Lean Bulk Log leading up to competition next May

[Dracob_]

Hello there AM,

I am going to be doing a lean bulking log and also my first log for about the next 8 months hoping to put on a little size before the prep for my very first competition in men's physique and I hope some of you will tune into it and hopefully for the long haul.

This will be a natty bulk so I don't expect to be making that many crazy gains, hopefully at least 10 lbs of lean mass.

A little background about myself;

I'm 21 years old and have about 9 ish months of weight lifting experience. I do extensive research every day about different aspects of nutrition and training so hopefully all of the knowledge I have gained an will continue to gain will show in this log.

My stats are as follows:

5' 10"
170 pounds
R arm: 15.33"
L arm: 15.33"
Chest: 42"
R quad: 23.5"
L quad: 23.5"
R calf: 16"
L calf: 16"
Waist: 29"

So hopefully I will be able to add to those numbers as much as possible while minimizing fat gain too.

Here are some pics to show you my progress so far.

The first pic is where I was before I started lifting consistently in January, second pic was June 17th after consistent working out and proper diet, the last 3 are what will be my starting point, these were taken in the last 2 days.

I will be doing (hopefully) daily logs that will include my workout for the days I do and also what I eat throughout the day.

Please tune in if you'd like to see my progress and if you have any questions about my training and/or nutrition feel free to ask!!

 

[Michael_scarn]

Nice progress already!

 

[santangalo]

Very nice progress!

 

[santangalo]

Hello there AM,

I am going to be doing a lean bulking log and also my first log for about the next 8 months hoping to put on a little size before the prep for my very first competition in men's physique and I hope some of you will tune into it and hopefully for the long haul.

This will be a natty bulk so I don't expect to be making that many crazy gains, hopefully at least 10 lbs of lean mass.

A little background about myself;

I'm 21 years old and have about 9 ish months of weight lifting experience. I do extensive research every day about different aspects of nutrition and training so hopefully all of the knowledge I have gained an will continue to gain will show in this log.

My stats are as follows:

5' 10"
170 pounds
R arm: 15.33"
L arm: 15.33"
Chest: 42"
R quad: 23.5"
L quad: 23.5"
R calf: 16"
L calf: 16"
Waist: 29"

So hopefully I will be able to add to those numbers as much as possible while minimizing fat gain too.

Here are some pics to show you my progress so far.

View attachment 150886

View attachment 150887

View attachment 150883

View attachment 150884

View attachment 150885

The first pic is where I was before I started lifting consistently in January, second pic was June 17th after consistent working out and proper diet, the last 3 are what will be my starting point, these were taken in the last 2 days.

I will be doing (hopefully) daily logs that will include my workout for the days I do and also what I eat throughout the day.

Please tune in if you'd like to see my progress and if you have any questions about my training and/or nutrition feel free to ask!!

What sups are you taking?
Whats your macro ratio like?

 

[Dracob_]

What sups are you taking?
Whats your macro ratio like?

I'm just using whey protein and mesomorph pre workout right now.

My macros are 160-200g of protein 300-400g of carbs and 60-80g of fat. I leave some wiggle room because it can be difficult to hit a specific number every day, but for the most part I will be in between all of those numbers.

 

[Dracob_]

First workout today: chest and tris

First a upper body dynamic warm up to warm up my rotator cuffs, I do this before every chest and shoulder workout.

My workout was also cut short because the gym closed early due to the holiday and I had to fit as much in as I could in 30 minutes.

Barbell bench: 4 sets
Warm up: 135x10
Working sets:
185x8
205x7
225x4

Incline dumbbell press
Working sets:
70x8
85x6
85x5

Incline cable flys
I don't know the weights, the machines I use only use 1-15 as the numbers

I did the number 6 for 3x8

Then triceps I did pushdowns on the 15 weight 3x8

Then I did tricep overhead extensions on 12 for 3x8

 

[hairygrandpa]

Following...

 

[Dracob_]

Today was a little weird as far as nutrition goes, I was at a 4th of July party for most of the evening.

My macros were:
161g of protein
312g of carbs
121g of fat

My girlfriends mom cooked us dinner and I also over indulged a little on the sweets so my fat intake was a little high. But I got in 3100 calories for the day.

