Ironlifter36's 12 Week Transformation Log

[ironlifter36]

Still killing it! Good workout! I have used the curves kick back machine before for my glutes I don't think you can get anymore girlie then that!!! Keep killing it bro even while you travel!!

Lol i agree although i don't care what other people think as I am comfortable with myself. I just don't feel any of the big lifts in my glutes. I have to do BB Hip Thrust or some kind of kickback to feel good activation/burn. Looking forward to traveling and trying new equipment. Amazing how you can take the same exercise, do it on a different machine and really feel it the next day.

 

[Carmel cowboy]

Lol i agree although i don't care what other people think as I am comfortable with myself. I just don't feel any of the big lifts in my glutes. I have to do BB Hip Thrust or some kind of kickback to feel good activation/burn. Looking forward to traveling and trying new equipment. Amazing how you can take the same exercise, do it on a different machine and really feel it the next day.

I agree bro!! Your log is exceptional keep up the great work!

 

[NarcissisticMach]

Thanks NM, that too I have learned from others. Others have shown me that it is possible to stay on top of your nutrition while travel. It just requires a bit more forward thinking and planning. Right now I am finding random gyms. I started the Regional position I am in now 9 months ago so I am still visiting different states in my territory for the first time. Once I make a complete circuit, I will decide on whether to find a nationwide gym. Would probably be LA Fitness if I had to choose one. I really enjoy visiting different gyms...new equipment, new toys and new scenery!

I've heard LA fitness is a great gym. I've thought about joining but with my current gym being a 5 minute drive from my house I am choosing convenience over quality. My current gym isn't bad just not as many different machines to try out. Once I'm out of school (hopefully in the next year) I'll have more time and can pick out a gym with more variety.

 

[ironlifter36]

I'm guessing you might high bar squat then? Have you ever tried sumos? Not sure, if your femur length makes those impractical or not. I know a lot of people aren't flexible enough to really do them correctly, but for me they hit the glutes more than anything.

Actually, I do quite well with Sumos and do feel activation in my glutes/hamstrings. Not sure why I didn't see this as an option? Thanks bro, sometimes it takes a comment from someone to make you realize something obvious. Do you do sumos on leg day or back day? Guess for this purpose, leg day I assume.

 

[ironlifter36]

Wednesday 3/22/17 Update:

Arrived in Arizona yesterday for business. Called the hotel ahead of time to arrange a fridge. Spent the remainder of the afternoon staking out the area for a gym and grocery store. So happens an LA fitness is a half mile away so that is a no brainer. Hit the grocery store and loaded up on some food items. Try to keep it fresh as possible however meats I buy packaged so the sodium is high. Oh well.



Woke up today early and did a light 20min of cardio before heading to meet clients. Today is cardio & calves day; hit the gym after work and only did another 20min of cardio-since I did 20 min this AM. Hammered my calves with the different equipment at LA Fitness. They have this donkey calve machine I absolutely love, am sure I will have trouble walking tomorrow. Heading back tomorrow to do legs & abs.

Travel Meal Plan Today
7am
2 Boiled Eggs
4.5oz Chicken Breast
¾ Cup Fresh Steam Veggies
60g Oatmeal
75g Fresh Blue Berries

9:30am
1 Packet Lean Body Meal Replacement Shake
1 Medium Apple
40g Oatmeal

11:30pm
Chipotle Burrito Bowl – Chicken, White Rice, Pinto Beans and Pico
(Used Chipotle Nutrition Calculator)

3:30pm
4.5oz Chicken
¾ cup Fresh Steam Veggies
60g Banana

6:00pm
4.5oz Chicken
1 ½ cup Fresh Steam Veggies
200g Sweet Potato
24g Peanut Butter
3 Omega 3 Fish Oil

8:30pm
2 Cups Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
120g Strawberries

2700 Cal 258P 288C 60F

 

[Carmel cowboy]

Wednesday 3/22/17 Update:

Arrived in Arizona yesterday for business. Called the hotel ahead of time to arrange a fridge. Spent the remainder of the afternoon staking out the area for a gym and grocery store. So happens an LA fitness is a half mile away so that is a no brainer. Hit the grocery store and loaded up on some food items. Try to keep it fresh as possible however meats I buy packaged so the sodium is high. Oh well.



