Getting from A to BIG

Well the results are in and to be honest after 9 weeks of workout plus one week off not much has changed.

I feel different but it’s almost like because I’ve increased my mass somewhat everything else has followed in it’s wake. My fitness age still stands at 30 (which is good news being 34) but I can’t help thinking I wish I had done better.

My trainer today told me not to worry as I’m not in a cutting phase which I agree with, so this next cycle will be focused on 2 things:

1. Fix the strength
It’s been a while since I’ve seen significant change in the weights I’m lifting and I haven’t sen much growth in my chest. So this cycle it’s heavier weights and lower reps.

2. Try and reduce the body fat
This time I measured in at 19.4% That’s 0.4% higher than last time and I wasn’t happy. Granted I did take the assessment after having the week off which means my metabolism has been slowing down over the last week and to be honest I’m not surprised with that result. Next time fitness assessment comes before the week off.

Hey I’ve been told my BF% isn’t too bad. Ideally I’d like to be 15% and I thought it would be easier shifting that value down. But to be honest my eating habits (not my diet) have been a bit on the erratic side and I haven’t been sticking to a strict routine with my eating.

So after having my first boxing workout this morning I’ve decided 2 boxing session a week:
* Tuesday evenings for 30 minutes on my own
* Saturday mornings for about an hour with a class

This should give me the balance I need with and without a partner to workout with.

And that is one thing I’m beginning to realise - I’m going to have to start working out with a partner. That’s something I’m going to have to sort out!

Anyway, leg workout tonight (which should have been morning but boxing prevented the morning leg workout) and onto arms tomorrow.

Well it was back to the gym this morning after taking a week off and it felt great.

I couldn’t lift too much extra but I definitely felt much ore powerful and controlled with my lifts.

This cycle is going to be quite different. Not only are my splits changing but I’m also adding in a bit of extra training - boxing.

Recently I joined a new gym that has some great boxing facilities - minus a boxing ring - and I’ve been wondering if there is any benefit to mixing it with my weights. My main concern is how much muscle might I burn in the process or how would it affect my energy levels but with a but of research and support from friends online and at the gym I’m going to take up the challenge.

So here is my new split:

Mornings:
Monday: Chest supplemented with Back
Tuesday: Legs (incl calves)
Wednesday: Arms
Thursday: Back supplemented with Chest
Friday: Shoulders and calves

Evenings:
Monday: Core/Cardio and Yoga
Tuesday: 30 minute boxing
Wednesday: Core/Cardio
Thursday: 30 minute boxing
Friday: Core/Cardio

Weekends are exercise free, however, I’ll be attending boxing sessions Saturday mornings at 8:30am for the first couple of weeks to get a bit more experience.

Granted I’m going to need to up the calories and increase the energy so I’m tossing up between my creatine and caffeine as a main supp aside from the usual protein.

This program should run for at least 6 weeks so it will be interesting to see if I can at least last the first 4!

Let’s head into the next cycle!

Well I concede I still haven’t updated my progress pics but have just completed my latest cycle of weights

Since my last post, I’ve changed gyms. I decided to give Fitness First the flick and go and join a real gym - Vince and Roz’s Fitness Centre.

What do I mean by a real gym? I mean a gym that has the equipment you need, weights that are available when you need them and facilities that show dedication not marketing and money.

Still I’ve been working out the last 9 weeks and made some pretty good progress. I’ve dropped most of my proteins (17HD and AXIS-HT) and am sticking with 2 supplements:
Protein (Optimum Nutrition) and Creatine (con-cret)

I’m finding the creatine to be rather beneficial. I’m not usually one to use creatine I guess because I haven’t found one that is actually effective for me. But the con-cret creatine seems to make a bit of a difference for me so it’s on my list of supps.

What kind of progress have I made? Well my size for a start. 1 cm on my arms, legs, chest and shoulders and especially my calves.

Now my calves have not grown in nearly 2 years. They aren’t lacking as such but after training them at least once a week I expected something. So I adjusted my split to include calves on Mondays with Chest and with legs as usual and now I’m seeing the results.

So now I need to think about the next cycle and although I’ve been concentrating on reducing my body fat %, I don’t feel I’ve done enough towards it so I’m going to mix in some boxing to the workouts

As of next week mornings will be spent doing weights while at least 3 evenings a week will be spent boxing. All I need now is someone to get me started!!!

Well for the first time in a long time I decided it’s time to get me latest stats. And from the start I wasn’t too impressed.

