The Swede's Transformation Log

General Update: Had a massive chest meal yesterday, just couldn’t help myself as my wife made bierocks. Oh my god! They were delicious! For those that are wondering what that is, the recipe that we follow is of East German decent and calls for beef, cheese and potatoes wrapped in pastry. You bake it for 40 minutes and eat it slight cooled. It’s kind of like a hot pocket, but better lol. I wish I had pick, but we were starving and ate them immediately.

Anyhow, there were tons of carbs in these and I weighed 224.4 this morning. I weighed 216 on the body scan scale at the gym back on New Years Eve. Granted these are different scales, but my wife and I both agreeing there’s been some considerable leaning out so I’m confident I will see less body fat and more muscle mass on my 30-ish day body scan.

That being said, I’m headed more to a keto carnivore diet as even just the smallest bit of carbs makes me crave more, and I’ve been less than consistent on my keto diet these past few weeks. It’s very frustrating to be honest, and if I could go back in time and do it over again I wouldn’t have taken this route, I would have instead focused on just staying consistent in the gym for the first 30-60 days and then started hammering away at the gym.

But it’s all about progress, not perfection right? I’m grateful just to be able to workout and try and eat better, and although I’m consuming/injecting substances that are considered harmful, I won’t be doing that forever. I have to admit though, I’m already eyeing a perfect blast once I can get myself down to 10% and want to focus on lean gains for a bit. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves lol! There’s still a lot of work to be done, and a lot of fat to burn!

Thanks to everybody that’s been following along and for your support! It’s truly appreciated!
 
Can’t wait to bring some good supps into your store man! We will have a nice lineup when the time comes. Looking forward to progress on the shop and the gains. Keep at bro! 💪🏻
 
[Backdated Workout] Legs - Monday, February 1, 2021 at 5:33 AM

Squat (Barbell)
Set 1: 185 lb × 7
Set 2: 185 lb × 6
Set 3: 185 lb × 6

Leg Press
Set 1: 360 lb × 12
Set 2: 360 lb × 12
Set 3: 360 lb × 12

Standing Calf Raise (Machine)
Set 1: 230 lb × 15
Set 2: 230 lb × 15
Set 3: 230 lb × 12

Hack Squat
Set 1: 140 lb × 12
Set 2: 140 lb × 12
Set 3: 140 lb × 12

Lying Leg Curl (Machine)
Set 1: 100 lb × 13
Set 2: 100 lb × 12
Set 3: 100 lb × 12

Seated Calf Raise (Machine)
Set 1: 150 lb × 15
Set 2: 150 lb × 12
Set 3: 150 lb × 12

Back Extension
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 10 reps
Set 3: 10 reps

Notes: Didn’t get a chance to post this yesterday, but dang that workout felt good! Feels amazing to be under the squat bar again, although I’m taking it nice and slow due to a pre-existing back injury. To be honest, I’m trying to connect with a power lifter in Knoxville to get sole coaching on form... just want everything to be good to go and legit. Anyhow, I’m smashing boulders now so I’ll post that soon!
 
Subscribing, just caught your thread and your energy is intense, great stuff man.
The keto thing is haaarrrd I have done it a few times and hated it every time. I never felt like I got the results I wanted and if I stick to a clean diet I find I do way better with a higher carb diet. My buddy however did fantastic with Keto. lost almost 100lbs and squats 450lbs only training squats about once per month (LOL) so everyone seems to have different results.
 
