Been a rough couple of weeks lately. Biggest problem is my car, that I thought I had fixed, left my stranded yet again. My Honda Accord, supposedly really reliable (though it is old), left me stranded in rush hour traffic, on a bride facing uphill, thirty minutes from home. So, to say the least I and two other guys got our leg workout it pushing it up the bridge and off into the median. So I am now worrying my ass off that I am going to face some more costly repairs thus cutting into my "slush fund" for gyno surgery this winter. I have missed a couple of gym sessions trying to get this all sorted out and have already spent an assload of money on parts and towing fees. So hopefully tomorrow, actually later today after I sleep, I will do the last box squat workout before changing all my main lifts around a little bit. Keeping the same format, just going with the Westside advice of changing it up about every 3 weeks.

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legs too damned sore and tired from pushing my car up that bridge. Guess that will do as my leg workout. Will start back Monday with new max effort upper body.

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O.K. Back on track

Floor Press- up to 225 lbs x5 (stay)
Flat DB Bench- 75 lbs x7,8,8,7 (stay, its all the weight i have )
BO Rows- 3x10 @ 115 lbs (+5 lbs)
Rear Delt Raises- 3x10 @ 10 lbs (+5)
Knee Raises- 4x15

Note- First time doing floor press and I just say they are very hard to do! I am proud to say I have to invest in some more weight for my dumbbells (also the screw on collars have broken off!!!) All in all a very good session! Proud of myself.

P.S.- I thought I would test my standing box jump today and managed to jump onto a wall that is just over chest height. Unfortunately, I also wasn't able to get my weight over my feet and fell off backwards on my head and rolled over backward. Fun stuff, have some nice roadrash on my elbows.

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High Bar ATG Squats- up to 225 x3 (new to this style, stay)
Barbell Lunges- 3x10 @ 95 lbs (+5)
Glute Hame Raises on Swiss Ball- 3x15 (try one legged next time)
Pinch plates

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Floor Press- 45, 95, 135, 185, 225 lbs x5 (+5 lbs)
BO Rows- 3x10 @ 120 lbs (+5 lbs)
DB Bench Press- 3x10, 1x7 @ 65 lbs
Rear Delt Raise- 3x10 @ 10 lbs

Note- Was a REALLY fun and good session today. Haven't enjoyed myself this much in a long time. Maybe because my brother was working out too, felt more like I was in a gym. Will be going back to Powerhouse next month on Mon, Wed, and Fri after school. I am really excited about that.

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REALLY need to work on getting out of the hold on squats

High Bar ATG Squats- 225 lbs x2
BB Lunges- 3x10 @ 95 lbs (+5 lbs)
Swiss Ball Glute Ham Raises-3x15
Grip fun/play

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hi Sly sorry to hear about your car mate hope you get it sorted. training looks good keep it up.

Off session today . My lame excuse is to blame it on the heat. Untill school starts again I will be lifting out of my garage. Today the heat index is 110 degrees F (43.3 deg. C). So needless to say I can't wait to go back to school and back to my globo gym with air conditioning.

Floor Press- bar, 95, 135, 185 lbs x5, 230x fail, 1
BO Rows- 3x10 @ 135

Pretty much lost all desire to lift after failing so miserably on my floor presses. Dunno what was off today, but it sure was.

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Much better session this time

Weighted Dips- up to 75 lbs x5 (+5 lbs)
Ring Pushups- 4x15
BO Rows- 3x10 @ 125 lbs (+5 lbs)
Upright Rows- 3x12 @ 65 lbs

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Good session again today, although is was really really hot! 105 degrees F.

Squats- 45, 135, 185, 205, 225 lbs x5 (+5 lbs)
RDL- 3x10 @ 185 lbs (+5 lbs)
Pistols- tried a few and fell on my ass, too tired!

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Change of pace today. Did my workout with my brother today, lots of fun and competition.

DB Clean and Press- 40, 40, 50, 55, 55 lbs x5
Bottom Position Thickbar Bench- 68, 168, 188, 198 lbs x5 208 lbs x 1.5
Weighted Pullups - 3x5 @ 10 lbs (still suck at these)
Turkish Getups- 1x10 ea. side @ 35 lbs
Grip Play

Note- Starting to get a little too chubby. Will rework my diet next month and try and drop some chub before soldiering on with my bulk.

