The ABC Challenge: Crombie's "Cut"

[Crombie]

Stats 1/3/2001
Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 272lbs
Bodyfat: 26.90%

Measurements
Biceps: 14.5"
Forearms: 12"
Chest: 46"
Shoulders: 50"
Abdomen: 48"
Quads: 28.25"
Calves: 18"


The "Plan"

This is actually not a true "cut" per se, although it is very close since my goal is to cut up from my 5 year dirty bulk. I start at a weight of 272lbs with 26.9% bodyfat (based on a 9 point measurement). I believe by the end of this period I will likely be around the 240-248lb range, and hopefully around 20-23% bodyfat with my pant size at around 38-40 (it is a 42 right now). I would also really like to see my chest size increase at least 2-4", or at least have my belly reduce in size. Since my lats are pretty undeveloped at this point - and once were almost a spread - I will have to get that body-mind going so I can really target them to induce growth there which I can see easily giving me at least 2".

Since I am starting injured I will likely be working out with lighter weight, and quite possible only performing cardio for the first two weeks (this depends on how my wrist feels). I just have to remember to keep movements very slow, as if I do this my wrist does not seem to pain me.

I have also kept track of my progress to this point at my website http://www.cathyndave.ca/ with pictures (kind of lagging as it takes a while to fill up 24 pictures), and will now include a chart of measurements. Feel free to post any suggestions/questions you may have!

Dave
01/04/02 added bodyfat, stats, measurements

[Crombie]

Well here is my entry detailing my diet, and my plan is to stick to pretty much the same diet as I have been having for the last few months:

Breakfast 5:30
30gr Scottish Porridge
185ml Egg Beaters
1 large egg

Second Breakfast 8:00
40gr Red River Cereal
28.4gr Optimum Whey mixed w/water

Lunch 10:30
2-3oz Meat(depending on if is a workout day or not)
1/2 cup Lentils
1/2 cup Brown Rice
50gr Carrot

Afternoon Meal 13:00
2-3oz Meat (depending on if is a workout day or not)
or
1 can Tuna
50gr Whole Wheat Pita
50gr Carrot
1 cup Spinach
1 cup Romaine

Dinner 15:30
2-3oz Meat (depending on if is a workout day or not)
1/2 cup Lentils
1/2 cup Brown Rice
50gr Carrot

Supper 18:00-18:30
4-5oz Meat (Beef, Trout, or Salmon)
Sweet Potato
Green of some sort

Bed-time 21:00-21:30
250gr 1% Cottage Cheese
1tbsp Flaxseed Oil
2 cup Romaine
2 cup Spinach

Workout Day
Second Breakfast moves to same time as Lunch, Post Workout shake goes in Second Breakfast place, and drop one of the afternoon meals.

Post Workout Shake
50gr Dextrose (5.2 tbsp)
56.8gr Optimum Whey

The macros on this work out to an average of:

Cal/P/C/F:
2200/45/35/20

Lunch Meats are typically:
Canned Salmon
Canned Tuna
Chicken Breast (fresh)
Top Round Roast Beef (portioned prior to cooking)

Supper Meats are typically:
Frequently:
Top Sirloin Steaks
Top Round Roast Beef (cut into steaks)
Salmon
Trout

Sometimes:
Chicken Breast
Turkey Breast
White flesh fish (tuna, shark, perch, haddock)

Rarely:
Extra Lean Ground Beef

This has resulted in a 2lb/week weight loss previously. This also includes a "cheat" day on Saturday where typically some of the afternoon meals/supper meal are of the absolute crap variety. Once I get my caliper's I look forward to performing the measurements just to see how this diet does for fat loss. I also track calories at Fitday:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Daril

Dave
*Edit added typical meats

[Crombie]

Well.. the plan was to start on the 13 Weeks to Hardcore Fat Burning http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine/13weekfatburningworkout.htm but due to my wrist injury I have decided to hold off on that workout for at least two weeks. I plan to keep anything that involves my wrist as heavy as is comfortable, and everything that does not will remain the same as before I took this time off.

During this time I will likely follow this split:

Monday Chest/Triceps
Flat Bench Press - 12/10/8
Flye machine - 10/8/6
Close Grip Pushdown - 12/10/8
Dips Behind the Back - Max/Max/Max (may not be able to perform this exercise and if not will do another set of pushdowns)

Tuesday Back/Biceps
Dumbell Rows - 15/12/10
Wide-Grip Pulldown - 15/12/10
Hyperextensions - 20/20/20
Hammer Curls - 15/12/10
EZ-Bar Curls - 20/15/12 (using grip mentioned in this months magazine)

Wednesday
Off

Thursday Legs
Squats - 10/8/6
Leg Extensions - 10/8/6
Machine Press - 10/8/6
Leg Curl - 10/8/6

Friday Shoulders/Traps/Wrists/Abs
Military Press (DB) - 20/15/12
Front Raise - 20/15/12
Upright Row - 20/15/12
Shoulder Shrug (DB) - 12/10/8
Behind the back Wrist Curls - 20/15/12
Barbell Wrist Curls - 20/15/12
Hyperextensions 20/20/20
Crunches 25/25/20

I do not do a planned cardio work-out, but each day I run up 10 flights of stairs and each lunch hour attempt to walk at least a half hour at a very brisk pace. Every Thursday is payday, and on those days I do a brisk 14 floor (28 flights of stairs) walk to the office just to add to the pain of leg day.