Shoulders- Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 5:41 AM

Seated Overhead Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 135 lb × 10
Set 2: 135 lb × 9
Set 3: 135 lb × 9

Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 25 lb × 10
Set 2: 25 lb × 10
Set 3: 25 lb × 10

Notes: Single Arm, hold on to squat rack

Front Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 30 lb × 10
Set 2: 30 lb × 12
Set 3: 30 lb × 12

Upright Row (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 40 lb × 10
Set 2: 40 lb × 10
Set 3: 40 lb × 10

Reverse Fly (Machine)
Set 1: 100 lb × 12
Set 2: 100 lb × 10
Set 3: 100 lb × 9

Shrug (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 75 lb × 15
Set 2: 75 lb × 15
Set 3: 75 lb × 15

Seated Lateral Raise
Set 1: 20 lb × 12
Set 2: 20 lb × 12
Set 3: 20 lb × 12

Notes: Had a pretty stellar shoulder session this morning! I incorporated upright rows into my routine today, but used dumbbells to see how the ole AC joint felt. I also threw in some of those laterals that Arnold used to do, leaning off to the side of a squat rack and focused on strict movement and a pause at the top. It felt good. Really good. Also threw some seated laterals in at the end of the workout to make sure my delts got smoked.

Kinda got a little Chatty Cathy towards the end though, ended up broing out with a dude that had been through some similar stuff as me so I lost track of time towards the end. Those dumbbell rows though, just keep moving up on weight there so that’s awesome!

Going to try and get some shut eye now so I can demolish my arms tomorrow. Trying to visualize the intensity that I will bring, I can almost hear the metal blaring and the sweat dripping off my face as I rip my sleeves! Well, that’s how I feel at least when I’m hitting arms!

On a side note, they are playing “True Lies” this week in the cardio theater so there’s a 199% chance I’ll be doing some dedicated cardio for 2 hours and 4 minutes at some point this week!

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Dustin07 said:
Subscribing, just caught your thread and your energy is intense, great stuff man.
The keto thing is haaarrrd I have done it a few times and hated it every time. I never felt like I got the results I wanted and if I stick to a clean diet I find I do way better with a higher carb diet. My buddy however did fantastic with Keto. lost almost 100lbs and squats 450lbs only training squats about once per month (LOL) so everyone seems to have different results.
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Thank you brother, and welcome! I appreciate the support as this is definitely my decision to plant the flag in the sand and hold my fighting position against bad health, getting fat, and letting myself get old and lazy. I have decided that I will refuse to be that guy just settlers for complacent in my middle aged years and beyond.

And I feel you on the keto diet man! I keep talking to more and more people that tell me exactly what you said. “Eat clean, go high carb, and you’ll look great.”

To the point above, I met a guy this morning that used to complete in bodybuilding. He was giving me some constructive criticism, but also mentioned that I’m only one month back into the game and that I need to just get more reps under my belt... see how I look and feel with six months training back under my belt. He is also a fan of higher carb, low fat nutrition with intense training.

Anyhow, thanks again for joining!
 
but also mentioned that I’m only one month back into the game and that I need to just get more reps under my belt... see how I look and feel with six months training back under my belt. He is also a fan of higher carb, low fat nutrition with intense training.
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This is so true. the first couple months back in the game are just getting the body moving and creating direction! After COVID I spent sept-dec getting it back in gear and then we launched off to vacation january 6th-16th. But after 3 months of getting my head straight I knew that when I came back I wanted to stick to a solid program and hit the ground running. It worked great and I'm loving my new programming. It did take me a few months though to really feel like I was back in the groove. the first few weeks were very hard to motivate after COVID pushed a sabbatical and all I could do was golf (woe is me)
 
Chest, Arms - Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 7:03 AM

Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 60 lb × 12
Set 2: 60 lb × 12
Set 3: 60 lb × 9

Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 85 lb × 8
Set 2: 85 lb × 6
Set 3: 75 lb × 8

Bicep Curl (Barbell)
Set 1: 80 lb × 8
Set 2: 80 lb × 9
Set 3: 80 lb × 8

Chest Dip
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 10 reps
Set 3: 12 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 40 lb × 10
Set 2: 40 lb × 8
Set 3: 40 lb × 4

Triceps Extension
Set 1: 75 lb × 12
Set 2: 75 lb × 13
Set 3: 75 lb × 10

Notes: Long v handle

Preacher Curl (Machine)
Set 1: 70 lb × 9
Set 2: 70 lb × 8
Set 3: 70 lb × 6

Notes: I really slept in today, obviously need it. But by the time I walked into the gym is was on a huge time crunch so I figured I’d shake things up today.

