iron shaolin's Animal "X" log

[ironshaolin]

Hello, First off I'm honored to be part of this experiment. I'm not starting to post workouts on here until Monday when we're supposedto. I figured I'd post my starting stats and diet info anyway. As of this morning, my bodyweight is currently 207 with some pudge on the gut. I ordered a measuring tape, so when that comes in I'll post my measurements. Here's my lifts, as of this past week:
Bench press: 225x2
BB row: 205x6
Squat: 295x3
Deadlift: 365x5
military: 155x5
BB curl: 95x6
I'm gonna use those numbers as my base, and try to see how many reps can be increased at those weights. Here's a basic diet outline:
AM: shake, if I work out first thing,
Breakfast: 6 whole eggs, oats OR G diesel pancakes
afternoon: 3 scoops whey, peanut butter, oats, berries
lunch: chicken, rice, veggies
another shake during work
Dinner: red meat, yam or potato, veggies
bedtime: 3 scoops whey, milk, peanut butter, berries

In addition to X I take the pak, universal's jointment, uni-liver, fish oil, BCAA's, and regular creatine. Just a few basics that I always take.

[widdlewade44]

Good luck with the testing and I'm looking forward to viewing your progress. Peace.

Kevin
widdlewade44

[MassMonster]

this looks like its gunna be intense subscribing to this right now... good luck bro...

[ChandlerXJ]

dude! eat more food!!!

[dominatetheiron]

hey i dont know if you can say or not but is Animal X in pill or powder form?

[ironshaolin]

yeah thats one thing I might need suggestions on. Food. I'm definately taking in alot of calories, enough for me to see gains anyway, however I have a demanding job that dosen't allow me to eat alot. Basically I have 3 meals every day: eggs and oats, chicken and rice, beef and yams. Then I throw in 2 shakes a day that have oats, peanut butter, frozen berries in them. Add an extra shake with an apple and there's my 6 meals. Since I'm bulking, I snack whenever possible. A handful of pretzels or nuts here and there, sometimes in between my dinner and bedtime shake I'll throw down a bowl of cereal, like the Kashi cereal thats high in protein or something for extra food. Any suggestions on tricks to get in enough would be appreciated.

[ironshaolin]

dominate, I don't think anyone knows that yet, I haven't gotten mine yet. However I would guess that if its an animal product, and not a universal product, its most likely a pak with like 10 pills in it. Just a wild guess. Also due to the fact that its 18 and over ONLY for the testing, and you have to be bulking, you could take some guesses. However I won't disclose this information, I haven't even told anyone the real gains flavors we tested and that's been done for a while. Speaking of which, when are they releasing those flavors? I want some more.

[Universal Rep]

checkin' in

[Lowdown5]

Good luck Brother, I know you are gonna do great.

[ironshaolin]

oh yeah I forgot to post my split. NExt week, with the perfect timing, I have a week off work so I plan on hitting it mon-fri, and eating like a fiend. All this time off in the summer means one thing: BBQ!!! Chicken, steak, pork, ribs, kabobs, whatever I'm gonna pack it down like nobody's buisness this week. So, week one:
Mon-back, tues-chest, wed-legs, thurs-delts, fri-arms. I'm gonna go with the animal videos for my routine. AFter this week, it will be back to this:
Mon-delts/tris, tues-back, wed-off, thurs-chest/bis, fri-legs, sat-sun-off.

[Malloy1344]

lookin good man, looking forward to the progress.

[violator]

Good luck ironshaolin, ill be watchin brother....

peace

[ironshaolin]

in a plain silver can marked, "animal X". First things first, I had to google every single one of the ingredients to make sure I didn't have any issues taking anything in it, and it seems cool to me. Also that research I did got me kinda excited, as the specific combination looks promising. Unfortunately, my car broke down yesterday, today is my 6 month aniversary with my girl, and I had to stay at work late so I'm missing my leg session today. However, I have no work next week, and view it as an extra rest day, so as of Monday I'm gonna start the X and go hit that shit like a mad man.

[TheOak_akl]

Congrats bro. Cant wait to follow your progress

[Veritas]

good luck with it bro. we're all in the trenches with you

[feelthepain12]

Good luck on your journey bro. Can't wait to see your progress.

[ironshaolin]

starting the cycle tomorrow, I'm am mad with anticipation. I'm starting the week off with back, and all I've been able to think about is how I'll get my daughter off to school, then I have 3 hours to get my workout in. I'm gonna do every excersise under the sun. AAAAAA I wish I could just start it today. Patience, patience. Oh my god the anticipation is KILING ME!!! Tomorrow is gonna be awsome.

[ryanlemley1]

awesome bro...looking forward to this journey with all of the Animal X testers! Train hard!

[ironshaolin]

Woke up at 9am, and immediately ate 3 eggs, 3 egg whites, 1 cup oats, 1/4 cup applesauce and cinamon blended in the magic bullet for some G diesel pancakes. Mmmm yum. I took 2 fish oil caps, 4 unilver, and the animal pak, then drank 2 cups of coffee. I will be discontinuing fish oil until the end of this cycle. At 11:15 I had 1 scoop of whey, an apple and the animal X. Mixed up 3 teaspoons of gatorade, 2 teaspoons of BCAA stack, and 1 teaspoon of creatine to drink during workout. Got to the gym about 1:15 for a stomach unsettling back session.

