MJS
04-13-2006, 11:44 AM
THE INTRO
Hey folks, here’s the deal. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 21 year old college student just wrapping up a semester of boozing in Europe. I came here expecting a “cultural experience” but in the end it was pretty much just a sh*t show.
Anyways, a bit of a background: I have never been big or small but rather just average. I played baseball very seriously for the first 15 years of my life, and just before college I tore tendons in my elbow. Needless to say, pitching career over. After 2 years of recovery I was looking for a new hobby. I turned to lifting.
Starting out I had no idea what I was doing. I did no research and ate like sh*t. F*cking eh what a waste of time. I did get bigger, but not the kind of bigger I wanted to be. My arms exploded, but my chest didn’t because I lifted it incorrectly and my genes just don’t want it to grow.
This picture is from 2 months ago. http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/ironman2284/323d3ed5.jpg
You can see that my arms are out of proportion with my chest. I am not quite as lean as the picture portrays because I was flexing and sucking in my abs.
THE ROUTINE
The routine that I am going to follow is going to be a bit different than what most of the people on this board are currently involved in. Rather than dedicating myself to a 5x5 or a 3x12 setup I am going to opt for a 4x8-12 range to increase endurance, strength, but most importantly: mass.
I am not going to be working triceps directly as I am not looking to get them any larger for the time being and I think that the indirect work that they will get will be suffice for maintenance. It is my chest and back that are the targets of the routine. I am stealing bits and pieces from different routines that I have seen around the boards and creating my own routine: Torso Explosion.
Day 1 – Thickness of Back and Abs. Direct: Back, Abs Indirect: Biceps, Shoulders
• Rack Pulls 4x8
• Back Extensions 4x10
• DB Rows 4x10
• Hammer Rows 4x8
• Legs in air crunch 3x10
• Crunch (holding 2 seconds for squeeze) 3x12
• Decline Bench Weighted Situp 3x10
• Machine Crunch 3xs8
• Oblique on Swiss Ball 3x8 ea
• Table 1x1min
• Oblique Table 1x30sec ea
Day 2 – Direct: Chest Indirect: Triceps, Shoulders
• Flat BB Bench 4x8 (last set is negatives)
• Flat Bench Cable Flyes 4x12
• Incline DB Press 4x10
This will be alternated weekly with:
• Flat DB Bench 4x8
• Flat Bench DB Flyes 4x12
• Dips 4x10
Day 3 – Legs and Shoulders. Direct: Legs, Shoulders Indirect: Traps
• Full Squat 4x8
• Leg Press 4x10
• Calve Raises 4x12
• Leg Curls 4x10
• Arnies 4x8
• Military Press 4x10
• Rear DB Lateral Raises 4x10
• Front DB Lateral Raises 4x10
Day 4 – Width of Back and Biceps. Direct: Back and Biceps Indirect: Triceps
• Chins 4x8
• Rope Pullback 4x10*
• Shrugs 4x10
• Lat Pushdowns 4x12**
• Incline DB Curls 4x10
• Incline Hammer DB Curls 4x10
Note: Alternate this Bicep workout weekly with:
• Preacher EZ Bar Curls 4x10
• Preacher EZ Bar Hammer Curls 4x10
The Split is
Monday: Day 1
Tuesday: Day 2
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Day 3
Friday: Day 4
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Notes:
* Rope pullbacks are my own exercise that I find to work very well. You go to the cables. If its an adjustable put it all the way to the floor, if not use the bottom cable. Take a rope (like the one used for triceps) and attach it. Pick up the rope and stand facing the cable straight up and down. Holding the rope with both arms pull back until your hands are on either side of your waist and squeeze. You feel it big time in your traps and delts.
** For a lateral pushdown I take a straight bar and attach it to the top ring of the cables. I stand facing the cable with my back straight. Keeping my arms straight throughout the entire motion, I grab the bar, hands on top, and push the bar down until it gets to my quads. Then I let it go back up.
THE DIET
BF = 12%
LBM = 180.0 lbs.
Maintenance calories: 3,150 per day;
4 lifting/HIIT days per week.
An extra 4,410 calories per week.for a gain of 1.3 pounds per week
Average daily macros:
329g of protein,
149g of fat, and
280g of carbohydrate,
3,780 calories in total.
