Reaching for Recovery with Project Z

[Reacher34]

Hey brothers and sisters, sorry I'm a little late to the party.

I was travelling for the holidays and as a result got my trial can a bit late. But I'm here now and ready to give this bad boy its day in court.

A little bit of background. I completed an 8 week cutting diet that ended on December 31st. I dropped down to 203 lbs. Since then I've used Dorian Yates' early bulking diet (as found on this forvm) to start my bulk. I'm back to training HEAVY again and am definitely looking forward to Project Z helping with some of this soreness.

As with the others, I'll be taking Z before bed. My other supplements consist of...... protein. Thats it! The holidays drained my money so I'm reduced down to whole food and a bit of whey.

Training looks like this:
Day1: Legs
Day2: Chest
Day3: Back
Day4: Delts
Day5: Arms

--abs are done before legs and back
--calves are done before chest
--extra forearm work 1x week where it fits
--Days off vary, I try to get a day after Legs or back, and then after day 5

It's an honor to test this and I want to say thanks to Animal for choosing me. Follow along everyone and lets see what happens.

[mritter3]

hey man, you are gonna love it, im almost a week into it, give it a few days to kick in and damn thats all i can say....enjoy it.

[Reacher34]

hey man, you are gonna love it, im almost a week into it, give it a few days to kick in and damn thats all i can say....enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to it. I haven't felt this sore for a while.

Also of note: I usually wake up anywhere from 1-3x a night to piss. As well as just waking up multiple times to turn my big ass over. If this thing helps me get a full night sleep, I'll be happy.

[Reacher34]

I'm still sore as hell from legs yesterday and I just got back from destroying chest. I'll take my first pak tonight. I'm not expecting immediate results, but I'm sure looking forward to any benefits that are about to come my way.

[TheGreatWhite]

I wasn't near as sore today as I normally am after I hit back on Mondays, that's teh first thing I noticed from it...

[Reacher34]

From here on out, the day number corresponds to the dosage from the previous night.

Ex.) First dose was last night, so today is Day 1

Day 1: Still woke up multiple times. Legs sore as ever and with the cold weather it takes me quite a few steps to get moving well. Chest only hurts when flexed but I usually don't get the worse pain until 2 days later, so we'll see.

Wasn't expecting much after only 1 day, still pumped to see this through and start reaping the benefits.

[Reacher34]

I'm going to do my best to also have this thread serve as a training log. Hopefully that will make it easier to see any changes in my workouts that could be attributed to Z.

Today was back:

Bent over rows: 15, 12, 10, (10+10+10)-triple drop
DB rows: 3x10
Hammer Strength Low Row: 12, 12, 10
Pulldowns: 12, 12, 10, 10
Hammer Strength Pulldowns: Triple drop - 10, 10, 20

Note: I omitted DLs today due to the intense soreness in my hamstrings. I could have pulled, but I don't think I would have been at my peak. This happens occasionally when I don't have an off day after leg day. Hopefully after Z kicks in, this won't even be an issue.

Another note: I AM bulking despite the moderate-to-high reps. I use a weight that I can lift clean for 6-8 reps, then I cheat a bit to get an xtra 3-4 reps. Really pumps the muscle well. Example: Row 275 for 7 clean, then use a bit of momentum to get three more.

I think it was Arnold who said, "cheat to make it harder". Who am I to argue?

[Reacher34]

Slept ok, still woke up 2x to piss. Legs are still KILLING me, chest is slightly sore, back is kinda sore but I'm expecting more pain tomorrow (usually takes 2 days for the worst to come).

Side note: I wish my can had some graphics on it. I know its a trial can and the details are still under wraps, but nothing cheers me up like a can that says "Animal" on it!

[calcaneous]

Another note: I AM bulking despite the moderate-to-high reps. I use a weight that I can lift clean for 6-8 reps, then I cheat a bit to get an xtra 3-4 reps. Really pumps the muscle well. Example: Row 275 for 7 clean, then use a bit of momentum to get three more.

I think it was Arnold who said, "cheat to make it harder". Who am I to argue?

bro, i am bulking as well, with rep schemes like 15, 12, 10. its all about the weight you are moving, not the number of reps. you grow off anything that pushes your body to have to adapt to an external stimulus.

I hope you are enjoying "Z" as much as i am.

[Reacher34]

bro, i am bulking as well, with rep schemes like 15, 12, 10. its all about the weight you are moving, not the number of reps. you grow off anything that pushes your body to have to adapt to an external stimulus.