Pullup: bodyx10, 25x5, 25x4, bodyx9
BB row: 135x10, 175x10, 225x12*, 185x10
Rack deadlifts, set below the knee, upper part of shin: 135x10, 225x10, 315x10, 365x4
Hammer strength lat pulldowns: 2px10, 2p+25x6, 2p+10x9
Seated rows with rope: 135x10, 150x10, 150x10

for some reason my animal paks have been giving me mild stomach irritation when I take them, so after breakfast my gut was feelin a little funny. The animal "x" kinda gave me some weird stomach feeling, but I shrugged it off and headed out. I didn't notice any immediate gains in strength. For set 3 of BB rows, I did 3 reps at a time, taking 6-10 deep breaths in between triples until I hit 12. Last set, just reduced weight and repped to failure. The hammer lats are written as plates per side. Seated rows, I gotta say right after the deads I was starting to feel on the nauseus side, and I could taste my animal pak in the back of my throat. I get to those seated rows, and after set 2 I yaked my brains out, and really thought about leaving then. But I remembered I said I'd train full intensity, so came back out light headed and dizzy to do my last set, I just left out abs which I'll probably do later tonight.

[ironshaolin]

oh forgot to put in post-workout nutrition. After I left, I finished my gatorade mix while driving to the butcher. This gave my stomach time to settle, then I drank 3 scoops of whey mixed in water, and about 50 minutes later, I'm now eating 8 oz of ground beef with a sweet potato. In about 3 hours, I'll have a sandwich with a can of tuna, a hardboiled egg on whole wheat, then around 9 I'll have chicken and rice, and a bedtime shake with 3 scoops whey, milk, peanut butter, frozen berries.

[ironshaolin]

so my diet run-down for the day:
Breakfast: 3 eggs, 3 whites, 1 cup oats, pak, 4unilver, 2 fish oil
Pre-workout: 1 scoop whey, apple, animal X
during workout: 3 tsp gatorade, 2 tsp BCAA, 1 tsp creatine
Post workout: 3 scoops whey
lunch: 8oz ground sirloin, yam, 4 uni-liver
snack: tuna on wholewheat roll w/hardboiled egg, 1 block of cheese, v8
dinner: chicken breast, rice, spinach, 4 uni-liver, FLEX
bedtime: 3 scoops whey, milk, peanut butter, frozen berries

That should be adequate food for a bulking cycle, right? Anybody has any suggestions on how to maximize my bulk while on X would be accepted, however it should be stated that between supplements AND food, I have but 380 dollars a month to spend which means my grocery bills need to be as low as possible. This is why I buy split chicken breasts with the bone instead of boneless, skinless, ground beef instead of steak, chunk light instead of chunk white, and generic everything I can.

[leafs43]

so my diet run-down for the day:
Breakfast: 3 eggs, 3 whites, 1 cup oats, pak, 4unilver, 2 fish oil
Pre-workout: 1 scoop whey, apple, animal X
during workout: 3 tsp gatorade, 2 tsp BCAA, 1 tsp creatine
Post workout: 3 scoops whey
lunch: 8oz ground sirloin, yam, 4 uni-liver
snack: tuna on wholewheat roll w/hardboiled egg, 1 block of cheese, v8
dinner: chicken breast, rice, spinach, 4 uni-liver, FLEX
bedtime: 3 scoops whey, milk, peanut butter, frozen berries

That should be adequate food for a bulking cycle, right? Anybody has any suggestions on how to maximize my bulk while on X would be accepted, however it should be stated that between supplements AND food, I have but 380 dollars a month to spend which means my grocery bills need to be as low as possible. This is why I buy split chicken breasts with the bone instead of boneless, skinless, ground beef instead of steak, chunk light instead of chunk white, and generic everything I can.

A bulk diet is considered X amount of calories over maintenance.

There is a formula that shows how much calories you should be taking to maintain your lean body mass dependant on you activity level.

Then add say 500 calories over that number and its considered a bulk.

[violator]

Yo shaolin,

Hows the stomach bro?, how many tabs come in the 'X'?, or r u not allowed 2 say?

peace

[ironshaolin]

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to give any details, but it is a bit on the light side of pills for a pack. More than 1, less than 10. If I'm told that I'm allowed to say a number, I will. Anyway, the gut is fine today, bigant suggested I take my pills DURING my meals, instead of immediately after so I did that this morning and I feel fine. Woke up at 6:30(baby) after going to bed at 12, had 2 scoops whey, oats, berries, peanut butter and milk, tried to go back to bed unsuccessfuly. Got out of bed around 9:15, had 2 eggs, 4 whites, 1 cup dry oats blended and cooked into pancakes, 4 uni-liver and the X. Now I'm just sitting here finishing my coffee, preparing to head out for a MASSIVE chest day. No work, no worries, I'm doin the animal chest video workout, maybe some abs, then coming home and napping.

