HI wallpaper, thx for droppin by & givin me advices, i really appreciate it.

My weight now is same as yours when you started working out. What do you think helped most in your weight gain/bulking ? If i can gain 2kg+ every month, i would be very happy indeed.

Must be a man like u & rev up my leg work

Workout looks good but lol... mate, you don't need to keep calculating the total volume every workout. I never do that. As long as i know I made some form of PR's.
Seriously, if you keep calculating the total volume all the time, you're just gonna be as rigid as Madcow/Rippetoe trainees.

Ahhh okay darkie, sound and solid advice there, thank you! Now I have a reason to ditch the calculator

i have difficulty walking now... i reckon my legs will be a complete sore by tomorrow morning. And if it doesn't recover in time for Sunday this week, I will drop swimming altogether and go for Option 3.

I don't usually do leg work actually, this is my first time in quite a while So I am hoping my legs will grow at a faster rate, so I can hit BW Squats x 10 ASAP.

What made me gain weight was probably because I wasn't eating well enough last time, and also because I didn't exercise much, aside from the occassional futsal game. So the moment I picked up those dumbbells, my weight climbed rapidly.

Sadly the weight gain isn't showing enough in my physical appearance. Some of my friends have noted that I don't look as skinny as I did before, but personally, I think there's not much Wow! factor in my changes - I look practically the same, and still considerably skinny, or normal at best.

I saw your journal and your body looks much better shaped than mine, so I'm sure you'll end up somewhere satisfactory. Have fun bulking

You just started out and you want to compare with a 5 years bber ( or more ? read it somewhere lmao ) ...

As long as there's improvement it will move you further .. Every time I touch my chest and feel that it's getting bigger and harder days by days ... It's a big motivation lol .. Alto my family is sick of me doing that

Time and consistency. There's nothing else i can say. =) Don't expect extreme results in just a few weeks. Are you deadlifting too? Every alternate week i deadlift on back day, the do GVT for leg presses on leg day the next day. Add in some for variety. If you need a deadlifting form video, let me know.

This post has been edited by darklight79: Dec 19 2008, 10:21 AM

Don't worry, I know better than to compare my physique with an experienced bodybuilder. What I was pointing out was merely the relativity between my physique and my weight gain

Okay, I will do deadlift next week then. Haven't done it in a while so I'm looking to do 1x5x160 lbs only. I feel uncomfortable using different grips on both hands, so I do my deadlift with only an overhand grip. Doing deadlifts at heavier weights hurt my fingers, is it supposed to hurt?

I've seen your deadlifting video btw. My current deadlift form feels right, but I wouldn't know for sure lol.

Anyway, it's my shoulder day today! Workout felt good. Especially satisfied with my lateral delt raises. Form felt perfect, weight felt just nice, targeted muscles felt good after every set.

For rear delts I wanted to do reverse flyes in sucking d*** position, since I can pull it off with a consistent form. Unfortunately my legs ached like hell when I attempted to get into position. In the end, I settled for a reverse bench press while leaning forward on a "chair". I'm not sure if I got the form right, but I made sure to avoid using my lats and focused on using my delts. At the least, it did not feel wrong, at least to me... Will return to reverse flyes next week for a more guaranteed form.


Friday - Shoulder Day (19 December 2008)

Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press
Warm Up
20 lbs x 10
20 lbs x 10

Workout
60 lbs x 11
65 lbs x 10
65 lbs x 10
55 lbs x 11


Machine Shoulder Press (Hammer Grip)
15 kg x 15
15 kg x 13
20 kg x 10
20 kg x 13


Dumbbell Lateral Raise (Weight stated = per dumbbell)
4 kg x 10
4 kg x 10
4 kg x 10
4 kg x 10


Reverse Bench Press (Weight stated = per dumbbell)
4 kg x 10
4 kg x 15
4 kg x 15
4 kg x 15
4 kg x 10


Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press (This was done JustForFun -- pun intended )
40 lbs x 10


-End of Workout-
Total Workout Time: 59 minutes
Average rest time in between sets: 70 secs


Diet

Preworkout: 4 eggs, 1 glass of Milo (25g protein, 20g carbs)
Postworkout: 2 scoops weight gainer + 350ml Dutch Lady milk (35g protein, 60g carbs)

Estimated meals for today:
Lunch: Rice + dishes (20g protein)
Tea-time: Fruits (anything in the fridge will do)
Dinner: BBQ PARTAYYYYY!!! (20g protein) (I'll just assume its 20g for convenience)
Supper: 300ml milk + Whey protein (35g protein)

Total estimated protein intake: 135g

Picture of my right deltoids: (WARNING: Not Impressive)

U have nicee delt ! I need to to lateral raise too !

