s1a0m1m2's journal

I was going back and forth on whether or not to make a journal, but I figured it would be the easiest and best way to keep a log of my progress, and hopefully i can get some feedback and suggestions as well.  I have been spending hours on DB for the past couple weeks trying to soak up all the different ideas and opinions out there, and I decided to start a new program for myself that is going to last probably 8 weeks. 
Here are my stats and goals:
Age:18(Turning 19 in september)
Height:6'4''
Weight:187 lbs
Bodyfat:Coming Soon
Max Bench:205(Haven't maxed out for a couple months)
 
My goal over these next 8 weeks is to gain 10-15 lbs of lean mass.  I am pretty thin and I am expecting to have a bodyfat of somewhere between 7-10 when I check it tomorrow.  I will hopefully weigh 200-205 lbs and a bodyfat% of between 5-8% would be incredible.  However, my main goal in this next 8 weeks is to get stronger, get that bench up, and bigger muscle mass and I realize that cutting bodyfat while going for mass is difficult to achieve simultaneosly.
 
Using formulas in the nutrition section of DB i found that my BMR is 2059 calories.  I am on a program to gain weight so i multiplied by my activity level(I will be lifting 5 days a week and swimming 1 day a week) and added 20% to gain weight.  My daily caloric intake should be about 4000 calories!!  I realize that is a ****load, but if that is what i need to do then i will.  I will be happy on a day if i get in the range of 3800-4100. 
 
If you got to this point in this long post I really appreciate it and it is almost over.  My lifting schedule for the week will look something like this.
Monday-Chest
            Bench Press
            Incline Dumbell Press
            Decline Press
            Cable Flies
 
Tuesday- Back
            Bentover Barbell Row
            Shrugs
            Dumbell Row
            Lat Pulldowns
 
Wednesday- Legs
            Deadlift
            Squat
            Leg Press
            Leg Extentions
            Leg Curls
 
Thursday-Arms
            Seated Dumbell Curls
            Barbell Preacher Curls
            Hammer Curls
            Tricep Pulldowns
            Overhead Tricep Extentions
            Tricep Pushdowns
            ForeArm Curls
 
Friday- Shoulders and Abs
            Military Press
            Lateral Raises
            Front Lateral Raises
            Bent Over Lateral Raises
            Leg Raises
            Curls
            Lower Back Work

 
Saturday-Swimming
10-20 Minute Swim
 
Sunday-Rest
 
I think I like this routine but if there are any suggestions I am definitely open minded to ideas.  I think for my bench press I am going to use IBB's program.  I guess that is all for now, I will get my bodyfat on here tomorrow. 

Oh yeah, here is my stack for this 8 weeks.
 
Fast Twitch(caffeine Free), GNC Megaman Mens Sports Multivitamin, Fish Body Oils, ON Pro Complex, Creatine Monohydrate.
 
I plan on taking the multivitamin and fish oil in the morning, the creatine(5g no loading) and pro complex right after my workout, and the fasttwitch 45 mins before my workout.

Today was the first day of my new program and i felt great.  My bench program is going to look like this(IBB i hope you dont mind me borrowing this).

135 x 15 
140 x 14 
145 x 13 
150 x 11 
155 x 10 
160 x 9  
165 x 8 
170 x 7 <-- if I fail here I start over from 215 
140 x 15 < --- This time I shoot for 15 reps again and I will most likely hit it.. 
150 x 13 
155 x 12 
160 x 12 
165 x 11 
170 x 10 

 
Todays numbers
Flat Bench press
135x15 (I hit this so it is a good place to start, good way to start these 8 weeks, it is a low number, but hey, this is why I am on here)
155x6
155x5
155x5
155x8(the Last 4 I had a buddy help me do negative resistance)
95x10(I did these incredibly slow)
 
Incline Dumbell Press
45x10
45x10
45x10
 
Decline press(I didnt know if i wanted to do dumbells or barbells here so i tried both)
40x10 dumbells
115x6 barbell
115x6 barbell
40x10 dumbells
 
Cable Flies
I set this at 20 lbs for each arm, it sounds very light but it actually isnt.
I did 3 sets of 10.
 
I am very happy with my first workout today because i felt good and i accomplished what i had wanted to.  I was looking for a 5th exercise to hammer my chest but i decided against dumbell flies for two reasons, 1. i thought it was repetitive since i just did cable flies, 2 i had spent 1 hour and 20 minutes in the gym already.
 
One of my goals for this program is that I spend about an hour in the gym for the 5 lifting days of the week, I think, and I have read in many places, that 1 hour is a good amount of time to lift for because more then that and your body because exhausted and wasting time.  One negative of today's workout is that I really took my time because i was just getting into the flow of this new routine, but hopefully next week I will be more accustomed to it and moving more quickly.
 
