# Road to aesthetics



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Thought I may as well start a proper log here since it's fairly active and has some knowledgeable members. Have just come off a cycle, made some good gains, still within my natty limit I know.

my journey so far



http://imgur.com/EUdF4QP


my routine:

Chest and tris

flat BB bench

Incline DB bench

cable flies

close grip bench

tricep pulldowns

back and bis and rear delts:

weighted pull ups

one arm bent over rows

lat pulldown

preacher curls

rear delt flies

shoulders and legs:

OHP

shoulder press machine

lateral raises

squats

leg press

Yeah I know my body is quite bad considering I've done a cycle and have 4 years in the gym so don't point that out I'm already aware of it. Anyway current plan is to do a natty cut get to 10% bf and see my abs for the first time then on a nice lean base where I'll hopefully retain most of my muscle I'll probably do another cycle at that point


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

What's your numbers and lift progression like bud? What's your diet?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Quackerz said:


> What's your numbers and lift progression like bud? What's your diet?


 Bench max is about 115kg (never actually been that heavy but that's based on those calculators)

OHP 55kg for 8

weihted pull-ups 10kg for 10

squat max is like 90kg for 5 but I only just started training legs

deadlifts i don't do (maybe I should though?)


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

diet was 3500 cals a day 200-220 protein. I don't worry about fat/carbs split but just eat generally healthy food loads of fruit and veg lots of complex carbs use things like nuts to bring my cals up, avoid red meat and dairy generally


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

paxman85. said:


> Bench max is about 115kg (never actually been that heavy but that's based on those calculators)
> 
> OHP 55kg for 8
> 
> ...


 Sounds like you are eating right, it's probably a progression issue for you more than anything.

What's the methodology for progressing weight and reps? Are you trying to increase every session?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Quackerz said:


> Sounds like you are eating right, it's probably a progression issue for you more than anything.
> 
> What's the methodology for progressing weight and reps? Are you trying to increase every session?


 Yes but rotator cuff problems have meant it's been difficult for me to increase weight and reps on pressing movements. I think if I didn't have these injury problems I'd be at 120 bench easily by now and 60+ OHP for reps. My pull-ups progressed well, just bought a weight belt as well so gonna try some 15kg weighted pull-ups as I've outgrown the dumbbells, 10kg is the heaviest I can comfortably fit between my kneesp


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

paxman85. said:


> Yes but rotator cuff problems have meant it's been difficult for me to increase weight and reps on pressing movements. I think if I didn't have these injury problems I'd be at 120 bench easily by now and 60+ OHP for reps. My pull-ups progressed well, just bought a weight belt as well so gonna try some 15kg weighted pull-ups as I've outgrown the dumbbells, 10kg is the heaviest I can comfortably fit between my kneesp


 Sorry I must have missed you mentioning a shoulder issue. What exercises hurt your shoulder? Do you know if it's impinged or not? And have you seen a physio and trying to rehab the issue? I wouldn't recommend lifting through the pain, I found that out the hard way.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Quackerz said:


> Sorry I must have missed you mentioning a shoulder issue. What exercises hurt your shoulder? Do you know if it's impinged or not? And have you seen a physio and trying to rehab the issue? I wouldn't recommend lifting through the pain, I found that out the hard way.


 Mainly just flat bench. Haven't seen a physio I think it's just minor thing but it's a bit of a recurring issue


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

paxman85. said:


> Mainly just flat bench. Haven't seen a physio I think it's just minor thing but it's a bit of a recurring issue


 If it's recurring it's definitely not a minor issue. My advice? Ditch the flat bench indefinitely in favour of incline and see a physio. You'll be a lot better off for it.

The kind of numbers you are lifting puts you at an intermediate for your upper body and a novice for your lower, I'd program accordingly. Maybe look into a more periodized template to work off and simply progress linearly on squats and deadlifts whilst running it.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Quackerz said:


> If it's recurring it's definitely not a minor issue. My advice? Ditch the flat bench indefinitely in favour of incline and see a physio. You'll be a lot better off for it.
> 
> The kind of numbers you are lifting puts you at an intermediate for your upper body and a novice for your lower, I'd program accordingly. Maybe look into a more periodized template to work off and simply progress linearly on squats and deadlifts whilst running it.


 My gym doesn't have an incline or I would have done this already. Also with regards to physio how do I go about booking a session? Do I just google physios in my city? I could afford a one off session but there's no chance I have the money for rehab or anything like that which would require weekly appointments


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

paxman85. said:


> My gym doesn't have an incline or I would have done this already. Also with regards to physio how do I go about booking a session? Do I just google physios in my city? I could afford a one off session but there's no chance I have the money for rehab or anything like that which would require weekly appointments


 Usually you'll pay for a session, they'll assess your mobility and prescribe a rehab routine you can do yourself at home. Just discuss what you want beforehand, these people work in all sorts of different price ranges.

If you don't feel like a physio is for you then there is also the option of the many shoulder and thoracic mobility programs out there on the internet. Like anything the key is staying consistent with it and progress will happen.


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## G-man99 (Jul 15, 2008)

paxman85. said:


> My gym doesn't have an incline or I would have done this already. Also with regards to physio how do I go about booking a session? Do I just google physios in my city? I could afford a one off session but there's no chance I have the money for rehab or anything like that which would require weekly appointments


 Get a referral off your doctor


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Quackerz said:


> Usually you'll pay for a session, they'll assess your mobility and prescribe a rehab routine you can do yourself at home. Just discuss what you want beforehand, these people work in all sorts of different price ranges.
> 
> If you don't feel like a physio is for you then there is also the option of the many shoulder and thoracic mobility programs out there on the internet. Like anything the key is staying consistent with it and progress will happen.


 Okay that's much more realistic. I don't think it's a major issue it's not like super painful but yeah it's better to get it checked out anyway. I could just do incline DB presses do you think that would suffice for chest development? Also in my position would you bulk or cut? Bare in mind my goal is a fitness model Esque physique and I've been kind of bulking ever since I started lifting, I know I'm not huge yet but I feel like a cut and seeing my abs could give me a motivation boost


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

paxman85. said:


> Okay that's much more realistic. I don't think it's a major issue it's not like super painful but yeah it's better to get it checked out anyway. I could just do incline DB presses do you think that would suffice for chest development? Also in my position would you bulk or cut? Bare in mind my goal is a fitness model Esque physique and I've been kind of bulking ever since I started lifting, I know I'm not huge yet but I feel like a cut and seeing my abs could give me a motivation boost


 You could progress amazingly off nothing but Incline dumbbells if you programmed it correctly. There are many substitutions but the takeaway point is to drop the exercises that give you pain.

Lean bulking is probably your best option IMO but many like the feeling of being shredded and bulking from there, your pick at the end of the day.


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Ditch the bro split in favour of upper lower over 4 days and start hitting those legs twice a week.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> Ditch the bro split in favour of upper lower over 4 days and start hitting those legs twice a week.


 It's not a bro split it's PPL adjusted 6 times a week


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

paxman85. said:


> It's not a bro split it's PPL adjusted 6 times a week


 You train 6 days a week?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> You train 6 days a week?


 Recently I have yes, (last 3 months)


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## Mayzini (May 18, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> Recently I have yes, (last 3 months)


 hate to sound boring, you don't need to train 6 days a week, your gonna fry your CNS s much as anything else. try and get at least two rest days in IMO if you feel you must do more hit 5 and hits legs twice at least. good luck


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Mayzini said:


> hate to sound boring, you don't need to train 6 days a week, your gonna fry your CNS s much as anything else. try and get at least two rest days in IMO if you feel you must do more hit 5 and hits legs twice at least. good luck


 I like doing bench OHP and Pull ups all twice a week thoigh, also my sessions are quite short like 45-50 minutes usually, I prefer that to 4 x 1.5 hr workouts personally


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## Mayzini (May 18, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> I like doing bench OHP and Pull ups all twice a week thoigh, also my sessions are quite short like 45-50 minutes usually, I prefer that to 4 x 1.5 hr workouts personally


 mate you don't need to be training more than 45- 50 mins for a session ( unless your adding longer cardio at the end, I would add these to your rest days) you might like doing these exercise twice a week, I like pressing and rowing because I am strong at them, but you have to train to build the physique you want. the rest days allow you to grow, you do not grow in the gym you grow out of it. I know loads of guys who bang in 6 days a week and make decent progress and then start spinning their wheels especially if natural.

ill jut give you and example of my split not that you should follow it as its suited for me. Monday Push chest dom Tuesday Pull Wednesday legs/rest Thursday push shoulder dominant ( for 4 weeks then swap for pull 4 weeks then legs 4 weeks) Friday full body circuit, leg dominant. None of my sessions run more than an hour most are done in 45-50 mins sat/sun off both have cardio in at LISS for 30 mins at least.

personally your not giving your body significant rest to grow in the long term. but all the best as ultimately it was suits you so don't let me or anyone discourage you we re just adding some assistance from errors we have all made. I trained 6 days for ages thinking I was doing well but all I did was get leaner.


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

^ this.

Do the stuff you don't like doing to improve your body.

Starting with legs, twice a week.

90kg squats and a few half ass sets on legs press is not going to grow your legs mate.

Honestly, pay more attention to them and watch your whole body grow.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> ^ this.
> 
> Do the stuff you don't like doing to improve your body.
> 
> ...


 I totally agree I need to give my legs more attention, I only started training them a few months ago. Do you really think it's necessary for me to switch to an upper lower 4 times a week the split thoigh, I feel like there's too many upper body excercises I want to do to fit them all into just one session unless it's like an hour and half long and honestly I just prefer doing shorter sessions of like 50 mins more often, I did for a while do a 4 day split with Salinger workouts but I just didn't really like it as much? My current plan is to

1) get physio and sort out my shoulder problem

2) Get my bloods done to make sure I recovered okay from my cycle (I feel fine but it don't help to check)

3) Do a little mini cut as this could give me a little motivation boost, also I've been bulking since I started now and I just fancy trying a cut for a change

4) Once I'm lean bulk again from there and get massive

what do you guys reckon?


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

I have heavy days and hypertrophy days and get both done in just over an hour.

Experiment and see mate.


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> I totally agree I need to give my legs more attention, I only started training them a few months ago. Do you really think it's necessary for me to switch to an upper lower 4 times a week the split thoigh, I feel like there's too many upper body excercises I want to do to fit them all into just one session unless it's like an hour and half long and honestly I just prefer doing shorter sessions of like 50 mins more often, I did for a while do a 4 day split with Salinger workouts but I just didn't really like it as much? My current plan is to
> 
> *1) get physio and sort out my shoulder problem*
> 
> ...


 id also work on your form for bench and any pressing work and add in face pulls. Using the correct form and even making small adjustments can make a huge difference to your shoulder health.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> id also work on your form for bench and any pressing work and add in face pulls. Using the correct form and even making small adjustments can make a huge difference to your shoulder health.


 Alrite I'll add face pulls to my shoulder workout starting this weekend


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> id also work on your form for bench and any pressing work and add in face pulls. Using the correct form and even making small adjustments can make a huge difference to your shoulder health.


 I've narrowed my grip and and gonna try and ensure my scapula is completely retracted on all repititions


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> I've narrowed my grip and and gonna try and ensure my scapula is completely retracted on all repititions


 thats good, using a narrower grip made a big difference for me. also do face pulls like in the video.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> thats good, using a narrower grip made a big difference for me. also do face pulls like in the video.


 Did you have shoulder problems from benching yourself? What exactly was the issue and how did you fix it ?


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> Did you have shoulder problems from benching yourself? What exactly was the issue and how did you fix it ?


 Yes mate, I would start to get pain as soon as I started to increase my bench and id have to back off the weight. Used to get clicks and twitch's in my shoulder on ohp too. Really slowed my progress.

Fixed it with dropping down my working weight, working on form and narrowing my grip as well as adding in the above face pulls. Since then I've worked my way back up to previous working weight and beyond with no pain. I also do more bench work now as well with no problems and ohp does not make my shoulders click, even when warming up.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> Yes mate, I would start to get pain as soon as I started to increase my bench and id have to back off the weight. Used to get clicks and twitch's in my shoulder on ohp too. Really slowed my progress.
> 
> Fixed it with dropping down my working weight, working on form and narrowing my grip as well as adding in the above face pulls. Since then I've worked my way back up to previous working weight and beyond with no pain. I also do more bench work now as well with no problems and ohp does not make my shoulders click, even when warming up.


 How wide is your grip now? I'm 182cm tall and I used to grip with my middle finger on the rings of the barbell, now I'm putting my pinky on the rings of the barbell but may go slightly narrower still


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> How wide is your grip now? I'm 182cm tall and I used to grip with my middle finger on the rings of the barbell, now I'm putting my pinky on the rings of the barbell but may go slightly narrower still


 My grip would be similar width to yours, about a finger wider if anything and I'm 180cm but your play around with the grip and see which is the most comfortable for you.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> My grip would be similar width to yours, about a finger wider if anything and I'm 180cm but your play around with the grip and see which is the most comfortable for you.


 Awesome. My shoulder actually feels okay atm, today is back and bis day but it's chest and tris tomomorw. Do you think it's worth be doing some light bench sets with perfect for just to test out my shoulder of give it another couple of days off?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Also I think I need to start training abs directly, gonna do a little 10 minute an circuit at home 3 times a week from now on


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> Awesome. My shoulder actually feels okay atm, today is back and bis day but it's chest and tris tomomorw. Do you think it's worth be doing some light bench sets with perfect for just to test out my shoulder of give it another couple of days off?


 Go light with good form and work steadily back up in weight each session and see how it feels.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

ILLBehaviour said:


> Go light with good form and work steadily back up in weight each session and see how it feels.


 Trained at a different gym today which did have an incline bench, went up to 70kg in the incline and it felt okay, narrower grip, big focus on keeping a retracted scapula and back arch. I could defo have gone heavier but didn't want to risk my shoulder


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Tried flat BB bench press today and was again getting shoulder pain. Think the only solution for me is gonna be to use DBs, maybe the flat BB bench press is just an excercise that doesnt get along well with me at heavier weights and im just gonna have to accept that. Its slightly depressing because I feel as though this excercise has really built my chest a lot and given me a f**k ton of gains in general but its time to say goodbye. Dont have an incline bench but switching gyms next month to one that does, in the mean time ill do incline DB press, hopefully that will be enough to maintain my gains. Its so annoying I feel like i could have made so much better gains these last few months if i wasnt plagued by injuries, incredibly frustrating situation but it is what it is I suppose and ive never had a serious sports injury in my life before so guess Ive been lucky up till now.