My food went as follows:
Breakfast:
1 serving of kodiak cakes
1 Quaker chocolate rice cake
1 serving (2 tablespoons) of skippy natural peanut butter on the pancake and rice cake.
1 1/2 scoop of muscletech platinum whey

54.5g of protein
46.5g of carbs
24.5g of fat

Lunch:
1 1/2 scoop of protein
3 rice cakes

39g of protein
42g of carbs
5.2g of fat

This was my pre workout meal

Dinner:
1 full baked potato
2 servings of Kafka
1 serving of olive oil
1 serving (3 oz.) of chicken breast

46.1g of protein
32.7g of carbs
27.6g of fat

Snacks:

1 serving (3 tablespoons) of Kirkland trail mix
3 servings (2 tablespoons) of garlic hummus
3 chocolate chip cookies
3 brownies
4 servings of arak (alcohol)

21.1g of protein
191.3g of carbs
65.8g of fat

Like I said today's macros were a little weird because of the party, they will not look like this consistently going forward. So don't follow my snacks lol, tomorrow is back and bi's and I'll keep you updated on how that goes and my nutrition, have a good night everyone!!!

 

[Dracob_]

Day 2

So I'm in a predicament, I was going to wait until May for the first competition but I was told by one of my gym buddies that there is another one in my hometown in October and that I should compete in it as he thinks I'd place well, I'm in a bind as to whether I should do that one and lose out on some gains but also get the experience for competing then maybe go for a bigger one outside of my hometown next year after a bulking period if not that at least still the one in May. Anyone have any input on this? Should I do the one in October or keep the lean bulk going and only do the one in May?

Today's workout was back and biceps, this is my favorite workout.

For back I did 3 exercises and biceps I did 3 too and they were as follows;

Pull ups:
-Body weight for 8 reps
-Added a 30lb dumbbell for 8 reps
-Another set with the 30lbs added for 6 reps.

T-bar rows
1st set with 90 lbs for 8 reps
2 sets with 135 lbs for 6 reps

Single arm Plate loaded close grip rows
1 set with 3 plates for 8 reps
2 sets with 4 plates for 6 reps

On to biceps:

Standing alternating dumbbell curls
35lbs for 8 reps
40lbs for 7 reps
45lbs for 6 reps

Standing curls with ez bar
75lbs for 8 reps
95lbs for 8 reps
95lbs for 6 reps

Cable hammer curls with rope attachment

Again the machine I use only has 1-15 so I don't know the weight

Weight number 12 for 3 sets;
8 reps
8 reps
7 reps

 

[Dracob_]

Today's nutrition went as follows;

Breakfast:
2 packs of low sugar cinnamon and spice oatmeal
1 1/2 scoops of whey
1 serving of Kafka

66g of protein
56g of carbs
19.2g of fat

Lunch:
2 packs of low sugar apple and cinnamon oatmeal
2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites
1 serving of natural peanut butter

39g of protein
56g of carbs
30g of fat

Dinner:
1 6oz piece of Atlantic cod
1 banana
1 brownie for desert because my macros let me

31.5g of protein
83.3g of carbs
13.8g of fat

Snacks:
7 chocolate Quaker rice cakes spread throughout the day
3 at like 10:30am and 4 pre workout at around 4:50pm
3 scoops of whey spread throughout the day

79g of protein
96g of carbs
11.5g of fat

The totals for today were;

2660 calories
219g of protein
291g of carbs
75g of fat

I may eat something else before the night ends to up my calories a little but so far that's it.

Thank you to those who are following!!

 

[Wimsicle]

Great job logging man! I enjoy reading what you eat too so I don't get too stagnant. My macros are similar to yours

 

[Wimsicle]

What some of your favorite sites to read more on? Or podcasts? Always looking for more stuff to read while bored at work. Haha

 

[Dracob_]

What some of your favorite sites to read more on? Or podcasts? Always looking for more stuff to read while bored at work. Haha

Well I am a very visual learner so I watch a lot of YouTube videos in particular I really like guys such as Vitruvian Physique, Student Aesthetics, Jeff Nippard, and Rob Lipsett. I watch a lot of their videos as they are all backed by scientific research and I'm fairly certain they are all natty too (as you may know a lot of youtubers are not) so it's pretty easy to relate, implement and truly gain valuable knowledge from their content. So I'd recommend all of those guys and a lot of their videos are easy to just listen to and gain knowledge, like you don't have to watch them to get the message of the videos which would be nice for say a work situation where you can't have something playing out loud on speakers.

As far as things to read, I just google search stuff that comes to mind. I recommend a lot of reading in forums because I feel that they are very low BS because most of us aren't making money from supplement companies or anything like that so there's no need to lie about things like that and you can get a lot of very informative opinions about topics and you can also very easily form your own opinions on things because of the huge variety of information. I really like this forum, although I haven't been active on it for very long I have been reading through it for a few months now and there are some very intelligent people on here. Also Reddit is a really good forum that you can find valuable information on topics that I use.