[Flash419]

My chest workout on X was HUGE! Good luck. I'm interested to see if everyone else is haivng the same great results I am. Felt very STRONG, very intense focus, and the more weight I added the better it felt. Every lift went up!

Keep us posted!

[ironshaolin]

day 2 of X. only got 6 hours sleep, baby woke me up and I drank a shake with peanut butter, berries and oats and milk, tried to go back to bed and failed. So at 9 30 I had 2 eggs, 4 whites, 1 cup oats, 4 uni-liver and X. Hit the gym at 10 30, drank creatine/bcaa/gatorade during.

Incline barbell bench press: 135x12, 155x10, 175x10, 185x6
flat bench barbell press: 135x10, 175x7, 185x8, 205x5
flat DB flye: 40x10, 50x8, 45x8
DB pullover: 70x10, 80x8, 80x7
Decline cable flye: 40x12, 40x8(supersetted with standing incline flye for 30x8), 30x10

Pretty high volume chest workout for me, hope that stimulates new growth. I tell ya, my back feels rocked from yesterday. As for today, nothing insane was noticed, however I did feel pretty strong pressing. The reps were very explosive on the positive, had good control on the negative and I was able to push to failure on the last 2 of every set. I've never done flyes with 50's before, so that could be an improvement. I still think that by next week this shit is gonna be soaring.

[ironshaolin]

went back to the gym tonight, threw in an extra ab/calf session.

hanging knee raise: 3/20-25 reps
rope crunches: 3/ 20 reps
dumbell side bends: 45x15, 50x15
swiss ball crunches: 25 reps
decline DB russian twist: 2/20

machine calf raises: 3/ 15-20 w/20 partials at end of last set
seated calf raises: 3/12-15, dropsetted 8 extra reps on last 2
standing calf raise: 1 set, 75x30 drop 50x20 followed by flat footed calf raises for 20 reps

[jhicks3301]

looking solid bro.. I'm excited to see those lifts go up.. I'm still waiting on my "X"... You guys better be doing work for me haha

I'm still hittin the gym on my normal routine.... So when "X" gets here it will be on

[MassMonster]

damn good sessions your def. gunna be feelin these in the morning...

[krazyassmexican]

solid workout boss
keep it up

[ironshaolin]

3rd day of X. Woke up, ate 6 whole eggs w/ cheese and salsa, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, pak, 4 uni-liver, and 2 cups of coffee. Got my daughter ready for school, at 11:30 had 1/2 cup of oats mixed with 1 1/2 scoops whey and water, took X with this. Get baby off on bus, mix up my gatorade/bcaa/creatine mix, and head to the gym. I am really blasted from all the extra volume I've done this week, and decided it would be better if I got a really good warmup in before attacking shoulders, so I did 5 mins on an ellyptical, then about another 5 mins of really light weight side laterals, overhead presses, front raises, and some rotator cuff twists with dumbells and bands.

Seated smith machine military: barx20, 95x15, 135x12, 155x9, dropset(165x5, 145x4, 95x10)
Seated side lateral: 25x10, 30x12, dropset(30x12, 20x10, 10x10)
reverse pec dec: 105x14, 120x15, 135x10
wide grip upright rows: 75x12, 95x15, 115x10
cable side laterals: 20x12, 30x12, 30x12
BB shrugs: 135x12, 185x12, 225x12
DB shrugs: 65x12, 80x12, 90x10

Alright nothing crazy in the beginning, but I think I felt alot stronger towards the end of my workout today. Usually after some dropsets on presses and side laterals, I'm spent. Yet, I was able to go up to 115x10 on upright rows which is a PR for me. I've never done 95 for more than 10-12 before, so I figured that would be my end weight. I got 15 on that today, and it felt too light so i opted to add 20lbs and managed to bust out 10 reps. Not too shabby if you ask me. Now since I'm on vacation this week, I've had a bit more relaxed attitude, so my pace hasn't been mind boggling but I'm doing quite a bit extra volume than I'm used to. Day of the workout I've felt fine, but the 2nd day everyday this week I REALLY feel sore. I'm giving my upper body a rest tomorrow and doing legs. Time to go eat.

[Maxima95]

Great log bro!

Can't wait to see what this stuff does to ya...

[leafs43]

3rd day of X. Woke up, ate 6 whole eggs w/ cheese and salsa, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, pak, 4 uni-liver, and 2 cups of coffee. Got my daughter ready for school, at 11:30 had 1/2 cup of oats mixed with 1 1/2 scoops whey and water, took X with this. Get baby off on bus, mix up my gatorade/bcaa/creatine mix, and head to the gym. I am really blasted from all the extra volume I've done this week, and decided it would be better if I got a really good warmup in before attacking shoulders, so I did 5 mins on an ellyptical, then about another 5 mins of really light weight side laterals, overhead presses, front raises, and some rotator cuff twists with dumbells and bands.

