Basso's "A"mazing Transformation Log

[Basso]

Aug 8

Diet: Right on track, yesterday I hit 55/20/25 and today I'm going to come out pretty close to the same at around 2800cals. Feel good, lots of energy, all carbs are Oats, milk and incidentals (veggies, meat etc) I'm feeling optimistic about going this route and will give it at least the next 2 weeks before doing anything more drastic.

W/O: Legs and Back
Squats: 455x3,4,3
Hammer single leg curls: 60x10, 80x8,8
SLDL: 225x10x2
T-Bar rows: 125x10,10, 170x8
Seated Cable rows: 120x12x3
Cable crunches: Stack+ 15,12,10
45 Hypers: 10x3
Hanging leg lifts: 15x2
Cardio: Bike 10min @ 125bpm (just to loosen up the legs)

Felt really good in the gym today, I really held back on the squats, every set I felt like I had 5 in me but the combination of no spotter and the scare I had with my knee Fri I just kept them very slow, controlled and of course very deep. I'm diggin this routine so far, we'll see if I'm still singing in a couple days!

Until tomorrow
Basso Out

[Basso]

Aug 9

Diet: Once again another good day some of my meals got postponed due to work and I ended up working late so I'll be eating my 7pm meal around 9pm and won't get my last meal in. So cals will be closer to 2500 today which is fine with me. Ratios are the same as the past 2 days and I feel like I'm tightening up, when I hit the carbs Sat it will feel good to get some vascularity back though!

W/O: Upper body
Standing Military Press: 135x10, 165x8x4, 135x10
DB Flat fly's: 80x8x3 TUT
Cybex fly's: 10x2
Close Grip Bench: 225x6, 275x6, 225x8x2
Push Downs: 10x3
DB french press: 30x15x2
DB Curls: 50x10x3
HammerStrength curls: 95x10, 70x10 TUT

Felt really good, worked more towards muscle exhaustion with a lot of TUT reps throughout. Really good pumps and felt great for getting in the gym much later then normal! I'm going to try to get in tomorrow because I have to work Fri Night and I'm not sure I'll have time to hit the gym.

Until Tomorrow
Basso Out

[Basso]

Aug 10

Diet: I felt really flat today so at lunch I decided to add some carbs, I had a yoghurt and a slice of WWBread, started feeling much better, few veins started poppin'. Got home on my way to the gym and realized I had forgot my USP Beta CEE, I was also craving something sweet, so I popped the CEE and mixed up 1/2C of Dex with 2 servings of On for a pre/during W/O drink, so today the carbs will hit around 200 but I'm glad I did it as you will see. I ended the day with 3200 cals @ 53/24/24

W/O: 4th day in a row, do I want to DL or just hit back and light legs, I couldn't decide and I was thinking about it all day, my legs were still sore from Tuesday and I was a little beat. After I sipped on the Dex on the way to the gym I decided what the heck I'll pull some warm ups and see how it goes, needless to say I was very pleased that I DLed today.

LOWER BODY:
DL: 495x5 (not a PR but the most reps I've gotten in a long time)
Speed Squat(light bands) 135x15, 225x10x2 (1 sec pause at bottom)
Leg extensions(Cybex): Stackx6, lowering weights x10x3
BB Rows: 225x10x3
DB Rows: 150x8x2
Pull Downs: 4 sets 4sec TUT progressively lighter 10-15reps each
HammerStrength pull down: Single arm 90x10x2, 70x10x2
Pull Ups(BW): 10, 8
Standing Cable crunches: 15,12,12,10

I did a lot of warm up sets for DL so I was in the gym for a good 1.5 hours but I was feelin' it today and knowing that tomorrow is a day off I went for it. I always look down and try to stay focused and not pay any attention to what's going on during my w/o (thank you iPod) but when I finished my set of 5 on deads, the whole gym was watching, I think I may have been grunting a little loud, sorry I know that bothers some of you

[Basso]

Aug 11

Cardio: Bike 30min @ 120bpm

Cardio is a bit tougher without a w/o in front of it, took me 6 min to get to 120bpm, sprinting and hammering then it kept dropping so I had to sprint to get it back up but it went well. It's time to start increasing the cardio to at least 4-5 times a week 30-45min is my plan for now!