So workout for today is done time to drink a protein shake and have a little cry


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

So just out of curiosity as well what DB bench is gonna be equivalent to a 90kg BB bench. I was thinking like 35kg or so?


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## TURBS (Oct 21, 2013)

paxman85. said:


> Tried flat BB bench press today and was again getting shoulder pain.


 Did you do any rotator cuff exercises before benching?

Do you still get the pain when pushing lighter (warmups) or just when doing heavier sets?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

TERBO said:


> Did you do any rotator cuff exercises before benching?
> 
> Do you still get the pain when pushing lighter (warmups) or just when doing heavier sets?


 I did warm up my rotator cuffs, I did like 3 light bench warm up sets. Did 80kg for 12 reps no problem, then tried 90kg and on the third rep felt the shoulder pain, my grip was good defo wasn't too wide, I'm just starting to feel like this excercise isn't worth the injury risk for me. I'm clearly not a guy who's naturally built for strength look at my pic before i started working out. Maybe I'm just never gonna be someone who can bench more than about 110kg as my tendons just can't handle it or some s**t idk? DB bench just seems less risky because

1) The overall load is less for the same amount of chest contraction

2) You can drop the weights if you feel pain rather than having to finish the rep if you're at the bottom( which is what happened to me in this case and has happened a few times now)


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## TURBS (Oct 21, 2013)

paxman85. said:


> I did


 Weird how things like that hit you, I get it with biceps... definitely dumbbells are a safer bet then.


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> I did warm up my rotator cuffs, I did like 3 light bench warm up sets. Did 80kg for 12 reps no problem, then tried 90kg and on the third rep felt the shoulder pain, my grip was good defo wasn't too wide, I'm just starting to feel like this excercise isn't worth the injury risk for me. I'm clearly not a guy who's naturally built for strength look at my pic before i started working out. Maybe I'm just never gonna be someone who can bench more than about 110kg as my tendons just can't handle it or some s**t idk? DB bench just seems less risky because
> 
> 1) The overall load is less for the same amount of chest contraction
> 
> 2) You can drop the weights if you feel pain rather than having to finish the rep if you're at the bottom( which is what happened to me in this case and has happened a few times now)


 Bench is a very technical exercise mate. I def wouldn't sweat it. Just stick to DB's or whatever feels right and safe


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## G-man99 (Jul 15, 2008)

paxman85. said:


> Tried flat BB bench press today and was again getting shoulder pain. Think the only solution for me is gonna be to use DBs, maybe the flat BB bench press is just an excercise that doesnt get along well with me at heavier weights and im just gonna have to accept that. Its slightly depressing because I feel as though this excercise has really built my chest a lot and given me a f**k ton of gains in general but its time to say goodbye. Dont have an incline bench but switching gyms next month to one that does, in the mean time ill do incline DB press, hopefully that will be enough to maintain my gains. Its so annoying I feel like i could have made so much better gains these last few months if i wasnt plagued by injuries, incredibly frustrating situation but it is what it is I suppose and ive never had a serious sports injury in my life before so guess Ive been lucky up till now.
> 
> So workout for today is done time to drink a protein shake and have a little cry


 Do you have a squat rack in the gym?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

G-man99 said:


> Do you have a squat rack in the gym?


 Yeah I can set up an incline in the squat rack it's just a bit of a pain in the ass and the rack uses like long j hooks to the bar hog ten hits the hooks when going back up on the movement.


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## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

Good progress in that pic mate I started from similar size to you aswell just short of 60kg

I don't do flat bench stall anymore I just don't like the exercise and how it feels...I only do incline and decline. I've also started enjoying using the smith machine can get a great feel in the chest that way


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Good progress in that pic mate I started from similar size to you aswell just short of 60kg
> 
> I don't do flat bench stall anymore I just don't like the exercise and how it feels...I only do incline and decline. I've also started enjoying using the smith machine can get a great feel in the chest that way


 What sort of size are you now and how long you been training ?


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## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

Started training seriously when I was 21 So 3 years now I've just started a log in here too mate


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Started training seriously when I was 21 So 3 years now I've just started a log in here too mate


 Fair enough fella I've just turned 21 this year and I'd say this is the first year I've been taking it seriously in terms of tracking macros and consistent 5/6 days a week training. Bid calisthenics and dumbbells from age 16-18 at home joined a proper gym aged 18 made some wuite good agains aged 18-19 in my first year of proper gym then 19-21 my progress has stagnated, I've maintained my physique in that time sort of just eating whatever and 2-3 days a week training, quite of lot of partying as wel which won't have helped but I did have fun and kind of moving past that stage now so not really regretting it glad I kept lifting even though it did slip down my priorities, last 6 months though I've been going hard 5/6 days a week training and tracking macros because I wanna take my physique the next level and be in top condition by the time I'm 25 or so.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Started training seriously when I was 21 So 3 years now I've just started a log in here too mate


 Just checked out your log and photos, mad to see someone who started out around my size get as big as you guess it just goes to show how capable the human body is of adjusting and growing when given adequate time, stimulus and nutrition.


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## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Just checked out your log and photos, mad to see someone who started out around my size get as big as you guess it just goes to show how capable the human body is of adjusting and growing when given adequate time, stimulus and nutrition.


 Consistency is what's important mate, like them other guys above have said try training lower volume higher intensity have a look at dogcrapp style or jp style you'll be surprised at what sort of size you could add you are young as made good progress already so you'll smash it by time your 25 if you train solid for the next 4 years


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## TALBOTL (Feb 13, 2019)

paxman85. said:


> *I did warm up my rotator cuffs, I did like 3 light bench warm up sets*. Did 80kg for 12 reps no problem, then tried 90kg and on the third rep felt the shoulder pain, my grip was good defo wasn't too wide, I'm just starting to feel like this excercise isn't worth the injury risk for me. I'm clearly not a guy who's naturally built for strength look at my pic before i started working out. Maybe I'm just never gonna be someone who can bench more than about 110kg as my tendons just can't handle it or some s**t idk? DB bench just seems less risky because
> 
> 1) The overall load is less for the same amount of chest contraction
> 
> 2) You can drop the weights if you feel pain rather than having to finish the rep if you're at the bottom( which is what happened to me in this case and has happened a few times now)


 If that's all you did it's not really targeting the rotator cuff directly, you need to concentrate on doing this to really help with the issues you're having - just doing a lighter set of bench won't be enough.

Use the cables or bands to really stretch it out - I also use dumbbells or plates.

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19521884/rotator-cuff-and-shoulder-warmup/ I don't usually advocate mens health but this has easy to watch and follow steps.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

TALBOTL said:


> If that's all you did it's not really targeting the rotator cuff directly, you need to concentrate on doing this to really help with the issues you're having - just doing a lighter set of bench won't be enough.
> 
> Use the cables or bands to really stretch it out - I also use dumbbells or plates.
> 
> https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19521884/rotator-cuff-and-shoulder-warmup/ I don't usually advocate mens health but this has easy to watch and follow steps.


 Badly worded I meant I did the rotator cuff excercises along with light bench sets (which I normally do anyway). I did the thing where you raise like a light plate at 90 degrees not sure what that's called. I will give the warm up routine a go for my push workouts though but I am also just gonna drop flat BB bench from my routine atleast for now anyway. I should be able to make good gains from dumbbells anyhow


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Losing a bit of strength in my workouts now, nothing too drastic, weight went down a bit but now stabilized. I'm eating 3.2kcals a day quite religiously, think my tdee is 3k


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Did a chest a tris workout. DB incline bench only went as heavy as 32kg just to be on the safe side still got a good pump on, I reckon I could have pushed it to 34 or 36kg though. Does that sound about right considering I was benching 90kg for reps on flat Bb


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained.

deadlifts

weighted pull-ups (with bodyweight drop sets)

lat pulldowns

rear delt flies

bicep preacher curls

for some reason since I came off cycle my pull strength has stayed pretty much the same yet my push strength has crumbled which is a bit depressing. Any decent explanation for why this may be?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

One more point to add, been feeling quite anxious and depressed this weekend, could this be a result of the clomid I'm using? Heard it's notorious for metal side effects and depression and tbh I can be quite prone to mood swings as it is. Currently at 100mg a day one week into pct plan was to drop it to 50mg after two weeks then 25mg etc for 6 week total


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Some guys gets this from clomid. 100mg is way too much mate, drop it to 50/50/25/25 run it like that for 4 weeks


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Some guys gets this from clomid. 100mg is way too much mate, drop it to 50/50/25/25 run it like that for 4 weeks


 So 50mg Clomid and 20mg Nolvadex for 2 weeks then 25/10 for 2 weeks? Is that gonna be enoigh to reboot me, Tbf I think my test is coming back already, had morning wood a couple of times and had no trouble getting it up on sat.


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

One or the other you don't need to use both and I find Nolva works well enough 20/20/10/10 and 6 weeks is not necessary.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained

OHP

Arnold press

Lat raises

squats

leg curls

leg press


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Rest day today, but doing cardio and abs. I went 200 over my calories yesterday because my mate invited me out for a pint at like 9pm and I didn't want to say no (only had one though so not a disaster). Shall I reduce my carbs today to offset the 200 calories or do extra cardio to burn the 200 calories ?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Morning cardio , 4km run done. Abs at home tonight


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Workout done

34kg DB bench press for 10 reps , is this quite weak compared to my barbell bench of around 90kg for 8 or is that about how strong you'd expect my DB bench to be relative to my barbell, might try the 36s next workout

also did incline press, flies, dips and a couple of variations of tricep cable pushdowns but I cba to log all the weights for those


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

1. Quick question to you fellas who drink alcohol what do you about the calories? I'm not a massive drinker but do go out about once a week and sometimes drink. I was thinking if I track all my alcohol calories on my fitness pal then the next day just do how ever much extra cardio I need to offset them then hopefully it will have a net 0 effect on fat gain also atleast as close to net 0 as I can realistically get it. So if I have 200ml vodka tonight thats 414 calories which I can comfortably burn in 30 mins of moderate jogging so I'll do that tomorrow to ensure I've offset the alcohol

2. Another question when should I get my bloods checked? I was thinking 4 weeks post PCT, also if my bloods are good can I just do another cycle pretty soon without fu**ing up my endocrine system


----------



## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

RE: alcohol - Yes mate, calories a calorie. BUT, it depends how strict you're being IMO. At the moment I'm in a small deficit until I start my prep in Jan. If I'm going out for drinks and or a meal then I just cut back on cals in the day and ensure I hit protein.

Jan onwards I wont drink unless its a holiday or occasion. If I was to go out then id take it all into consideration. I generally cut back on beer (craft lager is my go to) and drink shorts with zero cal mixers or wine and track by the glass.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Endomorph84 said:


> RE: alcohol - Yes mate, calories a calorie. BUT, it depends how strict you're being IMO. At the moment I'm in a small deficit until I start my prep in Jan. If I'm going out for drinks and or a meal then I just cut back on cals in the day and ensure I hit protein.
> 
> Jan onwards I wont drink unless its a holiday or occasion. If I was to go out then id take it all into consideration. I generally cut back on beer (craft lager is my go to) and drink shorts with zero cal mixers or wine and track by the glass.


 I won't drink when the time to get shredded finally comes


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## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> I won't drink when the time to get shredded finally comes


 Then just eat less in the day mate but hit your protein


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

paxman85. said:


> Rest day today, but doing cardio and abs. I went 200 over my calories yesterday because my mate invited me out for a pint at like 9pm and I didn't want to say no (only had one though so not a disaster). Shall I reduce my carbs today to offset the 200 calories or do extra cardio to burn the 200 calories ?


 Jesus mate relax ffs.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Been eating 3.2k cals and for 2 weeks and weight has dropped slightly still. Shall I up cals to 3.5k? Or could this still be glycogen and water loss from coming off roids, I've been off 5 weeks now so would have thought all the glycogen and water would have left already


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just worked out did both BB and DB bench used the methods from that Alan thrall video and only went up to 85kg and it felt pretty good, better pump from DBs for sure though. Might just do a bit of both from now on and just be super super strict on barbell form


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

http://imgur.com/tyCejYv


what do you think of this guys physique? Re ran cycles to get there but then maintained it natty, pretty sure he's natty there, he's got really similar frame and starting stats to me and is also the same height as me, I'm guessing I'd need to be shredded at like 75kg to look like that vs my current 78kg 15% bf, so maybe I should bulk to about 85kg and cut from there. I'd fu**ing love to look like that man


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Gonna up cals to 3.5k. I reckon if I train my legs pretty hard I can still make some fairly quick gains on them and get back up to 80kg because I don't like feeling this small haha


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My T definitely feels likes it lower than normal but I don't know if it's just the placebo in my head or not. I'm sure I'm less horny than usual, I mean obviously I'm less horny than on a cycle but I feel like I was hornier than this before, 2 more weeks of pct meds then a 4 week break and we will asses then damage then and make a decision as to what the next step will be from here


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained a FAT pull session, went something like this

deadlifts

weighted pull ups super setted with body weight pull ups (I go to failure on weighted then when I fail on weighted catch my breath for 10 seconds and bang as many body weight pullups as I can)

Bent over rows

machine rows

lat pulldowns

rear delt machine flys

concentration curls

f**k yeah


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and cardio done, strength was actually up slightly which is good and very surprising since im still in PCT but I'm not complaining.

OHP first set I hit 52.5kg * 7 my best when on cycle was 55kg * 8 then it dropped to like 50kg * 6 the week after coming off and has crawled back up.

Arnold presses

shoulder press machine

lateral rasies

then 20 minutes on the treadmill


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris done

DB bench press went up to 38kg Dumbbells which I think is decently strong

Incline DB press

Dips

cable flies

tricep cable extensions

actually might just superset the last two and get an insane pump on at the end, sick workout f**k barbells for bench press tbh


----------



## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> f**k barbells for bench press tbh


 Agreed mate!! 38kg is decent, how many sets/ reps?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Endomorph84 said:


> Agreed mate!! 38kg is decent, how many sets/ reps?


