Xcendo's Mass-FX Log

[xcendo]

Hey guys. This is my first supplement log and I'm looking forward to sharing my results. Without further ado,

Weight: 184

Waist: 32"

Bodyfat: 12.66% (US Navy weight-waist formula ... my plastic Accu-Measure calipers are unreliable and the trainers at my gym don't know how to use theirs)

Current Supplements (exact brand/product name): Anabolic Xtreme Mass-FX, MAN Clout, Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey, Super EPA (Omega 3), Costco Daily Multi

Current Diet and macros (as much detail as possible): Natural Hormonal Enhancement: 3300 calories/day, 250+ grams protein, <40g carbs, 200+ grams fat; on two days a week, about 2-3 days apart, I take in 200-400g carbs and reduce my fat intake.

Current Daily water intake: 1.5 gallons

Short Term Goal: First priority is to strengthen my posterior chain, tris, and delts; second is to recomp: cut some bodyfat, bring up my posterior and medial delts, add some lat width, and build my upper pecs.

 

[xcendo]

Workout Routine:

MONDAY
8X2 BANDED SPEED SQUAT*
MAX SQUAT
5X3 SAFETY BAR GOOD MORNINGS
3X12 SEATED DUMBBELL CLEANS
3X5 FINGER ROLLS
3X5 (PER SIDE) WALKING TRUNK TWISTS
3X8 SWISS BALL CRUNCHES

TUESDAY
30 MINS FASTED CARDIO

WEDNESDAY
30 MINUTE EDT PR ZONE: 5 REPS INCLINE BENCH, 2 REPS CHINUP, 3 REPS PULLUP [I go for max reps starting with my 10RM within 30 minutes, try to beat it by 20% in the next workout, and if I do, I up the weight 5% and start over]
3X12 LATERAL RAISES
5X5 (PER SIDE) WALKING TRUNK TWISTS
5X8 AB PULLDOWN

THURSDAY
3X12 JUMP SQUATS
2X2 HANG CLEAN-GRIP SNATCH
2X2 HANG CLEAN PULL
2X2 HANG JUMP SHRUG
MAX LOWER BODY PULL**
5X3 LOWER BODY PULL AT 75%. 8 SECOND ECCENTRICS
5X3 WEIGHTED GLUTE-HAM RAISE
3X10 BACK RAISE
3X12 FACE PULLS
3X5 FINGER ROLLS

FRIDAY
30 MINS FASTED CARDIO

SATURDAY
5X2 BANDED UPPER BODY PUSH***
MAX UPPER BODY PUSH***
3XRP-5 PUSH PRESS
3XRP-3 PUSH JERK
3XRP-3 NEIDER PRESS
3X12 FACE PULLS
3X5 FINGER ROLLS
3X5 DRAGON FLAG
3X5 RUSSIAN TWISTS

SUNDAY
REST


*SAFETY BAR BOX SQUAT
*ATG BACK SQUAT
* PARALLEL BACK SQUAT

** ELEVATED SNATCH-GRIP DEADLIFT
** STIFF LEGGED-DEADLIFT
** REVERSE BAND SNATCH-GRIP DEADLIFT

*** MILITARY PRESS
*** BOARD PRESS
*** INCLINE PRESS

Explanations: Sorry about the caps, it's how my routine is written out. The asterisks show what exercises I'll be rotating through each week. I finish off each workout with accessory stuff, high reps to build the lagging muscles. I do unusual stuff like finger rolls and heavy trunk twists because I compete in throwing events. The Escalating Density Training (EDT) day is to provide variation and growth, not strength, stimulus. The 3xRP-3 stuff just means 3 rest pause sets of 3 reps.

There's a lot of volume here, but my body is adapted to high volumes and I expect to get away with it more so than usual on Mass-FX.

Sorry about the picture quality - my camera phone was all I could use at the time.

 

[PumpingIron]

Looks pretty good to me...

I have a few questions though...

FINGER ROLLS
LOWER BODY PULL
DRAGON FLAG

What exactly are these exercises?



