Cure's 6 month strength building plan. Advice and comments sought.

[Cure]

yep, diet is the issue, I just need to get motivated to eat properly.

I need a diet thats consistent, easy to prepare on a daily basis, and cheap per calorie.

I had a shake with a raw egg in it a few hours ago, with milk and milk powder, I gagged at one point but managed to get it all down me. I think with the addition of chocolate powder I can make it bearable.

So im proposing to follow somthing like EFFORT's simple starting diet.
I want to cut some fat out of my diet, Im eating to much at the moment.

shake- 2 raw eggs+water+100g of milk powder + some kind of flavouring. Ill

3 of those a day, is 140g protein and 1500 calories. So on top of that I need another 100g protien minimum, and another 2000 calories minimum,

I can afford 1000k's of misc meat per day, either a chicken, or beef.

then can I get away with another 1000 calories from mixed fruit/veg plus oats? any suggestions?

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Todays workout-

squats- warmups to 3x5 90kg, I was very happy to get this as Ive not squatted properly in a few weeks, will see how it affects my knees (I dont think it will)

Press- corrected my form (tucking elbows under the bar) which made it easier, so I got 42.5kgx5, then x3, then did a few reps of 40kg sitting down.
It still just doesnt feel right, I followed this up immediatly with dumbbell OH press. 16kg in each hand, and got 6 and 8 reps, which felt much better, So Im going to do all my pressing with dumbbells for a while.

Row- same weight as last time, 54.5kg, but I got all the reps with ease, 4x6.
will go for 57kg next time, Nearly at 60kg then my back will finnally have caught up.

had two raw eggs+whey in a shake, was well good! off to eat more food now!

Im an under eater, gotta fix that.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

I considered not going in today as my glutes still ached from the squats, but I went for it anyway and had a great workout!!

dumbbell bench press-
12kgx8
18x5

3x8x22kg

getting into position was pretty entertaining , but the weight was managable (hence 8 reps) will go for 24kg next time.

narrow grip bench (lowering to stomach)
barx20
30kgx20

stiff leg deads, 4 warm up sets up to -
90kgx5 PR
was relatively easy as well- 100kg next time!

rack pulls-
80x5
100x5
120x3
140x not happening.. was worth a try.
130x4 (failed last rep- grip issues)

then 3x5 hamstring curls (on a bouncy ball)

ab work to finnish.

My arms ache so much!! who needs curls?!?!

4 raw eggs today so far and still hugry/thirsty!!

Cure.

 

[Cure]

yesterday-

squats- warmups to 3x5x100kg, feels great to be back in three digits and my legs REALLY ache in all the right places, bit of knee pain today but managable.
Im not going to squat 3x a week any more, Going to sub in other exercises which hit the hams and glutes, along with heavy front squats every 5-6 days or so. And will try to add 5kg per squat session! (help!)

seated dumbell OH Press-
2x6x18kg
3x18kg
will get all reps next time. I much prefer this to barbell but remains to be seen if I can break through the 40kg barrier successfully.

Rows-
3x6x57kg, felt good. 60kg for as many reps as I can next time.

Diet still going well.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Dumbbell bench Press 24kg each side-
first attempt at setting up went wrong and ditched the weights, then sorted it out-
6, 6, 8 reps. felt strong on this so will go for 8,8,8 next time then up the weight to 26kg.

fun with deadlifts! (and I can feel it today!!)

stiff leg deads,
3 warm up sets- 60,80,90,
work set- 100kg, 3 reps,pause to reset grip/breath,3 reps PR, very happy with this.

then rack pulls from slightly below the knee, not quite a full dead yet.
100kg x4
110kgx3

120kgx6 PR (with a reset pause in the middle)

Felt strong in my back and legs, grip was letting me down.

hamstring curls 3x10

body weight- 75.4kg. 166lbs
Dont know how but Ive gained a couple of kilograms in less than two weeks, well please, raw eggs are definatly working!!

next workout monday morning!

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Diet still going well, the 1500 calories of egg/milk shakes really helps get the numbers in.

My lower back was utterly obliterated by those deads the other day. I didnt realise quite how much till today, I was so stiff and achy warming up today-

Squats-
10xbar
5x60
4x80
2x5x102.5kg

went to parallel, slightly wider stance than usual, almost gave up after the 2nd rep of 2nd set but pushed through, lower back was not tolerating this well, else I would have gone for a 3rd set.

Pullthroughs- new movement for me, did 15x25kg or so. I dont think I "got it", might try again when my back is recovered.

