Cyril’s BodyBlog

Setting a realistic rep range is not an easy thing to do. When you think about your set do you think about contractual movement of the muscle squeezing the crap out of it, and isolating the muscle, repping till you reach absolute failure. Or do you think last set was 15 reps this set is 12 do your 12 reps then stop? For most people it’s the later. Before we ever start to move the weight we set a number in our head and when we reach the number stop, even if we have not pushed the muscle to failure. For most guys we are all looking to add a little size, if this is not you then there is no need to read the rest of this. As “Bodybuilders” we are looking to build size and strength, and the fastest way to force the muscle to grow is to make it adapt and change to continuing stress and change. But how many of really do this? Every time we start our sets we have a basic number in our head of our standard rep range with the weight we are about to lift. I say forget the number of reps and concentrate on the weight and form Vs. how many times you are actually going to rep it. If we just concentrate on a number we are already setting our self’s up for failure. It’s proven that for size and strength even going down to a 1 rep max forces the muscles to adapt and change which equals growth and strength. So why do we predetermine the number of reps before we ever start the set? We know that anything over 15 reps is just too many, unless we are warming up. I say broaden your rep range instead of setting a number in your head just move the weight till absolute positive failure! If you have a partner push past positive failure and into negative failure on your last set or two. Plain and simple we all get stuck in ruts, and get frustrated when we don’t see improvements after weeks and months of training. But in reality are we really pushing ourselves to failure on each set forcing our muscles to adapt and grow, or are we just counting to 10 and calling it good? You know in your head and heart which one you are really doing, and at the end of the day when you look in the mirror, who’s the only person you can truly hold accountable? 

Namaste 

Cyril~ 

So it’s official I have gained 5 lean lbs of muscle being a vegan. In actuality it’s more like 8 lbs but with water and the way the body can fluctuate I am calling it a solid 5 lbs of lean mass. I weigh myself on an empty stomach first thing in the a.m. with only my boxers on, using the same scale, this way there is no room for variation of scale or adjustments for clothing. For those of you that have been following my post and Journey to body build as a vegan, this has not been an easy task, the amount of food I have to ingest in a day is at times unbearable. I actually get tired of chewing it seems =( however I am extremely excited, I am getting leaner and leaner, as well as my strength is increasing and so is my cardio vascular volume. I hoping this is the first 5lbs of an expected 25lbs to come over the next year and a half. 

My Wife Wrote this so I can’t take credit for it, but I couldn’t express it better myself…   Of the 10 billion animals slaughtered each year in America for human consumption, the vast majority of them come from factory farms. Factory farms that raise cattle, pigs, and chickens, egg laying hens, veal calves, or dairy cows, these farms have an enormous amount of animals in a very small space. There are no vast meadows or lush, green pastures. The animals are confined inside buildings where they are literally packed on top of each other. Egg-laying hens are crammed into cages so small, they are unable to open their wings, & their mangled feet actually grow around the wire mesh floors. This overcrowded, stressful environment causes chickens to peck at each other & factory farm workers, so the ends of their beaks are seared off their faces using a hot knife. When it’s time for them to die, they are easier to handle when the chickens aren’t fighting for their lives, their heads are dragged through a water bath that has been electrically charged. This paralyzes the birds, but does not render them unconscious. They are snatched up, shackled upside down, & their throats are slashed by machine at the rate of 1000s per hour. Next they are dunked in scalding water to loosen their feathers. They are supposed to be dead at this point, but often the machine misses its mark, or the chickens haven’t bled to death, they are boiled alive. Then they are placed into a series of machines that literally beat their feathers off them, some still alive, having just been scalded. In egg laying factories male baby chicks are useless so they are tossed in to a large garbage dumpster, left to die.
 
Pigs & cows are imprisoned in stalls so small, they are unable to turn or lie down. Cattle are subject to third-degree branding burns & having their testicles & horns ripped out. Pigs also suffer from branding & castration, in addition to the mutilation of their ears, tails, & teeth. They all live in the filth of their own urine feces, & vomit with infected, festering sores & wounds. I won’t even go in to all the antibiotics, hormones & other chemicals that these animals are pumped with that are literally killing us. Just remember every time you consume factory-farmed chicken, beef, veal, pork, eggs, or dairy, you are eating antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, & hormones! (it’s estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 different drugs are actually being used….  all of these drugs cause multiple health issues & disease to us. our trusty fda approves this!
 
