Reddit's Log

[gkhchay]

I'll take your advice about ditching the leg ext and hamstring curls. I seriously don't know if I can increase reps for Bulgarian though. I'm going to go heavy and if I still can hit 8 reps by the 7th set I'm going to go even heavier.

What I'll do next week is Bulgarian splits superset with assisted glute ham raises, followed by single leg pistols and calf raises. I don't know if I still have strength for such a demanding exercise like single leg pistols. Just try and see first. Thanks man!

Just do 2 sets of the assisted pistols should be enough. It won't be difficult as you'll be holding on to a bar for support. The reason why I'm recommending that you add assisted pistols is because while the bulgarian split hits the quads, hams & glutes concurrently, the assisted pistol targets the lower quads esp the VMO which helps with stabilizing your knees.

later on when your legs get stronger, u can try pistols w/o assistance. U can start with having your butt touch a bench then go up again. Doing them unassisted, you'll really feel your quads & glutes working... gradually as your functional strength & flexibility improves, you'll be able to go all the way down & then up again, all without assistance.

 

[gkhchay]

EH!!! WHAT MY AGE!!! I'm still young!

(at heart)

Haha I get your point man. I can't pia with younger guys but as long as I have passion I'm going try my best. I can't keep up this intensity for much longer anyway. In the meantime just whack ah! Staying injury free and healthy are my main goals.

Eh, even if you're young, u still need to deload for a week or 2 every few months - this is vital if you don't want your CNS to burn out...

 

[Reddit]

Eh, even if you're young, u still need to deload for a week or 2 every few months - this is vital if you don't want your CNS to burn out...

My body deloads automatically...by becoming sick. Actually I'm still feeling pretty good since I get at least 7 hrs of sleep every night now. I take a one week break every now and when I feel burned out and lethargic, and I try to catch up on sleep. Maybe I'll take a break after I finish 5 or 6 cycles of this new routine.

 

[Reddit]

Shoulders superset with abs today. Good workout!

Again I didn't know my 1rm for ohp, so I warmed up and tried 80kg. It wasn't too tough but I didn't want to try heavier weighs. Some quick calculations again and I ended up with 50kg (60%).

Ohp 50kg
10 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 8 / 8 / 10
Leg lifts body weight
10 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 6

I asked the instructor to spot me from 7th set for ohp onwards. I think if I did it alone I'd be lucky to hit 6 reps. The last set was excruciating.

Leg lifts wasnt as good. I started swinging a little from the 4th set onwards.

Face pulls 45kg
10 / 10 / 10 / 10
Incline sit ups
6 / 0 / 0

Face pulls are so comfortable for me that I did another set just to reward myself.
I couldn't do any sit ups after the first set as my tummy kept cramping. My abs are just too weak. I'm going to train my mid section until it's strong as a tree.

Plank 30sec. I was shaking like a leaf that's it for today.

 

[mhafizzz]

bro, your leg lifts are which kind? hanging leg lifts?

 

[Reddit]

Yep the hanging kind. Palms facing me, and I keep my elbows locked at abt 60 degrees.

Now that I think about it, I don't know if leg lift is the right term. It's more like knee tucks today, like you said in your thread. I just make sure my knees touch my elbows.

 

[mhafizzz]

Yep the hanging kind. Palms facing me, and I keep my elbows locked at abt 60 degrees.

Now that I think about it, I don't know if leg lift is the right term. It's more like knee tucks today, like you said in your thread. I just make sure my knees touch my elbows.

60 deg means its in a sort of a chin up position?

 

[Reddit]

60 deg means its in a sort of a chin up position?

Yah like the beginning of a chin up. I can't hang totally because I will experience a painful strain on my shoulders since I'm too heavy.

 

[mhafizzz]

Yah like the beginning of a chin up. I can't hang totally because I will experience a painful strain on my shoulders since I'm too heavy.

i see bro.. thanks for clarifying!

 

[Reddit]

Arms day!

Started with dips superset with chin ups

Dips 20kg 2 sets 10 reps, 30kg 1 set 10 reps, then finally settled on 40kg 8 / 8 / 6 / 6 / 7 / 5 / 4
Chin ups bodyweight
10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 8 / 7

My chin ups are all half fug chin ups. I can't even do a single proper one, so I concentrate on eccentric as much as I can to really work.

Next was tricep ext superset with hammer curls

Tri ext
60kg 10 reps, 70kg 8 reps 6 reps
Hammer curls
20kg 10 reps, 22.5kg 10 reps, 25 kg 8 reps

Quick review
After one week of this routine, I can safely say that for an average gym user like me, this is one tough cookie to chew. I'm sure that a certain level of growth is inevitable if I continue with this, if for no reason other than the fact that every workout has a guaranteed 26 sets in total. The rest period is short and in my opinion very inadequate, which means muscles are stressed heavily. The aim is fantastically simple: 10 reps for every set. My heart rate is kept elevated throughout the sessions. I drink water like a camel and perspire as quickly. Usually by the 6th set I will think of excuses not to continue, although strangely enough, the 7th to 10th sets arent as difficult as I imagine.