Rows-
warmups then 4x59kg, bah! no idea if my arms/upper back could handle this or not, lower back just couldnt support the weight correctly.

EZ bicep curl bar+20kg (28 total) 3x8, 1x5
weird doing these but fun.

calf raises- 3x15 with 10kg then 20kg plates in each hand. Burned nicely.

Next workout wednesday, physio appointment next week so will see what they say about my knee. Prediction- "stop squatting for X months" but I might be proved wrong..

I really need to improve-
supplement intake, currently nil.
calorie intake- better consistency through the day.
Flexibility. I should be stretching properly at least twice a day, only takes 10 minutes.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

great workout today-

DB Chest press-
24kg x8, x8, x10
felt really strong.

seated OH dumbell Press
16kg x8, x8, x8
again, really strong, can definatly go for 18kg next time.

skull crushers
tried a couple of sets, hated these, made my elbows scream, so using cable push downs from now on.

bench
60x4
(to keep "in the groove" so to speak)

front squats
60kg, 2x10
higher volume on these isnt much fun but usefull.

My biceps still hurt from the other day!

looking forward to Fridays workout.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Yesterdays workout was great.

Deadlift-
60x6
80x4
90x12
100x1
105x1
110x1
115x1
120x5 PR
120x2 (form adjustment)

Felt REALLY strong on this so will definatly get 125 next time, Ill see how long I can keep putting 5kg on the bar for. Someone pointed out I was rounding a little, so need to focus on keeping my shoulders back through the hip drive.

Didnt do leg press as I squatted last workout.

Pull ups
x4
x4
x3 with horrid form, didnt really count.
chin ups x 6

EZ curl 3x8, 28kg.

calf raise with 20kg DB each side, 3x20 (Can really feel it today!)

Diet has been awesome, at least 4000 calories for the last couple of days, Ill try and keep it around 4k a day now, Im really starting to fill out in the mirror.

Cure.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Yesterdays workout was great.

Deadlift-
60x6
80x4
90x12
100x1
105x1
110x1
115x1
120x5 PR
120x2 (form adjustment)

Felt REALLY strong on this so will definatly get 125 next time, Ill see how long I can keep putting 5kg on the bar for. Someone pointed out I was rounding a little, so need to focus on keeping my shoulders back through the hip drive.

Didnt do leg press as I squatted last workout.

Pull ups
x4
x4
x3 with horrid form, didnt really count.
chin ups x 6

EZ curl 3x8, 28kg.

calf raise with 20kg DB each side, 3x20 (Can really feel it today!)

Diet has been awesome, at least 4000 calories for the last couple of days, Ill try and keep it around 4k a day now, Im really starting to fill out in the mirror.

Cure.

Look into doing these to improve chinups/pulups . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGBi2tNBPtQ&feature=PlayList&p=D1C578F1BD10AEC8&index=0&playnext=1

along side static holds and slow negatives,, getting stronger in rows. You should see improvements quick.

 

[Cure]

Cheers mate, I dont have a band at the moment but Ill definatly add in statics and negatives at the end of my work sets.
I think part of it is that Ive not really been doing pull ups much in the last 6 months, only as an occasionall aside, On the current program (SPBR) its more frequent and my row is going up so that should help.

Todays workout-

DB Bench Press 26kg (per side) x8, x7, x8 (spotter assisting on last couple I think)

DB Press 18kg per side, x8, x7(spotter on last rep), x8 (felt really strong again) plus two spotter assisted reps.

Bench 2x10 40kg, narrow grip lowering to mid torso.

3x10 tricep cable extensions. 23kg I think, I need to improve this.

6x10 various crunches.

All in all very happy, managed to put weight on both presses this week.
In future Im going to arrange my pressing session like this-

main exercise- 26kg per side dumbell press, starting flat, and gradually increasing the incline every week or so, the aim being to end up doing it as a full OH Press (12kg more than my current max).

followed by flat benching of some sort, and direct OH Press with whatever I can manage.

Diet is still going GREAT. today for example ive eaten/will eat-

milk 1400k 70
400g cottage cheese 250k 33
6 eggs 400k 40
4 bananas 400k
chicken sandwich 500k 30
ryvita 800k
two scoops whey 200k 40
2 cans makerel 500k 40

4450 calories
253g protien (approx 1.5g per lb, good enough!)

the protien is important, but its the high calories that are really doing the trick, Ive averaged over 4k a day for almost the last week.
Im taking a dump twice a day which is crazy compared to normal but its gotta be done! I think my metabolism/digestion has sped up to match my food intake, hence why im finding it easier to pack in so many calories.