Started off with incline dumbbells, wanted to see how strong I was there as I usually barbell bench before inclines. Felt pretty good, haven’t lifted 60 lbs in years. Same with flat bench, haven’t been under 85 in years. I was basically focusing on 1- minute rest period, by the time I was done with my three sets I was breathing hard and sweating a little.

I basically tried to move as much weight as possible the rest of the workout, with the assumption that I might cheat a little on form and not get a high number of reps. It was refreshing to really focusing on going heavy, and I had a huge pump.

Taking a rest day tomorrow as my stress levels are high and I know I need a quick pause. Will try and maybe sauna!

Supplements are gear are going ok. Trest just works best at 25mg per day. Still downing Stano-Plex too, that really makes my pumps exaggerated and I feel extra veiny. Ran out of glutamine so will picking more of that up soon, and I ordered some Vasoblitz and Fullblitz to take. Can’t wait to log those two!

Anyhow, I’m off to pick my girls up from school. Y’all be good today!
 
Hybrid Back and Shoulders - Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 8:12 AM

Lat Pulldown (Cable)
Set 1: 80 lb × 10
Set 2: 80 lb × 10
Set 3: 80 lb × 10

Notes: Wide neutral frip

Lateral Raise (Cable)
Set 1: 15 lb × 10
Set 2: 15 lb × 10
Set 3: 15 lb × 10

Notes: Single Arm

Seated Overhead Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 50 lb × 12
Set 2: 50 lb × 12
Set 3: 50 lb × 10

T Bar Row
Set 1: 45 lb × 9
Set 2: 45 lb × 9
Set 3: 45 lb × 8

Lat Pulldown (Cable)
Set 1: 70 lb × 12
Set 2: 70 lb × 9
Set 3: 70 lb × 8

Notes: Close grip

Upright Row (Barbell)
Set 1: 70 lb × 10
Set 2: 70 lb × 8
Set 3: 70 lb × 8

Shrug (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 75 lb × 12
Set 2: 75 lb × 15
Set 3: 75 lb × 10

Seated Row (Cable)
Set 1: 140 lb × 12
Set 2: 140 lb × 12
Set 3: 140 lb × 12
 
BOSSMAN said:
How did you like the db shrugs?
Click to expand...

I loved them brother! I hadn’t thought about them until you said something, it always me to play with my hand positioning which in then helps with my left shoulder AC joint. Also, I did barbell upright rows today... didn’t feel nearly good as dumbbell upright rows.

Anyhow, thanks for the tips mayne!
 
theswede said:
I loved them brother! I hadn’t thought about them until you said something, it always me to play with my hand positioning which in then helps with my left shoulder AC joint. Also, I did barbell upright rows today... didn’t feel nearly good as dumbbell upright rows.

Anyhow, thanks for the tips mayne!
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Yep, the adjustable wrist angle is the reason why I do mostly db bench press and have done for years. Only when i do reps under 5, I'll do it with barbell. Have had some ac-joint issues aswell and using more db's in presses has helped a lot.
 
KvanH said:
Yep, the adjustable wrist angle is the reason why I do mostly db bench press and have done for years. Only when i do reps under 5, I'll do it with barbell. Have had some ac-joint issues aswell and using more db's in presses has helped a lot.
Click to expand...

I’ll consider that as well! I feel like incline barbell doesn’t work for me, that’s why I’ve been gravitating towards dumbbell incline. But I felt a stretch and more activation with flat dumbbell press than I do with flat barbell.
 
