This is It….My Obnoxious

I’ve gotten a few e-mail’s inquiring about my current bulking routine, and about how I’ve crossed over the hump from the skinny/hardgainer to someone that’s finally starting to look more like a ’strong’ person. But instead of revealing what I’m ‘doing’ per se, it might actually be better to discuss those things I’ve been doing ‘differently’ in these past weeks. I made the big life-changing decision to build a better/stronger body on June 1, 2008, which is when I started weight training and doing cardio. I’d been basically keeping fit on Keto for years and nothing more, but decided it was time for a change. I was relatively pleased with my results up until about 6 weeks ago, which was about the same time I decided to revamp a few things in order to achieve more impressive bulk and muscle. So here for your perusal is a list of things I’ve done ‘differently’ to get over the skinny hump!

Weight Training Schedule:

What’s different? Less workouts per muscle group.

I scaled back from doing my usual 2-3 full body workouts per week to now doing a split. I was probably overworking my muscles and not giving them enough time to heal as well as to hypertrophy, thus increasing size.

Current Split (subject to change the minute I’m bored with it)…

Monday–Back/Delts
Tuesday–Abs/Cardio
Wednesday–Biceps (strong focus)
Thursday–Legs/Abs/Cardio
Friday–Chest/Tris
Saturday–Abs/Cardio
Sunday–Video Games!

Training Style:

What’s different? More macho training style.

Okay, I’m a chick, so that means I’ve pretty much been working out chick-style–meaning doing everything precisely, performing each repetition slowly with a strong focus on ‘full range of motion’ and absolute stellar form–no jerky ego-inflated movements here! Hey, but you know what? I couldn’t really lift heavy utilizing this ‘ladylike’ style, and we all know that lifting heavier very often equates with greater muscle gains. So I’ve been sticking my head in on the men’s forums here, as well as keeping an eye on the really big guys at my gym–and although I would often scoff at the way some of these guys would jerk on the weights, I would also notice that they were sporting the most impressive muscles! Yeah, I thought these dudes were stacking it on ‘too heavy’ in order to impress people, but who was I to talk when I was still quite skinny and they were buff as all hell!

Then I started looking around at the few really buff women who also train at my gym, and I then compared what they were doing to the those less-muscled ladies like myself.  What I noticed was that hard-muscled chicks moved the weights like men, they jerked on them, they stacked heavy and sacrificed some form and range of motion in exchange for the bigger, choppier looking lifts. I’m not talking sloppy lifts, but definitely a lot faster and not as committed to the most pristine form. Then I’d look over again at the less-muscled ladies squeezing out higher reps with the most exceptional form, yet they didn’t seem to be making the types of solid/swift muscle gains as those rooster chicks that I was so envious of–the ones with the big biceps and puffed-out chests! So the difference in my workouts now is that I’ll sacrifice some style and form in exchange for heavier/faster and somewhat imprecise lifts. So yeah, I do the macho thing now too!

Cardio

What’s different? The ‘Cardio-Bunny’ has chilled.

I’ve scaled back my cardio from 5 moderately intense 45 minute sessions per week, down to 3 HIIT sessions. Each session now lasts about 30 minutes, which I’ll alternate between 10%-12% incline and 3.6-4.0 mph. I was a bit terrified to cut back on cardio (I thought something terrible would happen), but realize now what a tremendous impact ‘too much cardio has on decreased muscle gains.’

Supplements

What’s different? Nitric Oxide and BCAA’s.

The big difference here would be the addition of two supplements–Nitric Oxide and BCAA’s. I’ve been using CL’s Green Mag since mid July, and feel I’m getting good results from this creatine product. I’ve also since read a great deal about BCAA’s and the importance of these critical building blocks, so I went ahead and ordered CL’s Purple Wrath, which has improved my workouts considerably. Actually, I was so impressed with this product that I wrote about it on my very first blog here!

I had also read a great deal about Nitric Oxide products, mainly from reading my favorite bodybuilding magazines geared toward men. It’s funny, because not much is written about NO’s in the women’s magazines, so I was a bit skeptical about whether to try these or not. But despite my concerns, I went ahead and ordered CL’s White Flood and have been using it since late August. Along with Purple Wraath, I’d say that both of these supplements have made the critical difference in how much weight I’m able to move, the intensity of my workouts, my endurance levels as well as my pumps. My workouts are now stoked, and I feel like a she-beast after ingesting my delicious concoction of GM/WF/PW!

Current Supps…

White Flood–1 1/2 teaspoons in 12 oz. water
(utilized pre-workout on weight training days only)

Purple Wraath–3 teaspoons in 50 oz. of water (yeah, I’m a guzzler)
(utilized intra-workout on all training days with both weights and/or cardio)

Green Magnitude–1 1/2 teaspoons in 12 oz. water
(utilized pre-workout on all days except Sunday)

Diet

What’s different? Consuming an additional 800 calories per day.

My diet has always been very strict, so that part hasn’t changed much. I’ve been doing Keto for nearly 10 years now (65% fat-30% protein-5% carbs), and I consume the obligatory 6 meals per day, as well as blending up my favorite Oryx Goat whey shake after workouts. The only thing I’m doing differently is that I’ve bumped my caloric intake from roughly 2000 calories per day, up to about 2800 calories–where I’m currently at today. I’ve been reading so many threads in regard to the importance of ‘bulking’ when packing on the muscle, but never really understood why this was so important. I also didn’t comprehend why so many folks were carrying on about the importance of carbohydrates when building muscle. However, it’s this part of the equation I reject, as I oppose carbohydrates with a burning passion! I decided to substantially increase my caloric intake, but was not willing (and am still not willing), to beef-up on the carbs. And contrary to those predictions that I wouldn’t be able to pack on muscle without the aid of carbs, I have noticed considerable size, as well as strength gains. I’m also drinking a lot more water (about a gallon a day), as dictated by my creatine usage.

So there you have it, these are the only things I believe may have had an impact on my current physique status, and how I’ve crossed over from being a skinny/fat girl to a more interesting and less jiggly one. I’ve still got a long way to go (especially in the quad/hamstring areas), but I will continue to alter my routine/diet in order to achieve maximize results.

Demetria

This entry was posted on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Training, Supplements, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.