Tyler's gettin' CRAZY! X-Factor Advanced AND Anabeta Elite

[Patuba]

That sucks about the computer, hope you can keep up with the log!

Watch out with the light headed-ness.

 

[tyrub42]

That sucks about the computer, hope you can keep up with the log!

Watch out with the light headed-ness.

Yeah, good news is I got all my data this time so just an inconvenience. I will definitely keep up with the log .

I think occasional lightheadedness is not a big deal after a really intense set, but I am due for a lower-intensity week anyway, so will stick with that plan.

 

[tyrub42]

Sorry to hear that, 8 months is way too quickly for a computer to be having such problems.

Solid pull day, nice PR's!!

Yeah I am having bad luck with appliances in general recently. I ran diagnostics and I think the problem is unfixable so I should get a new one instead of a repair (never want a refurbished hard drive...recipe for disaster). Oh well...to the gym!

 

[tyrub42]

Leg day workout report:

Today was my first day taking it easy. I went to the gym, did cardio, and then decided on some lower-intensity stuff to do. I decided to superset bulgarian split squats with stiff-legged deadlifts with low weight and short rest periods. After the first superset I remembered that I hadn't worked in a calf exercise so I changed to a 3-way superset scheme including calf raises. I did 60KG on dead lifts, 100lbs on calf raise machine, and 40-lb dumbbells with split squats. I was running late for BJJ so I had to do everything really fast. My rep scheme was 10 stiff-legged dead lifts, 5 split squats per leg, and 10 calf raises holding the last one for 10 seconds. I ended up doing 14 sets in under 20 minutes. I was surprisingly tired after and actually felt like it was a great workout. Then I went to BJJ and did 6 6-min rounds with 1-min rests. Overall I feel great. Well-worked and tired, but not exhausted. Perfect way to start a week of dialing it back .

Best,
Tyler

 

[tyrub42]

Well, that "light" leg day was definitely not as light as I thought. I can barely freakin walk haha. I guess the 3-way supersets and short set breaks hit me really hard. I will keep that in mind in the future, as that workout only took like 20 min. and I haven't been this sore since I started doing legs hard again.

Computer is back, though, which will make posting much easier!

Pushing day today (taking it easy, of course). Workout report will be coming in a few hours.

 

[tyrub42]

Workout report for Monday:

Even though my leg day ended up taking far too big a toll on my body for a "light" day, I set out tonight to take it easy on myself. I think I came up with a workout that pushed me just enough, but not too much, and will allow my CNS to recover before going hard again next week. I did sets of 5 with gradually increasing rest periods from 30 seconds to 2 min between sets, and I did 4 exercises. Cardio tonight was just a 5-10 min brisk walk on an eliptical on low resistance so that my legs can continue to recover from Saturday's accidental leg attack . Here are my numbers:

-Barbel bench press: sets of 5 at 60, 70, 80, 90 KG, and got 3 with 100KG before my spotter kicked in. Normally I would have been upset that he spotted me, but I would not have been able to get it without straining much harder than I want to this week (if at all)
-Dumbbell incline bench: sets of 5 with 60s, 65s, 70s, 75s
-Smith military press (assuming the bar was still 20KG): sets of 5 at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 KG
-Cable triceps press: sets of 5 at 120, 140, 160, 180

I made sure not to go all out on these, as that would defeat the purpose of what I am going for this week. I feel that I got a good enough workout to feel like I went to the gym, but wasn't my usual zombified, drenched-in-sweat-and-scaring-everyone self that I have been for the past 4 weeks.

BJJ was really fun, as I am both uninjured and had more endurance than I normally would after one of these logged workouts .

I also ate more carbs than normal today, as I had a banana before my PWO meal. The small increase seemed to keep me a bit happier than I have been.

I have a question for the MN reps. I know that ABE has huge GDA effects in me and keeping carbs not-too-low helps its effectiveness and still allows for fat loss. I have heard that slightly higher carbs are recommended for ArA as well, but I am unsure why this is the case. Does ArA also have some GDA effects, or is there some other reason? Does it generally allow a small increase in carbs while still providing fat loss? Please advise at your leisure. I think I will keep carbs slightly higher this week to assist in both CNS support and my sanity . I am starting to get strong cravings for sweets (and other carbs to an extent) the past few days, which I think will go away by raising carbs a little at the appropriate times. I will still keep them very low on non-workout days, but not quite as low as I was, and will raise slightly before workouts on workout days. Please let me know if this seems supportive to ArA's effects. Thanks and thanks to everyone for following!

