4leafclover
New Member
So this first post is going to be terribly long, and I apologize! But, I am self centered, and I like to talk about myself, so sit back and enjoy the read while you take a shit perhaps. Maybe two shits; yes, its that long of a post.
First a little bit about how I transitioned into body building. Up until last year, I was a boxer at the amateur level. December was the last month that I actively trained to box. I boxed @ the 132-156 weight classes, light weight to welter weight. For the last several years, I really didn't compete in the 132 (lightweight) division, but I could of done so, just not a lot of competitive matches in my area so no need to go down in weight. The main reason I decided to retire, was I had racked up several severe injuries, and some minor ones. I severed my groin muscle at the crotch, pulled the same muscle but in a lower position some years later, and have also re-injured it 3 more times. I have pulled 2 foot muscles, broken 1 rib, broke my hand 2 times, strained a calf muscle, pulled a glute muscle, and injured both shoulders over my career. My last groin injury took 1 year to recover, with 8 months being spent in physical rehab 3 times a week, 2 hours a session. Keep in mind, this was just a re-injury, the original injury happened 5 years ago and because of the way it healed, is prone to injury during high intensity movements (scar tissue). I could of had it operated on, but they said I wouldn't of been able to box. So I just had it rehabbed with active release and scar tissue scoring, amongst progressive strength training. Somewhere in this mix, I was introduced again to AAS, I originally used my cycles to rehab, not to gain weight. Lot's of deca and EQ.
So, I was at a cross roads, either continue to box and wreck my body, or stop sports. Well, I love sports, and I am very active in athlete communities around me, and a few friends convinced me to switch to BB, because the chances for injury are 9,000,000 times less likely to happen, well at least to the severity that they were already happening to me.
In Jan, I fully made the switch. When I started in Jan, I weighed less than 150 lbs and I was sub 8% BF, I am 5'7" on a bad day, and 5'8" on my best days
. Since Jan, as of today I weigh 192 lbs and I am around 11% BF. So, somewhere around 30+ lbs of muscle added along with some fat, since I am "forever" bulking. I knew a lot about diet and exercise coming into BB'ing, but boy the stuff I have been learning from my diet coach, here, and a few trusted friends has been amazing.
So I am currently off-cycle. My training split right now, is 1x per week (meaning I train each body part 1 time per week). I work out 5 days a week, currently I am not going super heavy right now, as I am giving my body a break from the super weights I have been throwing around for the last 5 months straight (I had a total of 2.5 weeks off in 6 months of training, this includes my normal "rest days"), for 4.5 of the 5 months going super heavy, I was on cycle. I am focusing on the squeeze, and occasionally I will go heavy for a few sets, because I love it. I am not doing anything crazy though, like drop sets, running the rack, etc. The goal here is to still build some mass, but mostly to give my body a break, you can't bang the heck out of it all the time...
My diet goal currently is to "recomp", essentially I am trying to lose a little fat and still gain some muscle. There are several approaches for doing it, but I will talk about the one I am doing. Currently I have cut carbs way back, and upped fats. My diet coach said the reason was this, we want my body to switch to using fats as an energy source rather than carbs. Certain fats are harder to convert to glucose, which in turn will convert to fat if not burned. So, my fat intake is timed to provide energy and keep my body from cannibalizing muscle as it switches away from using carbs as an energy source. I am eating around 4k calories a day. My diet is really strict for another month, then I will switch back to my normal bulking (off season) diet. Both are actually fairly strict
.
Breakfast: 4-5 whole eggs, 2.5k omega 3 fish oil, 1.5k MSM, 1.5k glucosamine, 2 multi vitamin
meal 2: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter (source of carbs and fats, mostly fats)
meal 3: 8-10 OZ chicken, 1 salad, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 6 oz raw cashews (not salted or roasted)
meal 4: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter
meal 5:8-10 OZ chicken, 1 salad, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 6 oz raw cashews
PWO: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 oz 2% milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 dollop cottage cheese, blended goodness
Optional: 4-5 whole eggs before bed
This diet will change slightly in a week as my schedule changes and I can fit a better mix of food and shakes in for my workouts.
Today was back day:
Wide grip pull up: 2 warm up sets 12-15 reps, 4 working sets, 10-12 reps
deadlifts: 1 warm up set, 12 reps 135 lbs, 4 working sets, 225lb 10 reps
one arm dumbbell rows: 2 warm up sets 10 reps, 3 working sets, 10 reps 60lb
t-bar row: 1 warm up set 15 reps, 3 working sets, 10 reps 165lb
seated cable rows: 1 warm up set, 4 working sets, 10 reps 140lb
Remember, I am mostly focused on squeezing, for a 1 or 2 count, and getting the most out of the negative. Sometimes for the last 3-4 reps, I will do negatives that last for 20-30 seconds, just to really burn out the muscle. I am not trying to go really heavy right now!