Seated smith machine military: barx20, 95x15, 135x12, 155x9, dropset(165x5, 145x4, 95x10)
Seated side lateral: 25x10, 30x12, dropset(30x12, 20x10, 10x10)
reverse pec dec: 105x14, 120x15, 135x10
wide grip upright rows: 75x12, 95x15, 115x10
cable side laterals: 20x12, 30x12, 30x12
BB shrugs: 135x12, 185x12, 225x12
DB shrugs: 65x12, 80x12, 90x10

Alright nothing crazy in the beginning, but I think I felt alot stronger towards the end of my workout today. Usually after some dropsets on presses and side laterals, I'm spent. Yet, I was able to go up to 115x10 on upright rows which is a PR for me. I've never done 95 for more than 10-12 before, so I figured that would be my end weight. I got 15 on that today, and it felt too light so i opted to add 20lbs and managed to bust out 10 reps. Not too shabby if you ask me. Now since I'm on vacation this week, I've had a bit more relaxed attitude, so my pace hasn't been mind boggling but I'm doing quite a bit extra volume than I'm used to. Day of the workout I've felt fine, but the 2nd day everyday this week I REALLY feel sore. I'm giving my upper body a rest tomorrow and doing legs. Time to go eat.

It seems as if X is definitely kicking in. Keep up the good work.

[Rage]

Your gonna love this stuff. I've got a couple workouts under my belt with 'X' and I'm tellin ya, this stuff works great! I'm going to be bustin my Kenpo brothers up tonight in class...This should be fun!

[ironshaolin]

yeah, rage I'm eager until next week when I go back to my kempo classes and see how I take to the mats.

[ironshaolin]

quick post I thought this is relevant, I took some measurements that I will repeat at the end of the cycle.
Arms: 15 3/4
forearms: 12
waist: 37 1/2
thigh: 26
calf: 15 1/2

[ironshaolin]

arm day today. rocked the house. Took X with 1/2 cup of oats mixed with 1 scoop whey in water with 2 cups coffee about an hour before workout.

BB curl: 45x12, 65x10, 95x10, 105x5
Alright here, strength increases were DEFINATELY up. Last time I did BB curls, I got 90x6. I did 95 for 10 today! Decided to DEFINATELy raise the weight, and set a new PR, entering into the 100lbs range for bb curls.

DB curl: 35x10, 40x8, dropset(45x4, 35x4)
not a bad set at all. Tat drop set on the end set them into hells fire.

one-arm cable preachers: 40x12, 50x8(14), 50x8(14)
On the last 2 sets, I did 8 to failure, then grabbed my arm with my free hand and self-spotted until I made 14 reps. The burn was INTENSE!

behind the back wrist curls: 60x15, 90x15, 100x10
Tried to do them off the bench, and my wrist started clicking again. Scratched that, and did them behind the back.

rope pressdown: 50x20, 70x15, 90x12
felt real strong on these.

close grip bench: 135x10, 175x9, dropset(185x8, 135x8)

Skull crushers: 80x10, 80x8, 80x8

straight bar pressdowns: 120x12, 130x12, 130x9

So yeah, today I felt really strong, threw around some pretty good numbers for me. Go X. I can't wait to do them again next week. Is it arm day again?
Tomorrow, the big test for X. Day 5 on it, leg day.

[Lowdown5]

You are throwing up some serious workouts Bro, I have to say that I am impressed. Keep it going.

[widdlewade44]

Congrats on the PR in the BB curls. Solid looking workouts, keep it up bro. Peace.

Kevin
widdlewade44

[MassMonster]

diesel ass workout bro... keep it up ...nice PR

[ironshaolin]

thanks guys, I swear the only thing I've done on my "vacation" is watch the animal videos then go do the workout, then eat alot.

[Lowdown5]

thanks guys, I swear the only thing I've done on my "vacation" is watch the animal videos then go do the workout, then eat alot.



Recipe for success.

[ironshaolin]

just to add, I woke up this morning, saturday, and my delts are KILLING ME! They are incredibly sore I can barely lift my arms. The strange part is, I did delts on wednesday. Thursday was an off day, and friday was arms, and TODAY my delts hurt. Wierd.

[ironshaolin]

LEGS

first, diet rundown for the day.
breakfast: 6 eggs, oatmeal, pak, 4 uni-liver, jointment, 2 cups coffee
meal 2: chicken breast, 2 cups rice, 4 uni-liver, jointment
pre-workout: oatmeal mixed with 2 scoops whey, apple, X
during: gatorade, BCAA stack, creatine
Post: 50gs whey shake
will post the rest of the day later.

Anyway, onto the workout. I decided to experiment today, and do squats later in the workout instead of first. So, here goes:
seated calf raise: 1px15, 1 1/2px12, 2px14, 2 1/2px9
1 leg ext: 45x12, 60x12, 75x12
leg press: 3px12, 5px10, 7px4, 6px10
squat: 135x10, 185x10, 225x8
hack squat: 1px14, 1 1/2px12
seated leg curl: 4 sets, 12 reps
machine calf raise: 2 sets, 20 reps

so my numbers on squats aren't that big, I tried to do more reps than usual and doing them after leg presses was quite an experience. Wanted to REALLy kill them so instead of doing double leg ext for a finisher I did an extra press move, again, light weight but this one made me puke. Yaked my brains out. Came back out and managed to throw on 4 sets of hammys and an extra 2 sets on calves, then came home and hobbled down my steps. Also, 1st excersise, the seated calves, the 2 45's and 1 25lb plate is a PR, and I did good, clean reps too.