Nothing has changed…

Well nothing except one thing. My weight.

That’s right, my arms are still the same size, my legs are pretty much the same size but I’ve lost at least 3-4 kgs.

All I can say is I’m still a bit confused, but from what it’s telling me, I’ve leaned up a bit and lost something but kept everything else.

So I guess going forward, the next step is to see if I can maintain my cm’s and reduce the weight a bit and see where I end up!

Well I’m currently into my 4th week of my new program and things are progressing well. However they seem to be progressing better than I thought.

I admit I haven’t done any measurements for a while, but the major difference with this cycle is my supplements.

That’s right, I’ve only been taking 2 supps: Protein and BCAA’s

What? No NO? No 17HD? What about Beta-Alanine???

That’s right, all gone for this cycle. None at all.

To be honest I’ve noticed that my workouts have been a bit tougher but at the end of the day my weights are somewhat the same. I have however been doing a very different chest workout, whereby it is more of a pump rather than a press and on a lower weight, but when I prepare for my next cycle (most likely supp free as well) I’m planning on hitting the weights hard.

Do I need NO? Perhaps, but only for a better pump and more of a lift.

Do I need Beta Alanine? Maybe, to prevent some of the lactic acid build up.

What about a testosterone booster? Hmmm… maybe, but only to keep active.

At then end of the day these supps can help you out, but if you rely on them too much it almost feels like your letting something else do the work for you. I’m going to keep it clean for a couple of months then reevaluate whether I get back to the test boosters, and energy boosters but for now I have a cycle to finish.

My new split was started last week:
Monday: Chest(AM) / Swim(PM)
Tuesday: Back (AM) / Abs (PM)
Wednesday: Arms (AM) / Swim (PM)
Thursday: Legs (AM) / Abs (PM)
Friday: Shoulders (AM)

I’ve had to rewrite the bicep workout a bit because I just felt I didn’t have a good combination of compound vs isolation exercises.

The main thing I’ve noticed is the with so many isolation bicep workouts, my biceps are growing up but not out. So I started a new routine mixing the two this morning.

Another challenge this cycle is exhaust sets. I’m going to be pushing my body hard this cycle and that includes the abs workouts. I’m sticking to typical sets but to put the pressure on a bit more exhaust sets will be used.

I have to admit, I’m expecting a big outcome from this cycle and I can feel it already. My stomach is a bit flatter (with my abs oh so slowly starting to come through) and the ability to press more weight.

Let’s try and get a progress photo posted soon as I feel really good about this cycle.

Well my holidays ended over a week ago and I’ve just been getting into it again. To be honest I really only took 2 weeks off and had the pleasure of training at the Gold’s Gym in Venice. I have to say I’ve never ben in such a large gym where everyone around you knows how to workout!

Granted, those guys (and shall we call them girls?) were massive, well much larger than what I’m used to seeing in the gym but it was motivational nonetheless.

So now I’m home and planning the next 8 weeks. My goals right now are to lose that holiday fat - I tell you on American food, it’s easy to gain - and starting bulking again.

My schedule is not going to change but I’ve altered the workouts slightly. You see while I was in America, I was helping a friend get started. Of course I would never put him on a schedule that I am currently working with, it would most likely kill him. But it did give me the motivation to return to the basics; not over do it and just concentrate on the workout.

I guess we all lose sight of the goal and end up running off the tracks by over doing it and just running trough some basics with my friend actually made me feel like I’d accomplished something more than the way I usually hit those reps again and again.

So this season, cut back the exercises and concentrate on the muscles being worked and let’s start looking great!

Yep you heard it right. I’m only now starting to realise the progress I’m making. I’m not talking about the number of inches I have on my chest or arms, but the fact that my physique is changing in ways that I’m starting to notice.

It actually happened about 2 days ago when I was heading into work. I entered the lifts (which are mirrored) and I was wearing a medium sized t-shirt. Man what a surprise!

I’m not longer what I would consider a "normal" physique. I’m not saying I’m really, really big yet but my size is definitely larger than every other guy I pass.

Have you ever stopped and had a look around and actually taken notice of the people around you?

Have you ever realised how the standard bicep is pretty much just a basic muscle to assist the contraction of the upper arm and forearm?

Have you then taken a look at your own arm and compared it to that "standard" size and realised your much larger than that?

Well I have and I’m starting to feel accomplishment from my workouts. Satisfaction that I’m on the right path to succeeding.

