Commanding My Body

[Commander]

39 days - clock is ticking

Wednesday

All reps held at top contraction for 1 second

Chinups
BW, BW+10, 20, 30 40, 50, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10x5

T-Bar
110, 120, 130, 140x5
150x5, 3 sets
150x10

superset with Band Stiff Arm Lat Pulldown

Active Rest:

OH Press
110x5, lots of sets

1 Arm Rope OH Press

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Haven't done this much back work in many weeks, felt great, nice change of pace. Right now, I feel I can get away without too many pure back workouts since back is a strength and I include lots of pulldowns as active rest during my other workouts.

[Commander]

38 days

Wednesday Evening

HFS 4x5

Squat 235
OH Press 125
Deadlift 320

DB Bench
50, 55x8
65, 75x5
80x5, 3 sets
80x8

Practiced posing routine

----

Today will be some abs and light arms. For once, I am taking it easy prior to working a midnight shift scheduled for tonight.

[arian11]

Originally Posted by Commander

Purpose of writing a Training Manifesto: Document what you need and want from training, refer back when you feel lost in your training.

Training Manifesto

General

I will first determine my overall goal, training can only make sense in the context of having a goal.

Once my goal is determined, I will determine the diet and training necessary to achieve that goal.

I will assess myself on an ongoing basic and adjust my program accordingly. I must be willing to eliminate what is not working even if I enjoy it and increase the volume of what is working, even if I don’t enjoy it. Training takes sacrifice.

If I repeat this ongoing process, there is no ceiling on my progress except my own genetics.

Specific

Goal:
I will prepare for an April 2012 bodybuilding contest.

As part of that preparation, I will attend the April 16, 2011 contest to see my potential competition.

Franklin Regional High School Auditorium
Murrysville, PA

Promoter: Dean Tortorice
http://www.deansfitness.com/

Picture of last year's winner:
http://www.deansfitness.com/Competitions.htm


Results from 2010:
http://www.nanbf.org/content/0417201...figure-results

To bring the best package to the stage, I will need to gain quality mass.

I will be laser focused on achieving hypertrophy until 12/31/2011.

EDIT: Date moved back to December 5th, 2011. This will give me the appropriate time to diet.

From 1/1/12, I will be laser focused on achieving fat loss while maintaining lean mass until the April 2012 contest.

How?

I will consistently weigh myself. I will strive toward 0.75 lb weekly mass gain. This will put me at a bodyweight of 210 (+38 lb) on December 31, 2011 (from a starting point of 172, 5%, current estimated fat mass =8.6 lb). Assuming 50% ratio of lean mass gains, I will have 27.7 lb of fat residing on my body. I will have 17 weeks to get into shape (try to be in shape by April 1st). Assuming initial 3.0 lb drop first week due to water loss, 2.0 lb fat loss during the next 4 weeks, 1.5 lb fat loss for the next 4 weeks and 1.0 lb fat loss for the final 8 weeks. This would equal 22 lbs of fat lost, leaving 5.7 lbs of fat on my body. Bodyweight would be 210-22-3=185. 5.7/185=3.1% bodyfat.

[For every pound of dry muscle tissue, you would likely gain on average 0.4 lb glycogen and 1.08 lb of water (0.4 x 2.7), thus 1 pound of dry tissue carries with it 1.5 extra pounds of glycogen and water, equaling 2.5 lbs. If gaining 0.25 lb dry tissue per week, then about 2.5 lbs fat free per month is possible, 30lb per year]

At all times, whether gaining or maintaining, I will ingest the majority of my carbohydrates and calories around training time to take advantage of nutrient partitioning. For example, 72% of my calories are ingested within 1 hour of training on a 2 session day, and 95% on 3 session days.

Specific areas to improve upon (while striving for overall mass):

Arm hypertrophy

How?

I rarely, in the past, have put much focus on arms. I have, rather, spent my time on the basics. However, to have a “bodybuilder’s” physique, I need to significantly improve my arm size. I will spend time training them in isolation. Specifically, I will devote at least one session weekly to training arms from multiple angles in a moderate rep range (generally accepted as good for hypertrophy).

Keep legs lean

How?

I will perform tire drags to increase my leg volume. I will occasionally perform higher rep leg work as it is possible to increase mitochondria and their activity. I will perform HIIT Cardio, weather permitting, to simultaneously help keep my legs lean and keep mass gains mostly lean. When the weather is not permitting, I will use Tabata Front Squats.

I will use occlusion while walking the dog and after my Saturday Arm Hypertrophy workout. Cardio will best be kept either very low intensity (i.e. walking) or very high (i.e. sprinting, tire sprints) rather than middle.

Overall Mass

How?

I will train frequently (2 or 3 times daily) as data suggests that exercise-induced local mechanisms in muscle itself activate protein synthesis, rather than systemic increases in anabolic hormones being the activators of muscle protein synthesis. Further, long term practice distribution suggests splitting total volume for one muscle group into 2 sessions per day is superior over 1 session per day. First session will include weights, second session (for the muscle group) will be eccentric-less, weather permitting.

I will progressively add volume to my program to give my body a reason to add new muscle. Volume is increased via extra reps and extra weight. I will periodize my training, varying rep/set schemes to target strength and hypertrophy.

I will train in multiple rep ranges to take advantage of both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The majority of my reps will fall in the 73 to 86% zone of intensity. However, there will be some back off sets at lighter percentages to take advantage of possibly upregulating the genes involved in hypertrophy.

I will keep rest periods typically 1 to 1.5 minutes. I will choose multijoint exercises for the majority of my training. Generally 85% of my volume will be coming from these types of exercises with 15% coming from isolation.

