Transformation Update: Week 15, Day 101 |

Transformation Update:Week 15, Day 101

By Brandon Cook

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Thought of the Day:

“Men are born to succeed, not fail.”
- Henry David Thoreau

Featured Article:

How to do Pull-Ups at Home When You Don’t Have a Pull-Up Bar
By Nick Nilsson

So you’re training at home and you don’t have a place to put a chin-up bar. Or you don’t have a power rack with a chin-up bar on it. No problem! I’ve got a couple of simple items that are going to totally change the way you look at hardware stores. … Click Here to Learn More

Day 101 of My Transformation Journey:

Hope you’re rockin! Today my goal is NOT to bust my noise with the barbell like I did last week. That’s all I’ve got to say.

My Morning Ritual:
Woke up at 6:15am
Drank 30 ounces of water
10 Minutes of Tai Chi/Qi Gong Exercises
15 Minutes of seated Meditation

Meal #1 Breakfast (7:00-8:00 am)
1 Banana
30 grams of Raw Pumpkin Seeds
1 Piece of Sprouted Grain Bread and Natural Peanut Butter

3 Whole Eggs (Organic/Cage Free)
Fresh Spinach
Onions, Green and Red Peppers
Shitake Mushrooms
1/4 Cup Organic Aduki Beans
Add a little Salsa and Sea Salt

8 ounces of Orange Juice
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

Walk #1:
Took my puppy dogs on a walk.

Headin to work!
8 oz. of green tea on arrival.

Meal #2: Brunch (10:00-11:00am)
30 grams Raw Almonds
3o grams Raw Pumpkin Seeds
1 Apple
1/2 cup of Grapes
16 ounces of water

Meal #3: Lunch (1:00-2:00pm)
6-8 ounces of Organic Chicken (Topped with Onions, Green and Red Peppers, Lemon Juice)
1/2 Cup of Peas
1/2 Cup of Brocolli
1/2 Cup of Carrots
1 piece of 70% Dark Chocolate
1 tablespoon Olive Oil shot - tasty stuff! Yeah right
16 ounces of water
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes
8oz. of Green Tea

Meal #4: Afternoon Snack (4:00-5:00pm)
30 grams Raw Almonds
30 grams Raw Sunflower Seeds
1 Orange
Big Bowl of Mixed Field Greens
Several pieces of Brocolli
One handful of shredded Carrots
Spicy Banana Peppers
Olives
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar

1 Biotest Flameout Fish Oil Softgel
1 Carlson 2000 IU Vitamin D
16 ounces of water.

Left work about 5:30pm.

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 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
5 Minutes Lower Body Mobility Exercises
5 Minutes Upper Body Mobility Exercises

Hypertrophy Phase: Push-Press and Pull-ups Day

This second workout in the week focuses on Push-press and Pull-ups as the main exercises. I will superset these two exercises together. I will perform 3 warm-up sets escalating the weight upwards into my 2 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 prior to and into the warm-up sets for the push-press and pull-ups . This allows me to save some time, make use of the rest periods, as well as, increase the thoroughness of the warm up sets.

Shoulder/Back Rehab:
1. Face Pulls (purple + blue band) = 20 reps, 20 reps
2. Scapular Wall Slides = 17 reps, 17 reps
3. External Rotations on knee (10lb dumbbell) = 10/10 reps, 10/10 reps
*Note: These are supersetted prior to and with my push-press and pull-ups to save time

Push Press:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 60lbs
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 70lbs
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 80lbs
4. Work set = 5 reps X 90lbs
5. Money set = 6 reps X 100lbs….. Got 6 reps.
*Note: Since I only got 6 reps I will stay at this weight and go for more reps next week.

Pull Ups:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Red band assist
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Bodyweight
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 8lbs Weighted Vest
4. Work set = 5 reps X 12lbs Weighted Vest
5. Money set = 6 reps X 16lbs Weighted Vest… Got 6 reps.
*Note: Since I only got 6 reps I will stay at this weight and go for more reps next week.

Did a superset of Standing Dumbbell Presses and Lat Pulldowns:
1. Standing Dumbbell Press = 10/10 reps X 35lb dumbbells
2. Lat Pulldowns = 10 reps X 110lbs
3. Leaning Lateral Raises = 9/9 X 15lb dumbbell

Next, for my core, I perform the following exercises:

Alternate Leg Raises:
1. Work set = 12/12 reps

Ab Wheel Rollouts:
2. Work set = 11 reps

Planks:
1. Work set = Front Plank for time X 1:50
2. Work set = Pallof Press Isometric hold for time X 0:50/0:50

Finished with some stretching.

Good stuff….

Post-Workout Drink: Smoothie
8-16 ounces Almond Milk<= Switched from OJ to this.
1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup frozen Cherries
1/4 cup frozen Peaches
1 Piece of Red Chard
1 scoop Nutiva Hemp Protein
1 Tablespoon of Hemp Oil
6 grams Ultimate Nutrition BCAA
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Creatine
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Glutamine

Meal #6: Dinner Time (9:00 – 10:00pm)
6-8 Ounces of Salmon
1/2 Cup of Quinoa
16 ounces of water

Made it to bed around 11:45pm. Gotta work on the bed time!

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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