Best of luck, I look forward to seeing the results.
PI

 

[xcendo]

Finger roll: grip a heavy barbell or dumbbell, arms hanging straight down, and unroll your fingers slowly until the weight's resting on the crook below your fingertips. Then "curl" it up with your fingers to a closed grip. It specifically trains open-palm grip strength, which is useful for climbers and, in my case, shot putters. I'd use a hangboard instead for this if I had one, though.

Lower body pull is just a broad term for deadlifting, cleaning, swinging, pull throughs, etc. Just describes what muscles are used for what kind of plane of motion.

Dragon flag is a f*cking brutal ab exercise. The pictures and description toward the middle of 200207 explain it better than I can.

Thanks for looking!

 

[PumpingIron]

I see...i love dragon flags, even though I never new their name.

 

[prld2gr8ns]

I see...i love dragon flags, even though I never new their name.

Yep, I learned something new today. Love those things, and the name is good to.

Nice log xcendo, I'm watching.

 

[macedaddy]

Lookin' good! Almost missed this one!

 

[xcendo]

Day 3

So I've been on Mass-FX for three days. It's still probably too early to judge, but I haven't noticed anything yet. I took 2 caps before I went to the gym, as has been recommended in some thread here. Here was my workout:

65# 3x12 Jump Squats
115# 2x2 Clean-Grip Snatches From Hang
-- I was very pleased with how snappy these were. The weight should be moving up soon, I hope.
195# 2x2 Hang Clean Pulls
215# 2x2 Jumping Shrugs From Hang

Then starting with two easy sets of 5 and 3 reps, I worked my way through singles to a deadlift max. I missed 405# right before lockout, and that sucked me dry for the rest of the session. I pulled a 365# single and called it a night on the max deadlifts after that. Then,

225# 1x5 Straight-Legged Deadlifts
5x3 Glute-Ham Raises (feet hooked on the thigh pads of a lat pulldown), holding 10# resistance
3x10 70# Face Pulls
3x5 Finger Rolls, 70# DB per hand

Finished off with some weighted stretching - got my hams, lower back, and shoulders - 60 seconds each.

Workout took WAY too long - just shy of 90 minutes - so I might have to cut back on some stuff. I'll modify as I go along.

The best part was maxing out on deads on one of the two power racks in my gym (f*cking pathetic for a Gold's, huh?), with a father and a son taking turns doing 55-65# barbell curls in the rack next to me. I'm gonna have to start going to the gym earlier in the day, or I might find myself not able to squat because of 2007-resolution-January-joiners curling in both racks.

Calories and macro %'s to come later tonight.

 

[xcendo]

3279 calories: 66% fat, 30% protein, 4% carbs.

Looking back on tonight and comparing my squat max (365# to parallel) to my deadlift, I think my hamstrings and lower back need some extra attention. I also know that my overhead strength is lacking. I'm gonna have to play around with my routine and see what I can do.

 

[macedaddy]

66% fat? is this your normal diet? jsut wondering, seems high to me, but i'm no expert!

 

[macedaddy]

nevermind! i see carbs are way low! keto diet?

 

[xcendo]

Yeah, sort of. It's called Natural Hormonal Enhancement. The basic idea is to keep carbs below 30g (+/- 10g ish) for a few days at a time, and every 2-3 days finish the day with 2 100-200g carb meals (two carbup nights a week). You compensate with much higher fat and protein, and keep the saturated to mono ratio about 1:1. The higher fat boosts test levels, the lack of insulin spiking boosts GH levels, and your metabolism shifts to using fat as energy. The carbups keep glycogen loaded just in time, because it takes about 4 workouts of higher-rep stuff to deplete glyco to the point that it impacts performance. But then again, I'm mostly doing low-rep, high effort, and I've found that my strength, mood, and energy is a lot better on a high fat, low carb diet. It's great for recomping as long as you keep your calories up...

 

[macedaddy]

Sounds interesting! You may have an excellent log if that all holds up and the effects of the MassFX!

Good Luck!

 

[xcendo]

Day 5

Great workout today.

