Quik's Workout Log

[Quiksilver]

Okay, that's annoying..I can't go back and edit old posts, so I'm posting the stats here...

Current Stats: 27-Jan-07
Weight: ~163 lbs (153lbs in september 06)
Height: 5'8.3
Bf: ~12%
Measurements:
chest - 40.5"
waist - 33"
quads - 21.5"
calves - 14.75"
neck - 14.1"
biceps - 13.5"
forearms - 11.4"
**** - joking
--------------------------------------------
Pictures:
Feb. 11, 2007
removed.

With any luck, my already sexy self will look much better by July. I'm acouple weeks into the 6-day split, and my body has adjusted to the workload, so I'm good to go!

 

[EFFORT]

I'm acouple weeks into the 6-day split, and my body has adjusted to the workload, so I'm good to go!

Can't help but ask what your logic with this is?

 

[Quiksilver]

Different muscle group each day, with the accessory work done on the weekend. My logic here is that front-loading the heavy work in the week leaves me fresh for rugby and tennis training on the weekend.

I know the Monday legs, Tuesday chest, and Wednesday back are pretty close together but I recover pretty quickly. And since I have enough time around classes, work, and life to get the gym six times a week...why not?

I don't waste time in the gym, im usually only there for just over an hour(including cardio), so I may as well fit in a workout every day.

The problem with the last split i was using(monday legs, wednesday chest, friday back) was that the friday workout leaves me pretty useless in practice on saturday...I looked for a program that could fit around my needs, and this is what I found. Also, I know spending a day devoted to biceps or triceps is questionable, but hey...its better than just doing cardio on those days..

If you know something that I should be doing instead, by all means help me out.

thanks

 

[EFFORT]

IN CAPS

Different muscle group each day, with the accessory work done on the weekend. My logic here is that front-loading the heavy work in the week leaves me fresh for rugby and tennis training on the weekend.

THIS IS NOT GOOD. RUGBY AND TENNIS TRAINING AND TRYING TO ADD MUSCLE MASS IS NOT A GOOD COMBINATION. ITS GOING TO IMPACT YOUR BODY WAY TOO MUCH.

I know the Monday legs, Tuesday chest, and Wednesday back are pretty close together but I recover pretty quickly. And since I have enough time around classes, work, and life to get the gym six times a week...why not?

BECAUSE YOUR MUSCLES AND BODY NEED TIME TO RECOVER. GROWTH TAKES PLACE OUTSIDE OF THE GYM NOT IN THE GYM. LIFTING WEIGHTS 6 TIMES A WEEK IN ADDITION TO DOING CARDIO, TENNIS TRAINING AND RUGBY TRAINING IS THE BEST STRATEGY IVE SEEN YET FOR FAILING AT ADDING MUSCLE MASS

I don't waste time in the gym, im usually only there for just over an hour(including cardio), so I may as well fit in a workout every day.

THIS SOUNDS REALLY MISINFORMED. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? HAVE YOU BEEN READING ON THIS FORUM AT ALL? HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THE STICKIES OR LOOKED IN ON A FEW DISCUSSIONS?

The problem with the last split i was using(monday legs, wednesday chest, friday back) was that the friday workout leaves me pretty useless in practice on saturday...I looked for a program that could fit around my needs, and this is what I found.

THE LAST SPLIT WAS BETTER BUT STILL BAD BECAUSE OF YOUR SPORT SITUATION

Also, I know spending a day devoted to biceps or triceps is questionable, but hey...its better than just doing cardio on those days..

NO DOING CARDIO WOULD ACTUALLY BE BETTER THAN DEVOTING A DAY TO BICEPS OR TRICEPS

If you know something that I should be doing instead, by all means help me out.

IF YOUR LOOKING TO ADD ANY REAL MASS, YOU WILL NEED TO RECONSIDER TENNIS AND RUGBY. IF YOUR LOOKING TO ADD MASS TAKE A BREAK FROM TENNIS AND RUGBY OR WAIT UNTIL THE OFF SEASON TO GET ON A WEIGHT GAIN PROGRAM.

IF YOU WONT DO THIS THAN YOUR OTHER OPTION IS WOULD BE TO DO A VERY ABBREVIATED 2 DAY SPLIT OR LIFT ONCE A WEEK WITH A BASIC FULL BODY ROUTINE. AND REALLY PUTTING AWAY SOME CARBS AND PROTEIN.

thanks

YOUR WELCOME

 

[Quiksilver]

I see...