In her book, slaughterhouse, Gail Eisnitz, chief investigator for the humane farming assoc. interviewed dozens of slaughterhouse workers through the country. every single one admitted to abusing animals or neglecting to report those who did. the following quotes from slaughterhouse workers are taken from her book… they are graphic but you owe it to yourself to read them. if the animals can endure suffering it, you surely can read it.
 
“I seen them take those stunner’s- they’re about as long as a yard stick -and shove it up a hogs ass… they do it to cows too.. and their ears, their eyes, down their throat… they’ll be squealing & they’ll just shove it right down there.”
 
“Hogs get stressed out pretty easy. If you prod them too much they have heart attacks. If you get a hog on a chute that’s had the **** prodded out of him & has a heart attack or refuses to move, you take a meat hook & hook it into his bunghole; you’re dragging these hogs alive, & a lot of times the meat hook rips out the bunghole. I’ve seen intestines come out. If the hog collapses near the front chute, you shove the meat hook into its cheek & drag him forward. Or in their mouth, the roof of their mouth and they are still alive.”
 
“pigs on the floor have nuzzled me like a puppy. 2 minutes later I had to kill them, beat them to death with a stick.”
 
(There are many more quotes, but I think you get the idea)
 
Now on to milk… it’s really simple… it’s for babies! And who the hell decided to suck a cow’s tit in the first place??? That’s just wrong! Why not drink a gorilla’s milk or donkeys?? The worst part is… cows are injected with bovine growth hormone. Their udders, under normal conditions, would supply about 10 lbs of milk a day. Greedy farmers have their cows producing up to 100 lbs of milk a day! There is no gentle farmer milking the cow with a bucket between his feet. Cows are milked by machine; metal clamps are attached to the cow’s sensitive udders. The udders become sore & infected. Pus forms. But the machine keeps milking, sucking dead white blood cells into the milk. How freaking gross is that?! So next time you drink that glass of milk or take a bite of some cheese or yogurt, remember your eating pus…. yummy!
 
Animals hear the screaming & crying of other animals being slaughtered & are terrified. They know they are about to be killed & they are panic-stricken. When their young are taken from them they literally cry with grief. Think of how you feel when you are angry, afraid and grief stricken. Bear in mind the physical feelings that accompany these emotions. These emotions - fear, grief, & rage - produce chemical changes in our bodies. They do the same to animals. Their blood pressures rise, adrenaline courses through their bodies. You are eating fear, grief, & rage. You are eating suffering, horror, & murder. You are eating cruelty. You are what you eat.
 
I can’t take credit for all these facts. Most of the info I got from “skinny bitch” and other sources including medical journals.
 
Ok so I know I have said more than I am sure you wanted to hear but I am passionate about getting the truth out there. MEAT IS MURDER… not just for them, but for us too. I hope in some way something sank in & the next time you go out for dinner you decide to pass on meat…. just make it easier for yourself… go vegan, you will save around 95 animals a year from suffering horrific deaths! If you eat meat, you have a hand in their torturous murders.  If slaughterhouses had glass walls….
 
if my words weren’t graphic enough to bring a tear, here’s a video…
 
 
http://www.meat.org/
 
 
http://www.peta.org/ (watch main video on right) Namaste

NamasteCyril~

Trained Back yesterday, and WOW am I feeling it today, added pre exhaustion with pull ups 4 sets till failure really made a HUGE difference in the deepness of muscle soreness I am feeling today. I also use super strict form when doing any back movement as I previously herniated 2 disks in my back. IFBB Pro Rusty Jeffers www.rustyjeffers.net taught me probably the most important rule when training back, it’s very simple and has stuck with me since he said it. Pull with your elbows… meaning if your doing a pull down and you notice your forearms, hands and biceps really get tired and pumped, this means you are working your ancillary muscle group to much, basically the helper muscles are helping to much. If you are doing seated low rows pull from your elbow and literally try to make your elbows touch each other at the small of your back were your waistline is. Keeping the movement low and centered almost pulling your hands to the same height as your belly button will insure you hit all the major muscle groups. One other thing to try if you don’t use straps (and this may be hard to explain) but when doing one arm dumbbell rows try letting all the weight rest where the end of the dumbbell meets your pinky and outside of your hand, instead of using a full handed grip, this will force you to pull more with your lat and less with your bicep, Also try arching the movement slightly as the weight lowers make a small arching movement so your hand is about parallel to your head as your contract the movement bring your pinky finger to your hip. This offers a good deep stretch and also ensures you are working the full lat, and in good form! 

