Tate's 2 week bulk/2 week cut plus 5x5 log

[TateFTW]

At the suggestion of another member, I'm going to do a log for a little experiment I'm doing. After reading about the theories behind the concept of cycling back and forth between bulking and cutting, 2 weeks at a time, It sounds like it makes sense, so I'm going to give it a go (google "bulldozer bodybuilding bulking system" to read up on what I'm doing). The goal is NOT recomp, but rather bulking, overall. However, I want to avoid fat gain as much as possible while I bulk, because it's VERY easy for me to gain weight, both muscle and fat. I've been cutting on and off for the last year, getting down to 205 lbs 2 weeks ago. The first pictures are from a year ago, at somewhere between 230-240 lbs. The second pictures are from today, at 217, after 2 weeks of bulking. I have no trustworthy way of measuring BF, so I'll have to go by bodyweight and the mirror to see if this is working.

While bulking I'll be consuming 3,000-4,000 calories a day, mostly clean, and performing no cardio. When I switch to cutting I'll be consuming 1,800-2,300 calories a day and performing HIIT 2-3 times a week for 15-20 min. During both cutting and bulking periods I'll be using this 5x5 routine;

Workout 1-
squats 5x5
deadlifts 5x5
pullups 5x5-near failure
abs

2-
bench press 5x5
dips 5x5
close grip bench 5x5
calves

3-
cleans 5x5
bent over rows 5x5
weighted chin ups 5x5
barbell curls 5x5
abs

4-
overhead press 5x5
upright rows 5x5
skull crushers 5x5
calves

Each workout will be done 1x/week, resulting in 4 days training, 3 days off. Weight will be added to every single lift every week until I can't complete the 5 reps on the last set, at which point I'll stick to that weight until I can complete the 5th rep, then continue to increase.

While switching back and forth There will probably be large shifts in weight, primarily from loss/gain of water weight. To help eliminate this variable I will be cycling off creatine for the first 4 week bulk/cut period, then cycling back on for the next 4 week period. Supplements are;

whey protein
casein protein
sci-fit beta alanine (not cycled)
white flood (pre-wo while off creatine)
Jack3d (pre-wo while on creatine)
(I either use VERY small amounts of pre-wo while in EC stack, or none at all)

I'll also be taking 1/2 dose EC stack (12 mg bronkaid, 100 mg C x 3/day) during cut periods.

At this point I'm not making set number goals. Rather, I'm going to push myself as hard as I can in both the bulking and cutting phases, with the goal of very noticeable muscle and strength gains over the next 8-10 weeks.

 

[TateFTW]

Today's workout;

squats
135x5
225x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

deadlifts
135x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5

(I can lift a lot more, but I want to build up to it to increase strength in my back. I also don't have a belt, and won't until Christmas. Hey, why spend $70 on a belt when my mom can instead?)

wide grip pullups
5x5 with just bodyweight. 217 is a lot to lift 25 times!

abs
incline bench leg/lower body lifts.

Here's a lat spread, shot post workout;

 

[SRS2000]

Sounds like an interesting concept, but I have concerns. It seems like your caloric difference is huge, which would concern me regarding actually holding on to any muscle mass you gain. You may gain a little in two weeks, but I don't see how you will retain it with such a drastic reduction in calories. I also don't like the idea of only doing HIIT on the cutting weeks. As soon as your body gets acclimated to it, you stop for two weeks then have to start over again. On those cutting weeks you reduce your calories by almost half and add 2-3 hard conditioning sessions per week, which sounds like a recipe for feeling terrible and losing muscle mass.
In my opinion a better approach would be to maintain a baseline level of conditioning or cardio at all times. I would also change the calories on the cutting weeks to maintainence level or a very, very small deficit. So it would be more like solidifying your gains instead of losing everything every two weeks.

 

[TateFTW]

If you find the article I mentioned it gives more info, with studies, but the idea is that after 2 weeks the body shifts into a sort of "fat storing mode" as a result of the higher caloric intake. That's why the cut. If you go to maintanence with your body in a state where it wants to store fat, it will. If instead you go to a deficit, it won't store fat the way it wants to. I'm only running a 500 calorie deficit, so it's not too bad, only enough to lose roughly 1 lb/week.

