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ddavis
03-19-12, 10:44 pm
Hey guys. This is going to be my first serious log- I should've started this a long time ago! Because of school and work, my workouts arent really on a set schedule and I usually have to fight to find time for the gym. Regardless, I am going to try and keep as accurate of a log as I can. Have tried a lot of programs in the past, and my biggest downfall has been not keeping track of my lifts to progress like I should. Ill keep mostly my supps and workouts on here, and if I feel the need I might throw in my food as well.

Stats:
Age-20
Height- 5'11"
Current Weight- Right now I'm hovering around the 195-200 mark, and what I would guess to be the 10% body-fat range but I cant say for sure.

Last year I weighed in at around 260-270. It took a lot of cardio and dieting to get back to the 200 mark, and unfortunately I lost a lot of my strength on the way. Its time to get it back. I'll go into more detail about my weight and progress if anybody is curious, but for now I'll just focus on logging my workouts.

Thanks to anyone following. Let me know if you have any input or questions, cause I'd have no problem answering. Time to get it going!

ddavis
03-19-12, 10:46 pm
3/19/2012

-Took a five day stim break leading up to today. Had my most recent shipment of supps come in, which included Rage and Atomic 7. I wanted to be as ready as I could to give Rage a shot, as all I've heard is good things.

-Between work and school, I was half expecting not to lift today. Instead I found an hour at night that I could squeeze in a quick workout, and was grateful to say the least.

-After a lot of searching, I found a program that suited the goals I had in mind of strength gains, while hopefully a moderate size increase as well. I'm going to give Wendler's 5/3/1 with bodybuilding assistance a try, and see what kind of results I can get from that. Really excited!

Prew/o:
-1/2 Scoop of Slaughtermellon Rage
-5g Creatine Monohydrate

5/3/1 Shoulders & Bis
-Standing Military Press
120x5
140x5
160x7
Pretty pleased, as I did these with the strictest form I could manage.

-Seated DB Press
60sx4x12

-Standing Lateral Raises
35sx4x12

-Barbell Curl
75x12
95x2x12
75x12

-Preacher
60x4x10

Intra/Post
-1 Scoop Atomic 7 (sipped a little during the workout, finished the rest when I was done)


Overall I was pretty pleased with this workout. I got in and out of there at most 45 minutes, and think a lot of that had to do with Rage. With only 1/2 a scoop I was feeling a crazy focus, and cant wait to try out one scoop. I had a late night workout, and was afraid one scoop would keep me up too late!

mcbeast
03-19-12, 11:55 pm
Congrats on starting a journey here. Ensure your overhead press is an explosive movement. If you have read thru Wendlers stuff on the overhead press you probably came across these things.
-Ensure your lats are TIGHT.
-Ensure elbows are tucked.
-Imagine your lats as a shelf for the weight to sit on.
-As soon as the bar clears your head, punch your head thru so you stay straight/erect.

Wycked
03-20-12, 2:09 am
Good luck on the journey bro

C.Coronato
03-20-12, 2:01 pm
Looking good bro. Whats the diet looking like my man?

ddavis
03-20-12, 10:25 pm
Congrats on starting a journey here. Ensure your overhead press is an explosive movement. If you have read thru Wendlers stuff on the overhead press you probably came across these things.
-Ensure your lats are TIGHT.
-Ensure elbows are tucked.
-Imagine your lats as a shelf for the weight to sit on.
-As soon as the bar clears your head, punch your head thru so you stay straight/erect.


Good luck on the journey bro


Looking good bro. Whats the diet looking like my man?

Thanks for the support guys, means a lot and issome great motivation. I'll beat myself up bad enough if I miss a lift, but with people paying attention there's no way I'll let it happen!

It's funny Mcbeast, because those were some of the things I had on my little mental "checklist" going through the lift. The whole lat shelf concept is still somewhat new to me, and it's taking a little bit to get used to. By the end of my working set I started to get the hang of it, and it should hopefully become second nature soon. Appreciate the tips!

Coronato, right now my diet is a little bit of an experiment. I tried a few different techniques (keto, IF) and really found nothing that I felt worked that good for me.
Right now though I can say that I'm seeing the most results and feel the best just sticking to basics and cycling my carbs. On off days I get roughly 60g Fat, 100g carbs and 275g protein. Shoulder and chest days I up the carbs to about 180 or so, and on back and leg days the carbs go to about 250.