 I do pyramid sort of workout on benching so I did a few warm up sets

10kg/20kg/30kg (this is the first one I consider a working set) for 10/ 34 for 8 / 36 for 8 / 38 for 6 then pyramid it back down again.

did way less on incline just like 4 sets of 30 for 8 reps or something but of course I'm already fatigued from flat benching at that point dunno what I'd hit fresh on incline because always prefer to do it second

i reckon my 6 month goal should be to hit the 40s for a set of 10


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

I actually had an interesting thought today. Do you think someone could build an impressive physique without using any of the the big 3 compound lifts? It seems to me DBs or incline hit the chest better than the flat bench with a fat reduced injury risk, rows or pull ups are better for building a great back than deadlifts again without the injury risk. The only one of the big 3 that seems harder to replace is the squat. I tend to think of it as the big 5 as have OHP and pull ups in there as they're just as important as squats and deadlifts in my eyes


----------



## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> I actually had an interesting thought today. Do you think someone could build an impressive physique without using any of the the big 3 compound lifts? It seems to me DBs or incline hit the chest better than the flat bench with a fat reduced injury risk, rows or pull ups are better for building a great back than deadlifts again without the injury risk. The only one of the big 3 that seems harder to replace is the squat. I tend to think of it as the big 5 as have OHP and pull ups in there as they're just as important as squats and deadlifts in my eyes


 Dorian didn't squat, he used a hack and leg press.

Dorian didn't flat bench press he inclined press.

Dorian favoured rows over deadlifts and done deadlifts last.

That's all you need to know lol.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Gonna set some 6 month strength goals:

40kg DB bench for 10 currently 38 for 6

100kg squat for 10 currently like 90 for 8

60kg OHP for 10 currently 55kg for 8

20kg weighted pullups for 10 currently 14kg for 7


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Endomorph84 said:


> Dorian didn't squat, he used a hack and leg press.
> 
> Dorian didn't flat bench press he inclined press.
> 
> ...


 This is such retarded argument and I've see you preach this train of thought more than once.

Explain this then - Larry wheels is hell of a lot stronger than Dorian, yet he is no where near the same size..... maybe because Larry Wheels does lots of Rows, Flat BB and Squats???? Just stupid.......Almost everything works for them well

Don't use elite genetically gifted athletes in the same context as the normal gym rat.


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> I actually had an interesting thought today. Do you think someone could build an impressive physique without using any of the the big 3 compound lifts? It seems to me DBs or incline hit the chest better than the flat bench with a fat reduced injury risk, rows or pull ups are better for building a great back than deadlifts again without the injury risk. The only one of the big 3 that seems harder to replace is the squat. I tend to think of it as the big 5 as have OHP and pull ups in there as they're just as important as squats and deadlifts in my eyes


 The conventional DL is far from best bang for back exercise in BB.

Try do an inverted row, body weight only, with feet up on the bench and try pull your chest up to the bar.....you'll see what I mean


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Gonna set some 6 month strength goals:
> 
> 40kg DB bench for 10 currently 38 for 6
> 
> ...


 Just focus week to week on micro loading weights (.e.g 0.5kg plates) or increase reps.

You don't want to end up chasing and sacrificing quality reps for weight


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> The conventional DL is far from best bang for back exercise in BB.
> 
> Try do an inverted row, body weight only, with feet up on the bench and try pull your chest up to the bar.....you'll see what I mean


 tommorow is pull day so ill throw these in

trained today

OHP 5 sets

Shoulder press machine 3 sets

lateral raises 3 sets

squats 3 sets

leg curls 3 sets

leg press 2 sets (Was gonna go 3 but i was absolutely f**ked by this point haha)

feels good to actually be training my legs properly for once.


----------



## MM84 (Jun 8, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> tommorow is pull day so ill throw these in
> 
> trained today
> 
> ...


 That's training them properly ?!

:whistling:


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

MM84 said:


> That's training them properly ?!
> 
> :whistling:


 I mean considering it took me years to just start training them at all thats good going. Maybe it could do with a little more volume but ill stick with that for the time being and maybe add in a few extra sets once ive gotten used to training legs consistently


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained chest and tris

did those shoulder/rotator cuff warm up things on the cables think I'm gonna buy some resistance bands though to make it easier so warm up on the bench itself

5 sets of flat DB bench hit 38kg * 11 on the first set (no idea where that came from haha)

3 sets Incline DB press

3 Sets Declines press machine

3 sets Dips

6 sets tricep cable extensions

3 sets cable flies to finish

one hell of a pump


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained back and bis

4 sets of weighted pull ups each with a body weight pull up drop set so 8 sets total

3 sets DB rows

3 sets Lat pulldowns

4 sets rear delt flies

4 zeta preacher curls

3 sets DB curls just to change up the curls for once


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My OHP/shoulders seem to have completely stalled in gains whereas other body parts and lifts are progressing well. Any tips for a good shoulder workout?

currently do

5 sets OHP

3 Sets Arnold press

sometimes a few sets in the shoulder press machine

4 sets lateral raises


----------



## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

Do a seated press, be it DB/ BB or plate loaded machine to take any leg drive out of the movement.

Work equally as hard on triceps, add weighted dips in to your regime.

Don't waste energy on exercises like Arnold press.

Train in the strength rep range.

Learn to engage your core and squeeze your glutes as you are pressing.

Make sure your triceps are firing when pressing, try and break the bar and keep elbows out; don't allow them to buckle inward.

Analyse your technique, figure out what part of the lift you are struggling with.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Endomorph84 said:


> Do a seated press, be it DB/ BB or plate loaded machine to take any leg drive out of the movement.
> 
> Work equally as hard on triceps, add weighted dips in to your regime.
> 
> ...


 I'll ditch the Arnold press and just add in seated presses, Tbf I did have this before but people said it was a waste of time having two vertical pressing movements that are basically the same functionally. I'm already very strict on leg drive and squeeze glutes etc through the movement, maybe I should just do a f**k ton of volume and add in silly amounts of drop sets to really burn my shoulders.

this was no pump a few days ago at about 78kg









Im now 50/50 about whether I really want to do another cycle or not, I've already got all the gear I suppose but I'm actually progressing naturally at a reasonable rate at the moment, obviously there's the temptation to throw in the supercharger and really get huge but maybe I should just hold off on the trigger for now, also that's now my PCT done as of today so I'll wait a month then do bloodwork, was gonna go with medichecks sports hormone panel I believe that's the right one. I guess I'll see the results of the bloodwork and then make a decision on the what I'm gonna do next after that. For the next month I'll just continue bulking at 3.5K and staying consistent with my routine


----------



## Endomorph84 (Jan 21, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> maybe I should just do a f**k ton of volume and add in silly amounts of drop sets to really burn my shoulders.


 Don't over egg the pudding mate.

Look at what you want to achieve and adapt your training, leave the fluff for developing an aesthetically pleasing delt.

Add in specific exercises that'll assist your pressing (like dips) and try lifting heavier (a different stimulus tailored to the goal), instead of 5 sets try doing one working set for 6.

EG: If you complete 6 reps progress the weight. If you don't get 6 reps then take 20% off the load and do another set for 6.


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

How do you programme your work outs? Like week to week, sets to reps?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> How do you programme your work outs? Like week to week, sets to reps?


 What do you mean by that exactly? I try and increase the reps on compounds every week if I can, once I can do 10 reps of a certain weight on a compound, that's when I increase the weight. I don't track my isolations I just go to failure, 8-12 reps and get a pump


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cardio and rest today, may also take tomorrow off as I'm feeling slightly over trained so could do with the extra rest day, diet hasn't been as clean as normal last two days, but I've still hit all my calories and macros


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Also I was buying some suit trousers in primark today took it as an oppurtunity to get a cheeky back pic to show my current condition, never taken back pics before so no before/after but I think it's finally starting to gain a bit of width



http://imgur.com/XnJ8Ssi


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

So I ate 3.5k cals for last two weeks and my weight has still gone down wtf, lost 0.5kg. Could it still be the weight from the glycogen and water dropping off, I'm basically the weight I was before I did my cycle now but a fair bit stronger, weird thing is I've made decent strength gains these last two weeks so dunno why my weight is still dropping. Anyway I'm gonna try 4K cals a day for the next two weeks, trained chest yesterday, hit 38kg for 8 reps on the dumbbells gonna try 40kg next time quite excited


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained with a mate today, little pull session

started with some 20kg weighted pullups

then T bar rows (don't normally do these but they're a great excercise!)

lat pulldowns

rear delt flies

preacher curls


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained shoulders and legs today

started with OHP hit 55kg for 6

DB shoulders press

lat raises

squats

leg press

leg curls


----------



## DRKE (Feb 25, 2019)

Good luck mate. Interesting read as our lifts are very similar. Will be following.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris done

40kg DB press to start

32kg Incline press

dips with 5kg (not much first time doing them weighted)

cable flies and tricep extensions super sets to finish


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained Friday but forgot to log the session here then didn't manage to train over the weekend or Monday as I had some s**t going on, anyway got back to it today with shoulders and legs

hit 55kg for 6 OHP on the first set, still stuck on this number

tried a set of 60kg afterwards and only managed that for 2 reps, guess I'd have 3 or 4 in me fresh

seated press

lateral raises

squats

leg curls

leg press


----------



## Mickstar (Nov 21, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Trained Friday but forgot to log the session here then didn't manage to train over the weekend or Monday as I had some s**t going on, anyway got back to it today with shoulders and legs
> 
> hit 55kg for 6 OHP on the first set, still stuck on this number
> 
> ...


 Hi mate if you only got 6 at 55, it's not worth going for 60 after that set. Your better of going for another set of 55 and building volume in this range until you can move up in weight. Good log mate I'm sure you will get there soon.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Mickstar said:


> Hi mate if you only got 6 at 55, it's not worth going for 60 after that set. Your better of going for another set of 55 and building volume in this range until you can move up in weight. Good log mate I'm sure you will get there soon.


 Yeah mate just trying to experiment with rep ranges a little bit as my OHP is the one compound lift I'm not really progressing on atm


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Back home for Xmas training in a new gym back and biceps first session


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Physique update, In the evening bit bloated from a big family dinner prior, but my bedroom back at home does have some flaterring lighting I must say. Weighing 80kgish there, first thing in the morning im weighing 78ish most days


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained chest and tris

gyms DBs only went up to 38kg so had to be content with them, pressed them for 10 reps

incline DB press

decline press machine

Chest flies

dips

tricep pushdowns

couldnt resist a cheeky pic of me while I had a pump on


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

sexy  x


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Final session before Xmas smashed a pull session

started with weighted pullups, normally I do these with a dumbbell between my knees which was fine at the start now I've worked up to 20kg DBs it's becoming a little uncomfortable to hold the DB there so tryed with a belt

did 20kg (+ whatever the weight of the belt was maybe 1-2kg) pull ups for 5 reps, noticed this is a little less I can do than with DBs guess the CoM is different?

3 more sets weighted pull ups with 15kg

A load of body weight pull ups

T bar rows

lat pull down super setted with rear delt flies

preacher curls

standing BB curls to finish


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Feeling nostalgic so thought I'd make a little gains timeline to share with all you guys, hope you enjoy









This picture was taken during the summer holiday between year 11 and sixth form, when I had just signed up to bodybuilding.com, I was a very skinny lad, 5'9 57kg here, used to run cross country and was pretty good at that, also played a bit of hockey and football, anyway I guess I had decided I was sick of being skinny, had like 10 weeks off after finishing my GCSEs and asked my parents for some basic DumbBells as a present for my 16th birthday. Took this picture after like a week of working out as I figured I needed a good before picture for when I was jacked as f**k (which I honestly thought at the time was gonna have from like 3 months of home workouts lol). My original training routine was Scoobys home teen workout and for my diet I just tried pounding a f**k ton of milk and peanut butter on top of what ever I ate at school + my mum cooked, and honestly it worked pretty well at the start.








Awful quality pic but I'd been doing my home workouts for maybe 8 months at this point and gotten up to 65kg, chest was the first thing to start developing well and is still my best body part these days imo.









So this picture was taken near the end of sixth form, I must have just turned 18 here and decided to sign up for an actual gym as I felt I'd developed about as far as I could with home workouts. 70kg 5'10









This was age 19- after one year of semi serious training in an actual gym just before I went off to uni, was working a full time job this year and got up to about 75kg 5'11, feel like I could have made better gains here for my first year in an actual gym but I still hadn't learnt to eat properly, it probaly didn't help that I was working as a cycle courier so was probably burning ridiculous numbers of calories doing that most days on top of the gym, was the peak of my cardio fitness however








me at the end of my first year of uni age 20, stats still 75kg 5'11, made basically no gains first year of uni as was drinking a f**k ton of alcohol and having an awful diet of ready meals and oven pizzas, I still kept up training though which I'm glad I did, pretty much maintained my physique which ain't bad I'm the circumstances









End of Second year of uni, Diet was a little bit better Learnt how to actually cook for myself and didn't drink nearly as much alcohol. I had decided at the start of the year I wanted to play for a football team for the year which meant playing for them every Wednesday and training once a week as well, also decided I wanted to try and see if I could become a good tennis player as over the summer between first and second year I'd got pretty in to playing tennis so decided to take some lessons at uni and see it I could get good. Obviously spending a lot more time playing sports meant less time lifting weights and I pretty much maintained my physique. stats here 76kg 5'11.5 age 21









picture taken a few days ago age 21.5 5'11.5 80kg. Third year of uni diet has been the big change and I actually track macros and calories now, try and do meal prep on the weekends and have all meals ready for the week. I accepted that unfortunately I'll never be anything more than mediocre at football or tennis so I may as well put everything into bodybuilding and see how aesthetic I can get. Training has been more consistent than before, probably nearly double the volume, bit more mature than before, don't go out partying nearly as much, don't drink nearly as much either so that helps. Look forward to updating this in another 6 months time


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Back in the gym for Boxing Day

shoulders and legs

OHP 57.5kg * 5 to start with

DB press

lateral raises supersetted with rear delt flies (can't decide if I like training rear delts with the rest of shoulders or on pull day)

squats

hack squat machine - had never tried these before, was pretty decent felt like it hit my quads more than glutes/hammies though

legs curls

leg press


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Rest day/ cardio, was just wondering if anyone could recommend me a good blood pressure monitor I can get off amazon? Or does it not even really matter which one I get?


