The Journey of a pHD bodybuilder - Train, Eat, and Think like a Pro!

[Venom]

Thighs/Calves super sets; bis/brachilis occluded
Bodypart Exercise Reps Sets
Squats w/ sissy squats 3*10 3
Incline squat machine w/ stiff leg deads 3*10 3
Leg extensions w/ belt squats 3*10 3
Glut-ham raise w/ reverse hyperextension 3*10 3
Incline calve raise w/ reverse plate raises 5*10 5
barbell curls 4*15-20 occluded
Horizontal leg press w/ toe raises 3*10 3
Abductor machine w/ adductor 3*10 3
Leg extensions w/ hamstring curls 3*10 3
Seated calve raise w/ reverse tibialis machine 5*10 5
Reverse barbell curls 4*15-20 occluded



That was todays workout. Absolutely brutal. I feel like my legs were on the verge of injury! But in a good way.

I still felt a bit of a cramping sensation during squats. I don't get it.

[Venom]

I just learned that after passing my quals, I am a Ph.D candidate! I did not even know that! I am pumped!

[will-work4andro]

Originally Posted by Venom

I just learned that after passing my quals, I am a Ph.D candidate! I did not even know that! I am pumped!

HEARD THAT GABE...congrats to you sir

[Venom]

Thanks! Now the only credential left to add is PhD baby!!! And my climb to the top shall be complete!

Then it's time to get paid lol. :-)

[Ben2285]

Awesome Gabe... Huge congrats my man!!! Your workouts give me a big reminder not to forget about occlusion too, I definitely have not utilized it in a while.

While pondering about competing again I was actually thinking .... Since even intermittent low intensity aerobic work leads to reductions in strength and power.. that I will likely utilize a combination of Jer's occluded low int. cardio along with HIIT intervals while dieting. I'm thinking that it should lead to slightly greater muscle retention since it should not diminish strength, and they are both potent stimulators of not just type II gene expression but also hypertrophy in general.
Any thoughts?

[Venom]

I think that is a really good idea.

I think HIIT is great, but the main issue is overtraining with HIIT. It is basically like doing weights. One method I use to avoid the problems with HIIT in terms of overtraining are to seperate them from my leg workouts by 48 hours. That way I will be recovered for legs. I.E. doing hill sprints the day before a leg workout is not too smart!

I was actually bout to post this, but I am starting to cut tomorrow and pretty psyched. My cardio I am thinking will be:

1. NEAT - this will be most of my low intensity. I pretty easily get 10-15 thousand steps a day just by taking the stairs, or walking to class. I do not believe this type of cardio causes any concurrent training effect. It is just a good way to metabolize some exra cals.
2. I will do weights am and cardio pm to minimize interference with metabolic adaptations from weights.
3. My plan is to do 10-20 minutes of sprints or occluded cardio followed by 30 mins low intensity cardio at night. Except day before legs I might just do some low intensity cardio. Jake and I propsed a while ago that doing HIIT followed by low I cardio is optimal because you peak the catecholamines, which causes a lot of lypolysis, but less fat oxidation at higher intensities. But when you lower the intensity, the rise in lipids in the blood stream are quickly oxidized. It's explained in this article, http://abcbodybuilding.com/cardiolayman.pdf and studies have since supported our hypothesis.

So that's my plan for cardio.

As far as the apparatus, when jake and I were reseaching this it seamed that doing the bike caused the least concurrent training effects. While jogging caused a lot. We think because jogging may cause biomechanical issues due to less ROM during the movement; particularly during hip flexion. Also in my experience it causes a lot of muscle damage and if I do it a lot, especially on hard surfaces, I am at a much higher risk for injuries. So I will mostly be doing the bike and elliptical.

[Ben2285]

Originally Posted by Venom

I think that is a really good idea.

I think HIIT is great, but the main issue is overtraining with HIIT. It is basically like doing weights. One method I use to avoid the problems with HIIT in terms of overtraining are to seperate them from my leg workouts by 48 hours. That way I will be recovered for legs. I.E. doing hill sprints the day before a leg workout is not too smart!

I was actually bout to post this, but I am starting to cut tomorrow and pretty psyched. My cardio I am thinking will be:

1. NEAT - this will be most of my low intensity. I pretty easily get 10-15 thousand steps a day just by taking the stairs, or walking to class. I do not believe this type of cardio causes any concurrent training effect. It is just a good way to metabolize some exra cals.
2. I will do weights am and cardio pm to minimize interference with metabolic adaptations from weights.
3. My plan is to do 10-20 minutes of sprints or occluded cardio followed by 30 mins low intensity cardio at night. Except day before legs I might just do some low intensity cardio. Jake and I propsed a while ago that doing HIIT followed by low I cardio is optimal because you peak the catecholamines, which causes a lot of lypolysis, but less fat oxidation at higher intensities. But when you lower the intensity, the rise in lipids in the blood stream are quickly oxidized. It's explained in this article, http://abcbodybuilding.com/cardiolayman.pdf and studies have since supported our hypothesis.

So that's my plan for cardio.

As far as the apparatus, when jake and I were reseaching this it seamed that doing the bike caused the least concurrent training effects. While jogging caused a lot. We think because jogging may cause biomechanical issues due to less ROM during the movement; particularly during hip flexion. Also in my experience it causes a lot of muscle damage and if I do it a lot, especially on hard surfaces, I am at a much higher risk for injuries. So I will mostly be doing the bike and elliptical.

Wow that makes a lot of sense.... that is an excellent application of knowledge and taking full advantage of a physiological response

[Commander]

Originally Posted by Venom

I just learned that after passing my quals, I am a Ph.D candidate! I did not even know that! I am pumped!

Congratulations!

[Venom]

Thanks!

So here are my macros for my cut:

cals - 2021.9 Pros - 185.8 Carbs - 213.3 Fats - 47.9 Fiber - 60.5 Net Carbs - 152.8

Eating 8 meals a day. 4 whole meals that are higher in carbs; and one that is very low carb before I go to sleep (just a salad and egg whites, and fats). Then I have 3 bca+cho meals between.

Felt good on this today. Any feedback would be welcomed!

Todays workout

Delts/Chest; Tris/forearms occluded
Bodypart Exercise Reps Sets
500 Push-ups Austrian blitz 3
5 giant sets Side laterals
Front laterals
Rear laterals
Dumbbell upright rows
Dumbbell shrugs
Neck raises

Behind back dips 15-20 reps 4 Occluded
Wrist rollers 15-20 reps 4 Occluded

[Venom]

Im trying this new sup for 30 days...see how it goes!

http://www.daapure.com/