Food choices are pretty typical, lots of eggs, steak, chicken, tuna and cottage cheese. Carbs are mainly rices, oatmeal, potatoes and fruits. I get my fats though the eggs and steak, and like to have some pb, almonds and flaxseed thrown in the mix too.

Again these are all just ballparks, but so far I'm remaining pretty lean and am maintaining, if not improving, my strength. Its hard to judge right now too, because I've been cleaning up my form a lot and am trying to train with a little injury. If I stall out or feel like its not working, I'll make some adjustments but for now it seems to be going alright. Do any of you guys have experience with carb cycling or see anything I'm doing wrong?

ddavis
03-20-12, 10:54 pm
3/20/12:
-Had school and work all day, from 8AM right up to 7:30. Sleep was okay last night, and I spent the whole day looking forward to getting a good workout in. Even though it was still a little close to when I planned on sleeping, I wanted to experience a full scoop of Rage. That stuff is great, props to Animal for putting out a really solid product.

Preworkout:
-1 Scoop Rage (Slaughtermellon isn't bad at all, kind of like the taste)
-5g Creatine

Intra/Post
-Sipped on Atomic 7 again (black cherry is awesome), saved most of it for when I was finished.


Back:
-Warm up consisted of some light cleans, rows, and a few minutes on a rowing machine, just anything I could do to get some blood going.
-Decided I didn't want to use either a belt or any straps today.

Deads:
145x5
180x5
220x3
235x5
275x5
310x7

Again I've been really trying to get my form down and I think I may have fixed a few issues. Felt really light, only thing holding me back is my grip. All were overhand except for the last few on my last set, switched to mixed.

Underhand Rows:
185x4x12

These were good, got a nice pump from them. Again, my grip gave out before my back was really taxed. Kind of annoying, but at the same time knew it had to be done eventually.

Chins:
BWx4x10

Hyperextensions:
25(plate above my head)x4x12

Some grip work to finish it off, hanging from pull up bar till fail for a few sets, holding 315 to fail for a few sets and some plate pinches.

Overall it was a pretty good workout. Only took me, at most, 45 minutes. My focus was great, and I had an insane pump that I really didn't expect. Can't wait until I can start pulling more weight on deadlifts, they are really becoming one of my favorite exercises.

ddavis
03-21-12, 11:47 pm
Today was an off day and I decided to do some cardio work. Went into the gym, did a light warm up and started with some farmers walks. 80lb dumbells for about ten sets of 25 yard walks, followed by medicine ball slams and a light 20 minute treadmill walk to finish it off. Sipped on a BCAA and creatine mix for the work out, and called it a day. I'm planning on hitting chest tomorrow.

ddavis
03-23-12, 1:20 am
3/22/12

Chest and Tris

Preworkout: Same deal as before.
-1 scoop Rage
-5g Creatine Mono

Warmed up with a few sets of a cable bench machine, doing both presses and flys until the blood was going good.

Flat Bench

-A little nervous because the last time I benched, my ribs cracked and I really don't want to experience that again. They are feeling pretty good at the moment though, and I wasn't that concerned.

120x5
150x5
180x3
195x5
220x5
250x8

-Pretty slow negatives on these and really tried to explode on the way up. Didn't feel that tough, I'm excited to get into the later phases of this program when it starts to get heavier.

Incline DB
80sx4x11-12

Incline Fly
40x4x12

Pressdowns
150x4x16

Pushups
BWx4xfail (at least 12 on all sets)

Solid workout, nothing worth really noting. Still have an intense focus and energy, and my mind muscle connection is starting to really take over. Pumps have been unreal. I dont know whether or not its due to my focusing on form, but I really believe that the enhancers in Rage have been giving me that extra tunnel vision. Motivation is pretty damn high right now. I'm even considering looking into some local contests, but want to check one out in person first before I make that commitment. Leg day is tomorrow, can't wait.

ddavis
03-24-12, 4:54 pm
Did legs yesterday, but didn't have time to log it. Heres what I did-

Preworkout
-1 scoop Rage
-5g Creatine

Intra/post
-2 scoops Atomic 7

Legs

Squats:
140x5
175x5
210x3
225x5
260x5
295x8

-All the way down, slow negatives and really made sure my form was spot on. Felt good.