[Lowdown5]

That is a solid looking day Bro, see if them legs get as sore as your delts.

[ironshaolin]

holy shit this is gonna be a rough day. My legs haven't been this sore in a LONG time, I'm having trouble walking from the couch to the bathroom, and I have a busy day today. Thank you, captain X.

[Flash419]

Great workout. Keep up the food and the lifts.

You didn't say, are any of these gains from last week?

[widdlewade44]

thanks guys, I swear the only thing I've done on my "vacation" is watch the animal videos then go do the workout, then eat alot.


Sounds like a great vacation. Keep it up, peace.

Kevin
widdlewade44

[widdlewade44]

Nice looking legs day bro. Those numbers will rise...just keep tearing into those muscle fibers.

Kevin
widdlewade44

[ironshaolin]

for legs, actually my seated calf raise was all that went up. 7 plates on the leg press seems to be my sticking point as of late, although I've never done 6x10 before, usually 6 was only like 6-8 reps. My squat numbers are much higher than that, but doing them after leg presses made it HARD.

[ironshaolin]

back to work today, and back to my morning schedule. No more 5 day a week, I only do 4 now. Tomorrow morning, 8am for delts/triceps. The following week might get a little screwy, my girlfriend starts a new job and we have to completely re-work our schedule for the baby, so tuesday's I'll have to go in at 5:30am, wednesday and friday at 7am, and saturday in the afternoon. This might be a little rough until my body adjusts to getting up at 5 in the morning, hoping X will help me settle in.

[ironshaolin]

baby kept me up until 1/4 to 1 in the morning last night, and I woke up at 7:50 for my workout. Tired and groggy, I had a pretty good workout nonetheless. Not like some mild sleep depravation is gonna stop me. 1 scoop whey, 1/2 cup dry oats, X. Hit the gym at 8:30. Low on volume, high on intensity.

DB shoulder press: 40x12, 50x10, 60x12, 70x6
machine side laterals: 70x12, 90x12, dropset(100x8, 70x8), dropset(100x8, 70x7, 50x6, immediately followed by partner burns explained later)
standing cable reverse flyes: 30x12, 40x8, 35x12, 30x12

dips: bodyx15, 45x10, 70x7, bodyx22
reverse grip EZ pressdown: 100x12, 110x10, dropset(110x9, 70x7)

partner burns are like this. After the double dropset, I stand up, my partner wraps his arms around me in bearhug like fashion, and I continue to do side laterals with his arms as the resistance. He resists me on the way up, I resist him on the way down. The good thing about these is since you're already spent, his resistance changes every rep, just enough to make me work. The end result is he takes his arms away and you can't lift up your arms on your own. Thats how you know you did them right. 7 sets for triceps, but an intense 7 sets. Little rest, heaviest weights I can handle. I liked doing the last set of dips with bodyweight to failure, it gave me an INSANE pump. 22 after doing the weighted isn't that bad either.

[Flash419]

Sounds like a good workout. And a great way to burn out those delts.

Good luck with the baby and sleeping. My daughter was terrible for there when she was little. A little bit of rice baby cereal in her bottle was enough to put something in her stomach so she wasn't hungry every hour. Worked like a charm.

Good luck!

[ironshaolin]

day 10 on X. Back workout. My daughter kept me up later than I wanted, AGAIN, and then today she woke me up at 6:30 so this workout is on 6 hours of sleep. I hope this lack of sleep isn't affecting my gains TOO much, I'm eating more to make up the difference. I weighed in at 211 this morning.

Pullups: 10, 25x5, 25x3, 9
BB rows: 135x10, 175x10,205x10, 225x5
DB shrug: 65x12, 80x12, 95x10
narrow pulldowns: 150x10, 165x12, 180x8
seated rows: 150x10, 165x12, 180x8

3 sets of hammerstrength ab machine, 15-25 reps

left with a great pump today, back feeling very toasted. For me, back is always one of the hardest areas to get a pump in. I get a brutal workout always, but the pump just never seems to come on my back. Not today. It felt thick and swollen. 7 sets of pulling moves, 7 sets of rowing moves, some traps, some abs, good and efficient. Grandma is visiting from PA this week, so after my workout she took me out to eat at IHOP. I got a steak fajita omlete, MMMMM with some harvest grain and nut pancakes. That omlete is out of this world, anyone bulking has to try it. eggs, steak, peppers and onions, salsa, cheese, everything a growing man needs.

[brandona]

day 10 on X. Back workout. My daughter kept me up later than I wanted, AGAIN, and then today she woke me up at 6:30 so this workout is on 6 hours of sleep. I hope this lack of sleep isn't affecting my gains TOO much, I'm eating more to make up the difference. I weighed in at 211 this morning.

