Jettisoned Ponderings

Well, I was all set to go on the NASM route, but for some reason I held off. I thought about it… "Why am I wanting this cert? Because 24 Hour trains based on it? I don’t really like how 24 Hour’s Solutions plan is based… Hmmm…" So I thought about things a bit more and I’ve changed my mind. A good friend has been affiliated with NSCF for some time and I’m opting for that to be the first route to go for my first cert. Looking through some practice exams, the feel of the mindset on the training, etc. I think it will be a better initial fit. So, on that note, off to order the training materials!

I’m really liking this new workout and the higher reps are giving me a perfect opportunity to get my form back in line and hit all the fibers that have been neglected or just not being fully worked before; mostly legs. It seems to be working really well for GJ, too.

Since the low-carb didn’t respond as well for GJ as she’d like (though she did gain some good definition around her scapulae ^_^) the carbs are back in and fats taken down to a minimum. She started on cardio this morning (treadmill, walking, high incline. Moderate effort/heart rate as it actually burns more fat than going all out) and the extra carbs should help her push more in the gym as well as just plain function better. So… with that, now there’s more to go on and intensify the workouts a bit. She’ll be around 1100 calories a day, so nothing to significantly bulk up on, but she should have enough to gain a little bit of muscle (shoulders will be a focal point). Being on the Gaspari stack will help the process along, too. I have my own stack I’ll be running and I need a workout that’s seriously gonna hit the muscles hard. The benefit of being on a PH cycle is that you do recover so quickly. The diet will probably ramp up even higher for me when I get to that point. Brainstorming for a good mass workout I figured we’d need something that had some of what’s been tried and true with the 12 rep range, but also threw in some higher reps for conditioning and lower reps for size. Court needs to tone up her legs and I need to build mine. Now, when you think of pros with massive legs who comes to mind for you? Of course there’s Ronnie, but I can’t leg press 1200lbs or have a parking lot to go do walking lunges in. Dennis Wolf trains in the 4×10-12 for pretty much everything except calves, which is good but again our bodies are too accustomed to that. Maybe Phil Heath with his "Hi, I’m gonna do 60 reps on leg press this set just to see what happens"… While I like doing that, GJ does not! I’d totally throw Britt Miller’s workout at her if I knew what it was… In the back corner of my mind there was a name that still lingered there, so I looked into it and oooooh, I like how this looks! (In a very twisted way, heh!) The workout is that of a certain Texan who likes to train with chains… Can you guess whose workout it is?

Yep, good ‘ol Branch! Here’s His Workout, soon to be ours in a few weeks!

Ego not only left at the door this morning, I’m pretty sure I punted it across the parking lot and over someone’s fence in their back yard where their pet of choice saw fit to assault and decimate it. Yeah, legs today was bittersweet. In the spirit of the last couple days stressing form and reps instead of weight that presented me with a predicament when it came to squats and leg press. I know I need to work my medial thigh, but its not always comfortable to turn my feet outward on a seated leg extension. So for squats I’m going a little wider and adding a very slight turn out, and leg press I’m going much wider with a V stance. I’m also going full range of motion, so that means on squats the hams are touching the calves and for leg press my knees are being brought all the way to touching my chest/shoulders. This also will hit the glutes and hams more in addition to the medial thigh. Heavy leg extensions will see fit to hit the rectus femoris. Anyhow… The weights today were much lower than usual and reps were taken slower. Everything felt better and more complete overall (with a lot of rest-pauses). Best of all was that I felt no knee discomfort at all and didn’t have to use my wraps. I want to use the next few weeks to really stress form and get complete strength back in my legs before I kick in the Xtreme Stack. So, with that, here are today’s numbers:

Leg Extensions (For Warm-Up): 4×20 - 50, 60, 70, 80
Squats: 5×20-12 - 95×20, 115×20, 155×17, 185×14, 205×12
Leg Press: 5×20-12, 90×20, 110×20, 140×18, 160×15, 180×20
Leg Extensions (Heavy): 4×10-12, 130×12, 140×12, 140×11, 140×10
Standing Calf Raises: 5×20-30, 180×30, 190×23, 180×20, 170×20, 160×20
Seated Calf Raises: 5×20-30, 90×30, 92.5×27, 92.5×25, 92.5×23, 92.5×20