Namaste 

Cyril~ 

it’s two days after my leg work out and I am still having issues sitting down or walking up stairs, it’s a pain I love to hate. I train legs hard every time, I see the non believers stareing at me as I bottom out on my squats, every rep every set. I see most people pushing weight they shouldn’t even be attempting with poor form or doing sissy (half) squats thinking they are doing themselves good and looking cool to anyone thats paying attention. A few times I have made eye contact with another person that "gets it" the true hard gainers and bodybuilders know the injuryies that are bound to occur sooner or later to those people that half ass there leg work outs, we both kind of roll our eyes and grin saying the same thing with out actually saying a word. They may have Huge arms or a giant chest that can bench 400lbs… but what about there chicken legs and tiny calves? Guess thats why they wear pants even in the summer…  What most people don’t seem to understand is that the your legs make up the largest muscle grouping in your body, the harder you work your larger muscle groups the more fat is burned the more testosterone and other muscle building chemicals in the body are released therefore cause other body parts to grow.                   �
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Anyone that has followed what I have been blogging about over the last week knows I am in the process of yet again another body transformation, this time with a 100% (or as close as possible) Vegan lifestyle and diet. Today I will discuss my diet and meal plan. For most natural body builders a 1 gram of protein per 1.5 lb of body weight is a standard for mass or strength building. The challenge with my diet is the difference in protein sources. As I am trying to add 25 lbs of lean muscle over the next 18 to 24 months I struggle with the lack of decent tasting protein sources for Vegans. Instead of the better tasting, egg, whey, caisin and milk proteins I am left with, wheat, rice, vegetable and soy proteins. There has been much debate about the aromatization of soy protein turning into estrogen in men, so I will try to limit my daily intake of soy protein to 80 grams or so. As I weigh 175 right now my projected protein intake is going to be around 265 grams a day if I stick to the old adage of 1.5 grams per lb or lean body weight. My sample meal plan looks like this. 6:00am - 30 - 45 Grams Protein Powder (mix of brown rice protein and soy) 

7:00am - 180 Grams Extra Firm Tofu Mixed with veggies and seasoning 9:00am - 30 - 45 Grams Protein Powder (mix of brown rice protein and soy) 

11:00am - 1/2 cup mixed beans with balsamic and peanut oil, tomatoes and fresh herbs and spices such as basil and garlic 1:00pm - 30 Grams Protein Powder (mix of brown rice protein and soy)  

2:00pm -  Builder Bar (20grams Protein) 3:30pm to 5:30pm - Work out w/ 30 - 45 cardio 

45 - 60 Grams Protein -  Powder (mix of brown rice protein and soy) immediately following weight training. 6:30pm - 1/2 Cup Brown Rice, 1 Cup Mixed Vegetables 200 Grams Extra Firm Tofu (or comparable protein source) 

8:30pm - 30 Grams Protein Powder (mix of brown rice protein and soy)  I will generally have a snack before bed, like a brown rice cake and some almond or cashew butter on it, a few handfuls of hempseed granola, or sometimes some soy dream green tea ice cream. Also on the weekends I drink fresh vegetable juice 3 to 4 times a day. I always drink unsweetened green tea constantly it’s my beverage of choice besides good ole water. 