FYI although looking much larger, I am 2KG down so far (going by averages both upon waking at home and before workouts at the gym, monitored constantly).

Best,
Tyler

 

[bolt10]

Not sure of the exact mechanisms or why, but I always seem to do better with more carbs on ArA.

 

[tyrub42]

Not sure of the exact mechanisms or why, but I always seem to do better with more carbs on ArA.

Good enough for me [looking for an excuse to up my carbs] ! Do you normally put fat on fairly easily with med-high carbs (I was a 260-lb teenager prior to changing my lifestyle)?

Although if anyone has anything more detailed please throw that at me, too .

Thanks, Sean!

 

[SwolenONE]

Great job transforming yourself by getting into the fitness lifestyle!!

I too also handle carbs a lot better when on X-Factor, I can afford to eat more and they go right to produces skin tearing pumps rather than a spare tire around the midsection haha.

 

[bolt10]

Good enough for me [looking for an excuse to up my carbs] ! Do you normally put fat on fairly easily with med-high carbs (I was a 260-lb teenager prior to changing my lifestyle)?

Although if anyone has anything more detailed please throw that at me, too .

Thanks, Sean!

Nowadays I do extremely well on a pretty high CHO diet. Several years ago...not so much, but even back then ArA did seem beneficial to increasing my intake of CHO.

 

[Patuba]

Honestly, I've never tried to increase carbs much when on ArA, just protein. I'll have to try it on my next run.

 

[tyrub42]

Nowadays I do extremely well on a pretty high CHO diet. Several years ago...not so much, but even back then ArA did seem beneficial to increasing my intake of CHO.

Honestly, I've never tried to increase carbs much when on ArA, just protein. I'll have to try it on my next run.

Thanks, guys! I guess I will increase just a bit this week and then decide what to do from there.

 

[tyrub42]

Breaking news. Just got my package from PES (TW Post couldn't read the address at first so delivery took a looooooooooong time), and they sent enough ABE for 8 weeks, so I am back on the good stuff for the remainder of this log! They also sent more GMS in case I run out of what I have now. Super generous company. Thanks so much, guys! ABE + XFA for 8 full weeks. Hell yeah!

Thanks also to Wojtek as well for fronting me a bottle from his stash to start the log with; it'll be coming back to you today, bro! Soooooooooo psyched!!!

FYI, if you thought my past results were epic, just wait until you see these before/after results!

Best,
Tyler

 

[bolt10]

Yaaa! Kicking it into overdrive now.

 

[tyrub42]

Yaaa! Kicking it into overdrive now.

Hell yeah! Bumping up my XFA dose, got another month of ABE, and my KNO3 is here so I don't have to taste NsNO3 anymore! I think I might even have some agmatine laying around to throw in on WO days. It's gonna be a good month indeed

 

[SwolenONE]

Hell yeah! Bumping up my XFA dose, got another month of ABE, and my KNO3 is here so I don't have to taste NsNO3 anymore! I think I might even have some agmatine laying around to throw in on WO days. It's gonna be a good month indeed

Nice, how high are you going with you XFA dose?

 

[SwolenONE]

Nowadays I do extremely well on a pretty high CHO diet. Several years ago...not so much, but even back then ArA did seem beneficial to increasing my intake of CHO.

Agreed, through more volume in my training and more muscle maturity, my body needs more calories and carbs now than it did even when I was a teenager.

 

[tyrub42]

Nice, how high are you going with you XFA dose?

was on 5 per workout, now up to 6 since Monday of this week. I may or may not increase to 7 in two weeks

 

[SwolenONE]

was on 5 per workout, now up to 6 since Monday of this week. I may or may not increase to 7 in two weeks

6 should treat you nicely, Ive actually never gone above 6 per workout.

 

[tyrub42]

6 should treat you nicely, Ive actually never gone above 6 per workout.

Yeah I was surprised to see people talking about 2g PWO (which would be 8). Honestly not sure if I will have any reason to go higher than 6...heck, even 5 was amazing.