Anyways, I like experimenting, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for you concern though.

 

[JudoJosh]

subbed in buddy.. let see how this experiment turns out

 

[Nitrox]

While bulking I'll be consuming 3,000-4,000 calories a day, mostly clean, and performing no cardio. When I switch to cutting I'll be consuming 1,800-2,300 calories a day and performing HIIT 2-3 times a week for 15-20 min.

I don't get this part. 3000 to 4000 that's a huge difference and can mean the difference between a lean bulk and just getting fat.

Really, there is no free lunch with this stuff. Unless you have little muscle to start you can cut or you can bulk. The more often you switch the more time you spend in that 'transition' period where your body gets into maintenance mode and you get neither of each. Some of these gurus are just overthinking something that is pretty simple.

 

[TateFTW]

subbed in buddy.. let see how this experiment turns out

Now that's the spirit!

Did workout #2 today;
bench press
135x5
185x5
225x5
225x5
225x5

dips
bodyweight x5
25 lb plate x 5 for the last 4 sets

close grip bench
95x5
105x5
135x5
155x5
185x5

standing calf raise machine
150x5
210x5
260x5
260x5
260x5

No DOMS today after squats and deads yesterday, which is really a nice change from the hardcore DOMS I'm used to after my normal hardcore high-volume 1 1/2 hr leg days.

I'm on day 2 of the first 2 week cut period. Going solid so far. Psychologically it's nice to not have to stuff my face every day, and get back to the dieting that I've become to accustomed to.

As for my calorie total while bulking, it's more varied because I don't track calories during the bulk. It's just too much work, and when I eat that much chances are the totals aren't going to end up correct at the end of the day anyways. It's primarily a clean bulk, and I'll usually be around 3,000-3,400, but I also take chances to enjoy myself that I have to pass up during a cut. I even had a Whopper from BK friday, which was a HUGE splurge for me. It was probably my first larger fast food meal in the last 5 years, since I went from 310 lbs to 210 lbs in 2005.

My calorie total while cutting will vary, but it's tracked very closely and will always be between a 500-800 calorie deficit. If I find that I'm noticeably losing muscle mass during the cut, I'll move the deficit to 250-500 calories. For now I'm going to go higher on the deficit in the hopes that my super stoked metabolism (as a result of over-eating during the bulk) will burn as much fat as possible.

I'll be posting my bodyweights every Saturday to avoid wasting time with small changes and instead focus on overall trends in bodyweight change.

 

[Nitrox]

As for my calorie total while bulking, it's more varied because I don't track calories during the bulk. It's just too much work, and when I eat that much chances are the totals aren't going to end up correct at the end of the day anyways. It's primarily a clean bulk, and I'll usually be around 3,000-3,400, but I also take chances to enjoy myself that I have to pass up during a cut. I even had a Whopper from BK friday, which was a HUGE splurge for me. It was probably my first larger fast food meal in the last 5 years, since I went from 310 lbs to 210 lbs in 2005.

My calorie total while cutting will vary, but it's tracked very closely and will always be between a 500-800 calorie deficit. If I find that I'm noticeably losing muscle mass during the cut, I'll move the deficit to 250-500 calories. For now I'm going to go higher on the deficit in the hopes that my super stoked metabolism (as a result of over-eating during the bulk) will burn as much fat as possible.

Not harping on you here so plz don't take it personally; gonna give you some straight up critique: Your methodology is flawed.

Yes counting calories can be a pain, yes it is not totally accurate, yes the actual accuracy is worse at higher calorie levels (though the percentage remains constant.) That, however is irrelevant.

For one, it is more accurate than 'winging it.' Second the whole purpose is to set a baseline to compare your results to. Remember, your goal should be to gain/lose X amount of weight per unit of time, not to eat XYZ calories.

The process is that you calculate a theoretical calorie level to meet your goals, make a meal plan, and then test drive it. It can take 2-4 weeks of using, the scale, the mirror, and tracking strength changes to see if it is working or if you need to adjust food quantities.

If you are flip/flopping every two weeks and not tracking portions/calories on both cycles then you neither have adequate time to see if your routine was on target nor will you be able to verify if the two/two protocol is successful because you have not controlled all the major variables.

Good luck regardless.

