It's 2016, finally decided to keep a workout journal here after 1st phase of body recomposition.

Brief history,
2006-2007 weight was close to 120kg thanks to late night dota and fast-food. Not to mention was also glued to mmorpg at one point as well.

2008 decided to lose weight. Joined a gym. But didn't last. Plus diet was also wrong. But managed to cut the weight down to about 100ish kg.

2009, weight continued to go down since lifestyle slightly improved and also wasn't as glued to dota and stopped mmorpg. Weight fluctuating around 90ies

2010, end of the year decided to try again but was not hitting the gym. tried to clean up the diet by eating really clean. Managed to get the weight below 90 for the first time by the end of 2010.

2011, Jan started going to the gym again. However diet still wasn't correct (eventhough it was clean, but thinking back, was on a too much of a deficit and also lacking in protein). However the good thing I started lifting weights properly and doing most of the compounds. Managed to get the weight down to low 80ies by middle of the year. Started working and was finding it hard to stay consistent. Ended up stop going all together by August. Weight slowly going up again by then

2012, weight was back to mid 90ies. Joined fitness first in April. But was finding it hard to continue due to the gym was jam packed after office hours. Lasted 4 month but the weight didn't go down due to diet was a mess. Ended up stop going.

2013, weight was still mid 90ies. In Jun tried to start again and this time joined another gym that is not as packed. Diet was still all over the place. Was making progress with the lifts but weight was not going down as much. Wasn't consistent. Ttried using the office gym and fall into the trap of smith machine and other guided machine workout, started to have imbalance strength and muscle development. Ended up didn't last as well and stopped at the end of the year.

2014, planned to go to Japan in Aug so decided to give it a shot again. Started going to the gym at workplace again and found some training partners (colleagues). Managed to get the weight down back to the low 80s. But again diet was still not correct. Weight went down but still carrying alot of fat. After returned from Japan, barely managed to continue and stopped again by Nov.

2015, early Jan decided the year will be my last chance to get things right. Started a proper diet (mostly trying to ensure meeting protein requirement) but still playing guessing game for the first 2 months. Making steady but much better progress than the previous years. Workout about 3-4 times a week. But middle March decided if in order to get the abs, the diet needs to be strict. Started properly counting calories and weighing food. That was when the weight started to go down very fast (since was underestimating the calories by quite abit). Workout frequency also made consistent, 5 times a week hitting all body (was initially not hitting legs) parts and main lifts consist of compounds with free weights and stayed away from the machines (except for cable machine).

Mid Apr managed to bench 100 kg for the first time. Deadlifted 150 kg. Squat was still puny, struggling to get to 100 kg. Db overhead press managed 30kg for each db. Finally started seeing the abs by early may for the first time. However late May got injured. injury was due to incorrect bench press technique and had caused left side of the upper body to lose alot of strength (was struggling to even pour water). Stopped going to the gym to recover but was still doing body weight exercise at home and also using the dbs and ez curl bar available. After the fasting month, started going to the gym again. All of the lifts had to start from scratch.

By mid September almost all major lifts had recovered and continued making progress again. In the middle of Oct, was finding the weight at the hotel gym that I was going to wasn't enough (only had dbs up to 25 kg and barbell. no bench press station and squat rack. but they have smith machine which was only used for pull ups lol), so ended up joining celeb fitness. Found out bf percentage was about 11%. This was taken after dinner. Weirdly when i tried again the next week on empty stomach, it was at 9% ish (yea I know its not accurate but at least can act as reference point to see progress). At this time was on extreme cut. The weight actually went down to as low as 71kg. Facial aesthetic was looking like I was on drugs. But in Dec, decided to do a quick bulk and managed to get the weight to increase to 77 kg by end of the month (yea I'd say most the increase is thanks to water retention).

By end of Dec, current stats were

Bench press: Post Injury, no Idea. Max 1RM was 100 kg pre-injury (1RM)

Db bench press: 32 kg each (5x5)

Overhead press: 60 kg (had some leg drive so more of a push press) (1RM)

Squat: max was 120kg (1RM). But was working on 80% for the workout set.

Deadlift: Max was 150 kg (1RM before injury) Didn't try maxing out after recovered. Was working at about 80% as well for the workout set so around 120 to 130 kg.

Lowest body fat shown on the machine, 8.1% (though im guessing more of around 10ish%). Height, 184 cm.