First a little bit about how I transitioned into body building. Up until last year, I was a boxer at the amateur level. December was the last month that I actively trained to box. I boxed @ the 132-156 weight classes, light weight to welter weight. For the last several years, I really didn't compete in the 132 (lightweight) division, but I could of done so, just not a lot of competitive matches in my area so no need to go down in weight. The main reason I decided to retire, was I had racked up several severe injuries, and some minor ones. I severed my groin muscle at the crotch, pulled the same muscle but in a lower position some years later, and have also re-injured it 3 more times. I have pulled 2 foot muscles, broken 1 rib, broke my hand 2 times, strained a calf muscle, pulled a glute muscle, and injured both shoulders over my career. My last groin injury took 1 year to recover, with 8 months being spent in physical rehab 3 times a week, 2 hours a session. Keep in mind, this was just a re-injury, the original injury happened 5 years ago and because of the way it healed, is prone to injury during high intensity movements (scar tissue). I could of had it operated on, but they said I wouldn't of been able to box. So I just had it rehabbed with active release and scar tissue scoring, amongst progressive strength training. Somewhere in this mix, I was introduced again to AAS, I originally used my cycles to rehab, not to gain weight. Lot's of deca and EQ.
So, I was at a cross roads, either continue to box and wreck my body, or stop sports. Well, I love sports, and I am very active in athlete communities around me, and a few friends convinced me to switch to BB, because the chances for injury are 9,000,000 times less likely to happen, well at least to the severity that they were already happening to me.
In Jan, I fully made the switch. When I started in Jan, I weighed less than 150 lbs and I was sub 8% BF, I am 5'7" on a bad day, and 5'8" on my best days
. Since Jan, as of today I weigh 192 lbs and I am around 11% BF. So, somewhere around 30+ lbs of muscle added along with some fat, since I am "forever" bulking. I knew a lot about diet and exercise coming into BB'ing, but boy the stuff I have been learning from my diet coach, here, and a few trusted friends has been amazing.So I am currently off-cycle. My training split right now, is 1x per week (meaning I train each body part 1 time per week). I work out 5 days a week, currently I am not going super heavy right now, as I am giving my body a break from the super weights I have been throwing around for the last 5 months straight (I had a total of 2.5 weeks off in 6 months of training, this includes my normal "rest days"), for 4.5 of the 5 months going super heavy, I was on cycle. I am focusing on the squeeze, and occasionally I will go heavy for a few sets, because I love it. I am not doing anything crazy though, like drop sets, running the rack, etc. The goal here is to still build some mass, but mostly to give my body a break, you can't bang the heck out of it all the time...
My diet goal currently is to "recomp", essentially I am trying to lose a little fat and still gain some muscle. There are several approaches for doing it, but I will talk about the one I am doing. Currently I have cut carbs way back, and upped fats. My diet coach said the reason was this, we want my body to switch to using fats as an energy source rather than carbs. Certain fats are harder to convert to glucose, which in turn will convert to fat if not burned. So, my fat intake is timed to provide energy and keep my body from cannibalizing muscle as it switches away from using carbs as an energy source. I am eating around 4k calories a day. My diet is really strict for another month, then I will switch back to my normal bulking (off season) diet. Both are actually fairly strict
.Breakfast: 4-5 whole eggs, 2.5k omega 3 fish oil, 1.5k MSM, 1.5k glucosamine, 2 multi vitamin
meal 2: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter (source of carbs and fats, mostly fats)
meal 3: 8-10 OZ chicken, 1 salad, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 6 oz raw cashews (not salted or roasted)
meal 4: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter
meal 5:8-10 OZ chicken, 1 salad, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 6 oz raw cashews
PWO: 2 scoops protein powder, 2 oz 2% milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 dollop cottage cheese, blended goodness
Optional: 4-5 whole eggs before bed
This diet will change slightly in a week as my schedule changes and I can fit a better mix of food and shakes in for my workouts.
Today was back day:
Wide grip pull up: 2 warm up sets 12-15 reps, 4 working sets, 10-12 reps
deadlifts: 1 warm up set, 12 reps 135 lbs, 4 working sets, 225lb 10 reps
one arm dumbbell rows: 2 warm up sets 10 reps, 3 working sets, 10 reps 60lb
t-bar row: 1 warm up set 15 reps, 3 working sets, 10 reps 165lb
seated cable rows: 1 warm up set, 4 working sets, 10 reps 140lb
Remember, I am mostly focused on squeezing, for a 1 or 2 count, and getting the most out of the negative. Sometimes for the last 3-4 reps, I will do negatives that last for 20-30 seconds, just to really burn out the muscle. I am not trying to go really heavy right now!
