Transformation Update: Week 15, Day 99 |

Transformation Update: Week 15, Day 99

By Brandon Cook

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Thought of the Day:

“The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.”
- Deepak Chopra, MD

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Day 99 of My Transformation Journey:

A few weeks ago I squatted 240lbs for 8 reps and my left knee was buckling in a little. I had just taken a week off, so I backed down to 220lbs and worked my way back up over a couple weeks. Tonight I got 8 perfect reps with 240lbs!

When I lift 250lbs next week that will be 1.5 times my bodyweight. That is considered decent strength for the squat. 2 times your bodyweight is considered good strength (334 lbs at my current weight.) 2.5 times your bodyweight would be great strength (417 lbs at my current weight.) Anything over that is superior strength in my book. Basically, your elite Power lifters, Strongman and Olympic lifters.

Naturally, these numbers will change as you pack on more and more muscle. Keep that in mind!

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
8 ounces of Orange Juice
1 piece of sprouted grain bread with almond butter. <= Added more calories

3 Whole Eggs (Organic/Cage Free)
Fresh Spinach
Onions, Green and Red Peppers
Shitake Mushrooms
1/4 Cup Organic Black Beans
Add a little Salsa and Sea Salt
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 dogs on a walk. Beautiful NC weather today!

Going to work now! Sucks to be inside on a day like this.

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

Meal #3: Lunch (1:00-2:00pm)
Vegetarian Chilli (no meat, extra beans):
Black Beans
Dark Red Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Onions
Red Cabbage
Green and Red Peppers
Tomotoes
Seasoning
Pasta Sauce

1/2 Cup of Corn
1/2 Cup of Spinach
1/2 Cup of Carrots
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil <= Added for more calories
1 piece of 70% Dark Chocolate
16 ounces of water
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes

Meal #4: Afternoon Snack (4:00-5:00pm)
30 grams Raw Almonds
30 grams of Raw Sunflower Seeds
1 Orange

Big Bowl of Spinach
Several pieces of Brocolli
One handful of shredded Carrots
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.

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 + blue band) = 17 reps, 17 reps
2. Scaptions (15lb dumbbells) = 12 reps, 11 reps
3. Bentover Lateral Raises (20lbs dumbbells) = 8 reps, 8 reps
*Note: These are supersetted with my squat warm-ups to save time

Squats:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 130lbs
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 150lbs
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 170lbs
4. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 190lbs
5. Work set = 5 reps X 210lbs
6. Work set = 5 reps X 220lbs…. put on my weight belt
7. Work set = 5 reps X 230lbs
8. Money set = 8 reps X 240lbs… Got em all! *
*Note: Great job… got all 8 reps. Raise the weight to 250 next week.

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.

One Arm Dumbbell Rows:
1. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 35lbs DB (70lbs)
2. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 45lbs DB (90lbs)
3. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 55lbs DB (110lbs)
4. Work set = 5/5 reps X 60lbs DB (120lbs)
5. Money set = 8/8 reps X 65lbs DB (130lbs)….. Got 8 reps, raise it to 60lbs.

One Arm Dumbbell Press:
1. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 30lbs DB (60lbs)
2. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 40lbs DB (80lbs)
3. Warm-up set = 5/5 reps X 50lbs DB (100lbs)
4. Work set = 5/5 reps X 55lbs DB (110lbs)
5. Money set = 8/8 reps X 60lbs DB (120lbs)….. Got 8 reps, raise it to 65lbs.

After that I did a finisher superset:
1. Inverted Rows (feet elevated) 10 reps
2. Push-ups (feet elevated) 20 reps
3. Dumbbell Flies = 10 reps X 15lb DB (30lbs)

Finished with some stretching.

Awesome workout.

Post-Workout Drink: Smoothie
8-16 ounces Orange Juice
1 Banana
1/2 cup of Leafy Greens (spinach, chard, or kale)
1/2 cup frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup frozen Blackberries
1/4 cup frozen Blueberries
1 tablespoon Hemp oil
1 tablespoon ground Flax Seeds
1 scoop Nutiva Hemp Protein
6 grams Ultimate Nutrition BCAA
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Creatine
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Glutamine

Meal #6: Dinner Time (10:00-11:00pm)
6 ounces of Organic Chicken
Quinoa
Salad
16 ounces of water

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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