 

[TateFTW]

At first I was tracking cals on the bulk, but I found myself in situations like eating at certain restaurants where it was impossible to get nutritional info. I also found myself struggling to get enough calories when I only ate things I could record. But you're very correct; If I want to eliminate as many variables as possible in order to truly see if this setup is working, I need to be consistent and record everything I possibly can. When I go back to bulking in just under 2 weeks I'll do everything in my power to record my totals.

No sense is doing this if I'm not going to do it right!

 

[team180]

Your eating too much for your weight.. Contrary to what many believe you can get lean and gain muscle.. You NEED to get leaner first off.. So find a set macros and use them to the T.. Give it time, it will work... Try 40pro 30carbs 15 fats all your meals for a few months and see what happens..

 

[Nitrox]

Contrary to what many believe you can get lean and gain muscle.

This is situational.

If you are new to working out then it may well be possible to accomplish both simultaneously. However if this is the case then one could also build more muscle or lose more fat if you do a dedicated bulking/cutting diet versus doing a recomp.

The more muscle you build the slower and less time efficient recomping becomes.

 

[TateFTW]

Thanks Team180, I guess, but I'm not really looking for suggestions of other things to do. I was cutting, quite successfully, averaging 1 lb lost per 5 day period for 6 weeks total, but I realized that once i finished cutting I wasn't going to nearly have the mass I wanted.

Sorry, but all I NEED to do is whatever I want to do. And right now I want to add muscle and strength. I'm going to be coaching weightlifting coming up in February, and I want to show my guys how this old man does it. Hopefully, using this 2 week back and forth cycle will make it so that in the months leading to summer I won't have an insane amount of fat to lose to look huge AND lean.

 

[TateFTW]

This is situational.

If you are new to working out then it may well be possible to accomplish both simultaneously. However if this is the case then one could also build more muscle or lose more fat if you do a dedicated bulking/cutting diet versus doing a recomp.

The more muscle you build the slower and less time efficient recomping becomes.

I agree with this one. A couple months ago a combination of muscle memory and having not trained too hard for about 6 months allowed me to add muscle while still leaning out/losing weight. But the muscle gain stalled, and that's when I decided to shift my focus to bulking.

 

[team180]

This is situational.

If you are new to working out then it may well be possible to accomplish both simultaneously. However if this is the case then one could also build more muscle or lose more fat if you do a dedicated bulking/cutting diet versus doing a recomp.

The more muscle you build the slower and less time efficient recomping becomes.

The more muscle you build the more fat you can burn, so this is true... If things are the way they are supposed to be be as far as diet, training and supps go this for sure can happen.. Believe me i have not only witnessed it first hand (on myself) but i do this for a living.. There is some one who is on this very board who i am training for a show and he is down 25 pounds up in strength and up in muscle mass and neither one of us is new to lifting... I know your not looking for advice but i just want you to know it is possible when done correctly...

 

[TateFTW]

Down 4 lbs, 217 to 213, in 2 days. Gotta love the confidence that water weight gives you looking down at the scale, and I did just cycle off creatine, although I'm sure a small bit of that is fat. If I end up getting below 208 after this 2 week cut (which would mean less then 3 lb. gain from the first 4 week bulking/cutting cycle), then next time I'll go to a smaller deficit during the cut, say around 250/day, along with a larger surplus during the bulk. We'll see.

My wife reminded me I should take some measurements, so that will happen tonight.

 

[TateFTW]

Played racquetball yesterday for about 30-40 minutes. I like racquetball for cardio, and I do it HIIT style, playing really hard for a while, then resting, then playing hard again. Very intense cardio while not tiring out specific muscles because the whole body is moving in different directions.

Workout #3 later this afternoon. Looking forward to cleans.

 

[TateFTW]

power cleans
135x5
185x5
185x5
185x5
205x1
225x1

I'm going to switch out the power cleans next week. Instead I'm going to do a power clean followed by 5 front squats. I need this workout to hit legs too, and cleans didn't give me my leg fix.

bent over rows
115x5
135x5
165x5
165x5
165x5

weighted chin-ups
used a 25 lb plate for all 5 sets. Barely able to finish last set, so perfect weight.

barbell curls
65x5
75x5
95x5
100x5
100x5

leg press calf raises
180x5
360x5
450x5
495x5
495x5

I was supposed to do abs instead of calves, but by that point I was so out of it I forgot.