I haven't done seated military presses in months, so I tested for a max. Got 155# for two reps, had a third in the tank but I don't train to failure. So I estimated 170#, set up my BSN Jump Stretch bands for 20% of that at the top of the lift, stripped the bar weight down to 85% of 170#, and took 35# off the bar to account for the band tension:

110#+(35# band tension) 3x2

Next time I'll do them standing, as it's more applicable to my sport and the band setup will be easier. Then I tried DB side presses for the first time:

60# 3x2 per side.

This hit my obliques well and I even felt it in my lats. My right shoulder got the dumbbell up easily, but it was a grind on the left. I'll have to keep unilateral shoulder stuff like this in my routine to correct this, but it's not a tragedy for my throwing events.

Did some higher rep accessory work:

45# DB 3x10 Incline Bench
30# 3x10 Lateral Raises (PR +2 reps)
120# 3x10 Kneeling Rope Pulldown

And finished off with two 60 second weighted shoulder and chest stretches from Doggcrapp. The pump I ended up in my chest and shoulders with was sick.

Definitely starting to feel it!!

 

[xcendo]

The number of sets was lower today than I set out for in the beginning. After doing some reading and thinking I decided I want to spread the volume throughout the week and lift 5x/week. Sort of a Pavel strength approach with some lagging muscle building stuff thrown in at the end.

Also, I'm going to start upping my carbs a bit. Considering I went through the 14-day carbless induction period during my finals a couple weeks ago, I'm not ready to ditch my low-carb approach, but instead try more of a TKD approach than NHE. Get some post-workout dextrose and have a mixed protein/carb/fat meal an hour later, then return to strictly protein and fat. It's a better choice for my goals, IMO.

 

[macedaddy]

all sounds like a good plan! keep it up!

 

[xcendo]

Yesterday's diet, with adjustments as noted above:

3232 cals, 48% fat, 33% protein, 19% carbs

As long as I stay at or below 20% carbs, my metabolism should still favor fat as fuel. My muscles are looking a lot fuller now, so I think I've hit a sweet spot.

 

[xcendo]

Day 6

Another good workout. Unlike the workout three days ago, I left feeling fresh, even though I put in hard work.

175# 3x2 Elevated Snatch-Grip Deadlifts (off an 8" platform)

These were mechanically difficult because my gym has no platforms except one 8" one, and standing on plates is too unstable. The eccentric was a little awkward, but I can tell how this helps strength off the floor.

160# (+50# band tension) Good Mornings with the Safety Squat Bar

Love doing these.

3x10 Face Pulls
3x10 DB Curls
3x8 Reverse Wrist Curls

In and out. Time to eat and go out, peace everyone.

 

[macedaddy]

always nice to come across that "sweet spot" in the diet!

Carry on!

 

[xcendo]

Day 8

250# 1x3 Romanian Deadlift
240# 2x3 Good Mornings with the Safety Squat Bar
170# (+50# band tension) 3x2 Front Squat to Parallel
150# 3x10 Pull-Throughs
120# 3x10 Kneeling Rope Pulldowns
30# 2x10 DB Lateral Raises
120# 3x8 Standing Ab Pulldowns

Finished off with weighted stretches for hamstrings, quads, lower back, shoulders, and upper back.

Getting some acne on my chest and face. It should start to get interesting soon...

 

[macedaddy]

day 8 is good!

its all downhill from here! Get ready for some insane workouts and awesome gians!

 

[xcendo]

Day 9

Weighed myself and measured waist after waking up this morning:

184#, 31.75" (-.25")

Definitely recomping!

Workout:

130# (+40# band tension) 1x2 Push Presses (behind the neck)
130# (+30# band tension) 2x2 Push Presses (behind the neck)
120# (+35# band tension) 3x2 Incline Bench
135# 3x10 Incline Bench
3x10 Incline DB Curls
3x10 Face Pulls

I didn't mean to drop all the way down to 30# of band tension on my last two sets, but these BNS Max Bands aren't the easiest to adjust precisely. From now on, as far as vertical plane pressing goes, I'm going to stick with straight weight for push presses and jerks and just use bands on military presses.

Gonna have to start doing something about this acne.

 

[jjohn]

Day 9

Weighed myself and measured waist after waking up this morning:

184#, 31.75" (-.25")

Definitely recomping!