Woke up today early and did a light 20min of cardio before heading to meet clients. Today is cardio & calves day; hit the gym after work and only did another 20min of cardio-since I did 20 min this AM. Hammered my calves with the different equipment at LA Fitness. They have this donkey calve machine I absolutely love, am sure I will have trouble walking tomorrow. Heading back tomorrow to do legs & abs.

Travel Meal Plan Today
7am
2 Boiled Eggs
4.5oz Chicken Breast
¾ Cup Fresh Steam Veggies
60g Oatmeal
75g Fresh Blue Berries

9:30am
1 Packet Lean Body Meal Replacement Shake
1 Medium Apple
40g Oatmeal

11:30pm
Chipotle Burrito Bowl – Chicken, White Rice, Pinto Beans and Pico
(Used Chipotle Nutrition Calculator)

3:30pm
4.5oz Chicken
¾ cup Fresh Steam Veggies
60g Banana

6:00pm
4.5oz Chicken
1 ½ cup Fresh Steam Veggies
200g Sweet Potato
24g Peanut Butter
3 Omega 3 Fish Oil

8:30pm
2 Cups Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
120g Strawberries

2700 Cal 258P 288C 60F

Impressive brother!! On the road and still killing it!! Great job!! Those of us who are home have no excuse!!!

 

[Joe S.]

Wow Very impressive, Mine would have been mcdonalds, taco bell then a pizza joint. Mailbox full.

Excellent stuff, just shows it can be done.

 

[Carmel cowboy]

I do it on leg days. Ironically I did it on back day this past week. Apparently I bruised my shin bone or something, I was warming up conventional and brushed against it when done the set and it hurt pretty bad. Did next warmup and barely touched it and it actually made me feel nauseous lol. So I switched over to sumos.

I have been debating on switching my main deadlift to sumos for a while now. I had a feeling I could pull heavier with sumo but I never prioritized it and lifted it heavy. After this past back day there is no doubt in my mind I can sumo a lot more than conventional. I pulled the same weight/reps as a previous conventional PR and still had plenty of steam in me. I want to flip it so I can practice it better but am hesitant that it could slow down my back gains.

But yeah, nothing activates my glutes like a sumo haha. It's pretty good for the leg abductors too which are usually missed out on if you have a narrow squat stance.

I agree with you guys about certain exercises can stimulate your posterior more so then other and that is individualized. That being said I have come to learn that my intention is more important then the actual exercise!! I have come to realize through the 25+ years of lifting that I can not rely on a exercise or movement to stimulate something for me! I agree that certain exercises will activate the glutes more then others just by sheer biomechanics but nothing can activate a paticular muscle group more then intention!! For example the lat pull down exercise, if you just pull the bar to your upper chest and finish by bringing your shoulder blades together the first half of the movement will be mostly biceps. If your intention is to pull the bar apart before you pull it to your chest you will activate your lats,rear delts, and rhomboid muscles to initiate the movement and get more back development! There are a lot of people that will just skip lat pull downs cause they feel mostly biceps and move on to another exercise. It's your intention more then anything else!! Just my experience

 

[svanimost]

Good job with your priorities, I'm the same way. I go into the city a lot, first thing is gym & food. I usually carry bunch of protein powder & quest bars w/ jerky all the time!!!!! We're crazy, but eating good makes sleep better!!! How's the calories going, judging by your macros you have to be over 3000 by now, how's it treating your %?????

 

[ironlifter36]

I do it on leg days. Ironically I did it on back day this past week. Apparently I bruised my shin bone or something, I was warming up conventional and brushed against it when done the set and it hurt pretty bad. Did next warmup and barely touched it and it actually made me feel nauseous lol. So I switched over to sumos.

I have been debating on switching my main deadlift to sumos for a while now. I had a feeling I could pull heavier with sumo but I never prioritized it and lifted it heavy. After this past back day there is no doubt in my mind I can sumo a lot more than conventional. I pulled the same weight/reps as a previous conventional PR and still had plenty of steam in me. I want to flip it so I can practice it better but am hesitant that it could slow down my back gains.