I just weighed in at 11.4 lbs. So after only 4 days of cutting I've lost over 5 lbs. I know it's almost all water weight, but I wonder if there is some fat in there, and I wonder how much of the water weight loss can be attributed to coming off a slightly longer creatine cycle. Although last time I cycled off creatine, I seem to remember not really losing water weight as a result.

I'm going to have to commit more to my bulk next time. I started to slip after the first week and didn't hit the calories as hard as I should of. I'm going to stick to my 500-800 calories deficit for now, for consistency and to eliminate variables for the log. Then Saturday after next when I go back to my bulk I'm going to hit it hard and eat my brains out, attempting to log it all, as planned.

 

[TateFTW]

Weighed in at 209.8 this morning. I'm trying to be conservative, but I've lost 7 lbs. in 4 days, and I think atleast 1, maybe 2 lbs of that is fat. My shoulders are more rounded but with great seperation (relatively speaking, of course). My whole upper body seems bigger.

Speculation, I know. And I'd expect to look leaner after losing around 5 lbs of water weight, but the muscle seems to be sticking around.

Hopefully the pictures in another month or so will bear out what I'm feeling now.

Last night's workout was intense and longer then the other 5x5 workouts I'm doing. The cleans, rows and chins anihilated my upper/mid back, and I even still feel a pump sort of feeling in my lower trap area.

Cardio probably this afternoon.

 

[TateFTW]

25 minutes of racquetball this afternoon. Upper back still feels sick after workout yesterday.

 

[believer]

I think Berardi suggested this scheme several years ago. I tried it then and had great success with it. Own it. No one can tell you it won't work for youexcept you.

 

[TateFTW]

Hey, thanks! I'm actually excited by the results so far. I think most people tend to "fade" from bulking to cutting. It seems like doing a hardcore switch from one day bulking to the next day cutting shocked my body, in a good way. Right now at 210 I'm every bit as lean as I was at 205 20 days ago. Not claiming any miracles, but it sure seems to be doing SOMETHING good.

After this whole thing is over (bulking), I'm going to do my first cycle with some H-drol to hopefully get my BF down below 10% while still maintaining some serious muscle. Again, I'm trying to avoid delusions of grandeur, but I feel confident!

 

[TateFTW]

Getting ready to head to the gym, but I'm going to make some changes. The cleans and rows Tuesday just destroyed my traps. This is very unexpected, and makes me want to take out upright rows today. I don't mind doing this, as I did biceps 2 days ago and want this to be a triceps focus day. I also want to get at least one chest movement in on workout #4, so I get chest twice a week.

So instead of doing this;

overhead press 5x5
upright rows 5x5
skull crushers 5x5
calves

I'm going to give this a try

overhead press 5x5
dips 5x5
close grip bench press 5x5

So basically I'll be doing workout #2 again, but with overhead press instead of bench. I'll only be upping my weights once/week, so I'll use the same weights for dips and close grip BP that I used in workout #2.

When I get back from the gym I'll post how it goes.

 

[TateFTW]

behind the neck seated overhead presses
85x5
115x5
130x5
130x5
130x5

dips
25 lb plate

close grip bench
135x5
155x5
185x5
185x5
185x5

cable station crunches
25x8
45x8
55x8
65x8
75x8

Workout went well. The only issue I have with the whole routine is lack of shoulder work, but after this session my shoulders felt like they did get some action. Hopefully this workout will help add to my Bench, with the dips and close grip bp.

I'm going to toss a couple update pics on here. You can see that my abs are more apparent after the 8 lb loss. "apparent", of course, being a relative term, lol. Like I said, I'm not claiming any miracles.