I’m so glad to be done with the off week! I seriously was getting to be quite lethargic and the lack of activity was not benefiting me considering I was trying to get my body acclimated again to ingesting massive amounts of food. Weight has been hovering between 191-194 most days. All together not bad at all considering I was consistently stuck around 173 or so in January. Slight bodyfat increase the last couple weeks, too. Hopefully that’ll change soon with the new diet being more restricted on the fats. I hate skim milk, but that’s the only way I can stay close to my goals and still be able to take in the eggs and beef.

Hit chest late last night and back this morning. I’ve switched a couple exercises from free-weight barbells to using the Smith machine. Chest is one of my weakest areas and I firmly believe its due to using my anterior delts too much. Also, the incline benches at my gym are 45 degrees, so by using the Smith and one of the adjustable benches that isn’t fixed to the floor I can use it lower at around 30-35 degrees. Plus, with the fixed range of motion I don’t have to worry so much about keeping stability and as a result bring the bar down lower and focus the work on the pec minor more. I really felt the difference last night with the more strict form and lower weight. I still have free weight dumbell incline flyes as well, so there’s still some non-machine work being done.

For back, I’m opting to use the Smith also for bent rows. Again, lighter weight to focus on having a more bent over form and really isolate the upper back while not putting emphasis on the rear delt (that’s for shoulder day later in the week). Agian, less weight, but focusing on form again. Given the higher rep volume it should work out better in the end. I do really wish the Smith at my gym was vertical and not angled, but alas gotta make the best of what’s available.

Supps… still working to master and conquer the BCAA powder dilema. I’ve gotten to where I can put a heaping tbsp in my Full Blown Extreme and chug that and still get some in my water with the glyco-maize and plenty of flavoring. Total I’m still getting about 20g in at the moment. Hopefully I can figure out something to let me get up to 25-30 total between the combined pre/during workout mixtures.

Enough for now, my heap of eggy goodness appears to be done cooking. Time to shovel more yum yum food and go masticate (those of you who know your anatomy will understand that one ^_^).

Just gave GJ her first coat of Pro-Tan. Definitely gonna need to apply more coats to her upper body to even it out as her back and legs were fairly dry. Still looking good though. Gotta let the hours pass and see how it darkens then go from there. Should be interesting to see how her family reacts when we meet up with them for lunch today!

Needed a shocker workout tonight since I haven’t lifted in 6 days. This should hold me over till Monday:

Romanian Deadlifts: 135×41+115×19+95×30
Seated Leg Extensions: 50×57, Rest-Pause, 50×43
Seated Calf Raises: 65×100
Wide Parallel Grip Lat Pulldowns: 90×50+100×30+100×20
Pec Deck Fly: 60×65, Rest-Pause, 60×35
Seated EZ Bar Bicep Curls: 35×78, Rest-Pause, 35×22
Cable Rope Tricep Pushdown: 60×70, 55×30

Total Volume: 37,420lbs @ 700 Reps

To the point, bulk diet kicks in full swing Monday. Aiming for around 4500 calories a day (35:55:15 ratios). Bottom line I’m trying to keep the fats lower and get more from carbs. Here’s the breakdown for the day:

Meal 1
Big Max 50 Gainer: 4 scoops
Skim Milk: 16oz

Pre/During Workout
Full Blown Xtreme: 1 scoop
GlycoMaize: 1 scoop

Meal 2 / Post Workout
Quick Oats (Uncooked): 2 cups (Yes, this is a LOT!)
Whole Egg (Large ~63g Raw): 6
Egg Whites International: 1/2 cup
Shredded Cheese: 1/4 cup

Meal 3
Coleman Ground Sirloin (No More Than 10% Fat): 8oz
Pasta w/Sauce: 10oz

Meal 4
Big Max 50 Gainer: 4 scoops

Meal 5
Chicken Breast (Grilled): 8oz
Brown Rice (Cooked): 1 cup
Frozen Green Beans: 1 cup