This post has been edited by axtray: Sep 30 2016, 09:58 PM

24th Jan 2016 Sunday,

Disclaimer, my workout is haphazard since I try to do everything on weekends as much as I can (weekdays tend to not have as much time), so the experts here will probably raise their eyebrow looking at this.

Today managed to break pr for the incline db presses after making slight adjustment to the diet during the week.

Chest and back day.

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 32 to 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 30 to 32 kg for 5x5
Flat db flies 22 kg for 5x8
30 degree incline db flies 22 kg for 5x8
Incline bb benchpress 60 kg 5x5 to wrap chest workout.

Deadlift conventional 120kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 37 kg 5x8
Db pullover 30 kg 2x5 then 32 kg 3x5
Db row 40kg 6x6

Current bodystat, bf showing 8.6% (again obviously not accurate), but skeletal muscle mass finally reached 40kg. Weight 76.5 kg. Increased from 76 kg from last 2 weeks.

Bulking at 3500-3700 calories.

Latest photo, finally seeing some veins on the chest, flexed


This post has been edited by axtray: Jan 25 2016, 02:07 AM

26th Jan 2016

Chest Day

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 32 to 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 30 to 32 kg for 5x5
Cable Chest fly, horizontal movement 13.5 kg for 5x8
Cable chest fly top to bottom movement 13.5 kg 5x8
Cable chest fly bottom to top movement 10.5 kg 5x8
flat bb benchpress 70 kg 5x5 to wrap chest workout.

was struggling this time during the 45 degree incline. but managed to finish the set


27th Jan 2016

Back day

Deadlift conventional 120kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 37 kg 5x8
Db pullover 32 kg 5x5
Db row 40kg 6x6

This post has been edited by axtray: Jan 27 2016, 09:23 PM

28th Jan 2016

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups)

Squat 5x5 90kg and 5x5 80kg (yea that's it. don't really favor legs in my training. doing them because i know i have to hit em)

Overheard press 3x5 55 kg and 2x5 50 kg
BTN Overhead press 5x5 40 kg
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
bent over lateral raises 5x10 24 kg
ez curl bar up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated DB overhead press 5x5 30 kg each

30th Jan 2016

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups)

Squat 5x5 90kg and 5x5 80kg (seems to be getting pretty easy despite the legs and glutes being pretty sore. will increase by 5 kg for the next session)

Overheard press 55 kg 5x5 *PR*
BTN Overhead press 5x5 45 kg *PR*
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
barbell rear delt workout (no idea what its called) 45 kg 2x8 and 50 kg 3x8
barbell up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated DB overhead press 5x5 30 kg each

This post has been edited by axtray: Jan 30 2016, 04:03 PM

31/1/16

Chest and back day.

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 32 kg for 5x5
Flat db flies 22 kg for 5x8
30 degree incline db flies 22 kg for 5x8
Incline bb benchpress 60 kg 5x5 to wrap chest workout.

managed to finish the db presses pretty easily this time. gonna keep up for another week before attempting to increase flat db to 38 kg.

form on the flies also looking pretty good. will decide if going to increase the weight or increase rep range to 10.


Deadlift conventional 120kg 5x5 and 100 kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 37 kg 5x8
Db pullover 32 kg 6x6 *PR*
Db row 40kg 6x6

deadlift, managed to pull of the weights pretty easily as well this time. going to increase by either on weekday or the next weekend session, depending on condition.

db pull overs also managed to hit a PR. will increase weight soon.

THanks!

2/2/16

Chest Day

Chest Day

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 34 kg for 6x5*
45 degree incline db press 32 kg for 6x5*
Cable Chest fly, horizontal movement 13.5 kg for 5x8
Cable chest fly top to bottom movement 13.5 kg 5x8
Cable chest fly bottom to top movement 11.5 kg 5x8
seated cable chest press 35 kg each hand 5x5 <-- alot harder than i thought

Struggled on the inclines again. But this time decided to spend more time resting and split the set into 2 if fail half way. Also added an additional set for both inclines for no particular reason (just pissed that didn't go as smooth as the sunday workout probably).

the seated cable chest press is using the technogym cable machine (that thing gives some awesome chest pumps if you're performing flies with it. highly recommended).

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 2 2016, 02:47 PM

3/2/16

Back day

Was feeling like crap today. didn't feel good when performing the warm up sets for the deadlift. So didn't increase the weight..

however 3rd set onwards for the 120kg, started to feel better and everything else felt pretty good.