 

[TateFTW]

I've decided to make some tweaks to my workout. After giving my original workout plan a try I realized there were some shortcomings. The issues are too many and small to list, but this is what I came up with;

Saturday
Squats 5x5
Deads 5x5
Pullups 5x5
Barbell curls 5x5
Calves

Sunday
Bench press 5x5
Clean and press 5x5
Dips 5x5
Abs

OR weekend (If I can only work out once during the weekend)
Squats 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Clean and press 5x5
Pullups 5x5
Abs
Calves

Tuesday
Squats 5x5
Upright rows 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Chins 5x5
Calves

Thursday
Front squats 5x5
Bent over rows 5x5
Dips 5x5
Clean and press 5x5
Abs

The idea is more of a full body workout 3 times a week, while essentially taking one of the sessions and splitting it up on Saturday and Sunday. There is also no direct arm work except for barbell curls on Saturday, however each weekend day is focussed on one of the arm muscles. I also added clean and presses to promote overall shoulder area growth while still getting some explosive leg/lower back work.

This is slightly higher volume then what I had last week, with 3-4 more movements total per week. Hopefully taking out the arm work will allow me to hit the rest of my upper body harder while still getting arms because of the compound nature of the movements.

We'll see how it goes this coming week.

 

[TateFTW]

I let myself slip a bit last night diet-wise. After a good week of cutting and exceeding my deficit goal, it was nice to have a little more food and a couple beers. It did wreck my averages for the week, but nothing out of the ordinary.

average-
2223 calories
154g carbs
90g fat
200g protein

Pretty much in line with what I want, and variances weren't too large until yesterday. I weigh 210 right now, so if I lose 1-2 lbs this week I'll still be 3-4 lbs up overall, which is right in line with what I want. Hopefully after a good 2 week bulk with plenty of good foods I'll get up over 220, then I'm going to try a smaller 250 cal deficit in the next cut and see how my body responds.

I'm excited about the workout today. Hell, I'm excited about the whole new weekly routine. Lots of heavy weight being tossed around, lots of muscle being built. Good times.

 

[TateFTW]

Squats
135x5
225x5
285x5
285x5
285x5

dead lifts
135x5
185x5
235x5
235x5
235x5

wide grip pullups
just bodyweight again. I need to widen my grip a bit more, to really nail my lats. A couple more weeks and I think I'll be ready to start adding weight.

barbell curls
65x5
75x5
105x5
105x5
105x5

legs press calf raises
200x5
380x5
470x5
515x5
515x5

My traps are STILL sore from the workout Tuesday. I've never had anything like that in those muscles. It shouldn't be an issue this week with the new workout I'm going to use, but it sucked doing squats with tender traps. Very uncomfortable.

I'm ready and raring to get back to bulking. Knowing it's only a week away, and knowing I still have to stay on this stupid cut is annoying. Just annoying though, nothing I can't handle. It will be important for me to commit fully to the cut this week, to make sure I shock my body when i switch to a caloric surplus next Saturday. If I start taking it easy I won't get the full benefits of switching back and forth.

My wife is training with me, and it seems like she's totally bought into the workout plan, which is nice, because she tends to get frustrated in the gym, and it takes away from my workout when I have to take time and effort to console her. I think the planned, schedules workout routine is working well for her. It's also forcing her to lift heavier weights, which I haven't been able to do.

 

[TateFTW]

Bench press
135x5
185x5
235x5
235x5
235x5

clean and press
95x5
115x5
135x5
135x5
135x5

dips
35 lb plate. I did my sets with as much relative ease as I did with the 25 lb plate last week, which is nice. We'll see if I can get the 45 up next week.

abs
incline bench reverse leg lift/crunches

Another good workout. I'm feeling very motivated, and my wife is also fully commited to the routine. Today she actally bench pressed 70 lbs for her last set of 5. Not bad for a 115 lb girl who's never trained seriously.

Water weight is officially gone, methinks. Haven't dropped an ounce since Friday night's splurge. But I'm only running a 500 cal deficit, and I've been known to go 2 weeks and only lose 1 lb with this deficit.

 

[boricuarage]

Thanks Team180, I guess, but I'm not really looking for suggestions of other things to do. I was cutting, quite successfully, averaging 1 lb lost per 5 day period for 6 weeks total, but I realized that once i finished cutting I wasn't going to nearly have the mass I wanted.

Sorry, but all I NEED to do is whatever I want to do. And right now I want to add muscle and strength. I'm going to be coaching weightlifting coming up in February, and I want to show my guys how this old man does it. Hopefully, using this 2 week back and forth cycle will make it so that in the months leading to summer I won't have an insane amount of fat to lose to look huge AND lean.

lol old man?

