half human/half machine - downloading training data...

[Android]

It's time.

Time to share the pain, the strain, and the gain of a bodybuilder aiming to gain a NZ title in the next couple of years.

My only hope is that none of this motivates my opponents...umm I mean fellow competitors :wink:

Stats (2009):

Weight - 98kg

Height - 182cm

B/F - 12% guesstimate (will update)

Build - Ectomorph (skinny ankles and wrists give it away)

Age - 38

Gym Since - 1999

Starting Weight - 68kg

Best 1 rep max. - (Bench 170kg, Deadlift 200kg, Squat 160kg)

7 basic workout rules:

1. Never go to the gym without having something pre-workout, Caffeine, Nitric Oxide, Beta Alanine, or Red Bull, but always include BCAAs or have a single-serve shake an hour before.

2. Never go to the gym without a post-workout shake (double-serve protein and 50gms Glucose, Creatine optional)...You can skip BCAA and Glutamine supplementation with double-serves. You can replace Glucose powder with a Moro bar :-)

3. Supplement if you want to be freaky, don't supplement if you just want to look as good as a well-toned surfer dude.

4. Never miss a workout when you choose to train 1 body-part once a week.

5. Never think that the program you are doing is the best program ever, forever...(change it up if you see no gains, but don't change your goals).

6. Follow other people's advice after you've thought about how it relates to you and your goals...if it doesn't relate don't follow it.

7. When you think you can't do another rep, you most probably can and most probably should try. This sport is unlike any other where you are rewarded for failure, the closer you can safely come to failure the better.

That's the top 7 for me. I might have missed one so share your own top ones too pls.

These aren't diet rules btw, just around training and I didn't include 'good form' as I use partial reps and swinging when my training partner isn't there to spot me...so a generic 'good form' comment blows in imho :twisted:

So what's coming up this week?

Well the week ahead is planned based on the week just gone so I'll look at what I did last week and plan it sometime today.

Like, I did legs on Wednesday night but was mainly Quad work with one isolated Hamstring exercise, so instincts tell me to switch that this week to Hamstrings/Calves first, then Quads.

[Delpreet]

i like rule number 7... :nod:

[Gym rat]

I also like number 6 and number seven both very good points :nod: :nod: .

[Android]

Yeah, agree with you both :-)

Next week is planned out based on this weeks workouts:

For large muscle groups I emphasize an area one week and another area the next. The comments in brackets are the emphasized parts I am thinking in my mind of hitting hardest before I go into the gym.

e.g Back is such a complex beast you could either split it between 2 workouts, or do what I do and emphasize each area each week.

It's a time-saver, and it's a recovery plan and it's feedback for maintaining symmetry. I'll review after 2 months and see if it still pays off because I have been doing it like this for about a year now.

Saturday: REST

Sunday: REST

(first time in months had a whole weekend off, not usual)

Monday midday: Abs class

Monday evening: Back (emphasis on lower + inner)

Tuesday evening: Legs (hams, calves, then quads)

Wednesday midday: Arms (triceps, outer bicep)

Thursday: REST/Abs class

Friday evening: Shoulders (wider + rear)

Saturday morning: Chest (my chest is largest asset no need to work hard)

Sunday: REST

So that's 3 days on, 1 day REST, 2 days on, 1 day REST - rinse and repeat :-)

The only thing that can change this is if my evening training partner who is trained by a PT once a week can't do a bodypart...I always have plan B which is to do that part in the midday. So I would sacrifice an Abs session for a workout which for off-season is reasonable my abs this year were only worked in the last 4 months with pretty fine results.

Am going shopping now so will post tomorrow's food plan tonight....yummm

[Android]

Tomorrow's workout has just changed as I'll be out in the evening.

That's the Ab class at midday swapped out for a Back workout then, sweet.

That means on tomorrow's menu I will consume as many carbs as possible before 11am, and the workout will be around 1pm.

Wake up (6:30am):

1 double-serve protein shake

Breakfast (7am-7:30am):

1 Bowl of Oats (100gms dry weight)

6 scrambled eggs

1 cup Green Tea and Ginseng

Multi-Vitamins, Vitamin C

8:30am (arrive at work):

Coffee

1 Bowl of Oats (100gms dry weight)

200gms cooked chicken (300gms raw)

9:30am

protein shake (single serve)

1 apple

11am:

1 Bowl of Oats (100gms dry weight)

200gms cooked chicken (300gms raw)

12:00

protein shake (single serve)

12:30

Coffee

pre-workout drink (NO-Xplode + BCAAs)

1pm

Workout (Back) drinking water

1:50pm

post-workout (double-serve protein shake with 50gm glucose + 5gm Creatine)

2:30pm

1 Bowl of Oats (100gms dry weight)

3:30pm

Coffee

200gms cooked chicken (300gms raw)

5pm: (just before leaving work)

Tuna 185gm

1 apple

Dinner:

Mum's place for dinner on the North Shore so not sure...meat and veges?