But yeah, nothing activates my glutes like a sumo haha. It's pretty good for the leg abductors too which are usually missed out on if you have a narrow squat stance.

I agree with you on being able to lift heavier on sumos. For a while, I was incorporating both into my deadlift sessions. For example, if I was going to do 3 working sets in the 5-6 Rep Range, I would do the first 2 sets conventional, then the last set sumo. Every session, I would add 5lbs to every each set. Increased my lift 50lbs in 3 months doing this.

 

[ironlifter36]

I agree with you guys about certain exercises can stimulate your posterior more so then other and that is individualized. That being said I have come to learn that my intention is more important then the actual exercise!! I have come to realize through the 25+ years of lifting that I can not rely on a exercise or movement to stimulate something for me! I agree that certain exercises will activate the glutes more then others just by sheer biomechanics but nothing can activate a paticular muscle group more then intention!! For example the lat pull down exercise, if you just pull the bar to your upper chest and finish by bringing your shoulder blades together the first half of the movement will be mostly biceps. If your intention is to pull the bar apart before you pull it to your chest you will activate your lats,rear delts, and rhomboid muscles to initiate the movement and get more back development! There are a lot of people that will just skip lat pull downs cause they feel mostly biceps and move on to another exercise.
It's your intention more then anything else!! Just my experience

Interesting. With 25 years of lifting experience, you have a wealth of knowledge. I appreciate you sharing it with us bro. Good tip.

 

[ironlifter36]

Good job with your priorities, I'm the same way. I go into the city a lot, first thing is gym & food. I usually carry bunch of protein powder & quest bars w/ jerky all the time!!!!! We're crazy, but eating good makes sleep better!!! How's the calories going, judging by your macros you have to be over 3000 by now, how's it treating your %?????

Calories are around 2700 on non-workout days and between 2900-3000 on workout days. Weight has increased a few pounds, body fat holding steady for the most part. Holding a little more water as a result of the carbs, but am looking full and vascular. Getting ready to bump up calories another 200 across the board.

 

[ironlifter36]

So blood test came back and everything is good. Giving myself the green light, however now my next blood test for Doc will be in 4 months. I am still planning to run a cycle, but will probably leave out the oral kick start. I will bump test up to 300mg and run deca at 200mg.

Went back to LA Fitness today to do Legs and Ab's. I find it amazing what a difference different equipment of the same exercise actually makes. For example, the leg press machine. Same exercise, but the different piece of equipment seemed to stimulate my legs muscles more than usual. Maybe it is mental - the whole new toy thing. Also interesting is the difference in weight I can move on different brands of equipment. At my home gym, I usually do 100x10reps on the seated leg curl, but today at LA Fitness, I could do 130x10reps. Same exercise, but different brand of equipment made a difference.

 

[NarcissisticMach]

So blood test came back and everything is good. Giving myself the green light, however now my next blood test for Doc will be in 4 months. I am still planning to run a cycle, but will probably leave out the oral kick start. I will bump test up to 300mg and run deca at 200mg.

Went back to LA Fitness today to do Legs and Ab's. I find it amazing what a difference different equipment of the same exercise actually makes. For example, the leg press machine. Same exercise, but the different piece of equipment seemed to stimulate my legs muscles more than usual. Maybe it is mental - the whole new toy thing. Also interesting is the difference in weight I can move on different brands of equipment. At my home gym, I usually do 100x10reps on the seated leg curl, but today at LA Fitness, I could do 130x10reps. Same exercise, but different brand of equipment made a difference.

Damn you're making me want to try out a new gym! I'm thinking of trying out a LA or lifetime fitness once the semester is over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ironlifter36]

Monday 3/27/2017 Update:

Stats: 173Lbs, Skin Folds 5mm Chest, 7mm Stomach, 5mm Legs. Skin folds holding steady, weight is climbing very slowly. Started my low dose cycle of 300-350mg Test and 200mg Deca. AI and Caber of course.