Today is my last day of the USPlabs beta test so I'm thinking about doing a light run of something for the last 3 weeks, here is what I'm thinking I would love to hear some input on what you guys think would work the best for my diet/w/o/cut etc.
mtrn/zol (4/150)
MegaH (50)
I have some pp/sd stashes also but don't think they would do as well on a cut, any suggestions? I may just wait till next month as originally planned but I'm toying with the idea.

[Basso]

Aug 12

Diet: Completely forgot to carb-up, I was so focused on my w/o etc I just went through the morning out of habit, so today is looking like the rest of this past week, around 60/20/20. I'm feeling really good though and I may refeed tomorrow.

W/O: Upper body
BenchPress:
2 boards: 365x4x3
No boards: 315x4
Incline DB: 120's x5x3
Decline HammerStrength press: 6platesx7, 8platesx10,6
Seated Military: 135x6, 185x5x3
Straight bar Curls: 95x10, 115x8, 135x8,7
Alt DB curls: 70sx5x3
Pushdowns/db curls (ss): 115/40x15/12, 15/12, 15/10
HammerStrength curls: 115x8,7, 90x10
time: 1:35 hr

Power was not particularly good as I thought I would do better on the Bench, but overall strength and endurance was excellent, I didn't want to stop working out today! I was totally recovered from the last Upper day and I made an additional tweak, I'm going to try to hit Chest/Shoulders/Bis heavy, then the next upper day I'll only go heavy on Tris, the rest will be hypertrophy work. I'm really thinking that the USP trial I did was finally starting to kick in and I'm going to go ahead and finish the bottle (probably another week).

Measurements: Did BF% this morning and my 4 readings were as follows: 14.8, 14.8, 15.6, 16.1, I'm guessing 16% is probably close, I don't believe I've lost that much fat! But I was very light on the squeezes so who knows, all that matters is I still am carrying to much fat on my gut! But I'll take another 1% anyday of the week!

Until tomorrow
Basso Out

[david4zero8]

Nice progress Basso. A drop in BF is always a plus. Keep doing what you're doing.

[Basso]

About 11 weeks shown pics show 21%@245/18%@238/16%@233

Progress as of 13 Aug, 3 weeks to go don't think I'll see a 6 pack but I'm sure going to try!

[Basso]

Aug 13

Duplicated last Fri, 2nd rep of warm-up set with 315, pain in left knee. I was pissed, I felt good and was really looking forward to squats, I tried to work it out but couldn't squat 135! I did mostly hams and then some light back, I didn't log anything because I was so upset, man I don't need an injury like this now! Screw this Day!

[Ziricote]

Aug 13

Duplicated last Fri, 2nd rep of warm-up set with 315, pain in left knee. I was pissed, I felt good and was really looking forward to squats, I tried to work it out but couldn't squat 135! I did mostly hams and then some light back, I didn't log anything because I was so upset, man I don't need an injury like this now! Screw this Day!

That sucks, at least you're looking leaner.

[david4zero8]

Aug 13

Duplicated last Fri, 2nd rep of warm-up set with 315, pain in left knee. I was pissed, I felt good and was really looking forward to squats, I tried to work it out but couldn't squat 135! I did mostly hams and then some light back, I didn't log anything because I was so upset, man I don't need an injury like this now! Screw this Day!

Basso man, keep your head up! Your progress is great. You'll come back stronger next workout.

[Basso]

Thanks guys, I'll live, I will probably stay very light on the squats this week, I really need to be more careful and stay very slow and controlled, I think I may have sped up a bit because it was feeling so light and I was anxious to start putting weight on the bar. stupid...stupid...stupid

[Basso]

Aug 14 My misery continues!

