Okay on to week 2 which actually ends tomorrow but we are deep enough into this week that can give my second week impressions.
This week has been a good week physically.
Alpha Male - I am definitely still rocking the Alpha Male feeling and Supreme confidence I spoke of last week.
Aggression - I definitely have some aggression most of it is positive aggression aimed at the weights or motivating me to do things. Some negative aggression and snaps coming but as a side of a different area I will focus on shortly.
Recovery - Recovery has definitely improved this last week. Not getting sore as I did before. To be fair my body is also getting better at clearing the lactic acid produced by short rest periods and drop sets. So there could be two factors at play here but a definite improvement over last week.
Libido - My libido is staying right at the same heightened level it was last week which is a good thing.
Strength - I am definitely seeing some strength increase now. You will see comments on differences when reviewing my workout comments below.
Skin - I am still getting oilier than normal, having pop up pimples on my forehead even though washing my face more often. I seem to always have 1 or 2 pimples on either my shoulder or back. For me this is increased because typically I have a pretty good complexion.
Sides - Well I mentioned that one of my nipples had been itching and a small bit of swelling. I have been taking formadrol at 2 caps a day since last week and it has gone away. I think to be safe I will run it into the 3rd week then taper down to one in the fourth week.
Appetite - WOW! I have to say that my appetite has shot through the roof this week. I am starving and my body is processing food like nobodies business. I didn't even mention appetite the first week because honestly it was not a factor but this week it has been a MAJOR factor. I also notice I can go a little hypo after having my fast breaking meal. The body is clearing blood sugar like nobodies business. Could be from extra IGF in the muscle due to increased levels of GH as well as higher free testosterone levels. Either way it also makes me a bit aggressive when blood sugar gets low and not already fasting. During the fast it is not an issue at all but when hormones are shifted to anabolism and relying on glycogen I feel that hypo for sure.
Size - I feel fuller, not trying to gain any size right now but just get in better shape.
Stats - 195 - I woke up and weighed in yesterday at 195 lbs basically the same as last week, I have improved strength and looked a tiny bit leaner first thing in the morning than I did in my initial pics.
The Progress Pics
Unfortunately these were an after thought taken after 2 meals into the day so not looking as lean as I was first thing in the AM but still positive pictures nonetheless. To me I look a little leaner but not by much. I will make sure to take my last set of pics first thing in the morning when I look my best.
View attachment 43587
On to the workout!
Push Press - 105x8, 145x8, 166x8 > 145x6 > 95x3 - Increase of 1 lb on final work set and got an extra rep on the first drop at 145
nice improvement there. As you can see I made my incremental weights. Nine links of 1/4 inch chain connected by a key chain ring comes out to 8 oz exactly. So I had one on each side. I will make a way to add another 8 oz to this also for next week. May just buy some fishing sinkers and attach to this or something.
Pull Overs - 60 with bar - No good I got my warm up in but with the muscles in my back reconditioning this just felt bad. I moved to a different move here.
Straight Arm Pulldowns - 75x15, 90x15 > 75x5 > 50x8 had awesome contractions here and a greater ROM with the lats. I will stick with these for a while.
DB Incline Press - 70x12, 85x12 > 65x5 > 45x5 - 5 lb increase on both first and second set.
NICE INCREASE Felt great was just the right amount of weight. I will add the chains next time for a 1/2 lb increase per DB.
DB Curl - 45x8 > 32.5x6 - Got an extra rep on first set with 45 and on second set but the 35 was not available and went 2.5 lbs lower there so I can't count it as an increase in the drop. Also you may notice I am only doing 1 drop on arms now to help with elbows trying to act up and it seems to have done the trick so far.
Dead Lifts Regular Bar - 225x8, 315x8, 365x8, 375x6 - Definite increase here especially in workout pace being faster. Last time 325x8 with thicker bar was the max. Now I know thick bar makes it harder on grip but my back and legs felt stronger here. Of course I am reintroducing the dead lift to my workout so CNS retraining could be a factor as well but nonetheless a nice lift. I am picking it up and putting it down slowly, the octagonal shape of the weights here requires this or they can rock back into me and smash my shins when putting the weight back down. Makes for a harder lift.
Leg Ext. 235x12 > 175x6 > 115x5 - Up 5 lbs on work set and all drop sets same reps for 1st drop set and one less on last drop set. Once again nice improvements.
SUMMARY OF WORKOUT
Across the board I seem to have made progress here. Completed workout faster, with heavier weights and felt great doing it. The only issue was the pull overs which really pulled on one of the muscles back there that are not full conditioned yet and got pissed at being stretched under weight. I will work on that with some lighter weight and some stretching but going forward I will use the straight arm lat pull down for the WORK. I think I can safely say that I am getting in better shape, whether or not much is noticeable in the pics my conditioning is better. With the extra food I have taken in I am impressed that I have not had any negative effects on my composition but instead look like I may have made some progress.