Switching gears

ktw

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Anabolic Diet Recomp/Slow Bulk.

First off a little about me. I've been training fairly consistently for about 4 years. Used to post on here back in the day. In those 4 years I went from a 170lb grappler to a 245lb powerlifter. I have had quite a few setbacks:

May-August 2006. Had a rigorous internship on Capitol Hill and did not get to work out very much. Got a bad cold and ended the summer at 192, down from 208.

May-August 2007. Spent a summer abroad in Africa. I didn't get to lift or eat. Went from 215 to 190

January 2008. Got the flu and lost 20 lbs. 215 down to 195.

During this time period I used a 4 day a week upper/lower split that was sort of like WSB training. Trained with a powerlifting team in Phoenix and started getting into using double ply gear. Did lots of squatting in briefs during this time. Almost every workout.

Last summer I decided to change things and began training by myself with the online assistance of Mike Tuchscherer. This is when I started suffering injuries. I had some knee problems and in early August about a month out from a meet I pulled my inner rhomboid.

Around this time I decided to get away from powerlifting. My blood pressure was 150/90 ish, I was eating nonstop, I was bloated and didn't feel good.

In September I used the 5/3/1 for 8 weeks and hated it. After that I did a Poliquin program I can detail if people want, then DC.

Since then I have gone from 245 to 220 while dropping about 9% bodyfat. I have also started cycling a bit and I go rock climbing twice a week. My goal is to have good vitals, stay strong in the gym and get better at cycling and climbing. My resting heart rate went from 80bpm to between 55-60 on average. My blood pressure is usually 120/70-80.

PR's
Bench- 330
OLY squat- 365x6, Haven't taken a 1rm in a while. Hit 515x3 in briefs and I have squatted around that with straps down in a suit. I squat with just a belt now
Deadlift- 475x3
RDL- 405x5 (about 2 inches off flow)
Rack Pull- 635x3
GM- 345x6
CG bench-275x3, 300x1
Strict Press- 185


All of these numbers are from July-August 2008. I will update when I hit new ones. I will try to be as detailed about my training as possible. I use 3 to 4 week microcycles and adjust depending on my immediate and long term goals. I have used almost any type of program you could think of. Due to the setbacks listed above, I have come from absolutely nothing to hitting PR's in 12 weeks 3 different times.

Supplements
I take a slow release protein at morning and night
During and after my workouts I take 5 scoops of Xtend
Depending on my carb levels for the day, I take 1 scoop of Cytomax during training and 1 after if I need
My only other supplement is beta alanine
I am a poor college student. I don't have money for supps, so I put my effort into my diet and training.

Diet
I have several carb choices that I choose from during the day:
-Sweet potatoes
-Old Fashioned Oats
-Wild and brown rice
-Red/new potatoes
-Black beans
How much I eat of each depends on my carb levels for the day. If I ride a little longer or climb a little more than normal, I compensate with some simple carbs after. Never anything garbage. I do not cheat on my diet unless I have to. If I do I eat something that usually has organic dough, a pita or maybe a sandwich with whole grain bread. I don't do fast food or candy or any of that kind of stuff.

I also have several protein sources:
-Chicken Breast
-Lean pork chops
-Salmon
-Lean cuts of steak
-Pork loin
-Protein powder
-Zero Impact protein bars. These are for when I am at work and can't eat a prepared meal.

For fats I supplement with:
-various nuts, no peanuts as I am allergic
-EVOO
-fish oil when I can afford

My training and diet is really simple and straightforward. IMO this is the only way to do it. I don't put much into supplements and the newest, greatest workout routines. Smart training and dieting goes a long way.
 

ktw

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Here are my logs from the last couple weeks of DC training:

Last few sessions

Upper Body 12/23/08

Incline BB (rest pause set)
195x9,6,5, should have used 205, This is a rep PR and by percentage, an incline PR. My current record is 225x3
Stretch with 20's for 90 seconds

Neutral Grip Pullups, no straps, 3 second pause at the top (rest pause set)
8,6,5

DB Row (rest pause)
115x12,9,5 way too light. Should've gone 125 or 130
Back stretch, 60 seconds

Skull crushers, pause at bottom (rest pause)
95x11,6,3
tri stretch with bar for 60 seconds

I forgot what I did for shoulders on this day, but it probably was weak and shitty

4 sets hanging abs

Lower body 12/24/08
For lower body I am using a few programs that Mike wrote me when he was doing my training. They seem to always work really well.