 

[Patuba]

Great that you got your ABE in. Really looking forward to seeing your gains from this cycle!!

 

[tyrub42]

Wednesday workout log:

I had another lighter day (boring, but it'll help in the long run) today and I think I chose some good exercises.

Chainsaws: sets of 5 with 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 100s with 30-second rests and long negatives
Super wide grip pulldowns: sets of 5, 5-second negatives (longer rests as I was working in with two other guys): 71KG, 78KG, 85KG, 92KG
Cable Curls: sets of 5, five second negatives: 80, 100, 110, 120
Face pulls: 80 x 10, 10, 10
Reverse-grip barbell curl on straight barbell (no thumb): sets of 5 with 5-second negatives: 15KG, 17.5KG, 20KG, 25KG

Only had time for cardio OR BJJ as tutoring ran late. BJJ won, so cardio was just a 5-min jog to warm up.

BJJ was good. I got a good hour+ of rolling with lots of good guys.

I am starting to feel pretty bored in the gym with the lighter routine and am really excited to get back into it hard next week.

I think I am putting on a slight amount of fat this week, but nothing serious and I think it will come right off (and then some) when I start getting back into my rest-pause training.

My legs are still sore from last Saturday...I guess I really screwed up my "light day" haha. I had no idea that would hit me as hard as it did. I guess I better take it a little easier on legs next Saturday.

As always, thanks to everyone following!

Best,
Tyler

 

[tyrub42]

Great that you got your ABE in. Really looking forward to seeing your gains from this cycle!!

Thanks man. I won't disappoint!

 

[SwolenONE]

Im sure the BJJ is a much tougher workout and burns more calories than traditional cardio, good choice!

Ive never done any martial arts training, but it must be rough after a brutal workout with the weights.

 

[tyrub42]

Im sure the BJJ is a much tougher workout and burns more calories than traditional cardio, good choice!

Ive never done any martial arts training, but it must be rough after a brutal workout with the weights.

Yeah definitely, but having less energy and strength makes me actually have to learn something . I recommend you try it if you ever get the chance. It is amazingly addicting!

 

[SwolenONE]

^^^ I might have to, sounds like a great workout and if worse comes to worse those skills could come in handy!

 

[tyrub42]

^^^ I might have to, sounds like a great workout and if worse comes to worse those skills could come in handy!

Man at 5'11", 240 lbs, I'm sure you would do just fine anyway . ...but yeah it is crazy fun. Almost like if you could play chess by fighting people.

 

[tyrub42]

OK friday workout log:

Today was one of my last deload workouts. I read that going too heavy defeats the point and I was in a huge rush so I kept weights a bit lower and used supersets.

Bench press (5 second negative) supersetted with cable crossovers (8-10 second negative): Bench was 60, 70, 70, 70, 70 KG
Cable crosses were 80, 100, 100, 100, 100 lbs
Triceps press supersetted with standing military press (5 second negatives on both): Triceps press was 120, 120, 120, 120, 120 lbs
Military was 30, 30, 30, 30, 30KG

Did 5 min run to warm up and that was all I had time for.

BJJ was awesome. Good rolls, good people, and a visiting brown belt from Japan whose top game was much better than my bottom game haha. Good times!

I am excited to get my last deload workout in tommorrow and then hit it hard again starting Monday!

Best,
Tyler

 

[SwolenONE]

Man at 5'11", 240 lbs, I'm sure you would do just fine anyway . ...but yeah it is crazy fun. Almost like if you could play chess by fighting people.

Haha, ya I just bulked back up to over 230. I havent changed my stats in a few years, I can get to 250 fairly easily when I take my workouts, supplementation and diet seriously. For that reason, Ive always felt fairly safe in any context haha. When I was 240 I used to work out at the same gym as Phil Heath, him complimenting my physique for my age was one hell of a feeling!

Way to go sticking to your deload, and Im ready to hear of some epic weights on Monday. Keep up the great work and have an awesome weekend.

 

[tyrub42]

Haha, ya I just bulked back up to over 230. I havent changed my stats in a few years, I can get to 250 fairly easily when I take my workouts, supplementation and diet seriously. For that reason, Ive always felt fairly safe in any context haha. When I was 240 I used to work out at the same gym as Phil Heath, him complimenting my physique for my age was one hell of a feeling!

