My First Attempt at Bulking

[Austin1303]

I thought that rather than blogging about this I will put it all in one thread! I have never tried bulking before but I seem to be getting on really well and have somehow managed to time it just right in time for a cut for the winter body challenge! I'm now halfway through my first proper week but I will post how I have got on up to this point from my blog so its all logged from the beginning.

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MEASUREMENTS
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Weight - 11st 8lb
Arms - 15"
Chest - 41.5"
Thigh - 23"
Waist - 33"

I'm hoping to be nearer to 12 stone over the coming weeks and have more muscle to show for it!

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DIET
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Meal 1 (06:00) – Pre Workout
2 Whole Eggs and 3 Egg Whites Scrambled with 2 Slices Wholemeal Bread & 210g Baked Beans
100ml Apple Juice with 5g Creatine
CAL = 553kcal, PROTEIN = 40.1g, CARBS = 67.7, FAT = 13.1g

WORKOUT (07:00) – 1L Water

Meal 2 (08:30) – Post Workout
20g Pharma Whey with 25g Oats and 250ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
1 Banana
CAL = 425kcal, PROTEIN = 30.2g, CARBS = 61.1, FAT = 7.6g

Meal 3 (10:30)
1 Wholemeal Pita Bread with 100g Chicken Breast, 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise & Lettuce
10 Almonds
CAL = 425kcal, PROTEIN = 39.1g, CARBS = 39.2g, FAT = 13.9g

Meal 4 (13:00)
1 Wholemeal Pita Bread with 100g Chicken Breast, 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise & Lettuce
10 Almonds
CAL = 425kcal, PROTEIN = 39.1g, CARBS = 39.2g, FAT = 13.9g

Meal 5 (15:30)
20g Pharma Whey with 25g Oats and 250ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
CAL = 304kcal, PROTEIN = 29.2g, CARBS = 30.1, FAT = 7.6g

Meal 6 (19:00)
Baked Potato with 100g Beef Steak 100g Green Beans & 200g Broccoli
20 Almonds
CAL = 466kcal, PROTEIN = 43.9g, CARBS = 68.4g, FAT = 13.2g

Meal 7 (22:00) – Before Bed
30g Bedtime Extreme Protein with 500ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
CAL = 351kcal, PROTEIN = 39.7g, CARBS = 25.3g, FAT = 10.1g

TOTAL
CAL = 3047kcal, PROTEIN = 261.3 g, CARBS = 331g, FAT = 70.4g

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TRAINING
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Monday - Chest and Triceps
Tuesday - Legs and Forearms
Wednesday - Rest OR Cardio
Thursday - Shoulders and Abs
Friday - Back and Biceps
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest

And thats how things are looking at the minute. Any criticisms or advice then let me know!

[Austin1303]

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Monday 06/09/10 - Chest & Triceps
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Today has gone very well so far! I have stuck to the diet 100% and had a good workout this morning. Unfortunately I was a few minutes late as living in the middle of nowhere brings no pleasure at all when all the roads are full of tractors at half 6 in the morning. Due to the fact the gym opens at 7 and I have work at 8:30 I literally get 45 minutes to workout or i'll be late for work!

However, it all went well and I feel as if I pushed myself a lot more than usual. Another thing I was excited about was using the new gloves I bought at the weekend lol sad i know but my hands were taking a beating from using weights at the gym and then tools all day long!

Anyway the workout went something like this with a quick warm up set using 10KG on the Smith Bench Press as a warm up. Also I've never done decline presses or cable crossovers so was unsure of the weights to begin with! I was aiming for 3 sets of 8 for all exercises and I'll write it in this format:

Exercise
Weight (Reps)

Flat Smith Machine Bench Press
40KG (10-8-7)
Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
30KG (8-8) 32.5KG (7)
Decline Smith Machine Bench Press
25KG (10) 30KG (10) 32KG (8)
Cable Crossover (OR Dumbbell Flyes OR Pec Deck)
2x15KG (10) 2x20KG (9-8)
Assisted Dip
-25KG (10-8-8)
Skullcrusher (OR Seated Overhead Extension)
10KG (8-6-6)
Tricep Push Down
20KG (10) 25KG (8-10)

My arms were feeling it towards the end but I managed to push really hard for the last push downs and power through to 10 reps which is what I need to do more and more with every exercise. Next week I may slightly adjust the triceps section to four exercises as part of 2 supersets which are:
1a) Assisted Dip
1b) Tricep Push Down
and
2a) Dumbbell Kickback
2b) Overhead Dumbbell Extension

I'd appreciate thoughts on whether I should do this or just keep it as it is. As I'm now more wiser as to what weights I can handle next weeks sessions should go much better and I'll be able to push myself even harder.

