ICF 5x5 - Feel the burn, feed the bulk

[AlkalineBased]

Right, first log, no dicking around, let's f*cking do this.

 

Current weight: 63.5kg (139.8lb)

Just off a keto based cut where I started at 67.5kg (149lb)

Bodyfat %: 10-12 (Eyeball + Tape measure)

 

Goal Weight: 80kg (176lb)

Goal Bodyfat %: 15-16 at most.

 

Starting Training stats

 

Bench: 85kg 5rm

Squat: 90kg 5rm

Deadlift: Unsure, first time actually dead lifting proper (Old gym didn't have any GOD DAMN FREE BARBELLS. Better late than never.)

Shoulder press: 25kg Dumbells 5rm (Will update with barbell weight once I've assessed this)

 

Goals: Grain strength with ICF 5x5 movements and extra size with supplementary 3x8 work, as well as controlling fat gain on a bulk with HIIT sprint training (Tabata style 20Work/10Rest intervals). Will be incorporating some bodyweight work to improve pull up and chin up form.

 

 

Before this I was almost completely focused on fat loss (former fatass), only having done one bulk which went a bit wrong and made me fatter than I should have gotten, but was using reverse pyramid training (6-8-10 reps) to gain muscle size (Hypertrophy training).

 

Lets make this a clean bulk to add strength and a little bit of size, but mostly strength so when I do start size training again I'll be able to lift way more.

[maccaz]

nice mate.

get rid of the lbs everywhere

 

apart from that will follow

 

what is icf 5x5?

[AlkalineBased]

nice mate.

get rid of the lbs everywhere

 

apart from that will follow

 

what is icf 5x5?

So many people online use lbs, so I just decided I'd always add both or they get too damn lazy to convert them and complain.

 

ICF 5x5 = Ice Cream Fitness 5x5, a training program developed by Jason Blaha.

[maccaz]

So many people online use lbs, so I just decided I'd always add both or they get too damn lazy to convert them and complain.

 

ICF 5x5 = Ice Cream Fitness 5x5, a training program developed by Jason Blaha.

nice just had a quick look.

good to see squatting 3x a week! best way to put on strength and size in my experience.

 

how is your eating? 

[AlkalineBased]

Shit, right, forgot to add all my macros and calories.

 

Right, here it is:

 

MACROS

Calories: 2500

Carbs: 304g

Protein: 124g

Fats: 87g

 

Not going to bother calorie/macro cycling at the start, I might change that up later on depending on the results I see.

 

Might have 1 cheat meal every week or two, but other than that I'm going to be eating whole foods.

[maccaz]

Up the protein and up the calories would ne my recommendation. Maybe 150g protein

[AlkalineBased]

Up the protein and up the calories would ne my recommendation. Maybe 150g protein

 

I'll do that. I went off of 1g per lb of lean bodymass, but I'll boost it up to 150.

 

The reason for 2500 calories is because I know I gain fat easily and want to control that. I'm also not sure if the lifestyle I live counts as "Lightly active" or "Moderately active" on most calculators/formulas online. Think I should up the calories to 2700?

[maccaz]

ah all good bro.

i dont agree that people need 300 gram or anything ridiculous a day, but i think a little more than you need is better than not getting enough. play it safe etc.

 

 

start at 2500 maybe and record weight week by week and if no increase bump it up

[BeastBuilder]

Lol at ICF 5x5 being "developed"

Blaha has literally taken the original 5x5 and added direct Arm and Ab work. Tbh he is a bit of a joke in regards to yarns he spins from what I've seen.

In saying that 5x5 is a solid programme and linear progression for a beginner, with decent technical support you should be able to progress for ages on 5x5 and make good strength gains. The size gains will come with eating in a surplus while making the strength gains and will make it easier to keep progressing strength wise as well.

If what you're doing is working dietwise keep doing it and up the food when you stop growing. For a baseline atm though I would probably replace some of your carbs with protein, as they are both 4cal/gram a straight 1:1 swap will work. Just my opinion, if you're recovering fine etc with that much protein then keep as is if you want.

Look forward to seeing your progress

[BeastBuilder]

ah all good bro.

i dont agree that people need 300 gram or anything ridiculous a day, but i think a little more than you need is better than not getting enough. play it safe etc.

start at 2500 maybe and record weight week by week and if no increase bump it up

Soz didn't see these posts before I posted.

Maccaz is right on the money though, better to play it safe protein wise, and a few extra grams of meat etc isn't guna make you fat lol.