Way to go sticking to your deload, and Im ready to hear of some epic weights on Monday. Keep up the great work and have an awesome weekend.

Thanks man, right back at ya! BTW thanks for making XFO affordable enough so I could convince some friends over here to order and give it a try . Awesome sales on the MN line all over the net this weekend!

 

[tyrub42]

Saturday workout log:

Today was my last deload day. It was leg day, and I toned it down a bit from last week and kept reps a little higher:

Squat: 47kg x 12, 57 x 12, 67 x 10, 77 x 10
Stiff legged deadlift supersetted with calf raises: SLDL 50kg x 10, 60 x 10, 60 x 10
calf raises: 100 x 10, 10, 10

I did 10 min of cardio before those lifts and then about 12 min after before I had to go to BJJ. BJJ was awesome. Very intense (it was competition class so people turn it up a bit), but I got to use some new stuff I've been working on. Kept carbs a bit higher today both before and after training. I dosed carbs with ABE and yellow gold before and after. I feel really worn out from BJJ but I'll be fine tomorrow I'm sure.

I forgot to skip the fish oil/supercissus when I woke up today, so I ended up dosing both of those about 3 hours before XFA. I hope that doesn't hurt it too much, but it was just this one time.

I didn't do a cheat meal this week because of the lighter workload and the fact that I raised carbs a little anyway. I think it was a good decision. I did drink my weekly beer tonight though...

Best,
Tyler

 

[Patuba]

You should be fine with the fish oil/cissus 3 hours before the X-factor.

 

[tyrub42]

Pulling day workout report:

I switched to 100% clean form on my bent-over row so my weights and reps lowered a bit. I honestly think it is for the best, as I really was letting my form go the last few weeks and that is a horrible decision, esp since I have an old back injury. I also had a rough and stressful weekend which I will detail below. Here are the numbers:

Bent-over row: 102KG x 4-2-2
Super-wide grip pulldowns: 103KG x 6-3-2
Cable curl: 140lbs x 9-4-3 (PR again...although I was less fatigued than normal after my poor performance in the bigger lifts)
Dumbbell hammer curls: 40s x 7-3-3 (PR but take the same reason as above into account)

This is my first day kicking up the intensity again. I have been working like crazy on stuff for work yesterday and today, and I have paid the price. The worst part is that for some reason, I slept HORRIBLY on Saturday night. Super vivid dreams, waking up often, and waking up after only 5 hours and being unable to get back to sleep (also the UFC was on live and for free so I figured I would just watch that). I felt like I had a really bad hangover and was also really dehydrated for some reason. I haven't slept that badly in months. I have no idea what the problem was. On top of that, yesterday was hours and hours of work. I was stress eating big time. I probably consumed 500-600 calories of junk. Cookies that my wife bought, craisins, and even some fruit which isn't as bad but it was at a time when I shouldn't have been eating any sugars. Horrible self control. After that, I only got like 6 hours of sleep last night, which left me feeling horrible today (although better than yesterday). Luckily I got done with about 90% of my work in the one day and won't have to worry about that much paperwork again for 6 months.

After I got home and ate my PWO meal today I crashed big time and had to take a nap. I slept for an hour and woke up, took my PWO/XFA/GPLC/GMS/KNO3/Vit C and a sample of Hemovol that I forgot I had. It was delicious but for some reason I used a lighter dose of my PWO than normal thinking that the Hemovol would enhance it. It didn't as that is not what it is supposed to do. I don't know what I was thinking, but I think it was just something along the lines of "I don't want to ruin the flavor of the Hemovol with my PWO so I won't use too much." It was stupid. Needless to say, my workout got off to a slow start. I think Friday will be a better gauge of my progress. I am still expecting my bent-over row to be similar, but I should be able to pump out a few more reps when I am a bit fresher.

By the end of my workout I felt much more woken up and was performing better. By the time I got to BJJ I felt great. Tonight was No-gi and I felt awesome. People are noticing that I am cutting up a lot and feel solid, which is great. Even better, I have been able to learn and implement some new techniques that I am able to pull off with really a high percentage on good guys. I had been feeling that my game had been getting a little stale, and I am thrilled to feel and see noticeable improvement in my techniques and general understanding of basic concepts.