So what you're saying is that I shouldn't expect to see any substantial gains with the amount of cardio I'm doing? It's around 5 and a half hours of cardio a week..

I keep the cardio in the gym at around 30 minutes of intervals...I got the impression off of this forum that catabolism only sets in if you do high intensity for extended time (upwards of 30-45 minutes)? Rugby and tennis training is around an hour and a half total, of medium-high intensity depending on the drills we do that day, is that really enough to negate a 10lb gain in 4-5 months?

I'm aware that growth happens when your body is recovering... I thought it was specific for the muscle group though? Say I do chest on tuesday, does that mean that my shoulder or biceps near the weekend would prevent growth? I thought my program was allowing for the muscle group to rest for a full week.

One last thing...I came to the conclusion that I wasn't big/strong enough to notice the harm of doing this many workouts plus cardio. I thought that because I'm still comparatively small/weak that I would benefit from doing any sort of workout, and that only when you get pretty muscular that you have to tone down the cardio.

Thanks again for the reply, I'll consider lowering the intensity of the gym cardio...

p.s. I'm trying to keep pretty open to ideas here..I know I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to recieving advice sometimes, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

cheers

 

[EFFORT]

IN CAPS AGAIN

I see...

So what you're saying is that I shouldn't expect to see any substantial gains with the amount of cardio I'm doing? It's around 5 and a half hours of cardio a week..

YES, BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF CARDIO YOUR DOING AND FROM DOING WEIGHTS 6DAYS A WEEK. VERY FEW AND I MEAN FEW PEOPLE ARE GIFTED ENOUGH TO WEIGHT TRAIN 6DAYS A WEEK

I keep the cardio in the gym at around 30 minutes of intervals...I got the impression off of this forum that catabolism only sets in if you do high intensity for extended time (upwards of 30-45 minutes)? Rugby and tennis training is around an hour and a half total, of medium-high intensity depending on the drills we do that day, is that really enough to negate a 10lb gain in 4-5 months?

YES AND EVEN MORE SO WHILE DOING WEIGHTS 6DAYS A WEEK. IF YOUR GOING TO CONTINUE WITH YOUR SPORTS AND TRY TO GAIN YOUR BEST STRATEGY IS DOING A FULL BODY ROUTINE ONCE A WEEK (BASICALLY CENTERED AROUND HEAVY SQUATS /DEADS AND HIGH REP SQUATS ,AND ROWS) AND EATING A HELL OF A LOT OF FOOD

I'm aware that growth happens when your body is recovering... I thought it was specific for the muscle group though? Say I do chest on tuesday, does that mean that my shoulder or biceps near the weekend would prevent growth? I thought my program was allowing for the muscle group to rest for a full week.

START LOOKING AT YOUR BODY AS ONE UNIT. EVERY WEIGHT ACTIVITY YOUR DOING IS IMPACTING YOUR BODY AS A WHOLE. WHEN YOUR DOING YOUR CHEST ON TUESDAY YOUR BODY IS BEING IMPACTED AND NEEDS TO RECOVER BUT THEN YOU THROW ANOTHER WORKOUT AT IT ON WED THEN THURS THEN SAT AND EACH DAY ITS BEING IMPACTED AND NEVER GETTING TO RECOVER. YOUR BODY ISNT SOME SPERATE THING EVERYTHING IS WORKING TOGETHER. YOUR PROGRAM IS ALLOWING YOUR MUSCLES NO REST

One last thing...I came to the conclusion that I wasn't big/strong enough to notice the harm of doing this many workouts plus cardio.

GLAD I CAUGHT YOU, TRAINING LIKE THAT IS AN INJURY WAITING TO HAPPEN. BEING A NEWBIE IS A BAD EXCUSE FOR TRAINING LIKE ****. AS A NEWBIE ITS IMPORTANT TO GET YOUR FOUNDATION TOGETHER. ITS IMPORTANT TO LEARN CORRECT FORM OF THE LIFTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ADDING MASS TO YOU, ITS IMPORTANT TO BE GETTING GOOD AT EATING A SET DIET, GETTING REGULAR WITH YOUR SUPPLEMENTS, YOUR CARDIO, YOUR SLEEP, BUILDING A BASIC CONDITIONING LEVEL. THE NEWBIE PERIOD IS IMPORTANT AND YOU SHOULD TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT AND TRAIN ON A PROVEN ROUTINE LIKE THE ONE FROM STARTING STRENGTH.