After dinner:

protein shake on way home from North Shore

Home, just before bedtime:

either scrambled eggs or tuna

So before the workout I have:

180gms carbs from Oats

100gms protein from shakes

100gms from meat/eggs

Total before 1pm = 1580 calories

[Android]

Confirmed the above menu.

Have cracked and cooked 12 eggs (6 for breakie and 6 for later)

A few years ago between my 80kg - 88kg range I ate 12 eggs a day for 3 years every single day. It was a phase where daily I would eat 1kg potatoes, 1 kg steak, and 1 kg bananas (x5) and 12 eggs, and not much else.

After a trip to the doctors towards the end of the 3 years my cholesterol check came back as 2.8...low enough to make me realise not to believe everything you hear. Some might be affected by that amount, some might not.

I've also thrown 2 protein bars in my bag in case I am at a meeting and cant get to my shake or I get hungrier than expected. And I have at least 50gms of Almonds most days too.

[AgentOrange]

im impressed with your food intake

[Android]

Yeah?

I've always picked nutrient-dense foods to eat. The denser they are at providing the food I am after the less I have to eat, or the more I can eat depending which way you look at it. Helps when cutting for a comp too, not left with a fat gut on stage :-)

At 68kg I couldn't eat enough food to grow, so I did things like throw away the bread from sandwiches and just eat cold meats instead., snack on peanuts, switch to bananas or pears instead of apples (higher carbs and some complex ones in bananas as well as fibre).

Have learnt to eat veges at night now as you do need them, and they're better instead of carbs at night.

L8r =P~

[biggurl27]

Yep that is one shit load of food, all good stuff though. So you have whole eggs yeah?

[Android]

Definitely, they're perfect in every way as long as you avoid them close to the competition date (sodium levels).

I switch to egg whites 8 weeks out from a comp and go off egg whites about 3 weeks out.

Don't be put off by false information of the past, cholesterol and fat issues are not proven yet, studies swing either way still...but your body is the final deciding factor so please don't scoff a dozen a day without checking your levels a month or two later. Studies for or against eggs are no match for your own personal genetic make-up they can be in some instances an 'above average' guide. Eggs are high in mono-unsaturated fat (that's a good thing! We eat nuts, avacodos and flaxseed oil for the very same fats)

Some eggs-citing facts on whole eggs!

http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/faqs/f/eggs.htm

http://www.nutritionandeggs.co.uk/eggs_nutrition/nutrition1.html

Personal Experience:

They make your skin and hair shine! You can tell the difference when you are eating eggs daily and when you are not...besides, dog-breed enthusiasts give their pets an egg a day to make their coats shine for the very same reason.

[biggurl27]

Yeah off season I have 1-2 yolks. Does your hair shine Android?

[Android]

Yeah off season I have 1-2 yolks. Does your hair shine Android?

Hahahahaa, you made me laugh out loud at work reading that question...thanks biggurl27.

Biggurl, are you still 27? :-)

[biggurl27]

Yeah sorry couldn't help that one. My cat has a shiny coat too, she likes a yolk per day and chicken fat. Hell no! I'm not 27, I wish haha that is just my favourite number, not sure why, I'm an old fart of 35 years :grin:

[AgentOrange]

I'm an old fart of 35 years :grin:

still like em young tho i hear :pfft:

[biggurl27]

:roll:

[Gym rat]

That is a great food intake Android.

[Small]

PM me back... :shifty:

8)

[Android]

PM me back... :shifty:

8)

Sorry it took a while, have done that now :-)

Grabbed a Ham sandwich today as well man I was full.

Back workout was well worth it today although people look at me funny doing deadlifts with just a bar...why's that?

Sure I can deadlift 200kg for a single rep, or 6 for 180kg but you don't quite hit the very very very lowest part of your back when you load the plates up. The tie-in at the bottom of the back is just as important to build up and also going right to the floor means a slight curve and instantly the bottom tie-in is out of the resistance equation and not worked. It is for me and been pointed out as such so....baby deadlifts it is.

Funny enough to warrant a personal trainer coming over and asking me what the hell am I doing :-)

Got the upper middle of my back worked as well with better poundage so didn't 'lose face' too much today - hehe.

Tomorrow is legs wit the emphasis on hamstrings, calves, then quads. Another midday workout so as much carbs in the morning as I can handle.