This diet nets me somewhere around 2300 - 2500 calories, 250 grams of protein with a 45/40/15 split meaning 45% of calories come from protein, 40% from carbs and 15% from fats. I will be continuing this diet and making adjustments as I see fit based on my nutritional needs and how I feel over the next 30 - 45 days. Namaste

Namaste Cyril~

I call it K.Y.A or Kick Your A$$, this work out is not for the faint of heart lol, the work out itself is semi high volume so the pumps are amazing but I am focusing on the type IIa muscle fibers (endurance type). This will also get my tendons and ligaments ready over the next several weeks to start lifting heaving again. I am sure most people are familure with cross fit and or p90X style training in which they use what is called “Muscle Confusion” we body builders and strength training athletes have known about this for years, we don’t use any fancy sounding terms we just say to switch up your work outs from low rep high weight, high rep low weight, to mids (medium rep range medium weight) to keep your muscles ever adapting so they have no choice but to grow. Any way for the next 6 weeks I will be doing the following work out… 

Cyril’s K.Y.A. Training…

This training style will be a 5 day split, with one day off for recovery. The first month or so depending on how I acclimate to the training I may take 2 days off, so a Monday – Friday workout schedule with weekends off would may be ideal, but I will keep you posted.

Day one:  Legs… As always start off with a good warm-up and stretching session, get your legs good and warm, if you have a partner I suggest Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, or otherwise known as P.N.F Google that ****! It will tell you all about it. 

SET 1 - Full Squats - at 50% of your max, 10 reps X 10 sets - That’s right 10 sets of 10, by your last set you should be barely able to stand up on your own. Rest only 45 seconds between sets, and do FULL SQUATS not that sissy half squat ****, break a 90! SET 2 - Circuit - Hamstring Curl, Leg Extension, Calf Raises…
For this circuit you will be doing 4 sets of 25 reps nonstop that means no rest. your heart rate should already be elevated from the squats so keep it up, a good portion of why this workout is so effective is the fact that you are basically doing cardio at the same time as your weights. 

Day two:  Chest… Warm up with a PEC-DECK or cable fly movement, start with a light/moderate weight and do 25-30 reps, the weight should be light enough that the 25-30 reps allows the muscles to start to fill with blood, and get a small pump, not so heavy that it burns and is hard to do. Also make sure your shoulders are good and warm. Then do one set of flat bench also using a light weight, doing 25 reps, vary your hand position to make sure you get a good stretch. 

SET 1 - Flat Bench Press 80/50 – Take 80 percent of your max and press till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again press till failure. Do this for 4 sets. SET 2 - Incline Bench Press 80/50 – Take 80 percent of your max and press till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again press till failure. Do this for 4 sets.
 
SET 3 – Cable or Machine Fly’s – For this exercise we are going to be doing drop sets till failure. Each set will contain 3 Drops in weight; start with about 65% of your Max, and after failure drop 1 or 2 plates and go again so this for 3 sets.
Remember to vary arm position to work all parts of your peck! 

Day Three:  Shoulders… Warm up with light dumbbell presses, side lateral and front raises. Again like with all warm ups, you don’t want to do so many that you are cutting into your glycogen stores (energy stores) but you want to make sure all joint areas primary and secondary are good and warmed up to avoid injury. 

SET 1 – Military Shoulder Press (Smith Machine) 80/50’s - Take 80 percent of your max and press till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again press till failure. Do this for 4 sets. SET 2 – Up-Right Rows (Smith Machine) 80/50’s / super set with side laterals - Take 80 percent of your max and press till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again press till failure. Immediately follow each set with single arm cable lateral raises, use a medium weight till failure, and make sure you are getting more than 8 reps but no more than 15. Do this for 4 sets. 

Day Four:  Back… Warm up with a lat pull down and low back extension; again make sure you do enough movements to warm your targeted muscle group up but not so many reps that you start digging into your glycogen stores. Also remember to vary your hand positions on the lat pull down from close to wide, to hit all areas of your upper back
NOTE: It’s so important for proper muscle isolation. When doing any back movement the key to isolating the targeted muscles is to remember to pull using your elbows, meaning try to imagine your elbows are what are attached to the bar. Doing this will help to keep your bicep from taking over a good portion of the movement. 

