It has been quite a while since I wrote a blog post. I wanted to update everyone on my progress since I really started hitting the weights hard again. At the end of April, I eased back into working out and rapidly accelerated my program to get back into shape. I’ll be posting my 7-day workout at the end of this post but let’s talk about my progress. I’ve lost a little over 30 lbs, I’ve gotten back into a size 36 jeans and I really feel better about myself with my shirt on or off. I am still about 10lbs from my goal weight of 235 and about maybe 20lbs from my fighting weight around 225. My program has been pretty grueling and increasingly difficult. I do workouts that make most folks want to run the other way. I’m also going to post the supplements that I have been using and the diet that I have followed. Let’s get started with the workout plan first. This routine I have been following for a couple months and I have seen the best progress with it.
Monday – Back for 1.5 hours focusing on full range of motion and gradual overloading. A greater emphasis is placed on squeezing the muscles of the upper back during rows and pull downs. I still can’t do more than 7 pullups on a good day so I substitute a lot of other back exercises
Tuesday – Legs for 1.5 hours focusing on high repetitions. I do leg extensions with light weight to warm up, then I do 5 different exercises for quads including squats with 135 lbs. I do 15 reps per exercise with these exercises in a circuit and I repeat 3 times. Then I throw in walking lunges and leg curls and sometimes I do the abduction and adduction machines and some calf press. If you aren’t finding it hard to walk and your legs don’t feel like jello, you need to work harder. You really need to blow your legs up on this day.
Wednesday – Bi, Tri and Shoulders for 1.5 hours focusing more on the shoulders and building mass. I try to emphasize dumbbells since I have some shoulder issues. I do shoulder press, front raises, some rotator cuff rehab, lot of different types of curls and lots of different tricep exercises. I do a lot of circuits and supersets on this day to really pump up.
Thursday – Core work for 15-20 minutes and then 30-45 minutes of boxing by hitting a heavy bag and maybe some elliptical. You really need to be dripping sweat here. Spike your heart rate a lot during this session. The core work consists of crunchs, side crunches and lots of different ab exercises… Mix it up. I sometimes go back in the afternoon for another hour of cardio.
Friday – Cardio for 1 – 1.5 hours. I usually do 30 elliptical, stairmaster for 30 min and a 1-2 mile run.
Saturday – Chest Press Fest for 1.5 hours. The chest muscles are really small but they are the defining factor for a man. I have seen great success by eliminating anything with a fixed bar and concentrating on dumbbells only. I do incline, flat and decline press, then I throw in 3 different angles of cables as well as pushups between cable sets. Apply the progressive overload principle here. Increase your weight only slightly if you have to.
Sunday – Cardio for 1.5 hours consisting of elliptical, running, stairmaster and boxing and maybe jumping rope.
You have to understand that this workout is for a person who is meso-endo morphic. An ecto morph should under no circumstances do this much cardio. An endomorph might want to incorporate more cardio into the afternoons. I do this from time to time as I have the energy.
Ok now we have the workout out of the way, let’s talk about the supplements I use that work.
Jacked3D before my workouts
Extend (This seems to work but not sure of the actual value)
BSN Syntha 6 protein after my workout and a couple times spread out through the day
Tribulus and Horny Goat Weed at night before bed.
Osteo Bi-flex for joints every day
DHEA (I don’t know if this actually works. I just don’t have enough information. It appears to but usage coincided with Jacked3D cycle.)
Supplements that don’t work (BS Supplements)
DAA D-Aspartic Acid
Nitric Oxide
Muscle Milk (This crap will make you fat)
Testosterone Boosters
Ok now that we have the supplements out of the way, let’s look at a typical day in my diet. Keep in mind my goal is more to cut body fat than build muscle so if you are ectomorphic, you better crank up the calories.
4:00 AM Jacked3D
4:30 – 6:00 Workout (drink water with Extend)
6:00 BSN Syntha 6 Protein Shake 1.5 scoops
7:00 2 cups coffee with fat free creamer and splenda
9:00 repeat shake or spinach omelet
11:00 If I eat lunch it consists of lean chicken, beef or lamb with water (If weekend, then usually eat a lean meal out somewhere consisting of steak or talapia)
1:00 repeat shake
3:00 Green veggies like cucumber, spinach with some tuna and a yogurt
5:00 A snack of veggies, maybe another yogurt, peanuts or pistachios
Most folks do not have the discipline to eat this lean, but once you start seeing results, then it becomes easier. I cranked down my diet to this level once I started being able to see definition in my abs and because we have a trip to the beach on the rise. One day a week, we have a cheat meal with something bad. For example, on a Saturday afternoon, we’ll have a single ice cream or we’ll have some dessert at the place we eat out.
The big key to a successful diet is to determine your sensitivity to carbs and crank them down to the point you lose weight and avoid salt at all costs. Don’t overdo caffeine, don’t consume anything with sugar, don’t eat 2-4 hours before bed, stay away from high glycemic carbs like baked potatoes, rice, pasta, breads. You want your insulin levels stable and try not to spike them. Once you’ve spiked your insulin, you will trigger fat storage and mess up the growth hormone that is causing your body to build muscle. Insulin and growth hormone are like oil and water.