 

[TateFTW]

Haha, to high school kids I'm definitely old. The fun thing about being a young coach is that I can still show them up now and then. If I had a place to work on my Olympic lifts then I'd really be ready for them.

 

[TateFTW]

Hang clean and press = best overall shoulder movement in the history of mankind. Good god, my shoudlers are rounder and fuller and all I did for shoulders the entire weekend was 5x5 hang clean and presses, topping out at 135 for the last 3 sets.

The only possible issue with this workout is recovery time. Although I've effectively taken DOMS out of my life (which was a huge reason for going to the 5x5 model), I still feel my legs, especially when I sit in my recliner for a while, then try to get up. But I figure leaning on the edge of overtraining is how I'll get the best growth, and I can always take out a couple exercises a week if I start to get the symptoms of overtraining.

It's hard to kill my motivation, so if that slips at all I'll know my body is telling me something.

 

[TateFTW]

Very interesting workout today! I was doing squats my normal way, which really isn't that terrible, when the only real hardcore powerlifter who trains at our gym came over and gave me some advice. He's done it before, and I've welcomed it, so it wasn't in bad taste. He sggested I hold the bar lower on my back. When i said it felt like it was going to fall off, he asked me to hold my hands out wider and lift my eblos to flatten out the back of my shoulders. He also told me I was about 4 inches shy of parralel, so I lowered the saftey bars in the power rack 3 spots. I decided I would go as low as I could. I lowered the weight from 295 to 225 and did one of the hardest sets of 5 reps I've ever done.

Ass to grass baby!

The bar felt much more secure with the hold he taught me, and I was able to go lower then I've ever gone before. Holy crap, I could barely get 225 up 5 times. Anyways, I'll be going this way with my squats from now on. My legs have already been developing alright, so hopefully this will really take it to the next level.

Tom Platz, now who's he?!

Anyways, after squats;

dumbell bench press
80x5
90x5
100x5
100x5
100x4 (Couldn't finish that damn last rep, starting having some pain in my left shoulder)

upright row
95x5
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x5

chinups
25 lb plate. I wanted to do more, but by this point every muscle that connects to my shoulder joint was almost gone. The combo of these 3 movements back to back was really tough. Everything in my upper body got hit, both directly and indirectly, in more then one movement.

Doing squats three times a week was already going to be tough. Doing them ATG is going to make it even more intense. I'll be watching closely for overtraining, but until I get there I plan to contine to kick my own ass. If I have to take out upper body motions to make sure I can keep the three squat sessions in, then that's what I'll do.

208 lbs this morning, and looking leaner then I did 3 1/2 weeks ago at 205, which wider and thicker shoulders and traps. Say what you want, but so far this 2 bulk/2 cut system is the SH!T.

 

[TateFTW]

I think I'm going to lose it. I've been doing my half dose of EC for the last 1 1/2 weeks, but I ran out of bronkaid and decided not to buy more. Knowing that I have 2 days left is driving me up a wall. I'd be FINE if I was going to keep cutting and could just get into my routine. I like routines. But knowing that I have 2 more days of hunger, then 2 weeks of stuffing myself to look forward to is. . .well, tough.

Seriously considering switching to bulking tomorrow. Hell, I've already lost almost all the weight I gained. I'm ready to start adding muscle again.

We'll see.

 

[TateFTW]

Yup. Switched to bulking. It's time anyways. I really am ready to start adding muscle again, especially with this tweaked workout I have. It's going to be tough, and I need the calories to help me keep up. So It'll be 2.5 weeks of 3500 calories/day, then back to cutting, but only with a 250 calorie deficit to ensure as little muscle loss as possible.

Update pics;

 

[TateFTW]

ATG front squats
135x5
185x5
185x5
185x5
185x5

bent over rows
115x5
135x5
155x4
185x5
185x5

behind the neck seated overhead press
95x5
115x5
135x5
135x5
135x5 (new pr)

dips
bwx5
25x5
45x5
45x5
45x5 (new pr)

I'm having some pain in my left pec, just inside the tendon, in the muscle. It started during my last set of DB bench presses tuesday. I just need time to recover, and might skip bench Sunday. I don't want to though, and if the pain is subtle I'll still bench and skip DB bench next tuesday, as I DON'T want to miss a bench day.

