The HYPERplasia Challenge: Hell's Fire BULK

[Hells Fire]

It looks like everyone else is posting their HPC journals here, so I'll join the crowd.

I don't know want special things I'll do for the challenge yet; I'll ramble about that later.

Tonight was the last of my legs prioritization workouts. It was lovely.

Again, it was fairly instinctive, but I'll do a recap:




Legs, lats, and left forearm.
Low reps.



3 sets deadlifts
6 sets split squats
1 set leg curl SS leg extension
1 set leg press feet low
5 sets leg press feet med/high ***
1 set leg curl SS leg extension SS leg adduction machine

*** this went very well. I only do partial reps, because my knees don't like the full range of motion. But the weights still impressed me, and I think a few people noticed.

I went roughly like so:

set 1: 410 lbs x 10-15 reps
2: 450 x 10
3: 520 x 8
4: 570 x 5
5: 630 x 3

Woo! That's 7 plates! I've never done more than 5 before!

...
I also staggered in
3 sets pullups with a variety of grips
2 sets pullovers

and
2 giant sets for left forearm (some mix of wrist curl, reverse wrist curl, and Thor's hammer)



A lovely workout indeed.

Next week starts a 3 week cycle of upper back specialization. My traps are pretty good I think. But bigger rhomboids would be nice for putting some size on my middle back.

It will be fun. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Hells Fire]

The challenge starts Sunday. And my 3 week trapezius/rhomboids specialization starts Sunday.

I have so many shrug variations to use:
standing : front, behind the back, bent over, Hiss, or overhead : using DB, BB, or cable
sitting : normal, overhead, incline (Adam), or face-down incline (reverse Adam) : DB, or potentially BB
other: Beefcake shrug

You can make some strange combinations with all those choices. For example, Reverse Adam Cable Hiss Shrug. That would be interesting. Perhaps difficult to set up, but I'm sure it would be great.

Deadlifts, partial deadlifts, and behind the neck pulldowns will also be crucial lifts.

...

I think I'll start loading creatine again sometime next week. I haven't taken any for a couple days.

[Hells Fire]

The challenge starts tomorrow, and finals start the next day. Arg!

My basic plans for the challenge:

Lift stuff
and Eat!!!

That sums it up.

[TForce]

Yeah, Old Schools were definitely a brilliant invention. I wonder if he was the first. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Hells Fire]

hey, I'm still around and trying to bulk up. Last week was finals week, so I was quite busy with that (hence not posting).

I have some stats:

5/7 5/8 5/9
weight: 174.5 /174 / 174
[caliper measurements]
thigh: 11 / 10.5 / 11
tricep: 9.5 / 9.5 / 10
suprailiac: 9.5 / 10 / 10
abdomen: 12 / 12 / 12
pectoral: 9 / 9 / 9
subscapula: 11 / 10.5 / 11
midaxillary: 10 / 9.5 / 10
bicep: 2 / 2 / 2
calf: 5 / 5 / 5

Average Weight: 174.17 lbs
Average 3pt BF: 7.78 %
Average 7pt BF: 9.16 %
Average 9pt BF: 12.25 %

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I took measurements again today and found that I lost weight, and it was all fat. I've been bulking for about 2 months now, and strange things like that have been happening. I'll gain 2 lbs one week, and then lose 1 the next week. As such, I'm gaining slowly, but cleanly. I really want to gain more/faster - I'll have to find more food.

[Hells Fire]

MY HPC GAME PLAN:

Intro:
I've been bodybuilding since the end of last summer. I worked out before that for about a year, but with less defined goals and methods.
I bulked the HPC last fall. I got last, but it was fun; and it was my first "real" bulk.
Aside from that, my athletic background consists of many years of competitive bowling. I still compete now, but I do it more for fun than competition.
Currently, I'm bulking. I've been bulking for about 2 months already. Gains have been slow, but surprisingly clean.