We will see how the first week goes. If that is fine then I will continue on into the second week. After the second week is completed I will determine whether to start the 13 week program depending on how my wrist feels.

Dave

[newbuilder]

I would consider cutting out all dairy and breads. Also I would recommend cutting out the cheat day. I think a cheat day can ruin an entire weeks work of progress.

[Crombie]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will take that into consideration, and since the cost of pita's/cottage cheese are a large part of my food budget it would certainly help my wallet some!

Dave

[LAM]

I don't see where 20% of your cals are coming from fats. your EFA intake is to low

[nikybaby]

I disagree about the cheat day. For 1, it makes it a lot easier to stick to a meal plan when you have a free day to look forward to (for me anyway). Also, I havn't noticed a free day "ruining an entire week's worth of progress" as long as I don't over do it. 1 more thing, Often, a cheat day is exactly what your body needs to keep it from adapting to what you are doing. Same concept as calorie cycling.

Good luck with your cut ,but you're never gonna beat me!! HA HA HA!! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

just kidding

[Crombie]

Typically the fat in my diet comes from eggs/meats/cottage cheese, and the tbsp of flax oil at the end of the day. The Red River cereal also has flaxseed, and I assume that is where most of the fat in that is coming from.

I also eat Salmon/Trout 3-5 times a week (depending on if it is on sale or not). I usually also have 1/4 tbsp of Natural PB in that shake with the Second Breakfast, but did not have it in there today as was too busy cooking lentils/rice this morning. The complete breakdown for today can be found from the fitday link. The last two weeks I have been eating "dirtier" than usual due to the holiday's, and those days are blank. Other than that the rest of the days prior to Dec. 23rd are representative of how my diet usually looks.

I used to have a tablespoon flaxseed oil mixed with my tuna, but that pushed my fat intake closer to 25-30% a day. Once I add my post-workout shake this takes my macros closer to 50/30/20.

Unfortunately right now I am pushing my budget because most fresh meat is quite expensive right now. In the middle of January this money crunch will almost disappear, though. I have considered adding raw walnuts/almonds as read in an earlier post as well. I am still learning so any suggestions to how else I can add EFA's I will gladly take to heart. Right now I need to look at those middle day meals, and figure out how to balance out the fat intake better as those are usually around 10-15% fat.

Dave

[President Wilson]

Just wanted to wish you the best of luck! Keep pumpin!

[Lumina20]

Well maybe not an entire cheat day (which I have been known to do /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif ) but just a cheat meal or a lil' dessert one day a week for a job well done. Good luck! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Crombie]

Thanks! I hope to get to my goal, and perhaps on the way can lost alot more of this blubber. /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Dave

[Crombie]

Well the workout went alright, I really really have to be careful with my wrist. I grabbed a 15KG plate which is typically nothing for me to move around, and my wrist gave out. Good thing I grabbed it first otherwise would likely have dropped it on my foot instead of grabbing it with the other hand.

I used the rope for my tricep workout (as it seems someone has run away with most of the attachments), and it was the best burn in my triceps I have ever had. I will definitely have to include it in each workout once my wrist completely heals. There is no way for me to do skull crusher's without pain so I opted to do one hand cable tricep extensions.

I am still having severe problems with mind-body and my pec's, and will have to bite the bullet and drop the weight on those. I think I have good form on my bench press, but I may pay for a trainer to go through my workout's with me next week just to see what they have to say. It is too bad I missed the free weightlifting classes as one of the things they were going to go over is proper form.

Dave

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[Crombie]

Sure thing:

Area Measure 1 Measure 2 Measure 3 Average
Pectorals 32 33 28 31.00
Subscapular 34 34 34 34.00
Bicep 6 7 8 7.00
Tricep 22 24 21 22.33
Suprailiac 36 34 36 35.33
Midaxilla 28 32 32 30.67
Abdominals 40 42 43 41.67
Thigh 42 43 42 42.33
Calf 26 26 28 26.67

Dave

[Crombie]

Well the first weeks diet is going well, finally the scale is moving in a downward fashion again. Not huge drops, but still drops. My wrist prevents me from doing proper bicep workouts so I have had to use some creative thinking to get them worked. So far I have come up with close grip reverse pulldowns, and low-weight dumbell curls. I must have looked like the big tough guy pulling out those 20s and 25s from the rack. Oh well.