I'm not trying to get hurt here, so we'll see.

Bulking is going well. I've decided to go mostly lower fat during this bulk and see how my body responds. I'll be keeping my fat intake under 130/day. I know it doesn't sound low, but compared to a real dirty bulk, it's definitely low fat. In the next bulk cycle I may go dirty and see what happens.

In an effort to get my carbs (around 350/day) I'll probably be at subway a lot. I know, not the best carbs when compared to oats and rice, but I figure it's better then not getting my carbs each day. I'll still be eating wheat pasta and will probably get some oats to start including in my shakes, along with some brown rice to start preparing with homemade meals.

 

[TateFTW]

Uhg. Annoying night last night. Wife wanted to go tailgate before the gator game. Only food I had access to at first was cheetos, then cheap burgers and hotdogs. Then she got so trashed I had to take her home before the game even started. Yesterday did nothing for my bulk, so it was a wasted day in my book.

:frustrate

But I still managed to get a pretty good night's sleep.

Yesterday's workout;
atg back squat
135x5
185x5
225x5
225x5
225x5

sumo deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
225x5

I went down in weight because the Sumo's put the focus on my legs, and they were shot to hell by this point. I found myself shifting the weight to my back, and I still don't have a belt.

wide grip pullup
bwx5
bwx5
bwx5
bwx5
bwx5

Might be ready to start adding weight next week. These sets were fairly easy. Definitely getting stronger here.

barbell curl
85x5
95x5
105x5
105x5
105x5

leg press calf presses
200x5
400x5
490x5
535x5
535x5

 

[Irish Cannon]

1) lol @ your night.

2) In for the rest of the log.

 

[TateFTW]

1) lol @ your night.

2) In for the rest of the log.

That's nothing. Then she realized that she left her purse (and phone and wallet) at the party we had just left, then she hurled in my car. We were at a stop light, but of course, she just couldn't find the strength to open the ****ing door first.

Haha, but I love her. We just don't drink much lately, so our tolerances are both down. She's taking my car to get detailed tomorrow to make up for it.

Good to have you here!

Today's workout was good, but during my last set of bench presses I had another shooting pain in my left shoulder. I'll be taking this week off from chest work, replacing all chest exercises with shoulder and triceps exercises. Today I replaced dips with a combination lateral/overhead dumbell press movement. I raised the dumbells to each side over my head, then did an overhead press before doing a reverse lateral and repeating.

bench press
135x5
205x5
225x5
235x5
245x5 (pr)

clean and press
95x5
115x5
135x5
140x5
140x5

lateral raise/overhead press combo
20x10
30x6
35x5
30x5 followed by 6 overhead presses

No abs today. My poor wife still came to workout, and she was feeling queasy.

We've been out of good food for a couple days (since I wasn't planning on starting my bulk until yesterday), so today we finally got to the grocery store and I got all my bulking foods. 3 dozen eggs, a gallon of whole milk, bananas, and 2 loaves of wheat bread. Time to do this right.

I might have to up my calories at least a few hundred. Not gaining like I want to. I'll give this a few more days and see how I feel.

 

[TateFTW]

Big update;

It looks like I'm going to be joining the military in a very short amount of time. My wife and I have decided together that my spending a couple years in the army would be a great way to build our savings in a relatively short amount of time in preparation for us eventually moving somewhere else, buying a house, having a baby and starting our own business.

Obviously this has a HUGE affect on my training goals, but I don't think it has to have a huge affect on my training in regards to weights. I'm still going to use compound movements, and will even continue my bulking/cutting schedule, however ill advised some might consider it to be. The main change I'm going to make is combining my low rep workout with high rep muscle endurance training. Hypertrophy is officially taking the back seat to a combination of muscular power and endurance.

I'm going to be adding quite a bit of cardio, as I have been doing none at all, and am just asking for an ass-kicking if I don't start immediately. To counter this, during my bulking phase I'll be adding calories each day based on estimated calories burned during cardio sessions, with the goal is maintaining my current caloric surplus of 6-800. When I go to cutting I'll also be changing daily intake based on that days workout session, but I was already doing this, so no big change other then being able to consume a few hundred more calories on average per day.