I have officially entered my lean bulk. Increasing calories to 2900 on non-workout days and 3100 on workout days. This is a 200 calorie increase across the board, even so only 1400 calories per week. I anticipate I will need to add more calories in the coming weeks based on progress. Will be using scale and skin folds to assess progress and make adjustments.

Yesterday was Back, Triceps, Rear Delts and Ab's

BB Row - 3 Sets 10-12 reps
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown - 3 Sets 10-12 Reps
HS Iso Pulldown - 3 Sets 10 Reps
Single Arm Lat Pulldown - 3 Sets 12 Reps
Close Grip Bench - 3 Sets 9-12 Reps
Single Arm Rope Pushdown - 3 Sets 12 Reps
DB Rear Delt Fly - 4 Sets 15-18 Reps
Ab's - Ab Wheel - 3 Set 25 Reps

Today will be 30min Cardio and Calves Routine.

 

[Carmel cowboy]

Monday 3/27/2017 Update:

Stats: 173Lbs, Skin Folds 5mm Chest, 7mm Stomach, 5mm Legs. Skin folds holding steady, weight is climbing very slowly. Started my low dose cycle of 300-350mg Test and 200mg Deca. AI and Caber of course.

I have officially entered my lean bulk. Increasing calories to 2900 on non-workout days and 3100 on workout days. This is a 200 calorie increase across the board, even so only 1400 calories per week. I anticipate I will need to add more calories in the coming weeks based on progress. Will be using scale and skin folds to assess progress and make adjustments.

Yesterday was Back, Triceps, Rear Delts and Ab's

BB Row - 3 Sets 10-12 reps
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown - 3 Sets 10-12 Reps
HS Iso Pulldown - 3 Sets 10 Reps
Single Arm Lat Pulldown - 3 Sets 12 Reps
Close Grip Bench - 3 Sets 9-12 Reps
Single Arm Rope Pushdown - 3 Sets 12 Reps
DB Rear Delt Fly - 4 Sets 15-18 Reps
Ab's - Ab Wheel - 3 Set 25 Reps

Today will be 30min Cardio and Calves Routine.

Good job bro! Still on the road?

 

[ironlifter36]

Good job bro! Still on the road?

No, came back last Friday. Heading to Colorado next week for another business trip.

 

[ironlifter36]

Very nice brother, great detail! And way to keep consistent even being out on the road, your a fucking rockstar man!

Appreciate it bro. Lol, I am not rockstar bro. Before I left on the trip, I was talking to a friend at the gym. We were talking about nutrition while traveling. He was saying how it wasn't possible to stay on the same level of nutrition while traveling, to which I politely disagreed. I told him I do it all the time, however it requires another level of commitment and dedication. Other do it all the time and I do it, so I know it's possible.

 

[ironlifter36]

We're pretty much exactly the same weight right now. I'm just shorter and fatter haha.

What was your lowest bodyweight you hit during this transformation?

171LBS, though there were a few days I weighed in around 169-170.

 

[ironlifter36]

May have missed it. Do you target on how much weight you want to gain per week? I always wondered what to shoot for on cycle. Don't want to get sloppy and add too much bodyfat but also don't want to miss out potential gains haha.

Lol, well I am going to tell you I do not have the gaining down to a science yet like I do the cutting. I may not be the best to ask for advise in this department as i am still figuring out what works best for me here.

I have tried "bulking" 2x. The first time was before TRT. I put myself in a 300 calorie surplus then kept adding 200 calories every 2 weeks. I gained to much fat that time. Scale was the primary method of assessment.

Then last time on my first cycle, I failed to gain enough, but stayed lean. Weight gain stalled at week 6-7, didn't gain anything beyond that, but got denser and tighten up. I added calories, but not aggressively enough. My metabolism simply increased at the rate I added calories. I didn't stay ahead of the curve. Scale & calipers was the method of assessment that time.

Back to your original question. I am aiming to gain between .5-1.0 pound per week. That's about a 1700-3500 weekly surplus. Depending on the quality of weight i am gaining, i may increase to 1.0-1.5lbs gain a week.