Tools: Training A progression of Chad Waterbury's programs suggested on T-Nation.
ABBH
ABBH II
TTT
TBT
QD
Single's Club
Diet I will be following Mauro DiPasquale's "Anabolic Diet" plan for the duration of the training program.
The Log: I am going to post my daily training here, as well as calorie and macro totals taken off of my fitday account. I realized that I have the tendency to overthink my fitness program, and I am in need of a tool to help me stay focused on one particular goal. I've chosen to follow Waterbury's programs and the AD to give myself an extremely rigid structure that I do not have to plan or think about.
I plan to post pictures at the end of each phase of the Waterbury progression in the interest of gauging progress.
Tomorrow I will begin the 12-day carb-less, start-up phase of the Anabolic Diet, and will concurrently test my 1 RM for the exercises used in ABBH following Charles Poliquin's recommended warmup.
I missed 245 on bench due to a total form breakdown (my right side slipped off the bench, and I got completely imbalanced). I feel like I should be able to hit 250 by the end of ABBH, which puts me well on towards my goal.
I think I could have gone heavier on the BB rows, but ran out of time in the gym and had to get to work. That said, I think my form was starting to get sloppy at 210, and anything above 215 probably would have been more glutes and hams than lats.
Tested my RM for front squat this morning. I got 205, which is a 10lbs PR for me, and my previous attempt was only below parallel (I'm now going ATG).
I tried 215 twice and got stuck in the bottom position both times. I guess my glutes are probably underdeveloped from where they should be since I just started squatting ATG a few weeks ago. My goal is to hit 225 by the end of ABBH.
Diet: I'm taking the following supplements with my diet 2x daily (after breakfast and dinner) -
1/2 One-a-day Multi
500mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
5g Fish oil
And before bed I take -
100mg Zinc
1g Magnesium
Melatonin (can't remember the dosage, just one pill)
Pre-AM workout -
1/4 heavy cream in coffee
5g Creatine monohydrate
1g LGlutamine
Today is an off-day from training. Tomorrow I'm testing my RM for dips and chins, Friday is deadlifts. My goal is to hit 300 (old record, 285).
Took the opportunity to sleep in an hour later since I woke up at 2:30, had to use the bathroom and eat a couple ounces of cheese before I could sleep again.
You are off to a good start. I cannot imagine eating that much fat, but I have never done the diet you are on . Good luck.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I've tried a bunch of different diets over the past couple of years. For some reason an extremely low-carb, high-fat diet makes me feel the best. I'm not sure it's the best diet for gaining, since I've never tried eating hypercalorically on it, but DiPasquale's arguments are very convincing, and I'm going to give it a shot.
Really spot on with the diet today. I have to say, I really enjoy the way you get to eat on this thing. Today I had:
4 slices of bacon and a 4 egg omelette with Cheddar cheese
Beef chili with a block of cheese
A tuna salad with walnuts and olive oil and vinegar dressing
Another big egg and cheese omelette
Delicious. I really like cheese.
DiPasquale recommends keeping carbs well under 30g for the first 12 days, then letting them climb up to 30g (after subtracting fiber). So right now I basically am getting all my veggies from spinach. I plan to add a bunch of brocolli, cauliflower, celery, etc. in the future.
Really spot on with the diet today. I have to say, I really enjoy the way you get to eat on this thing. Today I had:
4 slices of bacon and a 4 egg omelette with Cheddar cheese
Beef chili with a block of cheese
A tuna salad with walnuts and olive oil and vinegar dressing
Another big egg and cheese omelette
Delicious. I really like cheese.
DiPasquale recommends keeping carbs well under 30g for the first 12 days, then letting them climb up to 30g (after subtracting fiber). So right now I basically am getting all my veggies from spinach. I plan to add a bunch of brocolli, cauliflower, celery, etc. in the future.
Really spot on with the diet today. I have to say, I really enjoy the way you get to eat on this thing. Today I had:
4 slices of bacon and a 4 egg omelette with Cheddar cheese
Beef chili with a block of cheese
A tuna salad with walnuts and olive oil and vinegar dressing
Another big egg and cheese omelette
Delicious. I really like cheese.