[Austin1303]

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Tuesday 07/09/10 - Legs & Forearms
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Legs and Forearms today. I did about 6 leg exercises followed by a superset of both normal and reverse wrist curls for the forearms. My diet has been how I planned it and I have managed to keep to it very well so far.

I did a quick warm up with just the bar for some smith squats and then cracked on with my workout.

Smith Machine Squat
40KG (12) 45KG (10) 47.5KG (8)
Leg Curl
40KG (12) 45KG (6-5)
Leg Extension
35KG (12) 40KG (9) 45KG (8)
Leg Press
80KG (10) 100KG (8) 110kg (8)
Glute Press
40kg (12/12) 45KG (10/10) 50KG (8/8)
Smith Calf Raise
40KG (12) 50KG (12) 60KG (10)
Wrist Curl & Reverse Wrist Curl
10KG & 7KG (12 &12) 12KG & 8KG (10 & 9-10 & 10)

Felt like I'd had a good workout and like I said yesterday, next week will be much better as I'll have a much better idea of weights of start on.

Don't know whether to have a cardio session tomorrow or just leave out cardio for now and have a rest day?

[Austin1303]

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Wednesday 08/09/10 - Rest Day
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I decided to have a rest day today as my legs were feeling worked enough from yesterdays workout and I was rather tired! So nothing much to say for today apart from the fact that my diet it going well and I'm looking forward to my shoulders and abs workout tomorrow morning which I am currently trying to put together.

[Rambo_unleashed]

Looks like a good routine you got going on there.
Keep it up mate! and let us know how you get on.

[Austin1303]

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Thursday 09/09/10 - Shoulders & Abs
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Well I had an average workout today but I wasn't very happy with it to be totally honest. I tried some new exercises for the abs which just didn't seem to be very effective and I didn't feel a great amount on the shoulders. I don't know a lot of shoulder exercise so I just did the ones I could think of. I would appreciate it people could help me put together a better workout for these body parts so I can really hit them hard.

Any this is what I did, bearing in mind i'd never done rope crunches which I thought weren't great lol and also I tried some cable side bends but soon changed back to dumbbells! I was quite disheartened really as after my other 2 workouts this week I've felt great and like I've really pushed myself but today was nowhere near as good.

Shoulder Press
40KG (9-7-6)
Front Raise
6KG (10/10)
7KG (7/7-8/8)
Arnold Press
10KG (12/12) 12KG (10/10) 14KG (8/8)
Lateral Raise
8KG (8/8-9/9) 9KG (6/6)
Crunch (in the machine thing lol don't know what its called, first time i've used it)
0KG (12) 5KG (10) 10KG (10)
Rope Crunch & Side Bend (1 set cable, 2 sets dumbbell)
25KG & 25KG (12-12/12) 50KG & 30KG (12-12/12) 60KG & 25KG (12-10/10)

Thats it, not great I know lol hopefully you guys can help me put something better together for next week :)

[Glenn]

Looks like you are off to a pretty good start there Austin.

If you want some different exercise ideas you could do worse than check this place out: http://www.t-nation.com Loads of variations, routines,articles etc and quite a lot of demo videos with the later articles.

I find when I'm doing some new exercises it sometimes take a session or two to really dial it in and get it feeling right.

It's also worth remembering that everyone's different and not everything that works for me will necessarily work for you, so you may have to experiment to find out what works best for you.

[Austin1303]

Cheers mate, I'll take a look at the website and see what I could do instead.

[Austin1303]

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Friday 10/09/10 - Back & Biceps
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I had a good workout yesterday and can really feel it today. I stuck to the diet most of the day however I did have a beef chow mein from the chinese for dinner but when I think about it, its less then I would have used to of bought and also with the body challenge coming up theres plenty of time to make up for it! I underestimated how much I could lift with my biceps after all the back exercises but soon pushed myself after the barbel curls and kept increasing the weight. I feel i've had a successful week and now I have a good idea of the weight I can lift for each exercise I will be able to push myself even harder next week!