I am really, REALLY not looking forward to the running.

Anyways, the goal of the log, which is to follow a 2 week bulk/2 week cut cycle, remains the same for now. I want to build as much mass as possible, because I know during basic muscle loss will be inevitable.

Luckily I'm quite flexible for someone with my level of muscle mass, so I don't need to worry about that too much.

 

[Irish Cannon]

That's quite a decision! Are you going to try to go in as an officer?

 

[TateFTW]

No. I haven't taken the ASVAB yet, but I've taken practice tests and scored through the roof (I should. I'm a teacher who's also an auto and woodworking enthusiast. It's like they made the ASVAB specifically for me.). That, along with my AA degree, should get me a pretty wide range of non-combat job options.

Since this log is now partly for my army prep training, I'll include my cardio;

I'd read about running/marching with a "ruck", so I looked it up and found it to be a loaded pack. Someone mentioned them being 35 lbs, so I grabbed an old backpack, tossed in a 25 lb plate and a 10 lb dumbell, threw it on my back and went for a run, fully expecting it to be complete hell.

It really wasn't that bad! I ran for 30 miutes solid, only breaking stride to cross roads. My legs are shot, but squat training will have to take a back seat to this for now. Later today in the gym I'm going to do a lot of 1/4 squat work, going for speed and explosive strength. If I make sure I get to recover at some point, I bet this will help with both weighted distance running and obstacle courses.

Still some pain in my outer left pec, so I'll do a back/shoulder focus day today.

Edit; I used my car to measure my run. It was just shy of 2.5 miles. It's not to shabby to do 2.3 miles+ on your first ruck run and never break stride.

 

[TateFTW]

I went for a circuit training style workout yesterday after my last post. It went okay. Basically I just went from exercise to exercise, making sure to hit every muscle and keeping the weights light. Probably my favorite exercise was one-legged hop-squats. I had a bar with 80 lbs across my back, then jumped up and down on one leg, making sure to bend the knee a little so it wasn't all calf. I did 10 on one leg, then 10 on the other, then 5 and 5, then a couple more if I could.

It was pretty killer.

That being said, I'm going to go back to the workout I was using for weight days, but take out squats and abs, then use my cardio days to build muscular endurance in the legs and abs (stupid situps. what a retarded way to see how strong or weak someone is.). I'm bummed because I really wanted to build mass in my legs, and now I'll lose what little mass I have. It's worth it though. I want PT to be easy; a casual jog every other morning, laughing at the kids who think they're strong.

I did 3 sets of 20 pushups yesterday. Still had pain in the left pec, but not bad because of the deloading of doing pushups instead of the BW+25lb bench presses I've been doing. Still, I'll be taking the rest of the week off from chest work to let things heal completely.

 

[TateFTW]

Just did a little cardio in the form of 30 minutes of light racquetball followed by 3 sets of sit ups. The sit ups are kicking my ass, just like they always have. God I hate them. They will be my biggest hurdle, and are the one thing I really need to improve to keep from getting left behind. I've been training my abs, but not my hip flexors (what bodybuilder cares about hip flexors?), so I'm going to get on that right away. I've also gained lots of muscle, which unfortunately means I have more mass to lift while performing a sit up. After this bulk phase I'm going to do a cut to get back down below 210, then go to maintenance calories and try recomping, shifting more and more away from weight training and into the 3 components of the army PT test, pushups, situps, and running.

So that means I will be completing the log after 11 more days and bulking and 2 more weeks of cutting. Not nearly as many cycles as I wanted to do to see how this method would work, but the best I can do for now.

 

[bakkbakk]

if those really are pics after a month tell any negs on here to **** off cuz it worked. staggering calories like that is rediculously effective and I wouuldnt worry about how much muscle you gain or lose until you achieve your body fat goal plus 5x5 is a power workout and wont add much muscle anyway, you can also stay pretty strong on a long term cut like that because its all power and not so much endurance or muscle. i kept my reps at 4 to 6 for 5 weeks cut my calories to 700 food 300 protein shakes 1000calories total, got stronger every week for the first 4, lost 16 pounds, and got bigger and no not on a steroid cycle either. Its your body and you confused it, good job, most people cant transform like that in a year because they think everything is text book