Weekly Progress Report- Week 5 of 26
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By Brandon Cook
December 28th through January 3rd
Progress Picture:
Brandon @ 161 lbs and 12.3% body fat
Week 5 of My Transformation Journey:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! – that’s my “new year” face in case you didn’t know!
20-10 Babeeeeey! This is going to be the best year of my life.
A funny quote by Mark Twain states “New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
Sadly, this is true for most people… but thankfully we’re not like most people. Besides I never make resolutions…. instead I set goals!
This past week was cool, but I was definitely missing working out… so I snuck in a couple little sessions, which landed me with a sore wrist. Luckily, I was able to heal that with some rest and ice.
Now if you’ve been following along you can see that I have lost 0.8lbs of muscle from last week, bringing my total muscular gain of 1.1 lbs. This is not much at all. 
Not only that but I’ve managed to put on 2.3 lbs of fat.
So, if you’re reasonably good at math you might be thinking: ”That’s not a very good ratio… WHAT GIVES?”
Well, I was thinking the same thing! However, I know that the past five weeks have been more of a preparation phase using higher rep bodyweight exercises. In order to build mass you need to lift heavy weights in the 5-8 rep range. So, the stimulus for muscle gain (hypertrophy) wasn’t being provided.
Secondly, I was eating as if it was. Therefore, I gained a couple pounds of fat. Lesson learned. I should have kept a maintence diet until after my prep phase. The good news however, is NOW I know the amount of food I need for a surplus. I’ll shred those few pounds easily!
Thirdly, I took the last two weeks of the year off and was just allowing my body to heal up for what’s about to come!
This next week I am moving into Phase II, which is a hypertrophy phase geared specifically towards putting on more muscle mass. I expect to see a lot better results this month and these changes should start becoming evident in the pictures. I WILL gain 5-10lbs this month! 
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: 161lbs
Current Body Fat: 12.3%
Current Lean Mass: 141.2lbs
Current Fat Mass: 19.8lbs
Total Bodyweight Change: Gained 3.7lbs
Total Body Fat Change: Gained 1.3%
Total Lean Mass Change: Gained 1.1lbs
Total Fat Mass Change: Gained 2.6lbs
Summary:
Overall I have gained 1.1lbs of muscle and gained 2.6lbs of fat
(0.4 : 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) = 64%, and Yellow (fat) = 12%.
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 | 12/13/2009 | 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 | 33.38 | 31.00 | -2.38 |
| Hips | 35.00 | 35.00 | 0.00 |
| Thighs | 19.25 | 24.50 | 5.25 |
| 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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