Subject: Ok, I lied: Bodyopus Week 11 Copyright Lyle McDonald 1996 Date: 1996/07/17
Well, due to some massive fuckup on my part, the original write up of this week got lost in cyberspace. I'll put the blame on the fact that I have a new email account and a different newsreader but, as we say in the south "It's a poor carpenter who blames his tools." In any case, I know I said that I wouldn't be doing these things after the original 10 week stint. But, due to my pathological need to both write and draw attention to myself, I feel compelled to forge ahead. And, I still don't have a girlfriend so it's not like I have anything better to do in the evening. Ok, as mentioned in the Bodyopus epilogue, having gotten close to my original goal and attained a previously unobtainable 8.5% bodyfat, I am now embarking on a mass phase using the same diet structure (with one or two modifications). Also, as mentioned, I'm setting up the next cycle as a 10 week dealie to correspond with the MM2K Best Shape of Your Life Contest. The official start date was July 4th (I had another picture taken on that day although my real photo shoot wasn't until the 5th) but didn't actually start my 10 week program until Monday, July 8. Which gives me 4 less days to reach my goals but that's ok. I tentatively plan to divide the 10 weeks into: 1. 6 weeks of mass training or until I hit 10% bodyfat 2. 4 weeks of cutting. I think I pretty well have the diet phase dialed in for myself and will make faster progress this time and will attempt to cut to 6-7% bodyfat with no muscle loss (no mean feat). I have decided (after much pondering and debate with others) to do the Ironman 10 week Size Surge program. It is a 3 day per week program based around compound movements and relatively low volume (1-2 sets per exercise to failure). I decided on this for two reasons: 1. I've heard good results from people who have used it. 2. It fits well into the structure of this diet. The Monday workout (squats, chest, back) takes advantage of fully carbed muscles. The Wednesday workout (deads, shoulders, arms, abs) will be done following the one hour carb-spike as outlined by Pasquale. The other Friday workout (squats, chest, back) will immediately precede the carb-up and anabolic spurt on the weekends. One comment I got from MF was the possible overwork of the shoulder girdle which gets hit three days. I'd be worried about it but I'm not altogether that strong (except decent legs) anyway. So, with that as a prelude, on to the second 10 weeks of My Bodyopus Experience. And I really will try to keep these things shorter. Lyle McDonald ------------------------ The body composition log: Taken with Slimguide calipers first thing Monday morning upon awakening. Day Date Wt Pec Abs SI Thigh Sum3 BF% FM FFM -------------------------------------------------------------- Mon 7/8 152 3 20 10 6 29 8.5 12.75 139.25 Notes: Ok, still holding at 8.5% bodyfat which is good. It gives me some room to gain muscle as long as I stay below 10% bodyfat. Key: BF% = body fat percentage FM = fat mass in lbs FFM = fat free mass (total weight - FM) My week at a glance: ------------------- Sunday: This was the Sunday following my lame 4th of July vacation and I returned to no carbs today. No exercise. Monday: Ok, first lift of the week. The actual workout is detailed below for all three days. I pulled something in my right adductor group which bothered me during squats but, with 10 weeks to get in killer shape, I can't be bothered by it. Workout went well and I was out of there in about 50'. Mabye 10' cardio warmup before and 10' after. For the record, I will be cutting way, way back on cardio this cycle. Might do a little very easy to keep from turning into too much of a slug but I typically overtrain and do too much cardio anyway. Eating is a bit different now since I don't have to count calories (this is so relieving after the diet hell I put myself through). A typical day's diet is: Breakfast: 4 scrambled eggs Lunch: steak or pink salmon in mayo Lunch 2: more salmon Dinner: more steak or cheese sticks with some cream cheese to keep the ketogenic ratio high I might also put a Designer + Flax/Olive oil shake in there somewhere or Designer Whey Pudding (designer plus heavy cream and equal). Figure calories in the high 2000's or so. I'm not really