Legs - Friday, February 5, 2021 at 6:21 AM

Squat (Barbell)
Set 1: 45 lb × 6
Set 2: 65 lb × 6
Set 3: 95 lb × 6
Set 4: 115 lb × 6
Set 5: 135 lb × 6
Set 6: 155 lb × 6
Set 7: 185 lb × 6
Set 8: 185 lb × 6
Set 9: 185 lb × 6

Lunge (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 20 lb × 8
Set 2: 20 lb × 8
Set 3: 20 lb × 8

Hack Squat
Set 1: 140 lb × 15
Set 2: 140 lb × 12
Set 3: 140 lb × 12

Leg Extension (Machine)
Set 1: 175 lb × 14
Set 2: 175 lb × 13
Set 3: 175 lb × 11

Lying Leg Curl (Machine)
Set 1: 100 lb × 15
Set 2: 100 lb × 10
Set 3: 100 lb × 10

Seated Calf Raise (Plate Loaded)
Set 1: 165 lb × 12
Set 2: 165 lb × 12
Set 3: 165 lb × 12

Notes: Shook things up a bit this morning! Tried squats again and felt ok. Gonna send some clips to my man @Hyde for a form check. Thanks brother!

Ended up doing dumbbell lunges instead of leg press, wow, that really got my heart rate up!

And only did seated calf raises today. Figured since I moved up in weight again that I wouldn’t get too crazy!

Anyhow, gonna try and take the wifey on a hike in the smokies tomorrow. Y’all have a good day!
 
Can you walk?
Holy sh*t brother you might need a dirt bike for the trails tomorrow. Talk about volume 🥸🤙....but you did say you love your lower body workouts.
Nice work man 💥🤙💥💪
 
And this is happening as we speak! Introducing some carbs as I’m needing a break from low carb! Figured some McDonald’s hot cakes would do the trick after a killer leg day!

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Yep! ^^ @BOSSMAN Edit: talking about the volume few posts up.

@theswede Ever heard of a squatting program called Smolov? It's pretty insane for volume, but seeing your leg workouts you might actually like it = ) If ever looking to increase your squat max and lift heavy, give it a look. There might be better programs for increasing 1rm on squat tho I'm sure, just throwing it out there. I'm doing Smolov jr for bench right now (5 weeks in) and it's working great. A lot of lifting, but that's how you develop your lifting skills also.
 
BOSSMAN said:
Can you walk?
Holy sh*t brother you might need a dirt bike for the trails tomorrow. Talk about volume 🥸🤙....but you did say you love your lower body workouts.
Nice work man 🤙
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I’m walking like an old man for sure. I just hobbled up the stairs to take a shower and my daughter was following me the whole way up saying “you’re slow daddy!”

But I figured this is good as I avoided legs for so long... it’s time to make my physique more balanced and complete!
 
Smolov is by far the most brutal squat program I have done. In theory you should be doing only squats during that program... I didn't follow those rules. But if I ever did Smolov again, I'd only do squats for that cycle. recovery was a bitch. I still remember the 4x9 day being hardest.
 
Dustin07 said:
Smolov is by far the most brutal squat program I have done. In theory you should be doing only squats during that program... I didn't follow those rules. But if I ever did Smolov again, I'd only do squats for that cycle. recovery was a bitch. I still remember the 4x9 day being hardest.
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Yeah I think the Smolov jr is better suited for humans. I'd probably rather do that for squat also, even though the jr is supposed to be for bench and the 'real' Smolov for squat.
 
Just a bit of an update, wifeys mom just tested positive for COVID. Her dad got tested today too. He’s got a lot of health issues so we are concerned for him. We spend a lot of time with them, and they look after the kids here and there.

That being said, it looks like those rest days are definitely happening at least for the weekend until we determine we are healthy and what not. Yay to 2021.
 
theswede said:
Just a bit of an update, wifeys mom just tested positive for COVID. Her dad got tested today too. He’s got a lot of health issues so we are concerned for him. That being said, it looks like those rest days are definitely happening at least for the weekend until we determine we are healthy and what not. Yay to 2021.
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Damn.. I wish all turns out fine for your family and speedy recovery for everyone involved.
 