I will seek to lift all reps as explosively as possible while still keeping tension on the target muscle. Eccentrics will be controlled but not emphasized.

In summary, I have set up my training attempting to intelligently use all possible methods to achieve massive hypertrophy. By ramping up heavy, I will be increasing neural activation, by doing multiple sets/reps at a moderate intensity level, I will be inflicting structural damage, by doing lighter weight back off sets and some isolation to use the constant tension technique of hypertrophy.

Maintaining Mass (post January 1, 2012)

How?

I will get more into specifics as I get closer to this date. However, based on the success of my previous cut, I will apply similar techniques. I will likely cut back on some of my higher rep sets, and focus more on lifting heavy to give my body the stimulus to maintain my hard earned muscle.

Regarding diet, I will again apply the techniques used during my 2010 cut. I will seek to keep calories and carbs as high as possible at all times. Efforts will be made to increase volume through the use of eccentric-less training so as to create a deficit by burning calories first before eventually reducing carbs/calories.

Resources: ABC Journal of Hyperplasia, specifically, articles on Periodization, Muscle Fibers, Occlusion, Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy, ABC Community, Christian Thibaudeau, John Berardi

Everything is starting to come together. All the hard work you've put in is showing and it's going to be crazy once you start dieting down. I already achieved all my goals for 2011 and so I had to add new ones. The latest one is to hit a 400 lbs squat before the year ends. You are almost there with your goals. Keep up the good work!

[Commander]

Originally Posted by arian11

Everything is starting to come together. All the hard work you've put in is showing and it's going to be crazy once you start dieting down. I already achieved all my goals for 2011 and so I had to add new ones. The latest one is to hit a 400 lbs squat before the year ends. You are almost there with your goals. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Arian, I appreciate the kind words and that you took the time to find my manifesto and repost it!

Rereading the manifesto lets me know that I've been mostly on track. Not hitting occlusion much lately, but on the flip side, leg volume has been up drastically with daily squatting/deadlifting and I walk my dog 5 to 6 days a week now instead of only 2-3 (my wife's foot is hurt and she can't walk him).

Weight gain is slightly behind where I'd like to be, but quality over quantity at this point, not going to get sloppy 5 weeks before my contest diet.

Great job hitting your goals early! Time to smash new ones.

---------

Friday

Knees hurting a bit, I guess they are taking a slight beating from squatting 17 times in the last 17 days.

HFS 4x5

Squat 235
DB Bench 75 (last set did 8 reps)
Deadlift 321
OH Press 127.5

OH Press
110x5, 8

Active Rest:
Chinup
BWx10, 5 sets

1 Arm OH Rope Press

[Commander]

33 days

Sunday Evening

Squat
210x8, 3 sets

All reps (for back) held at top contraction for 1 second

Chinups
BW+10, 20, 30 40, 50, 55, 45, 35, 25, 15x5

T-Bar
150x5, 3 sets
150x10

superset with Band Stiff Arm Lat Pulldown

Active Rest:

OH Press
110x5, lots of sets

1 Arm Rope OH Press

Monday

Bench
205x10, 4 sets

superset with

Crunches

DB Bench
82x10, 3 sets

superset with

Deadlift
321x5, 4 sets

Suspended Pushups
BWx10, 3 sets

OH Press
90x5, 2 sets

1 Arm OH Rope Press

Active Rest:
Chinups
BWx5

Band Rows

[Commander]

32 days

Monday Evening

I had a 15 minute window, it's amazing what you can do in 15 minutes, I didn't keep track, but probably got in about 8 supersets

Chinups
BWx8, lots of sets

superset with

OH Press
110x6, lots of sets

With Occasional:
1 Arm Rope OH Press and Stiff Arm Band Lat Pulldown

Tuesday

Squat
220 (plus 10) 290x5
270x5, 2 sets
220x15
170x5, 3 sets - these were paused in the hole and super explosive, bar jumping off my back

Ab Bench Crunch

Miscellaneous Arm Pump work as active rest between squat sets

[Commander]

31 days until I start blasting off fat

Wednesday

OH Press
110x5, lots of sets

superset with

Tire Dragging for legs
100 pounds for 30 yards, lots of sets

----

Wanted to do an upper/lower superset but lower back was sore so squats were out. Tire drags were nice, haven't gotten outside in awhile due to weather and experimenting with HFS.

Superset left my stabilzing muscles in my upperbody fried, since there is lots of stabilization required for OH press and tire dragging.

-----

I honestly think my lower back was sore from too much work on the Ab Bench because it really exaggerates the range of motion. And from what I've read of Chad Waterbury (who reads Dr. Stuart McGill), too much abdominal flexion is not a good thing.

[Commander]

30 days - one month to contest diet, boy my math must suck, I just realized I start contest diet on December 5th, that's 32 days.

30+2 days - I'm an idiot

Thursday

Deadlift
356x5, 9 sets

Shrug
286x10, 3 sets

Leg Extension
110x15, 10, 10, 10

Active Rest:
Band Extension
Band Curl

[Commander]

31 days - time went backwards (hey, it actually will this weekend, lol)

Friday

Bench
240x3, 7 sets
240x10 - 5 pound PR for 10 reps
210x6, 2 sets
190x5, 5 sets

DB Bench - left arm only
72x8, 2 sets

1 Arm Rope OH Press

Active Rest:
Chinup
BW+25 x 5, lots of sets

Band Stiff Arm Lat Pulldown

[bigbear6708]

nice bench! why only left arm w/ the db press?