Foodwise today, I am very happy with what I ate.  Using fitday.com, i tracked my food consumption, and i hit my goals eating about 3900 calories, and achieving the 40/40/20 split i was looking for(not sure if i mentioned that above).  I took all of my supps on time and it was a good day.
 

Its a great place to start from bro!! your max will be 225 - 235 in no time Just watch! I have alot of faith!


I don't mind you posting the sets and ranges its all good if anything that makes me look good and will make me look better when you accomplish the goal set forth.

have a really good base man i think you have alot of potential
For only bein 17 your lifts are very good alot of people on here's lifts arnt believeable keep bein true to yourself on your weight and you wil lsee better gains then those who lie.
 
Keep working and you will be a beast

Check out my Video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vlWZpChpCzY

Also check out my log
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/m_275052/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#275052

Thanks for the feedback.  I wish I could say that today was as good as yesterday.  I know that occasionally there are bad days but it sucks that it came on the second day of my program.  I usually aim to get to the gym between 11:30 and at the latest 1:30 but today I didnt get there until 9:30.  I was with my girlfriend when I usually go to the gym, and I had work, so I didnt get there until after work.  Anyway, when I got to the gym I played a good hour of basketball, which was some good unexpected cardio, and then I got to it. 
Today was a back day, and I relized while I was lifting it was a mistake going into the gym without a better plan of what I was going to do, because hitting my back muscles has always been harder for me, i have never really gotten that burn from working back, and i know the burn or pump isnt essential but it is nice to really feel an exercise because it motivates me. 
So anyway next week I think i need to get a better plan for how I am going to hit my back and really focus on it, and if anyone has any ideas for back exercises that would be greatly appreciated.
 
Here is what I did:
Barbell Row
95x10
115x8
115x8
 
Lat Pulldowns
85x10 wide grip
85x10 close grip
100x10 close grip
100x8 wide grip
I was trying different grips to hopefully feel the exercise more but to no avail.
 
Machine Lat pulldowns
100x10
100x10
100x10
 
Machine Row
90x10
90x10
90x10
 
Dumbell Shrugs
45x10
45x10
50x10
50x10
With these I shrugged and held for a two count.
 
I really tried to focus on form and using my lats to do these exercises but I just didnt feel it to well.
 
It was a decent day as far as diet goes, i finally found a way to get enough calories in at breakfast.  On the downside, i didnt get to the 40/40/20 i was looking for instead it was like 22/50/18.  Too many carbs. 

Well anyway, this just means that I need to get refocused and dont let this happen again.  Tomorrow I hit the legs and I will nail the diet.

Overall good day today, I am still trying to feel out where I should be as far as weight goes and which lifts work for me.  I tried Dead Lifts but I didnt really have any idea where to begin with form, and instead of trying to wing it i figured i might as well save myself the injury until i know better, but I did fine without it.
 
Squat
145x15 easy warmup
185x10
185x10
185x10
This was a really easy squat day and I need to go heavier but I just wanted to make sure I have good form and since i'm not using a belt i dont want to hurt my lower back.
 
Leg Curls
110x10
110x10
110x10 Held the last one for 5 seconds
 
Leg Extentions
100x10
100x10
100x10 Held the last one for 5 seconds
 
Leg Press
275x10
275x10
275x10
 
I think I definitely will go heavier next week with my legs and hopefully get some calves in there but i decided before i started this that I wouldnt lift with my legs low legs high weight but instead lower weight higher reps because I play a lot of basketball and I love dunking on people and I dont want to mess that up.
 
Maybe tomorrow I will post what everything I am eating.  Any suggestions for finding the nutrition for food when you eat out at a restaurant?

Good lifting day for me.  After reading the article about overtraining, i searched for some ideas about how many sets to do per muscle, and I adjusted my arm day today accordingly.  At first it felt like I wasnt working hard enough, but by the end of the workout I felt good about it.  Check it out.
 
Seated Bicep Curls
25x15 warmup
30x8
30x8
 
Preacher Curls
50x8
50x8
50x6
 
Seated Hammer Curls
20x10
20x8
20x9
 
Tricep Rope Pushdowns Superset with Overhead Rope Extentions (made up names but just trying to describe the move)
100x15
110x12
110x12
120x10
 
Overhead Rope Extentions
100x10
110x10
110x10
110x10

Just found out my Bodyfat % is 8.3 so I am pretty happy with that, kind of what I expected but I wouldnt mind getting it down a little to get that six pack a little more visible.