Maintainance calorie levels for me are approx 3500, so should see consistent body weight gains, will weigh in on friday.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Todays diet-

two bowls malt wheats- 300 odd
2 bananas- 200

large onion, large pepper, two cans chopped tomatoes. approx 200k

800g lean beef mince 1200 160

4 pints milk 1400 70

3 eggs 200 20

egg sandwich 350k 10?

shake 200 40

4050 calories

300g protein.

pretty spot on I think, though ive got pleatny of beef to eat yet! better keep on munching, im in my 3 hour post workout window at the mo


My physio appointment results-

she seemed to know what she was doing, and gave usefull advice and asseement. theres nothing majorly wrong with my knees.

- I have REALLY tight quads, which she thinks are pulling my knee cap up, causing the irritation.
-My hams and glutes arnt that strong, and dont activate correctly, also they are pleanty flexible.

So I think the obvious answer- lots and lots of really hardcore glute and ham isolation, with minimal quad work for a while.

hence todays workout-

stretches, 1k row.

barbell row- bar, 40kg, then

4x5 60kg PR

I knew I had it in me, Ive put 10 kilos on my row in only a few weeks, pretty pleased, its no longer lagging behind my bench!

Didnt do squats, Did ham and glute work instead-

4x8 or so leg curl machine, I hate machines but I can see the use of this one. I could manage almost 2/3rds of the stack, Will keep going till I can do the whole stack for reps.

Barbell glute raises on a medicine ball- 15kg barbell. 3x10 or so.
Could have used a much heavier weight, but these still killed. Definatly usefull.

EZ curls- 3x8 28kg, easy, upping weight next time.

Calf raises with 22kg dumbbells,

dont like these, I lose my balance, but ill persevere as they are definatly helping my calves.

Some random ab work and ham curls to finnish.


generally really happy.

here is the program Im going to stick to for now, untill I reguard my ham/glute development sufficent.
Its the SPBR, modified to miss out my quads and hit my glutes/hams a lot harder, hopefully fixing my knee issue, Ive also simplified the pressing.

Monday
Leg curl machine 4 x 8
Glute barbell Raises 4 x 8
Barbell Row 4 x 6
Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Wednesday

Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Bench Press 2 x 5
cable pushdowns 3 x 10
Ab work

Friday
Deadlift/Stiff leg dead (alternating) 1x5 (plus warmups)
Squat/front squat 2 x 10 (light- focus on technique, proper depth and glute activation)
Pull up/chin up 4 x 6 plus negatives, static holds etc.
Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Monday
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Bench Press 2 x 5
cable pushdowns 3 x 10
Ab work


Gotta keep eating, keep growing, keep getting stronger.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Thursdays workout-

DB Bench with 26kg. 8, 8, 7(+1 with spotter).
With a slight incline- 3 reps, failed 4th even with spotter helping. Bah!

DB OH Press-

18kg for 4, was to heavy, 16kg for 4.

16kgx12

18x8

Dont know what happened here, strenght suddenly fully recovered, I think I left to short a gap between inclines to failure and starting the OH Presses.


Barbell Bench 65kg.
2x3 (spotter on 3rd rep each time)
Just to confirm I can still move heavy bars, 65 is the highest Ive pressed so happy with this. Will stick with DB's as primary though.

Tricep push downs 3x8 with 23kg

stretches, ab work etc to finnish.


Went for a swim this morning, it was exhausting, I can feel the extra weight on me as Ive not been swimming in ages, I need to go more often.

Diet still going pretty good, Im eating slightly more than optimal to gain muscle, so a bit of cardio to get my cardio fittness up will help even that out. Im taking up a martial art soon.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Stiff leg Deadlift- warmups to 110kgx5. PR,
well pleased with this, even though the last rep wasnt great for form.

deadlift 120kgx1, thought Id try this.. only one maximal dead set per workout from now on!!

Hamstring curls 3x8 61kg.

Glute raises 3x10 approx with 30kg.
Im going to keep this light while I focus on teaching my glutes to fire properly, at the moment its easy to work without them. I can do a regular squat with hardly any glute involvment at all, my quads are so dominant.
Need to look up that article on glute training again now I know how relevant it is to me.

2x4 pull ups, 2x5 chin ups.
Still dont seem to be going anywhere with these, might look into getting bands, and will add in pull downs next time.

2x8 bicep curls 30.5kg

Stretching, then food, then an hour of yoga.