What is bothersome is that almost complete movement has returned from my wrist except for extreme pronation/supination, and anything involving spreading my fingers out or too much weight. I really have to remember to be absolutely careful with this as if I re-injure it I might as well just step out for a month. If it comes to that there is always the pool at the gym. I just shudder at the thought of that much muscle loss, and will likely increase calories if I have to fall back on aerobic exercise for my primary workouts.

Dave

[Crombie]

Today was leg day, and it was killer! I have a feeling I will have a fun weekend. The walk up the stairs is definitely getting easier. I am not able to run it yet, but at least didn't start dying until about 3/4 of the way up. Tomorrow is shoulder's, and fortunately the gym has recently added some lateral machines. Looks like that is where I will be so I can still hit my shoulder's hard.

Dave

[Crombie]

Shoulders was once again a disappointing workout, and this wrist is just really pissing me off. It is to the point where it is almost healed, but not really. I am also thinking of changing up my split, but right now am in too foul a mood to think about it.

I think that mood is mostly caused by the fact that somehow I got dish detergent in my Red River cereal.. bleh. I ate it anyways, but am a bit peeved that I almost ruined a meal. Oh well, today was weigh day, and I ended up at 268.5 this morning so I have lost 3.5lbs. I may up my calories again to around 2500 as this way I can easily get 1gr of protein per lb of body weight. Right now I am going to get more water to wash this soap out of my mouth.

Dave

[Crombie]

Okay.. it is official. I am an idiot. I just made another meal in the "soap" container without washing it. *sigh*

Dave

[Lumina20]

<blockquote><font class="small">Posted by: Crombie:</font><hr> Okay.. it is official. I am an idiot. I just made another meal in the "soap" container without washing it. *sigh*

Dave <hr /></blockquote>
Argh! How can you stand it? But I hate to waste food too. I put some frozen strawberries in my oatmeal the other morning and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, so I just continued to eat it.

[Crombie]

You know the face that Stimpy made when he ate the soap bar? That was my face through those two meals. There was no way I was letting any meal go to waste. Heh heh

Dave

[Crombie]

Stats 1/12/2001
Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 268.5lbs
Bodyfat: 26.92%

Skinfolds:
Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 33 32 32 32.33
Subscapular 31 34 33 32.67
Bicep 11 12 11 11.33
Tricep 18 18 19 18.33
Suprailiac 34 34 34 34.00
Midaxilla 33 29 29 30.33
Abdominals 42 41 40 41.00
Thigh 40 40 42 40.67
Calf 28 26 28 27.33

Measurements:
Biceps: 14.5"
Forearms: 12"
Chest: 46.75"
Shoulders: 52"
Abdomen: 47"
Quads: 26.25"*
Calves: 18.5"

*Oops this measurement was my waist, but I removed that for my stats, I have edited my quad measurement from last week.

[Crombie]

I really am confused by my measurements. I must have done my biceps about 15 times last week as there was no way I could believe the readings I was getting. I think that my clumsiness with the calipers led to some "off" readings. Otherwise I have to concede that I lost a tonne of LBM, and not too much fat. For this reason I have am upping my calories another 300, and am reaching for a goal of 2700cal/50P/30C/20F.

This is leading to me eating a hell of a lot of meat, and therefore I may start falling back on shakes moreso than I have in the past. This could up my servings from 3 scoops a day to 4-5 a day. The main reason being that Whey is alot easier on my pocket than eating a pound of meat in a day.

I have also changed up my split, and will likely keep this through the rest of the competition. Although I may start the 13 week program at some point, I cannot put enough intensity into that program due to my wrist injury. The new split will be detailed in my next message, and also I will update my diet plan. One thing I will need to remember is human error, and this week while doing my calipers I ended up marking myself with a pen so I would consistently be hitting the same areas.

Dave

[Crombie]

2700 Calories, 50% P, 30% C, 20% F

Example is based on a workout day:

Breakfast 5:30
30gr Scottish Porridge
205ml Egg Beaters
1 large egg

Second Breakfast 8:00
40gr Red River Cereal
42.6gr Optimum Whey mixed w/water

Lunch 10:30
6oz Meat(depending on if is a workout day or not)
or
1.5 can Tuna

1/3 cup Lentils
1/3 cup Brown Rice

Afternoon Meal 13:00
6oz Meat (depending on if is a workout day or not)
or
1.5 can Tuna

1/3 cup Lentils
1/3 cup Brown Rice

Dinner 15:30
6oz Meat (depending on if is a workout day or not)
or
1.5 can Tuna

1/2 cup Lentils
1/2 cup Brown Rice

Supper 18:00-18:30
6oz Meat (Beef, Trout, or Salmon)
120gr Carrot
Green of some sort

Bed-time 21:00-21:30
250gr 1% Cottage Cheese
1 tbsp Flaxseed Oil
2 cup Romaine
3 cup Spinach

Workout Day
Second Breakfast moves to same time as Lunch, Post Workout shake goes in Second Breakfast place, and drop one of the afternoon meals.