The last version was choppy due to bad internet connection on my side. I've updated it, had my form checked out and it's fine:-



Yeah, the overhand grip is better. Using a mixed grip results in torque imbalances later on. Invest in a good pair of wrist straps.

This post has been edited by darklight79: Dec 19 2008, 01:46 PM

Good video. Much better quality. Damn, that looks sooo heavy! Personally I wouldn't dare to try 1 rep deadlifts yet.

How much is a pair of wrist straps and where can I get them? Are they necessary for deadlifting heavier weights? I hope they're not too costly...

Thank you for the compliment, I will work harder to make it more visible Actually, I never did any lateral raises before, not until last week haha.

Btw, since my middle chest is so pathetic, I plan to add in an extra exercise for next week after cable crossovers. I don't know what it's called, but you do it lying flat on a bench, hold one dumbbell with both hands over the center of the chest, let the weight go over and behind your head and then pull it back to starting position.

Anyone knows what this exercise is called, and if its good for building the middle chest or not? Thank you!

Ego do sell them ... harbinger. Darklight's deadlift is legendary

Egonutrition? Actually I have never seen any of its outlets before... How much do they sell it for?

http://egonutritions.com/shopping/index.ph...=index&cPath=15

Yeah, I hated the quality of the first one. The internet connection that day was fukked. Plus youtube had technical problems too.

Of course straps are necessary. Your goals are bodybuilding oriented, not powerlifting. Straps are tools as a means to an end. Spending time just to develop grip strength is a huge waste of time imo.

Dumbell pullovers? Alternate that with cable crossovers every 2 weeks then. Don't add too many exercises.

Not yet. Wait till I hit 600lbs. =) I'll get there with HVT style, with non of those powerlifting with bands and chains etc. Lol.

Okay, I will consider getting the strap. For the dumbbell pullovers, I'll dot hat tomorrow and see if I have enough energy left for cable crossovers. After all its only once a week so I want to make sure I kill my chest haha. Will it be bad to include too many exercises on one muscle group per session?

Today I underperformed. Very unsatisfactory. For some reason I didn't seem to have the energy to whip those reps out, and to make matters worse, I ended up using more triceps than I would have wanted to. My triceps were feeling the heat by the end of the 3rd set of my first workout. So basically, today is a chest/triceps day instead. Because I overworked my triceps in the first exercise, it affected my later workouts as well. However, I will try to be optimistic and lie to myself that I worked my chest so damn well, so much so that my triceps had to kick in to lend a helping hand.

After 2 sets of dumbbell pullovers, I decided I didn't like it as much as I had wanted to. So I reverted back to doing cable crossovers, which, personally, I think is a rather fun and enjoyable exercise.

Btw, I overestimated the weight I could do on incline bench and ended up performing below expectations for that

After I reached home, I decided I am still not satisfied with my workout, so I did a bodyweight push-up x 12. Call it a warm down, if you will.


Notes to self for next week:
Warm up with 20 lbs x 10, 40 lbs x 10 instead.
Don't push myself too hard on the flat bench press.
Consider replacing machine chest press with decline bench press.
Stick to cable crossovers.
Do dumbbell pullovers if I feel like it.


Monday - Chest Day (22 December 2008)

Smith Machine Flat Bench Press
Warm Up
30 lbs x 10
40 lbs x 10

Workout
90 lbs x 11
100 lbs x 10
100 lbs x 10
80 lbs x 9
*insert 30 secs rest here*
50 lbs x 9


Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
65 lbs x 9
60 lbs x 9
60 lbs x 10
50 lbs x 12


Machine Chest Press
40 kg x 10
33 kg x 11
33 kg x 11
33 kg x 11


Dumbbell Pullovers
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 15


Cable Crossover (Weight stated = total weight)
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 16


Machine Chest Press (done JustForFun )
26 kg x 12


-End of Workout-

Total Workout Time: 62 minutes
Average rest time in between sets: 80 secs


Diet

Preworkout: 4 eggs, Nature Valley Energy Bar (25g protein, 30g carbs)
Postworkout: 2 scoops weight gainer + 350ml Dutch Lady milk (35g protein, 60g carbs)