I think i really need to get on those ab exercises hardcore because if I am at 8.3 bodyfat I feel like I should be showing more 6 pack then I am.  I have a crease down the center of my abs, and sometimes they show more then others, but not the way I would like.  I need to eventually get some pictures on here, but I guess I am a little shy with my white ass.

I just planned out my food for the rest of the day and I am going to finish this week where I need to be.  I am feeling pretty good right now about how this first week went.  If there was one thing I could change I would probably try to get up before 11 or 12 every day because getting up that late makes is incredibly hard to get my eating done.  Also another change I am making is after reading something from "the experts" I am going to be taking 10 grams of creatine a day, 5 grams before my workout and 5 grams after.  Danmirage said that a study showed that eating .2 grams per lb of whey protein, .2 grams carb, and .03 grams creatine pre and post workout led to the biggest strenght gains.

ORIGINAL: s1a0m1m2

I just planned out my food for the rest of the day and I am going to finish this week where I need to be. I am feeling pretty good right now about how this first week went. If there was one thing I could change I would probably try to get up before 11 or 12 every day because getting up that late makes is incredibly hard to get my eating done. Also another change I am making is after reading something from "the experts" I am going to be taking 10 grams of creatine a day, 5 grams before my workout and 5 grams after. Danmirage said that a study showed that eating .2 grams per lb of whey protein, .2 grams carb, and .03 grams creatine pre and post workout led to the biggest strenght gains.

Thats interesting.. lately I have been taking NoXplode + Eating sweet potatoes before my work out having dinner + muscle milk after my work out.. Maybe I should throw a protein shake into the mix before the work out too.. hmm so .2 x my weight? so thats approx 40 grams for me... So I am short before my work outs..

Thats really interesting! I like dan he is a cool guy. I am going to take that advice too.

I have creatine too I just don't use it I think I am going to throw that into the mix too then.

Military Press
65x15 easy warmup
95x10
100x10
100x8
95x12
 
Dumbell Laterall Raises(I am pretty weak at these)
10x12
12.5x10
15x6
12.5x10
 
Front laterall raises
12.5x10
12.5x10
15x8
12.5x12
 
Machine Rear Delts
135x10
125x10
110x10
110x10
 
Curls
20
20
20
 
Lower Back Extentions
20
20
20
 

ORIGINAL: IBendBarbells

ORIGINAL: s1a0m1m2

I just planned out my food for the rest of the day and I am going to finish this week where I need to be. I am feeling pretty good right now about how this first week went. If there was one thing I could change I would probably try to get up before 11 or 12 every day because getting up that late makes is incredibly hard to get my eating done. Also another change I am making is after reading something from "the experts" I am going to be taking 10 grams of creatine a day, 5 grams before my workout and 5 grams after. Danmirage said that a study showed that eating .2 grams per lb of whey protein, .2 grams carb, and .03 grams creatine pre and post workout led to the biggest strenght gains.

Thats interesting.. lately I have been taking NoXplode + Eating sweet potatoes before my work out having dinner + muscle milk after my work out.. Maybe I should throw a protein shake into the mix before the work out too.. hmm so .2 x my weight? so thats approx 40 grams for me... So I am short before my work outs..

Thats really interesting! I like dan he is a cool guy. I am going to take that advice too.

I have creatine too I just don't use it I think I am going to throw that into the mix too then.

 
Yeah it was an interesting thread.  After I read through it I had at least 5 questions.  You actually wrote in that post and he gave you some tips on your diet.  But anyway what I am doing now is the pre and post workout meals like i posted before and then an hour and a half later having a big high protein meal, so in your case your dinner and MM.  I have searched elsewhere on the internet and found that the main goals in your post workout meal is to replace glycogen stores(easy carbs malodextrin and dextrose i have a large banana) and replenish protein because your body is in protein breakdown mode.

Here is my diet for the day, feel free to give any critique or anything.
 
11:30 AM-2 servings oatmeal (damn wish I woke up earlier)
2:45 PM-McDonalds Double Cheeseburger and 3 Chicken Nuggets
(I know it is McDonalds but I read the nutrition and I need to the fat in somewhere and calories)
3:45 PM-1/2 serving Pro Complex, 5 grams creatine, 2 servings fast twitch
4:15-5:45-basketball and workout
5:50-Banana, half serving pro complex, 5 grams creatine
6:15-Asian Sides Chicken Fried Rice has chicken, peas, carrots, rice
8:15-tuna sandwich on wheat nut bread
10:30-10 inch thin crust tomato garlic and basil pizza
11:30-two glasses of fat free milk
 
This is the way my day ended up.
25% fat, 43% Carbs, 32% Protein
3982 Calories
 
As far as goals for calories go I hit them, could have used a little more protein but it cant be perfect.