Pullups: 10, 25x5, 25x3, 9
BB rows: 135x10, 175x10,205x10, 225x5
DB shrug: 65x12, 80x12, 95x10
narrow pulldowns: 150x10, 165x12, 180x8
seated rows: 150x10, 165x12, 180x8

3 sets of hammerstrength ab machine, 15-25 reps

left with a great pump today, back feeling very toasted. For me, back is always one of the hardest areas to get a pump in. I get a brutal workout always, but the pump just never seems to come on my back. Not today. It felt thick and swollen. 7 sets of pulling moves, 7 sets of rowing moves, some traps, some abs, good and efficient. Grandma is visiting from PA this week, so after my workout she took me out to eat at IHOP. I got a steak fajita omlete, MMMMM with some harvest grain and nut pancakes. That omlete is out of this world, anyone bulking has to try it. eggs, steak, peppers and onions, salsa, cheese, everything a growing man needs.

Nice....very nice....You know they put pancake batter in the eggs in the omlet...very sneaky...

[ironshaolin]

yo brandona, they could put dog shit in that omelete. It still tasted awsome, and had plenty of steak in it for my protein needs. MMMM. Wouldn't eat it on a cut, but who cares about bulking?

[brandona]

yo brandona, they could put dog shit in that omelete. It still tasted awsome, and had plenty of steak in it for my protein needs. MMMM. Wouldn't eat it on a cut, but who cares about bulking?

No doubt bro, my little sis works there...10% discount...I put a hurt'n on that place...last time I was there I got a steak and eggs...8oz of beef and six eggs...thought I was nuts...lol

-B

[ironshaolin]

yeah brandona, nice. I love the look on people's faces when you're about to chow into a massively high protein meal like its a snack.

[violator]

Yo shaolin,

Performance is looking sharp bro, feel like the X is takin effect yet?, killer delts session, those burns sound hectic....
Props on the henchman title!, big ups!

peace

[ironshaolin]

hey violator, thanks yeah I feel real honored to be a part of all this. Henchman, X tester, oh yeah. Well, this is week 2 on X, and I think I look a little bigger in the mirror. I did chest/biceps today, last night I measured my guns and they were 15", after my workout today they were 15 1/2". a half inch increase just from the pump. If they got to 16 inches by the end of this cycle, that would be sweet. Also, I'm impressed to see that my forearms are only 3 inches smaller than my upper arms. Popeye.

Pec dec flye(with the pads, not the handles) 60x15, 105x12, 120x12
30 degree incline dumbell bench: 65x10, 75x10, 80x8
decline barbell: 185x8, 205x7, 225x4
incline flyes: 40x12, 45x10, 45x7

BB curl: barx15, 65x10, 85x10, 105x4
hammer strength machine preacher: 50x15, 75x8, dropset(75x7, 50x7)
incline hammer curl: 30x8, 30x7
wrist curls: 60x15, 70x15, 80x8

last 2 sets of wrist curls done as a triset with standing reverse wrist curls, reverse curls done with 30lb barbell for 8 reps each

I just got some wrist wraps, I was having some popping issues with my wrists and these have actually allowed me to do wrist curls on the bench without extreme pain. Sweet. My chest workout today was quite different, 12 sets, trying to keep that body shocked and guessing. Pre-exhaust with pec dec, I feel that only going 30 degrees instead of the standard 45 on inclines hits more upper chest and less front delt. I don't do declines very often, but every now and again they're good to throw in for variety and to hit your chest in a different way. I had an insane pump after that workout. Took X at 8AM along with oats with whey mixed into them for my pre-workout meal. Whey shake post workout, G diesel pancakes an hour later. I have to eat tuna for lunch today, I ran out of chicken and don't have a chance to get back to the butcher until tomorrow. So I throw a 1oz cube of cheese for extra protein along with that sandwich, on a whole wheat roll with 40g's carbs. Dinner's gonna be the last of my steak, with some homemade whole wheat mac and cheese. I'll throw an extra shake in there before I get home with an apple, and a bedtime shake with peanut butter, frozen berries, and oats.

[Flash419]

Solid workout bro..

Keep up the good work!

[ironshaolin]

I lost track of what day this is, but its the last workout for week#2. NExt week is the last week of X, so results should hopefully fully set in by then. Anyway, legs today. Simple, brutal, and effective.

5 min bike ride
squats: 135x12, 225x8, 275x6, dropset(295x3, 225x8)
stiff leg deadlift: 135x10, 225x8, 275x8
lying leg curl: 110x10, 120x8, dropset(120x6, 80x8)
leg extension: 195x10, 210x10, 210x10
seated calf raise: 3 sets, 8-15 reps w/ dropset on last one
standing calf raise ss w/ machine calf raise: 12-15 reps, 2 sets

I feel crippled right now, my legs are hurtin. Thats actually the first time I've ever done a dropset on squats, and it hurt. After my 1st set of squats, I went to do some knee circles to help loosen those joints and out of nowhere I got a sharp, shooting cramp in my right quad that really made them difficult. Dunno what that was from, but 295 is the heaviest I've gone. I hope to set a PR next week, squatting 300 lbs even.

