Transformation Update: Week 7, Day 47 |

Transformation Update: Week 7, Day 47

By Brandon Cook

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Thought of the Day:

“Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.”
- Herbert Otto

Featured Article:

4 Ways to Steal 5 Training Hourse Every Week
By Jeff Anderson

Like anything else in life, if you want to be successful in your training, you need to start out with a detailed plan. But you know what they say… “life is what happens when you’re making plans!” In other words, staying on track with a fitness plan is a real challenge in most people’s lives. … Click Here to Learn More

Day 47 of My Transformation Journey:

Today is Dead Lift day, and after cutting Wednesday’s workout short I’m eager to make up for it today. I’ll be aiming to hit a new personal best tonight with 210lbs. My goal is to keep the weights and reps increasing from week to week. This is the #1 focus of a mass building plan…. or at least it should be according to most of the top coaches featured on our website.

Many people may say “Oh I don’t care about getting stronger, I just want to get big.” Well strength and size have a largely direct and linear relationship with each other. Meaning when your strength increases your size will increase as well and vice versa. Although it is possible to put on muscular size without being able to use the muscle to it’s full functional capacity.

As most coaches will agree, if you train for strength… size will surely follow… IF you are supplying the body with the nutritional requirements that it needs to build new muscle tissue.

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, Green and Red Peppers
Pico Degallo
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. Every two weeks I’ll add 4lbs and work my way up.

Time for work, my friends…
Upon arrival 8 ounces of Black Coffee

Meal #2: Brunch (10:00-11:00am)
12 Raw Almonds
1 Scoop of Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein
1 Scoop of Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein
8 ounces of Soy Milk
1 Apple
16 ounces of water

Meal #3: Lunch (1:00-2:00pm)
Company ordered food from Victories today:
I lasagna with meat, 2 bread sticks, and a house salad with ranch dressing
1/2 Cup of Carrots
1 piece of 60% 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: Day of the Dead Lift

This workout of the week focuses on the Dead Lift (rack pull) 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 dead lifts. 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 in (blue + red band) = 17 reps, 17 reps
2. Behind the Neck Band Pulldowns (purple band) = 17 reps, 17 reps
3. Cuban Press (15lbs dumbbells) = 10 reps, 15 reps
*Note: These are supersetted with my dead lift warm-ups to save time

Dead Lifts (Rack Pull from Knee height):
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 100lbs
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 120lbs
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 140lbs
4. Warm-up set = 5 reps X 160lbs
5. Work set = 5 reps X 180lbs ……. put on my weight belt for the last 4 sets
6. Work set = 5 reps X 190lbs
7. Work set = 5 reps X 200lbs……. definitely getting harder
8. Money set = 8 reps X 210lbs……. Yes! Got 8 solid reps.
*Note: Great job… I will raise the weight by 10lbs next week.

Next, for my biceps and triceps (and back and chest), 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.

Note: For chin-ups and specifically for dips I’m using a higher rep range of 8-12 reps. I’m doing this mainly because doing heavy dips can be hard on your shoulders. I’ve also shortened the range of motion (ROM) slightly on the dips. I only go until my arms are parralel and no further.

Neutral Grip Chin-ups:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Purple band assist (most assistance)
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Blue band assist (middle assistance)
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Red band assist (least assistance)
4. Work set = 5 reps X Bodyweight (161 lbs)
5. Money set = 6 reps X Bodyweight (161lbs) + Weighted Vest (8lbs) = 169lbs
*Note: Forgot to do 8-12 rep range… oops

Parallel Bar Dips:
1. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Purple band assist (most assistance)
2. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Blue band assist (middle assistance)
3. Warm-up set = 5 reps X Red band assist (least assistance)
4. Work set = 5 reps X Bodyweight (161 lbs)
5. Money set = 12 reps X Bodyweight (161lbs) + Weighted Vest (8lbs) = 169lbs
*Note: Forgot to do 8-12 rep range… oops

Finished with some stretching.

Great workout. Feel great!!!

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 mg Melatonin
Went 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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