Would say leave at 2,500 and see how you go as Maccaz said.

In as one of those phaggots who eats 300g protein/day.... I like eating... I need help lol

Oh well enough ramblings, keep us updated on your gains. Looking forward to seeing some good numbers in six months or so

[maccaz]

Lol at ICF 5x5 being "developed"

Blaha has literally taken the original 5x5 and added direct Arm and Ab work. Tbh he is a bit of a joke in regards to yarns he spins from what I've seen.

 

 

 

yeah, tbh if you rather do shorter workouts, can't go wrong wtih standard stronglifts 5x5.

 

what i did and had good growth was stronglifts 5x5 and 1-2 times per week did arms on one or two of the off days

 

took far less time per workout than it looks like this blaha one will take, and good as results.

 

just an option

[AlkalineBased]

3/07/2015 - Friday workout

I can finally squat again! For the last two weeks I've been unable to do any squat work due to getting into a car accident after some stupid woman pulled out in front of my bike at an intersection and sent me over her car. Nothing broken, just a very bruised right leg, and so I was told to take it easy on that one for a while. The bruising has healed enough that I can actually squat once more without risk or injury or pain.

 

So I managed to hit 5x5 at 95kg, which may not sound impressive but it's the closest I've been to 100kg so far, and looking like I'll be able to get there soon.

 

Deadlift started at 100kg, and it's a challenge but I'm sure I have more in me for next time, so increasing that to 105 on monday to see how it goes.

 

Calorie uptake is going well, I missed those carbs on my keto diet. Proatmeal is too goddamn delicious to let go of. Currently at 2200 calories/day, bringing it up by 100 a day until I hit 2500. Going to see how 2500 goes for two weeks and boost it higher if needed.

 

Tabata cardio on off days is a killer, and it's amazing. The one advantage of having no vehicle is that I have to walk everywhere as well, which should help control a bit of fat gain.

[maccaz]

nice bro,squatting 5x5 @ 100 will be a good milestone to hit

[AlkalineBased]

11/07/2015 - Friday workout

 

Went down to Tauranga for a week to see the family, used Ocean Blue gym down here for a workout and holy shit, They make Jetts look shite (moreso).

 

I've begun looking into buying my own squat rack to put in my garage along with an Olympic barbell, plates and a bench. With those four things I could do any exercise I need and then later on look into buying adjustable dumbbells and maybe an EZ curl bar for skullcrushers. I already have a door mounted pull up bar and dip extensions don't cost much for some of those squat racks. all up the cost would be (new) around $950 including delivery. I'll look into trademe and try to find some used racks and weights I can get a hold of for cheaper as well.

 

Squat: Having a proper squat rack is a blessing and I managed to reconfigure my squat form to something much closer to proper, which wasn't possible at Jetts due to them having a stupid squat machine which does not translate it's weight well to proper barbells. But screw it, a step back on the weights to take two forward with proper form is what I need. Adjusted I hit 87.5kg on squat for 5x5. Going for 90kg proper next workout.

 

Military press: 42.5kg. Shoulders are a favourite of mine to work.

 

Deadlift: 105kg, stayed at the same weight because my form as too off (rounding my back and not lifting properly with legs), going for 107.5kg for 1x5 next

 

Bench press: Reassessed myself with a proper bench and catch bars. 75kg for 5x5

 

Accessory work is nice to finish off the routine and lets me switch it up a bit with 3x8-10 to help build a bit of size as well.

 

 

Weight update: Coming off a keto diet is discouraging because you balloon up 5kg with all the water weight and glycogen from the sudden intake of carbs. Tipped the scale at 67.4kg two days ago, now down to 67kg. Looking a bit puffier from all the water retention, given I drink around 4-5 litres a day and I'm now not in keto anymore.

 

Diet: At 2500 calories a day now, going to see how this works out for another two weeks to let my body adjust to the initial carb bloating. Aiming to gain 0.25kg per week to minimize fat gain.

 

Protien: 190g

Fat: 70g

Carbs: 266g

 

 

LASTLY A QUESTION - to make sure I'm logging this right for everyone, when posting my weight for an exercise, I include the bar weight, correct? Which for the Olympic barbells I used this week was 20kg. All weights above include the bar weight.

[Skeletor]

Yeah mate include the bar. Going along good man . Your strength will rocket up. A good detailed log to showing everything.

[Pseudonym]

used Ocean Blue gym down here for a workout and holy shit, They make Jetts look shite (moreso).

