Building Back Up

Chest is big!!! Yeah no reason to do 15 reps on squats, or DL, I would stick in the 5-10 range on them. Just work your way up in that range for a little bit by increasing load or reps as you go. It will be more strength focused than the 10-15 rep range anyway.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Took some measurements after my workout and eating for fun...

Chest (relaxed) 49.5"
Biceps (flexed) 15.5"
Waist (around navel) 38.5"
Quad (flexed) 24"

As you can see, I have some work to do on that bicep and waist! 😆

I'll take better measurements on the morning, not after just eating 4 bagels, 2 if which with sausage, egg, cheese and cream cheese, and no pump.
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Update here: after waking and only having a cup of water...

Chest (relaxed) 48"
Waist (around navel) 39"

So not as good as yesterday, but this time I let my gut completely hang as opposed to the normal mild "bracing" I do. I'll measure arm and quads later.
 
Remeasured bicep...still 15.5"
Quad 23.5"

So, I have some work to do, but at least my chest/lat size gives a nice illusion.

Otherwise, took the family for a planned 2 mile hike yesterday...ended up being at least 5 miles because I've never been there before and map vs. terrain was less than accurate 😆
 
GreenMachineX said:
Remeasured bicep...still 15.5"
Quad 23.5"

So, I have some work to do, but at least my chest/lat size gives a nice illusion.

Otherwise, took the family for a planned 2 mile hike yesterday...ended up being at least 5 miles because I've never been there before and map vs. terrain was less than accurate 😆
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Oh I bet they loved that you were navigating that. "DAD?!?!?! I thought you said 2 miles, we have been out here forever!!!!"
 
GreenMachineX said:
Remeasured bicep...still 15.5"
Quad 23.5"

So, I have some work to do, but at least my chest/lat size gives a nice illusion.
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out of dips, cgbp, extensions, skull crushers, and every other tricep movement I can think of I feel like the rope trice extensions at high volume (sets of 15-20+ for as 3-5 sets ) has been the greatest hypertrophy trigger for my arms. the seated incline db curls I think challenge the bicep bulge nicely but building those triceps is definitely filling out the sleeves.
 
Kcal Yesterday: 2575

Today Weight: 224.6

Standing OHP 4 x 10/10/8/6 x 120
CG Bench 4 x 10/10/10/8 x 120
Skullcrushers 4 x 8/8/6/6 x 50
DB Lateral Raise 4 x 10 x 10's
Incline Cable Crossover 3 x 10 x 10

4:30am workout got me again. But, I was sleeping well until my alarm woke me up; only one wake up at 3am. My plan is to keep my kcal about 2500 and about 250 CHO to see if that enables me to sleep well and still lose fat. Also backing my weights down to really concentrate on form on everything which might be why my rep counts tanked like that at the end.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Kcal Yesterday: 2575

Today Weight: 224.6

Standing OHP 4 x 10/10/8/6 x 120
CG Bench 4 x 10/10/10/8 x 120
Skullcrushers 4 x 8/8/6/6 x 50
DB Lateral Raise 4 x 10 x 10's
Incline Cable Crossover 3 x 10 x 10

4:30am workout got me again. But, I was sleeping well until my alarm woke me up; only one wake up at 3am. My plan is to keep my kcal about 2500 and about 250 CHO to see if that enables me to sleep well and still lose fat. Also backing my weights down to really concentrate on form on everything which might be why my rep counts tanked like that at the end.
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I think this is a smart decision. Of course, give your body some time to adjust to the nutritional changes before assuming something that happens in the beginning of the adjustment will continue. In your situation you are going to have to be willing to take a couple hits to adjust to things since your system is so sensitive and responds so differently in many situations.
 
MrKleen73 said:
I think this is a smart decision. Of course, give your body some time to adjust to the nutritional changes before assuming something that happens in the beginning of the adjustment will continue. In your situation you are going to have to be willing to take a couple hits to adjust to things since your system is so sensitive and responds so differently in many situations.
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Good call. Thanks.
 