Estimated meals for today:
Lunch: Rice + dishes (20g protein)
Tea-time: Fruits (anything in the fridge will do)
Dinner: Rice + dishes (20g protein)
Supper: 300ml milk + Whey protein (35g protein)

Total estimated protein intake: 135g

I think u did well actually cos you have increased the weights this week.. After this initial challenge, u wil b better prepared for the next encounter.

hey man, i don't think that's underperforming at all. you've managed to up the weights a bit from your previous workout - thats great in itself. i think darklight has said that HVT is instinctive, going with the feel.

sometimes i too feel somewhat weak, tired etc on a particular day - no sweat, all of us have that one day off. just come back the following hitting hard and strong. also feel free to keep increasing the weights you do, even though if it means cutting down a two or three reps. you'll be able to build upon that the next time you do a chest workout.

what i normally do is alternate machine chest press with incline dumbell bench presses every other week as it helps to build the upper part of your chest as well as balance.

pushups are fine, in fact at the end of each chest workout i usually do one or two sets until failure to really exhaust the muscle. anyhow, keep us updated.

Well said brotha! HVT rocks.

Well, I myself don't do that many different types of workout. I only do 4 or at most 5 different workouts ( rarely ) because I need to pump too much energy into each workout of 5x10 ( I keep it heavy ) .... Til the fifth set I will lose all my energy and my forms go wrong and get frustrated in the end ...

Thank you, guys, for the advice and encouragement! I really appreciate you guys dropping by and giving a helpful word or two

Well, its my back day again today! Initially I had wanted to do deadlifts at the end of the workout, but after completing all 4 sets for cable rows I realized that I will not have the energy to do deadlifts, unless I sacrifice one other exercise. At the end of the workout, I couldn't even grip a dumbbell properly, what more to hold on to 160 lbs. So I decided to skip deadlifts instead.

Darkie, how do you manage your deadlifts without sacrificing another exercise?

Today I may not have improved much, poundage or volume-wise, but my goal for today was not to lift heavy. My goal for today is to lift just the right weight to be able to execute the movements with an improved form. And today, I achieved that goal. My back muscles felt the hardship I wanted it to feel and that is all I ask for. On the contrary, I noticed that I had relied much less on my biceps and forearm as compared to last week, which is a really good thing.

I substituted close-grip pulldowns for machine pulldowns (no cables) today. And MAN, did it felt good. It hit the lats even more effectively than the cable pulldowns ever did, so much so that it is an all-new sensation to me.

Overall, my form has been gradually improving since the first week and I hope to keep improving in the future. Muscle-mind connection is definitely better than when I first started out, although still very much imperfect.

Needless to say, I enjoyed today's back workout very much.


Tuesday - Back Day (23 December 2008)

Wide-grip Lat Pulldown (Cable)
Warm Up
30 lbs x 10
40 lbs x 10

Workout
70 lbs x 15
80 lbs x 12
80 lbs x 11
70 lbs x 15


Seated Cable Row (Overhand Grip)
70 lbs x 15
70 lbs x 18
80 lbs x 13
60 lbs x 15


Lat Pulldown Machine
25 kg x 15
30 kg x 12
30 kg x 12
25 kg x 15


One-arm Dumbbell Row
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 15


Dumbbell Shrugs (Weight stated = per dumbbell)
25 lbs x 18
25 lbs x 18
25 lbs x 18
10 kg x 18


Lat Pulldown Machine (done JustForFun, yet again with the repetitive pun...)
40 kg x 7
30 kg x 11


-End of Workout-

Total Workout Time: 70 minutes
Average rest time in between sets: 70 secs


Diet

Preworkout: 4 eggs, 1 glass of Milo (25g protein, 20g carbs)
Postworkout: 2 scoops weight gainer + 350ml Dutch Lady milk (35g protein, 60g carbs)

Estimated meals for today:
Lunch: Rice + dishes (20g protein)
Tea-time: Fruits (anything in the fridge will do)
Dinner: Anything edible in Sunway Pyramid (20g protein)
Supper: 300ml milk + Whey protein (35g protein)

Total estimated protein intake: 135g

This post has been edited by wallpaper89: Dec 31 2008, 01:05 PM