Pause Squats, 2 second pause
275x3@8
305x3@8
315x3@8
325x3@9 PR of 20 lbs for 3 reps at a 9 RPE
310x3@9

Pause Deads, 3 count
275x3@8
315x3@8
335x3@9
320x3@9
Having to use those polygonal plates sucks. ****s my pull up way more than I thought it would

BB step ups
3x12, 30 seconds rest

Incline Db curls, rest pause
45x8,6,6
 

ktw

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90 second stretch
Exercise bike, Level 15, average speed 20mph, 91 RPM average 25 minutes. I normally do something like this twice a day. Once a week I do 20 to 30 miles a ride and there is the minimum of 6 miles for riding to and from school every day plus riding to work. I average 60 to 80 miles a week usually.

Upper body 12/27/08
Flat DB bench, paused for 3 count (rest pause set)
90x8,6,4 followed by a 90 second stretch with the 20's. Will go up to the 95's next week.

Close Grip Incline, paused for 3 count (rest pause set)
175x7,4,4 followed by a 60 second stretch with the bar. The pauses make this a bitch and a half

Chins (rest pause set)
9,7,6

T bar rows (straight set. supposed to be done till failure)
405x14, did a few more fairly cheated but I won't count those. If I did it would be 17
back stretch for 120 seconds

Shoulder raise circuit (front, side, rear)
3x12 30 seconds rest

Lower Body 12/29/08

Won't be training till next monday, so I did things randomly today

Rack pulls, knee level
405x3@8
495x3@8
545x3@8
585x3@8
605x3@8
635x3@8 30 lb PR
Didn't do a down set. This was good enough volume as it is. I can't recover from pulling twice a week, but rack pulls or some kind of pull with bands should help my upper back strength for climbing.

GM's
225x8@8
275x8@8
315x8@9
295x8@9

BB lunges
95x3x12, 30 seconds rest

Did some window washers for abs for 3 sets, then 3 sets of hanging abs

Did some bb curls, forgot the reps and stuff

I usually do abs every day, I've been forgetting though.
 

ktw

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Was on vacation for the past week. Changed my training a bit today.

Incline BB
205x5, 210x5, 225x3, 230x3 PR of 5 lbs. Goal was to do 4 heavy sets today, 5 next week.
supersetted with:

Wide grip pullups
bw+25x4x5

Flat Paused DB bench
85x4x8
supersetted with:
Hammer low row
2 plates, 25 and 10 for 4x10, made sure to use controlled reps

Cable crossovers
60x3x10, slow. Goal is to hit between 40 and 70 seconds of time under tension
supersetted with:
Chuck lats
3x12, slow tempo.

Next week I will add another set to the last two exercises. The goal for this microcycle is a small lean bulk. My carbs are pretty low right now and I am still gaining. I am thinking of trying the anabolic diet soon.

My split should be:

Day 1- Torso (chest and back)
Day 2- Squats. Going to keep using the cycle I have been using. It is working too well to stop right now.
Day 3- Off, climbing and bouldering
Day 4- Shoulders/upper back. Probably some military pressing, rack pulls, etc.
Day 5- Arms. This will probably be a failure, but I will give it a try
Day 6- longer ride
Day 7- light climbing.

We will see how it works. I am going to throw in abs where possible.
 

ktw

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Another small sidenote, I do everything full range. Due to my history with powerlifting I don't do any heav and go reps or partials. I find that one of the biggest problems with people online is that when videos are posted their form is terrible and they are guilty of cheating in a variety of ways to make their logs look better. If I can figure out how to upload videos I will try and get a few up.
 

ktw

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Today sucked. Got a cold and I just realized I hadn't squatted in like 2 weeks. About 10% off my normal numbers. Should be good next week.

Power snatch
Did 8x3 to work on form. Will add weight next week.

Squat
5x2, seemed like my core was really unstable. Also realized I hadn't done any core work in about a week and a half or more. Going to continue with my normal cycle next week.

Gm's
4x6, again about 10% off normal weights, not even worth listing

Step ups
135x3x10, 60 seconds rest

Hanging pikes for 3 sets
Flexion ab work for 3 sets.