Deadlift
35KG (12) 40KG (12) 50KG (8)
Seated Row
50KG (12) 56.5KG (10) 62.5KG (9)
Barbell Bent-over Row
30KG (5) 25KG (8,7)
Assisted Pull-up
-25KG (6) -30KG (6) -35KG (8)
Barbell Curl
15KG (6-5) 10KG (10)
Hammer Curl
8KG (9/9) 9KG (8/8) 10KG (8/8)
Preacher Curl
25KG (10-9) 30KG (7)

Thats me done for week, time for some rest over the weekend and i'm already looking forward to starting over again on monday! :)

Have a good weekend people!

[Austin1303]

After last week I have shuffled around the exercises which I am doing and taken the odd one out and added ones in which has finally given me a final plan which I am happy with :)
So this is my workout plan for my current bulking period and probably the next as well.

MONDAY - Chest & Triceps

1) Smith Flat Bench
2) Smith Incline Bench
3) Smith Decline Bench
4) Cable Crossover
5) (Assisted) Dip
6) One-arm Dumbbell Extension
7) Skull Crusher

TUESDAY - Legs & forearms
1) Smith Squat
2) Leg Curl
3) Leg Extension
4) Leg Press
5) Glute Press
6) Smith Calf Raise
7) Wrist Curl & Reverse Wrist Curl

WEDNESDAY - Rest Day

THURSDAY - Shoulders & Abs
1) Shoulder Press
2) Side Lateral Raise
3) Rear Delt Row
4) Upright Row
5) Machine Leg Raise Crunch
6) Dumbbell Side Bends
7) Seated Side Crunch & Seated Crunch

FRIDAY - Back & Biceps
1) Deadlift
2) Seated Row
3) Barbell Bent-over Row
4) (Assisted) Pull-up
5) Barbell Curls
6) Hammer Curls
7) Preacher Curls

SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Rest Day

[Austin1303]

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Monday 13/09/10 - Chest & Triceps
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Well today is Monday, and I had a pretty standard one of those for myself. This is because in my half awake state I managed to look at the wrong page for weights I was lifting last week and ended up bench what I was squatting! So I was 7.5KG above what I was lifting last week and although I planned to knock the weight up slightly after 3 or 4 sets I was really pushing hard and my form was beginning to suffer. Needless to say I have made a not for next week!

So anyway this is how my morning went:

Flat Smith Machine Bench Press
47.5KG (7-5) 45KG (6)
Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
32.5KG (8-7) 35KG (5)
Decline Smith Machine Bench Press
35KG (7-7) 37.5KG (6)
Cable Crossover
2x20KG (8-8) 2x24KG (4)
Assisted Dip
-20KG (11-8) -15KG (7)
One-arm Dumbbell Extension
8KG (6/6) 7KG (6/7-7/7)
Skullcrusher
10KG (10) 12.5KG (6-5)

The most notable improvements this week were my decline bench pressing and also my tricep dips, I'm not far off doing them unassisted.

Anyway, thats me for the day, time for some dinner!

[Austin1303]

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Tuesday 14/09/10 - Legs & Forearms
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I had another good workout today, I'm certain that when I wake up tomorrow I will really be able to feel it. I had a quick weigh in this morning to see how I am progressing and now at about 2 and half weeks since I last looked I've gained 3 pounds :) so I'm getting closer to the 12 stone mark which I'm hoping to get near before I cut.

Today's workout:

Smith Machine Squat
50KG (8-7-6)
Leg Curl
45KG (9-6-6)
Leg Extension
47.5KG (8-8) 55KG (7)
Leg Press
120kg (9-7-8)
Glute Press
50KG (10/10) 55KG (8/8) 60KG (8/8)
Smith Calf Raise
70KG (12) 80KG (10) 90KG (9)
Wrist Curl & Reverse Wrist Curl
14KG & 10KG (12 & 8) 14KG & 9KG (9 & 8)

I'm not enjoying the wrist curls as I don't feel them working much on the first set and then halfway through the second set I get a bit of a cramp-like feeling during reps. Can anyone recommend any other good exercises to hit the forearms?

[Austin1303]

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Thursday 16/09/10 - Shoulders & Abs
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Another good workout today and I tried some new exercises which I think was an improvement on last week! Not sure about the seated crunches but I'll see how they go!