Lifting/HIIT days:
333g of protein,
148g of fat, and
341g of carbohydrate,
4,023 calories in total.
LBM-based ratios:
1.9g/lb LBM protein,
0.8g/lb LBM fat, and
1.9g/lb LBM carbohydrate.
Rest/SS Cardio days:
324g of protein,
151g of fat, and
200g of carbohydrate,
3,456 calories in total.
LBM-based ratios:
1.8g/lb LBM protein,
0.8g/lb LBM fat, and
1.1g/lb LBM carbohydrate.
Example Diet –
Meal 1
Omelet (whole egg, egg whites, veggies, etc.)
Fruit or
Protein shake with. axseed oil
Fruit
Meal 2
Chicken breast, turkey breast or tuna
Raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc) or extra virgin olive oil
Fish oils
Vegetables
Meal 3
Round steak, extra lean ground sirloin or salmon
Fish oils
Vegetables
During Workout (sipped throughout) **
20-25g whey protein isolate
50g maltodextrin powder, diluted, in no less than one liter of water
Post Workout **
Whey protein, 5g creatine mono, 1 scoop of maltodextrin powder
Meal 4
Chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, or tuna
Sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, or brown rice
Meal 5
Chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, or tuna
Sweet potatoes, legumes (black beans, kidney beans, etc), or oatmeal.
Vegetables
Pre-Bed Snack
Cottage cheese
Flaxseed oil, raw nuts, or natural peanut butter, etc.
* Note that this meal is currently a low carb, protein/fat style meal. As one increases their calories over time, an option is to add in carbohydrates to this meal, as insulin sensitivity tends to be higher in the morning. If choosing to do so, stick to low GI carbohydrates like oatmeal with some fruit.
** Note: Remember from the feature, that these two servings would be the . rst two that you’d want to add calories to (in the form of carbohydrates) when it’s time to increase your intake.
THE SUPPS
• Creatine Monohydrate
• Dextrose
• Multi Vitamin
• Whey Protein
I hope that you decide to tag along and follow this journal because with the dedication that I have this goal is going to result in nothing but success, guaranteed. So buckle up and enjoy the ride, its time to make my torso explode.
Hey folks, here’s the deal. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 21 year old college student just wrapping up a semester of boozing in Europe. I came here expecting a “cultural experience” but in the end it was pretty much just a sh*t show.
Anyways, a bit of a background: I have never been big or small but rather just average. I played baseball very seriously for the first 15 years of my life, and just before college I tore tendons in my elbow. Needless to say, pitching career over. After 2 years of recovery I was looking for a new hobby. I turned to lifting.
Starting out I had no idea what I was doing. I did no research and ate like sh*t. F*cking eh what a waste of time. I did get bigger, but not the kind of bigger I wanted to be. My arms exploded, but my chest didn’t because I lifted it incorrectly and my genes just don’t want it to grow.
This picture is from 2 months ago. http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/ironman2284/323d3ed5.jpg
You can see that my arms are out of proportion with my chest. I am not quite as lean as the picture portrays because I was flexing and sucking in my abs.
THE ROUTINE
The routine that I am going to follow is going to be a bit different than what most of the people on this board are currently involved in. Rather than dedicating myself to a 5x5 or a 3x12 setup I am going to opt for a 4x8-12 range to increase endurance, strength, but most importantly: mass.
I am not going to be working triceps directly as I am not looking to get them any larger for the time being and I think that the indirect work that they will get will be suffice for maintenance. It is my chest and back that are the targets of the routine. I am stealing bits and pieces from different routines that I have seen around the boards and creating my own routine: Torso Explosion.