I thought that because I'm still comparatively small/weak that I would benefit from doing any sort of workout, and that only when you get pretty muscular that you have to tone down the cardio.

AS A NEWBIE YOULL BENEFIT A BIT FROM DOING ANY KIND OF WORKOUT, BUT WHY NOT BENEFIT A LOT FROM DOING A PROVEN TO WORK ROUTINE AND START OUT LEARNING HOW TO TRAIN CORRECTLY RIGHT OFF THE BAT INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH THE NEWBIE PERIOD ON BS ROUTINES THEN HAVING TO LEARN CORRECT TRAINING ONCE THE BS TRAINING STOPS WORKING (WHICH WILL BE VERY FAST)

Thanks again for the reply, I'll consider lowering the intensity of the gym cardio...

THE GYM CARDIO IS THE LEAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS, YOUR MAIN PROBLEM IS BEING ON A 6DAY WEIGHT LIFTING ROUTINE, PLAYING RUGBY AND PLAYING TENNIS.

p.s. I'm trying to keep pretty open to ideas here..I know I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to recieving advice sometimes, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

I UNDERSTAND. WEIGHTLIFTING IS A VERY MISINFORMED TOPIC, PRETTY MUCH THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE HAVE THE WRONG CONCEPTS OF WHAT WORKS. BASED ON WHAT YOU TYPED YOUR CONCEPT LOOKS REALLY FLAWED AND THE BEST THING YOU COULD DO FOR YOUR TRAINING IS TO LET GO OF IT AND START FRESH BY READING A-UNITS POST, THE IDIOTS GUIDE TO GROWTH AND SQUAT FOR BIG ARMS...ALSO READ ON IRONADDICTS.COM

cheers

 

[Quiksilver]

Hey

Just finished reading the Retards guide to growth, great work done there. I also read the squat for big arms, I already knew most of that but reading again puts it into perspective.

Okay, so clearly the routine I have now is either for a genetic monster or a fool.

Now, the important thing is getting a routine that actually does work.

I stole this from Guide to Growth:

Squats 2 x 5
Squats or Leg Press 1 x 15 (lighter weight)
Good Mornings or Stiff Leg Deadlifts or Sumo Leg Press 2 x 10-15
Glute Ham Raise or Pullthroughs or Hyperextension 2 x 8
Calf Raises 2 x 10

Incline Press 2 x 5
Dumbbell Press (Flat/Decline) or Dips 2 x 8-10
Shoulder Press 2 x 8-12
Tricep Exercise 2 x 10-15

Deadlifts 2 x 5
Row or Chinup/Pulldown 2 x 8
Bicep Curl 2 x 8-10
Forearm Exercise 2 x 10-15

--------------

There are others though. I've heard some pretty decent results have come from the 5x5:

Monday
Squat 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Bench 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Barbell Row 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Assistance: 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups

Wednesday
Squat 4x5 First 3 sets are the same as Monday, the 4th set is repeating the 3rd set again
Incline or Military 4x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5
Deadlift 4x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5
Assistance: 3 sets of sit-ups

Friday
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Barbell Row 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Assistance: 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps)

I'm sure there are more, but those are pretty much the basics of what all the serious bbers are preaching.

Which would you say, is the better routine?

I'll manage the diet, cardio, and sports( i plan to quit tennis until July to work on muscle and conditioning), but some advice for a routine that I will make solid gains on would be appreciated.

cheers

 

[SamoJednom]

QuickSilver,

I heard great things about Bill Stars 5x5 and Mark Rippetoes program. I am doing Mark Rippetoes Program and like it quite a bit. His program is more concentrated I believe on gaining strength and increasing your core strength. It works for a wide variety of people so maybe you could give it a shot if you haven't done so already. Its pretty much 2 different routines which are alternated and done a total of 3 times a week.

Day1:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Dead Lift
3x5 SitUps
2x8 Dips

Day2:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Military Press
3x5 Power Cleans or Bent Over Rows
2x8 Chins
3x5 SitUps

But just don't forget to base all your Exercises around Squats, Dead Lifts, Bench !

 

[Quiksilver]

Taking this week off before I make a very highly disciplined push into the summer months.

Decided to give myself a rest after this monday--even though I didn't feel like putting down the weights--until next week. What sealed the deal is that I have abit of a cold right now, so this week was a perfect time for a rest.