Update: rescheduled my procedure for August 7th, so I'll have plenty of more time to start "practicing" fasting and taper my lunesta more.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight: 225

Deadlift 3x315, 3x335, 3x355
Double Hand Cable Row 8x100, 2x6x110
Reverse Pec Deck 4 x 8 x 30
Cable Shrug 3 x 10 x 100
Incline DB Curl 3 x 8/8/6 x 25's

Not a bad workout. I'm loving the Cable rows and I think it's showing a weakness they I've been neglecting, just like my weak rear delts. Read an article the other day talking about how many of us are doing pull ups wrong and just working our teres major like crazy, missing the lats almost completely. I think I've been in this camp.

Considering doing some pull ups at lunch.
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Weight: 223.4

Deadlift 3x315, 3x345, 3x375
Double Handed Cable Row 12x85, 2x10x100, 8x120
DB Shrugs 10x50, 10x60, 10x70, 8x70
Reverse Pec Deck 3 x 10/10/12 x 30
Neutral Grip Pullups 2 x 3 x BW
DB Curl 8x30, 6x30, 2 x 6 x 25's

Rekt by the end here. I'll be interesting to see how I sleep tonight as such. I'll go for 2600kcal today.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Deadlift 3x315, 3x345, 3x375
Double Handed Cable Row 12x85, 2x10x100, 8x120
DB Shrugs 10x50, 10x60, 10x70, 8x70
Reverse Pec Deck 3 x 10/10/12 x 30
Neutral Grip Pullups 2 x 3 x BW
DB Curl 8x30, 6x30, 2 x 6 x 25's
Click to expand...

I really love that session for a strength + hypertrophy setup. solid deads, great additional backwork. don't get a pulled lat flexing in the mirror later, you won't be able to wipe for a week 😅💪
 
Dustin07 said:
I really love that session for a strength + hypertrophy setup. solid deads, great additional backwork. don't get a pulled lat flexing in the mirror later, you won't be able to wipe for a week 😅💪
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Lol
Yeah, my focus is basically hypertrophy for all upper now, and strength for lower, except reps for pull ups.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight: 223.6

Bench 4 x 8/6/6/5 x 210
Incline CG Hammer Press 4 x 8/8/8/8 x 120
EZ Upright Row 3 x 10 x 50
DB Lateral Raise Left Arm 1 set 8 x 8lb
Hammer Grip Machine OHP 3 x 10/10/8 x 70
OH Triceps Extension 3 x 8 x 27.5

Another bad workout overall. Ugh. And miscalculated my Bench work, so I meant to do 200 for 4 sets of 10, but put 210 on there by accident and didn't realize until after failing the last set. Argh. Even so, that rep count is the same as when I was doing 225 before the week off. I just don't understand.
Sleep has been suffering a bit even with lunesta, stuck awake after 6 hours with a couple wakeups during the 6.
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Weight: 222

Bench 4 x 10/8/6/6 x 200
Incline CG Hammer 4 x 10 x 130
EZ Upright Row 3 x 12/12/8 (+4 cheated) x 50
Natural Grip Machine OHP 3 x 6 x 100
OH Triceps Extension 3 x 8/10/9 x 25

Bench drowning... 😔
Maybe not eating enough carbs since my weight is still moving down. I don't know...quite frustrated again.
 
Question for yall...

Considering switching close grip bench for dips for a couple reasons like better triceps involvement like @MrKleen73 said, but something else I've noticed with dips is the front and Lateral delt involvement, whereas cg bench has minimal (that I personally feel). But when I put my arm in the bottom position of where a dip would be, my Lateral delt is hard as a rock. Maybe some additional delt stimulation here?

When I think back to when I first started working out after a 4 year layoff back in 2013 or something, all I did in the beginning was dips and neutral grip pullups, and everything grew nicely (except traps). Maybe I was onto something...
 
Unsure about the activation, particularly on dips how far of a lean you do on it will change how it feels though. I tend to do both exercises, but tbh a break on CGBP sometimes would probably put less strain on the wrists.
 
I do dips on occasion still, but when I was doing them more frequently, either at just body weight, or weighted dips with 50-90lbs tied to my manhood my bench did not progress nearly as much as it has since replacing dips with CGBP, more tri extension movements, and somewhat more thought benching progression itself


I do like them, I just never saw a good carry over from them compared to whatever I'm doing now.


