New Workout by Travis

It's been awhile, but I haven't been away from the gym (at least, not in the last month and a half). I got back in the gym just before Thanksgiving with a newfound determination. I had found myself wasting away and friends were starting to comment that I'd lost some mass. Deciding then and there that I was going to try to really commit myself to gaining mass, I started a new and simple program.

As far as eating was concerned, my goal was simply to eat a lot more, but eat cleanly. I've never tried to really eat for mass gains, so it was a little overwhelming at first to be eating enough food to gain weight.

As for a workout, I went super simple: a two day split consisting of the following exercises:

Day 1
Squats
Dead lifts

Day 2
Bench press
Pullups
Shoulder press
Bent-over rows

That's it.

So far, I've put on a little over 10 pounds in about 6 weeks. Using a scale to check fat percentages, I've gained 1-2% in fat, but that also means I put on 7-8 pounds of muscle. Eating as much as I am has left me feeling better with more energy than I used to have.

I'll try to make another update in a few weeks, complete with before and after measurements.

Monthly Update by Travis

My workouts continue to go well and I'm still making quite a bit of progress. I'm going to take down numbers tonight and try to post them in the next couple of days. I'm also going to take another round of pictures and probably post those, as well.

I've decided to get on creatine for a while (maybe a month?), to see what gains that will produce. My goal right now is to see if I can get up to 170 lbs. I'm currently sitting at about 158-160 lbs.

At that point, summer should be right around the corner, so I'll probably start tightening up my diet and try to lean down again. That's the big plan, I'll keep you posted…

Stats by Travis

I barely noticed, but I guess I've completed another six week stint on the Abs Diet. I made a fair amount of progress in some areas and stayed steady in others. Here are my before and current stats (all measurements are with the muscles relaxed or "un-flexed"):

Weight
151 lb.
155 lb.

BF
5.5%
6.5%

Chest
38.5 in.
40 in.

Waist
32 in.
30 in.

Hips
36 in.
36 in.

Upper Arms
12 in.
12.5 in.

Forearms
11 in.
11.25 in.

Quads
22 in.
22.5 in.

Calves
15 in.
15.25 in.

Workout Routine by Travis

As requested, here is my current workout routine:

Day 1 (chest)
1. Flat bench press with barbell (3 + 2 warm-up sets)
2. Flat bench press with dumbbells (3 sets)
3. Alternate by workout (3 sets)
  a. Incline bench press
  b. Dips or decline bench press
4. Alternate by workout (3 sets)
  a. Upper pulley cable flyes
  b. Lower pulley cable flyes

Day 2 (Back)
1. Lat pulldowns (3 sets)
2. Close grip seated rows (3 sets)
3. Lower back extensions (3 sets)
4. Bent over rows (3 sets)

Day 3 (Shoulders)
1. Front arm raises (3 sets)
2. Side arm raises (3 sets)
3. Shrugs (3 sets)
4. Military press (3 sets)

Day 4 (Arms)
1. Concentration curls (3 sets)
2. Skull crushers (3 sets)
3. E-Z bar curls (3 sets)
4. Tricep press-downs (3 sets)
5. Forearm exercise (3 sets)

Day 5 (Legs)
1. Squats (3 + 2 warm-up sets)
2. Standing calf raises (3 sets)
3. Leg extensions (3 sets)
4. Leg curls (3 sets)
5. Seated calf raises (3 sets)

Notes:
3-4 sessions per week
Warm up before starting each workout
Do abs workout* between warmup and workout (skip on back to back workouts)

* My abs workout currently consists of doing one exercise (3 sets) for: upper, lower abs and obliques

As I mentioned earlier, I found that the Abs Diet workout, while quite effective, simply wasn't working each muscle group to the degree that I desired. Hence, this more complete breakdown.

Additionally, I've been doing the above routine with very heavy weights and low reps. I've always done the 12-10-8 rep style workout and wanted to switch things up a bit. It takes me just under an hour to complete each day's workout.

As for cardio, I play in a couple ice hockey leagues, so I usually have two games on the weekends. During the week, I've been practice skating at lunch on the days I'm not lifting.

Slow 'n Steady by Travis

Hmm, not really sure what to write on here these days, as I feel like the abs diet is really more of my everyday lifestyle, now, than a life change. I should post something, though, so I will say that eating seems like my new job. I'm literally putting something in my mouth every 2-3 hours as long as I'm awake. Overall, I'd say I'm eating about 85-90% perfect, with maybe 2-3 cheat meals a week.

As for progress, stagnant would best describe my current state, I think. I certainly feel like I've put on some muscle, but the needle on the scale isn't moving in either direction. Who knows, maybe I'm leaning out a tad at the same time? I need to find a dunk tank to get an accurate BF measurement.

One great Abs Diet trick by Michael Ma

For people not in the know, I realized the oatmeal blends better when its not cooked. If you're used to cooking your oatmeal when making your shake, try not cooking it. But realize that the heat from the oatmeal (along with the water in the oatmeal) used to be melting the ice in your blender. So you probably want to replace some or all the ice with just water.

By the Numbers by Travis

Had an almost perfect week, last week; made it to the gym on four of the days and did some cardio for the other three. I say it was almost perfect because of a couple eating snafus (which may have included the consumption of a beer or two). Of more interest, is an actual progress report. So far, I've manage to gain a little over four pounds, of which two to three are muscle (if I've done my math correctly, using an increase in BF% of about 1%). All measurements were taken on the same scale, in the evening.

While shopping over the weekend, it occurred to me that I'm going through quite a bit of food on a weekly basis. Every week, I consume:
2/3 jar of peanut butter
1 carton of eggs
1 loaf of bread
1 gallon of milk
1 bag of oranges
2-3 lbs of lean meat
1 lb of spinach
5 Apples
5 containers of yogurt
½ of a large container of yogurt (smoothies)
1 bag of frozen blueberries
½ lb protein powder
plus a bunch of other miscellaneous food items