Have to figure out where I am going to get some pulling in. Might do some with shoulders on Thursdays. My legs recover really really fast and 1 day a week won't cut it.
 

ktw

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I wanted to add that I have been lowering my carb levels this week in preparation for my start of the Anabolic diet. It might be hard getting all the fat in at first, but after a while it should be easy since I love meat and hate preparing carbs. I have also added Berry Greens to my supplement lineup and I have been adding 3 extra servings of vegetables a day. This should help me lean up like I want. The only difference with the way I am going to do the Anabolic Diet is that I am going to do a targeted Ketogenic, not CKD. This means that I will be taking in carbs during and after my workouts, but still 100 grams or less.

Powercleans
185x5x3

Clean pulls
315x5x3 supersetted with:

Seated DB press, pause at the bottom
70x5x5, 90 seconds rest between each movement. I have found that I lose no strength when supersetting this way.

Lateral raises
30x3x8 circuit setted with:
Leaning cable raises
20x3x15, I did the right arm on laterals, then cables then moved to the left arm.

Doesn't look like a whole lot on paper, but it should do the trick. I will up the volume next week depending on how I recover.
 

ktw

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Dips
bw+45x5x5 supersetted with:

Close grip chins (hands 1 inch apart)
bw+20x5x5

Incline curls
35x3x10, slow tempo
supersetted with:
Skull crushers
90x3x10

Rope Pressdowns
90x4x15
supersetted with:
Cable zottman curls
4x15

On the first superset rest is 90 seconds between movements, on the second it is 60 and on the third it is 30.
 

ktw

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Got bored today so I went to the gym really quick.

Did some ab work, mainly some stabilization/upper work.

Armbar thrusts. Used to do these when I was a grappler. Don't know the real name, but you lay on your back with your feet straight up and thrust your hips. Hold at the top and count to 3 on the way down.
3x15
no rest then:
Bicycles 3 sets max reps. Both of these movements help build stability, but also work the upper abs really well. Weighted movements and hanging movements don't do that for me.

Stability ball planks
3 sets of 30 seconds, 30 seconds rest

Stability ball bridges, hold for 3 count at the top
3 sets of 8

Exercise bike
Did a 25 minute interval hill workout. Should have my bike back together by this week so I can actually do some really cardio.

Weight is down 1.5 lbs since the start of the diet. Sucks I have to wait until next Saturday to refeed.
 

ktw

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Power snatch
warm ups then
135x3
155x4x2. Could have gone up in weight but wanted to keep my speed decent. PR and not that hard.

Oly Squats.
Tried to figure out what went wrong last week. Figured it out and did
275x3
295x4x3
275x3
These sets were done at 80% of my 380 max oly squat. Next week should see some better triples. The lack of ab training really hurt my stability, but it's better now

Snatch pulls
225x2x3
245x3x3, the weight isn't too hard, but I don't see a point in doing snatch pulls that are so much over my max power snatch. Made sure that they were pretty fast

Front Squats
175x3x8, 45 seconds rest, really need to work on my ankle mobility. It was the only thing holding me back.

Hanging abs, 3x12, 30 seconds rest.

Anabolic Diet is going well. Great energy during my workout and throughout the day. Almost don't need coffee anymore.
 

ktw

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Today sucked. It's been 9 days since I last did bench or back work, so my strength was slightly off by about 5% or so. Next week should be back on track.

Incline BB
210x5, 225x1, 235x3x1. Goal today was to hit 3 singles above 90% just to get my nervous system used to everything again. All of the singles felt pretty fast, the 210 not so much for some reason.

supersetted with 90 seconds rest with:

Wide Grip pullups
bw+25x5x5

Paused DB bench
85x2x8
75x2x12 supersetted with:

Hammer low row
2 plates+25 a sidex4x10. This was the movement I was down in the most.

Cable crossover
3x12, 3/0/3/0 Tempo
supersetted with 30 seconds rest:

Unilateral DB shrug (1 arm at a time), pause at the top
90x3x12

25 minutes on the exercise bike at a 145 heart rate.
 

ktw

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Diet for today:

Meal 1:
5 eggs
1 sausage
1/2 cup cheese
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Protein/carbs/fat:
48/3/50

Meal 2:
Supreme Protein Bar
30/5/16

Meal 3:
Chicken Breast
1 avocado
4 greens caps
50/2/40

Meal 4:
Same as 3
50/2/40

Workout
During: 25g BCAA, 20g malto

After:
20g BCAA, Chicken Breast, 2 cups vegetables, 20g black beans, 3 teapsoons heavy whipping cream

Bed:
1 scoop Dymatize Elite 12 hour blend, 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream.

Total: 300/52/176.