Am skipping eggs tomorrow and will cook up 1kg chicken for the day and have 6 egg whites for breakfast with porridge - drooling already

[2guns]

android do u eat take aways? or have regular cheat meals?

[Android]

This is the days food for breakfast up until I get home after work minus the fruit which work provides.

Thats porridge and x6 scrambled egg whites (with a yolk or two) for breakfast.

1kg chicken cooked this morning into 4 convenient meals/containers. 300gms oats in the shaker there, thats my meat and carbs for the day, clean as a whistle.

I've thrown in my supplements too so can see what I take in case you're interested. The basic supplements I believe in are:

1. Protein powder

2. L-Glutamine

3. BCAAs

4. something Pre-Workout (pre-and -during)

5. something Post-Workout

6. Testosterone Booster

7. Multi-Vitamins

8. Vitamin C

I try loads of stuff for Pre-Workout, Post-Workout, and Testosterone Booster but stay on the others as a staple supplement diet day in and day out. I look at Protein (with Glucose for post-shake), BCAAs and Glutamine as 'food', and Multi-Vits and Vit C are essential for the body to function at it's 100% efficiency which ensures I get maximum growth for my efforts.

My Pre-workout this month is NO-Xplode, last month it was Gaspari PlasmaJet, month before VasoCharge, then Purple Wraath before that. Post-workout this month is Creatine, last month was nothing as for comps no shakes, no Creatine.

The Test Booster this month is 'Stoked' by Anabolic Innovations. It lowers estrogen, increases libido etc etc and made for PCT even tho I am not it's still the best you can buy. I use Tribulus, ZMA and Ecdysterone other months too. 'Stoked' wakes me up every morning \:D/

...legs today :-)

[Android]

android do u eat take aways? or have regular cheat meals?

Oh yeah,

This sunday for brunch at Mission Bay was pancakes (twice that week I had hot pancakes) and then the steak.

I'm not a McDs/KFC/BurgerKing fan, I might have pizza once a month.

I dine out a bit at Thai, Korean places which is cooked in oils, and have a wine, but this is only once a week, maybe once a fortnight.

Cheat meals while cutting up...I did last year and not this year.

Not cheating worked for me this year because I didn't diet for the comp per se and I was on target every week...I didn't go hungry or restrict food intake alot. So no need to speed metabolism. Last year I did cheat meals because I dieted and it doesn't work well imho.

For comps and setting goals to be %b.f by some date don't have a cheat meal if you aren't on track, i.e you must test your bf weekly and if u r behind then don't do them, do more cardio or be more strict...otherwise go for them if you are on track mate :-)

[2guns]

i was meaning just in off season, it would be still called a cheat for u lol

[Android]

Gotcha!

LOL - sounds so sad doesn't it! An off-season cheat meal :-|

I sympathise with the bigger guys on stage that get comments behind their backs about "roid-belly" and "GH-gut".

You have to eat so much when you get over 100kg that your stomach muscles stretch in the off-season and holding it in on stage becomes a necessity, as opposed to a 70-90kg bodybuilder who can eat far less with less muscle mass to maintain.

[2guns]

height would matter too though

[Android]

Todays food changed a bit, I had a mid-morning feed at a cafe was a filled roll and a blueberry muffin with a latte bowl - yumm! Then Japanese for dinner had a 15pc sashimi (tuna) and a Chicken Teriyaki and Sake.

Workout:

Thought I had learned this lesson a while ago about doing some exercises back to back...but nooo!

Lower back and hamstrings dont work well a day after each other. My lower back was weak from yesterday so doing standing hamstring curls I can feel it, and for squats as well.

This is where high reps helps cause I managed to squeeze out enough by squatting just the bar, then 10s each side for 20+ reps, similar light weights of leg press and calve raises.

Does it work with such light weight....I am 100+kg now just put on another 2kg in the last 4 days.

Feel asleep at 7pm tonight until 9pm so I know I worked over my muscles something good in the last 2 days and recovery is needed.

One more day to go tomorrow night before a REST day and will do that workout at night so have 24 hrs to fully recover, think it will be Chest and Triceps or Shoulders and Biceps (don't normally do these together like that but change is good sometimes).

Will do abs tomorrow lunchtime since I didn't do them Monday.

Will down a shake before bedtime with Glutamine, extra BCAAs, and Creatine in it tonight as an extra recovery, and another Vitamin C with Ginseng tea.

Got a big day planned for Sunday!

Big Back workout at Te Atatu with another training partner we go all out until nothing left in the tank...so Saturday looks good for REST, which means Friday is Shoulders + Biceps...probably Shoulders midday, Biceps evening or vice versa.

What's for food tomorrow? Chicken again I guess with Oats, might do boiled Kumara too if I wake up early enough...we'll see :-)