SET 1 – Wide Grip Lat Pulls Downs 80/50’s – Take 80 percent of your max and pull till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again pull till failure. Immediately following each set do a medium grip lat pull over using an easy bar, for 12-15 reps making the 12-15 rep range failure do this for 4 sets. SET 2 – Seated Low Rows 80/50/40’s – Take 80 percent of your max and pull till failure, then strip that to 50% of your max and again pull till failure, then strip again and go until you have nothing left. Immediately follow this with low back extensions for 25 reps do this for 2 sets. 

  Day Five:  Arms Bi’s and Tri’s… 

Warm up with dumbbells, doing curls, kick backs, over head press, hammer curls all in one set just shift one movement into the other till you get that nice warm feeling in your bi’s and tri’s. For arms you are going to be doing giant sets. We are going to be transitioning between a bicep to a triceps and vice versa.  SET 1 – Skull Crushers & Big Bar Cheater Curls – 12-15 reps for all your sets, making your 12th or 15th rep failure. Start with Skull crushers then go immediately to Big Bar cheaters, do this 4 times SETS 2-3-4 – Triceps Press downs & Varying Curls - 8 – 15 reps, for these sets we are going to be varying your hand positions on the triceps movement and switching movements all together for your Biceps, Start with Triceps push downs with the “V” bar, 8-15 reps and the final reps being failure, go immediately to a biceps concentration curl with a straight bar, on the cable machine do that 3 times. Next switch to a reverse grip (palms up) triceps movement, and a hammer curl using the rope on the cable machine, do this 3 times. Finally use the rope for your triceps press downs pulling the rope wide apart at the end of the movement, adjust your weight so you are getting 15 reps all 3 sets, for the biceps movement, pick whatever your favorite concentration movement is, I prefer single arm cable concentration curls. Again getting three sets.

 So there ya have it! I am excited about the next few weeks and really diving back into the sport of body building, with my new life style of being Vegan. I will post some sample meal plans soon as well for those interested.

Namaste
Cyril~

Maybe it’s just me… (probably is) but when did this forum / website become like MySpace? I spent the last few years in IRAQ, with limited internet, I come back and honestly it looks like this place has become e-bay for humans, seems like most of the guys are showing off there abs and the woman are all showing off their butts and boobs??? (why not pictures of your calves, legs, Bi’s, shoulders etc…) Not that there is anything wrong with butts and boobs, I just thought bb.com was a place where people with similar interests and common goals could come together and discuss likeminded objectives and goals, not so much show off how hot they are or to have their egos placated by other people telling them how good looking they are. I don’t know maybe it’s just the pessimistic side of me not wanting to conform to what seems like the populous of the united states has become… with its narcissistic mentality and “hey look at me, look at me” attitude. It’s one thing to be healthy and in shape, it’s another to love the sport of bodybuilding and yet even another to want to be a power lifter, all these things to me seem like they have a place on what I thought this website was suppose to be about. Seems and even looks to me that the vast majority of people that are on the site are here for the wrong reasons, and that makes me sad. 

However to those of you and you know who you are (gym rat, sweating blood, hardworking lifting till you puke kind of people) Just wanted to say it’s good to be with my own people and best of luck to all of you with your health and fitness goals! 

Namaste 

Cyril~ 

After much debate and argument I have decided to pursue a Vegan lifestyle. For those of you that know what beaing vegan means, it basically means no meat and or animal by products, not even honey from bees. Anyone interested in reading please do so here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan). I have decided to journey down this road for personal / spiritual reasons but I am hoping to share my learning experience and journey with anyone interested. I am 36 years old and have been an avid body builder for 15 years. If you look at my body space profile (http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/cyriloatley/) you will see pictures from my last competition @ 191 lbs and approx 4% BF. Since then I have swayed back and forth on the scale, but in the last 2 months since the vegan diet started I have steadily declined in body weight to where I feel I have plateaud @ 175lbs and seem to be holding steady. I have been as heavy as 240lbs (with the aid of anabolic steroids and GH) and as light as 135lbs when I was bulemic. To say the least I have been across the full spectrum of healthy and not healthy, big and small, strong and weak. I am now at a point in my life where I want to be strong and healthy. In this blog I hope to not only educate myself and others about the vegan lifestyle as it pertains to bodybuilding but also, provide a clear concise reference for anyone also wanting to journey down the same path.

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