Leg Press:
5ppsx15
6ppsx4x15

Leg Curls:
140x12
150x3x12

Leg Extentions:
160x10
175x2x10

Calf Raises on Machine Legpress:
340x4x15

Rope Crunches
120x4x12-16


Not a bad session. First time I went through legs so quickly, but it was a good change of pace.

ddavis
03-24-12, 4:59 pm
Did some grip work, rotator cuff exercises and cardio today. 30 minutes on the treadmill. Sipped on a BCAA mix with creatine the whole time. Pretty beat up, haven't got a lot of sleep lately and am going to make sure I get my hours tonight.

ddavis
03-28-12, 1:17 pm
3/25/2012

A little backed up on my logs from school and other stuff. This is what I did on Sunday-

Shoulders

Standing Military:
75x5
95x5
110x3
130x3
150x3
160x8-I messed up here. Was supposed to have 165 and just wasnt paying attention.
165x6- Still made it, but could've hit a few more easy.

Seated DB:
65x12
80x12
65x12x2

Side Laterals:
40x12x2
35x12x2

Barbell Curl:
75x12
85x12x3

Preacher:
60x10

ddavis
03-28-12, 1:26 pm
3/27/2012

Yesterdays back workout. Didn't get a lot of sleep again from school work, but felt okay regardless. Cut back on all of my caffeine throughout the day so the Rage hits me harder when I workout, and I'm starting to notice a big difference.

Deadlifts:
145x5
180x5
220x5
225x3
290x3
330x8- Mixed grip

Reverse Grip Bent-over Row:
185x12x4

Chins
BWx10x4

Superset-
Goodmornings
135x8
95x14x3

Hanging Leg Raises:
12x4

Great pump at the end of this one, only took me around 30-40 minutes to finish it all. Grip is starting to improve a little bit, but it still needs a lot of work. Overall this session was pretty good.

ddavis
03-29-12, 8:45 pm
3/29/2012

Chest and Tris:

- Looked forward to this one all day, stressed out and really needed to hit the gym. Motivation was pretty high on the drive in.

Warmed up with some flys on a seated cable chest machine, don't really know what to call it.

Flat:
120x5
150x5
180x3
210x3
235x3
265x9

Incline DB:
-80x12x3
-80x11

Incline Hammer Press:
-2ppsx12
-3ppsx10

Seated Cable Fly:
-40x15
-60x16x3

Streched my chest out with 40s on a flat bench fly. First time I tried it, felt pretty good.

Pressdowns:
150x16
152.5x16x4

Push Ups:
4xfail

Rope Crunches:
3x15

Finished with 30 minutes of cardio. Nice overall workout, everything felt good and now its time to eat!

ddavis
03-31-12, 11:45 am
Leg day, ready to do some damage.

Squats:
140x5
175x5
210x3
245x3
280x3
315x7

Hamstrings were tight but besides that these went well, good form from what I can tell.

Leg Press:
6ppsx4x16
7ppsx16

Hamstring Curl (Seated):
160x12
175x4x12

Leg Extension:
4x10, went for feel changed the weight a lot.

Calf Raises (Leg Press):
370x5x12
-Two sets toes in, two sets toes out one neutral

Stairmaster for 40 min to finish it off.

ddavis
04-02-12, 6:51 pm
Shoulders


Standing Military:
75x5
95x5
110x3
140x5
160x3
175x5

Plate Loaded DB Shoulder Press:
3ppsx12
3pps+25x7
3ppsx10x2

Standing Lateral Raise:
30x14-16x4

Arnold Press:
40x12x3

Barbell Curls:
65x12
95x10x2
85x12

Preacher:
60x12-16x4

Farmers Walks:
80sx50 stepsx 10

Sprints

ddavis
04-02-12, 7:02 pm
4/1/2012

Third week of the 5/3/1 for Back (and shoulders above). Tried out a scoop of Rage and had a Shock Therapy Sample (thanks Universal) of CLH too..... woah.