Post Workout Shake
50gr Dextrose (5.2 tbsp)
56.8gr Optimum Whey

Dave

[Crombie]

5 day Split:

Mon - Chest
Tues - Back
Wed - Light Cardio/Abs
Thur - Shoulders
Fri - Arms
Sat - Legs
Sun - Off

Monday: Chest
*Dips (As many negatives as I can do)
3 sets Flat Bench (BB) (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets DB Flyes (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Machine Press (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Inclince Bench (DB) (12, Fail, Fail)

Tuesday: Back
*Pull-ups (as many negatives as I can do)
3 sets Deadlift (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets DB Row (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Lat Pull-down (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets DB Pull-overs (12, Fail, Fail)

Wednesday: Light Cardio/Abs
Swimming or Bike or Track for 20 minutes
3 sets Crunches (Fail, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Crunch Machine (12, Fail, Fail)

Thursday: Shoulders
3 sets Arnold Presses (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Front Lateral Raise (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Standing Military (BB) (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Side Lateral Raise (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets DB Shrugs (12, Fail, Fail)

Friday: Arms
3 sets DB Curl (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Skull-crushers (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets EZ Preacher (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Rope Pushdown (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets EZ Wrist Curl (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Reverse Wrist (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Behind Back Curl (12, Fail, Fail)

Saturday: Legs
3 sets Leg Extensions (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Squats (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Leg Press (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Leg Curls (12, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Standing Calve Raise (20, Fail, Fail)
3 sets Seated Calve Raise (12, Fail, Fail)

Dave
*Likely skipping these this week as my wrist still cannot support body weight, since this is my first time having deadlifts in my routine that will likely be very light.

[Crombie]

Wow, killer back day. I forgot to memorize what I was doing so I ended doing dumbell rows, deadlifts, T-Bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Extensions, and Cybex Lat Pull-down. I really like the Cybex machine as it is the one place I feel it completely in my lats.

Today I am still eating a high amount of protein around 1.2grams per lb of bodyweight. I am still worried about my weight loss, as this morning I was down to 266.5 (why can't that needle just fall on a darn number already). That is almost 2lbs since I weighed in on Friday. It looks like I may need to go up to 3000 calories, and will for certain have to use shakes to get up that high to keep my protein at 50/30/20. Oh yeah, almost forgot, had my first callus ripped off doing my first set of deadlifts in 10 years. I didn't even notice it happen.

Dave

[Crombie]

Skipped the journal yesterday and my off day on Wednesday, but my wrist is still slowing me down some. It was not bad yesterday, and I actually got a good shoulder work-out in for once. Today was way worse, as at the beginning of the workout it was fine, but by the end I could not do anything for my triceps except for another pressdown exercise. I am really thinking I may remove the arm workout from my schedule for the time being, and maybe reincorporate it back into the Chest/Back days at a lower weight.

Once again I have lost 3.5lbs, but I just cannot afford more meat to put my diet up to 3000 calories. I could easily do it with more carbs (lentils/brown rice), but that would through me more towards a 40/40/20 split. That may still be a consideration for the coming week.

Dave

[Crombie]

Stats 1/12/2001
Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 265lbs
Bodyfat: 26.83%

Skinfolds:
Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 31 33 34 32.67
Subscapular 32 32 32 32.00
Bicep 12 10 11 11.00
Tricep 18 19 18 18.33
Suprailiac 32 31 32 31.67
Midaxilla 30 31 28 29.67
Abdominals 41 41 42 41.33
Thigh 41 39 40 40.00
Calf 28 25 27 26.67

Measurements:
Biceps: 14.75"
Forearms: 12.25"
Chest: 46.5"
Shoulders: 52.5"
Abdomen: 46.5"
Quads: 28"
Calves: 18.25"

Dave

[Crombie]

Well, so far this has been the best workout week in a long time. My intensity was up, my weights were increased, and the negatives were grueling. I am considering getting professional caliper testing, and if it is cost-effective enough I will start either tomorrow or Monday. I just am not comfortable that the numbers I am reporting are completely accurate, and want it done at least once professionally to see how my methods compare to theirs.

Today was also weigh day, and I came in at 265.5. So I figure I am carrying around 4lbs of water weight from the creatine, unless I really lost alot more than usual this week. That is entirely possible as the size 40 pants that were tight last week, are now in the "just about comfortable" range. In any case, I will get my caliper tests in, and report them by Monday morning.

Dave

[Crombie]

I did not have a chance to finish my measurements last night, and this morning went really bad. Got up late, had nothing ready to go, got out the door an hour later than normal, fell on the ice, ripped my gym bag, but then had a good aerobic workout. So those measurements will be up first thing this evening.

