Started of a really fat person last September , joined a gym in January with the purpose of losing weight and managed the following : (via FF's Tanita. Height is 1.65m)

January 2011 September 2011

Weight 80kg 63kg
Fat % 30% 18.9%
Fat (kg) 24kg 12kg
Fat Free Mass 56kg 51.5kg (Bad i know , i lost a lot of this)

It could've been faster / better but being a total newbie and lack of discipline when it comes to diet it's isn't as bad as i thought.

Now , on to my new goal (the purpose of starting this Journal anyway) is to gain mass. One problem with losing weight is that i ended up being the epitome of a SKINNY-FAT (my bloody genetics suck ). Small arms and a fat belly.

Do hope for some critique on my routine. I've chose 5/3/1 workout since i can easily adapt / fit to it based on my schedule / equipment availability. E.g i can also bring forward / backup a day if i have to work late nights or standby as opposed to SS which requires the alternate day workout schedule.

My Workout :

Bench Day

Barbell Bench Press (5/3/1)
DB Bench Press 5x10
DB Rows 3x12
BB Row or Seated Cable Row (depends on Cable Row machine availability)
BW Pushups

Squat Day

Barbell Squat (5/3/1)
BB Squat 5x10
Hanging Knee Raise 3xfailure (would like to progress to the Hanging Leg Raise or V-up but still ..)
Weighted Ab Crunch machine (if i'm not fatigued by the above)

Overhead Press day

Barbell OHP (5/3/1)
DB Shoulder Press
Pullups (Still using the machines but my goal is do be able to do a BW pullup)
Lat Pulldown

Deadlift Day

Deadlift (5/3/1)

** Seriously guys i have no idea what to do for DL days. Should i treat it as a lower body day ? **

==================================================================================

Any criticism is welcome so i can fine tune this. I'e gone through my bench and Squat day and will post the workout updates soon. Of course if anyone has any other mass routine for beginners i'll be more than happy.

2 things on my mind though :

- Am i too old for this ? 29 this year is it still possible ?
- Genetics , i've been skinny-fat / fat most of my life. I do realize diet plays a part but based on my browsing BB.com misc forums , most posts mention that skinny fats shouldn't bother since it's difficult to build muscle and lose fat due to genetics.

I'm still gonna go through with the phase tho and see how it pans out.

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Added on September 5, 2011, 11:05 am01/09/2011 Bench Day based on 60 kg Max

Warmup Bench Press

10 x empty bar (20kg)
5 x 25 kg
5 x 30 kg


BB Bench Press (I'm using excel to round up the loads). And yes , the weight is small , i'm weak i admit.

5 x 35 kg
5 x 40 kg
7 x 45 kg


DB Bench Press (Fitness First Uptown has them in Lbs)

10 x 20 lbs
10 x 25 lbs
10 x 30 lbs
5 x 35 lbs (failed to hit 10 so i scaled down back to 30)
10 x 30 lbs

DB Row

12 x 20 lbs
12 x 25 lbs
12 x 30 lbs


Seated Cable Row

3 x 10 x 25kg

Pushup

1 x 10 x BW
1 x 8 x BW (arms feel like Jelly so i called it a day)

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Added on September 5, 2011, 11:33 am03/09/2011 Squat Day based on 70 kg Max

Warmup - Treadmill , 2km at 10kph

Squat Warmup

10 x empty bar
5 x 30kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 45kg

Squat (5/3/1)

5 x 50kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 60kg ( lost focus that i was suppose to do more than 5 aiih)

Squat (Rest of 90 sec btw sets)

10 x 50kg
10 x 50 kg
10 x 50 kg
10 x 50 kg
10 x 50 kg (Had to pause at the 6th rep , out of breath >_<)

Hanging Knee Raise

15 x BW
15 x BW
9 x BW

Weighted Ab Crunch machine

15 x 20kg
15 x 25kg

Ended it there and then , too fatigued to continue

This post has been edited by potemkin: Sep 5 2011, 11:33 AM

looks great to me man. great routine, decent weights. keep at it and you'll be fine. takes years to see results so keep on piling them weights!

about your worries;
age: i'm 28, and my strength levels are higher than ever, even when i was in my teens i wasnt this strong. few of the posters here are older than both of us and still doing very, very well.

genetics: the more you train, the better your genes! dont sweat the things you cant change, pay your dues, and you'll look better no matter how sucky your genetics are.

as for your routine, you probably should start doing BW pullups. If you cant do one rep yet, focus on the negative portion of the exercise until you can complete one whole rep. machine pull ups just dont give you the muscle memory of a pull up.

5/3/1 routine is great if you have a workout buddy?

Thanks, Sadly i have none haha. From your posts i see you train at FF also but at Bukit Tinggi which is kinda far for me (unless visiting my aunt in Klang haha). I'm either at Uptown or the Curve.

For the negative portions , i'm was thinking of switching the machine pull up with some examples from Convict conditioning. I believe there is a thread on calisthenics in the BB forum so i'll look it up.

BTW , any ideas for Deadlift day? I'm following the boring but big for that but i'm still in the process of tweaking it.