Deads:
145x5
180x5
220x3
275x5
310x3
345x7

The last set was a PR for deads without any straps or belt. I'm not that happy with it, but now that I've fixed my form up I think the weight will climb pretty quick.

Reverse Grip Bent Over Row:
185x12x4
Made sure that I really contracted at the top.

Chins:
BWx4x10

-Hit all of these cleanly, already a strong improvement from my first week.

Seated Wide Grip Row:
210x8
160x12x3

-Grip gave out at the 210 so I went with a lighter weight and really tried to feel my back doing the work.

One Arm T-bar Rows:
1platex16x2

Hyper Extensions (BWx12-20) and Ab work

ddavis
04-03-12, 11:26 pm
Chest

-Slept like shit, and have only been getting 5 hours at the most per night. Doesn't matter, have to keep on going and that's what I bought Rage for anyway.

-Today was my third week of 5/3/1 for chest, so it was a "max" bench day.

Flat Bench:
120x5
150x5
180x3
220x5
250x3
280x6

Damn I need to get someone to lift with me. Could have squeezed out maybe two more but had no spot, and had no choice but to rack it. Pissed off, but decided to just tear up the rest of the workout even harder. Still, 280 for six was a PR at my current bw (about 195), so I'm definitely making some progress.

Incline Hammer:
2ppsx12
2pps+25x10-12x3

Incline DB:
80x10-12x4

Seated Cable Fly:
75x16x2
90x10-12x2

Pushdowns:
152.5x16-20
90x20

Forgot to do push ups, and already did 20 minutes of cardio to finish it off. Went back and did one set to fail, got to 54 before my arms gave out. Overall I'm happy with the program, and know that its only a matter of time until I can rep 315 again.

ddavis
04-29-12, 7:18 pm
Time to check in. Damn, need to work on keeping these consistent. Schools been keeping me a little off track but as of right now I just finished my second cycle of 5/3/1.
My gym maxes at 195-

Squat- 375, ATG
Dead- 405
Bench- 315
MP- 185x4

Actual lifts, not just estimations. Pretty happy with myself, as this has been the first real strength based routine I've tried. Up to last month it had been all BB style, never did anything like SS or 5x5.
From here on out I think I am going to look into doing my first contest. There's one that I have my eye on in October, so I think for now I'm going to feed up a little bit as I had been running a calorie deficit for a while. Need to get my tanks recharged and rest easy for a bit. Considering maybe get myself some sort of coach or trainer to make sure my first showing goes well.

ddavis
06-28-12, 6:18 pm
Back from the dead!!

Been doing my contest prep and to be honest, have had no desire to log my workouts. They've been instinctive, intense and so far pretty damn efficient. My diets been tracked on my phone apps and I'm officially three weeks out!

Don't have an estimated BF% but so far, I think I'm looking pretty good. Macros are ~55f/200c/240p and to be honest its a little exhausting. Refeeds at ~traceF/500c/190P every monday (Back day). I have a hell of an appetite and its been tough, however seeing daily progress and the fact that I'm still pushing pretty good weight in the gym is keeping me motivated. The more I see myself hitting poses on stage the hungrier I get!

Right now I'm at about 190 at five eleven, and it's definitely grind time!

If anyone has any wise words for a kid doing his first natty show don't be shy. Would love to get some feedback from the guys on here who have been through it all already, and I'll post some pictures for you guys to judge how I'm looking if anyone is interested.

Thanks guys!

ddavis
07-08-12, 8:23 pm
Just passed the two week mark, the show is right around the corner!
Suit and tanning supplies should be showing up soon. Can't believe I finally pulled the trigger and committed to my first contest.

Kill i oughtta
07-08-12, 8:49 pm
Just passed the two week mark, the show is right around the corner!
Suit and tanning supplies should be showing up soon. Can't believe I finally pulled the trigger and committed to my first contest.

good stuff brotha how many weeks out are you?

ddavis
07-09-12, 4:02 pm
good stuff brotha how many weeks out are you?

Just under two weeks left man

ddavis
07-13-12, 4:06 pm
Just a little update on my contest prep.

Everything is booked, payed for and ready to go. Supplies are here, food is planned out and training is going as planned. I'm heading into my peak week and am going to try front loading carbs this weekend and watch my body as I get closer to the day of the show (Saturday).