbs at 12.2% bodyfat.
Goals
The long term goal six months down the road is to be at 8%, but from what I read looking at some other cutting results, I feel I can get there quicker without sacrificing muscle. My short term goals by the end of this cycle (May) are slightly over 10% at 200 lbs. I think I can do better by eating 500 calories under maintenance a day therefore losing 1lb/week where most of it will ideally be fat.
Frequency
I am employing my version of the Faustonian cycle again. I go fullbody 8x/week: MWF AM/PM compound exercises... and it isn't a split as I do fullbody in the morning and in the evening; I also do "fullbody" isolation workouts on Tuesday and Thursday. If anyone has any ideas for some more isolations to do then let me know. The PM workout on Friday will be moved to Saturday morning most of the time.
Specialization
Arms and Shoulders are the main target for growth. Besides exercise selection and addition, I will be using static holds for dips, shoulder press, skulls, db/bb curls, pulldowns, and lat raises...
The Workout - Oh Boy!
MWF - AM
Deadlift*
Leg Press*
Shoulder Press
Chins
Dips
Pulley Crunches
MWF - PM
Hyperextensions
Squats*
Shoulder Press
DB Bench Press OR DB Flys
Rows
Pulley Crunches
TR - Weeks 1-4
Incline DB Curls
Skullcrushers
Leg Extensions*
Shrugs
DB Lateral Raises
Calf Raises*
Machine Crunches
TR - Weeks 5-8
Barbell Curl
Tricep Pulldowns
Leg Curls*
Shrugs
DB Lateral Raises
Calf Raises*
Machine Crunches
*For these leg exercises, I am using 20-15-10 rep phases instead of the normal 15-10-5
I haven't had the greatest negative workouts in my first three cycles, so I decided to get serious about them. After two days of doing negatives, I will raise the weight even more, but strictly do partials for all exercises except for calf raises where I'll employ the 5 rep stage.
Diet
In addition to this high frequency HST cycle, I normally walk 3 miles a day, run on the weekends, and live an active lifestyle when I am "sedentary". When doing all of this correctly, I burn 4000 calories a day. I should be eating 3500 calories a day in order to lose 1 lb a week. I feel that should be a safe amount underneath maintenance where I won't lose muscle. I feel I can actually gain a little bit of muscle in this entire process since I am young, higher bf%, and of course using HST. Last cycle, my diet wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best. I got a bit more money this time around, so I will be having pre and post WO protein shakes as well as FINALLY taking some Udo's blend. The macros I am aiming at are 20% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein, 10% alcohol. I have been good at taking in good fats, or at least good ratios of unsaturated to saturated fats in my diet. Low-GI carbs will be examined more in my diet this go around, but all in all, I feel the EFA benefit from the Udo's will help the cutting process.
Questions
I am sure there will be more questions that develop from your feedback, but I have a few that come to mind.
1) Should I do Calf Raises everyday instead of just on the compound days?
2) The strength in my shoulders are weak, so that is why the lateral raises are being thrown in. I do as many sets as I can without burning out on the Shoulder Press, but should I worry about overtraining with the increased volume? Thiq eustion also applies to my arms and the entire workout in general.
3) Partials a good idea during the negatives? I have had success employing them before I tried HST with Power Factor training.
4) Will lower carbs really effect me getting lean... my opinion says it's an urban myth that doesn't matter, and it is the type of carbs (just like fat)
I think I put a lot of thought into this, so I am looking to get ripped this go around!!!!
Thanks for the feedback,
-Colby
My fourth cycle starts this Monday. I will be repeating the same type of cycle I did last time, but with a few changes here and there... and maybe some more depending on your feedback. For those who do not know me; I am a 21 year old college student who weighs 203 lbs at 12.2% bodyfat.
Goals
The long term goal six months down the road is to be at 8%, but from what I read looking at some other cutting results, I feel I can get there quicker without sacrificing muscle. My short term goals by the end of this cycle (May) are slightly over 10% at 200 lbs. I think I can do better by eating 500 calories under maintenance a day therefore losing 1lb/week where most of it will ideally be fat.
Frequency
I am employing my version of the Faustonian cycle again. I go fullbody 8x/week: MWF AM/PM compound exercises... and it isn't a split as I do fullbody in the morning and in the evening; I also do "fullbody" isolation workouts on Tuesday and Thursday. If anyone has any ideas for some more isolations to do then let me know. The PM workout on Friday will be moved to Saturday morning most of the time.
Specialization
Arms and Shoulders are the main target for growth. Besides exercise selection and addition, I will be using static holds for dips, shoulder press, skulls, db/bb curls, pulldowns, and lat raises...
The Workout - Oh Boy!
MWF - AM
Deadlift*
Leg Press*
Shoulder Press
Chins
Dips
Pulley Crunches
MWF - PM
Hyperextensions
Squats*
Shoulder Press
DB Bench Press OR DB Flys
Rows
Pulley Crunches
TR - Weeks 1-4
Incline DB Curls
Skullcrushers
Leg Extensions*
Shrugs
DB Lateral Raises
Calf Raises*
Machine Crunches
TR - Weeks 5-8
Barbell Curl
Tricep Pulldowns
Leg Curls*
Shrugs
DB Lateral Raises
Calf Raises*
Machine Crunches
*For these leg exercises, I am using 20-15-10 rep phases instead of the normal 15-10-5
I haven't had the greatest negative workouts in my first three cycles, so I decided to get serious about them. After two days of doing negatives, I will raise the weight even more, but strictly do partials for all exercises except for calf raises where I'll employ the 5 rep stage.
Diet
In addition to this high frequency HST cycle, I normally walk 3 miles a day, run on the weekends, and live an active lifestyle when I am "sedentary". When doing all of this correctly, I burn 4000 calories a day. I should be eating 3500 calories a day in order to lose 1 lb a week. I feel that should be a safe amount underneath maintenance where I won't lose muscle. I feel I can actually gain a little bit of muscle in this entire process since I am young, higher bf%, and of course using HST. Last cycle, my diet wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best. I got a bit more money this time around, so I will be having pre and post WO protein shakes as well as FINALLY taking some Udo's blend. The macros I am aiming at are 20% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein, 10% alcohol. I have been good at taking in good fats, or at least good ratios of unsaturated to saturated fats in my diet. Low-GI carbs will be examined more in my diet this go around, but all in all, I feel the EFA benefit from the Udo's will help the cutting process.
Questions
I am sure there will be more questions that develop from your feedback, but I have a few that come to mind.
1) Should I do Calf Raises everyday instead of just on the compound days?
2) The strength in my shoulders are weak, so that is why the lateral raises are being thrown in. I do as many sets as I can without burning out on the Shoulder Press, but should I worry about overtraining with the increased volume? Thiq eustion also applies to my arms and the entire workout in general.
3) Partials a good idea during the negatives? I have had success employing them before I tried HST with Power Factor training.
4) Will lower carbs really effect me getting lean... my opinion says it's an urban myth that doesn't matter, and it is the type of carbs (just like fat)
I think I put a lot of thought into this, so I am looking to get ripped this go around!!!!
Thanks for the feedback,
-Colby