Day 1 – Thickness of Back and Abs. Direct: Back, Abs Indirect: Biceps, Shoulders
• Rack Pulls 4x8
• Back Extensions 4x10
• DB Rows 4x10
• Hammer Rows 4x8
• Legs in air crunch 3x10
• Crunch (holding 2 seconds for squeeze) 3x12
• Decline Bench Weighted Situp 3x10
• Machine Crunch 3xs8
• Oblique on Swiss Ball 3x8 ea
• Table 1x1min
• Oblique Table 1x30sec ea
Day 2 – Direct: Chest Indirect: Triceps, Shoulders
• Flat BB Bench 4x8 (last set is negatives)
• Flat Bench Cable Flyes 4x12
• Incline DB Press 4x10
This will be alternated weekly with:
• Flat DB Bench 4x8
• Flat Bench DB Flyes 4x12
• Dips 4x10
Day 3 – Legs and Shoulders. Direct: Legs, Shoulders Indirect: Traps
• Full Squat 4x8
• Leg Press 4x10
• Calve Raises 4x12
• Leg Curls 4x10
• Arnies 4x8
• Military Press 4x10
• Rear DB Lateral Raises 4x10
• Front DB Lateral Raises 4x10
Day 4 – Width of Back and Biceps. Direct: Back and Biceps Indirect: Triceps
• Chins 4x8
• Rope Pullback 4x10*
• Shrugs 4x10
• Lat Pushdowns 4x12**
• Incline DB Curls 4x10
• Incline Hammer DB Curls 4x10
Note: Alternate this Bicep workout weekly with:
• Preacher EZ Bar Curls 4x10
• Preacher EZ Bar Hammer Curls 4x10
The Split is
Monday: Day 1
Tuesday: Day 2
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Day 3
Friday: Day 4
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Notes:
* Rope pullbacks are my own exercise that I find to work very well. You go to the cables. If its an adjustable put it all the way to the floor, if not use the bottom cable. Take a rope (like the one used for triceps) and attach it. Pick up the rope and stand facing the cable straight up and down. Holding the rope with both arms pull back until your hands are on either side of your waist and squeeze. You feel it big time in your traps and delts.
** For a lateral pushdown I take a straight bar and attach it to the top ring of the cables. I stand facing the cable with my back straight. Keeping my arms straight throughout the entire motion, I grab the bar, hands on top, and push the bar down until it gets to my quads. Then I let it go back up.
THE DIET
BF = 12%
LBM = 180.0 lbs.
Maintenance calories: 3,150 per day;
4 lifting/HIIT days per week.
An extra 4,410 calories per week.for a gain of 1.3 pounds per week
Average daily macros:
329g of protein,
149g of fat, and
280g of carbohydrate,
3,780 calories in total.
Lifting/HIIT days:
333g of protein,
148g of fat, and
341g of carbohydrate,
4,023 calories in total.
LBM-based ratios:
1.9g/lb LBM protein,
0.8g/lb LBM fat, and
1.9g/lb LBM carbohydrate.
Rest/SS Cardio days:
324g of protein,
151g of fat, and
200g of carbohydrate,
3,456 calories in total.
LBM-based ratios:
1.8g/lb LBM protein,
0.8g/lb LBM fat, and
1.1g/lb LBM carbohydrate.
Example Diet –
Meal 1
Omelet (whole egg, egg whites, veggies, etc.)
Fruit or
Protein shake with. axseed oil
Fruit
Meal 2
Chicken breast, turkey breast or tuna
Raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc) or extra virgin olive oil
Fish oils
Vegetables
Meal 3
Round steak, extra lean ground sirloin or salmon
Fish oils
Vegetables
During Workout (sipped throughout) **
20-25g whey protein isolate
50g maltodextrin powder, diluted, in no less than one liter of water
Post Workout **
Whey protein, 5g creatine mono, 1 scoop of maltodextrin powder
Meal 4
Chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, or tuna
Sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, or brown rice
Meal 5
Chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, or tuna
Sweet potatoes, legumes (black beans, kidney beans, etc), or oatmeal.
Vegetables
Pre-Bed Snack
Cottage cheese
Flaxseed oil, raw nuts, or natural peanut butter, etc.
* Note that this meal is currently a low carb, protein/fat style meal. As one increases their calories over time, an option is to add in carbohydrates to this meal, as insulin sensitivity tends to be higher in the morning. If choosing to do so, stick to low GI carbohydrates like oatmeal with some fruit.
** Note: Remember from the feature, that these two servings would be the . rst two that you’d want to add calories to (in the form of carbohydrates) when it’s time to increase your intake.
THE SUPPS
• Creatine Monohydrate
• Dextrose
• Multi Vitamin
• Whey Protein
I hope that you decide to tag along and follow this journal because with the dedication that I have this goal is going to result in nothing but success, guaranteed. So buckle up and enjoy the ride, its time to make my torso explode.