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First time back at Powerhouse Gym. Mirrors make me feel huge until I look around and see how buff everyone else is.

Dips- bw, 25, 35, 45, 65, 65 lbs x5 (+5 lbs, was a little weakish on dips so I went back down)
BO Rows- 3x10 @ 135 lbs (+5 lbs)
DB Bench- 2x10, 1x7 @ 75 lbs (stay)
DB Curls- 40 lbs x8, 4

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Rushed session yesterday, good overall though. Almost a superset type of session.

Squats- 45, 135, 185, 205, 230 lbs x5
RDL- 190 x 10, 10, 8

Started 5g of creatine a day as of today, and also been experimenting with carb cycling. According to my calipers and calculations, I gained an estimated 1.3 lbs of muscle and lost 1.3 lbs of fat this past week...um...AWESOME!

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Well low/no carb day is over. Still came out to about 50 grams of carbs though. Felt like crap and had a headache all day. All for just cause though! THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS!

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Bench- 135 lbs x 21, 25, 7
Pullups- bw + 10 lbsx 5, 4.5, 4 ()
Skull Crushers- 3x10 @ 75 lbs (+% lbs)
Thickbar Curls- 3x10 @ 68 lbs (+5 lbs)
Side Raises- 2x15 @ 15 lbs

Note- Really good session today. Nice to have some carbs again.

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Dips- 3x10 @ 70 lbs (+5 lbs)
Chest Supported T-Bar Rows- 90 lbs x 10, 10, 12 (+5 lbs)
DB Bench- 70 lbs x 10, 8, 10 (stay)
DB Curls- 45 lbs x5, 40 lbs x 7, 35 lbs x6
Tricep Pressdown- 1x20 @ 75 lbs (I was spent!)

Notes- Great session. One of the best "feeling" ones in a long time. Only went to 90 degree elbow bend on dips and that took the strain off my shoulders, GREAT! I really think the carb cycling and the simple sugars split pre & post workout helps a lot!

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Hi mate!

After your reply to my "at what bf level to you feel comfortable to bulk from" thread, i thought i would pop in!

Am i correct in thinking you have bulked using carb cycling?

Do you feel using this plan helped you stay leaner whilst bulking?

Do you think you could have layed down more lean tissue by not restricting your carbs at times?

Sorry about all the q's, just interested!

all the best

Tom

MY Olympic Style Weightlifting Journal

Well, I started bulking just by "easing up" on my cutting diet. Slightly larger portions, a few more cheat meals, didn't write anything down, etc. This led to me gaining bodyfat back rather quickly and I set myself a "limit" at 16% bodyfat that I would no go above. I reached that and switched to a carb cycling approach to see if I could lose a little fat before continuing on with my bulk. Lately I have slowed my fat gain and my LBM has continued to increase, but the fat is getting to me. I have now put myself in a slight caloric deficit on my moderate days, near maintenance on high car days, and well under on my no carb days.

So in answer to your questions:

I am still testing and adjusting my carb cycling diet, but it looks very promising. I think if I had started it sooner on my bulk, I would have better been able to limit the fat I gained.

I feel that I gained as much LBM as I did when I ate everything in sight, so I think carb cycling is an ample approach to bulking and gaining body mass.

Next is to diet down to 10% or less, and bulk back up until I hit around 12%. I accept that some fat gain is necessary, but never want to feel "fat" again.



Recent liftage has been good, just haven't been putting it in my journal.

Long story short last weeks 5 rep Squat was at 235 lbs, and 5 reap bench was at 205 lbs.

Will post up todays lifts later this evening.

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Squats- bar, 135, 185, 225, 245 lbs x5 (+5 lbs)
Leg Curl- 3x12 @ 120 lbs
Weighted Crunch Machine- 2x10 @ 130 lbs

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Bench 135 lbs x21, 15, 10
Ring Pullups- x 6, 5, 4
Straight Bar Curls- 3x6 @ 80lbs
Arnold Press-3x10 @ 35 lbs (THESE ARE TOUGH!!!)

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