Need to lower my protein a bit and raise my fats slightly. Had to work today so I could only bring simple stuff with me. I was eating too many almonds before and the carbs were stacking up. Bought some more red meat I will make tomorrow which will help up the fats.
 

ktw

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Power cleans
205x5x2, worked on form again. Having trouble transitioning over the knees.

I did my clean pulls differently today. I tried to pop them with my hips instead of just doing a fast shrug. Hopefully this will help my hip problem

315x5x3 supersetted with:

Paused military db
70x5x5, 90 seconds rest between

Shoulder circuit. No rest between movements, 60 seconds rest between circuits.

Leaning lateral raises
25x3x6, slow tempo 2/2/4/0
then
Cable laterals
20x3x12
then
seated face pulls
70x3x20

Had about 5 hours of sleep last night and worked all day. Not bad considering how tired I was. I enjoy doing the o lift movements alot, and I can already see them working. My hamstrings feel like they were detached from my limbs after, which is good. I really lack hip explosiveness so I think this will help my lower body lifts a lot.

Tomorrow is arms, think I will do some abs then and come in on Saturday and do another ab workout and some cardio. Haven't got my bike back together yet, so my cardio level is way down from normal. Hopefully will have it done tomorrow and be able to ride Saturday and take advantage of my refeed. I am only going to do a 1 day refeed since my bodyfat isn't under 10% yet.
 

ktw

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Yesterday:

I did this circuit 3 times:
Standing BB curls 3/0/3/0
95x6
10 seconds rest then:
EZ bar preacher curls, elbows out, 3/0/3/0
65x12
10 seconds rest then:
Alternated seated DB scott curls from the top position 3/0/3/0
25x15
Basically these are like normal scott curls, but instead of resting the db's at the bottom, i keep them at the top. This emphasizes the static contraction at the top and the eccentric more.
2 minutes rest between circuits

Tris. This did not work out well. I am not going to do them circuit style again.

Dips
bw+45x5,4,3

EZ bar skull crushers 3/1/3/1
85x3x10

Rope pressdowns 3/0/3/0
70x3x15
2 minutes between circuits, 3 trips through

BB roll outs
3 sets max reps.
 

ktw

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Today starts my about 24 hour long refeed.

Breakfast:
Large stack of buttermilk pancakes at IHOP, used about 1/3 of the jar of syrup
3 scrambled eggs
This meal alone had about 150 grams of carbs

Meal 2:
Lots of Rice Krispies
1 scoop protein

Meal 3:
1 of the biggest sweet potatoes I've ever seen, well over 500 grams
1/2 chicken breast

Meal 4:
Chipotle Burrito bowl, extra beans

Meal 5:
1/2 chicken breast
2 cups brown rice

Meal 6:
2 Clif bars

Meal 7:
1 scoop protein, can't sleep if I eat carbs right before.

The estimated total of all of this is probably around 650 to 700 grams of carbs including the jelly beans I ate with the meals (somehow they are straight dextrose, not high fructose corn syrup)
Not all that crazy of a refeed, but my bodyfat levels are not even close to low enough to have a ridiculous 1000+ gram refeed. I think I might have some carbs tomorrow morning before 11 am (when my refeed started today) and then end it. 48 hours is a little much right now, considering I had some dextrose with my peri workout drink during the week. My bloat is ridiculous today.
 

ktw

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Last night was a fiasco involving a very late night with a girl, very little sleep and a complete waste of a day. My training session today was terrible. I tried putting my hips lower on my power snatches and lost all pop. They turned into muscle snatches so I spent the rest of the workout on form and finding my sweet spot.

Power Snatch
135x3, 155x2, 155x2, 135x2, 135x2, 155x2

Squats. No speed, strength was fine. Did 3 singles over 90% today.
275x5
315x3x1.

Circuit 1
Squats 185x15
no rest
box jumpsx12
max bw squats in 30 seconds (got 20 both times)
rest 75, repeat once

Circuit 2
Snatch grip dl's 225x6
DB swings, right hand, left hand, both hands (15 each, 45 reps total)
rest 75s, repeat once.

I still feel sick from this.
 

ktw

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Today

Messed up and did the 1/6/1/6/1/6 backwards. Uggh

Incline BB
205x6
230x1
205x6
235x1
210x6
240x1 PR technically

supersetted with:
Weighted Pullups
bw+15x6
bw+35x1
bw+20x6
bw+45x1
bw+20x6
bw+55x1, underestimated my 1 RM

I supersetted these, 90 seconds rest between each. Not going to do that next time, I don't think it works.

low incline paused db bench, just 1 hole above flat. This uses my pecs more, which have a recruitment problem with flat bench.