Diet: Same ol, Same ol, low carb around 60/20/20, I plan on starting a carb up Sat afternoon through Sunday morning.

W/O Upper Body (less then 1 min between each set, slow controlled Not Speed)
Bench: 275x8,6
Incline Flies: 75x10,10
Incline DB press: 100x8,6
Arnold presses: 65x7,6 (used a flat bench, had trouble with balance, pulled muscle in upper center of back)
Pressing on through the pain
Seated lateral raises: 30x12,12
Seated front raises: 30x10,10
DB Skull crushers (hammer grip): 50x10,9
Pushdowns: 125x12,12
Cable french curl (non stop sets): 4x10/2x10
DB french curls (non stop sets): 30x12/30x8
DB Curls: 60x10,8 45x10,10
Cable curls (cambered bar) x15

I'm so friggen pumped I can't touch my face, 30min later I'm here writing this and my shoulders are killing me! Other then the back pull it was a great w/o. The next 2 days I'm going to try and walk pass the weights to the cardio machines, I need all my little injuries to heal, 4 days straight is not going to work, I need to stick to 2on 1off 2on.

Basso Out

[Basso]

Aug 15

Diet: Looks like 60/20/20 @2200 cals for the day, yeh it's low but no Weights today and like I said these last 3 weeks are for real!

Goal: My original goal of 12-15% BF is well within reach, Sun I was at the most 16% so I really think 12% is doable by 1Sep, just...need...to...stay...focu sed!

W/O: Cardio: Elliptical 30min@120bpm, Bike 15min@120bpm, yeh that's right I got off the bike for 30min and I actually did 45min of cardio today. I think I'll sleep tonight!

Well being: Other than being a little depressed about my last 2 w/o's and injuries I feel great, I didn't get much sleep due to the pain in my lower neck/upper back, and it was painful all day. But it's loosened up quite a bit and I think I'll at least be lifting light after another day of cardio tomorrow. Knee feels great and I'll keep it light this week to test it, I may forgo heavy squats for the next couple weeks just to be safe.

Supps: I think I've made my mind up to just throw MeltingPoint/BasicCuts in the mix for the last 2 weeks, I may start tomorrow. So keeping this cut clean for the next few weeks.

Plan: 2on 1off 2on until 1Sep, 45min cardio on off days and at least 20min on w/o days. It's Basso Time now, I'm not playin anymore, I want to see some real results!!! "insert witty cliche here"

Until tomorrow
Basso Out

[Basso]

Aug 16

Another very low carb day and I'm feeling it, only made it 30min on the cardio, I'm adding some carbs tomorrow!! Neck is still hurting so squats may be out, we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow.

Basso Out

[peterson24]

As with all injuries, tread lightly. You don't want to go making it worse and setting you back further. I haven't squated heavy in a while because I am trying to get things resolved with my lower back. Saw the Doc today and he is sending me to a physical therapist to assess my core strength. He thinks since I let my injury go I may of developed an imbalance in strength due to compensation from my stronger side that I am not realizing. Therefore, prolonging my injury for the past 5 years. I may be pulling back quite a bit for the next month depending on the assessment. Now I wish I would of not tried to "fight through it" all these years and just did what I had to do to heal it.

[Basso]

Aug 17

Peterson don't worry I know when to walk away from the gym, I just hate doing it! So I finally made it back today, both yesterday and today my cals were around 3000, I raised my carbs up to around 200gs today.

W/O: Lower
Due to my Neck/back injury I really couldn't push extremely hard, I also wanted to avoid squats to ensure my knee is ok, so everything I did today was slow controlled and almost TUT, around 3sec reps.