Very very happy with myself, last friday and this monday I set three major personal records and hit my first checkpoint goals.

record: DB Bench is up to 70lb per arm x 6r x 2s

record: Deadlift is up at 250lbsx5x2

record: Squat, as of monday, is up to set1: 250lbsx5r & set2: 250x8r.
I hit 5 reps and dug deep, pulling out an extra 3 that I knew I had in me. Pretty proud of myself for these lifts, especially the squats. When I took the 460lbs off that I was doing before on essentially a smith machine in favour of the olympic bar, I had to lower the weights down to 180lbs to pull off a set a deep steady reps. In about three months time, bumped the weights 70lbs and keeping good form.

Progress reports coming when I can find time this weekend, and moving my stats and whatnot over to www.bodyspace.com.

peace dudes.

 

[Quiksilver]

Yeeeaaah dawg

Finally starting to add weights to my pull-ups!

5 x widegrip
5 x hammer
5 x classic
5 x widegrip

all of those with bw + 10lbs!

On that note, got my 5x5 Dips up to bw + 35lbs, goin to 40 on wednesday.

Skipping monday legday to give a pulled muscle an extra weeks rest... Still doing cardio so i don't get phat.

I keep putting off stats until "next week", so what's one more week... Progress pic + updated stats + lift #s will be posted next saturday, my life on it.

later

 

[Quiksilver]

What next?

End of next week I'll have been on Idiot's Guide to Growth routine for 12 weeks.

I know periodization is a big factor in growth, so...What sort of routine would be a good second step?

Any input appreciated.

My own opinion is that I try the 5x5.

thanks

 

[Quiksilver]

Update:

Squat is up to 285lbs x 5reps x 2sets.... fvckin proud of this, btw
Deadlift is up around 275lbs x 5 x 2, but should hit 290ish on friday, if todays Leg day was any indicator.

-

Progress pics have been put off until i get my own digicam

-

A question... See the post above this for details, thanks a million.
If I don't get any info, I'll just ride this same routine till the end of june, in which time I'm taking a month off.

-

By the way, my weight has not changed, despite significant strength increase, and bodyfat hasn't moved much either. Started taking creatine ethyl ester last week, as well as other supps. That might be responsible for the sudden jump from (squats) 250x4x1 to 285x5x2.

-

Overall, pretty happy with strength increase. Mediocre fat loss. And mediocre size increase.

-

What is a good size-inducing routine? I'm noticing a significant strength increase doing the Idiots Guide to Growth, but almost no size/weight change.

-

peace

 

[EFFORT]

modified westside will but some size on you and increase your strength. Theres also a chance your not eating enough because usually strength gains=size gains at this stage in the game.

 

[Quiksilver]

Right, well this destroyed finger isn't going to halt my progress...

I took wednesday(chest/shoulders), thursday(cardio/abs), and friday(back/bi's) off at the docs orders, but im starting again on monday and going for 290x5rx2s on squats..

with any luck I'll hit 315lbsx5rx2s by the end of june.

-----

I fattened up over the past 3 days by eating everything in site whether good or bad, to ensure a fast recovery from this injury, so im looking abit podgy...in short, no progress pics yet

-----

I'm doing my liver/kidney detox today(saturday), where I don't eat anything,, drink only water/green tea, and take plenty of laxatives throughout the day. That should kickstart a healthy diet again

so fvck this finger injury, not letting it get in the way of progress, although I'm taking it easy on arms and any exercise that involves heavy gripping, which may include DL, but ill see how its recovered by then and cross the bridge when I come to it.

-----

This is sort of a rant at how unfortunate this injury was, when I'm so close to a huuuge milestone(315lbs squat/deadlift).

------

Over n out

 

[Warboss Alex]

I grew the best I ever did on a routine more or less identical to the idiot's guide one. But my minimum calories every day were around 4k (on an offday).

You were either a) not eating enough or b) have poor fibre recruitment so you need more volume. I suspect it's a so let's see how you were eating - post your diet.

Conversely modified westside works great as well but again, you need to eat.

 

[Quiksilver]

Here's the diet I aim for every day, most days I can roughly hit it, some days less, some days more.