DiPasquale recommends keeping carbs well under 30g for the first 12 days, then letting them climb up to 30g (after subtracting fiber). So right now I basically am getting all my veggies from spinach. I plan to add a bunch of brocolli, cauliflower, celery, etc. in the future.
Really spot on with the diet today. I have to say, I really enjoy the way you get to eat on this thing. Today I had:
4 slices of bacon and a 4 egg omelette with Cheddar cheese
Beef chili with a block of cheese
A tuna salad with walnuts and olive oil and vinegar dressing
Another big egg and cheese omelette
Delicious. I really like cheese.
DiPasquale recommends keeping carbs well under 30g for the first 12 days, then letting them climb up to 30g (after subtracting fiber). So right now I basically am getting all my veggies from spinach. I plan to add a bunch of brocolli, cauliflower, celery, etc. in the future.
Wow, I did not mean to post that 4 times - I was having some trouble posting last night and never saw anything show up. Is there a way to delete posts?
I tested my max for deadlifts (couldn't wait 'til tomorrow) and dips this morning.
My last max with deads was 285, so I'm pretty psyched that I got 315 up. I think I could've gone a little heavier even, but I was wiped by the time I got that high (did 275, 295, 315) and didn't want to destroy myself too much. I'm going to aim high for 350 at the end of ABBH.
Dips, I had some trouble figuring out how to load this right. We don't have a dip station, so I'm doing them on the arm pads of one of those ab devices where you are propped up against a seat back with your legs dangling down. I had to set a box under myself and hold a dumbbell between my feet. I think I could do more weight, but 80lbs was where it started feeling a little dangerous.
Fat 256g 71%
Carbs 11 1%
Protein 218 27%
Total 3266
I had a pretty crazy work day today, involving a flat tire, getting a car stuck in the snow and a lot of other fun stuff. The result was that I went about 6 hours between lunch and my next meal. One of the things I love about the high fat diet is that I don't get as hungry between meals. The fat seems to last me longer, and even when I'm hungry I'm capable of functioning (no shakiness).
On impulse, since I didn't have to be anywhere today, I decided to test my PL-style squat max to see where I'm really at in terms of my goals. I got to 250! That's way more than I've ever lifted before, and I had to really struggle to push it up. But I felt great, and my form didn't break down at all.
So...
Progress towards goals: Bench 235, 74.6% of 315
PL Squat 250, 61.7% of 405
Deadlift 315, 63.6% of 495
I feel good about the fact that I'm above 60% on everything, and I'm confident that I can make it to my goal with some serious eating. I'm taking the next week off to deload, finish my carb-less induction phase in the diet, and do a lot of walking, stretching and prehab.
I had some friends approach me over the weekend and ask me to participate in a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society endurance event at the beginning of the summer. It's a great cause, and I really value the time I'll spend training with my friends, so I decided to go for it.
Unfortunately, that means that gaining weight and strength is the complete opposite of what I'll be doing, so I'm going to put the quest for strength on hold, and focus instead on building up my aerobic base. I haven't done any running for several months, so I'm going to have to start slow and really build up. I might follow a military PT program, like the one suggested by the Navy Seals to prepare for BUD/S training (a good way to learn swimming, too). I'll probably get back on a strength based program next fall, so I have an excuse to bulk through the holidays .
I've decided to go for getting my strength goals, while incorporating a little cardio that should allow me to complete, if not excel at, the hiking and cycling I'm going to be doing this summer. I know if I look back on it next year, I'll be much happier to have reached my strength goals than to be skinny and weak again.
I fell off the AD bandwagon on my off-week while I was vascilating about what to do, and I ate a ton of carbs. I'm going to start up on the AD again, figuring 190 x 18 ~ 3,500cals per day. For 12 days I have to stay under 30g of carbs, then I start a regular cycle of 5 low-carb days, 2 high carb days.