----------



## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Rest day/ cardio, was just wondering if anyone could recommend me a good blood pressure monitor I can get off amazon? Or does it not even really matter which one I get?


 Omron one mate about 30quid maybe less


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Omron one mate about 30quid maybe less


 Omron Basic M2 Blood Pressure Measuring Device For Upper Arm https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KJ8FB1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6VLbEbYBTG3A2

this one?


----------



## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Omron Basic M2 Blood Pressure Measuring Device For Upper Arm https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KJ8FB1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6VLbEbYBTG3A2
> 
> this one?


 Yeah that's the one but get a bigger cuff because they're only small


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Yeah that's the one but get a bigger cuff because they're only small


 How big are your arms ? Mine are only 15 inches or so so should be fine with a regular cuff right?


----------



## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> How big are your arms ? Mine are only 15 inches or so so should be fine with a regular cuff right?


 Is that flexed or down by the side?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> Is that flexed or down by the side?


 15ish flexed


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained

chest and tris

started off benching in the smith machine for a little change up

Got 100kg * 8

then 105kg * 4 the set after, think I'll try 105 fresh next time and see what I can do, in my experience the Smith is about 10kg easier vs regular bench press

DB bench

DB incline bench

weighted dips

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Getting bloods done in a couple of weeks,

thinking of a plan for next cycle if I do decide to do one So let's say I do 250mg test and 50mg anavar ED run that 8 weeks to bulk and eat atleast 5K calories a day while on, so all of February and March, then pct will be done by mid April, after April do a cut for a couple of months and hopefully look pretty good by summertime


----------



## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Getting bloods done in a couple of weeks,
> 
> thinking of a plan for next cycle if I do decide to do one So let's say I do 250mg test and 50mg anavar ED run that 8 weeks to bulk and eat atleast 5K calories a day while on, so all of February and March, then pct will be done by mid April, after April do a cut for a couple of months and hopefully look pretty good by summertime


 5000cals a day? How active are you? I used to do that mate as when I look back on the pics I'm repulsed by the progress lol just gonna get fat. Even a few months ago I went up high and just f**ked my digestion. 250-500 cals extra a day Above mainatance is enough more than that you'll end up getting fatter than anything else. Even on gear muscle gain is slow...I'm gaining around 1lb to a lb n half a month strength up every session and condition staying pretty much same


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Simon90 said:


> 5000cals a day? How active are you? I used to do that mate as when I look back on the pics I'm repulsed by the progress lol just gonna get fat. Even a few months ago I went up high and just f**ked my digestion. 250-500 cals extra a day Above mainatance is enough more than that you'll end up getting fatter than anything else. Even on gear muscle gain is slow...I'm gaining around 1lb to a lb n half a month strength up every session and condition staying pretty much same


 I mean I'm natty eating 4K cals a day right now and basically maintaining my weight, as far as activity goes obviously I'm in the gym 5/6 days a week and do two extra cardio sessions (just 20 minute jog on the streets). I'm obviously walking around uni during the day going to a from lectures, and what not, guess the actual amount of calories and steps would vary a lot day to day but I dunno if 5K a day is that excessive really? I have an insane metabolism and struggle to gain weight, I was thinking I would try and gain 3-4 kg from this cycle then come off and do a cut. Actually the reason I didn't really make the most of my previous cycle was because I gained a load of water, thought that weight gain was muslce so dropped the calories down and ended up not making much gains. Also someone else on another forum told me I didn't need to bulk at my size to get bigger and if I just eat at maintainence I'll recomp but I tryed that without much success. Honestly I was questioning whether even 5K cals is enough to take advantage of the gear


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained back and bis

pullups weighted 20kg * 5 with a belt

some body weight pullups

T bar rows

tried some deadlifts at the end just to see what I could do when them, worked up to 110kg fairly easily, never do deadlifts

bicep curls

preacher curls


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just trained shoulders and legs

OHP 60kg * 4, guess I'll drop back down to 55kg next workout and see if I can get that extra rep having done some sessions at higher reps

seated DB press

lateral raises

squats

hack machine

leg press


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained today

chest and tris

started with smith machine bench 105kg for 6

incline DB press

chest press machine

dips

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull workout

deadlifts

pullups

lat pull downs

seated rows

preacher curls

barbell curls


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

No gym today but went for a little 15 min cardio jog. Back at uni so back to tracking calories again from tomorrow


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Just an observation and a suggestion - do more rows and importantly work on posterior delts, upper back, mid traps, rows for lower lats....

I do even directly train my trapsor anterior deltoids either, get plenty of work from presses and deads variations.

You don't want your chest and pressing movements to overpower your back as you will run into imbalances problems like I did and then eventually injuries. You should be able to row more than what you can press, your back should be stronger and generally suggest a 2:1 ratio of volume.

Imho Exercise selection is important, work 1 compound to the ground and then switch it out to avoid over use injury, can help avoid sticking points too. E.g. Pull ups or Pulldowns, I wouldn't do both every week on same rotation..

Inverted rows, BB rows, DB rows to low lats, Rear Delt flys, these what I would consider a staple.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained shoulders and legs

OHP 55kg for 7, happy with that as it's an extra rep compared to last time I tryed 55, was thinking as a training method I could cycle through from 55-57.5-60 then back down to 55 and hopefully get an extra rep each time

shoulder press

lateral raises

squats

leg press


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Just an observation and a suggestion - do more rows and importantly work on posterior delts, upper back, mid traps, rows for lower lats....
> 
> I do even directly train my trapsor anterior deltoids either, get plenty of work from presses and deads variations.
> 
> ...


 Do pull-ups not work the upper back at all?

youre right about throwing in more rows for sure though, been doing T bar rows quite a bit in my workouts recently, actually starting to realize back is such a huge muscle group wondering if I should maybe have two different pull workouts to hit different parts of my back. My ratio of pushing to pulling strength is awful atm, I'm decent at pullups but can deadlift only about 125kg max, yet bench 110-115kg max. Also when you say 2:1 row to press ratio are you talking about OHP? Because if so there's no way I can row even close to double my OHP. Maybe I should ditch the lat pull downs are throw in another upper back excercise instead


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Pull ups mainly work the lats, sure hits rest of the back but def wouldn't rely on it. DB and BB rows are magically honestly, as soon as I started doing them properly with no ego my back transformed after 6 months I just want even more thickness now. And I'm talking about being bent over close to parallel not so upright how I see alot of people do them. Oh and inverterd rows which work great and have no fatigue on your lower back - they just don't look sexy hence not alot of people do em

Yeah that's not good mate, youll only limit your growth too if you imbalances are that apparent.

No i mean a 2:1 ratio in terms of volume.

And again imho, OHP does dick for your shoulders in terms of hypertrophy. Have a look on YouTube Greg knuckles in particular, you'll find it's the general consensus. There is little to no crossover on OHP to other exercises in terms of strength is what he found.

I mean if you enjoy them great, but training and gaining muscle and force feeding myself is hard enough, I'd rather pick the best exercises that get my results rather than have fun but that's just me.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Pull ups mainly work the lats, sure hits rest of the back but def wouldn't rely on it. DB and BB rows are magically honestly, as soon as I started doing them properly with no ego my back transformed after 6 months I just want even more thickness now. And I'm talking about being bent over close to parallel not so upright how I see alot of people do them. Oh and inverterd rows which work great and have no fatigue on your lower back - they just don't look sexy hence not alot of people do em
> 
> Yeah that's not good mate, youll only limit your growth too if you imbalances are that apparent.
> 
> ...


 I definetly do really enjoy the OHP as an excercise, generally speaking I enjoy pretty much all pushing movements, not really sure why, something about pushing and heavy weight is just more satisfying to my primitive brain than pulling it. I do one arm DB bent over rows quite a bit, I should defo throw in the regular upright BB row into my routine somehow, thinking I have maybe two different pull workouts in my rotation and alternate between the two of them, guess I'll play it by ear somewhat for now, I'm always tweaking my routine here and there anyway. Also just as far as medium - long term plans I'd defo like to try a cut this summer, would like to get to around 12%, guess I'm maybe 16% at the moment so not looking to shift massive amounts of fat, guessing I'll continue to bulk on 4000 calories then do a cut on like 2800 or something like that for 8 weeks mid April to mid July (got a holiday then so cutting for that). As far as gear goes leaning more and more towards not using anytime soon tbh, got a load of test, anavar and all the ancillaries + needles under my bed as I type this so may change my mind, just feel like I've got quite a lot on my plate atm, in the next 6 months have to graduate, find a job, find a house to live in etc but enough of my personal life. Gear kind of feels like one extra thing to stress about, in the sense of you're always a bit like is my E2 Too high, is it too low, is my hairline receding, am I bloated etc etc. Also 500mg test bloated the absolute f**k outta my face and I didn't even realize how bad it was at the time until I compared it to pictures now vs then, so I'd either have to try running a lower dose test stacked with maybe an oral or sarm or maybe primo because if I'm taking these drugs to try and improve the way I look (also do enjoy the training and what not but aesthetics is ultimately my goal) it seems counter intuitive to take something to improve my appearance that turns me into a bloated monster haha. I'm almost sure I will cycle again though, probaly wait till I'm set up with a job and house just do a natty bulk and cut then see where I'm at in life come next July/August and go from there


----------



## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

Cronus said:


> And again imho, OHP does dick for your shoulders in terms of hypertrophy. Have a look on YouTube Greg knuckles in particular, you'll find it's the general consensus. There is little to no crossover on OHP to other exercises in terms of strength is what he found.
> 
> I mean if you enjoy them great, but training and gaining muscle and force feeding myself is hard enough, I'd rather pick the best exercises that get my results rather than have fun but that's just me.


 Can't remember if I've seen that video or not but IIRC it was purely as cross over to bench to which I'd still disagree with since it is loading the anterior delts and triceps which contribute heavily to the bench press

there is also the argument for shoulder balance, Rip has done talks about a healthy balance between horizontal and vertical pressing (as well as upper back and rear delt work of course) for overall shoulder health

I do agree that there is better presses in regard to carryover to bench such as incline, close grip, dumbbell bench ect but as a less CNS demanding press that will still contribute to bench strength and shoulder health I think everyone should be pressing overhead personally


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

machine bench press 105kg * 6

Db press

incline DB press

decline press machine

weighted dips

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

06-01-20

morning weight : 79.0kg on the dot


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Couldn't make it to the gym today unfortunately was meant to be a pull day but I'll have to chalk this one off as a rest day. I've just ordered my blood-test from medichecks, I was gonna go with the full hormone panel TRT check thing with HDL, LDL, Hemacrit etc etc but they didn't do that one with a finger pr**k so I went with the standard TRT check instead so I'm only gonna see the hormones not the health markers, honestly pretty sure my health markers should be fine at this point main thing I wanna know is if my T recovered to normal range, and I've got a blood pressure monitor now to keep an eye on that when I next cycle and get some baseline readings beforehand as well. It's been 5 weeks now since I've come off everything, is this long enough to wait to take the finger pr**k sample? Also I understand I should take the sample in the morning after a good nights sleep, anything else I should do to ensure accurate results?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull day

weighted pullups hit 20kg for 6

Bent over rows went up to 50kg, prob could have went higher tbh couldn't really figure out the form properly on this will have to watch some videos

tryed some inverted body weight rows but couldn't find a place to do them properly at the correct angle

t bar rows

lat pulldowns

preacher curls

bicep curls


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained shoulders and legs today, bit sort for time so not gonna log all the sets today.

@Simon90 you were correct about the cuff on the omron being too small for my arm it wouldn't fit round my bicep, guess these things are mainly designed with old people in mind rather than gym rats. Oh well guess I can just buy another cuff shouldn't cost much at all


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench 40kg for 9

incline DB press

decline press machine

dips, did 10kg weighted for 8, not bad for 4th excercise and therefore around 14th set of the session

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull workout upper back and traps focused

deadlifts, heaviest set was 110kg for 6

BW pullups, could do 15 consecutively after my DLs

T bar rows

inverted BW rows

preacher curls

BB curls


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

How did you find the inverterd rows? I've introduced them back in my wo but I'm almost 10lbs heavier and can just about barely touch the bar with my chest on a decline starting position, feet on bench.

They will humble you and do very good things for your physique and save your back. I alternate them with BB rows and feel they have helped me grow my back tremendously and I've always struggled to bring up my back on the past.

Strict form with no ego FTW imo although agree some movements like DB row to lower lats needs some momentum


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> How did you find the inverterd rows? I've introduced them back in my wo but I'm almost 10lbs heavier and can just about barely touch the bar with my chest on a decline starting position, feet on bench.
> 
> They will humble you and do very good things for your physique and save your back. I alternate them with BB rows and feel they have helped me grow my back tremendously and I've always struggled to bring up my back on the past.
> 
> Strict form with no ego FTW imo although agree some movements like DB row to lower lats needs some momentum


 They were decent mate, way harder than I thought they'd be, I was doing them incline, racked a bar in the squat a rack a few places up from then lay underneath it and towed from there, couldn't do many tbh and struggled bringing by chest all the way to the bar but was my first time doing the excercise so sure I'll improve.


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Tryed to draw blood this morning to get my hormones checked but I couldn't get anywhere near enough blood to come out using the lancelet found the whole thing rather difficult and uncomfortable, shall I just go to a nurse instead? Having an extra rest day today as I've got a final year exam tomorrow


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Weighed in this morning at 79.5kg first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything, my heaviest ever morning weight except when I was on gear. Think that 4K is slightly too big of a surplus if I'm natty bulking, gonna reduce my cals to 3.7k while keeping protein at 180g a day (give myself a +/- 10g leeway here) and see if I continue to gain weight at a decent weight, will bulk until mid April then do a cut


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris would normally be shoulders and legs in my rotation but I've swapped my sessions as I'm training with a friend today

machine bench press 110kg for 5, then kind of a cheat rep for 6, where I brought my bum off the bench, guess this pretty much means I'm now stronger than I was on cycle so that's good

incline DB press

decline press machine

weighted dips

tricep pushdowns

tricep extensions


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

OHP

lateral raises

squats

leg press

calf raises

trained with a big group of mates today and honestly wasn't my best session, oh well got the workout done Atleast and can keep moving forwards from here


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained back and bis was a slightly sluggish workout to be honest, took me way longer than usual like 1hr 20 usually workout 45-50 minutes even though it's same volume, guess I'm just a bit tired today.

weighted pullups only managed 20kg for 4 normally do 6

deadlifts

t bar rows

inverted BW row

preacher curls

BB curl


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Oh yeah I wanted to check my deadlift form because so took a little clip of me deadlifting on some of my sets, anyone mind taking a look at it and giving me some pointers? Don't wanna post it publicly since I've only admitted to illicit drug use in this thread and the video has my face in it and currently applying to jobs so best to be on the safe side


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Modified my routine a little bit here is my new routine it's not drastically different to the older one it's still chest tris, pull day, shoulders and legs. The two chest and tri days are barely different just alternating between DB bench and machine bench press, the shoulders and legs days unchanged. The big difference is the two pull fays are pretty radically different, the first one is basically lats and biceps, which is what my old pull day routine used to pretty much be, I realized I've been neglected my upper back, traps so I've got a seperate day focused on those, and I'm not working biceps on that day, I used to just do 6 sets for biceps at the end of each pull workout, but now I'm gonna be trying 12 sets every other workout and seeing if that helps them grow more as I'm struggling to make gains on my biceps at the moment.

