Transformation Update: Week 7, Day 45 |

Transformation Update: Week 7, Day 45

By Brandon Cook

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Thought of the Day:

“It is honorable for a man to admit his fears, resistance, and edge of practice. It is simply tru that each man has hi limit, his capacity for growth, and his destiny.”
- David Deida

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Day 45 of My Transformation Journey:

Today was a good day. However, I started to get a sinus headache in the afternoon that followed me home. I was determined to train so I did my warm-ups and went into the garage. My head was pounding as I did the clean and press workout for this day. I made it through the main exercise, but decided to call it a day after that. It was just an off day and can be difficult to train with a bad headache.

I was glad that I still went out to train even if I cut the workout short.

My Morning Ritual:
Woke up at 6:30am
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

3 Whole Eggs (Organic/Cage Free)
Frozen Spinach
Onions, Orange and Red Peppers
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:
15 Minutes of Walking my dogs with 24lb Weighted Vest.

Headed out to work…
Upon arrival 8 ounces of Black Coffee

Meal #2: Brunch (10:00-11:00am)
12 Raw Almonds
Protein Cake (see Transformation Update: Day 1 for recipe)
1 Apple
16 ounces of water
* Note: Decided to stop eating the cheese stick. Cheese isn’t the best for you anyway and I needed to reduce calories a little bit. Still trying to find the optimal caloric level.

Meal #3: Lunch (1:00-2:00pm)
6-8 ounces of grilled Chicken (topped with Onions, Orange and Red Peppers)
1/2 Cup of spinach
1/2 Cup of brocoli
1/2 Cup of Carrots
1 piece of 85% Dark Chocolate
16 ounces of water
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes

8 ounces of Green tea

Meal #4: Afternoon Snack (4:00-5:00pm)
12 Raw Almonds

Big Bowl of Mixed Field Greens
Several pieces of Brocolli
One handful of shredded Carrots
3 ounces of Tuna
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 5:45pm.

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: Hang Clean N’ Press Day

This second workout in the week focuses on the Hang Clean and Press 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. Face Pulls (purple band) = 15 reps, 15 reps
2. Scapular Wall Slides = 10 reps, 10 reps
3. Lying Side External Rotations (10lbs dumbbells) = 8/8 reps, 8/8 reps
*Note: These are supersetted with my squat warm-ups to save time

Hang Clean N’ Press:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 45lbs
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 50lbs
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 55lbs
4. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 60lbs
5. Work set = 5 reps X 65lbs
6. Work set = 5 reps X 70lbs
7. Work set = 5 reps X 80lbs
8. Money set = 6 reps X 85lbs… go for more reps next week! *
*Note: Great job… stick with this weight until I get knock out 8 reps on the final set!

As mentioned earlier I had a pretty bad sinus headache which made my head pump with every rep I did. After doing the main exercise above I decided to call it a day. Next week, I’ll be able to hit the other exercises for this day.

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
1 serving Nutrijoint Formula

Meal #6: Dinner Time (8:30-9:30pm)
3 Scrambled Eggs
Spinach
Cheese
Mushrooms
1 Apple
16 ounces of water

1 mg Melatonin
Made it to bed around 10:30pm.

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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