I have decided that to give my wrist time a final time to heal, this week will be just for aerobic style workouts. Probably just riding a bike for 20 mins, and a jog/sprint around the track. At least that is what I did this morning. I may go for a swim tomorrow, but will have to take it easy on the wrist. I am almost completely healed, and can handle the same weight I was before the injury but I do notice small sharp pains at times. I still cannot do any type of reverse wrist curls with any weight, but I figure a complete week off of the weights will help. This is also a chance to get myself used to doing cardio, and then I think it is time to start the 13 week fat-burning program.

Dave

[Crombie]

Here are my measurements:

Area M1 M2 M3 Average

Pectorals 32 31 32 31.67
Subscapular 28 30 30 29.33
Bicep 13 12 13 12.67
Tricep 18 19 19 18.67
Suprailiac 27 28 27 27.33
Midaxilla 26 27 25 26.00
Abdominals 41 41 39 40.33
Thigh 39 40 38 39.00
Calf 24 23 25 24.00

Weight (lbs): 269
Bodyfat: 24.99%

Biceps are getting to be a total pain in the *** to measure, as the skin is getting kind of tight in that area so I have a feeling there is some definite error there. I cannot seem to pull it up as well as in other's, but that is good in a way.

In other parts of my body I am practically turning into a sharpei due to my weight loss. I fear the day when the fat is mostly gone, as it looks as though I may still have some hanging skin. Hopefully it will tighten up naturally as there is no way I can afford the operations to get it removed.

Dave

[Crombie]

Well, it has been a fun week. My wrist has healed up some more, and I can even do a reverse curl with 5 lbs. Doing just cardio has been interesting, as I see how the "other half" at the gym operate and what extremes they take it to. I have to admit there are a quite a few running skeleton's that really need to add weight, and that scares me. I just cannot imagine my whole work-out consisting of cardio. I think, though, I will do the same thing next week. I have even found running/walking to be quite fun, and can now actually jog or sprint at will.

My diet has remained the same, but I am really considering increasing the size of my breakfast in the morning. The reason for this is that by the end of my 40 minute cardio sessions I definitely feel drained. Not a good drained feeling like after weightlifting, but a tired dragging feeling.

After next week my wrist **** well better be at 100% otherwise I will just have to chop it off, as I will not sacrifice anymore LBM than I have to. I think it would be totally hard-core lifting with a hook. I could walk around the gym like a pirate, and go ARGH!! MATEY! all the time.

Dave

[Crombie]

Oh yeah, today was weigh day, and I am now sitting at 264. That is a HUGE decrease from Monday when I was at 269, but I am hoping it is just water weight from all the sweating I have done this week, of course Monday morning's weight could have still been from Saturday's cheat day. I just cannot eat grease like I used to, but I was disappointed that the 1lb burger was only available for Superbowl Sunday.

Dave

[Crombie]

Being out of the gym has really affected me psychologically. I came close to just dropping out of the competition. I am going to continue, but I really need to find my focus. My wrist is just not getting better, and when I think it is all of a sudden a simple movement like wiping my *** causes a spike of pain. My doctor is useless so I am at a standstill there. I am going to continue with weights after the final break this week. Here are my caliper readings:

2/2/2002
Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 29 29 32 30.00
Subscapular 28 30 29 29.00
Bicep 11 10 10 10.33
Tricep 18 19 19 18.67
Suprailiac 27 28 27 27.33
Midaxilla 29 29 28 28.67
Abdominals 40 41 41 40.67
Thigh 35 36 36 35.67
Calf 21 20 20 20.33

Weight (lbs): 264.5
Bodyfat: 24.57%

Biceps 15
Forearms 12.5
Chest 47.5
Shoulders 52.5
Waist 45.75
Quads 29
Calves 18.5

Dave

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[Crombie]

Doh, I accidentally mistyped my Week 4 measurements as Week 3, I have gone through, and edited the titles appropriately.

Dave

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[Crombie]

Well, this week has been amazing. I lost weight after dropping my calories down to around 2400 a day (essentially the calorie loss by skipping my post-workout meal), went to bed early and woke up later. I also spent a very relaxing night at a rustic resort in front of a roaring fire with my woman. So I am feeling more relaxed than after Christmas.

My wrist is feeling better, but still not 100%. I am giving myself a yes on the gym when I know it should be a no, but I am going to go with that for now and try to find a new doctor. Currently I am down to 261 lbs, and planning to do my Week 6 measurements when I get home tomorrow. I think I am going to go back with the same 4 day split that I started with as I believe that training without a full two days off may have contributed to how I was feeling. It is of course entirely possible that I was overtraining, as with lower calories I was fatigueing long before my workouts were finished. See you all again tomorrow!

Dave

[Crombie]

Here are the bodyfat measurements, heading to bed though so size measurements will have to wait until tomorrow. I lost a lot of weight without exercise this week, and as I figured the bulk of that is likely to be LBM.

