Transformation Update: Week 12, Day 78 |

Transformation Update: Week 12, Day 78

By Brandon Cook

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Thought of the Day:

“Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not.”
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Featured Article:

How to Build an Impressive Chest
By Jason Ferruggia

Question: I have heard that the bench press is a crappy chest exercise. Is this true? If it sucks, what’s better? Answer: The bench press is a great exercise. If you bench properly, there will be minimal pectoral involvement, however. The triceps and front delts will do most of the work. This is individual and is based on your strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part, your chest will not be doing the majority of the work when you bench press. … Click Here to Learn More

Day 78 of My Transformation Journey:

Well, after taking last week off to let my body recover from an attempted (but denied) flu attack I am feeling ready to kill my squat workout tonight. Cory and I have been working all weekend on revising the “The to Mass e-Class” and are excited to unleash it soon.

I was off today since it was President’s Day and definitely enjoyed it.

My squat workout was tough and intense. I did good and broke a new PR with 235lbs, which initially I miscalculated and so actually thought I was lifting 240lbs. I did 8 reps total, but the last few were not in perfect form. My left knee sort of buckled in which is not good. I could definitely feel this workout afterwords and was a little tired.

Hopefully my body will adapt quickly so I can get right back in the swing of things. I’m determined to achieve my goals and gain some muscle. I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it happen…. except steroids… I’m a natural man!

My Morning Ritual:
Woke up at 8:15am
Drank 30 ounces of water
10 Minutes of Tai Chi/Qi Gong Exercises
15 Minutes of seated Meditation

Meal #1 Breakfast (8:00-9:00 am)
1 Banana
30 grams of Pumpkin Seeds

3 Whole Eggs (Organic/Cage Free)
Frozen Spinach
Onions, Green and Red Peppers
Pico De Galo
Garlic
Porta Bella Mushrooms
1/4 Cup Organic Dark Red Kidney Beans
Add a little Salsa and seasoning

16 ounces of water

GNC Multivitamin
GNC 1000mg Vitamin C
GNC 400 IU Vitamin E
Carlson 2,000 IU Vitamin D
Biotest Flameout Fish Oil
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes

Warrior Walk #1:
Just took my dogs for a regular walk today.

Going to work now!

Meal #2: Brunch (11:00-12:00am)
30 grams Raw Almonds
1 Scoop of Casein Protein
1 Scoop of Whey Protein
1 tablespoon of ground flax seed
1 tablespoon of hemp oil
12 ounces of Almond milk
1 Apple
16 ounces of water

Meal #3: Lunch (3:00-4:00pm)
Okay I cheated today (bad Brandon:)
Sesame Chicken
1 Cup White Rice
1/2 cup brocolli
16 ounces of water

Meal #4: Afternoon Snack (5:00-5:30pm)
30 grams Raw Almonds
1 Apple
16 ounces of water.

Meal # 5: Peri-Workout Nutrition (6:00-8:00pm)
Peri-workout nutrition is simply what you eat before, during, and after your training sessions. If you get this right you are on your way to mass. Now, a lot of coaches will just tell you to go get a good supplement. Honestly, that’s better than not doing anything. So, if my strategy is too complex (time consuming) for you I recommend getting Biotest’s Surge Recovery.

I believe whole foods are better than supplements 99% of the time, so instead of paying for tubs of sugar I use fruit. There’s no way you can convince me that processed sugar/dextrose is better than living fruit. So, here’s my strategy:

10-15 Minutes Before Workout:
8-16 Ounces of Orange Juice (Freshly squeezed would be best, but I use store brand for now)
4 tablespoons (22 grams of protein) Optimum Nutrition Liquid Aminos

During Workout:
To make this drink you’ll need a juicer. I prefer to make fresh juice from actual fruit. This way I’m getting all of the beneficial vitamins, nutrients, and living enzymes that are often destroyed in the pastuerization process when you buy juice from the store.