Admittedly this first week is not as productive, since I have to figure out the right weights to lift. I'm going to use this routine for at least 5 more cycles. I forgot to weigh myself this morning. Later I'll take a pic and update here. Let's see what happens during the next 5 weeks.

 

[Reddit]

pic update. i just realised i didnt update last month





vs

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/64106699-post42.html

as you can tell, i havent improve much at all over the past 3 to 4 months. my weight is now 105kg. i can lift a little heavier, but nothing astonishing. im going to go all out on this german volume training, and hopefully see a more significant difference in 5 more weeks.

one great thing about changing a routine is that i now really look forward to next week and see if i can better myself

 

[gkhchay]

Reddit, what's your goal in lifting? is it to get stronger or lose the fat? Reason why I'm asking is because when I see your log & your pics, your strength goes up but you don't seem to be losing fat.

If indeed your goal is fat-loss then your training protocol has got to be very different, I'm sure you realize that right?

 

[Reddit]

to be honest, im trying for both at the same time. i dont mind losing weight slowly, but it has to be steady. i started off thinking i can lose weight quicker so that there is less strain on my lower back, but after these 3 months, i realised a strong core, abs and lower back is perhaps more effective in alleviating back pain than losing weight. i can pick up my son now without back pain as long as my posture is right! thats also why i picked german volume training.

i also find myself driven by gains in strength rather than weight loss; i go the gym spurred by thoughts of breaking my previous lifts, and not about losing inches. cardio is critical, so for the next few cycles i will swim twice a week, and even though i know thats really pitiful, im still unwilling to sacrifice gym time for swim time.

 

[Reddit]

Back and chest today.

Dumb bell press superset with pull up

Dumb bell 40kg
10 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 6 / 8 / 7 / 7
Pull up body weight
10 / 8 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 / 7 / 7

I can feel that my pulls are getting better. I also learned how to engage more of my back by sort of puffing out my chest when doing pull ups.

Chest supported dumb bell rows 35kg
8 / 8 / 7 (overestimated myself)
Pull over with cable machine 80kg
10 / 10 / 10

Pull over using cables is really useless. I can't feel any strain on my chest at all. I'm going to skip this next time and perhaps go for the regular kind.

 

[Reddit]

Quick update. I didn't exercise for two days as I was feeling a little under the weather. Stuffy nose. So I thought I'll take a break and sleep more in case I fell sick.

Shoulders and abs

Ohp 50kg
10 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 6
Hanging knee tucks
10 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 6 / 7 / 6 / 7 / 6

Face pulls 45kg
10 / 10 / 10
Flat crunches
10 / 10 / 10

Good news is that I didn't require any spot with ohp. Feels better already.

 

[Reddit]

It's been awhile since I updated. This is the third week I'm on this program. 3 more weeks to go before I complete the basic routine!

Good news is that I have definitely become stronger. Also I'm getting used to the volume and intensity. It's still very tough but at least my heart isn't pounding so fast and hard anymore. I'm not lifting any heavier, but I'm going a few more reps. My wife says my face is a little sharper. Happy sia.

Bad news is that I have gain 1 kg. I honestly think it's a mixture of muscles and fat. Ever since I started this program my appetite has increased. I'm eating more than before. In the morning before I workout I eat a piece of wholemeal bread with peanut butter. Otherwise I feel lethargic halfway through. Lunch is the same, except I eat at least 6 eggs without fail. Dinner is 8 big oranges. Sometimes I go back in the late evening and I'm still hungry. So I eat another 6 eggs.

Another thing I realize is that my joints are cracking more than usual. I think it's likely because I'm placing them under a good deal of stress. Esp my elbows. Time to get some joint supplements this weekend.

 

[Reddit]

One more thing. The dom that comes with this routine is unbelievable. At any point in time, some part of my body is aching and tender. I feel like an ah pek when I walk around. If not limping a bit, then is cannot laugh too loud la, or cannot extend arms fully la.

 

[Reddit]

Fourth week complete! Yay!

My numbers are looking better now. Still lifting the same weight except I'm doing more reps.

Only disappointing thing this week was the close grip bench I did earlier this morning. I underestimated myself and ended up doing 10 easy reps for the first 5 sets at 60kg. I went up to 80kg for the next 5 sets but still managed 10 reps. Next week I'm starting with 80 for sure.

Also, next week I have to try to add cardio. I haven't done any cardio for the past 3 weeks except for the half hour of cycling back and forth from the gym. Now that I'm finally getting used to this workload I'm going to stick to my original plan: swim twice a week on my offdays. My weight is still 105.5kg, although I'm eating far more than before. Must take this chance to cut.

2 more weeks to complete the basic stage!

 

[Reddit]

5th week complete!

First, the bad news. I am now 106.5. What the heck man. This is going the opposite way. I'm cutting down my calories starting today and going back to my previous diet routine with no late night eggs.

Good news is I have grown bigger. I measured my legs and arms yesterday since they are the easiest to measure. Arms are now a little over 18.5. Thighs (the middle) is a little over 25.5.

Next week is the last before I move on to the second stage. For now I have to say that gvt is a pretty good bulking exercise, although I haven't tried any others before, so I can't compare.

 

[newbieguy]

why not losing fat to get ripped? ripped muscle really good!