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 31 32 29 30.67
Subscapular 29 29 30 29.33
Bicep 14 14 13 13.67
Tricep 19 20 20 19.67
Suprailiac 26 26 26 26.00
Midaxilla 28 27 26 27.00
Abdominals 41 40 40 40.33
Thigh 34 33 32 33.00
Calf 20 19 19 19.33

Dave

[Crombie]

Well, today I ended the week gaining 1/2 lb. Woo hoo! This bulk is going.... er wait. I am cutting, oh well. Last weekend was a "cheat weekend" as due to weather we had to stay at my girlfriend's parents after the night at the cabin. I did not bring enough food to cover that time, and the store was already closed when we got back. I gained 9lbs total by Sunday morning in all the food/water I retained. The big things I ate were a large pizza, a huge serving of pasta with chicken, a rack of fudge-striped cookies, a litre of 1% milk, berries with 1/4 litre of whole cream. Not to mention all the hot sauce with chicken, half a carton of boiled eggs, on Sunday blueberry pancakes, 3 natty PB sandwiches on white death and a small bag of nachos. I really think the biggest thing is that bad cheat foods contain alot of salt, and that means I just hold onto that water longer.

That puts me at 261.5lbs so next week will be my week to finally go below 260 for the first time in 3 years. Even though my weight has not gone down as fast the last few months, my body has changed considerably. I have finally fit my size 40 pants, and after Christmas there was a sale at the Gap so I bought a size 38. It looks like I will be fitting those shortly too. My size 44s are "flowing" on me, and I really have to cinch that belt to keep them on.

Good news at the gym is that I can finally support my body weight with my wrist on the pullup bars. This means that I can finally drop lat pull-downs from my back workout, and work on some pull-up negatives. My wrist still prevents me from doing any sort of close grip bench style exercises so I will have to wait to do skull-crushers, etc for my triceps. So I usually end up in the machine side of the gym, and use the tricep machine. That thing really gives a nice burn so I definitely like it.

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 29 30 30 29.67
Subscapular 32 33 33 32.67
Bicep 12 12 12 12.00
Tricep 20 21 20 20.33
Suprailiac 24 25 25 24.67
Midaxilla 27 26 26 26.33
Abdominals 38 38 38 38.00
Thigh 32 32 31 31.67
Calf 18 17 17 17.33

Weight 261.5 lbs
Bodyfat (%) 24.02%

Measurements (unflexed in inches):

Biceps 15
Forearms 12.5
Chest 48
Shoulders 52
Waist 45
Quads 29.25
Calves 18.5

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 29 29 30 29.33
Subscapular 31 30 30 30.33
Bicep 11 11 11 11.00
Tricep 19 18 19 18.67
Suprailiac 25 24 24 24.33
Midaxilla 26 25 25 25.33
Abdominals 36 37 36 36.33
Thigh 31 32 31 31.33
Calf 17 16 17 16.67

Weight 261 LBS
Bodyfat (%) 23.10%

Dave

[Crombie]

Odd, I swear I recall leaving a week ending entry this past Friday, but with the craziness at work it is entirely possible that I did not. Got a full length mirror on the weekend, and I am less than pleased with the results so far.

I have lost ALOT of bodyfat, but the muscles I do have just are not asserting themselves with the loose hanging skin I have. Plus my darn *****-**** are starting to bother me, if there is one thing I could take back in my life it would be doing all those Steroids with no knowledge when I was in my teens.

In any case at least my lifts are doing better now that my wrist is no longer hurting. That was a long rehab, and I really hope to never hurt myself like that again. After the competition is over I plan to take another week off, and then start JW's fat-burning workout. Beyond that I am not certain what I will do, but I am hoping by then that my muscle size improves to fill in some of my bad spots.

Dave

[Crombie]

Well, having read a post earlier that the density of dextrose is alot more than whey I decided to revisit how much dextrose I have been using. For some reason I was putting in two scoops from an old whey container.....and when I weighed one heaping scoop this morning I came up with 50 grams. Not only that but my Fitday entry for dextrose was based on some vague website that I found in a google search that indicated that 1.25 teaspoons of dextrose was equal to 4 grams. So now I find that I have been having 100 grams of dextrose with each shake for awhile (I just cannot remember when I started using two). This would definitely explain my plateau.

I bet it started when I returned to the gym after Christmas break, as that is when this plateau started. I was real slack entering my food journal into fitday, and it has been slow as hell at work so it looks like I will have to edit all my entries since Christmas for Dextrose once I get home tonight. Oh well, I guess I have been bulking and just never knew it. Since I caught it early in the week I figure I may actually lose more weight this week.

Dave

[Crombie]

I made it under 260 this week! WOO HOO! I am now at 259 lbs. I cannot wait to see the 240s now, and that is my one month goal.

