October 20, 2020 Broad Jumps, Sprinting

Not a bad session, weather was actually quite warm out.  Jumps weren't terribly good, but I may have been holding a tiny bit back.  So last week I had food poisoning early on, it cleared up pretty quick...but then we went to Maine for the weekend and I pigged out there and...I think re-aggravated things? My stomach definitely wasn't ready.  It sucks to start off a bulk that way.  So this week I'm re-starting, now that my appetite is back and stomach is feeling better. It's definitely not 100% yet, it feels almost bruised, but hopefully that clears up over the next 10 days or so.  

For this bulk I'm going to focus on more whole-foods, and about 3500 calories.  Usually I have a lag of 2-4 weeks before I notice my strength picking up during a bulking cycle.  If it's closer to the 2 week number I may up that to 4000 and see if I can crush some PRs.  For the cut after that though I'm going to put it around 2650-2750 calories.  I go too low most years for the amount of exercise I do, so I think I end up losing muscle at the end.  I don't do crash-cuts where I take in like 1500 calories or something, but 2400 over the course of 4 months means that at the end my body is pretty depleted.  I want to avoid that this time around.  More on that later.

• Broad Jumps: 9' 2", 9'10", 9' 5", 9'8", 10' 0"
• 50*7

March 23, 2019 Progress Pics

So I don't usually post stuff from the end of bulking cycles, usually because I just look softer and you can't really see the muscle all that much.  This bulk though I focused more on making sure that I got more protein each day, really no down days as far as that goes.  I did eat a surplus of calories, but didn't go SUPER crazy, and ended up at 209 for the peak.  Also focused on strengthening my back, particularly with the snatch-grip RDLs, and making it a point to keep my mid-back engaged and my scaps pulled back while doing them, with my elbows also rotated out.  This below is the results: 

I can't think of another time my back has been that thick.  You can't really see it well in the pictures, but even my lower back is defined, that's the dark lines there.  

November 10, 2015 Upper Body

• Bench Press: 205*5 235*5 255*5 260*4
• Pullups: 75*3 75*2 75*2
• Push Press: 195*5 205*3
• BB Rows: 235*5 255*5 265*5
• Dips: 50*5 50*4
• DB Reverse Flyes: 30*6
• Heavy Bag Yoke Carries (Full Court): 6

Good session, still waiting for that power kick from bulking, i think it's close.  It usually is sometime during the 3rd week of bulking that I suddenly get a big boost in strength.  The first couple weeks I don't usually gain much weight for some reason, nor any strength.  Then the third week or so I jump up 3-4 lbs. and my strength pops.  I feel like I'm on the cusp of that here. 

January 20, 2014 Bulking diet

So I finally caught up on posting! yaaaay.  Now here are my goals for this bulk, and the diet I've been using.

I set out hoping to replicate my 2010 bulk, where I went from 187 to 231.  I figured I wouldn't go that extreme, but hoped to come close to 230.  I hashed out my base diet, which you can see in the screen shot here: 

I also add in pasta/tortelini/bread/pbj/tuna/avocados/etc. at will, so I'm closer to about 4500 calories per day.  It's also been frigid / snowing every Wednesday recently, so no sprinting, although dodgeball gets my blood pumping.  So the results so far? Mixed.  I hit 210 lbs and then just sort of...stayed there.  I've been 210 for about 4 weeks now, give or take a pound.   It's different than a few years ago because I have so much more muscle on me when I'm starting...heck I cut at about 2700-2800 calories this past summer.  My baseline for metabolism is just so much higher than it was a few years ago, and the weights I'm pushing are so much higher. Plus I'm doing olympic lifting, etc.  All those things jack up your metabolism.  My strength is clearly going up, but if I want to hit 230 I may have to add in tuna sandwiches daily or something, maybe switch from high carb to a high fat bulk.   

As for goals? I wanted to set a new PR on deadlifts, squats, and come close on benching.  I also want a pr on hanging power snatches...250 maybe on power cleans...and I'd also like to add some mass to my delts.   Obviously as of this writing I've already gotten the squat PR, so now I'd like 455 (why not aim high), and I'm 5 lbs. off an HPS pr.  No idea on the power cleans since my hand is hampering that at least for the next week or so.  Deadlifting I'm also close to a PR.  Going to gradually build up loading over the next few weeks and see what I get. 

I need to post some progress pics at some point here, I'm definitely looking meaty across my chest/back and my legs are absolutely titanic at this point.  I'm sitting here in 36" waist jeans even though my waist is about 33" at this point.  

December 3, 2012 Upper Body

• Bench Press: 230*5 255*5 270*5 290*3
• BB Rows: 225*5 245*5 260*5 270*4
• Push Press: 190*3 210*3 220*2
• Neutral Grip Pullups: 65*4 65*3 65*3
• DB Incline: 85*8 90*4

46 minutes

Gradually building strength here as I gain weight.  I always find it interesting how it's one rep here, 5 lbs. there.  It's never an explosion where one week you suddenly bench or row 20 lbs. more than you could the week before.  I think that in and of itself is why so many people stop short of their goals or give up so quickly.  When you first start working out, you're sore, you're tired, you're probably not eating properly yet, or sleeping enough.  Then to top it off, even with your faster noob-gains, you're still not exploding by any means.    There should be an informational packet given to you when you first start.   Session went well, I want 275 on push press this time, going to really push for it...hurrrr.  Added a rep on the pullups. Next week I'll go 90-95 on incline, and probably stay there for the week after as well.  Kind of surprised at how strong my rows have been, I've been mixing them up week to week, but I always use regular overhand BB rows as my benchmark.   I'm starting out pretty close to where my PR was just two years ago.   Perhaps all the unilateral work helped, doing the unilateral t-bar rows, and adding in db rows as well.