Some quotes from an old Dan John article that I just wanted to put into my log. Mainly just for the first one so that I remember to prioritize my hip thrusts. 
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I recommend Biotest products over citrulline, thatās for sure. I use it because itās in Plazma, and I find Plazma massively helpful - such is my logic.
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Sunday PM, 5/28
Sumo DL (Double Overhand): 315x1 365x1 385x1 405x1
Weighted Pull-ups +25 lbs: 4x8
Meadows Rows:
25 lbs x6
50 lbs x 6
75 lbs x 6
100 lbs x 6
75 lbs x 6
50 lbs x 10
Single Arm Bent Over KB Rows: 70 lbs 3x10
Bicep Kine Tings
Face Pulls
I hurt an oblique on my 405 pull. Perhaps this is a sign to strap on a belt. Or maybe itās just a sign to train smarter. I had my chucks on tonight, so the deadlifting felt more comfortable than Thursday. I hurt the oblique right off of the floor, but it still went up pretty smoothly and I was able to hold the lockout for a few seconds. Will probably not train a heavy deadlift single for at least a week. Then again, Iāve said I wouldnāt do a lot of things and end up doing them anyway.
The rest of the workout felt decent. I havenāt done Meadow Rows in a while, so got a nice stretch in my lats. My grip gave out eventually on the +100 lbs. I had planned on doing weighted carries but the ab strain nixed those plans. It must be minor though because it didnāt hurt much while doing any of the row variations or pull-ups.
Evening Weight: 202.4 lbs
Havenāt weighed myself fresh off of waking up recently, but the recent evening numbers have me thinking I may be putting on the pounds a bit too quickly. Will make it a point to weigh myself in the morning throughout this next week so that I can assess more accurately and make the proper adjustments to my diet. I donāt mind still putting on weight, but would rather it be ~.5 lbs per week.
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āThe guy with the biggest butt lifts the biggest weightsā Is now my favourite quote. Thicc gang.
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Monday AM, 5/29
Morning Weight: 199.8 lbs
Well, itās official, I need to slow down the eating. I wonāt do anything too extreme just yet since I also just added in sprints. Iāll see how my body looks/feels in another week, but definitely no indulgences between now and then.
My oblique got sore af last night right before bed and is inflamed this morning. Still not too concerned about it since it happened in the beginning of my workout and wasnāt an issue the rest of the workout. After an aspirin today and some more icing later, I expect it to feel better by this afternoon. Probably no lifting today, but might still go to the track.
Once Iām able to squat routinely, Iām thinking of starting a more structured program just to switch things up for a bit. While Iāve had great strength success from powerlifting programs, like Sheiko and Smolov, I think I want to try something a little different. Going off of Coach Thibās new āneuro typeā articles, perhaps I will try out his Indigo Project as a template. We shall see.
2 Week Pic Update- 30 Days Total
This is actually a couple of days late of ātwo weeks,ā but it is a month since my first set of pics. Iāll put together a comparison collage later today to try see any comparisons.
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āProgressā Over First Month of Log
Nothing crazy, but I think there is a slight difference in leanness and size, particularly in my back. I think my titties finally stick out as far as my belly, too. Iāve put on 5 lbs in this first month of the log, which I think is a good, but unsustainable rate if I want to keep leaning out. Quads did well during the first two weeks, but definitely stalled out since then, as pictured here, which is to be expected since I only got to squat once between the quad pics (taken Week 2 and Week 4, respectively). I just added in direct arm work over the past two weeks, so we will see in another 2-4 weeks if I can get some growth going there. Not sure why I decided to roll up my shorts like a sumo wrestlerā¦ Just wanted to get the hammies showing, but got a lil booty in there too.
While this is the first month of the log, this is technically my second month back in the weight room (thatās at least how many months of membership Iāve paid for). I guess I am pleased with my gains in strength while being able to lean out a bit, not content though. Hopefully I can keep riding the wave of newbie gains throughout summer at least until I get back to where my strength was years ago. Key thing will to stay injury free.
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Tuesday AM, 5/30
I didnāt get a chance to weigh myself this morning. I had a glass of bourbon and an IPA last night. I wasnāt out late, but couldnāt fall asleep until almost 4am. No bueno.
Will be looking to go to the gym tonight. Oblique is still sore, but it shouldnāt hamper my performance. Will still do OHP as the main lift, but might cut back on the auxiliary overhead lifts so that I donāt exacerbate the oblique.