KvanH said:
Damn.. I wish all turns out fine for your family and speedy recovery for everyone involved.
Click to expand...

Thanks brother! We are pretty healthy, at least I think. But my wife lost her godmother early Monday morning to COVID-19. I mean, she had double pneumonia... but I don’t know what to believe anymore about this virus. That rattled her a bit, and now with her mom positive (mom is overweight) and potentially her dad (diabetes, bad cholesterol, overweight, low T) we are concerned. Ready for all of this to be a distant memory.
 
theswede said:
Thanks brother! We are pretty healthy, at least I think. But my wife lost her godmother early Monday morning to COVID-19. I mean, she had double pneumonia... but I don’t know what to believe anymore about this virus. That rattled her a bit, and now with her mom positive (mom is overweight) and potentially her dad (diabetes, bad cholesterol, overweight, low T) we are concerned. Ready for all of this to be a distant memory.
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Yeah I find it very much a double edged sword. For myself as relatively young and healthy person the virus is like 'pff, C'mon let me live and do things', but then there's some folks who really seem to be in danger. Not fun times either way.
 
KvanH said:
Yeah I find it very much a double edged sword. For myself as relatively young and healthy person the virus is like 'pff, C'mon let me live and do things', but then there's some folks who really seem to be in danger. Not fun times either way.
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No doubt man. I would hate to think I passed it on to someone else and they suffer. Hell, who knows how I would do? As soon as I get my tests results back and hopefully I’m negative, I’m blitzing my body into beast mode!
 
Thinking about your family! Wishing them health and good recovery.

Don’t do Smolov. People who aren’t advanced enough to need it shouldn’t damage their bodies with it, and people advanced enough to need it can’t handle it. It’s a terrible program by someone trying to produce a world record in one lift (that is never contested solo; squatting is always done in a Full Power meet) with zero regard for the athlete being around next year still able to train at all.

If you need to do a lift X number of times per week to get better, and you choose 5, where do you go from there to get better? 6 days? MORE volume or intensity?? It’s an extremely short-sighted training program generally used by equally inexperienced, impatient lifters. Speaking as someone who did a Smolov Jr cycle in my early 20s, and had knee pain for about 5 years from it.
 
Negative test result. Same with wifey. Needless to say we are grateful for that! Mother-in-law is still not feeling well, but she’s holding stable with mild cold symptoms. Father-in-law isn’t feeling anything yet, and he’s still waiting on his test results.

Still, I’ll be extra focused on keeping vitamins D and C consistent, along with some zinc to keep the immune system hopefully running on all cylinders!
 
theswede said:
Negative test result. Same with wifey. Needless to say we are grateful for that! Mother-in-law is still not feeling well, but she’s holding stable with mild cold symptoms. Father-in-law isn’t feeling anything yet, and he’s still waiting on his test results.

Still, I’ll be extra focused on keeping vitamins D and C consistent, along with some zinc to keep the immune system hopefully running on all cylinders!
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Zinc is the most important probably of those 3. Something your MIL should be taking, and anyone who gets COVID-19, is B3/nicotinic acid/flushing niacin. 2-300mg per day helps most people with it feel much better much sooner. They found that the virus seems to mega-deplete it, and many of the sides in folks where the effects linger for months fix very quickly with flush niacin supplemented.

It doesn’t prevent or cure COVID-19 at all, you will still be contagious if you are sick with it, but niacin/B3 eliminates many symptoms and gets folks back to feeling better much faster. And it’s dirt cheap. $6 on Amazon and like $3 on Swanson. Swanson also has awesome priced NAC, which helps keep your glutathione levels up and helps prevent sickness in the first place. It’s also awesome for your liver (except don’t take it when actively drinking alcohol).
 