3 ice cubes
1/4 cup orange juice (from store)
4 tablespoons (22 grams of protein) Optimum Nutrition Liquid Aminos
6 grams Ultimate Nurition BCAA
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Creatine
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Glutamine
1/4 Pineapple (freshly juiced)
1 apple or 1 cup grapes (freshly juiced)
1 cup cranberries (freshly juiced)
Top off container with orange juice

Warrior Training:

Warm Up:
10 Minutes Foam Roller
10 Minutes Dynamic Mobility Exercises

Hypertrophy Phase: Workout Day One

This first workout in the week focuses on Squats as the main exercise. I will perform 4 warm-up sets escalating the weight upwards into my 4 work sets. My last work set is considered my “money” set and that is where I’ll be using the heaviest weight for the most reps I can do with perfect form. The rep range is 5-8 reps.

I’ll be supersetting some rehab exercises for my shoulders and back into the warm-up sets for my squats. This allows me to save some time, make use of the rest periods, as well as, increase the thouroughness of the warm up sets.

Shoulder/Back Rehab:
1. Band Rows- Elbows out (purple + red band) = 17 reps, 17 reps
2. Scaptions (15lb dumbbells) = 10 reps, 10 reps
3. Bentover Lateral Raises (15lbs dumbbells) = 15 reps, 15 reps
*Note: These are supersetted with my squat warm-ups to save time

Squats:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 125lbs
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 145lbs
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 165lbs
4. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 185lbs
5. Work set = 5 reps X 205lbs
6. Work set = 5 reps X 215lbs…. put on my weight belt for the last 3 work sets
7. Work set = 5 reps X 225lbs
8. Money set = 8 reps X 235lbs… Got em all! *
*Note: Great job… hit a new PB of 235lbs. Although, my form started to breakdown around the 6th rep. I pushed through, but my left knee started to pinch in. Not good. Could be because I took last week off. Not sure if I’ll go up or stay at this weight. We’ll see.

After squats I hung from a chin-up bar to help decompress my spine. I also laid on a stabilty ball and did a stretch that way. Finally, I did a set of knee raises on the power tower to work the antagonistic muscles.

Next, for my chest and back, I superset the following exercises to work these antagonistic muscle groups. This time I’ll only do 3 warm-up sets increasing the weight into two working sets.

45° Incline Dumbbell Rows:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 35lbs DB (70lbs)
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 45lbs DB (90lbs)
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 55lbs DB (110lbs)
4. Work set = 5 reps X 60lbs DB (120lbs)
5. Money set = 8 reps X 65lbs DB (130lbs)….. Got 8 reps, but I may stay at this weight.

Dumbbell Floor Press:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 35lbs DB (70lbs)
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 45lbs DB (90lbs)
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 55lbs DB (110lbs)
4. Work set = 5 reps X 60lbs DB (120lbs)
5. Money set = 8 reps X 65lbs DB (130lbs)….. Got 8 reps, but I may stay at this weight.

After that I did a finisher superset:
1. Inverted Rows 15 reps
2. Push-ups 15 reps

Finished with some stretching.

Great workout. Pretty freakin’ tired now!

Post-Workout Drink: Smoothie
8-16 ounces Orange Juice
1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup frozen Raspberries
1/4 cup frozen Blueberries
2-3 tablespoons Plain Yogurt
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Natural Whey Protein (Vanilla)
6 grams Ultimate Nutrition BCAA
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Creatine
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Glutamine

Meal #6: Dinner Time (10:00-11:00pm)
Chilli:
1/4lb Organic Bison
Dark Red Kidney Beans
Onions
Red and Yellow Peppers
Cabbage
Tomotoes
Seasoning
Pasta Sauce
16 ounces of water

1 mg Melatonin
Made it to bed around 11:00pm.

Brandon

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About the Author:

Brandon Cook is author of The Awakened Warrior Blog, and co-creator of HardgainerMuscleBuilding.com, a website specifically designed to teach hardgainers how to build muscle fast using the laws and scientific principles of body transformation.

HargainerMuscleBuilding.com features a free email class covering the basic principles of training naturally, eating a nutritious, muscle-building diet, and understanding the truth about supplements. The website is filled with free articles, videos, and the programs you need to create your ideal body.
Please visit us at http://hardgainermusclebuilding.com

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