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Tuesday PM, 5/30
Bench Press:
275 lbs 5x3
225 lbs (10 second pause, 1 inch off of chest) 3x2
205 1x12
Clean to Strict Press:
95 lbs 1x10
145 lbs 6x3
Squat (w/ sleeves):
205 lbs 10x3
Standing Calf Raises:
135 lbs 2x16
Standing Single Arm KB Presses:
70 lbs 3x6
BW Dips: 2x20
Tricep Kine Tings
There was a 45 minute wait for a platform/rack, which is why I first did bench and still ended up having to just take my bench bar to the side and do cleans to OHP.
Once a rack finally opened up, I was done with my OHP, but I felt good enough to try see how my knees felt with squats. Happy with how they held up doing 10x3 of ~bodyweight on the bar, but weāll see how they are tomorrow. The sleeves definitely make a difference.
Tomorrow is a busy night, so I may be going to the gym in the afternoon, which I donāt normally like to do. Next workout is deadlift/pull-ups, so if the oblique is still sore, thatās extra incentive to just take the day off from lifting and do some sprints + yoga.
Weight before bed: 199.8 lbs
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Finally got a chance to go through your log and you are beasting man! Pull-Ups are no joke. Your back and grip is strong as hell!
I did the 6 week sprint solution as is. Lost probably ~10lbs of fat eating the same and my conditioning got better. Definitely taxing if you are doing heavy squats though!
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Thanks braddah! Glad to hear someone has experienced success with the 6 week sprint solution. I definitely havenāt been following it as is, but hoping to eventually build up to that frequency. Just easing back into it for now, sprinting maybe 4x a week.
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Yeah I just jumped right into it lol. My knees were achy for the first 2 weeks, but then it was all good. In retrospect I would have for sure eased into it lol. Keep lifting man!
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Wednesday AM, 5/31
Morning Weight: 197.6 lbs
First time weighing myself in the morning for a while. I guess Iām not putting on weight quite as quickly as I had thought, which is GREAT. Iāve probably only put on 4-5 lbs of mass over two months, which definitely makes more sense than what I had originally stated of ~5 lbs in the past month alone.
If I can keep this gain rate consistent through the summer I would be quite pleased. Finishing August around 203-205 lbs while maintaining/lowering my bf %. Perhaps by that point I would try the 6/1 week bulk/cut approach from @danteism I posted some pics above if you have any input on what direction you think I should be going body comp wise. Morning weight from the time of the first pics ~195 lbs, morning weight of the most recent pic ~197-198 lbs.
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Got some of this in the mail today. $30 for a 6 month supply, so figured I had room in my budget to give it a try (per @MarkKOās suggestion, I believe) .
Have never used citrulline before. Planning on adding 6-8 grams of it to my āpreworkout,ā which has just been 7-10gs of BCAAs +5gs of creatine 20-30 mins before heading to the gym. I usually lift at night, 1-2 hours after my dinner, so Iām not keen on consuming any additional preworkout carbs. I have 40-60g of dextrose with 14g of BCAAs intraworkout. I have stuck to this pretty consistently for the past month, and it has worked well for me. Will see how the addition of citrulline affects it.
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Personally I would still diet down more.
Of course you could tweak the 6/1 (weeks bulking/weeks cutting) approach so it looks more like 5/2 and you would lean out with that (if you do it correctly)
Mmmm. Well Iāve been able to lean out (at least I think so) while still slowly putting on some mass, so Iāll probably just keep that going until it stagnates. Once that happens I guess commit to a dedicated cut. End-game, how much mass do you think I could/should aim to fit on my frame? My calivcles are on the narrower side, but my legs have plenty of room for growth still. Tough for me to gauge what I could hold.
I say pick one of two approaches:
-
Find a bodybuilder with a similar frame and the look you want and try to achieve that.
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Take my approach and use some math to figure our your genetic potential.
I know some donāt like my method but I still havenāt beaten the equation. Iād love to be 237 at 12% BF. Thatās another 15-17 lbs of muscle for me.
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As much as possible, of course
3.2-3.5 pounds per inch of height at a decent level of leanness should be attainable for just about anybody, so thatās a good place to start.
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Saturday AM, 6/3
Iāve been MIA for a few days because I have family from North Carolina visiting, so I havenāt been able to make it to the gym for three days in a row. Looking to get in there tonight.
Iāve decided to start CTās Layer System, Unsure exactly which split to do (4, 5, or 6 days). I will be out of town next weekend, so I might just wait until the following week to start the program. Tonight Iām just aiming to get some deadlifting in and go from there. Some rows and maybe even squats.
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