I am looking more vascular than I ever have before, especially after the hemavol and the carb binging yesterday. I have one more Hemovol and some agmatine caps. Would you guys think the agmatine would be better used with ABE (and yellow gold on Monday/Saturday) before my PWO meal (2-3 hours PWO), or better to dose it with my PWO/XFA/other goodies (30 min PWO)? I know it is a great pump product and also has GDA properties, so which dosing time will have better benefits, and will the pump be much stronger if I save it for PWO or will I still get the pump benefits dosing with the meal?

Thanks for following and sorry about the poor diet yesterday!

Best,
Tyler

 

[SwolenONE]

I love getting increased vascularity, mine has been improving over the years. X-Factor and Hemavol will certainly help with that!

Nothing wrong with that weekly one beer, good will control not going above that.

 

[tyrub42]

I love getting increased vascularity, mine has been improving over the years. X-Factor and Hemavol will certainly help with that!

Nothing wrong with that weekly one beer, good will control not going above that.

Yeah, I'm surprising even myself with the self control. In Taiwan, we don't really have a lot of good beer. We have a few imported (Anchor Liberty, Anchor Porter, Fuller's Porter), but generally nothing much. Right at the beginning of my log, my friend got his brewing op up and running and had a custom-brewed IPA ready for me. I had to cut my order down to 6 bottles even though it was awesome. As I am a beer connoisseur (...snob), he likes my notes on other beers he brews. On Saturday, he had two new IPAs for me to try. One was solid with a nice darker malt and a solid hop character. The other was incredibly awesome. Huge burst of cascade and citra hops in the nose, and the taste matched it. Nice soft citrus with tropical fruit overtones. I never wanted to stop drinking it. It was the best beer I have ever had in Taiwan, and I could have had as much as I wanted for free. I stopped at half of one.

I did lose 100 pounds in 11 months back in high school, so I guess my willpower developed there, but oh man I did really want to drink a bit more of that beer haha. My logic is simple though. You guys and PES were nice and generous enough to hook me up with great effective products for free. The least I can do is keep my diet and training in tip top shape so my results are a good representation of the potential of this combo. On the plus side, I know who bought that IPA so I can probably have another one next weekend

Best,
Tyler

 

[Patuba]

Great self control on the diet. I like your dedication to this log.

 

[tyrub42]

Great self control on the diet. I like your dedication to this log.

Thanks so much, man! Really, it's the least I can do to show my appreciation. This way people get to see what this combo can really do when used to its full potential .

 

[tyrub42]

OK pushing day workout report. I have been having lots of trouble sleeping recently for some reason. Last night at 2AM i decided it best to use 1mg estazolam which I try to avoid since I need it Sunday and Wednesday. This week it's been Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday so that's not great. On the bright side, I felt great all day even though I only clocked in 5 hours of sleep. I notice that when on AB/ABE I don't need as much sleep in general, but I'll make sure to get some good sleep in tonight and tomorrow night. My main lift was really off tonight. I had a decent excuse for my bent-over row dropping a bit (concentrating of form), but my bench press was way below what it was last time and I have no idea why. Honestly, I am going to chalk it up to an anomoly and try to come back and kill it for my next pushing workout. Here are my numbers:

Dumbbell flat bench: 85s x 6-3-0 (down from 9-4-3 I think...a huge drop)
Dumbbell shoulder press: 60s x 11-5-4 (PR...guess it wasn't all bad)
Skull crushers: 52.2KG x 2, then drop to 47.2KG for my next two stages and got 3,2 reps with that (also a PR as I couldn't left that weight last time)
Dumbbell side raise: 40s x 8 dropset to 20 x 10
Dumbbell front raise: 40s x 11 dropset to 20s x 15

My vascularity is better than ever and I am feeling awesome. The only differences that could help explain the drop in bench were using a different flat bench (narrower and lower; I didn't like it but it should have affected me that much), doing less cardio beforehand (10 min instead of 30, so maybe I wasn't primed to go all out at that time? Still weird as that would seem to help more than hurt), and not sleeping well this week (although that never hurt me too bad in the gym before). I am going to keep the intensity up and see what happens next Monday. Hopefully it was just a fluke. I still look and feel great, though, so that's good, and I did set a few PRs.