Workout:

130# (+40# band tension) 1x2 Push Presses (behind the neck)
130# (+30# band tension) 2x2 Push Presses (behind the neck)
120# (+35# band tension) 3x2 Incline Bench
135# 3x10 Incline Bench
3x10 Incline DB Curls
3x10 Face Pulls

I didn't mean to drop all the way down to 30# of band tension on my last two sets, but these BNS Max Bands aren't the easiest to adjust precisely. From now on, as far as vertical plane pressing goes, I'm going to stick with straight weight for push presses and jerks and just use bands on military presses.

Gonna have to start doing something about this acne.

Is the acne really bad or tolerable?

 

[xcendo]

It's tolerable, just a pain in the ass. You can't expect to get the benefits of boosted test without some of its drawbacks.

 

[jjohn]

Well, increased test doesn't mean acne.. A lot of people use test, and only get acne in post cycle therapy, some don't get anything. I think the hormone imbalances are what causes acne. Anyways, I was just curious. I use Avène and love the product, PH is 7 so you can use it 3 times a day no prob.

 

[macedaddy]

it is a nuisance more than a terrible thing!

jjohn, i think it is the increase of NATRUAL test that causes the acne, thus why you would get it in PCT, because you are increasing your own levels again.

i could be wrong, though.

 

[jjohn]

Well, I guess no one really know the exact cause, so I will wash it up very often before starting mine, so I get the least possible

 

[macedaddy]

THAT is a good idea! I have a 4% benzoyl peroxide solution prescription from the Doc and it helps quite a bit! I try to bump its use up to 2 times per day and i use it on face, shoulders, and chest!

 

[xcendo]

Day 11

Took yesterday off and carbed up :burger: I knew that today's workout was gonna be sick, and I was right:

Deadlift:

3x225#
3x285#
1x325#
1x365#
1x385# (+20# PR!!!)

170# (+55# band tension) 3x2 Safety Bar Good Mornings (+15# PR)*
180# (+55# band tension) 3x2 Safety Bar Box Squats
3x5 Finger Rolls, 75# DB per hand (+10# total PR)
3x5 Glute-Ham Raises off the lat pulldown
3x6 Trunk Twists (per side)
3x5 Dragon Flags

Finished up with weighted quad and ham stretches and took a contrast shower.

*Note: These felt just as light and explosive as the 160#+50#'s I did on Day 6.

Just like the last max deadlift workout, this one ran too long: almost 90 minutes. But this time, I felt aggressive and energetic to the very last minute.

Stay tuned, there will be many more PR's to come :dance:

 

[P4D2A022]

how much do u weigh now?

 

[xcendo]

Gym scale read 184 today, so without shoes and clothes, about 183. I'm only going to put up my weight every 7 days or so. Since I'm eating just at maintenance and timing my carbs, my scale probably won't be moving much during this log. But measurements and PR's will.

 

[xcendo]

Day 13

About an hour and a half after my first dose today I felt a gentle but perceptible rush. Pretty euphoric ... mild, but just enough to be noticed, and I didn't expect it to happen at all. Also, throughout the day I've been feeling more upbeat and aggressive. Lovin this MFX. I couldn't wait to get to the gym and bang out my workout:

95# (+27# band resistance) 3x2 Standing Military Presses

These were a lot harder than I expected. I really have to keep up speed and apply more force throughout the top of the lift, and that's exactly where I'm weakest, so I know they'll help out there a lot.

Worked up to a max single in a Standing Rack Military Press (pins set my sticking point, mid-forehead): 170#

65# 2x2 DB side presses (+10# total PR)

Dropped the side presses down to just two sets because of the extra shoulder work I put in maxing out. Once again, my left side presses were real grinds.

135# 3x12 Incline Bench (+2 reps PR)

The first set of 12 was easy, the last two not so much, but I rest-paused their last 2-4 reps out because I was hungry for another PR.

70# 3x3 Russian Twists
30# 2x10 DB Lateral Raises
120# 3x12 Kneeling Rope Pulldowns (+2 reps PR)

Finished off with DC-style weighted chest, shoulder, and back stretches.