Im definatly noticing the fat around my lower abs and love handles, My gym shorts barely do up anymore! dont like it.
Im keen to avoid putting fat on as once there its going to be a ***** to get rid of.
Im going to stick with the routine, keep calories between 3000 and 4000 and start doing some circuits type stuff.

Cure.

 

[Quagmire911]

If you are putting fat on, reduce the carbs in the later half of the day and do more cardio. You don't want to get fat, trust me. Looking at your diet, I'd cut some of the milk. If you are starting to get love handles, it might be time to think about taking some of the fat off. There's just no good reason to get fat while putting on muscle.

Also you can't max out every workout, this has been shown to reduce strength. Well that is if it is the same exercise. Since you aren't doing that type of program, I would just keep the maxing out toward the end of your cycle, just before you deload.

Apart from that, keep up the good work.

Quagmire

 

[Cure]

Ok, Cool.
To be honest, Ive not really been planning in De-loads, nor planning "cycles" as such.
Just sticking to a program of sorts and trying to lift as heavy as possible each time.
So what kind of cycling should I be doing and how should I be increasing weights?
Assuming unmodified SPBR. - deload then build weights up again, make a decent PR per lift, then deload again? what kind of time frame?

I can certainly cut out some milk, cutting carbs in the evening is a little tricky, I get fed at my bar job, which means a massive pile of food, inc lots of carbs, about 10pm, 3 days a week. bah!
but the other days I can cut out carbs after a certain time, just eat meat, fish, fruit/veg I guess...

Im going to plan out some circuits to do in my local park, will make a change to exercise outdoors and I want to get faster and more agile/explosive. As well as leaning down a lot for summer

thanks,

Cure.

 

[Quagmire911]

Generally at you're level something like 6-8 weeks lifting heavy, one week deload. It varies from person to person.

Progression also depends on the person. Obviously you want to try and put 2.5kg on the bar every session, but it may not work out like that, and certainly not for the smaller lifts.

If you stall out, or you just make the reps one week, stay at that weight the next week and consolidate your reps. If things are slow, you may have to then try out a more cyclical approach like 5/3/1.

As far as your massive intake of carbs at 10pm, this isn't good, and I presuming that it isn't "friendly" carbs either. It would be better if this was on days that you lifted. Otherwise, bring food with you, or minimize the damage as best you can. More protein, less carbs.

And if you want to get lean for summer and are starting to get love handles, the time to start was a month ago. You may still manage it, but say goodbye to all that milk.

 

[Cure]

cheers Quag,

I just went for a run/walk. Im so out of shape cardio wise.. its embarrassing . Plus my knee was hurting which is annoying. I've also pulled a muscle in my middle back with those deads ealier, Just starting to feel it tigthen up.. I've got to be smarter than this. no back work till friday now so Ill foam roll it tommorow and hope it recovers/take it real easy on friday.

I put weight on the bar as fast as I can but rarely as fast as 2.5kg per session.I've been on SPBR for 3 weeks now so Ill wait a few more before a deload.

I dont have "love handles" as such, I just mean Ive noticed a tiny bit of fat there, as oppose to none at all before. Ive never actually tried to lose weight before, its never been an issue, Ive always told people "yeah just eat less and exercise more". maby its time I discovered how difficult it is. im pretty lean, I reckon I can get in shape in a month if I really go for it.

I cant really afford to not eat the work meals, its potatoe wedges, rice, lots of chicken, sometimes pizza or a beef burger. generally its pretty good. For example curry nights I have a small pile of rice and as much chicken as I like! But some nights I have a massive pile of wedges and a few slices of pizza,which is bad. I work thurs-sat, so Ill change my workouts round so I do one on thursday and one on saturday.

maby I should cut out the milk entirly for a few months, see what happens...

Raw eggs+whey/skimmed milk mixture with water.
3 of those a day is 1000k.

Then Id need to eat atleast 2000k of food to get me to maintainance- not to difficult, add in some exercise and should see my weight drop down again, If I can do that while maintaining current strength levels that would be awesome.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

No milk at all today.. apart from a bit of skimmed milk poweder, feels weird not carrying the 4-pint bottle around with me all day!
I still feel "full" but have consumed significantly fewer calories.

I've been having a think recently and Ive concluded there is no point being big and strong if I cant run/bike/be generally fit.

Thus my new aim- maintain existing levels of strenght, whilst cutting my weight back down a bit, Im 76kg at the moment, I want to be 73 again, but just as strong if not stronger.