Deadlift conventional 120kg 5x5 and 100 kg 5x5 (doesn't include warmups)
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 37 kg 5x8
Db pullover 32 kg 6x6
Db row 40kg 6x6 (the place doesn't have anything heavier than 40kg db. so might have to switch to 1 handed bb rows if going heavier next time)

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 3 2016, 06:32 PM

4/2/16

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups and drop set)

Squat 5x5 95kg and 5x5 85kg 5x5

Increased by 5 kg as planned. However thanks to that, really had to grind through the shoulder workouts.


Overhead press 55 kg 5x5
BTN Overhead press 5x5 45 kg
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
Rear Delt lateral raise DB 24 kg 5x10
barbell up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated DB overhead press 5x5 30 kg each

The OHP was tough this time (both OHP and BTN OHP). Managed to finish the sets though.

For some reason the weekday workouts feel even more shittier than usual. Waking up in the morning feeling like shit. Probably could be 1) too much volume or 2) not enough calories. Been following this pattern since joined CF last year. Probably its time to do a deload week (not looking forward to it if have to).

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 4 2016, 05:31 PM

Man the week has been pretty busy. and didn't even update on last weekend either.

Not much to update anyway, majority of the lifts remained the same.

Below are the improvements

DB Pull over 32 KG > 34 KG 5x5
Deadlift 120 KG > 125 KG 5x5 and 105 KG 5x5 (not including warmups)


Not all is good though,

OHP 55 KG > 50 KG *was relying too much on leg drive by the 3rd set. gonna stick to 50 kg for now.

13th Feb 2016

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups and drop set)

Squat 5x5 95kg and 5x5 85kg 5x5


Manaaged to break PR for Seated DB Shoulder/OH Press. feels good.

Overhead press 50 kg 5x5 (actually more of 6,5,6,5,7. trying to perform the rep as clean as possible)
BTN Overhead press 5x5 45 kg
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
Rear Delt lateral raise DB 26 kg 5x8
barbell up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated DB overhead press 5x5 30 kg > 32 kg each *PR*


body stats after 2 weeks, gained 0.3kg. but bf % seems to remain the same which is a good thing i guess. Will keep on bulking at 3800 cals for now until progress stops.



This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 13 2016, 03:43 PM

14/2/16


Chest and back day.

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 32 kg for 5x5
Flat db flies 22 kg for 5x8
30 degree incline db flies 22 kg for 5x8
Incline bb benchpress 75 kg 5x5 to wrap chest workout.



Deadlift conventional 125kg 5x5 and 105 kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 40 kg 5x8 PR
Db pullover 34 kg 6x6
Db row 40kg 5x8

had food poisoning in the wee hours of the morning. thanks to that, lacking sleep before the workout session so didn't try to increase the DB presses or the deadlift. thankfully the workout went pretty smoothly.

Under ate as well for the week. only 3.5k average, bad bad. was too busy during the week and the weekend.

Here's hoping this week will be better.

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 16 2016, 01:01 AM

16/2/16

Chest Day

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5
30 degree incline db press 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 32 kg for 5x5
Technogym Seated Cable Chest fly, horizontal movement 25 kg for 5x8
Cable chest fly top to bottom movement 13.5 kg 5x8
Cable chest fly bottom to top movement 11.5 kg 5x8
Flat bb benchpress 60 kg 5x8 to wrap chest workout.

feels good this time, compared to the previous weeks chest workout on weekdays


17/2/16

Back Day

Deadlift conventional 125kg 5x5 and 105 kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 40 kg 5x8 PR
Db pullover 34 kg 6x6
Db row 40kg 5x8

had good strength and movement during the deadlift. but for some reason my grip was failing. had to switch to mix grip to finish the last 2 reps on the last set.

and here i thought the gain goblins for weekdays are gone. dammit.




This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 17 2016, 01:54 PM

Someone was asking me on my how i plan my diet (since i mentioned i did not reach the 3800 cals quota).

To answer that, i cycle my calories daily. This means that i don't eat 3800 cals everyday. As long as you averaged 3800 cals by the end of the week, you're good. On suggestion on how to split them, it will be your own trial and error.