* supplements are taken with breakfast every day. multivitamin, vitaminC, zinc, cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, calcium + magnesium, green tea extract, BCAA

Breakfast
1. 4 - eggs (2 yolks removed)
2. 2 scoops - Whey concentrate + glutamine (~50g protein in the shake)
3. 1/3 cup - oatmeal
4. 1 - apple
5. green tea
6. supplements *
Brunch
1. 1/2 serving - chicken breast
2. 1 cup - vegetables
Lunch
1. 1 serving - chicken breast
2. 1 cup - veggies
3. apple(or other low GI fruit)
Afternoon tea
1. 1/2 serving - chicken breast
2. 1 cup - veggies
Preworkout
1. Whey concentrate(50g protein)
2. apple(or, again, another low gi fruit)
3. creatine
4. BCAA
Postworkout
1. Whey Isolate( 70g protein)
2. glutamine
3. 1/2 serving - chicken breast or fish or beef
4. 1/3 cup - oatmeal
Dinner
1. 1/2 serving - fish or chicken
2. 1 cup - veggies

I haven't run any numbers on this recently, but I know that I'm hitting upwards of 300g of protein. My bw is 160, so thats respectable amount. I'm also aware that I'm not eating many simple carbs, I've been trying to keep a tight watch on that stuff for now.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Quik, that's not a gaining diet. Chicken and veggies most of the time, that's maintainance bordering on fat loss. I'm not surprised you didn't gain anything with that diet. A protein is NOT a protein no matter what people say.

You run no numbers on that, big mistake. The carbs are so low and the fat non-existent virtually, the bulk of your calories are from protein - guess what your body will use as fuel, and how much will be left for muscle gains?

The routine obviously worked for you to gain strength, so I'd run it for another three months and instead of chicken and veggies, try red meat (1lb a day) and whole eggs (12-15 a day) for your protein, as well as sufficient calories from other sources so you're not doing a gluceogenesis diet (as you essentially were). In your case I'd go with a carb cutoff (at 160 your priority should be muscle gains), or a high fat diet with carb days. TRACK everything you eat. Work out your macros and percentages.

If you wanna try a different routine the eating advice still applies.

 

[Quiksilver]

Bite the bullet, time to bulk

Alright...

I'm done going to the gym 3x a week and not seeing any substantial gains from it.

Time to bulk.

Training:

Been doing the Idiot's Guide to Growth routine since beginning of February, so I'm going to switch to a higher volume routine at the end of june. I personally find that higher volume(8-12 reps) works better than low volume(5-8 reps)
Some suggestions would be cool, or a link if you know a good high volume(8+ reps) routine.

Cardio:

Each morning:
10 minutes of HIIT, twice a week
30 minute jog, once a week.

Nutrition:

I've got this dialed in finally...I repeat...FINALLY. Eating 500g of lean ground beef per day now. Eating plenty of veggies, a few fruits, oatmeal by the bowlful, whey, 6 whole eggs for breakfast, tuna for snacks, salmon whenever i can, steak, chicken, green tea whenever i can manage, peanut butter, cottage cheese, almonds, etc. The best thing is, I don't even want to eat crap food anymore. I love real food too much now.

I could use some pointers for nutrition while bulking. It's going to be a clean bulk, since I started working out from a chubby state.

Rest:

This is the next hurdle. Putting in place the self-discipline to get 8 hours sleep per night. And by sleep, i mean REAL sleep, the kind where you wake up feeling ready for the day, instead of ready for bed again.

Peripherals:

I believe a large part of why I didn't gain much muscle over the past months was stress. Yes, stress. as you know, stress raises cortisol levels, lowers testosterone, and makes you fat.

Any pointers or fyi's or even just some experienced advice would be most welcome.

-----

A few days ago, some girl complimented me on my 6pack(took ages to get one), and I decided that I didn't care about it anymore. Fvck it. Not worth maintaining one just for that. Screw the beach body for the summer. I'll go on a long clean bulk, and come back next year, twice as jacked.

All you skinny 6pack-hugging guys should follow suit.

 

[ATX1001]

A few days ago, some girl complimented me on my 6pack(took ages to get one), and I decided that I didn't care about it anymore. Fvck it. Not worth maintaining one just for that. Screw the beach body for the summer. I'll go on a long clean bulk, and come back next year, twice as jacked.

All you skinny 6pack-hugging guys should follow suit.

Just a comment on this...

I don't want to look huge! I see big, fat guys I have never seen before walking into the gym and I think to myself.. "ahhh, first timer in here to lose the massive gut and 40% BF, eh?". Right up until they start bench pressing 150kg. If you are huge, you look fat with clothes on. If I see a massive guy in the street fully clothed, 99% of the time I assume he's a fat slob. There's no way to tell the difference!

I don't want to look like a fat slob (even if I'm not) so I'm training for a moderate increase in muscle and low body fat. fvck the 'jacked' look.

 

[onyx]

thats bull**** you can tell the difference between a fat guy with clothes on and a muscular guy with clothes on...theres a huge difference