Meal 6
Elite 12 Hour (Fudge Brownie): 2 scoops

Totals: 4480 Calories, 384g Protein, 504g Carbs (94g Sugars), 105g Fat

Since GJ has the Max Muscle Customer Appreciation day coming up on the 26th and I’ve been looking over her diet to lean out now I suggested going ahead and starting the low carb phase a few days early. The next 4ish weeks she’ll be only getting what carbs are naturally occuring in the foods she’s eating. Protein will be high as always and most of her calories will be coming from good fats. The downside is that since fats are more calorie dense the actual volume of food is lower even though the calories are higher. The calories in this case are being based on her lean body mass instead of total body weight. Being that she’s around 113lbs at 12% bodyfat her lean mass is just over 99lbs. With the goal grams:1lb lean mass are protein: 1.5g, carbs: 0g (naturally occurring only), fats: 1.0g she’s looking at daily goals of about 150g protein, 0g carbs, and 99g fat. There is of course flexibility in this.

Still keeping to 6 meals a day, here’s what the breakdown is looking like:

Meal 1:
3 Whole Eggs (Large, Hard Boiled)
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Meal 2
Max Muscle Tripple Whey (30cc Scoop) (IntraPro once 8 weeks out)
2 tbsp Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Meal 3
4oz Ground Sirloin (Coleman 90% Lean)
1c Frozen Green Beans
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Meal 4
4oz Ground Sirloin
2 tbsp Peanut Butter
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Meal 5
4oz Ground Sirloin
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Meal 6
1/2c Cottage Cheese (Lowfat 2%)
Flax Seed Oil (Softgell - 1g)

Totals: 1653 Calories, 158g Protein, 32g Carbs, 96.5g Fat

An easier way to hit the fat goal would be to use a less lean grind of meat, but GJ just hates the grease (not a bad thing). So with that, and since she doesn’t like chicken by itself, the route she opted for was to take in the extra flax and fats from nuts instead. The problem with just increasing the portions of the meat is that then the protein gets too high. Granted, we could also go to 5 meals a day instead but we’re both in such a habit of 6 meals that it works out easier. Of course, she’s keeping plenty of water with her as well to stay full (until she starts flushing from the lack of carbs…). Its gonna be a long 4 weeks for her, but that’s why I’m here to push her. Otherwise the magic snooze button would get over-used and the 5am meals would be missed. (Enforcing DK’s decree here! She can go BACK to bed after eating, but NEVER MISS A MEAL!)

We’ll be training 6 days a week, so the fats will definitely be being burned. Considering the great results seen from just the brief depletion a week ago, I think she’s really going to love the results from this (even if she is beat dead tired). Cardio is also going to be added in a few evenings a week. Nothing intense, just brisk walking on the treadmill with a slight incline. We both have our work cut out for us. Her more physically than mentalls and me more mentally than physically from having to deal with the imminent complaints about getting up early/on-time to workout…

GJ doesn’t care for chicken but I sure do darn it. I think I’ve about had my fill of turkey for a little while. I like it when I make pasta and it goes well with any red sauce. Not so much a fan of it with the broccoli though. Next trip to the store I think I’m gonna stock up on some chicken again to try and get some variety. I still have a couple unopened bottles of Ms. Dash marinade to use up, too. (Huge fan of the stuff for anyone who wants to add flavor without the sodium. The marinades or just spice blends work wonderfully!) Ramping up to take in the caloric load I’ll need for the next two and a half months is gonna take a little work. I very much try to get good dense calories in or else I find myself saying, "Ugh, I don’t want to eat anymore right now!" and the meal becomes a chore. I’ve got some new recipes to try out and I’m looking to try and figure out how I can make a healthy homemade carbonara sauce since its my favorite. Biggest Loser last week showed some quick clips how to make a very low calorie chicken alfredo pretty easily, but unfortunately didn’t give the actual recipe used (I’m sure I’d find it if I bought the cook book…). I’ve got the time so why not spend it experimenting and trying some new stuff, ya know? If anyone has any suggestions I’m open. I don’t mind eating the same thing multiple days or weeks in a row, so the easier it is to make it in large amounts for 6-8 meals worth at a time is always a plus.