Forgot to post those caliper readings again last night. I really need to stop slacking on Sunday mornings so I do not feel like I rush through the day. Anyways the workouts went really well last week, arm day was insane. This was the second week in a row that I left the gym with this awesome pump in my tris, bis and forearms. For the last part of the competition I have decided to try out the CKD diet (http://c-k-d.com). I am hoping for some good results, and after the competition is over I am once again going to re-tune my diet, and my split.

I have to admit that I really do miss fruit, and have only had maybe 3 bananas, one orange and half an apple since last November. I had heard you would have insane carb cravings on starting the CKD diet, but I am the worst at recognizing something as a craving so I guess I am lucky. Well, tonight I get those measurements up, have a good one!

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 30 30 29 29.67
Subscapular 26 27 27 26.67
Bicep 11 10 11 10.67
Tricep 15 15 15 15.00
Suprailiac 25 25 24 24.67
Midaxilla 25 24 24 24.33
Abdominals 37 37 36 36.67
Thigh 29 30 29 29.33
Calf 16 16 15 15.67

Weight: 259 lbs
Bodyfat: 22.17%

Dave

[Crombie]

Another week goes by, and man my workouts were hella insane this week. I snagged some stuff for shoulders from the 24 Mass Blitz after reading in the Training forum about the leg day listed there (which I am going to snag for tomorrow). All I can say is crazy, what is more surprising is that I can lift my arms today. Every week it seems I get more intense at the gym, and work into the pain zone further and further. Today and yesterday I was literally holding back tears because I was burning so hard.

My body is going through extreme changes as well. The skin on the front of me is like this weird shell now that just hangs there, I can even feel it getting heavier each day as I carve it out. I was pulling on it yesterday, and flopping it around. Cathy keeps saying that she is going to fill up that **** film so I can see my progress pictures and compare them. I think it's time that I "accidentally" click a bunch of pictures of my big toe or stuff.

I think the coolest thing is that where the top of my bicep used to be pure fat, is now extended to muscle. Not only that, but in massaging my bicep I found that I can actually feel my arm bone and all the tendons in there. That is the first time I have been able to that in a LOOONG time. My lat's are also coming in, and I even have a mini-horshoe in my triceps.

My diet is now officially a CKD diet, with a macronutrient breakdown of 35/5/60. I think I actually was feeling cravings at the beginning of the week, but just thought I was hungry. Good ol' water got me through that no problem. This week saw another 4lbs down, but I expect at least half of that is from glycogen depletion. After my carb up tomorrow I will see where I am at. I am hoping around 257lbs. I figure I have about 2 more "good" months of fat loss, and then I will turn this into a clean bulk.

Dave

[Crombie]

Here is the basic layout of what I have planned:

M1
2 jumbo eggs
0.5 cup egg whites
1 tbsp Udo's Choice

M2 Post Workout
30grams Dextrose
56.8grams Optimum 100% Whey

M3
120grams tuna (1 can drained)
1 jumbo egg
1.5tbsp Flaxseed oil

M4 &amp; M5
3-4 oz meat *
0-1 oz cheese **
1-2 tbsp flax ***
1 cup greens

M6
2.5-4 oz meat *
0-2 oz cheese **
1-1.5tbsp Udo's Choice
1 cup greens or equivalent

M7
166grams Cottage Cheese
2 cups greens
1 tbsp flaxseed

Today as an example this works out to 2817 calories, 35% Prot (242grams), 7% carb (54 grams), 58% fat (178 grams [26 Sat/97 Poly/40 Mono]). I had no cheese left today so the second number is what I am using for measurements. Tonight my big plan is to sit down, and go over some more variety so that I do not get into the same rut that I did with my last diet plan.

Although I do not think I could ever replace Meal 3. That is my favorite recipe going right now, and pretty much the only way I can intake tuna without hot sauce at this point. Since full-fat mayo is technically allowed in this plan I may take advantage of that.

A choice like that will have to be one I really think about, it's bad enough that I eat the cheese that I do and to add mayo in the mix just goes against everything that I have worked on diet wise in the last 6 months. One big change I think I will be making is every once in awhile eating a pure meat sausage for breakfast. Officially there is no more cheat day, since a carb up will feel just like cheating anyways. Not that I really "cheat" on a cheat day anyways. Subway is about the worst it usually get's, while Sushi is always a popular choice.

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 30 29 30 29.67
Subscapular 28 28 28 28.00
Bicep 12 12 12 12.00
Tricep 16 16 16 16.00
Suprailiac 25 25 25 25.00
Midaxilla 25 24 24 24.33
Abdominals 35 35 36 35.33
Thigh 29 28 28 28.33
Calf 16 15 15 15.33

Weight 255 lbs
Bodyfat 22.66%

Seems that last week my bi/tri/back may have been a bit off due to "operator error". I had a feeling from the welts that were left in those areas that she squeezed a bit harder than normal. /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Dave

[Crombie]

Oops, I knew there was something all weekend that I had to do. This week was interesting, it was the second week of my CKD style diet, but I was still working out on my 5 day split. I lost another 2 lbs, but my body feels different somehow. I guess I will figure that out with my bodyfat measurements.