Most gyms do. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

[AlkalineBased]

Well shite, life kicked me in the gnads with looking for a new house, job AND vehicle. But I kept my training up throughout it. Stalled once on squat and OHP, but kept it the same for the next workout and pushed through it to hit 5x5 and keep advancing.

 

So i've been piecing my life together again after I went through the three steps to poverty in the span of about a month and a bit (Lost my job, lost my vehicle and losing my house because the landlord needs it for family). Weights have been the one consistent thing I've held on to and I think it's helped me push through the bullshit life threw at me all at once.

 

GOOD NEWS THOUGH. I Bought my own power rack and bench! Cancelled my gym membership and now working out in my garage with an awesome starting set up. IronPower Heavy Duty Power Rack, Adjustable bench, a 7ft olympic barbell rated for up to 600kg, Sets of plates (20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25kg) and the dip bar attachments for the rack. No more waiting for a rack or having to travel to work out, it's all here. I have had to switch some exercises around due to not having the equipment for them yet (Hyperextensions and cable crunches), but I don't care because I have my own gym now.

 

 

Going to invest in the cable attachment for cable crunches and lat pulldowns/rows when I have the spare cash again, as well as a pair of 25kg plates in a few months when I need more weight for my deadlifts if progress goes as hoped. Also going to get a pair of Olympic dumbbells so i can use my current plates on them. Also a treadmill so I can do some cardio while watching TV in the living room.

 

I hope to build up a full gym slowly for personal use and for my mates to use so they don't have to pay for a membership anywhere.

 

Workout

 

Main Lifts (5x5):

 

Squat: 102.5kg

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck yes, stoked to FINALLY be able to squat over 100kg for 5. Milestone for me who kept stalling at 80kg during my first run of ICF last year while losing weight.

 

Bench Press: 87.5kg

Failed my 4th and 5th set at rep 4 for this week, so I'm keeping the weight at this for next workout and hopefully I can push through it to keep going.

 

OHP: 50kg

Love this exercise and I've only stalled once, but smashed it out the next session and didn't have to deload anything.

 

Bent Over Row: 85kg

Keeping form on these can be tough, but taking it slow I manage to keep my back straightened and get it all out.

 

Deadlift: 117.5kg

Also stoked to keep advancing on these, because I've never been able to properly deadlift before with my lack of proper equipment (Old gym had no free barbells because it was Jetts). I've found that it's heavy enough that I have to use an alternating grip to keep from the bar slipping out of my hands. Will likely invest in some chalk and maybe straps later

 

Accessories (3x8-10):

 

Shrugs: 120kg

Like with deadlifts I'm having to use an alternating grip now for these.

 

Straight Bar Curls: 35kg

Using an Olympic bar for these because I don't have a standard to use, and the wider bar really helps with grip strength.

 

Upright Barbell Rows: 40kg

Using a barbell and doing these because I don't yet have dumbells, which are next on my list to buy.

 

Close Grip Bench Press: 67.5kg

Love this exercise, hits my triceps so nicely. Working up the weight until I hit a stopping point and then I'll be advancing it as I can.

 

Good Mornings: 40kg

Working up the weight on these as I've never done them and they need good form to prevent injury while working the lower back.

 

Dip/Chin Ups/Pull Ups: BW
Stuck with Bodyweight until I invest in a weight belt to add extra weight while doing them.

 

Crunches: 20kg

Using a plate to add weight and also doing hanging knee raises to work the abs.

 

 

Weight Update: 66.6kg.

Lost 0.5kg since my last weigh in, so I upped the calories to 2600 kcal. I think this is due to the large amount of walking I do every day, both to and from town and at work (Store person, always on my feet walking around). My FitBit measures me taking around 10,000-18,000 steps per day, without any actual dedicated cardio, depending on the day. Glad to see my strength is still going up despite this. aiming for 0.25kg gain per week to maximize lean mass gain.

 

Diet:

2600 Calories per day

 

260g Carbs

87g Fat

195g Protein

 

Trying out using less carbs than usual due to my body gaining fat easily. Hoping that I'll find a sweet spot where I can get the best ratio of carbs used for energy vs stored as fat. Because I responded well to a higher fat diet I'm hoping this will keep working well.

[Pseudonym]

Good update, man. It was a while since the last one, but it was worth the wait!

 

Sounds like you've got on top of all that shit like a boss. Good one. And that's a very sexy looking rack and bench setup... so shiny!