I tend to stay away from things that aren't forums because although there may be truth to a lot that is said by say a sponsored website or athlete, it usually ends or somewhere in it they try to push a random supplement or some BS training method on you that doesn't work or the iterate common sense on you that you already know and tout it as some breakthrough in training/nutrition which is annoying.

Sorry for the long reply and hopefully I explained that in detail enough for you!!

 

[Dracob_]

Today's workout I hit shoulders

I've been having a lot of fun with shoulders lately and today was no different.

I added in behind the neck shoulder presses because I read it is an extremely effective shoulder exercise so long as you do proper form and do not have pre existing shoulder issues, they are great.

Workout:
Dynamic upper body movements to warm up the rotator cuffs.

Standing overhead press:
4 sets
Warm up:
Bar x 10 reps

Working sets:
135x8 reps
145x7 reps
155x4 reps

Behind the neck press on smith machine:

Working sets
105x8
155x4
125x7

Cable side lateral raises
15lbs x 12
20lbs x 8
25lbs x 6

Rear cable fly
130lbs x 8
150lbs x 8
170lbs x 6
(The weight is really light on this machine)

Dumbbell shrugs
70lbs x 12
75lbs x 12
110lbs x 8

Nutrition for today will follow after my last meal in about 30ish minutes

 

[Dracob_]

Today's workout I hit shoulders

I've been having a lot of fun with shoulders lately and today was no different.

I added in behind the neck shoulder presses because I read it is an extremely effective shoulder exercise so long as you do proper form and do not have pre existing shoulder issues, they are great.

Workout:
Dynamic upper body movements to warm up the rotator cuffs.

Standing overhead press:
4 sets
Warm up:
Bar x 10 reps

Working sets:
135x8 reps
145x7 reps
155x4 reps

Behind the neck press on smith machine:

Working sets
105x8
155x4
125x7

Cable side lateral raises
15lbs x 12
20lbs x 8
25lbs x 6

Rear cable fly
130lbs x 8
150lbs x 8
170lbs x 6
(The weight is really light on this machine)

Dumbbell shrugs
70lbs x 12
75lbs x 12
110lbs x 8

Nutrition for today will follow after my last meal in about 30ish minutes

 

[Dracob_]

I think I've come to a decision to stay lean bulking until come next May and go into my first show with hopefully much more size than now.

I also went grocery shopping today and got a lot more carbs because I feel like I'm having a hard time hitting my carb goals. I'll post a pic of what I got if you guys want to see what I got.

Anyway on to my nutrition.

For breakfast at 7:30 I had;
-2 packs of low sugar cinnamon and spice Quaker oatmeal
-1 chocolate Quaker rice cake with 1/2 a serving of skippy natural peanut butter

My snack at 10:30;
-1/2 cup of nature valley protein honey and oats granola
-1 1/2 scoops of muscletech 100% whey

Lunch at 12pm;
-2 whole eggs and 3 egg whites
-1 pack of regular apple and cinnamon Quaker oatmeal
-2 chocolate Quaker rice cakes

2nd snack at 3:00pm;
-1/2 cup of nature valley protein honey and oats granola with 1 serving of skippy natural peanut butter

Pre workout meal at 4:30pm;
-2 packs of regular apple and cinnamon Quaker oatmeal
-1 1/2 scoops of muscletech 100% whey

Dinner at 7:30pm;
-1 Jerusalem bakery white pita
-3 servings of hummus

2nd dinner (needed to come closer to macros) at 10:30pm;
-1 cup of oikos triple zero vanilla Greek yogurt

Total calories for today: 2,734
192g of protein
327g of carbs
78g of fat

If you would like to know my by meal macros I'll post those too just let me know, progress pic from the week will be posted next Tuesday for those following. I also will start keeping track of my weight every day and post that too, to see if my diet is working out and to keep you all more informed.

 

[Dracob_]

Hit some legs today and deadlifts

My workout went something like this;

Back barbell squats:
4 sets;
Warm up: 135x10

Working:
3 sets of 225x6

Deadlifts:
Warm up: 135x8

Working sets:
225x8
2 sets of 275x6

Leg extensions:
180x8
210x8
240x7

Hamstring curls:
100x8
120x7
140x6

Barbell glute hip thrusts:

135x9
225x8
2 sets of 275x6

I tweaked my back a little doing deadlifts any recommendations on form? I've never had this issue before but I felt my form was a little off this time, thinking about investing in a belt, maybe that will help. But for now I'll go lighter on the deads if my back is still tweaked by next leg day.

Nutrition to follow tonight.