Routine

Chest and Tris A

DB bench

Incline DB bench

Chest press machine

Dips

Tricep pushdowns

Pull A

Weighted pull ups

DB bent over rows

Lat pulldowns

Preacher curls

BB curls

Concentration curls

Shoulders and Legs

OHP

Seated DB press

Lateral raises

Squats

Leg press

Cardio day

Chest and Tris B

Smith machine bench press

Incline DB bench

Chest press machine

Dips

Tricep pushdowns

Pull B

Deadlifts

T bar rows

Pull ups

Inverted BW rows

Bent over rows

Shoulders and Legs

OHP

Seated DB press

Lateral raises

Squats

Leg press


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained

chest and tris

42kg DB press for 7 pretty happy with that, would love to get 10 reps!

incline DB press

decline press machine

weighted dips

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Oh as an aside I'm having bloods drawn next Monday by a nurse, so soon we will know how I recovered from my cycle


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained in the morning

Pullups - couldn't fit my weighted belt in my bag so just banged out some bodyweight ones with all sorts of grips, managed 18 bodyweight pullups @ 80kg BW

DB bent over rows

lat pull downs

inverted rows

i tried doing bent over rows, is it just me who really hates this movement? I just don't like the way you stand and find it hard to go low enough to get the full contraction, idk I just don't really get on with this excercise

preacher curls

BB curls. Oh Yh I know i said I was gonna do 12 sets of biceps but that was defo way too much, they are already worked in a lot of pullups and rows for sure


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Trained in the morning
> 
> Pullups - couldn't fit my weighted belt in my bag so just banged out some bodyweight ones with all sorts of grips, managed 18 bodyweight pullups @ 80kg BW
> 
> ...


 Practice mate and I personally think if you are doing them at the end of your back workout, after also having done inverted rows, I'm not sure how much you'll really be getting out of them. I rotate them and also have one day of more horizontal focus and the another of more and vertical focus


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

OHP 57.5kg for 7, smashed a PR there, 60kg for 5 ext workout I reckon

shoulder press

lateral raises

squats

hack squats

leg press


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Morning cardio done

weighed in first thing no food or water (gonna do this every Monday morning)

79.4kg down 0.1kg on last week but think im still bulking, probably just more dehydrated than usual, sticking with 3.7k cals


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained chest and tris

DB bench 42kg for 8, 9 with a spot from my partner ! My DB bench is going up every single session atm, it went up the last two sessions consecutively so I really wasn't expecting it to go up again today, I guess what I'm doing for chest is clearly working, just wish the rest of my body could progress as well as my chest seems to

Incline DB bench

decline bench

dips

tricep pushdowns


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Extra unscheduled rest day, last two days of exam period and honestly my body feels like it maybe needs a slight deload anyway. Might do 20 minutes of cardio before bed still


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained pull day

Weighted pull ups drop setted with bodyweight pullups 20kg * 7

deadlifts

lat pulldown

t bar rows

inverted rows

bb curl

concentrstion curl


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Had the last two days off Trained today

shoulders legs and 20 mins of cardio

OHP hit 60kg for 5 reps which is decent

shoulder press

lateral raises

cardio in between the two muscle groups because I was using the stationary bike and didn't really wanna do that after legs session, quite like combining cardio and lifting in this way with one muscle group then cardio then the other muscle group, may well do it more often

squats

leg press


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just had bloods drawn so should know by the end of the week what my test levels are at. Was much easier having a nurse do it then trying to do the whole finger pr**k thing myself

Also weight update

79.9kg early no water or food, pushing 80kg morning weight now


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

paxman85. said:


> paxman85. said:
> 
> 
> > Just had bloods drawn so should know by the end of the week what my test levels are at. Was much easier having a nurse do it then trying to do the whole finger pr**k thing myself
> ...


 Why don't you post the other weights you lift?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> Why don't you post the other weights you lift?


 I normally do forgot to last night

Trained chest and tris

42kg DB press for 8

incline DB press

decline machine press

dips

tricep pushdowns

Doing a pull workout in a few hours


----------



## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

paxman85. said:


> Trained in the morning
> 
> Pullups - couldn't fit my weighted belt in my bag so just banged out some bodyweight ones with all sorts of grips, managed 18 bodyweight pullups @ 80kg BW
> 
> ...


 The main problem for many people who find it hard to bent over rows is they don't sit at hips. Do a proper hinge before initiating the rows. And, you really don;t need to go low enough if you are aiming at BB rows.


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

I don't barbell row like that at all.

You don't need to be bent right over at the hip, watch how Dorian Yates does them. I use supinated and pronated grips for rows to hit the back differently.

Problem is, people tend to use too much bicep and not enough back by going too heavy.

And @paxman85. You've just done the same thing again! Why dont you put every weight up that you're using, reps, sets, you know... A proper log?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> I don't barbell row like that at all.
> 
> You don't need to be bent right over at the hip, watch how Dorian Yates does them. I use supinated and pronated grips for rows to hit the back differently.
> 
> ...


 I normally lock my phone away in my locker at the start of my session so as that I'm more focused when I'm training, obviously I won't be able to remember all the numbers for the 20-25 odd sets I do each workout so I just put the numbers down for my heaviest set on compounds to give people an idea of my strength progression


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Oh I see... Don't you have a log book?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> Oh I see... Don't you have a log book?


 Well I guess I could buy a notebook and pen just seems a bit un-necessary.

todays workout

weighted pullups 20kg for 6 reps couldn't quite get the 7th today

DB bent over rows

T bar rows

bent over rows

BB curls

preacher curls


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

So medichecks gave me my results today, all my health markers were normal two months after coming off and my test levels are actually at the high end of normal even though I've only come off less than 2 months ago which is a fu**ing relief.


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Good stuff on the bloods.

I'm really surprised that you said that about a log book.

Its essential, if you can't remember what weights you're working with to tell us after a session - how do you know what you're working with a week later when you train that body part again?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> Good stuff on the bloods.
> 
> I'm really surprised that you said that about a log book.
> 
> Its essential, if you can't remember what weights you're working with to tell us after a session - how do you know what you're working with a week later when you train that body part again?


 I mean I'm tracking my sets for the heavy compounds at the start, for other excercises there's a lot of variables like excercise order, number of sets from previous excercises, rest between sets, these are all gonna effect my numbers of later sets and account for differences week to week which aren't necessarily to do with actual gains/loss of muscle, I have a page on my phone with all my maxes for every excercise and if I hit a new PR I update that. In this log I mainly just write the weights for pullups OHP and DB bench as they're like my main compound excercises, I could put DLs and squats in as well but the numbers are so low they're barely worth mentioning yet


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

paxman85. said:


> I mean I'm tracking my sets for the heavy compounds at the start, for other excercises there's a lot of variables like excercise order, number of sets from previous excercises, rest between sets, these are all gonna effect my numbers of later sets and account for differences week to week which aren't necessarily to do with actual gains/loss of muscle, I have a page on my phone with all my maxes for every excercise and if I hit a new PR I update that. In this log I mainly just write the weights for pullups OHP and DB bench as they're like my main compound excercises, I could put DLs and squats in as well but the numbers are so low they're barely worth mentioning yet


 Gotcha.

Well, if its working for you man, carry on.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained today, bit of a nightmare how busy the gym was had to improvise my routine somewhat

Seated DB shoulder press 30kg * 9

lateral raises

shoulder press machine up to sets of 70kg

all I could do for legs was hack squats, I think I'm gonna have to train legs again tomorrow since that wasn't a proper leg workout


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

No pump and kinda sub optimal lighting there, 81.5kg at the moment of taking that photo. Starting to get a bit fluffy what do you think continue bulking or cut? It's a bit early for a summer cut so was thinking I could do a 1 month mini cut just get to sub 15% then resume my bulk and do my proper cut in like april


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> I mean I'm tracking my sets for the heavy compounds at the start, for other excercises there's a lot of variables like excercise order, number of sets from previous excercises, rest between sets, these are all gonna effect my numbers of later sets and account for differences week to week which aren't necessarily to do with actual gains/loss of muscle, I have a page on my phone with all my maxes for every excercise and if I hit a new PR I update that. In this log I mainly just write the weights for pullups OHP and DB bench as they're like my main compound excercises, I could put DLs and squats in as well but the numbers are so low they're barely worth mentioning yet


 Problem is you have no idea of how strong you are getting on your accessory lifts over average period. I do not believe you can rely just on the progression of your compound lifts - I use to do the same and its the reason why my arms and shoulders were weak because I assumed my growth would come from just apply focus on the main lifts, which is true to a degree but not optimal imho. You should know how much stronger you are getting on your accessory lifts from each period of block of training


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Problem is you have no idea of how strong you are getting on your accessory lifts over average period. I do not believe you can rely just on the progression of your compound lifts - I use to do the same and its the reason why my arms and shoulders were weak because I assumed my growth would come from just apply focus on the main lifts, which is true to a degree but not optimal imho. You should know how much stronger you are getting on your accessory lifts from each period of block of training


 Okay fair point mate, what about logging my first set on each isolation excercise (so the one where I'm least fatigued and can lift the most) and adding them in here. I do have a notes page on my phone where I have all maxes and update that if I get a new max on any lift. Also what do you think in regards to cutting or bulking? I wanna be lean for my holiday in July I feel like it's stil to early to do a proper cut but I could do a mini cut now and sort out my insulin sensitivity get to like 14% then start bulking again, all I could bare the fluffiness for now continue my bulk and do a proper cut starting in April


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Okay fair point mate, what about logging my first set on each isolation excercise (so the one where I'm least fatigued and can lift the most) and adding them in here. I do have a notes page on my phone where I have all maxes and update that if I get a new max on any lift. Also what do you think in regards to cutting or bulking? I wanna be lean for my holiday in July I feel like it's stil to early to do a proper cut but I could do a mini cut now and sort out my insulin sensitivity get to like 14% then start bulking again, all I could bare the fluffiness for now continue my bulk and do a proper cut starting in April


 I think you should log everything which helps you look at your programming and see where you are putting your intensity/or not putting it and where if any work, is just fluff/junk volume.

When I started really programming correctly, increasing reps and sets in a methodical manor and absolutely focusing on my execution, I saw my best gains.

Checkout JeffJ log on here and look at he sets out his Workouts and rep schemes. Volume def wins overall imho, but doing phases of high intensity and lower volume def works and I think works even better when used interchangeably

Regarding cut or bulking, depends entirely on you. If you gain weight really slow including fat, I'd probably mini cut now and then just carrying on lean bulking up till your holiday, so you look full. If I gained fat easy, I'd cut later on before the holiday, that;s just me...


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> I think you should log everything which helps you look at your programming and see where you are putting your intensity/or not putting it and where if any work, is just fluff/junk volume.
> 
> When I started really programming correctly, increasing reps and sets in a methodical manor and absolutely focusing on my execution, I saw my best gains.
> 
> ...


 I gain weight weight really slowly generally and I'm a pretty massive ecto morph. My current condition is the highest bf % I've ever been in my life, it's also the strongest I've ever been and most muscle so its not too bad.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Okay did barbell BEnch for first time in about 3 months and could only do 90kg for 6 which is kinda rubbish

full workout

BB bench 90kg for 6/5/5 then 80 for 7/6 reps

incline bench 70kg for 9 *3

decline machine bench 70kg for 8 * 3

dips 10kg for 12 then 2 sets bodyweight

tricep pushdowns think I did 6 sets of these didn't record numbers

im toying with the idea of a little mini cycle of some trt test then either an oral or Sarm, thinking maybe a mini cut first then try and blow up on the oral + test


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Keep bulking.

Always bulking......


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained

weighted pull ups 20kg for 7 then a half rep for 8, really pleased with how these are progressing. Then do 2 sets 15kg for 6, drop setted both with body weight pullups.

Machine rows

t bar rows 50kg for 8/6/6 , got some mild pain in my upper back from these today

lat pull downs 73kg for 8 4 sets

preacher curls 35kg for 10 then a load of sets of 30kg


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## 72670 (Sep 17, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> So medichecks gave me my results today, all my health markers were normal two months after coming off and my test levels are actually at the high end of normal even though I've only come off less than 2 months ago which is a fu**ing relief.
> 
> View attachment 179235


 Mate how did you send it back from these options I am going to take a test myself?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

B3NCH1 said:


> Mate how did you send it back from these options I am going to take a test myself?
> 
> 
> View attachment 179451


 I originally did arrange your own sample collection but I couldn't get my finger to bleed enough to collect a sample so I phoned them up payed an extra 25 to have it done my a nurse at a clinic then they just told me a phone number to ring and arrange an appointment to have blood so I rung that number and organized an appointment at a clinic that was like 15 min walk from me. Also when they send you the test kit you get like a postage envelope to put the blood in once it's collected then you just pop that in the post and they email you your results


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Trained shoulders and legs

OHP 60kg for 5 then 55kg/50kg 2 sets each

Shouldwr press machine because there were no benches

lateral raises with 10kg for 12 reps 5 sets

squats, did some 60kg, 70kg, then 80kg for 6 and 85kg for 3

hack squats 50kg for 5*3

few sets of leg press at the end


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

I think you should look at a few articles on exercise selection and programming. I think you'll honestly get better gains in the future


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> I think you should look at a few articles on exercise selection and programming. I think you'll honestly get better gains in the future


 Any in particular you reccomend?