I was really hitting some walls in my workout, though, due to a lack of energy and after my arm workout I was really having a tough time. That is why I have decided to modify a work-out plan that someone has provided in another forum to use while I am on a CKD diet. I do not know if I totally like it, and may likely change it up some. Only two more weeks left in the competition, and I am itching to get in front of the camera. We got a 12 shot film, but since it is so late in the game I do not plan to take any more pictures until March 30th. So right now I sit at 253 lbs, and am really looking forward to hitting the 240s by the end of this month. I will continue the CKD diet, and workout, until the end of March at which point I plan to take a week off.

After that I was planning on doing the 13 week fat loss, but I think it is time to up my macros and do the 24 workout mass blitz. After incorporating some of the techniques in my workout the last two weeks I am really pumped to actually do that plan. Also it will be interesting to see where my maintenance/bulk calories are. I think around 3200 calories should be good. In any case have a good one!

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 30 30 30 30.00
Subscapular 28 29 28 28.33
Bicep 10 10 10 10.00
Tricep 16 17 16 16.33
Suprailiac 22 23 23 22.67
Midaxilla 24 24 24 24.00
Abdominals 36 36 35 35.67
Thigh 29 28 28 28.33
Calf 15 16 16 15.67

Weight 253 lbs
Bodyfat 22.52%

Measurements (inches)
Biceps 15.25
Forearms 12.5
Chest 46.25
Shoulders 53.5
Waist 44
Abdomen 46.5
Quads 28
Calves 18

Dave

[Crombie]

Meant to put this up on Friday, but work has actually been busy for me lately and on the weekend I was only able to blip in and out. Last week was a very physically challenging week for me. The workout I am following only allows a minute between sets and 1.5 minutes between exercises. This makes it almost an aerboic hybrid for me, but it is nice as it challenges my body quite differently than my past workouts. The only thing I do not like is that I cannot really go heavy on deadlifts as anything heavier than 200lbs drains me so much that I have to have at least 3 minutes between sets. I got down to 250.5 this week so I am very much pleased with that. I got the measurements done last night, but was just too tired to put them up. That will get done tonight.

Dave

[Crombie]

3/23/2003
Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 29 29 28 28.67
Subscapular 29 29 28 28.67
Bicep 12 11 12 11.67
Tricep 17 18 17 17.33
Suprailiac 22 23 23 22.67
Midaxilla 24 24 25 24.33
Abdominals 35 35 36 35.33
Thigh 26 26 26 26.00
Calf 16 16 15 15.67

Weight 250.5 lbs
Bodyfat 22.67%

Dave

[Crombie]

Wow, it's over already? All I have to say is I think my pictures will show a vast difference from what they were at the beginning of the contest. Unfortunately January was pretty much bust due to my injury, but I may have made it up this month. I really love this CKD diet, and only wish I could have found it at the beginning of the competition. I would like to say that I am taking a week off next week, but I want to keep on plugging away so a week off just is not in my plans yet. I was hoping to be almost at 20%BF by this time, but oh well, I think I did darn good. We will see tonight after I finish these measurements where I end at. One thing I have noticed is that my fat is shedding off areas where I am not measuring. My love handles are definitely going, and I only wish there was a measurement in there.

I think my proudest achievement in the whole contest occurred today. I finally completed one full pull-up, and got 5 awesome negatives in right after. I mean to go from barely able to get up on the bar to one pullup at my weight really amazes me. Without ABC I do not think I would ever have made it there. The next thing to work on is my dips. Today's weigh day saw me at 249.5 so only a pound lost, but it is good to see it slowing down. I think I will opt to have my journal moved on the final day, and will get the pictures taken and developed tomorrow. Be good all!

Dave

[Crombie]

Well they are posted:

http://www.cathyndave.ca/lose/pic-weight.html
http://www.cathyndave.ca/lose/posedown.html

I see some changes, but the biggest change I notice that the pictures do not show is that my "lat fat" is gone, and there is actually muscle now. Not a big lat spread just yet, but soon, soon I say. Especially since I can now do pull-ups.

I think the best change yet, is how much my ab work has helped, I think this picture shows it best:

http://www.cathyndave.ca/lose/dave03292003sfb.jpg

Heh heh, have a good one!

Dave

[Crombie]

Area M1 M2 M3 Average
Pectorals 28 28 28 28.00
Subscapular 27 28 28 27.67
Bicep 12 12 12 12.00
Tricep 16 17 17 16.67
Suprailiac 22 22 22 22.00
Midaxilla 24 23 25 24.00
Abdominals 35 35 34 34.67
Thigh 25 26 25 25.33
Calf 15 15 15 15.00

Weight 249.5 lbs
Bodyfat 22.22%

Dave