All machines used were Cycrap (I mean Cybex)

Leg Press: 300x15, 400x15, 500x15x3
Leg Extensions: 210x12x3
Leg Curls: 130x12,10, 90x12
Cable rows: 10x12, 14x12,10, 12x12
DB Rows: 100x10x3
Single Arm Cable row: From top x10, From below x10
Seated Calf raises: 145x10x3
Leg Press Calf raises: 350x10, 500x8,8

Had to run to the gym during lunch so it was restricted (time) but my legs were seriously pumped doing those slow reps. My knee felt great, but my neck is still hurting although it's getting better. I'm going on a MTB trip on Sat and right now I can't look up when I'm on the bike so I'm gonna be pissed if I can't ride by Sat!! Tomorrow another light day upper body, probably drop shoulders and just hit chest and arms.

Basso Out

[Basso]

Aug 18

Diet: Same ol, same ol. Next week I'm going to do 6 days of 50/10/40 then Sun will be a carb up and then carb deplete again for a few days. I felt pretty tight today, and had alot more vascularity then I've had in probably 10 yrs! Still not at my goal but I'm starting to see signs of real advancement!

W/O Upper
Once again I was very careful to not go to failure, kept every lift under strict control, slow but not TUT slow.

Hammer Strength Press: 4platesX10, 6platesx6, 6plates+25sx6, 8platesx10, 10platesx6,6, 8platesx8
Incline HS: 6platesx10,7, 4plates+25sx7, 4platesx9,9
Bench Press: 225x8x3
Cable CrossOvers: 8x10, 6x10, 4x10
HS Dips: 200x12, 290x8, 200x15x2
Rope push-downs: 12x12,12,16
DB curls: 40x10x3
HS curls: 90x10,9,9
Cardio: Elliptical 15min@120bpm

Felt great today, neck is much better but still had to be very careful, this will be another week or two before it's fully healed (happens at least once a year, old Football injury). Tomorrow MTB trip, should be fun, probably will be hitting some high Heart rates but not sustained, I just ate 4 nicely sized AI cookies and will eat a Cliff bar tomorrow then it's back to low carbs!

2 Weeks=12%BF or bust
Basso Out

[sailor]

Keep up the good work man. You have def. made some great progress. I'm in the same boat as you, about to start a rough 6 week cut on sunday to try to get down to around 8%bf (at around 12% now I'd say). I'll prob start a log. Look forward to watching your progress.
sailor

[Basso]

Keep up the good work man. You have def. made some great progress. I'm in the same boat as you, about to start a rough 6 week cut on sunday to try to get down to around 8%bf (at around 12% now I'd say). I'll prob start a log. Look forward to watching your progress.
sailor

Thanks Sailor and good luck to you, that 12-8 is a lot harder then 20-12 but you know that!! Any specific diet plans yet? Always interested to here one's strategy since I still have a long way to go.

[Basso]

Aug 20

Diet: Pretty screwed up yesterday, but back on track today, tomorrow it's time to get extreme, got my groceries set for the week and chicken is pre cooked and ready to go!

W/O
Aug 19: MTB about 3 hours off and on, nice ride some extreme climbs and down hills (man I'm getting to old for that crap)

Aug 20:
Squats: Nope I warmed up very slowly and I could feel my knee at 275lbs so I definitely need to lay off squats for awhile, I'll DL next lower day though
Leg Press: 400x12x5 (TUT 6 sec) Man that hurt
Leg extensions: 150x12x3 TUT
Single leg curls: 60x10x1
SLDL: 245x10, 335x8x2
BB Rows: 245X10x3
DB Rows: 150x8x2
HammerStrength Rows: 230x10, 320x8, 230x10
Pullups: BWx8,6
Cable Crunches SS Pull throughs: 3 sets x15/15
Cardio: Elliptical 20min @120bpm

Felt really, realy weak but I felt good, w/o wasn't to bad I just need to come to terms with not being able to squat, it's like I'm missing a part of me Tomorrow upper body, will be staying fairly light since I'll be carb depleting and only taking in about 2200cals a day!

Basso Out