Next up, today's session (5/11/2011) OHP after office. Will post tommorow for updates.

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Added on September 5, 2011, 1:44 pmSince i'm trying to gain mass , diet is something along the lines like this :

Breakfast

3 - 4 eggs scrambled
2 Pieces of toast (Gardenia most of the time , if i can afford it , some wholewheat baguettes)
1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter (Skippy's natural)

or

1/2 tin of Tuna in water plus a teaspoon of mayo
2 Pieces of toast
1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter


Mid Morning Snack

1/2 tin of Tuna / 1 egg Mashed hard boiled egg sandwich (2 slices of bread)

or

A cup of Nestle (equivalent) Yoghurt and some Almonds

or

2 scoops Whey Protein , ON for now (i keep some in my office in case i'm in a rush for meetings)


Lunch

I'm working in Cyberjaya so lunch in MMU / nearby is usually:

1/4 Roast Chicken (breast if avaiable)
3 scoops of Chickpeas
Some Spinach + Potatoes

or

A Bowl of Rice
Chicken Curry
Tempeh
Vegetables

Tea (or Pre-Workout)

Chocolate Banana Cake or any other cake of the week (it's raya so sue me .. my mom gives me that evil stare if it's left uneaten , I really need to move out again )

or (Once raya madness is over ..)

Some trail mix or fruit


Post - Workout

2 Scoops Whey Protein (ON )

Dinner (Usually after 9pm)

Rice
Chicken / Beef dishes
Vegetables

or

Tandoori Chicken and Naan

Once in awhile my family would go out but it's not often.




This post has been edited by potemkin: Sep 5 2011, 01:44 PM

Hey I workout solo too. Used to have partners but I felt doing alone cuts down my rest time a lot, which suits me just fine. One of the disadvantage is you can't really push out heavy weights to failure, which what your current programme is all about..

If its a programme you're following, I would think following it to the letter works best. Deadlift days can be hell wth enough weight haha. Maybe try shooting for a goal, say BW or 2xBW deadlifts? That should keep you occupied for a while..

05/09/2011 OHP Day based on 35 kg Max

Office Gym but a disappointing day aihh

OHP Warmup

Empty Bar x 10
5 x 22.5kg

OHP

5 x 25 kg
5 x 30 kg
5 x 32.5 kg (Had to pause at the 3rd rep, reracked and continued the last 2 )


DB Seated Shoulder Press

10 x 8 kg "warmup"
10 x 10 kg
10 x 10 kg
10 x 10 kg
8 x 12 kg
8 x 8 kg

Lateral Pulldown Machine

10 x 28 kg
10 x 28 kg
10 x 35 kg
10 x 35 kg
10 x 35 kg

BW Dips * Just as a finisher to gauge how tired i am

6 x BW
4 x BW failed and called it a day for weight room

Ended with a light 2km jog on the treadmill.

=========================================================================

Dissapointed that i could do a complete set for the final OHP set. Personally i think it could be a combination of the following :

- My Form was off
- Skipped my pre-workout due to rushing from a meeting
- Not enough rest between sets
- Overestimated my Max

As for overestimating , i'm giving it one more shot next week before i consider lowering the weight.

07/09/2011 Deadlift Day based on 70 kg Max

Thankfully FF has those 10kg bars .

On a side note , what the hell happened to FF Curve ? Stupid TRX / Functional strength fad , now the weight room is cramped as heck.

Deadlift Warmup

10 x empty 10kg bar
10 x 20 kg
5 x 30kg
5 x 40 kg

Deadlift

5 x 50 kg
5 x 55 kg
6 x 60 kg

Took a 5 minute break to catch my breath. Is it normal for Deadlifts to hit your hamstrings hard ? By my 3rd rep in the last set my legs felt like giving up.


Stiif leg Deadlifts

Hopefully my form is correct for this one.

10 x 20 kg
10 x 30 kg
7 x 40 kg

Ab Crunch

15 x 20 kg
12 x 25 kg

And i'm done for the day

Been slacking off the updates on this but here are the updates for my first completed cycle :

09/09/2011 Bench Day based on 50 kg Max *Made in a mistake on the first post , max is 50 not 60.


Warmup Bench Press

10 x empty bar (20kg)
5 x 25 kg
5 x 30 kg


BB Bench Press

3 x 35 kg
3 x 40 kg
8 x 45 kg (1 more rep compared to last week )


Dumbell Bench Press

10 x 8 kg warmup
10 x 12 kg
10 x 14 kg
10 x 14 kg
7 x 16 kg (frustrated aih)


Dumbell Rows

12 x 10 kg
12 x 12 kg
12 x 14 kg


Barbell Rows

This was just to test myself ..

10 x 20 kg empty bar
7 x 30 kg

And that was it for the day.

Something feels off with my form for the BB row so i'll come back another day and retry.

Squat 11/9/11 Max 70kg

A dissapointing Squat session as i came in to do Squats only and didn't fully reach the 5 x 10's i was suppose to .