I'm also getting more insane tricep pumps from rope extensions and skull crushers so that's one thing that draws me to the cables even though I normally do not prefer cable movements
 
Dustin07 said:
I do dips on occasion still, but when I was doing them more frequently, either at just body weight, or weighted dips with 50-90lbs tied to my manhood my bench did not progress nearly as much as it has since replacing dips with CGBP, more tri extension movements, and somewhat more thought benching progression itself


I do like them, I just never saw a good carry over from them compared to whatever I'm doing now.


I'm also getting more insane tricep pumps from rope extensions and skull crushers so that's one thing that draws me to the cables even though I normally do not prefer cable movements
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I can definitely see where CGBP would assist with benching more. Specificity matters. Yeah isolation style triceps movements are amazing for pumps and hard contractions too. When I could do them while pushing bench the CGBP helped for sure, but I get just as much stimulus for growth, if not more from dips, and just enjoy them more.
 
If you suspect it works for you, that’s a good enough reason to put your trust in it for a while. Worse case, 6 weeks from now you take them back out, but if you train them hard there’s no way dips are going to make you particularly small or weak overall.
 
Hyde said:
If you suspect it works for you, that’s a good enough reason to put your trust in it for a while. Worse case, 6 weeks from now you take them back out, but if you train them hard there’s no way dips are going to make you particularly small or weak overall.
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Good call. Thanks.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Squat 5x235, 3x255, 3x275, 3x285
Pullups 4 sets of 2
Double Arm Cable Rows 2 x 8 x 85
BB Shrugs 12x135, 3x5x185
Reverse Pec Deck 3 x 12/10/15 x 25
Incline DB Curl 4 x 8/8/8/6 x 25's

Going to start increasing volume overall. 8-12 sets per body part per week, except squats and DL (4 work sets each). No more 531...gonna go back to more volume but minimal amraps.
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Weight 223

Squat 5x225, 3x275, 3x285, 3x295, 3x305
Pullup 4 x 3 x BW
Double Arm Cable Row 8x85, 8x100
BB Shrug 12x135, 3 x 6 x 185
Reverse Peck Deck 4 x 10 x 35
Incline DB Curl 4 x 8/6/6/6 x 25's

@Dustin07 I'm coming after ya! Lol
Everything progressing here except Curls. So, bench and curls going down, everything else going up. Makes sense 😆
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight 223

Squat 5x225, 3x275, 3x285, 3x295, 3x305
Pullup 4 x 3 x BW
Double Arm Cable Row 8x85, 8x100
BB Shrug 12x135, 3 x 6 x 185
Reverse Peck Deck 4 x 10 x 35
Incline DB Curl 4 x 8/6/6/6 x 25's

@Dustin07 I'm coming after ya! Lol
Everything progressing here except Curls. So, bench and curls going down, everything else going up. Makes sense
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Your arm muscles just sunk down into your leg muscles is all
 
No PEM 2 days in row! Firmly believe now it was all connected to kcal/carbs intake as that was the only difference, especially since I trained hard yesterday, 3 Mile difficult hike and played warzone 2 and crypto for hours last night, but ate a massive meal at a Mexican restaurant 😆
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight 223

Squat 5x225, 3x275, 3x285, 3x295, 3x305
Pullup 4 x 3 x BW
Double Arm Cable Row 8x85, 8x100
BB Shrug 12x135, 3 x 6 x 185
Reverse Peck Deck 4 x 10 x 35
Incline DB Curl 4 x 8/6/6/6 x 25's

@Dustin07 I'm coming after ya! Lol
Everything progressing here except Curls. So, bench and curls going down, everything else going up. Makes sense
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Solid session!! Funny thing is I was thinking about you during my deadlift session today

If anyone ever tries to size you up by asking how much you curl just throw him on your back and squat him twenty times.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Kcal Yesterday: 2575