Shoulder Press
40KG (10-7-7)
Side Raise
8KG (8-7-8)
Rear Delt Row
10KG (12) 12KG (12) 16KG (8)
Upright Row
20KG (6-5) 17.5KG (8)
Leg Raise Crunch
15KG (12) 25KG (8-7)
Dumbbell Side Bend
25KG (10-8-8)
Seated Crunch & Side Seated Crunch
25KG & 25KG (10 & 10) 30KG & 30KG (8 & 8, 8 & 8)

Back and Biceps tomorrow and then that's me done in the gym for another week!

[Austin1303]

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Friday 10/09/10 - Back & Biceps
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Yesterday was a good workout and I can feel it in my back today. I'm still working on the for of my deadlifts as I want to avoid any injury. I'm looking forward to starting the challenge soon and am using it as an excuse to enjoy some crispy m&m's which I havent had in ages :)

Deadlift
50KG (8-9) 55KG (7)
Seated Row
62.5KG (10) 68KG (9) 73.5KG (8)
Barbell Bent-over Row
25KG (8-6) 27.5KG (5)
Assisted Pull-up
-30KG (9) -25KG (6-6)
Barbell Curl
12.5KG (7-6-7)
Hammer Curl
10KG (8-8) 12KG (6)
Preacher Curl
30KG (8-7-5)

When I record what weights I lift when I do it freely I just take the plates into account but obviously the bar has some weight to it but I have no idea how much it is! Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

[Austin1303]

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Monday 20/09/10 - Chest & Triceps
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I had an interesting gym session today, as I go to college on a day release basis I hit the gym before I go so I have to shower. I was confident that I had packed everything last night but when I'd finished showering I realised that I forgot a towel. I looked around to find I had a towel... my tiny gym towel, so I had to make that work and some how between that and the rubbish built in hair dryer I managed to leave dry(ish) and just on time! Beside that the weights I used today were good and I didn't find myself having to adjust them as I was working the muscles well on one weight so things are stabilising out out now :)

Flat Smith Machine Bench Press
42.5KG (10-8-7)
Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
32.5KG (9-7-7)
Decline Smith Machine Bench Press
35KG (9-6-8)
Cable Crossover
2x20KG (10-8-9)
Assisted Dip
-15KG (10-9-7)
One-arm Dumbbell Extension
7KG (6-7-8)
Skullcrusher
12.5KG (7-6-5)

Another good day, this week and next will conclude my bulking and then let the challenge and the cutting commence!

[Austin1303]

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Tuesday 14/09/10 - Legs & Forearms
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My legs are feeling quite tired today! Workout went well but I didn't really get any time to do my forearms!

Today's workout:

Smith Machine Squat
50KG (10-8-8)
Leg Curl
45KG (10-7-5)
Leg Extension
55KG (9-7-8)
Leg Press
125kg (7-8-7)
Glute Press
60KG (8-7-6)
Smith Calf Raise
90KG (10-10-9)

[Austin1303]

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Thursday 23/09/10 - Shoulders & Abs
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After a couple of weeks i've decided to change the seated crunches for something else, maybe some crossover crunches or weighted crunches? Anyway I managed to get a session in today a bit later as I have a couple of days of and used this to get a bit more time in bed!

Shoulder Press
40KG (11-9) 45KG (6)
Side Raise
8KG (9-9-7)
Rear Delt Row
16KG (10) 18KG (8) 20KG (7)
Upright Row
20KG (7-6-5)
Leg Raise Crunch
25KG (12) 30KG (8-6)
Dumbbell Side Bend
27.5KG (7-5) 25KG (8)
Seated Crunch & Side Seated Crunch
30KG (9 & 9) 30KG (10)
Hanging Leg Raises
0KG (10-10)

That was my workout today, one more session of back and biceps tomorrow and then its the final week before the cutting begins :)

Back and Biceps tomorrow and then that's me done in the gym for another week!

[PanicAcid]

Looking good dude, some good weights too - Keep it up dude! (she said..)

[Austin1303]

Cheers man, I feel good about my training over the last few weeks and definitely feel as if I've got it sorted now. I'm looking forward to the challenge and shredding some fat :)

[Austin1303]

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Friday 24/09/10 - Back & Biceps
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Well i had a good workout today and pushed myself as much as I could! Biceps are coping better after the back workouts now i've done it a few times.

Deadlift
52.5KG (9-8-8)
Seated Row
73.5KG (9) 79.5KG (8-8)
Barbell Bent-over Row
25KG (8-8-6)
Assisted Pull-up
-30KG (10-8-8)
Barbell Curl
12.5KG (8-7-7)
Hammer Curl
12KG (5-6-6)
Preacher Curl
30KG (8-6-6)

I'm now going away for the weekend so hopefully I will manage to be as good a possible and eat as much clean food as I can. One more week :)

[CTP]

Good going Austin, you look like your makign steady strength gains which says everything!!