Squat Warmup

10 x empty bar
5 x 30kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 45kg

Squat

3 x 50kg
3 x 60kg
5 x 65kg .. Yes just 5


Squat - Volume

10 x 50 kg
10 x 50 kg
5 x 50 kg (tired , out of breath and gave up here )

Vertical Leg Raise

12 x Bw
10 x Bw
8 x Bw

..aaannd done

Haven't updated this in a while.

Starting with a new cycle., and with the lift which i've made little to no progress at all . The dreaded OHP day.


24/12/2011 OHP Day with 40 KG Max (only 5 KG increase since i've started )


OHP Warmup

Empty Bar X 5
Empty Bar X 5
Empty Bar X 3


OHP 5/3/1

25KG x 5
25KG x 5
30KG x 8


Chinups (On Pullup assist machine and Bodyweight)

20KG (assist) x 10
20KG (assist) x 7
15KG (assist) x 5
BW x 2
BW x 2 (Need to REALLY work on this)


DB Shoulder Press

10KG x 10
10KG x 10
12.5KG x 8
12.5KG x 8

Lateral Raise (Replacing my Dips this week as the pain from previous upper body session is still there)

5KG x 8
5KG x 8

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Added on December 27, 2011, 12:07 pmSquat 25/12/11 based on 90kg max

Christmas day workout , felt guilty for over indulging the following night :|

Squat Warmup

10 x empty bar
5 x 40kg
5 x 45kg
3 x 55kg

Squat

5 x 60kg
5 x 70kg
5 x 80kg .. Yes just 5 min


Leg Press (Replaced Volume Squat as my back hasn't fully recovered from the DL session 5 days back)

10 x 80Kg
12 x 80kg
12 x 90kg

Vertical Leg Raise

12 x Bw
10 x Bw
12 x Bw

Notes:

Back still hurting. Next time i'm gonna try the "I'm not doing jack shit" approach on DL days and skip the volumes.

This post has been edited by potemkin: Dec 27 2011, 12:07 PM

So far , improvements i've seen since September:

For 5 reps

Squat Max : 70 > 90

Bench Max : 50 > 60

Deadlfit Max : 60 > 90


The Overhead Press is still my biggest dissapointment. I'd blame a wrist injury i had earlier in Feb but my benches haven't suffered.

Only Went from 30kg to 35 in 4 months.

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Added on December 28, 2011, 10:30 am27/12/2011 Bench Day based on 50 kg Max *Made in a mistake on the first post , max is 50 not 60.


Warmup Rack Pulls

Warmup Bench Press

5 x 25 kg
5 x 30 kg
5 x 40 Kg


Bench Press

5 x 40 kg
5 x 50 kg
5 x 55 kg


Now this is where things got interesting , was suppose to continue on with the 5/3/1 but it got turned into a full blown chest session when a group senior gym goers (Way , way bigger than me) ask me to join in for a full blown chest session. Damage is as follows

Smith Bench Press (Flat) I've no idea how much the smith bar weighs so just plates fro the weights

40kg x 10
40kg x 10
50kg x 8
50kg x 8

Smith Incline Bench Press

40kg x 8
40kg x 8
40kg x 8
40kg x 8

Cable Chest Flys

10kg x 12
10kg x 12
10kg x 3 (failure , can't lift anymore)

Damn , my session was hijacked but i've never had such an intense workout in my life



This post has been edited by potemkin: Aug 2 2012, 12:03 PM

Back to the Gym after missing out for a few months. It feels good man

After considering a Fullbody routine (Allpro's and SS) , i've decided to get back to 5/3/1 due to the flexibility of allowing me to add in some shoulder rehab routines recommended by my ortho.

Lightweight tho



Now , on to the routine , starting with OHP day with weights in KG unless specified.


OHP 1/8/2012

Shoulder Warmups

Internal rotation 1.25 x 12 x 2
External rotation 1.25 x 12 x 2
Band pull aparts x 10

OHP warmup

20. X. 5
20 X. 5
20 X. 3

OHP main

20. X. 5
22.5 X. 5
25. X. 6

Assisted chinup (min 8) Utilizing the Assisted pullup machine.

35. X. 10
30. X. 10
30. X. 8
30. X. 8
30. X. 5

DB incline bench (min 8)

7.5. X 8
7.5. X. 10
7.5. X. 10
7.5. X. 10

Lateral raise (min 12)

2. X. 12
2.5 X. 12
2.5 X. 12
2.5 X. 10

Face pull

5 X. 12
5 X. 12
5 X. 12

Bicep curl (Hammer)

5. X. 10
5. X. 10
5. X. 6

Tricep push down

10 x 10
10 x 10

Day 2 , Squat day


Squat 2/8/2012

Warmup

25. X. 5
30. X. 5
35. X. 3

Main

40. X. 5
45. X. 5
50. X. 7

Leg press (min 8)

Empty. X 10
50. X 10
50. X 10
50. X 10
50. X 10

Hanging leg raise ( min 8) (total washout on this, i dunno why but i just had no energy for Ab work )


Leg extension ( min 10)

20. X. 12
20. X. 8
20. X.

Leg curl (min 10)

20. X. 12
20. X. 12
20. X. 12