[Lowdown5]

Drop sets on squats are brutal, but you did it Bro, proud of you. Take care of that quad, looking for that 300 pound squat soon.

[MassMonster]

even 300... or how bout 6 pies 315???? lol nah 300 is an awesome marker bro... it feels mad good to break that line... great w/o drop sets definately are widowmakers....rest up cuz im subbin for that 300 set...

[Flash419]

Great workout bro...

Eat big, and get your rest. The squat record falls next week!

Believe it... IT WILL HAPPEN!

[ironshaolin]

you guys motivate me more to get it. Make sure I get enough sleep next friday night, and as the last workout I'll have on X, I'm sure it will be historic for me.

[violator]

I lost track of what day this is, but its the last workout for week#2. NExt week is the last week of X, so results should hopefully fully set in by then. Anyway, legs today. Simple, brutal, and effective.

5 min bike ride
squats: 135x12, 225x8, 275x6, dropset(295x3, 225x8)
stiff leg deadlift: 135x10, 225x8, 275x8
lying leg curl: 110x10, 120x8, dropset(120x6, 80x8)
leg extension: 195x10, 210x10, 210x10
seated calf raise: 3 sets, 8-15 reps w/ dropset on last one
standing calf raise ss w/ machine calf raise: 12-15 reps, 2 sets

I feel crippled right now, my legs are hurtin. Thats actually the first time I've ever done a dropset on squats, and it hurt. After my 1st set of squats, I went to do some knee circles to help loosen those joints and out of nowhere I got a sharp, shooting cramp in my right quad that really made them difficult. Dunno what that was from, but 295 is the heaviest I've gone. I hope to set a PR next week, squatting 300 lbs even.

ahhhhh, another victim of legs anonomous, congrats on the squat PR, inspiration for my LA meeting tonight..

peace

[jhicks3301]

Nice bro!

[Riesjs]

kick ass bro. looks promising

[ironshaolin]

well, well well. Here goes nothing. First workout of the last week of X. It will be sad to see it go. Switched to new schedule today as well, got up at 5AM to hit the gym at 5:30. Little less than 7 hours sleep, on the 2 days I have to hit the gym this early it dosen't seem possible to get more. 9 is the absolute earliest I can get home from work, sometimes not until 9:15 or 9:30, and until I get home, eat, shower so my girl dosen't hate me, wind down a little bit its like 10 which can only get me 7 hours. Last night it was probably closer to 10:40 I fell asleep, but my day was good anyway. Used the delts/triceps routine from animal training routine #6.

standing dumbell military: 3 sets, 10-20 reps all warmups
seated dumbell military: 60x10, 65x8, 70x5
front BB military: 95x10, 135x8, 145x6
bent DB lateral: 30x10, 35x10, 40x10(pr)
side lateral: 1 set w/25's for 20 reps

V-bar pressdown: 80x15, 120x12, 150x10(pr)
close grip bench press: 135x10, 185x6, 205x4
over-head dumbell press: 60x10, 70x8, 80x5(pr)

100 reps of hanging knee raises/leg raises/decline situps

in the words of flava flav, YYEEEEAAAAA BOY! Hard and heavy. dumbell and barbell presses, then onto bent laterals. I've never gone heavier than 35's on that, but today the 35's just felt way too light, had to go up. According to the #6 routine, thats where I should've stopped but I felt like throwing a burnout set on the end, so I did 1 set of side laterals, light weight, high reps. Heaviest yet for pushdowns, then some close grip benches, overheads, again, I've never done heavier than the 70 but today just felt good.

There was some girl at the squat rack while I was doing benches that loaded the bar up to 315. She was pretty hot looking too, didn't look like a bodybuilder girl, or a powerlifter, a nice streamlined tone physique and I said goddamm this girl is about to squat more than I can. I got really excited for a second, but then she did 1/4 reps. What a dissappointment. Someone should tell her to drop dat ass.

[ironshaolin]

update. Its about 2 hours after my workout, and I feel like crap right now. I feel dizzy, I have a nasty headache and I really want a nap. I'm not sure if this is due to my schedule switch, or an ingredient in X. I'll try to get to bed earlier tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

[ironshaolin]

back day.

Pullups: bodyx10, 25x5, 15x6
BB rows: 135x10, 185x10, 225x7(pr)
reverse grip T-bar rows: 2px10, 30x8, 3p+25x5(pr)
seated row: 165x8, 180x10, 195x8(pr)
neutral grip wide pulldown: 150x10, 165x10, 180x6
BB shrugs: 135 x10, 225x10
seated calf raises: 4 sets, 8-12 reps
standing calf raises: 2 sets, 20, 25 reps

Pr's all around! BB rows not a pr in weight, but I've never done more than 5-6 reps there. Added a 25lber to the t-bar, and went up on seated rows. For shrugs, that stupid sharp, shooting pain in my upper back came back today so I didn't finish my sets, I didn't wanna risk it.