Today Weight: 224.6

Standing OHP 4 x 10/10/8/6 x 120
CG Bench 4 x 10/10/10/8 x 120
Skullcrushers 4 x 8/8/6/6 x 50
DB Lateral Raise 4 x 10 x 10's
Incline Cable Crossover 3 x 10 x 10

4:30am workout got me again. But, I was sleeping well until my alarm woke me up; only one wake up at 3am. My plan is to keep my kcal about 2500 and about 250 CHO to see if that enables me to sleep well and still lose fat. Also backing my weights down to really concentrate on form on everything which might be why my rep counts tanked like that at the end.
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Weight: 221.8

Woke up at 224 yesterday from the massive Mexican meal on Saturday, but still woke up 2 pounds lighter from skipping breakfast yesterday. I need to employ this tactic more often for damage control lol.

Standing OHP 4 x 10/10/10/9 x 115
CG Bench 4 x 10 x 115
Incline Cable Fly 3 x 8/8/10 x 15
DB Lateral Raise 3 x 10 x 12's (+1 left arm)
Skullcrushers 4 x 10/10/8/7 x 50
 
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Sounds like the fasting seems to be going well. It is a nice hack for those of us who are better at extreme discipline in short bursts but also enjoy calorie dense foods and meals.
 
MrKleen73 said:
Sounds like the fasting seems to be going well. It is a nice hack for those of us who are better at extreme discipline in short bursts but also enjoy calorie dense foods and meals.
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Yeah, true. To get the most benefits though, I may need to workout every other day and fast in-between. We'll see. Vacation next week so I won't be doing much productive except getting my minimum protein in.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight: 223.4

Deadlift 3x315, 3x345, 3x375
Double Handed Cable Row 12x85, 2x10x100, 8x120
DB Shrugs 10x50, 10x60, 10x70, 8x70
Reverse Pec Deck 3 x 10/10/12 x 30
Neutral Grip Pullups 2 x 3 x BW
DB Curl 8x30, 6x30, 2 x 6 x 25's

Rekt by the end here. I'll be interesting to see how I sleep tonight as such. I'll go for 2600kcal today.
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Deadlift 3x315, 3x365, 3x385, 3x315
Double Handed Cable Row 10x100, 3 x 8 x 120
Reverse Pec Deck 3 x 12/12/15 x 35
Neutral Grip SS* Pullup 2 x 3 x BW
Cable Shrugs SS* 3 x 12/12/15 x 85
DB Curls 3 x whatever


*SS means super slow with 2 second pauses at top and bottom.

I think that 3x385 DL is a post-Covid PR. Don't feel like looking back through my notes at all the amraps, but I do know it wasn't as taxing as the last time I did that weight.

I hate Curls.
 
I get it, I think everyone does... I'm trying hard to find ways to fall in love with some sort of curls to build that bicep peak, it's by far my worst weakness, but they can be a bit boring...
 
Dustin07 said:
I get it, I think everyone does... I'm trying hard to find ways to fall in love with some sort of curls to build that bicep peak, it's by far my worst weakness, but they can be a bit boring...
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Your worst weakness? Aren't you curling twice the amount I am per hand?! Lol
 
@Dustin07 you've said before you do LISS during your fasts...do you do that at the end of the fast or anytime? I'm attempting 16 hour again today, and doing LISS about 12 hours in, although I may attempt to push it to 18 or possibly even 20 hours.

Edit: Also, I actually felt worse after breaking the fast Sunday for a few hours. Ate 70g protein, 100g carbs and probably 25g fat. Was it the macros that did that, or does that happen to y'all to? Headache, lethargic, irritability, etc.
 
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GreenMachineX said:
@Dustin07 you've said before you do LISS during your fasts...do you do that at the end of the fast or anytime? I'm attempting 16 hour again today, and doing LISS about 12 hours in, although I may attempt to push it to 18 or possibly even 20 hours.

Edit: Also, I actually felt worse after breaking the fast Sunday for a few hours. Ate 70g protein, 100g carbs and probably 25g fat. Was it the macros that did that, or does that happen to y'all to? Headache, lethargic, irritability, etc.
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I have not had any headaches or anything from my fast breaking meal. If you overdo it or do it with hard to digest foods it can be a little uncomfortable for the gut after a longer fast. However, I have never had those as a result of breaking a fast myself.
 