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Any in particular you reccomend?


 https://revivestronger.com/exercise-selection/

https://www.t-nation.com/training/principles-of-exercise-selection

just to to begin with


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> https://revivestronger.com/exercise-selection/
> 
> https://www.t-nation.com/training/principles-of-exercise-selection
> 
> just to to begin with


 Cheers for the links, just about to go to bed now having trained but I'll read these through tomorrow and make adjustments to my training regime accordingly


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Haven't logged workouts last few days but have been training, will get back to logging from tomorrow


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

42kg DB bench for 9/6

38kg DB bench for 8/8/8

34kg incline DB bench for 10/10/8

Delcine presss machine 30kg each side 10/10/10

10kg dips (need to bring my belt to test my strength on some heavier dips). 10/8

set of bodyweight dips

tricpe pushdowns 5 sets


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Wednesday

Shoulders and legs

squats went up to 90kg for 3

40* 10 60 * 8 80 * 5 90 * 3

leg press up to 150kg For 5

OHP 60kg for 5

DB shoulder press 28 * 8*4

4 sets lateral raises to failure with 12kg

yesterday

Back and bis

weighted pull ups 20kg * 7

Deadlifrs up to 110kg for 5 ( lol)

T bar rows

lat pulldowns
preacher curls

DB curls

Took this measurement just now so I've got a natty baseline reading for when I cycle again, don't actually understand it though any help


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Chest and tris
> 
> 42kg DB bench for 9/6
> 
> ...


 Did you really do like 14 sets in one session?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Did you really do like 14 sets in one session?


 What do you mean, that's 21 sets, my normal volume is like 20ish sets per session


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> What do you mean, that's 21 sets, my normal volume is like 20ish sets per session


 Oh okay I cant count, although I was counting the chest exercises. do you train each body part twice a week?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> Oh okay I cant count, although I was counting the chest exercises. do you train each body part twice a week?


 Yes, 3 days on 1 day off. Do cardio on my off days. Well technically that's twice every 8 days, I'm a uni student so it doesn't matter much to me if my routine does match a 7 day working week.


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

paxman85. said:


> Yes, 3 days on 1 day off. Do cardio on my off days. Well technically that's twice every 8 days, I'm a uni student so it doesn't matter much to me if my routine does match a 7 day working week.


 So that would be 40 sets a week for your push day.

That's a lot of volume. Have you ever tried higher intensity and lower volume rounitnes?

I changed to this style of training and I had the best gains in last 18 months, Ill do only a total of 6-7 sets per session for chest and back, then 3-5 sets smaller muscle gorups- training upper, lower.


----------



## 72670 (Sep 17, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> I originally did arrange your own sample collection but I couldn't get my finger to bleed enough to collect a sample so I phoned them up payed an extra 25 to have it done my a nurse at a clinic then they just told me a phone number to ring and arrange an appointment to have blood so I rung that number and organized an appointment at a clinic that was like 15 min walk from me. Also when they send you the test kit you get like a postage envelope to put the blood in once it's collected then you just pop that in the post and they email you your results


 Thanks just ordered one I'll post results here as I've no idea what they mean


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Got out of the habit of logging recently but here goes today's workout

Leg press warm up sets then

160kg * 8

180kg * 6

190kg * 4

Hack squats 50kg * 8 3 sets

Couldnt get any racks so no squats

leg curls 3 sets, can't remember weight

seated DB press 30kg for 14 reps (pretty happy with this tbh) then 10/10/10/8

Shoulder press machine (can't remember weights but 4 sets)

lateral raises 14kg for 4 sets of 12

doing my deadlift day tomorrow morning


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Been awful with logging time to get back to it

Chest and tris

Flat DB bench 44kg * 9

40kg *8/8/8

Incline DB bench 36kg * 8/8/8

decline press machine 75kg *10/10/10

12kg weighted dips * 10/8/8

6 sets of tricep extensions (cba to log the numbers for these)


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Back and bis this morning

Deadlifts, won't bother including warms ups but got up to 130kg * 2 then hit a load of volume on 110kg

bodyweight pullups as I lost my belt somewhere (need to buy a new one)

15/9/8/8

lat pulldowns 73kg * 8/8/8 66kg* 10

t bar rows 55kg * 10 60kg * 8/7/6

preacher curls for 6 sets didn't log these though

shitty picture attached but gives you an idea of my current condition. 82kg morning weight id guess 16-17% bf


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Did shoulders and legs yesterday forgot to log it

today did chest and tris but ran out of time and gym was closing (+ I wanted to get some pics of my chest pump). So I had to just do chest and I'll do tris in tomorrow's session

flat DB bench

45kg *7

40kg * 9/9/9

incline DB bench

35kg * 10/8/8/8

decline press machine

35kg each side *8/8

then a few really light sets like 15 reps in the chest press machine to get a pump for this pic


----------



## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Paxman likes the pump


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Pumpman


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Decided for the foreseeable future I'm not gonna have any rest days and just cycle through my 3 day split repeatedly in anticipation of the long term closing of gyms due to Covid19. Think I'm 11 days on the bounce now

chest and tris

dum bell bench press 
44kg *11 (jheez). /7/7

incline DB press

38kg * 8/8/8/6

decline press machine

35kg ea. 8/8/8

weighted dips

18kg * 9/6

10kg *10

tricep pushdowns 6 sets starting at 32kg and dropping down every other set didn't log thesw


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Hit a shoulders and legs session this morning

squats

worked up to 110kg

110kg * 3

90kg *8/8

Leg press

200kg plates * 5/5/5/5

Seated Shoulder press

34 kg * 10/8/8

30kg * 9/8/8

6 sets of lateral raises to finish

As I'm sure you're all aware a lot gyms are soon gonna close for quite a while, so I've invested in some home workout equipment and will forced to reconstruct my workout routine. Basically the equipment I have is a bench, pull up bar, and dumbbells that are adjustable up to 25kg so these are fine for arms, raises isolations but pretty useless for training by back, chest and legs. Thinking I might try and pick up some heavier DBs before the lockdown happens so that I can train my chest properly. For legs I'm gonna have to get creative, I suppose lunges, some pistol squats, put my sister on my shoulders and squat her (she's like 55kg). I'll be posting my new improvised routine here soon and perhaps a view of my equipment as well! Covid ain't gonna stop my gains !!(well actually it might a little bit)


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

And boom the gym is shut. Need a few days to generally sort my life out so makes sense to deload a few days then I'll post my new home routine here soon


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Just did my first home workout with adjustable bench and dumbbells.

for some reason the adjustable dumbbells were much harder to lift than ones in the gym, maybe I just have to get used to them still

4 sets flat DB bench only could do 37kg for 10 normally can do 44kg for similar reps

3 sets incline DB bench 32kg

4 sets incline flies

thats it for today, is it normal to have such a dramatic strength drop moving from fixed to adjustable DBs? I guess the handles a bit narrower and harder to grip so that's not ideal but still quite disappointed my strength went down so much, I'll try a bit heavier next session


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Arms and back

Bent over DB rows 37kg

Resisrance band lat pull downs

Resistance band tricep pushdowns(These were actually really good)

bicep curls

resistsnce band curls (not great because there's not much tension at the top of the movement)


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Workout done

5 sets seated shoulder press 32kg

12/8/8/8/8

6 sets Lateral raises did these with both the dumbbells and resistance bands to get a bit of variation

5 sets of squats with my sibling on my shoulders, she only weighs 55kg but it's way better tan squatting just bodyweight and was actually kinda challenging, got 12 reps a set, next time I'll make her wear a small backpack filler with rice or something


----------



## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Loop the band around the back of your neck and under your feet for squats.


----------



## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

... And bent over rear laterals with bands & DBs at the same time.

Don't use rice - it's way too valuable! :lol:


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> Loop the band around the back of your neck and under your feet for squats.


 Will give it a go next time but I'm not sure my bands will strech enoigh for that.

thinking now about my long term plan for this outbreak

do I

A) cut

B bulk

C just try and maintain

im also back at my parents house so no longer preparing my own meals or counting calories but if I do decide to cut I'll start tracking again. Just not really sure what direction to take this in, this all happened at a time when I was making really good progress in the gym


----------



## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Personally I'm "C" with a slight deficit -150 to 200kcals. Keep tracking, it's a piece of piss. Yeah you'll eat some crap, but if you try and keep to you kcal goal; at least you're keeping one piece of the Jigsaw in place!

Do whatever you can do, exercise wise, and you'll keep whatever LBM you need - to keep doing that 

Good luck, but don't beat yourself up if you don't quite hit the mark!


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> Personally I'm "C" with a slight deficit -150 to 200kcals. Keep tracking, it's a piece of piss. Yeah you'll eat some crap, but if you try and keep to you kcal goal; at least you're keeping one piece of the Jigsaw in place!
> 
> Do whatever you can do, exercise wise, and you'll keep whatever LBM you need - to keep doing that
> 
> Good luck, but don't beat yourself up if you don't quite hit the mark!


 Well the issue is I was at university prior to this all happening, now I'm back at my parents house so I'm just eating whatever they cook + a post workout shake everyday so it's not easy to track. I guess I could start do all my own meals separate to my family but feel a bit antisocial doing that haha


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

So if we go through everything muscle group by muscle group

Chest- Can do flat and incline DB press and flies basically what I'd do in the gym anyway so no problem there

biceps- concentration curls which are basically the same as preacher curls

triceps- can do skull crushers, resistance band pulldowns, again no real problem here

shoulders- Seated press and lateral raises + rear delt flies, similar enoigh to my real gym routine so no issues

back- Don't have a pull-up bar or anywhere I can realistically put one, Ply excercise I can do from tiny gym routine is one arm bent over rows

legs- light squats, goblet squats, really not ideal though here, guess I could start doing single leg work to get by

traps- basically nothing I can do here I can think of unfortunately

so basically arms, chest and shoulders I can continue to train basically as I normally do with just some minor adjustments

Legs, back and traps is gonna be difficult though, anyone have any reccomendations given we're all in the same predicament right now


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Face pulls will get you some trap activation predominantly mid traps, which most people generally need to develop

You could do them with a band and hold the contraction


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Look up Ryan Humiston on yt.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> Look up Ryan Humiston on yt.


 He's got a good leg video I'll throw some stuff in from that


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Little physique update, 2 weeks of not a lot of training and no macro tracking


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Better chest and tris workout today

Flat DB bench 42kg * 8 on my first set, not what I can do in the gym but much better

Incline DB bench

Flies

dips on the bench

Band tricep pushdowns from a tree branch

Just for fun finished off by seeing how many bodyweight pushups I can do, managed 25, obviously this is with a massive pre exhaust.

about to go on my daily walk around the neighbourhood and see if there's anywhere I can do a pullup


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

paxman85. said:


> So if we go through everything muscle group by muscle group
> 
> Chest- Can do flat and incline DB press and flies basically what I'd do in the gym anyway so no problem there
> 
> ...


 How is it difficult?

High reps dumbell shrugs...

Incline dumbell rows

Normal dumbell rows

Dumbell upright rows

Dumbell split squats

Goblet squats

Dumbell thrusters

You said you've got 42kg dumbells ffs mate?

I'm ruining myself daily with a 20kg bar and some imagination.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Crackerman said:


> How is it difficult?
> 
> High reps dumbell shrugs...
> 
> ...


 You're right to be fair I can just be a bit stubborn and set in my ways in terms of wanting to do certain excercises and not liking others, I guess I have better equipment than most people in this scenario so should be grateful.

Monday

Pull workout

DB rows 42kg * 9/7

37kg for god knows how many sets let another 6

resistance band lat pull downs (these are kinda naff tbh but think I've got somewhere to put a pull up bar)

14kg concentration curls 3 sets

then 2 sets 12kg concentration curls

2 sets resistance band curls to finish

Today

shoudlers

Seated press 32kg * 14/9/8/8/8

lateral raises 12kg dumbells * 10/10/10

resitancr band raises 3 sets, I think these are actually better than the free weight ones, way better burn in the lateral delt and keeps tension of the muscle through the whole movement

every night before bed I'm doing a set of pushups to failure because why the hell not, figure by the end of qurantine hopefully I can do an impressive number

got 38 tonight


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

Flat DB bench 42kg *98/7

37kg * 12/10/8

incline DB bench 32kg * 13/10/10/8

17kg DB flies 14/14/14

Tricep resistance band pulldowns 5 sets

Chair dips


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Friday

back and bis

DB rows 42kg * 11/9/9/9

Inclined DB rows 32kg * 10/10/10

loads of drop sets on rows didn't write them all down

hopefully next time I do back I've got a pull up bar

rear delt flies 4 sets

5 sets concentration curls 14kg

Saturday

Shoulders and legs

seated shoulder press 32kg * 14/9/8/8/8

Resistance band lateral raises 5 sets

split squats with 20kg each hand 4 sets 8 reps each

3 sets of squats to finish

Sunday

3 mile run for cardio and did some abs stuff indoors

monday

chest and tris

DB bench 42kg * 9/6

37kg * 8/8

Incline DB bench 32kg * 10/8/7/7

DB incline flies 14k * 15/15/15

Resistance band tricep pushdowns 5 sets

Chair dips 3 sets to failure


----------



## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Up those reps for your legs, 15-20 mate.

6 sets.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Good news I've finally got a pull up bar at the time of writing worked out last two days pull workout and shoulders and legs.

ive got tons of spare time atm so doing half an hours cardio every single day on top of my lifting because why not.