Hyde said:
Zinc is the most important probably of those 3. Something your MIL should be taking, and anyone who gets COVID-19, is B3/nicotinic acid/flushing niacin. 2-300mg per day helps most people with it feel much better much sooner. They found that the virus seems to mega-deplete it, and many of the sides in folks where the effects linger for months fix very quickly with flush niacin supplemented.

It doesn’t prevent or cure COVID-19 at all, you will still be contagious if you are sick with it, but niacin/B3 eliminates many symptoms and gets folks back to feeling better much faster. And it’s dirt cheap. $6 on Amazon and like $3 on Swanson. Swanson also has awesome priced NAC, which helps keep your glutathione levels up and helps prevent sickness in the first place. It’s also awesome for your liver (except don’t take it when actively drinking alcohol).
Click to expand...

Speaking of glutathione, Amino Asylum has some injectable. I think @Leakydelts takes this, might warrant some more “experimenting” to see what’s up!
 
[Backdated Workout] - Chest - Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 12:07 PM

Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 45 lb × 12
Set 2: 95 lb × 10
Set 3: 135 lb × 8
Set 4: 185 lb × 6
Set 5: 225 lb × 10
Set 6: 225 lb × 8
Set 7: 225 lb × 8

Incline Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 155 lb × 10
Set 2: 155 lb × 9
Set 3: 155 lb × 8

Decline Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 195 lb × 10
Set 2: 195 lb × 9
Set 3: 195 lb × 8

Chest Dip
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 12 reps
Set 3: 12 reps

Pec Deck (Machine)
Set 1: 115 lb × 14
Set 2: 115 lb × 12
Set 3: 115 lb × 12

Notes: Hit the gym up following the negative test result. First time I felt good on bench since my comeback, all 3 sets of bench were nice and controlled reps with no bonding; let the bar sit on my best for one second before push off.

Inclined is still weak, but I’m moving up in decline. Dips and pec deck saw increased reps as well, so that’s cool!
 
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General Notes: been able to squeeze in some pretty rad cardio these past two days. My 4 and a half year old got a micro scooter for Christmas and I’ve been getting her learned up on how to shred. The 2 and a half year old wanted one so we went to target and got her one, and daddy got one too. They only had one brand that had a 220 kb weight capacity so I got that. Wonder if it’s a big deal if I weight 223??? Lol!

We did a few laps in the cul de sac so the little could hang with us. Then when she was tired my oldest and I really went shredding, it’s funny because I swear she got better once we were doing it together, maybe just watching me have her confidence? We did about 8 laps around the hood, which is 2.5 miles. We live at the top of the hill, so we started each loop by bombing down the street, then trying to race up the hill. It was a killer workout and we had a blast.

And then we woke up to some snow and so we went sledding. Same thing, lots of fun cardio, carrying them back up the hill so they could fly down it.

As to diet, I totally blew it out yesterday and let my hair down.... had somewhere around 400 grams of carbs. I felt large and pumped! Going to continue to splurge today since it’s super bowl Sunday, and then we will clean it up tomorrow.

Y’all have a good day! And go Chiefs!
 
Set 7: 225 lb × 88

Sounds good man, after them carbs yesterday and whatever you crush today you will be super strong tomorrow.

You might even be able to hit 225 x 150 for your 8th set. 🤙👍🏻💪💥💥💥💥
 
BOSSMAN said:
Set 7: 225 lb × 88

Sounds good man, after them carbs yesterday and whatever you crush today you will be super strong tomorrow.

You might even be able to hit 225 x 150 for your 8th set. 🤙👍🏻💪💥💥💥💥
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I think he should rather take a week off from training after that kind of marathon bench pressing : p
 
BOSSMAN said:
Set 7: 225 lb × 88

Sounds good man, after them carbs yesterday and whatever you crush today you will be super strong tomorrow.

You might even be able to hit 225 x 150 for your 8th set. 🤙👍🏻💪💥💥💥💥
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KvanH said:
I think he should rather take a week off from training after that kind of marathon bench pressing : p
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Bahaha! You got me guys! Good catch! Definitely meant to type "8."
 
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