The pros on doing this
- Can eat more during training days, even more on hard training days (for example my weekend when i hit the 2 body parts at once)
- I have always been a big eater (and very bad at moderation too. rather not have any of the donuts if i can only eat 1 or 2 of them). doing it this way allows me to look forward to the days i can chomp down all of the delicious foods.

The cons
- Probably not for those who requires to have a consistent amount of calories.
- Those who are already stuggling to ingest enough calories for the bulk will also suffer since they need to consume even more during the training days

Others might not agree, but i used this method during my cut and had very solid result. The goal for the bulk was to ensure that the abs will still be visible by the end, and so far so good. but still fine tuning it since this is the first lean bulk i've ever done (the one where i went to 120 kg doesn't count )

Hope this helps

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 17 2016, 03:21 PM

18/2/16

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups and drop set)

Squat 5x5 95kg and 5x5 85kg 5x5

Squats was a nightmare today. Not sure where to put the blame on, only slept for 6 hours thanks to Trails of Cold Steel, shisha (usually no issue if smoke the night before), or didn't eat enough. Form wasn't good as well this time


Overhead press 5x5 50 kg
BTN Overhead press 5x5 45 kg
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
Rear Delt lateral raise DB 26 kg 5x8
barbell up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated no back support DB overhead press 5x5 24 kg each (all the adjustable benches were occupied)

Holy shit the seated no back support DB OHP was alot tougher than i thought. probably because the torso is alot more straight/vertical as compared to having a back support or standing where you can create the angle to push the weight. Will start doing this from now on.

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 18 2016, 01:57 PM

I guess doing the big 4 workouts alone will not be enough to strengthen the core. will start adding some quick weighted core workouts in between sets if the gym is not packed.

20/2/16

Legs and shoulders (only working sets, doesn't include warmups and drop set)

Woke up with my inner thigh still sore (or groin?). but what the hell, turns out the squat went pretty easy. guess i was unconsiously using more of my other parts of the quads and glutes. looks like gonna have to work more on the mind muscle connection.

Squat 5x5 95kg and 5x5 85kg 5x5

Howevever for some reason, shoulder workout was a nightmare this time. i'm getting dizziness or light headed after i clean the barbell (from standing, not from the ground) to the starting position.

no bench was available for the seated back support db shoulder press so had to do the unsupported one. but on the 3rd set, a bench was available. only manged to do 32 kg for 1 set of 5 and failed for the next set. so continued back with the no support at 24 kg.

Overhead press 5x5 50 kg
BTN Overhead press 6x6 45 kg <-- decided to do 6 sets of 6. gonna increase to 50kg next week,
Side lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
front lateral raises 5x8 22 kg
Rear Delt lateral raise DB 26 kg 5x8
barbell up right row 5x8 45 kg
seated no back support DB overhead press 5x5 24 kg each (all the adjustable benches were occupied)

damn hopefully tomorrow's gonna be better

21/2/16

Chest and back day.

seems that today is the day i lost count of most of my sets. wouldn't be surprised if i did 6 or even 7 on some of them.

workout itself was good. though thanks to the extra sets, had to really grind for the last 2 workouts (db pull over and db rows).

I then realize that my chest is lacking volume for hypertrophy. so decided to do a chest fly drop set no rest on the technogym cable machine (starting from 30kg to 10 kg each).

Flat db press 36 kg each for 5x5 < lost count. i think i did 6 sets. but oh what the hell
30 degree incline db press 34 kg for 5x5
45 degree incline db press 32 kg for 5x5
Flat db flies 22 kg for 5x8
30 degree incline db flies 22 kg for 5x8 < lost count also.
bb benchpress 75 kg 5x5 to wrap chest workout.



Deadlift conventional 125kg 5x5 and 105 kg 5x5
Bb row 75kg 5x8 < lost count also
Wide grip pull up bw 5x5
Narrow grip supinated pull up 6x6
Cable pull over wide grip 40 kg 5x8
Db pullover 34 kg 6x6
Db row 40kg 5x8

ended the workout with
technogym cable chest fly drop set AMQRAP from 30kg - 10 kg each.

This post has been edited by axtray: Feb 21 2016, 03:20 PM

Yep. I think im more around 10 to 12%. But its a good reference point provided you continue using the same machine and measure it at the same specific condition ex. Empty stomach etc.

Then again the best way to check the progress is still using the mirror lol. I'm just making sure the abs are still visible and the weight continue to increase.