Very excited to do some pull ups for the first time in like a month


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Gonna buy some dip bars to add to my home set up


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench 42 kg * 8/8

37kg * 9/7

Incline DB bench 32kg * 8/6/6/

Incline DB flies 17kg did two sets of these on the third my shoulder kinda went 'pop' decided to call it there for the workout hopefully it's nothing serious I'll see how I feel in the morning maybe I'll have to ditch flies from the rouine


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulder is still sore today, don't think it's a serious injury not severe pain or anything more like discomfort but a noticable discomfort. Obviously don't have the option of getting it checked out at the moment, hoping I can just take a few days off and it will sort itself out. Also I do have some MK677 lying around which could help speed up the healing process


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Did a pull workout today felt all good

finsloy got a pull up bar but I haven't done pullups for like 5 weeks now so I cba to log the poverty lifts, Strength on pullups should come back super quick now though


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris just got a dip station

DB bench press 42kg * 8/6

37kg * 8/8

incline DB press 32kg * 8/8/7/7

4 sets bw dips to failure haven't done them in a while so started with BW will weight them next session

4 sets tricep extensions


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pump ✅

Angle✅

lighting ✅


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

So after some fine tuning I've settled on my full home routine

Chest and tris

Flat DB bench

Incline DB bench

Dips

Tricep extensions

back and bis

Weighted pullups + BW pullups

DB bent over rows

shrugs

concentration curls/resistance band curls (maybe a few sets of each or alternate between them)

shoulders and legs

shoulder press

resistance band raises

resistance band rear delt flys

split squats

DB lunges

what do you fellas think?

I was thinking maybe one extra excercuse in the chest and tris day

Im doing cardio almost every single day on top of lifting at the moment because I have the time so why not 3 days on 1 day off normally run 3 miles every weight training day and I'm thinking on my off days I might start doing a longer run, maybe work my way up to attempting 10 miles or something


----------



## 72670 (Sep 17, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> Good news I've finally got a pull up bar at the time of writing worked out last two days pull workout and shoulders and legs.
> 
> ive got tons of spare time atm so doing half an hours cardio every single day on top of my lifting because why not.
> 
> Very excited to do some pull ups for the first time in like a month


 What type of pull up bar is it?


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

B3NCH1 said:


> What type of pull up bar is it?


 One which screws into the door frame


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull workout

Pullups 15kg * 9/7

17.5kg *5

all those sets are drop setted with bodyweight pullups

DB rows 37kg * 9/8/7/7

DB shrugs 37kg * 8/6/6/6

concentrstion curls 14kg *12/8/8/6

Some resistance band curls to finish


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

33kg seated shoulder press 11/8/7/7 32kg * 7

Band lateral raises

band face pulls

20kg each split squats *10/10/10

****unf hell split squats are hard, doing both legs separate makes it feel like 2 times work

did 2 sets of walking lunges up and down my garden to finish

have gone off the boil with cardio recently so gonna make sure I run this evening


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

I know this is UK muscle but gonna start logging some of my cardio stuff here, got a personal goal of a 25 min 5K. Obvs that's nothing special but I think it's a decent level of reasonable fitness, I was actually a really good cross country runner back when I was like 15,16, 25kg heavier now so obviously that's slowed me down a bit, still I think a 25 min 5K for a guy who's decently muscular is good


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench press 42kg * 9/7 37kg * 10/8

incline DB press 32kg * 10/8/7/7

Weighted dips 10kg * 6 bit dissapointed with this I'll try again next session

2 sets bodyweight dips

5 sets tricep resistance band extensions

2 sets of push ups to failure to finish off


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

Weighted pullups

20kg * 6

10kg * 6/5/5

all super setted

DB bent over rows 37kg * 4 sets

concentration curls 14kg *13/7/7

12kg *8/7

2 sets resistance band curls

4 sets resistance band shrugs - not sure how good these were tbh, but I felt on regular shrugs my grip strength was giving out before my traps were so tried these instead


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

Seated shoulder press 33kg * 11/7/7/6

32kg * 7/5/5

Resitance band lateral raises * 5 sets

Resistance band rear delt flies - tbh gonna go back to DBs for these from now on * 4 sets

split squats 20kg ea managed 8 reps for 4 sets, f**k me these things are killer, more tiring than reg squats because you've got to do each leg separately

2 sets of walking lunges up and down my garden to finish

ran 5 kilometers as well


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Morning weight 81.5kg, but lighter than usual but I did go for a run at like 11pm last night and woke up a couple of hours later than usual so probably mainly hydration.

Top pic was taken July last year just before I went on holiday to Spain and I felt I was in decent shape there, but looking at my physique taken from a few days ago (granted I do have a pump), it's blowing my old physique out of the water, very happy with my progress looks like the best part of 5kg of muscle gained in a year or so, hopefully next 12 months can see similar gains, although maybe that's optimistic for a natty, my legs are still rubbish so there's plenty of mass to be added downstairs


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

Flat DB bench 42kg * 8/5

37kg * 9/7

incline DB bench 32kg * 8/7/7/6

Weighred dips 10kg *10/6

2 sets bodyweight dips

Resistance band tricep extensions

5km Cardio again


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My calves are dead after 5km runs two days in a row so gonna have a day off from running and just go on like an hour long walk after my dinner to burn some cals

pull session

Weighted pullups 20kg * 6

10kg * 10/7/5

DB bent over rows 37kg * 10/8/8

trued some heavier 42kg rows * 6/5/5

Resistance band face pulls

Concentration curls 15kg * 9

12kg * 8/8/8

fibished off eith resistsnce band curls

im considering buying an EZ bar for doing some preachers but dunno how much longer gyms will be closed for tbh

wasbt my best workout, felt like I was resting way longer than usual between sets, and just generally didn't have quite my usual intensity, defo left reps in the tank on some sets


----------



## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Have you tried sprinting? - rolling starts, max 90% effort...


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> Have you tried sprinting? - rolling starts, max 90% effort...


 Never tried sprinting, live in a pretty urban area so dunno where I could go to sprint without running into people a bit too much. Plus I like jogging because it gives me goals to work towards certain times at certain distances etc. having goals is what makes fitness fun for me, although my main goals for now are physique based not running


----------



## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

You could try incorporating them into your jogging; sprinting between say lampposts five or six times - like I say it doesn't have to be all out 100%

I think they call it fartlek training...
stay safe dude.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> You could try incorporating them into your jogging; sprinting between say lampposts five or six times - like I say it doesn't have to be all out 100%
> 
> I think they call it fartlek training...
> stay safe dude.


 I'll defo give it a go, doing some intervals can be a fun way to change it up.

didnt train today because weather was awful and I train in my garden, went on a 1hr and a half walk to burn some calories


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

Srated press 33kg * 11/7/7

32kg * 8/7

5 sets of lateral raise bands/ rear delt flies 7kg all supersetted

3 sets split squats 17kg ea * 10 reps a set

2 sets walking lunges up and down the garden


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris during a weather breaj

Flat bench 42kg * 8/5

Incline 37kg * 7

32kg * 10/8/8/7

Weighted dips 15kg * 6

10kg * 10/7

BW * 10

Tricep resistance band extensions to finish


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cutting current morning weight 81.4kg, think I've dropped some water due to less carbs already, not time to get that midsection cut up


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull day

Weighted pullups 20kg *7/5

10kg *7/7

All super setted

DB bent over rows 37kg * 10/8/8/8

Resistance band Face pulls 4 sets

Conventation curls forgot to write weight and reps


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders only

Seated press 33kg * 11/7/7/7

32kg. * 6/7

5 sets lateral band raises

4 sets rear delt flies


----------



## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

Flat DB press 42kg *9/5 37kg * 8/7

I cline DB press 32kg * 8/8/7/6

Weighted dips 10kg * 8/6

BW dips 10/10

Rrsistance band tricep extensions * 5

Changed tactics on the weight loss front, going for 15k steps a day rather than jogging every day, I find running for longer than about 30 mins too boring/tiring whereas I'll happily power walk with an audio book on for 2hr a day if need be, and I've got all the spare time in the world rn so why not, I'm now about 80-81kg down from 83kg when I started cutting 2 weeks ago but think it's mainly water, I took a few pics today but there's not really a big noticable difference yet, so I'm gonna wait a few more weeks before I post any


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session today didn't go as planned, my doorframe pull up bar broke during my pull up sets, still finished my workout minus the pullups but this could be a bit of an issue given gym re openings don't look like they're anywhere on the horizon!


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Yesterday legs and shoulders but didn't log the lifts,

today rest day, hit 10j steps

mornign weight was 79.9kg, the scale is really moving quicker than I expected but I'm not seeing the visual changes in my physique I perhaps expected, which is somewhat disappointing, hopefully the next few kilos will cut up my mid section some morep


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

flat DB bench 42kg * 8/5

37kg * 8/8

inclune DB bench 32kg * 11/7/6/6

Weighted dips 10kg * 8/6

3 sets bodyweight dips

5 sets resistance band tricep extensions


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My new pull up bar


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

How much that set you back?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

About a 20 min walk to the local park mare

anyway attached some rings and tryed a little jungle gym style workout, was decent but not the best, for pullups the tree was slightly too low for ring pullups and a bit too wide for normal grip, also did some resistance band curls etc


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My cut progress from 83kg -> 78.5kg in 4 weeks

abiut 1kg lighter each pic, honestly I'm suprised by how quickly the weight is coming off, at first I assumed it was al just water weight causing the big decrease but that should have come off by now. Do you think I'm losing weight too quickly ?

also I feel like my ab genetics really suck, I'm hitting them directly every other day but in the past I haven't


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Haven't logged my last few workouts but have been training daily

chest and tris

Flat DB press 42kg * 8/5

incline DB press 32kg * 10/9/8/7/7

Elevated push ups 1 set

weighted dips 12.5kg * 8 (new pr)

10kg * 8

3 sets BW dips to finish


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Haven't logged my last few workouts

morning weight 78.7kg, weights coming off a nice rate but I'm still frustrated by the lack of abs. Training them hard right now


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Mornin weight 78.3kg


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

I've been really bad at logging my workouts of late but I've been keeping up the training. Today was my birthday so I had a full day off training and also just ate a load of crap as well but I'll be back to being disciplined tomorrow, ive tweaked my lockdown routine to the point where I'm very happy with it now, and honestly could workout at home forever if need be. When gyms are re opening there's a lot of talk of booking 1 hour time slots and s**t like that which honestly I can't be assed with, I think I'll just book one slot a week to do squats and deadlifts and then just do everything else with my home equipment


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Do what you need to do, to get done what you need to get done!

...& happy birthday!


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Time to get back to the habit of logging sessions

pull

weighted pull ups

20kg * 7

10kg * 8/6

BW * 8/7

4 sets inverted rows

34kg Bent over DB rows * 10/8/8/8

4 sets E-Z bar curls

2 sets resistance band curls


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## 72670 (Sep 17, 2016)

paxman85. said:


> Feeling nostalgic so thought I'd make a little gains timeline to share with all you guys, hope you enjoy
> 
> 
> View attachment 178427
> ...


 Great progress, do you think you have good chest genetics as these are your best part.

Why do you prefer DB to barbell?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

B3NCH1 said:


> Great progress, do you think you have good chest genetics as these are your best part.
> 
> Why do you prefer DB to barbell?


 I do think I have good chest genetics yes, not just for size but also shape and it's very sort of filled in looking I don't have the gap between my pecs.

DB gets a better strech at the top and also there's less injury risk


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

My set up

adjustable bench £55

adjustable DBs up to 44kg, could fit a bit more on if necessary these were about £150 all in

i have 4 10kg plates

4 5kg plates

8 2.5kg plates

8 0.5kg plates

(I need to buy some 1kg players as well!)

pull up bar on my door frame £20

gymanst rings for Inverted rows £15

resistance bands £10

dip station £30

Weight belt for pullups and dips £15

my latest editions an EZ curl bar for £40


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Morning weight 78.0kg

shoudlers and legs

ahoulder press 34kg *11/7/6

32kg * 7/7/6

4 sets resistance band face pulls

5 sets resistance band lateral raises

5 sets of squatting my sister

2 sets split squats


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Hee hee, I'd re-phrase that before they start!


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Played some socially distanced cricket for like 3 hours today so gonna call that cardio. I reckon I'm in a huge calorie deficit today so hopefully the weight will keep ticking down. Trying not to weigh myself too often because I get a bit obsesssd with it if I do.

Also is it safe to assume that if your strength is constant throughout your cut that you're not losing muscle. My DB bench is exactly the same, my weighted pull-up is exactly the same (I weight less though so I guess it's technically gone down slightly), my weighted dip actually went up and my shoulder press has somehow increased slightly as well. I'm assuming I've not lost significant muscle because my lifts are all good but my arms do look a little bit skinnier if I'm being completely honest, not like a drastic change but somewhat noticable


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB flat bench 42kg * 8/6 only just managed the 8th rep so strength maybe dipping slightly

37kg * 8/7

Incljjne DB bench 32kg * 9/8/8/7

Wrighted dips 10kg * 8/8

BW dips * 12/12

5 sets Lying tricep extensions (with my new EZ curl bar)

There's a pic to show what my 5kg of weight loss actually looks like, here's to 5 more!


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

weighted pull ups 20kg * 6/5 (annoyed I didn't get more here!)

10kg *9/7

2 sets BW pullups

inverted BW rows *8/8/8

DB bent over rows 37kg * 8/8/8/8

4 sets concentration curls

2 sets resistance band curls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

went heavier today

Shoulder press 37kg * 6/4

32kg * 9/8/7/7/6

4 sets face pulls

5 sets lateral raises

5 sets squatting my sister (best was 13 reps)

2 sets split squats (hate these buggers!)