BJJ was good like always. Good rolls with good guys and a few new members and visitors from other clubs. I am going to end this post now as I have to get to bed ASAP to try to catch up on sleep. Goodnight, everyone!

Best,
Tyler

 

[SwolenONE]

Cant beat multiple PR's after a night of only 5 hours of sleep!

 

[tyrub42]

Cant beat multiple PR's after a night of only 5 hours of sleep!

Thanks man! Honestly though pretty disappointed with my flat bench yesterday. Really hoping to make up for that next week though. I would love to be able to get 100s up by the end of this log (I might be able to do that now but don't want to waste a log day for it).

 

[tyrub42]

So what does everyone think about agmatine dosing? Should I dose it with ABE (and Yellow Gold whenever possible) before my PWO meal (more GDA effects), or save it for dosing with XFA 30 min PWO for pump?

Also, would I still get the agmatine pump if I dose it with the meal, 2.5-3 hours PWO?

Thanks!
Tyler

 

[kbayne]

Thanks man! Honestly though pretty disappointed with my flat bench yesterday. Really hoping to make up for that next week though. I would love to be able to get 100s up by the end of this log (I might be able to do that now but don't want to waste a log day for it).

What week are you on ArA?

 

[tyrub42]

What week are you on ArA?

Week 6 this week

 

[kbayne]

So what does everyone think about agmatine dosing? Should I dose it with ABE (and Yellow Gold whenever possible) before my PWO meal (more GDA effects), or save it for dosing with XFA 30 min PWO for pump? Also, would I still get the agmatine pump if I dose it with the meal, 2.5-3 hours PWO? Thanks! Tyler

When I take Yellow Gold, I dose 500-1000mg Agmatine with it pre-carb meals. One of those meals was pre-workout about 2 hours prior to my workout. I can't comment on pump from that meal because my pre contained Agmatine but I was always feeling the pump haha.

Dosing with XFA pre-workout would be beneficial also if your pre doesn't already contain Agmatine.

 

[kbayne]

Week 6 this week

2 more weeks roughly? I believe you would be able to get up 100s by the end of the log. You wanting to get it for reps or 1 rep max?

 

[tyrub42]

When I take Yellow Gold, I dose 500-1000mg Agmatine with it pre-carb meals. One of those meals was pre-workout about 2 hours prior to my workout. I can't comment on pump from that meal because my pre contained Agmatine but I was always feeling the pump haha.

Dosing with XFA pre-workout would be beneficial also if your pre doesn't already contain Agmatine.

It does have it, but I take so little that I don't get much in it. I use Maximize V2 and love it but it is so strong I only take about 1/6 of a scoop per workout, so not too much agmatine in my dose.

 

[tyrub42]

2 more weeks roughly? I believe you would be able to get up 100s by the end of the log. You wanting to get it for reps or 1 rep max?

I would be happy with 1, but the more the merrier. Yeah about 2 more weeks.

 

[kbayne]

It does have it, but I take so little that I don't get much in it. I use Maximize V2 and love it but it is so strong I only take about 1/6 of a scoop per workout, so not too much agmatine in my dose.

I would try and add some more Agmatine pre workout then.

I would be happy with 1, but the more the merrier. Yeah about 2 more weeks.

You'll get it. You're at 85s now for reps, so getting up one rep at 100s seems feasible.

 

[tyrub42]

I would try and add some more Agmatine pre workout then.

OK cool, that's how I have been dosing it. I honestly didn't hear about its GDA effects until recently. I think I will experiment with dosing it with a PWO meal sometime on this log as well just to see what difference I feel.

Have you seen much agmatine sold in larger bulk sizes? I have only seen 25-30g containers. Maybe Nutra would stock 100g or more if people requested it.

 

[bolt10]

BOOM! http://www.nutraplanet.com/product/serious-nutrition-solutions/agmatine-powder-100-grams.html

That is the agmatine I use if I get powder.

I usually prefer my bulk agmatine in the pre-meal setting and only use it pre-workout if it is in my pre-workout product (which it does seem to be a lot lol).