[rockyIV]

update. Its about 2 hours after my workout, and I feel like crap right now. I feel dizzy, I have a nasty headache and I really want a nap. I'm not sure if this is due to my schedule switch, or an ingredient in X. I'll try to get to bed earlier tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

I noticed some mild headaches the first week but I thought it might have been stress at work.

[ironshaolin]

I had an awsome workout today, but alas, I am sad. There remains only 2 packs of X in the can, and tomorrow is the day of all days: Legs. Sunday is rest day. Then, we can kiss X goodbye until it is released. I weep a tear for the X. Anyway, following in the footsteps of G diesel today, keeping things short and to the point, yet brutal and intense.
CHEST
Flat Bench Press: barx20, 95x15, 135x10(warmups)185x10, 225x5, 225x3, 205x6, 165x14
Incline flyes: 40x10, 45x10, 45x8
BICEPS
BB curls: barx12, 65x10, 95x8, 115x4(pr)
Reverse grip EZ bar 21's: 30x21, 40x21, 50x21
supersetted
Ez bar 21's: 30x21, 40x21, 50x7, 5, 5
(the last set, I just could not move that bar anymore, I did 7 on the bottom, could only get 5 on the top, then cheated out 5 through the whole range)

Alright, just what I wanted. Finishing my cycle of X with 5 reps on 225. Last winter, I worked a5x5 program for a month and I got up to 225x5. AFter I finished with that program, I switched to doing barbell inclines and flat dumbells, which was followed by a 3 month diet. By the end of my diet, I went back to flat bench and couldn't move those numbers anymore, so I've been struggling to get them back up all summer. They're finally there. So technically its not a PR, but its a PR for the summer. This time, I'm continuing my bulk until new years. Hopefully by that time I can get 225 to like 10 reps or so, maybe even benching around 250 or something so if I diet again and lose strength, I don't drop below 225.

Barbell curls, made a PR. the 95lbs was actually also a PR, I've never done that weight for 8 reps(even though I cheated reps 7 and 8), moved up to 115. That was a pretty brutal set. And the finisher? I did ez 21's, same bar flip grip to a normal grip and do 21 more. Holy shit was that intense. My weight wasn't that crazy, just goin 30, 40, 50 but doin 42 reps straight definately sears those guns like a branding iron. I'll weigh myself tomorrow when I wake up and post finishing.

Measurements: At the start of X, my arms measured 15". Now they measure 15 1/2". forearms are measuring in at 12" even.

[Giant Killer]

Yeah I'm sad too. Counted my packs this morning and there's 7 including today.

That's pretty cool that you got your working weight back up after losing it from dieting.

"X" is some good shit...

[violator]

Solid workouts shaolin....
X is on its way, results r in the mail bro.....
big ups on the strength returning..

peace

[MassMonster]

awesome shit bro congrats on gettin it bck up

[Flash419]

Great workouts bro...

Going to be very sad to X go too. I can assure you it will be a regular in my supplement regiment from now on though.

Should still be getting effects from it next week. I'm looking forward to hitting a hard leg and back workouts.

[ironshaolin]

ALAS! My last workout on X. I have one pack left, but tomorrow is an off day. Anway, a damn good final workout. Forgot my notebook, again, it always seems to be sitting in front of my computer and I was so focused on hitting 300 that I forgot it.

5 min bike ride
SQUATS: 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 305x3
Hack squat: 3 sets, 8-10 reps finishing with 2plates and a 25 each side
walking db lunges: 50, 60, 70 for sets of 20, 18, 16 steps total
leg extensions: 3x8-10 reps, finishing with 225
standing leg curl:3 setsx10-14 reps
*superset*
standing calf raises: 6-12 reps, 4 sets
lying leg curl: 3 sets, 8-10 reps

limp out the door, and took 5 minutes to get down the steps to my apartment. I wanted some carbs in my postworkout shake, so I put 2 scoops of lemonlime gatorade in my chocolate ultra whey, it tasted gross but I drank it anyway. Now I'm cookin up some sirloin steak and a baked potato, mmmm. If only I had more than a 70 dollar weekly food budget, I'd buy more veggies. I eat spinach about 4 times a week, but thats all I can really afford.

[simpleguy]

hey bro, you reached 300 on squats (actually 305)... good work

[Flash419]

Great job on the squats!

Feels good to finally get over a weight like that. Those are the memories you'll have forever!

Enjoy!

[ironshaolin]

it was a good day, and a bad day. sure, my squats broke 300, but X is no more. Not until it is released and i get to find out what its really called do I get to ahve it again. Well, maybe, Project M turned out to be the new Mstak, maybe animal X will turn out to be Xstak. Who knows? I'm kinda eager to find out.

[krazyassmexican]

it was a good day, and a bad day. sure, my squats broke 300, but X is no more. Not until it is released and i get to find out what its really called do I get to ahve it again. Well, maybe, Project M turned out to be the new Mstak, maybe animal X will turn out to be Xstak. Who knows? I'm kinda eager to find out.

u did a great job testin it man

u should be proud ;)

[MassMonster]

those are sum damn good accomplishments u have been making... sure x is out but u still hit up sum solid shit...