I've used this diet in the past, and felt absolutely fantastic, so I know it works. I stopped doing it before because it can get tough to stay low-carb when you're doing a lot of traveling. I'm going to try to get through the induction using eggs, hamburger, cheese and fish oil, then start adding in some other meats and oils for the rest of the month. After the maintenance phase (the induction and first 2 cycles of the diet) I'm going to add in a bunch of spinach and other fibrous veggies.
My workout this morning:
Barbell Bench 10x3 - 185
BB Bent Row 10x3 - 170
Did a bunch of prehab for my ankles to get ready to start doing a little running again.
Stationary bike, 10 mins, 90 rpm, light difficulty.
Meals:
Pre-workout - cup of coffee with 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Breakfast - 6 eggs, 1 cup shredded Cheddar, 4 strips bacon, 5g fish oil
Lunch - 8oz hamburger, 4 oz Cheddar
Dinner - 8oz hamburger, 4 oz Cheddar
Bedtime - 1 6.5 oz can tuna, 1 tbs EVOO, 5g fish oil
The dips were freakishly easy, but the chins really nailed me. I think it was because the chin bar on the assitance machine had a gap in the middle, so I had to use a really wide sup grip that felt somewhat unnatural. I'll increase the assistance for the next workout to make sure I'm getting the 5x10 with solid form.
While spending hours and hours in airports this weekend thanks to delays and eventually cancelations, I screwed up the diet again. That's the third time in a row I've bungled the induction, and I'm starting to think going zero-carb is more trouble than it's worth.
I think I'm going to go back to a more traditional 30/30/30 split while I'm bulking, so I don't have to think about food. I'll save the stress for after I hit my goals and want to lean out.
Workout yesterday:
10 min jog due to time constraints.
I'm not sure what happened to my last couple of posts...
Monday I did:
Bench 10x4 - 185
BB Row 10x4 - 170
Tuesday I took off due to work schedule
Today:
Front squat 5x10 - 130
Hanging pike 5x10 - 12lbs DB
DB calf raise 5x10 - 55
The bench and row was easy. I really feel like I finally figured out the technique.
The front squats can only be described as tortuous. That is such a tough exercise to do reps on. I felt like I was going to die the first 4 sets, but I think I made a technique breakthrough on the last one (as you often do when you have to get the weight up at all costs), and it felt better.
I've just been eating everything in sight, trying to take a break from thinking about diet. I'm just going to eat naturally for a couple weeks, then get serious about tracking things again.
I feel like I'm getting stronger. Can't wait until ABBH is done so I can test my big three maxes again.
Chins are kicking my butt. I'm not sure why I fatigue so quickly on them. The first set is a breeze, then subsequent sets just destroy me. Dips, I am way stronger on. For my last set I accidently left the pin in the wrong place and did a set of 10 at 150, then adjusted and did a set of 10 at 170. Didn't feel tired at all.
Today:
Dead 10x4 - 250
Seated Calf 10x4 - 140
Decline Situp 10x4 - 80lbs DB
5 min on the treadmill @ 5mph
I'm going to start doing a half hour or so of prehab for my lower back and ankles each afternoon. The weight gain is starting to affect my running, but I am feeling really strong.
I haven't been very good about posting on my log. I started working out with a training partner who really wanted to do the Iron Manual workout from HGM, so we've just been plugging away at that MWF. I've been eating around 4K/day on the AD as well, and have been maintaining at 200lbs for about the last 3 weeks.
I tested RM for bench and squat this morning.
Back Squat - 265. I missed 275 twice, which really ticked me off.
Bench - 250. The weight flew up, and I think I could have gone up another 10 or 15 lbs. My right shoulder was feeling kind of pinched after the 250 so I decided to stop there.
I gained a lot of weight pretty rapidly, and a lot of it was fat. I'm getting stronger though, so it doesn't bother me a whole lot. I'm hoping to hit my goals by this December. If I keep gaining 15lbs on my lifts every two months I'm not going to make it on anything but bench, so I think I need to reevaluate my training and diet. It might be time to stop trying low-carb and just focus on gaining weight, whether or not fat is included.
Quest for Strength
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