Weekly Progress Report- Week 11 of 26
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By Brandon Cook
February 8th through February 14th
Progress Picture:
Week 11 of My Transformation Journey:
Here’s my goofy valentine pic!
Well I missed week 10′s update. I had gained about a pound of muscle or so. However, on Monday of week 11 I felt a flu virus trying to break through my immune system. I therefore skipped my Monday workout, which I’m glad I did because I felt really tired and worn down as the evening progressed with achy muscles and joints.
The following day I was still feeling really lethargic and achy. I took the day off, fasted except for some fruits throughout the day and an evening meal. Then on Wednesday I was feeling great again. Even so I decided to take the rest of the week off and let my body heal up.
I lost the pound I had gained but managed to maintain my weight otherwise. I’ve been doing a lot of researching for my nutrition lately.
Body Composition:
To determine my weight and body fat percentage I weigh myself four times at various intervals throughout the day on my weigh in day. I take the average of these and that becomes the numbers you see below.
This isn’t entirely necessary, but I’m trying to account for flucuations that occur in my bodyweight throughout the day. A simpler method would be to just weigh yourself on the same day and same time each week…. but that’s not as much fun!
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Weigh in Results:
Beginning Bodyweight: 157.3lbs
Beginning Body Fat: 11.0%
Beginning Lean Mass: 140.1lbs
Beginning Fat Mass: 17.2lbs
Current Bodyweight: 162.4lbs
Current Body Fat: 13%
Current Lean Mass: 141.3lbs
Current Fat Mass: 21.1lbs
Total Bodyweight Change: Gained 5.1lbs
Total Body Fat Change: Gained 2%
Total Lean Mass Change: Gained 1.2lbs
Total Fat Mass Change: Gained 3.9lbs
Summary:
Overall I have gained 1.2lbs of muscle and gained 3.9lbs of fat
(0.3 : 1 Ratio of Muscle:Fat).
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I will also be using the following charts to track my progress visually. The first chart represents my body compositional changes from week to week. My scale calulates muscle mass, bone mass, water percentage, and fat percentage. I’m not sure how accurate these results are so this represents my best guestimate based on the scales output.
This first chart uses this data to graph the changes in my body composition over the next 26 weeks. If all goes as planned you should notice the red sections (muscle mass) growing larger and the overall columns (total bodyweight) growing larger. If the yellow sections (fat mass) are growing too large… then we’ve got a problem!
This second chart simply shows my current body composition as a pie chart. Red (muscle) = 19%, Green (bone) = 5%, Blue (water) = 63%, and Yellow (fat) = 13%.
Maximum Muscular Bodyweight:
According to The Weight Trainer: Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements Calculator:
My estimated maximum muscular bodyweight at ~10% bodyfat is:
197.1 lbs
This calculator gives you an estimate of the maximum muscular bodyweight and measurements that a drug-free trainee of a similar skeletal structure is likely to attain. It is based on equations Casey Butt developed through over 6 years of research and analysis of data from drug-free champions both past and present. The article presenting the equations utilized by this calculator can be found here: Your Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements.
I’m using this calculator as a general guideline in determining my ideal body weight and measurements for what I can accomplish naturally. I’m not letting these calculations impose limits on what I can accomplish. The only limits are the ones we impose upon ourselves. Remember, limits were meant to be broken! I just think its a cool calculator.
Measurements:
As another means of tracking my progress I will be measuring my neck, chest, arms, forearms, waist, hips, thighs, and calves. My wrist and ankle measurements should stay pretty much the same.
I used The Weight Trainer calculator to determine my goal measurements and rounded up or down a little based on my own desires, but only buy a 1/4 inch or so.
More specifically I just made the goal for my neck, arm, and calves measurements to be the same. This is typical of the Classic Physique goals talked about by Steve Reeves and other bodybuilding legends.
| Body Measurements | 1/24/2010 | Goal | Difference |
| Neck | 15.00 | 16.50 | 1.50 |
| Chest | 42.00 | 46.00 | 4.00 |
| Biceps (flexed | 13.50 | 16.50 | 3.00 |
| Forearms | 11.50 | 13.50 | 2.00 |
| Wrist | 6.50 | 6.50 | 0.00 |
| Waist | 33.50 | 31.00 | -2.50 |
| Hips | 35.00 | 35.00 | 0.00 |
| Thighs | 19.50 | 24.50 | 5.00 |
| Calves | 14.50 | 16.50 | 2.00 |
| Ankles | 8.50 | 8.50 | 0.00 |
As you can see the biggest differences are apparently my chest, arms, and thighs, but everything will need to come up. Well except my waist, which should be slimmer. The ideal concept is to have wide shoulders tapering down to a thin waist to develop the classic V taper.
Of course these are more bodybuilding type goals and objectives and not necessarily a requirement for athletes or those who are more performance oriented. Personally, I desire form and function… so I’m aiming for the best of both worlds!
See you next week,
Brandon
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About the Author:
Brandon Cook is creator 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
© 2010 Hardgainer Muscle Building. All rights in all media reserved.
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Fajar Says:
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Keep up the hard work man! You are my big motivational. I’m pretty much set my mind to do it but I’m trying to get this diet situation down. Basically I’m trying to figure out away where i’m certain that i will have all the caloric intake that’s require to build wait. That’s the challenge part for me. I’m really getting a good idea from your own plan… thanks for the blog. If there are any suggestion you could share let me know.
Great stuff warrior!
Brandon Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Hey Fajar… thanks man! I really appreciate the comment. Glad to hear you’re set to do this. You can and will!
Yeah, the diet part is a little tricky. I’ve just been doing it by trial and error, but I guess that’s why I didn’t gain too much last month. I’m finally starting to see my weight go up. Here’s what I’ve been doing: On my training days I eat like crazy all day. Take a look at Week 13, Day 85. That’s my training day surplus of calories. Then Day 86 shows more of a maintenence level of calories. I just cut back a little bit since I’m not training that day. Helps keep the fat off. Then on Sunday (last day before Monday training) I typically lower my calories a little bit to give my body a break. This also helps the next day as I take in a bunch of calories my body starts absorbing them like crazy.
The key is to just eat like crazy and train your ass off. Focus on strength and getting your weights up. I’m also in the process of phasing out meat, dairy, and eggs. I may be switching over to more of a plant-based diet. At least give it a fair try and see what happens. I’ve been reading a book called The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier which explains how to do this. Check it out!
Later