paying attention to it and am just making sure to eat. Trying to get something every 2-3 hours at least. Tuesday: Hit ketosis this evening which is about right. Since I'm not training this day, I'm wondering if ketosis will take longer. Also, I wonder if ketosis is absolutely necessary for gaining mass anyhow. I don't get the impression from Pasquale's book that it is. His contention seems to be that the low carbs and resulting hormonal effects are the main part of the battle. For fat loss, of course, ketosis is critical to the success of the diet. No activity other than incidental walking with my clients today. Wednesday: Did the carb spike this morning. Put away 900 calories of sucrose (jelly beans and candy corns, yum) along with a scoop of Designer protein and Ultra Fuel (another 100 calories carbs). Not sure how Pasquale figures one hour for 1000 calories. More like 5 minutes. Did this in the morning to establish a baseline but will probably put it right before the evening weight workout in future weeks. Workout number 2. Should NOT have done deads at 225 (got 2 sets of 6 reps). My back is severely tweaked (not injured, just sore) after this. My last rep or two that second set sucked shit. Didn't get my butt down and pulled with my low back. Bad, bad idea. Worked delts, bis, tris, and abs. Also did the plate pinch for forearms. Got some funny looks in the gym for this one. The plate pinch is one of those lost exercises for grip. Take 2 10lb plates (25's if you're a real man), face the carved part together and then pinch the plates together as long as you can (watch your feet when they drop). I made 50 seconds with each hand. Again, no cardio. Strangely, am not back in ketosis yet this evening so the carbs this morning may have screwed me. Again, I'm not sure ketosis is necessary on a mass phase when calories are above maintenance anyhow so I'm not too concerned. Yet... Thursday: Same diet. No cardio. It's really strange to not do cardio every day. As an endurance athlete, overtraining has always been a big part of my daily routine. Maybe I'll actually grow this time. Friday: Ok, repeated Monday's workout with some small changes in exercise order. I was so strong I scared myself. On squats for example, Monday, I got 225X9,8 + 1 with help. Today, I cranked out 225X12! and then 225X15! Started the carb-up immediately after. Saturday: carbs, carbs, carbs. In that order. Sunday: Started the morning with about an hour of very easy skating on an empty stomach after dropping some HCA and carnitine to try to burn some fat. The fact that a girl I'm currently *trying* to date was there had nothing to do with it. No, really, I mean it. Stopped carbing at 6pm and back to protein and grease. For the record, here's the exact workout I'll be following the next 6 weeks. Set/rep notation is as follows: 2/6-8 is 2 sets of 6-8 reps or failure. I didn't quite have the weights dialed in this first week and many sets went past 8 reps. Rest periods are 1' between warmups (typically one set at 50% of work weight for 8 reps and one set at 75% of work weight for 5 reps) and 2' rest between work sets. Mon Wed Fri --------------------------------------------- Squat (2/6-8) DL (2/6-8) Squat (2/6-8) Leg ext. (1/12-15) Overhead press (2/6-8) Leg ext. (1/12-15) SLDL (2/6-8) Lateral raise (1/12-15) Leg curl (1/6-8, 1/12-15) Chins (2/6-8) Barbell curl (2/6-8) Seated row (2/6-8) Seated row (2/6-8) Inc.Hammer curl (1/12-15) Chins (2/6-8) Inc. DB bench (2/6-8) Tri. Pushdown (2/6-8) Machine bench (2/6-8) Machine bench (2/6-8) Kickback (1/12-15) Inc. DB bench (2/6-8) Pec deck (1/12-15) Abs (whatever) Pec deck (1/12-15) See you next week. Lyle McDonald, CSCS Please note that I have a new email adress. Send any and all correspondence to: lylemcd@edge.edge.net I decided to ditch delphi.com as, for the money I was paying, I wasn't getting the services (like graphical access to the WWW) that I want. Edge Net is awesome although it's a pain in the butt learning a new mail handler and usenet handler. Also, access to the Edge means I get my own WWW page (at last) which gives me a good place to post updates and pictures of myself as I get (hopefully) bigger. I'll post the URL after I get a chance to get the damn thing put together. Please do NOT send me linking URL's at this time as I'll just lose them anyhow.