These days at the gym it’s no longer the whole trying to be something more. In some ways I’ve graduated amongst the testosterone crowds that surround me. Hey I still have a few rungs to climb and there are other guys at the gym that make me just feel small but I know that they have been working at it much longer than I have - hey next month it will be 18 months of solid training!

Either way it is good to get the compliments from friends, colleagues and family and it does help to move forward to new realms of physical development!

Well I have to say I should be more committed to this blog as much as my workouts! But persistence is paying off. My weight seems to have stabilized around the 84kg mark which is okay, but I want to get heavier.

My physique, although looking a bit better, is still not where I want it to be. But I’m still very happy with the progress so far.

During my last cycle I had a number of goals in mind:
1. Spread my pecs a bit more. For some reason they just seemed more forward than broad so this was an important goal. To acheive this I expanded my chest workouts to include Incline Flyes and DB Butterfly(e)s. The DB Butterfly(e)s were added in to add more muscle to the underlying pectoral muscles which proved to be what I needed. I’d probably rate my success at 7.5/10

2. Tighten the abs. Well Again this is not an easy feat but I managed to somewhat tighten them more by performing weighted and supported situps. Using a 7-8kg medicine ball I started with 20 reps and finished off unweighted for another 20 reps for 3 sets. I think more could have been done but to be honest this was another exercise to work the underlying muscular tissue rather than the surface muscles. Success: 5/10

3. Building the Middle back. To achieve this I concentrated on reverse lateral pec decks with 7.5/10kg dumbells. I also included the T-Bar row to ensure I wasn’t just concentrating the central muscles. Success: 7/10

4. Lengthen the lats. Well I hadn’t actually changed much of my workout exercises but i did concentrate more on my pull ups and lat pulldowns. Success: 7/10

Overall I did achieve better results than expected especially considering I’m nearing my 18 month mark of training - yep that’s right it’s now been 18 months of solid training! Hopefully I’ll be taking a break soon with a trip to LA (that’s right people! I’m coming to U.S.A for a holiday!) with a friend for about 3 weeks and hopefully I’ll get a chance to se more of the US while I’m over there. But most of all I want to see what it’s like over there in the fitness world and check the gyms and fitness stores.

Anyhow, until then I still have some training to do!

Anth

Wow, I hadn’t realised how long it had been since my last blog entry. Well here goes.

Progress has been great the last 4 weeks. I’ve noticed another cm gain on most parts of my body and my weight is starting to increase, the only problem is maintaining a lean form. Yep I’m getting bigger but not all good bigger.

I started doing a 30 minute jog 3 times a week and found it to be quite beneficial, at first. Thing is my metabolism started to change again and next thing I knew I was putting on the weight again. Pretty much a boomerang effect flicking me back to the fat percent I was before. I now know I really have to fix my diet.

Don’t get me wrong my diet isn’t too bad, only it’s not perfect and it’s the diet that is holding me back. Hey, how many people actually find the time to prepare for the week ahead? I know I don’t and I need to make the time to do so.

I’ve noticed my veins starting to increase in size a bit along my arms and my whole stature is looking a lot better and yeah I’m getting big but I have to balance everything once again.

Solution? Well the next 8 weeks are going to be devoted to circuits. Spring is slowly approaching us here downunder and that seems to be the best time to start burning away those extra bits that I’ve gained just to trim back a bit. I realise it means losing a bit of my muscle but hopefully I’ll be able to maintain what I’ve gained without sacrificing too much.

Program for the upcoming weeks will be:

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: Circuits

Sunday, Saturday: Jog(AM), Swim (PM) about 30 minute sessions each.

Wednesday: 60 min Jog.

The circuits are actually something my previous traininer put together for me which are full body workouts consisting of:

1. Dumbell Curl
2. Dumbbell Ext
3. Bench Press
4. Bent Over Row
5. Bent Over Lat Raise
6. Weighted Bosu Ball Squat
7. Weighted Calf raise
8. Abdominals

The circuit runs 5 sets 1 through to 7 with no break between. One exercise to the next. Each set consists of 15 reps and there is 1 minute break between sets. Abdominals follow at the end as a ramp down from the circuits.
All weights at 60% 1RPM.

No sprints are organised for this period. Just jogging.

So hopefully I can get into these next week and start the cutting process. My diet is also going to be changed to improve the process and we’ll see how we go.

I’ll be updating my before and after pics with the start of the new program so I can get an idea on my progress from here.

So, let’s get ready for summer!

Anth