I cant do regular squats at the moment, so Im going to focus on getting my deadlift up, this should keep my lower body used to handling large weights, and provide the total body stimulous required to convince my body to keep the muscle while I ditch the excess fat.
I've never been really "cut" in my life, Id quite like to be.

Todays workout (was going to be tommorow but Im working all day, and its different muscles)

DB Bench
22kg per side, 3x12
didn't want to stress my back, so lower weight, higher reps, felt strong.

DB OH Press
14x5
2x7 18kg per side (with 8th rep assisted)
1x8

Dont know why but I was stronger on the last set, not complaining. I want to break through the 40kg barrier convincingly, so Im going to get high reps on 18kg DB's then switch straight to 22kg per side. Its a mental thing.

Tricep extensions 21kg 3x10

lots of stretching to finnish off.

Also had a "street dance" class which was fun.

Waiting for my back to heal up...

Cure.

 

[Cure]

ah lots to update!!

last Thursday-

Rows-
40kg 3x15
first set was explosive and for many reps with this lighter weight, felt awesome.

Hamstring curl machine- 3x10 68kg, felt strong, getting better at this.

Glute raises 3/4 x10 with a 30kg barbell. Glutes are getting better, still need to keep doing activation exercises to ensure they fire properly.

Bicep curl 31kg.
3x8

abs, stretching, foam rolling for back.


last Friday-

working out with a friend who started SS 6 weeks ago and is already equaling my Presses.. argh!! but I can squat and pull more than he can and weigh less. so not to worried!

DB Bench with slight Incline- 26kg

x5,
x3 +2 assisted reps
flat bench- x6

DB Press 18kg per side
3x8, felt really strong, will go for 3x10 next time.

Squat- 3x 87.5kg, testing it out.. I can still squat, and more importantly this wasn't too taxing.

Bench Press- assisted up, controlled down. (To get used to body weight)
72.5kg x 3

60kg x3 (last rep assisted)
wiped out after this.

Power Clean- warmups, 3x3 57kg, 2x3 60kg.
These felt great, 60kg with good form is a PR I think. Getting my row up has definatly helped here.

Weight- 74.5, dropped a kilo and a half in a week. Feel much better for it and strength is the same if not better.


Saturday- went to the gym to stretch and did core work. Also did 12 minute interval run.

Im getting a lot more flexible, Ive finally found a quad stretch that works for me so the tightness there Im slowly working out.
By the time I come to squat again my legs and hips will be a lot more flexible which should really help.

Cardio-

My treadmills have an "interval run" setting which Ive found very helpfull.
Im currently doing intervals of 1 minute at 10kph, and 1 minute at 16kph.
I can do 12 minutes. Going to work up to 20 minutes, then increase the speed of the running interval till its at 20kph. 3x per week or so.


Diet- cut back a lot the last few days. probs only on about 2500k, varies.
Need to get better at not eating junk food. Im weak willed some days.
Milk is gone completely, last few days Ive basically been eating "normally" with no egg shakes either. I will add these back in on Tuesday.

Current weight slightly over 74kg, I plan on getting my weight down to around 72.5, and getting my bench and row up to match for reps.
My friend says I cant get stronger while losing weight, I think I can, just gotta keep the protein up and eat plenty around workouts.

Till Tuesday..

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Couple of great workouts to add.
My back is totally heeled up, no pain in knees either, body feels so much better at the slightly lower weight.

tuesdays-

run to warm up.

row-
2x6 59.5kg
2x6 62kg

4x6 62.5kg next time. I can do it.

Stiff leg deads, warmups to
1x5 102.5kg.
This was really difficult after the rows but I got it.

Hamstring curls 3x10 75kg. PR
Still adding weight to this pretty fast.

Glute thrusts off of a bouncy ball thingy with a light barbell, My glutes are in agony today to obviously working.
I was focusing on explosive activation rather than lifting a lot of weight.

Bicep curls 3x8 32kg,
will up this next time.


todays workout-

10 minute interval run.

incline bench press- 26kg
3x6kg. PR
all sets and reps this time, awesome

Oh DB Press
1x5 18kg
2x8 18kg
This was difficult, I think I was knackered from the inclines still hence the poor first set performance.
I think in future I will do some random other exercise in between the two presses, to give my shoulders time to regain full strenth.

Tricep Press 3x10 23.75kg.
I need to get this one up fast, its lagging behind my curl.

body weight still approx the same, but I feel thinner and look more "V" shaped. Still got belly fat to lose, so keeping the diet below maintainance for now while Im still getting stronger.

Cure.