Stats:
male
18 yrs old (19 on June 22)
5'9"
174 lbs or so
11 % BF or so

Cycles:
I’m doing 3 week cycles. In each, I prioritize one big muscle group, and semi-prioritize another one. I’ll also emphasize 1-2 smaller muscle groups that lack symmetry (i.e. left forearm vs. right forearm).
1. DELTOIDS, traps, right calf, right oblique
2. THIGHS, chest, left forearm
3. TRAPS/RHOMBOIDS, deltoids, right calf
4. CHEST, quads or thighs, left forearm
5. ???

I’m currently doing cycle 3 – TRAPS. Originally I planned to only bulk for 4 cycles; but upon joining the HPC, I realized that I needed to add another to have something to do for the last couple weeks.

Split:
It varies somewhat from cycle to cycle. Currently I’m doing this:

Sun: legs
Mon: cardio
Tues: back
Wed:
Thurs: full body
Fri:
Sat: chest, shoulders, bis, tris

I throw in calves, abs, and forearms about twice per week each.

Rep Schemes:
Each week in my cycle I do a different rep scheme:
1. 16-50 reps
2. 9-15 reps
3. 3-8 reps

Diet:
I don’t often write out what I eat, but here’s what I’ve been shooting for:
(everything is in terms of what I eat per day)

calories: 4000-4400
p/c/f % : 20-25 / 50–55 / 20-25

protein: roughly 250 g, which is 1.4 times my bodyweight
water: around a gallon
fruits: 1-3
vegetables: 3-5 servings
milk: 1-3 cups, maybe more sometimes
cottage cheese: 1/2 to 1 cup on most days
protein powder: around 5 scoops
meat: 2-3 times per day
white rice: I’m trying to limit myself to a max of 2 cups of white rice per day
PWO: similar to the protocol here. Basically, chug some sugar, whey, creatine, and water; shower; sip some sugar, whey, water, and vitamin C.

Supplements:
I don’t like calling caloric stuff a supplement, but I'll list it anyway.

Whey
Maltodextrin

Creatine

Multivitamin/mineral
Vitamin C

Themes:
Eat a lot.
Train more instinctively, and aggressively.
Have fun.

[Hells Fire]

Working out at home is great. Tonight I did breathing shrugs with no rack and no shoes. haha

[Hells Fire]

Things have been going better lately.

Last week I set a new deadlift record - 335 x 1. woohoo.

Over the past week I gained 4.5 pounds! I bumped my calories up a couple times in the past 2 weeks. I'm up to 4800. It was hard to eat that much at first, but it's fine now. I'll probably have to go up to 5000 in a couple weeks. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Today I set a new bench press record, which is odd considering that I only done DB bench presses for the past 8 months or so. I got 190 x 1.

My new records aren't impressive, but there always fun when never go below around 5 reps on anything and then randomly decide to max out.

Since the start of the HPC by bulk has turned around. In three weeks I've gained 5.3 pounds, which is a lot for me. I'm up 4.9 lbs of LBM and up 0.4 lbs of fat.
This is all according to the unorthodox way I estimate my BF %. I go with BF = (7pt + 9pt)/2 +1. So if my 7 pt is 9%, and my 9 pt is 12%, I'd say that I have 11.5% bodyfat. It's strange, but it seems more accurate than the 7 or 9 alone.

[Hells Fire]

<u>KNEE INJURY</u>

Well, at least this will give my a little time to get my upper body up to the level of my huge thighs. I think my knee should be back to normal in a few weeks. It doesn't seem like anything is ripped apart or broken.

Here are the details: <u>KNEE INJURY</u>

[Hells Fire]

This week starts my 3-week chest prioritization cycle. I throwing in lats, another big muscle group, as my secondary emphasis because I can't do much for legs right now.
I want to focus on my inner and lower chest, and lats width and lowness.

Theme exercise for the cycle: Pullover!

Barbell, dumbbell, plate, maybe cable. On the floor, or bench. ahh [img]/forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]