GreenMachineX said:
@Dustin07 you've said before you do LISS during your fasts...do you do that at the end of the fast or anytime? I'm attempting 16 hour again today, and doing LISS about 12 hours in, although I may attempt to push it to 18 or possibly even 20 hours.

Edit: Also, I actually felt worse after breaking the fast Sunday for a few hours. Ate 70g protein, 100g carbs and probably 25g fat. Was it the macros that did that, or does that happen to y'all to? Headache, lethargic, irritability, etc.
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If you eat a big meal for yourself…it’s going to feel like you ate a big meal
 
GreenMachineX said:
Your worst weakness? Aren't you curling twice the amount I am per hand?! Lol
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Yeah but I have tried every method... high volume daily, or lower volume, heavy weight linearly progression type, etc. and I don't really grow the upper arms despite chest and shoulders being pretty large on my frame. people think my arms look much bigger and they fill out my sleeves well, but I assure you they don't measure impressively LOL

I typically run db curls at 35-45lbs per hand, hammer curls would be 40s to 60s per hand.
Lately to go easy on my elbow and try to just get the pump I've been running very light only 40-50lb ez bar curls for sets of 15 with an explosive up movement and a very slow concentric TUT style, it's giving me a great sensation.

GreenMachineX said:
@Dustin07 you've said before you do LISS during your fasts...do you do that at the end of the fast or anytime? I'm attempting 16 hour again today, and doing LISS about 12 hours in, although I may attempt to push it to 18 or possibly even 20 hours.

Edit: Also, I actually felt worse after breaking the fast Sunday for a few hours. Ate 70g protein, 100g carbs and probably 25g fat. Was it the macros that did that, or does that happen to y'all to? Headache, lethargic, irritability, etc.
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I don't recall experiencing any side effects when breaking fast other than overeating lol
In my mind, I wanted to wait a while into the fast for cardio, thinking that it would be more effective once i'm ketogenic. However now that I think about it, perhaps it doesn't matter and a little LISS could send you keto earlier in a fast.
 
GreenMachineX said:
@Dustin07 you've said before you do LISS during your fasts...do you do that at the end of the fast or anytime? I'm attempting 16 hour again today, and doing LISS about 12 hours in, although I may attempt to push it to 18 or possibly even 20 hours.

Edit: Also, I actually felt worse after breaking the fast Sunday for a few hours. Ate 70g protein, 100g carbs and probably 25g fat. Was it the macros that did that, or does that happen to y'all to? Headache, lethargic, irritability, etc.
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What was your water intake like?
 
Dustin07 said:
Yeah but I have tried every method... high volume daily, or lower volume, heavy weight linearly progression type, etc. and I don't really grow the upper arms despite chest and shoulders being pretty large on my frame. people think my arms look much bigger and they fill out my sleeves well, but I assure you they don't measure impressively LOL

I typically run db curls at 35-45lbs per hand, hammer curls would be 40s to 60s per hand.
Lately to go easy on my elbow and try to just get the pump I've been running very light only 40-50lb ez bar curls for sets of 15 with an explosive up movement and a very slow concentric TUT style, it's giving me a great sensation.



I don't recall experiencing any side effects when breaking fast other than overeating lol
In my mind, I wanted to wait a while into the fast for cardio, thinking that it would be more effective once i'm ketogenic. However now that I think about it, perhaps it doesn't matter and a little LISS could send you keto earlier in a fast.
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I hear ya. I was complaining about my arm size and addressing weaknesses and my wife said if my arms were much bigger, I'd look funny. I disagree, based on the chest/lat measurements I've shared before, but I'll take it lol.

akboom87 said:
What was your water intake like?
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Always 3-4L, never less. I'm quite religious about it.