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## drwae (Jul 25, 2017)

paxman85. said:


> Shoulders and legs
> 
> went heavier today
> 
> ...


 pics of sister?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session first time using wrist wraps

pullups 20kg * 9 ( with wraps did the rest of the workout without them)

10kg * 8/6

3 sets BW pull ups

4 sets inverted BW rows

3 sets concentration curls

tbh I'm amazed how much of a difference the wraps made, got a slight sprain / injury on my left wrist so thinking about having a few days off letting it heal and 'pausing' my cut for that time and just eating at maintainence


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Think I've got a slight wrist sprain injury. Legit think I did it from sleeping with my hand under my head awkwardly. Had some ibuprofen and it's got rid of almost all the pain, thinking a few days off raining and 'pausing' my cut


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench 42kg * 7

37kg * 9/8/6

32kg incline Bench * 9/8/8/7

Weighted dips 15kg * 6

10kg * 6

2 sets BW dips

4 sets tricep EZ bar curls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull workout

Weighted pull ups 25kg (heaviest I've gone) 4 reps

10kg *10/8

2 sets BW pull ups

4 sets inverted BW rows 8 reps a set

37kg DB bent over rows * 9/9/8/8

5 sets concentration curls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Did shoulders today but didn't log, my strength is down a bit, not sure if that's due to cutting or because of my wrist injury. I have some mk677 I could take to try and speed up the recovery, is it a good idea to take some?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Anyway 77.3kg + morning shoulder pump, little bit of a shoulder vein starting to appear when pumped but still no abs


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

I have chest, lat and shoulder veins even when Im fat lol


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cronus said:


> I have chest, lat and shoulder veins even when Im fat lol


 Lucky, all I really have is bicep and forearms


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris done

42kg DB bench * 8/5

37kg * 8/8

32kg incline bench * 8/7/7/7

10kg weighted dips * 10/8/8

2 sets BW dips to failure

4 sets tricep EZ bar curls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)




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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Yesterday's pull workout

Weighted pull ups 20kg * 8

10kg *9/7

2 sets BW pull ups

4 sets BW rows * 8/7/6/6

32kg DB rows * 10/9/8/8

5 sets EZ bar bicep curls

went lighter and more controlled on the rows, can defo do heavier but end up swinging a lot more


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## Crackerman (Jul 1, 2018)

Looking good mate.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders and legs

34kg shoulder press *11/7

32kg *8/7/7

4 sets resistance band face pulls

4 sets resistance band lateral raises

5 sets squating my sister, max 14 reps

2 sets split squats 15kg ea


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Wanna squat this Sista? - she's all warmed up for ya! :thumbup1:


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Gyms seem like they will be re opening fairly soon, I want to try and get my training split perfect for when I go back so if any of the experienced lifters here would like to critique my routine you're more than welcome to

Heres what my plan is for when gyms reopen

Push

DB bench press

DB incline bench press

Dips

OHP

(some sort of tricep isolation excercise)

pull

Pullups

(something for Upper back)

DB bent over rows

Preacher curls

Face pulls

Legs/abs

Squats

Deadlifts

lateral raises

Abs circuit

Day off/cardio

I used to do shoulders and legs together but decided to change than so I can get a proper leg day in, with both squats and DLs.

when gyms open I'll be bulking, my main focus is gonna be abs, legs and upper back in that order of prioritization as my muscles lack in these areas. Still don't know exactly where I'll be training.

Im also 50/50 on whether to do abs with legs twice a week and do more volume or train abs every other day after my regular workouts with less volume and higher frequency, so if anyone wants to chime in with some advice on this it would be much appreciated

also I'm gonna be getting PEDs involved at some point but wanna make sure my diet and training is perfect first (or as close to perfect as I can reasonably get it). I don't wanna bloat up too much so not sure what I'll be doing gear wise, if I had unlimited money I'd use primo and some low test but may have to look into alternatives


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

FkstDB bench42kg * 8/5

37kg * 9/8/7

Incline DB bench 32kg * 10/9/8/7/7

5 sets EZ bar tricep curls 32kg * 15/9/8/8/8

4 sets BW dips to finish (normally do them weighted but the pre-exhaust from the tricep curls meant BW was sufficient)


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Forgot to log my pull workout

shoulders and legs

Shoulder press 34kg *11/7

32kg * 8/7/7/6

Resistsnce band face pulls 4 sets

resistance band lateral raises 4 sets (on the last one I broke my band haha)

5 sets squatting my sister

2 sets split squats


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

42kg DBs bench * 8/5

37kg * 9/8/7/7

32kg Incljne bench * 9/8/8/7/7

weigjted dips 10kg * 10/7

2 sets BW dips

4 sets skull crushers/close grip bench supersets


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

I'm back in my uni house for a few days, brought my resistance bands with me and have a pull up so gonna be som improvised training sessions next few days, sub optimal but beats taking time off training


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Ended up staying in uni digs for two weeks, fair amount of partying, drink and other stuff which isn't good for me without going into details. Did bring my bands and did push ups and pullups so was working out most days, today was the first day back with my proper equipment chest and tris workout. Not gonna log all the sets but reps were only down by 1 on my max so not too bad, strength will be back up in a few sessions


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull day

started with biceps

EZ bar curls 35 kg * 9/7/7

25kg *10/8/8

weigjted pull ups 20kg * 5

10kg * 9/8/8/7

1 set BW pull ups

Inverted BW rows * 8/7/6/6

bent over DB rows 32kg * 10/9/8

im gonna test my maxes on a lift for each muscle group then put them all on a big spreadsheet and d that the first week of each month so I can start really tracking progress month to month


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris today, was really weak for some reason a frustrating session, really hope it's just a one off and my regular strength comes back

DB bench 42kg * 5 (soooo weak ????)

37kg * 9/8/7/7

incline DB bench 32kg * 8/7/7/6/6

Dips

10kg * 9/7/7

2 sets BW dips

4 sets skull crushers super setted w/close grip bench press


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## D 4 Damage (Dec 14, 2017)

Might be feeling a bit week after partying for a couple of weeks?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

D 4 Damage said:


> Might be feeling a bit week after partying for a couple of weeks?


 Yeah could be but I managed 7 reps on Tuesday (my last push session). So idk why it would randomly drop to 5, I know I'm in a defecit but that's quite a big strength drop, idk maybe it's just one of those random things where I had a bad day at the office and it will be all good next sesssion


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## D 4 Damage (Dec 14, 2017)

Yes mate, good days an less good day days.... all money in the bank though probably smash it on the next one, cant be excellent all the time :thumbup1:


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

20kg pull ups * 9

10kg * 9/8/6

BW pull ups * 8/8

Inverted BW rows * 9/7/7/6

34kg DB rows * 12/10/9

35kg EZ bar curls * 7/6

25kg * 9/8/7/7


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders done

Seated DB press

34kg * 11/7

32kg * 8/7/6/6

5 sets lateral raises

4 sets face pulls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

75.5kg


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Have you PS'd your lats out?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hmgs said:


> Have you PS'd your lats out?


 Wym fella I think it's just the pose


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## hmgs (Jul 25, 2013)

Yeah, crunch that shoulder down & bring that serratus out, too.

*Looking good *(no ****/tranny/whatever!) :thumb


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench press 42kg * 8/5 (strength back!)

37kg * 9/7

inclune DB bench 32kg * 9/8/8/8/7

Wrighted dips 15kg * 8/6/6

2 sets BW dips

Started my triceps extensions and broke my restistscne bands whoops! Gonna buy another set because they are cheap and have served me well so far tbh

also I'm getting a full blood panel done next week and will post it all up here for you guys to see, the TRT check plus from medichecks (I'm not on TRT or anything currently but it has everything I want in that check).


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## 72670 (Sep 17, 2016)

looking good buddy what's your diet looking like and equipment you got at home?


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

B3NCH1 said:


> looking good buddy what's your diet looking like and equipment you got at home?


 Equipment resistance bands

Adjustsble DBs

dip station

pull up bar

hinestly for my diet I've not been tracking since March 23rd and I moved back into my parents house, whatever the cook for lunch and dinner then I have two proteins shake eve try day and a Greek yogurt + some fruit for breakfast.

10k steps everyday


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

Pull ups 20kg * 9

10kg * 10/8/7/6

Inveryed BW rows * 9/7/6/6

32kg DB rows * 11/9/9/8

EZ bar curls 35kg * 6/5

25kg * 9/8/8

my biceps feel really lacking still, any tips for bringing them up as a lagging body part. I checked on strength level calculator and my maxes for chest, Lats and shoulders puts be around 80th percentile amongst lifters my weight but my curl strength is only 50th percentile so defo a problme with my training there but not sure what exactly.

also I'm sure you've all heard gyms reopening 25th July which is good news. I'm gonna keep hold of my own equipment until the end of summer and do a mix of training in the gym and training at home for now. Once it's October time I'll be fully training in the gym.


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Chest and tris

DB bench press 42kg * 8/5

37kg * 9/7

inclune DB bench 32kg * 9/8/8/8/

Wrighted dips 15kg * 8/6/6

2 sets BW dips

4 sets skull crushers suppersetted with close grip bench press


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

20kg pull ups * 9 and half rep

10kg * 9/6/6

BW pull ups * 8/6

Inverted BW rows * 9/7/7/6

34kg DB rows * 12/10/9

35kg EZ bar curls * 7/6

25kg * 9/8/7/7


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Shoulders session

shoulder press
34kg * 12/8/7/7

32kg *9/8

4 sets resistance band face pulls

5 sets resistance band lateral raises


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Morning weight 74.6kg - think I'm gonna end my cut here, I've lost a lot of leg mass so when gyms open hopefully I can recomp and gain leg muscles back while losing a little bit more fat


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Cut completle, 83kg -> 74.6kg

Plan for now- Recomp slightly when gyms reopen next week by eating at maintainence and gaining back by leg muslce lost during this lockdown, then bulk with AAS. Also I really need to train the f**k out of my abs because even though I'm lean now they're still not that visible, but I'm starting to feel kinda skinny in clothes so don't really wanna go any lighter


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Haven't logged my last week of workouts kind of got my head into just waiting for gyms to reopen now, did get blood work done and my prolactin was out of range, here's my full hormone panel


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## Youdontknowme (Jul 7, 2020)

paxman85. said:


> Cut completle, 83kg -> 74.6kg
> 
> Plan for now- Recomp slightly when gyms reopen next week by eating at maintainence and gaining back by leg muslce lost during this lockdown, then bulk with AAS. Also I really need to train the f**k out of my abs because even though I'm lean now they're still not that visible, but I'm starting to feel kinda skinny in clothes so don't really wanna go any lighter
> 
> ...


 I had this . I cut over lockdown as had no inclination to workout at home. At 76kg I couldn't bear going any lower, outline around abs and veins showing in groin/shoulders but no full abs. I won't try for abs again for a long time now


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Youdontknowme said:


> I had this . I cut over lockdown as had no inclination to workout at home. At 76kg I couldn't bear going any lower, outline around abs and veins showing in groin/shoulders but no full abs. I won't try for abs again for a long time now


 It's partially an ego thing tbh but as someone who was picked on for being skinny growing up I can't mentally handle being below a certain weight even if I would possibly look better


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

hitting the gym in a few hours to do my first proper lower body session in ages - I've kept up my training at home all week but sort of lost motivation to log it all given the gyms were reopening soon

ik gonna be squatting and deadlifting some pathetic weight this evening - expect some 70kg squats and 90kg DLs


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

First session back on legs

squats 60kg * 8

70kg * 5/5/4

3 sets of legs press (didn't log weight)

3 sets hamstring curls

some abs at the end

was taking it easy-ish but I'm pretty sure that's still gonna give me some orettt bad doms even from what was a very moderate leg day


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

New routine now I have gym access

Day 1

Flat DB bench/Smith machine bench

Incline DB bench

Dips

Tricep extensions

OHP

Day 2

Pullups

DB one arm rows

Either one of inverted BW rows, T bar rows or machine rows as i cant decide which is best (basically an excercise for upper back)

Bicep curls - again not sure exactly what variation ill do each workout, ill probably end up rotating through variations

Neck curls -to build dat dere thick neck

Day 3

Squats

Leg press

Hamstring curls

Lateral raises

Abs circuits

3 days on 1 day off

5 excercises per workout - 4 working sets per excercise

theres a few things im slightly unsure on still, whether or not i should include deadlifs is probably the main issue, im just not sure how worthwhile they are in terms of risk reward, also they fatigue the f**k out of me and effect the rest of my workout intensity. I could also potentially do an abs workout at home and free up a slot for another excercise and move the OHP to leg day but im kind of unsure


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Been awful at logging

push session

flat DB bench 42.5kg * 8

40kg * 6/6/5

incljne DB bench 32.5kg * 9/8/8/7

Shoulder press 30kg * 9/7/6/6

weighted dips 15kg * 7

10kg * 9/8

4 sets cable lateral raises

4 sets tricep pushdowns


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Pull session

weighted pull ups no wraps

30kg * 4

20kg * 7/6

10kg * 8/7/6

DB rows 35kg * 9/8/8/8

4 sets inverted BW rows

4 Sets neck curls

4 sets bicep curls


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Leg session

smith machine squats (think I prefer this to a barbell)

100kg * 3

90kg * 5

80kg * 6/5/5

Leg press 170kg * 6/5/5

4 sets hamstring curls

Ab circuit


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

push session

flat DB bench 42.5kg * 9/6/5

40kg * 6

incljne DB bench 32.5kg * 9/7/7/6

Shoulder press 32.5kg * 6

28kg * 9/8/8

weighted dips 15kg * 7/7/6

1 set BW dips

4 sets cable lateral raises

4 sets tricep pushdown


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

Bottom of my cut was 74kg - now bulking again, really wanna bring up the upper back, legs and biceps in particular, will be bulking until February now I suppose a nice goal weigh would be 82kg or so


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

I'm not following some strict diet for my bulk in terms of eating the same s**t everyday but here's a rough overview or what a typical day of eating looks like for me

8:00am

breakfast- Greek yogurt + fruit have this basically every day, may occasionally change it up and have peanut butter on toast and fruit but that's it

11:00am

protein Shake + a piece of a fruit and small portion of nuts (normally cashews as they're my favourite)

1:30pm:

either one of my dinners reheated in Tupperware or a egg/cheese sandwich from tesco and probs a packet of crisps or something

4-5 is training

5:00pm post workout another protein shake

7:00pm dinner

this is the meal that varies the most for me but I do have some go to healthy ones-

salmon + rice + green beans

haddock + potatoes + green beans

stir fry veg and some sort of protein with noodles

burrito with mince meat + beans + vegetables

Veg + some sort of protein in a wrap with hot sauce

if I'm feeling really tired that day I do tend to have some frozen stuff ready to go like pizzas or maybe chicken nuggets and chips - not the most healthy but I do keep a good balance and it's just not realistic for me to eat chicken rice and brocolli for the rest of my life.

about 10pm I have another Greek yogurt then go to bed about midnight normally

about once a fortnight I probs would eat out or get a takeaway and have whatever I fancied but I think that's alrite

So basically it's 180g protein a day, 3.2k cals to start with but may bump with up a little, I did 4K calorie bulk before and it was defo way too much. Then I just make up the rest of the calories with fairly healthy foods and plenty of fruit and veg but also things that are relatively easy to prepare and I can realistically stick to


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

No longer doing daily updates but heres the leanest i got at 74 kg

Now bulking on 500mg test up to 77kg already but probs just water so far - 3.6k calories


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## paxman85. (Oct 8, 2019)

79kg

45kg DB bench for 8 reps


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