 

[Dracob_]

I took some pics of me posing, the lighting is pretty bad and I think my tweaked back made my posture a little weird, cause I noticed during front lat spread and back lat spread one of my shoulders is noticeably higher than the other. Anyway as far as my men's physique posing goes, what do you guys think? And tips or tricks to help me out based on the photos? Anything will help

 

[Dracob_]

2nd back and bis workout today.

I'll be working chest and tris and back and bis two times a week cause I think those are my weak points. My workout also had to be cut short cause of some personal issues going on right now.

Weighted pull ups:
Body weight x 6 reps with 2 sec pause at top of rep

W/ 30 lb dumbbell added x 6 reps

W/ 35 lb dumbbell added x 5 reps

Close grip t-bar rows

90 lbs x 9 reps

2 sets of 135 lbs x 6 reps

Neutral grip plate loaded machine rows

90 lbs each side x 8 reps

135 each side x 6 reps

180 each side x 6 reps

Alternating standing Dumbbell curls

35 lbs x 10 reps each arm

45 lbs x 8 reps each arm

50 lbs x 4 reps
Dropset to 35's x 6 reps

Standing cable curls
1-15 weight settings idk the actual weight

12 x 10 reps

14 x 8 reps

14 x 6 reps

Thank you to those who are following I appreciate it!

 

[Dracob_]

Hey everyone sorry for the no post yesterday and no nutrition for the day before, been a rough weekend to say the least.

Anyway yesterday was second chest day and I went pretty low on reps between 3-5 on almost every exercise. And also hit a pr on flat barbell bench.

Chest:

Dynamic upper body warm up per usual

Flat barbell bench press:
Warm up:
135x10

Working sets:
205x8
225x5
235x3 (pr)

Incline dumbbell press:

70s x 6
80s x 5
90s x 5

Incline cable flys:
Weight settings are 1-15

Weight 5 x 8 reps
Weight 6 x 5 reps
Weight 6 x 4 reps

Triceps:

Pushdowns with rope:
1-15 weight settings

Weight 12 x 6 reps
Weight 14 x 4 reps
Weight 14 x 6 reps

Dumbbell skull crushers:

35s x 6 reps
40s x 6 reps
40s x 4 reps

Overhead cable tricep extensions with rope

Weight 10 x 8 reps
Weight 12 x 6 reps
Weight 12 x 6 reps

Today is my off day, so I'm just chilling all day. I'll update you on my nutrition later tonight

Also progress pic coming tomorrow

 

[Dracob_]

I didn't have much to eat today as I was pretty lazy all day and did want to go overboard on the eating.

Breakfast:

1 large banana

Lunch:

Chocolate brownie quest bar

Chicken pita from pita pit;
Chicken
Pepper jack cheese
Veggies
Chipotle sauce
Mustard
Secret sauce
On wheat pita bread

Snack:

Bobs red mills 7 grain pancake 1/2 a cup of mix with one whole egg and an egg white in the mix

Sugar free maple syrup

Dinner:

1 serving of 93% lean grass fed beef
1 white pita bread
4oz of Alaskan salmon
1 packet of Apple cinnamon Quaker super grains oatmeal

Total calories: 2110

Protein: 128g
Carbs: 272g
Fat: 64g

 

[Dracob_]

Alright so I’m back, sorry for the absence it has been a crazy last 6 months to say the least, anyway my prep started about two weeks ago and my comp is the first or second weekend of May, I will try to post about once a week with general training and diet info and progress photos but I don’t think I’ll be able to post more than that due to my schedule...if I find myself with some time I will definitely throw out some more informational posts about my prep for those who are interested. I have moved since last year that’s why the pics have different lighting and some were taken in the gym, I will try to be as consistent as possible with my photos in the future.

Anyway starting from where I was last June...at the end of my cut I was 164lbs and the most lean I have ever been, however after a week of vacation I shot up to 170 and that was my starting point for this bulk.

Me at 164lbs

Me at 170lbs

My bulk lasted until January and at the height of it I was weighing 187 lbs however this was not consistent, I stalled out at about 184 lbs come years end. Let me know what you all think of my progress if you can see any, I definitely made some strength gains so I’m hoping there was also some noticeable size gains.

Here is me at 187 lbs with a chest pump

And here is my consistent weight, starting point for my prep at 184 lbs

The goal for this prep is to come in slightly leaner than I was last year with hopefully a little bit more size at or within a pound or two of the same weight being 164 lbs.

I will be cutting for a long time as you can see and I am doing this because I want to try to minimize muscle loss as much as possible.
This will also be a natty cut, no performance enhancers whatsoever, besides my prescribed adhd medication if you consider that one.

Anyway if you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask and let me know I would love to hear from you all!!