Keep it up dude!

[Austin1303]

Cheers CTP! I feel as if i'm making good progress too and I have a measurement session at the gym on tuesday which is the first one i've had. I'm looking forward to finding out my bf% and i'll use those stats for my challenge starting stats :) However, on the scales this morning i'm now just over 12 stone, up from 11st8lb just over 4 weeks ago so i'm happy with that!

[CTP]

EPIC!!! Like I said, keep it up, and let us know how teh measurement session goes!

[Austin1303]

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Monday 27/09/10 - Chest & Triceps
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Good workout today and the strength gains are becoming more apparent. All is good and I've just put in a supplement order for the challenge, not long now :)

My workout:

Flat Smith Machine Bench Press
45KG (8-7-5)
Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
35KG (8-7-5)
Decline Smith Machine Bench Press
37.5KG (8-8-7)
Cable Crossover
2x25KG (8-6-6)
Assisted Dip
-10KG (10-8) 0KG (5)
One-arm Dumbbell Extension
8KG (6-6) 7KG (8)
Skullcrusher
12.5KG (8-8) 15KG (5)

The most notable improvement was that i managed to do one set of tricep dips unassisted!

[Austin1303]

EPIC!!! Like I said, keep it up, and let us know how teh measurement session goes!

Will do mate, hope your training is going well.

[CTP]

Chhers mate; training is going well, experimenting with lots of new exercises that I dont use at the moment in prep for the comp (reverse grip tri pushdowns, wrist curls etc etc) so all of that is well. Ive stopped leaning now for a week or so - partly to save myself mentally, but also to boost my metabolism a little.

[Austin1303]

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Tuesday 28/09/10 - Legs & Forearms
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Legs had fun this morning and are now very tired! I also had my stats today at the gym which I have blogged if anyone wants to see them :)

Today's workout:

Smith Machine Squat
52.5KG (8-7-6)
Leg Curl
45KG (11-7-6)
Leg Extension
62.5KG (6-6-7)
Leg Press
130kg (8-7-7)
Glute Press
45KG (8-8-8)
Smith Calf Raise
100KG (10-8-9)
Wrist Curl & Reverse Wrist Curl
10KG (10-10)

I'm not really liking the wrists curls...


Chhers mate; training is going well, experimenting with lots of new exercises that I dont use at the moment in prep for the comp (reverse grip tri pushdowns, wrist curls etc etc) so all of that is well.

Have you come across any good exercise for the forearms CTP?

[Austin1303]

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Thursday 30/09/10 - Shoulders & Abs
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Last day of bulking tomorrow, then a weekend on the food before I start my cut on Monday! Anyway today's sessions was good :)

Shoulder Press
45KG (12-6-6)
Side Raise
8KG (10-8) 9KG (5)
Cuban Press
8KG (7-5-5)
Upright Row
20KG (8-7-6)
Cable Sit-up
10KG (12-10-8)
Rope Crunch
25KG (10-10)
Side Rope Crunch
25KG (5-5)
Leg Raises
0KG (10)

Tomorrow will be a good day, I need to get some pictures taken though!

[Austin1303]

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Friday 01/10/10 - Back & Biceps
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This was my last day of bulking before the challenge and I have gained 6lbs which has tipped me just over 12 stone which is exactly what I was aiming to do. Cutting starts Monday!

Deadlift
55KG (10-8-8)
Seated Row
85KG (7-7-6)
Barbell Bent-over Row
27.5KG (7-6-6)
Assisted Pull-up
-25KG (9-7-7)
Dumbbell Curls
12KG (8-6-6)
Hammer Curl
12KG (6-6-6)
Preacher Curl
30KG (9-7-6)

[Austin1303]

The bulk is over and I feel as if my strength has improved a lot. I only did around 5 weeks so I didn't expect too much and in appearance I haven't changed greatly but I do feel as if some of my muscles have increased in size. Here is a picture to show how I was at the beginning and in comparison to me now.

Start weight: 24/08/10 - 11st 8lb
Finish weight: 02/10/10 - 12st 0lb

Current bodyfat: 16.3%

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/5328/2408201002102010.jpg

[Markroach]

good luck train hard!!