I hope you are enjoying "Z" as much as i am.

I just wanted to convey that I'm not using a weight that I can lift 15x. I'm using a weight that i can use 6-10, and THEN I'm pushing the envelope to get some extra. Doing my best to put my muscles in "red alert" and force them to grow.

I'm glad to hear that you're bulking on Z as well. It's sure to be a great supplement to recover from the beating we put on ourselves.

[Reacher34]

Slept much better than usual last night. I think Z is kickin in! Chest is only a bit sore, my back is pretty good. Although I know that this is what I should expect from Project Z, it makes me feel kinda guilty and I'm resolved to train even harder. I'm gonna hit shoulders later today and really KICK MY OWN ASS! haha.

[calcaneous]

I just wanted to convey that I'm not using a weight that I can lift 15x. I'm using a weight that i can use 6-10, and THEN I'm pushing the envelope to get some extra. Doing my best to put my muscles in "red alert" and force them to grow.

I'm glad to hear that you're bulking on Z as well. It's sure to be a great supplement to recover from the beating we put on ourselves.

i understood what you meant. i was just saying that going beyond the normal rep scheme "failing" reps, and pushing for high volume training is wonderful at times.

[Reacher34]

i understood what you meant. i was just saying that going beyond the normal rep scheme "failing" reps, and pushing for high volume training is wonderful at times.

Agreed.

[Reacher34]

Delts:

Military Press: 2 w/u sets; then 15, 10, 8, 5 dropset to 6
Lateral raise: 4 sets; 15, 12, 10, 8
reverse pec dec: 4 sets; 15, 12, 10, 10
upright row: 3 sets of 10
superset with
lateral raise: 3 sets of 10
shrugs: 3 sets of 20

-wanted to really pound the side delts today

[Reacher34]

Slept like a baby, even after watching the Cavs blow a 3 point lead with under 2 mins to play!!! I really don't have any soreness except still in my legs. My delts rarely get sore and if anything I'll feel em tomorrow, but we'll see.

Anyone else getting excited for the Arnold?

[mritter3]

Delts:

Military Press: 2 w/u sets; then 15, 10, 8, 5 dropset to 6
Lateral raise: 4 sets; 15, 12, 10, 8
reverse pec dec: 4 sets; 15, 12, 10, 10
upright row: 3 sets of 10
superset with
lateral raise: 3 sets of 10
shrugs: 3 sets of 20

-wanted to really pound the side delts today

so was this todays workout....or you posting it to show how you did after a night of Z?...lot of volume there...way to go

[Reacher34]

so was this todays workout....or you posting it to show how you did after a night of Z?...lot of volume there...way to go

This was done on 1/8/10.

[Reacher34]

Arms:

I really like to superset bis and tris, but today just did straight sets. Took longer, I'm switching back to supersets next week.

Tris:
pushdowns: 2 w/us; 15,12, 10, 10
CGBP: 15, 10, 8,8
Skullcrushers: 3 sets of 10
overhead rope ext: 3 sets of 15

Bis:
DB curls: 15, 12,10
Curl Bar: 15, 10, 10
DB preacher: 3 sets of 10
Preacher machine: 1 set of 20

Forearms: 3 sets for flexors; 3 sets for extensors

SMOKED! I'm expecting a deep burn in a couple days in my bis. And my tris to still be tender come chest day. If Z can step up to the plate and handle that for me.....great!

[Reacher34]

Slept well saturday night. Here's something interesting. I work security for a club on saturday nights and don't get to go to sleep until at least 4am. I took Z and expected the usual snooze til 11 or 12. To my surprise, I woke up at 9:30ish and felt fully rested. I was able to do everything I needed to do that day without feeling like a zombie.

[Reacher34]

Sleep is getting better and better. Legs feel refreshed and painfree.....just in time to train legs!!!

Workout:
Leg ext: 3 sets of 30
Leg press: 15, 10, 10, 10
Squat: 3 sets of 10
Sitting hamstring curls: 4 sets of 10-12
DB SLDL: 3 sets of 10***
Leg ext: FST-7 sets of 12

***Fucked up here and tweaked my low back pretty bad. I did what I could and got the pain down and some mobility back (I'm a physical therapist). And then finished with the FST-7 technique on leg ext. Back is SO painful and stiff. Maybe Z can help me to heal in time for back day later this week.