70x3x12
supersetted with:

Hammer Low row, same TUT as last week. I really like these. 45 seconds between each movement.
2 45's+25+5+2.5
3x10

Cable Crossovers, 3/0/3/0
3 sets of 12
supersetted with:
1 arm db shrugs
90x3x15

Didn't have time for a circuit tonight. Did 3 sets of hanging pikes.

This method is really efficient for size gains. My upper body has grown a lot in barely 3 weeks, already outgrowing t shirts. I am only on 12x bodyweight calories per day and I am still gaining. It is also possible that the anabolic diet is just working really well for me. Not sure what the next phase will hold in store or how much longer this one will last. I want to do some high incline or paused incline work and keep working on that press. I want to increase conditioning and improve body comp. After this I am thinking of a speed strength and isometric phase for 2 to 3 weeks and then another similar phase to what I am running now. This is essentially what I have done and it works really well. The total progression is 9 to 12 weeks, but who knows, this could all change if I figure out something is better. I am learning in each phase what type of response and sequence is working well for which bodypart. For example, there is no way that I can train tri's anything like bi's or shoulders. Same with traps/upper back and hamstring strength.
 

ktw

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Best of luck
Thanks I guess. This log isn't over and will be ever evolving.

Did a 13 mile mountain bike ride tonight. Went well, but mountain biking in the dark is risky ****.
 

ktw

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Today was kinda bad. Warming up I immediately felt some dull pain in my shoulders. Turns out my front delts were still sore from all the inclines

Push Press
135x5
160x5
175x3
185x3
205x2
215x1
225x1 PR. Not sure how I would've done without the soreness. Haven't done these in two years.

Seated DB Shoulder Press
3 sets for 45 seconds total time, had to go way down in weight because of the soreness

Front raises
20x10, 3/0/3/0 no rest then
Leaning lateral raises
20x10, less tempo no rest then
reverse pec deck
80x12

3 times through

Stability ball neck bridges
3 sets of 8, 3 second pause at contraction, 45 seconds rest between sets

stability ball planks
3 sets of 30 seconds, 30 seconds rest

stability ball crunches
3 sets of 12 holding 30's in a locked out position the entire time, 30 seconds rest.
 

ktw

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Arm day today

20 minute time limit (EDT style), alternating sets between JM Press and BB curls. On the curls did 3/0/3/0 and on the JM's it was 3/1/1/0

I did 4 sets of 6 JM's at 175, 4 sets of 6 curls then did 4 sets of 4 JM's at 185 and 4 sets of 4 curls at 95.

Doesn't sound hard as the weights aren't high, but the TUT is pretty high.

Flat bar preacher curls
65 for 3 sets of 60 seconds total TUT, same tempo as above
supersetted with 45 seconds rest with
Skull crushers, elbows in
75 for 3 sets of 60 seconds total TUT, same tempo as above

Seated Scott curls, same tempo as above
3 sets of 60 seconds TUT
supersetted with
rope pressdowns, same tempo as above
3 sets of 60 seconds TUT

Concentration curls
2 sets of 15, no rest supersetted with
2 sets of 15 on diamond pushups.

These were just to help in recovery, very very easy. I used to do something simple like this at the end of my workouts when I did WSBB type templates and it helped a lot.
 

ktw

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Sticking with Poliquin's rule about changing programming every 25 days, I will start something new on Monday. I have decided on a fat loss phase. 2 heavy days a week, 2 lactic acid focused workouts (basically circuit style like Poliquins German body comp). 1 heavy day will be chest, back and push press, the other is lower body. I will try this for 3 or 4 weeks and see how it works. I have been doing stuff for mass gain since December so I figured it was time to switch it up a bit. After this fat loss phase I will do another mass phase, but I've made some mistakes that I need to learn from:

1. I was not doing enough volume with this frequency for all my body parts. The goal next time is 16 sets per session.
2. I need to stop randomly introducing special techniques, like I did with the density training today and the circuits earlier this week. This is way too inconsistent and stupid. For lower body, this was a waste of a training cycle because I kept coming up with different things to do.
3. I need to stop focusing on rep numbers and more on total TUT.
4. I need more squat volume. It just sucks not having all the bars and chains like I used to.
 

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