More notes: I know it looks like my volume is creeping back up again, but I'm taking days off in between and ultimately going by feel. I'm listening to my body and mental fatigue levels, and this seems to be working well. I've always found it better to be flexible and intuit your body's reactions rather than anally adhere to a set routine.

As far as side effects, just the acne. Hasn't gotten worse, but hasn't gotten better despite keeping my skin clean and exfoliating, etc. If I can find it locally I'm gonna try out some Nizoral on the broken out areas - people have reported that stuff working magic on higher test-caused acne.

 

[macedaddy]

SWEET! nice to see the PRs!

 

[xcendo]

Day 15

250# 3x2 Good Mornings with the Olympic Bar
175# 3x2 Snatch-Grip Deadlifts from an 8" deficit
90# 3x10 Face Pulls (+20# PR)
3x10 Incline DB Curls
3x10 Reverse Wrist Curls

Had to get in and out of the gym quick today, so I didn't bother with bands on the good mornings. I can't say I've been a fan of these elevated snatch-grip deads in my gym, because there's only one platform and it has short pillars that force the path of the bar straight up, like a Smith machine, until the bar passes mid-thigh and sends you off balance. The setup is too dangerous, so I'm gonna nix these until I go back to college where I can work out in a gym that has equipment for ATHLETES.

Other notes: Aggression definitely up today, an incident of road rage, but in general pretty controllable. By the way, it's been two days using the Nizoral on my skin, and the sh*t works MAGIC on acne.

 

[xcendo]

Day 17

125# (+35# band tension) 3x2 Incline Bench (+5# PR)
155# 3x8 Incline Bench
155# (+55# band tension) 3x2 Front Squat
250# Front Squat - new max
2x10 45# DB Side Presses
3x10 150# Kneeling Lat Pulldown (+30# PR)
3x8 Cable-Resisted Swiss Ball Crunches

Notes: Another great workout. For the record, I definitely felt I could have bumped the weights up on the banded incline bench, but I want to be able to add 5% steadily each week. The same goes for all my other banded lifts. The 155#x8 incline bench translates roughly into a 195# 1RM, which would be a 10# PR if I hit it. I'll try for a max when I get back to school. Also, I haven't gone for a max front squat to parallel in almost a year, so I don't have much to compare it to.

Sides: Acne subsiding with Nizoral and aggression is up, but I enjoy that side effect, not to mention the subtle tingles of energy I'm still consistently getting an hour after each dose.

Since I won't be able to take pictures in the same position with the same lighting after I leave home, I'll update with some early comparison pics and measurements tomorrow or Saturday.

 

[xcendo]

Day 18 - Visual Progress

Order: Relaxed front - before Mass-FX, relaxed front - 18 days into Mass-FX, flexed back - before Mass-FX, flexed back - 18 days into Mass-FX

Weight is now 183 and waist is 31.75".

 

[macedaddy]

Definite improvement around the midsection! Great job!

 

[xcendo]

Day 28

Weight: 183

145# 3x1 Power Snatch
325# 3x2 Romanian Deadlift (~+40# PR since Day 8)
255# 3x1 Front Squat (+5# PR since Day 17)
220# 3x1 Incline Bench (+25# PR since Day 17)
75# 3x8 One-Arm DB Row (+5 reps PR since 12/17*)

Sorry I haven't been able to update these last 9 days, I've been really busy starting back at college and with my track practices starting up. I haven't been able to train with bands but I definitely plan on reincorporating them soon - I believe the concentric overloading contributed to my strength gains as much as Mass-FX. This last week or so I've been unloading in volume and frequency and eating less; regardless, I've held at the same weight and reduced in the waistline a little. I'll measure that tomorrow morning.

Anyway, I seem to have done things right with the high volume/frequency at home followed by the unloading week, because the PR's today were across the board. This has been such a fantastic supplement for all my goals - recomping around the same weight while driving my strength up. Much respect to Dr. D and Anabolic Xtreme for the compound and many thanks to macedaddy for letting me try it out. It won't be the last time.

I'll write a comprehensive final review in a few days.

 

[macedaddy]

looking forward to the final review!