Today I fasted until about 1pm from 6pm last night, so about 19 hours...felt a little off, but mood was good, low anxiety, but very impatient lol. I might do this every day that I don't workout in the morning. For example, eat at 5pm tonight, then fast until 11am tomorrow and break the fast with 50g between vegan protein and 44g HBCD/Carb10, then workout 30 minutes later.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Today I fasted until about 1pm from 6pm last night, so about 19 hours...felt a little off, but mood was good, low anxiety, but very impatient lol. I might do this every day that I don't workout in the morning. For example, eat at 5pm tonight, then fast until 11am tomorrow and break the fast with 50g between vegan protein and 44g HBCD/Carb10, then workout 30 minutes later.
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once or twice when i started fasting my wife said I was moody and blamed it on fasting. She could very well be right about that but once it was in my head, I found myself working harder to be more pleasant and happy on my fasts, without food. I think being mentally aware of that became the trick to success, so then the next challenge on very long fasts was the boredom that I mentioned without the food dopamine kick in the late afternoon/early evening.

I also did get Sabroxy from @sns8778 based upon the conversations here and with @Resolve10 so I honestly would expect that to also assist me early on in a fast should I be foggy or moody to be honest.
 
Dustin07 said:
I typically run db curls at 35-45lbs per hand, hammer curls would be 40s to 60s per hand.
Lately to go easy on my elbow and try to just get the pump I've been running very light only 40-50lb ez bar curls for sets of 15 with an explosive up movement and a very slow concentric TUT style, it's giving me a great sensation.
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I would do this for all of your curls. You don't need to get into the 5-8 reps on arms unless focusing on strength. You can stimulate arms so well without having to go into the heavier and lower reps. It just makes more sense to minimize the damage for arm work where hypertrophy is considered. Your biceps and triceps will get all the heavy weight work they need from your pressing and pulling. The direct arm work is just accessory work for volume and size accrual at that point. Just my $.02.
 
MrKleen73 said:
I would do this for all of your curls. You don't need to get into the 5-8 reps on arms unless focusing on strength. You can stimulate arms so well without having to go into the heavier and lower reps. It just makes more sense to minimize the damage for arm work where hypertrophy is considered. Your biceps and triceps will get all the heavy weight work they need from your pressing and pulling. The direct arm work is just accessory work for volume and size accrual at that point. Just my $.02.
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Maybe I'll do that too.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Maybe I'll do that too.
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Give it a shot in the 10-20 rep range and see how things respond after a couple months. I bet you see some new growth.
 
Well, creating a caloric deficit still results is very poor sleep. Ate 2336 kcal Yesterday, 200g pro, 67g fat and 224 cho, and woke up at least 5 times, and now feel like trash. Maybe I need to eat more during my feeding window? I do like the idea of fasting though. After that second meal, I was so full I couldn't fit any garbage food in even if I wanted to.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Well, creating a caloric deficit still results is very poor sleep. Ate 2336 kcal Yesterday, 200g pro, 67g fat and 224 cho, and woke up at least 5 times, and now feel like trash. Maybe I need to eat more during my feeding window? I do like the idea of fasting though. After that second meal, I was so full I couldn't fit any garbage food in even if I wanted to.
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Are you eating carbs before bed? That’s always helpful for sleeping a bit better.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight: 223.6

Bench 4 x 8/6/6/5 x 210
Incline CG Hammer Press 4 x 8/8/8/8 x 120
EZ Upright Row 3 x 10 x 50
DB Lateral Raise Left Arm 1 set 8 x 8lb
Hammer Grip Machine OHP 3 x 10/10/8 x 70
OH Triceps Extension 3 x 8 x 27.5

Another bad workout overall. Ugh. And miscalculated my Bench work, so I meant to do 200 for 4 sets of 10, but put 210 on there by accident and didn't realize until after failing the last set. Argh. Even so, that rep count is the same as when I was doing 225 before the week off. I just don't understand.
Sleep has been suffering a bit even with lunesta, stuck awake after 6 hours with a couple wakeups during the 6.
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Bench 4 x 8/8/7/6 x 205
Incline Cable Press 3 x 12 x 17.5's
EZ Upright Row 4 x 12 x 50
Cable OH Extensions 3 x 12 x 25
Neutral Grip Machine OHP 12x55, 10x70, 8x85

Upright rows getting better. Bench still garbage.


Is it possible to gain muscle without gaining any strength? Lol
 
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